Friday, April 25, 2008

Standard Tribesmen live in Studio A




The Standard Tribesmen first burst on the scene in 2006 with a 7" record on Borox Records. They hadn't even played a show publicly when this mysterious, muddy, but alluring record in a crude spraypainted cardboard sleeve began to circulate among friends. The band was then just a permutated lineup of The Sores with drummer Julian Elorduy (now of The Mayyors) taking over the vocals, guitar, and songwriting, and Martin Heroin switching to drums. The record received some acclaim from DJs and WFMU and KDVS and TermBos.

I can't remember this lineup ever playing a show, but Standard Tribemen was soon a regular live act in Davis and Sacto with Julian flanked by a rotating cast of friends. But this cast was mostly carless characters bikebound to Midtown Sac, so one day, with a showtime fast approaching at the Delta of Venus in Davis, Julian rigged up his drums to play as a one-man-band. With only enough rehearsal to test the jimmyrigging, HE SLAYED!

Now he's got a regular band of radiogeeks and record-nerds from KDVS backing him up, and now there's a saxophone in the lineup, and they've been actively gigging in this current incarnation for a couple months. More info here: http://www.myspace.com/thestandardtribesmen

Have a listen to their Live on KDVS set recorded just moments ago...

DOWNLOAD @ 192kbps

DOWNLOAD @ 320 kbps


It makes me think of the Gories or King Khan if they'd seshed with Adrian Hornblower, while some of the less standard songs hint a little at Feedtime.

setlist (as best I can read it):
Headache
Picture Take
Record Plur (?)
Young Lovers
Killed Her
Murdoch
Love in the Car
Nightwave
Weed
Waiting
Last One

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

AFS v. 174 ~ Thanks, Everybody!!!


Thanks to everyone who has pledged to support the Freeform KDVS 2008 on-air fundraiser!

You can download this week's show AT THIS LINK HERE! @ 192kbps
(archived for 10 weeks)

Or, also AT THIS LINK (@ 320 kbps!!!)
(archived for ~4 weeks)

No playlist this time....It was just some familiar hits you already know, but mostly just Todd (from "Hometown Atrocities") and I talking up a storm about why you should donate, thanking people who pledged, and occasional tangents like Time/Life soft rock anthology infomercials.

I'll be gone next week while Pre is in town from the UK, but Calamity Janie will be filling in, so give her a listen.

You can still donate to get the "Live on Art for Spastics" compilation between now and Sunday, April 26.

You won't be able to Paypal anymore. I only wanted that payment option to be available for people who wanted to pledge BEFORE my show last night. But snatchfukels, I gotcha...You're the last Paypaller. You will need to PM or email me your full name and mailing address, though.

If you wanna get "Live on AFS," you will need to go to http://www.kdvs.org/ and pledge online. If you're a student or not livin' too high on the hog (I'll let you decide), say you're a student as you begin to pledge. If you are livin' the life, say you're not a student. Be honest, please.

Students pledge $25 to get a thank-you gift (a.k.a. "premium"). Non-students must pledge $40.

Then go pick up the "Live on Art for Spastics" compilation. It will be set up as a freebie, so then you can pick up something else like a t-shirt or a music package.

Finally, you can choose to pay with VISA or MC or you can mail us a check.

You don't hafta email me separately with your name and address. Only pre-pledging Paypallers had to bother with that. But it might be cool if you email me to let me know that you pledged. That way I can be aware of the packing/shipping progress of your premium.

THANKS AGAIN!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

My Own Damn Review of "Live on AFS" comp

This review of these tracks is meant to remind you that this Live on Art for Spastics is a one-time deal, and this is happening on Monday night; this review is not to blow smoke up your ass about how incredibly awesome beyond belief this compilation is...I mean, it is awesome, but I don't wanna overstate that, y'know.

These Little Claw, Psychedelic Horseshit, and Pink Reason songs are from their live on KDVS sets recorded on November 17, 2007. Who knew my 34th birthday would be the special one when three of my absolute favorite bands would be playing on my radio show? I've culled the strongest moments of these sets so that you may be at least 80% as stoked as I was. And believe me...That will be stoked enough because I was very, very stoked.

I don't think Little Claw has been as brutal or savage as they were on this version of "Feeding You." This band has always made me glad to be in their presence, but they never crushed my sternum like they did then. And "Race to the Bottom"...That's probably my favorite song that they do, if not the first one on that new 7". It's kinda got a little bit o' hoedown flavor to it with the relentless fiddlesawing and cleaner guitar sound than other Little Claw moments. Possibly their catchiest tune.

I excised most of the between-song banter of all the bands, but some of the Tyvek banter was too good/funny to cut out, especially Larry's enthusiastic station identifications and Kevin's play-by-play of Matt Z's antics. But what makes this session really special is that it's the only high-quality recording of the full touring lineup including Damon's psycho guitar that I've heard. This makes all those songs totally new again no matter how many times you've heard the 7"es or Fast Metabolism over and over. Damon comes off like a cross between Steve Treatment's guitarist and the dude from High Rise/Mainliner. I think it most likely qualifies as "Tampaxian," but I defer to Soriano as the arbiter of what is "Tampaxian" for the final word.

"Hello, Friends" is my favorite Cheveu song, perhaps because it's got that keyboard line that's ripped from "No Tears" by Tuxedomoon. The LP version of it is rather crushing, but this one goes far when David loses all vocal restraint. We could not keep those screams outta the red, so this is admittedly the lowpoint of the comp in terms of fidelity. There was like a 10dB loss when David uncorked these histrionics. But it's still pretty great because Etienne and Olivier prove how sturdy the song is, as they plowed through. The whole band was much more composed for this masterfully rendered "Sacha," which is a song that you have not heard on a record yet. It's got the same kinda cool strut to it as other Cheveu songs you may know well, like "Dog" and "Hot," and it is just as rockin' as those, too.

After disappearing from the studio for a massive hotbox sesh, Psychedelic Horseshit came back and played it appropriately loose and fancy-free with maybe even some extra hilarity. The low-tech beatbox intro to "New Wave Hippies" gets extended, and just when you begin to think that there's no way they coulda pulled it together, they kick in the rock gear and tunnel into the groove...that is, until Matt proclaims "I sang the wrong lyrics!" The ad-lib bail-out is supreme for barely veering off the rhythm before getting it back on track and locked-in and smellin' like roses. It's like if Biz Markie was frontin' a rock band. They flowed right into "Rather Dull," which is faithful to the version you already know. But "Both Sides Now" is a treat as some instrument shifting happens midstream for the free-sax-squallin' finale.

Los Llamarada were the most locked-in of any band that played at KDVS in the last year, only missing perfection by one mistimed snareshot which was excerpted out. The guitar sound of "I Remember the Rest" is swirlin' yet snarly surfadelica, almost like if early Savage Republic had even a faint streak of blues in it. Michael Yonkers has achieved that sound a few times, too. This is a driving song sung by a shouting Sagan, then a bit more meandering beauty with Estrella's plaintive voice, and finally another more seductive Estrella-led song. The whole session should be released on an LP, though. It was hard for me to choose only three tracks from it.

We've talked about Pink Reason's "Bloodstains" cover before. I especially love how the song's lyrics seem to take on a whole different meaning when the urgency of the Agent Orange original is replace by hopelessness and despair on Kevin's writhing version. The lyrics were indeed timeless and versatile. This take on "Motherfucker" is absolutely filthy, though. Rich Horseshit picks up the sax again for the finale and almost hints at step one in a series of twelve. Just when you get sucked into the hopelessness in Kevin's guitar and voice, you get the feeling that he's gonna let himself fall of the face of the earth, but then Rich's desperate sax makes these cries for help, making this a song as round as any of Homer's heroic characters.

Eternal Tapestry phones home from a psychedelic journey to the center of thee infinite riff...rather Hendrixian.

Now, if you wanna get your own, please read the previous blogpost for instructions on how to get it.

Friday, April 18, 2008

AFS v. 174 ~ Live Compilation



This compilation of exclusive performances is my extra thank-you gift to everyone who donates $25 or more to the KDVS fundraiser during the next "Art for Spastics" broadcast, Monday, April 21 from 10:00 to 12 midnight Pacific time. You can stream it live from http://www.kdvs.org/ or listen at 90.3 FM in the Sacramento Valley. You can call in or donate online. All the how-to information will be right there at the website during the broadcast. You can pay by VISA/MC or mail in a check.

If you know that you can't be awake to listen live, but you wanna donate and get this compilation, then you can email me your full name and mailing address, and then we will enter your pledge at the appropriate time. Hit me up at rickele (at) gmail (dot) com. You can go ahead and Paypal $25 to bendjohnson (at) gmail (dot) com. Ben is the GM of KDVS and will collect all KDVS fundraiser payments via Paypal. It's on the up and up. If you pledge early by email proxy, tell me your shirt size and maybe a couple color preferences. We will send you a KDVS t-shirt in addition to the "Live on AFS" compilation.

I'm hoping to raise $1000 toward the $75,000 goal of the KDVS fundraiser. This is the only week every year that we ask for listener support, and it's very important because it provides over 2/3 of our operating budget. We believe that we rate this $$$ because we are one of a small handful of really great radio stations left in this world, and we're arguably the best at finding the newest music before anyone in the terrestrial or online radio game. 200+ volunteers of all walks of life, 120+ regular on-air personalities, and it's student-managed. It's quite the miracle that we've been so damn functional and accomplished so much in our 45 years with this diverse group managed by students. You might only ever listen to the AFS download, but if you've come to enjoy it weekly, please don't think of this as buying this comp for $25. You're supporting something that's really tremendous, and I'd invite you to listen to more of our programming. I would've sacked the show and moved away years ago if it weren't for KDVS. This is the best thing about living here...that I get to pay tribute to all the bands that inspire me and keep blowing my mind, and that I can spread this disease to all kindsa people all over the globe. And finally, compared to many other fundraisers, the value of our thank-you-gifts is pretty damn close to dollar-for-dollar....This ain't your typical tote-bag for $100 kinda thing. We love our listeners more than that!

Now, as for this compilation, what more can I tell you that you don't already see on the tracklist?

Sound quality ranges from "plenty fine" to "really good." How about "vinylworthy"? It won't disappoint.

Performances are all superb. There's some really exceptional moments of spontaneity here, such as Matt Horseshit's lyrical flub and awesome adlib bailout during the loosey/goosey take on "New Wave Hippies," or all the splattery psych-squalls that Damon a.k.a. TEETS pulls off during these tremendous Tyvek songs. I'm not sure if you've ever had that caught on a recording of any kind. Surely, it makes a song as familiar as "Mary Ellen Claims" become a whole new beast. I think that this version of "Feeding You" is Little Claw's most aggressive recorded moment. Lock up the razorblades for Rich Horseshit's sax solo on Pink Reason's despairing denouement. Los Llamarada is entrancing and totally masterful. And some of these songs, like Cheveu's "Sacha," aren't on any of the bands' records.

We appreciate having you as a listener regardless, now please....

(Thanks, Charles, for the awesome artwork!)

OH…P.S.!

Since someone else asked, maybe others are wondering....

You don't hafta pay by PayPal if you wanna pre-email your pledge. Just email me your full name and mailing address, and if you wanna pay by check, I'll give you the mailing instructions. If you wanna pay by VISA or MC, you will need to send me the # and expiration date, so you'll need to have trust in me if you do that.

All information we collect will remain private and never sold.

Thanks!!!

Monday, April 14, 2008

AFS v. 173 ~ How I Messed Up Messed Up Man


The 33 button was stuck! Turntable One's gotta get fixed. Give us money next week during the KDVS on-air fundraiser, please! We will reward you with a KDVS t-shirt or a pack of CDs of your choice, and top of that, I'll reward you with a "Live on Art for Spastics" CDR compilation including selections from exclusive live performances by Cheveu, Little Claw, Los Llamarada, Pink Reason, Psychedelic Horseshit, Tyvek, and more (everyone donating $25 or more gets that live comp). More details about that in coming days. For now, just know that you gotta call in during the show. For you weekly downloaders and streamers, that means you might hafta set your alarm clock and hop over to http://www.kdvs.org/ and stream us live between 10 p.m. and 12 midnight Pacific time on Monday, April 21.

You can download this week's show AT THIS LINK HERE! @ 192kbps
(archived for 10 weeks)

Or, also AT THIS LINK (@ 320 kbps!!!)
(archived for ~4 weeks)

COCONUT COOLOUTS // Messed Up Man // v/a: The World's Lousy With Ideas vol. 4 7" // Almost Ready *new
CATATONIC YOUTH // Control My Gun // v/a: The World's Lousy With Ideas vol. 5 7" // Almost Ready *new
CHRISTMAS ISLAND // Doin' Swell // v/a: The World's Lousy With Ideas vol 5
PLEXI 3 // Stabbing Fantasies // We Know Better 7" // HoZac *new
BOLD ONES // Get Away // Open Your Mouth 7" // HoZac *new
HEADACHE CITY // Teenage Grease // Teenage Grease 7" // HoZac *new
THE BLACK & WHITES // When I'm Down // self-titled // Douche Master *new
MEERCAZ // Future News // MySpace mp3
SIC ALPS // Brill Building // A Long Way Around to a Shortcut // Animal Disguise *new
THEE OH SEES // Visit Colonel // The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In // Tomlab *new
WITCH HATS // Hellhole // Cellulite Soul // In-Fidelity *new
FEEDTIME // Wonder What's Wrong With Papa's Little Angel Child // self-titled // Megadisc 1985
MOVIE STAR JUNKIES // Cleavage // split 10" w/ The Feeling of Love // Rijapov/Bibimbap *new
CRASH NORMAL // Arg Wizz // Nothing I Can Tell 7" // Royal 1998
BILLY BAO // Factory of Repression // Dialectics of Shit // Parts Unknown *new
DRUNKDRIVER // Sick Kid // Born Pregnant // Parts Unknown *forthcoming
MUTATORS // At Midnight // split LP w/ Shearing Pinx // Ugly Pop *new
MAYYORS // Metro // Marines Dot Com 7" // Waste of Oil *new
DEATH TO PIGS // La Nuit du Chasseur // Carnal Carnival // Down Boy/Gaffer *new
CPC GANGBANGS // The Broken Glass // picdisc 7" // Seeing Eye 2007
CONTAMINATORS // Want Me Dead // Minimal Minds 7" // Menotropic *new
PRE // Pre Live!!! // Live Dates split 7" w/ AIDS Wolf // Sin Raft 2007
MODERN CREATURES // Dead Spheres // Divorce Yrself CDR // self-released 2007
NACKTMULL 1 // Automatik Hund // v/a: Mein Bester Freund ist Tot 7" // Kernkrach *new
DAS M // Chennel-Surfer // Leidenschaft und Produktion // Kernkrach *new
ARNAUD LAZLAUD // Le Malade Roi // Le Malade Roi 7" // Kernkrach *new
AGENT SIDE GRINDER // Remnants of My Sight // self-titled // Enfant Terrible *new
YELLOW SWANS // Seafloor // Drowner Yellow Swans // Tape Room *new
BULBS // Wind Conditions // Light Ships // Freedom to Spend *new
MINITEL // Streisand // Streisand 7" // Bruit Direct Disques *new
MINCEMEAT OR TENSPEED // Accident Prone // All Critters // Deathbomb Arc *new
YOUNG LASSES // Dream Crystal // Sad Fur Peak // Oldwire *new
YOUNG LASSES // Wherever You Are
U.S. GIRLS // I Can Hear Music [Beach Boys] // advance tracks CDR // no label *new
LITTLE CLAW // Places We Don't Need // Why/Why Not 7" // Physical Sewer *new

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

AFS v. 172: FUCK! YOU! CHICKEN POT PIE!!!


Sometimes on an airbreak, I might go on just the slightest little tangent, and I wind up saying something so stupid, or umming or uhhing like I just got hammered in the forhead, but I suppose it disappears from this mp3 archive soon enough. It would surely be different were I to do the same on a piece of lovingly crafted vinyl. So, it's no wonder some bands feel such shame over their very first record, when a little youthful indiscretion from a mere recordgeek greenness led so many punks to pack as many songs on seven inches as quickly as possible. I, too, remember thinking a two-song 45 was such a ripoff compared any HC 7" with six or more songs on it. More was better, right?

Well, I understand the shame some folks have about their first record, and while perhaps the first 7" of Sacto's Los Huevos--an extremely important band to me during my more impressionable years (and one of the three bands that really made me understand the appeal of this so-called garagepunk (whereas before, I'da said "Phooey! I'm not into drag-racin' and PBR-guzzlin'!"))--smacks a little bit of an exuberant young economy-obsessed band, there's one song that shall always live on in my mind as an absolutely righteous anthem....Altogether now: CHICKEN POT PIE!!!

If any band ever records a cover of this, will you please invite me to the studio for this? I can give you a decent Ed Hunter backup vocal impression. No, please tell Scott that this is not at all shameful!

You can download this week's show AT THIS LINK HERE! @ 192kbps
(archived for 10 weeks)

Or, also AT THIS LINK (@ 320 kbps!!!)
(archived for ~4 weeks)

DAN MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE // SWAMP! // Christmas for the Crows // Daggerman *new
TITUS ANDRONICUS // Albert Camus // Albert Camus 7" // Troubleman Unlimited *new
AUDACITY // Teenage Town // Juvajive CDR // no label *new
EAT SKULL // Shredders on Fry // Sick to Death // Siltbreeze *forthcoming
EAT SKULL // Dead Families // Dead Families 7" // Skulltones *new
GUINEA WORMS // I'm a Cobweb // Box of Records 7" // Columbus Discount *new
LOS HUEVOS // Chicken Pot Pie // 1st 7" // Moo-La-La 1993
TRAGIC MULATTO // Tac Squad // Judo for the Blind // Alternative Tentacles 1984
THINKING FELLERS UNION LOCAL 282 // 2x4s // Lovelyville // Matador 1991
HEY BUDDY & THE PALS // Stillborn // split 3" w/ No Paws (No Lions) // Bridgetown *new
THE YUPPIES // Funeral Song // demo songs CDR // no label *new
IMPRACTICAL COCKPIT // Appliances // Trashed Is Good // self-released 2002
DEATH TO PIGS // It's Alive // Carnal Carnival // Down Boy/Gaffer *new
WARHAMMER 48k // A3/A4 // An Ethereal Oracle // Permanent *new
BACKWATER // Phew // Supercool 7" // Ché 1995 *request
HIS ELECTRO BLUE VOICE // Call // split 7" w/ Nuit Noire // Avant! *new
RUTH // Mescalito // Mescalito 7" // Poutré Apparente *new (orig 1978)
NINI RAVIOLETTE // Indicateur ou Drageur // v/a: IVG // Poutré Apparente *new (orig 1982)
AGENT SIDE GRINDER // String Strikes // self-titled // Enfant Terrible *new
NO AGE // Brett Schultz Himself // DBA Tape Club split c20 w/ Abe Vigoda // Deathbomb Arc *Dec 07
Él-G // Rendez-vous au Fort de Queuleu // Armelle 7" // Le Vilain Chien *new
SLICING GRANDPA // Sarah [Ween] // Spirits of Doug + W // Scatalogical Liberation Front *new
PLAIN // Giant Pretzel/Wolf Bros // Back Steak Outhouse // Scatalogical Liberation Front *new
THE HOSPITALS // Sour Hawaii // Hairdryer Peace // self-released *new
CIRCUIT DES YEUX // Happy // advance tracks CDR // no label *new
MAGIK MARKERS // Tango & Cash // Bored Fortress Singles Club split 7" w/ Vampire Belt // Not Not Fun *new
LOS LLAMARADA // I Remember the Rest // live @ KDVS, 09/16/07
DU HEXEN HASE // Cave Animal Revolt // Dark Slobby Cave CS // self-released *new

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

AFS v. 171 - World of Starved


I skipped dinner tonight to bring you the most ruthless bitchclowning I heard all week.

You can download this week's show AT THIS LINK HERE! @ 192kbps
(archived for 10 weeks)

And now, also AT THIS LINK (@ 320 kbps!!!)
(archived for ~4 weeks)

AUDACITY // Desert Man // Juvajive // no label *forthcoming?
CONTAMINATORS // Minimal Minds // Minimal Minds 7" // Menotropic *new
DAILY VOID // D.G.W. #2 // split 7" w/ O Voids // Don't Hit Record *new
THE TWENTY-SEVEN // Catastrophe // Don't Go to Extremes 7" // Tremor 1978
CHEAP TIME // Handy Man // Handy Man 7" // Douche Master *new
THE BLACK & WHITES // Multiple Girls // self-titled // Douche Master *new
COCOCOMA // Go Ahead // self-titled // Goner *new
THE VEINES // Parties Fines Sous Cocaïne // 4-song 7" // Frantic City *new
LAST SONS OF KRYPTON // Teenage Trash // lathe-cut 12"// no label *new
EVENING MEETINGS // Better // self-titled CDR // self-released *new
TYVEK // Flowers // live @ KDVS 05/10/07
PSYCHEDELIC HORSESHIT // New Wave Hippies/Rather Dull/Both Sides Now // live @ KDVS 11/17/07
HANDGLOPS // The City // 4-song CDR // no label *new
U.S. GIRLS // Come See Lightly // advance tracks CDR // some label *forthcoming
SPAGHETTI & MOOSE BALLS // Tableau Through Shattered Monocle // Fuck It CDR // self-released *new
LITTLE CLAW // World of Tired // Why/Why Not 7" // Physical Sewer *new
FRANCIS HAROLD & THE HOLOGRAMS // The Eagle Can't Fly With One Wing // debut 7" // Going Underground *new
MAYYORS // Fatigre // Marines Dot Com 7" // Waste of Oil *new
NO TREND // Kiss Ass to Your Peer Group // Too Many Humans... // No Trend 1984 *request
TV GHOST // Nodoz // self-titled // Die Stasi *new
DEAD CLODETTES // Flou // Flou 7" // Trashmondain 2008
MODERN CREATURES // To a Crowd // Thick Thick Black 7" // Grotesque Modern 2007
SSSSPECTRES // Last Man on Earth // self-titled CDR // self-released *new
KOMMUNITY FK // To Blame // Vision and the Voice // Independent Project 1984
NAKED ON THE VAGUE // Lonely Boys // The Blood Pressure Sessions // Siltbreeze *new
CRYSTAL FANTASY // Crystal Fantasy // split 10" w/ Hair Police // Liquid Death/Hello Pussy 2005
SEVERED HEADS // Guests // City Slab Horror // Ink 1985
GOSLINGS // Vitium // Occasion // Not Not Fun *new
BLUE SABBATH BLACK FIJI // tracks 9-10 // Lazer Saber CDR // self-released *new
SHIT & SHINE // Cigarette Sequence // Cigarette Sequence 7" // Skulltones *new
SUCKS // track 4 // Live @ Fun Castle CDR // self-released *ne