6/17/11 - Wow!  It's been awhile, hasn't it?  Curtis is back out there, pounding the skins and foisting his geeky songs upon new and other unsuspecting persons.  The lineup is solid, this time, I must say.  Vinny on bass.  Shigesan on guitar.  I'm very lucky to have them.  So, there are hopefully more gigs, more songs, more recordings and more weird photo montages with my unusual narratives awaiting all of us. 

* * * * * * * * * *

Now, on a very different note, there is something I need to report here that I've been having (and am still having) some difficulty with.  Our friend Atlantis Black passed away awhile back.  This was and is a tragedy.  My particular pantheon of music and musicians is now missing an entire galaxy.  There is a complete gap where Atlantis used to be.  In my opinion, she was a very special artist - much larger in stature than a casual glance at her would suggest.  It seemed as if she literally wrote with her heart and her innermost experiences on the outside for everyone to see.  I don't think I've ever met anyone besides her who was able, in her own sincere and raw way, to write, compose and perform in this manner.  That, to me, made her very, very special.  She had no difficulty discovering the authenticity of her experiences to use as a touchstone.  There are a lot of us who consider ourselves to be composers/writers who wish or strive for this kind of connection to their muse or inspiration and ultimately just fail, or come up short.  She did not.  I am honored to have been involved with her music and grateful that I was able to play drums for her.  I was also lucky enough to back her up with the majority of the Teenage Prayers filling out the rest of the band.  The Teenage Prayers feel to me like a modern day form of The Band - they bring with them a feeling of "home" and a center - a certain steadiness.  They are also great songwriters and performers in their own right.  We were lucky enough to have some of our performances captured on video.  Try these links:

"More Than Opium - 2/3/05 at Arlene's Grocery

"Parking Lot Queen" - 2/3/05 at Arlene's Grocery

"In My Bed" - 2/3/05 at Arlene's Grocery, NYC

"Kerosine/F*ck My Heart" - 2/3/05 at Arlene's Grocery, NYC

Atlantis's sister and Tim Adams of the Teenage Prayers maintain a postumous Facebook page for Atlantis: 

Atlantis's Facebook page

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9/1/06 - So, what are you all waiting for?  The new album by the Teenage Prayers is out and available for purchase at www.teenageprayers.com.  The Teenage Prayers are one of my favorite bands.  The Prayers are the real deal.  They sing about love trysts gone arwy, addiction, good and bad memories.  They use the word "ablution" in one of their songs.  It's pretty heavy.  Sample a track or two and see if you like it.  Curtis plays drums on two tracks too - so how can you go wrong.  I recommend it - highly.   If you've felt like there's something missing from your life, some spice or sentiment or void, the Teenage Prayers will right what's wrong.  They're actually more a prescription than a band.  So, as soon as you finish updating yourself with this current rant, go go go to their website and check it out!

As some of you may know, the Continental will be changing its formula and will cease to host live music as of 9/17/06.  It's rumored that the club will triple its business once bands stop assaulting the patrons (which says alot about the future of live music in clubs).  But, the Continental has been my home away from home for performing for over 15 years.  The loss of the space will be sorely felt and, with CB's closing its doors at the end of October, the NYC music scene has pretty much dried up from Houston St going north from my view.  But, we wish Trigger and the Continental nothing but the best and acknowledgment for being such gracious hosts all these years and lots of good luck going forward.  Alot of great memories from that place.  A ton of fun, beer, booze and hijinks.

To commemorate this change, there will be some nonstop live music (does anyone else catch the irony here?) for the next two weekends and Curtis will be participating -

- This year's debut of TRIGGER'S ALL STARS, opening for Arckid on 9/8/06 (Curtis will be drumming)

- The triumphant return of the HIP NIPS playing on 9/9/06 @ 8.45pm (Curtis will be drumming)

- The WALDOS, closing for Cheetah Chrome also on 9/9/06 @ 1am (Curtis will be drumming again)

- The Curtis Suburban End of Summer Downtown Bash the afternoon of 9/10/06 (Curtis will trying to sing and play guitar after drumming up a storm at a two day rock fest - should be interesting - with gracious assistance by none other than Grace Falconer herself, shaking it with a maraca and backing it with a vocal)

I'm pretty sure that Trigger's All Stars will be rocking again the following week, but I need to confirm this. 

And with all that, we will wish the Continental a bon voyage, and we will sob into our beer.

The Curtis Suburban End of Summer Bash will feature some of my good friends rocking out for the crowd's pleasure:

-  Strega is a synth-pop outfit reminiscent of early New Order.  My friend J.E. Bell will be drumming up a storm on an electronic drum set.  J.E. is at his best when he is in motion, so hang on.  Their keyboardist channels the ghost of Nico.  This is something you should see if you have the chance.

- Heap is a rock-pop outfit that many people say remind them of the Replacements.  Tim and George have been the at the center of Heap since the band's inception, with a revolving crew of rhythm players.  Curtis has been drumming for Heap for about a month and a half and has been really digging it.  Their bassist Dave is a great player and even rocked with Lester Bangs when Dave was just the tender age of 10.   Quite a resume there.  Actually, Curtis has had many stints drumming for Heap on and off.  They're just great guys.

- Scott Rio is another friend of Curtis's and a really good pop songsmith.   Scott will soon be his own pop phenomenon, rivaling the likes of Justin Timberlake, so catch him while you can and say you saw him in back in the day in an intimate club setting.  He's also damn cute, so keep your girlfriends away. 

Strega will be the only band with a full instrument complement (guitar, bass, drums, synth).   All the other acts will be performing acoustically for a change of pace.  See you there.  (Thanks to Dale for the correct spelling of "complement.")

7/03/05 - Curtis and Shige, getting ready to rock by rehearsing in the most unlikely of places:

7/2/05 - Atlantis Black has checked from somewhere out there to let us know she's alive and kicking.  Much love to Atlantis.  If you happen to meet her, buy her a beer.  Behold!  She's a national treasure and soon to be world famous.  You can say you knew her when.

And now, something completely different -

Get on stage, do your bit, throw the frog and you're done.  They're all marked up with Curtis logos and ready to go for the record release party.  They make  great mementos.  And, boy, do they fly.  They also squeak.  "Why?" you might ask.  Well, it's' a long story that starts somewhere in Texas opening for the Offspring a ways back.  I can't go into it here, but it has become a Curtis tradition.  Yes, it's weird.  Just go with it for now.  And don't forget to take yours home.

6/20/05 - as you saw from the second opening page of this site,  the RECORD RELEASE PARTY is officially scheduled for SATURDAY, JULY 16TH, 2005 to be held at THE CONTINENTAL - 3RD AVE AND ST MARKS PLACE - 3PM-7PM.  Entertainment, CDs, booze, summer.  Sounds great.  Thanks to the Continental for hosting - Curtis's musical home away from home.

Curtis may be switching to live journal soon.  Enough of this cumbersome one-sided posting of rants.  There will be fan polls, tickie boxes and nothing but thought provoking feedback from the fans and pundits.

BON VOYAGE to Atlantis!  Curtis loves you.

If anyone has heard from Grace F., drop Curtis a line (where did she go?).

AND, Curtis feels that a visit from Cowboy Mark (of Sour Jazz) is imminent.  Stay tuned.

6/2/05 - Curtis wants to let you know that the link for the hit surf-band "Venice Beach Muscle Club" is  www.venicebeachmuscleclub.com.  (Why it's spelled just as we suspected!)  Take Curtis's advice and check it out to see what you're in for if you are attending the record release party on July 16th.  And, if you're curiosity is still peaking after that, go to www.teenageprayers.com for yet another spoiler of the other bohemians are also performing at the record release.

6/1/05 - Holy Mackerel!  A big hello to the friends of Speranza who've detoured to check out this site.  Curtis's webserver has been overheating, burning up with bandwidth activity!  Curtis loves it!  Now, you won't find any naked mounties on this site, but you will find the world-famous BREADPUPPET if you look hard enough.  And, again, no pictures of Rodney's ass.  But, Curtis is working on ways to emulate Sheppard's special coiffure for the live shows.
 

5/26/05 - YES!  BIG NEWS!  Chris O. finally gets his copy of Curtis's CDs when Curtis drives out to Jersey to deliver them personally!  Chris (aka "Molsongolden", aka the drummer on 4 of  the best tunes on "Perfect In My Mind"), who is beside himself with admiration says, "hey, they look great!  I like the typeface on the back cover!"  Curtis is overjoyed and the hype keeps building!!  Will somebody please tell Cowboy Mark that he is next on the hit list?  Has anyone seen Rob W.?  Tell him to look out, too.  Actually, just tell him to look out, period.  CD or no CD.

Curtis fills in on drums for Anthony E.'s (aka "Tonus the Bass God") band, "Pure 13", for a gig at Show Night Club Thursday, May 26th, 135 West 41st Street.  Curtis has never been at this club before, notwithstanding his impressive gig history.  Hey, anything for Tonus.  He played bass on the record and let us use his recording studio and everything!  Spooky mood lighting, black clothing and strobe effects for you closet Goths.  And Tonus delivers the ROCK (the music, not the wrestler) for you music lovers out there - and you are out there, aren't you?.

OTHER BIG NEWS!  Someone in Massachusetts bought a CD!  Thank you person in Massachusetts!  You are the best!  In fact, you are so good, the band is coming to your house to do a gig in your living room!  No, really!  Curtis means it!  The van is packed and we're ready to roll, so you cant' say no!  What kind of soda should we bring?  Maybe this CD buying thing will become a fad?

5/20/05 - The Joey Ramone Birthday Bash was great.  Curtis wielded the sticks playing drums for the Waldos to entertain all the kids, with a blistering guest appearance by "King" Shige Matsumoto playing lead guitar on "Too Much Junkie Business."  This freed Waldo up for a much more spirited interpretive dance than usual during the song, which took everyone by surprise.  Overall, a great gig for the Waldos and a ton of fun.

Hearty thanks go to Mickey L., who invited the Waldos to play this year.  I hope that we were able to deliver the goods in the spirit that they should be delivered.

Curtis was also fortunate enough to be drafted to shake a maraca on stage in support of Ronnie Spector and Co., and he is eternally grateful to Adny the bassist for the invite.  Curtis took his assignment seriously and shook it with all he had.

After the set, Curtis had time to relax VIP style and rub shoulders with the likes of Max Weinberg and others who are only one degree from the Boss, including Little Steven himself.  (Major points to Gabby for taking the initiative and trying to pass a pair of Curtis CDs to Mr. Van Zant  - who, justifiably, refused to be sleazed!  I guess this means that our debut on the Underground Garage will be postponed for the immediate and forseeable future.  Well, I suppose it's time to move onto plan "B".)

We saw the Saints at the Bash and got to talk a bit with lead singer Chris Bailey.  Waldo insisted that they were from England, but Curtis couldn't stop himself from correcting Waldo on the Saints' point of origin - "Waldo, you're mistaking their accents, they're from Australia" - only to be corrected by Mr. Bailey himself who admitted that the bulk of the band (himself excluded) is British.  My, things have changed.  If only Curtis had remembered to bring his copy of "Eternally Yours" for an autograph.  Oh, well.  But, let Curtis tell you, if you have a chance to see them, do it while you can.

5/15/05 - "Perfect in My Mind" is here.  Both "PIMM" and "BWC" albums are available at www.cdbaby.com.  Free downloads are available on this site.   There'll be stuff and other digital downloads available soon.  CD record release party in the works.  Grace Falconer has her copies of the CDs.  Chris Olsen doesn't have his yet.  We are in the process of getting CD's to Bruise Lee! of "Creamy Fist" magazine to review.  The CD swap with Cowboy Mark of Sour Jazz is still pending.  Stay tuned for a full photo-journalistic account.

5/1/05 - In a piece of un-Curtis centered news, the Waldos have a stint scheduled at the upcoming Joey Ramone Birthday Bash at Irving Plaza on May 19.  We should hit the stage at about 9.30pm.  We get about 10 minutes, so, if anything goes wrong technically, we'll have to just keep the curtain down and let the next scheduled band get on with it.  Catch Curtis as the one with the drumsticks.  Whatever you do, don't look directly into Waldo's eyes or you may be hypnotized.  You can't go wrong paying tribute to the memory of such a sweet guy like like Joey.  It's an honor and a privilege to be able to do so.  Curtis sends Joey his most sincere salute and thank you.  We appreciate everything the Ramones did and stood for.  Remember that the world is a suddenly quiet and empty place without them.

We understand from reliable sources that Mr. Ratboy and friends have also completed their new album, "Rock and Roll Ligger" under the guise of Sour Jazz.  I have a standing invitation from Sour Jazz bassist Cowboy Mark to trade albums.  Very exciting.  To date, this appointment has yet to be crossed off the "to do" list.  Curtis will keep you informed of all the exciting details as they develop.  Will he meet the Cow?  Won't he meet the Cow?  Will he forget to bring his CD to exchange with Cow's?  Only time will tell.  In the meantime, Curtis can definitely tell you this: Sour Jazz is cool.  If you don't get it, don't worry, you don't have to - all you need to do is savor the fullness of its irony and then you have won, and won big my friends.

4/29/05 - "Breakfast With Curtis" is HERE.  Holy mackerel!  "Perfect In My Mind" is on it's way.  Better believe it!  Dig the free promotional downloads.  Dig the new webpages.  This whole thing is spiralling out of control.  It's hard to stay sane.  Must stay calm.  Curtis has got pictures of all the players and even the special "Curtis Suburban Crowd Players!"  Everyone has requested the bar of anonymity but Curtis can't honor that request.  Let your freak flags fly my lovelies.  See the images that are worth thousands of words...

If anyone should actually decide that they need to buy a CD, drop Curtis a line and a deal may be struck.

3/23/05 - West West Side Music is putting the finishing touches on mastering "Perfect in My Mind."  As soon as we get that finalized master in our hot little hands, it's also going off to meet the digital replicator as soon as we can get it there.  A few more tweaks to the artwork and we're practically "there".  But of course, the big question remains, what do you do when you get "there"?  I guess we'll find out.

Since Curtis has finally finished recording and has vacated all of his cheesy equipment from Schoolhouse Studios (located at 153 West 27th Street in scenic NYC), now's your chance to get in and record your own masterpiece.  Call Schoolhouse @ 212-645-7529 (or look 'em up on the net) and ask for "Tonus".  He'll give you a great deal for 24-track analog and/or digital recording.  Hey, it worked for me, it can definitely work for you.  Tell Tonus that Curtis Suburban sent you.  Schoolhouse Studios comes highly recommended.

I also can't say enough good things about West West Side Music.  If you are a local guy, like me, and you want a friendly face to master your music - bring it to West West Side Music.  Alan Douches, the proprietor and master masterer is super knowledgeable, champions the underdog, and is a conversationalist to boot.  He also comes highly recommended, so you really can't go wrong.

Curtis puts ATLANTIS BLACK and the TEENAGE PRAYERS on the SPECIAL THANKS list for helping to kick-start this whole project.   Curtis would never have begun if it wasn't for them.  Much love and many, many thanks!  If you ever meet them, treat them with some respect - and BUY THEIR RECORDS - YOU'LL NEED THEM.