Wednesday, July 4, 1984

Today is 28 years to the day that I played the last gig with my high school punk band, Chappaquiddick +5, at CBGB. It was also the final gig for Jesse Malin’s Heart Attack, and quite possibly the first gig for the Cro-Mags. Holy crap…have a nice holiday all.

Lost and Found: Chappaquiddick +5

Waiting for the Popemobile. 1984 or so...

Connecticut Hardcore: The Way We Were

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I was in a band called Chappaquiddick +5 (which has been mentioned here before). One of the few out-of-town places we played with some regularity was a cool club in Stamford CT called the Anthrax. A few months ago, while browsing the shelves at Mast Books, I discovered a new book on the club called Everybody's Scene: The Story of Connecticut's Anthrax Club. The club later relocated to Norwalk CT, and managed to become a serious hub of activity for bands wanting to play somewhere different along the Boston-New York axis. They managed to carve out a nice little niche for themselves, and it obviously came to mean quite a lot to many folks who grew up punk rock here in the northeast. I recall many trips to the club, both with Chappaquiddick, and with Borscht, and it was always a lot of fun. Thinking back, there was definitely an atmosphere of no rules, which everyone seemed to respect, and I can barely recall any real adult supervision. What more could a rebellious teenager into loud/fast music want?

As I await my copy via mail order, I wanted to share this little bit of info with you as I haven't seen the book available in many places (i.e. book stores). Visit the official book website and order the book here.



ADDENDUM: It's the same day I posted this. I just received my copy of this book & leafed through it. In the back they actually have a list of all of the gigs that took place at the Anthrax. Its an amazing thing they kept track of this because I sure as hell can't remember the dates. So, for my own amusement, here you go:

1983 -
Saturday, Nov 26: Chronic Disorder, Borscht, No Milk On Tuesday
Friday, Dec 23: Chappaquiddick +5, Frank's Crime, Young Republicans

1984 -
Friday, Jan 13: AOD, Even Worse, Chappaquiddick +5
Saturday, Jan 31: AWOL, Borscht, Aggravated Harassment
Saturday, Feb 25: 76% Uncertain, Seizure, Chappaquiddick +5, The Not
Friday, July 27: Psycho, Chappaquiddick +5, Peasants With Pitchforks (Must have been our last gig. I always remembered July 4, 1984, at CBGB as our last show for some reason.)

Friday Ephemera

Ephemera Friday - Borscht & Chappaquiddick

Thanks to my long lost friend Debbie U for sending these along! What a pleasant surprise.

Chappaquiddick flyer for our demo tape, 1983:


Borscht collage flyer that I don't recognize, 1983 or 84:

Daily travels

Flipping through records in a used vinyl store in Kingston, NY, today, I came upon this not very common, but not very good, "new wave" compilation/marketing exercise released by A&M Records in the early 1980's. The weird thing is is that someone (could it be you, Phil?) took a sticker from my old band, Chappaquiddick +5 (circa 1983-1984) and stuck it on the cover. I did a double take! They also stuck a Michelob beer sticker on there, but I know nothing about that.

Borscht music on myspace

For those interested in the old hardcore stylings of a few creative suburban New York kids visit the Borscht myspace page. I was finally able to get some more tracks up there for a total of six. With any luck, I'll post the remaining four sometime soon. We hope you like them.

Sold Out!

In response to my post yesterday about bogus bootleg posters, a friend was inspired to create the following featuring my first band, Chappaquiddick Plus Five. Now, how about that Stones at Brownies or Doobies at CBGB?

And the hits just keep on coming

One of these days I'll post MP3's and talk about my very first band, Chappaquiddick +5, until then...here are some more photos. The first one is quite special.

Chappaquiddick +5 at the Office, Nyack, NY, 1983. Guitarist Danny, on the left, wore a Hess gas station attendant shirt that night. Me, on the right, wore a Hertz Rental Car shirt. I really got out a kick out that:


Chappaquiddick +5 in the Borscht basement, 1983. This was Steve's basement in Pearl River, NY. You'll notice Mike, front right, is holding a Schaeffer beer along with his cigarette. That was the beer of choice in the Borscht basement. Tall boys:


Borscht at CBGB, 1983. This must have been just prior to Connie leaving Borscht and joining Chappaquiddick, which is when Adam Nodelman came into the picture with Borscht:


Proof sheet of action at the Office, Nyack, NY, 1983 - click for a closer view:


Proof sheet of action at the Office, Nyack, NY, 1983 - click for a closer view:


Me at a loft party my band, the Gibson Girls, were playing in Boston in 1989 or 1990. I had bought the coat that day at a used clothing joint called "Dollar A Pound." I gave it away that same night:

Personal musical memories

Above are a Danceteria pass & ad from the Village Voice from February 13, 1986. It was the one & only time I played the mainstage there. The other gig I played there was a rooftop No Entiendes party thrown by Howie Montaug which had to be one of the wildest nights of my life...you would've had to have been there.

Also pictured are myself & my great friend (more like a brother really), Steve. Following the break up of our two bands (Chappaquiddick & Borscht), and our move to NYC in 1984, we performed as a duo - sort of a punk Simon & Garfunkel - at the first versions of Lach's Anti Folk nights in the loft Steve shared with Lach. We also did open mic nights where we could, and also just busked in the streets, and later CBGB & the aforementioned No Entiendes party. Eventually we got the Lowboys together which lasted a year, maybe two, and then fell apart due to various shenanigans. They were great days. The photos above are of Steve & I playing at and standing in front of CBGB.

Chappaquiddick +5

My first bands last gig, July 4, 1984, at CBGB. Notice HR from the Bad Brains playing solo. This is also where I first met Jesse Malin. It may have been Heart Attack's last gig, as well as the Cro-Mags first gig.

Chappaquiddick +5

Chappaquiddick +5 sticker, 1983, by Phil Franklin

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming

Please indulge me. Due to the wonders of Facebook, I've been reunited with an old friend, Neil S. Haven't spoken to him in probably over 20 years or so. Anyway, back in the day, in high school probably between 1980-1983 or so, Neil & I were two of the few, the VERY few, who were into punk rock. The important part was that we were not ashamed to let others know this due to the way we dressed & cut our hair. These days its not a big deal at all, but back then there were issues. Anyway, we went through a lot together, bought records on clandestine trips to Greenwich Village, and discovered a lot of cool music, and a world outside of our metropolitan area suburban world.

Neil was into photography at an early age, and has been kind enough to start sharing some old images from those times. Here's a whole bunch...I hope there's more to come.

Void at CBGB:


Me in my Bunnymen overcoat:




Get off the cross, we need the wood:


WTF? Haircut 100 meets who knows?


Phil skating and in the rain:




Neil skating:


More skate shots by Neil:




Phil's old skate 'zine, Geek Attack:




Borscht in the basement:


I belong to the blank generation:


More Bunnymen...or maybe its Ultravox: