Of Chick, Coddies & Camaraderie

Reflections on Chick's Legendary Retirement Party
Saturday, January 17, 2015
The Ottobar

Chick Veditz went out with a bang at The Ottobar with help from The Yachtsmen, Chelsea Graveyard, Garage Sale & The Stents

Harry "Chick" Veditz's retirement party last Saturday night at The Ottobar was a textbook example of how to say goodbye to the working life with a BANG!, not a whimper. Four fantastic bands - The Yachtsmen, Chelsea Graveyard and The Screams at Midnight, Garage Sale, and The Stents - provided a rockin' musical backdrop to what was not just one man's farewell to the 9-to-5 rat race but a reunion of all his friends past, present - and future.

The Yachtsmen took Ottobar landlubbers on a smooth-sailing Sea Cruise

Chelsea Graveyard: Steptoe, Fernando and new guy Professor Henri Van Lingenfelder

Yes, in addition to all the old rockers (you know who you are!) in the audience who gathered to pay homage to the man who ran Chick's Legendary Records in its two Mount Washington locations between 1978-1992, there were some youngbloods (including a few 20something hipster chicks decked out in all their clubland finery - and I'm sure their red heels did not go unnoticed by Chelsea Graveyard frontman Steptoe T. Magnificent, author of the randy chestnut "Red Shoes") scattered throughout the teeming throng - and not just kids there with their parents (like Rachel Milstein, who lent her familial support to Chelsea Graveyard guitarist Stevie Squeegee).

From the balcony, Rachel Milstein kept a close watch on her dad (white shirt) in Chelsea Graveyard

There was a huge turnout for Chick's Retirement Party at The Ottobar

It was great to see a Who's Who of vintage local musicians, music fans, and music critics on hand for the festive occasion, including: Skunkpuppies bassist, the Outrageous Gyro J. Scope (aka Ed Barker), his little bro Ronnie Barker, George Wilcox, former City Paper scribes Michael Anft and Michael Yockel (Mr. Yockel having a "quiet" night out away from his Mr. Mom duties at home with his indefatigable twin baby boys, Castor & Pollux, er, I mean, Tex & Miner)...

Open Mike Night with Anft and Yockel

...yet another CP alumnus (and, like Chick, yet another record store alumnus) Jim Maher, Mindi Siegel (Buck Subtle & The Little Planets), Cindy Borchardt (The Beaters, The Monuments), Rod Misey (former WCVT-Towson U. New Wave DJ '77-'90, whose current WVUD-Delaware U. podcasts are essential listening) , honey-sweet award-winning Maryland apiatrix Beth Sherring (there to cheer on her hubby, new Chelsea Graveyard bassist Professor Henri Van Lingerfelder)...

Professor Henri Van Linglefelder prepares his notes for Chelsea Graveyard

...Sharon Rudolph, Mike & Gail Maxwell, and three-quarters of The Slickee Boys - Kim Kane, Marshall Keith, and (Yachtsmen bassist) Mark Noone - in attendance. It was strange to see former Slickee Boys vocalist Noone sharing vocals with the other Yachtsmen, but reassuring to see him belt out the Slickees classic "You Gotta Tell Me Why" (a highlight of an impressive set). The Yachtsmen's caps, blazers and khakis evoked the sartorial spirit of their inspiration, millionaire Thurston Howell III from Gilligan's Island, but the coup de grace of their show was the placement of two martini glasses on a barstool. Very swank, Yachtsmen!

The Yachtsmen: Maximum martini rock & roll

"A long long time ago The Slickee Boys played at Harry Chick Veditz's record store in Baltimore. It was a hot summer day. But just as we set up a thunderstorm rolled in. Most of the people that were there to see us ran for their cars and split. But we squeezed into the store wherever we could fit. A few people stayed around to see us and peruse the records. Even with the rain it was still hot. But a fun memory." - Marshall Keith

Mark Noone of The Yachtsmen

Chick knows all too well the unifying power of rock & roll, regardless of era. Besides paying homage to his fave bands of the past - The Yachtsmen being a trio featuring Mark Noone of Chick's all-time favorite retro-psych-garage rockers, The Slickee Boys, and Chelsea Graveyard being an oldies hit parade of various Dave Wilcox-led Marble Bar ensembles (Poobah, Rockhard Peter, The Alcoholics, Problem Pets) over the years -  Chick has never closed his lobes to new exciting sounds around town. Case in point, Chick has only recently discovered and become a devoted fan of groups like Garage Sale and The Stents.

Garage Sale

The Stents

I only regret that I could only stay to catch The Yachtsmen (who, in addition to having great outfits, are great musicians to boot!)  and Chelsea Graveyard (who never sounded better!), missing Garage Sale (who have now been performing for - gasp!- 20 years!) and The Stents because my beloved Amy had to get up for work the next day. (Oh well, we will catch The Stents when they strike next, with The Idle Gossip, February 7 at Stoneleigh Duckpin Lanes in Rodgers Forge.)

Oy to the world! Suburban House Deli's menu includes a Basic Yiddish Dictionary

But Chick has also discovered the great unifying power of "Coddies," the codfish and potato delicacy (served on saltine crackers with a mustard topping - and often without any codfish!) that was a  common after-school snack in 1950s and 1960s Baltimore. They were easily the highlight of the food spread - catered by Suburban House Deli - on offer Saturday night, even spurring Chick to suggest that The Coddies would make an excellent band name. I heartily concur!

Coddies, crackers and mustard!

As Chick posted on Facebook the next day:

"Once again The Coddies were the #1 food item people were talking about. Some new band should call themselves The Coddies - then again, maybe not." - Chick Veditz

 Watch the Levy brothers reminisce about eating coddies below:


Baltimore brothers remember coddies from American Food Roots on Vimeo.


 Chick continued his shout-out thanks to attendees and performers alike:

And of course; the four bands- The Yachtsmen, Chelsea Graveyard and the Screams at Midnight, Garage Sale, and The Stents- you all were incredible. You all gained a lot of new fans. I can't thank everyone enough. For those of you who had to leave and could not see The Stents, they will be Playing at the Stoneleigh Bowling Lanes on Saturday February 7th with the Idle Gossip opening. Some rock and bowl. I will be there so come on out. - Chick Veditz

Bowling with Stents is good for your health!

Besides Chick's retirement from work and strife, it was also a night that saw Dave "Dr. D" Zidek retire from his 10-year tour of duty with Chelsea Graveyard. Dr. D handed the four-stringed reigns over to Professor Henri Van Lingerfelder at the close of Chelsea Graveyard's set, as the Z-man is now set to gig full-time with The Harlan County Kings.

Chelsea Graveyard bid adieu to bassist Dave Zidek (far right)

Dave Zidek: "Hey, now that I'm retired, I can watch Chelsea Graveyard from the audience!"

Head bowed, a vaclempt Steptoe reflects on Dave Zidek's departure from Chelsea Graveyard

Chick not only provided a night of free booze, food and music, but also dished out custom t-shirts to the performers.

"If any of you are wondering who made the two T-shirts shown in other posts they were done by Adam Turkel of Altamont Records. He is based in Florida but is from Pikesville. The first party shirt was loosely designed by me and then Adam did his artistic magic and you see how it turned out. It was 90% Adam and 10% me if that. - Chick Veditz

Adam Turkel-designed t-shirt commemorating Chick's August 31, 2014 Ottobar party

The other shirt was from a poster from that show that was on the Stents site. I really like it so I had some made for The Stents and Garage Sale.

Chick gave The Stents and Garage Sale got t-shirts of this classic poster

Go on the Altamont web site and you can see all the great items they have. Adam started  hanging out at my stored when he was about 10 and was working for me when he was in high school. Besides being a great artist he is a really good musician as well and is in a band down in Florida. Thanks for the great shirts Adam; everyone loved them" -ChickVeditz

(FYI, besides his Chick's Legendary Records and t-shirt design connection, Adam Turkel used to play in the local band The Beatings. Check out his '90s Baltimore rock days recollections in the Sleazegrinder book Gigs From Hell: True Stories from Rock and Roll’s Frontline.)

Stents buttons: "Bargain-priced Beauties"!

And speaking of those Stents posters, they are truly awesome. I don't know who their designer is (perhaps bassist Scott Sugiuchi, he of Hidden Volume Records), but everything they produce - be it buttons, 45 rpm record sleeves, stickers, whatever - is hip from toe to tip! I'd buy their records even if I didn't like the music, just for the art and design. The influence of vintage retro clip art and the design aesthetics of record labels like Norton, Estrus and Blue (labels where everything from the design to the recording was/is part of the whole package) is unmistakeable. And that's another thing they share with the like-minded power-garage-surf-pop & sounds-that-jangle souls in Garage Sale, whose guitarist Alex Fine is responsible for some of the "Finest" graphic designs in the Land of Pleasant Living (and drummer Skizz Cyzyk is no slouch either when it comes to boss fliers).

"Maximum Rock & Bowl!": Yet another collectable Stents poster

Thanks again to Chick, his lovely wife Arlene (who tirelessly runs around greeting everyone and making sure everything runs smoothly), and everyone who made his retirement party a blast! But the last word must, by rights, go to Chick himself - the man of the moment who made the occasion so special:

Once again THANK YOU< THANK YOU< THANK YOU to everyone involved who made the party such a good time and a success-especially the weather."-Chick Veditz

Related Links:
Chick's Legendary Retirement Party (Flickr set)

Chick Calls It Quits, Heads Home To Roost

Chick's Legendary Retirement Party 
Saturday, January 17, 2015
The Ottobar
2549 N. Howard Street

Chick's Legendary Retirement Party (flier by David Wilcox)

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Harry "Chick" Veditz - ertswhile owner of Chick’s Legendary Records on Sulgrave Avenue in Mount Washington Village back in the day; longtime City of Baltimore and State of Maryland employee; and indefatigable collector of, well, everything  - is once again hosting a party for friends, co-workers, and legendary local musicians at The Ottobar in North Baltimore.

"This Chick is coming home to roost, baby!"

Last August, Chick threw a big bash (food, drinks, music!) at the Ottobar just to catch up with past, present and future friends and to feature three of his favorite local troubadours: Garage Sale, Chelsea Graveyard, and The Stents. That "Chicks-a-palooza" throw-down was such a success that Chick decided to hit the replay button and celebrate his official retirement this year from the 9-to-5 grind of gainful employment with those three groups at a Ring-in-the-New Year party this Saturday night. But the highlight of the evening may well be the addition of a fourth ensemble, Washington, DC's The Yachtsmen, whose line-up includes the charismatic and sartorially resplendent Mark Noone.

The former Slickee Boy singer has been in various bands over the years (The Wanktones, The Wranglers, The Rhodes Tavern Troubadours, Hula Monsters) but his latest group finally lets him act out his fantasy alter ego of millionaire Thurston Howell III from Gilligans Island while plucking away on bass guitar as well. His shipmates include Joel App and John Penovich, and like Noone, they are inspired by all able-bodied seamen, from Jack Kennedy to The Love Boat's Captain Stubing.

Thurston Howell III: A Well-respected Man About Yacht

I haven't been this excited about hearing some sea-faring rock & roll since the maiden voyage of Towson's Little Toot & The Boatniks back in the early '80s!

Watch The Yachtsmen play "You Gotta Tell Me Why" (Surf Club, 7-16-2011)


The retirement party is Chick's way of saying thank you to his family, friends, every customer over the years, and the bands. His sage advice to those he knows is always simple and true to his (vinyl at) heart: "Support local music and go play a record!"

Related Links:
The 2014Chicks-a-palooza Party (Baltimore Or Less)

Chick's-a-palooza Party @ Ottobar 2014

Chick's Legendary Records Party
The Ottobar
2549 N. Howard Street
Sunday, August 31, 2014

The Legendary Bird, Chick Veditz

Veni, Vedi, Veditz. Harry "Chick" Veditz: he came, he saw and he conquered the local music scene by opening a legendary record store - Chick's Legendary Records on Sulgrave Avenue in Mount Washington Village - with partner Don Webb back in the late '70s. As Rafael Alvarez recalled in a 1992 Baltimore Sun tribute ("A swan song for Chick's record store"), "Back in the glory days of Chick's Legendary Records, gangs of rock 'n' roll bands would hound owner Harry Veditz Jr. for the chance to play for free at his annual summer thank-you party for customers. That was in 1978, during the first flowering of the punk movement in America, when the record store was on Sulgrave Avenue." Over the years, the record store specializing in hard-to-find vinyl and local tunes would move to Smith Avenue and later Reisterstown Road, before finally closing in 1992, a victim of the rising popularity of cassettes and compact discs. "You have to move with the times," he told the Sun. "I didn't."

T-shirt commemorating Chick's Legendary Records' First Anniversary Party: July 14, 1979

I recall those days well, having been in Thee Katatonix, one of the bands that successfully hounded "Chick" to play at his 2nd Anniversary Party in August 1980. I was later in The Boatniks, who got to play Chick's 3rd anniversary party in 1981.

T-shirt for Chick's Legendary Records 3rd anniversary show, 1981, featuring The Alcoholics, Mark Noone's Wanktones and The Boatniks.

Of course, the default house band at any Chick's party was always his beloved Slickee Boys, and no one championed them more than Chick. (Alas, the Slickee Boys are now no more as well.)

Slickee Boy Mark Noone and Katie Katatonic enjoy a cold one at Chick's 2nd Anniversary Party

Sure, there were other good record stores around at the time -  Music Machine, Record & Tape Collector, Record & Tape Traders, Vinyl Discoveries, Record Theater (and Joe's Record Paradise and Yesterday & Today Records in the DC suburbs) - but Chick's was the most laid back and casual.

Besides the always affable Don Webb, Chick's staff over the years included erstwhile City Paper music scribe Michael Yockel and various local musicians (like Rockheads/DelMarVas/Big As a House bassist Bernie Ozol), besides Chick himself (who had that steady paycheck with the City of Baltimore to keep his racks well-stocked with new vinyl). And besides having a large inventory of the psychedelic and garage rock records that inspired his fave Slickee Boys, Chick's offered an eclectic selection of records by the local, punk, and New Wave bands then playing The Marble Bar. In fact, Chick regularly advertised in Tonescale, the Marble Bar fanzine (as shown below),

Chick's Legendary Records ad, Marble Bar "Tonescale" zine

and wrote the "A Side and B Side and This and That" record review column, as well:

Chick's "A Side, B Side"column, "Tonescale" zine

As an early champion of the local bands playing the Marble Bar, it was only fitting that Chick got his own night to DJ "the best recorded music of all time" there. In 1980, Marble Bar owners Roger and LesLee Anderson designated Thursdays as "Legendary Chick's Nite," with all girls ("chicks" - get it?) getting in free to enjoy 75 cent beers, as shown in the September 1980 calendar below.



Chick also regularly advertised in the City Paper to promote local bands and shows, such as the OHO Record Release Party for 1984's Rocktronics LP:

Chick's ad promoting OHO's new album "Rocktronics" (June 15, 1984)

My girlfriend Amy Linthicum remembered Chick's store with bittersweet memories.

"That's where I sold all my 10cc records," she recalled. That was the bitter part. The sweet part was all the groovy new music she and her boyfriend of the time, guitarist Mark Harp (Null Set, Nos Mo King, et al) picked up. "Back then I was into everything New Wave and traded my Prog for Punk!" (Full disclosure: Amy has since bought back all of her 10cc collection in both vinyl and CD - proving that what goes around comes around again!)

I myself remember picking up the rare Music To Kill By record by The Afrika Korps (an ensemble of D.C.-area musicians that included some Slickee Boys members), which in addition to an early version of the Slickees' "Jailbait Janet" featured one of my fave tracks, "Fox Lane" ("Fox Lane, where all the girls get PhD's in learning how to spread their knees").

36 years later, Chick's Legendary Records is long gone, but neither Chick nor his fans are forgotten. That's why Chick is hosting a private party for his friends at The Ottobar on Sunday, August 31 to celebrate his glory days - as well as other notable milestones. As he wrote in his evite:

Among the many occurrences the party is to celebrate-the 30th anniversary of Arlene and Chick; my 31 years with the State of Mayland and pending retirement at the end of January 2015 (another party then); What would have been the 36th anniversary of Chick's Legendary Records (I missed the 33 1/3 party opportunity); the 31 years since the Orioles won the World Series; The many summer parties at my parents place on Bodkin Creek; record store employees reunion; softball players reunion; mini Marble Bar reunion; seeing friends, relatives, and co-workers; and I have wanted to throw a party for a long time.

As we go to press, at least three bands - Chelsea Graveyard, Garage Sale, and The Stents - are scheduled to play, with possible guest appearances from the great local bands of the last 40 years. (Expect one or more Slickee Boys to post.)

Chick's Private Party flier (poster art by Dave Wilcox)

Video killed the radio stars and CDs killed record stores like Chick's, so it's rather ironic to see vinyl make a comeback as a hipster collectible these days, a collectible glorified on Record Store Day. If Chick's Legendary Records opened in Mount Washington Village today, it might actually flourish.

And Chick still remains a committed to the purity of vinyl uber alles. As he told Rafael Alvarez back in 1992, "I'll argue with any CD lover that albums still sound better," he said. "And I like the packaging of albums, the art that comes with them. I know that albums scratch, skip and pop, but we have CDs that do the same thing."

That's why Chick still has his private collection of over 12,000 LPs and 7,000 45s,  though in recent years he's devoted himself to his other passion - selling baseball and other collectible cards at area flea markets, yard sales, and conventions. In fact, I ran into Chick "Collector of All Things" Veditz at the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in Hunt Valley (featuring Davy Jones of The Monkees at one of his last convention appearances) and was surprised to see him selling cards instead of vinyl. But I should have known better - Chick got into trading cards back in the '90s when he ran Chick's Records Tapes & Baseball Cards in Pikesville. And there he was selling vintage pop culture artifacts like Monkees bubblegum cards. "With Davy Jones here, a lot of people are buying individual cards for him to sign," canny capitalist Chick commented at the time.

Chick Veditz mans his classic trading card collectibles table

Like Judy Collins, Chick Veditz has looked at life from "Both Sides Now"- A-side and B-side! - and on Sunday night will enjoy turning back the clock and cueing up a scratchy and pop-filled remembrance of the good old days. Or as Rootboy sang, "Put a quarter in the juke, and boogie 'till you puke." (Just don't play any disco, or a rogue Slickee Boy might just "Put a Bullet Through the Jukebox"!)


Related Links:
Chicks-a-palooza Party @ Ottobar (a Flickr picture set)

Shonen Knife Cuts Thru Baltimore

Cutting Edge J-Poppers Finally Take a Stab at Charm City

Believe it or not, Shonen Knife had never visited or played in Baltimore in the course of their 30-year career. Like most big name J-pop bands touring the U.S.(Pizzicato Five, Puffy, even Kahimi Karie), they made the obligatory stop in the nation's capital, typically at the 9:30 Club, before bypassing Charm City to traipse up the East Coast to Philadelphia, New York, and other major ports of call. In fact, the last time I saw them was back in 1997, when they performed at the 9:30 Club in support of their album Brand New Knife (Baltimore's powerpop trio Splitsville opened for them).

That all changed October 24, 2011 when founding guitarist Naoko Yamano and the "new" Shonen Knife girls - drummer Emi Morimoto (2010-present) and bassist Ritsuko Taneda (2006-present) - visited Atomic Books in Hampden to sell their new all-Ramones-covers CD Osaka Ramones (Good Charamel Records, 2011), sign memorabilia, and hang out with fans, before jumping in their tour bus to motor down the street and rock out later that night at the Ottobar as part of their 30th Anniversary North American Tour. And so, "Baltimore, the city that reads" officially became "Baltimore, the city that bleeds" - for Shonen Knife!

Watch Shonen Knife arrive at Atomic Books.

Shonen at Atomic: a rendezvous with history?

As an added bonus, Naoko's sis Atsuko (Shonen Knife's original drummer) was also on hand to roadie for the band; though Atsuko left the band in 2006 when she got married and then moved to Los Angeles, she filled in during band's 2007 tour and, being Naoko's sister, continues to be involved with the musical family she created with Naoko and Michie Nakatani in Osako back in 1981. (Original bass player Michie Nakatani left the band in 1999, with Atsuko moving from behind the drumkit to replace her on bass guitar.)


Dave Cawley, Ichiban: "The early bird catches the worm," Dave smirks as he informs latecomers that the line forms BEHIND him. "Watch me and learn, minions - and please, DO envy me!"

Dave Cawley was the very first fan to arrive at Atomic Books (all the better to genuflect before his idols), which is somewhat fitting, as Dave used to correspond with Atsuko Yamano dating back when he was in Baltimore's pop-punk band Berserk. (Dave poses with Atsuko Yamano in pic at right.) Amy and I were the second to arrive and Atomic Books owners Benn Ray and Rachel Whang were greatly amused to see that Dave and I were both wearing the same 1997 Shonen Knife Tour shirts, the ones we got when last we saw the band at the 9:30 Club and interviewed them for Atomic TV (as seen on ATV's "Turning Japanese, Part 1" - check 'em out at the 54-minute mark of this episode). Rachel Whang captured the "Misfits-in-Matching-Outfits" photo op, below:


Tom: "Dave, this is kinda gay!" Dave: "Ya think?"

Dave and I loved Shonen Knife from the moment we discovered them - he first, of course, via his Pan-Asian Pop Cultural Studies (an ongoing obsession), me rather late in game thanks to Sassy magazine's championing of "Twist Barbie." We both agreed that they were the nicest band we'd ever met, and regretted that we hadn't seen or listened to Shonen Knife in a long time; in fact, 1998's Happy Hour album (my personal favorite and the last to feature original bass player Michie Nakatani) was the last CD either one of us had purchased. We decided it was time to make amends for that criminal oversight, and we looked forward to meeting the new "Brand New Knife." We learned that the first cut may be the deepest, but the new Knife cuts a pretty sharp figure as well!


Meet and greet the Brand New Knife!


First-in-line Dave Cawley strikes a Kamen Rider pose with Shonen Knife


Dave Cawley gives Shonen Knife his personal seal of approval


The fans behind Dave "I was first!" Cawley wait their turn at Atomic Books


Tom Warner makes peace with Shonen Knife


Amy had never heard Shonen Knife, but bought their "Fun! Fun! Fun!" LP as an introduction to the fun, fun, fun


Amy enjoys Shonen Knife's autograph doodles: Emi (cat), Naoko (bunny), Ritsuko (dog)


Shonen Knife's cute critter doodles


Our Facebook pal Gary Razorpop poses with The Knife

Shonen Knife really seemed to enjoy looking through the shelves at Atomic Books - where Naoko's book Shonen Knife Land was also available for purchase; they also explored the vinyls bins at Celebrated Summer Records next door (who splurged for donuts and other edibles).


Emi lets the cat out of the bag at Atomic Books

Just as fitting as Dave Cawley being first in line at Atomic Books was Shonen Knife's decision to release an all-Ramones song album, for Shonen Knife is basically an all-girl Japanese version of the Ramones. Both work from a foundation of simplistic punk rock buzzsaw guitar and lyrics celebrating everything that's good dumb fun in life - whether it be sniffing glue, getting kicks and scoring chicks for the Ramones or eating all that food ("Cookie Day," "Banana Chips," "Hot Chocolate," "Brown Mushrooms," "Froot Loop Dreams," "Ice Cream City," "Gyoza") that Naoko sings about in countless Knife songs. Osaka Ramones contains all the classic Ramones songs you'd expect to hear championed ("Blitzkrieg Bop," "Rock 'n' Roll High School," "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker") as well as an inspired surprise cover of "Scattergun," a rockin' tune written by Dee Dee's replacement C.J. Ramone (Christopher Ward) and taken from their last studio album ¡Adios Amigos! (1995). And it's not just Naoko handling all the vocal duties: Ritsuko lends her voice to "Sheena," while Emi gets to sing "The KKK Took My Baby Away." The album was recorded in Osaka and Buffalo, NY, with Goo Goo dolls bassist Robby Takac producing five tracks at his GCR studio in Buffalo and mixing the final album. (Attention collectors: The US album features a Road To Ruin-style drawing by Miyoka Hayakawa, while the Japanese release features a black-and-white photo of the band that mimics the first Ramones album.)

Watch Ritsuko sing "Sheena is a Punk Rocker."


Watch Emi sing "The KKK Took My Baby Away."


I enjoyed meeting the new (to me) Shonen Knife rhythm section. I quickly learned that sexy long-haired bassist Ritsuko Taneda used to sing and play guitar in the J-Pop bands Keihan Girl and Denki Candy (where her nom de stage was "Marilyn"). And I discovered that super-kawaii drummer Emi Morimoto (whose Louis Brooks-style haircut reminded me of Scott Pilgrim's girlfriend "Knifes Chau" from Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World), used to bang the skins for Ni Hao!, Ultra Jr, mamastudio, and NASCA CAR.

But I really enjoyed chatting briefly with Atsuko Yamano, Naoka's sister who helped set up the merchandise table and assisted with other tour details as needed.


Atsuko helps set up the merchandise table


"Excuse me, aren't you Big Dave Cawley?" Atsuko (far left) asks a bespectacled fanboy

Atsuko now resides in Los Angeles, where she has plenty of time (and sunny weather) to indulge in her latest passion of tennis. Both of us are Federer fans, and I told her I was equally impressed with Kei Nishikori who, at age 21, is currently the highest-ever ranked Japanese player (#30) on the ATP Tour. Alas, like Kei, Atsuko also favors a two-handed backhand, though I tried to convince her of the benefits of the one-handed slice. (Maybe next tour?)


Tom Warner bonds with Atsuko over tennis and their shared adulation of Roger Federer and Japan's own Kei Nishikori

I can't say enough about how sweet and friendly these gals are. They even indulged me when I went back for yet more merchandise for them to sign - and they signed everything, for everybody. Benn Ray joked that I had forgotten to get my '97 tour shirt signed, but I'm too much of an anal-neatnik (as far as fashion, at least, if not housekeeping!) to go that far.


Tom's Shonen Knife cache: Sign here, please!


"OK Mr. Warner, last one - our hands are cramping now!"

Alas, Amy and I did not join Dave Cawley later that night at the Ottobar show, as the prospect of having to wait through three opening bands on a Monday night (doesn't anybody in this town work?) didn't gibe either with our schedules or our aging bones. (Yes, we're old!) I'm sure somebody will post some video of the Ottobar show shortly, but in the meantime, here's what the girls looked like live when they brought the "Blitzkrieg Bop" to London's Windmill club back in August:

Watch Shonen Knife play "Blitzkrieg Bop."


And here they are rocking the Asia Society in NYC with non-Ramones ditties back in September 2010:

Watch Shonen Knife rock the Asia Society.


Shonen Knife's first-ever trip to Charm City, coming less than a week before Halloween, was definitely a treat for all Baltimorons!



***

Postscript (10-26-2011):
As anticipated, videos of Shonen Knife's show at the Ottobar turned up a day later. Herein is what went down as recorded by serenab4 and motionrotarytoad.

Watch serenab4's "shonen knife @ the ottobar (10/24/11)"


Watch motionrotarytoad's "The KKK Took My Baby Away/Rock 'n' Roll High School"


Watch motionrotarytoad's "Blitzkrieg Bop/Beat on the Brat"


Watch motionrotarytoad's "Konnichiwa/Bear Up Bison"


Watch motionrotarytoad's "Banana Chips"


Watch motionrotarytoad's "Devil House"