The Route 309 Blues
Yes, another Nearfest was in bloom. Before I recollect on this weekend, let’s take a look back. The Nearfest madness began in 1998 when Chad Hutchinson called me at work to say him and this guy I only knew vaguely, Rob LaDuca, who wasted no time in telling me I was saying Par Lindh incorrectly, had this crazy idea about a two day festival set somewhere in the northeast of the U.S., with 8 to 10 bands performing to be labeled as ‘the’ premiere progressive rock festival in the world. The first thing I uttered to Chad was, “hey…great idea….but you know…you are going to lose a fortune. People won’t come out for this. But I also think that if you are patient, and are willing to make a sacrifice, it could work.” It did. When 1999 came around, the event was stellar. A complete success. That year I just brought a hand held recorder and did brief interviews. I roomed up with 91.7 WLFR DJ Greg Orlandini. The drive to Moravian was a trek into the unknown. But none the less, it was great. The weekend ended, and I thought that maybe Nearfest would as well. Not the case. The Duck Billed Ducks wouldn’t have it any other way. Rob and Chad needed our show more than ever for the next Nearfest, Nearfest 2000. This Nearfest would be my favorite of all prior and future Nearfest's. Anekdoten, Happy The Man, Thinking Plague, Transatlantic, and the Echolyn reunion. It seemed like the radio show was taking off into higher planes as well. The biggest thrill? Getting a thank you at the end of Nearfest 2000 and 1999 from Rob and Chad both on stage, and personally. At this point, I had a full staff, and full support from the Nearfest crew. Obviously there was me, then George Piatkowski my Co-Producer, Roger Beckwith, host of Roadhouse Radio who helped with equipment and setting levels, Big Bob Lovin’ as he is affectionately know as, who was our driver, and protector of our equipment. Then of course there was the newly acquired Jack Webster who may be the only ‘fan’ of the show to get directly involved with programming. He got turned on to many bands because of the show and because of his electronically gifted self, along with his toys, became and still is, my right hand man.
Changing Of The Gaurd
Nearfest moved in 2002 to Trenton which was a complete disaster. Not with the event, but how impossible the War Memorial was in dealing with Chad and Rob. That’s a story for another day. The highlight of 2002 was having Steve Hackett for an hour plus interview and how receptive he was to me, my staff, and his knowledge of the show. That is a memory I won’t forget. Despite the turmoil in my life, Nearfest 2002 was a turning point for me. My life would change shortly after, in some ways for the better. By Nearfest 2003, Bob and Roger had gotten fed up with certain aspects of the event. They felt that all the hard work that they were doing with us, they could have at least gotten a hotel in the same building as everyone else. Lugging equipment got to be a pain. Then one year, we were getting asked to do interviews for other people. They had gotten tired of the arrogance of some of the people we would interview, the attitudes from vendors, etc. I told them that the NEARfest operation is very hectic and there is no time to set people aside with all the other media there. Things happen as they happen. But they insisted that all they wanted was a thanks......something. They felt the show wasn’t getting enough respect from the Nearfest staff. At first I thought they were over reacting and making mountains out of molehills. Roger then brought up a valid point. “If they can have other people go up on stage not directly involved with NEARfest and introduce a band, then jeez, you should at least be able to bring on Tunnels. Dude, you do like 6 months worth of programming for these guys…having guests on…featuring CD’s of the scheduled artists…you do a 4 hour show every February…jeez, do they know you are even here?” I stopped and thought about what he said, and fluffed it off. Then by the time NEARfest 2004 arrived, Roger and Bob wanted no part of it. I was devastated.
…And Then There Were Three….
The comic relief keeping me from killing George from year to year was gone. Despite returning to Zoellner, I couldn’t get the gang to get on board. Jack was still into it and did what was asked and kept things lively, but nonetheless, change was coming. Roger wanted out, and eventually left. By the time 2005 arrived, a live broadcast wouldn’t even lure the guys back. My idea of reinjecting Nearfest and its staff with something even bigger and badder did little for my guys the first year. But, the stage gang of Kevin Feeley and Ray Laboda went above and beyond to help make sure our live broadcast from Nearfest 2005 was a success…..and it was. Unforgettable. Chad was helpful and got some of the artists to step up and visit us for interviews. But the questions now started coming from my bosses at the radio stations. What is it that this Nearfest is doing for us? Are they putting you up in your hotel? Are they setting you up with interviews? Are they making mention of the Z889 and the gagliarchives in a public forum? Are they giving you free tickets? Free advertisements? What are the giveaways? What are the benefits? We need to see something mutual from them, or else, find an event that is more receptive to our station. This equipment costs money to operate. This all came down a few months before Nearfest ’06. So I started doing some rethinking. I gambled. Another live broadcast should reinforce the solvency of the station and the show, by our support for NEARfest. After long conversations with our new station manager we seemed to be on the way.
The Land Of Ghiyoregay
The weekend started out with insanity. George’s clumsiness began before he even took the rest of the flight from Georgia to Philadelphia. He wasn’t even here yet and he lost his cell phone. How does that happen? Once I picked up George I realized how much I missed my former partner in crime. Moving to Florida was life changing for him in more ways than one. But when he comes home, he is back to his element. Not always for the good. The man in the mirror is the only one that can fix this problem. Can it be fixed? We began our trek for Nearfest on Friday after a series of obstacles stopped me. Thursday night after I picked up the remote and the rest of the equipment I went to pick up my clothes from the dryer. They weren’t dry. I stuck them in another dryer, only to find them early Friday afternoon still not dry. This was getting to be a bit much. At this point Jack was ready to go, but I was the one holding us up. Then we are ready to walk out the door and, I can’t find my wallet. I search my entire apartment, I can’t find my wallet. My keys I lose constantly, but not my wallet. After yelling at George to look in my bag, George goes, “Why don’t you call it?” “Call it?” I replied. “Yeah, maybe you can hear it ring.” He said matter of factly. “GEORGE! I AM NOT LOOKING FOR A CELL PHONE, I AM LOOKING FOR MY FRIGGIN WALLET!” I felt bad, but this is how I get with someone that is constantly not following along with the rest of the group. My wallet was found in my driver’s seat. Grrr as Mike Straka would say.
Revenge Of The GPS
Jack decided we would use the GPS to go to Bethlehem, PA because he had gotten wind that there were going to be some major traffic problems if we took the major routes. Well…the GPS had a mind of its own. It was giving Jack wrong directions, wrong places to turn, when all was said and done, we still made good time, but it doesn’t help when you have someone comatose from not sleeping nearly falling on you as you turn. Oh god, how can I do this again? Once we got to the Comfort Suites in Bethlehem, PA, I realized I was spent already. Stressed, had crap to go over on the script, had emails to answer, and had to try to get to the pre-show. Well, once we got in and felt the AC, it was time to just chill out. We had to unpack, test equipment, and by then I had said to George, "Go to sleep now, I want you awake the whole weekend." We all fell asleep by 11, and were on the way to day 1.
Let’s Go To Riverside, And No, Not The Town
I was the first to arrive at Nearfest Saturday morning to watch some of KBB. They were good but I really knew nothing about them since I couldn’t get them to send me any music to air. I was more eager to see the next band in Poland’s Riverside. I watched the set beginning to end and it was powerful. The song that got me the most was the title cut to their last album, Second Life Syndrome. Puddin was already booking his trip to the land of Ghiyoregay and people were noticin’. Thank god for Jack. That’s all I can say. We had our blow up at Nearfest ‘03 and since then, we have been fine. Jack has always been my voice of reason. I think at this point, I had had it with Puddin and the constant sleeping was getting to be too much. I saw a few minutes of Richard Leo Johnson and began stressing over the upcoming broadcast. For me, Nearfest has always been a meeting place to connect with allllllllllllllll the people I rap with every night on email and Instant Messenger throughout the course of the year. Unfortunately at times, I miss out on some of the bands. But I had to be honest, there were only a few bands I really wanted to see this year. I rank the Nearfests’ like this:
Nearfest 2000
Nearfest 2002
Nearfest 2004
Nearfest 1999
Nearfest 2001
Nearfest 2005
Nearfest 2003
Nearfest 2006
It’s not a bashing thing. Just my ranking that’s all. I liked FM, but only saw a minute of them as we had to head to the University Station bar with Carl Eisenhart, Kevin Feeley, Ray Laboda, and the rest of the crew to set up for the live broadcast. I was still fired up. I hung out with Ray Weston from Echolyn while Tom Hyatt’s staph infection just got uglier. Jack was exhausted. His work schedule prior to us leaving had been stressful, while I was just happy to be away from work. Jack wanted to lie down for a little while as a migraine set in. Jack entered the land of Ghiyoregay and was not heard or saw from again. Well, at least until 9:30 when he woke up in a panic. “You are set up already?!??!” He yelled. “Yeah Jack, its fine. We are done. Relax. As long as you feel better it’s all good. And anyway, you looked too peaceful.” I smiled as I shut the hotel door. The show began. It was a whirlwind. I *finally* had the chance to have Aural Moon’s staff there. Davin Flateau, Roger.Lee, and Jim Brennan. Finally! They were there for the broadcast and had Roger Lee hang out with us for quite sometime. We had some great guests, Riverside, The NJ PROGHOUSE guys, Michael Ostrich, Chad Hutchinson, Roger Lee, Cam Hawkins, Richard Leo Johnson, and other various peeps as the night drew on. Jack came down to help but I could see he was spent. He filmed and took some pictures that turned out great. Engineering wise, there were some flubs on track #’s for songs and UW that Anchor had some difficulty with, but nonetheless, when all was said and done, it was another success story. As always, I felt uninspired after the broadcast. Like no one really cared. I mean they did, but I just felt that they didn’t. Rob didn’t even come down to check on how things went. Montreal started dancing in my mind. They seem VERY receptive to us and already have laid out some things for us if we do in fact go. We’ll see how it goes. I hung out for the after party till about 3ish, then realized, like last year, I can’t fall asleep. I finally hit the hay after answering some emails by 7am. I woke up the latest I had ever awoke at a Nearfest, compared to 1999, I woke up at 12:45. After taking care of some PR things, I ran to eat, and made it back to Nearfest in time for Niacin. I had no rushing urge to see Ange, but was more upset I missed the person I wanted to see most, Michael Manring. But Niacin made up for it. They played with reckless abandon through their catalog and blew minds. Who need’s coffee when you have Niacin? We went back to our hotel room to change and get ready for The Keith Emerson Band. It was great. The crowd went wild. He opened with some classic ELP tunes, while Marc Bonilla did a hell of a job singing the vocals of Keith’s one time counterpart. All in all it was great, but then the drum solo in Tarkus got to be a bit much, and I struggled to try and figure out Jack’s camera and keep it from flashing. I finally did. It was back to our hotel for a night of laughing and carrying on. But the harsh realization was there, and Jack made it clear. Are we really needed here at NEARfest? Is it time for the Gagliarchives to move on? Or check out other possibilities? Or just stay with Nearfest and do broadcasts from other festivals where it would be maybe a bit more receptive. I have loved watching Nearfest grow from year to year, but maybe our show really isn’t needed that way anymore. Time to reinvent? Maybe…but I think now that it’s up to Jack and I. We are the carriers of the show. Somehow, someway it will all work out. But until then, it remains to be seen. Montreal will be the barometer. I drove home and listened to Mei while George slept. Surprise, surprise. Once we crossed into Burlington County I could smell the green of the Pines and hear it speak. “Welcome home buddy….here are some old roads to study…” “Oh thank you for being here.” I replied with a smile as we drove down this old, lonely road. “Thank you for coming home, we missed you.”
I swore I heard that.

This Program Ran 3 Hours and 52 Minutes

162
75
Wait There, I Will Be Right Down
It was a crazy night Friday while Roger and I hit the Jughandle. The fury came to a head which made me realize two things. Dude you are getting too old for this stuff, and the other being that no matter how much I believe in physically standing up for yourself to a trouble maker, after a certain point in your life as you become an adult, it’s not worth the cost of winning or losing. Yeah sure you have all the people coming up to you after going, “That guy was a real jerk and he deserved it…” and blah blah blah, but is it worth walking around with a cracked rib and a swollen face? I think not. But I have to admit in a weird sick way, I still enjoyed it. Oh and by the way, ice does help. Maybe someone should let Ben Rothelsburger know that. I guess the odds makers raised the chances on the Super Bowl for Philadelphia a little higher.
Cheepnis Of Memory 44
Tonight’s show was more a mellow atmosphere as we prepped ourselves for the upcoming weekend of madness. I went rather light on the programming only because next week would be where all the specifics would be important. We went with some new Tunnels by request, which by the way, is an excellent recording. We also featured the new Frost CD from the insideout label which is sure to get a lot of attention. Another powerhouse is the new Derek Sherinian CD titled Blood Of The Snake which features Billy Idol, Zakk Wylde, and many other prog/metal mainstays. This disc is another sure to please release for the heavier minded prog fans. Sherinian blows off the doors with this one. We also featured the new archive re-releases of the French Canadian band Conventum and their 2 albums, Le Bureau Central Des Utoples and A L'affut D'un Complot. Great folkish sounds that border between chamber music and jazz. Really good stuff from the Progquebec guys. I toast them. We went into the archives for memory #44 in which this time since Nearfest was so close, we decided to spotlight our popular interview from 2004 in Mike Keneally. Mike gave us a half hour of time and was very candid. I remember after airing the original interview the main response was: “I can’t believe how much he talked about playing with Zappa….he never does that. He avoids it.” Well we aired it and it was the same thing this time around. All hail the Guitar Therapy CD. When it’s official it’s a top 5iver.

This Program Ran 4 Hours and One Minute

One Funeral, One Wedding, And A Concert

I’ll tell ya. When it rains it pours. An icon of my childhood passed away this week in my Great Aunt Delores. They lived in Blackwood, NJ, and still do, near the future ‘first’ home of the gagliarchives. Her daughter, my cousin Gayle, is one of my favorite cousins. One of the coolest chicks I know. We are literally the same age and had the same experiences in life. My Aunt was very cool. Generous, tough, fair, and caring when she needed to be. My Great Uncle Tony passed away when Gayle was very young. I can’t imagine not growing up with a father. Despite the circumstances, Gayle turned out perfect. My Aunt was sick for quite some and Gayle and her husband did the best they could do to care for her. What saddened me the most, were two things: The first being that I didn’t spend enough time with my Aunt Delores to appreciate her more; she was a very strong woman. Secondly, in recent years, I have lost touch with my cousin and missed watching her kids grow. These are just a few of my hidden regrets.
Chaos On Shirley Avenue
All week long the buildup to my brother’s wedding got more intense. It was all a blur. On top of prepping for the Nearfest broadcast coming up at the end of June, having this all fit was clearly going to be a challenge. Once the wedding day arrived (and careful mopping of the floor) it all fell into place. I love my brother to death, so besides him driving me absolutely nuts leading up to this day, I just bit my tongue and devised my words to be said at the ceremonial toast. I had my best man speech ready and it went like this:

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and for those than don’t know me, I’m Bink, Mike’s brother….and I have been given the honor of being Michael’s best man. I want to thank both my parents, and Kristen’s family. What can you say about a guy who came from humble beginnings and is now quickly rising to the very top of his profession based solely on intelligence, grit and the willpower to push on where others might fail? A man who is beginning to distinguish himself amongst his peers and where none can say a bad word against him? Well, that's enough about the best man. I'm here to talk about Michael. No seriously, Michael and I are Irish twins…being only 10 months apart. Despite being close in age, Michael and I are very different. But there is one thing that we share is a sense of humor. No one can make me laugh like Michael…but then again no one makes me want to beat someone unmercifully like Michael. I can’t think of anyone else who would call me 15 times in the span of 45 minutes at 7 in the morning to see what I’m doing. Mike’s obviously taller and had better raw talent in sports. Michael could throw a baseball across 3 baseball fields. Unfortunately he would do it when all we needed was him to throw it to the second baseman to get the guy out. It was pretty embarrassing when the players from the other field would walk our baseballs back to us.
All came down to glasses.
That Michael still won’t wear.
He said he didn’t like the way he looked in them. Well I could understand that concept.
Until Michael wants to have me drive with him somewhere.
Especially at night. Back in the day we would go to adelphia’s in depfort and Michael would insist on driving. I don’t know what was scarier. Me driving drunk, or Michael sober with his face as close to the windshield as possible asking me which lane we were in on route 42. This drive usually had my arms pressed against the ceiling and sobering up real quick. Michael can make you laugh your ass off. And honestly, I don’t think he realizes at times.
Nobody in our family has had more injuries than Mike. Broken wrists, toes, teeth, scars…but Michael’s always been a good sport. Even in his travels in life, Michael has always rebounded from the worst of situations. A few years back Michael was challenged with a rough situation….a real test. But Michael has a beautiful way of not letting grass grow under his feet, and making lemonade out of lemons. He always looks to the brite side of life with a sick twist. I admire that. When Michael first met Kristen, I was in awe of how much love he was in and envied that in a good way. 5 years later, their love hasn’t wavered. I see it by the way they look in their eyes, and the things they that they do for one another. Kristen is a one of a kind…special…beautiful and a great match for my brother. I can only hope one day to have what you two have. I mean that. May you be friends to each other as only lovers can; and may you love each other as only best friends can.

Cheers

Food, people, tuxedos, dancing, cheese cubes, rain storms, Cassady walking in with me, quiche hors d oveurs, more dancing, then passing out. That was my Saturday.

Jacka Plays Jacka
My engineer, the whacky jebster, contacted Roger and I a month prior to let us know that we would be going to see the greatest show ever in Zappa Plays Zappa. He was so pumped, he bought the tickets. I knew this had to be good. And guess what. It was. Worth every penny and every minute of the 3 ½ hour set. We had excellent seats and lots to drink. I was a bit buzzed by the time we walked in. In the beginning of the set, the spotlight went to an 11 year old named Eric who was witnessing his first concert. And this was it. Totally awesome. His dad rules. The concert was at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, PA and featured the centerpoint in Dweezil Zappa. Dweezil was great. He pretty much did the best interpretation of his father’s music than anyone I have heard or seen embark on. He stood in the center of the stage and at times reminded me of his father with his calm mannerisms as he played. Look he’s not Steve Vai, but let me tell you, it had to be a challenge to master all the changes of Frank’s music. Imagine having him as your dad. But Dweezil was truly superb. My respect for Dweezil multiplied 4 times as I watched. As I mentioned, Steve Vai was introduced in the second set after Terry’s drum solo leading into the Black Page. What a buildup leading to it. The crowd went nuts. The whole concert featured the animated vocals of Napoleon Murphy Brock, who is timeless with his intensity. Terry Bozzio began the second set on drums with the song I’m So Cute. But I don’t think anything compared to Punky’s Whips. That’s totally Terry. I could not get over how amazingly powerful he still is playing all this stuff. Very impressive. I can’t say enough about Joe Travers. At first, I knew I hadn’t seen Terry in a while, and was unsure of how he looked up to this point. I turned to Jack and said, whoa, Terry looks different. He laughed and goes, dude, that’s Joe Travers. Joe did a lot of the spoken parts as well and was mind blowing. When both him and Terry were playing together (Which I love watching) the band and energy swept off the stage and made the audience go nuts. Another gem on stage was Pete Griffin on Bass, who was probably my favorite during the show. He was stellar. Very busy the whole show. One player I wish I had heard more of was Keyboardist & Vocalist Aaron Arntz. He was excellent during Cheepnis and Inca Roads. I also can’t forget Billy Hulting on Percussion and Jamie Kime on rhythm Guitar. But what I have to say who I watched the most was Scheila Gonzales. She played assorted Horns, played Keyboards and sang backup vocals. She was hot. A Latina that plays Sax, sings and is sexy? And mastered Zappa music??!?? Oh boy. She made my night. I think I’m in love. Here was the setlist:
SET 1
Imaginary Diseases
Hungry Freaks Daddy
Let’s Make the Water Turn Black
Florentine Pogen
Pygmy Twylite
The Idiot Bastard Son
Cheepnis
King Kong
Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow
St. Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast
Inca Roads
Eat that Question

SET II
I’m So Cute**
Trying to Grow a Chin**
City of Tiny Lights**
Punky’s Whips**
The Black Page** (just Drums)
The Black Page*** (full band, intro of Steve Vai)
Peaches En Regalia***
Montana***
Village of the sun***
Echinda’s Arf (of you)***
Zomby Wolf***
E: Camarillo Brillo
More Trouble Everyday (great solo battle btwn Vai/Dweez and Bozzio had a nice solo)
Token of My Extreme (Outro)*

(Legend)
*with little Eric
**with Terry Bozzio
***with Steve Vai

Dat’s How I Roll, Yo
All in all, it was a perfect night. And people know me for getting up during many concerts because I can’t take sitting too long without my legs hurting. This one? I stayed the whole show except for going to the bathroom and intermission. It was great. Roger disappeared during Punky’s Whips which Jack and I were thoroughly disappointed with, but eh…that’s life. As the concert ended, we rolled out to see loyal listener Billy Cyr from Washington Township outside. It was cool. He was doing well and looked forward to seeing us at Nearfest. On the way back, Jack’s back seat broke. That’s when Roger did a forward roll from the front seat to slam into my seat to hopefully snap it into place. That didn’t work, but we almost flew off the Walt Whitman Bridge. Now THAT would have been cool. With King Kong on in the background no less. Yeah that would have rocked. We got back to my place and finished the Weis beer that Jack brought over for the Echolyn show. The lights shut off, and on to sleepville. What an ending to a wild weekend. My brother got married, didn’t meet one person at his wedding, and finished out the humdrum weekend with a bang in Zappa Plays Zappa. All in all, it was more introspective than anything. I am dozing now thinking of Scheila Gonzales playing in an open field…...I am smiling.

That’s how I roll.

156
66
Let's Go For A Gride
Sometimes you have to wait for good music to come to you. Then all at once, you get a ton of great stuff you don't know what to do with. Feast or famine. That was tonight. I aired the new Ozric Tentacles The Floor's Too Far Away which is a bit of a different flavor this time around with a slightly different line up. We opened tonight's show with Soft Machine's Legacy which is a tribute to the late great Elton Dean who passed away earlier this year. We also closed out with the latest Soft Machine archive from the wonderful Cuneiform Records label titled Grides. Grides features Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, Mike Ratledge, and Robert Wyatt recorded live at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on October 25, 1970. This also has the track from Elton Dean titled Neo-Caliban Grides, which has a fairly lengthy composed section that was never heard again. Steve never ceases to amaze me with all the great archives he finds. Bless his heart.
The Return Of McGill
Scott McGill has been a mainstay on our program since 1995. But I have known Scott since I was in elementary school. Scott was a student of my father in his mid to late teens. He was one of the only students that my father said "He doesn't need me...he's got it already." Scott's breakthrough onto my program began back in 1995 with The Hand Farm. These were songs not on a CD. These were early cassette recordings that I still consider timeless to this day. Since 1995, I have seen Scott become one of the premiere guitarists in today's scene. I am happy to be a witness of his growing talent. Our interview began with a spotlight on the forthcoming McGill/Manring/Stevens CD titled What We Do. This is a disc that more or less was inspired by the last MMS tour that was hampered by faulty equipment. The thick and thin of it is, it's a disc that features many jazz/fusion classics done in the MMS way. It kicks ass. After featuring some tracks from it, we did a retrospect. Spotlighting the Ripe album from 1999, the short lived Finneus Gauge, The Hand Farm live performance in our studio from 3/99 as part of our 50 Weeks To 1000 showcase. We then began our trek into Addition By Subtraction (Our #1 album of 2001) and Controlled By Radar. Scott as always, is a great guest, one of the leading fusion guitarists in the world, and a close friend. The interview and retrospect lasted 2 1/2 hours. Another gem to be heard again down the road.

Tonight's Program Ran 4 Hours and 2 Minutes