The Wounded opened the Show
Lyn Todd with The Aces and Eights were quite amazing
Paul Blaccard w/ Lyn Todd
The Victims - "I wanna Fu*K Annette"!
Corpse Grinders do "Frozen Alive" for the last time...
John Jarrett w/ Jack Butler
Sonny Vincent and Billy The Kid
Performing "Surfing Motherfucker"
Lyn Todd and daughter . Who do you think has more ink?
Punklegends pay tribute to a man responsible for the very essence of Punk Rock.... Arthur Kane
If it wasn't for Arthur Kane and Rick Rivets I probably wouldn't be writing this, or maybe this website wouldn't exist. It has always been odd to me that the very people who started the New York Dolls, a band that has been said to influence many glam and punk bands worldwide, got so little in return. Having played as the drummer in the Corpse Grinders I witnessed once again how the odd horror make up of the band, raw meat throwing, and band logo tatooed on both Rick and Arthur's arm oddly showed up years later as a Marilyn Mason logo and stage antics, which many new so called poser punks now seem to be "influenced" by. Enough said. Heres my take on the tribute show.
I arrived in NYC from Florida Thursday afternoon and I booked an hour warm up at NYC's Ultra Sound and then did a rehearsal with my old band the Corpse Grinders. Friday night was the Johnny Ramone Tribute at club Spirit. I met my long time friend Donna Gaines at the door and Arturo Vega gave us both a VIP pass. Thanks Arturo! Members of Blondie, The Strokes, Joan Jett, Josh from Queens of the Stone Age, CJ Ramone, Rob Zombie, Collider, Sonic Youth were in the VIP and playing that evening.. Bob Gruen, Lee Black Childers, Joey Ramone's mother Charlotte, and brother Mickey were there as well.
It was nice to sit and chat with Mickey. However, what really made my evening was running into Sonny Vincent. Sonny took a detour off of his USA tour to do the Arthur Kane Tribute show. That alone got me excited about the show.
The Wounded opened the tribute show. A very good power trio. Followed by Lyn Todd and the Aces and Eights. Lyn's band came up from North Carolina and we're talking a full band. Thanks Lyn! The Victims, what can I say.. they will always be pros. What a band, what a show. Amazing for guys that just got together after 20 plus years. Please guys, stay together and make some music again. The Corpse Grinders shocked me! I honestly didn't expect them to be that tight. It was great doing a few songs with my old friends Rick and StuBoy. The Jack Butler band with guest singer John Jarrett was also a great treat. John's voice still kicks ass! One tight band. Jack gave it his all and worked up one hell of a sweat. Sonny Vincent with bassist Billy the Kid and drummer Roy Morgan from the Lazy Cowgirls ripped through an amazing fast paced set. Sonny told the audience that he was short one band member, ( "one less asshole" ) as he put it. Honestly I don't know why he even bothers with any other guitarists. After his set I was mentally beaten to a pulp.
Billy the Kid says "Hello New York"!
The Thunderhearts closed off the show. They covered some Thunders / Dolls stuff and really were gracious for waiting so long to play. Also I would like to thank their bassist for lending Billy the Kid a bass due to him breaking a string.
New York's Thunder Hearts
Testors Jeff West & Sonny Vincent w/ Paul Blaccard & Rick Rivets
Blondie's Clem Burke and Paul Blaccard discuss drum rudiments
The evening also featured home movies of Arthur Kane with StuBoy and Rick Rivets. People were also interviewed for a movie being made about Arthur. I appeciated seeing Clem Burke at the show and the many others who attended. A special thanks to Stuboy Wylder for putting this thing all together, and Trigger for letting the Continental be the foundation for this event.
Paul Blaccard