The Flames of Discontent: CDs for Sale!

"John Pietaro, Laurie Towers and company have recreated the mood of the 1950s Witchhunt...and just in time for the latest waves of intended repression. While a large swath of liberal opinion, a half century or so ago, joined the Cold War crusade, eager to grab a share of the swag that would be handed out to cooperative intellectuals and artists, a larger number of dedicated artistic activists held to their positions and took the blows, determined not to give the McCarthyites the satisfaction of wiping out dissent entirely. Pietaro and Towers recall the fight-back that looked ahead to the revival of social movements during the 1960s. Likewise now, with musical verve and lively lyrics, the Flames of Discontent call us to the colors of the future...in the hopes that they will be Red" - Paul Buhle, historian/author, January 2007

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"Riffs sharp enough to cut the US deficit" - Whisperin and Hollerin (UK indie music website) *********************************************************

"Revenge of the Atom Spies includes new renditions of a Joe Hill song and the classic labor song about him, but it's far more than a collection of folk songs. It's a sizzling blend of edgy, cogent lyrics and passionate percussion driven music. Drawing from folk, rock, rhythm and blues and spoken word, the CD's original songs demand liberation for all people with no one left behind. Want to believe there are people around who understand why there's so much misery in the world and who really want to change it? Give a listen to The Flames of Discontent! Carry it on!" -Ray Korona, topical singer-songwriter, April 2007

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"Hudson Valley heroes The Flames of Discontent singlehandedly bring back protest songs" -- Daily Freeman newspaper, April, 2007

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"Lou Reed meets Elvis Presley in black-and-white Cold War melodrama" - CD Reviews.com **********************************************************

The Flames' latest CD was officially released March 2007. It has been heard on the airwaves of WDST-FM (Radio Woodstock) as well as other Hudson Valley stations WKZE-FM, WVKR-FM and WJFF-FM, NYC's Pacifica station WBAI-FM and beyond that: KDHX-FM (St. Louis, MO), WSUR-FM (Eau Claire, WI), KAOS (Olympia, WA), among others. Somehow, our music has also been aired on a Clear Channel station (!), KIAK-FM (Fairbanks AL). Two of its selections have been chosen to be a part of Neil Young's website 'LIVING WITH WAR TODAY', achieving highly-coveted first-column status.

***************************************************************** On the internet, "Revenge of the Atom Spies" is available via the Labor Heritage Foundation (www.laborheritage.com) and CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com), among other CD sales sites. ********************************************

Stores/galleries currently carrying it include REVOLUTION BOOKSTORE (New York City), WOODSTOCK MUSIC SHOP(Woodstock NY), JOSHUA'S JAVA LOUNGE (Woodstock NY), OBLONG BOOKS & MUSIC (Rhinebeck NY), ALTERNATIVE BOOKSTORE (Kingston NY), JACK'S RHYTHMS(New Paltz NY), RHINO RECORDS(New Paltz NY), THE THREE ARTS BOOKSTORE (Poughkeepsie NY), and THE HOWLAND CULTURAL CENTER (Beacon NY). ************************************************************ FROM THE FLAMES: "Revenge of the Atom Spies" was recorded in the cold reality of upstate New York in January, 2007. Even with the peripheral knowledge of a new Congress in place, our immediate view was confronted by an endless illegal war waged by an illegitimate president. The promise of the New Year--one without a right-wing strangelhold of Washington--continues, yet both the butcher's bill and the defecit continue to swell. Civil liberties, labor laws, women's rights, environmental protections, and immigrants' rights have been strip-mined. Suspicion of other continues, even as our loyalty is questioned. Today we live in a frightening reflection of the infamous Red Scare periods in US history: the first one was in 1919 in response to waves of labor revolts and European communist revolutions, the second was in the 1930s as the right fought against the social reforms of the Roosevelt Administration, and the third, which began in 1947 and boiled over in the 50s, only seemed to fade by the late 1970s. That last red scare was accompanied by the McCarthy witch-hunt and was designed by the corporate and military powers that had been waiting in the wings since the right-wing lost power in 1932. Their long-term plan to fully dismantle the New Deal continues to this day. But where there once was duck-and-cover we now have duct tape and Anne Coulter ; the reign of western empire has now morphed into cowboy capitlalism. Nothing's changed but "who" and "when". Plant the fear and start again....

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This compact disc is a collection of topical song and prose informed by past and current events. Cold War-style sounds and imagery speak in real time and in metaphor. Strains of folk, vintage pop, post-punk, and world music suggest a Protest Song for today's dangerous times.

When listeing to this album, please do so with eyes facing straight ahead as well as within range of your rear-view mirror.

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1) Stung Right (Joe Hill)********

2) Sixteen Tons (Merle Travis)*******

3) September's Divide(Pietaro/Towers)*******

4) I Cannot and Will Not Cut My Conscience To Fit This Year's Fashions: Lillian Hellman's Letter to HUAC*******

5) Contrasts (Pietaro/Towers)*******

6) Revenge of the Atom Spies (Pietaro/Towers)*******

7) Who's To Blame? (Pietaro/Towers/Figueroa)*******

8) Ballad of the Big Wind (Pietaro/Towers)*******

9) Walls (Figueroa/Towers)*******

10) Joe Hill (Alfred Hayes/Earl Robinson)*******

11) Song of the Translucent Liberal (Pietaro/Towers)*******

12) You Are the UnAmericans and You Should Be Ashamed of Yourselves: Paul Robeson Stands Up To HUAC*******

13) Injustice (Pietaro/Towers)*******

14) Viva La Quince Brigade (Bart Van Der Schelling; based on a traditional tune)*******

*********************************************************** JOHN PIETARO: vocals, electric 5-string banjo, acoustic 5-string banjo, spoken word, xylophone, drumkit, acoustic guitar ************************************************************ LAURIE TOWERS: lead electric bass guitar (fretted, fretless), background vocals, spoken word ************************************************************ -with- RAFAEL FIGUEROA: congas, bongos, snare drum/cymbals, vocals, small percussion *********************************************************** -and- LARRY TOWERS: electric guitar (track 9 only)

PRODUCED BY JOHN PIETARO***

ENGINEERED BY LARRY TOWERS***

LINER NOTES BY PAUL BUHLE***

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY DONNA BLISS***

INNER BOOKLET PHOTOGRAPHY BY ECONOSMITH***

The Flames' CD commemorating the centenary of the Industrial Workers of the World. Credited to "John Pietaro and the Flames of Discontent" (since then our title has gone democratic), this CD features a large studio band featuring John Pietaro's voice, banjo, nylon string guitar and piano and Laurie Towers' electric bass. The group was gathered in a Providence, Rhode Island studio over one harried winter weekend to create this album deemed, "kick-ass music for the masses...a noble and timely work", by Chronogram magazine. The line-up includes the fiddles of Emily Miller and James Ruchala, the trombone of Jim Costanza, the baritone saxophone of Emily Nemens, the electric and acoustic guitars of Cliff Murphy, the drumset of Tim Nylander and the spoken word selections of Sarah Goldstein, Sarah Bowman and Steven Levenson. Conceived by Pietaro and noted historian and writer Paul Buhle ('Wobbles! A Graphic History', 'Radical Hollywood', dozens more) and co-produced by guitarist Cliff Murphy, this album combines lesser-known Wobbly songs with more common-place ones and several spoken word selections in order to offer a commentary on IWW history concurrently with a profile on Labor's struggle at the present time. Selections have been aired on Oscar Brand's noted radio program on WNYC (NY,NY) as well as on WBAI-FM (NY,NY), WVKR-FM (Poughkeepsie, NY), WDST-FM (Woodstock, NY) , WSUR-FM (Eau Claire, WI), KAOS (Olympia WA), KDHX-FM (St. Louis, MO), and others including London's 'Radio Labourstart' internet broadcasts. The CD was officially released in New York City at 'The 100th Anniversary of the Wobblies: A NYC IWW Centenary', CUNY Graduate Center, NYC, September, 2005. It was also a part of Buhle's "Traveling Wobbly Show", which toured the USA and many other parts of the globe. "I Dreamed I Heard Joe Hill Last Night" is available via the following links (remember to request the CD credited to "John Pietaro & The Flames of Discontent") or at the following stores: Revolution Books (New York City), Alternative Books (Kingston, NY), World's End Books & Music (Beacon, NY) and Vox Pop (Brooklyn, NY), The Howland Cultural Center (Beacon, NY). The production/engineering team of Jon Nolan, Altay Guvench, Damon Baker and Cliff Murphy helped to create this collection. And the cover and interior art by Leslie Friedman completes the package, one that honors the IWW's radical songs and mission.

This book is a graphic history of Students for a Democratic Society, published in 2007 by Hill and Wang. While the book was largely written by noted underground comic writer Harvy Pekar and illustrated by Gary Dumm, several guest writers and artists were brought into this project by editor Paul Buhle. John Pietaro wrote and provided the lay-oput for one chapter, 'I Aint Marchin' Anymore: SDS, Phil Ochs and the Protest Song'. Getting into Phil Ochs head while writing this chapter was a powerful experience; being asked to write it by Buhle was an honor. We are proud to be asociated with this exceelent visual history of this radical youth organization.

Though available in all major bookstores, we urge you to consider purchasing it through an independent bookstore such as the Golden Notebook in Woodstock NY. Here's the link to get to their site and the page for this book in particular... http://www.goldennotebook.com/NASApp/store/Product?s=showproduct&isbn=9780809095391