Art for Spastics v. 83

Home sweet home...



Download AFS v.83

...or stream it

No playlist or cool links this week 'cos fundraiser shows usually mean "play all the hits" (e.g. Flipper, Really Red, Lightning Bolt (yes, at KDVS, Really Red is and always will be a hit!)).

I put a lot of painstaking effort into making a special CDR compilation to send you as a thank-you gift for your donation, and it's been combined with Fuzzbox Flynn's equally--perhaps more--amazing CDR collection of obscuro sleaze and artshit, but apparently a lot of people forgot to listen live and call in their pledges, so count this as your reminder.

You can still get that added bonus 2xCDR collection tonight if you pledge during Fuzzbox Flynn's "Coexistance of Disparate Elements" program from 12 midnight to 2:00 a.m. Pacific. Any donation of $25 or more gets you a premium package, and we throw our comp in on top of that. This is no $65 commuter mug or tote-bag.

Otherwise, the only way to get the 2xCDR comp is to pledge $100 to receive all 23 custom-made DJ comp CDRs, which is available anytime between now and Sunday night (as long as supplies last!). Of course, that would be a great collection of rare lesser- and almost-never-heard music of incredible variety, so I highly recommend all certified obscurity freaks to get this package.

HOW TO MAKE A PLEDGE (online or by phone)

This freeform community radio station is a rare treasure, and I know for many readers of this and various other blogging activities I do, KDVS ranks as an important online destination for discovery of new music. And not just new bands, but completely new forms of musical expression. I can't name another radio station with as many DJ's whose radars are set so sensitively to detect new expressions. We're like an aggressive aggregator of all the DIY music which is otherwise only available through very unorganized means. And can you imagine how much work we do to mine for these nuggets? I'm asking you to appreciate and validate that effort. Pretty please!

Thanks!

KDVS: We're Coming for Your Money!

The annual KDVS On-Air Fundraiser runs Monday, April 24 through Sunday, April 30, and our goal is $65,000.

We are Davis and the Sacramento area's only freeform community radio station, and we only ask for your support one week every year. Approximately two thirds of our annual budget depends on the support of the community, so if KDVS is important to you, please be generous to us so that we may continue to maintain unparalleled programming variety and continue improving the various services we provide, such as presenting six nights per week of entertainment in Davis.

Appealing specifically to our listeners' self-interest, KDVS is the only community organization I know of which gives its supporters dollar-for-dollar value thank-you gifts in return for their donation. Unlike the tote-bags and commuter mugs other publicly supported media outlets give for $65 to $100, KDVS has often given premiums that exceed the value of the donation.

If you donate at or above the $25 student pledge level during "Art for Spastics" this week, you will receive a regular premium package (such as a t-shirt or CDs or records by artists such as No Doctors, Deerhoof, or the Fall, to name a few), PLUS you will get a special double-CDR compilation of outstanding obscurities of synthpunk, primal scuzz-rock, great punk 7-inches that "Killed by Death" and "Bloodstains" somehow missed, and industrial music of the pre-EBM-homogenization era. All songs have been hand-selected by myself and Fuzzbox Flynn, and extensive liner notes are included.

This 2xCDR will be available exclusively during "Art for Spastics" or Fuzzbox Flynn's "Coexistance of Disparate Elements" program. Art for Spastics is Monday night at midnight 'til 2:00 a.m., and Flynn is on at Tuesday night from midnight to 2:00.

Well, there is one other way to get it...

For donors of $100, you can select to receive our 2xCDR collection plus all other special CDR compilations custom-made by our DJ's...which totals well over 20 CDRs made by such top-drawer DJ's as Todd "Hometown Atrocities" Urick, Janie Venom, Tim Matranga and DJ Megan, Brendan of "The Raw Mess-Around," DJ Klinger, Scott Soriano, and many more. This is like having a portable capsule of KDVS' outstanding variety in music. I highly recommend this package and guarantee that it will increase your vocabulary of rarely heard bands or artists by 100 or more.

Here's where to "shop" for premium packages and pledge online...
http://kdvs.ucdavis.edu/

Credit card pledges are possible, but due to new laws prohibiting storage of credit card info in computer databases, this will be a lot easier by phone.

These are the phone numbers...

(530) 754-KDVS
or TOLL-FREE (866) 399-KDVS

Thanks!
Rick

Art for Spastics v.82

Stream the latest show at this link right here! (by tomorrow or too late)!

OR better yet…
Link to mp3 show archive (find "DJ Rick - Art for Spastics, Tue Apr 18") high & low bitrates available

Next week is the KDVS Fundraiser! If you call in and pledge at the student level of $25 or $40 for community members, you can pick up a 2xCDR compilation of rare whacked weirdness and DIY punk sleaze of thee lowest order, and these were hand-picked by me and Fuzzbox Flynn. Includes liner notes. PLUS, you get this in addition to the regular premium package which KDVS sends as thank-you gifts. But you must phone in during my show Monday night at midnight PST or Flynn’s show Tuesday night at midnight PST. We’re aiming to raise $65,000 in just one week. I also strongly suggest picking up ALL DJ’s CDR comps for a $100 pledge…it’s like your own portable capsule of rarities representing all the variety which this miraculous freeform radio station offers.

CHEB SAMIR & THE BLACK SOULS OF LEVIATHAN -- New Motorcycle -- v/a: ”Tête de Bébé” -- S-S Records *new
OLD TIME RELIJUN -- Your Mama Used to Dance -- 2012 -- K Records 2005
OLD TIME RELIJUN -- Lions and Lambs

SILVER DAGGERS -- Faithful Unlawful – “Bored Fortress” Singles Club split 7" w/ Death Sentence: Panda! -- Not Not Fun *new
MIKA MIKO -- With My Ducks -- v/a: Under 21: Los Angeles! -- olfactory *new
BATTLESHIP -- Lucy Stone -- Presents Princess -- On/On Switch *new
DANIEL FRANCIS DOYLE -- She Breathes -- Who Are Your Customers? -- Furniture *new
DANIEL FRANCIS DOYLE -- Move Up
THE DAKOTA BUILDING -- title unknown -- Anthology CDR – Furniture *new
MOTO PHOTOS -- Funny -- Brain Breakfast CDR – Subfort *mew
HELLO ASTRONAUT, GOODBY TELEVISION -- Bauhaus in the Middle of the Street -- Pixellated Math Costumes -- olFactory/Not Not Fun *new
KNIGHTMARES -- Charles' Song -- Off the Record -- self-released *new
ABE VIGODA -- Wheelers -- self-titled 7" EP -- Silencio 2005
SHE-RAT -- KRAQ -- demo CDR -- self-released *new
BUSINESS LADY -- Zebra South -- split LP w/Rose for Bohdan -- Half Adder Press 2005
CRACK UND ULTRA ECZEMA -- Testicle -- v/a: “Tête de Bébé”

LE CLUB DES CHATS -- Tututut – v/a: “Tête de Bébé”
ZEEK SHECK -- Milk (& Pumpkins) -- Zemag Deah -- ToYo 2000
ARGUMENTIX -- Defy Nature: Take Laser Surgery for Granted -- April 2006 Releases Sampler CDR -- self-released *new
MACAW -- Fucking Freedom -- A Fool Is Kill CDR – Subfort *new
MOTHER TONGUE -- Chapter and Verse -- v/a: A Bead to a Small Mouth -- Barooni 1989
IMPRACTICAL COCKPIT -- Passion of a Cop -- To Be Treated -- Load *new
BLIND IDIOT GOD -- Thunderhead -- Cyclotron -- Avant 1992
NOOTHGRUSH -- Hatred for the Species -- split LP w/ Corrupted -- Reservoir 1998
DESOLATION -- Black Birds -- s/t CD – Prank 2005
DESOLATION -- Awake
UNCURBED -- Framtids Visioner -- Ackord för Frihet / Chords for Freedom -- Sound Pollution 2002

RIPCORD -- Get Away -- Poetic Justice -- Rage 1989
INFEST -- Screwed -- Slave -- Off the Disk 1988
COCK ROACHS -- Hardcore Isn't a Fashion -- v/a: Rapsodie -- Jungle Hop Int'l 1986
BLIGHT -- Tomorrow -- Chapter II cassette -- self-released 1984
MOMS WHO CHOP -- untitled -- Too Mega CDR -- self-released 2005
JOSHUA TAYLOR'S FRIENDS FOREVER -- untitled -- split CDR w/ Barrabarracuda – Not Not Fun *new

Thanks for listening!

We start with some primo garage scuzz from Cheb Samir & the Black Souls of Leviathan, one of 12 French bands from the outstanding brand-new compilation LP from the infallible S-S Records, "Tête de Bébé." Maybe I'm just a little over-excited, but this record could be one of the landmark punk compilations of this era, deserving to be rated among such all-time greats as "Not So Quiet on the Western Front" and "Cleveland Confidential." These bands generally mine the territory between garage and arty new-wave, and they all do it superbly. And while there's a great variety on this album, Cheb Samir is in several of the bands that appear on this LP, including Crash Normal and the Normals, and he's in even more bands than that, such as the Cheeraks. Each band kicks ass, so it doesn't appear that Cheb's spread himself too thin yet.

Next is Old Time Relijun, the fantastic band from Olympia which is led by the multi-talented Arrington de Dionysio, whom I've also seen perform as a solo artist in a range of unusual styles from throat-singing and free improv with found junk. All this high-brow arty stuff he's into doesn't detract from his abilities as a supreme shaman of ecstatic party spirit, which is what Old Time Relijun will bring to Fools Foundation Friday night in Sacramento. So, of course, I recommend all superfans local to this area to see this show!

The newest installment of the "Bored Fortress" Singles Club split 7-inch series has been delivered to its subscribers, and this time it features two of my favorite bands, the Silver Daggers and Death Sentence: Panda!, who both appear at top form. The Daggers tune opens with a beautiful dual saxophone intro that's somewhat somber until dissonant guitar-scree serves warning of the onslaught of the ominous bass and drums attack. This band's sound has become so complete and so impactful with the reintegration of the original guitarist that comparisons to Dogfaced Hermans and Dawson are beginning to sell them short; they've become even more special than that. A live performance is still the best way to enjoy the Silver Daggers experience, but I'm also pleased to report that the fidelity of this recording is an improvement over the 4-song 7" from last fall on Not Not Fun.

Jenna is primarily the saxist in Silver Daggers, but she's talented and flexible enough to handle other tasks, like she does in Mika Miko, an all-female band which is so infectious and undeniably rockin' that no one--and I mean no one--can rightfully write them off as a "novelty act" for singing into microphones adapted from hair-driers, but perhaps that can add to the fun. Their 7" on Post Present Media from last year was good, but not quite representative because of muffled fidelity (unfortunately, this plagues a lot of records by the great young bands of L.A.'s scene which is supported by venues such as The Smell, Il Corral, etc.), but this compilation track is their most recent, and it's approaching the right kinda fidelity, so I can't wait for an album. Indeed, I love this band so much that I asked them about making a record. Yes, Mika Miko is the kinda band that makes me wanna start my own DIY label. But, alas, I got beat to the punch by a label that can afford to do them justice...Kill Rock Stars. I was so happy and proud for them. Here's a band that can recapture the importance of a strong female presence in punk rock, like so many KRS bands did a decade ago, but not often since then.

Battleship's mini-album from last year was only available on a 12-inch from Thee Raw Deluxe, but now it's finally available on CD from On/On Switch. Mitch, the proprietor of Raw Deluxe, told me that he heard Battleship's new album, and he swears that compared to "Presents Princess," it's so off-the-charts awesome that it's gonna surprise everyone, and perhaps even the band's biggest fans. I've seen this band about eight times beginning at their very earliest stages when I didn't think they were so hot, but they became an outstanding live act a couple years ago, and they've become even better more recently, so I'm inclined to trust Mitch's opinion. They're about embark on a tour which will pass through my living room on July 14th, and maybe I'll post more about that later.

Daniel Francis Doyle is a virtual unknown outside of his hometown of Austin, but fans of hallowed Texas legends such as Scratch Acid and the Surfers need to take notice of this guy. His new EP’s out on Furniture, who also released an EP last year by the Tuxedo Killers, who are touring together with Daniel out here to the west coast. They’ll be playing on Thursday, May 11th, in the basement of the historic “Turtle House” with a special appearance by the “Sore Maps” (which is basically Sacto’s ruling blues-damaged garage-scuzzers The Sores doing a live set of Swell Maps covers).

I know very little about the Dakota Building. I got this mysterious CDR in the mail from the Furniture Records folks called “Anthology,” and it lacked a true tracklisting or any other info about the bands except to say the first seven songs were from an EP called “I Screamed at the Workers” (surely this is a “Wonder Showzen” reference, which says something about their perverse sense of humor). The band name most likely relates to the place where John Lennon lived with Yoko Ono, and the scene of his murder. Yoko still keeps her apartment there, and another interesting piece of trivia about the place is that Roman Polanski filmed much of “Rosemary’s Baby” there. Now the place has a rad band named after it.

Moto Photos is from Boise, Idaho, and they’re the most hard-rockin’ band by Jeremy dad and kid Venec who are best known as the nucleus of Monster Dudes. Venec is just six years old, but quite precocious as a hard-hitting power-drummer for decades to come. He plays on a full-size kit with a bass drum that’s about half as high as he is. Their show hits the road in June and travels down the west coast. We’re aiming to do something in Davis or Sacto for them on Friday, June 2.

The first time I heard the band name Hello Astronaut, Goodby Television, root beer almost came out my nose. Later, when I read their list of influences on their Myspace page and saw that it included Modest Mouse and Einstürzende Neubauten, I smirked and thought, “Jeez…that sounds like a nightmare.” I really didn’t expect much potential, but when I saw them last year open for Rose for Bohdan at 21 Grand in Oakland, I was blown away. How could a band actually envision blending lush, twinkly, sparkly indie pop with violent outbursts of junk percussion bashing, and then actually pull it off effectively? They had their “Pixellated Math Costumes” official CDR last year, covered in candle wax dripping and packaged with broken Crayolas in true Not Not Fun style, and it was certainly very promising. But perhaps something didn’t sit right with the band about this very adequate recording because they completely re-recorded all the songs for the official CD—not CDR—release of the album. My favorite song from the album is this “Bauhaus in the Middle of the Street” one, which gets all-new adlibs for extra spontaneity.

Sacramento’s Knightmares confusingly spell their name with a “Kn” half the time, and sometimes, just an “N.” Beyond that quibble, this is one of Sacto’s finest bands today. They’re a powerpop band comprised of members of just about every Sacto band of the last ten years—e.g. the Four Eyes, Rock the Light, Sunshine Smile, etc.—who run the gamut from breezy folk pop to burly rock, with the main unifying elements always being a sorta buoyant melodicism and extremely clever and funny lyrics. NBA fans will love their ode to Stockton and Malone, which even namedrops coach Jerry Sloan, the Gomer-like Greg Ostertag, and Sacto’s most hated ex-King, Olden Polynice, all within a context that is perfectly sensible and grounded in actual facts about these people’s lives. “Charles’ Song” is the most aggressively rockin’, and of course, I love the ridiculously repetitive ending which drives the same riff into the ground so far that it busts out somewhere in China.

Abe Vigoda are four young dudes from Chino and another rad suburban L.A. band that’s part of that DIY community supported by The Smell venue. This song is from the band’s most recent 7-inch which has five songs of tweener art/garage that is sorta frantic and geometric, kinda like Karate Party, the A Frames’ first album and 7” singles, or The Intelligence as a full band. The two guitarist almost seem to chase each others riffs around each other, darting in and outta the rhythms led by Reggie’s strong drumming. They’ve also got a new split cassette with local rad dudes Hot Girls Cool Guys which I’m dying to hear.

She-Rat are a San Diego outfit comprised of ex-members of Year Future and the Fucking Angels, but I know little else about them. Their 5-song demo reveals a brand-new band already well on the right path, exploring a sound centered on frosty, almost emotionally detached female vocals and splattery psych guitar.

It’s hard to know what’s really going on in the Business Lady camp. First, they were my favorite new discovery of 2004, delivered a legendary live performance in Davis at the Student Co-Op garden and then again in my living room last year, dropped a couple ruling 7-inches and then a split LP with Rose for Bohdan, and then I heard they broke up. Then someone close to the band said their breakup announcement on their website was a lie, and that they were still planning on making an album and playing more shows. Next, I discovered that drummer Paul moved to San Francisco, and bassist Tara joined a new band called Duchesses. So, I figured that friend of the band was just trying to cling to a dream. Later, someone on a message board who’s generally well-informed on such matters said Load Records was gonna put out an album. Will someone please tell me the truth in this matter? New copies of their excellent split LP are back in stock at Neon Hates You distro if you hurry! I recommend the LP without reservation.

Next, we hear a couple more great French artpunk from “Tête de Bébé.” Tell me you’ve just ordered your copy now that you’ve heard these awesome sounds!

I've neglected to play Zeek Sheck for far too long, and certainly I should play them again soon without talking over the damn song. Rose is a visionary artist, and her website linked above under the band name is surely an engrossing time-suck for a rainy day. Zeek Sheck played at the DAM House many years ago, and they got into a fight with Nautical Almanac, and I'm not sure that score has been settled even now, eight years later.

Argumentix is coming to Davis with Dead/Bird Thursday night to play live on the radio. Check back here Friday for a link to download and listen to that session. And then they'll be back again next Friday the 28th to play with Saccharine Trust and Pump Kinn & D.O.N. at Kleiber Hall on the UC Davis campus.

Macaw is a new band from Boise, Idaho, which features some sweet and saucy moanwavin' by Amy of Yuma Nora. This 19-track CDR clocks in at just 20 minutes, which makes it unlike anything of the "moan-wave" ilk. You know I'm still trying to make that genre descriptive term stick, right? At any rate, Amy sounds a lot sweeter than her rather bluesy howl which she delivers in Yuma Nora, and the musical accompaniment seems to be entirely electronic. The CDR comes packaged in a homemade baggie that appears to be made from a folded section of a patterned shower curtain handsewn with silky ribbon.

This Mother Tongue track comes from a compilation comprised of four bands. The others are Nurse With Wound, Graeme Revell and friend, and Zoviet France...all rather legendary names, so why is Mother Tongue such a mystery. I suspect some ex-members-of affiliations merited the lofty company Mother Tongue shared for this CD. In any event, this wonderfully bizarre excursion is probably the best of the four long tracks on the album. The name is ungoogle-able, so if you know the Mother Tongue story, please share it with us!

I've already gotten so mushy about how much I'm loving this Impractical Cockpit CD.

Next up is Blind Idiot God, a sorta cyber-edged technical prog-metal band who started out on SST in the mid- to late-80's. Unless you were Sonic Youth, that was a bad time to be on SST. Every record of the post-"My War" era at SST had that terrible production, and every drummer sounded like a machine. You'd think that would be a good thing for a technical prog-metal band, but it's not. The band never fully realized their awesomeness until this "Cyclotron" album, which sounds like the unholy union of Voivod, Heldon, and Scorn. One of the dudes is in Khanate now.

During the powerviolence era of the 90's, the South Bay Area boasted a number of bands who came to prominence and came to be revered as seminal (e.g., Plutocracy, No Less, Agents of Satan, 976, Gory Melanoma), and Noothgrush was the creeping doom metal branch of that scene. Drummer Chiyo had some very clever fills, and she did a great radio program for years at KFJC. Guitarist Neil also did one of the last KPFA music DJ's to actually play strange and wonderful music there. Although they seemed underappreciated during their heyday, they seem to have a crucial legacy now. I'm still flabbergasted when I meet teenagers who claim they've got "powerviolence nostalgia." Jeez...I remember being a fan of that music then, and we all wanted the faddishness of the word "powerviolence" to pass.

Desolation is a current band from San Francisco who play the apocalyptic D-beat punk, yet vary the pace quite a bit and add outstanding guitarwork that incorporates clever and subtle non-power-riffs, a'la Piggy of Voivod. This album absolutely blazes, like everything Prank does.

Uncurbed are Swedish hippie crustpunks who play the Mötörhead gallop at the fastest possible speed, and their dueling guitars really wail. In the late 90's when Scandinavia was known for all these sideburn-cultivatin' cock-rock revisionists (Hellacopters, Gluecifer, etc.), these guys still peeled off the best guitar solos in rock history since the Scott Gorham/Brian Robertson era of Thin Lizzy (well, specifically the song "Emerald").

Ripcord rates as my favorite British hardcore band for their impressive tightness and speed which rivalled grindcore bands but retained the punk character of traditional fastcore forefathers such as D.R.I., the Neos, Siege, and Deep Wound. Fistpumping posi-consciousness thrash without all the egregiously macho bullshit! Members later reformed in Dumbstruck, but that was about six years ago, just as I started to take my hardcore radar off the ultra-sensitive setting. Maybe that had something to do with the band Life's Halt breaking up...I dunno!

I still gotta drop an Infest tune every now and then just so I can sing along in that sandwich-in-throat growl which took the influence of Negative Approach to the next level, which was then pushed another notch forward during the late-90's version of Lack of Interest, who were often jokingly called Lack of Infest.

Cock Roachs (sic) were a young French band that played thrash/HC not at the edge of no control, but really beyond it. The drummer is hardpressed to keep pace with all the tremelo picking, but dig that silly bass solo! Sounds like the dude from Crimpshrine trying to shred. I mean, really...Is that a bass guitar or a rubber band? Of course, it's ridiculous, and that's why I'm a sucker for it. You also gotta love a band who's so convinced of the devotional power of hardcore that they sing "Hardcore's not a fashion...It's a life! It's a life!" Lifestyle? In any case, props to a French punk band singing in English for a change! (j/k)

Before Tesco Vee was in the Meatmen, he was in a band called Blight, and their only 7-inch was a Flipper-like salvo of dirgepunk and the tenth release of Touch and Go Records. After Tesco left to the Meatmen, the band carried on and made this demo tape with four songs which explore reverb, feedback, bleakness, and absurdity...and it would've made a great 12-inch 45 RPM EP.

Moms Who Chop is a Portland noise outfit led by the prolific and ultra-creative Glamorous Pat, who also records under his own name and with such bands as Sisprum Vish, Space Hawk, and others. Moms Who Chop is his purest project of power-electronics while many other projects have strands of psychedelia or the early values of late-70's/early-80's industrial.

As for why there's a Friends Forever and a Joshua Taylor's Friends Forever, I dunno, but I've only seen the more recently active JTFF, and they lived up to the reputation that the original Friends Forever made playing guerilla shows under bridges and freeway overpasses and in places like abandoned quarries, with all members stuffed into a VW van shooting sparks and fireworks outta the windows.

Don't forget about the fundraiser now!

Art for Spastics v. 81

Stream the latest show at this link right here! (by tomorrow or too late)!

OR better yet…
Link to mp3 show archive (find "DJ Rick - Art for Spastics, Tue Apr 11") high & low bitrates available


MR. CURT – Write Down Your Number – only 7” – Euphoria 1978
PETER DAYTON – Skintite – Love at 1st Sight 12” EP – Shoo Bop 1981
LA PESTE – Don´t Wanna Die... – s/t – Matador 1996/1980
ROCK BOTTOM & THE SPYS – Rich Girl – Rich Girl 7” – Bottoms Up 1979

SST – Empty – v/a: “Homework #102” CDR – Hyped2Death 2005/1977

SACCHARINE TRUST – A Human Certainty – Pagan Icons – SST 1981
SACCHARINE TRUST – We Don´t Need Freedom

TREND – Was Dran Liegt – Patientenverfügung 7” – X-Mist *new
KURT – We Want Royals – split 7” w/ Popular Shapes – On/On Switch/X-Mist 2004
POPULAR SHAPES – Elevator Friends – Bikini Style – On/On Switch 2003
POPULAR SHAPES – Fluorescent Bikes Depressing
SWIMMERS – Jungle Beat, Where I Live – We Swam as for Behavior Our Behavior – Louisiana Purchase 2005

ANONYMOUS – Corporate Food – Corporate Food b/w Snake Attack 7” – Flat 1980
STEVE FISK – You´re Everything – v/a: “Life Elsewhere” 12” EP – Mr. Brown Records & Tapes 1980
NOTHING PEOPLE – Twinkie Defense – Hello! CDR – Self-Released 2004
CLIPD BEAKS – Nuclear Arab – Preyers – Deleted Art/Tigerbeat6 *new
PARTS & LABOR – A Great Divide – Stay Afraid – Jagjaguwar/Brah *new

PARTS & LABOR – Drastic Measures
MIKAELA’S FIEND – Track 3 – March 2006 Tour CD – Self-Released *new
HUSTLER WHITE – Blood Splatter Pattern – Fall 2005 Tour CDR – Self-Released 2005
BIRD COSTUMES – untitled – s/t CDR –Self-Released *new
FRUSTRATION – Premises – s/t 7” – S-S Records *new
DIGITAL LEATHER – I Tell My Sorrows to the Stones – Monologue – Shattered *new
BRUCE LOSE – Waking to Sleep – What´s Your Name b/w Waking to Sleep 7” – Subterranean 1983
BILLY SYNTH – Indigestion – Hartzdale Drive Destruction 7” – Sordide Sentimental 1980
FAT WORM OF ERROR – Hand of God – Pregnant Babies Pregnant with Pregnant Babies – Load *new
GROUND ZERO – Revolutionary Pekinese Opera ver.1.50 – Revolutionary Pekinese Opera 7” – Gentle Giant 1997
SCHLIPPENBACH TRIO – Ciclone – Detto Fra di Noi: Live in Pisa 1981 2Xlp – Po Torch 1982
YUMA NORA – Gifts & Collectibles – v/a: “Nightpass Quilt Series Sampler v.2” CDR – Nightpass Handmade *new
OVO – Voodoo – Miastenia – Load *new

We start tonight with the first--if not the only--7" record by Mr. Curt, and it's a powerpop gem outta Boston. On this A-side, Mr. Curt's backing band is La Peste, so you know it's gotta be great! The B-side is worthy, too..."I'm Going Blind" might be one of the cleverest songs about wankin' it ever!

Keeping in the La Peste vein, next is the best song from the first Peter Dayton solo outing. Peter was the original singer and guitarist of La Peste, and now he's an accomplished artist who specializes in lush floral images...no, really, he does! On this EP, he's backed up by three of The Cars, including the man with the most vulnerable adam's apple, Ric Ocasek. And then finally, a classic by La Peste makes it all worthwhile, and thankfully for some of you, this shifts us into punk overdrive from pop gear.

Rock Bottom & the Spys made one of the best synthpunk records of all time before imploding in a blaze of...well, click the link above and read the tragic story. Some bands are too punk for their own good.

Little is known of the NoCal band called SST which predated the SoCal label that became legend thanks to Black Flag. This is some really cool female-fronted punk rock from the year that Britain supposedly invented punk. What, you still think so? Put down that Mojo mag and crank the first records by Crime and Chrome. Anyone else know much about SST the band? Please comment if you do.

Speaking of SST, one of my favorite records from the label was "Pagan Icons" by Saccharine Trust from 1981. They made some decent records later, but this first 12-inch is still their best in my mind. I think they could've been the West Coast's version of Mission of Burma with their poignant lyrics, driving solid rhythm section, and primo guitar work that flirted with flowery subtlety, yet always remained "punk." Saccharine Trust were mildly proggy or jazzy...sort of a fusion/punk band. Why do I speak in past tense, actually? These guys are still together, and I saw them play live last year at Grandma's House in Oakland, and they were brilliant, masterful, energetic...just great! And I'm really pleased that they'll be playing live at Kleiber Hall on the UC Davis campus on Friday, April 28th with Argumentix and Dead/Bird from Portland and local artists from the awesome Weird Forest label, Pump Kinn & D.O.N. (Chad Stockdale). 7:30 doors/8:00 music.

Next is Trend, and no, not the Trend who sang "Band Aid" as made famous on "Killed By Death #10"...this is today's Trend. They're a punchy/rocky sorta post-punk/HC band from Germany. 20% emo-core warning. Okay, maybe 30%, but don't worry 'cos this packs way too much wallop to be filed as sucky. Maybe Skull Kontroll fans should dig 'em. Kurt is another band from Germany and labelmates of Trend, and they've been around for a long time, seemingly just getting better year by year. I bet Kurt has influenced Trend.

Popular Shapes were a tremendous band from Seattle a few years ago who had one of the most creative approaches to making melodic punk songs with an intricate and textural dual guitar onslaught. They broke up way too soon, but the band members are still active in The Intelligence and Factums. Of all the bands that have played my living room (the DAM House), this band's performance was one of my all-time favorites.

Swimmers are a Portland band whose 5-song CDEP from last year reminded a lot of people of the Popular Shapes with the bursting energy, guitar angularisms, and whacked-out obtuse lyrics sung high and nasal and at the edge of no-control, but they also add a stylish farfisa which sorta reminded me of an obscure Michigan band from some 27 years ago called the Algebra Mothers, and that's a really great thing!

Anonymous was essentially a one-man-band from Olympia, Washington, who made this 7-inch in 1980. That man is Steve Fisk, who made several recordings under his own name before focusing more on sound engineering and production. During the 90's, he worked with just about every notable band in the Puget Sound area. Anonymous was also known as Customer Service for a while, so original copies of this rare single come with stickers that help explain the names. This song was also included on the great "Let Them Eat Jellybeans" LP compilation, so it's beyond me why "Corporate Food" is not better known.

Next is a very early recording of Fisk as a eponymous solo artist. This is from a 12" EP compilation of Oly-area artists on a label called Mr. Brown Records and Tapes, which was one of the earliest--if not the first--DIY music labels in Olympia. Calvin Johnson says he started K Records partly from the inspiration of the music exposed to him from Mr. Brown, as this was his portal into the "Cassette Underground." Now that K and Kill Rock Stars are emblematic of Olympia music, Mr. Brown is sorta like prehistory, and this record remains rather obscure. Calvin did a good job to shed some light on this era, though, when he reissued all the music of The Beakers (also featured on "Life Elsewhere") in Fall 2004.

As much it's uncanny that a city the size of Olympia can have so many bands and record labels and DIY show activity, it's even more miraculous that even a halfway decent rock band can come together in a town like Orland, California, a hicktown of 6000 a bit south of Red Bluff. How incredible is it that a great band should hail from Orland?

Most people don't even notice Orland on the way to Oregon on northbound Interstate 5, and if you do, it's probably the sign for the Orland Motel that catches your eye with its delightfully unseemly skyhigh sun-faded backlit sign accented with an orange, brown, and yellow rainbow...just like the uniforms of the Houston Astros back in the days of J.R. Richard.



But the Nothing People are putting Orland on the map now with their DIY psych rock. They're just about 90 minutes north of Davis and Sacramento, so we should be seeing more of them now that they've played a live set on our airwaves on Thursday, April 13th...DOWNLOAD THEIR PERFORMANCE RIGHT HERE!

Clipd Beaks are Minnesota transplants living in the Bay Area now, and on their new CD, there's a sweeping and dramatic sound that dominates. This is sorta akin to the music people were seriously calling "death disco" two or three years ago...lotsa icy doom and gloom, perhaps a tinge of gothiness, but zero percent cheesy. I'm sure Davis or Sacto will be seeing these guys soon, and I'm looking forward to helping to make it happen.

Parts & Labor have a new album which is totally ace, full of relentless pummelling and triumphant soaring vocal and keyboard harmonies. I haven't seem many drummers that hit as hard and display as much mastery as this drummer. All you young mathnerds and premie beardos who adore Zach Hill (hey, me too, guys!), you need to see Parts & Labor play live. They're coming to Davis next Tuesday at the G Street Pub. Another really interesting thing about them is that so many people think there's a bagpipe in the band. What sounds like a bagpipe is really just a keyboard, and what appears to be a raggedy-looking consumer grade one at that...perhaps a cracked or bent Casio?

Mikaela's Fiend are the phenomenal teenage power-noiserock duo from Seattle, and this song is supposed to be released in a proper album on Strictly Amateur Films (yes, that sounds like a porno production company, but the site is safe for at-work viewing). Speaking of incredibly powerful yet masterful, include these youngbloods in that conversation. Guitarist Chris deploys about a dozen pedals and effects, but culls each sound with supreme precision. I know you've seen dudes wielding more effects than they can handle, and as they punch those pedals, sounds just keep getting muckier and yuckier and definitely more disappointing, but this guy's like a confident surgeon. Drummer Donnie is the Dr. Pepper-fueled drum wizard who's as relentless as Brian Chippendale. Being a loud noiserock duo invariably draws comparisons with Lightning Bolt, and surely there's more than enough duos being loud as hell and enthusiastically going for it, but Mikaela's Fiend is on the very short list of bands that deserve the comparison. But they're also quite different from LB...and I say it's their "cyber" edge.

Hustler White are one of Portland's most valuable funmakers. I should dedicate the song "Busy Kids" by the Huns to them because they're always up to something, and it's always important. Everyone in the band has side projects which also rule, and somehow they have time to help touring bands play in Portland, and fliering, and just picking up people's spirits with the most encouraging comments on their Myspace profiles. Unstoppable energy and go go party vibe makes the band exciting, whether they're ripping through a fierce, composed song or jovially jamming through a cover medley meandering through freenoise freakouts. These songs from this most recent tour CDR are also supposed to be coming together in a legit release from Strictly Amateur Films, and it might be a split with Mikaela's Fiend. A heaping dose of 60's psych influence has crept in as the bands gotten more confident and that much more undeniable.

Bird Costumes is one of those Hustler White side projects, the solo experimental project of HW keyboardist Daniel. This CDR is an alluring blend of found sound and lofi jams. Daniel also teams up with HW drummer Meghan in the duo Me Con, which is top-drawer broody moodmusic...maybe we'll hear some more Me Con here soon.

Here's that Frustration song that cops the Joy Division riff, but that riff is from "They Walked in Line," not "Interzone." I was trying to work from memory at 3:00 in the morning...sorry. Anyway, isn't it great when bands do this sorta thing? Did anyone ever hear that band Airlines do a cover of the Clean's "Point That Thing Somewhere Else," but with the drummer and bassist playing JD's "Transmission"? It worked so perfectly. Tell me you ordered this Frustration 7" already!

Digital Leather is "synthpunk" from Arizona from members of The Wongs and Destruction Unit. I use quotation marks 'cos some of this record is rather synthy like so much teutonic EBM. The recent Digital Leather 7" on Plastic Idol's definitely more punk, in the vein of Metal Urbain or Volt, but I swear I even hear shades of industrial-ized Depeche Mode remixes on this LP. And I must admit that I am amenable to liking this sorta thing.

Bruce Lose was one of the bassist/vocalists of the legendary band Flipper, and on this solo 7-inch, we hear some low-rent synth-dirge full of self-loathing. I don't know if it's really worth recommending for any reason other than the Flipper connection, but I needed something to provide a smoother transition from Digital Leather to the bizarro Billy Synth.

Billy Synth was a man from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who made this completely whacked EP of leftfield noisepunk back in 1980 between his records with his bands, the Janitors and the Turn Ups. Based on this perplexing 7", I wanna hear everything ever by Billy Synth. Is this the same guy who made the "Psychedelic Unknowns" series, by the way?

Here's more whacked noise from leftfield foul territory warning track by Fat Worm of Error. That's two baseball references, and I actually hate baseball. On this new album, FWOE are bewildering beyond belief, and almost constantly alternating accelerando and ritardando like so much free jazz or a big-hold 45 playing at 33 off-center. The only question is...does bewilderment draw you in or drive you away? I am all in on this band, and they've never sounded better.

Last week, we heard the Boston Ground Zero; this time, it's the Japanese experimental outfit of the same name led by turntablist Otomo Yoshihide. Their crowning achievement in my mind was their monolithic "Consume Red," but we didn't hear that because it's an hour long. Ground Zero often revealed a fascination with Chinese culture and society, and on this 7", Yoshihide manipulated the sounds of actual Pekinese opera groups, interjecting revolting shouts and grunts over a bed of annoying smooth jazz which can only represent some kinda insidious government mind control.

This outstanding performance of the Schlippenbach Trio--including Evan Parker--is thee most high-brow thing we've heard on Art for Spastics in quite some time, and that's probably why I can't do much better than say "This is awesome!"

Yuma Nora made one of my favorite albums of 2005 in their Not Not Fun CD "Jewels in the Snakepit," and their collaboration with Smegma was also a highlight of last year. Vocalist and digital-bleep-bloop-improvver Amy Vecchione moved to Boise this year, but I think the band's still kicking together, as they're slated to play the awesome Neon Hates You 666 festival on 06/06/06 at The Smell in L.A. (with Coughs and tons of other rad bands, so I gotta be there!). This track from the second Nightpass "Quilt Series" sampler CDR shows off a new side of Yuma Nora...and it's almost like a gamelan slow jam.

Finally, here's a different side of Ovo than what you've heard here before.

Thanks for listening!

Art for Spastics v.80

Stream the latest show at this link right here! (by tomorrow or too late)!

OR better yet…
Link to mp3 show archive (find "DJ Rick - Art for Spastics, Tue Apr 4") high & low bitrates available

HEAD -- Tireshredding -- Street Level Assault -- Evil Clown 1994

HEAD -- Pull the Plug -- Total Commitment 7" -- Evil Clown 2000
NAR -- Drunk and Benevolent -- The Belgian Gambit 7" -- Generic Label 1994
LYME REGIS -- USA -- s/t 7" -- SmartGuy *new
CAPTAIN 9's & THE KNICKERBOCKER TRIO -- Rock n Roll Paper Route -- Scum of the Earth -- Ripoff 1996
THE TRASHWOMEN -- El Farolito -- The Trashwomen vs. Deep Space -- Repent 1995
HOME BLITZ -- Hey -- s/t 7" -- self-released *new
GUARANTEED UGLY -- Soup Kitchen -- Fire Escape 7" -- Hangman´s Daughter 1995
STRIP KINGS -- Slow Panic -- Lightning Breed 7" -- In the Red 1996
OBLIVIANS -- Jim Cole -- Call the Shots 7" -- Goner 1993
THE REATARDS -- You Got So Much Soul -- Get Real Stupid 7" -- Goner 1997
REPTILIAN CIVILIAN -- Activist Judges -- Myspace Demos *new

CHEVEU -- Make My Day -- Dog 7" -- S-S Records *new
THE GLANDS -- Mutants on Motorcycles -- Don´t Tell Me 7" -- Some 1980

GROUND ZERO -- Nothing -- s/t 7" -- GZ 1979
TV TOY -- String -- 3-Song (2nd) 7" -- Permanent 1979
TV TOY -- Instant This/Instant That -- 1st 7" -- Permanent 1979
ANTEENAGERS M.C. -- Let´s Not Have a Party -- Let's Not Have a Party 7" -- Plastic Idol *new
FRUSTRATION -- Wait -- s/t 7" -- S-S *new

ANGRY ANGLES -- The 15th [Wire] -- Apparent-Transparent 7" -- Plastic Idol *new
HOSPITALS -- Sick Bird -- Bored Fortress Singles Club split 7" -- Not Not Fun *new
KK RAMPAGE -- Limb Removal and the Nipple Quiver -- Sides E & F 7" -- Rococo *new
SKAREKRAU RADIO -- Lord of the Gore Vidal -- split LP w/ Jerusalem & the Starbaskets -- Apop *new
DAMPADING -- Anointing Xray -- Laser Tattoo 7" -- Drazzig 1995
FECES MUNCHERS -- Battle of the Punk Pants -- split 7" w/ Godstomper -- True Til Deaf *new
OVO -- Foods Unite -- Miastenia -- Load *new
IMPRACTICAL COCKPIT -- Furrowed Frow -- To Be Treated -- Load *new
SLUMS -- Waiting Rooms/Chained to the Wall -- Demo CDR -- no label *new
SLEETMUTE NIGHTMUTE -- In Adulthood...Black Steel Sick -- unreleased LP tracks -- no label 2004 *request
NIGHT WOUNDS -- Caving In -- advance tracks CDR -- no label *new
BATZ -- Backpack Up -- self-titled 3" EP -- self-released *new
MISSION FOR CHRIST -- Pennies from Hell -- Pennies from Hell 7" -- No Trend 1984
NO TREND -- Die -- When Death Won´t Solve Your Problem -- Widowspeak 1985
SHRIN -- Desertion from Within -- Rin Liminal Switch Volume Three -- Records 2000
GATE -- Infinity Trust -- Guitar -- Majora 1992
SHADOW RING -- Spin the Animal Dial -- Put the Music in It´s Coffin -- Siltbreeze 1997

HAINO / MIKAMI / YOSHIZAWA -- title in Japanese -- Live in the First Year of Heisei -- PSF 1990
FUSHITSUSHA -- Magic VI -- Allegorical Misunderstanding -- Avant 1993

Notes....

As you may already know, there's gotta be a good reason for me to choose to play anything on "Art for Spastics," so, if I'm gonna play anything even approaching "pop-punk," there better be a damn good reason, right?!?!

If you think "pop-punk" is a dirty word for what happened to it in the 1990's, try the band Head from Seattle. Having out-Ramonesed the Ramones on their two 12-inchers and coupla EP's, Head singlehandedly redeemed the term from complete disgrace for me. I first heard them on their "Street Level Assault" 12-inch which levelled me with undeniable hooks, the bass parts that go up an octave during the chorus/refrain, and great lyrics. I'd figured the band had split up since they've been so silent for the last six years, but some readers at Terminal Boredom said they played at SXSW as part of the Goner Records showcase, and others filled in details about an impending album release and discography CD. The picture above shows proof of their continued existence. I'll sure be happy if these releases actually happen. And if you're reading this, fellas, I still got the letter that Ree Ree Head sent us after reading my Sacto/Davis-area buffet reviews. Last year, I was involved in some serious talks with some friends about starting a Head tribute band with Todd "Hometown Atrocities" Urick and Mario "the Analyst" from Plastic Idol Records...we were thinking of calling it Total Commitment. We didn't quite have the total commitment, though (lousy!), but now we can buy more time before Head actually breaks up. Not too soon, guys!

Perhaps the best poppy punk band from Sacto's history was Nar, a band that featured Scott Miller, now of the Bananas, and Ed Carroll who later went onto FM Knives and now Lyme Regis. And if besides their Sacto roots you can't think of how such a sweet sentimental melody-fest can fit into my "format," well..."Smiller" is THEE biggest moan-wave afficionado I know. Dude is crazy about the Skaters.

Lyme Regis rose last year from the ashes of two great Sacto punk bands, the FM Knives and the Pretty Girls. Drums and vox carry forward the FM Knives vibe, which is still comparable to some of the best moments of UK bands such as the Undertones, The Proles, etc. Four great songs here, plus something new on Thee Raw Deluxe around the corner sometime, or so I hear. Next time singer Patrone--who was also thee power-bassist of the best Los Huevos records--tries to work me for eating at La Fiesta Taqueria--his fave place which I blasted for being "too yuppie"--I'm gonna warn him not to alienate his Davis fanbase. Musically, the dude has done no wrong since...I dunno, Duct Tape? That's an in-joke for him to read...sorry, everyone!

Captain 9's & the Knickerbocker Trio is a weird story which I'm not too clear on. We have an old, old 7" from the band's days in Pennsylvania. In the 90's, they must've moved to the Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley area. I've heard some people say they were from Sacto, and others claim Stockton. I don't know what it says about Sacto that they've gotta fight Stockton to claim a band that almost nobody cares about. That's not to say more people shouldn't care about Capt. 9's...they had some great songs! I love the cool, flippant attitude the singer has when bragging about his transgressions, and this song you hear here is a perfect example. I thought they'd broken up years ago, but they played a show in Sacto a couple weeks ago. I was at another show, but I'm watching for more Capt. 9's activity so I can see 'em again for the first time since 1996.

No matter which El Farolito location you prefer, this Trashwomen budget-surf classic goes out to all my Bay Arean burrito snobs. I just realized there's one in Oakland, too, but I'll never be able to eat there because the magnetic force of La Otaez is too hard to resist. Still gotta try their tacos and burritos that have fried chicken in them!

Little is known about Home Blitz, but I think they're centered near Philly 'cos the only other blogs to mention them are from around there. What a neat little record...full of the nervousness, spunk, and ultra-amateur abandon of early Half Japanese. The song gets derailed during the first verse so the singer can unwrap a new piece of gum, thereby earning a nomination for most endearing lack of professionalism since Mystic Records kept the tape rolling through so many thrash bands' false starts.

Guaranteed Ugly were a UK garage punk band, and I never heard enough of their records to speak expertly, but this "Soup Kitchen" song is great with its insistent budget keyboard riff...it gets into the Billy Childish/Headcoats conversation for its accurate approximation of that sorta limey sass. Same with the Strip Kings, who made some 7-inches in the mid-90's, most of which I never heard. But the B-side of this In the Red single really rips!

From the Oblivians' "Jim Cole" to the Reatards "You Got So Much Soul"...it's a segueway that's crying to be made, so I do it every coupla years just to revel in it. Memphis' papa bears of blues-damaged swamp-scuzz hand it down to the teen phenoms who took it to new levels of misanthropy. Now both the bands are stuff of legend, so this segue's context has sorta changed. Why, I remember the first and only time I met Jay Reatard. He was all of maybe 15 or 16, a scrawny kid with a moptop and a snarled lip, but also nice and friendly. I was probably 22 or 23 at the time, but I was so stoked like normal people would be if they met a movie star on the street..."Hey, wow! You're Jay Reatard! I love your stuff, man! You have done so much at your age, it's just incredible...[blah blah blah]" I think he took this effusive adulation pretty well for a teenager.

Reptilian Civilian is a new young band from Portland, Oregon, who point to the Mummies as their favorite band, and from the sound of their four songs on their Myspace, they're off to a great start running with this inspiration. It's retarded and trashy low-brow shit with good energy...the best representation of this style that Portland has mustered since the Spider Babies dumped their organ player after their second single 12 years ago. The "breakdown" in the middle of "Activist Judges" is perplexingly searchy before the drummer gets back on track and solidly barrels toward the finish, but it is also ridiculous in a way that I really enjoy. I hope they never change they way they play that part...it's a keeper.

Here's the flip of the Cheveu song you heard a couple weeks ago. Also, look for a new Cheveu song soon on S-S's upcoming "Tete a Bebe" compilation LP of great new bands from France.

This Glands song is the interesting, if a bit trifling, B-side of a forgettable powerpoppy new wave song. "Mutants on Motorcycles" kinda sounds like something that should've been on Ralph records in 1980...somewhere between mid-period Chrome and MX-80 Sound, but goofier. We don't have a picture sleeve, so no other info exists other than what you see above. Care to fill me in on what you know?

I've succeeded in determining that this Ground Zero was the one that was active in Boston in 1979...not Pittsburgh. I haven't heard the Pittsburgh band to judge them, but Boston's Ground Zero are tough to beat on this record that is hard-edged new-wave artpunk.

TV Toy were band from New Jersey in the late 70's and early 80's. Their three singles I've heard have some great moments with geometrical riffs and the odd bit of sax or keyboards. I just discovered in my research for annotating this program that they released a full CD discography including these singles and what appears to be an LP's worth of material. Above, you'll find a link to more info about it including instructions on how to purchase it. And, please, I imbed all these links in the hopes that people might help these bands and artists out if you like what you hear.

Anteenagers M.C. are France's best punk rockers since...perhaps ever, and I know that means I'm suggesting they are a realer deal than Metal Urbain or Guilty Razors. Or Los Collabos or Tolbiac's Toads (what little I've heard from those). Their "album" from a 1-2 years back--more precisely, the Anteenagers M.C./Happy Family split LP--was a piece of punk history. It's the first album to serve as one band's debut album on one side, while the flip is a compilation of bands paying tribute to them with cover versions. They had me from their first single in 2003 on SDZ--"The Future('s Coming Tomorrow)"--and a few weeks later, I saw them live in Sacramento, and they were fantastic. The original UK artpunk triumvirate of the Fall, Wire, and Swell Maps are obvious influences. This latest Plastic Idol EP is the first stateside release, and it's four more great songs with a little more aggressive hard-charging sound.

Frustration is another French band, and I believe they share some members with Anteenagers M.C. Whereas the Anteenagers' art/punk ratio is about 35/65, Frustration's ratio is more like 60/40, due in large part to the keyboard being featured as a lead instrument on some songs. S-S has released four more Frustration songs on this EP, which includes a song that's a complete reworking of Joy Division's "Interzone," but with the Stoogely guitar riff left largely intact. Another four songs by Frustration exist on a 12-inch EP from early 2005 on the French label Born Bad. So far, they've been infallible.

Angry Angles is the latest band of Jay Reatard, which is essentially a duo with his gal Alix. This is not totally unlike Lost Sounds, but this is less frantic, more restrained and cool, and minus the twinge of gothiness. The cover of "The 15th" by Wire is an excellent B-side to the double A-side on this 3-song EP, again on Plastic Idol.

If you haven't subscribed to Not Not Fun's "Bored Fortress" Singles Club, it looks like you're too late to snatch up these great split 7-inches of ace bands--ranging from folky indie pop to forbidding noise--in lovely packaging as you've come to expect from this superb DIY label. The Hospitals/Afrirampo is the only split so far to be a perplexing match, but no matter...this Hospitals song totally rips! The echoey guitar riff and moan-wave vocal sounds like a wartime siren and big brother warning recorded underwater, and the rhythm is like a giant army of big dumb droid marching off to battle.

Here's another KK Rampage song. I'm curious to know what any reader's accounts of them might be, especially if you've seen them in live performance. I've heard of some rather crazy stunts being pulled by these boys, but I've only ever read first-hand accounts of people who were very unamused with their antics. Are these people just a buncha whiners? In any event, I'm very curious to see them come out west sometime.

Skarekrau Radio is from southern Illinois, somewhere across the river from St. Louis. The best band ever from St. Louis was the extreme braincell-devastatin' Drunks With Guns. I hear echoes of those delightful moronics--minus the metal riffs--in SKR, but it's also crossed with the same kinda lunacy as Caroliner Rainbow, which has given rise to a band mythology of sorts. The band even has their own religion centered on worshipping this babygod Kuu, and you can easily spend two hours at the SKR website linked above reading about it. They recorded an album many years ago called "Paramecium Fudge vol 1," and the last few hundred or so were repackaged and sorta re-released by Scenery Audio Archive. I got myself a few copies of it to give away to friends because it was such a fun record. Very unpredictable stuff! This split LP is the newest thing they've done, and now they are more predictable, but perhaps better for it. This is primo scuzzrock which fans of the Bunny Brains would really enjoy.

Dampading was a fleeting noisy DIY rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, perhaps America's only very large city with almost no musical legacy. I mean, even San Jose had all those powerviolence bands in the 90's! Dampading is the only band I ever heard from Jacksonville, but they were a good one. This B-side sprawls out with psychedelic guitar splatter and excessively reverbed vocals, and then recoils into a tight catchy riff that really packs punch. Unfortunately, I learned that earlier this year, a member of the band died, and the story is linked under the band's name above.

The Feces Munchers were Davis, California's entrant into the powerviolence sweepstakes. Before that, they were a Palo Alto-based ultra-lofi noise-core duo (think Meatshits or early Anal Cunt) who recorded a 350-some-odd-song demo cassette in a Stanford University dormitory. Guitarist/vocalist Paul Lee was still in high school then, but he hosted an awesome radio show on KZSU back then under the name "Organ Donor." When he came to UC Davis, he continued this activity on KDVS and recruited some DJ's for the Davis version of the band, including Mick Mucus (of Anal Mucus, Girls Soccer, and more recently Gift of Goats), Jeremy Osterloh (then a bigtime harsh noise freak who ran the Varicocele cassette label), Aaron Langenbeck (later of Corpse Fucks Corpse and now Switched-On Vultures), and a roommate Eric who was affectionately known as "Swisspoon" or "Swisspoons" because of the time he got really high on some ungodly coctail of drugs which caused him to speak in gibberish for hours, and he kept saying "Swiss" and "poon" in many combinations and variants. Eventually, at Organ Donor's house, the word "Swiss" would take on the same meaning as "Smurf" in The Smurfs. It had all kindsa different meanings in any and every part of speech. They had their own language! The Davis version of Feces Munchers only existed for about a year or two, right at the end of the powerviolence era. They had the lead bass, dual vocals, and tricky drum fills and breakdowns like other powerviolence bands, but every song was a big in-joke based on true events of "cornheading my sesh" and getting "ruthlessly whippy-chipped" by people being "hella-unmellow." And even though the band's been history for 8-9 years, this split EP with Godstomper is brand-new, and it sure sounds funny in the year 2006 to hear a hardcore band have the funny samples from obscure movies between each song. This record is so late that the song "Jerkbashing in the (916)" had to be renamed for the area code change to (530). Even I forgot that nine years ago, Davis was in the (916).

On this song, Ovo matches ferocity with even the fiercest powerviolence band, but on this new album on Load Records, this Italian duo reveals some serious versatility. There's short, sharp shocks brutality like this half-minute number, menacing midpaced noiserock, and even long, dramatic pieces that remind me of Neubauten at their broodiest ( e.g. "Seele Brennt"). I was just thinking about how good they were live at Grandma's House a bit over a year ago. I thought it was pretty great how the woman in the band started bowing one of her dreadlocks, and yanking on it to actually make a talking-drum sorta sound.

I'd be remiss if I didn't tell everyone that the best record of the most recent awesome new releases from Load Records is "To Be Treated" by Impractical Cockpit. Damn, that is probably my favorite new thing of 2006 so far...at least until I hear the new ...Worms or Luttenbachers albums. I don't know if I'm reading more into it because they're from New Orleans, but this stuff sounds like it could've only been recorded under extreme distress, yet there's still some rays of hope shining through the bleakness. Grating monotony at its most powerful and starkly beautiful. I saw this band back in 2001 or '02 at the Loft in Sacto, and I remember liking them. I bought their first album which had its moments, but sounded overall too much like too many bands' first records...cheaply done, muddled, bad sound separation. But I remained interested in their future. Now, with "To Be Treated," I discovered that I missed four albums worth of IPCP. I didn't know this was their "sixth album"... Has anyone heard these other records, and are they worth tracking down?

Slums are a new Portland band comprised of some former members of Sleetmute Nightmute, and they continue in the same direction as that band with a stunning style that is more menacing, and more rhythmically aggressive and daring, than nearly every other post no wave band on the planet. And with as many as three guitars, they achieve a bleak chiming guitar tone that is probably the most authentic soundwise to the original no wave bands. I also love how the band's gang chant vocals sound like a chorus of zombies. They sound tremendous, and I can't wait to see 'em! New vinyls soon to be released...this should just be a little appetizer.

I got a request for Sleetmute Nightmute even as the Slums track was playing...thanks! Just email me your requests! This song is from an unreleased album that was supposed to appear on CD from Troubleman in fall of 2004, but it never came out for some reason. It would've received great reviews, I'm sure. They also had a 7-inch and appeared on a couple of compilations on Kill Rock Stars, but none of those songs rivalled the best of this unreleased album. When the Gossip came to Espresso Metro in 2002, I remember that Sleetmute (what fans called them for short) showed up unannounced, and we were like, "Uh...there's already four bands playing tonight." And it was a weeknight, so we had work the next day. We were actually reluctant to let them proceed with playing, but about a minute into their set, we were convinced that it was more than worth it. What a great live act they were! Three guitars, three zombie mouthbreather vocalists, and a drummer who was the most masterful "lead drummer" ever. I dare call him the lead melodic instrument in the band...as he is in Slums, too. Truly, this is a very original concept for a band.

Night Wounds are youngbloods from Maine who moved to L.A. recently and integrated into the exciting scene of young bands there which is supported by venues like the Smell, Il Corral, Ghetto Gloss, etc. They are also sorta post no wave and bleak, but also very danceable...a great party band! Effects-augmented sax makes things sufficiently weird, and kinda like Slums/Sleetmute, the drums are very aggressive and are the centerpiece of the sound. Guitars scrape and scratch while the bass oozes and throbs, and the vocals are singsongy and catchy enough for the entire audience to join in. Very efficient and economical! A new album is coming, including this song.

Here's some more Batz for you. They played at Fools Foundation in Sacto last Friday, but I missed it. My girlfriend was a little bit under the weather. In a few days, their main band Hot Girls Cool Guys leaves for a brief west coast mini-tour. L.A., San Diego, Bay Area, get ready! These are the most promising young dudes to come along in the Sacto area in sometime, and they're really making things happen, not only as a band, but as organizers of events and such. They're gonna play Bakersfield even!

The first No Trend album--"Too Many Humans..."--came out on No Trend Records. I never realized that No Trend was a real label that released other artists until I came across the Mission for Christ 7-inch. It's kinda like a dance-accessible version of No Trend--or Flipper--with ridiculous fluttering chorus effect on the bass and vocals. The same song is on the B-side in dub version.

Here's a song from that great No Trend album! If you have a copy of that CD that Teen Beat put out of all their early stuff, I'm a player for that...I mean, I'll pay you cash! Get in touch!

Shrin put out at least three volumes of "Rin Liminal Swtich," but as far as I know, only the first two came out on CD as well. This vol 3 is a three-song 12-inch, and the label really is simply called Records. So good luck finding it. Primo drone psych from the mysterious New England group.

Gate started as a solo project for Michael Morley of the New Zealand noise/drone/psych legends Dead C, and I think "Guitar" was the first Gate album. This is my favorite track, but later Gate stuff is better than this overall, and perhaps Gate improved because Morley surrounded himself with excellent guest musicians to bounce ideas off of.

I love the Shadow Ring, one the weirdest bands ever! The vocals are so deadpan and the lyrics so unusual, it makes Mark E. Smith sound like Tom Jones. That is actually only mildly hyperbolic, really!

This sprawling noise-scree of Keiji Haino, Kan Mikami, and Moto Yoshizawa is totally whacked, and it's far too appalling and formless for most, and that's why I put it near the end of the show. If you can brave it, you win! A CD reissue of this trio was made a couple years back, and it included material from other albums.

Fushitsusha is the band that Haino's most famous for, of course. Can anyone tell me if they're still active? The band's got a feature article on VH1.com, but it doesn't answer my question.

Thanks for listening!

Art for Spastics v. 79

Sorry to be late in posting this, but I suffered through an ear infection all week. The pain was so intense at times, I really couldn’t fathom how I was able to withstand monthly ear infections for the first eight years of my life. New show tomorrow, but it’s not too late to hear this one on the mp3.

Stream the latest show at this link right here! (by tomorrow or too late)!

OR better yet…
Link to mp3 show archive (find "DJ Rick - Art for Spastics, Tue Mar 28") high & low bitrates available


SWELL MAPS – Real Shocks – International Rescue – Rough Trade 1979
SWELL MAPS – Midget Submarines – Collision Time – Rough Trade 1979
CIGARETTES – Gimme Cigarette – Gimme Cigarette b/w Oh! Oh! Oh! – S-S Records *new/1979
SPARKS – As I Sit to Play the Organ at the Notre Dame Cathedral – Hello Young Lovers – In The Red *new
KAYAK – Chance for a Lifetime – Royal Bed Bouncer – Janus 1975
WIZARDZZ – Sailship – Hidden City of Taurmond – Load *new
ERASE ERRATA – Cruising – Nightlife – Kill Rock Stars (due in Aug. 2006)
HEALTH – title unknown – 2006 Tour CDR – self-released *new

ELPHABA – The Right Hand – split 7” w/ Health – self-released *new
OVO – Anime Morte – Miastenia – Load *new

ETTRICK – Village of Decomposition – Infinite Horned Abomination – self-released 2005
IMPRACTICAL COCKPIT – Grails Golden Garden – To Be Treated – Load *new
EDDIE THE RAT – Smoke Signals from the Maze – Lip Synching at Zero Gravity – Comfort Stand 2000
CACTUS – Track 1 – Night is Rising on the World – Resipiscent *new
ROBEDOOR – Forest for the Trees – Oak Cult – X Died Enroute Y *new
JOHN BENSON / GEORGE CHEN / BRIAN MILLER – Track 2 – Collaboration CDR – no label *new
DISKAHOLICS – Bent Triangle Pinakotheca – Live in Japan, v.1 – Load *new
FAT WORM OF ERROR – Laissez-Faire Is for the Birds – Pregnant Babies Pregnant with Pregnant Babies – Load *new
MASONIC YOUTH – John the Baptist Song – Ordo Ab Surd – Resipiscent *new

R.I.P. Nikki Sudden!