2009 CD RELEASE PARTY!!!!!
!!!!NEW 2008 REDDY TEDDY CD is OUT - READ REVIEW IN BOSTON GROUPIE NEWS! Recorded by Erik Lindgren, Mixed at Charlie Karp's Connecticut Studio and Mastered at MWORKS in Cambridge by Jonathan Wyner. 10 NEW SONGS and one roots cover of Jerry Lee Lewis's classic "Breathless". Guest Artists Willie Alexander (the Lost, Velvet Underground, Boom Boom Band) on piano, Cheryl Etu (Angeline) on vibes, and Erik Lindgren (Birdsongs of the Mesozoic) on organ and sythesizer.
Reddy Teddy REUNITED! in 2004 to celebrate the life of original RT band mate and legendary guitarist/songwriter and performer Matthew MacKenzie. Coincident with the release of the double CD Reddy Teddy in the summer of 2004, the Teddy boys headlined a sold out Reunion gig at Boston's Paradise aptly named "Back to Kilsyth Manor" for the storied Boston residence they inhabited in the mid-late 1970's. Joined by Willie (Loco) Alexander, the bill also featured other bands of the era including Mach Bell's (former Joe Perry Project) Thundertrain and Fox Pass.
The band is currently gigging, songwriting and recording with a new CD scheduled for release in 2008.
Reddy Teddy now consists of a band of five including four original members, John Morse, Scott Baerenwald, Joe Marino and Ted von Rosenvinge plus newest Teddy - Jeff Lock (former Atlantics).
There were essentially three Reddy Teddy line-ups during the six year
history of the band from 1972 to 1978. Two of which occurred twice. Reddy
Teddy was originally composed of four musicians.
Lead guitarist, Matthew
MacKenzie and lead vocalist, John Morse remained members of the band from
the beginning in 1972. Bass player, Ted von Rosenvinge left the band in 1973
and was replaced by Scott Baerenwald. Drummer Joe Marino left the band in
1974 and was replaced by Douglas Orilio/aka Bug Witt. Bug was later replaced by Joe Marino who rejoined the band in 1977.
REDDY TEDDY HISTORY
In 1964 ten miles north of Boston in Winchester, Massachusetts, the future Reddy Teddy boys: Matthew, Joe, John, and Ted, attended 6th grade, while Scott was ahead in8th. Even then, Matthew was respected for his talent and taste in music by both his peers and the older kids. "He played Who songs before we ever heardof them", states Ted. While brothers Mike (drums) and Mal (guitar) helpedguide Matthew through his various stylistic investigations, Matthew andReddy Teddy were also being influenced by another Winchester band of the 60s, the legendary Luv Lace Lads, led by Scott¹s older brother Stephan Kent Baerenwald/aka Swine/aka Stephan Lovelace.
l-r SCOTT, BILLY T., SWINE and LUV LACE LADS guitarist
By the late 60s, high schooler Matt teamed up with Luv Laces vocalist,
Scott Baerenwald and drummer Billy Thayer to form And Other Railroad
Stories. It then became clear that a certain style, wavering somewhere
between The Who and Cream, had emerged from Matthews songwriting efforts.
With his Rickenbacker power-chording through the music, his stage dynamics
thrilled all. By 1971 Matthew and Scott joined Boston rock veteran, Willie
Alexander, playing Boston bars and beach venues in the band Bluesberry Jam.
And then it happened. One day, while driving down Mystic Valley Parkway,
Joe, Ted and John picked up Matt who was hitch-hiking home. They stopped on the way to jam in Joes basement where the three had been rehearsing with another band. The chemistry was immediate. Their style worked as a perfect foil for Matt¹s distinct talents and in early 1972, Reddy Teddy was formed and they began to practice.
Between rehearsals, Matthew would take quick jaunts to New York City in
order to peddle songs to the record companies and by the fall of 1972, Reddy
Teddy had been playing steady gigs in the Boston suburbs. It was then that,
while performing in their hometown of Winchester, in front of a packed town
hall, they were successful in impressing Mercurys Paul Nelson. As a result,
later in December, the band drove to New York and made a demo at Mercury
Records. They then made another demo at Bostons Intermedia Studios which
produced and inspired an ultimately never released version of Teddy Boy
and Its Breaking Me Up. Mercury then offered a record deal to the band.
After consideration, Reddy Teddy concluded that it was another typically
drawn, one-sided agreement and chose to turn the offer down.
In the spring of 1973, after a brief foray into the field of
construction, and with no other acceptable recording deal in sight, Ted
finally opted for engineering school. With Scott now replacing Ted, the
newly arranged Reddy Teddy recorded Boys and Girls' and Helping Hand, at
Aengus Studio in Framingham, Massachusetts. Dream On, was just beginning
to break when Aerosmith invited them to open their New England shows,
scheduled to run into the early fall. One night after a concert, the bands
van containing Matt and the road manager, crashed into a phone pole causing
minor injuries and major equipment damage. The band received an insurance
settlement that afforded them new gear with enough leftover to relocate.
They chose the big city. They would go to Boston.
The KILSYTH MANOR YEARS - Kilsyth Manor was a 7 bedroom Victorian on
the Brookline/Brighton line. More has been forgotten than has been
remembered about the Kilsyth days, nevertheless, anyone who set foot in this
residence has memories of one house party or another. At these affairs it
was not uncommon to spot members of Aerosmith, Willie Alexander, and other notorious rock On rollers of the era. In January of 1974, Mercury reissued its album offer, with Michael Brown as producer (creator of the band THE LEFT BANKE, and author of the renowned single, Don¹t Walk Away Renee. The band accepted and spent February living in NewYork, and recording at the studios on West 57th. However, Mercury decided not to release the album, citing the oil/vinyl shortage. After threatening the company with a law suit, the band settled for monetary compensation and the return of their 2-inch masters. Joe decided he had had enough and left for Florida forfeiting the drum slot to Bug Witt of Utica, NY. That summer, Reddy Teddy went back into Aengus with the masters of Goo Goo Eyes and Novelty Shoes. They were remixed and released and Reddy Teddy became the first of a wave of Boston rock bands to release a single on local label Flexible Records. The singles won favorable reviews, with airplay on WBCN and WBZ FM. By 1975 the band was firmly established as a hometown favorite in a genre of club, the premier ones being; Kenmore Square¹s heralded, The Rat and The Club a chair-tossing venue in Cambridges Central Square.
In 1976, the band joined the roster of local label, Spoonfed Records and
with WBCN DJ Maxanne Sartori and Willie Alexander assisting with production,
an album was recorded that summer at Northern Studios in Maynard,
Massachusetts.
1976 Album
In December the band opened for Patti Smith at Bostons
Orpheum Theatre and in 1977, former Rolling Stones manager, Andrew Loog
Oldham, began managing the band. At which time, he scheduled a few showcase gigs in two New York clubs, Maxs Kansas City and The BottomLine. The record received favorable reviews. Playboy touted the band as; "...possibly the best new American band, period". However, even with this rejuvenated interest, the sales figures remained low. By February of 1977, the parties had taken their toll on both the house and its occupants and the band vacated Kilsyth. Bug left the band and Joe returned to reclaim the drums for the final year. Their last gig was in the spring of 1978, opening for Van Halen at the Paradise.
MATTHEW SOLO YEARS - After the finish of Reddy Teddy, the members went
their separate ways. John and Joe returned to school, and Scott joined Robin
Lane and the Chartbusters. Matt went to NYC and after a brief hitch with
Richard Lloyd to make a 1979 album, he took the rhythm section (Fred Smith;
bass and Vinny DeNunzio; drums) upstate for a demo at Todd Rundgrens
Bearsville, NY studios, the recording site of the songs Girl Watching,
Here By My Side, Too Late, and Affairs of the Heart. Then, after
returning to Boston, Matt joined the Taxiboys (John Felice of the Real Kids,
Billy Cole and Bobby Bear). He rejoined Willie Alexander, and was
responsible for guitar and background vocals in The Confessions. Together,
they recorded a single in the U.S. and a double live album in France. Also,
during this period, Matthew could also be found playing with the Nervous
Eaters.
Except for one private reunion on Teds 30th birthday in 1982, Reddy
Teddys original line-up never performed together again. Matt continued
writing and recording through to the late 1980s: Girls of the State, It
Must Be Love, Light Fingered Girl, Just Ask Your Mirror, Barbie
Doll. Matt led one group named The Roosters (Chris Hull, Sammy Spade, Bobby Bear) and would team up with various backup personnel. However, it was as if the celestial bodies were not lining up for the one who, over 15 years earlier, wrote and sang the words, Im more of a moon than a rock n roll star, (Catbird Queen). In 1988, at the age of 36, Matthew passed away
from injuries sustained in an auto accident in Medford, Massachusetts.
RETURN OF REDDY TEDDY
In 2004, as a tribute to Matthew MacKenzie and on their 30th anniversary, the boys from Winchester released a double CD on NOTLAME RECORDS (notlame.com) and reunited as Reddy Teddy with former Atlantics guitarist Jeff Lock, to play a sold out reunion concert (July 14) at the Paradise club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
The band has recorded a new CD for release in September 2008.
