Walston

On February 25, 2006, PHYLLIS WALSTON, mother of Montague Walston. Also survived by other relatives. Friends may call at PHILLIPS FUNERAL HOME P.A., 1721-27 N. Monroe St. (Westwood Avenue) Friday 12 noon to 8 P.M. Family will receive friends on Saturday 11 to 12 noon, with Mass to follow at St. James Episcopal Church, La Fayette and Arlington Avenues. Interment Mt. Auburn Cemetery.

J. Roddy Walston and the Business, the Baltimore rock quartet, have signed to ATO Records, according to a press release. The band joins a roster that includes Alabama Shakes, My Morning Jacket, Drive-By Truckers and more. The group's first and currently untitled release for ATO will drop this summer. J. Roddy and Co. will soon head to Georgia to record with Grammy-winning producer Mark Neill. The band has a 12-date tour lined up for the end of April and beginning of May, but the closest it comes to Baltimore is Charlotte, N.C. J. Roddy Walston and the Business' most recent full-length album (a self-titled record)

On August 2, 2009, QUEEN ESTHER WALSTON. On Friday, friends may call VAUGHN C. GREENE FUNERAL SERVICES, 4101 Edmondson Avenue, from 4 to 8 PM. On Saturday, Mrs. Walston will lie in state at Grace Memorial Baptist Church, 1100 N. Eden Street, where the family will receive friends from 10 to 10:30 AM with services to follow. Inquiries to (410)233-2400.

Every spring, indie bands head to Austin, Texas, in droves for the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. So do the industry folks. The festival, which turns 25 this year, is considered the end-all, be-all for up-and-coming bands. Thousands of acts turn up to test their mettle in front of even more critics, label folks and fans. A good string of performances could push a band into the national spotlight; one bad show can be enough to send them home, tail between legs. This year, several Baltimore bands are entering the fray — most making repeat showings, playing highbrow showcases and fringe spots.

On April 11, 2006, MONTAQUE A.; father of Michael Gordon and Montaque Walston, Jr. Also survived by four grandchildren and other relatives. Friends may call at Phillips Funeral Home, P.A., 1721-27 N. Monroe Street (Westwood Avenue), Monday 1 to 8 P.M. Family will receive friends at St. James Episcopal Church, Lafayette at Arlington Avenues, Tuesday 11 to 12 noon, with mass to follow. Interment Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery.

On May 3, 2009, STEVEN, devoted husband of Betty Walston. Friends may visit the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Ave. on Monday at 8:30 A.M., where the family will receive friends on Tuesday at 11:30 A.M. followed by funeral services at 12 noon.

A Wicomico County educator was named 1993-1994 Maryland Teacher of the Year last night at a ceremony at Martin's West in Woodlawn.Bonnie L. Walston, a resource teacher at Parkside High School in Salisbury, edged out six other finalists. Ms. Walston also won a $25,000 Milken Family Foundation National Education Award to do with as she pleases."I accept the challenge and the commitment . . . as we provide the students with the skills of literacy and lifelong learning," Ms. Walston said as she received the state award.

Hometown -- Baltimore Current members --Steve Colmus, drums; J-Roddy Walston, piano, guitars and vocals; Zack Westphal, bass and vocals; Billy Gordon, guitar and vocals Founded in --2001 Style --rock Influenced by --Mungo Jerry, the Band, Jerry Lee Lewis, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Huey Lewis and the News, Randy Newman, Little Feat Notable --The band is shopping its first full-length album, Hail Megaboys. Westphal works at a guitar store where a guy comes in frequently to play songs and jot down a set list for an imaginary show, Walston said.

Patricia Walston, a former Highland resident and real estate agent in Howard and Montgomery counties, died Thursday of colon cancer at Jupiter Medical Center in Florida. The Jupiter resident was 65. Mrs. Walston was born Patricia Van de Visser in Easton and was raised in Preston on the Eastern Shore. She graduated from Preston High School in 1960. She received a scholarship to Hood College in Frederick, where she earned her bachelor's degree in early childhood education. She married W. Carlton Walston, a childhood friend, in 1964.

Raymond Louis Walston, who lost his heart to the Big Top as a child growing up in East Baltimore and spent the rest of his life as a magician and clown bringing smiles and laughs to children of all ages, died of lung cancer June 4 at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. He was 81 and had lived in Essex and earlier in Fort Howard. Mr. Walston, who was born in Baltimore and raised on North Potomac Street, was a graduate of Patterson Park High School. He served with the 80th Infantry in Europe during World War II, where he attained the rank of sergeant and was decorated with a Purple Heart.

When it was time to record their second album, J. Roddy Walston and the Business flew west. The four rock 'n' rollers left the Baltimore basement where they had cut their first album on a $600 home digital recorder and went to Sound City Studios in Los Angeles. Walston said the upgraded digs were meant to polish their homespun sound for what was to be their record label debut. But in explaining the band's choice to record there, he also noted it was where Nirvana and Weezer had recorded their seminal "Nevermind" and "Pinkerton" albums.

J. Roddy Walston and the Business aren't the only longtime local musicians getting a homecoming at Rams Head Live Friday night. Michael Freeland, the rapper who's been working in the city for the last decade as Mickey Free and earlier as Bow 'n' Arrow, will open for the Business. Free recently released his first solo album, using in the title a pejorative word for white people who emulate the mannerisms and style of African-American culture. Freeland, 28, a white rapper with little connection to Baltimore's serious hip-hop scene, sees himself as the last in a long line of "tight [expletives]

The four guys in J. Roddy Walston and the Business want to make a small but crucial distinction: They're not a rock band. They're a rock 'n' roll band. It might seem like a subtle point, but for the Baltimore group, those two extra words are all the difference. Nickelback plays rock. Jerry Lee Lewis, one of the band's heroes, plays rock 'n' roll. "Rock 'n' roll is big and mysterious and romantic," singer/pianist J. Roddy Walston said. "We feel like rock 'n' roll does matter.

On August 2, 2009, QUEEN ESTHER WALSTON. On Friday, friends may call VAUGHN C. GREENE FUNERAL SERVICES, 4101 Edmondson Avenue, from 4 to 8 PM. On Saturday, Mrs. Walston will lie in state at Grace Memorial Baptist Church, 1100 N. Eden Street, where the family will receive friends from 10 to 10:30 AM with services to follow. Inquiries to (410)233-2400.

On May 3, 2009, STEVEN, devoted husband of Betty Walston. Friends may visit the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Ave. on Monday at 8:30 A.M., where the family will receive friends on Tuesday at 11:30 A.M. followed by funeral services at 12 noon.

Patricia Walston, a former Highland resident and real estate agent in Howard and Montgomery counties, died Thursday of colon cancer at Jupiter Medical Center in Florida. The Jupiter resident was 65. Mrs. Walston was born Patricia Van de Visser in Easton and was raised in Preston on the Eastern Shore. She graduated from Preston High School in 1960. She received a scholarship to Hood College in Frederick, where she earned her bachelor's degree in early childhood education. She married W. Carlton Walston, a childhood friend, in 1964.

Saying that too many children are carrying guns, a Baltimore Circuit Court judge has sentenced a 16-year-old drug dealer to 35 years in prison in an East Baltimore slaying.Noah Walston Jr. pleaded guilty yesterday to the Aug. 1 second-degree murder of James Crawford, 24. The teen-ager also pleaded guilty to a handgun violation and cocaine possession with intent to distribute.Walston told police that Crawford, of the 3400 block of Bateman Ave., had robbed him of $50 and a gold pinky ring two weeks before the slaying.