We are doing shows in Boston at TT The Bear this Saturday 6-9 and at Ri Ra in Providence, Rhode Island Sunday 2-5 pm.
These are shows benefitting NE Distance, a running based charity.
If you’re in those areas this weekend, c’mon down, indulge your inner rock star, & get on stage with a kick ass band. We’ve got everything from GG Allin to The DK’s to AC/DC to Kelly Clarkson. Because Kelly Clarkson is more punk than any of us.
You can click on the links for ticket info, directions, etc.
I’ll be the guy in the Yankees shirt, berating and engaging the local populace.
Saw DOA last nite. Joey Shithead (though now he goes by Joey Shithead Keithly- a nod to his political career) looked great, a bit greyer these days, but lookin’ healthy in his torn and patched jeans and sleeveless denim jacket (the Canadian Tuxedo). Thankfully, the band blazed (Joey even played geetar behind his back and with his teeth- holy guitar hero, Batman!). Joey was as unintelligible as ever (think of a Grizzly Bear singing) and the old and newer songs sounded great. I think I first saw them as a tyke in ’81, and it’s probably a small miracle that they are still a-showin’ and I’m still a-goin’.
And then tonite, the Angry Samoans are playin’! I would have liked to have gone to that too, but I’m lazy, it’s a Sunday nite, and besides, “Breaking Bad” is on. Yeah, white and lazy.
Speaking of which, the one show I woulda loved to have gone to was The Replacements re-union at Riot Fest a couple of weeks ago. Though, imma not big on this reunion talk, since imho the ‘Mats were done when they threw smokin’ and drinkin’ Bob Stinson out and the band became a Paul Westerburg solo project.
But, dang if I wasn’t weeping like a little girl and pogoing at 3 am, watchin’ the ‘Mats footage from the show. “Bastards Of Young”, “Left Of The Dial”, “Takin A Ride”, “Color Me Impressed”, “I’m In Trouble”... something about seeing that vidage & hearing that toonage reduced me to my 18 year old ghost.
That’s an emotional response I didn’t expect (especially as I wasn’t there in person).
But that’s what music can do to ya. It was fun yellin’ out the songs with Joey at the DOA show, and I am sure my visceral reaction will be the same seeing the Keith/Dez/Chuck version of Black Flag this Thursday. BF & DOA were huge bands for me back in my yoot.
However, something snuck up on me watching that ‘Mats show.
I watched the crowd singing along to every song- yeah, some people were probably really annoyed by that.
All I felt was envy. Wow, to be part of a huge crowd where everyone was feelin’ it. And yet, even as part of the teeming masses, you would still have this personal stake and response to the songs.
I have been missing in action for quite some time. Total avalanche and each day I wanted to get motivated to be here and I couldn't.
Between work (good and busy), education (taking some on-line courses), rock n rolling (though not nearly enough), and some familial med challenges; time just vanished.
Here it is, September. My crab grass is dead, I've put on about 20 lbs. Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.
But... enough about happy old me.
Life is good and imma gonna get back to making the world just a little brighter with this blog.
So… with Princess Nomad needing transportation for college
(and guilting me that I owe a car because she got pretty much a free ride with
scholarships), I am in the market for the first time in a while. All I want is a dependable car- no leather, sun roof or any bells and whistles (though a horn would be nice).
The usual options apply:
1) Used car- caveat of course is that the car turns to shit in
a couple of years and I have to start the process again. Benefit is price,
baby, price.
2) Used “certified” car- caveat is that the pricing for this
option is almost as high as a new car, and you don’t get the same warranty.
3) New Car – of course the price is heinous- but, as long as I
don’t have any business disasters, I can do this.
The Princess would get my 2009 Honda Accord- an awesome set
of wheels that I would be more than happy keeping, if I could find a dependable
and decent used car. She is NOT getting a new car! Otherwise, King Nazz gets the new car and she’ll get the
Accord. Missus Nomad is keeping her 06 Camry.
It’s been fun dealing with car dealers. I will not say the
oft heard statement that car dealers are scum. As I am in sales, I know how
tough selling is.
However, it is interesting to see how their sales styles differ.
I have been attempting to do this via the internet with a
simple statement:
I am looking for (insert name of car with package and
color), I would appreciate you sending me your best offer and PUT IT IN WRITING
VIA THIS EMAIL. I have neither the time or inclination to speak to you in person
unless you can send me this information.
I have on occasion given my cell phone number, but that
always ends up with something like:
"Hi Buddy, this is so
and so from douchebag auto sales. I can’t give you a number over the phone or via
email, but if you come down to the lot, we’ll guarantee the lowest price."
Needless to say, those calls are hung up on or ignored very
quickly.
The guy who I am going to use eventually is the guy as it
turns out is in my neighborhood (providing he can match lowest price). He’s
been low-key, very patient on test drives, and informative.
But… it is fun being the buyer and not the seller again!
Saw Mizz Cawt-Knee Luhv Sat nite in the wasteland that is
Lawn Guyland. The missus and I had a grand time (the missus more than I- not
that I didn’t have a gas too). I don't know which of us wanted to bang Courtney more, actually!
The widow Cobain is Miz Nomad’s fave- and mi' wifey brought it all the way back to her old punk rawk days- tequila and beers
in mas quantities (granted, the beer was Miller Lite- but the Cuervo made up
for it). I stuck to IPA’s and Guinness- and something called a Dr Pepper- which
was beer with a shot glass in the middle that had raspberry likker and rum. Not
my fault- the friendly bartender poured it gratis for yers truly.
The goniffs inside the venue were charging $8 for a 16 ounce
and $12 for a big‘un (24 ouncer) of what the kids call “craft beer”…Guess which
one I kept investing in.
Well, Court-Court did not disappoint- she looked great
from about 15 feet away and was pos-it-iv-lee lucid for the show. Her non-Hole
sidemen were efficient; if totally devoid of stage presence... the better for
Missy Lovey to radiate to her acolytes- the crowd had four distinct segments-
Courtney-ettes of every female demographic, gay guys, dudes who had no clue but
were escorting their dates, and me and a few other all-Merican guyz who had
been thru the punk wars. I was sportin' my LAMF shirt- in honor of a certain chanteuse's track-marked past.
Caw-Caw came out in a nice black dress, took it off for a
tighter outfit and later changed into an all white rig. Not as many clothes
changes as Cher, but effective nonetheless. She had a Red Rickenbacker that
prob cost more than my car- and she even played it a little- yeah- that barre
chord where your pointer just slides uppp and dowwwnnn the neck. I also spent a bit of the show grousing that I
should be playing bass – as my old band used to kill it on “Celebrity Skin”. She played everything that you'd expect her to from the "Live Through This" and "Cel Skin" elpees, plus some of the "America's Sweetheart" stuff too. Only cover toon was the 'Stones' "Under My Thumb".
Afterwards, Ms. Nomad demanded to wait by the stage door
with some other Love-ettes for a glimpse
of Ms. Doll Parts. I told her to come back with me and we’d scam to backstage.
As usual, my statement was met with derision. So I went back in and got close
(ie the same room) but no cigar to actual meet and great.
However, I did pluck this lovely tusk/phallic symbol from the
dressing room area. It looks great in my living room.
Really a fucking fantastic show, and much better than the last
show I didn’t get to see because I was in jail!
Been digging the shit out of a couple of all gal bands as of
late.
Heliotropes are NY based and have sort of a 60’s Pink Floydy vibe. Not really the Syd-Floyd era, more of the “Meddle” era Floyd. They've got buzzy guitars and also a sound that reminds me of early Smashing Pumpkins (in a good way). The songs are well thought out and somewhat complex. They take their time to develop and have a sinewy bottom end. Yum… “sinewy bottom ends”!!!!! They got a serious edge to them. Check out “The Dove” and “Psalms”. Good acid music!!!!
Savages are from
across the pond and make dark, bass heavy post punk that reminds me of early 80’s
bands like Au Pairs, Siouxie & The Banshees, and Delta Five. Throw in a
little bit of the echoey production of the Factory Records bands and wrap it all up with some
extra drama. Not quite as dancey as the
bands of that era, but very enjoyable and “different” than 99% of the shit that
passes off as New Wave these days. Yeah, I said it. New Wave. Check out the
songs “Shut Up” and “Husbands”. Good ‘lude music!
And… I am going to see Ms. Courtney Love tomorrow night.
Hopefully, I won’t spend THIS show in the inside of a NYC jail cell as I did
the last time she played these environs!!!!!!
The past weekend was spent in the urban wilds of Montreal, as
well as the rural wilds of Montebello, Quebec at the Amnesia Rock Fest.
Amnesia Fest is a Punk/Metal music fest that was developed
by a Canadian teenager about 7 years ago. It takes place in Montebello (about
70 miles North of Montreal) and for 2 days- was the Great White North’s version
of Woodstock.
Not this this was a completely good thing! The festival
reached critical mass this year and three hour waits to pick up tickets were de
rigeur. Fortunately, your humble narrator took care of his shit long before the
day of show, and J-Lo, Davey-boy and old Nazz sauntered in leisurely both days. And, since the last big crowd headliner's bore no real interest to us (Rise Against and The Offspring- been there done that for both bands), we also were able to "get outta dodge city" both nites without too much bumping.
Black Flag
The good-
The people of Montebello (including law enforcement) could
not have been nicer and more laid back. 50,000 plus punks and metalheads
invading a town with more cows than people could have been a disaster- but
civility was the name of the game. In fact, the only interaction we had with
the long arm of the law was a photo op! The townspeople were wonderful- and as a result, the vibe between attendees, cops and natives was extremely cool.
$5 beer inside the venue (and lots of it!)- beer kiosks were
everywhere (albeit Budweiser) and vendors were actually triasping thru the mud
(more on THAT later) to serve us! Kinda weird that they couldn't get Canadian beer sponsorship- but, on the other hand, I guess Bud is exotic in Canada since it's an import!
Poutine- Inside the show- Pulled pork, gravy, fries, cheese
curds…mmmmmmmmm – aside from a convenience store/ gas station sandwich that’s all I
ate for the 4 days!
The bands!- Holy shit!!!!!!
Let’s see, the best bands of the 20 or so (there were 5 stages and about 100
bands that played) I saw were: FLAG (ie – the non Gregg Ginn version)-
Keith Morris, Dez Cadena, Chuck Dukowski et al brought it waaaaaay back to
1979!, our NYC homeboys Agnostic Front and Anthrax were great; DropKick
Murphys, old skool L.A. band The Adolescents, old skool crust punks Subhumans
UK, Alice fucking Cooper, Social Distortion, Rancid.
But the best band I saw all weekend was FUCKED UP. Lead
singer Pink Eyes and his preppy looking band absolutely tore up the freakin’
place. Pink Eyes (all 250 plus hairy lbs of him) spent the entire show
singing whilst being held aloft. After the show, he spent about an hour posing
for pix and hugging anybody that cam within hugging distance.
J-Lo, Pink Eyes & Davey-Boy
The bad-
Yeah, it was a lot like Woodstock- overflowing toilets, shit
piss and mud rivers bisecting the festival grounds. Canadian kids must not have
gotten the word on littering, strewn everywhere were empty beer cups, soda
bottles etc- though this was at least in part due to the organizers, who did
not have enough garbage cans.
Band cancellations and bad info- several bands such as
Lagwagon and The Mighty Bosstones got
shifted around in times and stages- and no one was informed- so we missed them.
The lines- as said- waiting three hours to pick up my
tickets would have been a disaster.
Old age - I overindulged big time too early Saturday & sorta had
to take a rest for a couple of hours in a parking lot in the early afternoon– But that was cool- I
arose feeling refreshed and ready to mosh!
Cookie Monster bands- Christ, is there some sort of Canadian law that every metal band has to sound like the Cookie Monster is their singer?
All in all- a great weekend. I hope to go back next year (it was a pretty long drive) but I am glad I went!
Some thoughts on the Paul McCartney concert I was at last
nite.
It’s Paul fucking McCartney! Nuff said
Paul played guitar and piano much more than he did bass.
His back-up band has been playing with him for more years
than the Beatles were together!
He brought out several chestnuts never before played on
tour: “Lovely Rita”, “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite”, Your Mother Should
Know”, “All Together Now”.
The dude is 70 years old and played non-stop for 2 ½ hours!
He looks great.
That being said, the video close-ups on Paul were not that
close up… high res 70 feet high does not make for a pretty picture for an old
guy, no matter how well preserved.
Average age of attendees was probably about 45. After all,
what young one could afford tickets that ranged from $100 to $500 (without mom and dad, of course!)
Great light show- “Live And Let Die” had lasers and explosions.
Emotionally tingling moments: “Hey Jude” (complete with
audience sing-a-long), “Something” (dedicated to George and played on Ukelele,
before th whole band joined in), “Here Today” (dedicated to and about John).
It was in Brooklyn… so the “Fuhgettaboutit Paul” sign was
especially apropos.
He played “I Saw Her Standing There”- that song is 52 years
old!
Cool Hendrix tribute!!!!! With a “Foxy Lady” jam in “Let Me
Roll It” -plus a great story about
Hendrix playing Sgt Pepper live only 2 days after the Beatles released it!
“Yesterday” was played of course, but then Paul did a couple
of lines from the original song title: “Scrambled Eggs”
When you think about the catalog of material that McCartney
has, it’s absolutely staggering. And when
you hear 30 plus songs representing the best of 20th century music,
it is humbling.
$10 beers and a horrible seating scheme (the upper deck is
sloped dangerously steep) did not make for a fun customer experience.
Total dick move of the night- some old fuck ratted out a couple of people smoking some grass and they got tossed.
It’s Paul fucking McCartney! Nuff said
But the best part of
the show was watching the joy my daughter displayed seeing the show!
Lately, life has seemed like one big Escher painting. Every time I take a step up, it leads down. And vice-versa. Or something. I basically closed off all social and anti-social media for the past few weeks to catch up on work and OMFUG.
I am also sorta going back to school. Coursera offers college courses for free. It's part of theMOOC (aka Massive Open Online Course) concept, you take the same course as you would at a University, complete with tests and a grade. However, you do not get college credits (since colleges are in the business of selling credits). Instead, you get knowledge, and the satisfaction of learning something new. These courses can attract thousands of students from all across the world.
There are classes in all disciplines. I am currently enrolled in two: Intro to Psychology (from the University of Toronto) and History Of Rock (from the University of Rochester). I never took Psych back in school, and am firing up those old synapses for sure. There is potentially a significant amount of time you can invest in these courses... the Psych course is 8 15 minute lectures a week... but each lectures also has additional video's and reading- which can be upwards of an additional hour per lecture. Fascinating stuff- and as an added bonus, the Prof referenced this!
The History Of Rock course is more of a fun exercise for me, most of what is broached I already know (although some of the pre-1955 history (ie country and blues influences) were new to me (for example Bob Wills and Jimmie Rodgerswere artists I was sorely lacking in).
It's actually more fun to email and post in the forums (and correct the Professor on some stuff!)
And, work has been pretty intense as well. The good thing is I am doing well. The bad news is, I'm getting fat from sitting on my ass.
Anyway... wanted to mention that I saw...
TURBONEGRO !!!- Yeah, the perfect combination of metal, punk and feigned (well, maybe feigned) homosexuality!!!!! From Norway with love; Happy Tom, Euroboy and the rest of 'em rocked NYC. They have a new singer- The Duke Of Nothing (replacing Hank From Hell)- He's fatter, but just as disagreeable. The amazing thing to me was the amount of out of towners (it was there only East Coast show) that attended. They had these denim jackets (the Turbonegro Navy) that looked like biker jackets. And sailor hats. Punk rock!
Plenty of old stuff, plenty off their new album (including their new love song "You Give Me Worms"). And, as my entire band was there (well, my old band) we were hoping that Turbonegro would call us up to do "I Got Erection", which we used to play live. It didn't happen.
Nonetheless, good times.
This represents the longest gap I have had since I started this blog int he late 1940's (or something). One thing piles on top of another, and pretty soon yer under a mountain. Assorted weirdness has happened in the interim some good, alot bad and some just plain bizarre. I hope to spin some tales of some of this ... in the meantime, I think this song sums things up rather efficiently...
Fucker gets to play with everyone from Led Zep to Lee Ving. Here's the Foo Fighters dressing up as Rush circa 1978 (last nite at the rock n roll hof)- dig the white robes:
and Keith (aka Johnny Bob Goldstein) Morris and the other guys (Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena, Bill Stevenson and the Descendents' Steven Edgerton) restoring my preferred era of Black Flag launched their tour:
and of course the Ozzy led Black Sabbath just released their first song in 35 years:
As much as you mofo's in the UK are celebrating The Grand Dame's demise, it means jack shit to me. Guess what- in the Olympics of asshole rulers of the free world (1980-2013 division), she doesn't even win the bronze.
Here in the States alone we've had Reagan and Dubya. You're guyz have had Blair. Maggie ain't squeezin' into that triad.
So she invaded an island full of Penguins? Hell, at least she didn't go toe to toe with the Russkies or an entire religion!
Besides, think of all the great songs that you woulda missed out on!!!!!!
Wandering around the Interwebs last nite and I went to archive.org , which is the coolest site in the universe for public domain stuff and an example of the cyber-world being all grok-riffic.
So, I spent 90 minutes with the BBC broadcast of Orwell's 1984 (not to be confused with Van Halen's 1984)
This version is extremely low budget (geez- it was made in 1954) and probably the closest thing to a literal tranlation of the source as we'll ever get.You can see it embedded below- or at this link.
This version starred Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence and almost 60 years from it's original broadcast (and almost 30 years from it's reference point, it's scary how much of the book and language has turned into common parlance. The main difference these days is that we go willingly into the Gov't and Media's "newspeak", rather than having it forced upon us
Apparently, I missed the boat on them. According to Wikipedia, they were a Punk Rock "supergroup" of alot of NYC gutter punk bands.
Sorta a combo of So-Cal "surf" guitar ala Agent Orange and also the Fat Wrechords bands, punk rawk, hardcore and ska plus trade-offs of guy and gal vox like X (though these guyz are much more shrill and hardcore). Great fucking lyrics and really enjoyable toonage. Alot of people like the band Fucked Up these days... they kinda remind me of them- but I like the vox here better than Pink Eyes on Fucked Up.
I am really digging their stuff on Spotify. You can stream at all the usual places and hope you all go out and buy their stuff too.
Masters of pyschobilly and quite possibly the greatest live band of all time.
And... curators and revivalists of the sickest and most twisted songs the universe!
Who else would perform at a mental hospital?
Many times o'er the years have I witnessed Mssrs Interior (rip) and Rorshach tearing up stages.
Fave memories?
High on acid at the Peppermint Lounge during the recording of "Smell Of Female"- my buddy Rob of the semi legendary Stinky & The Skunks taking a boot from Lux upside the head.
or
just watching Poison Ivy wielding that gee-tar, resplendint in fishnets. Grrrrr baby, real grrrrrr.
I want to also recommend the following link for Trebuchet- they have a fantastic interview with Lux and Posion Ivy detailing their love affair- It's sooo romantic that I have a renewed faith in humankind. Or something.
It started Saturday- body aching and a slight cough. No big deal, but a harbinger of things to come. By Sunday nite I was feeling as dead as Hugo Chavez's dick. Barely made it thru the Walking Dead and I'm pretty sure I looked just like one of those Zombies.
So by Monday morn, I was in full fledged ill mode. I had to go to a meeting and after I drove 25 miles in rush hour traffic, I get a call on my cell from the guy I was supposed to meet, cancelling the meeting. He was sick.
By the afternoon, I was hurting, but I had a major industry event in the evening and thought I could make it through an hour on the train and a 4 hour shmoozeathon. The lure was to meet one of my literary heroes. I won't say who, because if he ends up dying from talking to me I don't want the blame. But the guy is in his 80's, and I hope I didn't give him that "push".
Big mistake.
By the end of the evening I couldn't speak, I was hacking lungers and my body felt like it was in a car crash. I barely made it back to the train for the way home and had to stop at a drug store and powerhit some Robitussin, just to avoid the "typhoid Mary" stigma from my fellow trainizens.
By the time I got home, my fever was in the classic rock station range (between 102 and 103). I can't swallow and every time I cough it feels like Iron Mike Tyson is throat punching me.
Woke up today feeling just as horrible.
Then, as an added bonus, I was going into the basement to get my sweatsoaked bedding washed and I fell down the flight of stairs. So now I have a sprained wrist and a sore back and neck to go with my festering death flu.
HOWEVER- I will not be singing the following song with gardenias stuck up my ass. So I got that going for me!
All files posted on this site are for educational, testing and entertainment purposes only.If you like what you hear, please buy recordings, t-shirts, dvds and other merch from these bands. This is a non profit site and is here to give some publicity to deserving bands and artists. If you’re in a band whose music is found on this site and you want songs removed, please let me know. Songs and other media will be up for only a short time. After that, just like our hopes and dreams, they're gone.
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