Icepack

Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.

by A.D. Amorosi

It was while shopping for punk-venue-booking elder David Carroll's b-day — a toss-up between a Ramones Family wig and oversized Elvis Costello This Year's Model goggles — that Rick "D" Dobrowolski died. Fuck, right? Another scenie pal gone. It's more than that. Like the recently late Tony Sparacino, the vest-wearing, Black Hole Productions-making, Firenze/Nick's/Dobbs-booking, Bob and Barbara's "Happy Meal"-creating, Tritone-owning Rick D. was a constant: your scene, my life. Not everyday phone calls or visits. Yet, D's voice is on my answering machine from last week right NOW — that funny, sluggish voice intoning "A.D. [long, disgusted breath here]. It's Rehck. Call me bahck [pause, as if he had his molars extracted while being eaten by a wolf without a pulse raise]." How could laconic Rick D (who, yes, y'all, loved catty gossip!) die of a heart attack? Then it hit me: Rick D had a huge heart that generously did anything it could for any band that asked. A heart that large was a moving target. Nobody disliked Rick D. I miss that voice. I miss that vest. "Angels are wearing black leather vests now," says Frank Sparacino, Tony's bro, whose former LaTazza108 was a home to Rick D bookings. "Wow — my brother at 44, and now Rick. Who knew getting older would be so much fun?" Fuck.

► We recently noticed the term Franklintown — the slice of land around the Fairmount/Free Library area — being used in connection to a possible Whole Foods and other developments. Google "Icepack" and "David Grasso" and remember where you read about Grasso first popping Franklintown fresh with more condos than a stack of Monopoly boards. And you know that Murano at 20th and Market? Is it really Andre "Beaver House" Balazs behind the visual end of the development?

► Sure, atza' nize Man Man'll open for Modest Mouse's mega-tour: The former MM'll wipe the floor with the latter. But despite Man Man having wrapped a new CD with Chris PowPow's other act Icy Demons member Griffin Rodriguez at Shape Shoppe Studios in Chicago, there is no release date. Why? Honus Honus' roaring quintet have no label. "The label situation is still up in there air," says an unnamed source close to the action who goes on to tell me there's much buzz from plenty of imprints.

► When it comes to Frank DiCicco's Friday the 13th roast 'n' toast at Triumph Brewing, we expect the fur flying between Henri David and Mark Segal to be scarier than any Halloween-Henri costume.

► Sixteen Candles? Never saw it. They say it's a perfect aperitif for the heady drink of local synth kids The Model, JillRabitts, and George Korein and Nick Millevoi covering '80s acts (Human League, Bananarama, Hall AND Oates respectively) for the Balcony's Monday Night Club All-'80s dance jam-bo-ree April 16.

► With Y-Rock in capable Josh (T. Landow) 'n' Joey (O. ) hands, Jim McGuinn heads into David Dye-drive April 14, snagging the latter part of Dye's post-"World Café" drive-time shift at WXPN-FM April 14. (Dye's slenderizing his sched to make time for World Café? Old news. Even I tried for the gig. Rule #1: Never "yodel" or send "I heart-Michel Polizzi" messages as part of your demo reel.) "It should be interesting," says McGuinn. "As long as the old-guard XPN fans don't lynch me."

► We're all about the OC. But is Tommy Up, notorious Old City disser, doing parties at Cebu for Carnivale? Yup. Is Old City not so bad (Up helped build the OC, mang!), or did Up lose a bet? Sike. Speaking of the OC, who, while cruising the Caribbean on George Polgar's boat, did the Mallets (Fox-TV's George and Karen), the Spivaks (Live Nation's Adam and Megan) and the Polgar/Wards (GT PR's George and Tyler) encounter in Anguilla? Chef Silvestro Pizza — late of OC's Radicchio — who just opened the way-chic Luna Rosa there.

► Are you hip to the fact that BCKSEET's Greg DeCandia/Joe Horak Fringe-fave musical Hung on a Blonde Ponytail: An Act of Rock not only opens April 13 — upstairs at Society Hill Playhouse — but that a buck from each ticket benefits Musicians on Call?

► Sometimes you get stuck behind the wheel and you miss the Penthouse party but you send the spies. But when they all come back with the same answers in the same slurry parlance — Paul Rrrudd was soooooo funny, and from Passaic; Mr. Angelina Jolie, big whoop — you realize they hit the cheap sponsored liquor hard: That's last week's PhilaFilmFest 16. For week two, gossipy types can try to figure the reason Thom Cardwell might (big-might) exit from Ray Murray's TLA Entertainment. (Remember to ask them both wha'happened at Sundance.) Others can ask about the mystery of the two Patrick McHughs: the ex-Allied guy doing PFF press and the photog/Grubstake guy. "What da eff?" says McHugh. But which one said that? There's more PFF: Like the anti-meat-eating Elizabeth Fiend's BiG TeA PaRtY short No Butts About It (that asks "Would you rather be friends with a vegetarian or someone smoking cigarettes?") April 14 at I-House, and there's meat-loving Ben Daniels' This is My Cheesesteak Geno-Pat-Jim-TonyLuke flick at the Bridge April 14."The funniest moment I had was hugging my cameraman so he didn't fall out the back of my dad's car while filming Joey Vento riding around Philadelphia on his motorcycle," says Daniels, surely unaware of all the danger. (P.S.: Steve Condon's dark documentary on the dippiness and decline of Upper Darby, The Borough, is at I-House April 14, too. Do that.)

► I don't do coke nor cake anymore. But the consensus of Johnny Brenda's Popped! fest opening party with The Cobbs, a tiny mob and a double-creme confection? "Too much butter."

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)