With their plinky, chant-along music and their hillbilly/dreadlock/thrift store chic appearance, Haysi Fantayzee staked out a unique territory during the year or so that the band existed. Dismissed by many as so much fluff, their singles still found enough receptive ears to get them steady mention in the UK charts during 1982 and into 1983. Undeniably childlike, those songs nonetheless spoke to the issues of racism, nuclear apocalypse, and suicide. At the same time, they were addictive little bits of ear-candy that kept club dance floors packed.
Jeremy/Jeremiah Healy and Kate Garner were the image of Haysi Fantayzee, while Paul Caplin stayed in the background playing all the instruments and managing the band's affairs. Instead of taking the usual route of sending demo tapes to various record labels in hopes of landing a contract, Haysi Fantayzee leveraged their most obvious feature: Healy's and Garner's carefully constructed image. They put together a low-budget video and sent that around, eventually finding a home with the Regard label. Granted, dancing about in their colorful rags made Healy and Garner an eye-catching duo, but the "style over substance" label would haunt them.
The substance was there, even if the critics chose to ignore it. Their debut single, "Holy Joe," caught on enough to get them into the lower reaches of the charts; their sophomore effort, "John Wayne Is Big Leggy," broke them big. Using a story of The Duke taking liberties with a squaw as an allegory for the treatment of Native Americans by European settlers, it was mildly controversial. But damn if it wasn't catchy! The single went to #11 and got them national exposure throughout the UK.
Their third single would be their most well-known, the post-apocalyptic square dance "Shiny Shiny." Though it fell a bit short of its predecessor's mark (only reaching #16) in the UK, it was a huge club hit in the States and remains a staple of nostalgic New Wave compilation albums today.
In early 1983, their lone album, Battle Hymns For Children Singing, appeared, gathering up all three previous singles as well as the concurrently released "Sister Friction." A fun record worth picking up if you can find it, but be wary of the CD reissues: the version issued in 2000 by Razor and Tie features extra tracks, but was poorly mastered resulting in some songs being sped up while others are slowed noticeably; Cherry Pop's 2007 reissue doesn't have the mastering issues, but has different bonus tracks.
This week's NW4NW features Haysi Fantayzee's two big singles. First up, the exuberant "Shiny Shiny," followed by "John Wayne Is Big Leggy." Enjoy!
Boston seems to have always had an interesting underground music scene. From the early-70s days of Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers to the barroom punk of The Real Kids; from the skronk-y noise of V; (note: the ";" was part of the band's name) to the hyperspeed hardcore of The Freeze; and currently, from the farfisa-driven garage sound of The Charms to the retro-synthpop sounds of Freezepop. New York and L.A. can claim all the history and influence they like; there was always something special in the dirty water of Boston. (Just ask The Standells!)
One of the too-often forgotten blips on the early-80s Boston music scene was the fascinating Human Sexual Response. Formed in 1978 from the remnants of a goofy all-kazoo project (the awesomely-named Kazoondheit) and the semi-serious a capella group Honey Bea & The Meadow Muffins, Human Sexual Response featured a unique band configuration: seven members including a drummer, bass player, guitarist, and four - count them, four! - vocalists.
In their relatively brief existence they issued two albums. Their debut, Fig. 14, appeared in 1980; In A Roman Mood followed a year later. Both sport the same pluses and minuses. Human Sexual Response was a solid band that featured an overflow of creativity and a marked inconsistency in their ability to translate their ideas into enjoyable songs. When they hit the target, they were incomparable. Early singles like "What Does Sex Mean To Me?" and "Dolls" are great fun; later material ("Pound," "Andy Fell") is darker but equally catchy. They scored a minor regional hit with 1980's "Jackie Onassis" ("I wanna be like Jackie Onassis/I wanna wear a pair of dark sunglasses..."), and were club favorites in and around their native Boston.
Unfortunately, when they missed the mark, they could be pretentious, overly theatrical, and frankly boring. Over both albums they sounded like a band trying to settle on a sound, but never quite finding that comfort zone. Between the two releases an album's worth of solid material could be culled, so the records are definitely worth picking up, but buyer beware - there are a few clinkers. In 1991, nine years after the band dissolved, Rykodisc issued a CD titled Fig. 15. This was the original Fig. 14 album reissued with the addition of the song "Butt Fuck," which they had performed unannounced on a live Boston TV program, Five All Night Live, causing trouble for the band, the show, and the station on which it aired. It's a perfect encapsulation of where the band went wrong: the idea of getting away with thumbing their nose at the FCC was far better than the actual song.
But rather than rehash the bad, let's celebrate the good! This week's NW4NW includes two of Human Sexual Response's best songs. "Blow Up" incorporates footage of the legendary Tura Satana; "Land Of The Glass Pinecones" is a cult masterpiece ("Their seeds are made of rhinestones... / ...They smash on the grass when the wind blows..."). Enjoy!
I feel it's important to state that right off the bat. Yes, I know that in these waning days of the year it's the thing bloggers do: countdowns of the best or worst songs, albums, movies, varieties of soup, what have you. And I hate those kinds of posts, because they always lead to the same arguments among the commenters: "How could you rank X higher than Y? Are you insane?"
2011 was a pretty damn good year for music. Lots of fantastic stuff out there if you're willing to dig for it. So, despite my reticence to join in with the year-end-list crowd, I'm doing it anyway - but I'm not ranking these in any order. Think of this more as a "buying guide" provided to you by your old pal Bryan. You're welcome.
Another note before we dive in: yes, I know one or two titles here might technically have been 2010 releases, but I'm including them because they got a lot of airplay around here this year, and thus they are 2011 releases in spirit. And it's my list. So suck it. Here we go:
Freezepop - Imaginary Friends/Secret Companion
Originally released in the fall of 2010, Freezepop's fourth album, Imaginary Friends, was reissued this year as part of a limited edition two-disc package with nearly another album's worth of bonus material, Secret Companion. Founding members Liz Enthusiasm and The Other Sean T. Drinkwater, along with relative newcomers Robert John "Bananas" Foster and Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan (it took two people to replace the departed Duke of Pannekoeken!) continue the band's remarkable ability to recreate a spot-on circa-1983 synthpop sound updated for the 21st century. It's a fuller, lusher sound these days, but that's not a bad thing. Their insanely clever lyrics and constant ironic wink will leave you wondering at times where the line between tribute and parody lies, but you'll be dancing the whole time, so does it really matter? "Doppelganger" is the single, and it is simply outstanding:
Shilpa Ray & her Happy Hookers - Teenage and Torture
Pounding out blues-based punk-tinged rawk-n-roll on her harmonium and spewing forth raging vocals that will pin you to the wall if you're not careful, Shilpa Ray has drawn favorable comparisons to just about every emotion-fueled female musical icon you can name from Ella Fitzgerald to Chrissy Hynde and beyond, yet she stands quite uniquely on her own with no comparison being quite accurate. "Heaven In Stereo," the first single from Ray's band's second LP, is representative of the driving, insistent sound you'll find throughout. Rough-edged but stunning. Don't miss this one!
Crisis of Conformity - "Fist Fight!"/"Kick it Down and Kick it Around" (single) Saturday Night Live's greatest musical export since The Blues Brothers turns out to be this nostalgia-fueled celebration of mid-80s hardcore. The brainchild of Fred Armisen, Crisis of Conformity found life in a single skit last season (a newlywed's father gets his old band together at his daughter's wedding reception, and the four graying middle-aged friends launch into "Fist Fight!" while wrecking the place). All of the by-the-book moves are here, from the mid-song tempo change to the nonsequitor name-checking of Ronald Reagan and Alexander Haig. Armisen should know those moves - his pedigree is real, having played drums for Chicago's Trenchmouth in his youth. Drag City Records released the single this year; the clip includes both songs.
Van Buren Boys - Up All Night
Fans of The Exploding Hearts, Paul Collins' Beat, or other hard-edged power pop should line up for this one, the second full-length LP from The Van Buren Boys. Their first effort, 2009's Six String Love, was a helluva debut whose only drawback was that every song sounded very samey (that they all sounded like The Clash's "Gates Of The West" helped mitigate that, of course). With Up All Night, The Van Buren Boys (Seinfeld fans should get the reference) find the confidence to stretch a bit beyond that safe zone. The result is a twangy, guitar-ringing sound that should put a big ol' smile on the faces of those other bands' fans.
They Might Be Giants - Join Us
What could I possibly say about They Might Be Giants that would add anything new or insightful to the many, many songs of their praise over the past 25 years or so? You know everything you need to: John Flansburgh and John Linell are freakin' geniuses when it comes to writing insidiously catchy songs with lyrics far wittier than you or I could ever come up with, and the well from which their creativity springs seems to be bottomless. This year's album is no exception. Just get it.
Shonen Knife - Osaka Ramones
It is truly amazing to consider how far The Ramones' influence has reached over the years. What would music sound like today had they not existed? Scary prospect, isn't it? Many, many artists have attempted to repay their debt by either covering Ramones songs (or occasionally, full albums!) or penning tributes. Few have done so with the unbridled enthusiasm of the wonderful Shonen Knife. Joey Ramone himself gave the girls the nickname "The Osaka Ramones" after hearing them play; they have always said they learned to play rock and roll by listening to The Ramones and The Beatles. Well, if you're gonna do it, you couldn't ask for better teachers! On Osaka Ramones, Shonen Knife reverentially honor the classics: "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Rock 'n' Roll High School," "Beat On the Brat" - they're all here. My personal fave, though, is their take on "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker." Enjoy!
Poly Styrene - Generation Indigo
Former X-Ray Spex frontwoman Poly Styrene's comeback album also, sadly, turned out to be her swansong. Released shortly before losing her battle with cancer, Generation Indigo presented Poly in prime form. In 1977 she was singing about a world of dayglo and genetic engineering and disposable society; in 2011 she was still going on about such modernisms being foisted on us in place of real human interaction("Virtual Boyfriend"). Her vocal style, once described as shrieking out songs "with all the delicacy of a cat in heat," had grown into a confident, strong, unique voice that served her well whether the sound was hard, soft, reggae, dance, whatever. Enjoy "Thrash City," one of the best tracks on an excellent album:
Madam Adam - Madam Adam
From the hard rock side of my record collection I offer South Carolina's Madam Adam. Discovered this band opening up for Halestorm here in Lancaster, PA, about this time last year, and was very impressed. Granted, they're not breaking any new ground here: it's just no-frills, by-the-book rock-n-roll with tinges of Aerosmith and Cheap Trick. It's a sound that will always sell because it's just good. It's party music; it's music for speeding down the highway in a car filled with too many friends; it's music for blasting on your stereo and violently air-guitaring until the neighbors pound on the door and demand you turn it down. Crank up the single "Sex Ain't Love" and see for yourself:
Hillbilly Moon Explosion - Buy Beg or Steal
After half a dozen albums, it's a shame Switzerland's Hillbilly Moon Explosion haven't found a larger audience. Basing their sound in American rockabilly with a modern twist, not entirely unlike HorrorPops, Hillbilly Moon Explosion are at once very familiar and very foreign. You could jump in just about anywhere in their discography and be pleasantly surprised at the gems you'll find, but the prize found in this year's release is their cover of Orchestral Manouevres In The Dark's "Enola Gay," about the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war. Brilliant!
Kimberly Freeman - Into Outer Space
I discovered Austin, Texas' One-Eyed Doll earlier this year, and they have quickly become one of my favorite bands. As I've gotten to know their material, I've discovered that Kimberly Freeman is a remarkably talented and unbelievably creative force. Within the framework of One-Eyed Doll she is all over the musical map (as noted in earlier posts, they run the gammut from death metal screaming to hook-laden pop to children's-song chanting); outside of One-Eyed Doll, her solo work finds even more facets to her fascinating musical world. I could rave about her work for hours, but that would take away time you could be spending listening for yourself! Check out "Fame And Loathing," the single from Freeman's 2011 solo album Into Outer Space, then follow the link to the One-Eyed Doll site and start exploring!
Amy Gore & Her Valentines - "Drivin' Around"
A late entry in the 2011 sweepstakes, but a winner nonetheless, is the debut track from Amy Gore's current ensemble. Best known for her work in The Gore Gore Girls and her teaming with Nikki Corvette to form Gorevette, Amy gathered up these particular Valentines for a one-off gig in her native Detroit. They discovered they really enjoyed playing together, and ta-da: a new band is born! "Drivin' Around" is one of those tracks that nearly defies genre. It's a solid chunk of whaddaya-wanna-do-tonight-I-dunno-whadda-you-wanna-do guitar rock, with a simple but insidiously catchy chorus and sound that holds great promise for a full album's worth of goodies from the band. Soon Amy? Please?
OK, those are my picks for 2011. How about yours? Any glaring omissions here? Have at it in the comments section! And also, please have a safe and happy New Year!
Just posted up a couple of clips on the Facebook Page, in remembrance of two musical giants we lost on this day. The Clash's Joe Strummer passed away on December 22, 2002; I wrote about the anniversary of his passing in one of my earliest posts here. But many years before that, on December 22, 1985, D. Boon of The Minutemen lost his life in a car accident at the far-too-young age of 27 (yes, he's a member of the 27 Club).
Remembering D. Boon, my mind immediately goes back to the night of December 4-5, 1985. I was finishing up the first semester of my Freshman year at University of Richmond, and was discovering what great town Richmond, VA, was for seeing bands. Although R.E.M. had not yet broken through to their mainstream popularity, they were already huge college radio idols - especially south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Word had come to town that R.E.M. would be coming to Richmond, playing live at The Mosque (now The Landmark Theater). My circle of friends were eager to see them; I might have been the only one in our group who was even more psyched to see the opening band: The Minutemen.
The Minutemen came out of San Pedro, CA. The trio of D. Boon, Mike Watt and George Hurley had been together for about five years, playing a unique amalgam of punk, jazz, and folk that seemed at times, to borrow from one of their album titles, to buzz and howl. At other times, their music soared, rolled in on lazy waves, and landed harmlessly at your feet. D. Boon sang, hollered, whispered, recited poetry; Mike Watt thumped a bass like no one else; George Hurley pounded out the most intricate rat-a-tat-tat-boom. They were amazing, but they were a band out of place at times: too progressive and intricate for the harder-core-than-thou crowd who wanted only fasterandlouder, too abrasive and political for the hairspray kids. But Michael Stipe and the rest of R.E.M. heard them, loved them, and took them on tour with them. And they were coming to Richmond!
The Mosque was theater seating, and tickets were to go on sale the day of the show, so about half a dozen or so of us got the bright idea that we would camp out the night before so we could be first in line and get the best seats in the house. So on an early December night, there we were, wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags like hobos on the sidewalk in front of The Mosque, feeling not quite safe enough to fall asleep but becoming more and more exhausted as the night wore on. Odd folks roam those city streets at the wee hours, we learned; yet to them we were the oddities putting ourselves on display. I know I nodded off once or twice throughout the night, but mostly we stayed up swapping stories, cracking each other up, sharing a few beers and the joy of knowing that forgoing our soft warm mattresses for the cold hard sidewalk would be worth it for the front-and-center tickets our night would earn us the next day.
As dawn broke, we began to wonder why no one else had thought to camp out...or why no one was even lining up for the ticket office to open. Ha! We thought we had outsmarted them all! I can only imagine what went through the box office person's mind when they opened that morning to find six shivering, exhausted, unshowered bodies wrapped in sleeping bags and waiting with money clenched in our fists. We asked for the best tickets available, and in that completely disinterested, unemphatic voice that can only come from a jaded ticket booth attendant we were told the horrible truth: "Ain't no best tickets. All General Admission."
We had camped out for General Admission tickets.
The show turned out to earn a place in infamy. In her contribution to the liner notes of the excellent Rhino Records 4-disc boxed set Left Of The Dial, Karen Schoemer talks about being at that same show, and describes the sad scene:
...the crowd, collegiate and beery, booed [The Minutemen]. Now, I had no idea at the time what The Minutemen were about, except that their songs were short, but I remember looking at the crowd and thinking, 'This isn't cool. If we wanted to act like a bunch of close-minded morons, couldn't we just attend a Rod Stewart show?'
My memory is that, despite the crowd, both bands played fantastic sets, although in my mind's eye I see The Minutemen looking out of place with their minimal gear on the fairly large Mosque stage. Still, they were electrifying, and I am so glad I had the chance to see them, even if it meant being so foolish as to spend a night on a city sidewalk.
Seventeen days after that show, on December 22, D. Boon was killed. RIP, D.
This time of year, radio station playlists seem to fill up with the usual Christmas fare. For the past 28 (!) years, those Yuletide playlists have included The Waitresses' holiday hit, "Christmas Wrapping." So, no surprise to have already heard it several times this year. I will admit to a chuckle, however, when I heard one DJ refer to The Waitresses as "one hit wonders," referring to their annual classic as being their one hit. While they were never a chart-topping act, they had at least three singles receive notable mainstream success - that's more hits than many acts can claim!
The Waitresses started life as an imaginary band in Akron, Ohio, circa 1978. Chris Butler had been playing with the band Tin Huey, when he noticed that the bands that were breaking big out of the scene in Ohio (The Dead Boys, Pere Ubu, Devo, etc.) were doing so by heading to New York and merging into the CBGB's crowd. Wanting to let the world know that Ohio was a happening place, he and musician/producer Liam Sternberg came up with the idea of putting together a compilation where the joke would be that none of the bands actually existed, but were really all Chris and Liam (as he explained in the liner notes to one of the many "Best Of" compilations of Waitresses material, reprinted here).
By the time the first piece of Waitresses vinyl appeared, the Short Stack 7-inch, in 1978, there still wasn't an actual band. The record's A-side, a Devo-esque track called "Clones," was quite different from the funkier and more accessible B-side, "Slide." Neither sound anything like what The Waitresses would eventually become; legend says that both tracks were actually Chris and Liam with Tin Huey backing them up.
Butler had a knack for writing songs from a female perspective, and soon went in search of female vocalist to bring those works to life. Enter Patty Donahue, who would join the band in time for their next recorded output, a song called "The Comb." Liam Sternberg had become the in-house producer for Stiff Records and had apparently never forgotten the idea for a compilation of Ohio bands; by the time The Akron Compilationhit the shelves in early 1979, there were plenty of real bands sprouting up in the second wave of the Ohio scene. The Waitresses were represented by "The Comb" and "Slide" (while "Clones" ended up being a hidden track on the end of the comp).
By the turn of the decade, Butler had followed the path of many others to New York with Donahue in tow. There, The Waitresses' lineup was soon rounded out by ex-Television drummer Billy Ficca, saxophonist Mars Williams, keyboardist Dan Klayman and bass player Tracy Wormworth. They became a popular live band, and in 1981 contributed "Christmas Wrapping" to Ze Records' holiday compilation A Christmas Record. A year earlier, Ze had released The Waitresses' second single, "I Know What Boys Like." It was with these releases that The Waitresses found their signature sound - a funky New Wave vibe with horns that were far less skronky than the concurrent No Wave scene happening in the Big Apple, with Patty Donahue's unmistakeably sarcastic vocals layered over top. Trouser Press described her style quite accurately: "she doesn't sing so much as carry a simultaneous conversation and tune."
The band soon signed to Polydor Records, who in 1982 reissued the "I Know What Boys Like" single. This time it caught on thanks to a quirky video getting airplay on MTV, and the song soon became a cult hit which is to this day a New Wave staple. On the basis of that success, The Waitresses were tapped to sing the theme song for the TV series Square Pegs. The wonderfully-titled I Could Rule the World If I Could Only Get the Parts EP appeared soon after, containing two of their three biggies, "Christmas Wrapping" and "Square Pegs," along with three more similarly snarky tracks. The success of that record led to a full album, Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?, which made "I Know What Boys Like" available on LP, but otherwise contained new material that followed the standard Waitresses formula. Some tracks are very good ("No Guilt", "It's My Car"), while others start to sound a bit repetitive.
When their second album arrived in 1984, the snarkiness was wisely toned down a bit. Bruiseology showed great promise in its lead single, the perfectly wonderful "Make The Weather." Unfortunately, the band was going through a great deal of internal strife during the recording of the album, resulting in Patty Donahue walking out of the band and several tracks needing to be finished without her. As a result, the album is a bit shaky at points, although still recommended.
With Donahue gone, Butler called on Holly Beth Vincent to join the band as the new frontwoman. She toured with the band for a few weeks, but it just wasn't a fit, and before long Patty was back. It seemed The Waitresses were back on track, but it didn't click. By the end of 1984, The Waitresses were done with no more material released.
Chris Butler stayed involved in the music business, mainly doing production work and songwriting. The most visible members of the band these days are Mars Williams, who is currently touring with The Psychedelic Furs, and Tracy Wormworth, who has been playing off and on with The B-52's for several years. Sadly, Patty Donahue passed away in December 1996 after battling lung cancer for a year.
For this week's NW4NW, here are the clips for the classic "I Know What Boys Like" and the excellent "Make The Weather." Then, as a Christmas bonus, a fan-made video for "Christmas Wrapping." Merry Christmas!
Oh boy, am I a lucky guy! Apparently, I've won $68,000 dollars! Let the singing and dancing in the streets commence!
Pictured is the letter I received from World Link Finance Inc. informing me that was one of the "lucky winners" in a "Publisher's Clearing house [sic]" Compensation Draw Sweepstakes, and I've won a lump sum of $68K which will be delivered to me by special courier. Can you imagine the joy? I'm already spending the money in my head!
"Lucky" is absolutely the right word, too! You wanna know just how lucky I am? I won a sweepstakes that I never even entered! That's right, read 'em and weep: all you chumps out there who think you have to play to win - I just proved you wrong!
I'll be contacting my File Agent on Monday to start the claiming process. These folks thought of everything! They even sent me an advance check of $3866 to cover the Government Service Tax and Insurance! All I have to do is cash that check and wire them back $2976.55 of it, and I'm on my way to riches, baby!
Sure, I find it a little strange that the good folks at World Link Finance Inc. sent the letter to me in an envelope bearing the logo and name of Hudson's Bay Co., and that the check bears the logo and name of a company called Tahitian Noni. I figure that must be some sort of security measure. A simple Google search tells me that Hudson's Bay Co. happens to be the oldest commercial corporation in North America and today is a retail clothier throughout Canada, and that Tahitian Noni is a multi-level marketing company promoting a health drink. My guess is that World Link Finance uses their names and logos to throw others off the track: greedy relatives and friends will just think I'm shopping for clothes or getting paid for marketing a beverage rather than winning a sweepstakes, and won't come begging for money. Pretty smart, World Link Finance!
You see, I did my homework! I know World Link Finance Inc. uses top-level security, because they can't even be found in a Google search! I looked up their address on Google Street View, and as you can see, they take security so seriously that they even camouflage their offices. You wouldn't even know they were there! So, before you ask, that's also probably why a finance company in New York City has a phone number with a Toronto area code. It all makes perfect sense!
And how considerate of them to rely on me to handle the Government Service Tax and Insurance, rather than simply taking the funds they sent to me and just delivering them to the proper authorities! They were nice enough to send more funds than needed, so I get to have a little extra spending cash for Christmas. Happy Holidays, World Link Finance! Now, I had never heard of "Government Service Tax and Insurance," so I turned to Google once again. Google couldn't point me to any place that told me exactly what it was, but it did show me that lots of other winners were supposed to pay the same thing, so it must be legit, right?
The check itself is a thing of genius, sheer genius! My scanner kind of picked up the watermark, which clearly says "void" on it - obviously a way to test bank employees to make sure they're validating these checks! Why, with security measures that advanced, how could this be anything but the real deal?
Those clever bastards even managed to keep my name entirely off the actual letter, and rather than have it signed by anyone, they had it "approved" by Mark Stines. He's a Vice President of Global Operations, so he must be very important. Just look at his smiling, trustworthy face right there at the bottom of my letter. You know he's got to be a big muckety-muck, because he looks an awful lot like another Vice President of Global Operations, Vernon Kimberly, of C&C Services Inc. I found a picture of one their letters to another winner online.
Almost an eerie resemblance, isn't it? But you know, put those bigwigs in their monkey suits and you can't tell 'em apart, right?
What? Scam? Whaddaya mean scam? Naw, you're just saying that because you're envious of my good fortune! Why, I bet next you'll be telling me that there really is no Nigerian Prince who needs my help in secretly moving millions of dollars out of his country, and is willing to split the funds with me 50/50!
Today marks three years of existence for this li'l ol' blog o' mine! Talk about time flying! Hard to believe that much time has passed since I sat down one afternoon and pounded out my first rant, in this case about people who seem unable to grasp that they are the ones slowing traffic at Lancaster's otherwise wonderful Central Market.
In the three years since then, over 10,000 unique visitors have stopped by to spend a little time here. That amazes me. Not because I think I'm uninteresting, but rather I am amazed by the sheer scope of reach my words have here. When I was doing my radio show in Richmond, VA, many years back, I don't think I reached 10,000 people! Certainly I didn't reach folks from so many varied locations. You've come to my blog from Spain, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, Sweden, Malaysia, Croatia and more other countries than I can list here. In fact, six of the seven continents have sent readers to this blog (only Antarctica remains - come on, where are my Antarctic readers?!?).
Please know I am grateful for you all, whether you're a regular subscriber here or you just stumbled on the blog by chance and decided to read a post or two. I am always open to your thoughts and suggestions on how to improve - what would you like to see more of? Less of? Want to suggest a band for an NW4NW post? Interested in writing a guest post? Let me know!
If you're on Facebook and haven't already "liked" the blog's page, please consider doing so. On occasion I put bits and pieces up there that don't make the cut for the blog itself. If you're on Twitter, you can follow the blog's Twitter account, @TWIWGTS.
I'm looking forward to what the next year brings - I hope you are too! In the meantime, join me in celebrating our Happy Third Anniversary!
