New review up on blogcritics.org

I've added some recent reviews I did for blogcritics.org:

Book reviews - Angling and War and The Lost Fleet

Music reviews- Eccotonic, Blackmore's Night, and Jamiroquai

Music Review

Music Review: Coheed and Cambria - No World for Tomorrow
Written by Scott DeitchePublished November 16, 2007

Coheed and Cambria are most often compared to Rush, mainly because of lead singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez’s high-pitched wail. And now that the band has teamed with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who helmed Rush’s latest, the excellent Snakes and Arrows, those comparisons will likely stay around. But simple comparisons do not do this band justice. Through a twisting sci-fi tale that has spanned all the band's recorded work as well as Sanchez’s graphic novels, Coheed and Cambria has staked out a unique place on the modern music scene.

Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow is basically a companion piece, musically, to their previous CD Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness. They tone down the time changes, channeling the songs into a more streamlined structure. This gives the band the space to turn it to 11.While Coheed and Cambria are generally referred to as a prog rock band (and, inexplicably, an emo band) they bust out some serious metal chops on No World. The guitars on “Gravemakers & Gunslingers” could have come right out of the NWOBHM, “Feathers” stakes out the melodic metal route, and “Justice in Murder” starts off with a soaring Iron Maiden-like riff. The second half of the CD is “The End Complete,” and in true prog fashion they split it into five parts.

This is a consistently strong CD. Lyrically, though, it can get fairly pretentious in places. Carrying a story arc over four CDs might be pushing it.The fact that the music of an inventive band like Coheed and Cambria is played on the radio is surprising and welcome. This is music that rocks on the surface and gives a little more for those that dig deeper. No World will no doubt satisfy Coheed’s faithful, but for those that are not familiar with the band, this is a good place to start.

Book Review: Black Gangsters of Chicago by Ron Chepesiuk

Written by Scott DeitchePublished November 08, 2007

With the recent release of the hit film American Gangster, the focus of organized crime has moved away from the Mafia and onto the inner city-born black gang leaders. Ron Chepesiuk, who previously chronicled Harlem’s gang bangers, turns his attention to Chicago and brings out a focused and satisfying effort.Black Gangsters of Chicago starts by examining the lives of some of the major policy kings of the 1920s. Working alongside Capone and the various other ethnic gangs in the city, these policy kings, like Daniel McKee Jackson, carved out a sizeable niche in the underworld, in an era of segregation and racism. The Outfit made its move to muscle into the policy rackets. Sam Giancana was especially instrumental in the Outfit’s attempts to bring the policy racket under their control, or at least to get a piece of the action. The last of the policy kings, Teddy Roe was gunned down outside his house.The book traces the de-evolution from the old style dapper policy kings to the street level thugs and drug dealers that populate the gangs of the modern era, especially as the neighborhoods declined and middle class blacks moved to the suburbs. One of the earlier of the new-style gangs were the Vice Lords. Moving through the rise and fall of numerous gangs, it becomes clear that some succeeded because of a highly structured system, while others were so fraught with internal dissention that they never reached a level past corner tough guys. But even gang bosses like Jeff Fort, who structured their gangs after the Mafia, were unable to keep a lid on internal dissention. Murder was commonplace.Though the presence of the gangs seems like an overwhelming tide of crime, Black Gangsters ends on an upbeat note, profiling former Vice Lords leader Bennie Lee, who has now turned his life around and is working to help kids on the brink of falling in with gangs.Chepesiuk focuses the story into a nice cohesive narrative. The chronological order is a given, but the author throws in interesting asides that enhances rather than derail the writing. This is another nice addition to the true crime canon.

Music review

The Comas - Spells
Written by Scott Deitche

Published September 10, 2007

The Comas received some buzz back in 2004 after singer, and main songwriter, Andy Herod broke up with Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams. In the wake of their publicized split, Herod went into the studio with the band and recorded a melancholy CD of break-up tunes that garnered the band considerable attention. Music magazines raved about their release Conductor, giving it high accolades. Now three years later, Herod and The Comas are back with a new CD, Spells.

Spells was recorded at Allaire Studios in upstate New York, where Rush recorded their latest CD, the exceptional Snakes and Arrows. Like the Canadian prog-gods, The Comas utilize the cavernous space of the studio to let their music soar, most notably on the closer “After The Afterglow”. The lush orchestral arrangements are nicely countered by dirty, fuzzed-out guitars, and sharp vocals. It’s an interesting combination, pulling the listener in with catchy hooks and pummeling them with instrumental excess.

It’s a tough give and take, though. Some of the songs suffer from overindulgence — a little too much lushness, not enough guttural growl. But there are more than enough stand-out to make the occasional misstep simply a fluke. For every song that immediately sticks with you, like the lead-off track “Red Microphones” (complete with a quirky retro keyboard riff), there is a song like “Sarah T”, a particularly engaging and evocative track which reveals more layers each time you listen to it. Songs like that stay with you. The churning “Come My Sunshine” and “New Wolf” are two other songs with strong melodic foundations holding up a swirling mass of sound. The band is tight. Even though the rhythm section is fairly new, they mesh together seamlessly. Nicole Gehweiler is Herod’s co-vocalist, bringing in some depth and nuances to the songs and nicely interplaying on “Now I’m a Spider.”

Lyrically the songs echo a variety of themes, but include an unusually high dose of fantasy driven images. The lyrics are brighter than those on Conductor, which became a de-facto break-up album for jilted lovers. Herod’s wordplay gets sharper as well.Though mainstream radio airplay is obviously out for an indie band without “that image,” hopefully The Comas will continue on with the success from their last CD and bring in some new fans with this one, because it’s one of the better releases this year.

Book Review

Book Review: Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia by Thomas Hunt and Martha Macheca Sheldon

Written by Scott DeitchePublished July 20, 2007

Contrary to popular belief, New York City was not the birthplace of the American Mafia. As students of organized crime history know, the real birthplace was New Orleans; but while the prevailing literature about the mob in the Big Easy has concentrated on the late 19th century, Deep Water takes the origin back to the Civil War. As such, this is one of the more foundational organized crime books ever written. The book wraps the definitive era of American history in with the emergence of a new kind of criminal. Deep Water is ostensibly the story of the origins of the Mafia in America told through the trials of the Macheca family, fruit merchants in New Orleans. The main character is J.P. Macheca, stepson of the Macheca patriarch and an intriguing figure from both a business and political sense - he spent nine months in the Confederate Army.

Thomas Hunt brings the story alive through his rich attention to details. You can practically smell the fetid air of the New Orleans waterfront. The one thread that ties the elements together is the rich familial history intertwined with the background history. I think in teaming with Martha Macheca Sheldon, Hunt made a smart move. Anecdotal family stories brings a dimension to the Macheca saga that you rarely get from a general Mafia book. Not wanting to lavish too much praise on the author, but it’s always exciting to find a new way to approach a subject.

The opening half of the book takes the reader through mid 19th century New Orleans. The Civil War, as seen through the eyes of this Southern melting pot, comes alive. From there, Hunt expertly parses out the Reconstruction policies and the ensuing political fallout in post-war New Orleans. The last part of the book deals with the assassination of Police Chief David Hennessey and the ensuing legal proceedings and eventual vigilante killings of a number of Sicilians, including J.P. Macheca. This section, having been written about before, takes a new life here, with an explanation that makes the lynching of the Sicilians more a calculated hit than a random act of mob violence.

If there is any criticism, it’s the lack of notes. It’s evident from the references that Hunt dug deep for the story. I would have liked to have seen where some specific pieces came from.
Deep Water is a worthy addition to the organized crime canon and the greater body of books on Civil War-era America.

Busy month

Things have been busy, hence the lack of updates.

Saw the greatest band of all time on June 16. RUSH rocked the Ford Ampitheater, and it was the best show I've seen from them since 1985. Always amazing.

The missus and I saw The Police last week in at the Ice Palace- another great show (but not as good as Geddy and the boys).

I've been busy writing some magazine articles and a few book reviews for blogcritics.com. And there are the two new book projects.

Listening to: Jon Auer- Songs From the Year of My Demise
Mastodon- Leviathan
Rush- Snakes and Arrows
Smooth

Watching:
Top Chef
Burn Notice
Flight of the Conchords ("I'm the Hiphopapotamus")

Book review- Gangsters of Harlem

New York has always been the epicenter of the American gangster scene. I once saw a shirt in a store on St. Mark’s Place that had a picture of a machine gun toting gangster with the caption, “New York City, Family owned and operated since 1920.” So true.

My publisher, Barricade Books, based out of Ft. Lee across the GW Bridge, has been putting out mob books on topics other than Al Capone and John Gotti. I just finished the new book by Ron Chepesiuk, Gangsters of Harlem. The book is a good overall picture of the various criminal elements that held sway over the legendary Manhattan neighborhood.

The early part of the book deals with the Mafia activity in the 1920’s and 30’s. it’s some of the same material I’ve seen in other places. But the book really starts to take off when we get to the 1950’s and the rise of the black crime figures. Ironically it’s just as the neighborhood begins it’s gradual state of decline. Familiar names like Nicky Barnes and Frank Matthews (who is still on the lam- take that Whitey Bulger) are mixed in with Bumpy Johnson.

By the time the 1980’s comes along all hell breaks loose. Crack is the name of the game and gangbangers take control of the streets. No more code of honor. Paranoia and corruption rule. Some of the most violent criminals you’ll ever read about plied their trade in Harlem. Chepesiuk delivers the story with plenty of quotes from cops and DEA agents who were there at the start of the crack "epidemic." Though street gangs are not my favorite crime subject, I have to say these are the best chapters in the book. It's new and fresh information, maybe that's why I liked them.

The book ends with two “tacked on” chapters, one on numbers kingpin Spanish Raymond Marquez (excellent), the other on police corruption (boring).

Overall the book was a great read. It could have used more pictures, and there was hardly any mention of the Pleasant Avenue connection and the Italians who still ran East Harlem through the 1970’s, but that does not detract greatly.

As Harlem reaps the benefits of gentrification (or not, as some people argue), stories like those in this book may become distant memories and the neighborhood might be know once again for more than crime.

Recent signings

On May 4th I signed at Haslam's Books in St. Pete. I had an excellent turnout for the hour I was there. Ray set me up with a great event. I always enjoy doing events at local independent book stores. And Haslam's is the biggest independent bookstore in Florida.

On Tuesday I spoke for the Tampa Prep book club at The Columbia Restaurant. I really enjoyed speaking to the group as well as hobknobbing with old Tampa- some relatives of characters in my books were there. A great group and of course a great lunch.

This past Saturday was an another successful signing event at Waldenbooks at the Citrus Park Mall. I signed over 50 books there as well as the other 100 in stock. The manager Pat is doing another outstanding job of selling the books. "One book at a time" as she would say.