Tommy White- along with Richie Parsons and Frank Dehler - was founding member of the still-popular, first generation punk band Unnatural Axe. Pronounced "Boston's Best Punk Band" by Throbbing Lobster label owner Chuck Warner, included on Doug Simmon's (music editor at the Village Voice, formerly of Subway News) prestigious "Boston Hit List", and according to Byron Coley, Editor of Forced Exposure magazine, "the kinda wild dogmeat that dreams are made of...blitzin' their way through honest to fuck classical material...", the Axe were both loved and hated by contemporaries, but never the sort of band that you could avoid paying attention to. Their beer-fueled, tube-driven, over-heated legacy to Boston rock has even resulted in recent new releases and tour support from Doug Giovanni's Detroit-based DUI Records, at a time when most contemporaries have long hung up their spurs. Having enjoyed a brief 1978 tenure as a bass player, and later as guitarist for the group, I can ascertain that few bands revelled as potently or succesfully in the DIY punk spirit of the day as the Axe... and very few bands- or their audiences -had as much fun doing it. So you would expect nothing less from Tommy White's post-Unnatural Axe efforts than solid, gutpunch rock and roll... and with follow-up groups like the Billygoons and the Mighty Ions, you wouldn't be disappointed if you did.

IONIZATION
Not to be outdone by longtime partner Parsons' post-Axe achievements, Tommy White grabbed local fans by the face with his own after-Axe efforts. As a member of the much-beloved Billy Goons, TW helped provide a theme for townies and alkies alike wiith "The Goons Are Drinkin Again". The tune got beaucoup local airplay, assuring packed houses for their truly wild live performances. In a synchronistic, beyond-coincidence way, Goons shows were reminiscent of the same-named Spike Milligan/Peter Seller's Goon Show, the anarchic, UK comedic-variety which inspired the creators of Monty Python and countless others. With sing-alongs, revamped Irish folksong vibes, a cast often entering double digits and the boisterous exuberance of a County Cork wake, I always thought the Goons planted their flag in a then-unique spot where the Pogues would later follow.

The brainchild of Tommy White and journeyman guitarist Dan McCormack (Lyres, Peecocks), the Mighty Ions were in the forefront of the wildly popular wrestling bands of the early 80's. This was a dangerous scene, and at any time one might find oneself the victim of an errant scissorhold or witness to a spontaneous show of audience grappling prowess. And that doesn't even touch on Captain PJ's puppets, or PJ hisself catching you on the chin on the upswing from one of his "we bow! we bow!" rituals. Please don't ask me to explain that last sentence...you were either there or you weren't. At left the Ions are shown on one of their no-holds-barred (plenty of chords though) Rasslin' Night performances, looking truly Mighty, snarlin' like Gene Vincent's hell spawn children. Below the boys are seen barre chording Cantone's into submission yet again; despite Tommy's t-shirt I somehow don't believe this was an official Summerthing-sanctioned event! I always wondered who bought those friggin' spider web guitars- now I know.

Moving from smoke-filled pub to sweaty auditorium, Tommy continued his musical odyssey through the planet's loud and testerone-filled places, once again with an all-star Boston rock supporting cast. This time they helped spawn a whole mini-movement of fellow body-slammers and wrestling enthusiasts. On a typical night you might find yourself greeted with a shout of "Face-rake!" as eternal scenester Bill Tupper mock-claws your dermus, followed by a "death match" between the Ions and another band "contender" for the crown, all amidst a sea of spilled Bud and spontaneous demonstrations of the moves of classic 'ringers' like Bruno Sammartino and Killer Kowalski (whose training gym in Medford is now patronized by some of the newer generation of WWF personalities, like the amazonian Chyna). Those Mighty Ions gigs were always memorable events, and faithful fans who clamored for a 'rematch' were rewarded in the late 90's with a reunion gig. Typical of the band's inexhaustible drive and energy, they parlayed that reunion into a full-blown band revival, complete with a new CD release. It will no doubt be chock full of... 'big hits'.

At the '82 Rumble


Not just singing about wrestling: living it!

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOOOOD...Tommy White (on the left in both photos), seen [above] wrestle-rockin' Cantones in '82, and [below] tag-teaming with the reunited Mighty Ions in the summer of 1999.

Their ever-industrious guitarist Danny McCormack (Lyres, Peecocks) reported on the Ions in late 1999:
"We have begun practicing for our studio session, presumably at Woolly Mammoth with David Minehan spinning the knobs. We were supposed to get in on the weekend of 6/12, but we just got bumped from that date due to the fact that David has some album projects running overtime, and his wife has or is about to give birth to their second child! ....We are probably going to record at least 7 new tracks for the Mighty Ions retrospective project. We're really itching to get it done. Old songs just keep coming out of mothballs, and so the set list keeps growing. John Jules (ex Peytons, Fox Pass) is banging the skins for us."
By now that CD is out. I'd bet a face-rake and a half-case of Bud in bottles that it rocks. Or perhaps you'd like to take it to the ring, huh pal?