John Felice
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The Real Kids were an American rock band from
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, United States, led by guitarist, singer and songwriter John Felice.


Career

Felice (born 1955) grew up in
Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part o ...
, as a neighbor and friend of Jonathan Richman, a fellow fan of
the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
. At 15 he joined Richman in the first line-up of
the Modern Lovers The Modern Lovers were an American rock band formed in Natick, Massachusetts in 1970 by Jonathan Richman. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist ...
in the early 1970s. He performed with the band intermittently from then until 1973, but because of his school commitments, he was not involved in the 1972 sessions which produced the first '' Modern Lovers'' album, though Felice is featured on a few live Modern Lovers recordings, on lead guitar and backing vocals. Commenting on Richman, Felice said, "Me and Jonathan, as close as we were, you know, I was like a punk, I was a wise-ass kid. I liked to do a lot of drugs, I liked to drink, and Jonathan was like this wide-eyed, no-drugs, ate nothing but health food..." Felice then decided to start his own band and formed the Real Kids (originally named the Kids) in 1972, with Rick Coraccio (bass), Steve Davidson (guitar), and Norman Bloom (drums). They became a successful live band in the Boston area, playing "an aggressive brand of straight-ahead, no-bullshit rock which harkened back to
Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...
, had overtones of the
British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...
groups at their mod finest, yet pointed the way towards the Punk to come". In addition to Felice's own songs, they performed versions of classics by
Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran ( ; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. His songs, such as " Twenty Flight Rock", " Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire in ...
,
Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...
and others. The band did not record until 1977, when it comprised Felice, Billy Borgioli (guitar), Allen "Alpo" Paulino (bass), and Howie Ferguson (drums). Their first studio album, ''The Real Kids'', was issued on the
Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...
label in 1977; it was later reissued by
Norton Records Norton Records is an American independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986. The label concentrates on releasing rock, rockabilly, primitive music, punk, garage rock, and early rhythm and blues. Most of i ...
, who acquired the masters to the Red Star recordings and subsequently issued four more albums of early material. While continuing to play occasionally with different line-ups of the Real Kids, Felice also worked for a time as a roadie for the
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
. He also performed as part of the Taxi Boys in Boston. In 1982, the Real Kids released a second EP, ''Outta Place''. They also toured Europe and released a live album, ''All Kindsa Jerks''. They recorded a European release only new album, ''Hit You Hard'', released on French label New Rose in 1983. Band members Allen "Alpo" Paulino and Billy Borgioli then left to form the Primitive Souls. In 1988, Felice formed a new band, John Felice and the Lowdowns, releasing an album, ''Nothing Pretty'', on the Ace of Hearts label, later re-released on Norton Records.
Miriam Linna Miriam Linna (born October 16, 1955) is a Canadian-American drummer who has run the Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York-based independent record label Norton Records since 1986, originally with her husband, the late producer and singer-songwriter Bill ...
, co-founder of the Norton label, worked at Red Star during the recording of the first album as their press agent, and went on to acquire the Red Star masters. The Real Kids reunited on several other occasions. They performed regularly in 1998–99, including a New York City new year's gig. Bass player Allen "Alpo" Paulino died on February 6, 2006. The Real Kids reformed in 2014 and released a new CD, ''Shake Outta Control'', on Ace of Hearts Records. This contained new recordings of some old classics like "Who Needs You" and "Common At Noon", along with a few new songs. The new album received rave reviews worldwide. It was also released on vinyl by The Ugly Pop Record label. Billy Borgioli died on June 27, 2015. The five vinyl albums on the Norton label are the first self-titled album ''The Real Kids'', ''Grown Up Wrong'', ''Senseless'', ''No Place Fast'', and ''Better Be Good''. Norton also issued vintage Real Kids recordings on 7" 45 RPM vinyl, and new recordings, and the albums are available on CD and on download.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Real Kids, the Musical groups established in 1972 Musical groups from Boston American protopunk groups Rock music groups from Massachusetts Norton Records artists