|
It’s All Happening TodayTommy Keene25 November 2017 |
Tommy Keene
Tommy Keene’s debut album, Strange Alliance, hung on the wall behind the cash register at Yesterday & Today and tempted me for years. Every time I checked out I would recalculate and reconsider whether I should put a few selections back, bite the bullet and buy it. I never did. I bought Tommy’s EP’s: Places That are Gone, Back Again (Try…), and Run Now instead. One time we got Ted Nicely, the bass player from Tommy’s band, to take the record down off the wall so we could examine it closer, but as soon as store owner Skip Groff realized we were just window shopping, the album was back on the wall in its place of honor in the blink of an eye.
I lost my nerve, and then I lost my chance when Yesterday & Today closed. I owned everything else Tommy had released to date so I don’t know why I never bought that copy of Strange Alliance. I suspect it had a pretty imposing price tag for a guy who was probably already spending too much money a week on vinyl.
I lost my nerve, and then I lost my chance when Yesterday & Today closed. I owned everything else Tommy had released to date so I don’t know why I never bought that copy of Strange Alliance. I suspect it had a pretty imposing price tag for a guy who was probably already spending too much money a week on vinyl.
Doug Tull
That’s more or less the story I told Doug Tull after I finished filming him for his BandHouse Gigs 10th Anniversary promo. Doug was the drummer on Tommy’s first two albums and early EP’s.
“You want a copy of Strange Alliance?” Doug chuckled as he lead me down the steps to his musty basement.
“I’ve always wanted a copy of Strange Alliance,” I said.
“I think I might be able to help you out,” he said pulling out a cardboard box full of copies still covered in shrink-wrap.
“Holy shit,” I said taking the record from Doug. “This is one of my musical holy grails.”
“I hope it lives up to your expectations,” he said laughing as he slid the box back onto a dark shelf. I wonder if Skip knows about that box.
“You want a copy of Strange Alliance?” Doug chuckled as he lead me down the steps to his musty basement.
“I’ve always wanted a copy of Strange Alliance,” I said.
“I think I might be able to help you out,” he said pulling out a cardboard box full of copies still covered in shrink-wrap.
“Holy shit,” I said taking the record from Doug. “This is one of my musical holy grails.”
“I hope it lives up to your expectations,” he said laughing as he slid the box back onto a dark shelf. I wonder if Skip knows about that box.
Thirty-two years after its release I finally dropped a needle on Strange Alliance and I was not disappointed. The album isn’t a masterpiece. There are no obvious hits, and the sound is a little dated. Nevertheless, it is a sound I love because it’s a sound I associate with AU film school; weekly record safaris; living in the apartment at Connecticut and Nebraska; mix tapes and record crates; the club at 9th and F; and crowded parties in dark group houses and downtown apartments. It’s the sound of choppy-chiming guitars, melodic synthesizers, and a driving dance floor-ready beat. It’s the sound of a 24-year old voice searching for its rock n’ roll identity. It’s the resounding hint of genius yet to come. The Happy Medium Song of the Day from one of the most elusive (and apparently valuable) albums in my record collection, is “It’s All Happening Today.”
(Please use the comments box to share your thoughts.)
(Please use the comments box to share your thoughts.)
Tommy Keene
1958-2017
R.I.P.
1958-2017
R.I.P.
|
|
|