Things were slow over the winter, so I went into the vaults, almost literally; we have a bomb shelter built into our house. Well, that’s how it was described to us when we bought it in 2005. The house was built in 1942 and we are only a couple of miles from what used to …
Buffalo Tom was asked to do a song for a compilation to benefit an artist that I had heard of but had whose music I didn’t really know. But the Sweet Relief benefit record was for a good cause, covering the songs of an artist named Victoria Williams, who was suffering from MS, and like …
I left Catholicism behind when I was 18. The schism first occurred, though, just as I was starting that sacrament known as penance, which I recall happening around 3rd grade, or 9 years old. So, let me get this straight, I thought, I go into this mysterious dark booth, kneel down and confess my sins …
Taking on the sacred cow, here is my version of “You Won’t See Me.” Yes, by the Beatles. Sorry kids. A little rough ’round the edges, this one. Also, I will spare you my weekly ramble-nalia for now. I am sure I can tie some rant to this cover. “It was Liverpool, 1959, when I …
When I was growing up, my uncle Pat (his name changed here) was the family lush on the Irish side (we grew up pretty much half Italian/half Irish, though my Irish father also had French and Russian on is side, hence the surname). The “lush on the Irish side” may seem redundant, but someone has …
In 1983 my friend, Danny and I tried to ditch this neighborhood misanthrope when he stepped into the Harbor Deli. We discussed and then decided to just start running, willy nilly, with no destination in mind other than “away.” Billy G. stepped out of the deli, looked left then right, saw us scattering in the …
Mike’s Myspace Mike dropped in on Buffalo Tom while we were in the studio the other night recording a cover for a tribute record — more details to come later — and dropped off his new solo CD. It has one of my favorite songs of the year so far, “Paper Knives.” The title is …
We finished up the residency of four Saturdays at Toad in Cambridge last night. Buffalo Tom was in the hiz-ouse for six songs, two debuts of new songs and some back catalog stuff. For me, it was a spectacular ending to a soul-enriching regular weekly event that helped me get through the dreariest of all …
When Buffalo Tom started to take a bit of a hiatus that ended up lasting 7 years or so, one of the things I did was start writing a bit more, mostly song reviews for the site allmusic.com. When I say “reviews,” they are mainly essays on why I love the songs. I think I …
I’m posting next week’s cover a few days early, as it is timely: a cover of Steve Earle’s aching “Valentine’s Day.” Steve has put out so much music over the years that it is difficult to keep up. He is one of those artists whom I feel guilty about not keeping completely up with, as …