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Nov. 9 - 16, 2000

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Frozen in time

The House Rockers celebrate rock's roots

by Brian Goslow

It didn't matter that the sun was ready to set and the temperature was in a steady dive toward freezing as Jason James's Gibson Hollowbody broke into the familiar opening chords of Link Wray's "Rumble" at the recent Highland Street Block-tober Art Festival and Block Party. The gathering snow clouds and the cold breeze that made it feel like 20 degrees didn't seem to bother his Bay

State House Rockers either. Topped by his trademark black coiffeured hairdo, James, his legs spread apart in the classic rock-and-roll pose, complimented by ripped jeans, black work-boots, leather jacket, and T-shirt, could have been standing inside the heated confines of Vincent's or Gilrein's.

Nothing seems to throw the 26-year-old James off much. At the end of last year, after the House Rockers were voted the Best Local Roots/Swing Act in the 1999 Worcester Phoenix Best Music Poll, he split with bassist Chris Lillyman and drummer Jamie Jones over the group's musical direction.

"We were doing the punk rockabilly thing," James explains. "I had a really good time doing that, but I was really into the roots music. It [the band] was going into that hardcore thing, and I just pulled out and stayed where I've been."

When James returned with a new lineup, their rough edges threatened to reverse the professional gains he had made with Jones and Lillyman, who now perform with Musclecah. But what may have looked like career suicide at the time, now looks like a gamble that'll pay long-term dividends.

The crowd gathering around them in the former Friendly's parking lot seemed to agree. Bob Young Jr.'s strong rumbling bass sound drove the classic "Night Time," which like many of the Bay State House Rockers' songs, has been passed down through four decades plus of rock and roll (in this case, from the Vagrants to George Thorogood to James, who cites Thorogood as being his main inspiration). That was followed by "Slow Down" (Larry Williams to the Beatles to the Jam), "Little Bit 'o Soul" (Ramones via the Music Explosion), and "Who Do You Love?" (Thorogood's borrowed Bo Diddley anthem). Drummer Dana Bonardi, wearing only a light sweatshirt, didn't miss a beat during Eddie Cochran's "Somethin' Else," and when they performed "Breathless," James made the song his own by adding extra pronunciation to the chorus-ending "Breathless . . . child."

As the House Rockers broke into "Pipeline,' the wind blew the Halloween-themed streamers as if they were ripples in the ocean, but for a short time, the music made everyone forget that they were freezing their asses off.

Finally, after almost two hours, one of the sound crew told the band to wrap it up, bringing an aw-shucks grin to James's face. "I would have played until 1 a.m. if I could," he said afterwards, adding that the next stop was an 8 p.m. Halloween party in Marlborough before the band drove back to the city for a post-midnight performance at Cool Beans. "With Jason James, you've got to keep playing," said Bob Young, who became a House Rocker two months ago.

Before Young joined the House Rockers, bassist Tom Coolidge helped them complete a 13-song CD, which, for the time being, mainly exists as a marketing tool for acquiring gigs. That's unfortunate. It's an enjoyable listen, especially if you're a fan of vintage rock and roll. It includes three James originals -- "Martinis on Wednesday" (written as a tribute to a long-running series of mid-week shows at Vincent's), "Flat Black," and "68 Pleasant Street" -- and the aforementioned version of "Breathless," on which James leaves his own mark. "I really don't try to sound like the original version. All the people I like come out in that song."

James credits Young with helping fine tune his musical mission. "He came from the Lydia Warren Band," James explains later that week. "The great thing is he's older than us. He went through that '60s thing, bands like the Ventures -- I've always wanted to do them. We got with Bob and hit it off right away, playing `Pipeline,' `Rumble,' `Out of Limits.'"

So how does someone who spent his teen years in the age of Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, and Nirvana become an advocate of music created before he was even born? The answer lies in a soundtrack that was released just as he was being conceived -- American Graffiti.

"I watched a lot of movies when I was a kid. At the age of 10, I wanted to be an actor. Through the movies I heard all this music." He recently found another outlet for his musical exploration as host of CrossTracks every Thursday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on WCUW (91.3 FM). "I've been collecting [records] ever since I was a kid," says James, who, unlike many musicians whose collections eventually take over their lives, purchases his music in moderation. "I've always bought a few things at a time to absorb it."

House Rockers may not seem like the most original of names, but James took it as a way of preserving his musical heritage. "I've been carrying that name since I was 15. I really couldn't think of anything at the time, and I was listening to early blues and rock and roll. Alan Freed, Cub Coda, and the Iron City House Rockers had used the name, and then it kinda stopped so I decided to pick it up."

James is a huge believer insupporting other performers with whom he shares a musical kinship.

"George Thorogood is number one for me, and the local guys -- Troy Gonyea, Preston Wayne, and Young Neal and the Vipers -- if they're playing and I'm not, I'm going to be checking them out."

The House Rockers have settled in as Gilrein's' Thursday-night house band. "The blues people like us because we do a few blues songs," says James. "The people who are into rock and roll and the other stuff we do -- especially the people who love surf -- show up and it mixes up the crowd." You can also catch the House Rockers this Saturday at both the Outlook Restaurant at the Nashoba Valley Ski Area (early evening) and Cool Beans (after midnight) and at Ralph's (with 9th Wave) on December 1.

WORCESTER'S COMMUNITY cable-access station, WCCA-TV 13, will begin airing footage from the recent Estrogen Fest II next Monday. Video Jam, which is hosted by Tracy Foley, will spotlight performances by event organizer Patty Keough, along with Jentri, Kathy Fleishchman, and Heidi Batchelder. The program airs on November 13 at midnight, November 15 at 12:30 p.m., November 18 at 11 p.m., and on November 19 at 6 p.m.

Foley hopes to feature local performers on a regular basis. Musicians can send their demo tapes to Video Jam, WCCA-TV, 415 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608.

VISITORS to the Worcester Phoenix Web site can now hear music by Central Massachusetts performers Carry the Zero, Chris Bilodeau, the Jay Tyer Quartet, Musclecah, Rob Adams, the Sonic Explorers, and Thinner. Want more? Send us more. Musicians -- if you want to join in the fun -- simply visit www.worcesterphoenix.com/WORC_MP3/index.html for details. Click on the link suggestively labeled "submit" and find out how to have your music posted mp3-style. Our Web sites get a lot of traffic and that means more exposure and that means more gigs. You have nothing to lose but relative obscurity. So do it.

Heavy dates

After buying out their contract from Capitol/EMI, Florida ska-sters Less Than Jake have landed with Fat Wreck Chords. They celebrate the release of Borders and Boundaries on Thursday at the Palladium.

On Friday, Skulltoboggan hold a CD-release party for their Hedsled at Mulligan's with help from Officer Down, Dirt Junkie, and Dog Leg. Teen bands like Exile and Red Mercury have been pretty much MIA since Cafe Abba closed down in June; but they'll be joined by Downcycle, Capital Seven, and Prevail for a Friday-night "acoustic" show at the Java Hut. With all the late-'80s-sounding music being released these days, it's no surprise to see someone's formed a hair-band tribute. Both the boys and girls can put on their fishnets when Aqua Nett perform at the Lucky Dog Music Hall. Entrain's hectic touring schedule has caused two of its members to jump off their almost non-stop party train; welcome new bassist Lenny Bradford aboard when the band appear at the Tammany Club on Friday night.

On Saturday, two winners in this year's Worcester Phoenix Best Music Poll -- Red Mercury and Critical Condition -- perform at Ralph's, Recycled Dysfunkshun, who are releasing their second CD but losing a singer, headline the Worcester Phoenix Fall Music Concert Series at Jillian's with help from past BMP winner the Deal; another former champ, Joe Rockhead (whose upcoming CD is reportedly excellent) is joined by Tricycle at Liquid, and continuing the Parade of Champions, the Time Beings rock the Above Club. Star Ghost Dog's The Great Indoors (Catapult) will be landing on more than a few area "Best of 2000" charts; find out why when the Boston popsters and equally jangly Pure Fiction appear at the Alley.

Rochester, New York's metallic Withered Earth are renowned, much like our own Upsidedown Cross, as the kind of band that doesn't get asked back for too many return engagements. As far as we can tell, however, there's no outstanding warrants for their arrest as a result of their appearance at Cafe Abba earlier this year. Thus, they've been invited back to Worcester for a show at the Lucky Dog on Wednesday. Acetylene and Wrathbone Key warm up the crowd.

Brian Goslow can be reached at bgoslow[a]phx.com.

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