Pono Music – Christmachine

DAP’s, Portable Rig And Driveline Specs Updated For Reviews, Going Forward

Posted on February 23, 2017 by admin

DAP’s, Portable Rig And Driveline Specs Updated For Reviews, Going Forward…

The Updated Specs are in Bold below.

AK120 Portable Digital Audio Player and Amplifier Stack ©Christmachine 2017

VinylTransfer(Needledrop) / Reel To Reel Transfer/ HD TRAcks/ CD to FLAC/ALAC/ WAV/.mp3(320kbps) -> AK120 (No Mods) 24/192 Capable Portable Audio Reference Server (2 X Stock Wolfson WM8740 DAC’s [One For Each Channel]) w/ 3-ohm output impedance (64GB Onboard FLASH + 2 x 200GB San Disk Micro SDXC-10 Cards) -> ALO Audio SXC 22 mini to mini 3 Wire Silver Plated Copper -> ALO Audio International Headphone Amp w/ 24bit96kHz DAC w/ Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC Chip -> ALO Audio Green Line (balanced universal mini XLR) w/classic copper sends and silver-plated copper returns -> ALO Audio Green Line RSA 4 pin Balanced XLR -> Audeze LCD2 Bamboo rev. 2G w/mini XLR Metal Reinforced Male Input Connects.

Additional DAP Source Players: Fiio X5 & The Pono Player (For Cross Reference Listening).

Additional Headphones Used: Sennheiser HD700, Audio Technica ATH M50 (OLD Model w/ Coil Chord), Sony MDRV6 (Studio Monitor w/ Coil Chord).

Note #1…I do not use IEM’s (In Ear Monitors) so one has to know whether or not their particular IEM’s match with the 3 Ohm Output Impedance of the AK120.

Note #2…You will notice that the AK120 was not modified (for lower output impedance) as I did with the AK100. The reason I chose not to modify is because I wanted to use a stock AK120 player…so others could hear what I was hearing if they so choose.

Here Is a link to the Spec Sheet for the AK120 (PDF Opens New Tab).

http://www.soundfidelity.co.uk/media/downloads/products/AstellKern_AK120_Manual_English.pdf

Disclaimer: As you know this site is not here to sell anyone anything, so I must disclose that the Pono Player was given to me, as I was an early stage beta tester. I did not know I was going to be asked to be a beta tester nor did I know that we would be able to keep the player after testing was completed. More on that another time…I will say that whatever you have read, the people behind Pono are well intentioned. They created a damn good DAP…all criticisms aside, they really were and are (in the end) just trying to move Hirez forward. This is a win for all. The Pono Player will not be a main feature in reviews…I just wanted to let people know my source DAP’s for info.

As Far as the other DAP’s:

Some quick thoughts that might be helpful. I never use the bundled software with the DAP units. You want headaches…then use the software. I simply use the DAP’s as default external drives, when plugged into the computer, just drag and drop my music files / folders into the onboard flash or memory cards. I fill the memory cards by using the adaptor that comes with the cards and do the heavy transferring of music files via the memory card slot on the computer.

Another helpful hint, with the exception of the Pono Player which automatically scans my it’s memory at startup, I never ever ever scan my AK120 DAP…there is no need for me to do so. I turn automatic scanning off on the AK120 and just remember where I put the files. I just organize the folders in a way that makes it pretty simple to navigate. On occasion it will take a minute or two to find something but it’s not a burden.

I don’t listen the way most people do…I do not use playlists, I tag my own files with mp3 Tag freeware, I listen to full albums (except for maybe electronic). Every time I listen to an album I try to listen for something I never heard before, and every time…no matter how many listens, it presents itself. I’m not trying to tell anyone how to listen to their music but I see people giving excellent DAP’s a bad review because the software was buggy, or they fill their memory cards with hundreds of GB of music while in the DAPs’ expansion slots. Sometimes the GUI in the player itself is a little glitchy, but never miserable unless you’re expecting iPhone fast.

I Have had the AK120 for 2 years now and I use it daily with no battery issues…recharge is slow, just plug in at night and it’s ready to go the next morning. I do not use the DAP’s continuously all day, I switch between the phone to DAP’s throughout the day and they just work. A little clunky but sounds damn good enough to make up for any shortfalls.

Next Up Reviews…

If there’s anything I forgot I will add to the update section below this sentence.

Update:

As of today 02/23/17 No Updates At This Time.
Thanks For Reading & All Your Endless Support!

Love You Lots! Stay Well, Be Kind & Bless.

Tak Tak, Bless!

Grazie, Ciao!

Obrigadx, Tchau! Adeus!

Gracias, Adios!

Danke, Tchuss!

Merci, Au revoir!

Dank je…Bedankt, Alstublieft!

Merci Vilmal, Adeau!

Gracies, Adieu!

Gracies, Adeu!

CM ☕

☠

Please do not reproduce this article either all or in part without the expressed written permission of the (nutty) author who can be reached via the “Contact” section in the header menu. You may link to the article if you wish, all that we ask is that you give credit to the respective author…”Christmachine” wherever you post a link. Thank you.

Now With That Out Of The Way, Back To Christmachine – Audio Reference Server

Posted on January 16, 2017 by admin

Now With That Out Of The Way, Back To Christmachine – Audio Reference Server

Ahhh… Where Do You Keep The Vinyl Rips and Hi Resolution Digital Files ? ——————————–>Photo Courtesy Of Doc KEYAZA!!!

So there has been enough (So much!) time passed, it’s blatantly obvious to me that no one else will create an Audio Reference Quality Standards Catalogue for individual album releases. The powers that be have showed us time and time again that they feel that we should be left in the dark about the music we have purchased and continue to purchase. It’s loud and clear, they do not have to, there is no other option.

All we asked for was lineage and provenance of recordings that we spend gobs of cash for, as well as the textual and numerical details as to how they mastered, remastered, and transferred the new releases. Once again we are left clueless as to what we are purchasing. We know it can be done, some releases have done just that, usually projects overseen by reputable audio engineers.

I do understand that in some cases they do not know some of these details as they have been lost to time, poor record keeping, lack of proper labeling, and a sad state of storage of the original master tapes. In some cases they don’t even know whether they are the “original studio masters” or well travelled copies. We saw that in the report on the sad state of historical music archiving, much has been lost or destroyed….as we know back just a few decades ago music industry analysts and label bosses went with the prevailing wisdom, why would we want to preserve all this music–who is going to want it? What is the use?

This:

https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub148/pub148.pdf

And ESPECIALLY This (Re-Post):

http://www.billholland.net/words/Labels%20Strive%20to%20Rectify%20Past%20Archival%20Problems.pdf

Now that they realize the marketing and money making potential, oh the irony there, eh? All we have asked for is crumbs; forget about the old arguments (for a moment) on the loudness wars, whether high rez audio can be heard by the human ear (The Nyquist Theorem), Wheather vinyl has more warmth and soul, whether expensive cables give a +/- better listening experience, The law of diminishing returns, “Sources? / Laws of Science?, Do CD’s suck, the failure of SACD, .mp3’s are garbage, etc. Noel Gallagher saying there will be no more vinyl niche as an industry in a few short years as a result of streaming (He thinks? I agree, he is probably right).

With that said, our niche is just that–our niche, and it will continue as long as the electric grids are up. Even then some of us crazies will be powering phonographs with a stationary bike, using a carefully sharpened fishbone as a rudimentary needle, a significant other propping up a makeshift jimmy-rigged cardboard cone to telescope and carry those wondrous melodies to the flash mobs in our living rooms. Vinyl wear and tear bad, but for a time the ears are very good.

Remember what is normal any way, and relative to what? With those previous dire predictions of the future, keeping in mind that some of us have never had or witnessed an argument on the early Yahoo and Alta Vista message boards about the wonders of Hi Resolution Audio (It will always be Hi-rez to me, soz!), I will try to parse mixed nuts. Threading the needle like a steaming locomotive on crazy good meds, diplomacy will avail for all, no matter what our differences. Joy!

Why don’t we focus on the things that which we do agree.

We pay a lot of money re-purchasing music over and over.
Music listening is a different subjective experience for each person.
It “can” take a wee bit of trained ear (Not a B.S Degree), to hear improvements.
The music is only as good as it’s source.
ABX’ing can, not always, but “can” manifest as human listening fallibility & weakness.
Placebo affect and bias are real “things”[sic].
Provenance and Lineage of our recordings is Interesting and “nice” to have.
There is such a thing as “brick walling”, “anti aliasing”, and de-noising”.
There is more than one type of compression in music.
Type A removes many of the tiny spaces to make music file formats smaller.
Type B holds the fidelity of the performance together, Very Good!
Good source players are available at many price ranges.
There are good headphones and bad headphones at all price ranges.
When in noisy public settings, audio nuances tend to decline.
You Do NOT need to be an audiophile, to source good quality audio (If Available).
Audiophiles can be nuts, same with Hi-Rez deniers. (In a good way 😉 )
That said, Head-fi has it’s place, and deniers seem to hang around bigly.
There are, subjectively to each of us, good mastering engineers and poor ones.
We all have to listen to our source material and make our own judgements.
I can have (IMO); my own vast archive of “self-proclaimed” Reference Quality Vinyl Rips, Hi-Rez digital lossless [FLAC 24/48, 24/96, 24/172, 24/192, 32 bit float, .WAV, even ALAC and DSD], quality sourced and mastered CD’s [16/44] etc., portable DAP’s/amps/DAC’s, and use .mp3’s and Youtube to preview and stream when need be. It’s fine that you might consider this fodder, trendy, and hipsterish. I often use apple ear buds while on the go with the mobile. I’m not a gobsmacked music snob…I listen to AC/DC cranked on the local radio in the car, beautifully overbearingly loud in all its overly-compressed glory. I’d dance randomly in the street to an 80’s boombox with cassettes daily if these types of gatherings where more frequent.
You can have 50,000 lossy .mp3’s on the go, with an excellent ear, sourcing quality CD’s and audio on your own volition (all without my schtick). You might even listen to vinyl for nostalgia purposes possibly. Further you own low cost but excellent sounding source players as well as an expensive pair of headphones and/ or IEM’s. Even bluetooth love…it’s almost 5.0 (I too am sick of those frickin tangly chords). There’s nothing wrong with any of that. What I’m getting at is it doesn’t matter.
We can all site the Nyquist Theorem till we are blue in the face, and never get anywhere…agree to disagree perhaps. If you’re happy, I am happy.
Electronic music and Hip Hop does not and should not have to follow any of these rules. Electronic music tends to sound great, almost always produced very well, unless it’s a very low bit rate or has been up sampled, but that is usually by design. Hip Hop needs to be vicious or passive aggressive and Bassy…clean tight bassy…Superb dope! The only reservation I have is when either genre is too bright and shreds my ears. It’s rare, again unless by design.
Classical music is on the other end of the spectrum…the rules DO very very very much apply. Soundstage and instrument separation are paramount. Loud and soft, loud and soft just like The Pixies or Nirvana. A muddy midrange is a killer. Attack, sustain, decay should be transparently punchy, grainy, and accurate. The music has to breathe and pulse…ripping the heart right out your chest even with headphones on. Emotions, knocked about, tugged like a puppet to strings. It should convey an air of atmospheric space with perceivable parameters…and in a perfect world, pseudo-holophonic sound, as if you the listener can imagine you’re there live sitting center stage with the orchestra wrapped 180 degrees from ear to ear. You’ll know something is wrong right off, a piano from each and every-little-single-ebony-to-ivory key is muddled together as one, or squashed in a constant spew of notes like an accordion. We should be able to perceive and hear milliseconds of spaciation[sic] and be acute to a differentiation between every single tapped key, no matter how fast the piece. I’ve said before piano is the hardest instrument to reproduce in recording with accuracy. If that’s muddy then it’s all over. I won’t get started on the pneumatic breath of the solo cello…you get my drift.
Pop music…It depends on if it’s good! 😉 😉

So with all that said we arrive at the conclusion that we may not agree subjectively. Please forgive me, as I was being purposefully presumptuous in some of the things I said above… but that is not the point. I’m just generalizing for the sake of getting at the crux. Most of the people reading this will not care one way or the other. Some will be bored to tears as to, “what is the going on and on about”. In the end we all just love music and are devilishly passionate about it–Pretty simple, no? 🙂

So, in the past I did some reviews….Beck, The Beatles Catalogue, Led Zeppelin Catalog, etc., they each get hundreds of hits daily as reference, awesome. I also posted full album playlists (with some lineage)…it was quite subtle, again on purpose as to what I have deemed a Reference Quality Audio Recording. I don’t know if I said it outright, I may have…If not my tongue in cheek went over people’s heads. A failed attempt by me. Yes, you are left to taking me at my word, have to search for it yourself, and availability is spotty. I know it’s somewhat authoritarian but let your ears be the judge. There were many times I have searched for a single particular recording over weeks and months before finally getting a hold of it. Time well spent!

If you search hard enough you will be able to get a hold of same source as I did, some searches will be easy, others will require patience and time. Moderately I will recommend the High-Rez digital transfer available for everyone to purchase with a quick download and some cash. I have no stake in this…no adverts, self funded hosting and servers. I’m just passionate about music and everything else, and I know you are as well, or you would not be reading this.

Just a note **** again, the night site is under maintenance (The links from here the day page are static as of writing this)…It will be up again soon enough. I’m going to do all those recordings here on the main page individually anyhow. So there will probably be some updates as well. When live, it will give you an idea of some of what I will cover, and it is only a small part of projected works.

From now on instead of taking a few months to do mega reviews, although I will someday do the Complete Pink Floyd Archives Posts (Damn there I go again, that’s one exception), from now on there will be single album releases (From past and present) which a single post can be done in one day. I will do whatever I am listening to and I have in my wheelhouse as the best recordings and rips / digital to date. The posts will vary widely in style, genre, and medium. One day or two could be Thrash, the next Classical, Jazz, Electronic, Pop, wherever the music takes me.

In between I will continue to do my sordid stories, post mixes, photos, memorabilia, any type of art really. I intend on making this site better by making it a reference site for individual albums. In that vein It would make it possible for those who do not want to read my silly erotica, still be able to come here intentionally via direct link or search engine in order to just browse my reviews and recommendations on specific albums…quick and easy.

In conclusion, each album will have an easy to read, specific format that I have worked out, and tweak things as I go along. If there is anything extra about a specific release that you would like to see, send me an email or message. If I can get the info – I will post it or write you back. Understand that I cannot council and/or recommend file sharing or piracy, so do not ask…messages from readers as to these types of questions will go unanswered. No disrespect…just being clear.

Thanks For Reading & All Your Endless Support. My Readers Are Awesome!

Love You Lots! Stay Well, Be Kind & Bless.

Tak Tak, Bless!

Grazie, Ciao!

Obrigadx, Tchau! Adeus!

Gracias, Adios!

Danke, Tchuss!

Merci, Au revoir!

Dank je…Bedankt, Alstublieft!

Merci Vilmal, Adeau!

Gracies, Adieu!

Gracies, Adeu!

CM ☕

☠

Please do not reproduce this article either all or in part without the expressed written permission of the author who can be reached via the “Contact” section in the header menu. You may link to the article if you wish, all that we ask is that you give credit to the respective author…”Christmachine” wherever you post a link. Thank you.

Irish and Italian Associates Make Strange Bedfellows For Organized Crime In Boston in the 1990’s… [First Pass Edit]

Posted on October 25, 2015 by admin

This excerpt is inspired by true events. Some of the characters , names, businesses, incidents, and certain locations and events have been changed for anonymity purposes. Any similarity to the names, character or history of any person is purely coincidental.

The Conclusion of Part 2 – Canada Unleashed: Montreal to Vancouver…Is coming up in the subsequent post. Thank you for your patience!

With the universe as my witness, I write because I have to. It is just how writers do things, and as we know it does not have to follow any sensible guidelines…it can be about some pretty fucked up shit. It does bother me sometimes that the focus is on the frailties of others, sometimes even of those we look up to. It’s further strange how we as people find ourselves fascinated by movies, stories…any medium where we can find ourselves sympathetic to the villains. Music, Cinema, Photography, Art…just about anything, especially when there were real lives connected and destroyed by monsters. We laugh, repeat and mimic lines (whole scenes even), over and over again…we reset the knife or a bullet to the head and chest. I’m not passing judgement, just making an observation. The way violence plays out in real life is worth a shit ton of money, only the victims loose any sleep over it…pretty messed up when you think about it. Dollars drenched with tears, there is blood on our hands. We don’t cause the accident, but we can’t look away either.

It’s very easy to romanticise the days of old in the ethnic neighborhoods of any city, you know before all the gentrification happened and ruined it all. The world governments saw a powerfully lucrative stranglehold of an oportunity to legislate control of their own brand of organized crime. In the past “problems” were handled locally along familial, ethnic, and cultural lines. Now these problems are handled administratively by jurisdictional governmental law through taxes, fees, and for profit institutions.

Go to the neighborhoods now and a fascade of the old country still exists but it does not have the same soul. If the violence was part and parcel of the family ties, part of what gave the neighborhood soul, then I guess it’s better that we have all moved on in the last few decades. Although it did not mean to start out that way, with the eventual corruption of “Respect” and the “Code of silence” by power and greed, with the responsibility placed rightfully on the perpetrators — as that “silence” evolved into sociopathy, this led to everyone singing like birds in last ditch attempts to survive. After all it was one of the most famous gangsters in modern history who said, ‘To get where I am today, I had to burn every bridge that I ever crossed to the ground’…clearly there must have never been any intention of going back. Just as black on black violence has become perversely acceptable, warehousing of the mentally ill and addicts in prisons tolerable, white on white ethnic violence being the only slight outlier, nonetheless all of it was and still is an unholy and unacceptable terror.

I must have had a lot of misconceptions about my environment at the time, but it was the “beloved” neighborhood. It’s only been in recent years that I have been able to fully understand what was really going on around me, things that I had no control over. You know how it is, one hopes to feel good about the neighborhood they choose to move into…it’s only natural to look the other way. There was so much bubbling under the surface that I did not know of, nor would I want to know for that matter. It’s just striking to think that in the middle of all this awesome culture and family and worldy seamlessness, that a large part of what held it all together was so dangerous. It was obviously a case of naiveté on my part, not in the sense of lacking street smarts, as I was aware of organized crime. I actually knew that some of my friends families (over many years) were involved in it, not any specifics…it just was just “unspoken knowledge” if you know what I mean. Gruesome violence was always overshadowed with, “they had it coming kind of vibe”. Catholics and Christians really have it lucky in this arena, you know “The Jesus Christ Option”, all you have to do is ask to be forgiven on your deathbed and whamo…heaven sent! No time at all in Purgatory, what a bargain (That is if you believe in that sort of thing), No!

In the Italian section of the city, there were no supermarkets or big box stores and it was wonderful. In the morning after a couple of espressos, I would head to my local butcher, who would hack the section of meat desired off a fresh carcass in cold storage. The cleaver would come out to section chops or ribs right in front of me. For burgers and meatballs he would grind, also right in front of me, 70% beef and 30% pork to order. The reason for mixing the pork (aside from it’s amazing flavor) was to add some fat to the ground beef. The beef was so lean, that it needed some pork fat to not come apart when cooking a burger on the grill. Assorted Dry Salamis, Sausages, Prosciuttos, and Cappocola hung from the ceiling for the taking. After a little bit of everything wrapped in butchers paper, it was time to move onto the cheese shop.

If I thought the butcher shop was great then the cheesemonger formaggi was divine. Here I would get the finest aged extra sharp Yellow Italian Provolone and while it was being sliced I would taste test the ripe Gorgonzolla, Fontina, Asiago, and Parmesano-Regianna. Grabbing a block of each as needed, the store also served as a local Latteria, so I would also get some local sourced Raw Milk, Mozzarella Di Bufala, and a bucket of Ricotta. After getting what I needed and tasting a world of flavors over a few minutes time, I would stop at the pizza shoppe right next door for a huge slice of Ricotta pizza…their specialty. The Ricotta baked onto the pizza shell was an inch thick and was cooked to exactly the right moment when the surface of the cheese would just start to thicken and brown into a carmelized slice of heaven. The pizza pulled from the oven at just that moment of perfection so as not to burn. The slice could be eaten without care from one hand as I walked to my next destination, the perfect balance between savory and sweet.

The Panaficio was right around the corner and I would purchase my desired breads and pastries. Some Scali, Focaccia, and Ciabatta for Panini’s (sandwiches) and occasional Lobster Claws and Pistachio Macaroons. Right next store to that was the Vegetable Market where I could get the best (just harvested and/or in season) Cilantro, Carrots, Onions, Broccoli Raab, Basil, Red and Green Peppers, Red Potatoes, and Romaine Lettuce. I would also grab assorted fruits: Plum Tomatoes, Olives, Peaches, Pomegranates, Green Beans, Bosc Pears, and Eggplant. Every year I would pine for the time of year, the arrival of the fresh and slightly ripened green whole figs to slice and eat the green gooey flesh…a whole bag sometimes until it gave me a stomach ache. That shit was some serious natural candy.

Johnny Depp – “Black Mass” Movie [Warner Brothers Promotional Photo]

These days some might think, what a pain in the ass to go all these places for your food. I can assure you that it was not, and is one of the best experiences one could ever have in life. Exactly the way it’s still done in many parts of the world…you got to know and talk to the people, actually see the hands that helped you to gather and select your provisions. The proprietors would clue you in on a seasonal or new gem that had fallen into their hands. We the locals got first dibs and a taste test of everything bought, and more importantly might desire to buy. I have never bought a tomato in a supermarket or big box store that had that distinct heirloom tomato taste, NEVER. The nightshade family, oh an ode to the nightshades…did you know that Potatoes, Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplant are all in the same family as Tobacco (Nightshade Solanaceae)? Did you also know that all of these nightshade varieties contain small amounts of nicotine, even more when unripe? This is why nicotine is known to be one of the most effective and safe pesticides. This naturally stable form of nicotine is what helps keep pests away from the fruit. Oh how do I long for those days again.

There were several execution style murders right in front and in the area of my butcher shop, within the stretch of only one or two years. It was very strange how when a shooting would happen it would blow over so quick. White on white gangster crime obviously not a big priority for the police. I remember walking down the street after the bodies had already been removed, the shop owners would be outside washing their sidewalks with pressure washers as the blood ran in the gutters to the storm drains. The incidents would not even make big news…like page six at best.

I actually did not know that some of these murders were literally right on the sidewalk directly in front of my butchers’ street facing store front window. I had noticed right after the killings that the butcher shop had drawn closed steel garage doors, but because it was afternoon I just thought he had closed up for the day. The next morning while getting some stocks he told us what happened. That he was tending shop and all of a sudden bap bap bap, three shots and three dead people right in the street in the light of the day. He said it was over before anyone even had the time to register that something this crazy had happened. Their were just dead bodies lying all over the street. At that moment, a lot of shop keepers including him closed up shop for the day. Precisely the reason why his steel safety garage doors were closed so early in the day.

My flat was in the direct cross roads of the North End, in between Prince and Charter Streets. Not far from my door stoop was the Old North Church, famous for Paul Revere’s ride (“One if by Land, two if by sea”, in reference to the British Invasion of the US). Looking South was Haymarket Square and Faneuil Hall. At the time Boston’s Big Dig Construction Project was in full swing and was a major demarcation point separating the North End from Downtown Boston. It was early in 1990 and I was working two jobs to make ends meet. One was at the Fish Pier by day and the other I had begun in 1989 working at all the clubs on Lansdowne Street. I was tasked with local concert crew and band/ stage/ venue security.

Coach was dealing weed out of the flat at the time, but we were small fish, just small amounts of green to people who we were friends with (mostly College Students…none of whom lived in the North End). What was strange though was that as anyone who smokes weed knows that at times there would be “dry spells”, meaning that for many possible reasons…that a city or a whole state (or region) would have times when there was no weed to be had. The suppliers higher up on the food chain would be completely out or “dry”, unable to supply the street level dealers. This would cause minor panic within the weed community because they were unable to get their daily high. I remember one particular dry spell which lasted several months because a major dealer had been pinched by the feds for trafficking cocaine and marijuana. The thing was that Coach’s dealer never hit this dry spell so we always still had weed, but again Coach did not sell to anyone in The North End. The word that was going around in the neighborhood was that it was impossible to find a dime bag of weed, but heroin was plentiful everywhere for a mere five dollars a bag (and it was extremely potent). I’m sure you can see where this was heading, right down the tubes, and fast.

I remember one day hearing commotion outside my apartment window, dogs were barking, kids and people were whistling and screaming. So I head over to the window overlooking the street and I see a young guy who I knew was a local. He was rolling and falling onto the hoods of cars, obviously extremely high on heroin. He kept nodding out and waking up again over and over falling on to the sidewalk. Next thing I know, I see his elderly mother come around the corner with a broom screaming at him about being a “Waste” and a “Junky”. Next she starts beating him with the broom, first with the brush part then the wood handle. I was thinking this is crazy…and as usual whenever something crazy like this happened in the neighborhood, you could feel the eyes of all the people living on the street focused on what was going on from the awkward comfort of their flat’s living rooms. It was very sad, someone must have called emergency services because a few minutes later an ambulance pulls up and scoops him off the sidewalk to take him to the hospital. That’s just one example, but incidences like this were happening with more frequency.

It was normal each day to walk past the old timers sitting out in front of their stores, homes, or social clubs located in the basements of the packed together row houses. There was one guy in particular that stood out…he was often by himself sitting out in front of his building and although he was almost always alone…he seemed to interact with everyone in the neighborhood from his sharp little corner. I always greeted him everyday and he was very cordial in response. One particular day I walked by him and after saying hello, I continued on as usual. Next I went down to one of the local haunts in the tourist areas of downtown to sit and have some pints of beer.

The bartender who I knew pretty well from my patronage at his bar, was complaining that day about back pain. Somehow we got on the topic of pills, percosets to be exact, saying he needed to pick some up when he got off work. I half-jokingly asked if I could get a few as well, he affirmed and just had to make a phone call. Like ordering pizza, the only difference was that they did not deliver and that I would have to go get them from someone in the North End. Hmmm…that’s a strange coincidence. Not only that but he said that I could go get them right away if I wanted. He explained to me where I had to go and as luck would have it…I was going to get them from the guy I passed every day on the corner and had been saying hello to for like forever. Of all places to send me in the city, the bartender was an Irish guy from “Southie” (South Boston) directing me to my own neighborhood in the Italian section, the North End to pick up the pills.

I quickly finished my pint and got on it. It only took about ten minutes to walk there. So I cautiously walk up to the guy and I say, “So and so” sent me to pick something up. Without pause he yells out the name of a woman, then proceeds to tell me to go inside the door behind him…to walk up to the apartment at the top of the stairs and just knock on the door and give her the money. So I did as he said and after knocking on the door, an elderly woman opened it up and said a kind hello. I then gave her the money and she gave me a plastic bag with all the pills in it. That was it and I left just as I had come, walked back to the bar and divided up the goods, all were happy.

Sometime in the next month we decided to do it again, he made the phone call and then said I could go, but this time he had different instructions for the deal. This time I had to go inside a particular store and ask for a specific number of pills using a particular “code word”, and that they would hook me up. So I again walk over in short time and walk inside the store as instructed. There were a number of people inside doing actual business as it was the middle of the day. Again I did as was told, said the number followed by the codeword and within thirty seconds or so I was handed my merchandise. As soon as I received the goods, I noticed everyone scrambling in the store…someone ran to the store front window and flipped the “Open” sign to “Closed”, just like you would see in the movies. I thought for a second was this a raid…no…I did notice a car had just pulled up that was double parked on the one way street. Then someone ran over to me and said “off you go”…ok, that’s odd.

As I walked out the store, I noticed I was the last one out besides the store workers, who stayed behind. As I’m walking out the storefront, just as I’m about to turn right out the front door, I noticed a man get out of the vehicle that was double parked. Another man was walking toward the store with him, however I could not take my eyes of the first man, he was creepy looking. I remember vividly thinking the guy looked like a psychotic leprechaun. He had shades on and was bald on the front and top with shiny grayish blonde crown of hair from the sides to the back. I could not get the look of that man out of my head, he was all business and projected the body language of person with zero fucks given. I don’t know why I got that idea or feeling from him, but I did. I also felt the sudden urge to get as far away from the area as possible immediately. In all seriousness I was not scared just a little creeped out, again I did not know who he was but his face is burned into my brain to this day. It was also not a big scare to me because I had walked amongst gangsters before. It was common knowledge that if you keep to yourself and show respect you will “most likely” get the same in return.

Several years later, after I had already left the city and was traveling on tour with bands, I read an article in a newspaper and there were a few photos of a particular gangster who was near the top of the US Most Wanted list. The article was about, and photos were of that man (in a different incident and location), who I had cautiously passed that day near that store front. I quickly realized after some research on the internet, that it was the one and only “Mr. White” (J.J. “Whitey” B.). There is a lot more to the story for another time and another day. Not common for an Expat Icelander living in a US Italian neighborhood taking advice from an Irish Bartender in an Irish Town…while running into a famous Irish Gangster (who lived in the Irish part of town) in the Italian section of Boston. Go figure…fahget about it…what a tangled web we weave.

For those who want a larger overview, separate but surrounding this piece visit & read:

http://bostonmobscene.blogspot.com/2005/01/mob-in-boston-1990s-until-early-2000s.html

Thanks For Reading & All Your Endless Support. My Readers Are Awesome!

Cheers and Bless!

CM ☕

☠

Black Mass – Boston Den Of Iniquity, Aerosmith And The Last Child “Get Your Wings”, Plus The Law Of Extracurricular Activities…[2nd Pass Edit]…

Posted on April 26, 2015 by admin

Black Mass – Boston Den Of Iniquity, Aerosmith And The Last Child “Get Your Wings”, Plus The Law Of Extracurricular Activities…

Urban Legend #1 – Within this article…

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Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza !

I know you probably read the title and thought hmmmm….that’s not grammatically correct. But no, you read it right it’s messed up for a reason…as a matter of fact this whole story which takes place over thirty years within one half mile in a West Boston Neighborhood is all messed up. So messed up in fact that shit round here is going to get dark, real dark, and real fast. You may have to take a bath after this one; I’m not kidding.

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza !

Moving to Boston was a bit of a culture shock. You have to be somewhat crazy to live there in the winter because it can get crazy with the weather. Being used to lots of snow and ice helps residents to begin to bridge the divide where they literally begin to lose their minds and teeter on the edge of borderline psychosis. Everyone has heard that people in Boston are tough and scrappy, with that said, it’s a wonderful place to live and visit. As in every city there is a dark element, and if you live on the fringes you’re bound to bump up against that fine line at one time or another. If one uses common sense it’s easy to avoid certain situations that can get messy, even if you are an innocent bystander and witness something that never fully goes away.

©Christmachine.com

The first apartment was gross because there were tons of cockroaches, whenever you turn on the light they scatter along the walls. One night sleeping there was a small tactile feel of pitter pattering of feet up the arm. In a reflexive action the other hand on the other arm swoops in and cups whatever it is in the dark so that fucker can’t get away. Flick the lights on and upon removing the hand trap, out drops a large cockroach onto the floor, subsequently a foot lands on the sucker to smash it before it gets away. It could be worse though at least there were no rats in the cellar.

©Christmachine.com

One day the boys were drinking some beers and smoking some weed having a good time. It was summer in the city, not a super hot day but there are hints of humidity moving in or leaving. To be honest it could have been spring or fall, anyway it was sunny and warm with a slight breeze, and everyone would hang out on the rooftop where the students would humorously come out and play their brass instruments at all different levels of musicality. There was the trumpet, and at times it would sound jazzy, eventually trailing of into some kind of trippy hallucinogenic tangle. There was a tuba as well on another roof and they would riff off each other whenever they found themselves out at the same time. It definitely brought a smile to the face and sometimes even laughter. It was the perfect spot for students, there was a huge liquor store just steps away, with an amazing selection of imports and kegs at the ready. Across the street from that was a chicken rotisserie which sold meals to go for very cheap. One could smell that chicken basting from miles around, no doubt. Grab the T right there into the center of the city for a token. Right around behind the chicken place was an infamous club which had been there for decades. It was a dive bar and every night there were shows going down. Aerosmith had lived around the corner as well on Commonwealth Avenue when they were starting out, as well as playing at the club in the 1970’s among many other famous bands that were starting out.

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Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza ! Aerosmith Live…

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza ! Steven Tyler…

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza ! Aerosmith…The Bad Boys From Boston…

http://www.bahistory.org/RockHistory.html

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza !

When the beer had run out early in the afternoon, a decision was made to hit up the liquor store. Walking down the front steps to Commonwealth Avenue, Bang…Bang…shots rang out and running like wildfire around the corner and down the side alley seconds after was one of the bouncers from the club behind the chicken place who was not working at that early hour. As the feet hit the bottom of the stairs only to turn and see a girl around twenty on the ground shot and blood all over her and the pavement. Someone was trying to tend to her wounds applying pressure but she was already dead. All there was to do was just stand there in shock as a small crowd of people gathered with occasional screams from those who seemed to know her. Within a few minutes the police arrived and they seemed to know who they were after as some of them ran down the alley to a block of buildings behind the compound.

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza ! Joe Perry’s Finger…

Everything was going so fast and soon after the coroner arrived and the police could be heard saying that the suspect had run into his apartment and committed suicide, that he had barricaded himself in his residence and shot himself in the head. It was impossible not to notice every time walking by for years after, the exact spot where the blood had drained off the sidewalk liberally over the curb and into the gutter.

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Even though this was the city, many got to know each other in the neighborhood, so everyone knew who or of the girl that had been killed, as well as the person who had done it and then done himself in. The next day, reading in the paper the story went that he was a skinhead that worked at the club around the corner and that his neighbors said that he was known by the police in the past to kill his cats and other animals and skin them for pleasure. Also it supposedly was a crime done out of jealousy as he was dating the girl he had killed and something had gone wrong, very wrong. To make matters worse this person was known to the boys, not just from the club, but from years earlier in a high school outside of the city. Everyone knew him as the guy who had been arrested years earlier for getting caught extracting his blood in a restaurant with a syringe, in front of a crowd of people. Then he proceeded to squirt his blood into a ketchup bottle, putting the cap back on and placing it back on the table. Yes, evil if you believe in that sort of thing, for some unsuspecting person who used the bottle next. He was arrested for it, definately psycho for sure…as they say you can’t make this stuff up.

©Christmachine.com

At some point the boys decided to move to another apartment a few blocks away on the opposite side of Commonwealth Avenue. It was a large place with five bedrooms a large common area with four couches and a kitchen. This time there were no roaches but they would soon find out they were walking into another kind of crazy. It was a front walk down basement apartment. It was full of students rotating in and out and every time someone would move out, they would find some unknown to move in to share the rent. A big giveaway that there would be trouble was that all five rooms had their own door, each with a personal deadbolt. Shortly after moving in the history of the place would make it’s way down in confidence from one roommate to the next that the apartment a few years earlier was a crack house. Further a deal had gone sour between two gangs, one who had been living in the house selling and using crack and another who would still drive by occasionally in the middle of the night, and unload a few bullets into the bricks above their basement door. No wonder it was so cheap to move in there, you get what you pay for. Just the idea that this shit became normal to everyone was whacked.

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza ! Steven Tyler On Fiyaaa!!!

Guess it’s safe to say that there were a lot of drugs being used there as well…no need to list them all. There was however a peculiar thing about the drugs…there was one guy from India who lived there, finishing up his Doctorate in Pharmacology and he would bring all types of crazy pharmaceuticals he stole, from fentanyl patches to liquid dilaudid to pharmaceutical methamphetamine and he would never take them himself. He would give them to all the roommates and take notes on the dosages taken and ask all kinds of questions harping on “How is the drug making you feel now?” He would ask everyone this over and over…then when say the fentanyl would run out after a few days he would put everyone on Catapres patches to help with the withdrawals, taking close note as to how each individual would do suddenly without the particular drug. He would get befuddled and angry when everyone would just get ripping drunk and stoned on other substances without a care because he said that it was “Skewing his results of Controls Confounded” from “Concominant drug Use.” Yes this guy was trying to run his own clinical drug trials, it’s not a stretch to say this had reached a whole new level of ‘ethics and efficacy’.

©Christmachine.com

Another thing that will give you an idea of how nasty things were getting is when a few of the gang knocked on the door of the mad doctor pharma, he opened his door and it was in clear sight that he lived amongst a mess in his room. There was a mattress in the middle of the floor and clothes and papers all strewn around the bed. What freaked everyone out was seeing that for months he had been chewing on sunflower seeds in the shell and spitting them wherever they landed in the room with no regard to cleanliness. Piles of shells everywhere it was disgusting. The thing that took the cake though was that there also where full gallons of piss with no caps on them, in what were at one point empty gallon milk jugs, and there were several of them just sitting around his room. The guy was so lazy he did not go to the bathroom to take a piss. Really it was fucking gross…hairs stand up on the back of the spine just thinking about it.

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza !

Anyhow it was now time to take things up another level of douchebaggery. One of the older roommates who sold weed, like lots of weed as in pounds, as in many pounds or elbows. He would bring these trash bags stuffed full into the apartment every couple days. At some point right before he moved out, he comes in the house with four or five full trash bags full. He then went into his room after unlocking the deadbolt and pulled his mattress off a large sheet of plywood and proceeded to dump the bags onto the wood surface. After emptying the bags the pile had to be five or six feet high. He then goes on to tell everyone that he is taking off. Everyone looks at each other like WHATTTTT!?!?! You’re taking off what…it then clicks that he is blowing off his source. The conversation then turns to what do we do when his source comes looking for him, he just said there would be no problem, that the guy deals in hundreds of kilos. What an ass!

Well sure enough he’s gone the next morning and a few days later the source shows up with an entourage and he wants answers. One of the roommates who knew him better than the others said he was from Upstate New York but that’s all anyone knew about him. These guys get on the phone and within an hour they have tracked down the guys parents in New York. The entourage leaves and says they are going to track down his family. You’ve got to pay to play….he was nailed. Never hearing anything further on the matter, everyone was just happy that this responsibility did not land on them harder. Thinking back, it could have been so much worse, the gang could have held everyone in the house responsible. This could have been a severe reality except for the fact that the source was hellbent on taking care of this guy personally. Another moment of luck if you believe in that sort of thing.

At that point it became normal that everyone was packing heat. It was bizarre looking back on it because when the roomies would take of their jackets everyone would have those shoulder slings with pistols in them as they walked around the house high on blow. It was scary stuff…there would be times friends would stop buy and see all the guns and they would be out of there as soon as they could make their way out with any excuse to leave. With faces white as ghosts they would scurry out of the house. Very thankful to not have to carry guns anymore.

It was about this time that a few of the boys would begin working at the infamous club alluded to earlier. It was during one of the reggae nights that one of them would be doing security at the club and while walking across the packed dance floor one night, one of the guns fell out of the holster four feet to the floor in the middle of the pitch black dance floor. There was a feeling somewhere between scared shitless and lucky as hell that the gun did not go off. When the gun hit the floor he froze, inching his feet around slowly while pretending to be in the groove and landing one foot on the pistol about two feet away. Then slowly the pistol was slid toward his body with his foot in the dark crowd with music and lights bouncing everywhere. Once the gun was directly below his body, when the time was just right, he slid down slowly to pick it up and put it back in the holster and continued on as if nothing had happened. Very, very, very lucky…so many horrible things could have gone wrong destroying the lives of many people.

One evening at the compound while a keg party was raging and everyone was tripping hard on psilocybin, one of the roommates comes over and introduces everyone to this guy who says that he lives in the building that Aerosmith lived in across the street. The fact that the band had lived in one of those buildings was well known but no one knew which one. The guy who lived in that building then said that if a few wanted to see something cool, to come on over to his place. What could he be talking about they wondered, but how could anyone turn this invitation down.

So after walking across Commonwealth Avenue the group went into the building as he obviously had keys. Everyone is lead down to the basement and it is immediately obvious the significance of what was there. On the wall was painted the Aerosmith logo and the first question was did Aerosmith actually paint this on the wall or was it painted by someone else after they moved out in homage. He said that no one seems to know but what was even more interesting when Aerosmith first lived in the building in 1970, Brad Whitford was not in the band yet. So at the time the other guitarist beside Joe Perry was Ray Tabano.

Ray Tabano was the guy who designed the Aerosmith logo, so it would not be a stretch to intimate that he ‘could have been’ the person who painted it. This is probably a good time to contact and ask him if he knows how it got there, ya think. Ray eventually was replaced by Brad Whitford on guitar in 1971, who also moved into the apartment at that time. Ray Tabano was originally a friend who grew up in New York with Steven Tyler, and he did continue to work with the band, creating the fan club and designing and handling their merchandising. He also was responsible for writing the fan club newsletter amongst other things. Ray was eventually fired by the band’s management in 1979. So if the information is ever uncovered it will be posted here. It’s safe to say that it was definately one hell of a trip to keep all wondering if this urban legend will ever be solved. As has been said it’s probably best to contact Ray in hopes that memories from that time would not run into the realm of hazy as could be expected.

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/allston_brighton/2012/11/aerosmith_plans_concert_outsid.html

Well back at the compound the craziness was always being brought to new heights of insanity. There was a major problem, someone was breaking into the house and stealing small things, but all thought it was someone looking for drugs. There were six or seven times, that everyone knew of, that someone had entered the house without anyone knowing. Over time people began thinking possibly it was an inside job or some old roomate who still had a key. It became apparent that there was actually a good reason that everyone had deadbolts on their doors. A few months later the mystery was solved when one of the roomates went into his large closet which was located in the main common room and did not have a lock. When he was moving his clothing on hangers to the side he saw a ray of light from behind the racks. Clearing the items out of the way revealed a large hole smashed through two layers of drywall which led to a hidden back staircase going to the basement from outside the apartment. Someone had been freely coming in and out of the house without anyone knowing and not leaving any trace of a break in except for missing items. At that point the only thing that was in the common room was ashtrays, empty pill bottles, and the four couches. Pretty crazy stuff.

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza !

It’s hard to know how this apartment did not at some point get condemned. It was pretty nasty…there would be some who tried to keep it clean only to find it was a lost cause with others not pulling their weight. Upon moving in it was gross how dishes would pile up, so the only way to remedy that would be to go out and get cleaning supplies and sort everything out. The dishes would get cleaned as would the kitchen but others would not do their part and eventually they would pile up and start to get moldy…so it was time for drastic action. Someone who will remain not to not be named here decided to put all the dishes in trash bags and put them out for pickup. One of the roommates realized this after the fact and was pretty furious, but the rest of the guys got a good laugh out of it. Oh well, se la vie, remember to ask for paper plates and sporks at the takeout.

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza !

Here’s another story from that time that was definitely interesting. There were always people selling all kinds of drugs but everyone was selling marijuana and acid to pay the rent. One day a friend said that she had some guys that wanted to buy an ounce of weed and was it possible to deliver it. She said that the guys lived next store to her and were cool, so no one thought a thing of it being a bad idea. Remember though at the time weed was still very illegal so everyone had to be careful to who they sold to.

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza ! Steven Tyler…

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza ! Brad Whitford…

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza !

Anyway the boys went over to her house nearby and after drinking some brews and smoking some weed, she asked if it was possible to sell that ounce to her neighbors. So after knocking everyone met one of the gents that lived there. After walking up a stairwell into the living room it became obvious that they were all as high as everyone else, as they were blowing lines on a large mirrored table top. They offered for everyone to partake and handed out beers. After some indulgence it was time to make the transaction for the ounce of weed. So the dope was handed over and money changed hands and no one thought anything of it so everyone just continued to party. A short while later the girl says that the two guys that had bought the weed wanted to show everyone something, so everyone gathered around them and the next thing you know they pull out badges and say that they are cops. The room went dead silent…the conversation continued with them saying that they were state police officers. Everyone was like ‘no way’….’yeah way’….’no way’…’yeah way’, you could imagine that this bizarre and uncomfortable back and forth continued for about five minutes but felt like an hour. They said ‘don’t worry, no one was in any trouble,’ and ironically come to find out that these staties were just hard partiers…just like everyone else, but cops. That sure was a first…and the last time ever seeing them.

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza !

There are a thousand more incidents that could fit into this piece were it not for not wanting to drag this mess out. It is what it is, and these are the first that come to mind and stand out the most. Sooner or later everyone moved out as the bulding was eventually condemned after months of everyone living there for free. The slumlord had taken off and lost the house to foreclosure. It was time to move on and get better living conditions, the things people do when they’re young too get by. As everyone was leaving, the space was buzzing with houseflies like something out of The Amityville Horror…this hell had been driven into the ground. It was only right that the place be torn down and rebuilt from the bottom up as nothing was salvageable. The house really was a black mass and a den of iniquity the needed to be smothered, if you believe in that sort of thing. That was the last any of the roommates would see each other and it was probably for the best. So everyone had earned their wings and the street smarts would help to keep everyone alive for many years later. It could never ever get any worse than that, well that is at least what everyone would like to think. It certainly could and would.

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza !

For a moment, as has been said, none of this at the time seemed remotely abnormal but through gentrification and all the squatters being purged, it was the end of the era of the last child. A kind of D*sneyland coming to Times Square or Little Buddha comes to The Combat Zone sort of complex…no more XXX rated shops with fluffers and viewing booths adjacent to Mc*Donalds. On one level, yes, you can bring the family there now but it’s impossible to not miss the days of old grimey streets covered with soot and boarded up storefronts…and the looters and weeks of trash bags and dead appliances piling up. The burned cars, ohhhh it’s not easy to let go of the stripped and burned out cars on the streets. On another level it was quite Lord Of The Flies-ish or in others eyes there were definitely rats in the cellar. Definitely, rats in the cellar.

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza ! Steven Tyler’s Hand…

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza ! Aerosmith Live World Tour…

Thanks for reading and for all your kind words and support!

More Interesting Articles and Reviews to come.

Photo Courtesy Of Doc Keyaza ! Aerosmith Walk Of Fame…

Cheers and Bless Bless!

CM ☕

☠

Our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY is coming fast! ~ 2 New Posts Coming…One Tomorrow and Another On The Weekend…

Posted on April 15, 2015 by admin

Our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY is coming fast! ~ 2 New Posts Coming…One Tomorrow and Another On The Weekend…

I know my attention to deadlines are abysmal. I thank you all very much for your patience with me as this website continues to evolve, however slowly that may be. With our One Year Anniversary coming up, it is exciting to look toward the future. The “Bastard Saint” [Series] is coming along quite well and soon I will post some excerpts. I intend to finally get to that large review I said I was going to post a while back, for the summer. Speaking of that, It’s strange because the Beck, Led Zeppelin, and Beatles reviews here at Audio Reference Music Server, over time have brought in a massive amount of visitors and further fans of the site. When I talk about doing reviews they seem to get the least response, in the short term. Just in comparison when I post a written piece the response is through the roof. With that all said I’m not going to limit myself to any type of post here…it’s really just a matter of when I will get to a particular piece. All the things that I have mentioned and so much more are being edited for when the time is just right to publish them.

People from Pono Music….you have not been forgotten! I will explain soon.

Wow what a year!!! Thank You all so much for all your support… you my friends are magnificent.

Stay tuned for more to come, Respect…

Cheers and Bless Bless!

CM ☕

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