News & Shows

February 21, 2010
I can't believe I've forgotten about this page. Then again ...

I've re-joined forces with Sylvia Juncosa and we're playing gigs again. Our first was last Saturday (2/13) at the O.C. Tavern in San Clemente, with the Insect Surfers.Tonight we're playing a benefit for Haiti at the Old Towne Pub (sp?) in Pasadena. February 28 we're playing the Punk Rock BBQ at Liquid Kitty in West LA, and we have a few shows scheduled for next month, too.

I've also joined the blues band The Terraplanes, whom I've dug for years and who were on hiatus for a while, but who will now hopefully be gigging with a vengeance.

What else?
Art-wise, last spring (2009) I received a 10-piece commission for collages for the new downtown offices of Allied World Assurance Corporation (AWAC).
I had my first exhibit of photography at the Pacific Palisades Public Library in January, and in the summer I was part of an exhibit at the Hive gallery on Spring Street downtown — these were my first non-restaurant shows. Very stoked.

I also designed the cover for family friend Kaori Tanegashima's memoirs, "Daughter of a Gun"

... and designed the back cover of a new Gears retrospective (vinyl!) release, and the entire package of a new D.I.'s retrospective CD - except for the cover.

October 7, 2008
A few things to report this evening:

I've been asked to handle the graphic design dutes on two upcoming CD releases
on the Wondercap label, and they are now on their way to the printers:
1) In the Ether, the second solo jazz effort by my good friend, frequent bandmate and drummer David Winogrond (To Damascus, the Germs, Graced Lightning, Doll Congress) and
2) The Other Outside, the debut solo release by drummer/percussionist extraordinaire
DJ Bonebrake (The Eyes, X, the Knitters, Flesheaters, Bonebrake Syncopators).
Look for their CDs in early November at discerning record stores and websites near you.

And my apologies to Sean O'Brien!
Sean released his CD "The Goodbye Game" a few months ago and,
though I performed on a track or two, it didn't occur to me to mention it in this space.
What was I thinking? It's a great record with (I think) some of Sean's best tunes ever.
If you ever see it (It looks like this), buy it!

Mark Your Calendars — JUNE 29
I will be performing at the Kibitz Room
accompanying actor/singer Tim Russ
The Kibitz Room is attached to Canter's Deli
419 North Fairfax Avenue (just north of Beverly Blvd.)
Los Angeles
(323) 651-2030

May 25-July 13, 2008
I have a second exhibit of my mixed media "collages"
of vintage matchbooks (see 'em here)
currently at Baby Blues BBQ
444 Lincoln Blvd., Venice
310-396-7675
Baby Blues serves amazing barbecue and is on just about
every top10 list for BBQ in California, if not nationally.
It has also recently been featured on the Food Network.

September 29, 2007

I'm pleased to announce my first ever Art Exhibit!
Called "Old Flames," the show features my mixed media "collages"
of vintage matchbooks (see 'em here)
at The Hidden Cafe, 1515 Palisades Drive
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
310-230-8388
The exhibit will run from October 1 to November 30.
Come on down!

August 19, 2007
Just got home from Sunset Junction, that annual music fest, where I saw
The Hot Hot Heat and, more importantly, the Buzzcocks,
the only band I could call one of my favorites for the last 30+ years.
Took some photos, and put them here: Buzzcocks and Hot Hot Heat.

June 14, 2007
I've been immersing myself in the art I call - for lack of a better term - Collage.
What I do is take a vintage matchbook (mostly from my Dad's collection from
casinos he and my mom visited before I was born) and I turn it into an enlarged facsimile ...
check them out here

January 7, 2007
I 'm now a published art critic, so it seems.
Photographer Stan Friedman has posted to his website
some ramblings of mine in praise of a photo of his (click here)

The incredible Abby Travis has written a song entitled
"Lights, Camera, Addiction." As it so happens,
the title was submitted by yours truly.
Hear, and be mesmerized. Hear Here

My UK trip photos are online! GO HERE

June 9, 2006
Sean O'Brien's new CD is Available!

Yes, the minstrel bard of the Bay's Seeds of Mayhem CD
just happens to feature yours truly on tracks 1, 7*, 8, 9, 12, 14
(* intentionally bad trumpet)
Also features Clearinghouse veterans Manfred Hofer and Brad Holtzman
and dear pal Doyle Dean

As soon as I know where you can purchase it online, I shall inform you!

May 27, 2006
The UK photos are up!!!! GO HERE!

November 13, 2005

I've uploaded at least 140 photos from my trip to London, and am currently preparing the pages leading you to them ... please bear with me!   I think I've put off working on the photo pages because seeing where I've been just makes me want to go back.

June 27, 2005

 
Things back to "normal" after 3 shows in Frisco, aka San Fran, St. Francis,etc.
Good crowds, made new friends, met up with old ones, saw/heard some great music ...
Speaking of - as soon as possible, check out the following bands:
Sonic Love Affair (SLA) * Killer's Kiss * Sean O'Brien and His Dirty Hands

Also highly endorsable and thanked are the following clubs:
Hemlock Tavern * 12 Galaxies (excellent!) * Thee Parkside

And the Squat and Gobble dining establishments

May 29, 2005

With our first live gig under our belts, we The Leaving Trains are eager to
do again what we did Friday night: namely, blast some great songs at an
appreciative audience like a garden hose on kids on a hot summer day.

Luckily, some shows are already planned:
for those of you in the San Francisco area, we will be in your neighborhood
Thursday, June 16 at Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk St. (at Post), San Francisco.
With Killer's Kiss
(415) 923-0923
Show starts at 9:30 p.m.; $7.

Friday, June 17 at 12 Galaxies
2565 Mission St. (at 22nd), San Francisco
With Sean O'Brien & His Dirty Hands (ex-Denim TV, the Mariettas); SLA (Sacramento's Sonic Love Affair); The Dilettantes (with DIG! star Joel Gion, from Brian Jonestown Massacre)
(415) 970-9777
Show starts at 9:30 p.m.; $8.
 
Saturday, June 18 at Thee Parkside
1600 17th St. (at Wisconsin), San Francisco
With The Willowz (Sympathy) and more
(415) 503-0393
Show starts at 9:30 p.m.; $7.

Also tentatively slated is an evening to commemorate the release of the
expanded and unabridged CD reissue of Warfrat Tales by Avebury Records.
The original LP came out in 1983 and included songs by The Last, 100 Flowers,
The Leaving Trains, and The Rain Parade, to name but a few. The new release also includes tracks by the Gun Club, and my old friends in To Damascus and the Up and Out.
More information when the date and location are confirmed.

Also: watch for The Leaving Trains at this summer's Sunset Junction musicfest

Business aside, I am still drunk from the heady effects of my recent trip to the UK,
where I saw my all-time favorite band, Van der Graaf Generator.
Finally hearing live the songs that have persistently coursed through my head for the last 16 years was an honor and a thrill I hope to repeat.

It was my first trip to London but will NOT be the last. It has renewed my energy, my creativity, and my desire to see more of the historically amazing portions of our world.

Many thanks again (publicly, this time) to my friends Greg and Eileen Makoff for their hospitality in London, Tony Bailey and Louise Aubell for their hospitality in Hillingly and Brighton, and to Michael Jago for showing me the hidden treasures of Oxford.

An online gallery of some of my trip highlights will emerge in the very near future.

May 26, 2005

Before it's too late, let me alert you to the news that we, the
reunited Leaving Trains, will be performing tomorrow night,
May 27, at

Spaceland
1717 Silverlake Blvd., Silverlake
11:00 pm
with Dirty Little Secret
(who, by Hunter's report, are a great band)

We've been practicing our asses off, so don't expect some sloppy joke.

March 20, 2005

Wow. No news in over a year. Well, let me change that.

1) Manfred, Hunter and I have rejoined Falling James in the Leaving Trains
for a 1985 reunion lineup, with live appearances planned but not yet in place.
We will also be performing live on 88.9 KXLU's "Livation" show on April 7 at 12 midnight.
Or is that April 8 at12:00 in the morning?

2) I have an advance copy of a newly recorded song by the band Krankenhaus,
whose CD I hope to release later this year.
Check out the song Stumbled Again by clicking here.
My apologies in advance for the large file size.

February 8, 2004

The Kjehl Johannsen band at the Buccaneer (again!)
with, I believe, Drag the River.
70 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Sierra Madre, CA

February 2

Hi! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. We haven't had much to report lately.

We DID have a gig this past Thursday (1/29) at the Big Foot Lodge in
Atwater Village which went rather well, albeit late.

September 26 (Rosh Hashanah)

The Kjehl band at the Knitting Factory
opening for the Human Hands and Davie Allan and the Arrows.

Kjehl and we boys go on at 8:00.

August 29

The Kjehl band is still playing at The Buccaneer in Sierra Madre this Sunday, August 31
as well as the Knitting Factory on September 26 (Rosh Hashanah)

Our recording sessions last weekend at New King Sound Studios turned out great.
We recorded a total of 17 tracks that sound amazing and will require very little post-production, thanks to Hunter and engineer/studio owner Jimmy Sloan.

August 5

Not only are we at the Knitting Factory on September 26,
we are also at The Buccaneer in Sierra Madre on August 31.
Arrrrr. True pirates will find a way to force their way in.
Oh yeah - that'll be with the Urinals and the Human Hands.

QUIET! ROLLING!:
Recording scheduled for weekend of August 16-17.

July 10

More news! We (Kjehl Johansen and the Bad Potatoes) are confirmed for
September 26 at the Knitting Factory
with Davie Allan and the Arrows and the Human Hands

More info when it strikes.

July 3

Hello, y'all, with a special wave to my fanbase up north - you know who you are! :D

•  I finally have the means necessary to update this website quickly and frequently, so hopefully there will actually be NEWS whenever you check back on this page.

By the way, I updated the Discography page to make things a little cleaner-looking.

•  I got quite a nice write-up on the CD from the Palisadian-Post, a weekly newspaper in Pacific Palisades, CA in their June 26 issue. Wanna see? Here it is! Of course, since I work there, they'd better provide me with some special coverage!

•  I haven't written much lately, but I AM working on an arrangement of a song by Davie Allan and the Arrows for an upcoming tribute CD. I'm contributing an instrumental called "Dawn of the Seventh Cavalry" — that is, if I finish it by the end of the month. Otherwise it doesn't make it on the CD!

•  I'm still rehearsing with Kjehl Johannsen et al, now with extra concentration on new songs we plan to record soon.

•  Most of you probably are not aware how frustrated I currently am with bad drivers in L.A. Well, now I'm planing to do something about lousy drivers everywhere! I'm working on a website and maybe even a toll-free phone # where people can vent and/or give evidence against reckless, insensitive or downright dangerous drivers, cellphone users, SUV blockheads, etc., with the hopes that enough voices can help revoke licenses of road-bound idiots around the globe.

Did I forget anything? Please, PLEASE let me know if you have any questions or comments!
email Pungent Records or, just as easily, email Tom!

Stay tuned!

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  April 6, 2003

 I've recorded demos of 5 songs, including the afore-mentioned "Hello, Alcohol," a slightly tongue-in-cheek courtesy primer called "Be Polite," and a few others. And I have even more half-written songs waiting in the wings ...

March 19, 2003

 No shows, very little news. As of today I am on vacation and going through various tapes and lyrics and deciding what should be recorded next. I re-discovered a country tune I'd written called "Hello, Alcohol," and some other things I'd completely forgotten about and which no one has ever heard of ... which doesn't do you, dear reader, much good since you can't hear it nor see the lyrics ...
  Ah, well. Suffice to say I'm working diligently on the next CD!
   

On a non-musical note (pun intended,always!) I have linked pages to this website reflecting my other non-day-job business, THink Graphic Design, having done work (in addition to this site) with altering photos, designing logos, and doing CD covers for Skooshny, my pal John Mason, my own Clearinghouse CD and, soon (hopefully), the upcoming Davie Allan and the Arrows release, which is already recorded and waiting for a company to put it out.