Around Hear

When I was a youngster, a cousin of mine worked in one of those radio stations with a name like "Star" or "Magic" or "Kool" -- a station much like many that I now loathe. Her job was mostly insignificant to me, except for the times when she would bring home free posters and T-shirts (thus beginning my lifelong affinity for schwag), or so I thought. One day, after marveling at the amount of time it took an on-air personality to finish a Virginia Slim 100, that all changed when I walked out of the lunchroom and right into Ringo Starr.

Actually, it wasn't really Ringo Starr, it was "Ringo Starr circa 1964," and those three impostor blokes behind him were supposed to be the rest of The Beatles from that era, but they didn't quite live up to that indelible image. It seemed taking the stage nightly to screaming throngs of thirty-somethings had gone to the heads of these knock-offs, and the four had taken on the attitude of The Beatles. Not the happy-go-lucky, first-time-across-the-pond 'tude the original Fab Four exuded in the early '60s, either, but more like the "I'm gonna 'unknowingly' steal 'He's So Fine' and call it 'My Sweet Lord'" attitude George Harrison pioneered in the 1970s.

Luckily Josh Hunt and the organizers of The Bottleneck's Beatles Tribute Night (Saturday, July 15; $5) didn't invite the players from "1964 as The Beatles" and their self-righteous attitudes, but they kept things interesting by harvesting some locals who have been known to get a little surly. The evening gets under way with Scott Martz, followed by Cruse (like Tom), then The Anniversary and Palindromes pal around in their side project, The Electricites, before the Palindromes do their own set, followed by Arthur Dodge, The Electron Volts, and those naughty, naughty Hefners.

"It wasn't hard to find bands that wanted to do it," Hunt says of this group's love for all things British, "and actually this has been easier to put together than any of the other ones."

That's because some of those other cover/tribute nights have focused on such bands as Guns N' Roses and AC/DC, whose catalog of coverable songs is severely lacking after eliminating their radio hits. But not so with The Beatles. They even give you different epochs to choose from, so if you are opposed to mind expansion you can stick with anything before 1967. Or if you're like me and love a well-placed sitar, there's a whole truckload of acid-induced material.

"We're kind of leaving it up to everyone, and they're all picking from their own little niche," Hunt replies when pressed whether there were limits to how saccharine or trippy a band could be. "But no one gets the same song twice, and once you e-mail me your list, you have those songs and no one else can do them."

Don't worry, fans, there'll still be plenty of Oasis' influence to go around. Hunt estimates 20 songs from The Hefners, 10 from Dodge, and more than 100 over the course of the evening. Take that, 1964 Beatles!

"The rule with the tributes is doors at 8 p.m., don't be late," adds Hunt, and don't hold your breath for a Grateful Dead cover night, either. "We just want to do bands that are great that no one ever does tributes to, or people don't cover.

"We'll probably end up doing a Police cover sometime, and maybe a Smiths tribute in the near future, if we could find someone brave enough to try and sing like Morrissey." Please don't.

Talk to the Hand
The mainstream media would have you believe that most 16-year-olds are either into Limp Rock and pro wrestling or boy bands and the WB, but for every 1.7 million teens who fawn over Eminem there are a few like Rich Restivo. Even though Restivo just recently turned 16, his priorities have been not getting a license to drive but getting the word out about the Stand Against the Hand benefit concert he is staging at El Torreon on Saturday, July 15, for New House, a battered women's shelter.

"I went up there (to New House) with some other guys through Rockhurst (High) community service," Restivo says. "After working there, I really liked it and thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to throw a show with some of my favorite bands, donating the proceeds because they're kind of low on funds. It's good to help them out."

Indeed, and more than a few bands thought it sounded like a decent idea too. The Sloppy Popsicles, The Controlled, The Split Infinitives, Lost Pride, Annie On My Mind, and Tanka Ray all agreed to donate their time and considerable services. According to the market-wise Restivo, finding the acts wasn't hard. "I just picked the bands that best portrayed the punk scene in Kansas City," he says. "Since I wanted a lot of people to come out, I picked bands I thought the community liked the most" -- and one is the punk ska ensemble The Sloppy Popsicles, of which he just happens to be a member.

The community outside those who visit El Torreon might consider the notion of a kindhearted punk-rocker about as feasible as a self-effacing tennis pro or humble golf champion. Yet like Starbucks, they're everywhere.