Ken Reid might be the first person ever to go from fronting a Boston hardcore punk band to hosting a live, late(ish)-night talk show in Somerville. As the former singer of admittedly short-lived ’90s crew :30 Seconds Over Tokyo, Reid has since found a place in the world of comedy, and hosts the second Member’s Lounge at Johnny D’s this Thursday night in Davis Square. The variety show has a bit of everything — stand-up bits, special guests, visual aids, a one-man band, and an “expert” panel that was no doubt tainted at last month’s launch by having me sit in on it and declare the Pixies the greatest band to ever come out of Boston.
To right the ship in advance of the second sit-down pow-wow tomorrow night, we have two treats. One, we’re offering a few pairs of tickets to give away — email MEMBER to michael@vanyaland.com and we’ll select a few winners by noon tomorrow, each scoring a pair of passes. And two, we asked Reid to select five “forgotten” punk rock gems to come out of Boston. Here are his picks, with Member’s Lounge details after the rundown.
These are in no particular order, he warns us…
1. Pinkerton Thugs – “One Day”
“Great HUGE opening song to what I think is the best album any Boston punk band put out in the ’90s. The first time I heard it I felt like I was actually part of something.”
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2. Showcase Showdown – “Police Police”
“Hard to pick a single song off this record, since it’s all classic. The first local Boston punk band I became of fan of while they were still a living, breathing entity. I loved every second of every show I ever got to see them play.”
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3. Klover – “Our Way”
“Big Label non-starter with some ex-members of Gang Green. Everyone kind of made fun of it at the time as pre-fab, but I secretly kind of loved the snotty pop punk anthem that opened the album.”
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4. Ducky Boys – “Me Against the World”
“I only heard them play it live once, but it was probably my favorite song they did.”
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5. Stranglehold – “Same All Over”
I always felt like we did a time travel swamp with Stranglehold. We fit in better with the early 80s hardcore thing, than the street punk that was going on in the 90s and they fit in better with the “street punk” scene than with the hardcore scene
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And an Honorable Mention: “‘Back Bay Cops’ by the Freeeks was the best song on the first Runt of the Litter compilation, it was probably the best song by a band who never put anything else out aside from this song.”
MEMBER’S LOUNGE WITH KEN REID + SPECIAL GUESTS :: Thursday, February 27 @ Johnny D’s, 17 Holland St., Somerville :: 7:30 p.m., 21-plus, $15 :: advance tickets :: facebook event page
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Still with us? Cool. Here’s Reid’s own band, :30 Seconds Over Tokyo: