What's Hot at the Lot: Style for Miles

Shoppers of The Lot all learn sooner or later that when you find a hot item, you gotta grab 'em up while they last. And I've been so happy with my Russell capri sweats that I decided to go back for another pair. They are so comfy for lounging, and ideal for biking and not getting caught up in the gears too. Got the same color and everything, because really, is there another color for sweats besides grey? I also couldn't resist a $4 organic cotton ribbed top (which unfortunately just proved to be a lint magnet on its first laundry cycle) and some little shorts I need for running/Bikram. Seriously, why would you buy your sweat-clothes anywhere else?


Last year I regretted not buying more than four pairs of these amazing cashmere blend socks; they were gone from the shelves before I knew it, with no worthy successor. So imagine my delight this morning to find them in stock once again. Though the company got tricky and is now packaging them one plain pair + one patterned pair, so now if you want two pairs of argyle socks, you'll have to buy two packs, etc. But at $3 for two pairs, they're totally worth it.

Big Fish in a Small Pond: Matt Mullarkey

Matt Mullarkey grew up in what he calls the "barren wasteland that is Norwalk, CT"... but it wasn't all bad. In his angsty teenage years, Matt discovered the legendary Anthrax club, which became a home-away-from-home, and a ticket to [local] fame. Although he has considered leaving CT for sexier pastures, a combination of laziness and success has kept him here, keeping punk alive and well in CT. His band, The Midnightmares, just won "Best New Band" and "Best Punk Band" in the Fairfield County Grand Band Slam.

JS: Is it still exciting to get that sort of recognition?

MM: Yes, it IS still exciting to get that sorta recognition. This is now the 4th or 5th time and the 2nd band I have been in that won the "best punk" band category, so I guess I /we are doing something right, haha!!

The Midnightmares

JS: Which other band won? Is this the first win for The Midnightmares?

MM: The other band that won was Elvis Mcman. We won from 2004 to 2008, even after we had been broken up for a year, the last time! Yes, first win for The Midnightmares. We had our first show February 2009, so I guess we are still pretty "new".

JS: What is the first album you ever owned? What were some of the first punk bands that influenced you?

MM: I think the 1st LP I ever owned was either Pink Floyd "The Wall" or maybe a late 1970's Kiss album. (They all kinda blend into one, haha!!) All the usual early punk suspects had a big influence on me, but if I had to cite one, it would have to be the Sex Pistols. I didn't know shit about England or the queen or whatever, but that one album and their whole attitude just screamed volumes at me, ya know??


JS: What first drew you to punk music/culture?

MM: A lot of the early appeal of punk I must admit was the look. A lot of these bands I was discovering as a "wee lad" all looked like extras outta "The Road Warrior" or "Bladerunner".
(Science Fiction and Horrow movies also being a heavy influence on me.) I thought Johhny, Wattie, Sid, etc. all looked WAY cooler than the dirty hippies in Pink Floyd!

JS: Where did you grow up? Was punk part of your high school experience, or was it an escape?

MM: I grew up, and still live in, the barren wasteland that is Norwalk Ct. By pure providence, I happened to live in the same town at the time as the now (...AND then) legendary Anthrax Club.
A perfect place to live and deal with my teenage angst.

Matt playing with Blanket of Ash in 1994

JS: You've been part of the CT punk scene for awhile. What changes have you noticed (musically, socially, culturally) over time?

MM: There have been so many changes in the 1,000 years since I've been in and involved in the Ct. punk/whatever scene. Back in the mid-late 1980's it was a lot of the whole straight-edge hard-core scene, that even then I thought was lame. (A bunch of preppy "tough" boys with magic marker- "x"'s on their hands, telling me not to drink?? Fuck that...).

I'm not really sure how to describe the "current scene"... I do still see alotta the same people, if not playing a show, then certainly in attendance at one.

JS: We met when you were playing with The Injections... can you give us a time-line of the bands you've been a part of?

MM: The 1st real band I started playing bass in was Blanket Of Ash in 1994. It was "kind of" a punk band, but more strait forward "rock". (Sometimes I really hate that word, haha!!)


Then The Injections ran from late 1995 until 2000. As you know, we were the un-official Ramones / Screeching Weasel / Queers rip off band from Connecticut.


Next came Elvis Mcman, from 2000-2007. Female fronted punk rock, kind of hard to pin a specific type of "punk" on that band.

After that was the CT punk "all star" band; The Problematics. Me on bass, Mike Cooper (Def Con 5, Dead Beat Dads) vocals, Kevin Mackenzie (No Image, Disaster Party) drums, and the "legendary" Pugz Licitra (Iron Cross, Lush Life, The Spoilers, Forced Reality, Lost Generation, etc, etc) on guitar. Lasted all of 6 months and 6 shows. (Bummer...)

Now there's The Midnightmares...


JS: Fairfield is basically a suburb of NYC, do you feel the CT music scene is heavily influenced by what is going on in NY?

MM: I wouldn't know if any NYC "scene" has any influence on what goes on in Fairfield County or any other part of CT. I'm pretty oblivious and "un-hip" these days, haha!!


JS: Have you ever wanted to move somewhere like NYC? What has kept you in CT?

MM: A very long time ago I had considered moving to Boston or Los Angeles, because many of my friends had migrated to both cities, but I guess my "laziness" has kept me home-bound in CT.

Matt at gallery opening of Even More F*cked Up and Photocopied, an art show of Matt's show flyer art

JS: What would you say is unique about CT punk music and culture?

MM: What's unique about CT is that it is such a small state, geographically and population-wise, that anyone with the right mind-set can become the big-fish-in-a-small pond. (Which has always made this "small fish" feel special, haha!!)


JS: Do you think punk can still be considered a "subculture"? Or has it gone too mainstream? Do you think this is a good thing or bad thing?

MM: Punk has NOT been a real subculture for many years now. However, if some 14-year old kid who feels alienated and wants to start a band with his friends can discover the Ramones or whoever through some of the new(er) Warp Tour bands or whatever, then go make his or her own cool music, well...how can ya say that's wrong?? (Sorry about the run-on sentence, haha!!)

I gotta admit, when bands like Rancid, Green Day, et. al. got big, I was like "Good for them!!"
I was at a small show in Danbury Ct, X-mas 1992, some band I had never heard of, Green Day, were on the bill, but had to cancel 'cause their piece-of-shit van broke down somewhere that day. I think they can afford a proper one now...haha!!

JS: Thanks Matt, we look forward to the next 1,000 years!

Fine Skateboard Art

Friday, Sept. 10: Skateboard Art Show & Video Premiere @ Donald Oat Theater, Norwich

Although we Scenics don't usually make it to the "far" corners of the state, we are excited about friend-of-the-blog Gary Jacobs' skateboard art which will be included in a show by the Norwich Arts Council. Since we like to make things personal around here, I'll mention that Gary is a former student of Mommy Scenic, and that he's known her longer than I have! Now Mommy Scenic probably has thousands of former students in the CT community, but when I mentioned Gary she was all "OMG he was like the best artist, even back then. I totally kept his art in my office for years, he's like soooo talented."


This sounds like a fun kind of art event. There will be a video of some kind premiering, though I can't find much out about it, and a boozy after party at Billy Wilson's.

CT Guitar Heroes

Some guitarrific options for this weekend...


The Connecticut Guitar Society's annual "Guitar Under the Stars" event this Saturday at Hartford's Riverfront Plaza includes Spanish guitar hero headliner Danial Salazar (we totally know him!) and Camp Jewell's favorite folkie Nancy Tucker (she's totally wholesome!).

We're also psyched to see that former CT slide blues badass Chris Tofield is playing all weekend (Fri-Sun) at the Brass Horse Cafe in Barkhamsted. He's awesome. He left us for Las Vegas, but he usually does this Brass Horse thing once a year or so. He's some footage from a previous gig there.

Some Like it Hot: Crash Course in Bikram Yoga

At DH's behest I had my first taste of Bikram Yoga this week. Actually, my first taste of yoga whatsoever, but hey, I enjoy a challenge. For those out of the loop (assuming we actually have some readers outside of our little Monday morning yoga party), Bikram is the hot yoga - a 90 minute session in 100+ degree heat seems to be the industry standard. Luckily, I've been doing "Bikram food service" next to a 450 degree oven, "Bikram biking" and "Bikram trail running" all [hottest] summer [ever]. Also "Bikram broken AC car driving," which sucked! So I was able to hang with it pretty well, if not express all the postures fully or quite correctly.

DH has been espousing the mind-and-body transforming virtues of an almost-daily Bikram regimen over the past few months, and Jackie and I can attest to his elevated hottness levels (we really are a good looking blog...). On the purely superficial level (cuz I have no hidden depth, obviously) I am convinced by one session that hot yoga is the ticket to a hot body. (Nearly) Everybody in that joint was all lean meat, having apparently shed their Caladanian waterfatness in the Arakeen heat... OK, that didn't really flow, but I jut wanted to drop a Dune reference. And this seems like a healthier way to a Super Skinny Me than having a fundoplication surgery and months of pain-induced anorexia every time I want to lose a few pounds...

Spiritually enlightened, sexually sublimated practitioners bear with me for a minute: feeling better about looking better is not strictly stupid. We're living in a culture that frequently heaps mounds of favor and preference upon beautiful looking people, and I don't know too many women (including gorgeous leggy ones) that aren't victim to body image anxieties at one time or another. You could write a book about that shit!

I will keep you posted on the mental benefits when I've been able to give it more than 90 minutes. Perhaps DH can be provoked to write something more thoughtful on the subject.

Interested parties: Google tells me you can practice Bikram thoughout the state. Most studios offer amazing introductory deals ($30-$40 for an unlimited first month). It gets more expensive from there, but a month should be enough to figure out if you are really ready to Eat, Pray, Spend your way to wellness. (Do check out that linked article, here I'll link it again, about the perils of overextending oneself financially in the name of self-improvement, it's worth the read. Most properly employed folks like DH can afford a monthly membership at a quality CT facility though; Jackie and I and our other underearning peers may be relegated to "studio shopping" for a few introductory months). Jackie Scenic helpfully pointed me in the direction of West Hartford Yoga's $5 early morning hot yoga class.

Internal memo: guys, I made a "fitness" tag. We're into fitness, right?

Hitting the Wine Trail: Jerram Winery

I know, I know, the Connecticut wine trail, right? It totally exists! There's also this cute CT wine passport. Well, I had to make yet another trip out New Hartford way to see a guy about a dog (more or less) and the prospect of yet another lonely trip out Route 44 was grim, so I roped in my trusty staycation buddy (I am of course referring to SuperLula, who needs to update this blog I keep linking you to!) to come along for the ride, and she suggested we make a romantic afternoon of it with a visit to Jerram Winery.

Well, I've actually never been to a winery, but I've seen Sideways, and I've had a few glasses in my day. SuperLula mentioned that she had enjoyed the Nor'easter by Jerram and that Jackie Scenic recommends their White Frost chardonnay. So I said "Swell, let's do it."

As you can see the grounds are lovely and expansive, with various places where you can sit down and enjoy a glass. We paid $6 for a tasting which included six wines. If we are going to be quite honest, I'll admit to not knowing jack about wine, and mostly enjoying it for the slightly different colored buzz it seems to impart. And though I did enjoy some quality, manly beers and secret microbrew vodka this summer, I must also admit that as often a not (or more!) I like my drinks to taste good and be "easy to drink." As opposed to, say, "hard to swallow." (Bloggy Aside: while I cannot endorse his particular tastes, I love what The Assimilated Negro had to say on the subject of "girly-drinking.") SuperLula is in the same boat. And so it was that we most enjoyed the two "semi-sweet" wines on the menu (the Aurora white table wine and the Nor'easter red), but we're pretty sure that these are not wine-drinkers wines and fall under the umbrella of kid-friendly booze. But we also managed to like the Marechal Foch, which was quite dry but nevertheless very smooth, and probably the more sophisticated pick.


Feelings of Hollywood induced wine tasting anxiety aside, our trip to Jerram was a most enjoyable foray into rural CT, and I'd like to wholeheartedly recommend this as a charming date idea and a means of enjoying our fair state's oft-underrated bounty, which is what I frequently tell new people this blog is all about - that is, when it isn't about going ATM with your friends or hating on bands famous enough to not get all butt-hurt about it, because they don't even know we exist.

Aerosmith: Cocked in CT

What: Aerosmith w/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Where: Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT

When: Saturday, Sept. 4, 8pm

In totally bizarre news no one cares about, Aerosmith is on tour. We thought they were dead, and they very well might be, but apparently someone is going to wheel them onto their tour bus and drive them to Mohegan Sun tomorrow night. Once there, we imagine they will be hooked up to oxygen tanks, propped up on chairs, and possibly controlled by marionette strings while their old CDs are played from the PA, or maybe just a boombox. This monstrosity is called "COCKED, LOCKED, AND READY TO ROCK!". No really, we didn't make that up. Aerosmith did.

Rocky River Sweets

I mentioned in my last Hot/Lot post how I'm going to be totally stress eating this semester. Well, it's not going to be all nearly expired cookie imports and failed trend snack food oddities for me, now that I know about Rocky River Sweets of New Hartford (Route 44).

It's more than just a sweets shop. They also have sandwiches (see the sign boasts Boar's Head meats), but more importantly, they have sweet potato fries (one of my favorite foods - this can be the decisive factor in restaurant selection) and fried dough. Wow, fried dough, just whenever, without even having to go to a county fair. I just heard myself get fatter. Lucky I'm wearing scrubs...

These all-beef Sabrett hotdogs are supposed to be the Cadillac of tubesteaks or something:


For today's venture, school-and-carpool mate Cynthia and I just got ice cream, which was unfortunately not a "CT Treat" - it was Hershey's - but was nevertheless delicious and hit the spot in the hundred or whatever degree heat this afternoon. Although the ice cream was corporate, these ice cream cones were something special:


They also sometimes offer a whipped cream of the day - homemade and flavored. Sadly, not today. We'll just have to keep trying.

Scene on a Bulletin Board

This is a thing that is happening.

Full Eggroll Jacket: Me So Hungry in West Hartford

SuperLula and I can't afford a fancy getaway to some exotic locale, but on our recent coinciding Staycations, we found the time and dime to eat exotic food. We visited two different Vietnamese restaurants. I ate the same thing at both places. You know, for research. For you all!

My favorite spot for Vietnamese has always been Pho 206 (and whatever it was called before that). That's the one across the street from Green Man, where you got your first tattoo (I got mine from Jerry!). It's 206 Park - see, that's more than just a contempo, catchy name.


I got my usual, including iced coffee, egg rolls and pho soup with tofu. Vietnamese iced coffee, for the uninitiated, is rich and flavorful, especially if you let them serve it the right way - sweet and thick with condensed milk. It's not just sugar milk like Dunkin though - the coffee flavor is strong and good, so it's like a coffee dessert. It's like my favorite thing.

That and egg rolls. The fried ones. SuperLula likes the spring rolls though. I think they're freaky. As she put it: they have no secrets. Or as Patrick Stewart might say, it's too late, we've seen everything.


There's lots of great dishes at Pho 206, but I almost always get the pho soup, because it's the most fun to play with, what with the long rice noodles and all those garnishes. It's served with a plate of fresh sprouts, lime and mint that you can add yourself, and little bits of hot pepper that I like to say you can booby trap your dish with. Vietnamese restaurants traditionally have a variety of sauces at the table and I always add a bit of everything - vinegar, soy sauce, chili sauce - to my soup. If you spice it up, this soup will leave you leaking snot and dripping sweat, which is great for dates. The servings are massive - I get the smaller "medium" portion, which is more than enough.

A few days later, SuperLula and I were at it again. We went to Pho Boston (Shield Street Plaza). Whereas Pho 206 is a quiet little hole in the wall, Pho Boston is a big, bright and open with more of a party vibe. And later hours! Imagine - dinner til 10 pm - in West Hartford! DH Scenic maintains that this is the Vietnamese restaurant to go to, though I admit I got turned off by a bad menu selection my first time out. But this time I went with essentially the same meal I had at 206, and with excellent results.


In fact, I think I liked the vegetable and tofu pho at Boston even better (though I preferred the egg rolls and coffee from 206), because it had more different kinds of vegetables, including adorable baby corn. I like dishes that have lots of different stuff in them. I'm always bummed out by Asian dishes that are served with, like, one veggie. Which is why I'm so partial to East West Grill, for example, where the curries have a like a zillion different veggies and three textures of tofu. Incidentally, the Pho Boston outing was SuperLula's first experience with pho soup. She's a convert.