Monday, February 16, 2004

Well, so I was busy today enjoyin' the weather and helping to pump up that Bush economy and only got to one record.



Phlegm, Phlegm  LP, Catalyst Records (1986).  1984: I'm hanging out at Jules's Loft in Baltimore waiting for a show when I strike up a conversation with this kid in a mohawk and leather jacket.  He's selling a tape of bands from Eastern Maryland and so I buy -- support the local scene and all.  He tells me his name is Barry and he speaks with a slight Irish accent so I find out he's from Belfast, moved to the states when he was 15.  I see him off and on over the next few years and even taken in a show where his band is playing and buy his LP.  It's nothing remarkable, basically the same-old, same-old hardcore-semi-thrash -- the lyrics have a little more credibility than the standard "hate your government" stuff because Barry's singing about some real experiences. 


Flash forward about 18 years and I'm sitting in the Naro theater in Norfolk at one of the First Look Forums and one of the actors looks like Barry from Belfast but with the baby fat gone.  I check the credits and for sure it's Barry McEvoy and he's starring and wrote the movie.  He's up above with director Barry Levinson -- yes as in Donnie Brasco, Oz, Homicide Barry Levinson.  The movie was Everlasting Piece and it was a pretty funny story about a Protestant and Catholic barber who become friends and business partners by trying to corner the toupee market in Belfast in the mid-80s.  Pretty soon they're supplying the IRA (who use the toupees as part of their disguises) and the British Army (whose boys are losing their hair due to the stress).  I'm like telling people afterwards, "hey I knew him in the 80's" and they're just looking at me with a "yeah, right, shut up" face.  Barry McEvoy -- from Phlegm to Dreamworks.


So now you know.... the Rest of the Story. 


As for the record - condition is VG and even though I don't think I'll be recording any of the songs on it, I'm thinking maybe I'll hold onto to this in case Barry becomes a mega-star in the future.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Jim, the bands AOR was Poolesville/damascus MD. area. PHLEGM performed in the Washington DC area mostly but did make one trip England and Ireland to play a couple of clubs. That band broke up after that experience and around that time, Barry had met the resurging Kim Folle- a producer best known for his work with the Runaways(Joan Jett) and something with John Lennon and others. Folle was working in acouple of genres, but one effort was for a post punk, progressive new folk rock thing. Something very different than PHLEGM. I had given Barry a cassette of demo songs, one called Goin to Ireland that was inspired by the announcement of the tour over the pond. It seemed to have some impact on Barry, a progessive rock tune that painted a picture about a beautiful country, the blood and violence between English and Irish, but from a different perspective. He penned some very inspired words from my tape and out of that a new band formed called Timbre Silo(SILO for short). Barry was the lead vocalist and wrote most of the songs lyrics to Bill Warren's guitar parts, Rico Bowen on bass and to Donald Vorhees drums. Only 5 songs were recorded and presented to Kim Folle. Within a couple of months though, he got the acting bug and moved to NYC. I was shocked also when I first saw him on film playing a part as a top leutenant for some thug, but he was too nice to his captives. Anyway Barry seemed to be determined to gain fame or infamy- from a mohawk to an everlasting piece. You know his father was a Barber and I guess if Barry's star continues to rise, I own the rare Phlegm and ultra rare Silo....... BW