Coulda been Kings

Radio Kings pull the plug but set up the acoustic

by John O'Neill

Ah yes, the Radio Kings. They're a soon-to-be late, this-close (thumb and forefinger spread roughly a half-inch apart) -to great blues group, who if you had to ascribe a few choice words on their impending headstone to sum up their all-too-brief career, should probably read -- IT FIGURES. Through eight years, three critically acclaimed albums, a handful of bass players and drummers, and a tortuous touring schedule that saw the band crisscrossing the globe to play 200 to 250 gigs a year, the Radio Kings were beginning to grow out of the shoes they inadvertently slipped into all those years ago as a Fabulous Thunderbirds ripoff. Unfairly tagged by unimaginative music reviewers, the Kings were finally on the verge of shaking that rap that dogged them for the majority of their nights spent grinding it out, balls to the wall, in some pissed-soaked gin mill east of nowhere, and west of nothing. With the release of Money Road (out in March 1998 on Bullseye Blues & Jazz), their finest recorded moment, the boys could no longer be confused as a T-Birds clone.

"I've always felt that they were a huge influence; Jimmy Vaughn is one of our favorite guitar players," says Mike Dinallo from his home in Salem. He's natured and gracious during the chat, and you imagine Dinallo's eyes rolling skyward (hopefully for the last time) at the onset of this over-discussed topic. "But, we got away from that sound early on. When we got compared to the Blasters, I was more comfortable."

Which, would be a pretty fair place to start as an obvious influence behind Money Road (the name is a result of the band's search for Robert Johnson's final resting spot), as the Kings pushed across the sprawl of the American landscape. Where they were once a hardcore Chicago/Texas blues outfit, Money Road offered a powerful mix of jump blues, Stax/Volt-style soul, country blues, rockabilly, early R&B, and a bit of country and gospel flavor thrown in. It's got such a roots-rock feel that it's only natural that ex-Blaster, and current singer/songwriter demigod Dave Alvin wrote the liner notes. And while having Alvin on your team would seem to be a good thing, you can just as easily pinpoint the Radio Kings' imminent collapse to having Dave Alvin on their team. You just don't hang out with a legend without having him rub off on you somehow. Dinallo, a guy who once declared that blues was it, now talks about being blown away by Steve Earle's last three albums; he worships Hank Williams and wants to figure out how to work more Bill Monroe into his original songs.

"Dave has been a big influence in where my head's at musically," Dinallo says. "We talk on the phone every couple of months. He's really unparalleled as a songwriter. And I wouldn't pretend to be in his category. But I'm interested in seeing how an acoustic guitar fits in an electric band. I've got a whole bunch of things I want to do. I want to experience all those things besides the blues."

And so, one of the blues' more promising young bands graduated to one of the country's more promising young roots acts, and then skated right over the edge of disaster to become one of the country's more disappointing casualties. While they have one more trip across the Midwest that ends in New Orleans (their spiritual home) and several commitments in Europe to meet, the Radio Kings will wrap it up for all intents at the end of March. They appear at their last local show this Saturday night at Slattery's Front Room. And though it should be somewhat bittersweet, Dinallo has few regrets of the King's lousy timing.

"I thought we'd take the Radio Kings further and that we'd last longer, but relationships need to change and evolve," he says adding that he's already set to head into the studio with a new experiment (Singer Brian Templeton is headed toward a more swing-influenced project). "But it was great. We got to meet a lot of people, and I loved being out on the road. I'm really proud of the last record, it was a great way to go out. I wouldn't have done anything differently. . . . Well, a few things differently!"

So, let the record reflect that, after all is said and done, the Little Band from Boston That Could finally did, and it was in such a grand way that the rest of us are left to shake our heads and wonder what might have been.

30 Second Men

One of the more interesting things being universally ignored in the Boston press is its current punk movement. Sure the Dropkick Murphys have graduated to the second rung on the corporate ladder, but they made it through the underground fanzine/word-of-mouth route (and a little help from the Bosstones didn't hurt). Harking back to the old-school sound of the early-'80s movement (meaning lots of hooks, some harmony, and smart lyrics), Melrose-based 30 Seconds Over Tokyo are one of the better examples of good punk rock. Their four-song EP The Ambition of One . . . the Hatred of All is a nuts-on slab of wax that will make you long for the days of pre-Nirvana punk, when rabble-rousing was key and the music was alternately powerful and hilarious or unlistenable. And like all good punks, the Tokyo bombers know their roots, turning in a killer rendition of Gene (the great-granddaddy of punk) Vincent's "Race with the Devil." Make sure to stop by the Espresso Bar Friday to catch these hoods, chances are they won't disappoint.