In America, social class is the elephant in the room that nobody says exists, but it’s hard to ignore in Baltimore, whose blue collar charms have been given national exposure via the films of Barry Levinson and John Waters. This excerpt from Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker’s award-winning documentary People Like Us: Social Class In America presents two Charm City hallmarks – big hair (we are, after all, “The Hairdo Capital of the World” according to John Waters) and “dive” bars – and asks whether Baltimore’s eccentricities are being celebrated or mocked for kitsch value.

First we see Kelly Conway (pictured above) don her bio-dome sized wig as she heads off to MC the annual Hon Festival in Hampden. Kelly, a real “hon” (back before they became a registered trademark), was one of the first Honfest Hon winners (she even baked cannoli to seal the deal!) and has long been a local media fixture, appearing on television (THE CORNER, ATOMIC TV and WJZ-TV’s “SOAPDISH”), as well as in films by Todd Rohal, Josh Slates and John Waters’ PECKER and A DIRTY SHAME.  Then we see slumming Yuppies amuse themselves on a neighborhood “dive bar crawl” through East Baltimore. (2001, 8 minutes)

Watch “Friends in Low Places“:

“(Mad) Man About (Gentrified) Town” Tom Warner adds a “yeah” and a “right” to the intense sociological debate about class in America.

http://www.markharp.com

Mark Linthicum (aka “Mark Harp” or “Harpo”) was born on October 13, in 1947 and passed away Christmas Eve of 2004 at age 47. This is one of the last remaining clips of him playing with The Tralalas at the 2004 Hampden HonFest. His music remains timeless. R.I.P. Harpo!

Thrill to the sights of Frieda Pushnik, Living Armless and Legless Girl; Bohemian Glass-Blowers; Mo-Lay, Master of Manipulation; Johann Petersson, Tallest Man on Earth from Finland; Long-Haired Beauty Hannah Kelter; Skeets Hubbard, The Human Pin Cushion; and Puppeteer Sid Krofft. Click to enlarge.

The opening number for Sid Krofft’s one-man touring puppet show, “The Unusual Artistry of Sid Krofft,” in 1948.

Jockey Club hopes Preakness 2011 will ‘Be Legendary’

By Matt Vensel (The Baltimore Sun, 3/29/2011)

A year after the Maryland Jockey Club encouraged Baltimore to get its “Preak” on with a feather-ruffling advertising campaign for last year’s Preakness party, event organizers are turning to a spokes-centaur named “Kegasus” to generate interest in the 2011 Preakness InfieldFest, which is May 21 at Pimlico Race Course.

The Maryland Jockey Club announced today in a press release the launch of this year’s InfieldFest campaign, “The Legend of Kegasus,” which centers on a mythical creature that is half-horse and half-man — and a full-on “party manimal,” according to the release. Kegasus will be the voice of the campaign in all advertisements for television, radio and on the Internet, including YouTube and Twitter (www.twitter.com/allhailkegasus).

“In order to reach our highly targeted younger demographic, we have realized we need to go where they go and do what they do,” MJC president Tom Chuckas said in the release. “By launching a robust social media presence and appearing at downtown bars, Kegasus will have the opportunity to interact directly with his fans and get them excited about this year’s InfieldFest.”

Because nothing gets horse racing fans and party-goers excited like a shirtless guy in half of a horse costume.

Continue reading “Jockey Club hopes Preakness 2011 will ‘Be Legendary’” at The Baltimore Sun.

Putting A New, Strange Face On Preakness
The choice of ‘Kegasus,’ a partying centaur, as the mascot for the race raises eyebrows — and questions

By Jill Rosen (The Baltimore Sun, 3/29/2011)

Half-man, half-horse and altogether drunk, the Preakness’ newest pitchman, introduced Tuesday, is a “party manimal” with one job: reassuring young people that this year’s infield festivities will indeed be rowdy, raunchy and booze-soaked.

Kegasus, a centaur with a nipple ring, body hair and ample beer gut, is the centerpiece of the new ad campaign for Maryland’s leg of the Triple Crown. Starting this week, he’ll be spreading his hard-partying message on television, radio and social media outlets that cater to the 21- to 40-year-olds the race hopes to reach.

Only hours old, the campaign was already garnering criticism Tuesday for being tasteless and encouraging binge drinking. Jason Loviglio, director of media and communications studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, declared it “awful,” “depressing” and “sad,” but also predicted it would be quite effective.

“If the goal is to let them know they will be able to drink to excess, it does communicate that,” he said. “If there’s confusion about whether they’ll be able to pursue sunstroke and alcohol poisoning, seeing this, it’s clear indication that yes, they will.”

Continue reading “Putting A New, Strange Face On Preakness’” at The Baltimore Sun.

Kegasus Press Release

MARYLAND JOCKEY CLUB LAUNCHES 2011 INFIELDFEST ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
MJC urges fans to “Be Legendary” at Preakness InfieldFest

Baltimore, MD (Tuesday, March 29, 2011) —The Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) today launched the 2011 Preakness InfieldFest campaign, “The Legend of Kegasus”. Kegasus is the Lord of the InfieldFest and a modern twist on a mythical centaur. Serving as the voice and personality for all advertisements, Kegasus can be found in all of the campaign’s components to include television, radio, out-of-home and web.

“We are excited to be launching this campaign and look forward to watching this image grow throughout the course of its eight-week run,” Tom Chuckas, Maryland Jockey Club president said. “Kegasus speaks directly to our InfieldFest demographic with his no-nonsense personality and total embodiment of a good time.”

The 136th running of the $1 million Preakness® Stakes (Grade I), the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, is May 21 at Pimlico Race Course.

The InfieldFest party at The Preakness Stakes is legendary and continues to grow. The Maryland Jockey Club aims to spark added interest by empowering a legendary centaur – half horse, half man – as the campaign’s spokesperson. The humorous nature of the advertisements and their inclusive message are just two of the many added bonuses.

The MJC also anticipates this party “manimal” to come to life outside of traditional media. Kegasus will be appearing at various grassroots events around Baltimore leading up to the Preakness. He will be making his in-person debut at pregame festivities for the Baltimore Orioles home opener on Monday, April 4. He will also be posting web videos to his own YouTube channel, and yes, Kegasus even tweets.

“In order to reach our highly targeted younger demographic, we have realized we need to go where they go and do what they do,” Chuckas added. “By launching a robust social media presence and appearing at downtown bars, Kegasus will have the opportunity to interact directly with his fans and get them excited about this year’s InfieldFest – the premier celebration in the Mid-Atlantic region.”

Earlier this month it was announced that Grammy Award Winning artists Bruno Mars and Train were to headline the InfieldFest concert, with Phil Vassar, Puddle of Mudd and local favorites Mr. Greengenes on the Jägermeister stage. The popular MUG Club returns, offering fans a bottomless mug all day long for one all-inclusive price.

For the second consecutive year, the MJC has tapped Elevation, Ltd. to develop and execute its InfieldFest advertising campaign. “We are honored to once again work hand-in-hand with the Maryland Jockey Club to create a campaign that galvanizes our target audience and brings excitement to this legendary event,” Jim Learned, president of Elevation said.

Preakness Infield Fest Bikini Girls

Saturday, July 30 2011 @ Fraziers on the Avenue
919 W. 36th Street, Baltimore, MD. (410) 662-4914
fraziersonthe avenue.com

The inaugural 2011 Natty Boh Film Festival was held this past Saturday night at Fraziers on The Avenue in Hampden and featured 16mm prints of vintage Natty Boh commercials (courtesy of Sam Fitzsimmons) – not to mention some Natty Boh DVD rarities from Atomic TV and the excellent documentary Mr. Boh’s Brewery by Alex Castro, Harry Connelly and Lyle Hein – as well as live music about Natty Boh (and other quality-of-life essentials in the Land of Pleasant Living) by The Motor Morons, TT Tucker, The Beatoes (a special reunion for the former Baltimore eccentrics whose leader Chris Dennstaedt now resides up I-95 in Philadelphia), Mongolodian Glow, and some related songs by guest artists (at least I suppose so – I wasn’t able to hang around for the full night’s festivities because my girlfriend Amy had to get up at 5 in the morning for work!).

Although many troubadours took the stage on this night, I didn’t hear anybody sing my favorite vintage jingle, the one once belted out in a Boh ad by a cartoon Lord Baltimore: “National Beer, National Beer, you’ll like the taste of National beer.” Though most people associate National Bohemian with the one-eyed Mr. Boh, there was a whole cast of characters in the Land of Pleasant Living and they were all given a shout-out in this song: “There’s Chincoteague oysters and crabs and clams, and fried chicken and Virginia hams, and while we’re singing, we’re proud to say, it’s brewed on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.”

Likewise there was quite a cast of local characters on hand for the evening’s festivities because in the Land of Pleasant Living and National Beer, “good things happen when you put the two together.” I spotted Skizz Cyzyk, Bob Wagner, Teresa Dugan, Liz Abeth, John Ellsberry and even Ellsberry’s erstwhile Dork Brothers (and former City Paper and New York Press art director) pal Michael Gentile, who was back in town from NYC for the occasion.

DORK BROS: John Ellsberry and Michael Gentile

But before the films came the tunes…

Down the Beatoe Path: Chris D. Returns to Charm City

The Beatoes open their tab at the Natty Boh Film Festival

First up were The Beatoes, featuring Chris Dennstaedt (Poverty & Spit) on guitar and vocals…

Chris Dennstaedt

…Charleigh Chadwick (The Livers, Pornflakes) on guitar…

Charleigh sez: “Love my Good ‘n’ Plenty!”

…Chris “Batworth” Ciattei (Go Pills, etc.) on drums and Mike Kiker (of Philly’s St. James and the Apostles) on bass.

I really liked Chris D.’s t-shirt that said “Big Man Music,” a reference to his dearly departed friend (and former Beatoe) Mark Harp (Mark “Harpo” Linthicum); my girlfriend Amy Linthicum (Mark Harp’s former wife) certainly got a “big” kick out of it as well!

Big Man musician Chris and little music lover Amy

It was the first of two shout-outs this night to The King of Peru (who passed away before his time in 2004), as Sam Fitzsimmons ended his Motor Morons set by crying out his name and holding up Mark’s guitar. It made sense on this night of remembrance of good things past, for Harp was every bit a part of Baltimore lore and legend as Mr. Boh (whose namesake libation is now brewed out of town by Pabst).

The Beatoes opened with “Beer Drinkin’ Woman,” an obvious homage to Mrs. Boh, aka “Natalie Boh” (doh! – if only Amy had remembered to wear her Natalie Boh t-shirt this night!).

Mrs. Boh: Beer Drinkin’ Woman

Watch the Beatoes play “Beer Drinkin’ Woman.”

Next up was “Polyester” and “12-Bar Blooze” and probably some other tunes I should know (but the sound mix at Fraziers was a little, how should I say, funky?).

Watch the Beatoes play “Polyester” and “12-Bar Blooze.”

Anyway, following are some Beatoes pix I took before running to the back bar for a Boh (oddly priced at $2.20 a can – obviously feeling the effect of the new city beverage tax hike). Oh, I also made a quick stop in the Men’s Room, where I had to agree with this thought-provoking graffiti:

OK, back to the Beatoes…

“Hey Charleigh, how do ya hold this stringy thing???”

“Like this???”

“How about like this???”

“I see…ya lift it upright like this!” Chris D. says as a disgusted Charleigh Chadwick turns his back on him

“I see – you sling this thing over your hips!”

“Got it! Under control now! Ready to rock!”

“I’m so happy to be here, I’m glowing!” Chris effuses.

“Is it just me, or did someone turn on the infra-red light? We really must be cooking tonight!”

On with the Boh Show

And now for a word from our sponsors…

After the Beatoes finished their set and broke down their gear, a big screen was set up and the film screening started. Although there were some technical difficulties with the 16mm films that came from Motor Morons bassist Sam Fitzsimmons‘ private collection (the projectors were provided by Hampden’s own audio-visual specialists, the Falkenhan’s Audio Visual Service over on 34th and Chestnut Avenue), everyone enjoyed the vintage National Bohemian commercials that were screened.

The Fraziers crowd is mesmerized by the Natty Boh films

“Hey, we’re turning black and white like these Natty Boh ads!” Skizz observes, while Amy quips “In that case, I hope Liz and I turn into animated dancing clam shells – though I’d be tempted to eat myself!”

As a backup, someone called former Senator Theatre owner (and current candidate for Baltimore City Council President) Tom Kiefaber to give a hand with the the screening, and Tom brought along a DVD of ads taken from the Atomic TV public access television show’s “Atomic Cocktail Hours” episode as well as from the Mr. Boh’s Brewery documentary – some of which I had never seen (like the French chef cartoon with Frenchy serving Mr Boh the “wet, cold and delicious” brew from the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, a Preakness Stakes Boh ad, and the dancing clamshells of Maryland’s capital, “Clamapolis”!).

I hope the Natty Boh documentary becomes available soon on DVD, because it promises to be chock-full of “extra feature” goodies like these vintage ads (the film transfers look beautiful!). Until then, this Atomic TV sampler will have to suffice:

Watch ATV’s “Classic Natty Boh TV Commercials.”

The Motor Morons

Next up were The Motor Morons – Jeff Bridges lookalike Sam Fitzsimmons on bass and vocals, “Wild Bill” Hagy lookalike Craig Stitchcombe (Judie’s Fixation) on the skins, TT Tucker (Tom DiVenti, whose Baltimoronic pedigree goes back to late ’70s punk rockers Da Moronics) on the guitar, Fred Collins on machines and vocals, Blade on vox and firestarter device (?) – who took to the stage in pitch darkness, all the better for the sparks to (literally) fly during their incendiary metallic K.O. set! Though the Morons have played just about every venue in Charm City over their long existence, I’ve most associated them with the annual SoWeBo Festival, where they’ve been absent the last several years; so it was good to see them back in a setting where their genius was once again fully appreciated.

Motor Morons make merry metallic music mayhem!

The Morons opened with “Another Girl.”

Watch Motor Morons play “All You Want Is Another Girl.”

I’m not as adept as Amy when it comes to discerning which Motor Moron song is which, but I’m pretty sure I heard “Urinal Cakes” and “No Brakes” in there, and probably “Big Truck.”

Watch Motor Morons make more music mayhem.

Following are some Motor Moron pix I took.

Unfortunately, the Morons set was the last tune-age we would hear for the evening, as Amy had to get up early the next morning. But I’m glad Amy was there to hear Sam Fitzsimmons bid adieu to former Motor Moron Mark Harp (circa 1998-2004), holding up Harpo’s 4-string guitar as he shouted “Mark Harp!”

Watch Motor Morons say goodnight @ Fraziers.

On the way out, we ran into Amy’s friend Robyn Webb, who was playing pool in the adjacent room. We exchanged chit-chat about spotted dick and mushy pees – er, peas – since we all love British pub food (though Amy and I didn’t discover spotted dick until we “spotted” it next to a packet of Asian “Cock Soup” in the Dundalk Giant’s International food isle).

A blurry Robyn Webb and Amy Linthicum say goodnight as my camera battery runs out

What a fun night! But I have a question for the folks at Fraziers: since former milltown Hampden is becoming increasingly upscale and well-heeled, can we expect a National Premium Film Festival anytime soon? It was the “classy” beer of choice in this town for many years. Expensive? Yes. Extravagant? No.

Related Links:
Natty Boh Film Festival set on Flickr
Natty Boh Documentary
“Boh & Utz: A Love Story” (Smythe ad)
Atomic TV’s “Classic Natty Boh Commercials”

What’s in a name? A lot of typos!

by Tom Warner (Accelerated Decrepitude)

We know how Edgar Allan Poe felt about being dissed: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (“The Cask of Amontillado”). No one insulted him (or at least his “Cask of Amontillado” stand-in narrator Montresor) with impunity. Which makes me wonder how he would feel about all the typos that occur when people misspell his middle name “Allan” as “Allen.”

I thought about this because I spotted a great Natty Poe mashup t-shirt at the Natty Boh Gear store (624 Thames Street, Baltimore, MD 21231) during this weekend’s frosty Fell’s Point Fun Festival. I was all set to get it when I realised that it said “Edgar Allen Boh.”

Broken Vowels
“Not to rain on your parade, but I have to point out a typo on your shirt,” I told the vendor. “It’s Edgar A-l-l-a-n, not A-l-l-e-n. Don’t feel bad, even Maryland Public Television gets it wrong,” I added, thinking back to the DVD we recently received at the Enoch Pratt Central Library, Edgar Allen Poe (a 2009 special edition episode of the MPT program Direct Connection with Jeff Salkin).

Mis-Direct Connection DVD

Of course, some vendors selling Poe merchandise avoid the typo snafu by nixing the middle name entirely, like the folks at Natty Poe Baltimore (‎http://shop.nattypoe.com, 826 W. 36th Street, The Avenue in Hampden, Baltimore, 21211).

Natty Poe

I wonder if the Natty Boh Gear team immediately fixed the typo I pointed out, because a quick search of their online store at www.nattybohgear.com shows the t-shirt in question spelled properly now.

Bohgear’s corrected “Edgar Allan Boh” t-shirt

According to the blog “Typo of the day for Librarians,” Poe’s name even causes problems for catalogers (a painfully-anally-rententive breed who, of all people, should know better!), with Allan often misspelled as Allen — this is a “high probability typo” on the Ballard list and has over 1000 hits in Worldcat.

Moses Ezekial’s Poe statue at U of B law School

Not only is Poe’s middle name frequently misspelled by those who should know better, but even the Moses Ezekial statue of Poe that stands near the University of Baltimore School of Law has (and had) typos. The monument was erected in 1921 and its original base, inscribed with a line from Poe’s poem “The Raven,” read: “Dreamng dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before.” Not only was the “i” missing from the first word (“dreamng”), but a superfluous “s” was added to the fourth (“mortals”).

Fontaine chiseled Ezekial out of a typo

No one insults Poe purists with impunity, which is why Baltimore poet Edmond Fontaine took the grammatical slights personally. According to the blog Life’s Little Mysteries:

In 1930, after several years of regularly writing letters of complaint to local newspapers, [Fontaine] finally took a chisel to the statue to remove “the offending letter … for the good of my soul,” he explained at the time. Fontaine was initially arrested for chiseling off the “s” but was later released with a warning.

When the statue was moved in the 1980s, the original base was replaced, and the typos corrected.

(Natalie Wolcher, “The Most Monumental Monument Mistakes,” lifeslittlemysteries.com)

Fontaine’s Fix reminds me of another superfluous S in Baltimore lore, specifically that old Mash’s Hams TV and radio commercial: “What’s in a name? Mash’s unscrambled spells HAMS. And what do we do with the other S? That stands for salt – we throw that away.”

Esskay’s ham-fisted Mashup

But regarding Poe typos – if only it were that easy to throw them all away like Mash’s salt!

Black History Month Classics:
Suzanne Muldowney Joins the 2003 Martin Luther King Day, Jr. Parade

Suzanne Muldowney marched in her first MLK Day Parade

“When the Negro was completely an Underdog, he needed white spokesmen. Liberals played their parts in this period exceedingly well…. But now that the Negro has rejected his role as an Underdog, he has become more assertive in his search for identity and group solidarity; he wants to speak for himself.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr., “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?,” 1967

This historic event in Baltimore yore took place eight years ago. On January 20, 2003, more than six weeks after she appeared in the Mayor’s Annual Christmas Parade as 1960s cartoon superhero “Underdog” – Suzanne Muldowney returned to Baltimore to partake in her first and only Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade. There she was greeted by Atomic TV‘s Tom Warner and Scott Huffines, who recorded her historic appearance for posterity.

Muldowney had petitioned the organizers to let her march in the parade because she believes that Underdog has a strong connection to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with both folk heroes coming to national prominance in 1964. Not only was 1964 the year Underdog debuted on Saturday morning television, it also marked the historic passage of the Civil Rights Voting Act, and was the year that Dr. King marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, and received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Though there were no characters of color on the ’60s TV cartoon show, when it came to thwarting injustice, Underdog was a colorblind canine superhero; he aided anyone in need – regardless of race, color, or creed.

It was a bitterly cold and windy day for a parade, with sub-freezing temperatures in the teens, but if Dr. King could make the long march from Selma to Montgomery, surely Muldowney’s iconic canine superhero could brave a few hours of a Charm City cold snap to march down Martin Luther King. Jr. Boulevard from Eutaw to Baltimore Street.

“A small boy peeps into a papier-mache clam for a look at what turns out to be Cindy Whitelock, who gives Governor Agnew a sample at Chesapeake Bay Soft Shell Clam Festival, Annapolis, Maryland, 1967.” Found on Ebay.com.

“You can’t kill stupid; you can only attempt to contain it. Like on a very large infield.” – (Source: “The Quotable Tom Warner Omnibus.”)

“In 2009, the first year without B.Y.O.B., attendance plummeted to 77,850 from 2008′s 112,222…” (Source: Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development)

Shed a Tear Everyone. The Great Urinal Run at the Preakness Is No More.

From FanIQ (5/15/09)

The Running of the Urinals in bygone daze at Pimlico Race Course.

After last year’s Preakness, word broke that Pimlico was going to do the unthinkable, they were going to disallow patrons who attended the event from bringing in their own beer.

Now, at first, you’re probably saying to yourselves, so what? What do the snooty bastards in the stands with their million dollar horses need to bring their own beer in for?

Ah, but you see friends, the infield – not the stands – is where the action is always at. That’s where the debauchery and depravity happens. And it’s where the great Preakness Urinal Run was born. If you don’t know what the Urinal Run is, it’s quite simple. You get up on top of a row of urinals, and you dash across them as quickly as possible while people throw (oftentimes full) beer cans at you. Observe:

Is it ridiculous? Of course. Is it stupid? Oh, it’s beyond stupid. But it is tradition. And now, it will be no more.

Pimlico has officially canned it’s BYOB policy. You will now only be able to get beer at the track in plastic cups. And that’s not going over well with people.

Ticket sales are already down 15% (which could be due to the economy I guess) even though Pimlico will be bringing in ZZ Top (they’re still alive?) to perform this year.

I am devastated, and I know gearhead is too. Nothing beats dodging beer cans while watching horses race.

So, in one last tribute, I give you this great picture montage.

Don’t worry, he lived. But the BYOB policy did not.

Farewell, old friend. Farewell.

See also:

5 Best Preakness Toilet Run Videos (DailyCaller.com)
At Preakness, Not Everyone’s Idea of Fun (Joe Drape, NY Times)
“Preakness infield infamous for a different sort of race” (Examiner.com)
“Freakness at Preakness: Running of the Urinals” (Horsenation.com)
“And They’re Off!”: Port-a-Potty Racing 2007 (YouTube)

Mark Harp returns in spirit to SoWeBo Fest

I’m really looking forward to this year’s Memorial Weekend highlight, the 30th annual SoWeBohemian Arts & Music Festival (aka the SoWeBo Arts & Music Festival or, simply, The SoWeBo Fest) on Sunday May 26. Mainly because not only will the “Marble Bar Redux” stage at the corner of Arlington and Lombard once again feature musical blasts from the past that I actually remember (The Beatoes, The Motor Morons, Thee Katatonix), but this year will also feature The Mark Harp All-Stars paying homage (which sounds way too serious!) to – and having fun with (that sounds much better!) – the music of The Big Man himself, our dearly departed friend and musical-genius-mentor Mark Linthicum (aka “Mark Harp,” “Harpo,” “Corky Neidermayer” and “The King of Peru”), who left this mortal coil well before his time on Christmas Eve of 2004. Geesh, former Null Set/Cabal and Black Pete frontman – and longtime Harp collaborator – Bill Dawson (aka “Bil Dawson” back in the day) is coming all the way up from Jacksonville, Florida for this shindig, so that tells you something about what a big deal the Big Man was, and continues to be to those discerning music lovers in B-more who “get it.”

Listen to Null Set (Bill Dawson, Mark Harp, John Chreist, Lou Frisino) play their theme song.

Beatoes fans should get there early, as the Too-Ugly-for-MTV boys will take the stage at High Noon.

The Beatoes kick-start Marble Bar Redux at Noon

Watch The Beatoes guest appearance on The Scott & Gary Show.

Thee Katatonix will bring their Beltway Beat to Shake Shake the masses at 5 p.m., followed by Mongolian Glow at 6 p.m.,  The Motor Morons at 6:30 p.m., and The Mark Harp All-Stars (with a Cecil B. DeMille-worthy “cast of thousands”) at 7 p.m.

This incarnation of the All-Stars playing the Mark Harp back catalog will include Ben Watson (lead guitar), David Zidek (bass), Chris “Batworth” Ciattei (drums), Beefalo Bob Friedman (keyboards), Robyn Webb (rhythm guitar), Ceil Strakna (vocals), Cindy Borchardt (vocals), Valerie Favazza (vocals) and special guest appearances by Chris Dennestaedt (The Beatoes, Casio Cats, Poverty & Spit), David Wilcox (Chelsea Graveyard, Pooba, The Alcoholics) and, of course, the aforementioned Bil(l) Dawson.

Big thanks to Robyn Webb for orchestrating the Mark Harp All-Stars project; Robyn also MC’ed the Marble Bar Redux stage line-up last year. Returning to manage the line-up this year is none other than iconic Motor Moron and Pleasant Liver singer Fred Collins, who co-managed Marble Bar Redux 2012 with fellow Motor Moron Sam Fitzsimmons. (As they say in horse breeding parlance, those are studs with really good bloodlines for this racing card.) Like just about everybody associated with the Marble Bar line-up, Robyn and Fred once played with Mark Harp.

Watch a clip of Fred manically performing “Big Headed Baby” with the Pleasant Livers at the 2012 SoWeBo Festival, below:

I would be remiss if I did not post Scott Kecken’s short film “SoWeBohemian,” a video time capsule of the sights and sounds of SoWeBo festivals past – including cameos of a young, svelte Scott Huffines…

Svelte Scott says, “SoWeBo is an excuse to drink!”

…and the non-facial parts of Tom Warner‘s body that won’t break a camera lens (look for a below-the-neck shot of him holding a Zim Zowie flyer in his Robin the Boy Wonder t-shirt!).

And finally, as we count down the days to the “Marble Bar Redux Redux,” enjoy this field report from last year’s festivities,  “Marble Bar Redux,” posted by yours truly.  Hope to see you all out there Sunday! – Tom Warner

***

Marble Bar Redux @ SoWeBo Festival

by Tom Warner (Accelerated Decrepitude, May 29, 2012)

“I had a great time at the Sowebo festival yesterday! The Redux stage proved that it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still rock out! I got there just in time for the Pleasant Livers, and then watched Thee Katatonix, Motor Morons and Ben Watson’s World Media War and everyone was fantastic. So good to see so many of you there!”
- Amy Linthicum, Girl Reporter (via Facebook post)

As usual, Amy Linthicum says best what I can only flail at with my forked tongue. But my tongue must flail, so here goes…Yes, SoWeBohemian Festival 2012 was a blast – and a true blast from the past for those 80′s Punk/New Wave relics like us who still fondly remember the Marble Bar (which closed its doors in 1985), the Galaxy Ballroom and its associated renegade musical spirit. The Marble/Galaxy contingent were treated to their own “old timey sounds” area, the “Marble Bar Retrospective” on the Redux Stage – where co-stage managers Sam Fitzsimmons (Motor Morons) and Fred Collins (Motor Morons, Pleasant Livers) oversaw the day’s entertainment. They were ably assisted by emcee Robyn Webb, who introduced the day’s numerous acts and kept the rock rolling smoothly.

Continue reading “Marble Bar Redux” at Accelerated Decrepitude.

Related Links:
Mark Harp’s All-Stars (Facebook event post)
SoWeBohemian (Baltimore Or Less)
Scott Kecken’s “SoWeBohemian” film short (YouTube)
Marble Bar Redux @ SoWeBo Festival 2012 (Accelerated Decrepitude)

Redux Stage celebrates music long gone but far from forgotten

by Tom Warner (Accelerated Decrepitude)

Keith Worz (far right) implores The Mark Harp All-Stars to pull his finger at 2013 SoWeBo Festival.

It was the best of times, it was the Worz of times (yes, perpetually frenetic scenester Keith Worz was there!) at the 30th annual SoWeBohemian Arts & Music Festival held this past Memorial Weekend Sunday in  Baltimore’s failed experiment in neighborhood gentrification, SoWeBo (which I guess stands for SouthWest Baltimore, but was originally coined by the early bohemian settlers to show their solidarity with South Africa’s Soweto townships).

Though there’s a lot to see and do down at SoWeBo – like all the art and crafts on display (though most people seem to just eat, drink, get sunburn, and listen to the free music) – Amy “I have enough t-shirts & jewelry” Linthicum and I set out to hang at the Marble Bar Time Capsule Stage (officially known as The Redux Stage, on the corner of Arlington and Lombard) as our prime objective, because this was Festival Ground Zero for seeing all the old people (Marble Bar Baby Boomers like us) and hearing all the old music (late ’70s & 1980s Punk-New Wave-Postpunk) that we like…

…Once again the usual musical suspects – The Motor Morons (unofficial “house band” of SoWeBo), Thee Katatonix, The Beatoes, Mongoloidian Glow – were on stage to perform, but this year’s highlight was easily the much-anticipated performance of The Mark Harp All-Stars – plus a surprise mini-set (courtesy of the Kats’ Adolf Kowalski) by Washington D.C.’s ’80s pop-punk wonders, Tru Fax & The Insaniacs.

The Mark Harp All-Stars idea was the brainchild of long-time Harp collaborator Robyn Webb (following a suggestion by Fred Collins), who posted on her Facebook page the following thank-you to all who participated in the day’s festivities:

Still in recovery, but want to offer major thanks to everyone, Chris Dennstaedt, Chris Ciattei, Cecilia Strakna, Robert J. Friedman, David Zidek, David Wilcox, Bill Dawson, Cindy Borchardt, Craig Considine and Ben Watson for making Mark Harp’s All-Stars a reality one more time….Despite scheduling snafus, equipment failures and general chaos, they said it couldn’t be done, but we pulled it off…Thanks also to Fred Collins, the SoWeBo Festival committee, Joe Berky, Thee Katatonix, Motor Morons, Mongoloidian Glow, Trufax & The Insaniacs, David Wright, Tom Warner and to all of you that stuck around until the bitter end to share Mark Harp’s music with us. Great to see so many old friends together in one place. – Robyn Webb

Well said, Robyn. My only regret was that the star-studded set started so late, at Twilight’s last gleaming after a long day’s journey into (SoWeBo) blight. But as Larry Vega would say, “What the hell ya gonna do?”

Continue reading “SoWeBo Fest 2013” at Accelerated Decrepitude.

Alice Cooper rocks 2,000 in Towson
Some skip school to hear ’70s rocker deliver his new anti-drug message.

By Meredith Schlow (Baltimore Evening Sun, 9/10/1991)

Rocker Alice Cooper played to about 2,000 in Towson’s Courthouse Plaza today, turning the normally sedate lunchtime crowd into a rocking group that mixed teens in black attire with the regular professionals in suits and ties.

1. Under My Wheels
2. I’m Eighteen
3. Hey Stoopid
4. Love’s A Loaded Gun
5. School’s Out
6. No More Mr. Nice Guy

There is even a bootleg DVD of the concert!

Fans, new and old, crowded in front of the courthouse to hear Cooper, one of rock’s legendary bad boys of the ’70s, who is touring the country promoting his new album, “Hey Stoopid.” Its title cut carries a strong anti-drug message.

Teen-agers crowded on the grass, but declined to give their names as they admitted they had cut school to hear Cooper sing.

“I’ve heard [Cooper's] done some gross things, like bite the heads off bats,” one high school senior in the crowd said.

“I thought there might be some big truancy roundup,” said another teen, eyeing the police officers who stood at the perimeter of the plaza. “They’d lure us all down here, and then say, ‘OK, up against the wall!’ ”

Continue reading “Alice Cooper rocks 2,000 in Towson” at The Baltimore Sun.

What scared the author of ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’? Bad design.

A room furnished according to Poe’s “The Philosophy of Furniture” for a 1959 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum (Image: Brooklyn Museum via Smithsonian magazine)

By Jimmy Stamp (Smithsonian.com, 2/19/2014)

In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “Landor’s Cottage,” the author paints an idealized picture of his own New York Cottage. He describes the building in painstaking–some might even say excruciating–detail, but Poe also devotes a short paragraph to cottage’s furnishings:

“On the floor was an ingrain carpet, of excellent texture – a white ground, spotted with small circular green figures. At the windows were curtains of snowy white jaconet muslin: they were tolerably full, and hung decisively, perhaps rather formally, in sharp, parallel plaits to the floor – just to the floor. The walls were papered with a French paper of great delicacy – a silver ground, with a faint green cord running zig-zag throughout. Its expanse was relieved merely by three of Julien’s exquisite lithographs….One of these drawings was a scene of Oriental luxury, or rather voluptuousness; another was a ‘carnival piece,’ spirited beyond compare; the third was a Greek female head – a face so divinely beautiful, and yet of an expression so provokingly indeterminate, never before arrested my attention.”

This description doesn’t exactly match with the spartan furnishings that currently fill Poe’s cottage, nor is it likely that it corresponds with its decoration during Poe’s residency. However, it does line up exactly with Poe’s personal tastes and his very strong opinions on interior design, which he described in his authoritative, humorous, and confidently written piece of design criticism “The Philosophy of Furniture,” originally published in the May 1840 issue of Burton’s Gentlemen’s Magazine.

Continue reading at Smithsonian.com.

[Baltimore Or Less loves beautiful, talented people - they're so unlike us, yet allow us to live vicariously through their exploits. Jenny Campbell is one of those peeps we love - and now the Baltimore Sun loves her as well. The Campbell Clan kilt is bursting with talent: Jenny's brother Chris makes Tri-Brewing's Swampus red ale and her sister-in-law Dawn Campbell makes award-winning films.] 

How Jenny Campbell became a New Orleans costumer

By Julie Scharper (Baltimore Sun, February 19, 2014)

Jenny Campbell flipped her wig after moving to New Orleans to become a full-time costumer (Photo by Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun / February 2, 2012)

What is nearly as remarkable as Jenny Campbell’s costumes — the glittering swirls of ribbon and whirling snow globe headdresses — is the path that led to her second career as a costume maker.

The Baltimore native taught herself to make costumes a few years ago, creating extravagant outfits for parades, bar crawls and parties at the American Visionary Art Museum.

Now Campbell spends her days buried in silk and sequins at the Southern Costume Co. in New Orleans, designing, selecting feathers and fabrics, and sewing elaborate, gravity-defying outfits.

“I’m never, ever tired of it,” she said. “There’s so much to do down here.”

After work, Campbell, 49, turns her attention to creating her own costumes. She has founded her own krewe, or group of costumed Mardi Gras marchers, who will be participating in their first parade this week.

Continue reading “Les bon temps for a Baltimore native” at baltimoresun.com.

Baltimore’s Bohdacious Jenny Campbell is now based in New Orleans, where she works for Southern Costume Co. (Photo courtesy Baltimore Sun)

Related Links:

Blaze Starr Painted Screens by Jenny Campbell (Baltimore Or Less)

Jenny Campbell Online: jennycampbellonline.blogspot.com

Jenny Campbell Painted Screens (Facebook)

Portfolio: Jenny Campbell (Smart Woman)

A Portrait of an Artist: Jenny Campbell (Vimeo)

By Jacques Kelly (The Baltimore Sun, 6/13/1995)

Henry James in 1910. Wikipedia.org

Henry James was one of the most respected writers of his day, but there was no fanfare when he stepped off a train at Baltimore’s old Union Station 90 years ago.

In the Baltimore of 1905, horse-drawn taxis waited at the railway depot’s Charles Street side. The 62-year-old American novelist’s next destination was the recently completed Belvedere Hotel at Charles and Chase streets.

“I arrived late in the day, and the day had been lovely; I alighted at a large fresh peaceful hostelry, imposingly modern yet quietly affable, and, having recognized the deep, soft general note, even from my windows, as that of a kind of mollified vivacity, I sought the streets with as many tacit questions as I judged they would tolerate, or as the waning day would allow me to put,” James wrote in the chapter devoted to Baltimore in his 1907 journal of his East Coast impressions, “The American Scene.”

“It took but that hour, as I strolled in the early eventide, to give me the sense of the predicament I have glanced at; that of finding myself committed to the view of Baltimore as quite insidiously ‘sympathetic,’ quite inordinately amiable, which amounted, in other words, to the momentous proposition that she was interesting. . . .”

“So I walked around that dear little city looking for the peculiar parts — all with the singular effect of rather failing to find them and with my impression of felicity at the same time persistently growing,” he wrote.

Literary scholars tell us that James (1843-1916) visited Baltimore beginning June 10, 1905. He stayed perhaps a few days and was then off to another destination. The author of “The Ambassadors” and “The Golden Bowl” seemed to have enjoyed his visit here.

Continue reading at The Baltimore Sun.

“Baltimore” by Henry James – Click for fullscreen

(The North American Review, Vol. 183, No. 597, Aug., 1906)

Annapolis police chief apologizes for citing hoax story in testimony against marijuana legalization

By Alex Jackson (Capitalgazette.com, 2/26/2014)

Annapolis Police Chief Michael A. Pristoop listens to the press conference as a coalition of Maryland police chiefs and sheriffs met at the Maryland State House to voice their opposition to the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana being considered in the Maryland Senate. Capitalgazette.com

Testifying against bills proposed to legalize and decriminalize marijuana in the state, Annapolis Police Chief Michael Pristoop cited a hoax story that claimed 37 people had died the first day marijuana was legalized in Colorado.

“The first day of legalization, that’s when Colorado experienced 37 deaths that day from overdose on marijuana,” Pristoop testified at Tuesday’s Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing. “I remember the first day it was decriminalized there were 37 deaths.”

But Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery, who has proposed a bill that would legalize, regulate and tax the drug, immediately fact-checked Pristoop.

“Unless you have some other source for this, I’m afraid I’ve got to spoil the party here,” Raskin said. “Your assertion that 37 people died of a marijuana overdose in Colorado was a hoax on the DailyCurrant and the Comedy Central website.”

Indeed, Pristoop was apparently referring to a story by the satirical website DailyCurrant.com, which reportedly fooled some people with the headline ‘‘Marijuana overdoses kill 37 in Colorado on first day of legalization.”

Continue reading at Capitalgazette.com.

Annapolis police chief apologizes for marijuana misspeak

Pristoop says he obtained inaccurate data regarding deaths related to Colorado marijuana legislation.

Continue reading at Baltimore Sun.

George Feehley, who passed away last weekend at the age of 87, is pictured tandem surfing. Photo by Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum

‘George Feehley Has Surfed His Way Into The History Of Ocean City And Will Always Be Remembered’

The sun set on the “endless summer” for a local legend last weekend with the passage of a former Ocean City elected official, lifeguard and surfing icon.

By Shawn J. Soper (The Dispatch, 2/27/2014)

“For many years, while George served on the City Council, the beach patrol had a special friend in high places and his influence allowed our team members to compete in major competitive events with the financial support of the town,” he said. “George Feehley has surfed his way into the history of Ocean City and will always be remembered.”

While Feehley was already guarding the north end beach in the late 1940s, it wasn’t until the early 1960s when he took up the latest craze to hit the resort. Ocean City surfing legend Skill Johnson and his brothers Al and Carl are largely credited with introducing surfing to the resort in the 1960s. Johnson, who now resides in Hawaii, said this week Feehley quickly picked up the sport and became a surfing legend in his own right.
“In 1964, the first surf shop in town was at 18th Street, but we always went up to 43rd Street, which was at the end of town limits, to surf and George had a house up there and used to guard the beach,” he said. “He saw us surfing out there and took it up and became a natural from the start. He was an athlete beyond belief.”

Johnson said he and the others in the nascent resort surfing community always marveled at Feehley’s athletic prowess.

“George was a strong man,” he said. “He used to lift weights and he had these 100-pound dumbbells he used to throw up with ease. He was one of the fittest guys I ever met. I first met George at the local premiere of ‘Endless Summer’ at Stephen Decatur High School in 1964. I got a ticket and went in, then I went back out and gave the stub to George.”
Johnson said the Ocean City community won’t soon forget Feehley’s contributions to the resort.

“He’s an Ocean City legend,” he said. “He was one of the coolest guys in Ocean City. He was a true classic and won’t be forgotten.”

Continue reading at The Dispatch.

I stumbled on these wonderful photos of 1920s Baltimore women on Ebay. Were they lesbians? Was one a drag queen? Were they dressing up for Halloween or a party? Were they expressing their lifestyle? So many unanswered questions that piqued my curiosity. On one photo “1924 – Waldron St.” is written. The answer is lost to history.