THE BEAT GOES ON

THE BEAT GOES ON

Banging The Bongos

NEW YORK—“Baby psychedelia,” claims Billy Altman three songs into the Bongos’ first set at the Bottom Line. “Like an early Nervus Rex if Nervus Rex had been better musicians” he amplifies, “I don’t like this type of pop if it doesn’t know how to rock.” Me, I like pop whether it knows how to rock or not, but the Bongos’ friendly mediocrity has never been less appealing than tonight; all forced enthusiasm, smooth surfaces, and boyish whimsy as epitomized by singer /lead guitarist/writer Richard Barone’s sweaty jog-pacing getting worked-up through the music doesn’t explain why. The evening hits a low point with the Bongos’ new folk/acoustic /five minutes-plus “Sweet Blue Cage,” which has the collegiate boy (friend) s and girl (friend) s audience awestruck (a girl looks at her companion and nods her head as if to say “I told you so”) just like the old days of paisley shirts and half tabs of acid.

Look at the Bongos. What have they got foryou? A reputation from writers whose hipness is getting the better of them, a new ultra-fine rhythm guitarist James Maestro, a handful of fine songs, two great videos, a steadily declining live performance, a support slot on the B-52’s American tour, an erratic debut album, Drums Along The Hudson, and a cute tag (“Hoboken’s pride”) they’d be advised to dump—fast.

“Threat or no threat,” worries Richard in response to my saying the Bongos have none. “That’s probably true, we aren’t very threatening people. That’s hard, that’s interesting. Sometimes I think there’s a lot of rough-edged—you know, you saw a very smooth show last night. Musically we take a lot of chances, especially on the road when we shouldn’t. I think there’s an emotional edge, I don’t think there has to be a lot of blaring guitar. We aren’t totally smooth.”

Richard Barone fascinates me, the boy with perpetual nevousness after est, a ball of confusion whose cluttered romantic yearnings run havoc with his stunning imagination. If the Bongos were what they might have been, if they allowed their pure pop sensibility to rule instead of Richard’s fascination with the spaces between the imagery he dabbles in and the word association meanings that wedge him, they could liquidate your heart with a glance.

“I have my own interpretation of my songs but they are usually personal and not something that I wish to discuss. When I write lyrics I want to keep my own entity, know what I’m talking about but not have that the only meaning. Like we were saying, it’s openended.

“What we are trying to project is some kind of optimism. We never said we were a happy-go-lucky band—we don’t want to be pegged as idiots—but our general feeling is optimistic, and I don’t think seriousness has to be negative.”

What threatens Richard? “Wow! What threatens me? I don’t know. I can’t think of a thing right now, though I’m sure there are a million things that do. Let’s pass that for now.”

Why is Richard in a pop band? “That’s just the vocabulary I grew up with. When I was in third grade, I worked at a radio station doing commercials anytime they needed a little boy’s voice and they used to pay me in singles. So I’d get all these stacks of singles and I’d go home and play then continually.” An image of an introverted young Bongo sitting for hours in his room daydreaming to slices of pop comes to mind. Not quite: Richard was quite the normal child, very athletically inclined as a youngster and a TV freak until he learned how to play the devil’s own instrument. Richard’s first band was a, the one that took him over to New Jersey’s Hoboken (home town of Frank Sinatra and excellent rock-bar Maxwell’s). a featured Glenn Murrow, who would go on to the brilliant Individuals while a closed ranks as a trio with drummer Frank Giannini and bassist Rob Norris (who played in a late version of the Velvet Underground), changing their name to the Bongos.

As superbly told by Richard Grabel on the album sleeve, the Bongos’ big break came when Rod Pearce of England’s independent Fetish Records saw them at Maxwell’s and asked for a demo tape. This became their debut single, “Telephoto Lens” b/w “Glow In The Dark,” two songs of exuberant passion and waiflike mystery, everything their follow-up EP— In The Congo-—with its Feelies nod and naff cover of Bolan’s “Mambo Sun” wasn’t.

The problem here isn’t just the lyrics. For a pop band with the aspirations of a pop band, the Bongos only occasionally manage that first spin rush, there’s an incompleteness to their melodies that doesn’t keep my attention, and although theoretically mixing little-boyslost 60’s Merseybeats, 70’s glitter pop electricity, and 80’s minimalistic restraint should bake a cake of delicious fluffiness and lasting fulfilment, it very often doesn’t. So if a song like “Zebra Club” accentuates and diffuses pop with a hopefulness exemplified in the chorus of “You’re going to see what I mean,” others like “In The Congo,” “Clay Midgets,” and “Three Wise Men” are mystery prances of the worst sort; rather than having a universal meaning, they are so confoundedly self-referential and half-baked with musicians that refuse to give into the song (be stamped over by passion) they are finally...meaningless even as pure entertainment.

PAINT IT WHITE 1

Ron Wood and family rocontly joined the rest of the Rolling Stones for this photo, unveiling the band's new look for their forthcoming European tour. “We've been billing ourselves as 'the greatest show on earth' for several years now, so we figured we might as well take it all the way," explained Mick “Bobo" Jagger. “Besides, if we're going to act like, buffoons onstage, we might as well look the part,” the rubber-lipped wonder added. Pictured to Woody's left are: Charlie "Freckles" Watts, “Bobo" Jagger and (kneeling) Bill “Bingo" Wyman. Keith Richards was busy with a blood transfusion at the time the photo was taken (“He wanted us to try black-face instead," said Jagger), but pictured to Mrs. Woody's right is long-time Stone sessionman, Ian Stewart. “Ian always was too homely to be a full-time Stone,” joked "Bobo:"

Richard Barone is an extremely nice person with a fair amount of talent, and he considers the Bongos not only to be worthwhile currently but to have a lasting worth. So do many of my writing peers. But worthiness in individuals doesn’t make good music and pop dreams have to be based in musical reality. I’ll continue to listen to Bongos, a handful of songs are better then none, and they’ll continue to disappoint me. But I’m still “hunting” for the emotional deliverance only great pop can give—and a year-and-a-half after first listening to the Bongos I know I won’t find it with them. Ever.

Iman Lababedi

Now Try It On A Roadie

ATLANTA—In a development akin to the great Memorex-shatters-eardrums controversy, a well-known Georgia ape has completed his own version of the popular suitcase-in-the-gorilla-cage television ad.

The producer of a local consumer affairs program gave distinguished ape Willie B. a suitcase to try his bestial luck at.

While the product survived every possible simian test on TV, the “real life” results were somewhat different.

Willie gaily played evolutionary frisbee with the bag for a few minutes, then tore it in half with his stiff little apefingers. After ripping off and eating the vinyl cover, he took one broken half over to his fountain, filled it with water and used it as a mug. Now, isn’t that cute?

Next test: Playtex panty shields.

Rick Johnson

Carmine Appice Drums It Up

LOS ANGELES-“I want to be the Gene Krupa of rock,” says drummer Carmine Appice. “I’ve always had the idea of bringing the drums up front, in a big band kind of way.”

During the bulk of his 15year pro music career, Appice has continually explored the possibilities of rock drumming in a series of supporting roles with Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck, Bogert & Appice, and Rod Stewart’s band. But since the middle of 1981, Appice has been on his own, taking advantage of the freedom, moving into new areas. He recently cut his first solo album, Carmine Appice (released on Pasha Records), set up a host of amateur “drum battles” across America, played drums on Ted Nugent’s upcoming LP and toured with a collection of friends. Now, whether on stage or in the studio, Appice heightens the musical profile of rock drum combinations, putting the spotlight on shifting beat currents* as well as vocal/instrumental melodies.

'This is nothing new," Appice admits, comfortably slouched back on a sofa at L.A.’s Pasha Studios. “The jazzers like Krupa, Buddy Rich, they could lead with their drums. But when I started talking about doing that and making drum singles, record companies thought I was nuts. But, with my manager’s support, I made some demos anyway.”

These demos and Appice’s sterling rock rep lead to a deal with Pasha (distibuted by CBS). When it came time to record, Appice explains, “I had favors owed me by people like Jeff Beck, Stanley Clarke, John Entwistle, I could have had a lot of superstar walk-ons. But I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to put together a unit that would sound like a band.”

So Appice contacted guitarist Danny Johnson and bassist Jay Davis (both musical chums of Carmine’s brother Vinnie), then keyboardist Duane Hitchings (Appice’s songwriting partner on Rod Stewart’s “Young Turks” single). Known as the Rockers, Carmine and these players recorded an album that places ferocious drum led instrumentals (The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black,” the 1 Appice/Podolor “Drums, Drums, Drums,” Appice and Vinnie Cusano’s “Drum City Rocker (Ballad of Drum City Surfer Girls)”) alongside a crop of tunes (including Appice and Cyril Cianflone’s “Hollywood Heartbeat,” the Appice— Hitchings—French “Have You Heard,” and Phil Spector’s “Be My Baby”) that blend Appice’s vocal holler with his drum wallops—mixed hot.

“I wanted it that way,” Appice says. “I worked with my producer Richie Polodor and used Sammy Nelson’s drum set. The drum sounds are meant to jump right out at the listener.”

The pounding presence throughout Carmine Appice is arresting. There is a bite to Appice’s recorded work that carried right into live performance, even though his band line-up went through some changes. For a short Japanese tour, Appice retained Hitchings, then called upon guitarist Rick Derringer, bassist Tom Petersson (ex-Cheap Trick) and vocalist Eric Carmen. For the American shows, things shifted once again, with Appice, Hitchings and Derringer being joined by bassist Tim Bogert.

LATIN LOVER I

"Well, our new wave fizzled and the heavy metal approach didn't do the trick, so make way for the Latin Romantics 1" exclaimed Jimmy "Ricco" Marinos, drummer for the Detroit "new wave/power pop” band. "It worked for Ricky Ricardo, so there's no reason it won’t work for us." The band recently packed up, left Detroit and moved to Miami, where they are working on a project Marinos describes as "a cross between 'What I Like About You' and Barry Manilow's Copacabana.' " And if it doesn't work out this time? "Hell, I could always marry Lucille Ball I" laughed Marinos.

“On the road, there’s strength in numbers,” Carmine says. “With Rick (Derringer) and others on the bill, we could play small arenas instead of just hole-in-the-wall clubs. And with a big stage I could use more flash—glowing drum sticks, laser beams, solos where I disappear.

“Musically,” Appice adds, “now I’m able to play with more viciousness than during my last couple of years with Rod (Stewart). He started holding me back, saying stuff like, ‘Just give me a back beat, don’t give me any fills.’ Playing under those conditions was frustrating.”

But Carmine does admit, “I learned a lot from Rod. On Fancy Free and Blondes Have More Fun (Appice co-wrote “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” with Stewart), I picked up an English back-beat. American drummers usually play right on the beat, spot on, while English drummers play a little behind the beat, creating a little kick behind the basic rhythm. So I developed this into my style. But when Rod started cutting me back, I had nowhere to go.”

Except away, which is what Appice did, striking out on his own, and involving himself in new projects—like Ted Nugent’s new album. Carmine explains, “Ted had always said to me, ‘When you’re done playing this English wimpy rock ’n’ roll, and want to play a man’s rock, give me a Call.’ So last fall I called Ted up, flew to Detroit and we hung out for awhile. I slept in a room in his house that had 65 animal heads on the wall.

“When we went into the studio, I got to play real aggressively. There’s a big drum sound on his record, like Bonzo Bonham. It seems Ted’s been wanting to work with me since 1968. But we never actually played together until this new album project. So after I finish my tour and take a little break, I’ll be going out on the road with Nugent. It should be a wild show. Ted says he might swing onto the stage on a rope and play some tom toms with me. We’re thinking of billing the show, ‘the Motor City Madman meets the Drum City Rocker.’ ”

Dave Zimmer

You Are Now Leaving Sanford... Forever

SANFORD (?), MI—in an unusual display of common sense, the 864 citizens of this town have endeared themselves to just about everyone this spring by voting their community out of existence! Just like that! And, although it’s the first time in the state’s history that a village has voluntarily dissolved itself, no one seems to be complaining.. .the vote was better than two-to-one among the precious few who even cared to evaporate.

The charming—uh—“area,” best known for nothing at all, will soon revert to surrounding Jerome Township. Unless, of course, the Township decides to pass on Lemmingsville. Should this occur, the former Sanford will either be encased in heavy-duty Saran Wrap and microwaved from the face of the earth, further embarrass itself by reincorporatihg as “Macomb, Michigan,” or try to become a small Canadian province for very obvious reasons.

J. Kordosh

All We’re Looking For Is A Few Good Garbagemen

ORLANDO, FL—Sailors are digging in the garbage again here at the scenic home of Disney World, mellowed-out alligators and the swamp hovel of the dauphin Nelson brother, Jerry.

What are they searching for this time? A thrill? The answer to “kitchen confusion”? This month’s CREEM? The lost chord?

Naw, it’s just a few insignificant Top Secret USN documents concerning the nukes that accidentally got thrown out during an office clean-up.

Big deal, right, fellow commie stooges? Nukes, ho-hum. Oh, and incidentally, when all the documents are found, they’re going to be destroyed!

Wasn’t it naval hero John Paul Jones who first said, “H-e-/-p meee...”?

Rick Johnson

5 Years Ago

Uncle Walt Loves Rock *N’ Roll?

The Runaways were ejected from Disneyland recently for —hmmm—“alleged homosexual behavior.” Seems the girls were getting too chummy with each other for the cameras... Said a Mercury Records source: “Cherie probably grabbed somebody’s ass...”