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ASSORTED DECLARATIONS BY STAFF WRITER TOM GRAHAM

Exports
Northeastern Pennsylvania will send some musical talent across the Atlantic to Ireland this summer where local acts Underground Saints and Farley will perform several shows. Both groups have been invited to perform at the Ballina Salmon Festival (a week-long festival that draws more than 200,000 people annually) and several club dates during their stay.
The Ballina Salmon Festival will be held July 8 to 15 in the County Mayo town of Ballina, Scranton’s sister city. Scranton-based TwentyFiveEight Productions will also make the trip and capture the experience for an upcoming documentary film which they hope to screen on the film festival circuit. Underground Saints and Farley plan to add two new songs to the film project. Recently coming off an extended hiatus, Underground Saints released their debut album Broken Machines in 2010 and plan on working on a new record soon.
Farley, a band led by former Panacea frontman Tim Farley, released a debut EP A Good Problem To Have last year and are currently working on its first full-length album.
Information on the Ballina Salmon Festival can be found at www.ballinasalmonfestival.ie.

Kindness
This Friday night, Friends of Khalid Fuller are hosting a fund raiser at the Keyser Valley Community Center, N. Keyser Ave, Scranton at 7 p.m. with entertainment provided by local jam band Erthan. Fuller is a Scranton native and local music supporter in need of a kidney transplant. Organizers of the event are asking for a $20 donation at the door. There will be food, refreshments, gift basket and fifty/fifty raffles.

Bodyslams
Feel like banging your head against the turnbuckle to some great music this weekend? Look no further than the Wrestle & Rock show returning to New Visions Studio and Gallery, 201 Vine Street, Scranton, on Saturday, June 16, at 7 p.m. Bands set to perform at the event are Silhouette Lies, Eye On Attraction, Faceless Shadows and Humanity Remains. Along with the bands, they will also have special guest wrestlers in attendance from Elite Wrestling to provide additional high flying chair smashing fun. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 at the door with a discounted rate offered if you come to the show dressed as a pro wrestler. Start practicing your piledrivers and sleeper holds.

Quitters
I love all things Morrissey and The Smiths. With his libel case against the U.K. music publication NME set to go to court this July, NME offered an apology to Morrissey for what they called a “misunderstanding” earlier this week regarding an interview that Morrissey thought painted him as racist. Recently, in conversation with the Malaysian website JuiceOnline, he also noted his plans to retire in two years, at the ancient age of 55.
Morrissey stated “I am slightly shocked to have gone as far as I have. This is my 30th year, and I’ve aged a lot recently, which is bit distressing for me, as it must be for everyone. The body changes shape and there’s nothing you can do about it. Do I continue as a modern day Andy Williams? I take one hour at a time. We will all probably be blown up by the Syrian government soon, anyway, so it hardly matters in the great scheme of things (laughs).”
On the bright side, I won’t have to watch him sing “How Soon Is Now?” when he’s 84.

Here’s what’s in my headphones this week: The Smiths Louder Than Bombs (Sire Records) 1987