Ralph's Pix of the Week

NEXT BLOG October 12th, 2025.
All future Blogs will be posted on the 1st and 3rd week of every month (give or take a day or two). *Also in the event of any significant swell I will post the week of that swell. Although the blog is now bi-weekly, I'm certainly not gonna pass up a decent swell. So while it's basically going to be every other week, I left it open for some wiggle room.

WHEN HUMBERTO MET IMELDA. 38 YEARS A MARRIAGE.
THE TOPSFIELD FAIR TRADITION CONTINUES. THE CARS NEW BOOK "LET THE STORIES BE TOLD," IS SELLING LIKE CRAZY.
SHAUN TOMSON COMING TO THE SURF SHACK IN HAMPTON!
RIP JANE GOODALL, DIANE KEATON, and JEFF PHILIBOSIAN.

Hurricane Humberto and Hurricane Imelda got together last week and had a little fling before Humberto split and left for Europe, while Imelda came to Northern New England. These hurricane relationships never really work well. They typically have a mind and a track of their own, and they are not known for any long term courting.

Case in point. When in 1989 Hurricane Felix and Hurricane Gabrielle mated right out in front of us and gave us some of the biggest and cleanest surf we've had in ages. It was one of those swells that live on in local surf lore. And while I did not head south to meet Humberto face to face I had other pending scenes and obligations. I did manage to stay tight and pick up the local action here.

The pic above is 10-3-25. Looks pretty fun huh? Well, it was. Just that most of us were hoping for the bigger stuff. And for those of you who were around in 1989 when Hurricanes Gabrielle and Felix mated and gave us an amazing run of big overhead tropical surf, this was not like that.

THE CARS NEW BOOK IS OUT.

I attended this wonderful event at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston on 9-29-25. It was great. Hosted by WBCN's legendary program director Oedipus. Suffice it to say, it was a well received audience and the night went smoothly with author Bill Janovitz and two of the three surviving members of the CARS. Greg Hawkes and David Robinson.

There are stories in the book that are pretty eye opening.

Left to right: Oedipus, Greg Hawkes, David Robinson, and Bill Janovitz.
Photos by RALPH

New York Times bestselling author Bill Janovitz delivers the definitive story of The Cars, one of the most popular, beloved, and influential bands to emerge from New Wave—with a foreword by Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes.

The Cars formed in the late 1970s as an alliance of five journeymen musicians with roots in Maryland, Ohio, New York, and New England. They had each performed in a series of bands before finding one another—along with the right sound at the right time. That sound, soon fortified by their iconic imagery, turned them into Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

Biographer, critic, and musician Bill Janovitz explores the musical, cultural, and commercial impact of the band with articulate and knowing insights. He draws on his own exclusive new reporting along with the enthusiastic participation of the surviving members of the band, as well as nearly everyone who surrounded them over the years. The band's unusual providence is fully explored here for the first time, and each of their landmark albums is masterfully chronicled and dissected, as is their profound support of the Boston music scene that has reverberated around the world and throughout the decades.

Yet, with all of the success, there were also significant conflicts within the band, which led to an untimely end. Janovitz reveals the stories of each member, and of the group as a whole, with great care and understanding. To paraphrase The Car's own lyrics: Hello again, you might think this is just what you needed. It's magic. Let's shake it up and let the good times roll.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.