Troubadour Book Report/ Part 3

This is it. What we've been waiting for ... Jake Flack's book report. (and don't forget all that summer reading the kids have to do- I hate to say it, but school is actually looming on that August horizon)
Jake is reading baseball legend, Roberto Clemente's biography by David Maraniss. ( I had to look that up because I thought it had something to do with Nixon) I should have known better coming from the guy who wrote "Big Train" and "Earl Weaver. He says it's good.

One Troubadour's Better Than None

For those of you in Troubadour withdrawal, you at least can catch two of Mark Noone's other personalities this weekend. See alter ego number 1 when The Hula Monsters play Lubber Run Park in Arlington, VA, Saturday evening from 8 until 9:30. (free)
(Come on out, buy a Hawaiian shirt, and get down and luau.)

Mark will also be singing Slickee Boys' style with The Beatnik Flies backing him up at the big (make that humongous) dc space reunion at the 9:30 club on Sunday. This event will not only make history, but will also benefit a very cool cat, Tom Terrell, who is fighting cancer for his life. Twenty buck donation to get in; doors open at 4 p.m., and the performances go on until 1 a.m.
A lot of bang for that donated buck. See DC ROCKS for more details.

(Mark and The Flies are scheduled at 8:45.)

dc space is the place again

Catch Mark Noone if you can...this Sunday July 29th.

( click on flyer to read... more info. at DC ROCKS)

Got music?

While we're waiting for Jake's book list and for the new Troubadours' CD to come out- check your Homeland Security Survival kits. Do you have enough copies of their last CD- On The Red Line? One as a spare? One for a last minute gift?
And don't forget the RTTS' Kids CD- "Turn It up, Mommy" which could save the new generation from The Wiggles. (Not to mention, the parental units will dig the music as much as or more than the offspring)

See the links in the right column here-under "Dig This" and stock up now.

Don't get caught with your pants down- even if it is July.

Summer Reading List

The Troubadours are truly a literate band- which is not surprising really since they are all smart, and all song writers in their own rite.

Jack O' Dell tackles the New York Times Book Review every day, and these days, if he has time left over, he's reading Nick Hornby's latest- A LONG WAY DOWN.

Mark Noone is cursing his way through psychology and biology textbooks. His book club is reading ULYSSES by James Joyce. ( I told you they were kinda smart)

Jake? He's out of town, but check in next week for his list.

( ok it's a slow news cycle)

Don't Make Me Go In There

Due to summer scheduling conflicts, Mark Noone found himself going to the Hit and Run studio alone last night...late last night, down a dark road somewhere beyond Rockville.
He was getting ready to lay down the bass tracks to a new Troubadour's song when... out of the shadows... stepped a Man in Black.

Hello, he said, My name is ...

Just then the power went out, EVERYTHING went black, and the last thing Mark remembers is a voice saying over and over "What deaf dumb and blind kid??"

Need less to say, the CD is progressing, but slowly.

(photo from suzysputnic @ flickr)

Summertime

This week The Troubadours are off (or ON, depending on how you look at it) pursuing summer time activities. Jake and family are off to New England to visit his mom. Jack's crew is flying to the Left Coast to attend a family wedding, and Mark Noone, since he doesn't have his own, has adopted several kids and is turning them into a rock band. ( No ONE gets out alive...)

It Was A Hoot

The Quarry House rocked last night, especially when a band of wild women came in to celebrate Jake's wife, Anne's birthday. The Dollar Jar stumped the band with "Dark Side of the Moon, but Neil Diamond somehow made it. (about 75 cents' worth anyway) And of course, The Beatles' Birthday Song.



(This birthday thing seems to be an ongoing theme for these shows-next month it'll be Jake)



Two Beatnik Flies were spotted lurking in the crowd, making that a quorum.



Look for a rare incarnation of The Flies and Mark Noone later this month at the 9:30 Club's D.C. Space reunion. They'll be making local rock history.

(And if you weren't there last night, you heard it hear first.)

Rare Wild Life

Catch The Troubadours live tonight at The Quarry House in Silver Spring. This month their public appearances are as rare as that weird woodpecker they thought was extinct so get there if you can. Bring a net. Bring your dancing shoes. Bring your dollars and your requests for any song. (If they've heard it; they can fake it.)
The commotion starts rolling around 9 pm.
Don't miss it.

TROUBADOURS - Live Tomorrow NIGHT

The Troubadours are back at the Quarry House in Silver Spring tomorrow night, and if you haven''t checked out this scene yet, well, now's the time. Of course it depends on whether you favor American Idol and the chain type pubs that seem to be everywhere (and boy, the Irish seem to have gotten cornered on that market) or a good old fashioned hole in the wall owned by somebody who serves a dang amazing variety of beers.

And what other band will play a buck's worth of any song on the planet???

Jake's Story

Jake Flack and Mark Noone go way back on the DC scene, and for anyone without the will to get out to Fort Reno tonight to see the new young up and coming rockers- sit back in your computer rocking chair and read on a page from DC's music history by Mr. Jake Flack:

This Wednesday is July 11. It was on July 11, 1985 that my band the Neptunes opened for the Slickee Boys at Fort Reno. At that time the Slickees were the kings of DC. They were on Q107 and MTV. They had the coolest clothes and the wildest, most fun live show. Fort Reno was the epicenter of the DC music scene and it was the only place that underage kids like me could see all the bands that we were listening to on vinyl and hearing on WHFS. I saw everyone there: Danny Gatton, Black Market Baby, the Insect Surfers, Razz, the Night Hawks, Tommy Keene, 4 out of 5 Doctors, The Golden Bats, The Diversions, the Teen Idles, The Beatnik Flies, The Nurses, Tex Rubiniwitz, All Points Bulletin, Evan Johns and the H-Bombs and more. The Slickees' annual Fort Reno appearance was always the far biggest crowd of the year. When our "manager" Sean Mencher, who also booked Fort Reno, told us we had the opening slot, he might as well have told us that we were opening for the Rolling Stones. I'm sure we didn't sound very good, but we put the "s" in showbiz jumping off the bass drum, diving in the piano, and rolling around the stage on our backs. I remember throwing my Tele across the stage after the last song for the big feedback effect. It was a thrilling night for a bunch of 17 year olds. And I sure wouldn't have predicted that I'd be playing "When I Go to the Beach" in a band with Mark Noone 22 years later.

Troubadours Go Technorati

Technorati Profile

Troubadours in July...

Mark your calenders- The Troubadours will be at The Quarry House one week from today...
which may be one of the few gigs in July!

From THe TROUBADOURS:

HAve A HAppy Fourth Y'All !!!!!!!

Long Lost Troubadour?

In a bizarre twist of fate, the long lost first guitar player once removed of The Troubadours was found off shore in St Michael's, Maryland this past weekend-commandeering a boat, claiming to have floated all the way from New Orleans. Undisclosed sources do confirm he has been operating a bar there called The Kingpin. He was not sure he remembered Jake or Mark, and may have a whopping case of amnesia.

Guitar therapy seems to be working.

Saturday Night Gig

It was a beautiful evening in Lansdowne, Virginia, and lots of happy campers came out to see The Troubadours. They always have a great time playing Lansdowne because the crowd loves 'em, and they get treated well. No one flogs the band, or makes them kiss anybody's feet.

And thanks to Virgil for taking pictures and making the show run smoothly.