AFS v. 233 ~ feat. the Charles Albright XXXperience!

I just got in an hour before this week's terrestrial radio broadcast of AFS after driving non-stop from Portland, Oregon, where I spent the past weekend at the SMMR BMMR fest. Friday was a fantastic time (Mayyors and Sic Alps were my favorite highlights), but I skipped Saturday's show in favor of catching the Mayyors with The Cysts, Work, and Piles at a crazy house-show, and Sunday was completely lost on two epic meals which left no energy for The Intelligence, Graffiti Island, Christmas Island, Head, or Pierced Arrows. But maybe I was all showed out, because besides the Mayyors, none of it could've held a candle to the amazing debut (and perhaps one-and-only live public on-stage performance) of the Charles Albright XXXperience. I'm very proud to present you now a podcast featuring a full-fledged live performance of Charles & co. This set features the three songs you probably already know and love from his awesome I'm on Drugs 7" record which he self-released in an edition of 100 earlier this year (and mainly gave away to friends) before Scott Soriano repressed it on SS Records, which spread the legend of this longtime Sacto scene fixture beyond the area. To friends and fans of Charles locally, this record came as something of a shock due to its full-tilt brashness and noisiness. But even that was not sufficient warning for this amazing "encore" which surely had to be the result of some intense brainstorming of unprecedented performance schemes which transcend mere gimmickry. Check the double-speed rewind at the end! The Charles Albright XXXperience live in Studio A begins at approximately the 25-minute mark of this 2-hour podcast, and in the last few half hour, we visit eight of the many bands that Charles has played in (denoted with the # symbol), and we have a conversation about them.

Download this program within two months at this link...
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or
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(email me if there are any downloading problems, please!)

ADAM PAYNE | Onallisalland | Maybelline Weeks 7" | Malt Duck *new
EAT SKULL | Heaven's Stranger | split 7" w/ Male Bonding | Tough Love *new
GANGLIANS | Lost Words | Monster Head Room | Woodsist *new
ENGLISH SINGLES | Daydream | English Cassingles... CS | Palace of the Golden Cassingle *new
BOYS CLUB | Push It Through | Boys Club | Three Dimensional *new
HEAD | I'm Not Like Everybody Else [The Kinks] | Street Level Assault | Evil Clown 1994
~~~~~~~ LIVE IN STUDIO A ~~~~~~~
CHARLES ALBRIGHT XXXPERIENCE | I'm Happy, I'm a Genius
CHARLES ALBRIGHT XXXPERIENCE | Epic II
CHARLES ALBRIGHT XXXPERIENCE | I'm on Drugs
CHARLES ALBRIGHT XXXPERIENCE | Young Woman
CHARLES ALBRIGHT XXXPERIENCE | Headphones
CHARLES ALBRIGHT XXXPERIENCE | I'm Just a Fine Young Man & I'm Doing So Well
CHARLES ALBRIGHT XXXPERIENCE | I Wanna Hold You
CHARLES ALBRIGHT XXXPERIENCE | "encore" ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONDOMINIUM | Barricade | Barricade 7" | Fashionable Idiots *new
DRUNKDRIVER | Fire Sale | Fire Sale 7" | Fashionable Idiots *new
GRAVITAR | Evil Monkey Boy | Evil Monkey Boy 7" | Charnel Music 1994
MOM | Pineapple Princes | Smells Like Dirty Dog Dicks 7" | Grotesque Modern *new
RENALDO & THE LOAF | Lime Jelly Grass | Songs for Swinging Larvae | Ralph 1981
THE PABLUMS | Under My Gums | v/a: Blub Krad | LAFMS 1978
HEATHEN DAN | I Like | v/a: The World's Worst Songs | Rhino 1983
WOUNDED LION | Wyld Parrots | Creatures in the Cave 7" | Gilgongo/DITG *new
FLIGHT | Johnny's Mixed Up | Flowers 7" | Sweet Rot *new
CHARLES ALBRIGHT | I'm Waiting | Albright Comes Alive CDR | no label *new #
SUNSHINE SMILE | Thirsty & Miserable [Black Flag] | v/a: Sacramento Bands Against Bush CDR | Sacfreepress.com 2003 #
THE COLONELS | Dig Her Up | Guitarmageddon 7" | Sacramento 2001 #
MILHOUSE USA | Never Girl Boy | Milhouse USA | Sacramento 2005 #
THE PIZZAS | Hideous Fashion | Bad-Ass Youth 7" | Daggerman 2008 #
ROCK THE LIGHT | Crank Appeal | Let's Do Something We'll Both Regret | Sacramento 2003 #
THE KNIGHTMARES | Inward Laughing | Love Is | 25% More Sacramento 2003 #
THE FRENCHMEN | Nar vs. The Ramones | Powdered Blue 7" | Shelflife 2003 #
CHRISTMAS ISLAND | Doin' Swell | v/a: The World's Lousy With Ideas vol 5 7" | Almost Ready 2008

Also, please note that my girlfriend has released a new 7"--the Maybelline Weeks EP--by former member of Residual Echoes, Adam Payne. This is hardly anything like his daringly cleanly produced solo album last year on Holy Mountain.....this is straight-up The Clean worship of thee highest order, comprising tonight's lead-off hit which he recorded in 2006 and released on an ultra-limited CDR under the name The Weeks. The b-side is more of a buoyant and direct heartstring-tugger that smacks of Powerpearls. Of course, this gets my highest recommendation, and you can order it right here...
http://www.maltduckrecords.com/

AFS v. 232 ~ feat. Rank/Xerox & Weyes Bluhd live at KDVS

This week, I'm excited to present two live in-studio performances. The best new band I discovered during the XYX tour was San Francisco's Rank/Xerox, who play postpunk with uncommon urgency not unlike The Proletariat, Tripod Jimmie, or Crisis, but with more energy, exuberance, and a saxophone. Their live set begins at approximately 20 minutes into this 2-hour podcast. They also picked some of tonight's records (denoted with a # symbol) and joined me for some conversation in Studio B. I hope that you'll all see and hear a lot more from them soon. The second live performance begins at approximately minute 100 and features Weyes Bluhd, one young woman from Philadelphia who sings and plays keys over tape accompaniment. She's mining waters somewhere between Little Claw and U.S. Girls, but her alluring singing meter is rather more like that of Grace Slick or even Rachel Verney in "Willow's Song" as heard in the film "The Wicker Man". Watch for an excellent and gnarlier-sounding debut 7" forthcoming, which we will preview in the coming weeks. Enjoy listening!

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.

(email me if there are any downloading problems, please!)

EBONICS | Hitler's Wife | Rock n' Roll/Partytime 7" | Daggerman 2008
CHEATER SLICKS | Can't You Hear (My Heartbeat) [The Outcry] | Erotic Woman 7" | Columbus Discount *new
DEFEKTORS | Burning Light | v/a: Emergency Room vol 1 | Grotesque Modern/Nominal 2008
NÜ SENSAE | Worm(s) | Three Dreams 7" | Critiscum Internationale *new
THE MAYYORS | Ghost Punch | Deads 12" EP | Hurling Man *new
THE CYSTS | Human Garbage/Forced Entry | Public Release 7" | Eolian *new
THE CYSTS | Tear It Off | Destroy Masters CS | no label *new
RED C | 6 o' Clock News | v/a: Flex Your Head | Dischord 1982 #
~~~~~~ Live in Studio A ~~~~~~
RANK/XEROX | Stripped
RANK/XEROX | Muscle Dogs
RANK/XEROX | In a Hole
RANK/XEROX | Turn to Stone
RANK/XEROX | Stairs
RANK/XEROX | Act of Love
RANK/XEROX | Basement Furniture
RANK/XEROX | Discipline
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHARLES ALBRIGHT | I'm on Drugs | I'm on Drugs 7" | SS Records *new
WORK | Total War [Boyd Rice] | split LP w/ Piles | Rad Key *new
HIGH CASTLE | Filth | You're on Your Own Way | Zum *new
THE PREFECTS | Agony Column | Amateur Wankers | Acute 2004 (orig 1978)
MISSION OF BURMA | Forget | Mission of Burma 12" EP | Taang! 1980 #
CHROME | Anti-Fade | v/a: Subterranean Modern | Ralph 1979 #
MALARIA! | Duschen | New York Passage 12" EP | Cachalot 1982 #
NITZER EBB | Into the Large Air | That Total Age | Geffen 1987 #
THE ANALS | Wake Up You're Dead | Total Anal | Permanent *new
KOMMUNITY FK | Incompatible Disposition | The Vision and the Voice | Independent Project 1983
KILLING JOKE | Let's All Go | Fire Dances | E'G 1983 #
THE FALL | Bingo Masters Breakout | Early Fall '77-'79 | Faulty 1981 #
THE CROWD | Modern Machine | v/a: Beach Blvd | Posh Boy 1979 #
DAN MELCHIOR UND DAS MENACE | Obscured by Fuzz | Obscured by Fuzz | Topplers *new
~~~~~~ Recorded live in Studio A on Sunday, August 16 ~~~~~~
WEYES BLUHD | Trim the Eyes
WEYES BLUHD | His Song
WEYES BLUHD | Dotted Circle in the Sand

Jon and Kevin of Rank/Xerox also make a video magazine featuring a lotta the kinda music that we like called "Mondovision". You can learn all about it at...
http://mondovision.tv/
I even make a brief cameo in the new Episode 5 which features XYX...

Mondo Vision Episode Five from Mondo Vision on Vimeo.

Here's some video footage from Weyes Bluhd's performance on Zradio....

AFS v. 231 ~ Catching Up w/ My Record Collection

With no live guest on the air tonight, I can dive into the new arrivals that have been mounting. But first, I gotta tell you about the best band in burly, balls-to-the-wall hardcore punk rock today...HPP. After seeing them twice in the last week-and-a-half, I am convinced that these guys are gonna make the short-list of all the best live bands I've seen this year, including The Mayyors, Thee Oh Sees, Hunches, Cave, Wounded Lion, and Box Elders. The guitar tone is peerless in the hardcore game today, and the volatility and the perma-blitzed, drug-devouring dereliction of that singer--whose vocals recall Stephen Lucas of the Aussie band X almost as much as vintage Sammy Town of Fang--has surely got this band teetering on the verge of implosion. I definitely believe that HPP feels as authentic as any band to rage since the heyday of hardcore waned in the mid-80s. No website appears to exist, so your only way to hear 'em unless you get their tremendous tour cassette (which is very competently recorded and begging to be issued on vinyl!) is right here towards the end of this podcast. Check below the playlist for a glimpse of an HPP live show in their hometown of Olympia, Washington, on YouTube in six parts.....plus, a teaser for a promising tour kicking off next week featuring two rad Canadian bands, the Defektors and Sex Church.

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.

(email me if there are any downloading problems, please!)

ADAM PAYNE | Onallisalland | Maybelline Weeks 7" | Malt Duck *new
LITTLE CLAW | Human Taste | Human Taste | Ecstatic Peace/Not Not Fun *new
BLUE JUNGLE | You Always Have Something to Say | Baby Don't Cry | Antifiesta *new
FINALLY PUNK | Pregnant | Casual Goths | Army of Bad Luck *new
GRASS WIDOW | Rattled Call | Grass Widow | Make a Mess *new
RANK/XEROX | Muscle Dogs | split CS w/ Grass Widow | Wizard Mountain *new
HONEY BANE | Girl on the Run | You Can Be You 7" | Crass 1979 *request
POISON GIRLS | Jump Mama Jump/Under the Doctor | Hex | Crass 1979
WORK | Public Infection | split LP w/ Piles | Rad Key *new
RUSTED SHUT | Shot in the Head | Dead | Load *new
THE ANALS | The Animals | Total Anal | Permanent *new
THE REBEL | War, Politics | Mouthwatering Claustrophobic Changes | Junior Aspirin *new
BILLY BAO | A2 | May 08 | Parts Unknown *new
DUDU GEVA | Pupu Blues | Dudu Geva | Le Vilain Chien/Galerie Pache *new
COUSINS OF REGGAE | Gongg | split LP w/ Lubriphikatttor | Galerie Pache 2008
ZOLA JESUS | Sink the Dynasty | The Spoils | Sacred Bones *new
SEX CHURCH | Mistaken | advance tracks & demos CDR | no label *new
DEFEKTORS | No to the Night | Torn to Pieces | Hockey Dad *new
HEX DISPENSERS | I've Got My Doppelganger On | Winchester Mystery House | Douche Master *new
RED MASS | Refrigerator [Electric Eels] | Red Mass 10" | Red Lounge *new
CHARLES ALBRIGHT | I Wanna Hold You | I'm on Drugs 7" | SS Records 2009
TEENAGE PANZERKORPS | Corpse on an Empty Stage | Arc de Triomphe 7" | Captured Tracks *new
VICHY WATER | trk 1 | 6 Songs CDR demo | no label *new
BLACK TIME | Contract | split LP w/ Ty Segall | Telephone Explosion *new
TY SEGALL | The Frog | Horn the Unicorn | HBSP-2X *new
TY SEGALL | Dropout Boogie [Capt. Beefheart] | Lemons | Goner *new
BOX ELDERS | Alice & Friends | Alice & Friends | Goner *new
THE SPITS | Alienize | The Spits | Recess *new
THE JARS | Electric Third Rail | Start Rite Now 7" | Subterranean 1980
TV GHOST | The Network | TV Ghost | In The Red *new
X | Suck Suck | Aspirations | X Music 1979
HPP | Teenage Life Crisis | tour CS | no label *new
HPP | side B, songs 1-2
FANG | You're Cracked | Where the Wild Things Are | Boner 1984 *request
TALES OF TERROR | Romance | Tales of Terror | C.D. Presents 1984 *request
PISSED JEANS | Dominate Yourself | King of Jeans | Sub Pop *new

So, I first saw this HPP band two Sundays ago in Sacramento at The Hub with Mutating Meltdown and Vichy Water. Unfortunately for them (and everyone who missed it), about 30 of the 35 people in attendance (including Dyl-Dawg (great job!)) left right after Mutating Meltdown, so the singer--shirtless and wasted since before the show even began--veered toward the edge of patheticness as he exhorted the tiny crowd to "GIVE US MONEY! WE'RE BROKE! WE NEED MONEY! CAN YOU TURN DOWN THE SUCK IN THIS MICROPHONE?"

Seriously, I was preparing for the worst. But then the band ripped into their rollicky hardcore, and I was amazed by that guitar tone which seemed expertly honed to resemble those first two Fang 12"es, but with transfixing Ginn-like leads. Surely, there's been plenty of bands recalling that style in the latter half of this decade, but this is the first time I've felt like it was therapeutic dermabrasion. The rhythm section was solid but loose at all the right moments, and everyone's frustration with fuckheads and boredom resonated together perfectly in that room as Dylan's vocals were cruising just below their redline limit while his verge-of-a-blackout lack of awareness conveyed a delicious lack of giving a fuck.

The singer and bassist got into a pretty serious row which seemed to nearly break out in fisticuffs as each would-be combatant blamed the other for screwing up the previous song. The next song proceeded perfectly despite them both being intertwined in a grapple-hold from the shoulders up. (Somehow, the bassist still played all of his parts perfectly!) Now the five or six of us in the audience were checking each others' astonished looks and we all kept breaking into laughter. We knew we'd be guilt-tripping those kids who made an early exit. And it worked to fill up my car just this last Saturday for a trip to "Wizard Fest" in San Francisco to see HPP be the burly goats on a world-class partyband bill with Traditional Fools, Nodzzz, Grass Widow, and next week's special in-studio guests, Rank/Xerox. Indeed, all of the bands were splendid, and the setting in the basement and backyard of Wizard Mountain was fantastic. I think it was probably--start to finish--the best time I've had a show in 2009 so far (might also be 'cos I wasn't the least bit reponsible for anything!). But HPP were surely the clincher, even though they refused to play my request spot! Next time, fellas! And I really hope that there is a next time. This tour looked like a non-stop bender for singer Dylan and a miserable moneypit for everyone. That's the kinda breaks that can devastate a band. But I really hope they live to tour again 'cos YOU really MUST see this band, and the recordings on that tour tape truly belong on vinyl.

Check out this YouTube footage here...









Part 5..."embedding disabled by request"

Part 6..."embedding disabled by request"

Based on our observances over 2½ days in Sacto plus in S.F., though, I can tell you that the apparent mayhem in parts 5-6 of this series is not par for the course. So, don't be afraid to meet this band next time they tour. The only thing they devastated were minds, ear drums, and a few braincells.

The next incoming tour I'm really excited about features two of my favorite Canadian bands...Defektors and Sex Church. Defektors have issued a couple of superb singles and dished three choice cuts on last year's Emergency Room vol. 1 LP of today's exciting Vancouver scene, and their first album is right on the cusp (hopefully they get it in time!). They've got a sorta seductive dark edge to them, yet there's also a hint of glitter in those songs. Sex Church feature a couple fellows from Ladies Night, which Sacto/Davis showgoers might remember as one of the most exciting bands to have played at Delta of Venus during its five-shows-per-week heyday a few years back. Their debut vinyl is on Sweet Rot and should be available in time for this tour. These guys also bring some psych-punk darkness that sorta conjures up thoughts of Easter Monkeys.

Friday, August 15 in Vancouver, BC, Canada
@ the Astoria

Wednesday, August 19 in Eugene, OR
@ Tiny Tavern w/ Hanging Coffins

Thursday, August 20 in West Sacramento, CA
@ 300 Room w/ Charles Albright XXXperience (debut & perhaps one-time ever!)

Friday, August 21 in Oakland
@ TBA w/ Shannon & The Clams

Saturday, August 22 in Los Angeles
@ Mr. T’s Bowl

Sunday, August 23 in San Diego
@ Soda Bar w/ Blessure Grave and Beaters

Monday, August 24 in Bakersfield
@ Basement Gallery

Tuesday, August 25 in Fresno
@ Chinatown Youth Center

Wednesday, August 26 in Santa Cruz
@ TBA

Thursday, August 27 in San Francisco
@ the Knockout w/ Box Elders and Fresh & Onlys

Friday, August 28 in Portland, OR
@ Slabtown

Saturday, August 29 in Seattle
@ Funhouse w/Coconut Coolouts

C'mon, TBAs...don't leave such rad bands hanging!

AFS v. 230 ~ Ratas del Vaticano live on KDVS (+ introducing Vichy Water!)

KDVS Coyote Services is proud to present a special live-in-Studio-A performance from Ratas del Vaticano, the most psychotic sounding punk rock menace from Monterrey, Mexico. The raw, rugged, slashy, and savage set reveals them to be a tremendous live band. It begins at approximately minute 20 of this two-hour podcast. See below the playlist for an outline of the final dates of their first U.S. tour. And if you haven't picked up their Mocosos Pateticos LP on Siltbreeze, hurry and get it already...it's one of the best albums of 2009 so far!

At approximately minute 80 begins the live performance of Vichy Water, the newest band in Sacramento, who just played their first public performance on Sunday night at The Hub in Sacto with Mutating Meltdown and H.P.P. They were a smashing success despite being a last-minute fill-in band for another new band that went quickly kaput, and just two practices later, they impressed me so much that I asked them to play tonight, too! The band features Julian of The Mayyors, Liz (proprietor of Buffcastle and chief funmaker of Funcastle (the busiest house-show epicenter in Northern California)), and Dylan (of high school and "four bands in seven weeks"). Too bad KDVS is not a TV channel tonight....the visual element of Dylan paying tribute to local music heroes was side-splittingly funny.

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.

(email me if there are any downloading problems, please!)

SHELL SHOCK | Execution Time | Your Way 7" | Vinyl Solution 1981
GUILTY RAZORS | Provocate/Hurts and Noises | I Don't Wanna Be a Rich 7" | Seventeen 2006 (orig 1978)
WRONG KIND OF STONE AGE | Run Amok | Flying Low to Batavia 7" | no label 1984
DESECHABLES | La Oracion | La Oracion 7" | Tres Cipreses 1983
H.P.P. | Force to Be Reckoned With(???) | s/t cassette | no label *new
CLOCKWORK CRIMINALS | No Future UK | Young & Bold 7" | Ace 1982
TV GHOST | Bastille | Cold Fish | In The Red *new
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
RATAS DEL VATICANO live in Studio A
Cerebro Sintetico
Mirada Fija
Comienzate a Masturbar
Esquema Social
Moral de Payaso
No Sabes Que Decir
Obsesionado
Primitivo
Asi Funciona el Rocanrol
Paranoia
Disimula tu Pendejez
Puñeta con Frenesi
Disparame, Ya no Quiero Toser
Cantina
Pilar/Encanada
Olvido
El Cholo del Salon
Te Apuñalare en el Recto
Tema de las Ratass
Que Vivan Los Buenos Amigos y el Rocanrol
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
RANK/XEROX | Turn to Stone | split cassette w/ Grass Widow | Wizard Mountain *new
THE PROLETARIAT | Events Repeat | Soma Holiday | Radiobeat/Non-U 1983
THE EX | Red Muzak | Tumult | FAI 1983
COUNTERFEIT MONSTERS | Acupressure | s/t CD | no label 2002
TALBOT TAGORA | Black Ice | Lessons in the Woods or a City | Hardly Art *new
THE GORDONS | Adults & Children | Future Shock 12" EP | Flying Nun 1980
MUTATING MELTDOWN | Raised by a Pack of T.V. Sets | LP cassette | Skrot Up *new
RANDOM CUTS | Pigeon Park | Make Damage 7" | Nominal *new
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
VICHY WATER live in Studio A
song 1
song 2
song 3
song 4
song 5
song 6
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
RATAS DEL VATICANO interview
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
DEFEKTORS | Torn to Pieces | Torn to Pieces 7" | Nominal 2008
MANIKIN | Fumes | Stop the Sirens | Super Secret *new
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
VICHY WATER interview
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
CRASH NORMAL | Hairy Wine [Country Teasers] | Flying to NY 7" | Plastic Idol *new

Don't miss Ratas del Vaticano if they're coming to your area...

Tuesday, August 4 in San Francisco
@ The Hemlock Tavern
w/ Hank IV & Quintron

Wednesday, August 5 in Portland, OR
@ Party at Zach's House, 2626 SE 50th
w/ Eat Skull

Thursday, August 6 in Seattle
@ The Funhouse
w/ Mammal, M.A. Turner, & The Grey

Friday, August 7 in Seattle
@ Jules Mae's Saloon
w/ Pig Heart Transplant

Saturday, August 8 in Tacoma, WA
@ Voodoo Tattoo
w/ Highlight Bomb

Tuesday, August 11 in Tijuana, Mexico
@ more Info TBA) Tijuana, Baja California

Thursday, August 13 back home in Monterrey, Mexico
@ El Garage
w/ Mutating Meltdown

Further evidence that you need to see Ratas...





Thanks to Fenris Wulf for engineering/mixing the sound, Tim Hance for loaning drums, to David Nguyen (DJ End Stop) and Sean Johannessen (Mucky the Ducky) for loaning guitars, Vichy Water for loaning amps and bass, and Karla Hernandez for the band photography.