They have regrouped and are now on their way to Spain for their first tour in 20 years!
The Del-Lords -- whose 1988 album Based On A True Story should already be in your record collection -- played together last night at the Lakeside Lounge in Manhattan. According to someone who taped the gig, they took the stage during happy hour under the name The Elvis Club!
Here is a clip from their rehearsal two nights ago (the internet is amazing!!!):
Back in another life, I went to guitarist Scott Kempner's apartment in the West Village to interview him before the release of 1990's Lovers Who Wander. It was shortly before Xmas. I arrived with a six-pack of beer and I remember him beaming about his Yankees tree ornament. (Scott is the guitarist on the left side in the clips. The other guitarist/singer is Eric "Roscoe" Ambel.)
You can see the Del-Lords -- named for the director of The Three Stooges short films Del Lord (Canadian!) -- in action in 1990 with The Girl That I Ain't Got and I'm Gonna Be Around.
[How cool is Kempner? When a blog posted some Del-Lords demos in November 2008, he came by to say thanks for "giving a shit about the band" and noted that even he didn't have a copy of at least one of the tracks! Then he returned to clear up some chronology about the recordings!]
Kempner (aka Top Ten) is also an original member of The Dictators -- the legendary NYC punk band. He's wearing the red shirt at the start of this run-through The Stooges' Search and Destroy. And here are The Dictators playing what should be the city's theme song (and here). ... ARE YOU TALKIN' TO ME???
Proof that there are ultra-cool Yankee fans out there.
Scott managed to work in a Yankees-related comment at every show. This was in the late 80s when NYC was gaga over the Mets. Yankees tickets were cheap and plentiful. He was definitely a diehard.
ReplyDeleteThey were always one of my favourite bands - a garage band with tons of swing and a lot of depth. It's great to hear that Kempner is still making music.
That whole constellation of musicians is so cool - Dictators (of course), Roscoe's Gang, Manitoba's Wild Kingdom, etc.
Now THIS is cool, especially the practice clip. I'm lucky enough to get to hang out with some friends of mine while they practice and that's often when the coolest stuff happens in terms of creativity, improv, and brainstorming. You don't see those sessions get caught very often.
ReplyDeleteI was so out of the loop with garage punk in the 80s until an old HS friend came home from grad school in 92 or so and enlightened me :) The Del Lords were in that huge pile of LPs he left with me, some of which I still have. I don't think they're in the "still have" group though.
One show we saw, he talked about getting the ball from Mattingly as the MFY* came off the field at the end of a half-inning. I think he compared it to getting a scarf from Elvis.
ReplyDeleteEric Ambel has had quite a career, touring with his own bands, Steve Earle, and Dan Baird, among others, and doing a bunch of production work.
There are two practice clips, by the way. Plus the Lakeside show is clearly informal. The clip I posted has a false start when Ambel can't remember the correct lyrics.
Like a lot of bands, the D-L had trouble getting their live sound to translate properly in the studio. BOATS nailed it, though.
(* He didn't actually say "MFY".)
One show we saw, he talked about getting the ball from Mattingly as the MFY* came off the field at the end of a half-inning. I think he compared it to getting a scarf from Elvis.
ReplyDeleteHe also ragged on Steinbrenner.
I was *the only* person who cheered!
RS , the videos don't show up on my computer, what program are you using?....Thanks
ReplyDeleteFor the embedded ones, I copied the html from YouTube: here and here.
ReplyDelete