Did I Mention Charlie Nothing?.....Jack Rose's 'Untitled I & II' 7" ep

When I got this record I must've stared at it for what seemed like an eternity. That's 'cause I was catapulted via flashbacks to past life experiences (of my own doin). Immediately I was reminded of that Ike Yard 'Night After Night' ep from the early 80's. Remember it? That was some minimalist electro-synth action for sure. Then my brain got to spinnin like a blender full've daiquiri & as I opened my eyes I felt like I was holdin the Gordons 'Future Shock' ep again, circa, back in the old days. What a pounder that one was! A 1st rate shit kicker. And yet nobody knew. Emmitt, the one-legged mushroom forager that get's me my Morels had a look at it & said it reminded him of Flying Saucer Attack. Not the band either! So I stabbed him. Ha! Just kidding (actually, he fell on the knife, but he claims I pushed him. Good luck w/that one Emmitt! It'll never hold up in court). Basically what I'm sayin is cover's like this one-w/blurred urban landscapes or UFO's zippin around or whatever-hold a certain mystique. You assume the bands what's represented by said artwork can morph 'n cloak at a moment's notice & maybe that's true. But if you don't need to, why bother? Like 'Night After Night' & 'Future Shock', w/'Untitled I & II you get what you get. No masks, no capes, the energy emitted is strictly skin + steel. It just feels super powerful 'cause it already is. Jack Rose's abilities as a string bender precede him & w/good reason. On this ep his opening timbre is august, his chords channeling the wind like an Anemoi, gusting across both sides at a spirited & soothing pace. It's as warm & welcome as a June rain. Folk's is always comparin Jack to sombody, but I forget who. Is it Rick Ruskin? I don't think so. Cal Hand? That don't sound right. Tut Taylor? Could be. Colin Winsky? Are you kiddin? Whoever it is, I believe it's about time said comparison took a nap. Jack Rose is sittin in the catbird seat on his own & it's a fine spot to pick a guitar as well as a nice vantage to check out all the bother. Wait a minute, is it Rollo Smith? Nope. Shit! It'll come to me one of these days. In the meantime, check out this ep via http://www.tequilasunriserecords.com/
it's a #rd edition of 500 & sure to be gone before you can say 'Mike Condello' (that ain't it neither).

Law Is The Ultimate Science.....Sapat's 'Tongue-Tied & Staid' 7" ep

For the sake of tryin to spike this morning w/a dose of vinegar, I gotta admit my wonderment as to why the horns 'n hardwires from the Louisville collective (sometimes) known as the Black Velvet Fuckere seem so distant. On the surface they possess all the killer b's (beards, ballcaps, banjos) to step onto the tarmac for a New Weird America space launch, but yet somehow-thankfully-they have not bought into the illusion/delusion of folding into space that seems predominate with niche bands & bozo's whose zipcodes begin with 0, 1 or 9. Also, they don't seem to reap the perks of the heavy petting & finger-banging from the virtual Shaddam Corrino's or Guild Navigator's so prevalent on the (coastal) hipster "scene". Landlocked & Midwestern, they have a smattering of homemade money (i.e. tapes, cdr's) in circulation, but it pales in comparison to most of their less disciplined, unfocused contemporaries. Rightly or wrongly, I think these BVF folks have to actually work for a living, you know, hold down jobs, punch a clock, live off a paycheck. Sure, it kills the Sunday late night jams & makes tourin virtually impossible, but I can think of worse things (livin on the street for one). However, the upside is havin the cash to plonk down for "real" product, like the Valley of The Ashes triple lp, the Uncle Jim & Phantom Family Halo album's & this new 7" from Sapat.
Now when I seen Sapat sometime last yr, they was playin in the sauna room of a converted gymnasium in Maysville, KY for a KTGA benefit (Kentucky Tobacco Growers Association). Like I said, the "part" look they had down (part Hatfield, part McCoy) & the lineup was as an octet-just like some of them outfits hailin outta MA or NYC-& when they commenced to playin it was focused & intense. Never did the action "peak" so's one of'em could destroy a set of drums'n then dance in a fit of spontaneous"free interpretation", nor were there any members crawlin outta the audience to caterwaul into a mike like a raccoon w/a yeast infection. They harnessed some serious kosmiche energy w/o any noticable trace of irony or aspiration for inner circle acceptance. It was simply what they did & they hammered it like John Henry. And now here comes this 7" & it too features the octet lineup but it don't evoke the same fresh water Can flavor that I recall from suddenly last summer. Rather, this seems more like what I imagine a jammy time at Indica Gallery might've sounded like when Zapple artist's congregated for a meet 'n greet. Hint's of Elephant's Memory, Plastic Ono & Brute Force abound. The waft of patchouli, incense & hashish is palpable. Barry Miles might not agree, but fuck him, Hippie ain't no real way to go through life. It is artifice, an embodiment of the modern instinct which is basically a license to glut & suck. Rousseau said something like "it is difficult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living." Ya hear me? Sapat, however, are in the throes of Arcadian splendor; their scene unspoiled, their music-golden. I know....anything is possible & if I ever see a hoglist bearin their name, full've bogus homebake swag ala Acid Mother's Temple (among others) I'll know they packed it in, but right now, they are nestled firmly in the hand of the creator. And since I'm all about the here & now, that suits me to a T.
('Tongue-Tied & Staid is available via http://www.s-srecords.com/
or email blackvelvet79@hotmail.com to find out more).

Big Easy In The House.....Flak Mask's 'Comb Over And Over Again' 7" ep

Woke up this mornin to find this 7" from a band called Flak Mask pushed through my mail slot. How they knowed my address is a mystery, unless maybe they's buds w/Dimes 'n Piehole (that's my guess). Attached to the cover was a note what read "Here. Sorry, we couldn't stay for supper." Presumptuous I know, but I thought it was funny too, especially seein as how I ain't likely to be around for supper neither. A couple months back we entered our Siamese, John Odom, in a contest to be the spokesmodel for Skipper Catfood & I found out last night the fucker won! Their rep was blabbin in my ear somethin fierce; directions to the shoot (Vineland, NJ where they's hq'd), his costume, arrival time (noon, today), the whole bit. I figured best get there early since A), I got no idea where I'm goin & B), this cat ain't one much for wearin accessories, so we might have a time. Shit, "Blue Moon" (that's his nickname) don't even like sportin a collar, so I don't how they is gonna doll him up w/a skipper's hat, ascot & little cat sunglasses & expect him to sit for it. A ham he is not. It oughta be a sight though! And what a cat & a yacht have to do w/eatin a can of catfood is beyond me, but I ain't no Madison Avenue genius-nor am I eatin the shit-that's a question for philosopher's 'n economist's to wrestle with. I'm just takin the money's all (100$ smackers). So while's MG is gettin him ready for his brush w/the big time, I figured the least I could do was give this record a good goin over.
It sure is a pretty lookin package to start, what w/the handmade cover, silkscreened insert & front sticker. The sounds emitted from the grooves in the vinyl are tippy-top too, a nice balance of exemplary knob 'n petal extrapolations akin to those found throughout the cream of the Finnish underground crossed w/the narcoleptic, atmospheric langour-froth emitted by some've Brooklyn's bossest suitcase rockers. It's called 'Comb Over And Over Again' which is what's happenin right now to Blue Moon Odom as he sit's & stares at the turntable (did I mention he's cross-eyed?). He seems to like what he's hearin & so do I. So drop'em a line at; Trd w/d, POB 52096, Now Orleans, LA 70152. They got free cassettes too. Or check out; http://www.fusetronsound.com/
Either way, it's all ipso facto & whathaveyou 'n whatnot.

Taking What They Giving Cause I'm Working For A Livin....Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Yes, the Labor Day weekend is suddenly upon us. My plans include....let's see.....not much! I will be attending & competing in the 10th annual Hare Hassenfeffer cookoff out to the old drive-in up on Street Rd (I think it's in Glenside, but to tell ya the truth, all them suburbs is alike to me). There's a fella always comes what make's his own pilsner (good!) & another name've Werner (we call him Weiner though, really get's his ass in a knot) that brews a doozy of a Barvarian styled smoked beer (it's best w/wurst's 'n cheeses). Anyway, they asked me to bring a tape of various 7"ers to play durin the awards ceremony (as I am a shoe in, just like last yr) so this is how I've been spendin my mornin. Have a good one!

Chain Gang-Cannibal Him/My Fly
Anorexia-Rapist In The Park ep
The Four Plugs-Wrong Treatment/Biking Girl
The Stabs-The Woods ep
Home Blitz-Apocalyptic 2005 A.D. ep
Korpus Kristi-Ausgesetzt/Stadt Der Blauen Eier
Mothmen-Does It Matter Irene?/Please Let Go
Froberg-Breathless ep
Bigfoot-Discovered ep
Razor Penguins-Paris/Indifference
Blurt-The Fish Needs A Bike/This Is My Royal Wedding Souvenir
Mikey Wild & The Mess-I Hate New York/Die, Die, Die
Accursed-Goin Down/I Didn't Mean It
White Stains-The Energy/Phase Of Madness
The GTC-Columbus & His Robot Army ep
Project 197-s/t ep
Dayshift-Living In The U.K. ep
The Rebel-Bums On A Rock ep
Major Stars-Black Road/Pocket
Bee Vamp-Valium Girl ep
Shoes This High-The Nose One ep
What Is Oil?-Human Suffering ep
King Of The Slums-Spider Psychiatry ep
The Groove-I Wanna Be Your Pigmy ep
Mekons-Snow/Another One
Brulbajz-(LLR) ep
Der Durstige Mann-Vergehtn ep
Hornsey At War-Deadbeat Revival ep
The Particles-Colour In ep
Kriminella Gitarrer-Sylvia's Unge/Hitlers Barn
Herco Pilots-Untitled dbl 7" ep
Psychedelic Horseshit-Who Let The Dogs Out ep
Half Japanese-Calling All Girls ep
Sapat-Tongue-Tied & Staid ep
Josh Reynolds-Speaks ep

Cleveland, It's A Plum!.....Numbskull's 'Final Days Of Torture' LP

Not that I was there (much) 1st hand, but the Cleveland Scene of 85-86 was goin through a major transformation. Some peeps seem to think that the Electric Eels & Pagans was always around, ready to don superhero cape's & save the city from stagnation at any given time. Truth was, they was long gone & still some yrs away from canonization or reissues (& reunions). Pere Ubu weren't around no more neither, but let's face it, once they traded Tom Herman for Mayo Thompson, they'd gone from rooster to capon anyways. So in essence, it was left to the hoi polloi to keep the fires burnin. And fan the flames they did; the St Valentine's label/collective was started up which helped provide another round of (inter)national exposure for bands such as Death Of Samantha, Reactions, My Dad Is Dead, Offbeats, all of whom would soon jump to Homestead or Relativity to revel in more lucrative & complicated accounting. The hardcore blur of Starvation Army & The Dark was becomin burly 'n metallic (the Dark would morph into Knifedance who released an lp in '88) & there was plenty of action goin on otherwise w/labels like Herb Jackson & After Hours tossin up logs when they had the lumber. Eventually Scat would enter the fracas to become kingpin, turnin on the world to the cities 70's era prime movers & in all this you'd think there'd be no stone left unturned. I mean, even Psychobilly Cadillac put out a record! So how is it that it's taken 20 yrs for Numbskull's classic 'Final Days Of Torture' to finally become realized on vinyl?
The most likely answer would be they didn't give a shit to begin with. But that explanation's too boring & besides, you need money for these things (you had to pony up w/$$ at the SVR table) which equals less alchohol to some mathematicians, so let's just say their genius was too pure-grain for the distillation of vinyl & "the big time". Undeterred, 'Final Days' made the rounds as a super cult-item cassette (much like the Electric Eels material did before the Tinnitus lp in '89), one that those in the know nodded 'n winked about w/respectful elan. Formed as a trio of vocal/bass (aka "big guitar")/drums & existin in a condemned property between hardcore 'n crossover metal, Numbskull exfoliated a lo-fi sludge that smacked of Black Sabbath being channeled by Flipper (or in a parlance for the more "obscure" consumer scum out there,the 012 meets Men's Recovery Group). Sophisticated? They could dress themselves. Crazy? Like a fox! The lead bass throb of Dale is the Dukowski-as-Ginn wetdream that every BFlag fanboy has never known, drummer John Henry (also of Starvation Army) is right there too crashin away & the "vocal torture" 'n lyrics of Darryl are as brilliantly "dumb" 'n dope as any malcontent whoever claimed their last name ended w/Ramone. A 2nd cassette followed entitled 'Dale Is My Guru' but it was 'always a bridesmaid, never a bride' for Numbskull & at some point, they split up the hootch & went their separate ways.So imagine my surprise this past wkend when I took a break from the National Enuresis Convention in downtown Clevo to have a look around a neighborhood record shop & found 'Final Days Of Torture' on LP! Let's just say, I was lucky to have been wearin a diaper's all. Financed by local label My Mind's Eye Records (also a killer store, esp. for vinyl) & released in an edition of 300, here's your chance to own & pontificate on a missing piece of the Cleveland Rocks puzzle you (more than likely) didn't know existed. The mistake on the lake has finally been corrected.Contact'em at; mme@mymindseyerecords.com
& ask for Collinwood-001. Don't worry, they'll know exactly what your talkin about!

Bubble, Bubble, Toil And Trouble.....Lucifer's 'Big Gun' LP

It might dismay any scorekeepers or itinerant biographers out there in blogland to hear that I ain't one much for flea markets, thrift stores, etc. when it comes to lookin for 2nd hand records. Sure I've done it & have been rewarded for my time w/a smattering of MSR & oddball Xian psych finds, but on the whole I don't go lookin for luck. It just has a way of findin me. Take for instance the other day. I agreed to help my neighbor Sonny go & clean out his dead Pop-Pop's gas station. He was lookin to sell the property & it needed some spiffin up. There wasn't much valuable-save the Plymouth Fury out in the garage-mostly it was all rusted shit, old, oily rags 'n dead bird carcasses. We found a couple've vintage pinups but they was mulchin & smelled of mildew, so yeah, a whole lot of nothin. We tinkered around on the car & got it so's it was runnin, which was a victory of sorts (beat havin it towed). So once it was determined we could drive it away, we needed to fix the one flat & then it was good to go. Upon openin the trunk, behold, there was a crate of records, all of'em from the 60's/70's & in pristine condition. Sonny had a look through & as there weren't no Elvis or Sinatra's, declared it a bust. "You want'em, take'em. They're yours." I put'em off to the side, but then we couldn't find no jack, so we called it a day. Once home I started lookin through the box; Iron Butterfly, Pink Floyd, Zombies....not bad. Then all of a sudden, pow! I hit a motherlode w/Lillipop Shoppe, Wendy & Bonnie, Skip Spence, Damon, My Solid Ground + an lp I'd never heard of before by Lucifer called 'Big Gun'. Not that I knew what it was; a plain black cover, but inside there was a "poster" w/the band name, a few skuzzy photos + some cryptic jabber written about how they had a cave in Arizona they recorded in, brushes w/the police & how they wanted to make "evil music & sell it direct". I figured maybe I'd stumbled onto some Process Church album, you know, even if it sucked, it would still be a worthwhile curio. But I wanted to know more about it. So I called my buddy Oracle.
Danny Herman (aka Oracle) was a livin, breathin encyclopedia of all things stoner 'n stardust when it came to underground Rock. He'd been huntin (& findin) rare treasures at yard sales, Salvation Armies & sheriff's auctions for longer than I could recall. He hadda voice what sounded like a cross between Gabby Hayes 'n Walter Brennan but he weren't no piker, no sirree. I told him what I had. "You found that WHERE?!" he wheezed anxiously through the phone line. I could hear what sounded to be quiet sobs & maybe a pen scratchin on paper, like he was writin a note to himself or somethin ("must start looking in old gas stations' it likely read).Once he composed himself, Oracle told me one monster of a story about Lucifer. Allow me to paraphrase;
1st off, Lucifer wasn't a band at all, but the nom de plume & solo project of one Peter Walker, from the UK outfit Purple Gang (the band that did 'Granny Takes A Trip').Seems Walker was an ardent occult fan, hence the Lucifer moniker (he was also good bud's w/Syd Barrett for whatever that's worth) & made two lp's + three 7"ers as Lucifer that was funded & distributed by the legendary UK counter cultural magazine, OZ. The OZ story in itself is interestin too, sort of a cross between Rolling Stone & Aspen, but that' all's I'm sayin about it. Look it up! If you've ever come across that Lennon/Ono 45 on Apple goin as the Elastic Oz Band called 'God Save Oz' & didn't know what it was all about, well, mystery solved. Anyway,so these Lucifer records was ONLY available via OZ, which meant you had to know about'em or write to get'em as there was no real distribution, hence they'd become rare as hen's teeth. So what does it sound like? "Man, that 'Big Gun' lp is full tilt, bad hippie, black-acid boogaloo!" screamed Oracle. 'You know them Maitreya Kali lp's that everyone think's are so witchy? Lucifer could scratch that fucker's eyes right out. Hell, Kali wasn't nothin but a Peter, Paul & Mary kissass anyways till he took a hit of acid. What are you doin talkin to me? Listen to 'Big Gun'! It's killer!"
So I got off the phone & put on the record. Fuckin Oracle is right on the money too. A killer record. It crosses swords 'n burns barns right up there w/the likes of Godz, Deviants, Twink, Steve Took & early Edgar Broughton. Massively fringed & baked to the max, Lucifer's 'Big Gun' deserves all the blue ribbon hype it's been bestowed. While it's not likely you'll ever come across a real one, the good news is that it's been reissued on cd/lp & is available via; http://www.forcedexposure.com/
which is where I'm goin to score a copy as I'm tradin the original I found to Oracle for a pool table.
Eight ball anyone? Beep, beep!



.

Man The Driver Be Damned.....Donna Parker's 'Debutante' LP

I'll say this about Philadelphia, it's one helluva walkin around kinda town. Walk, walk, walk, you could just about walk from one end to the other & not break a sweat. And for a city that's supposed to be big, it sure seems quaint. Not to disparage or nothin, I like that. What I mean is, things can happen right in your own back yard, so there ain't no need to be drivin a car or even ridin a subway train. Just walk! Like the other night; I was finishin off the last of MG's homemade egg salad taco's when I heard what sounded like a ruptured car alarm goin off. But it weren't a standard alarm sound. Repetitive, yeah, but also muffled & a bit too metallic. So I went out to have a look. I followed the wretched croak down about a block & don't you know I stumbled right into a noise show? Some band called Pabst Blew Ribbentrop (they had a banner up behind'em) was goin at it in this room (actually a screened in porch) & the fur sure was flyin. They had their synths, boxes, pedals, one of the guys was chewin on a chord, everybody was pumpin their fists, waggin their heads, the whole bit. Dudes was doin apewalks, chuggin cans of beer then smashin'em into each others foreheads. The band & audience was makin monkey faces & shootin finger guns at each other, a regular OK Corral in action. I seen a guy tear a little Sonic Youth poster off the wall, wad it up & eat it, then get put in a headlock while about 5 other oafs piled on givin him noogies 'n spillin suds all over place. Then outta the corner of my eye, I spied this girl what was takin in the whole spectacle, lookin right at'em & rollin her eyes. A sympatico! I ambled over & tried to talk but the level of static was deafening. So we went outside where it was a bit more tolerable for speakin. We exchanged the usual pleasantries; she told me her name was Dimes & that her boyfriend was the "singer" wearin the black Whitehouse t-shirt who called himself, appropriately, Piehole. She said they'd just moved in & that this was an open house for whoever wanted to drop by & thanked me for comin (nice people in this city too, just adorable!). So I got to askin about the band 'n whatnot & she went to makin a cigarette,laughin the whole time. Said the name of the band was a pun; they was into beer for real, but the gay Nazi thing (?) was strictly ironical. A play on words if you will. She didn't know for sure about Ribbentrop, but most Nazi's was gay, so fuck it. I hear ya Dimes! Told me up to a few months back, they was a Metal band callin themselves Prison Mouth but she'd put the kybosh to that. "I told'em noise was the way to go. Before they didn't know the difference between Masonna or Madonna. I sent them up to the No Fun Fest to see that shit then they came back & all they wanna do is suck Wolf Eyes dick's. Did I buy a cat in a bag or what?" I didn't know if this was a rhetorical question, so I just nodded my head yes. She was on a roll. "Look at that fuckin room. It's like 9 miles of cock in there. It's like a lame fratboy party. Fuckin dorks gone wild. Yeah it's loud & punishing, but it's got no spark. How about some equal fuckin time? These asswipe's need some Donna Parker to tear this shit up, that's what I'm sayin"! Now I was like a deer caught in the headlights. I was starin right at her but I had no idea what she was talkin about. Wha? Huh? Donna who? "Donna Parker, dumbass.You never heard her? Dude, you better get with it. Her noise is the fuckin bomb! Did ya ever see that movie, Rabid? It's kind of like that. Know how the Marilyn Chambers character seems shy & all, then that fuckin cock thing shoots out've her armpit & sucks the blood outta those dipshits & turns them into vampires or whatever? Dude, that's what Donna Parker's jams are like. Totally sick! Get her album. It's rad!" With that, Dimes stubbed out her cigarette, asked if I had an extra beer (I didn't) & went back in the house. Hell, it was a nice night 'n my feet was feelin perky, so I decided to hike on down the Record Exchange & see if that Donna Parker lp was in the house. Worst case scenario would be it ain't, but I'll still manage a belly laugh at all them Sleep Chamber albums they got that don't never sell. I do believe you could not give them things away!
But there it was, entitled 'Debutante' & released on the Twisted Village label. How about that? I reckon buyin them Xenakis lp's from all over God's creation finally paid off. Dimes was right; it might look demure, but once them contents is opened up, it's like a tenderizer poundin out yr cerebral cortex into a carpaccio. There's lot's of oscillating blips, tantalizing skree, doses of feedback & delay, all of it breathlessly navigated through the corridor between psychedelic & psychotic, as if Brian Aldiss' 'Barefoot In The Head' had become someone's reality. And while a lot of her contempo's smack of dopey pretense &/or clueless rage, Donna Parker's jams (thank you Dimes) are devoid of such trappings, instead they are as intuitive as a divining rod dowsing through the dude littered desert of noise. I trust she will never parch from thirst. Her scrambled drones are flaming telepaths of heavenly manna & boy do they burn! And dig those bewitchin hand colored jackets too. I tell ya, this record just don't never stop givin! Check her out at; www.myspace.com/msdonnaparker
LP is available via; http://www.twistedvillage.com/

The Belgians They Are A Funny Race.....Edmond De Deyster's 'Selectie 01' LP

Back in my junior high school days we had this teacher, Mr Snifert, whose whole job seemed to be presidin only over study hall's. I don't think I ever took a proper course from the man. When I say proper, I mean...well you probably know what I mean. He did some teachin though, albiet, non curriculum. Second period 8th grade yr was spent under his watch in the music room as it was the only one vacant at the time (the building was in the midst of renovations ). Anyhow, Sniffy (as we called him) fancied himself as somewhat of an avant gardist & hepcat. Some study hall's he'd pass out copies of National Lampoon, Crawdaddy or Creem magazines for kids to check out, other's he'd read aloud from the collected works of Carlos Castaneda, this here one I was in, he played music. And I don't mean records or tapes, I mean he played music,as in live performance (he brought stuff in too, but I'm gettin ahead). I don't think Sniffy was a musician in the trained sense of the word, watchin & listenin to what he was doin it seemed made up on the spot, i-m-p-r-o-v-i-s-e-d you might say. Somebody'd donated an EML 101 synthesizer to the school the yr before & most the time it sat over on it's side, completely ignored. Once Mr. Snifert found that thing, it was off to the races! He'd bring in records by Morton Subotnick, LaMonte Young, Terry Riley, various soundtracks, anything that had synthesizer's, loops're whatever that he could play for us & then expound via himself w/that EML. It was somethin to behold. Raw, monolithic, repetitive, he had a style I reckon, but it seemed very ham-fisted & oafish. One day Benny McCarthy brought in a copy of 'Metal Machine Music' to see if he'd play along to that. We thought for sure he'd be keen, instead, he got real mad, turned over a desk, called us all "ignorant infidels"! then ran 'n locked himself in one of the studio's & cried like a baby.That was the end of Sniffy's Music Appreciation Society.A few yrs ago I was in an airport & chanced a meetin w/his eldest son Dennis. We jawed a bit & he informed me his dad had died some yrs back & as they was goin through the estate, came across a box of reel to reel tapes, all datin back to that term of that year he spent tryin to hip us w/that EML. Now Dennis Snifert ain't no slouch when it comes to callin a spade a spade so I asked him if he'd listened to'em. "Yeah" he said, pausing, "I've given them a good once over". Well, I asked, was they any count? He sort've shot me a look, laughed 'n said, "Roland, does the term 'no lift' mean anything to you"? Then he excused himself, shook my hand & headed off towards his gate. Thinkin about that meetin later I got to wonderin about them tapes. Was Mr. Snifert some sort've primitive, electronic's genius? Was ol' Dennis sittin on a avant garde goldmine w/o even knowin it? Once I sobered up I reasoned there was probably a good reason why Sniffy'd kept them things secret. Maybe they was just exercises or some kind've catharsis, you know, for his ears only. Could be what I'd hear wouldn't be at all what he was tryin to lay down, so I let it go. There simply ain't enough hours in the day.
But I got to stewin about all that again as this lp I bought called Selectie 01 by a fella named Edmond De Deyster reminded me of what I envisioned Sniffy's stuff'd be akin to. Stark, lonely, antiseptic in a way, it just sounds like boorish knob twittling, a pre computer age game of Pong but w/more tone & resonance (it's still Pong though). I dunno, to some, the fact that it's culled from 1975 & has never before been released ( I guess the guy kept'em a secret & passed away in 1999) might be enough to warrant extreme hyperbole followed by a flurry of cash ' credit card activity, but I'm not fond of banana boats, thank you very much. Wanna know what a night on Davis Island sounds like w/tugs 'n barges snortin up & down the Ohio River? It's here. It would've made a helluva soundtrack for a sci-fi movie starring Gil Gerard or Klaus Kinski back in the day too.Or a long scene in the Six Million Dollar Man where some villian give's Steve a knockout drug & everything gets.....real.....slow.Yeah, sorry, I ain't bitin. This is extremely marginal to my ears & I'm bein kind. Did ya ever stop & think maybe Mr. De Deyster didn't want his recording's released? I will give whoever props on the cover, very nice, very....Corwoodesque. It also kinda reminds me of the back of S.Y.P.H.'s 'Harbeitslose' lp. You know, the one w/the blurred photograph of those snub-nosed beer bottles? But hey, it ain't Jandek & it ain't S.Y.P.H., I feel bad the guy's dead-regardless of the circumstances-but he ain't the one trying to get ya to shell out 25$ for a couple of neat family snapshots & a LIMITED EDITION lp of some mundane languidity. In fact, come to think of it, if it was up to Edmond De Deyster, we wouldn't even be havin this conversation right now! Now ain't that a kick in the ass? No lift.....I hear ya Dennis! Advance if you must, go to http://www.ultraeczema.com/
& find out more.

Any Major Dude Will Tell You.....Departmentstore Santas LP & The Legacy Of Joseph D'Angelo, Part 1

It never rains when it pours. Ain't that the old saying? First I win 40$ on the lottery, then down the Acme they give me a dozen eggs for free 'cause they wouldn't go through the scanner & once home I get a phone call from my old Choate amigo, Taters Gwinnett ( a direct descendant of Declaration Of Independence signer, Button Gwinnett). Man.....me & Taters, you should have seen us! We sure raised some hell back in our prep school days. It's a wonder we's still around to laugh about it. I won't presume to bore you w/details, after all, it weren't just a catchin up call anyways. Taters had been keepin track of the Blog & got himself involved at some place that works for Peter Buffett-of the philanthropic Buffett family- & he was tellin me that they was lookin to unload some moola towards music 'n writin arts & that he felt Siltblog might be in the runnin if I did somethin "in depth". "You can keep it obscure" he advised me, "just be sure to follow through. We don't need to read about Steely Dan or any such nonsense." That Taters! A card to the end. So we brainstormed for a couple minutes till I said somethin about the Departmentstore Santas. I explained that the Santas lp has become maligned as the "go to" lp some scribes scratch about when they can't accurately describe disparate releases, whether they's any count or not (mostly not). Then there's 3 other lp's from 3 different bands, all've which featured (presumably) head honcho Joseph D'Angelo that're worth mentionin, if for no other reason than as a caveat. I'd write it as a four parter, starting w/the Santa's lp then go on about Guy Goode & The Decentones, Friends Of Ghost & Family Pet. Taters seems to think it might be the kind've topic that could coax a pen into signin a check. "Woodbe", he said, "I knew I could count on you. Do it! In the immortal words of Bart Giamatti to Pete Rose, 'take us back to the beginning'. Let's see what you've got." And w/that he hung up. No goodbye, no nothin. But then he never was one for mushy sentiment.
My experience w/Departmentstore Santas lp goes back to the mid 80's when I was workin out near Chico, CA on a farm, shakin walnut's & date's outta trees. Ever now & then I'd get into town to have a look around Melody Records & one particular day I came across this unique lookin album w/a full bleed, full color cover of a street fair or boardwalk scene. Up in the corner was a rectangle w/'Top T Shelf' written inside. On the outside plastic was a red sticker what read "Departmentstore Santas lp. Includes 'Kaleidoscope." The back cover was equally bewilderin; another full color bleed w/two losers at the horse track that read "we have lost something special".I didn't have any idea what I was holdin, but my gut told me not to put it down, so I bought it. Once back in my quarters, I proceeded to give it a few spins & admire the dazzling artwork 'n packaging. Besides the stunning cover, the inner sleeve was a printed diecut on both sides, givin all the pertinent info + the label was a 4 color job as well! Somebody had spared no expense on just makin the packagin for this thing. I got a gander at the spine & read the lp's title for the 1st time; "At The Medieval Castle Nineteen 100-Year Lifetimes Since." I took a long pull on a cold Anchor Steam, sat back & let myself be absorbed. The music certainly was strange, at least considerin the time frame. Most peoples around me was into Husker Du, Minutemen or Replacements. There was the Paisley Pop & it's aftermath stirrin. And the Sonic Youth, Swans, Big Black thing had legs too, but these Santas fella's were about as far away from all've that as anyone could possibly be. I was intrigued. They seemed completely contained in their own vacuum, a playful mix of quirky, exotic pop, a smattering of introspective psychedelia & a nod toward hippie folk, it's a record that get's around via it's own gravity for sure. Back then all's I could think of what it sounded like was an imaginary "lost" lp from the Straight catalog that could've existed between Alice Cooper's 'Pretties For You' & Judy Henske/Jerry Yester's 'Farewell Aldebaran'. Nowadays-what w/all the various reissues of lost "classics"-it's easy to draw a direct line of Cali weirdness (plus/minus affectations 'n idiosyncrasies) from West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, to Bobby Brown, to ________, to Departmentstore Santa's whether it exists or not. I remember goin back to Melody a few days afterwards to see if I could get a few copies to take back East & the clerk told me there weren't no more distribution for it. Seems the place they'd come from in SF had gone belly up & he had no way to track it down. Despite all the personnel, titles & whatnot that was listed on the inner sleeve, there was no address to be found.It was to become, for all intents, a real "lost" album. A few yrs after this lp's discovery by the cognoscenti, a buddy of mine became obsessed w/trackin one down, investigatin all possible angles as to how to smoke it out. He surmised that the label # (Top In Shelf Records 92041) might in fact be a zipcode. He decided to call Information & those numbers did indeed match one in Cali. Then he was able to connect it-remarkably- to the name Joseph D'Angelo & got a phone number. It looked like he was onto something. The phone rang & in time, was answered. Yes, said the voice on the other end of the line, his name was Joseph D'Angelo. Next question: was he ever in a band called Departmentstore Santas? "What?!", was the bewildered reply, "what kind of a name is that? Where are you calling from? What's the weather like where your at"?, & on & on. Seems he was just an older gent & a victim of coincidence. The trail was cold again.
In the 20 yrs since I 1st heard this lp, it don't seem as strange as it once did. Maybe w/all that's come since that purports or is deigned weird 'n similar by others has helped erode some of it's oddball allure. Yet it remains a pillar of single minded vision & a true testimonial to getting-it-all-done in spite of costs incurred. You might say it is lavishly DIY.I firmly believe the reason it's never been bootlegged is because to do a run that would be identical to the original would cost a small fortune to reproduce. And while a cd version might suffice, well, something special would indeed be lost in the transfer. I'm not sayin it shouldn't happen, but that's up to the band or some feisty swampfox to see it through. Perhaps it's downloadable out there in the internet, who knows? Could be that there's a pile of'em sittin in a warehouse somewhere's, just waitin to be discovered & that this article could be the linchpin to settin'em free. You wish! I will raise my glass & toast to a remarkable record & group of individuals who are responsible for one of the true headscratchers to come down the pike. Hopefully some day more of you readin this will get a chance to know what I'm talkin about. Until then.....keep snoopin!
Next up is Guy Goode & His Decentone Orchestra 'There Are No Clean People' lp. The apple don't fall far from the tree. Yet.

Postscript 8/21/06;

Just got an email from Will Soderberg informin me he has a Departmentstore Santas & Joseph D'Angelo website for all to peruse. Go to; www.white-rose.net/dss/

Thanks Will!

There's A New Sheriff In Gravecity.....Billy Bao's 'Bilbo's Incinerator' 7"

I know I'm preachin to the choir when I say that there is singers, bands 'n records within the unhinged canon of Punk that's so sick & twisted in effort 'n production that they cannot be topped. You find'em on the Killed By Death, Bloodstains & Back To Front comps pretty easily & I bet there's fellers here in blogland readin this what's got a list of favorites. I can see it now (in no particular order); Freestone, Detention, Tampax, Mad Virgins, etc. And bein as how such a thing'd be totally subjective, it's possible that none of them bands'd make it on some goober's entry, which's okay, but if said thinkpad didn't offer up Bobby Soxx, it'd be hard to take seriously. Let's face it, the "Learn To Hate in the 80's' 7" sits at the contorted, unconditional apex of the genre. Nobody spit it out quite like that, the bile 'n menace couldn't have been more provocative or challenging. Never heard it? Your loss friend. The deceptively simple recipe is as follows; take a basic beat, pummel it, mix in a sparse, raw sound & glaze it w/a throatful of grackled rasp. Many have tried & the results have been estimable, at times notoriously so (Kilsug anyone?), but nobody on my watch has plunged to the depths of exuberant barbarism & gargled Hell like Bobby Soxx.
That is until Billy Bao showed up.
Unfamiliar? Well bud, hopefully not for long, cause Billy Bao has a 7" (& cd/ep) that's of today & it erupts like fissures of primordial ash 'n pumice from a toxic lava of Punk Brut that is most refreshing & revelatory. No stone is left unturned, ie., Billy Bao & his mission; formerly an unknown songwriter from Nigeria who emigrated to Bilbao, he discovered Punk Rock & has channeled it to "fight the system that fucks up everyday of our life". When he screams out "You can not dance like an spastic fuck"!, who are we to question? Teaming up w/"the most primitive drummer" & "noisiest guitarrist" in Bilbao, he formed the band under his own name & it is such a rare, goddamn thing of pure, discordant ecstasy that even ol' Doc Marten & Chuck Taylor are willing to hug it out for an erstwhile detente. And as I mentioned earlier, there's a 4 song cd that takes up-Stickmen With Rayguns like-where the 7" leaves off. If this is what a steady diet of Bacalo & Rioja gets you these days.....well, it beats the livin shit outta Texas Tommy's 'n Lone Star Beer. And only by a mile're two. He might not wallow in the same cesspool as Bobby Soxx, but Billy Bao has the shine & ain't that the why of it all in the end? Too bad there ain't any real distribution for his stuff or you'd know what your missin out on. Write to http://www.mattin.org/ & see if you agree.

What Would Pasquale Paoli Think?.....Ich Bin's 'Obeis!' LP

The Corsican underground music scene......hello? Is anybody there? The ranks are not exactly swelling w/representation. Ain't it considered part've the French Riviera? I would imagine all kinds've sickening sights with yachts 'n speedboats, greasy mobster type's letchin on to emaciated heiresses, wearin damn near nothin at all & swillin champagne like it was an energy drink. Beaches full've depravity,sunburned skin, tiara's & captain's hat's, monocled fatsos, a cigarette danglin from every set of lips as far as the eye can see, all of'em naked're than jaybirds, as if Bosch & Passolini had collaborated on a vile construction of society moderne. The wretched class....if I had to live there & work for'em, I think I might have something to say that'd be more untoward in my spare time. So when I found out this band Ich Bin was indeed from Corsica, it was easy to understand where they was comin from w/their violent, jerky, electronic sputter.
But that is pure speculation on my part. I got no idea what goes on there. Historically the island has been inhabited & run by every imperialist civilization you can name: Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Moors, Vandals, blabblahblah, till eventually it was French. Or somethin to that effect. You might say Ich Bin's palate of noise is representative of their Corsican heritage in that way. Just take a gander at the cover of 'Obeis!'. It's a war boys! There's a whole brigade've influence on here that sounds like a set've stairs bein stormed in rapid ascent/descent by DAF, Metal Urbain, Mittagspause, Suicide, Ilitich, Cabaret Voltaire, Die Kosmonautentraum, late period SPK & the more confused moments in the Laibach catalog. Waves're rippled, electronics get smashed, you can dance, fight or cry, pump your fists or swivel your hips, it's all here. Supposedly these guys was doin this back in the 80's & 90's but nothin saw the light of day till this-most've it anyways--got released as a cdr in 2002 by some Belgian label. But Poutre Apparente has seen fit to give it a proper set've steppin out duds in the form of an LP-w/2 extra tracks-an damn if it ain't a humdinger. Flared bells 'n stunted cells, the dancefloor is wet w/both brandy 'n blood. Gettin it on ya is all part've the gas, so gas up!
(Obeis! is available via www.fusetronsound.com

or try www.vinyl-on-demand.com)

Go Tell The Spartans.....A Moment With Skidd Freeman

While he's been at the helm of a home studio for 15 yrs or so, I only just recently heard-& fell under the spell- of Skidd Freeman. Maybe you know him, maybe you don't. Chances are, if you ain't a personal friend of the man or scourerin the record 'n second hand shops in East Lansing, MI, then this is a whole new ballgame. Seemingly a recluse-to me anyway, the few emails I sent weren't bounced back, they just wasn't acknowledged at all-Skidd Freeman's "discography" remains a mystery. I hear tell've cassette's, cdr's & whatnot, but never have they crossed my field of vision. He cut a couple've 7" 45's in the early 90's ('1969*'/'Poor Little Suzie' & 'Fell Through The Cracks'/'Gimme A Taste') that are flat out 2 of the most barkinest, howlin screamers to come outta that-or any other-decade. He packs all the raw crunch 'n spastic whoop as the savant avatars of the 1 man band genre-Hasil Adkins & Legendary Stardust Cowboy-while at the same time, heavily blurrin the lines between any of the obscure tree toppers you'd care to name on/in/between the Back From The Grave & Killed By Death comps.
So's I mentioned I'd picked up these 45's to Bryan Ramirez (formerly of Universal Indians, currently Ex-Cocaine, mainman at http://www.killertree.com/) & he tell's me he did an interview w/Skidd Freeman 5 years ago. And bein from them parts hisself, he knew all too well the self taught genius & distant nature of the man. Anyway, Bryan decided to mail him some basic questions back then & Skidd responded by answerin them on a cassette & sendin them back. Bryan transcibed'em verbatim & here it is. Now while it don't dot all the i' & cross all the t's of the man's life 'n work, it's still more than I knew before. You too! I wonder, with all them cherries & blueberries aboundin up there in Michigan, can he bake a pie? Much thanks to Bryan Ramirez & Brian Turner for makin this possible.



Skidd Freeman 7/23/01

How long have you been doing Skidd Freeman material?

A: I think about since ’88-’89 right about in there. I didn’t have much money back then so it took me a year or two to get the right equipment to record. That’s about the time I got the 4-track. I’ve been writing songs since I was probably about 12 or 14 years old.

Name the 3 most important events in music history:

A: I suppose in the rock music history, I would think it would be Elvis cuz he kinda showed what you could do blending a bunch of influences together and making something new out of it. Hendrix for what he did to the guitar and showing people what you can do with the guitar. And I think probably when home recording studio equipment became cheaper and accessible to people, I think that changed things a lot because people have been doing their home recordings and it showed that you didn’t need a bunch of money or even talent to try to make music.

How about a discography?

A: It’s hard for me to remember. I put out a bunch of tapes but I don’t think it was til about 1992 or ’94 when I put out a full length cassette called “More Songs”. Then I really hit my stride, I think that one was pretty good. Then after that I took a little bit of a break for a few years, then I think the next one was “Mid-Life Crisis” which I believe is just an EP and since then there’s been a “Monkey” EP and “Redemption” EP. And I have 2 vinyl 7 inches floating around somewhere and those are from the early ‘90’s. I haven’t done any vinyl since then. I’ve put out quite a few tapes. It’s hard to remember all of them but most of them were before I released “More Songs” weren’t that great anyway.

What musicians help shape your sound?

A: A lot of people. I learned guitar from listening to BB King. A lot of punk stuff like Stooges and Sex Pistols. Alice Cooper, a lot of Detroit stuff: Mitch Ryder. And then the newer stuff like Nine Inch Nails (?) and some of the industrial stuff. But everything influences you, I know that’s a quiche but it’s true.

We see Skidd Freeman tapes and records, why not Skidd Freeman live?

A: It really wasn’t planned that way but I thought of playing live but so far it hasn’t been that important to me. Maybe someday. When I think about putting a band together I start thinking; “Yeah, it’s a good idea.” I usually just end up writing more songs and doing some recording. I’ve been in bands before but it never really seemed very productive. I put a lot of time into practicing and things like that and it never really panned out too good. But maybe someday.

Give me some personal musical philosophy, anything at all:

A: Don’t worry about trends or what’s popular. Listen to everything, though. Steal what you can, little bits and pieces. Try to be honest, but keep your songs short, say what you gotta say and try to get out because when I first started recording my songs it used to go on for a long time, partly because I was just so excited to be recording that I would just keep jamming and playing and playing and I would have these 7 and 8 minute songs, it became a little self-indulgent. Be honest and keep it short.

You’re Michigan’s biggest mystery and I’m not sure if it’s stupid to ask why?

A: No, it’s not stupid to ask why. That wasn’t really planned at first either. I was kinda shy at first and I was playing in other bands but then I started recording my own stuff and the bands weren’t getting out of the garage or basement anyway. And then after a wile I started enjoying this kind of alter-ego, secret identity thing going on because I would play people music and not tell them it was me and for some reason I got a charge out of that. And because I haven’t played live, I haven’t seen the need for self-promotion and let everybody know who I am and what I look like. Besides I don’t think it really matters, it’s not relevant to the music. I don’t know, it kind of happened by accident and then I just kept running with it, I just kind of went out of my way after a while and stayed a mystery. For some reason, maybe it’s from reading comic books or something, I just thought it was funny being a big secret. I don’t know what I’ll do playing live, wear a mask or some Kiss make-up.


*(Not a Stooges cover if that's what you was wonderin)

Try writing Skidd Freeman at: Bad Productions, POB 4281, East Lansing, MI 48826

It Will Beggar A Doctor To Live Where Orchards Thrive.....Psychedelic Horseshit's 'Who Let The Dogs Out' 7" ep

In these troubled times of conflict & chaos alls I can do is sit & dreamily reminiscence back to a better era that in some ways was equally as confusin but more binary in the Us vs. Them scenario. What I'm tryin to say is......I miss the Cold War. The threat of a Russian invasion, nuclear bomb's, World War III, the apocalypse of modern society.....those were the days! Musically it seemed to be the muse for some great Punk & DIY songs/bands on both sides of the Atlantic, though I reckon the majority of best ones came outta the UK. And let's face it, Reagan was AWESOME for Hardcore, so if it's winnin your concerned about, we whipped everybody on that front. But no need to digress. I'm not sure what I'm tryin to convey w/this preamble except that all the great fuzzy, fall apart fumble that I am so smitten with bustled formidably back in the halcyon days of 77-81. After that it was a sputter here, a sputter there, & for the optimist's among us, this was good, for the realist's, discerning. The end of the 80's saw some new growth w/sapling's like 'Freed Man', 'DR 503', 'Royal Trux' & 'Slay Tracks' at the vanguard of a new battalion of lo-fi mongers who would define the upcoming decade & were arguably the last generation to have any 1st hand contact w/the pilgrims who'd planted their seeds. The 90's sure seemed longer than it was, especially by the end. Instead of fizzlin out like their forbearers, the bands known for them records pretty much made it through, albeit a lot more spiffier or square than as they'd begun. And while they trod the earth through them yrs, they sod it-knowingly're not-for another generation of seedlings to sprout up, only this time, they was kinda puny. Most've the roots got all tangled, they weren't capable of providin proper shade' re harvest, prone to rot early, you know, not very useful or as strong'n majestic as those what came before'em. But there's always a few that make it by & with any luck, may even thrive. If ya ask me, a small brush fire wouldn't be the worst thing to happen & I do my part whenever I can. But before another match get's lit, try & make sure you keep it out the way of this band Psychedelic Horseshit. Their debut 7" (on Columbus Discount Records) seems like it could be a hybrid of Versatile Newts, Treble Kicker era Pavement & Icky Boyfriends which is a way of sayin if you cut'em down, their rings mark practically 3 generations of Punk-gunk distemper. And the sleeve that houses it might be the best stapled package since TVP's '14th Floor' or the What Is Oil? 'Human Suffering' ep.Previous to this record they'd released (I think) 4 cdr's of same sort've chomp-nosh & I think they might have somethin a ranger'd wanna keep an eye on. So let'em grow I say! Flourish, feed the wind, bear your fruits. If they can sustain then it's only a matter of time before we sling a hammock through their branches & gourge till nod. Burpin never sounded so good.

Contact them at; www.columbusdiscountrecords.com

What's O On The End & Hi In The Middle?.....Another Reader Speaks!

The letter's just keep comin! This one's from out in the Buckeye state. More show reviews! More harshness! Is is gettin hot in here or is it just me? Maybe someday somebody'll post something nice, but until then, keep your knives sharpened & your ear to the ground.

Hey Siltblog;

Been checkin your shit out. Pretty good. Reminds me of an old local fanzine from the Midwest called The Offense. Ever hear of it? I was a contributor once upon a time, and I too thrived on subjectivity. I won't enlighten with details. Could be too much for you. I was hipped to your thing by the drummer from Times New Viking & he was right, it's a fun read. The other night I went to see a band that your sweet on called Angry Angles. They played with a band called Digital Leather. I liked that name, suggestively gay & punk. Like the old days. They were here in town-Columbus, OH in case you were wondering- and I had been antsy to go & see something new, so the planets seemed aligned for this particular night/show. I drove down to the Bourbon Street bar, paid my 5$ & it was like a throwback to the days of Crazy Mama's and Mr. Browns, but way lamer. I see this guy skulking around dressed in black jeans & t-shirt with a sneer stretching across his face, hair in his eyes, and I had to laugh. I couldn't tell if he was going to cry or shit himself. Turns out he's in the Digital Leather band. Have you seen them yet? They are terrible. Worse than the Blackouts (I included a jpeg from an old Offense where they grace the cover), worse than System 56, worse than Sport Of Kings. Are you catching my drift? I doubt Digital Leather know of these bands, or maybe they know them too well. After all, dollar bins are everywhere. So the sneering pants shitter is on stage playing a keyboard along with a chunky, baby faced guy also dressed in black jeans/shirt and they have a drummer (not in uniform) and proceeded to simp out lame-ass dark synth punk suck that was so pretentious you could almost gag. I mean, they were trying like hell to be menacing but it was too comical. Remember Shox Lumania? Like that. Oh man, it was as if they wanted to be Chrome or Suicide but all they could manage was like Flock Of Seagulls. But worse. Thankfully is wasn't too long. The fat kid who screamed & gyrated turned out to be the main guy for your band, the Angry Angles. He seemed totally overamped and gacked out on something and boy did their performance suffer for it. Even the girl bassist shot back to him as he stormed off the stage & into the bathroom, something like "maybe crybaby needs to do some more coke." I saw Human Switchboard pull some lame shit back in the day, but this set from Angry Angles beat their pitiful drama's by a country mile. And is it really possible to take someone seriously playing a flying V guitar? It all seemed like gimmick to me. Not the cocaine (or whatever it was)-that was real enough- but the music, the look, the overpriced records they were selling. Totally affected. How did you manage to get suckered in for such obvious crap? It was as if the club was a hologram of a sad, distressing Punk Rock workshop or mockup from that Quincy episode. If they play Philadelphia I feel compelled to tell you not to waste your money, but at the same time I reason that you should go and see them since you helped me to waste mine. Thanks for nothing jerk-o. And why don't you write about something good? Like Joy Division or Magazine. I'll keep an eye peeled.

Billy Lee Buckeye

Whatever Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger. So You Can Go Back And Kill It.....Sun City Girls 'Djinn Funnel' LP

Since this blog was started up I have gotten a bunch've emails from folk's pleadin "how come you don't write something on the Sun City Girls"? At the risk've soundin pedantic, it's not like I don't write about'em, it's just that I ain't written anything in the blog. You should see the top of this desk! It's plum near destroyed from all the love letter's to'em that's been scratched into the surface w/keys, compasses, sissors, combs, nails, screws, coins, glass, rocks, razors, spackle blades, pen knives 'n teeth. Even our two cats, England Dan & John Ford Coley, have clawed into the back've the couch what appears to be an abstract live portrait of the band in action. Hey, we're a top shelf SCG household through & through!
Truth be told, I guess I was just waitin for the right time to blubber about their definitive grandeur. I wanted it to be something special, like an lp (not a cd), maybe even a live show (my favorite) & not one of them Cloaven cassettes that're bein reissued either (if I keep my fingers crossed for too long, will it cut off the blood circulatin to my brain?). And I'll be a goddamned motherfuckin monkey's uncle, but didn't the heavens open up yesterday w/new VINYL of live, never-before-released-to-the-public SCG material culled from 1999-2001 & on a promising new label of Egyptian/Algerian descent (Nashazphone). I wasn't privy to none of them years as a spectator, but if I turbanate my head w/a large beach towel 'n sit lotus style on one of them grass throw rugs I won up to the state fair, I can transport myself to a world where these bedazzling jams are bein played only for Moi. King me! Now I know a few folk's that'll tell you that they are longtime fans of the band but can only "appreciate" the music & not the minstrelsy. That ain't me, not by a mile. Shit, I could be happy kickin back & listenin to these guys play cribbage or callin cows so long as it's recorded where's all the banter & moves is audible. That said, this release will indubitably tickle the tastebuds right off the tongues of them lilly-livers that only go so far. For the rest of us, it's more teeth shiverin icing on yet another spectacular cake. From the opening track where your shot out like a hash bobsled through a bazaar of indeterminable chaos to the closing composition that lumbers 'n floats all the while harkening you back to the familiar like mystic sirens soothing your soggy noggin, you feel privy to a lost era of Sun City Girls exotica. And it's a pretty astounding time frame too. You could argue there's a dustin from the Placebo yrs, hints of Cloaven & a pinch're more of Majora, but really all that means is in this period, they had perfected all those spirits 'n distilled'em into this here high octane brew that is now available for consumption. I look forward to bein drunk for a few more moons to come. Feel free to join me.
Contact the band at http://www.suncitygirls.com/ & the label at; sawteldajal@gmail.com

And try Aquarius, Fusetron, Forced Exposure or Eclipse for possible domestic distribution

Here's What 2 Cents Buys.....A Reader Checks In!

Wow, you know, I met this fella Auggy over to Ray's Happy Birthday Bar not too long ago. I must've talked a blue streak that night. He didn't seem to have a whole lot to say then, but man, has he got a fierce pen or what? And wound a little tight too, don't ya think? And check out his accompanying collage.....calling all galleries, calling all galleries! I kinda wanted to see this show too, but I ended up goin surf fishin at the shore. Sounds like some time, that's for sure! Hey Auggy, next time down the bar, them schnapps is on me. That's if there ever is a next time.


dear roland

please forgive my tardy reply, but things have been very hectic around here(we just finished our guest room and now were preparing for carpet to beput down in our den. what fun!!!). i did have a minute last night to sneakout of the house and go see a few "bands" perform. are they still referredto as bands? it seems people kept on tossing about the term "project". idon't know about you, but project reminds me of school, and as you know i_hate_ school, and teachers too, but anyway, it all seemed very serious, ithink i even saw someone smoking one of those funny looking pipes that Sherlock Holmes used (but no, no one had on a scarf like that doctor whofella you like so much, i knew you'd ask. but i did see more than a fewgirls that looked like daleks. hahaha). i guess the fact that the "show" (ithink that words out of vogue too?!) was in a west Philadelphia basementdidn't help matters. you get a bunch of unskilled 30-somethings in a roomthat have jobs with the university and all of a sudden they're talkin' likedutch professors w/ tenure. so anyhow, i was watching (i think yourallowed to say "watch" still, right?) this spectre folk kid do his thing,and he's doing some post-modern take (sheesh, now i'm talking like one ofthose university receptionists!) Hasil Adkins thing, but in place of theone-man-band-kit, he had a laptop computer! boy, how times have changed. iwas standing next to this fella that works at the local record bin nearyou, you probably know him, he was in short pants and he's short, um. oh,that's right, you had remarked to me that one time that all the recordclerks near you were little guys, sorry, but i don't know how else todescribe him. anyhow, i say's as much to him about the haze comparison (tospectre folks credit, i do believe he's a real live hick!) and he startedsputtering out some pseudo intellectual defense for the laptop (you knowthat sorta community college lit major jabber that is far too common aroundthe bars and clubs in Philadelphia) that amounted to "lalalalalaa" in my ears. this is the same lil guy that once tried to tell me that the jesuslizard were more important than the birthday party! granted, that moviethat nick cave directed looks appalling, but given the choice btwn that andanything david yow has to offer. i mean, please! i really don't know howyou manage down there in south Philadelphia, you'd think it waspennsyltucky or something!anyway, i better run, my coffee's getting cold. keep up the good work and ihope to see you soon.best regards
auggy

Stiff Love In 2006.....Monitors 'Cunt-Fusion' 7" ep

We was sitting around the other night eatin chateaubriand's & listenin to that Bloodstains Across California record. Drinks was consumed as well. Oh the laughs! Some good stuff on that lp & not just the obvious cut's neither. So then we got to pullin out & puttin on all sort's of Cali punk stuff till eventually we was spinnin that 7" by Monitor. Then I remembered I'd got a new 7" from a band called Monitors so we played it next as a sort of call & response to see if it added up to anything. Well let me tell ya, we was all suprised by the contents. By the looks of it, I figured we was in for some dumbo Industrial noise, you know, like I couldn't just go sit out in the back yard & listen to the electric bug zapper fry mosquitoes. Same thing if ya ask me. But yo, these Monitors came pogo'n outta the speakers & sorta sounded like the Eyes, Insults, Plain Jane & The Jokes or some Geza X band who may've called Posh Boy home back in the halcyon days. Even the overall theme is a fresh throwback to less inhibited days. Four songs, all short 'n sweet & it's got all the hooks 'n charms to make it a keeper for yrs to come. Buy it now, sell it later. Who knows what the future will bring? Someday you might need to unload it to pay your oxygen bill that's overdue. Think I'm kiddin? I hope so! But in the here & now, you can inhale it while the air is free via http://www.knowcrap.com/

The Treasure Of Another Man's Trash.....Junkpile Jimmy's 'Alberhill' dbl LP

I'm a tad upset this morning, feelin pangs of nostalgia & a bit wistful for the green, green grass of home. See, I got this letter from my cousin Nell, Nell Young down in Arp, Tennessee. We don't communicate alot, but when we do, I realize how much I miss her company & sense of humor. You'd have to have one w/a name like that! Folk've teased her for it since almost forever, & then that movie 'Nell' come along about 10 or so yrs back & everybody started talkin to her like she was some retarded cabin girl. "I swear to fuckin Christ sake" she told me once, "if another shitbag come's up to me rockin back 'n forth sayin 'tain da wain', I will open up his belly w/my knife & show him his lunch!" Lucky for her, that movie weren't no good & after a spell in the theaters, went straight to bein on airplanes.
But what in particular touched me in this letter was her mentionin Memphis. We used to love to go down there & see bands, buy records, chow down on bbq....damn! Them was fun times. I'm happy to share her letter w/y'all. She ain't missed a beat & by the sounds of it, may have even "discovered" some new talent. It's like that some times.

Dear Cousin Roland:

It's been a while. Hope them Yankee doodle dandy's are treatin you well in Philadelphia. Warren Treftz told me you was writin for a blog up there. I went & had a peek at it. I liked what I seen but it sure don't look like you get much feedback. Maybe them folks up there are to high-falutin for computer readin. It's probably all Myspace pictures or whatever the new thing is. Hard for me to keep up. Arp ain't no Williamsburg, NY. Sure, you got your share of beards & truckers hats, but these fellas are real truckers & no ways they ever paid 5$ for cup a coffee in their lives! You remember Ferlin Marquard? The poor fella that paints them pictures w/pig shit? Well, some skinny art woman from up them done came down & bought up a bunch of his stuff & is lookin to make him a big shot artist! Now I have seen it all.What has come of this world?
So, have you been feedin yourself on them cheesesteaks? Are they any count? I bet they can't touch the pork sandwich at Little Pigs, not by a mile! And you know it. Which was why I was writing you in the 1st place. I just got back from Memphis this past weekend. No reason for the trip, me 'n Hoot just needed to get outta town for a spell. We pampered ourselves, stayin downtown at the Peabody, goin swimmin in their pool that looks like it was built for Tiberius & havin massages, that sorta thing. It was fun. Went over to Goner Records on Saturday & picked up some stuff, one thing in particular I thought you might like was this double lp by a dude that call's himself Junkpile Jimmy. It's called 'Alberhill' & the clerk there says he put it out himself on something called Cartel Ilustre. Where to start? Well, it sure looks like something you'd buy, with the paste-on covers (both front 'n back), hand decorated label's & the music's pretty down 'n dirty too. Have you heard of him? If not, then come wallow in the mud cousin! It sure has got all the rapier hillbilly charms one would associate w/this neck've the woods & I would've sworn he was local, but seems that he's outta California. Wasn't there some band called Doo Rag from out that way few yrs back? I never much cared for them-too affected-but Jukebox Jimmy has tore a page outta their book-King Louie's too-and super charged it w/a load of fixin's that takes it somewhere outside porchville & into a canyon of fuzz overload & reverb. It's got crud-caked blues holler galore but as you dig deeper into the contents, it's layers are many. There's elongated tracks recallin riffs from 'Pink Flag' that get banged out over 'over till it feels like the paint is pealin off the walls. Then a mind meld between that Blues Control tape & Randy Holden's 'Population 2' lp. From there it staggers down some mysterious chasm & the racket that echo's back sounds like mutated, backwoods prog/metal gobble ala Heavy The World plowing though the Dock Boggs songbook. And, how about when that T Rex song gets scalped or when on side 4 he punk's out a cover of The Shirker's 'Drunk & Disorderly' that is so standup you might mistake it for the real thing? It's a handful this record. You'll need all your arms to hug it! There's 3 inserts w/info, lyrics & artwork included too.One claims that this was done from July 1998-April 2003. Recorded in all sort's den's & dive's, it's pretty damn fluid & like the bbq plate at Leonards, there's a lil somethin for everybody. I know how much you love a good yarn & Junkpile Jimmy can spin'em till the cows come home. It doesn't have no email or web address but you can reach out to 14016 Temescal Canyon Rd., Corona, Ca 92883 if you want to say hello. Or go to Goner at http://www.goner-records.com/
Next time your down that way you oughta drop in. Be sure to tell Zac or Eric Nell Young said 'how do'.
Alright now, you take care Cousin Roland. Be speakin at ya soon.

Best Wishes,

Cousin Nell

Depend On The Rabbit's Foot If You Will, But Remember It Didn't Work For The Rabbit.....Avarus' 'Luonnon Ilmioita 7" ep

This arrived under the door about an hour ago. The postmen in my neighborhood sure do get an early start! That's alright by me, I was up anyways. I'm tryin to compose a speech I gotta make down in Atlantic City-not sure which casino-tomorrow. I have been elected as the new spokesman for the 'Gimme A Kid, I'm Only A Chance' program. It's kinda like Big Brother but w/better odds. What it does is takes young, inner city ner-do-well's & put's them through a rigorous training program where they learn to be croupier's, Blackjack dealer's & so forth. Some of the youngsters I've sponsored in the past have really excelled, workin tables not just down in AC, but Vegas, Reno, & some of them Indian Reservations that's scattered around the midwest & whatnot. One of'em even made it to the French Riviera! I hear a Coca Cola is 8$ over there. And there's people naked as jaybirds prancin the beaches, drinkin'em like there was no tomorrow. Must be some life. Hell, at 8$ a pop, I wouldn't have no clothes either! And w/that sun beatin down on me, I'd probably look like an old piece of steak tartare w/a set've teeth 'n eyes roamin the shores. Not a pretty sight at all. Ugh, well shit, I need a break from this speechwritin anyhow. So far all I got is "Ladies & Gentlemen of the jury...." I thought they'd get a kick outta that. Levity ain't necessarily my strongest suit.
So this Avarus 7" showed up & it sure is makin my morning. Excuse me if your already hip to all this Finnish stuff, but while you was pokin notches in your white belt, I was busy workin. It's all kinda new to me. I mean, I'm familiar w/The Silver & Liiminarrina & even the older Hardcore stuff, but this go round it seems things have gotten more drawn out & organic. Much less spazzed out punk & more free form folk, or somethin to that effect. I think these guys have somethin to do w/that Maniacs Dream lp that I like too. And they was on Brian Turner's show & played at Terrastock, but you know, some of us ain't got all the time in the world for fun & games.The label on this 7" says it's from 2002 which means that I was in Greenland at the time. Not that far away from'em when you think about it! Had I only known. The a-side conjures up visions of one of them Robert Bly Men's Lib camp outs, except this time the participants are well fueled an makin a spectacle. If you beat a drum 'n moan in the woods & nobody hear's ya, does it make a sound? The answer is yes, as the b-side is testament too. Nobody is a pretty big word & not for nothin does the forest come alive in protest. The flip is a full on charge of the night brigade, complete with flies, mosquitoes, wasps, tics, red ants, rattlesnakes, owls 'n bears risin up to seek revenge for havin their tranquility impressed but a bunch've sotted tree huggers. That's how I'd feel too! Plus all of it's housed in a very spiffy oversized sleeve w/wraparound silk-screened artwork of a decidedly post Panter-esque variety. It's some good stuff indeed. I won't pretend that I know anything much about Avarus, but from what little I've heard, I'd bet that they ain't gonna crap out anytime soon. For my money these guys are comin out with 7 or 11 on every roll. And it's never too late to get behind a winner.

This ep is available from http://www.boingbeing.com/

Patience Is Bitter, But It's Fruit Is Sweet.....Hali Gali Halid's 'Vo-Zdra' 7" ep

There was a hot minute there in the late 80's/early 90's where the Listen Loudest & Blind Dog label's was makin a bid for heraldin the new, Yugoslavian underground scene. There was a spirited attempt by someone stateside-I forget who-to get titles to the people; Lola V. Stain, Satan Panonski & Machine Gun were all releases on the aforementioned labels that I seen here in the USA. Perhaps not the most mindblowing sounds to pass through your head, but pretty damn unique & solid especially considering their locale. But then a civil war come along & that was the end of it. Both label's functioned out've Zagreb-the capital of Croatia as well home to an arts academy & a university-which took a quite a pounding after the secession from Yugoslavia, so it's no wonder the carpet had been rolled up. There probably wasn't none left! The records 'n tapes that had been around were gone, not to be seen anytime soon or ever again. It was sad & tragic on many levels, not the least of which was what had happened to people involved. There was a lot of "what if's" to conjure up, but as the years kept grinding away, so did one's feeble hopes. The bands & releases became hallowed footnotes, the history of them almost beyond comprehension. I mean, you could find an address to write, but chances are the building/house/street destination no longer existed. Pretty heavy when you think about it. I figured just be patient & hope for the best.
So then cut to 2006. I'm looking through the S-S Records catalog & I see this 7" from 1991 by Hali Gali Hazid on the Listen Loudest label & it's in stock. Scott Soriano had sniffed out a few copies, presumably from the source. I couldn't believe it. Great news! I snagged one & let me tell you somethin, you'll be hard pressed to find a more exotic mix of rock & folk.....anywhere! The beguiling charms of (presumably) gypsy trance & traditional Croatian are seared into a slab of western rock what's swagger sounds implictly American (in origin). It would be pure conjecture to point out their influences as Velvet Underground and Stooges. For one, it's not that obvious. True, them bands might be the source, but you gotta gorge yourself through a primitive rasher of Pere Ubu, (Metal Box era)PIL & Angel Face before ya get there. And don't forget a very heavy dose of ethnic zonk as potent 'n fortified as the blackberry wine that was no doubt copiously consumed as these tracks was recorded. It staggers, it croons, pinwheels, rips 'n howls & it does so on a mantle all it's own. A most amazing find & if your gonna spend 8$ for a 7" this year, why not make it this one.Go to http://www.s-srecords.com/
for more info.
Or check out the Listen Loudest site, at; www.gla.ac.uk/~dc4w/listenloudest/front.html