Before the successful BRIGHT LIGHTS! Syracuse New Wave Rock 'n' Roll Reunion that Dana and I hosted this past July, we hosted a previous (also successful) BRIGHT LIGHTS! yadda yadda show in 2014 at Syracuse's legendary Lost Horizon. That show was recorded for a proposed DVD release, though I don't know if that project will ever come to pass. But, in the mean time, here is our original press release for the event, as well as the letter we sent to all of the participating acts:
PRESS RELEASE:
BRIGHT LIGHTS! A Syracuse
New Wave Rock 'n' Roll Reunion
Saturday,July 19th, 2014 at The Lost
Horizon in Syracuse, NY
Alternative music had to start
somewhere. Most would agree alternative started in the '70s, with
the punk rock sounds of bands like The Ramones, and the grungy spirit of iconic
clubs like New York City's legendary CBGB's. But Syracuse also had
its own vibrant punk/new wave scene in the late '70s and early '80s, when great
local indie rockers like THE FLASHCUBES, THE TREND, THE MOST, THE PENETRATORS,
THE DEAD DUCKS BAND, SCREEN TEST, 1.4.5., PORCELAIN FOREHEAD, DISTORTION, THE
MIAMIS, and THE ANTICS were among the many DIY acts making noise at local
nightspots like The Brookside, The Jab,The Firebarn, The Insomniac, The Slide,
and The Lost Horizon.
Most of those clubs are long gone
now, but THE LOST HORIZON still stands, and it remains the closest thing to a
CBGB's that Syracuse has ever had. In the early '80s, The Lost
Horizon hosted a popular weekly new wave showcase called "Bright Lights,
Monday Nights," featuring both Screen Test and 1.4.5. with
a different guest band each week. And on Saturday, July
19th, the acts who created Syracuse's original alternative scene will return to
the LOST for one big multi-band show: BRIGHT LIGHTS! A
SYRACUSE NEW WAVE ROCK 'N' ROLL REUNION.
Headlining the show will be
Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse THE FLASHCUBES, making their first club
appearance since being inducted into the Syracuse Music Hall of Fame this past
March. The Flashcubes will be joined on this bill by THE
TREND, THE MOST, SCREEN TEST, 1.4.5., THE DEAD DUCKS BAND, PORCELAIN FOREHEAD,
THE MIAMIS, and DISTORTION, each of whom is reuniting for this show; former
Penetrators lead singer Jack Lipton will perform with his current group, THE
JACK PENETRATOR BAND, while Antics bassist MAURA KENNEDY will pay a unique
tribute to Syracuse new wave with MAURA & THE BRIGHT LIGHTS.
BRIGHT LIGHTS! celebrates an
incredible period in local music history. Over the last 30 years,
Syracuse's late '70s/early '80s new wave scene has gained an international
mystique; collectors from all over
the world pay top dollar for vintage 'Cuse vinyl, and records by The
Flashcubes, Screen Test, 1.4.5., The Trend, and The Penetrators have been
reissued in America, Japan, and Italy. MAURA KENNEDY, that little teenaged
punk bassist for The Antics, is now one-half (with husband Pete Kennedy) of the
world-renowned folk-pop duo THE KENNEDYS, and she's coming to The Lost Horizon
fresh off a UK tour. PORCELAIN FOREHEAD lead singer
"Porcelana" is really singer and actress KAREN OBERLIN, now one of
the leading cabaret singers in New York City, and she'll return to her new wave
roots for one night only at BRIGHT LIGHTS! (And she'll be joined by her husband, author DAVID HAJDU, on
guitar.)
But the most poignant tale of BRIGHT
LIGHTS! is the story of THE TREND. The Trend was one of the most
beloved acts in the early '80s Syracuse new wave scene, a teen trio high on The
Ramones and The Who, blistering through high-octane sets of originals and
covers,winning eager fans with an irresistibly basic barrage of drums and two
guitars.The Trend released one 45 (now a high-priced collectible) and one
album, and even eventually added a bass player without diluting its no-frills
rush. But it all ended in 1985, when lead singer J. Marc Patenaude was killed
in a car accident at the age of 21. The Trend stopped on that day, and the
surviving members have not played together since then. For BRIGHT
LIGHTS!, the surviving members of The Trend will reunite for the first time in
nearly 30 years, with J. Marc's 16-year-old niece CHLOE ROACH singing
lead. Consider this a single-finger salute to the passage of time
and the cruel whims of fate, and consider it catharsis you can dance
to. The brightest lights never fade.
**
WHAT: BRIGHT
LIGHTS! A SYRACUSE NEW WAVE ROCK 'N' ROLL REUNION
WHO: THE FLASHCUBES, THE
TREND, MAURA & THE BRIGHT LIGHTS [with MAURA KENNEDY], PORCELAIN
FOREHEAD [with KAREN OBERLIN and DAVID HAJDU), DICK HUMMER, THE MOST, THE DEAD
DUCKS BAND, SCREEN TEST, 1.4.5., THE JACK PENETRATOR BAND, THE
MIAMIS, and DISTORTION. Your hosts are DANA & CARL.
WHEN ’n’ WHERE: Saturday,
July 19th from 8 pm to 1am (doors open at 7:00 pm), at Syracuse’s
legendary home for rock 'n' roll, THE LOST HORIZON.
$10 admission, all-ages show,
tickets available now
And here's the letter we sent to the bands:
Here's
a quick list of dos, don'ts, and sundry WTFs for the BRIGHT LIGHTS! gig.
1. Due to the number of bands involved,
there is NO guest list at all. The
bands get in, but everyone else will need to pony up the ten bucks
apiece. No one’s doing this
for the money, but we do hope to generate enough ticket sales to be able to pay
out…something. We'll try to figure out a fair share for everyone involved.
2. There WILL be a merch table. BRING STUFF TO SELL! Captive audience! Big reunion! The more they drink, the better we
sound! Or something.
3. 12 bands. INCREDIBLY tight time schedule. This whole thing depends on each band
getting on and off within its allotted time. The back line should make for easier,
quicker transitions. Scott Dixon of the
Lost Horizon will be managing this part of the production, so that things will
move smoothly. You will be in VERY competent, experienced hands. I
wish we had time for everyone to play longer, but that’s just not the way this
type of show is set up.
4. The parking situation at the Lost is
very challenging. Load-In
is at 5:00; there is a limited amount of parking at the hair supply place just
up the hill (the old 7-11, as anyone on this bill would likely remember). Warn your family, friends, and fans
NOT to park in the old Mobil lot; the owner is…what's a nicer term for rat
bastard? He probably likes
Pablo Cruise, and hates The Ramones. Prick. Parking should be available at
the Asian grocery and at the former Outback restaurant (on Erie Blvd).
5. Logistics forbid much in the way of a
sound check. Shared back
line, plus the magic powers of The Lost Horizon will make it all right.
6. Oh yeah: shared back line! We got yer drums and those big
cabinets that make big noise. There
will be no opportunity to move any of this equipment around during the show, so
everyone will have to plop their bass player in the same spot on stage.
7. If you need a rehearsal space the day
of the show, you may be in luck. Jeff Moleski of Moletrax Studio has offered
space for bands who need it that day. You can reach Jeff at 315-383-7372 to reserve your time. Space is being booked NOW, so get in
touch with Jeff ASAP.
8. This
is gonna be great, great fun for everyone. We want you to have fun,
but we expect you to put on a great show, too. No one expects you to
be The Beatles, nor even The Bay City Rollers, but we do ask that you take
it…okay, taking it seriously may be too much to ask. But c'mon--try
to put on the kind of great rock 'n' roll show we all used to enjoy in the
original Bright Lights era. You’re on the bill because we believe you're
gonna do just that.
9. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, we are NOT
professional promoters and we are trying to stage a show that would normally
require plenty of cash up front to buy ads on radio and in newspapers, to
insure that we get a crowd. Well, we don’t have that. But what we DO have, is
YOU, and all your bandmates, friends and family. In this age of social media,
we have tools to spread the word that we NEVER had before. So we are
asking you to USE THEM. Post the event on Facebook and any other social media
site you use and encourage everyone to SHARE! Many of you are coming a long way
to do this, so let’s make sure that we pack the place and not waste this
precious opportunity.
More
questions? Questions are
good! Answers are
hard! But fire away
nonetheless. I think
there's a fair shot we just might pull this whole thing off.
BRIGHT
LIGHTS! is Saturday, July 19th at The Lost Horizon. Doors at 7:00, live music at 8:00. $10 admission, All-Ages show.
Although I wrote the first and final drafts of all of the above, it was compiled with the help of the rest of the BRIGHT LIGHTS! brain trust, including Dana Bonn and Paul Armstrong, and most especially Gary Frenay.
My notes indicate that this was the final draft of our press release. We had previously planned to have Jeff Moleski's band Amerikan Primitive close the show, but they had to bow out. Local legend Dick Hummer (formerly of Machine And Hummer) was scheduled to join Porcelain Forehead, but a family emergency forced Dick to cancel. There were also complications with The Jack Lipton Band, but Jack himself was able to join 1.4.5. for a couple of songs.
The press release was sufficient to warrant an invitation for Gary, Dana, and I to appear on Channel 9's Bridge Street TV show. That was a lot of fun, but not as much fun as the BRIGHT LIGHTS! shows themselves.
Will there be a third edition of these BRIGHT LIGHTS! reunions? Only time will tell....
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