The Hot Club

THE HOT CLUB WHERE HEARTS ARE ON FIRE BUT IT’S NEVER TOO HOT FOR THE DEVIL MAY CARE 575 South Water Street, Prov. As a reminder, Mr. D.’s band Almond Joy will be playing at Ciara’s (moved to 678 Killingly St. in Johnston). They will be there on Friday, November 9 and they start playing about 8:30 PM. As Philippe and Jorge say, ‘Be there or be square.’ This square will be there. We were talking about smart phones. Buff Steve showed us his new Samsung Android. He added an app that gives you a flashlight. Right then Professor Pete pulled out his – an I Phone that came with the flashlight feature. So we had dueling flashlights! The Professor was heard to say, “Mine’s brighter than yours!” Jesse, the bass player, was raving about a new show on the Palladia channel – Late Night with Jools Holland on Thursdays at 10 PM. Jesse said Holland has 4 or 5 bands on and does an interview with a guest who also sometimes plays. I remembered Jools Holland having a music show some years back which was on the BBC channel. Question – which baseball league produces the most runs scored? I thought it had to be the American League because of the DH rule, since pitchers in the NL are usually an automatic out. Butt Steve, I mean Buff Steve, questioned me on this. A check shows that in 2012 there were 10,008 runs scored in the AL. There were 10,929 runs scored in the National League. The Buff One has game. The Hot Club TV was showing TMZ before the World Series began. I was startled to see the caption “Vaginas: Sometimes they bite your penis off.” I kid you not. Stephanie had a story for me – one of the Hot Club guys had a new ring that his male friend bought for him. His best friend. I told Stephanie that it was OK for a guy to show a little love to his male friends. In fact, as I get older, it is important to tell your friends, including your male buddies, that you love them. The Kirk Feather Trio will be playing at the Hot Club on Wednesday, November 7th from 5:30 to 8 PM. It will be a good relief from the Presidential election politicking. Stop by. ANSWER TO THE LAST QUIZ Who was it that started out with a band called the Stoners? Why Sly (Sylvester Stewart) and the Family Stone, of course. Once again no winner, but readers Wendy Johnson and the Wizard of the Web both e-mailed me with the correct answer. Sad to say, but Sly has fallen upon hard times and last I knew was a homeless person living in Los Angeles. THIS WEEK’S QUIZ OK boys and girls, another chance for a free drink, courtesy of yours truly. The question: What band has fans known as ‘Gearheads’?

The Hot Club

THE HOT CLUB WHERE HEARTS ARE ON FIRE BUT IT’S NEVER TOO HOT FOR THE DEVIL MAY CARE 575 South Water Street, Prov. The Hot Club as Hotel California: you can check out, but you can never leave. Christine, onetime HC bartender, was back with hubby Michael Farley. Salute! Fleet Feet Pete says there are two things in his life, two things that he has found he likes: ice cream and beer. According to Pete, “They’re both great. I never met one I didn’t like. It’s like my father used to say, ‘All of it’s good, only some of it’s better.’” The Bawd Steve chimed in that that where he comes from they have a saying that there’s no such thing as a bad blowjob. Of the comparison, I added, “Not as romantic.” Peter the Bouncer said he was talking to soccer lover Martin, who is from England. Peter asked Martin if he knew why soccer would never make it in the US. Martin said “No, why not?” Peter answered, “Because we have other sports.” Britt alerted me to the schools of fish (well she’s a teacher!) swimming next to the bar. There were more fish in those waters than I’d ever seen. You could actually see them, something not possible a few years back due to murky water. Kevin and brother Mike thought the fish were menhaden and blue fish. I wondered if it was spawning season. A few of us were watching the fish frenzy when I remarked on all the seagulls circling above, looking for a fish for dinner. An onlooker said “Oh seagulls don’t eat fish, they only eat shellfish.” As I was pondering this, a seagull swooped in and grabbed a fish. Jim the Engineer looked at all the seagulls having a field day going for the fish and said it reminded him of a Hitchcock film – ah yes, The Birds. LAST WEEK’S QUIZ ANSWER No one at the Hot Club won that free drink offer for the correct answer to last week’s quiz – Name the sisters who starred in two separate Roman Polanski movies. The answer is Catherine Deneuve (Repulsion) and Francoise Dorleac (Cul-de-sac). A few people guessed Deneuve but didn’t know her sister, except for Kappa brother Tom Kat (he took a film course), who knew it was Francoise but not the last name. There’s a good reason that people don’t remember Dorleac – she died in 1967 (a year after the release of Cul-de-sac) in a fiery car crash while racing to the Nice airport. THIS WEEK’S QUIZ This band leader’s original group was called the Stoners. What was the name under which the leader and his group became famous?

The Hot Club

THE HOT CLUB WHERE HEARTS ARE ON FIRE BUT IT’S NEVER TOO HOT FOR THE DEVIL MAY CARE 575 South Water Street, Prov. Good to see Charlie Clancy back at the HC. He was with fellow softball star Jerry with a J. We were talking about Miguel Cabrera winning the Triple Crown, last achieved by Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski. So I mentioned that Ted Williams had won the Triple Crown twice and asked them who the only other player to do so was. Jerry got it right – Rogers Hornsby. And for RI locals, Bill Reynolds used the same question a day later. So Jerry with a J asked me who was the only Rhode Islander to win the Triple Crown. That one I knew - Napoleon ‘Nap’ Lajoie, of course. Charlie Clancy thought it was ironic that there had not been a Triple Crown winner since 1967 and this year with one, the Red Sox had one of their worst seasons since around the same time. I pointed out that they went to the World Series in 1967, and it was 1965 that they had their worst modern day record (100 losses). Charlie said it was in the ballpark. Last Friday I looked up at the TV screen as the Cardinals played the Braves in the NL wild card game. “Ah, real baseball”, I said. Dollars for David asked me about a Red Sox fan embarrassing himself at Yankee Stadium in the game where NY scored 9 runs in the second inning. So I checked with FootJoy who told me that a Red Sox fan wearing a Pedroia jersey reached out with his glove and caught a Yankee drive that was ruled a homerun. The umpires ruled it was going to be a homerun anyway but you just don’t do that if you are a good BoSox fan. Who would have thunk it? Jake is a big Barry Zito fan. Yes Barry but Zito. We were talking about Rhode Island’s bad drivers and how you have to be careful these days, not knowing what people will do. Mike Module said that one time he was out with his buddy who was driving. Another driver got Mike’s friend pissed off. Then the guy in the other car flashed a gun at them. Mike told his buddy the driver, “Back off! Back off! Either that or drop me off.” QUIZ - FREE DRINK! The first person to come up to me Wednesday night (Oct.10) or Friday (Oct. 12) and tell me the correct answer to this quiz will be rewarded with a free drink (under $10 please). Thanks to Fleet Feet Pete for the suggestion of having a quiz. If it gets too expensive for me, he may have to buy a round, though. Name the two sisters who each starred (separately) in a Roman Polanski movie.

The Hot Club

THE HOT CLUB WHERE HEARTS ARE ON FIRE BUT IT’S NEVER TOO HOT FOR THE DEVIL MAY CARE 575 South Water Street, Prov. We were talking about lawyers, and Fleet Feet Pete said that one of Murphy’s laws or axioms is: “Hell hath no fury like a lawyer on a contingency fee.” The conversation turned to great Red Sox players since the TV showed the celebration of the All-Fenway team. We were talking naturally about Ted Williams when Mike Module opined that they are selling off parts of Ted’s brain in Arizona where he is cryogenically frozen. Bits and Pieces. I told him that was cold. Ted’s in the Cryogenic 100. The Wizard told me a story about being in a store with his sister. At some point, he had her paged. In the page, Wiz described his sister as ‘deaf and volatile’. He then described what she was wearing. So I said that she must have been pretty mad at him and asked the Wizard what she said to him. Foot Joy interjected, “She signed.” Yes, she signed with her middle finger. The Bear, Mike Module and I were reminiscing about growing up in Pawtucket. Both the Bear and the Module had chemistry sets. Mike Module noted that you could do some damage with some of the items in that chemistry set. It was also mentioned that a lot of kids had erector sets. Those are two items that today’s kids don’t have. Instead of building things, they are playing video games or with phones and PDAs. The Wise Man posed a baseball question to us: Didn’t the baseball season always end on a Sunday unlike this year’s finish on a Wednesday? FootJoy and I had to agree. We couldn’t remember it ever happening in the past. Must have something to do with the extra playoff teams and games. According to my sources, Jen Riley recently paid a visit to the Hot Club. We wish her well. ORric tells me that after the Civil War a lot of the Confederate soldiers fled to the Bahamas. Yep, per Wikipedia: “A considerable number of Bahamians can trace their ancestry back to Southerners who left the States both before and during the war.” Seems that the Confederates used Nassau as a jumping off point for its blockade runners. Per Wikipedia, by the end of the war, 397 ships sailed from the Confederacy to Nassau and 588 ships went from Nassau to the Confederacy (many to Charleston, SC, the largest Confederate port on the Atlantic Coast). Sportzine is also available at jimdawsonsports.com (Thanks to Buffalo Steve)

The Hot Club

THE HOT CLUB WHERE HEARTS ARE ON FIRE BUT IT’S NEVER TOO HOT FOR THE DEVIL MAY CARE 575 South Water Street, Prov. Readers of this periodical will have the opportunity to hear a very good local band, The Professors, at your very own Hot Club. The band will play Wednesday, October 3 from 6-9 PM. As Philippe and Jorge say: ‘Be there or be square.’ I will be there ‘God willin’ and the creek don’t rise (thank WBCN’s Charles Laquidara & Hank Williams)’. Britt recently had an anniversary – 23 years tending bar at the Hot Club. According to Britt, it is the most stable relationship that she has ever had. Salute Britt! All hail Britt! Mike Module was reminiscing about Frequent Flyer (RIP Thom). He said they were on FF’s boat once and a woman aboard was stung in the thigh/hip area by a bee. Thom yelled to Mike, “You’ve got to suck out the venom!” Was talking to Jimmy Chelo and Chet about the PawSox’ great season and winning the International League Championship. I told Jimmy and Chet that I turned on the PawSox game against the Reno Aces, the Pacific Coast League champs. It was the 3rd inning and Pawtucket was down 7-0. I turned it back on in the 5th inning. Reno’s starter Trevor Bauer (the 3rd pick in last year’s draft by Arizona) had an 8-2 lead but had the bases loaded and two outs. The Aces’ manager came out and pulled Bauer (7 walks) who didn’t get the win because he hadn’t gotten through the 5th. A lesson learned. Keep your focus, even with a big lead. The Reno Aces’ manager is Brett Butler (Rick Burleson is Hitting Coach). A get well wish to Jimmy and Chet’s friend Mario who just had bi-pass surgery. We were talking about Mark Knopfler opening for Bob Dylan. I told Fleet Feet Pete that Dylan’s voice was never good but now it’s like a croak. Just then a 3rd party commented about not even being able to understand what Dylan was singing, and said Dylan must have taken voice lessons from Linda Blair. Fleet Feet Pete said he endorsed that remark. Poly Sci Steve told me that he brought Bags some DVDs while he’s recovering from knee surgery. Among his choices was Weekend at Bernie’s (I and II), one of my favorites. I told Bags he needs to watch Office Space. FootJoy suggested two possibilities for the soon to be vacant Red Sox managerial position – Arnie Beyeler (PawSox manager) or Ryan Sandberg (Phils’ AAA manager). Good to see the Siren of Syracuse in the HC. Our wishes for a speedy return to health for Mike K. Sportzine is also available at jimdawsonsports.com (Thanks to Buffalo Steve)

The Hot Club

THE HOT CLUB WHERE HEARTS ARE ON FIRE BUT IT’S NEVER TOO HOT FOR THE DEVIL MAY CARE 575 South Water Street, Prov. The HC has new black high back leather chairs to go with the new HD TV screens. One of the regulars pointed them out to me after I missed them in the dark. Russ and Renée visited the HC on a ‘date night’. It was good to see both of them. Russ revealed that his band, Gravity Bleeds, is no more. Bled out? The Sisto Kid was in town and visited the HC for the annual Sisto Fest. As luck would have it, there was a band playing that night, the Wippets. And in the band was mandolin player Sally Sisto, who is related (by marriage) to our San Franciscan friend (who grew up on Farm Street in Providence). The two swapped stories during a break. During the Sisto Fest, our friend Anthony Proc said the magic words to evoke an era - he talked about his ‘8 track and incense’. Adam said to check out an action movie called The Raid:Redemption. A group tries to take out a drug lord who has a penthouse suite. Each floor of the high rise harbors criminals. Reminds me of the contest held by the city of Providence to come up with a catchy phrase to promote La Prov and the winner (very briefly) was ‘We harbor the best’. I told Broc that I went to the Red Sox game that they won against the Yankees. Yankees fan Broc groaned. I told him that I expected the BoSox to lose. Said Broc, “I didn’t expect them to win either.” The Wizard (among others like Foot Joy, and most of the Western World) doesn’t want to re-sign Jacoby Ellsbury. I said what if he hits 30-30 next year (30 homers, 30 steals). He relented slightly and said “Maybe – for 3 years.” I told him that Scott Boras would never allow that. Boras would want 5-6 years. If Ellsbury goes 30-30 in 2013, sign him. I was the only one among many that I asked who was advocating for the BoSox to keep Ellsbury. So someone asked me what that meant – I said it must mean that I’m right. Upcoming birthdays are in store for Mike Module and Fleet Feet Pete. I won’t divulge the birthday number but it’s monumental. And they aren’t Jack Benny’s age. Best wishes to Bags, who is recovering from knee surgery. The Wizard said Valentine has to stay and Ellsbury has to go. Huh? Insert punchline.