THE TEEN SCENE Issue #53 Released August, '95 **************************************************************************** ******** TABLE O' CONTENTS ME AND A FEW FRIENDS Who did what WFUN DJ PICKS We tell you what we're listening to INTRO Just me blathering on THE MUFFS Live and in the studio THE TEXAS SPEED TRIALS One rockin' garage weekend in Texas, reported by Sir Chris Hedlund FABULOUS SOUNDS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST I report from GarageShock, '95 STUFF I GOT AT GARAGESHOCK Just what it says HAVIN' A RIOT WITH THE MAKERS In the studio, a chance encounter, and out on the town (the latter thanks to Sir Chris) SOME KINDA FUN The Untamed Youth in print, on the record, and what remains 'ZINE SCENE Required reading list ROCK AND ROLL NIGHTS Uh, gee, whaddaya think he's talkin' about here? LIKE 'EM OR NOT, LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE HERE TO STAY (CD'S, I MEAN) I'm guessing you can figure this one out *THE* FORMAT Love those seven-inch wonders MORE REVIEWS, JUST FOR YOU Haven't heard about enough stuff yet? Here's more. BUMMER BINGE, THE CONTINUING SAGA Life ain't perfect OTHER STUFF, MUCH OF IT STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE Bits & pieces of news that you might wanna know about ADDRESSES Where to get some of those great records you just read about **************************************************************************** ******** The Teen Scene is the sole property of me, Blair Buscareno. All rights are reserved by the people who wrote the articles. If you wanna reprint something in your own mag (or whatever), just give me (and the author of the thing) credit... and send me a copy (so I can feel all- important.) And, for those of you who happen to be on-line... well, so's the Teen Scene. In a way. I'm now offering this mag in text-only e-mail form. Just e-mail me at blairb1@mail.idt.net and say you want to be on my list. Hey... it's free that way... tho' you'll miss Quisp's cool lay-out. AD RATES: 1/4 page - $20 1/2 page - $35 Full page - $65 Please contact us for details, either by regular mail or e-mail (blairb1@mail.idt.net) The Teen Scene 34 Highland Cross #2 Rutherford, NJ 07070 **************************************************************************** ******** ME AND A FEW FRIENDS: Blair Buscareno ... that would be me Chris Hedlund ... the guy who made up the banana-truffle stickers Marisa Langston ... on vacation for the summer, back on-line this fall Quisp N. Quake ... layout king / Cereal Killer tells of his Maine adventure Bill Luther ... host of the Mad Mod Ball and all around great guy **************************************************************************** ******** WFUN DJ PICKS *Blair Buscareno* ... The Makers, The Mockers, The Botswanas, The Untamed Youth *Chris Hedlund* ... The Inhalants, The Satans, The Swinging Neckbreackers, 9 Pound Hammer, DMZ *Marisa Langston* ... The Friggs, Cub **************************************************************************** ******** INTRO As you'll soon figure out, a majority of this issue is dedicated to GarageShock, '95 and related items and events. I started out trying to keep some sort of record of events as they happened, but extreme lack of sleep, together with all the ongoing excitement nipped that pretty much in the bud. The best I did on this score was jot down a few notes on Thursday night before crashing hard into my pillow. I'd also wanted to do some band interviews while I was out there. Thing is, I'm not much of a reporter; I'd much rather just hang out and talk to everyone. A good time is much more important to me than sitting down and actually getting a band to say something. So you won't find much of that in this ish. Maybe a random quote flying around in the ether that I just happened to remember, but that's about it. I started this intro whilst killing time in Seattle on Monday. Hmm... that deserves a bit of an explanation. When I was planning my trip, I'd noticed that there was a show scheduled for Monday night in Victoria, BC, starring Bum, The Nomads, & The Drags. That looked pretty enticing, so I booked a flight out of Seattle for Tuesday morning at 7:25 AM. What I hadn't realized was that the last ferry off of Victoria leaves at 9 PM... and the next one's not till 7 AM. That cancelled that one. I'd talked with someone after GShock ended on Sunday night... he'd told me that The Drags weren't gonna play that Victoria show, that they'd be doing Spokane with The Makers instead. I briefly considered making that show... till I found out that Spokane is something like 300 miles from Seattle. Thanks, but I didn't feel like driving quite that far that day. And I definitely didn't feel like doing it on the way back that night. So I needed to kill time on Monday. After lunch at the Hurricane Cafe, I cruised around. Finally, I found myself in a McDonald's by Seattle Center, ice tea in hand and free refills at my beck and call. (Free refills... is the NorthEast the only place in the country that doesn't have these?) So I sat down to consider the possibilities. What I ended up doing was writing... and writing and writing. By 6:15 I was dragging mightily. I took a ride to the airport to see if I could trade up to an earlier flight, but everything was booked solid, so I was stuck. Then I remembered that Lisa Gerson from the ModsList had shared a rental car with Matthew Fidelibus (who some of you will remember from his California scene article last ish). Matthew took off just before 7 for San Diego, so all I had to do was search SeaTac for Lisa and I'd have someone to kill time with till she boarded her flight (a 1:15 AM red- eye to Chicago). Paging her didn't work, so I searched and searched... and actually got really lucky and found her. Off to dinner then (back at the Hurricane... we couldn't find many places open and neither of us was alive enough to contemplate a real search). It was around 9 when we both realized that we were really and truly dead-tired beyond belief. I haven't felt like that in years, if ever. I really hadn't gotten much sleep since I'd flown out to Seattle the Wednesday before. And things got worse. You should've seen me trying to sleep in the airport that night. Not good. But, honestly, gang, GarageShock was well worth it. Oh yeah... a note on how this ish is laid out. I've put all the GarageShock stuff together... that's why you'll see a couple different sections on both 'zine and record/disc reviews. Some stuff had to be chopped out, I'm afraid... 'cuz this thing is just too damn long. What else? Well, I'm back on the air pretty regularly now that it's summer. I bought a new computer (tho' I won't have time to hook it up till after I wrap this ish up.) I've got a couple summer courses, so I'm hoping that I get this ish off my desk before the first one really kicks in. Skeever's got a Web page (http://www.inch.com/~skeever/). Congratulations to my brother Drew & his new bride Emily on their nuptials of June 17th. Thank you to Alan & Lisa for letting me stay over their place on the Wednesday night preceding GarageShock. Lisa showed me some of the debut ish of their forthcoming mag, Do The Pop, and it looks great... so when it comes out, I expect all of you folks to buy the thing. These two really do their homework... and it shows. **************************************************************************** ******** THE MUFFS LIVE: I'm not sure when they landed on Eastern Shores this time around. Mainly 'cuz I wasn't on them at the time, myself. I was out at GarageShock when they played Danbury on a Friday night. And when they hit Philly the next night, I was down in Seattle at Croc Shock. Tuesday, though, my plane landed about 4:10 PM in Newark. That meant that, after waiting for what seemed like forever for my bags, I ended up being 40 minutes later to my first class of summer session ("I just flew in from Seattle," I explained. "That's the best excuse I've ever heard," responded a classmate.) That gave me time to get home for a bit, shower, change and drive up to Maxwells in Hoboken for The Muffs. Yeah, I was tired, and had been seeing shows over and over again for a week, but... so what? Besides, it was two years ago this night that The Muffs played their first- ever East Coast show... at the Beat in Port Chester, NY to a crowd that was completely crazy about them. Lots had happened in the meantime. Two months after that first dose, drummer Criss Crass was gone. And now the band is back... without rhythm guitarist Melanie Vammen (playing in the Leaving Trains, I'm told). In fact, they're just a three-piece now. So how was that? Well, actually, pretty damn good. I suppose I should try and be a good li'l cub reporter and know the entire set list. Thing is, I wasn't writing it down and I didn't see it afterwards. Life sucks. I think they started with "Agony", but I'll have to ask around. Either way, the show ended up being a pretty even mix of the first LP and the second. All my favorite tracks from the debut appeared... "Big Mouth" and "Lucky Guy", of course. Plus new faves like the aforementioned "Agony", as well as "Nina", for which Kim was joined by everyone's favorite Bluesman. The nice thing is that Kim didn't get mad... nope, she smiled and moved over for him to join up. They didn't just stick to the LPs, though... and that was great, too. They also checked in on their 45s, doing The Zeros' "Beat Your Heart Out", "New Love" from the debut 45, and "Right In The Eye" from the flip of the "Guilty" single. The Muffs were playing their pop-lovin' hearts out in all the right punk ways. It was interesting looking at all the younger faces in the audience. I wondered how many of these fans had been there last time around. I couldn't help but wonder if The Muffs were about to be "taken away from me". I guess the idea is not to let that happen - to keep enjoying the music, and be happy for the band as they get more popular. It's just that I can't shake the feeling that soon they'll be headlining larger clubs, and I won't get to see them in venues like Maxwells anymore. Maybe I'm wrong. But for their sake I hope I'm not. It's a tough call. What it comes down to though is this, "Did I have a good time?" Well, yeah, I did. They were damn good. I just wish I'd had more time to hang out with them afterwards. Especially since I ended up not being able to make it to CBGB's the next night. Rumor has it that The Muffs will be touring later this summer with The Zeros and Cub. Somehow that seems perfect. The band really does seem like a cross between the two... well, I guess they're much closer to The Zeros, but you can definitely hear the pop elements, too. You want to see me completely and utterly gone? Just bring this tour somewhere within my striking distance. MEMOREX: What's scary is that I can't remember exactly when I first heard The Muffs. Must've been in late '91 or early '92. Probably the latter. But after hearing one 45, I was hooked, and went about getting everything as it came out, even scoring a live tape from Rockin' Ron Rimsite. I even did something I'd never really done before; I wrote a fan letter. And got one back from bassist Ronnie. In that one, he referred to the disc they were working on for Warner Brothers, their debut, saying, "Don't worry, it'll still sound like us." And it did. And then some. It was one of my favorite discs of the year (the other was by The Swingin' Neckbreakers), and remains on my fave disc list to this day. I saw them five times on their first swing to the East Coast, and then another three when they came back a couple months later. Since then, The Muffs have gone through a few changes. First off, they've added a new drummer, Roy McDonald. Secondly, Warner Bros. shifted them to Reprise. But the biggest shock to Muffs' maniacs came when word came down the pike that rhythm guitarist Melanie Vammen was out of the band. What had happened, we wondered. Well, there's various versions of that, and I suppose it all depends on which you buy into. For now, I'll keep from churning the rumor mill and say only that I'll miss Melanie, as she was extremely fun to hang out with. Blonder and Blonder (Reprise) is the group's new album. I could engage in idle critic musings and ask if there's a deeper meaning to that title... possibly describing the music, rather than just Kim's hair. But I'll stay on track. This one doesn't have the immediate bite of The Muffs, but that's not to say it's not another fantastic effort. ('Cuz it is.) Like their debut, it starts off with a kick (just not as swift), as "Agony" immediately jumps in with both melody and punch. The next one starts off on a real minor chord sort of note (and it does keep coming back), but as soon as Kim's vocal comes in, the melodic smile's right back up. Here, too, is where we see Kim's trademark screams coming on full-force. (I gotta wonder how long her vocal cords are gonna put up with that.) A particular favorite is "Red Eyed Troll", which echoes the 60's leanings of "Another Day" from the first LP, but raises the stakes that much higher, taking it further out, playing it a bit faster and harder. On the more ballad-oriented front, you've got "End It All", all nice & pretty. Back to the hard stuff then for "Laying On A Bed Of Roses". "I Need A Face" is compelling what with the chorus of "Hangin' On/Hangin' On/Hangin' On Me", then Kim solo and down a bit for "All the time". "Funny Face" is almost a sing-song type thing... I feel the urge to start a singalong to it. "Ethyl My Love" starts out almost like a garage version of "I Need You" from their 3rd 45. Not only that, it's got elements of an Original Sins' song to it... their heavier, more bass-minded stuff. In the tradition of the last LP, this one ends up with a soft, Kim-alone (well, actually, I think that might be her sister Kristen on the duet vocal parts) melody. Real pretty, and the perfect goodbye. I guess what makes The Muffs so fantastic is their marriage (hmm, maybe that's a bad word considering the lineup changes... or maybe it's somehow appropriate... whatever) of melody to punk and garage. And, yeah, you can definitely hear 60s sounds held over in Kim's songs. Especially the pop ideals. What's nice is that there's always a chance that something will happen to break them bigtime. I listen to some of these songs and think that these have real potential in today's music world, something I would never have believed five years ago. --- BB **************************************************************************** ******** (I read the following on alt.music.banana-truffle in mid-April and decided it had to be published in this mag. So I asked Chris and he gave his kind permission for me to do so. Unfortunately, this just missed the TS #52 deadline, so you're all reading it a bit late. But, hey, better late than never. Or so someone said.) THE TEXAS SPEED TRIALS This weekend, San Fransico's Rip Offs flew into Austin for a couple of Texas shows to rip shit up! I got to take in both shows, Friday night in Houston with Austin's Inhalants and Saturday night in Austin with The Satans, The Inhalants, The Lord High Fixers, The Cryin' Out Louds, The Motards, Grand Pricks (Dallas), and The Rip Offs. So here's what happened: The Satans kicked off the night in Austin and completely set the mood for the evening. I just can't get enough of these kids, they are really that good! Next up on Saturday and the openers in Houston on Friday were The Inhalants. I know this is going to get old saying that every band that played was superswell, but it is true. I love this trio and I can't wait to see them at Garage Shock. They are replacing Southern Culture on the Skids on Sunday night and to spread rumors, I heard that since S.C.O.T.S. is on a major label now, the said label won't let them play Garage Shock because they want them out on the road opening up for somebody like "Candlebox" or something. (Editor's note: For a while, SCOTS were seemingly off the GShock bill, but since they did play, I guess things got worked out.) The Lord High Fixers were up next in Austin and I think I've discovered the reason I was put here on this green earth. I swear they are soooo great, I'm getting all choked up just thinking about their set. I know I may piss some folks off by saying this, but, The Lord High Fixers put Jack O' Fire to shame. Tim Kerr read my last posting here (Hi ya, Tim) where I suggested that the reason The Lord High Fixers formed was to play Garage Shock, which is not the case. After the Poison 13 spooky- bowl-a-rama-halloweeny thing late last year, the powers-that-be at Estrus (I'm guessin' Master Crider, 'cause I missed the name when told) said "So we'll see you up here for Garage Shock", and Tim Kerr and Mike Carroll had been playing around with The Lord High Fixers for some time by then and gave the thumbs up. The rest is history and everybody going to Bellingham is in for some treat! Next up in Austin was the fabulous Cryin' Out Louds! Besides being personable, easy on the eyes, and snappy dressers, these kids can kick out the jams. They are one of my favorite rock bands ever and I swear these kids have got to make there own dance craze! To keep moving along we have The Motards. This was the best show I've seen them play so far, which is no easy feat! Snotty, psycho, crass, and filthy mouths made the perfect launching pad for what is known to be the Rip Offs. The Rip Offs show in Houston, I thought, sounded better, but that was about the only comparison. I like to take this opportunity as a Houstonite to thank all of those Austinites who made the drive and made up about 75% of the crowd. All the rest of you can figure out for yourselves what the Houston scene is like. Oh yeah, back to The Rip Offs. The on-stage personalities of the Rip Offs is very similar to that of The Makers, for example, the band makes comments about the sexual preferences of Texans and the Texans reply with showers of Shiner Bock and bottles intertwined with shouts like "Shut Up and play you masked freaks!". Oh, yeah, the whole ski mask thing, I saw them without them on and now I know why they wear 'em. Musically, it was exactly like you would think it would be like, high energy and in your face, except they did spend a lot of time in between songs tuning their instruments, which I didn't get the point. I mean they are the Rip Offs. The Grand Pricks either didn't play or I missed them. I heard someone say they broke up while watching the bands they were to play with. They were from Dallas so they couldn't have been that good anyway. --- CH **************************************************************************** ******** FABULOUS SOUNDS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST GARAGESHOCK, '95 Just so you know... I was gonna lay some personal crap on you right here, before diving into the fray, but decided to spare you. I expect thanks. PRE-OPENING NIGHT FESTIVITIES: Anyway... my plane wasn't till 5:30 PM NYC time. The problem with this is that the plane doesn't arrive till 8:15 PM Seattle time. Which would've been great if I'd been able to sleep on the plane... but I wasn't. Anyway... I headed straight from the airport to Lisa Lindstrom & Alan Wright's place - my host & hostess for the night. (Mega-thanks to both of them.) As I entered, Alan was making burgers and offered me one, which I gratefully accepted. We walked over to Moe's from their place a bit later, to find The Inhalants had just started their set. Once again, it was cool to see this Austin trio snottily bangin' their way thru a set of no-nonsense rock'n'roll. And, once again, what did it for me the most was when bassist Lisa took over the mic for a version of Nobody's Children's "Good Times". Next up were Bottle of Smoke. Notice I didn't give them boldface type? That's 'cuz I removed myself from the band area after about a song or two. Not exactly pleasing to these ears. I soon spotted fellow NYC area pal, Pete P., who'd come with his pal Tony. Hangin' with Pete was Angele from The Cryin' Out Louds (out of Austin). I was looking forward to meeting my e-mail pal, Naomi, who'd lived in Austin for awhile, so I asked Angele to point her out. Turns out I'd talked to Naomi a bit the year before... she was part of the Austin crowd who'd worn the fezzes. As I looked around, there were more familiar faces... Jack from Lance Rock, Bruce from Au Go Go, etc. And soon Pete brought a couple other people over... Lisa Gerson & Matthew Fidelibus from the ModsList. I ended up hanging out so long by the bar, I almost forgot to go back in and check out Girl Trouble, who ended up putting on their best show of the four or five times I've seen them. Definitely fine form. Last up this night were The Lord High Fixers from Austin. I'd already heard their 45, thanks to a package from Chris Hedlund a couple months back, so I had some idea what to expect. I knew they had a real harsh sound to them. What I wasn't prepared for was Mike Carroll's in- your-face intro to the whole thing. And, at 1 AM Seattle time, I realized that I was damn tired and couldn't take the onslaught any longer... so I traipsed off into the night... back to Alan & Lisa's, where I hit the couch - hard. The next morning, I got up as Alan & Lisa prepared to greet the working world. Turned out to be a good thing, too... 'cuz I got up to Bellingham about 10:30 AM. I'd been testing the limits of my procrastination abilities of late, which meant that I'd been shut out of a reservation at the Travelodge (the place across from the 3B's), and I'd ended up booking myself at the Aloha. But I decided to stop by the Travelodge, anyway... who knows what'll turn up, right? Right. "You wouldn't happen to have had a room free up, would you?" I inquired of the nice lady at the desk. "Actually, one just opened up. The gentleman didn't want to stick around with all the goings-on here this weekend." (Translated: he'd found out that the GarageShock crowd doesn't believe in lights-out at 11 PM.) "So we have an opening," she tells me. No, you don't. You've got a new customer. Unfortunately, my room wouldn't be ready till around 1 or so. So there was time to kill. I walked around a bit. Even tho' it was about 11 or so by the time I'd dealt with everything, the 3B's had yet to open. More walking was called for. (Roberta would've been extremely proud.) I ended up at the Bagelry. I sat down with a salt bagel and an iced tea and began to read an issue of Science Fiction Age that I'd brought along. Soon I noticed five young ladies dressed a bit differently than just about everyone else. Yup, GarageShockers to be sure. As it turned out, later that evening I chatted a bit with the one in the lead, Kristen. The ladies were from Memphis, where the first AfterShock would be taking place in late June. (Look for a report on that from Case Elliott in the next ish. -- ed.) And so I went back to my reading. A few moments later, I happen to look up again. I see a familiar face... one I've seen around the NYC/NJ area many times... Jillana, who also turned out to be a Rutgers' student when I arrived last year. And she was there with Tuscaloosa pal, George. Always good to see more friendly faces. The plan that day was to meet up with the ModsList crew at 1:15 and get some lunch before heading over to the 3B's for tix and a rendezvous with any other Net-types we might find. As I was waiting (I must've been the 4th or 5th person to show up that day), Dave Crider introduced me to Estrus design king Art Chantry. I asked when there would be a Chantry show in NYC (there was one in Seattle the year before) and he replied that he wasn't sure, but a couple places in NYC had his stuff in their collections... including the Museum of Modern Art. Some of it evidently Estrus material! The worm turns strangely, huh? After lunch at the Little Cheerful (used to be Pauline's Cafe... made famous by the Young Fresh Fellows) we ran into The Swingin' Neckbreakers on our way over to the club... they were preparing to make the drive up to Vancouver for their show at the Starfish Room that night. Once inside, we hung out waiting for tickets to go on sale. And, once they did, we jumped right on the line and got the things. Very cool tix this year... colorful decals. A few minutes later, a guy came up to us and asked if we were the ModsList people. Yup. "Can you guess who I am?" "Carlos Blanco," I ventured. Always nice to be right. We hung out with Carlos as he got his ticket and then settled into the back to semi-watch whatever flick was on the screen. Eventually, after hanging out, giving each other assorted stuff, they had the idea of getting some food. I had a better idea... sleep. I was completely beat by this point. So we parted company. First, though, I had to call Roberta up to say hi... then I tried to sack out, only to find that sleep wasn't coming. Which made absolutely NO sense whatsoever. Finally, around 7 PM, my eyelids slammed shut. Now, my alarm clock was set for 7:45. But when my ears heard the electronic twinkling of that little bite- sized bugger, my hands and arms went into automatic mode... I hurled the friggin' thing at a chair across the room. Next thing I knew, I was boltin' out of bed, looking for the thing. ACK! It's 8:54 and I've missed the GarageShock kickoff set by The Inhalants. I'd had nightmares about missing the first night of GShock... maybe I should consider myself lucky that it was only one group... one I'd seen the night before for that matter. Still a bummer, though. I ran into the shower, got changed, etc., grabbed a pack of ish #52 and ran across the street. Hmm... maybe an idea of what the bar looks like is in order. You get in... the bar's on your left, kinda on a diagonal. Two pool tables are in front of you, sort of parallel to the bar. On the left side (facing the stage, which is set in the back), next to a pinball table, is the merchandise table... tons of Estrus stuff being sold along with goods from the bands of the night. Besides the stuff for sale (t-shirts, records, discs, etc.), Estrus has giveaways galore: the year's program, stickers, matches, assorted doohickeys and thingamajigs. During the day there are more tables and chairs set up for comfort in watching the movies. But at night, most of this stuff has been pushed to the side or taken away. The dance floor is open and ready for use. Up on the walls there are tons of cool posters... some for old movies of the Jayne Mansfield variety, others for shows that have gone on, including GarageShocks that have passed into history. GARAGESHOCK, NIGHT #1 (MAY 25TH): I arrived about 3 or 4 songs into the second group, The Monarchs, from Ann Arbor, MI (not to be confused with the group Ron Silva played with in California). I got their first single (the one with "Dead Boyfriend", a particular favorite of Roberta's for some reason) a year or two back, and their 3rd one, on Estrus, had just come in the mail a week earlier. So at least I had some idea what to expect. One critic called them "dork-rock". Not a bad description, but "geek" seems better. The guitar-guy really did look like one of the stars of Revenge of the Nerds. Luckily, looks don't have much to do with rock'n'roll, and they were kind of fun. Was it tonight that The Lyres' Happy Now kept people hyped between acts? The Hentchmen were up next. Now, most of you know by now that I've warmed up to these guys. What does it for me is their dancing Farfisa. They did a bunch of their hits, including "So Many Girls", a particular favorite of mine, which reminds me of my first day of high school, sitting in the Commons. Yup, so many girls. The only disappointment of this set was that they didn't do "Red River Rock". What's interesting about the Lord High Fixers is that - the more I think about them, the more I like them. Yeah, they're damn harsh- sounding, ultra-fast garage-influenced punk rock. Mike is definitely an in- your-face type of vocalist, especially with that intro... Snarling out a declaration, "When The Revolution Comes..." It's nasty, scary, and it's meant to be. And then the band kicks in and go absolutely crazy. This is energy and intensity of the kind you'll rarely see anywhere. Some may be put off by the fact that they're far from melodic, but they're just forcing you to pay attention. Listen and you'll hear their cover of The Birds' "Next In Line". And their original "Scat Man" (reviewed in the singles section of the mag -- ed.) is another winner. What really blew me away, though, was the band's drummer, Stephanie, who just kept flailing away, keeping things going. WOW! Glad I got that bit of sleep. After that barrage, I needed to step back a bit. And that's about when I met alt.music.banana-truffle pal Chris Hedlund. So we spent the first bit of The Makers' set hanging back. Still, we saw/heard the band taunting the audience, telling them to throw beer at them. When the crowd responded, cheering when they were on-target, the band said that was OK, The Makers were getting free beer - the crowd was paying for it and throwing, instead of drinking it. (They did have a point.) When they lit into "Baby Let Me Take You Home" it was time for me to make my way front and center. This is my favorite of all the Animals' recordings, and it's perfect for these guys, who do a damn good job of it. It's true that I prefer the Makers' records to their stage show, but they definitely are entertaining to watch. Last up this night were Supersnazz from Tokyo. I've seen the girls a bunch of times in NYC, so when I started getting slammed into by a guy in a trimmed mohawk with a muscle shirt on, I decided I could step back. The highlight of their set for me came with "Johnny", the best song on their disc as far as I'm concerned. Things seemed to end early this night, so there was plenty of time to hang out and talk. And we all took advantage of it. Chris pointed me out to Tim Kerr of The Lord High Fixers, and we hung out for a bit, chatting about music, etc. Turns out Tim reads banana-truffle all the time, tho' he doesn't have access to post to it. A bit later, his bandmate Stephanie came over to introduce herself, as well. I gotta say... the Texas crowd is very cool. Very friendly. Now, as anyone who's ever been there knows, the night's festivities don't end with the closing of the bar. First off, everyone ends up hanging outside the 3B's for quite some time. Then, some take off for diners, some for parties, and some for their rooms. Me, I was pretty beat, so I waited till the crowd gasped its final breath and headed for my room. But I heard voices on the balcony above. So I went up and took a peak. About midway down, a group of 5 or 6 were having a mini-party. In the dark I didn't recognize anyone, but then Chris Hedlund saw me and told me to come over. So I did. And that's the story of why I didn't get to my room till about 4 AM. And then I stayed up and started reading Feline Frenzy for another half hour. There must be something about GarageShock that just won't let you sleep. I got up about 10 AM. Not nearly enough sleep for the way I was feeling, but I guess you take what you can get. I ran into Matthew F. almost right away, so we went up to Lisa's room to grab her and get something to fill our stomachs. We ended up down at Boss Tweed's, eating Cod & Chips, drinking root beer. Well, I did, anyway. Then a long walk around Bellingham before we made our way back to the 3B's. Even at 2 PM, the door to the club wasn't open. Strange. And then those of us who were crowded around witnessed Dave Crider helping the Makers lug their gear out of the club. It didn't look like anything was amiss, but later we found out that the Makers had been banned from GarageShock. Once inside, tickets went on sale... and were gone in 15 minutes! Yeesh! I tried watching the Tura Satana / John Carradine flick playing in the bar, but I wasn't following it too successfully and I finally gave up and hung out with whoever was about. I ran into Feline Frenzy ed. Glynis Ward, who had missed out on getting tix. Her plan was to try to organize a party/gig at another bar, possibly with The Makers playing. I wonder if it happened. Some folks headed down to Seattle to catch The Hentchmen, Man or Astro-Man?, Los Hornets, & the Boss Martians. Others went up to Vancouver for The Smugglers, Supersnazz, and The Rip Offs. You don't come all the way out to Washington State to see rock'n'roll and then just see dinner and a movie when you lose out. Nope, you do your damnedest to find another show. That night, after a pleasant Italian dinner with Matthew & Lisa, I decided napping would be unwise. GARAGESHOCK, NIGHT #2 (MAY 26TH): Excitement runs high as each night begins. I've always liked to show up early, feel the place get hotter and hotter as more bodies fill the place, charged particles ready to interact. Impala turned out to be the perfect opening act, warming the crowd up with their instrumental sounds, augmented by a sax player who all too infrequently switched over to Vox Jaguar organ. Next up, though, were The Swingin' Neckbreakers. Like my pal, Pete P., I was kinda nervous. These were my hometown (well, sort of) faves. I wondered how they'd go over. Would they blow the GarageShock gang out of the water the same way they did the fans at home? I couldn't help but look around during their set to check it out. Well, as it turns out, I needn't have worried. To put it in the words of Matthew Fidelibus, The Neckbreakers "flat-out rocked!" They had the whole flippin' place dancing, bopping till they dropped. Not just the front couple rows... the whole place went wild to the sound of their Trenton thunder. When they launched into "The Girl Can't Help It", I looked behind me to Jim Sangster of the Young Fresh Fellows... he just shook his head and smiled, "WOW!" Even at home I don't think I've ever seen a crowd go this wild for these guys. Most of the crowd seemed to know their stuff, too, since they mainly stuck with material from Live For Buzz and a couple of the 45s. And even a misstep at the beginning of "Boss Hoss" didn't keep fans from going nuts for it. Ever hear what seems like a whole bar singin' along with a Sonics' song? Well, this was it. The Neckbreakers came, they saw, they conquered. Exclamation point. By the time the Neckbreakers finished, I was soaked in sweat. I needed a breather, so I went back to the big Igloo can they had up by the bar... filled with ice water, cups available (something the NYC bars have yet to learn). As the Trenton trio fired their last note, the PA came up with the sounds of their fellow Jersey-ites, The Insomniacs. Attack of the Jersey (ex-) teens, indeed. I went outside for a bit and ended up missing part of The Mono Men's hard-edged guitar attack. I don't know what it is, but this is the second year in a row that Dave's booked himself into a slot where I'm too worn out to go up front and get into it. As it turns out, I really needed the break. Next up were a band I've been waiting to see for 11-12 years, The Nomads. Yeah, I know their newer material hasn't been the same as the stuff I flipped over back in the mid-80s, but after listening to the Showdown 2-disc set (Sympathy), I knew there was a chance they'd still do some of that. The Nomads never considered themselves a part of the 80s garage scene. Singer Nik Vahlberg says he never much liked The Chesterfield Kings or any of those bands. The Lyres were another matter... there was something different about them. DMZ, Nick says, were one of the few bands that really had a major effect on The Nomads. It turns out I was right about these guys doing some of the older material. They started off with "Rat Fink A Boo Boo", one of the best noisy instrumental rock'n'rollers ever written. Almost a DMZ punk version of Link Wray. At that point, I knew this was gonna be great. And it was. The band hit "Lowdown Shakin' Chills", "Five Years Ahead Of My Time", "Bad Vibes", "She Pays The Rent" and even came back for an encore (one of the few GShock groups allowed to do so) of "Bangkok". My only regret is that I didn't get to see them again. Last up for the night were Dead Moon. As I said last year, I've never been much of a fan. And if this show didn't change my mind, it did persuade me that they've got a couple nice pop-oriented songs. GARAGESHOCK, NIGHT #3 (MAY 27TH): I didn't go. I'd been debating this one for a while. And that morning, I actually decided I was going to make it. Especially after a search thru the timetables of the ferries to Victoria told me that I was not going to be in BC on Monday night seeing The Drags. I figured I'd forego seeing The Smugglers and check out the Drags at GarageShock. Still, there was no way I was gonna miss the events of the afternoon down at Croc Shock (at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle). So I went up to Lisa's room, handed her ten bucks, and asked her to get me a ticket for the night's events. As you've already figured out, things didn't go as planned. I drove down to the Crocodile, arriving at 1:15 or so. I ordered grilled cheese. "Sorry, we don't serve lunch till 2." (Gotta respect a place like that.) Within a couple of minutes, Alan & Lisa showed up and we chatted while we waited for the afternoon's festivities to begin. Which took more time than we'd expected. First up on the afternoon's program were The Statics, the only one of this bill's groups not to play the previous evening in Vancouver. Last time I'd seen them was exactly 52 weeks earlier at the same locale for the same event. In the meantime, they'd released their debut LP (on Ripoff), as well as a couple songs here and there. Well, they've lost nothing since our last encounter. In fact, the most notable addition was a song entitled "Rock And Roll", with a big bass line and real BlairBoard hit potential. If they recorded this one right (it's due on their upcoming Estrus ten-incher), I'm gonna be bouncing off the walls. Besides the ultra-cool feel to this one, they go in for the naming of other great rock'n'rollers, from the 50s crowd right up to the coolsters of today, including Teengenerate and The Drags. Throw in a ride thru "Loathsome & Wild", their own "Hey, Hey" (a particular fave of mine), "Burgers & Fries" (these guys & gal know me well), and "Pinball Junkies" (really well) and... you get the picture. My memory's a bit hazy, but it seems that Bum were the next bunch to hit the stage. I've been waiting to see these guys since I heard their first 45 a couple years ago. As with most bands, they've been thru a few changes since. First off, they up and left Victoria (getting on and off the island was not only time-consuming, but way too expensive) for the inviting environs of Vancouver. It was there that they picked up Nick from The Smugglers to take over some of the guitar duties. Well... as to their live show, all I can say is WOW! Really powerful punk, with a good melodic sense. They had the crowd going pretty wild. Must be great for Nick, too, 'cuz he really gets a chance to cut loose and GO! Which is pretty much what this whole band does. What's amazing is that it all falls together so well. Wish these guys'd come to the East Coast. Then it was time for The Rip-Offs. You gotta love this bunch. Put those nylons on their faces and they'll spew beer and venom like mad. They play with the crowd, but get the job done, too. Bassist Gregg Lowery's girlfriend Suzanne was a major highlight, too, taunting the band, calling 'em ugly, etc. Playing the whole Rip-Offs show to maximum effect. Which got the rest of us just as riled up. And the band rose to the occasion. Some new songs mixed in with faves from their singles ("Wild Jayne") and LP ("Shadow", "Zodiac", etc.) crammed together for maximum punk'n'roll effect. These guys are a blast. By the time Supersnazz hit the stage, I'd just about had it. As much as I would've liked to have stuck around inside and danced my butt off, I was only able to handle a couple songs before I realized I really needed water. Back out to the cafe side then for about a quart or so... and then I ran into various folks who got me talking. It was sometime during the Rip-Offs set that Lisa & Matthew showed up. They'd checked the 3B's at 12 and no one was around. They came back from lunch at 12:45 and the line was staggering. They waited, but with a 4-tix/person limit they never had a chance. Whatever... that just meant I'd get to hang out and see The Smugglers. Now, before you go wondering why I never managed to leave the Crocodile before the nighttime excitement kicked into gear, let's keep in mind that it's not like it was only 6 PM when the afternoon gig ended. Actually, I have absolutely no clue what time it was... but it had to be at least 7, 7:30. And I just kept talking... mainly to the guys in Bum out by their van. Quite a bit of the conversation centered around a common love for The Dictators (who were playing at CBGB's in NYC that night), since I'd seen those guys only a couple weeks earlier at the same venue. Then the groups for the night show started showing up... Upon seeing me, Dave Hartman of Southern Culture said something to the effect of not being too surprised to see me out there. Given the goings-on, etc. Then the Smugglers-gang all showed up. Another nice reunion with old pals. I love these guys. Not just as a band, but as people. (And they make great house guests, too. That's house guests, not house pets... I can't vouch for that.) Well, before I knew it, it was time to go in and watch Impala. I liked them better this time, probably because the organ got used more. And I got another chance to dance a bit with Sarah from New Orleans. I'd met her on Thursday night, when I noticed she was really into dancing... something nowhere near enough people do at shows anymore. Sarah hadn't been able to get in that afternoon. She's 21, but they do something weird in Louisiana. See, if you get a ticket, they take your license and give you the ticket with all your vital info... but no picture. You get your license back when you settle the ticket. So Sarah had that and a few other forms of ID, but that afternoon, the bouncers said No-Go. She came back that night, though, and it was OK. Go figure. Next up were The Smugglers. Not only a treat for me, but for the folks from all over that caught them this night. After their set (and in the time since GShock), I've heard some really great comments about these guys. The Smugglers believe the whole rock'n'roll thing is supposed to be about having a good time. (And they're right.) Lead vocalist Grant Lawrence, up there in his suit and big rubber boots, is a real showman... his movements on stage are bigger than life, projecting throughout the crowd. During "Whiplash" he grabbed a copy of that 45 (yeah, you know where to look for the review) in one fluid motion. And, as he glided into the next one, bending from back to front at the waist brought it right down and handed it to me without any wasted motion. During dinner, I'd mentioned my current passion for the thirst-quenching goodness of unsweetened iced tea, only to find out guitarist Dave Carswell, too, was a big fan of the stuff. Grant picked up on the thirst-quenching thing... evidently, last year when they'd stayed at the Sylvan St. Rock'n'Roll Youth Hostel, I must've gone on about the goodness of peaches in the same way. Grant named me Thirst Quench King. And on stage, dedicated a song to me, calling me the Thirst Quench King of The Teen Scene. (Long buildup just for that, huh?) There's nothing like an inside joke. Which they proved again when they said their next LP was going to be called I Slept With The Bluesman. I think there might've been five or six of us in the crowd who had a clue what Grant was talking about, but somehow that makes it all the more enjoyable. (Just to let you all in on the joke... Last summer The Schmugs spent three nights at my place. One of those nights, the Bluesguy also grabbed some floor space upstairs. While his snoring doesn't compare to a certain 1994 GShock mooner roommate of mine (yeah, you're gonna have to try and dig up a copy of #47-48 for that reference), Bluesboy can certainly crank some major league z's. While he doesn't quite reach 10 on the Jeff Snore (or Miller) scale, his 7.8 was more than enough to send Smuggler Beez running two flights down to the damp basement for relief. (Thus stranding his Jagermeister t-shirt in my closet for the past year.) So that's what "Fun In The USA" is all about. And you thought this was gonna be a pure show review. Guess that makes you a virgin on the Teen Scene. Problems plagued The Swingin' Neckbreakers at the Crocodile Cafe. First off, the guitar was never loud enough. Secondly, the soundman never quite got it right. Things sounded... off. "Your own equipment... don't leave home without it," griped singer Tom Jorgenson. And he was right. Sure, most of the place was dancing (including me), but anyone who'd seen them at the 3B's the night before knew that something extra just wasn't there. Of course, there were plenty of folks who hadn't, and they were going hog-wild. If they only knew. Maybe the best explanation came from a guy who wasn't into them. "How'd you like 'em?" his buddy asked. "Well, they were cool, I guess, but I'm just not into that rockabilly stuff," he replied, completely missing what the band was all about. "But I've NEVER seen anyone go that nuts for an opening band before!" Time then for Southern Culture On The Skids. These guys were obviously the reason the place was jam-packed this night. And I was right up front with old pals Cheryl & Shannon. While their show doesn't change much from place to place, it's always fun. A few new songs from their upcoming (probably out by the time you read these words) DGC debut, Dirt Track Date, mixed in with audience faves like "8 Piece Box" (I always make sure I get fed at a SCOTS show... it's almost a certainty that some lovely lady I know gets up there to eat and distribute chicken.) and "Viva Del Santo". Two "gentlemen" vying for the title of Santo this time, but Todd A. easily took the mask, with his stunning linguistic display (too bad I don't know Spanish, otherwise I might be able to translate... hope Todd kept a clean mouth.) The soundguy (besides messing up the Neckbreakers) cut off SCOTS due to Seattle's wimpy 2 AM closing. Geez, gang, even New Jersey goes till 3! Again, it took me ages to clear out. I think I was one of the last five people in the bar. I didn't get back to B'ham till 4:15... and then I couldn't sleep for a half hour! Luckily, Matthew F. had said he'd get up early the next day and check out the line. So I set my alarm for 10:30 AM. One final note about this night. Back in Bellingham, evidently quite a few folks had been turned away. 'Cuz they're all cool guys, The Phantom Surfers and The Untamed Youth found another club in town and played a show for the GarageShock overflow. Two thumbs up. GARAGESHOCK, NIGHT #4 (MAY 28TH): Well, as it turns out, I started hearing noises at 9:30. Realizing, once again, that I was never gonna manage to keep my eyes shut again that morning, I slowly slid out of bed. One nice long shower under a short showerhead later... I was dressed and outside. About 10 AM. I'd been planning on taking a peak across the street at the 3B's just in case, but when I heard there was already a line past the end of the 3B's I grabbed a bunch of the mags I'd accumulated, plus a bunch of TS #52 to pass out to other bored folks. That's right, gang. Tix don't go on sale till 3 PM and there was a line of roughly 35 people ahead of me at 10 in the flippin' AM! I didn't wait on lines like this when I was a friggin' teenager! Someone should shoot the first guy on line. At least Jack (Lance Rock) & Bruce (Au Go Go) were comfy in their lawn chairs. Most of the rest of us leaned against the wall or squatted on the sidewalk. Luckily, the ticket limit had been changed from four to two per person. See, quite a few people managed to cut the line. Around 12, an irate gal named Megan (who'd been standing since about 10:30) decided to count folks ahead of her. At this point, I'd moved back to around #48. Some time later I was back in the 60s. Then the 70s. I think I ended up around #85. I hate that crap. The nice part of the line, though, was the people I hung with. Matthew showed up almost right after I did. And there were some other great guys in the line near me, too... including one of the guys from The HateBombs in Fla. And my old NYC pal (now living in SF with gal-pal Shannon) Tom Bessoir was there with me, too. It was really great getting to hang with Tom for that long. I think everyone on the line had their own groups of people to hang with, too... shared experience is great. And if it hadn't been for the evil spectre of those nasty line-cutters, things would've been perfect. I mean, I could see moving up a couple people at 10:15-10:30 AM, but strolling into the first 20 at 1 PM was downright nasty. But let's get back to the nice part. We all just hung out, talked rock'n'roll, life, etc. Some people took a break and got sandwiches for their friends. We sat, we read, we consumed. We talked. We had epithets (and water balloons) hurled our way. Geez. Where else are you gonna find so many people willing to wait for five hours for a garage-punk/surf show? OK... I would rather have been sleeping or something, but if you've gotta wait five hours for something this beats the DMV or Unemployment any day. Finally, the line started moving. And I got my ticket. So did Megan, who by that time was waaaay back. I was glad she got it. She'd had the integrity to stand in the place she started, even though (like many of us), she could've cut in much further up. Ticket in hand, Tom, Shannon, and I finally got some food. After lunch... I tried to sleep, I really did. But it just wasn't happening. So I headed back to the club. I ran into Dave Hartman at one point. He told me he'd loved TS #52, 'cept for one thing. (Red Alert, Red Alert... Warning, Will Rogers, etc. Correction on the way.) See, in that Swingin' Fezmen review, I'd said I had no idea what the heck "Hooterville" referred to, and made some Al Bundy allusion. Dave admonished me for my lapse. I think he said it had something to do with "Green Acres" or one of those shows. My apologies, gang... see, my parents didn't let me watch the tube till I was five. They had me reading before that. And when I did get a glance at the wonderbox (that's TV - get your minds outta the gutter!), I started out on a strict diet of educational stuff. So forgive me. Oh yeah, and I don't have cable, so... Again, my apologies. (And thanks to Dave for the correction.) Much as you 'd like to believe it, I'm not perfect. Skip now to when the doors opened. As per usual, I went in early. And my eyes bugged out! Pizza! "Dave," I said to Mr. Crider, "This is fantastic!" "What?" "The pizza." He grinned. I ate. First up were The Go-Nuts. Members of various groups in this one... Untamed Youth, The Phantom Surfers, The Finks, etc. (The list is much to long to get into, since they've all been in a whole bunch.) They'd made their presence known that afternoon with the yellow/gold-metal flaked Nutmobile... I'll be honest... I was expecting a schtick band and that's about it. But the Go-Nuts make you... go nuts. And it IS a schtick. Every song has something to do with snacks. They throw cheapo snack food to the audience. They sing about 'em. They sell their own. They use their Snack-A-Pult. (Figure it out, bright-boy and genius-girl.) They also have a pie-eating contest (no hands, please) at centerstage. Tonight's contestants... Tiki Man Tim & Phantom Surfer Maz. Personally, I thought Maz deserved the honors, but Tim won on the Applause-O-Meter. Thing is, these guys have what it takes to back it up musically. And just to remind you who's up there (like you needed it), they check back in with snippets of the Go-Nuts theme every few songs. Having surfed the Snack Wave, I probably should've realized that tonight was gonna be a "no-rules" type of night. But I really didn't pay close attention to The Tiki Men, probably 'cuz I was too beat from going nuts to the Go-Nuts. The Tiki torchers were good, but didn't quite do it after the Go-Nuts hilarity and wildness. Then The Phantom Surfers. I'd seen 'em a month or so earlier, but nothing could've prepared me for this. This is when it should've truly thunked me on the head that tonight was gonna be completely over the edge. Our surf instro heroes took the stage with 70s rock outfits on and wigs to match. And they stayed in character, too. Johnny Bartlett looked like Gary Glitter; Maz was closer to Jerry Nolan; I'm not sure about Mike Lucas, but Mel... someone said he looked like Long Gone John. Well, a little, anyway. The perfect way to offset their powerful surfin' sound. Honestly, I don't have a set list, but I do remember them splashing thru something from their new 45 (see GShock reviews). It was funny enough when they threw out a box of little balls with the 76 gas station logo on them, but then they all nailed us with Silly String. Their sense of fair play, though, compelled them to allow us to do the same. Gentlemen that they are, they provided the audience with a box of the stuff, tossing a whole bag full of cans to the crowd... So now I not only had Go-Nuts snacks in my what's left of my hair, but silly string, too. "It Pays To Rock", "Wave Hog", "Gammera".... By the time these guys left the stage, everyone had a grin on their faces. In between bands now and The Insomniacs Wake Up hits the sound system again. Feline Frenzy editrix Glynis Ward is in my general vicinity and we dance up a storm. Both of us want to stay right up there front and center. We know what's coming... a genuine Missouri lineup of The Untamed Youth. These guys were a huge chunk of why I headed out this year. (Does that explain my willingness to wait on line for five hours?) The Columbia (MO) kids hit the stage to the tune of "Go Go Ferrari" and there was no stopping 'em. Next up, an old fave of mine, their take on "Some Kinda Fun", with Steve Rager's organ way up front. The guys were definitely hitting highlights tonight, and even in the first song the sweat was flowing freely from my front and center brow. I was singin' along almost the whole set. "Beer Bust Blues", "The Hearse", "Supercharged Steamroller" (remember the vid? No, well, order it... see the U. Youth pages.) I was in heaven. Pure bliss. Jammed against the stage and jumping up and down with a huge smile on my face. I could see Mary Huff of SCOTS behind the stage, shaking her head at how good these guys were and smiling at how happy I looked. Yeah, folks... I was really on top of the world. Forget Cloud 9... I was in orbit! "Hey Elly Mae" was great, but I happened to glance at what was next on the set list. Looking at my friend Mary next to me, I said, "Uh- Oh." "What?" "They're playing 'She's So Satisfyin' next." "Yeah?" "This place is gonna explode." And me with it, gang. I said I was in orbit before? This was warp 10. I was gone, goodbye. Glad I'm short and the ceilings are high, 'cuz I was jumping up and down like a madman, shakin', shoutin', shimmyin', and going completely, absolutely NUTS! Sweat, sweat, sweat! Happy-Happy, Joy-Joy! is right. I was seeing the Untamed Youth again and it was all I could've hoped for and more. And the whole audience seemed to be agreeing 110%. "What'll You Have?" came the musical question. Then their answer, "PABST... BLUE... RIBBON!!!" First beer blast honors done by Mr. Mace on bass. Next, though, was Derek. Mr. Dickerson, folks... he leaned over to grab that can, shaking it up even as he latched on. In one smooth motion, not quite straightened up, he let fly... BLAMMO in my face! Now, normally I might not be too thrilled about beer all over me. But this is the Untamed Youth. This is GarageShock. I didn't even have to worry about driving. And since I was soaked with sweat, a cold beer in the face and hair wasn't gonna matter at all. Considering all the other crap in my hair it was almost like Body On Tap, that old beer shampoo stuff. So, yeah, I came out of this one with an even WIDER grin on my visage. "Cars, Girls, Surfin', Beer / Nothin' else matters here!" Andy Shernoff's wisdom, handed to us this night by The Untamed Youth, could've stood as the GarageShock credo. And that was right after Blair Buried By Beer Blast. Bliss, I tell you. Bliss. The set finished out with "Gonna Make You Mine", as the boys reminded us once again that not only were they Kings of the Surf, and Pharaohs of Frat Rock, but Gurus of the Garage, as well. Then they were done? Uh-uh. Encore time. They brought it all home with a cover of The Remains' "Don't Look Back". Hopefully, they won't. I want the Untamed Youth looking forward... to the future for more sweat-soaked smilin' big-time fun. One might wonder who'd be able to follow a set like this, where everybody had just gotten so completely and utterly gone that it seemed there was nowhere to go. Well, closing out GarageShock, '95 were Southern Culture On The Skids. Really, this was the only band that could've taken this spot. SCOTS are so completely different that it worked perfectly. They just got up and did their thing. A completely different feel than the Youth, and even the crowd seemed to change. One young lady, up there eating chicken... hmm, let me rewrite that. She bit the chicken, she chewed the chicken, but she didn't swallow it. Nope, a couple good chomps and chews and it was right back out the same way. Add chicken to the snacks, silly string, sweat, and beer stew. Santo tonight was wild. This nutball actually got an electric razor out and cut Hartman's hair as he banged on the drums. Later, Dave said he knew it was gonna happen, but the look on his face wasn't exactly what I'd call amusement. Then again, even if I knew someone was gonna be doing that, I think I might wanna hold my head real still... even if I did still have to pound those skins. Of course, when Santo menaced the audience with the thing, that was different. One guy (from the Shop Class Squares and Trash Can Records in Rochester, NY) took him out with a flying tackle. Mayhem, once again. By the time SCOTS finished (after 2 AM!) few people wanted to stay inside. Everyone was sweating. Ice water and it was time to go. Outside to the sidewalk. Folks were still on a GShock high. Another year over, but WOW! Tom & Shannon wanted to go get a bite... normally I would've said sure (I'd even planned to), but... First, I wasn't all that hungry. Since our belated lunch, I'd had some pizza, plus a piece of chicken (unchewed, thankfully). And, I guess I just wanted to stay and soak up the excitement and say some goodbyes. Some folks were catching planes in a few hours and so were splitting pronto. Others were loading up their saucers and heading back to their homeworlds. So, yeah, I wanted to hang out that much longer. Once back at the Travelodge, I couldn't go to sleep. Not when folks were still up and about. So I went down a few doors and hung out with SCOTS and a few other nightbirds. Almost 5 AM when I hit the hay. So that's it. GarageShock, '95. Sure, my story doesn't end there. But you already know most of that bit from the intro. And it wasn't until I got back that I found out that Muddy Frankenstein and the Primate Five played that Monday night at the Lake Union Pub. Thank you, Dave Crider. --- BB **************************************************************************** ******** STUFF I GOT AT GARAGESHOCK I thought about doing my usual thing... all the 'zines together and all the records/discs together, but somehow it seemed like more fun to split stuff into a 'GarageShock' (and related) and... 'Other' type of camp. So this section reviews all the stuff I accumulated, 'zine and record-wise (I only got two discs, by The Makers & The Untamed Youth, and those are in their respective sections.) Well, OK, there are a couple 45s that aren't in here, 'cuz they've been reviewed previously in these pages, plus there are a couple Makers' 45s that aren't mentioned here, either... but I bet you can figure out where to find those. SOUNDS: One of the Net types I met was a guy named Michael, from a band in Colorado called The Element 79. He gave me two copies of their 45, "Upstairs" (360 Twist), one for me and one for Sam Steinig of Mondo Topless, who he'd been in touch with via e-mail (and who I'd be seeing a week later.) First spin of this one came while I was on the air (nothing like previewing your material, huh?). We have a winner! A breath of beautifully snotty garage-punk air with a definite '66 feel. Belowdecks, they slow it down slightly with "I See You" (I would've preferred a more jangly version of this), but charge full steam ahead back to garage HQ with "Pretty Pain". I'm hoping to hear more from these guys... Another gift item came in the form of Trash Train's "We Played Twister" (Snake Pit), which revs things up sorta punk-like, but with a melody hangin' on tight. This thing drives hard with the guitar in the passing lane... I'm always happy to hear something new from The Smugglers. Their take on "Whiplash" has always been a highlight of their live set, so fans should be happy to grab it on vinyl, backed here by their own "Death of a Romantic" (1+2). This enjoyable noisy pop rocker features guitarist Nick Thomas on lead vocals... The San Diego garage scene may seem incredibly incestuous, but I really don't see how it matters, as long as we keep getting cool records like the latest by The Shambles, their Original Tangent EP (Gouramie). "I Can't Don't Want To" starts things off, the most powerful of the three cuts included here. A bit past mid-tempo, it has Mod overtones plus a soulful R&B feel. "Thin Lines" is a reminder that the SD crowd understands, better than most, the importance of songwriting and backing vocals. As for"Stuck On The Inside", well, it's always a joy to hear ex-Telltale Hearts vocalist Ray Brandes take over the mic - especially for those of us who have yet to hear Ray's solo disc. Also note the organ here, sweet and longing... How about The Phantom Surfers? Glad you asked. Their "Flutter Foot" 45 (Drop Out) is gettin' kids movin' from coast to coast, while down below they really turn it on with Skid Roper's "Playa Raton". Check out that big, fat reverb guitar sound... I'm guessing this next one's sort of a Zombies tribute. When The Fall-Outs sing "tell her no" in "Zombie", it seemed like a hint. Except for "Sleep", this may be the most pop thing I've heard from these guys - and I like it a lot. The other side of this split seven, "Here Comes The Zombies" (Square Target), comes from Flathead, a group whose last venture I was none too pleased by. This, however, is a major improvement, slow and deliberate and quite worthy... I got the Rocktober Fest EP (Rocktober Records) as a trade for TS #52 as I was standing in line that Sunday. This thing seems like a Providence vs. Chicago tag-team match. On the Rhode Island side - I've never been much of a Boss Fuel fan, but "Pure" rocks along pretty well in a skeletal way. Creep Factory (members of The Phantom Creepers & Small Factory) come up with a creepy r'billy/Western instro, "Johnny Creeper Called Me Late Last Night", that occasionally hints at surf, trotting along at a good clip. I wasn't too impressed with the Illinois side... Trashcan Records (Trashcan) is a comp of Rochester, NY groups done real low-budget... the jacket is just white cardboard with a xerox sheet pasted (badly) to each side. Highlights are Duke Galaxy & The Pipeliners with some nice surf sounds, Nod (who go way into the VU sound on "I Get Cooked"), Muler ("Grind" really picks up the pace, slamming along with a grin and a slight Birdman guitar sound), and The Quitters ("Bicycle" is a real toe-tapping, high soaring pop ditty.) LITERATURE: Last year, I came home from GarageShock with only one friggin' fanzine, the highly cool multiball. And, while I did meet co-editor Brinda Coleman this time around, she's still at work on their next ish. I did, however, pick up about four mags this time... and could've scored more if I'd really pushed it. But that's not my style, really. I like to talk, but I hate pushing things... guess I'll never be a salesman. You'll notice that only three mags are reviewed here... that's because the fourth, The Untamed Whirl, is slotted with the rest of the Untamed Youth bits. So, here goes... Back when I first started reading fanzines on a regular basis, they were usually very low-tech productions. Few of them even bothered with halftones, choosing instead to just paste a picture on a page and copy the thing. A good percentage even scoffed at typewriters. In this computer age, it's extremely rare to find a 'zine that's completely hand-done. But that's exactly what you'll get with Mike Pecora's Dragstrip Riot. His debut includes a whole heap of stuff: Mike Carroll & Tim Kerr chat with the ed. about Poison 13 and the Lord High Fixers; some teachings of the Young Lion's Conspiracy are provided; our host visits (via Ma Bell) with his old Rochester, NY pal, Duke Galaxy; pics of Bettie Page are also provided; and, of course, there's the obligatory reviews. Tons more stuff in this, too. Send $2 to Dragstrip Riot, 107 Longridge Dr., San Antonio, TX 78228. I first heard about Ucking Things from my e-mail pal Peggy Shanks a couple months ago. See, it's her brother Pat's new mag. Well, Peggy had told me that Pat was going to send me a copy (he'd really like the copy of the TS that I'd sent Peggy). Well, I guess Pat's a bit like me, a procrastinator. Luckily, though, I had the good fortune to be the guest of Alan Wright and Lisa Lindstrom on the first night of my trip to the Pacific NorthWest this year. And they gifted me with a copy of Pat's 'zine. (Pat is an old friend of Alan's from when they both lived in Kingston, Ontario.) UT is really fun... a real personal zine... all about Pat's life, which just so happens to involve cool rock'n'roll music. Hmm, maybe that's where we should start. Emphasize the rock'n'roll, 'cuz that's what Pat, like me, listens to. One page of the mag is devoted to a ROCK vs. ROCK'N'ROLL thing. So nice for me to see someone say it straight out. This is something I've been trying to tell people for a while. There is a major difference between the two... and please don't confuse them. Pat also goes into his move from "K-Town" to Ottawa. He interviews the Astro-Nuts, talks about how he feels about old records as compared to the flavor of the month... And he goes off about computers. As far as Pat's concerned, he has no use for them. And it's something I can understand, though I just don't subscribe to that particular opinion. Anyway, Ucking Things is just plain old fun. Definitely guaranteed to bring a smile to your face more than once. The biggest mag I got out at GShock was Feline Frenzy #9, delivered to me the first night by editor Glynis Ward. At over a hundred pages, I'm guessing you'll be digging this one for quite some time. This mag has a direct line back to the time when I first got into the zine scene. That was a time when everyone really did do everything by hand. Hmm... interesting, all three of the 'zines I'm reviewing in this section are somewhat anti-computer. Granted, Glynis has done the typing on the computer (easier to deal with spelling errors), but otherwise, there's still a real hand-done cut-and-paste feel. But that's not the reason you need FF#9. I mean, I thought I knew a thing or two about what was going on, but Glynis... (note the use of the ellipse, folks - used here to indicate I'm too lazy to think up some witty comment for comparative purposes... actually, I had a couple, but they just didn't feel right, so I decided to go with this crafty dodge. Impressed?) Besides cool old ads, hand-done graphics, drawings, etc., Glynis has what seems like a gazillion articles/interviews/profiles on bands, including: The Others, Les Miserables, Thee Flypped Whigs, Dale Gregory & The Shouters, The Kaisers, The Digs, McFadden's Parachute, The Makers, The Woggles, The Count Backwards, The Ace-Tones, The Space Cakes, The Hermits, The Kliek, Sharon Tandy, 99th Floor, The Fugatives, The Astro Nuts, The Polyester Explosion, Stoici, 1-2-5, and more. As you can see, she mixes it up between old and new, US and European (a number of Italian groups are here), etc. Glynis is a big fan of old 60s teen mags and goes that route with pin-ups of The Untamed Youth and The Creatures, among others. Even an advice column (Dear Miss Paisley). Glynis also gently admonishes most of the US in her reports on the state of audiences in different regions of the country. Turns out almost nobody's dancing anymore. My favorite article probably comes in the form of a long conversation with Domenic Priore and Audrey Moorehead, hosts of It's Happening, a 60s styled rock'n'roll TV show. (If, like me, you haven't been able to find it on your cable system, fear not - they're hoping to put out a video of the band segments.) In addition to tons of reviews (zines, records, books, etc.), Glynis even tells about cool t-shirts and accessories available from some of your fave garage groups. Just in case you hadn't figured it out already... Feline Frenzy spends most of its time on the garage scene, though it occasionally hangs out in other cool camps (Surf, Beat, etc.) The mag ends up with fanclub listings and even something I should've thought of ages ago... taking a look at some cool radio shows from around the world. Various problems forced a two-year wait for #9, but Glynis is promising #10 in time for you to use it as a stocking-stuffer for that special someone. In the meantime, I think Glynis is selling these for $5... she was in person, anyway. Still, I'd advise being on the safe side and sending her an extra George Washington on top of that for postage. Feline Frenzy, c/o Glynis Ward, PO Box 2311, Fairfax, VA 22031. So... what other fun stuff did I get out at GarageShock? Well, I guess I bought seven or eight t-shirts (would've been more if I could've gotten tix for that Saturday night show. Luckily, thanks to Feline Frenzy, I've got The Drags' address, so I spend some more of my fast-dwindling bank account to become a walking ad for yet another group I'm nuts about. (Don't take that as a complaint... I've got at least 90 different rock'n'roll t-shirts - hanging in alphabetical order in my closet!) GShock was also the place for a bunch of stickers, Estrus matchbooks, posters (the one I got was actually from Bum at Croc Shock), and other knick-knacks. Oh yeah... The Go-Nuts had a whole assortment of snacks - including their own blend of colored sugar water. Cheap, too. Oh yeah, one more thing... the tickets for each night. They were decals. Really nice decals. --- BB **************************************************************************** ******** HAVIN' A RIOT THE MAKERS It seems no matter where The Makers go, things are gonna be interesting. There's tons of folks out there who hate 'em, saying they act like little babies, calling 'em immature children, etc. They claim The Makers deliberately trash clubs, pick fights, blah, blah, blah. Actually, some of those accusations are pretty close to the mark. Really, though, what it comes down to is that The Makers will never be called boring by anyone. They'll always be a topic of discussion. Of course, there's the other side, too. "The Makers are little pushovers...", "They're sweethearts." (That last comes from a few different young ladies I've talked to.) Thing is, they've done some of the best garage recordings of the past couple years. And that's what's most important - The Makers play top-notch rock'n'roll. (You can write to the guys at the following address: The Makers, PO Box 10174, Spokane, WA 99209.) IN THE STUDIO: From the first note, The Makers new one, All Night Riot (Estrus) is an all-out blast. "They Call Me Black Sheep" (could be the band's theme song) starts things off like a sonic tornado. It's got that speed thrill screaming thru its veins and ready to sear synapses. "I'm Your Big Man", "Four Button Suit" (drums beating wildly along), "Sittin' Here Drinkin'"... Geez, these guys can KICK! The closest comparison I can think of is The Animals at their sloppiest doing waaay too much speed. Occasional touches of ? & the Mysterians, but it's Eric Burdon & the boys that these guys idolize. (Can you blame them?) The more I listen to this one, the more I like it. Say what you want about The Makers, they've put out some damn wild stuff. Frenetic and fearsome. Join in their All Night Riot. As most of the boys' fans no doubt know, these guys are doing their level best to keep Making. So, in addition to the current disc, there's also a bunch of 7"ers spinnin' around out there. I think the Get Hip gang has gotten a couple, "This Is The Answer" is the only one currently in my possession. Up top's a fuzz guitar riff running around that somehow reminds me of some band from the 80s garage scene, but I can't remember for the life of me which one. Of the two down below, it's "Spoonful" that gets me. Starting off with a deliberate bass rumble, it soon give's way to Mike's feral vocal and channels straight into the heart of the Makers' menacing, defiant sound. Even so, I prefer Bust Out" & "Why Won't You", coming to you courtesy of those demented one-sided geniuses at RipOff Records. "Michael Maker, can I have your autograph? You're my favorite," coos an impressively seductive sounding female fan. And the band kicks in with Mike screamin' "Give it to me - BUST OUT!" Hmm... given the cover, I think it's pretty obvious just how he means that. As with all Makers' records, there's not much production, but that's obviously not the point. And at least you can tell what's going on. This one moves, with a real engaging guitar bit swingin' thru. Did the young lady in question not come across after Mike's heartfelt plea in the first one? "Why Won't You?" seems like the obvious question. "Can you dig that crazy beat?" asks some wildman from way back. Yup... especially since these guys start kicking down Eric Burdon's door with something damn close to "I'm Cryin'". No matter, really, since they get past it pretty quickly, checking back at the door once in a while just to see if Eric's comin' home yet. But the coolest part comes midway thru, when Mike sings out some questions and the guitar answers just the way it has to. Buy the record. KICKED OUT OF GARAGESHOCK: After their show, The Makers were going thru their usual thing... fooling around, etc. What happened next, I can't be exactly sure. All I knew was that the next day I heard that The Makers had been kicked out of GarageShock. I'd seen Dave Crider helping them get their gear out of the 3B's early Friday afternoon, though, and all seemed OK. Still and all, though, the fact was that The Makers had been banned from GarageShock. I ran into Mike Maker at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle that Saturday afternoon. I asked him for his side of the story. According to Mike, after the show, the guys had been fooling around in the bathroom. He said there was beer all over the floor and the band was taking anyone who came in and sliding him across the room. Now, Mike says everyone was thinking it was pretty funny, enjoying themselves. Unfortunately, the club's bouncer happened to be one of the next entrants... he didn't enjoy the ride. All the rest of the stories, Mike said (about them trashing mics, etc.) were completely untrue. Mike says they'd tossed a bottle somewhere and it hadn't even broken. WHISTLING IN THE DARK: In keeping with my NYC habits, I tended to be one of the last ones to leave the scene of each night's excitement. I guess it must've been Thursday night when I found myself walking thru the parking lot towards the Travelodge and spotted a Maker on a lower tier of the roof of the place, right above where the band's hearse was parked. Most other folks were completely out by that time, but I think being a Maker must mean staying up and doing something different. This particular Maker (I can't remember which one it was at this point) was whistling. He stopped and greeted me. We chatted for a bit... he was a bit intoxicated. I asked him to whistle the Andy Griffith theme. He asked for a hint, which I gave him... and then he proceeded to go for it, getting about two lines into it, when a cab started driving by. That was a sign to flip the guy off. Which he promptly did. The cabbie stopped. "You want me to call the police?" "Shut up." "I'll call the police." "Get outta here." "I'm gonna call the police." "Me and you... get outta here." (Note that Mr. Maker was still flipping the guy off.) It kept going like that. Actually, the dialogue is probably a little bit off... but you get the picture. --- BB Well, like I said, I spent my Saturday night at the Crocodile, but most of the Texas bunch headed over to the Lake Union to check out Dana's last gig with The Inhalants, who were playing with The Statics, Sinister Six, & The Rip-Offs. Turns out, the excitement knob got turned up to 11 at that locale this fine evening Upon hearing about it the next day I started getting a mental picture of a 90s Riot On The Sunset Strip. Anyway, I figured this was a story that needed to be told, so I asked Chris to do the honors. Here's the scoop... SATURDAY NIGHTS ALL RIGHT FOR FIGHTIN' Lake Union Pub, Seattle, WA May 27th, 11:30ish The Inhalants are up first. Right off I thought that this was a queer place for a "garage" show 'cause I played roadie for a vegan-crust-core- punk band the summer before called DEAD SILENCE and we played there. The Lake Union Pub is supposively known as the "punkest" club in the northwest and it is a complete dive. So, anyway, The Inhalants start their set and the crowd seems pretty responsive. There is no stage and the room is about the size of my bedroom (either I have a big bedroom or this is a really small club... I think it is a little of both). So, needless to say, it is packed with a bunch of kids, heads all a-bobbin'. In the middle of the bobbin' crowd, two fellas start "pogoing". One cleanly shaven head and one with his hair all arranged in neat spikes (this guy had tattoos on his FACE!) Lisa did the lead vocals on about three songs that night and that is always a treat. Anyway, The Inhalants finished their set without any confrontations, probably 'cause they are so easy goin'. Later, Dana said she could tell that something was going to happen - so she left after their set. Next up was The Statics. I really enjoyed those kids. I, like everyone else, got their record the same day I got The Rip-Offs record, so it kinda got filed and not listened to. But their shows made me pull it out this week. So the crowd starts to get a little more worked up. The crusty punk kids started pogoin' higher and faster. This is where The Makers show up. I see Tim Maker outside of the club through the window. Stefanie of the Lord High Fixers gives him the universal sign for "come in here" with her right arm and Tim replies with the equally universal sign for "can't, no money" with his thumb rubbing against his index and middle finger. Stef went to the door guy and...I don't know what happened there, but the next thing I know, all of The Makers are inside in the middle of the crowd, lookin' cool, of course (jackets & shades). But The Statics' set ended a song later. By this time everybody was startin' to feel the libations. I didn't feel any aggressions at this time, but I was gettin' kinda loopy here, as well. Sit down, this is where it starts pickin' up! Oh, I gotta make a note that I didn't see any "sieg heils" or swastikas... and a later skin seemed to be of Asian desent, so I'm guessin' that they weren't racist. But it's been awhile since I've seen a skinhead. We don't have 'em in Texas, and in Denver they all became big rockabilly cats about three years ago. On comes Sinister Six. I saw and interviewed these guys in Houston about a month ago and - don't tell them, but I think they kinda sound like a faster Danzig. Anyway, the "pogoing" changes from vertical bouncing around to a couple of guys moving through the crowd, pushing and shoving in a lame attempt to start a "pit". I guess The Makers got pushed one too many times, 'cause they jumped the skins and started a-poundin'. The band kept playin', just like the movies, but the lead singer, Doug White, jumps in to break it up. The bartender calls the cops and Doug plays mediator with the mic in his hand. Skins were saying stuff like, "Hey this is a punk show, you're supposed to slam dance!" And Doug says, "If you intimidate my friends who are trying to have a good time, you'll get your ass kicked!" Shouting ensues with threats of death to The Makers by the skins, only to be drowned out by the band a minute later. More shoving and punches occur and the cops show up. Skins were taken out the rear of the club and The Makers out the front. Doug says, "We'd like to thank the Makers for keeping the peace". End of set. Chris Munski, our pal from Denver, was at the Swingin' Neckbreakers' show at the Crocodile and walked to the Lake Union Pub after their set. He comes in the back door and says "Whats going on? There's like 3 cop cars out back and 20 skins". Through the window I could see The Makers talking to the cops out front. Slowly, more skins came oozing into the club. Two here, three there, till there was a whole horde of 'em. This is where I heard that the cops escorted The Makers out of town for their own protection. The Rip-Offs get ready to play by saying "You all better behave or we'll have The Makers kick your ass!". The Rip-Offs were great, feasting off the energy of the crowd. Now that The Makers were gone, the cops left. But there were still the skins. Doug White was out front talking with the skin that "started" the whole pogoin', shovin' thing. From what I gathered, they were discussing the appropriate behavior at punk rock shows. Doug was being quite the negoTiator, I must say, because he didn't get angry and was saying things like "I understand your point, but...". So the show ended and I go up to Tim Kerr and say "Wow, The Makers really DO fight." Tim retorts, "Yeah, it's not just an act." So we hang out a while finishing our beers and talking with folks and decide to leave. Chris Munski is wearing a sports coat when we leave and walk by the skin and Doug White. The skin says to Doug, "I don't know what happened. I was just having a good time when some guys in sportcoats jump me and start poundin' on me. I'm not sayin' it was that guy (referring to Chris) but guys dressed just like him." We resist the urge to say something and continue to our car. Now we are in the car and we turn the corner onto the street in front of the club and witness a punk rock brawl in full swing. Closest to us is some girl on the ground gettin' kicked in the ribs by three skins. Juli screams to Garrett (drivin') "Flash your brights! Honk the horn!" And that did something, cause the girl was able to get up and run away. Next, Gregg Lowery pours onto the street with a skin by the collar and poundin' his ear (ouch). This part is kind of hazy, but to the best of my recollection there were three skins and one garage enthusiast engaging in "fistycuffs" mid-street. Pretty much it was one-on-one, with the skin who started it gettin' held back by one of his comrades. That skin made a jump to break the hold of the other skin, resulting in the holding skin pushing him back towards the sidewalk. The instigator skin trips over himself and falls to the ground. Luckily he was able to break his fall with the base of his skull on the curb. Out like a light! This is where the fight ended. Kinda like when you're having a snowball fight and somebody gets hit in the eye, everybody quits. It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. The other skins are trying to pickup the KO'd Kojak, but he's as limp as a worm. Later, I heard that they had to hold his head together until the ambulance came. BUT, I also heard that he woke up later with a terrific headache. I could have sworn he was dead. I felt him hit the curb, I swear! That's it. The truth, I swear to god. --- CH **************************************************************************** ******** SOME KINDA FUN THE UNTAMED YOUTH IN PRINT: Honestly, to me, the Youth have been gone from the time Derek & Mace moved to California. Even though Steve Rager wasn't an original member, to me he was as essential an ingredient in the Untamed Youth as Derek & Mace. Rager's organ playing gave the group their color, the dance, the smile. Plus, somehow I knew that once the Youth moved to California, I'd probably never see 'em again. So, as far as I could tell, they really didn't exist anymore. The group did soldier on out in California, though the going was awfully hard. But finally the wheels ground to a halt. But when I heard that they'd be at GarageShock this year, sort of promoting their live LP, I knew I had to head out, especially since it was to be one of the Missouri lineups. I was gonna get to see The Untamed Youth again. As all Sophisticated International Playboys (and gals) already know, the Untamed Whirl is "the official publication of The Untamed Youth." One thing I never expected, though, was that I'd actually see another issue of the Whirl. But, then, I never expected to see the boys play again, either. This 6th (and last, according to the cover) ish of the Whirl begins with Derek opining that "Surf & Hot Rod Music = Failure In The Music Business", explaining the Youth's demise. Interesting opinion, considering how many instro surf outfits there are around these days. But maybe he's talking about "hitting the bigtime"... in which case he's quite right. But, then, if I were looking to become the next big thing, I wouldn't be playing "Pabst Blue Ribbon" and "Beer Bust Blues" either. It'd be nice if the world worked that way, but... well, as far as I can tell, they just don't. (I'd be happy to be proven wrong, though... I think. Hmm... that's a whole 'nother topic, isn't it?) I was reading through The Untamed Whirl and there were a few things I felt a need to react to. Derek's musical equation is put into the form of the band's "Last Will & Testament", telling of Mace's marriage and move back to the Show Me state and detailing the contributing factors to the demise of this great group. But he finishes it up like so... It's hard to know what to make of the youth's career (???) looking back on it all. Did we make an impact? No. Are we missed? No. Is the world worse off without us? No." Harrumph! I would've answered a resounding YES, Affirmative, & Aye, Cap'n to every single one of those queries. I guess it's a matter of scale. No, the group didn't make an impact on the Madonna/Springsteen fans of the world, but they certainly made their mark on my consciousness... a pretty huge imprint, I'd say, since they were a major chunk of the reason for my heading to this year's GarageShock. Those years they'd motored thru the NYC metro area in the hearse had definitely had an effect on me. Sweat-soaked and wild, dancing like a fool, that was me at an Untamed Youth show. And when they'd hit "She's So Satisfyin'", I'd be thru the ceiling, over and out. So, like I said before, when I heard they were goin' out west, I knew it was the end of something great in my life. Yeah, I'd call that an impact. I suppose that answers that second question of Derek's in the affirmative, too, doesn't it? Damn right I've missed them. Is the world worse off without the Untamed Youth? Mine is. And, reader pals/pal- ettes, so's yours. And, if you don't know it, either you're wasting your time on this mag or you've been deprived of some pretty wonderful sounds. (I'd start with their first LP, Some Kinda Fun, and work your way thru, in order.) Is the world at large worse off without the Untamed Youth? Definitely. Thing is, they're just too numb to know it. Ah heck... let's give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they've just never had the good fortune to see/hear these boys in actino. Their lives are that much poorer. Come to think of it, that means, without the Youth, they're even worse off than you or me. So, Derek "BeBop" Dickerson, you get a big red '0' on your self- designed quiz. The Whirl goes into some "great" moments in Youth history. Some of these are so wild, I have a hard time believing they're true; but others I can personally attest to. Either way, they can be damn funny. The best of these include stories about: "The evil elf," F. Clarke Marty, and finger cymbals; Mace projectile vomiting out "rancid hippie food" all over the girl he'd been hoping to... umm, you get the picture; and Rager using an out-of-order toilet ("too shy" to use the Ladies Room, sayeth Derek) and flushing. The toilet, on the floor above the actual club area, overflowed and started to rain down on some rather attractive young ladies... of course, they might have just wondered what had happened if the rest of the band hadn't started yelling things along the line of "Rager, we TOLD you not to flush." Best of all, though, are the stories about ex- Crawdaddys' leader Ron Silva, who toured as the group's drummer a few times. Evidently, Ron was quite the flatulent one. "Easily the sourest, foulest, most putrid smelling farts any of us had ever smelled! Those stinkbombs could also travel great distances without losing power -- the man was talented." For all that, the case story offered up is even better. But you'll have to buy a copy of your own for that (and tons more.) This self-proclaimed last issue of the band's mag also includes a "Where Are They Now?" file on everyone ever to play with the Untamed Youth. Some are far from flattering (esp. the stuff on F. Clarke Marty, tho' Derek's not exactly too kind when it comes to some heavy metal guy they let into the band for a couple gigs, either.) A nice touch is the Untamed Youth discography (and I'm only missing one or two songs on comps... not bad!) According to the Untamed Whirl, there are a couple final Youth releases due out. One will be a 45 on Hillsdale, with recordings from '87 & '91. The other will be an Untamed Youth's Greatest Hits 30-track disc on Norton, with 45s to be drawn from it. In addition, theWhirl offers pages from Derek's U Youth diary from '87, giving a great glimpse at the early days of the group, including an entry from their first performance, 12/31/86. Song lists are often included, as well. A few other things appear, as well, but last up is the "Merchandise Mart", a whole flippin' page of the stuff. You can still get almost any Untamed Youth stuff you want (need, actually). Which brings me to my final point. Getting this ish of The Untamed Whirl is not going to be one or the easier things you've done. Well, it's not hard, it's just... let me explain. Derek states taht teh only way to get an ish of the mag is by joining the Sophisticated International Playboys Club for $10 (in the US, more elsewhere)... that'll not only get you Whirl #6, but all the rest, too... plus a 45, an 8X10 glossy, a membership certification & card, and five U. Youth bumper stickers. Send your money to the S.I.P.C., PO Box 304, Hollywood, CA 90078. ON THE RECORD: Live In Las Vegas (Estrus), it's The Untamed Youth "at the Fabulous El Morocco Lounge," supposedly "taped from the front row center table, where all the action is!" But if you're looking to be bowled over by some crisp, clean & clear sound experience, gang... this is NOT it. The sound isn't really bad, it's just not all that good. In fact, I've got live tapes of my own that sound as good as this. But that's not really the point, is it? The idea is that we've got another Untamed Youth record in our greedy little paws. Starting it up with "Go Go Ferrari", they move on to "Russian Roulette" (hmm, very Las Vegas), then on to a particular favorite of mine, "Some Kinda Fun". I guess it's always been the dancing organ in this one that got me flying. The group on this recording (from October, '92) is Derek & Mace, with Dave Stuckey (Dave & Deke Combo) on drums, and Trent Ruane (The Mummies) on organ. This disc includes not only live versions of some of your Untamed Youth favorites from their earlier offerings, but some material you've never heard from them before, either. I'd detail for you which ones those were, but unless I look at all the records, I'm not going to know for sure... and, honestly, I just don't feel like going downstairs and checking right now. Material does appear from all three of their studio albums, though, including "Adam & Evil" from the Sophisticated International Playboys. Another personal favorite is "Supercharged Steamroller", the one they did that incredible video for out at Coney Island. And, in true U. Youth style, this one sounds fantastic. It always seems so unfair that the vid didn't see any airtime ('cept on Nardwuar's cable show, I guess.) Want yet another reason The Untamed Youth were one of the best bands you'll ever be lucky enough to listen to? Check out their take on "SS 396". This is pure, honest, good-time hot-rod vocal music. And I guess that's what set the Untamed Youth apart from so many others. It's why I like The Untamed Youth sound more than any punk-oriented band (and, as regular readers will be sure to tell you - maybe you can even figure it out for yourself - I really like punk stuff... most of the time.) See, the Untamed Youth have a greater power. This is a group that can make you feel good, they make you happy. The group successfully combined surf & hot rod sounds with flipped-out frat rock and sweaty garage stompers like "She's So Satisfyin'", a number that never failed to get the crowd going absolutely nutso. The Untamed Youth sang about... well, all those things Andy Shernoff wrote about in "I Live For Cars & Girls", a song the Youth always did a fantastic job with (tho' they changed the first line to "I'm the type of punk / that's into gettin' drunk"... Why? "My mom's gonna hear this," Derek explained at the time.) "Cars, girls, surfin', beer / nothin' else matters here." And it really was true, as far as the Youth were concerned. Cars? "Go Go Ferrari", "Haulin' Honda", "Supercharged Steamroller" and more. Girls? "Girl Happy", "She's So Satisfyin'", "Double Whammy". Surfin'? "Sea & Shore", "Russian Roulette", "Overcast". Beer? (Need you ask?) "What'll You Have?" & "Pabst Blue Ribbon". This is the group that recites the Pabst Blue Ribbon pledge. Put it all together and what do you get? "Some Kinda Fun". That was hokey, you say? Yeah, maybe... but I enjoyed it. WHAT REMAINS: Is this it for The Untamed Youth? After all, it's not like they all live in the same part of the country. Derek's in LA, doing the Dave & Deke Combo, as well as occasional jaunts with the Go-Nuts, and even some solo 45s. According to the Whirl, drummer Joel Trueblood is in Seattle. And Mace is married and living back in Missouri. At least Rager's nearby to Mace, still living in the old Youth house in Columbia. So the band isn't exactly together. Thing is, they've really enjoyed playing together. Steve Rager said that none of them really want it to end. (Neither do I.) So, even if they are all spread out, they'd still like to play together some more. A couple hours after GarageShock, '95 finished up, I found myself chatting with Rick Miller of Southern Culture On The Skids. Evidently, members of SCOTS, The Untamed Youth, and The Swingin' Neckbreakers were standing outside the 3B's, and the idea came up of doing a tour together. Can that happen? Good question. I don't know. But, geez, I can't think of a better reason to lose sleep. --- BB **************************************************************************** ******** 'ZINE SCENE The gang just keeps on pushin' 'em out. First up is Evil Eye numero fifteen (sorry, don't know Spanish for fifteen, folks... I took French.) Evil genius Larry Grogan has gone all out this time around, presenting us with 24 action-packed digest-size pages of rock'n'roll mayhem. The adventure begins with another well-written Grogan socio- political editorial, stating that "those of us that hold socially liberal points of view cannot allow our voices to be buried in the conservative/fascist avalanche." And then it's on to the rock'n'roll, as Larry first tries to give a view about what his idea of good garage-punk is, then follows it with his list of the 25 best garage-punk records of the 60s. This, obviously, is bound to bring him hordes of howling protests and rants about what an idiot he is for leaving someone's personal fave off the list. But it's his 'zine... if you disagree, do your own. Personally, I agree with some of his picks and wonder where some of my personal faves are... like "18" by ? & the Mysterians, or "Good Times" by Nobody's Children. While I probably would've picked a Sonics' track other than "The Witch", I agree that Mouse & the Traps "Maid of Sugar" belongs on anyone's list. That guitar break is a killer. But I could go on about this all day. Bill Luther checks in with a well-written piece on The End, as well as contributing some reviews. Larry checks out Dan Clowes' Eightball, and lightens things up with a humorous comparison of Roky Erickson and Syd Barrett. ("A series of eerie coincidences not unlike that whole Lincoln/JFK thing!!!") Throw in a short piece on Dave Berry, some 'zine reviews, and looks at a few discs, and this is one tasty treat. Send $2 to Evil Eye, c/o Grogan, 3 Tulip Ct., Jackson, NJ 08527. (E-mail LGEvilEye@aol.com). "The Beat Generation Is Now" proclaims the front-page headline on Schlock #14, as Jon Kanis launches into the real meaning of The Beats, perhaps best defined in the quote from Michael McClure, "Beat can be taken as romantic, classic, surreal. I think it can be taken as one of the larger frameworks of human statement." And this is the context Kanis does his best to elaborate on. And succeeds admirably. "Meyer-a-Go-Go" takes what must be the millionth 'zine look at Russ Meyer, but manages to come out smelling remarkably fresh. Could it be 'cuz it's the first time I've seen it done from the female perspective? Beth Accomando looks at Meyer through the lens of his most famous film, "Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" With this and a few quotes from Meyer himself, as well as Haji, one of the stars of the aforementioned film, it becomes abundantly clear that the woman are far from being exploited in Meyer's films... especially this one. Accomando points out that in "Faster Pussycat", the women made things happen... unlike the much-heralded feminist movie "Thelma & Louise" where the women reacted to things men had done to them. And that Varla was never bested by a man... when she went down, she lost to a woman. Extremely well-written... and it's got Roberta interested in seeing it. Which means Beth has done her job. Steve Johnson looks at "The Spotty, Bloody Path of Abel Ferrara" who directed such winners as "Bad Lieutenant" and such losers as "Dangerous Game" (weird and not worth it, in my opinion). Finishing it off is Bart Mendoza's "It Came From San Diego", a history/review of the San Diego garage scene of the 80s thru disc reviews of reissues by Voxx/Bomp. (Kind of a better, expanded version of what I did in TS #52.) I said it last time, but it's true again... the best one yet... Or so I thought till I got #15 in the mail. The Schlock just keeps on coming. That's probably 'cuz John's doin' the monthly thing. (Like I did up till about a year ago.) This time, "your guide to low-brow cinema and culture" begins with a piece on the two Darrin Stevenses from Bewitched, Dick York & Dick Sargent. (Sargent comes out the loser - bigtime.) Funhouse e-zine editor Jeff Dove checks in with the third installment of "Chains, Grease & Blood: Bikers on Film", this time looking at the ferocious felines of the cinematic cycle world, and then turning to other subgenres of the Biker movie bit. Beth Accomando sets her sights on the "Asian Files" this time out, with an interesting piece on director John Woo. Throw in video reviews, a look at a few film zines, and a nice shot at a gossip column and, once again, Mr. Chilson has more than delivered the goods. Every issue's a buck. Send yours to (Get the feeling I need to get my butt in gear?) Send a buck to Schlock, 3841 4th Ave. #192, San Diego, CA 92103. It's always great to come home and find your mailbox stuffed with goodies, but it's especially nice after a day where everything didn't quite go as planned. So when I came home the other day and found not one, not two, but THREE different 'zine titles jammed into the mail slot, my frown did a reflection in the ol' x-axis (that's math-speak, folks). The first contestant is one-time TS cub reporter Eric Fusco, with ish #2 of his brain (?) child, Interzone. Once again sporting a Jimmy Olsen comic cover, this one mines the same vein as last time, delving deeper into the depths. A couple comics, a Hall of Lame, some letters, a weird thing pronouncing Visa as the Mark of the Beast, which I still haven't quite figured out. Exactly how is A the equivalent of the number 6? Guess I'm slow. Bob Kalison checks out a book called Cyberia, eventually coming to the conclusion that you might just wanna save your dough and pick up a Man or Astro-Man? disc instead. Also reviewed are books about Kooks & Zanies. Best line (nothing like quoting the best line of another mag in your own, huh?)... while inducting the last season of Star Trek: The Next Generation into the Hall of Lame, Mr. Fiasco notes that Patrick Stewart was off-screen quite often, handing over the reins to this generation's Kirk- wannabe, Will Riker. Eric envisions the following dialog taking place as the burden of command is shifted, "'You take over Number One, I have to go make number two.'" Well, OK, it's bathroom humor. But some of us still laugh at bathroom humor. Like me. Thrown in a column from the ever-present Platterpuss, plus a Last Word editorial, and more and you've got an enjoyable squat-on-the-pot. (More bathroom humor... I kill me.) Send a buck to Invisible, Inc., The Statuary Building, 76 Jackson St. #8, Hoboken, NJ 07030. (E-mail to efiasco@aol.com) I'd been wondering whether I'd missed an issue of 3:AM, having not seen one of my fave mags in months. Well, as it turns out, main man Joe Johnson has had other more important things to deal with. Like keeping his marriage together. (Yeah, folks, sometimes we 'zine editors have to dig our heads out of the sand and experience real life. It's refreshing to see a fellow 'zine editor put his priorities in order.) On to ish #18, though. Besides a bunch of 'zine reviews almost right away, Joe hits you with his battle with those varmints called squirrels (who'd been invading his house). I'm currently picturing Joe as Bill Murray in Caddyshack, with his home as the hunting grounds instead of a huge golf course. While there are a few stops for music reviews (live and on record) of things like The Creatures, The Cowslingers, & Go To Blazes, most of #18 is dedicated to two things: Chiller Expo, '94 and The Cramps. On the Chiller front, we get a Pulp Fiction-like view of Joe's trek thru this Hallowe'en weekend. Why PF-like? Well, like said blood feast, this piece (pieces?) is quite disjointed, jumping back and forth thru time. Fun in a weird way. The Barbara Steele thing is quite funny, too, esp. how Gore Gazette guru Rick Sullivan (host of the event) took care of Barbara's not showing up for a scheduled appearance (he simply substituted a semi- lookalike... tho' he admitted to it later and made good on it.) As to The Cramps... from record reviews to history to live reviews, it's all here. Add in "Cramps Soundalikes" (tho' Joe forgot The SicKidz and made the mistake of saying The Splat Cats sucked... no way, pal... the first 7-incher and the first coupla LPs were pretty cool. This mag is named after a song on the first EP.), "Departed MVPs", and "Is Ivy Vern Wray Reincarnated?" And, on the back page, just what you'd been waiting for, this issue's "Carterberry Tales"... always good for a belly laugh. $1.50 to Joseph Johnson, Esq., 3AM, 152 West 3rd St., Oil City, PA 16301. Alan & Lisa may be spending their time working on their new 70s punk-oriented mag, Do The Pop, now that they've laid Cryptic Times to rest, but that doesn't mean they'll be neglecting the garage-punk/surf crowd of the here and now, either. Instead, Alan puts out the Cryptic Times Newsletter, a two-sided newsletter with short reviews of groups including Cub, the Exploding White Mice, The Witchdoctors, the Beatnik Termites, The Boss Martains, & Davie Allan & The Arrows. Send a self- addressed stamped envelope to Alan Wright, 1011 Boren Avenue, Suite 113, Seattle, WA 98104-1300. Ask for their Ultra-Vixen catalog, too. (E- mail goes to Head13@aol.com). "If It Don't Rock It Ain't In Stock" proclaims the headline above the Foster Child name on #19. And while I've never been a fan of Brian Eno, there's more than enough in here for rabid rock'n'roll fans like myself to go nuts for. Story-wise, my favorite would have to be the feature on Big Sandy & the Fly-Rite Boys, but there's also stuff on The Grifters and Liquor Bike if that's to your liking. Me, I like the Lost & Found column and all the reviews (there's tons.) Sorry I can't go into more detail on this one, folks, but I'm really, really tired. Send $1.50 to Foster Child, 7635 Marcy Court, Glen Burnie, MD 21060. Well, this seems to work out quite well... The Skeever gets these things out at about the same rate I do now. CapSoul Reviews #8 (1995.3), the "Desperate Days Issue", has hit the stands (or whatever). The iditorial this time goes screaming for the jugular, raving that the NEA is of no use whatsoever, so we might as well get rid of it. Skeever's argument is that these are probably the people "responsible for modern dance." Why encourage artists, he asks, "If artists don't suffer, they'll suck anyway." That'll inspire some lively debate, I'd guess. Once upon a time, this mag was devoted to thrift store finds... while we still find a couple in here (Dylan Thomas, Little Shirley & Her Wranglers, & Senor Wences, as well as some recording artists you might actually want to put on the hi-fi more than once), there's now lots more to enjoy. A full page on the latest Mudhoney releases (have they gotten any better? Hope so.), a short "O-Bit Me" about Bobby Stinson, and a nice piece on Pickwick Records (listed as Part I... can't wait for number 2) are among some of the short takes here. Throw in a live review of the Kaisers/Phantom Surfers gig (one the alt.music.banana-truffle gang has discussed till we were blue in the typing fingers, mainly 'cuz The Skeever and that Evil Eye Grogan guy just didn't agree on The Kaisers koolness), a bit on the first Hangover Hop in 3 years (which I had to miss... I won't get into it.), plus Skeever's first-ever 'zine review section. (In which he makes mention of the time he threw a firecracker down in the basement to get me to stop playing my Vox Continental.) But the numero uno reason to send a buck in Stiv Allbutt's direction is the primo review of The Last Real Texas Blues Band at Maxwells on a Sunday night in March. Yet another show I had to miss. And, thanks to this "assoul", now I'm bumming even more. Send a buck to CapSoul Reviews, Apt. 6M, Astoria, Queens 11106. (E-mail to skeever@inch.com). PICK OF THE MONTH: Ever since I got on-line, I've been extolling the virtues of the Net all over the damn place. Well, here I go again. My favorite place, as you all know, is the UseNet group alt.music.banana-truffle, but there's a few other things I'm extremely into, as well: the Bomp mailing list (to get on, send a subscribe message to bomp-l-request@netcom.com) and the Modslist (modslist@aol.com). Recently, a guy on the former posted a message about the new ish of his mag, Audities. His description sounded interesting, so I replied that I was interested in getting a copy. A week or so later, the self-proclaimed "Journal of Insanely Great Pop" was putting a smile on my mailbox. And, within minutes of reading page one, a smile on my own face, as well. This mag truly is a journal, starting off with news bits involving Brian Wilson, The Plimsouls, a bunch of tribute LPs, ex- members of various power-pop groups, as well as newer popsters like The Wondermints and Baby Lemonade. This ish, #3, includes the third installment of their "Guide to Indie Music Sources", which includes a brief description of each label presented, as well as some of their releases and (in many cases, most importantly) their addressess. This issue includes features on this year's South by SouthWest fest (looking at the "pop underbelly" of the event) and the pop scene in LA, in addition to a ton of record/disc reviews (including a rave on Teen Scene faves The Insomniacs), both new and old. Artists profiled this time out include The Rubinoos, The Move, Dramarama, and Erasure (well, I didn't say we agreed on everything). But my fave bit in here once again concerns the Net. These guys have put together a "Musical Guide to the Wires", which evidently is an ongoing thing. This installment includes a way for the "e- mail only" crowd to access other Net services, plus mailing lists to join, and Web sites to check out. Audities is sure to become a must-read for pop fans, thanks to a dedicated staff that puts in the time to do the job right. Besides having a professional-looking layout, they've also put a tremendous amount of thought into what exactly they're after. They seem to not only have a mission, but an idea of what it will take to accomplish it. $3 to PO Box 1555, Stafford, TX 77497. (E-mail audities@aol.com). **************************************************************************** ******** ROCK AND ROLL NIGHTS By now, dear readers, you've gotten used to reading about damn near every show I've been to. That's not gonna happen this time. Partly 'cuz last time only dealt with February (and this is being started in May), and partly 'cuz... well, I just don't feel like it. Here's how it's gonna work... I'll mention the ones that pop into my mind - some will be remembered more clearly than others. Some I'll mention briefly, some I'll just skip entirely, and others I'll go on about for entirely too long. (My guess is most of those will be recent events.) Mid-March meant the show I'd been waiting for... Cub at Maxwells with The Insomniacs and Mondo Topless. Quel perfection! Not only would I get to see Cub, but I wouldn't have to sit through some lame-o shoegazers/songwriters/whatever to get to them. Instead, I'd get some primo fuzz. The only weird thing about the night was the way things got lined up. Mondo Topless started it off, like I'd expected, but next up were Cub. Somehow I thought The Insomniacs, the hometown boys, would be in this slot, but they'd been penciled in as the headliners. The only thing about this was that a bunch of Cub fans were probably gonna take off and miss the Insomniacs. Of course, it's more than likely that - had it been the other way around - a bunch of you garage thugs would've blown off Cub and missed something special. To be honest, once again I don't remember all that much about this (except that I was extremely happy)... except that they dedicated "Everything's Geometry" to me & Roberta. And that they had gum with them... comics in both French & English. (By the way, a big Thank You goes out to Peggy Shanks up in Ontario for sending me gum from one of the Cub shows up there.) THE KAISERS MAXWELL'S - HOBOKEN, NJ 3/24/95 I reckon that we Yanks invented rock'n'roll, but the Brits had to come over here and teach us how to play it again ten years after we got it going. I sometimes feel the same way now, and with the arrival of Edinburgh, Scotland's Kaisers, I dutifully trekked down to Maxwell's to hear a welcome change from the otherwise mundane local scene. The Kaisers radiate an infectiously charming blend of early 60s Brit beat standards and rocking originals that sound direct from 10 Matthew Street circa '62 (that's The Cavern Club in Liverpool for all of you non- Anglophiles). From their opening number (an instrumental whose title escapes me), I knew we were in for a treat. Their coordinated Shadows steps and precision captured the sound previously explored by the likes of The Milkshakes and The Kravin' A's - only with more authenticity!!! As they plowed through Mersey-era classic covers like "I Can Tell", "Let's Stomp", "Some Other Guy", and an amazing crowd-pleasing take of "Soldiers of Love", I became firmly convinced that these cats were THE genuine article. And, what's more, their originals ring true. One listen to their rousing "She's Gonna Two Time" (Lee Curtis meets The Remo Four!!!), a ballad worthy of The Merseybeats called "Don't Believe Him", the Link Wray-ish "Truffledog", or "Don't Ask Me" further convinced the crowd and me that we hadn't heard rock'n'roll like this in a long time. Top that off with some zany stage antics during their instro-theme "Valley Of The Kaisers" and their catchy original "Alligator Stomp" and you've got yourself a four-man powerhouse guaranteed to move even a dance-floor inept white boy like me!!! In closing, tell me when the last time you saw a sharp-looking, musically tight beat group (old "Beat Room" video clips don't count) was and I tell you they ain't got nothin' on The Kaisers! -- BL I think the next shindig was The Kaisers at Maxwells, which Billy has already given you a look at. Also on that bill were The Planet Rockers, which brought all the rockabilly folks out, and P. Rockers' guitarist Eddie Angel's garage outfit, The Neanderthals, who took to the stage in caveman leopard-print things. The best part had to be the bassist, who looked like Uncle Fester up there. "A Classic is born," prophesied the Platterpuss, upon hearing (what I assume was) their composition, "Baby You Bust My Balls"... After a swing down to Tennessee, over to the heartland, and thru upstate NY, the same three appeared at CBGB's a couple weeks later, this time to share a bill with The Phantom Surfers. After seeing the Scottish boys do their thing, the P. Surfers were, like most of the audience (the Skeever not included... and we won't be getting into this again), duly impressed. Afterwards, Maz told me he'd been kinda bummed that his group had to go on after the wildness of The Kaisers, figuring it would be anti-climactic. But the P. Surfers managed to pull it off. I've said it before (and I'll say it again... probably before you've finished reading this ish), instro surf can often throw me off. If a band is gonna pull this off, they've gotta be real good. Well, the Phantom Surfers are just that. Better. In addition to being talented musicians, these guys are showmen. They took an audience that had just gone through a manic Beat set and flipped them around to set them to a surfin' stomp. And the party went on. Well, we're gettin' on into April now, which is really a blur. I remember seeing The Scofflaws out at New York Avenue in Huntington, Long Island on a Saturday night (the one before Easter - you figure the date). Fun, as always, but as the years go on, I find I know less and less of the crowd. Strange, considering that about ten years ago I couldn't go into the place without seeing 50 people I knew... The following Friday was supposed to star The Fleshtones at Brownies on the same night as Alex Chilton at Maxwells. I'd planned on the former, but they had to cancel and, being lazy, I elected to stay home. No one told me the Full Time Men were replacing the Fleshtones that night... The next night would've been The Fleshtones & The Lyres at Maxwells, but the 'Tones had to cancel this one, too, so we were left with The Lyres & Los Straitjackets. Not too bad a deal. First off, let's talk about Los Straitjackets. Unlike some, I don't do cartwheels every time a new instro surf bunch makes the scene. On the other hand, I don't head for the hills, either. Well, to be honest, these guys didn't hit their stride quickly enough to hold my interest, so I found myself walking around, talking to folks, etc. And by the time I was paying attention again, the guys had found their groove, really hitting it nicely. (By the way, their wrestling masks were quite the hit.) As to The Lyres... well, they proved that the February show at Brownies was no mere spark of brilliance, but rather a glimpse of what was to come. This night saw them way up top all over again. And when it came time for an encore and Jeff seemed to want to go off, conferring with the band, Paul Murphy seemed to gesture in the crowd's direction, seemingly saying, "Listen to 'em... they want more... let's give it to them." The problem, then, was what to play. I tried to think of something they hadn't done in a while, one they could do without having rehearsed it. And then it came to me. The one they'd done in the encore at the "reunion show" back in November of '90 up at the Rat in Boston. "Diddy Wah Diddy!" I screamed. (A light bulb appears above Jeff's head.) And they blasted into it. Full-on. No stops. They hit it hard and they hit it good. The only bummer was that I knew I was gonna miss their next show at Brownies (on May 20th). Some weekends can look downright boring till you're right in the thick of them. And Friday April 28th did absolutely nothing to get things looking up. But the next day was Rutgers Fest, so I drove over to campus and traipsed around looking for The Scofflaws. Being a grad student, I had no friggin' clue where the bleep the bands were playing. So I walked around a whole big area set up with arts, crafts, the NJ Folk Festival, and overpriced food. Then I gave up and headed for yet another section of campus... and got lucky and ran into my friend Carolyn, who told me to turn about 120 degrees counterclockwise and keep walking. They'd put the bands as far away from the rest of the fest as possible. So I got there when the guys were in the midst of their first number. Very weird seeing the only modern ska group I really love on a blacktop basketball court with the sun high overhead. Especially since there was a whole bunch of blacktop separating them from us. People just didn't want to dance on the stuff. (Not that there were all that many folks awake yet... it was only 1:15 PM.) And the soundguy had the bass way too loud and the horns too low. But the boys managed quite well, hitting some of their more popular numbers, lacing them with a few favored covers. And then they packed up and headed for a night gig in DC. Me, I left campus, got rested, and prepared for the night's festivities at the Court Tavern. Three To Six Inches did absolutely nothing for me in the opening slot... and when The Blisters decided to begin their "headline" slot with a Blue Oyster Cult cover, I headed upstairs. So why was I here? Well, folks, The Parasites were in town. At one point, Nikki announced that it was nine years and a couple days since the night the group had debuted at the Court. It was also nine years and a couple days since they'd played there. As fans know, The Parasites started out as a Garden State group, releasing a couple singles and LPs before Nikki upped and left for the California sun. This night they played material from various releases, as well as a few new ones. But the big surprise (and highlight of the show for me) was in the encore, when they blasted into a cover of Sweet Baby's "She's From Salinas", putting a big wide smile on my face as I sang along out on the dance floor. Roberta and I chose to go for something truly uplifting on Friday May 5th - we saw The Basketball Diaries. Saturday night, though, it was time to rock and roll. We missed about half of The Creatures' set, so I can't really comment fully on that... Next up were The Botswanas. This bunch has come a looong way. They've learned how to pack a real punch. Singer Eileen Ziontz spent a good portion of the set on the floor in front of the stage, often getting in people's faces... making them pay attention. It's extremely hard to ignore a person with a microphone singing two inches from your nose. The Platterpuss showed up at one point and came over to hang our with Roberta and me. He was relating some meaningless bit of trivia (probably some lie about the Yankees being a baseball team) when Eileen caromed into his personal space. Even the 'Puss couldn't ignore that. When she left he asked, "Was I just yelled at for talking?" (No, Puss- guy, I'm the teacher here. I'll take care of the discipline; you've got detention.)... I can't really place what it is about The Friggs, but they seem to be getting better and better. Kami's drumming propels them to greater and greater heights and Ms. Jezebel plays the focal point. (Check out when she unstraps the guitar and vamps during "I'm The Queen".) "On The Scene" features Ms. Palmyra Delran beltin' it out tough and cool, as the band blasts thru the heart of garage-land. Hell, they've got tons of these... be they the softer tracks or the ones where Kami gets to batter her kit into submission, the gals are doin' it right... A handful of Mods were out to see the only group they've really got to pledge allegiance to in this area, The Insomniacs. Once upon a time, the tri-state area boasted a pretty sizeable Mod contingent. Well, folks, it's dwindled. Of course, I've noticed more in the past two years than in the few before that, so... Anyway, The Insomniacs. The boys were on tonight, running through favorites from the Wake Up CD (Estrus), as well as "Sylvia Gray" and "Gaby" from their latest effort on Outer Limits. Still and all, for me the highlight of their set was their cover of "Jump And Dance", a number that deserves to be a hit single if they ever get around to recording it... By the time The Hentchmen hit the stage, I was pretty beat. They were still good, but my heart just wasn't in it. I was tired. I woke up at 6:45 AM on a Saturday to proctor the SATs... granted, I napped a bit, but I was still dead on my feet by this time. At one point, the guitar amp cut out, so the Hentch-guys played organ & drum only... and it sounded fantastic. Let's bid this show good night. The following Friday (the 12th) saw me heading down to Philly, to a place I'd never been to (it may be new, I don't know) called Upstairs at Nick's. As it turned out, the place was fairly cool... much deeper than it looked, which meant you could get away from all that nasty rock'n'roll stuff if that was your heart's desire. First up were The Botswanas. If I'd thought last week's show at Brownies was a treat, this one was even better. Especially pleasing, considering that this was an away game. That new drummer-guy they've got kit-bashing back there is so incredibly into it that the band just moves on to a higher plane. While this bunch was playing, I was keeping my eye on the door... an e-mail friend from alt.music.banana-truffle was meeting up with me and I wanted to make sure I saw her when she came in. Marisa arrived a couple songs into the set (she'd been checking out a film festival), but immediately got into the swing of things. We weren't much into the next group up, so first we retreated to the back portion of the club, then joined a few of The Botswanas out on the sidewalk till The Friggs came on. Originally, I was planning on telling you all about The Friggs' set myself, but then realized that this was Marisa's first Friggs' gig, so I thought I'd let her take the reins... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------- Marisa E. Langston May 18, 1995 10:00 p.m. THE FRIGGS Well, Blair asked me to write this review for Teen Scene and I have to admit that I was/ am a bit nervous about it. I mean, the guys who write for this zine know way more than I could ever dream of knowing about music. So, with that said, here I go.... The Friggs played at Upstairs at Nick's in Philthydelphia....sorry, Philadelphia on the 12th of May. The Botswanas and Emma opened up (The Botswanas were pretty great too but I wasn't asked to review them). I found out about the show from the ever-happenin' news-group, alt.music.banana-truffle. I'd never heard of The Friggs before I got on line, but the description (female, garage/surf) sounded pretty fun so I thought that I'd check 'em out. I had read that the women of The Friggs were pretty rockin' which made me want to see them that much more. Even though there are quite a few women in the garage/surf scene, there seem to be only a handful of female bands. I think it is important to support and encourage these bands. So, on with this review. The Friggs rocked. I was bopping and shaking and twisting throughout the entire show. Jezebel, who sang lead vocals and played the guitar, was super fab. She glowed with each note she played and each word she sang (I kinda have a "crush" on her). Palmyra also sang and played and I'll tell you, she was full of energy. I don't know where she got it, but she had IT. Kami on drums. Hate to be her drum kit. She kept the whole gang drivin' forward. Ginger, the bassist, kept to herself a bit but she really carried the songs. She also did some vocals. Basically, I haven't stopped talking about The Friggs since I heard them last week. There are people who just like "girl" bands and those who just like good ol' rock 'n' roll. The Friggs could feed the appetite of both types of people and then some. Check these chicks out!! Whew! I did it. -- marisa (lost in girlsville) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------- This turned out to be a weekend filled with driving... first all the traffic doing errands on my way home from my temp job on Friday, then the trip to Philly & back (I got home around 5:30 AM), an afternoon crawl thru traffic back to Long Island, then the trip into NYC that night... I started this bit on my way in that night... Saturday May 13th. Earlier that evening, I'd called up an old HS friend to say hello (long as I was in the neighborhood). She asked if I was still heading into the city that night... Yes, I was. "Lisa, there are a few things you just shouldn't miss in this life... And one of them is a Dictators' show." (And since I, myself, was gonna be missing out on their encore performance two weeks later, I figured I'd damn well better get my butt down to CBGB's that night... no matter how tired I was.) By 8:30, I was feeling pretty bored, so I figured I'd get a head start. (As it turned out, if I'd waited 15 more minutes, my brother would've gotten home and he would've cruised in, too... but that's the way the Glendale Bakery crumb-cake crumbles.) I was making damn good time right up until I got ready to switch from the LIE to the BQE (the road that takes one to the Williamsburgh Bridge downtown... which is free.) Just as I got a little ways in on that switch-off, tho', traffic came to a halt. I'm not talking stop'n'go. Uh-uh. This was (as The Hollies' said) Stop! Stop! Stop! Traffic for a mile or two came to a complete stop (like you're supposed to do at one of those red octagonal signs, but usually don't). After 5-10 minutes of this, most folks (including, I'm proud to say, myself) got the hint and shut off their cars. Pretty soon, just about everyone had their vehicles turned off. Me, I was worrying that I wouldn't get to CB's in time... I was freaking, thinking this show might sell out. If I hadn't had my contacts in, I'd have taken a snooze. But I did, so I just got out pen and paper and started on this, with an old live tape of The Secret Service at Maxwells blasting in the background. Well, as it turned out, this parking lot scene vanished in about a half hour, and I still made it to CB's in time to catch all but two songs of the opening act. Actually, I'd had no idea who was opening till I got there. But when I walked in I heard none other than Tom Clark giving it all he had. I first saw Tom around '88 or so and have been a fan ever since (even if I don't get to see him nearly as much as I'd like). He's got this great way about him, both in his songwriting and his live show... honest, clear, and just a good time. When Tom gets going with a pure rock'n'roll number, there's a real sense of freedom... you're just not thinking about anything else - no worries. And he knows exactly how and when to change pace with a ballad, too. I've no idea who played next, 'cuz I made my way back to the bar, where was soon approached by a young lady who looked awfully familiar, but seemed out-of-context. It was Angele of The Crying-Out- Louds from Austin! (Another denizen of alt.music.banana-truffle.) She was up visiting with another b-truffler, Pete P. Along with Danny Ly, we retired to the Great Jones Cafe for a bit, to meet up with yesterday's birthday boys (and both ex-roomies of mine) Andy Peters and The Skeever, who was hangin' out with Dan Cook & The Bluesman. (These names are flying fast & furious right now, aren't they? Well, I guess it's time to start moseying back to the point.) After some time at the Jones, I figured the time was right to head back. Turns out The Clowns For Progress hadn't even started yet. Actually, they were pretty good, but I was in a mood to talk... hang out with old friends who just don't show their faces much anymore. Guys like Ex-Vipers vocalist Jon Weiss (now of Maryjane), who made sure to tell me that, as he looked around at a bunch of old faces, he and I were the only ones really losing our hair. (Thanks, Jon.) Showtime! The lights dimmed as we wedged ourselves in place up front, some orchestral spy movie-type soundtrack playing over the sound system. One by One, The Dictators took the stage... Ross The Boss on lead guitar, Adny Shernoff on bass, Top Ten on guitar, Frank Funaro (did the Handsome One call him "Frankie Sheets"?) on drums, and Handsome Dick Manitoba on vocals. There is absolutely NOBODY like The Dictators. No prisoners, folks. They blasted right into "Had It Comin'", shattering craniums with a staggering sonic assault. Then "Master Race Rock" and "Stay With Me". Then the big "hit" from the Manitoba's Wild Kingdom disc, "The Party Starts Now". Everything in the band's trickbag was cause for celebration with this crowd, but this one seems almost like proof positive to Dictators' fans that their boys could still deliver the goods years after having broken up. Sure, the LP went under a different name (and Top Ten wasn't in the gang), but it was still The Dictators. And the band knows it, too, playing this (and others) from the Wild Kingdom LP with the same flair as the older material. And after a dip back to Go Girl Crazy for "The Next Big Thing", they presented a new song, "Presence of a New God". On then to "Animal" ("Call me Animal... Animal!"). More Wild Kingdom material next, with "Haircut and Attitude". Then a track that the group was doing as the Dictators finished the rounds way back and resurfaced on the Wild Kingdom disc, "New York, New York". This one pounds the point home... that The Dictators are New York City incarnate. You want to know what a pure NYC sound is? Listen to The Dictators and you'll understand. "NY, NY" is melody, power, volume, and NYC attitude. "There's only one thing you gotta know - I am Handsome Dick Manitoba, and I am always right!" So spake HDM. (By the way, O Handsome One... that's two things.) Speed time, now, as they blasted into one that got the crowd goin' nuts... singin' a chorus no one really knew... "I Am Right" (not that it was hard, but...) "Guess what that one was called?" queried Mr. Manitoba. "I Am Right!" Damn straight. Yet another new one for the fans to go nuts over. "The only thing wrong with that song," sayeth the King, "was that it was too slow." (Huh?) And then they played... "Faster & Louder". Which was. Mr. Manitoba then asked Mr. Boss to start up the next one. A big grin came to The Boss' face as he began the guitar intro to "Stairway To Heaven" (maybe that'll shut some of you wise guys up). Then the Handsome One stood at the mic, and proceeded to recite... "Search And Destroy". You thought Steve Allen was good when he read "Be Bop A Lula"? This blew that to smithereens. And when he reached the chorus, Handsome Dick screamed, "Search & Destroy"... and The Dictators proceeded to do it mightily. After that, they once again time-tripped back 20 years to their Epic debut. This time, for "Two Tub Man". ("What's a two-tub man?" "Manitoba, you are a two-tub man." So goeth the tale about Manitoba asking Adny just what this two-tub man thing was.) This will probably remain a fan favorite forever. And the Dictators left the stage. The chant went up again, "HDM - King of Men! HDM - King of Men!" They came back on, blasting into "Sonic Reducer"... and another one I can no longer recall. And they were off again. People were screaming for everything from "I Stand Tall" (which Miriam Linna had written in pink highlighter on one of the set lists) to "Weekend" to "16 Forever". Me, I'd been yelling myself hoarse for "I Live For Cars & Girls". Alas & alack, I didn't get my way. But "Weekend" would've been my second choice, anyway, so I was pretty psyched when Mr. Shernoff came to the mic to get this one going. After that, it was one last favorite, "California Sun", as the Handsome One changed the words to just what those folks do in the Cali Sun. And when they, "Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake"... well, Adny was bouncin' deliriously. Shakin'. At some point in the set, the King of Men said, "You guys keep comin' and we'll keep playin' forever." If they keep playin' forever, we'll keep comin'. There is absolutely NOBODY like The Dictators. Pure fun in the teenage wasteland. Rock'n'roll, in its purest form, is live music. The immediacy, the feeling that anything can happen. What it's all about. --- BB **************************************************************************** ******** LIKE 'EM OR NOT, LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE HERE TO STAY (CD'S, I MEAN) Pop fans... REJOICE! After years and years of waiting, The Mockers have finally released their debut disc, Somewhere Between Mocksville And Harmony (One Eye Open). Hmmm, better back up. I first saw The Mockers sometime in '88 or '89, thanks to my friend Susan Mainzer, who'd booked them with The Aquanettas at NYU's Loeb Student Center. Knowing my tastes rather well, she suggested I stick around for these guys. Well, Susan was dead-on in her prediction, and I flipped out. This was a band that understood what pop music was all about. Beautiful melodies, solid vocals, stellar arrangements, strong musicianship, and intelligent lyrics... that's what The Mockers were - and are - all about. I made sure I scored a copy of every demo tape they did. But, except for an appearance on a flexi a few years back, that was all there was available from these Virginia Beach boys. Somewhere along the timeline, bassist Tony Leaventhal packed up and split for the city (New York... you know, the city), leaving guitarist Seth Gordon to his law career. But the band was never able to completely let go, playing a gig once or twice a year in NYC, where Tony was able to rehearse with a couple local pals and be ready to do a show whenever Seth could take some time to come up. And, for a couple years, they promised a disc. Last year, it really looked like it was going to happen... Tony even gave me a tape of some of the rough mixes, demos, and unmixed material. But by the end of the year - still nothing. Till now. Around April or so, I got an e-mail message from Seth telling me that their debut disc would be finding its way into my mailbox within a week's time. And so it came to be. The whole disc is a pop lover's dream. Nothing's overdone. They don't ram anything down your throat. Instead, these guys make everything so damn palatable that you just can't resist. Current favorites (they change with each playing) include the lead cut, "Martha", "Invisible Ink" (with a really pretty harmonica part running thru), and "I'd Give Anything". Thing is, there's not one cut on this disc I'd want to skip. Not one. Perhaps "Selective Memory" belongs on the list, as well. This one's the slowest thing here, but has that much more power, as a result. Starting with an acoustic guitar and Seth Gordon's vocal, it continues on with violin and cello giving it an elegant longing sadness. The power pop community (mags like Audities and Yellow Pills, plus labels like Not Lame) should go nuts over this disc. Honestly, this disc deserves a MUCH longer review than I've got the time and space for right now. Put simply, this is pop rockin' perfection. Buy it. Every time I write about The Botswanas lately, I mention how long ago I'd first gotten a tape from them. How I'd first waxed oh-so-poetically about them around TS #10. Not this time. (Like the way I did that?) This time out, I'm gonna concentrate on the present. The Botswanas' present is called Cream Machine (Feralette), and it's a damn fine debut. Starting it off is a personal favorite, "Do You Wanna Be Like Them?", with a melody that'll have you singing along by the end of the first chorus. Then they head for harder territory with "I Dig You", with Eileen Ziontz letting out a wild yelp every once in a while... "Follow the East Coast garage scene..." asks Eileen at the beginning of "Magazine", another strong one on this debut. "Diamond Jim" is one I've been nuts about since that demo tape in '91. And guitarist Price Harrison has provided the perfect production for it here. Price always amazes me with his ability to seem so relaxed... and yet he can write and play some real wild stuff (like this one.) Just about everyone remarks on how Eileen often sounds much like Debbie Harry. Well, who can help but be influenced by one of the best? They acknowledge it here with a fantastic version of "Rip Her To Shreds". Danny Ly's beautifully fluid bass playing is an asset throughout the whole disc, but it really brings out the best on this one, especially when Price goes off for a brief noisy guitar solo. Fast Eddie asked me a couple weeks after this came out which song was my fave off this disc. At the time, I was flipping out over the first track. He was like, "Sure, for the fast ones, but the best one is 'Kara Nina'." And, you know, he may be right. This one's the ballad of the bunch. Extremely delicate and fragile, with Price's guitar almost crying behind. Throw in some really tender backing vocals and this one deserves to be an actual hit. If someone gave this one a chance, The Botswanas might actually become a household name. Another must. The Devil Dogs may be gone, but they sure went out in style. While a full one half of the Stereodrive CD-EP (1+2) is already familiar to DD devotees from their LBMF 7" EP (Headache), fans will still want this for the other four. Normally, I'd say it was a cryin' shame these guys parted ways, but it's hard to be completely bummed when we've got records coming out by both The Vikings (Steve Baise) & Los Primos ( Mighty Joe & The Fabulous Andy G). There's not a weak one here and it's kinda hard to pick favorites. Still, if I have to, "I Don't Know What I Want" definitely belongs on the list, with a certain 70s pop/rock radio feel to it - the kind of stuff that many of us grew up with. Unlike much of that drek, though, this is incredibly engaging. "Get Up (For Rock 'n' Roll)" starts off with a taste of "Little Latin Lupe Lu" and pumped by the sax-work of Pete "Guy Martini" Linzell. Pure D. Dogs' bliss on this one. Track the fourth, "Laugh At Me", was penned by Congressman Bono (before his political career). The DD have always had a way with this sort of material... seeing the melodies and schmaltz and knowing just how to play it for maximum effect. Not as a joke, but for what they're worth, which they prove to be something substantial. So, yeah, I am sorry to see The Devil Dogs pass into rock'n'roll history, but I'm damn glad we were lucky enough to have had them. The day I left for GarageShock, I got something in my mail that I'd just read about in the Estrus Mail-Order Mecca. I ended up popping it in the old digital doohickey do-er right off. After all, it'd been quite some time since I listened to a new disc by Man or Astro-Man? This one, Live Transmissions From Uranus (Homo Habilis), captures the band at their best. I've had tons of people ask me if M or A? are as good live as they are on record. Do they still have all their samples, etc.? The answers to all those questions are contained in ...Uranus (yeah, I just couldn't resist.) The sound quality on this bugger is damn good, and it's obvious right off that going to a Man or Astro-Man? show is a wild experience. The disc starts off with a sample, and you can actually feel the lights dimming and the band coming on as the sample comes to an end. Honestly, the only thing you're missing from the live show is the video clips they have going while they're up there. You can feel the energy, the intensity. The Astro-kids transcend surf and take it to a higher plane (er, space capsule... whatever). This performance also demonstrates some of the things that can go wrong... like samples getting cut off, etc. And there are even a few vocal numbers involved: "Destination Venus", "MST 3000 Love Theme", & "Manta Ray". You want to grab yourself something by M or A? but don't want to deal with getting a gazillion 45s and then end up grabbing them all over again on CD, then this is definitely the disc for you. Honestly, I like it more than the studio stuff... more immediate. Buy this one. Hodge! Podge! & Barrage! #2 (1+2) starts off with Santiago Tamura's "Ultra Man Ska", kinda funny considering that almost everyone else on this comp is garage-punk, surf, or rockabilly-oriented. But it works, getting you right in the mood for a party... which is what this Barrage is all about. From that it's on to The Makers and "On The Trail", with a bit of a "Pushin' Too Hard" feel to it. Well, we've gone from Ska to the R&B side of the garage now... what next? "Bip Bop Bip" as done by The Great Mongoose. Then on to the surf instro scene with Jackie & The Cedrics. It just keeps going from there, with The Boatrampmen, The Titans, Man or Astro-Man? (not too hard to figure out which one this is when it kicks in... you get a spaced out sample feel, then they kick into "Our Favorite Martian"), The 5,6,7,8s, Jap Kat, The Mortals, Golden Balls, The Fireworks ("Endless Sleep" has that messed up melodic mid-tempo r'billy feel to it... very cool), the Sunset Wranglers (for a purer r'billy cut, check out "Big Sandy"), The Long Gone Daddy O's, Jack O'Fire, and Roy Loney & the Long Shots. **************************************************************************** ******** *THE* FORMAT: After getting The Friggs' latest, "Juiced Up"/"Mama Blew A Hoody" (Feralette), over the weekend, it somehow didn't find it's way onto my turntable till Thursday morning before work. First, I figured, I'd throw on the flip. Now, even though I don't go out as much as I used to, I still see these gals often enough to be pretty familiar with these songs. Still, both of these are from what I think of as "the new batch" (even tho' they've been playin' 'em out since at least last fall). So... the flip. While it certainly fits in well with The Friggs' main thrust, this one still sticks out as a change-up, thanks to a straight-on r'billy feel. Now it's back to the top-side, which really hits it hard. I remember first hearing Fast Eddie rave on about this one on the phone one night, then hearing it first-hand at the Mercury Lounge the following weekend. YEOW! Garage chordings kick it off and play the power-pack straight thru. The best Friggs' record yet. I'd heard about The Hate-Bombs a while back from a friend who, like the band, was living in the Sunshine State. But it wasn't till their name started popping up on bills down South with The Woggles that I really started to pay attention. And a couple months ago, what should come in the mail but "She's The Girl"/"Know About You" (Speed-O- Meter). As is my custom, I gave it a tryout on the ol' hi-fi. The point of this audition at the Blair Lair is for me to separate musical offerings into three broad categories: firstly, the "worthwhile, give it some attention" bunch; second, the "not bad, spin again if there's time" grouping; and third, "PEE-YEW!" (Also known as Los Stinkos.) Well, this one made the first category, but unfortunately it took me some time to get around to it again. This morning, before heading off to AT&T for a temp assignment, I had just enough time to spin both sides of this while I made my lunch for later on. Upside, the band drops a real fuzz-bomb, laying the coating on nice and thick. Down below, though, is the one that pastes the bigger grin on my face. "Know About You" is a melodic groove number that somehow puts me in mind of The Creeps' version of "I'm A Rolling Stone". I'll be watching for more from this Floridian foursome. (Love that alliteration stuff.) The Lord High Fixers start out slow on "Scat Man" (No Lie), building till you know something's gotta happen. You're just waiting till it does. Then they do... and when they let go, YEOW! This is one that needs to be turned up. Way, way up. Flip it over and you'll hear a cover of "I Can't Believe" that you never would have. They give it prime LHF treatment, goin' way over and out, sending you rocketing off that cliff... and loving it. I'm hoping for more from these guys and gal... lots more. --- BB **************************************************************************** ******** MORE REVIEWS JUST FOR YOU: THE SOUND OF THE SURF: Our first contestant as we take to the water for today's contest are the Incredible Sinalco Bums (also known as Karl S. Blue & His Magic Quells). Of the three originals on here, it's "Straight To The Moon (Rocket)" that really captures my attention, possibly due to the psych gu itar solo in the middle. This thing seems to make absolutely no sense here at all... until it's over. Weird. Then they do"Wipe Out" (!?!?!) with the guitar skittering and skipping merrily along... Curse of Horseflesh are way inland on "Old Joe Clark" (Roto-Flex), a vocal number strongly reminiscent of a more countrified version of the early Raunch Hands, but they manage to catch a wave down below with "Andromeda Stomp"... Our third team are Huevos Rancheros with "64 Slices of American Cheese" (Roto-Flex), with a sort of spacey bent guitar sound. They'll get points for originality. Ah, smart boys, these Canadians - for their second wave they show their versatility by playing in the traditional form on "Telstar". I wouldn't want to pick a winner so early in the day, Bob, but these guys look to be our early leaders. ALL THE RAGE, AREN'T THEY, THESE TEN-INCH TV DINNERS?: OK, so it's summer and I'm only now telling you about Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus - The Second Coming (SFTRI). Basically, this is just a bunch of Sympathy-oriented groups recording Christmas songs, be they covers or originals. This kinda reminds me of the old Midnight Christmas Mess LPs from the mid-80s. (Hmm... grist for some desperate grad student's thesis: a comparison of garage-punk/surf Christmas tracks of the 80s to those of the 90s.) Last year's comp included such noteworthies as The Devil Dogs & The Shitbirds; this year's stars include The Muffs, Man or Astro-Man?, El Vez, and The Bomboras. You're all big boys and girls... you figure out what it sounds like. Specialty #2 on today's mini-menu is a six-song tribute to DMZ, Watch For Me Girl (Wallabies), includes tracks by some of today's hottest teen stars. My personal favorite is The Woggles' version of "Guilty Child", but it's reeeal close. Supersnazz really take off on "From Home" - completely savage. Teengenerate sound fantastic tearing their way thru "Mighty Idy". In fact, this is even a pretty good recording of the band, nothing buried at all. The Devil Dogs, who recorded "Ball Me Out" on their first LP, go all out on "Lift Up Your Hood" here. Honestly, even the other two, The Action Family & The Sinister Six (neither of whom I've ever been a major fan of), acquit themselves nicely here. EVEN MORE STUFF: Along with the Kwyet Kings' 45s mentioned earlier, Ms. Tuesday Knight sent along the latest seven-inch release from Oslo's Perfect Pop Records, Robert Birdeye's The Now Or Never Popstar or Teabag Conspiracy. This one's a whimsical journey through the world of psychedelic pop. Kind of like what I used to dream the Candy Land game would look like if you could walk in it. Or what The Beatles might have dreamt up for Alice in Wonderland in a lighthearted moment... As far as I know, Dash Rip Rock have been around for quite a long time now; I seem to remember seeing them at the Pyramid at one of Deb Parker & Jody Kurilla's Mod Tepee nights back in the late 80s. Their latest vinyl offering, "Dosed"/"Living The Lie I Love" (Feralette), shows a couple different sides of the group. The A is about what you'd expect from the title, a sort of humorous look at being "Dosed", kind of slow-moving as those patterns drift on by. Below-decks they turn to the swampy side of R&B/Blues- boogie to pick things up a bit... I know everyone out there thinks editing a fanzine is a truly glamorous job, that we hobnob with bigwigs, etc. You think, "Wow, they get lotsa freebies, that must be great." Actually, it does have its moments. But you're also likely to get some pretty strange promos. The latest on this score (see, I really did have a point) is "Don't Dig The New Breed"/"Solid State" (Bonehead Rex), by Down, from Lansing, Michigan. This thing came with an old circuit board attached to the sleeve! And while the sounds on the record are hardly something I'll be spinning over and over, there's a certain appeal. Definitely some Mod influence, but hardly a Mod record. Nice melodies, occasionally drowned out by noise, or lost in the translation. I'd like to hear someone cover the A-side nice and clean... I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Deke Dickerson "Swingin' In Outer Space"/"Diggin' It" (Ecco-Fonic) 45 reviewed in ePulse, but I'm sure glad they've picked up on it. This is DD's second solo outing and once again he's swingin' it instro-style. Not surf, mind you - more like that 50s Les Paul sound; very cool... The Monarchs latest, "Hit That Bitch" (Estrus) will remind most folks of The Headcoatees, but the best track is the instro down below, "Heads Up", with a cold organ setting the tone as the guitar rumbles on... Karl S. Blue & His Magic Quells spend most of their time on a sorta noisy rockabilly sound. Their Wild Man No Cha-Cha EP (String) is at its best on "Our Lovin", starting out tender and mild before they kick in full force and fly no-hands down a cobblestone street, bumpy and wild. --- BB **************************************************************************** ******** BUMMER BINGE, THE CONTINUING SAGA Yeah, you should've known there'd be another one of these sooner or later. And, to be honest, I wasn't expecting it to be in this issue. And yet here we are. Such, as they say, is life. I've got Cub's fabulous Come Out, Come Out CD (Mint) playing downstairs, the perfect soundtrack to tune this bummer binge in loud and clear. See, I write this on Monday the 20th of March (yipes... old article -- ed.), the night Cub are playing at Brownies. As I told my e-mail pen-pal Peggy Shanks up in Kingston, Ontario - when I was 22 (hell, even when I was 27) I would've been at Brownies no questions asked. But here I am, now, watching the months slide by on that Uh-Oh, No Breaks dash for 30. And I'm home. Actually, I can't completely blame it on age. In fact, that's probably a minor factor. It's got something to do with being responsible. I'm student teaching and I kinda think my students deserve the best... which means not staying up till all hours of the night on a weeknight, something that didn't bother me as much during my tenure at the Equitable. There's more to this picture, though. I'm no longer living in Rutherford, less than 25 minutes from the East Village. Nope, I'm down in No. Brunswick, about an hour from Brownies. Maybe more. And the tolls are incredible... not to mention gas money. And that's tough when you're on a severely restricted budget. Add in the fact that we're talking an hour each way on a weeknight and you start to see why I ended up staying in tonight. Even so. After Cub's fantastic show with The Insomniacs and Mondo Topless on Saturday at Maxwells, I was all hyped to go. Sure, I knew then about the hour's drive each way, and the tolls, gas, etc. It's just that I was caught up in the magic of the moment. I really love Cub. That's all there is to it. Some bands really capture me... I want to be there whenever they play. Especially when they only swing thru town twice a year at most. And... well, there's just something special about Cub. So, yes, I'm extremely bummed out right now. Sure, I'll get over it. Probably. But tonight I was so down I started considering making the trek to see Cub in Toronto on Saturday April 1st. Fitting, huh? I dunno, I just wish they were a New York group. Would that make it less special? I don't know. And I wonder if a group like Cub, with big smiles, genuinely friendly faces and melodies, could happen in the NYC metro area. Again, I just don't know. I sometimes think I'd be on top of the world if Cub moved here. But would they still be the same? These are the questions that could keep some people up at night. But I'm too good at sleeping for that. Well, most of the time. As long as I'm on the subject of Cub (and missing their NYC show for various reasons that just don't seem good enough now that the time has come and gone)... I've been thinking more about their song "Life of Crime" on the new disc. Parts of it almost seem like a continuation of The Shangri-Las "Leader of the Pack". When Lisa sings about the guy saying "Hang On Sloopy, but my dad says no / He crashed his motorcycle when I said I couldn't go / To the drive-in... Now I'm a widow at the age of 17 (...) Nothing but a life of crime." Even where she's calling him a liar. It's easy to see the Betty lashing out at Jimmy (especially if Betty and Jimmy were teens now rather than the early/mid-60s). Maybe Jimmy promised her everything that a teenage guy will and Betty believed it. And then Jimmy goes and crashes his cycle 'cuz she wouldn't/couldn't go to the drive-in. Now she's a widow at the age of 17. Am I making sense to anyone but myself? Not that it matters, really. --- BB **************************************************************************** ******** OTHER STUFF, MUCH OF IT STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE: I've kept this short this time only 'cuz the rest of the mag is so damn long. Let's get into it then... Last issue's feature was on the boys who make all the noise. Here now is Mike Maltese, on the latest with them. "As an addition to all things Fortune & Maltese, we just got asked to do an EP for Screaming Apple out of Germany and an EP for Get Hip's new label KEYSTONE. If you wait long enough, we may actually have a discography!"... Henry H. Owings e-mailed me the following info from Athens, GA - "The Oblivians live LP is all done. Much in line w/the Crypt boots where they name the label things like Pryct, etc., Goner is now called 'negro'. Yeah. The record is shit hot, to boot! (Note: I believe this is the LP that may only be available at the band's shows... possibly even only on the European tour they did. -- ed.) The debut single for Drug Racer (my label) will be the Oblivians and we hope to get a single out by September. The Live LP will just be yr new Crypt LP type stuff. Nothin' new. The Drug Racer single will have three (or four) songs from their recent session. Other labels that will have cuts from the session are Sympathy, Estrus, and Goner." I asked Henry what else he had planned for Drug Racer. "Gaunt! Unwound! Man or Astroman?! Possibly Jackknife, Rocket from the Crypt and Speaking Canaries. The Dirty Three is also a possibility!" The address for Drug Racer is POB 2814 Athens GA 30612-0814... At the end of last year, I made mention of the fact that the Young Fresh Fellows may have called it quits. As it turns out, they're just on a semi-hiatus. As most folks know, Scott McCaughey is currently touring with REM - which doesn't leave much time for the YFF. However, Jim Sangster says Scott left some tracks for the band to work with so they can do another record while he's away... The Smugglers have had numerous titles mentioned for their next LP. Many of them were of the toilet-bowl humor sort that we all know and love. "Fantasticass" was one of the cleaner ones. Still, I prefer the one Grant mentioned on stage at the Crocodile, "I Slept With The Bluesman"... I ran into Steve Baise last week and asked him if there was a chance that The Vikings (his band with Norwegian pals from TRBNGR, The Yum-Yums, & The Kwyet Kings) might ever play a US show. To my surprise, he told me that the guys may come over later this summer. If you've heard the 45s these guys have done, you'll understand why I started jumping up and down with a big smile on my face. OK, there's TONS of other stuff to talk about, but honestly, this thing really is much longer than it should be. Time to give it (and me) a rest. Come to think of it, you probably need one by now, too. Till next time. --- BB **************************************************************************** ******** ADDRESSES 1+2 Records 601 Gloria Hatsuho-Shinjuku 7-6-5 Nishi-Shinjuku-ku Tokyo 160 JAPAN (Note: 1+2 products are available thru Get Hip) 360 Twist Records c/o Element 79 749 S. Lemay, Suite A3-237 Fort Collins, CO 80524 Bonehead Rex c/o Scott Sendra 216 N. Magnolia Lansing, MI 48912 Cash Cow Records PO Box 1332 Buffalo, NY 14231 Drop Out Records c/o Hillsdale PO Box 641592 San Francisco, CA 94164 Ecco-Fonic Records PO Box 304 Hollywood, CA Estrus Records PO Box 2125 Bellingham, WA 98227 Feralette Records 306 W. 4th St. NY, NY 10014 Get Hip Records PO Box 666 Canonsburg, PA Gouramie PO Box 856 Tucson, AZ 85702-0856 Homo Habilis PO Box 636 Auburn, AL 36831-0636 Just Add Water Records PO Box 16328 Spartanburg, SC 29316 Mint Records 699-810 West Broadway Vancouver, BC V5Z 4C9 CANADA No Lie Music 2118 Guadalupe No. 216 Austin, TX 78705 One Eye Open Records 2953 Virgina Beach Blvd #1101 Virginia Beach, VA 23452 (oeop@infi.net) Perfect Pop Records Daelenenggata 14 A N-0567 Oslo NORWAY Plug N Socket Records PO Box DH Van Nuys, CA 91412-1520 Precedent Records 7616 Latona NE Seattle, WA 98115 Rip Off Records 581 Maple San Bruno, CA 94066 Rocktober Records 1507 East 53rd St. #617 Chicago, IL 60615 Roto-Flex Records PO Box 64252 Calgary, Alberta T2K 6J1 CANADA Screaming Apple Records Dustemich Strabe 14 50939 Koln GERMANY SFTRI 4901 Virginia St. Long Beach, CA 90805 Speed-O-Meter Records 1430 Lake Highland Dr. Orlando, FL 32803 Spinout Records 4402 Soper Ave. Nashville, TN 37204 Square Target Records PO Box 19673 Seattle, WA 98109 String Records Jaffestr. 12 21107 Hamburg GERMANY Snake Pit Records PO Box 1165 Stanwood, WA 98292 Trashcan Records PO Box 40223 Rochester, NY 14604 Wallabies Records 5-14-503 Hinode Urayasu-Shi Chiba 279 JAPAN ************************************************************************************ Well, that's that... hope you enjoyed it. Stay in touch. Blair