Music is live and well at BEATSVILLE - Mad Daddy and Diabla

Dom and Charlene Salemi make music a way of life. “Beatsville” grew out of a midnight show Dom and Charlene started on a low-power FM station in Cape May, New Jersey, a few years ago. They moved to Baltimore last year mid-pandemic and plan to stay now that they have wrapped up careers in law (Dom) and telecommunications (Charlene) while living in northern Virginia. “We love Baltimore,” Dom says.

The couple produce a free weekly streaming radio show called “Beatsville” on Mixcloud, the British music streaming service. Each 2-3 hour show dives into a particular genre or theme ranging from bizarre Beatles covers to Christmas cult classics. Their on-air alter egos (the aforementioned Mad Daddy and Diabla) offer commentary on the weird and/or wonderful tunes they have unearthed.

They also clearly love music of all types and have indulged that passion by organizing a music festival (Colonial Beach Blues Festival in Virginia) and publishing an off-beat pop culture zine (Brutarian). New musical discoveries are part of the kick, says Charlene, who added Nigerian music from the 1970s to the Beatsville repertoire thanks to a book she found at the American Visionary Art Museum’s Sideshow shop.
There are 73 Beatsville shows archived on Mixcloud so far. The couple is open to suggestions for future themed shows, so contact them with ideas through their Facebook page or blog.

Credit: South Baltimore Peninsular Post

Dom and Charlene are no strangers to the music scene:

* They published the longest-running underground pop culture magazine, BRUTARIAN, for twenty years from 1991 to 2012. It's where they made all manner of industry connections in the music business as well as connection with musicians, writers and artists.

* In connection with the magazine they started a music company in the 2000s called, naturally enough: BRUTARIAN RECORDS. Most of their artists were rock and punk bands. The record company put out 17 releases.

* "We get our hand in the music scene by establishing a charity and putting on musical shows in connection therewith. We gained some national recognition with our charitable Blues Festival we put on in Colonial Beach, VA. Some of the artists that played our festival included Johnny Winter, Bill Kirchen, The Derailers, Nighthawks and dozens of Maryland and Virginia blues bands".

* For two years they programmed and DJ'ed for local radio stations in Cape May, NJ and Atlantic City.

Another musical act caught Dom's eye. It was the Resurrection of Screamin' Jay Hawkins Band. Dom attended one of their concerts at a small cozy believe it or not record store in Bordentown, NJ called Randy's Man Cave. Dom had this to say - AMAZING just begins to describe this man and the band's performance. This may sound like hersey, but I had the privilege of seeing Screamin' Jay at a small club in Washington, D.C. (the old 9:30 Club), and I could swear at times, when I closed my eyes it WAS Mr. Hawkins singing his heart out just a few feet from me!!!

It does not end here. Mike Armando who was Screamin' Jay Hawkins guitarist back in the 70's recently contacted Dom Salemi and asked Dom would he be interested in being the bands booking agent. Dom thought about it and said he will give it a try. It does not get any better than this. A music lover and fan of Screamin' Jay Hawkins, a radio show owner plus a booking agent to add to his daily music life. Stay tune for more on this one...The band has performances at Randy's Man Cave in Bordentown, NJ where it all began on October 24th than on to The PhilaMOCA in Philadelphia, October 30th and The Bowery Electric in NYC on November 14th. A one of a kind show, don't miss this one.

For booking the Resurrection of Screamin' Jay Hawkins Band contact:

Dom Salemi at:

(804) 214-0312

OR E-MAIL: brutarian@gmail.com

There is a new book out titled "I Put A Spell On You, The Bizarre Life of Screamin' Jay Hawkins written by author Steve Bergsman. Jazz / blues guitarist Mike Armando's bizarre experiences is written about in this book when he was Screamin' Jay Hawkins guitarist back in the 70's and many other people who worked with Screamin' Jay back in the day. A must read book.