Digging the scene

Johnny Juxo is taking care of the past

by Bob Gulla

Those of you (us) a little long in the tooth might remember the post-punk years of the early '80s, when the local scene thrived hugely at the hands of bands like Proletariat, Verbal Assault, Neutral Nation, Gangster Glory, Vicious Circle, Rash of Stabbings, Lou Miami and the Kozmetix, and new wavers like the Schemers and the Probers. It was a ripe time in P-Town to be sure. Unlike the present, bands didn't need to plead with people to come out to a show; the music itself and the possibility of a scintillating night of crash and burn tunes lured them, along with the promise of a 2 a.m. chili dog at the Silver Top. Longtime local demi-legend Johnny Juxo, formerly of the Mumbling Skulls, the Flying Ditchdiggers and, more recently, the Big Nazo Band, looks back on those times fondly.

"I remember the scene back in 1982 and '83. Looking back on it now, it seemed that if we were unliked or unpopular that was cool and we knew we were cool. If you stole gigs from real bands that was cool!"

Juxo's Mumbling Skulls were so cool, in fact, they turned down an invitation to the then popular Rock Hunt, choosing instead to put on an Anti-Hunt night at an old place called the Cage. "We were from the same school as the Clash and the Damned and Richard Hell. We did 20 songs in a 20-minute set. We had a lot of brothers in arms around at the time and it gave us strength."

Today, Juxo recalls the time so fondly that he's established his own label to begin reissuing the great music from that period. "Ty Jesso put the bug in my head about releasing a hardcore compilation from that period," says Juxo. "But then I thought, `Why should I wait for someone to put the Skulls on a hardcore compilation when I could do something better on the band myself?' "

And off he went. His first release on his Juxotone imprint is Mumbling Skulls' '84 Live, a trip down memory lane for anyone who enjoyed the old Living Room and Providence the way it used to be. "There were always the loft parties in the mills," he digresses. "We used to hire fake security guards for when the police showed up. Lupo's was cool. Once Rich called us to borrow our Marshalls so Link Wray could play that night. We liked the Rocket, the Cage 1 and Cage 2. Living Room was always good to us and we had some fun times at WRIU, the URI station, and 333's down in Newport."

Back then, the Skulls consisted of Pete McLanahan, now of the Worried, and drummer/vocalist Frank Colacone. '84 Live is a whipsmart barrage of a post-punk disc with Juxo's slashing guitar and the band's roaring ensemble vocals, recorded in part on WRIU and in part at the Living Room back in December of 1984. There's even a new track, "I Mumble," written by McLanahan just last year.

Over the course of this year, Juxo plans to extend his nostalgia trip by drumming up a few more reissues from that period, including a pair by his also sorely missed Flying Ditchdiggers, featuring Juxo with a young Johnny Provost. "Johnny was a monster," says Juxo fondly. "He didn't know a blues scale back then, but now you can't touch him. We did a Ditchdigger reunion at a wedding last April that went really well. It's good music that I really want to put out."

But Juxo and Juxotone aren't merely reissuing old discs. The label's Loose at the Rhode Island School of Design is a new live album from an impromptu bunch that goes by Loose Marbles. The gig's a rollick to be sure, with covers of Chuck Berry ("Reelin' and Rockin' " and "C'est La Vie"), Carl Perkins ("Everybody's Tryin' ") and John Lennon ("It's So Hard"). Juxo explains the scenario: "Pete McLanahan's dad Preston is a retired RISD professor who has always been into jazz. He's also in charge of hiring the music on the RISD scene, the entertainment coordinator. He liked my barrelhouse piano, so we started jamming with him on stand-up bass, a drummer, and a young kid on clarinet. We played over at RISD and Preston made a mini-disc recording of the gig."

Juxo also plans on releasing other of his new projects. "I wanna make some product and have it with me," he says, "depending on what I need it for. Whatever my future music interest is, I wanna have product. But before we take care of the future we'll take care of the past, like Big World and Neutral Nation. It would be cool to put some stuff out by them. The Big World recording is live at Harpo's. That might see the light of day."

If you're wondering how Juxo, a part-time cab driver and general hard worker, has come by the money to do this stuff, well, it's not as expensive as you think. With a new Mac G4, a Toast Deluxe program, and a CD burner, he's been able to put records out cheaply and in small quantities. "I can do 20 to 50 copies of a CD. If you supply the artwork and a tape, we can talk. I've found it's a great way to bring people in the music scene together again." Often, Juxo's wife Virginia Stevens does the graphic design, which has given the releases a polished look. "It's a real mom and pop operation," he says. "Without Ginny there'd just be silver discs with music."

Regardless of what happens from these records financially, the label's provided a good umbrella to call attention to some good records. "I think I'll just let it go where it wants to go, whether that means reissues, new stuff, or even kids' music." Mumbling Skulls CDs are available at Tom's Tracks, In Your Ear, and Ethnic Concepts in Newport, while the Loose Marbles Live at RISD is only available at the RISD bookstore.

Juxo will be playing this Friday the 26th at Billy Goode's on Marlboro Street in Newport, diagonally across from the White Horse Tavern. Joining him will be old friends Iggy Talls (aka Stevie Lepper) and Johnny Provost on guitar.

WANDERING EYE. This evening (Thursday the 24th), PSquared brings K artist Sarah Dougher to AS220 for a 10 p.m. set. Dougher was behind Lady Fest in Olympia this past summer and she's in Cadallaca with members of Sleater-Kinney. If you know her work you know she writes right-on pop songs worth every second of the time it takes to hear them. Coupled with Dougher is Mark Robinson, former brain behind the once-great Teen Beat label and the fabulous Unrest. Matt Derby formerly of the promising Pines of Rome, also appears in what could be an intriguing night of pop.

This Friday, the 'mericans, which includes Chris and Will from Purple Ivy Shadows (who themselves are just finishing a new record for the Dark Beloved Cloud imprint) along with Dan Kim and Tyler William Long, are opening a low-key show at the great new White Electric Coffee place on Broadway. The show is at 8 p.m. sharp and will also include Eric Fontana from Mother Jefferson and Philly's Joey Sweeney, a one-time Providence resident. His new band is called the Trouble With Sweeney. It's a terrific bill and it's free.

On Saturday, the 27th at Jazzmasters on North Main, Planet Groove hits the stage for another entertaining night of adventurous rhythms. The last time Leith, Ajay, John, Larry, and Aaron played there it produced a sweaty, SRO night of worldbeat dazzle. Don't be late.

Next Wednesday the 31st at 9:30 at AS220, Thrill Jockey roster guy the Lonesome Organist and cool Jade Tree artist Euphone share the stage with locals V for Vendetta. Another worthwhile night.

This just in: Local music zine Full Force Attak is staging a benefit show this Saturday (the 27th) at the Living Room. Boston hardcore band Fit For Abuse is opening, then you'll get Boston's Tommy and the Terrors, West Virginia Oi! band Battalion 86, and New Jersey street punks the Wretched Ones (first time in more than three years in New England). Headlining is D.C.'s Iron Cross, who recently reformed after a 15-year hiatus. Doors open at 7:30 and the show costs $8; it's all ages (21 to drink).

E-mail me with any news at b_gulla@yahoo.com. I've gotten some shit lately about printing information people didn't want printed. If you don't want your correspondence to me considered for reprint, don't send it!