INTRODUCTION:
Welcome to issue #7!! We’ve got a lot of shit packed into this one for you!! Biggest issue yet!! Cram pack with hella musical info to get you going!! Red’s been kicking ass on his SLUGZZZ section and I’m glad to have him. Got some flyers and upcoming event to share as always and mad interviews!! If you’re reading this online click those links and listen to these artists, if you’re reading a physical copy then just look all these artists up. You’re just one Google search away!!
Anyone
curious about Brain Fragment will be glad to know we’ve now got a permanent keyboard
player and we’ll be recording a noise album for Noise Prom next year. Gonna be
a straight up Noise Orchestra!! And the only way to hear it is to be there
because it’s one time only!! Anyway, enough about us, time see what else is
going on..
LISTENING RECOMENDATIONS:
ARTIST: Wish
Blade
ALBUM: The Hare
LABEL: N/A
STYLE: Dance/Experimental
ARTIST: Earthwalker
RELEASE: Demo
LABEL: N/A
STYLE: Desert Sludge
ARTIST: Luna Vex
RELEASE: NITEMARE
LABEL: N/A
STYLE: Alternative Trap
ARTIST: Amber
Ryann
RELEASE: Voice Memos
LABEL: N/A
STYLE: Eclectic/Experimental/Chill
ARTIST: Beecher
RELEASE: Beecher
LABEL: N/A
STYLE: Folk
https://www.reverbnation.com/beecher3
LIVE REVIEWS!!!
Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicides:
Not the first time and definitely not the
last time we’ll be talking about Rock “N” Roll Suicides!! This is one late ‘70s
inspired punk attacked garage band that never fails to make you wanna move!! If
you thought they were good before just wait until you hear them with their new
bass player. Yes, that’s right!! They’re a 3 piece now. It’s amazing just how
much energy and feeling the addition of another set of strings brings to the
mix. You wanna party? You wanna move? You want hear something you can sing
along to? Do yourself a favor, go check this band out and do it soon!!
Strawberry Fistcake:
More
punk!! But this time it’s upbeat, high energy ‘90s influenced street punk from
another hemisphere!! Strawberry Fistcake is a party band if I’ve ever heard one
and they’ve been raging across the U.S. on tour from Australia. You wanna pogo?
You wanna drink some fuckin’ beer? You wanna do a line? This is the band to do
it to (and probably with) so go give them a listen and make sure catch them the
next time they tour the States!! I highly recommend for any fans of Bad Ass.
Ciphers of Transcendence:
Fuck it!! One more punk band!! We all know
these fuckers!! Ciphers of Transcendence are responsible for some of the best
SoCal punk we’ve heard in a long time. It’s aggressive and melodic with a
hardcore edge. They think deep, they feel deep and fucking let it all out in a
furiously passionate display!! C.O.T. is back as fuuuck and I for one am happy
to have them!!
OGDEN INTERVIEWS DAN THE MAN!!
STN: Ok, Mr. The Man, if that is your real name. How long have you been
involved in the local music scene and what got you started?
DAN: Been singing punk since 1976 I was 15. I first heard the Ramones Iggy
& The NY Dolls. I was born to rock. I'll never be an opera star. Neil Young
wrote that.
STN: Hell yeah!! A lifer!! What was the punk scene like back then?
DAN: Really violent in LA I was a bookworm so I stayed in the back. Orange
County was way Nazi. Couldn't go without a few friends. I sold angel dust to
Darby Crash. He still owes me 20 bucks.
STN: Owing money from beyond the grave. That's nuts!! Seems like it's
definitely different from how it is now. I bet it was insane to be a part of
that from the beginning, when it was still new.
DAN: It was! It was so judgement free and wild and sexy. It seemed like it
would never end. I could go see my musical idols up close and personal. And
once I got my own band it was on!!
STN: Speaking of your own band, how long have you been with your current
bands PWHC and The Corradoors?
DAN: PWHC about 5 years and The Corradoors barely started last year. We're a
power duo!
STN: Yeah you are, you guys really get down!! How'd you get started with The
Corradoors?
DAN: My buddy from my way back stand up days Dave Corrado and I had always
talked about doing something musically. I have like lyrical diarreha, I have
like hundreds of unused lyrics I'm always writing. So I shared some off the
wall kinda funny kinda dark lyrics with Dave and he came up with music and we
were off and running to rehab. Ouch. Amy Winehouse was a wimp.
STN: You guys planning on staying a duo?
DAN: We like it like that. We actually recorded some tracks as a full band.
STN: Fuck yeah!! Can't wait to hear that!!
DAN: I'll send them to you! They'll never be released unfortunately.
STN: Exclusive
Are you still active as a stand up comedian?
DAN: I do stand up every now and then but the blatant mean spirited
bitchiness of the current comedy scene makes it so tiring and unfun.
STN: Damn, that's a bummer. You're a funny dude and it's always lame when the
fun gets sucked out of something you love. Now, I wanna know about PWHC!!
Where'd you guys come up with that name? And is the name allowed to appear in
print?
DAN: Well I was working a one year contract for the county running a computer
lab for felons. This one little guy would always mad dog me and make stupid
remarks and steal dumb ass things like pens and thumb tacks from my desk. One
day he got all aggro and threatened to blow my car up. I told him you can't
even set a margin on your Microsoft Word assignment. He said he was from Barrio
_ with the Pee Wees. I said they muat be the Pee Wee HERMAN cholos and
everyone started cracking up. The name is not allowed in print. I
acknowledge and respect the cease and desist order.
STN: That's crazy that you guys got a cease and desist over the name!!
DAN: Yeah crazy is one adjective!
STN: PWHC is fuckin' wild though!! Love you're guys live shows, so need a
record. What are your guys main influences?
DAN: I like riffy punk classic rock and stoner rock. Mike (bass) and Micheal
(drums) both love thrash, stoner rock, hardcore, metal, psychedelic rock, crust
punk, doom, anarcho punk... Produce us! We need a label!
STN: You guys give off mad hardcore vibes fer sure and yeah you do need a
label. I'm surprised you guys aren't already on one!!
DAN: We are dedicated to obscurity! We're punk rawk, MAN!
STN: You have anything up for people to check out?
DAN: Yeah check us out on youtube check us out PWHC. Also search youtube for The Corradoors and the late great
Foggy Nation
STN: Cool man. Lastly, is there anything in particular you'd like to say to
everyone out there reading this or anything you'd like to promote?
DAN: I just wanna encourage everyone to be themselves and never stop having
fun. Be good to each other love hard play hard party hard. Nothing lasts
forever.
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! TrixySparks.thecomicseries.com
SLUGZZZ
Here we go sluggerz! Write-ups &
Interviews with Launcher, Erik Nervous and Shitty Life PLUS two album reviews
on It’s Trash! Records’ Killed By Meth 3 compilation and Rat Race EP by Red
Mass!
Super stoked on all of these and hope you
enjoy the read and the incredible music discussed here!
-Red
Reverling515@gmail.com. You can also check out my collection at Bandcamp.com/redshurp6
LAUNCHER- Demo
Los Angeles, California
Launcher
plays very energetic and danceable punk rock.
They released their demo in January, have been featured on Highland Park
TV and have gone on a nine date tour up the west coast and inland. The demo starts with Mixed Signals – a cut of
spazzy punk’n’roll and the party doesn’t end for any following track. With eccentric and abrasive vocals, sharp
guitar work with a rad garage punk element, rolling bass and drums on point,
closing out the tape with Johnny Thunders Memorial Service feels like a solid fucking
demo. Looking forward to more from LA’s
Launcher!! Had the chance for a little
interview with bassist Darragh Duff.
Have a look and check out the Launcher demo at http://launcher.bandcamp.com/album/launcher
STN- It’s been a few months since your “America is Scared of
Me” tour. What was it like spending that whole week with one another? Did
anyone go home on any off days?
DD- Tour was definitely a great experience. We had a few
small fights here and there, but nothing serious. Give each other some space to
cool down, say your apologies and move on. You gotta learn to get over
shit. We didn't have any off-days
because we wanted to make sure we played every day.
STN- Can
you say a little about your songwriting process?
DD- Either
Tony or I bring in something we are working on,
whether it's almost a full song, or just some riffs we think sound rad.
From that point, we just kinda start filling in the music. As for the lyrics
Dan handles all of that.
STN- What
usually Influences your songs?
DD- As
far as my own influences, it really depends on what I've been listening to
lately. I don't think I've ever been able to sit down and write a song when I
wanted to. The stuff Im proud of putting out mostly comes to me at random
times, for instance, while I'm driving or at work.
STN- What
bands are you digging the most lately?
DD- Some
of my favorites at the moment are Radioactivity, Royal Headache, and The
Vicious. We all listen to slightly different stuff. I think that contributes to
our sound and the type of stuff we play.
STN- How
would you describe your live show?
DD- Loud,
aggressive and fast. Kind of like a
washing machine filled with rocks.
STN- When
can we hear new Launcher jams?
DD- We're
going to be getting new recordings done before the new year. Once they are
finished, you can find them at https://launcher.bandcamp.com
Erik Nervous & The Beta Blockers – Live
in Rehearsal
Kalamazoo, Michigan
For the
past, I’m gonna say, several years there’s been an explosion of great
underground garage and punk rock in the American Midwest. One prolific musician rising in this scene
and gaining vast popularity with his weirdo, poppy, frantic garage rock music
that only he can make is Erik Nervous.
Along with his live band, The Beta Blockers, he recently released a
split 7” with buddies Neo Neos as well as a Devo cover album and a super rad
live rehearsal tape with The Beta Blockers.
I’m stoked to have been able to interview Erik, enjoy! Music and merch
available http://eriknervous.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-rehearsal-tour-tape-18
Favorite
track- Children Stabbing Things/ Ice Cream
STN- I noticed that you put out an album with lots
of your old recordings- great stuff! How
long have you actually been playing and recording your own music?
EN- I’m assuming you’re talking about the album
on my Bandcamp of stuff i recorded before my demo came out. I’ve been playing
guitar & drums since right around 6th or 7th grade, which’d be about 8 or 9
years now. I started recording on on an iPad with Garageband, just with the
built in mic. I’d do shit like place it directly on top of the kick when I was
recording drums. Eventually, I got a couple of yellowed plastic Califone
shoebox tape recorders & started recording with those, R Stevie Moore
style; recording an instrument’s part on one, then turning it on its side so
the built in speaker would be pointing at the second’s microphone, then record
the next part as i played along to the first one. Repeat that process three or
four times & I’d have a finished song. “new zealand” off of the archival
album is an example of how this process sounds.
A couple years after, once I'd really gotten into DIY
recording & punk, a fellow gear head friend invited to me to go with him to
Sweetwater’s annual Gearfest event, where all of the big name brands flaunt
their newest, shiniest offerings. Off to the side of all of the flashy stuff,
there’s a secondhand flea market tent. In that tent i found a four track
cassette recorder (original instruction booklet included) for $50. After
finding that, I was pretty much writing & recording music 24/7. It’s on
that machine that i’ve recorded the majority of my released music.
STN- Your music seems to be more and more popular
among garage rock and independent music crowds.
What do you think has led to this?
EN- I really just got lucky with who heard it,
liked it, & was willing to share it with others. Mark & Marty put it
out right as they were really rising to their current, highly-deserved statuses
of modern underground heroes, so that really helped get things off to running
start. Plus, I got on good terms with Anthony of Anti/Jimmy Youtube infamy,
just as he was really entering the focus of the underground consciousness. I
could be writing the greatest music in the world (which, for clarity, i am not
claiming to be doing in any way shape or form) & I doubt I’d have even one
quarter of the fanbase I have without the support of those three fine
gentlemen.
As for maintaining & growing my
quote unquote popularity, it probably owes to trying to write the best music I
can write, as soon as i can. My goal when i write something is to make music
that i’d listen to if i wasn’t the one writing it. There’s a very fine line
between nostalgia, homage, & plagiarism in punk-y music, & navigating
that while still writing an enjoyable song can be agonizing. Especially now
that all of the big, influential records are nearing their 40 to 50th
anniversary. Taking inspiration from an a classic these days feels risky,
because you’ll get accused of ripping off a new band who likes the same things
you do.
I’ve gotten a bit off topic here.
I think the current state of
underground publicity is a big positive feedback loop/snowball of notoriety,
which is good & bad. If you make a good record, someone will see it, like
it, & it’ll end up in the distros/shops, where more people will see, like
it, & it’ll end in more shops, & you’ll be able to put out records on
more well known labels, which’ll get into more distros & shops & on
& on & on. If you’ve truly got a good record, the trick is to just find
the initial push to get the ball rolling. There’s a solid number of current
bands I can think of off the top of my head that are just as good as, if not
better than I am, but have little to no recognition, just cause the word of
mouth train hasn’t taken off for them yet. I really did just get lucky.
Hopefully i continue to do so.
STN- How did you hook up with the Beta Blockers?
EN- Okay,
just to clarify, ‘cause i’m almost positive it's caused confusion somewhere, my
live band, The Beta Blockers, is a completely different entity from the band
Beta Blockers hailing from Leeds who have an LP out on Static Shock records. I
came up with the Beta Blockers name ‘cause I heard that professional musicians
would take them before performances or auditions to basically turn off the part
of their brain that feels anxiety, so its like a mental health pun for Erik
Nervous. ba-dum tish jokes jokes jokes
Anyway
It all stems from the gig in
Kalamazoo that got the whole ball rolling for my punk career(???). Once again,
can’t stress enough how i’d just be some dork from farmland Indiana without
Mark ’n’ Marty’s help. CCTV & Dumpers had a show set up in Detroit after
Not Dead Yet in Toronto that wound end fall through the week beforehand. Marty
emailed everybody who had ever corresponded with him that happened to live in
Kalamazoo in an attempt to get a show set up last second. This added up to
exactly three people, me included.
Roldy, The current Beta Blockers’
bass player, was one of the two other people Marty contacted. We met at the
show & exchanged a few brief words with one another. Cut to the day after
the show, when I suddenly have my tape is newly set to come out on Lumpy, &
I figure i should get a band together to play live shows. I remember Roldy
mentioning he was a bass player & contacted him with a copy of my demo. We
met up not soon after & became fast friends. He’s been the one & only
bass player in the band ever since.
We’ve
had three drummers so far, hopefully we won’t need to add a forth to that list
anytime soon. The first was a friend & current roommate of Roldy’s that’d
been in a band with him a few months prior. Suffice to say, my music was the
fastest music he’s played (which isn’t to say he was bad at playing it).
A
few months go by & we plan out our first little 5 day tour, but unfortunately
work schedules & personal obligations interfered, & Mr. First Drummer
was unable to travel with us. Another old friend of Roldy’s stepped up to the
throne for that tour. My memory isn’t completely clear on it, but I’m pretty
sure those are the only dates he’s played with us. He’s still involved in the
band, being a total savant with guitar maintenance & occasionally helping
set up & run basement recording sessions.
Mr. First Drummer played a handful
more shows after our tour, before being amicably replaced by our current
drummer, Jeff Mahannah. He moved back to Kzoo after leaving New Orleans, &
mutual friends ensured we had the opportunity to jam with him not long after
his arrival in town. He amalgamated into the formal lineup very organically very
quickly. I’ve sung his many deserved praises in a couple of past interviews, so
i’ll spare y’all the ink.
STN- What bands were really influential to you
growing up?
EN- As a young child, I was really into 80’s
Casey Kasem top 40’s type stuff. There’s a radio station around my home town
that’d play non-stop 80’s chart toppers on the weekends, & I think a lot of
those that had a pretty big effect on me. This sounds corny, but Guitar Hero 2
was probably the biggest musical catalyst in my musical formative years. Living
in a very sheltered corner of flyover country, the vast majority of underground
music is a total unknown. The Pixies would be considered a massive obscurity.
Then all of the sudden you get slapped across the face with the likes of The
Stooges, Butthole Surfers, & Black fucking Sabbath. It was eye opening.
Then Rock Band came along, & that’s how I learned to drum.
Going through middle & high
school, I got really into 90’s alternative, early Weezer in particular. Near
the end of my junior year, I got into more indie pop kinda bands. Magnetic
Fields, Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, that kinda thing. Once I started
really digging into the influences of those bands, I went down the rabbit hole
of 1976 to 1982 I’m still falling down today.
STN: Do you tour? If you do, where’s the farthest
you’ve gone?
EN- We do! We’ve done two “major” tours, plus a
handful of short little three to four day jaunts, one of which was up into
Canada.
The furthest we’ve traveled is all
the way down south to New Orleans & Austin for our most recent tour. Those
two gigs marked the halfway point of a two week long stint on the road.
Keep your ear to the ground for Erik Nervous
& The Beta Blockers coming to your town! Listen to and buy music and merch
at https://eriknervous.bandcamp.com/
SHITTY LIFE – Switch Off Your Head
Parma, Italy
Shitty
Life has only been around for three years but are one of the hardest working
bands in Italy. They released a packed demo in 2015, their
self-titled LP in 2016 on Surfin’ Ki Records, worked with various labels
including Goodbye Boozy and Spastic Fantastic to release four 7”s (one of which
is a team-up with DD Owen of Sick Thoughts!) and their second LP in September- Switch Off Your Head. SL plays powerful, punk rock with little to
no distortion and intense, sometimes political vocals. Switch
Off Your Head has that signature jump’n rock’n roll punk sound Shitty Life
has come to be known for, sounding even cleaner and meaner. Music and merch available at http://shittylife.bandcamp.com/album/switch-off-your-head
Favorite track- We’re Dead
STN- First off, your new album is killer! Will you be touring
outside of Europe any time soon?
SL- Thanks a lot dude, glad you liked it. We actually got a
proposal for a short Colombia tour that we would like to plan for Spring 2019.
We would really like to play in Japan and why not US and Australia but nothing
serious yet.
STN- What is “chitarrino punk”?
SL- The exact translation of “chitarrino” in Italian is
“small guitar”. It all started and it’s still a joke, we use that name to
explain a certain sound of guitar, clear high tone without distortion and not
so much sustain. Funny thing is that when we are playing abroad people ask to
us the meaning and once they get it they always start that game “Band name is chitarrino, right?!”. Also
with private massages after maybe few months later.
STN- With songs like “Neighborhood Watch” and “CCTV,” is
government surveillance and censorship one of the biggest influences of your
music?
SL- Our lyrics are mainly about today’s society we don’t feel
absolutely to belong. The absurd excess of surveillance and censorship are some
of the features of our society besides the wickedness towards the weaker or
those who are not like to you. Nowadays the governments and the media want to
scare the population so they can then justify their actions that actually only
serve to have greater control over each one of us. That’s more or less what
songs like “Neighborhood Watch” and “CCTV” are about.
STN- What other bands from your scene
in Italy would you recommend?
SL- Just to name a few: Loyal
Wankers, Skalp, Dots, The Rippers, Movie Star Junkies, Antares, Lame, Bavosa,
Cuore Matto, etc..
STN- You seem to have been very busy these past three years
you’ve been around as a band. Any
previous projects you can mention that any of you were a part of before S/L?
SL- Yes, we all have been in different bands before like
Sang, You Suck!, Left In Ruins, Drug Problems, Secret Tape, etc.. and still
playing in other bands like Impulso, Wah’77, Vam Society.
More or less two years ago Piff started a band called Dadar as a solo-project and nowadays we all join the band with some changes on instruments compared to Shitty Life. Luca, the drummer (but is not a real drummer) still the drummer in Dadar and he’s complaining a lot when we are playing with both bands in the same gig. Currently we are writing some new tunes all together and since now Piff has recorded and released 2 E.P. as Dadar, check it out! https://dadar.bandcamp.com/
More or less two years ago Piff started a band called Dadar as a solo-project and nowadays we all join the band with some changes on instruments compared to Shitty Life. Luca, the drummer (but is not a real drummer) still the drummer in Dadar and he’s complaining a lot when we are playing with both bands in the same gig. Currently we are writing some new tunes all together and since now Piff has recorded and released 2 E.P. as Dadar, check it out! https://dadar.bandcamp.com/
Red Mass – Rat Race EP
It’s Trash! Records
Prolific
Canadian group Red Mass have graced us with fresh experimental garage punk
drawn from various and diverse influences for over a decade now. With a thriving knack for creating super rad
music that’s never the same, Red Mass offers up a few solid driven cuts on
their Rat Race EP that capture the insanity of monotonous human life. The title track, Rat Race, is a real shaker.
A more straight-ahead urgent rocker with a little fuzz, some synth, thumping
drums and infectious lyrics. Today I Die
is even faster and trashier. Then
there’s Aggressive Tendencies, forged on another beautiful level by industrial,
goth and hardcore influences. It’s a
weird one and reminds the listener that Red Mass will never make the same song
twice but carries an energy of individualism and experimentation. One of the most, if not thee most, unique
bands in modern rock and roll. If you know what’s good for ya, Rat Race will be
in your rotation immediately! Get it here http://itstrashrecords.bandcamp.com/album/red-mass-rat-race-ep
Killed By Meth #3 – Rust Belt Rockers
It’s Trash! Records
The third installment of the Killed By Meth series is just as wild and even more diverse than
the two prior and full of super rad, vastly unknown bands ranging from powerpop
and trash rock to hardcore, from the dirty south to the great white north. This totally bizarre compilation goes off the
grid taking wild turns and back roads, smashing through 50s & 60s rock and
roll, 77 punk, 80s hardcore, surf and so much more while capturing the
contemporary punk sound sweeping through North America right now. You may be left with a little homework after
listening but that’s one of the greatest things about this record. It’s Trash! offers up another slab of gnarly
punk rock that offers a peek inside some fucking awesome new bands! Check it
out here http://itstrashrecords.bandcamp.com/album/killed-by-meth-3-lp
UPCOMMING
EVENTS:
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Nov.
17
Ringwerm,
Brain Fragment, Beecher etc..
The
Vintage Vault
308
N 2nd Street
$3
All Ages
Nov
21
The
Companies, Underground City, Brain Fragment
Dba256
256
S Main St, Pomona
21+
Free
Nov
23
Revolting
Sounds, Facelift, DED ICH
Café
NELA
1906
Cypress Ave, Los Angeles
21+
$5
Nov.
25
The
Pawns, Luicidal, Beowulf, The Hajj etc..
Doll
Hut
107
S Adams St, Anaheim
21+
$10
Nov.
30
Dangerously
Sleazy, Zado, Brain Fragment etc..
The
Airliner Nightclub
2419
N Broadway, Los Angeles
21+
$5
Dec
1
Misery
Ritual, Identity Combat, Ritual Chair etc..
The
Void
(ask
a punk)
18+
$3 (sock/food donation)
Dec
8
Jaguar
Cult, Brain Fragment etc..
Brew
Rebellion
All
Ages (it’s a toy drive so donate a toy)
The above listed are
just a few of the shows going on all the fuckin’ time!! Now get out there and
hit up some fucking shows!!
