Hat City Stories Ben Guerrette

Samantha Levin is an archivist documenting the teen nightclub, Images that was located in Brewster, NY in the late 80s. It was the place to hear new wave, goth and industrial music. It wasn’t uncommon for a New Order song to play followed by Ministry where the crowd cleared and a pit was formed. Temporarily of course until a danceable Blondie track come on. That was a generation before my time when it was turned into Boardwalk. 
I’ll be sharing Samantha’s interviews from time to time in the feed. They’re a great fit and further help to document the scene around that time. 
This interview is with Jeff McKay and his experience as a DJ at Images and the Danbury are in the late 80s and early 90s. Jeff talks about the new music scene at WestConn at the time and  his experiences at other local clubs. He reminisces about some of the people he’s still friends with to this day, and how he started off learning from Morgan Williams at WXCI who sadly passed in August of 2022. You can hear Samantha's interview with Morgan in Episode 8. 
Enjoy this interview with Jeff McKay.
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Recorded, edited and produced by Ben Guerrette.

Theme music by Malcolm Tent
https://malcolmtent.net

For comments, questions or feedback:

Email: ben.guerrette@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benguerrette/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/benguerrette

In high school we spent our evenings and late nights drinking coffee at diners because there was no where else to go and we thought it made us look cool. How hilarious that is when I think about it now. Early on in my Junior year at Bethel High School a new business popped up in Downtown Bethel. We always noticed when something new opened. Change was rare and slow in Bethel.
I  believe it was Mike Dobsevage and I who walked into Dr Java’s together for the first time. Maybe Mark Straiton was there too. My memory is a little foggy from those days. Mike Weiland was welcoming and introduced us to good coffee and the wonders of consuming large amounts of much espresso. That day kicked off where I would spend much of the next 3 years learning about myself, relationships and what it meant to being opened minded. 
Dr java’s also introduced me to culture. Music and art of many different genres along with some inspiration from New Orleans where Mike lived for a few years before moving back to CT to open a coffee shop.
Pretty much at any given time you could show up to Java’s and run into a friend, or make a new one over a latte and some red beans and rice. It was the meeting place to kick off whatever happenings or trouble we’d scheme and plan to get into that day. 
When I start to think about it, the stream of memories that pop into my head over those three years seems endless. What an amazing time it was. I could probably tell stories for days. We’ll save that for another time.
Enjoy this interview with coffee and culture proprietor, Mike Weiland.
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Recorded, edited and produced by Ben Guerrette.

Theme music by Malcolm Tent
https://malcolmtent.net

For comments, questions or feedback:

Email: ben.guerrette@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benguerrette/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/benguerrette

This episode is about 24 Buttonball drive in Newtown CT, The home of Jim and Joe Roberto back in the day. It’s in that basement where amps were blown, distortion pedals were engaged and many bands were formed. I chatted with Ernest Latanzio and Joe Roberto as they reminisced and shared that deep history and all the music and collaborations that came out of it.
One quick note. As you’ve probably noticed, these episodes come out pretty sporadically. Life gets in the way life and there’s too many projects to keep up on. I’ll continue to find great stories but I make not promises on how frequently they’ll be released. Thanks for joining me on this ride. There will be more.

HED
https://found.ee/qrQ31S

"Chipped Beef" by G'nu Fuz
https://songwhip.com/gnufuz/chipped-beef
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Recorded, edited and produced by Ben Guerrette.

Theme music by Malcolm Tent
https://malcolmtent.net

For comments, questions or feedback:

Email: ben.guerrette@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benguerrette/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/benguerrette

Litmus is an ever expanding and contracting improv band who started in 1996. There’s a core group of 6 musicians but they’ve had as many as 12 musicians on stage at one time. Each show is a totally unique experience. There’s no songs, no plan and no one knows what to expect. Neither the musicians or the audience. I got to chat with 4 of the members.
Justin Emerson - Keys, Samples, Effects
Edward Murphy - Drums, Percussion
Andrew Kraemer - Guitar, Effects
Jared Koehl - Visual Manipulations
Two other members who couldn't make it

Gene Moore - GUitar, Effects
Ernest Latanzio - Bass, Effects, Electric Ukelele 
I got to learn about the process or lack there of and what happens if things fall off the tracks. It’s those moments that they sometimes look for because those train wrecks can many times produce something magical from the rubble.
Enjoy this conversation with Litmus.
A quick note that my audio wasn’t the best. I’ll do better next time. 

Bandcamp
https://thelitmustest.bandcamp.com/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/litmusound
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Recorded, edited and produced by Ben Guerrette.

Theme music by Malcolm Tent
https://malcolmtent.net

For comments, questions or feedback:

Email: ben.guerrette@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benguerrette/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/benguerrette

Morgan Williams was a DJ in the early days of WXCI. It was a platform for him to play alternative and new music that wasn't being played on commercial stations. He worked with Darryl Ort during WXCI's transition into a platform for new music. He went on to host New Music Wednesday at City Limits in Danbury. He also mentored Jeff McKay and Anne who DJ'ed at Images, the all ages club in Brewster, NY that attracted the freaks, geeks, goth, punk and new wave crowd. A place for kids coming from troubled families to be themselves and let go a little.

Samantha Levin is an Archivist documenting attendees of Images during 80s. She was lucky enough to connect with Morgan Williams about a month before he passed. She reached out to me to see if there was something we could do together in this archival space and more importantly, share her conversation with Morgan. I didn't get the chance to talk to Morgan myself so this was a gift. I'm thankful Samantha got to talk to Morgan and thankful to be able to share it with listeners.

Thank you Morgan for your contribution to the Danbury scene. Thank for you paving the way for those of us who wanted to DJ at WXCI and to share our own rhythms with the community. Thank you for giving me my first opportunity to play records live on air at WXCI. You will be missed friend.
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Recorded, edited and produced by Ben Guerrette.

Theme music by Malcolm Tent
https://malcolmtent.net

For comments, questions or feedback:

Email: ben.guerrette@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benguerrette/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/benguerrette

I didn’t get to attend as many ska shows as would have liked, but the one band I would try to catch was Sgt. Scagnetti. Front man Steve Lonergan and I got to connect recently as he shared his own Danbury stories. A hip hop kid out of Seymour, CT who somehow found his way to WXCI one night long before Google maps were a thing as his parents were suddenly cool about a 2am curfew to hang out at a college radio station at the age of 16. Steve realized early on that he wanted to be involved in live music in any way possible even if that just meant lugging gear around and running cables. He soon found himself as singer for Sgt. Scagnetti and quickly starting filling venues with their big sound and energetic vibes.

After a great run through the second part of 90s and a few other musical explorations the band put things on hold. 10 years later invitations started coming in for them to get back together. Slowly over time, things starting picking up. Steve and the band are back at it and playing to loyal fans from 25 years ago and introducing their music to new ones. As he said, the music you listened to as a teenager meant more to you at that time than at any other point in your life. Thanks to him and the whole Scagnetti crew, they’re bringing some of that nostalgic energy back to those 15 year olds who are now in their 40’s. Enjoy this conversation with Steve Lonergan.

Website
https://www.sgtscag.com

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/SgtSCAG

Instagram
https://instagram.com/sgtscag/

Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5WMV8IQPuO3I2lTfeZNfmI

Apple Music
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sgt-scag/1297035046

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCixOJGVpcwzVqIvS_qx0h9w

Bandcamp
https://sgtscag.bandcamp.com/merch
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Recorded, edited and produced by Ben Guerrette.

Theme music by Malcolm Tent
https://malcolmtent.net

For comments, questions or feedback:

Email: ben.guerrette@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benguerrette/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/benguerrette