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At some point last weekend when I was idling at Red Onion Records & Books the store’s proprietor, Josh Harkavy, showed me a copy of a record called Live at The Black Alley by an early-’70s DC bar band called The Time Machine.
The record itself is ok—it’s mainly composed of tight but decisively smooth covers of then contemporary radio fare like Albert Hammond (The Strokes guitarist’s dad) and Mike Hazlewood’s “It Never Rains (In Southern California).” The B-side skews a little more country and isn’t very good.
What’s really fascinating though, for me at least, is the cover. At first glance the photo collage presented here appears pretty run of the mill—there’s an implied narrative of long nights, crazy gigs, rock tunes, and female admirers. But a closer look reveals something a little more ponderous.
Secondly (and perhaps this answers the questions posed above) almost all of the club patrons/fans/groupies are deep into middle age.
It all looks surreal and a little bit frightening in a way that I can’t exactly put my finger on. It’s one oxygen mask and a “In Dreams” cover short of scene from Blue Velvet. Maybe David Lynch was even there—half of a blurry face in one of these photographs soaking up the vibe for future use.
Does anybody know what happened to this place? Is it still around? If I go there will I be able to sit down at a table, order a PBR, and shoot the bull with this guy?