Around the world Jo Jo Gator comes home again BY BOB GULLA

Jo Jo Gator has come home. He’s done some traveling, done some work far and wide, and now he’s come full circle back to Rhode Island, where he can truly enrich the local music scene. Yeah, it’s been awhile since Jo Jo’s days with Maurice Starr and Q-Te’. If you travel in certain commercial pop circles, you might remember Jo Jo as a Starr protégé’ back in the ’80’s. But Gator also made his mark on the national music scene with his own creations, including Q-Te’ and Victoria Angeles, both of which were released on a BMG imprint. Jo Jo also worked with near-miss act Dead Eye Dick, whose song "New Age Girl" was heard on the Dumb and Dumber soundtrack.

Over the past 20 years Gator has bounced from coast to coast and has seen lots of clients and partners come and go. One constant in his professional career has been former vice president of rock promotions at Elektra and all-around radio promo pro/ mentor, George Cappellini, a member of Gator’s new team along with Steve Lupo. The trio has two recording studios (in Seekonk and Chepachet), a mobile recording truck, offices in Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey, and a direct line to all of the major record labels. You could say that all the machinery for success is in place.

The team’s new roster leads off with singer/songwriter Elisa Lomazzo, a 13-year-old rocker who fronts a band called Post Hollywood. You can witness the prodigy on April 30 at her CD release party at the Call. Another of Gator World’s talents is Stephanie Taylor, who will perform songs written by Gator, Lupo, and noted producer/Marvelous Three frontman Butch Walker. Gator is also working with some local bands, including Planet Groove, Bob’s Day Off and, in conjunction with G&G Entertainment, Monty’s Fan Club who, word has it, is on the verge of landing a significant national deal.

Now here’s the good part: Gator World is looking for excellent rock and pop-rock bands and artists to represent. To submit material, call (401) 568-4453 or contact gatorworld@cox.net.

Second Annual Industrial Creep Show. AbSynthe is throwing its second annual Industrial Creep Show bash at the Living Room on Friday (the 18th). This is one of many shows the band puts on every year that features local, regional, and national acts. Last year at the Creep Show’s debut, AbSynthe recruited Bile and the fab More.Machine.Than.Man to co-headline the event and it was a great success.

This year MMTM is returning. They’re a female-led electronic metal with a penchant for multimedia-type entertainment. Skabdriver is the other co-headliner. Touring up from Pennsylvania, they’re making a name for themselves with an outrageous techno-metal slant in the Vincent Price vein, which is to say, "horror." It’s their first show in Rhode Island so give ’em a hand. Klone is also on the bill, and brings a political/satirical tone to their sets to help bludgeon their industrial rock points home. And Uncle Big Time is a Massachusetts outfit also making their local debut. They’ve got this Ministry thing down pretty good, so earplugs are essential.

Then, of course, it’s Absynthe. Their site is under construction, so give ’em a chance to spruce up before surfing over to www.absynthetheband.com. The Creep Show’s only gonna set you back $10 and it’s all ages, so electronic metal gangbusters shouldn’t hesitate.

Rune Live. Have you heard Rune? Well, ya better get on board because lotsa people have hung among the Runes and things are happening. The Bristol gang, who have been honing their chops in Newport and over at Judge Roy Bean’s in their hometown, will be recording a live album at Area Venue in Newport this Sunday (the 20th) from 3 to 6 p.m. You’re invited, but get there early because they have lots of loyal fans who’ll want to get in on the fun. The doors close after the first 150 folks pass through.

Rune plays a mix of originals and classics, but puts its own spin on their covers — that is, they drape them with a Celtic sound, thanks to Heather Church’s reelin’ violin. Taking their lead from bands such as U2, Dave Matthews, and R.E.M., Rune prides itself on the way it filters that Celtic vibe throughout their tuneage. Could it be they’ve come up with a new genre?

In addition to Church, the lineup also features Colby James on guitar and lead vocals, Louis Mateos on bass and backing vocals, and drummer/ percussionist Andy Tarter. "We’ve heard countless times that we’re the kind of band you need to hear live," the band posits, "so we’re taking [those] words to heart in the creation of our sophomore album by recording it live. Our desire is to create an album that imparts the energy, sincerity and sheer joy of the live Rune experience." As they say in the ol’ country, "Go n-éirí on bóthar leat!"

Wandering Eye. Greg Hodde plays on Friday at the American Legion Hall in Riverside and on Saturday (the 19th) at the Elbow Room in Bristol. Hodde’s rockin’ blues get underway at 9 p.m. both nights.

It’s a typically busy week at AS220. Tonight (Thursday, the 17th), it’s Early Day Miners, who record for the Secretly Canadian label, with Barn Burning, the Wilderness, and the Internet. Local faves Barn Burning will be playing some old favorites as well as some newer songs that are designed to distance the band from its "alt-country" reputation. They’ll have a new record done sometime this spring, complete with songs about shitty hometowns, failed friends, drunk drivers, fallen trees, broken vans, and long dark rooms in mill buildings.

On Friday at AS220 it’s Pleasurehorse, Les Trolls (from France), Brooklyn Beats, the Wind Up Bird, and Decades. On Wednesday (the 23rd), Armageddon presents Playing Enemy, Conifer, Sulaco, and the Nightmare Continues. Lotsa fun onEmpire Street, I’ll tell you.

Johnny Carlevale & the Broken Rhythm Boys will be having a "Viva Las Vegas" pre-party at Jake’s Bar & Grille on Saturday. "Viva Las Vegas" is one of the most popular roots-music events worldwide and it goes without saying that it’s a real coup the band was chosen to play. So to help celebrate that opportunity and before they jump a plane to Vegas, Providence gets a hometown treat. In addition, R&B phenom Eli "Paperboy" Reed will open up the night, followed by the Tim Herouox Trio and Thru the Keyhole Burlesque. Yowzah!

Funkatronic’s been logging some miles lately, getting out on the road and converting people into fans. This Friday they’ll be closer to home at a very cool restaurant and lounge in Wakefield called Daniel B’s. Check it out at www.danielbs.net. In other Funkatronic news, the band has lots of new original material they’ve been trying on at Jack Gauthier’s Lakewest Studio in Coventry.

Smokestack Lightnin’ is bringing its blues to the southern part of the state — Okie’s Bar & Grill in Narragansett on Friday and the Steel Horse in Portsmouth on Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m.

Darkbuster is hosting a listening party on Sunday at the Green Room for their new disc, the euphemistically titled A Weakness for Spirits. The Boston punky rude boys have a good buzz going courtesy of their scrappy, Social Dish sound — and winning a Providence audience is high on the band’s list of priorities. They might even have a special guest band playing the party.

E-mail me with music news at big.daddy1@cox.net.