Gene Pitney - Town Without Pity

Gene Pitney, who died earlier this year, was one of the great singer-songwriters of the early 1960s.

Little Richard - Lucille

Another one of those great singers of all time forgotten by Clear Channel and Infinity Broadcasting.

Will the Tonics turn into this?

We'd look kickass with an upright bass, don't you think?

Another rehearsal

The Tonics are looking more and more like an oldies act everyday. Today, they added the following to their repertoire:

Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs - Stay
The Beatles - Hold Me Tight
Del Shannon - Runaway
Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Tommy James & The Shondells - Crimson And Clover

At this rate, they're going to be touring the retirement homes in a few months. Way to go, guys.

15 years on

Today is the 15th anniversary of Freddie Mercury's death.

Rehearsal, for what?

A few months ago, the Tonics were on the verge of indie pop stardom with several Hollywood gigs and the release of their brilliant debut album, Get Things Done.

How quickly things change! The Tonics have apparently stepped away from the verge and back into garage band territory. Just look at today's rehearsal program:

The Zombies - Tell Her No
Al Green - Let's Stay Together
Tommy James & The Shondells - I Think We're Alone Now
The Everly Brothers - All I Have To Do Is Dream
The Beatles - Nowhere Man
The Beatles - She Loves You
The Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning
Brenton Wood - Gimme Little Sign
The Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby
Sculpted Static - Lorem Ipsum

Notice the total absence of any original material. What happened to the creativity?? Have Mark and the bean counter given up on songwriting?? Okay, we know the corporate whore-for-it has sold his soul to the man, but what about the next superstar with a goatee?? What happened to "Our House"?

Rehearsal

Today, Mark, Arta and the sell-out reconvened in a cavern underneath South Pasadena: Arta with his Dean Palomino, Mark with his trademark acoustic guitar, and the corporate whore with his old RadioShack keyboard. They played the Zombies' "Tell Her No," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" and "Oh Pretty Woman," and the Beatles' "Anna" and "Don't Let Me Down." Are they turning into a 1960s cover band? Only time will tell.

"Help! The drums and instruments on my 60s records are panned to one side, and it's annoying as fuck!"

----Sounds like a job for Somewhat Mono, a Winamp plug-in that'll mix everything down to mono.

"Neon Phosphor! Have you left us?"

----No, I just wanted to make y'all frustrated from the lack of witticism.