thePULSEMaking Tuesday nights at the Lucky Dog an Unexpected Happening
Danny Carbona, photo courtesy of Bruce DeGraaf
January 2006 –
Since last June, “Danny Carbona’s Lil Black Book” has held down the Lucky Dog Music Hall’s Tuesday night slot after Carbona couldn’t convince his bandmates in the Brainless Wonders to commit to the weekly gig. “So I went down with my acoustic guitar and played by myself,” he says. “I know hundreds of songs from the Brainless Wonders to the Ramones to The Who.” But don’t show up expecting to hear all high-energy tunes similar to the Wonders straight ahead punk. Original composition “February 15” is a slow ballad kind of song that when it’s recorded “…might not even have guitar on it, only keyboard.”
Carbona usually takes the stage between 10 p.m. and midnight, depending on when the crowd starts turning up. While other performers are invited to join in, it’s not a traditional open mic. “I like having veto power over what happens,” he says. “If people are going to be cringing when someone plays, I don’t want them up there because I don’t want people not coming back.” Jim Weeks of Little Big Wheel and Matt Taylor and Widemouth are amongst those who’ve gotten to perform, as are North Carolina’s Cryptorchid Chipmunks.
When Carbona and guests aren’t on stage, DJ Shame entertains the crowd with help from breakdancers from the Worcester-based Orphanage Crew. “Maximus, Revolt, Showtime, Rek and Switch are a few of them that come through,” Shame says. “I initially met Maximus through the old 7HillX website, and after speaking with him I found that he, along with the rest of the crew, had such a respect and love for true hip hop culture ~ which is what I’m all about.”
Shame’s musical selection tends to follow his mood at that given moment. “I may go from the Beatles to Boz Scaggs to Earth Wind and Fire to Steely Dan and then to AC/DC ~ while all along making things work smoothly. I almost always get compliments – so I’d have to say that the crowds around here tend to be very open minded for the most part ~ as long as the music is familiar to them.”
DJ Shame currently spins his magic alongside Afro D Zak and MC Metaphorick in Honorable Mention, The Suicide Doors (an offshoot of The Black), and the Average White Boys. You can also catch him on satellite radio where he hosts a weekly show on XM 65, The Rhyme. With the Brainless Wonders on sabbatical, Carbona has been playing with The Black, a group fronted by Tim “Old Man” Hansen.
So make a beginning-of-the-week stop into the Dog and experience for yourself how Carbona and Shame have made Tuesday nights as rockin’ as any weekend night anywhere!
