Slumgullion #27

The Hollies in celebratory mood.

A Year Already? Today marks the first anniversary of my doing this blog. I’d like to thank my wife Pam for setting it up, and offering all sorts of tech advice. Also, thanks to John and Steve at the Illinois Entertainer for being cool with me posting reviews that originally ran in their magazine.

Although Broken Hearted Toy takes its name from the Hollies song “I Can’t Let Go,” and is dedicated to promoting power pop, 1960s music, and cutting edge rock, I’ve also strayed into comedy, theater, and pop culture memorabilia. It’s been a challenge finding things to write about, but it’s also been fun.

A special thanks goes out to my followers, as well as the people who have taken the time to comment, or post a link to BHT on their Facebook pages. Thanks in particular to Herb Eimerman, Dag Juhlin, Julie Blore-Bizot, Frank Carr, The Braam brothers, Mike Galassini & Marianne Shimkus, Brad Elvis & Chloe F. Orwell, Rick Hromadka, Steve Gerlach, Todd Wright, Christopher Bevard, Mike Burns, Miranda Lange, Matt Carlson, Dan Pavelich, Clay Eals, Kevin Cornell, Charlie from Blane Fonda, George Hall, Jeff Charreaux, Karen Brown, Terri Hemmert, Lin Brehmer, Kristin Kay, and Allen Marten. I sincerely apologize if I’ve missed anyone.

I’ve been happy to review CDs I’ve received from The Valley Downs, The Bradburys, The Greenwoods, The Britannicas, Maple Mars, WhiteWolfSonicPrincess, Aaron Fox & The Reliables, Matt Dodge & The Lobsters, Kevin Lee, Magatha Trysty, and Welcome To Ashley. (I’m hoping to post my review of Braam’s Living Room here Monday.)

And so, grab your champagne, and join me for another batch of Slumgullion:

Inducted, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! Congratulations to WXRT daytime radio personality and Breakfast With The Beatles host Terri Hemmert on being inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. I’ve been listening to Hemmert for over three decades, and once had the pleasure of interviewing her at the station’s old digs on Belmont Avenue. In addition to her regular on air duties at XRT, Hemmert will once again serve as MC at this year’s Fest For Beatles Fans at the Hyatt Regency next weekend, August 13th -15th.

Doing Del Well. Members of the international power pop trio The Britannicas are posting an audio link on Facebook to their latest song, “I Got You.” It’s a cover of a Del Shannon tune, and will appear on an upcoming Del Shannon tribute CD. Britannicas guitarist-vocalist Herb Eimerman says his band was honored to be asked to participate. The Britannicas’ version of “I Got You” has more of a jangling British Invasion (or maybe The Byrds) sound than the original, although I could also go with Eimerman’s comparison to The Traveling Wilburys.

I’m Gonna Wait ‘Til The Midnight Hour. WXRT will be broadcasting the Lollapalooza AfterShow concert by Phoenix this Sunday, at midnight. The band will be performing its entire Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix CD. Phoenix fans who don’t live in the Chicago area, can stream the concert at 93XRT.com

Going Down To London. It’s not Liverpool, but The Bangles will be performing in London this October. The band will also be making a stop in Dublin, Ireland, along with a series of dates in Australia. Come back to Chicago, please.

Now Don’t That Make You Feel Like You Better Not Pout? B-52’s founding member Fred Schneider has formed a side project called The Superions, who’ll be releasing a holiday CD on Fanatic Records on October 26th. Destination . . . Christmas! features synth dance tracks like “Santa’s Disco,” “Teddy and Betty Yetti,” and “Crummy Christmas Tree,” that have a similar ring to the B-52’s. According to the press release, “the album is destined to become a holiday classic for tuneful toddlers, snarky teens, and cool Moms and Dads everywhere.”

These Lobsters Rock Too. Matt Dodge & The Lobsters have filmed their first video. It’s for “My Life,” one of the more commercially viable songs from their Lobsters debut CD. The funny and well-made clip mixes live action and animation, along with some scenes of the lads at work in the recording studio.

That’s A Buck A Band. Tomorrow The Moon, which features guitarist Steve Gerlach from The Bad Examples, will be performing with Milk @ Midnight and Berserker Theory on August 19th at The Darkroom on Chicago Avenue. The show starts at 8:30 PM, and the admission is a mere $3.

Long Live Vanessa Kensington. Rolling Stone recently speculated that Weezer’s upcoming Hurley CD might be named after the character on Lost. Considering the album is said to have a decidedly 1960s pop feel, it would make more sense to honor Elizabeth Hurley, who starred as the very Emma Peel like Ms. Kensington in first (and best) Austin Powers flick. Hurley (the CD) is due on in stores September 14th.

You’ve Got The Way To Move Me, Cherry. Mary-Arrchie Theatre has had such a successful run with its production of Kirk Lynn’s Cherrywood, it’s adding seven more performances. The play is directed by David Cromer and has been doing well with critics, as well as at the box office.

Famous In The Forest. In more Mary-Arrchie related news, Black Forest Theatre has announced they will be performing a new piece titled The Dog Star Rages at this year’s Abbie Fest at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre. James Moeller, who founded BF with his amour Carla Hayden, describes the piece as “scattershot and schizophrenic” on his JimmyDumps/SunnyJimmy blog. He also states that it’s “very much of the moment” and “kind of reflects the world.” Show time is 5:00 PM. Two hours later, my former comedy group, Famous In The Future will be performing an all-new, scripted comedy revue at the Abbie Fest. I’m still not seeing a title for the FIF show, but then the group was always a little slow in coming up with revue names.