MACH5 - BAND

GET IT UP! - Jim Curran Photo

MACH 5 OFFICIAL BIO

Mach Bell Lead Singer, Harmonica

Dee Stroy Guitar, Vocals

Jeff Thomas Bass, Vocals

Jimmy Birmingham Drums, Vocals

Location: Boston, MA United States

Formed: November 2004

Influences: Slade, Alice Cooper, Stones, NY Dolls, Mott The Hoople

They started as a bit of a lark, playing the fiftieth birthday party for Miss Lynn, publisher of The Boston Groupie News, one of the oldest zines in the country. Miss Lynn started BGN in 1975, and one of the first bands she covered was Thundertrain. When she was planning her big birthday bash, Mach (Thundertrain, Joe Perry Project) was one of the first people she thought of, and she was instrumental in hooking him up with drummer Jimmy Birmingham (The Real Kids) and bassist Carl Biancucci (Vatican Sex Kittens, Classic Ruins), both veterans of the Boston rock scene. Mach brought along his old friend Jeff Thomas, a bassist by trade, but a more than capable guitarist for a one off like this. They performed a bunch of covers, along with a couple of Thundertrain songs, and were very well received by the audience. One thing was for sure: Mach Bell still had it.

After a break of a couple of years from performing, Bell was ready to dive back in, and Mach 5 seemed like the perfect vehicle. The four original members started rehearsing together, but for one reason or another Jeff Thomas stepped out. This was just the opportunity Dee Stroy had been waiting for ever since Miss Lynn's birthday bash. Stroy and his band Sugabomb had also played that night; and as he stood in the audience watching Mach 5, he thought to himself: "I've got to play with these guys." He fit in immediately, providing the perfect manic balance to Bell, while Bianucci and Birmingham laid down the solid foundation. It wasn't long, however, before Bianucci quit, citing the ever popular "creative differences." Once again, however, Bell wasted no time finding a replacement. Jeff Thomas was thrilled at the opportunity to jump back in, now on his true instrument, the bass guitar.

After that, things started to move pretty fast. Writing songs, playing as many shows as possible, trying to reestablish old connections and forge new ones. Bell took advantage of his old association with Gulcher Records to get his new band signed, but once Gulcher heard the recordings they started making creative suggestions that Bell and the rest of the band were uncomfortable with. Enter Dee Stroy's long-time friend and independent label owner Eric Law, who offered to put the record out on his Lawless Records. The result is the sort of record that, like those Thundertrain/Dead Boys double bills at the Rat, defies categorization. The only thing that's for sure is that it's rock'n'roll, right in the same long tradition that started with Eddie Cochran, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry; and passed through the Sonics, Thin Lizzy and AC/DC on it's way to the Ramones, the Real Kids, and, yes, the Dead Boys.

- Brian Mosher, Razorcake.com (12/05)

Rockstar DEE STROY. Photographed by Jim Curran.

DEE STROY
Boston MA
Guitar/vocals

Walking into the Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain on a summer night I was knocked out by a band called Sugabomb. The lead guitarist was wearing a leopardskin outfit. He was thrashing across the stage and firing off the most savage barrage of Gibson and Fender power riffage I'd heard in ages. Enter: Dee Stroy. My new sidekick.

- Mach (9/05)

Prior to joining Mach 5, DEE STROY led Sugabomb, The johnnies (aka Johnny Bravo) and Dee Stroy and the D-Fex.

The finest elements of the Detroit and New York sounds have been pilfered by Mr. Dee Stroy and his fellow JOHNNIES and employed to the fullest. All the members have song writing credits and the sound is always punchy, tight and cohesive. There was not a bad track on "12 Steps To Nowhere" but, in my opinion, "You Don't Know Me," where the protagonist prompts a fight because he fucked somebodys sister, and "Barbie's A Bitch," are standouts.

-Carbon #14 Magazine

Dee Stroy discovered singer Vikki Sixx. They became SUGABOMB.

Formed in early 2001, Sugabomb quickly put a set together of fun invigorating rock 'n' roll and was headlining the Boston club scene within a few months.

Axeman extraordinaire Dee Stroy can match Dregen or Ace Frehely lick-for-lick and fire out buzzaw riffs that could take your head off.

-Interpunk

Dee Stroy joined Mach 5 on March 9, 2005.

Most of the tunes are penned by Mr. Bell and Mr. Stroy, and I predict that they will become the next Lennon and McCartney... at least of Somerville. Guitarist Dee Stroy stumbles around as if he just fell out of an ambulance going 80, and his "I'm a sloppy player but if you really pay attention I'm doin stuff that defies logic" style is a perfect compliment to the aforementioned rhythm heroics.

- Noodles Romanov 11/05

... Dee Stroy, my favorite active lead guitarist and former member of Beantown punk/rock n' roll standouts Sugabomb and The johnnies (THE most underrated band of the 1990s, period!) If you love listening to rock n' roll guitar, you can't go wrong buying anything featuring Dee Stroy. Here he works his usual six-string magic, turning out fire-hot solos and perfect melodic leads like he's Cheetah Chrome, Angus Young, and Rick Nielsen all rolled into one. And his riffs will just about take your head off! Always an outstanding songwriter, Stroy has teamed with Bell to pen the catchy, rockin' tunes that make this debut so damn good.

- Lord Rutledge, Now Wave 11/05

JEFF THOMAS plays his 12 string Hamer Bass.

JEFF THOMAS
Framingham MA
bass/vocals

Jeff Thomas and I go further back. When I first met Mr. Thomas he was a teen bassist living around the corner from the Thundertrain bandhouse. I later crossed paths with Jeff in Hollywood during a Joe Perry Project tour. Jeff was running the regular weekend jam sessions at the Central on the Sunset Strip. Now that he was living back in the Boston area, Jeff was the bassman for us.

- Mach (9/05)

Prior to joining Mach 5, Jeff played bass in the Boston bands Slash (w/ Steve Davidson), Lazer (w/ Nikki Jarret) and 7 (w/ Jane Balmond). Jeff relocated to Hollywood where he ran the weekly jam at the Central (later known as the Viper Room) on Sunset Strip. Jeff jammed there with many rock legends, including Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix Experience), Al Kooper (Blood Sweat & Tears), Bobby Keys (Rolling Stones), Michael Monarch (Steppenwolf), Ziggy Modeliste (The Meters) as well as members of Santana, Jeff Beck Group, The Jacksons, Dizzy Gillespie, Wings, Bob Dylans Rolling Thunder Revue, Vanilla Fudge, Joe Perry Project, The Knack, Mahogany Rush, Daddy Warbux, The Plimsouls and more.

Some favorite moments...

After jamming with Ziggy Modeliste, the great drummer handing Jeff his card & exclaiming "Man, you've got a groove. Call me!"

Joe Chambers of The Chambers Bros leaping to his feet and shouting, "Now THATS a song!" as Jeff ended his tune "All My Love" at a California club.

Gene Simmons of Kiss stepping off stage after a troubled jam session, handing a bass to Jeff and saying, "Here, you play!"

Jack Bruce of Cream, borrowing Jeff's bass one night at The Central, LA's famed jam spot and playing "Sunshine Of Your Love" on it.

Jeff returned to Boston where he found work as a singer/songwriter. He filled in on guitar during Thundertrain's 2003 southern tour and went on to become a founding member of Mach 5. Jeff originally played lead guitar at the band's debut show in Nov. 2004. In March 2005 Dee Stroy replaced Jeff on lead guitar. When founding bass player Carl Biancucci resigned from Mach 5 in June 2005, the band asked Jeff to takeover the bass guitar spot.

Jeff Thomas, with his classic 12-string Hamer bass and his thump-a-thon low-end beat pounding, provides a rhythm section of mass destruction that the CIA should damn well investigate.

- Noodles Romanov 11/05

Jeff released his debut solo cd "Audiobiography" in November 2005.

http://www.cjeffthomas.com/

JIMMY BIRMINGHAM in a private world. Kelly Davidson photo.

JIMMY BIRMINGHAM
Boston MA
Drums/vocals

I first saw and heard Jimmy Birmingham performing at the Regent Theatre in Arlington. It was the "Live at the Rat" concert in '03. The Real Kids had just flown in from a midwestern tour to finish up the night and their drummer Jimmy shook the hall with his powerful chops and stage presence. Just what I needed for the new band.

- Mach (9/05)

Prior to joining Mach 5, Jimmy was a member of Devotion (w/ John Felice) and Truth (w/ the singer from Angel). Jimmy then joined Boston garage rock legends the Real Kids.

THE REAL KIDS (2003/04):

John Felice- guitar/vocals

Billy Cole- guitar

Chris "B-face" Barnard- bass

Jimmy Birmingham- drums

Right from the start the Real Kids seperated themselves from the pack, playing an aggressive brand of straight-ahead, no-bullshit rock which harkened back to Chuck Berry, had overtones of the British Invasion groups at their mod finest, yet pointed the way towards the Punk to come. John wrote real songs, and while he seldom drifted very far from the holy 1-4-5 progression.

- From "Real Kids" by Joe Harvard

http://www.rockinboston.com/realkids.htm

Jimmy Birmingham toured with the Real Kids and he appears in the film "All Kindsa Girls", Cheryl Eagan-Donovan's independent documentary about the life and career of John Felice and The Real Kids.

Jimmy became a founding member of Mach 5 in November 2004.

Mach 5 power-drummer Jimmy Birmingham is living proof that the quest for a perpetual motion machine is over.

- Noodles Romanov 11/05

The little girls will swoon at the very sight of Harley-riding pretty boy drummer Jimmy Birmingham.

- Razorcake Online 9/05

Drums sound like cannons.

- Peter Poulos

The best rhythm section ever...well, at least the best ever to play the Abbey Lounge. They're flexible and versatile, powerful and flashy, and as steady as a metronome.

- bmo, The Noise

Jimmy Birmingham is a Grover Pro Percussion endorsee

Boston rocker Mach Bell hard at work. Photo by Eric Law.

MACH BELL
Marshfield Hills MA
lead singer, harmonica, shakers

On July 19, 2004 I waved good-bye to my Thundertrain bandmates as they boarded a jet bound home for Florida. Playing reunion shows over the past two summers had jolted me back into full-throttle, rock'n'roll mode. Now I was hungry to put together a brand new, Boston based band with the most rockingnest, most handsomest guys I could round up.

- Mach 9/05

Prior to forming Mach 5, Ohio born Mach sang and toured with many groups including Boston's Thundertrain, The Hits, Mag 4, Joe Perry Project, The Wild Bunch and Last Man Standing.

In "Walk This Way" the 1997 autobiography of Aerosmith, Joe Perry says " My new singer Cowboy Mach Bell was a rock 'n' roll guy who grew up in the town over from me, Holliston MA, and had a group called Thundertrain. He loved to rave and be in a band..."

The Toronto Star says "Mach Bell is a leather voiced singer in the Bon Scott mold who is more than willing to take the center stage spotlight." Circus Magazine called "Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker", the Joe Perry Project's 1983 MCA release -co-written by Joe Perry and Mach Bell "One of this years best hard rock albums."

In Rolling Stone Magazine (May 19th, 2005) Rob Sheffield writes "Aerosmith heads revere his Joe Perry Project albums from the early eighties, when the band (Aerosmith) was on the skids: Side Two of "Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker" was the best Aerosmith-related skree between "Rocks" and "Pump."

Mach toured continuously for 3 years with the JPP, headlining at hundreds of venues including The Hollywood Palace, NYC's Bottom Line, Harpo's in Detroit, Pocono Downs Speedway, the Vogue in Indianapolis, Bayside Expo in Boston, Will Rogers Auditorium in Ft. Worth, Toronto's El Macombo and the huge Poliedro Arena in Caracas Venezuela.

Mach's career was always full of controversy... According to the liner notes of 1999's "The Best of the Joe Perry Project-The Music Still Does the Talking", "If breathless reports of the day are to be believed, a roaring drunk Bell took to periodically parading around in the nude, creating havoc..."

Mach Bell also fronted the legendary Thundertrain for five years (1974-79). The band were regulars in the pages of Rock Scene, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Groupie News and 16 Magazine, where the 18 year old Mach was proclaimed "Sexy and Sensational ". Thundertrain even found themselves featured in Time Magazine's cover story "The Blank Generation" in 1977.

Thundertrain were featured on the seminal double LP "Live at the Rat" and had a hit in the U.K. with "Hot For Teacher!" the single taken from their 1977 Jelly/JEM album "Teenage Suicide". Thundertrain performed with many stars including Thin Lizzy, David Johansen, Mink deVille, Alex Chilton, The Runaways, the Fleshtones, the Romantics, The Dead Boys and The Cars. Mach and Thundertrain played at almost every high school and college campus in New England as well as appearing regularly at Max's Kansas City, CBGB's, The Rat, and the Cleveland Agora.

Over the past decade there has been a renewed interest in Mach's rock 'n' roll career. All of his Thundertrain and Joe Perry recordings continue to be re-released internationally. Dozens of bootlegs, concert videos and internet fan-sites have sprung up. "Black Velvet Pants" the MTV video featuring Mach with the Joe Perry Project has resurfaced on VH1 Classics. In 2003 and 2004 Thundertrain reunited for several tours in support of two new Thundertrain cds on Gulcher Records.

Senior editor David Fricke writes in Rolling Stone Magazine (July 24, 2003)

"You have a choice: Sit around waiting for the new Guns n' Roses album until you qualify for Medicare, or bang your head now to this raw parent of "Appetite For Destruction", cut by Boston's Thundertrain in 1976...the heavy glam of Aerosmith and Mott the Hoople with the garage production values of the first Clash album."

In 2005 Mach launched his newest rock'n'roll group. MACH 5.

Mach is joined by bassman Jeff Thomas, drummer Jimmy Birmingham and guitarist Dee Stroy. Mach 5 have released a debut cd "Meet Mach 5" on Lawless Records and they are currently enjoying fun and adventure everywhere they appear.

MACH 5 INTERVIEWS

A rare shot of Dee Stroy in his street clothes.
Eric Law photo.

The following email interview was conducted on Jan. 4, 2006 by Juan Carlos Perez

for publication in a rock'n'roll magazine published in Spain.

THIS IS ROCK

Live Wire Publishing, S.L.

http://thisisrock.net/index.html

INTERVIEW MACH 5 TO MACH BELL

As member of Thundertrain, to introduce you to our readers could you say us how did Thundertrain form?

MACH: We were musical misfits. All 5 of us had all been rejected by other bands because we were all too loud, too fast and too insane. We found each other in 1974 and became Thundertrain. The most powerful and crazy band ever.

One of the highlights moments of Thundertrain was the album 'Teenage Suicide' from 1977. What did you remember from these punk rock years?

MACH: Thundertrain had been rocking Boston for a year or two before the punk thing suddenly erupted. Many of the punk bands sucked and some were really good. We played shows with lots of other rockers (the Runaways, the Cars, the Dictators, the Romantics) who all found themselves lumped in with punk rock. Rock or punk, we all played guitar driven rock'n'roll and we all hated disco.

With the reissue of 'Teenage Suicide' on Rolling Stone review, he write some parallels between Thundertrain and Guns N' Roses, what can you say about this?

MACH: I think it is a fair comparison. Both bands were quintets inspired by the Stones and Aerosmith. We both sang songs about frustration, speed and sex. Thundertrain emerged out of the early 70's glitter scene while G'n'R debuted over a decade later on the heels of Van Halen and Crue. Our lead guitarist Steven Silva had a very dark rockstar image - similar to Slash. Steven and Slash met up in Hollywood a few years after Thundertrain broke up. They were both auditioning as lead guitarist for Poison.

At a certain moment, you decided to go to New York. How was the scene on NYC and with which bands did you have relationships?

MACH: Thundertrain's first NYC shows were at Max's Kansas City. In late '75, early '76 we played shows with Alex Chilton, the Fleshtones and the Fast. Next we started playing at CBGB's, usually with the Dead Boys. The scene was very hot and all the top a&r guys and label execs were coming out to see us. A lot of the punk and new wave band were getting record contracts. Thundertrain got passed over, maybe because we chose to stick to our long hair, bottleneck guitar solos and sweaty, high-testosterone hellraising style. We were still musical misfits.

In 2002 you decided to rejoin Thundertrain with the original members. Why this decision and how is it going?

MACH: So... 25 years later I was the only Thundertrain guy left living in the Boston area. Steven was in Hollywood, Cool Gene up in New Hampshire, Ric and Bobby were living in Florida. When Gulcher Records reissued "Teenage Suicide", followed by "Hell Tonite!" on cd we were wicked suprised by the positive reaction from radio and the press. Back when Thundertrain dis-banded in early 1980 we were all broke and very frustrated that our band failed to "make it". After Rolling Stone magazine reviewed the "Teenage Suicide" cd we decided to re-group and we played a string of successful dates in '03 and '04. Perhaps we will perform together again someday.

Do you have the same attitude you had in the 70s?

MACH: Our music still has the same power and energy but now we can really focus on enjoying the songs. Back in the '70's we were so intent on breaking through to the bigtime that we sometimes forgot to live for the moment. For instance, when we were playing a packed friday night at CBGB's we were probably bitching about how we should all be playing at Madison Square Garden instead.

How did you joined the Joe Perry Project?

MACH: Totally by accident. Two years after Thundertrain broke up I was working at my father's stereo shop, fixing broken record players. One day I got a suprise call from Joe Perry's management company asking me to audition as the lead singer. Three weeks later I was on my first national tour.

What did you learned from this period with Joe Perry?

MACH: I learned to stop being jealous of other band's successes, live for the music and enjoy every moment. Joe Perry is headstrong. Sometimes we played to huge crowds, sometimes we played in little dumps. I was impressed how the crappy gigs never fazed Joe. He always just kept on rocking in every situation. He never complained, even if we were playing in a shitty dive across the street from a major colliseum where he'd headlined a couple years earlier.

Have you something fun or curious to tell us about that period?

MACH: We got paid a $15 dollar day per diem (for meals) whenever the Joe Perry Project was on the road. I seldom saw much more money than that. But we didn't need money because Joe's management kept us very busy traveling, recording, playing shows, doing radio, record store appearances and interviews. There was always something fun to do. Herding a wacked out armadillo through the halls of a San Antonio Holiday Inn. Eating cheeseburgers and sipping VSOP with Bo Diddley in Minneapolis. How about the time Joe and I got off the band van in California and hitch-hiked 35 miles to our next show in Huntington Beach. Flying into Caracas South America with the paper bag on my knee... Partying with Stiv Bator, Rick Nielson, Huey Lewis, David Johansen, Teri Nunn, Kix, Joan Jett and Jim Dandy Mangrum in various locales and hotel rooms. Superbowl Sunday1983 was when six Cinncinnati Playboy bunnies invaded our dressing room. The girls brought us all back to their hutch. It was my 30th
birthday.

During these day you played also with Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer... Was like be on another Aerosmith?

MACH: Brad Whitford did about 40 shows with us. Joey Kramer played drums for our last 3 or 4 gigs. It was magical and powerful being out in front of a rocking crowd and look to my right to see Whitford riffing on his Les Paul, having Joey kicking the beat behind me and feeling Perry leaning into my left shoulder while harmonizing into my mic. An experience that even a billionaire's money cannot buy.

How and when did you meet first time Aerosmith? Are you still in touch with them?

MACH: I was in awe of them and still am. I occasionally still see the Aerosmith guys. I last saw Joe at his 50th birthday party over at his Mount Blue restaurant in Norwell MA. Former Project members David Hull, Joe Pet and Danny Hargrove were also in attendance and Cheap Trick performed.

Do you like Aerosmith's newer music?

MACH: Radio here doesn't play much of their newer stuff. So I haven't kept up.

What do you think of the current state of Rock And Roll?

MACH: It is still a very tough but deeply rewarding business. Thankfully there are still plenty of fans, club owners, photographers, dee jays, writers and record labels that refuse to let rock'n'roll die. I don't know if rock music will ever regain the prominent place that it held in America's culture when I was a teenager. But even back then a lot of the wildest rockers (Pretty Things, Standells, Blue Cheer, Iggy, MC5, the Dolls, Black Oak Arkansas, Silverhead, Slade) were held back and pushed underground.

Mach 5, talk us about this new band? You are all from really diverse musical backgrounds.

MACH: We all dig the same heavy, crazy, punk and metal sounds but we arrived from different angles. Some of that is just an age thing. I think that whatever music you fall in love with at around age 13, is gonna end up stuck inside your brain, your heart and your spinal cord for the rest of your life. I was 13 in 1966. So I am eternally hard-wired to the rave up sound of the Yardbirds, Rolling Stones, Standells, James Brown and Paul Revere and the Raiders. I guess my younger Mach 5 bandmates got their kicks listening to Motley Crue, the New York Dolls and the Ramones when they were kids. With Mach 5 all these influences come together in a big way.

What brought this collaboration together?

MACH: During the Thundertrain reunion shows I met a lot of new people. Dee Stroy had his own Boston-based band Sugabomb. Jimmy Birmingham was on tour playing drums with a new version of John Felice's famed Boston garage band the Real Kids. I already knew Jeff Thomas and he had just filled in on guitar during some Thundertrain shows down in Florida. Eric Law, formerly a teenage Thundertrooper, was at the reunion too. I found out that Eric was now running his own rock label called Lawless Records. The Thundertrain reunion shows were a chance for me to find out whether I could still rock in front of today's audience. Along the way I ran into all these kickass guys who wanted to put something new and fun together.

On Meet Mach 5, you and Dee wrote most of the songs together. Did you write the lyrics and he wrote the music, or was it more of a collaboration?

MACH: Yeah Juan, that is basically how we did it. Dee's buzzsaw guitar is at the heart of every song. I tried to craft lyrics that reflected the philosophy of the band as a whole. Then we all worked together on the arrangements. A very important, often overlooked part of the process. Dee likes to keep his tunes short. Three minutes or less. So once we had the words and melodies and bridging bits figured out we continued to work, chopping out the fat and sharpening our attack.

Did you have described Mach 5 music as "Arena rock for the small clubs". There isnt today Arena Rock for Arenas? Can you explain this?

MACH: Given the chance Mach 5 will be happy to fill any arena stage with our music and energy. Most of America's arenas are now controlled by a very small group of businessmen / promoters who favor lite hip-hop or family-safe classic rock. So Mach 5 is taking our bad-ass, old school "arena-rock" underground to the bars and smaller stages where people still want to enjoy a bigger than life rock'n'roll experience.

Can we describe Mach 5 as a mixture of all your influences and past bands?

MACH: Thundertrain was the Rock'nRoll University that I attended for 5 years. During the Joe Perry Project I experienced the highs and lows of arena and festival performing - it taught me to appreciate every stage and every audience a lot more. The tiny clubs and rough nights are really where a lot of the craziest and best experiences happen. Along the way I learned a lot about the business side. Agents, engineers, promotions people, publishers, managers etc... they all come in handy but they also can derail a band if you aren't careful. Mach 5 has taken off like a rocket this year and we plan to keep racing ahead in the passing lane. I am very grateful having this chance to put some hard lessons that I've learned over the years to use again with my new bandmates.

I think that the You come from a old school of singers... on today music there is any singer/frontman that you admire?

MACH: Hell yeah! Here in Boston I like this dude called Joey with Red Invasion and this cat called Sammy Miami from Shoot the Moon, John Powhida from the Rudds and this hot chick called Vikki Sixx. But a lot of decent new music is still coming from guys like Billie Joe Armstrong, Bono, Chris Cornell, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Mick Jagger, Scott Weiland - it is good to hear all these guys still on the charts with new hits.

"Once a Rocker, Always A Rocker"... is this possible today for new bands?

MACH: If you stay true to the rock, the rock will stay true to you. That goes for the audience too, they are a rocksteady, faithful bunch.

Imagine your funeral... what song do you like to listen?

MACH: Surfin' Bird by the Trashmen

_________________________________________________

Jimmy rocking with his seldom seen M5 side project:
The all acoustic Mach 5 Jugband.
Eric Law photo.

The following interview by our friend Brian Mosher was originally published at:

RAZORCAKE ONLINE 12/19/05

STIV'S DRINKING BUDDY

An Interview with Mach 5

Brian Mosher

12/17/2005

Once upon a time, in the far distant past, you didn't hear words like "punk" or "hardcore." It was a time where you were just beginning to hear the words "heavy metal." And even when there were recognizable stylistic differences between bands, that didn't mean they couldn't be on the same bill together. A glittery hard rock band could play a place like the Rat in Boston's Kenmore Square on the same night as a bunch of snotty young kids from the Midwest, recently transplanted to New York City, and the audience could sincerely enjoy them both. Not only that, but the lead singers from these two bands, coming from very different musical directions, could strike up a friendship that would last a lifetime - even if one of them didn't live all that much longer. The two singers in question were Mach Bell (with Thundertrain) and Stiv Bators (you know who he sang for, I hope). One of the great tragedies of the current state of rock music is that you almost never see this kind of
diversity on a single stage any more. Of course, there've never been too many singers with as much stage presence and charisma as either Mach or Stiv.

Nowadays, Mach Bell is the front man of a new band, the Mach 5. They started as a bit of a lark, playing the fiftieth birthday party for Miss Lynn, publisher of The Boston Groupie News, one of the oldest zines in the country. Miss Lynn started BGN in 1975, and one of the first bands she covered was Thundertrain. When she was planning her big birthday bash, Mach was one of the first people she thought of, and she was instrumental in hooking him up with drummer Jimmy Birmingham and bassist Carl Bianucci, both veterans of the Boston rock scene. Mach brought along his old friend Jeff Thomas, a bassist by trade, but a more than capable guitarist for a one off like this. They performed a bunch of covers, along with a couple of Thundertrain songs, and were very well received by the audience. One thing was for sure: Mach Bell still had it.

After that, things started to move pretty fast. Writing songs, playing as many shows as possible, trying to reestablish old connections and forge new ones. Bell took advantage of his old association with Gulcher Records to get his new band signed, but once Gulcher heard the recordings they started making creative suggestions that Bell and the rest of the band were uncomfortable with. Enter Dee Stroy's long-time friend and independent label owner Eric Law, who offered to put the record out on his Lawless Records. The result is the sort of record that, like those Thundertrain/Dead Boys double bills at the Rat, defies categorization. The only thing that's for sure is that it's rock'n'roll, right in the same long tradition that started with Eddie Cochrane, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry; and passed through the Sonics, Thin Lizzy and AC/DC on it's way to the Ramones, the Real Kids, and, yes, the Dead Boys.

What follows is the result of several conversations before and after Mach 5 performances in and around Boston, plus one sit-down conversation in my favorite coffee shop, Kiskadee, in downtown Plymouth, Massachusetts, America's Fucking Hometown (I swear, that's what it says on the Chamber of Commerce signs).

Brian: Can you talk a bit about how, back in the mid and late '70s, there was less division between what we now consider to be different sub-genres of rock? How Thundertrain and the Dead Boys could play the same bills without anybody thinking that was weird?

Mach: Rock'n'roll hadn't gotten very snobby yet. Clubs specializing in new bands performing original music was a new concept. The drinking age was eighteen and many patrons were even younger than that. These kids weren't music historians. With no internet or music television we were very slow in learning who all these new bands were. Everyone just came out to see something wild and flashy and get blasted. Up until 1977, the Rat had a big dance floor and everyone danced while they listened. Thundertrain and the Dead Boys fit together like bacon and eggs in that setting. We all got along great at the bar afterward and everyone enjoyed that, too. Stiv and I played together all the time in Boston and NYC. It's only when you listen to our albums critically and overanalyze the music that it doesn't make sense.

Brian: Could you compare what the process was for getting booked to play places like the Rat and Cantone's (and wherever you played in other cities) back in the '70s to what it's like getting booked today? You said something to me about how it's very different today, and how the clubs expect you to line up the other bands...

's Kansas City and CBGB's in 1976 they already had us on three or four band bills. Back at home, the Rat and the Club (in Cambridge) were the first two Boston area rooms to exclusively book original underground rock. In '76 it was usually just two bands playing alternating sets, four sets total. Great for bands like Thundertrain, the Real Kids, and Willie Alexander. We could already fill up a room with fans. But newer acts and out-of-town bands didn't have drawing power yet. By 1978 the Boston clubs upped the nightly band count to three or even more bands in an effort to boost attendance and bar receipts. In those early days Thundertrain was often paired up with high-energy units like DMZ, the Neighborhoods or the Dead Boys. Occasionally we got to pick bands. Usually we didn't. Club booking continues to evolve. In an effort to keep the clubs filled, it is not uncommon these days to find six or eight bands playing the same stage. Rarely are less than four bands featured on any
given night in Boston/Cambridge underground rock clubs. Today a headlining band often gets to book the remainder of the night's line up. I like this trend. I always go out to see bands. It's nice to be able to say, "I liked your show, do you want to do a set with Mach 5 next week?" About half of Mach 5's gigs come from inter-band hookups. We can play a lot of shows without ever dealing with a booking agent. Bands take care of each other.

Brian: For Meet Mach 5, you and Dee wrote most of the songs together. Did you write the lyrics and he wrote the music, or was it more of a collaboration on both aspects?

Mach: Dee Stroy and I inspire each other and we work best under pressure. Right after Dee joined Mach 5 this past spring, we ran straight to Galaxy Park Studios and booked an album session. That booking forced us to come up with an album worth of songs in a few weeks. I had a notebook with a bunch of song titles in it. I had scrawled a sketchy verse to go along with each title. Dee Stroy and I went to a bar and had a few. Then we went to our rehearsal space. I plugged his guitar and my mic into a little multi-track recorder. One by one I showed Dee my song titles and explained to him what I had in mind for each tune. "Get It Up" was supposed to be an arena rocker. "25 Hours a Day" needed a Stones feel. "Quincy Girl" was gonna be a punk song. I chanted my sketchy verse and Dee cranked out his first impression on guitar. Two or three minutes later I hit the "record" button and captured a raw outline for each song. We did this again the next night ending up with a thirteen-song
demo. Just song titles with basic chord changes, melody ideas, and dummy lyrics. We proudly presented the demo to the rest of Mach 5 and our bass player promptly resigned.

Brian: You mentioned to me that you draw inspiration for some of your lyrics from the lives of the other guys in the band. Can you give me a specific example of this?

Mach: I am a total vampire when it comes to lyric writing. I don't care to share my own feelings and fears with anyone, but I will gladly shout all day about the shit my bandmates are always going through. Jimmy, Jeff, and Dee are all bachelors. They are all younger than me. They have all sorts of intense drama going on in their lives all the time. I like to try to get inside their heads and steal some good song ideas. Carl Bianucci exited Mach 5 so we added Jeff Thomas on bass a few days before the recording session began. We all settled on the tunes from the demo that we wanted to focus on. I jettisoned my "dummy" lyrics and began to compile some real words. Dee dragged his ass into rehearsal saying, "Vikki just threw me out of the apartment." Nice! I got the lyrics for "25 Hours a Day" simply looking at the sorry look on Dee's face. And that snotty vocal delivery on "Quincy Girl" is me doing an impression of Dee Stroy. The riffs the boys came up with inspired more lyrics.
The triple shotgun-blast snare drum hook that Jimmy Birmingham invented for "Get It Up" sent me into a great new vocal direction for our album opener.

Brian: There are rumors around town, and have been for a while, that Dee's got some significant substance abuse issues. Would you say that this is an accurate picture of him, and if so, does that have a negative impact on the band?

Mach: Dee Stroy comes to Mach 5 with baggage. I haven't known him long, but it is obvious that he is battling demons. I have no problem with the lads having a little fun. Everything in moderation and all that, but yeah, my long history of working with messed-up guitarists continues. Dee Stroy is a one-man Exile on Main Street. It's just something that we'll have to try and keep a lid on, and hopefully help him through. Dee has never let us down. No matter how wasted. He always shows up on time and he rocks twice as hard as anyone else. He was destroyed at that Ross the Boss show last month at the Abbey. Even when he fell over backwards he just kept on shredding.

Brian: I think Kenne Highland is one of the most interesting characters to come from the Boston scene. Did you know him back in the day? I know he was married to Miss Lynn, and that you and she are friends from way back.

Mach: Yeah, Brian! Miss Lyn of the Boston Groupie News and I both grew up in Holliston, a little town west of Boston. We hung out together all the time. In '76 I read about "Muffdiving in Wilkie South" by the Gizmos in Cream Magazine. I ordered the single mailorder from Gulcher Records out of Bloomington, Indiana. That was the first time I heard the great Kenne Highland sing. In 1977 I was startled to see Kenne himself standing on my doorstep - with my sweet Miss Lyn in tow! Things got weirder. Kenne joined the US Marine Corps; he released his unforgettable debut Afrika Korps LP; Kenne and Miss Lyn got married. Thundertrain and the Afrika Korps played Cantone's for Mr. and Mrs. Highland's wedding reception (Afrika Korps Live at Cantone's 1977). The marriage didn't last, but my friendship with Kenne did. Highland kindly invited me onstage to join him at numerous Vatican Sex Kitten shows prior to the launch of Mach 5. Seems Kenne has dropped out of sight for now but we all hope
to see him rocking Boston again real soon.

The following is a conversation I had with Mach 5 drummer, Jimmy Birmingham:

Brian: I know you spent some time playing in the Real Kids and with Felice in another band. How did that first come about?

Jimmy: I was hanging at Axis back in 1993 and saw the Real Kids play a "Spit Reunion" night. I told Felice after they played I was a fan of the Real Kids and he said that he had a new project called the Devotions and that I would be perfect for the band. I left after one week and one show because of the "stuff" that he and Billy Cole were doing. I also was starting a business and didn't need the extra aggravation. Fast forward to 2002, when I ran into John at the Abbey. I was there to meet with a new band that needed a drummer. I was at the bar with these new guys and knew they weren't for me. I saw John and he was extremely nice to me. He said that the Real Kids just fired their drummer and they had some shows next week and was wondering if I would join to play them. "No problem," I said. "Where are the shows?" Detroit and Chicago. So I joined the Real Kids, and let's just say it was a total roller coaster ride. I did three small tours with them, across the Midwest and the
South, played New York City about fifteen times, played with some great bands like the Dictators and met some amazing people. Being in the Real Kids got my name back out there in the music circuit. It also got me a drum endorsement and I'm in a great music documentary. I owe a lot to Felice and the Real Kids. If it wasn't for the Real Kids, Mach Bell would have never saw me.

Brian: Compare working with Felice to working with Mach Bell.

Jimmy: Where do I start? John Felice is one of the best, most naturally gifted songwriters ever! The classic songs are timeless. Unfortunately John has a monkey on his back that he couldn't seem to shake after three decades. It's so sad because that band could have been bigger than most of the bands that got famous in that punk/garage era of the late '70s and early '80s. John never pushed anything hard enough, he just quit when things started to get tough. I love Felice when he is Felice - he would give you the shirt off his back. But when the other Felice came out, watch out! Mach Bell is the singer that I always wanted to play with. I knew that he grew up with music similar to my style. Hard rock on the metal/punk edge. I was never a good fit for the Real Kids - as I say, they wanted Tommy Ramone and got Tommy Lee! I played too hard, too loud and I was a showman. Felice hated that! I was everything that Mach Bell wanted and needed. Mach is such a straight ahead guy, too. I
can make suggestions and he listens; if it works, we change it. I had no input in the Real Kids. Mach's energy level is crazy, too. That guy can go for hours up on a stage, with the energy of a twenty-one-year-old. This band is one of the best, most fun bands I have ever been in, and at forty, being happy playing is key. 'Cause we all know it's a great hobby, not a job.

__________________________

Shut Your Pie Hole Quincy Girl!
Eric Law photo

The following is Mach 5's first interview, conducted by Shady in a conference room overlooking the Boston Marathon finish line and published in the Noise Magazine:

Issue #252 June 2005

THE NOISE - FEAURE STORY

MACH 5 - GO SPEED RACER, GO!

by Shady

Photo by Kelly Davidson

I'm really getting seriously pissed off now. I'm supposed to meet up with Mach Bell and his new band of merry cohorts on Newbury Street at 4:00. It's now 3:55 and I'm really only 10 minutes away. Why is there so much fucking traffic in the middle of the afternoon on a rainy Sunday? It just came to me. It's Earth Day. Earth Day! It's raining like a bastard, where are all of these SUV driving idiots going? After sitting in traffic for the better part of two hours, I was really in no mood to conduct this interview---Q and A session---whatever you want to call it. Luckily, Mach is one of the nicest guys I've met in Boston. This is despite his somewhat tattered rock star appearance and legendary status in Boston rock lore. For those of you who need a brief history lesson, Mach was the front man in the '70s band Thundertrain and singer in a band with a lesser known guy---Joe Perry. During Perry's very public split from Aerosmith, he formed The Joe Perry Project and Mach was along
for the ride. In this brand new outfit known as Mach 5, Mach is joined by three other notorious rock 'n' rollers. Carl Biancucci on bass (Classic Ruins), Jimmy Birmingham on drums (The Real Kids) and Dee Stroy with his death defying guitar antics (Sugabomb). The end result is a pure rock band, no screwing around, just power chords, thumping rhythms, and Mach's pure rock fury on vocals.

Noise: Let's start with an easy one, What makes you happy?

Mach: I like to shake my ass.

Noise: [laughs] Did you say, "Shave your ass?"

Mach: That too.

Jimmy: I don't like that.

Noise: How about you, Dee?

Dee: Rockin', man.

Carl: A nice loud bass amp. I have to compete with those loud drums.

Noise: Those are always a problem. You are all from really diverse musical backgrounds.

What brought this collaboration together?

Mach: Miss Lyn of the Boston Groupie News had a birthday party in November and she kind of lit the fuse. Carl really got things happening for me, because I was kind of retired from rock 'n' roll, I spent most of the '90s drinking Bloody Marys and watching Regis.

Noise: Does that pay the bills? Because if it does, I'll have to look into it.

Mach: [laughs] I was lucky, because Carl has been playing in bands for a long time and he started to invite me to come out and sing some Classic Ruins with Kenne Highland. So, he was someone I really enjoyed working with. He's a maestro on the bass. Then I went to a show at the Regent Theater and The Real Kids were playing and I saw Jimmy Birmingham for the first time and I was just floored by him.

Jimmy: I wasn't even dressed.

Mach: I really didn't know where to go with any of that stuff, because it's so hard to put bands together. When Miss Lyn was having her birthday party at The Abbey she asked if we would all play together and that's how it really started. That was back in November, but you know we were still searching for the missing piece of the puzzle. I got turned on to Sugabomb and I really wanted to work with Dee. I even wanted to play bass for them when Sandy left, but their manager put his foot down because he thought I just wanted a better view of Vikki's ass.

All: [laughs]

Mach: So, it just worked out and Dee has been with us for six weeks now.

Carl: We call him Dee-lightful.

Noise: So after six long weeks, what is it you are starting to sound like?

Dee: Arena rock for the small clubs.

Carl: More like arena rock for the small minded.

All: [laugh]

Mach: We've only played a couple shows all together, but that's a pretty good description of what we are trying to do. Everybody has their own corner of the stage to hold down.

Carl: There's an element of glam rock, there's some Ramones, there's some Cream, some Hendrix. It's a virtual stew of shit.

Jimmy: Somebody told me we sound like Humble Pie last night.

Noise: Mach, you said that you had basically retired, so this is pretty cool that these guys were able to pull you out of that. I know you have done other things as well.

Mach: Yeah, the Thundertrain reunion and a band called Last Man Standing.

Noise: Weren't you in a band with some guy from Aerosmith?

Mach: Yeah, of course. The Joe Perry Project.

Noise: I've heard of him. I was trying not to bring it up, but you know.

Carl: That guy will be lucky to get that gig at Harpers Ferry.

All: [laugh]

Noise: Taking the time off must have been tough, especially when it's sort of all you have known.

Mach: Well, you know I started back in 1969 playing at the Unicorn Coffeehouse.

Noise: I don't think I was at the show, I was a little young.

Mach: You get so used to being able to get on stage and sing and do your thing, that you start to take it for granted. So I moved onto other things for a little while. It really came back to me how much I really dug the rock and how much I missed it. Bleu really helped me out by letting me sing in his choir---that lit the fuse as well.

Noise: Did all of you guys sort of fade away for a while, besides Dee?

Jimmy: I was in a band called Devotion which was John Felice's side project, back in '93. After that I jumped into a band called Truth, which was with the singer from Angel. After that ended, I got out of music all together and started a business painting Harleys and signs. Then two or three years ago, I was at the Abbey and was sort of recruited to join The Real Kids and it just completely got me back into music. So, I took like eight years off.

Noise: Did you feel like you were missing something when you stopped playing.

Jimmy: No, I was just so sick of the whole scene that I really needed to get away for a while. You get sick of being treated like shit, playing in rock bands. Getting into The Real Kids really helped---we were playing great shows and selling out on weekends and stuff. After The Real Kids stuff, I didn't really want to play with anyone else, but I got an email and thought that I always wanted to play with Mach---he's such a great frontman.

Dee: We played with them at the Miss Lyn birthday party and I thought that I should be playing with them.

Mach: We needed another rock star up front and Dee totally fit in and was the missing piece that we were looking for.

Noise: Carl, what brought you into this?

Carl: I was in Classic Ruins for 20 some odd years and Johnny & the Jumper Cables. I've always been around. I did take about six months off to stop smoking and got bored to tears, so unfortunately for the band scene in Boston, I came back. I found it really dull just doing the day job. It's such a great release after working or whatever is going on in your life.

Noise: What are your plans for recording? This is such a new and fresh thing, I imagine you can't wait to record.

Mach: We signed a three album deal with Gulcher Records---a fantastic DIY label out of Bloomington, Indiana. They want to release an album by the holidays---so we need to start the process shortly. Gulcher told us not to sweat over the place we record so much as the writing process and to just come up with the best songs we can.

Noise: Recording is such a weird and at times demanding process anyway.

Mach: Well, you know, none of us are first timers. We are set up to just record fast and get as much of the live energy down as possible. This going to be totally stripped down, I mean, Dee is the only guy I know who plays three chord rock using two chords. He's still learning the third.

Noise: He only has three fingers too, like Jerry Garcia.

Carl: He's just like Garcia, except he's alive.

Noise: Oh, man, that was cruel. Then again, I'm not sure he was ever alive. You guys are so schooled in rock, what are you listening to now?

Mach: I really like the new Willie Alexander record. I've been listening to the Vatican Sex Kittens on Sirius Satellite Radio. I've been turned on to all kinds of great new bands on there.

Noise: That's a great opportunity for a local band to get played on another type of format from the usual types of local shows on Boston radio stations.

Carl: Little Steven's show is great---you know he might play The Sex Pistols then he might play The Kinks---then it's Lyres or The Charms.

Jimmy: It gives you great national or even international exposure. For The Charms to go to Spokane and there are tons of people at their shows because they heard them on satellite is just great for all kinds of bands.

Carl: It's great to find new bands to listen to. Satellite gives so many new bands a shot that regular radio doesn't. I mean, listen to regular radio now, they are playing 25 year old AC/DC songs. I like them, but c'mon, play something new. You talk to people who are 25 years old and the music they are forced to listen to was recorded when they were born. One band I really like that I heard on satellite is this new band called, The High School Sweethearts. They're great; I think they opened up for The Hives.

Noise: Dee, what about you? Are you listening to anything new that you can clue people into?

Dee: Nothing.

Noise: Nothing huh? You don't like anything new? You're a new hater aren't you, nothing after 1980 for you.

Dee: [laughs] Yup, that's right.

Jimmy: The cool thing to me though is that the rock is really coming back. Bands like The Wild Hearts and stuff like that. It's just good rock 'n' roll.

Mach: Sometimes things have to die to come back. We played up at Dodge Street in Salem a couple of weeks ago and there were a lot of teenagers in the audience. It makes you feel good when you can bring young kids along to be interested in new music. It gives you a reason to keep this up for so long.

Mach 5 headlines Doc Ryan's on Sunday, 6/5, the Lucky Dog Music Hall on Thursday, 6/9, the Bomb Shelter in Manchester, NH, on Thursday 6/23, and Terry Brenner's 50th Birthday Bash at The Kirkland on 7/15 with World Greatest Sinners, Eric Martin, Richie Parsons, and many more.