INTRODUCTION:
This
issue is jam packed full of punk and metal!! Once again big shout out and thank
you to The Devil’s Claw Distro for printing and distribution!! We’ve got Red
delivering quality material as usual in the SLUGZZZ section of this month’s STN,
including an interview from one of my personal favorite Southern California
bands, Caveman Movies!! As well as Sects Tape from Belgium and the Aussie band,
Constant Mongrel!! Speaking of Aussie bands, I’ve got an interview with Matt
Young of Aussie metal band, King Parrot!! As well as an Interview with Ryan
Flux, creator of the Trixy Sparks comics and Nordy of Sick Boys Radio!! Been
totally in love with the new releases by both Gorod and The Black Sound so be
sure to give those a listen. And finally I’ve been tossing around the idea of
doing a Snail Trail Radio show so keep an ear out for that!!
Brain
Fragment is writing new material for an album that we hope to release in 2019.
We’re also planning on getting a crap ton of musicians together to create a
noise orchestra for Noise Prom in Feb so don’t miss that because that’s going
to be the only time to catch it!! But enough about us, let’s see what else is
going on..
LISTENING RECOMENDATIONS:
ARTIST: Gorod
ALBUM: Aethra
LABEL: Overpowered Records
STYLE: Progressive Death Metal
ARTIST: Terrodactyl
RELEASE: Black Chapel
LABEL: N/A
STYLE: Thrash
ARTIST: Witchaven
RELEASE: Blood
Sacrifice
LABEL: N/A
STYLE: Blackened Thrash
ARTIST: The Black
Sound
RELEASE: Doorways To
The Wrist
LABEL: N/A
STYLE: Doom Metal
ARTIST: Chains of
Belmont
RELEASE: Revolutionized
LABEL: N/A
STYLE: Thrash
LIVE REVIEWS!!!
Dangerously Sleazy:
Is it me or does The Sleaze get better every
fuckin’ time you hear them? One of the best Los Angeles bands out there right
now, Dangerously Sleazy will fuck your face and cum in your eye sockets with an
aggressive punk rock sound. With a very clear influence of old school punk and
rock and roll every song just sticks it to the man. No room for stiffs at one
of their shows, you’re either down or you’re not!! High energy, fast and
aggressive it’s everything you need from an LA punk band!!
Karas:
Heavy,
dark, well polished, Karas is a well oiled metal machine. Highly progressive
with a black metal vibe and jazzy overtones, they’re one of the best live bands
out there right now. You want to see something with the perfect mixture of
skill and emotion? This is where it’s at. They’ll take you to the inner most
depths of your own personal hell with heavy riffs and excellent drumming then
seamlessly jazz the fuck out. Very original, they’re a sight to be seen and a
sound to be heard.
Goshen:
Goshen is no stranger to STN (but then
neither is Sleazy) but they’re still one of my personal favorites. Hella
mysterious and shrouded in fog they’re just raw, hard hitting insanity!!
Somehow able to transfer that aggression to tape (available on From Corners
Unknown) they just never cease to get me going. It’s raw, it’s heavy, it’s fast
and it’s fucking aggressive. Buy their tape and go see them live!!
OGDEN INTERVIEWS!!
MAT YOUNG OF KING PARROT!!
STN: What got you started in music?
MAT: I'm not sure exactly, but I have loved music a long time. My first ever
album was George Harrison, Cloud Nine, and my first concert was Poison when I
was 8 years old. It only got more diverse and ugly since then. I started
playing bass at about 13 years of age and have been a vocalist for many years
now too.
STN: What was it like for you guys the first time you toured the US and how
much different is for you guys now?
MAT: Our first US tour was amazing in some instances and terrible in others.
We had some great shows with Cattle Decapitation to start off in California,
and then went to SXSW in Texas. We then toured the rest of the country as
headliners and the shows were much quieter, as we were relatively unknown. It
was a good learning curve for us, and since then we have been part of some
great tours. We've toured the US about 11 times since 2014.
STN: What's the main difference you notice between the metal scene in the US
compared to the metal scene in Australia?
MAT: It's not all that different to be honest. There's some great bands in Australia, and I
guess the biggest struggle for Aussie bands is leaving
the country to tour elsewhere. It's kinda difficult and expensive when you live
on the ass end of the world. Both scenes are very healthy, and comparable in
many ways, and I love discovering new bands. Australia's scene is killer at the
minute, and in Melbourne where we live there is a very healthy heavy music scene.
STN: What's your favorite song to perform?
MAT: Of the new ones I like 'Disgrace Yourself' and also 'Ten Pounds of Shit
in a Five Pound Bag'. 'Shit on the Liver' and 'Dead End' are always fun too as
they have been in the set since the beginning.
STN: Fucking love your music videos, where does the inspiration come from for
them?
MAT: We have a great team that we work with here in Australia who helps us
come up with the creative concepts and filming ideas. Often the ideas are
generated from within the band and then we take that to the video producers.
Dan Farmer and Boyd Synnott have a lot to do with it, and I am also involved in
much of the organization and some of the editing.
STN: How did you guys decide on the name King Parrot?
MAT: Parrot is slang in Australian for a loud, annoying, rude person. The
rest is self explanatory lol.
STN: What's next for King Parrot?
MAT: We've just got back from the US and have written some new material recently, so we'll continue working on that over the summer here. We have a massive Australian and New Zealand tour coming up in March next year and hopefully we'll be back to the US in May... Im thinking a new album sometime in 2019 or 2020. We aren't going to hurry this one though. Just want to take our time and make it our best one yet.
STN: And finally, is there anything else you'd like to promote, mention or
talk about?
MAT: At this current moment not really, but you can always check out kingparrot.net to support the band and buy some
merchandise or music!
RYAN FLUX OF TRIXY SPARKS COMICS!!
STN: What is it that got you into drawing?
FLUX: My father is an artist so he’s always supported and
promoted me with creative activities from buying me art supplies and showing me
techniques to paying for art classes and extracurricular activities.
STN: You've got a unique art style, was wondering how you developed that.
FLUX: Thank you, I seem to get that a lot. I’m not exactly
sure, I mean I have a couple different influences that I think I might draw my
style from (this might be rolling into the next question a bit) but generally I
guess, I’m very much interested in styles that are gritty, raw, sexual, violent
and yet all the while playful. I’m a sketch artist above all, so I draw very
fast and make a ton of mistakes so my work reflects that too I think.
STN: Who is your biggest influence in comics?
FLUX:
There
are quite a few artist that really inspire me. First of all, Trixy Sparks
started as a fanboy sort of comic as an ode to the Tank Girl series by the
Hewlett and Martin bunch. But other influences I look to for a lot of
inspiration is Sam Kieth’s “The Maxx” series, Peter Chung’s “Aeon Flux”, Jim
Mahfood for his work with 21st century tank girl and also his one off comic
series “Carl The Cat That Makes Peanut Butter Sandwhiches”, Todd
Mcfarlen’s “spawn”, JJ Villard’s “King Star King” animated series along with
like super jail and Bob Camps’ “ren and stimpy” of course.
STN: What compelled you to come up with the characters in Trixy Sparks?
FLUX: So yea Trixy herself was inspired by tank girl, she’s
pretty similar in a lot of ways, then her pal Wellington, the huge mutated cat
was inspired by a cat I owned that I named, Doofy Bagel Wellington. The cat
ended up running off but forever is remembered in my comics lol and Squeeb was
sort of inspired by the idea of a mischievous spirit. Like, it sort of is a bit
chaotic, not really a bad influence but definitely self serving in most
instances. And the rest of the characters that come in and out are kind of just
a lot of randomness, which is a reflection of most of my sketches anyway. I
constantly sketch and design characters so this comic is an outlet for them to
run around and get blown up lol
STN: What other projects are you working on?
FLUX: I have some other projects that I’ve started, idk if I
currently am working on them, I haven’t for a while. I usually just sketch or
paint a small picture if I’m not working on this current project. “That Damn
Dinky Mayhem” is another comic I have online but it’s sort of neglected.
STN: What are your future plans for Trixy or any other projects you've got in
mind?
FLUX:
Ultimately,
I would love to see Trixy into an animated series. I mean, the storyboard art
and dialogue is all there lol. I need to complete a bit more before I feel
totally confident in sending it that direction first though.
STN: Is there anything in particular you'd like to promote?
NORDY
OF SICK BOYS RADIO SHOW!!
FLUX: I suppose while I’m here I’d promote my online store?
There’s a link to it on my webcomic series page. It’s just a little society 6
page that has some of my designs printed on some stuff. Most of the proceeds
just go to society 6 but I get a couple bucks out of it. It is much appreciated
and I think there’s some cool stuff to check out, so if you absolutely love my
comic and wanna be even more a part of it, grab a shirt or backpack with your
favorite lovable trio! Lol
STN: And do you have anything in particular you'd like to say?
FLUX: Anyway, thank you for this interview! Love what you guys
are putting together and glad to be a part of it!
Join this punk rock chick in a dystopian world as she
goes through the same things you and I go through on a daily basis, hangovers,
breakups, Gang shootouts, mutant raider attacks, rogue robotic mayhem and much
more!
STN: So how did you get started doing Sick Boys Radio Show?
NORDY:
Well,
after 5 episodes, we had that falling out on our original station. We thought
at the time, we were dead in the water. That's when I put some feelers out. Vic
from Section 242 put us in contact with Jax, the founder of Podunk Radio. And
Kev, of Underground Skanking Radio. Within weeks, we were doing one show for
each station.
NORDY: Rewind it back to the summer of 2012. I was playing bass
in Dr. Bob's Nightmare. We went out to West Covina to do a radio show that
ended up turning into a kickback in the host's garage. Looking at his setup, we
started to kick around ideas about how we would do a show. By the following
Summer, after trying to find inspiration for names, we stuck with "Sick
Boys Radio" -- Dar, my co-host and lead vox for Dr. Bob's Nightmare came
up with that out of a concept he had way back in the early 90s. It was called
"Sick Boys TV" -- to feature local bands as the soundtrack for
skateboarding. I don't think that ever came to fruition, but that's how we got
the name. As a fan of G.B.H. I was onboard. We started with that particular
station, and had a brief falling out after 5 episodes. One week later, Sick
Boys Radio was broadcast on Podunk Radio and Underground Skanking Radio.
STN: Dude!! That would've been an awesome show!! You ever consider doing that
show on YouTube?
NORDY: We have a YouTube channel, but our video-editing skills
are sub-par at best. That never really took off. But if the opportunity arose
and we had all the equipment, you bet.
STN: So how did you guys get on Podunk Radio and Underground Skanking Radio?
STN: That's so cool!! How do you guys usually find the music for each episode?
NORDY: Being part of the scene in So Cal is a great start. I
still get out to shows regularly, and I come up on some great bands. We are
also lucky to have worked with several internet DJs over the years. Some of
them don't broadcast anymore, but they still send us music. Of course, we get
submissions every week. Regular listeners of the show send us music and help
connect us with their scenes as well. There's rarely a shortage of unknown
music to play each week. Of course, we do play tracks from more established acts
to tie it all together. I still fanboy out every time a well-known band trusts
us to debut something, or goes out of their way to send us music. It's important to mention though, without Dar, I would
have no concept of what the DIY scene was today. My interest in finding new
music had faded out until a few years before starting the Sick Boys Radio show.
STN: So how did you get into the DIY music scene? And why did you start to
lose interest?
NORDY: I played in bands as a kid. Not many people outside my
hometown know this, but in high school I was battling opiate addiction. I had
been clean for 2 years, I never quit playing bass though, and it just so
happened I was in the room when Dar, whom I had just met, was forming a new
band. The learning process between writing/recording/putting together our
flyers and being absorbed in the scene sort of brought me back to life.
NORDY: We talk about that often. To put it bluntly, it all comes
down to finding a drummer that's willing to step up, check their punk rock
points at the door, and make some music. We literally have backpacks and boxes
full of ideas for that.
NORDY:
I
would like everyone to check out PoDunkRadio.com, as I am now in charge of the
day-to-day operations. Shoutout to Justin Mcpatches. Even if you're not a fan
of Sick Boys Radio, you're bound to find a show you'd like. We are also on
HanksAlternative.com three nights a week, and I implore you to follow us on
social media to stay updated. More importantly, make the time to go out to
local shows. Don't take your local music scene for
STN: That's a fuckin' call to action right there. You guys thought of making
flyers to recruit a drummer?
NORDY: We actually have one made up. We share it on social media
at least once a month, and we are in a local directory of musicians. A few
bites, but we could never reel ‘em in. Haha
STN: Ah man, well good luck on the search. Who are your guys’ main influences?
NORDY: It might sound cheesy. Our main influence is life. We
definitely draw influence from old school bands, but besides paving the way and
coming back for a quick check, they left us fuck all to work with. Personally,
if I see someone that's out there doing it right today, that's my influence.
There are too many to list. But I think it's safe to say, if there were never a
Black Flag or Descendents, there would be no Dr. Bob's Nightmare.
STN: Hell yeah dude!! Is there anything in particular you'd like to promote?
Or anything in particular you'd like to say to everyone reading this?
granted, because that's where you'll form everlasting
bonds. Not from behind a barricade with a $15 tallboy in hand. Punch a racist. And
finally, thank you for this opportunity! I think you should start your own
radio show or podcast someday. You'd kill it.
SLUGZZZ
What up everyone! My name is Red and I’m from
the Coachella valley. Just a music fan
like you. Mostly punk and garage. I
spend way too much on records & tapes and I really enjoy writing stuff
about bands so here I am in Snail Trail! If you want to send me music to write
about my email is Reverling515@gmail.com. You
can also check out my collection at Bandcamp.com/redshurp69
-Red
CAVEMAN
MOVIES – DON’T LOOK DOWN THE DRAIN
Moreno
Valley, California
Favorite
track- Carvin!
STN: This EP is the gnarliest yet! Anything different in
your songwriting or recording process on this one?
Sonny:
Well I’ve
upgraded a couple of things on my drum kit. With better equipment comes better
sound. Now that I have equipment that I want rather than whatever I can get,
such as my snare and high-hats and hardware, I can play a little smoother.
STN: Can you describe your live show? It’s gotta be bonkers.
Sonny: Our shows get pretty wild when there is a lot of
people who enjoy music just for the fuck of it, but when there’s not a lot of
people or we get a shitty spot like opening or closing-
Conrad:
Which is usually most of the time
Sonny: *laughs
Conrad: That’s not trying to blame anybody either, We haven’t
really been active in the past year. We haven’t been doing much due to other
life things. Sonny has a job that requires a lot of traveling. When you’re not
as active or available the demand for shows goes down, and that’s fine,
nowadays we’re just trying to play for the sake of ourselves and share with
people who want to listen. Which is really fun too because we’ve gotten a lot
more comfortable with ourselves and don’t feel like we have to prove anything
Sonny: Bob’s Bang Shack in Fontana was where we usually had
the most fun back in the day
Conrad: Yea definitely. The best shows happen in the most
cramped spaces.
Sonny: ohh Black Sabbath! And Bad Brains, and THE SPITS
and...fuck who else
Conrad: Yea Black Sabbath definitely. Early Sabbath
specifically, we totally used to go for that whole jazzy/rock jam band. We
still do, but there’s a bunch of more garage and punk influences, stuff that’s
not super heavy but still aggressive like Jay Reatard and Useless Eaters. Like
Sonny said there was a lot of Spits/Ramones worship going into this album.
Sonny: I also take drum ideas from other genres like indie and
jazz music. I play using traditional grip to get my rolls faster which is
usually a jazz thing. I’ve also taken like a Morning Benders (indie band) drum
pattern and applied it. The cool thing about drums is that it crosses over
genres. We also have a little bit of like a grunge deal.
Conrad: Yea totally. There’s a lot of stuff that comes from
like a 90s noise rock/grunge place. Stuff like Scratch Acid, Butthole Surfers,
Nirvana. The type of music that has aggressive vocals but it’s still singing
and being weird and not just straight up yelling. Its still all centered around
that short punk song structure though. Its just easier to effectively get the
point across with fast short songs.
STN: On your Bandcamp page, there is an album called The Digital Tracks which was released before
any others and has some rad beats but is very much unlike the Caveman Movies we
know today. Can you give a little
background on this album?
STN: Any plans for touring or another EP, perhaps an LP?
Conrad: We’re definitely going to keep working on new music for
as long as possible. We have a couple songs that we didn’t put on this EP we
might use, as well as whatever we manage to come up with this time around. But
nothing is in full plans yet, we’re just going to see what happens and not try
to force anything. As far as touring goes, we’ve never really gotten big
enough/had the time to tour. We both have kind of busy lives and our time with
making music is limited to the season. Before that we just weren’t able to make
the right connections.
Sonny: We’ve hardly played out of the I.E. If someone asked us
to, we would totally do it. Like If someone offered to have us go with them we
would totally be down and find a way to work it out.
Constant Mongrel – Living in Excellence
Melbourne, Australia
Constant
Mongrel is a really awesome band and I’m super stoked to share a bit about them
with you. If you want to pin them down
by genre, they’re somewhere between post punk and garage. They write very intricate and dense rock and
roll songs that carry such a sick momentum through the entirety of Living In Excellence. CM has been around for a good while now
and have some previous releases that are really killer but LIE sees them at their peak for sure. Various influences, classic and current,
swirl to create this masterpiece of an album.
Tom of Constant Mongrel was able to spend some time answering a few of
my questions. Listen to and buy the
album at http://constantmongrel.bandcamp.com/album/living-in-excellence
Favorite
track- Action
STN: You have a very unique sound, a mix of post punk and
garage elements. How has your sound
evolved since the start of the band?
STN: What are some influences on Living In Excellence?
CM: Musically we looked to the British side of punk a little
more this time. Bands like Blitz, Crisis, X-Ray Spex and The Fall were all
influences. As well as the heavier Hip-Hop that has been going for the last few
years
STN: Can you describe your live show a little?
CM: Our live show will probably vary from show to show. Sometimes
we can be stripped and basic if it’s a smaller venue and smaller band. If it’s
a larger show with synth and sax we will try and blast people a bit. We always
try to smile and have fun no matter where we are or how we sound
STN: Being from Melbourne, what about your surroundings has
influenced you to play the music you do?
CM: The Melbourne scene is amazing. It’s full of people
pushing each other to make interesting music that sits on the edge of
contemporary independent music. It’s so good to be here at the moment and it’s
not hard to find bands to play with and to watch on any given weekend. It’s a
treat to have it like it is.
STN: Any other Australian bands you’re digging right now?
CM: Way too many to mention really as I feel I’ll miss
something. Try looking up record labels like Anti Fade, Cool Death, Aargh,
Paradise Daily, Hobbies Galore, R.I.P. Society, Chapter, Bedroom Sucks,
Burning
SECTS TAPE – Mobile Home EP
Tournai, Belgium
There
are many fascinating things to be known about Belgium; one is that it’s home to
the sect. We don’t know very much about
the sect’s dark dealings but we do know that they shred in their musical
branch- Sects Tape. Sects Tape plays a
slew of dark punk, garage and surf rock that combines to form their infectious
“dead garage” sound. Bass and a beat to get you moving lead to a dark surf
rock’n roll ripper that welcomes you in to their most recent collection of
offerings that invoke the need to escape society and join the
congregation. The Mobile Home EP is the follow up to their We’re All Pink Inside LP released on Spastic Fantastic Records, as
is Mobile Home. You can listen to their demo and first
EP, as well as catch a glimpse of their live show, on their website- jointhesect.net. Follow Sects Tape on Instagram and buy
their music here
STN: How did your “dead garage” sound evolve?
ST: When the Guru first arose from his eternal slumber he
rounded up a few homeless people from Tournai in Belgium and made a deal with
them. Give them eternal life in exchange for their eternal devotion. The dead
garage sound was born from this new alliance. 2 of the devotees came from the
filthy sewers of the punk underground. 1 of them was found washed up on the
shore of the surf-rock island and the last one was born and raised in a garage
rock cult. The Guru was simply the cement in this unholy mix with his post-punk
background.
STN: Tell me about the sect please…
ST: The Sect is more than just a band of devotees and their
leader. It includes every witness of our sacred mass. If you have seen Sects
Tape live or even heard of them, you are part of the sect. Some are more
involved than others but all are equal to the Guru.
STN: What is the inspiration for the Mobile Home EP?
ST: The Mobile Home EP is about the travels of the Sect. How
we got the word of our Guru out there. But it is also an invitation. The Mobile
Home actually represents a safe haven in this dark and dangerous universe and
the Guru invites you in his Mobile Home to travel with him. His truly is your
savior. Musically it is also a nostalgic piece. The Sect wanted to go back to
their simpler times. Lyrics with 2 or 3 sentences. Basic structures. This EP also represents the first time the Sect has
reached out to an outsider for the cover
artwork. Nathaniel Morris from Atlanta, GA
STN: Can you describe your live show?
ST: What most musical acts would call a Live Show the Sect
prefers to address it as an experience. It is truly an unholy mass. A special
time that the Guru wants to share with special people. There is a lot of smoke
involved. A lot. So much that one would wonder if he is swimming in it … or
drowning. It usually ends by our Sacred Leader giving blessings to a few
selected souls in the audience.
STN: What does touring involve for you?
ST: Touring with the sect involves a lot of organizing. The
homeless background of all the members does not make it an easy task which is
why the sect can sometimes not be seen for months. But when the Guru decides to
tour he fills up a rudimentary mobile home with ceremonial beer and makes a rest
stop every 2km to bless the ground with his holy water. There is not much to
say about the way the Sect tours for it is mostly a spiritual travel.
Thank
you for your interest in the Sect. The Guru blesses you.
UPCOMMING
EVENTS:
Coachella Valley
Los Angeles
Homeland
Pomona
Dec
14
Karas,
Mister Girl etc..
25921
Ritter Ave. Homeland
$3
All Ages
Dec
16
Brain
Fragment, Meridian, Relapse
The
Redwood bar
316
W 2nd St, Los Angeles
21+,
$5
Dec17
Failings,
Small Drone Orchestra etc..
Coaxial
1815
S Main St. Los Angeles
Dec
20
Red
Kross, Dale Crover Band
14401
Newport Ave. Tustin
Tickets
Available Online
Dec
22
Misery
Ritual, Ritual Chair, Identity Combat etc..
Hillbilly
House, Hemet (ask for address)
$5
All Ages
Jan
4
Radolescence,
The Hajj
World
Famous Doll Hut
107
S Adams St. Anaheim
21+
$10
Jan
13
Anarcho
Punk Flea Market with Resist and Exist
PBWLA
296
W. 2nd St
$5
All Ages
