Art for Spastics

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

AFS v. 261 ~ Gobbin' on GGNZLA!

You better be ready for them next time! And if you're near one of their four shows together on this tour, go see 'em!

Tue 3/30 in Los Angeles @ Hyperion Tavern
Club Ding-a-Ling
Wed 3/31 in San Diego @ Soda Bar
w/ The Vaginals & The Natives
Thu 4/1 in Los Angeles @ 5 Star bar
w/ Okie Dokie, Old Blood, Johnny O’Donnell
Fri, 4/2 in Los Angeles @ a house party
w/ Audacity

Spurm is a new-ish band featuring ex-dudes from The Trashies and The Intelligence, including the artist known as T.V. Coahran, plus three other genius-level funmakers. They sound rather like The Piranhas, skirting some of the same stylistic touchstones with a similar spazzy energy, but Spurm are certainly more pop-accessible which makes them all the more likely to be liked by fans of fun. You don't wanna miss a super-fun spastic post-garagepunk saxophone-rock band with an off-the-charts charismatic frontman, catchy keyboard lines, and the odd yet supremely appropriately placed vintage vocoder singalong. Sometimes you catch on to an exquisite detail of extraordinary song arrangement, and it's gotta whiff of that "A.M. gold", or whatever the irony-hangers-on are fancying, but it feels alright because it's apparently a joyful, guilt-free expression. If you

were to plot Pere Ubu, R. Stevie Moore, and The Deadbeats, on a graph and found a point equidistant from those, and then bisected a line between that point and the best in house-party hijinks, then you'd arrive at Spurm! As you listen to this, please understand that the singer and saxophonist were bleeding all over the place and had to go to the hospital right after we burned their CDR of this session!!

Butts are two ladies playing garagey funpunk...all short songs about drinking, smoking cigs, smoking weed, riding the bus...y'know...relatable stuff! Butts were especially hilarious at The Hub. What they do would play even better on TV than radio. Their banter has me thinking they're the perhaps most Sacto band in Seattle. And I've never seen a gal pound a flask so hard between each and every song, and still hold it together!

The Spurm/Butts merch table has included cassette and CDs of themselves their GGNZLA mates, plus their own signature drinks...."GGNZLA Cola" and "GGNZLA Root Drink", which are Coke or root beer mixed with shots of Jagermeister in blue chemist's bottles that are shaped just like old Lucky Lagers with actual printed labels. They looked totally legit and were a hit with partiers.

One more Spurm-related video...Here's T.V. Coahran himself covering his favorite R. Stevie song...

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

AFS v. 260 ~ Buk Buk Bigups live on KDVS!

This week in AFS...

* live performance by Sacto's leading ur-lectro-funk party-in-a-box, Buk Buk Bigups!
* frank discussion about music and partying w/ Buk Buk Bigups!
* my best segueway of 2010 so far, if I do say so my damn self!
* the musical selections of Buk Buk Bigups and Mom!
* some seriously sweet psych-pop nugs du jour!

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
or, if you have a slower/20th century connection
STREAM IT HERE by next Monday night!

(Email me with any downloading problem questions...)

YVES/SON/ACE | A2 | Unsung | TBA *forthcoming
DEAD LUKE | People Are Freaky Then You Die | Cosmic Meltdown CS | Night People *new
HIGH MARKS | Hold My Hands | Dry Marks CDR | Persistent Midnight 2009
2VM | Let's Play | v/a: Wierd Compilation 3xLP+7" | Wierd 2006
EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTS | Mannequin | Glowing in the Dark 12" EP | Short Circuit 1985
CYBOTRON | Cosmic Cars | Enter | Fantasy 1983
ARABIAN PRINCE | Let's Hit the Beach | Innovative Life 2xLP | Stones Throw 2008 (orig 1985)
THE HOSPITALS | This Walls (outro) | Hairdryer Peace | self-released 2008
THE HOSPITALS | Sour Hawaii
TORTURED TONGUES | New Lies | Tung Tied CDR | no label 2009
~~~~~~~~~ Live in Studio A ~~~~~~~~~~
BUK BUK BIGUPS | Group Zeffe
BUK BUK BIGUPS | Hot Funk Detector
BUK BUK BIGUPS | Not That Kind of King
BUK BUK BIGUPS | Night Jams
BUK BUK BIGUPS | Lil Bigups Theme
BUK BUK BIGUPS | Hot Mess
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE PHEROMOANS | Sitcom Capsule | self-titled CS | Night People *new
WHITE FENCE | Baxter Corner | self-titled | Make a Mess *new
PISTOL PETE | So Fine | demo CDR | no label *new
GUN OUTFIT | Your Will | Dim Light | PPM 2008
GRASS WIDOW | He's Going to Where | v/a: First 1 to 3 Records compilation vol 1 | First 1 to 3 *new
KNIGHT SCHOOL | Idiot Wizards | Revenger | Make a Mess *new
SHARK TOYS | Stayed Up | Stayed Up 7" | Felter Skelter *new
THE BATHS | Pleasant Feeling | self-titled CS | Wizard Mountain *new
DYL DAWG | Touch My Body | demo | no label *new
UZI RASH | Black Sun | Fuck the Pope Lite CDR | The Church & the Commune *new
SHAKE SHAKE BOLINO | Don't Lose Your Friends | Don't Lose Your Friends 7" | Les Disques Steak *new
BOSOM DIVINE | Hangover (German Beat) | I'm Your Animal 7" | Les Disques Steak 2008
SLIPPERY SLOPES | Sad Tugs | Sad Tugs 7" | Florida's Dying *new
VOM | I'm in Love With Your Mom | Live at Surf City 7" | White Noize 1978
THE TITS | Daddy is My Pusher | Daddy is My Pusher 7" | Plurex 1978
WIZZARD SLEEVE | Invisible City | Make the World Go Away | HoZac 2009
ROYAL TRUX | Let's Get Lost | Cats and Dogs | Drag City 1993
BRAINBOMBS | After Acid | Burning Hell | Blackjack 1992
BOHANNON | Foot-Stompin' Music | Insides Out | Brunswick 1975

This week's live studio performance is from Buk Buk Bigups, whose new 12" EP on Weird Forest Records is the slam-dunk party platter of 2010. Check the label's own marketing hooplah over this record! Does it sound too good to be true?!?!

Weird Forest drops the debut 12" from Sacramento’s newest, best-kept, filthy secret. Buk Buk Bigups was created as an avenue for Sacramento-BASED musician Aaron Zeff to explore the outer parameters of popular and experimental music. Influenced by industrial tones, kraut rock rhythms and disco humor, Zeff takes the forgotten sounds of 1999 pre-Brooklyn Sacramento and reinvigorates the disco-not-disco formula with some guitar freakazoid dead-pan party anthems and fried mutant bedroom funk. The A-side, “Hot Mess”, gives a nod to DFA-style production through chopped high-end riddim, but with a classic vibe: Manzanera’s “Primitive Guitar”-era axe soaring solos, Roger Troutman’s blunted affected vocals, and unconscious “Dirty Mind” cat-calls. “Endless Itch”, the B-side, is a lurching oxycontin-laced slow burner not straying too far from a funkier version of Factums or a subdued Gary War, but channeling Bay Area legends Tuxedomoon. We’ve already coined the default genre descriptor for your blog: “plastic brown-eye soul” or, if you like, “valley downer funk.”

Doesn't it seem too mindboggling for all of these influences and touchstones to weave together into one cogent EP? Perhaps...but seriously, the only thing that's not 100% true about this label's review of its own product is that thing about "downer funk"; Buk Buk apparently chooses the red pills as much as half the time, too, I suppose. Then again, I am the straight-edge youth of today. But side-A of this EP gets me feeling pretty hyped. The freaky blue funk vibes of side B certainly balance the record out. Still don't believe this record could hit all these buttons? Would it surprise you if I told you that Aaron was one-third of Summer 2009's Charles Albright XXXperience? Or that his main band for the last decade--Vol 4--has been one of Sacto's most wrongly overlooked bands all this time, evolving from a powerviolence/fastcore-flavored destruction duo to Kraut-groove-channeling deconstructivist genre-benders of psychedelicized "post-hardcore" (in arguably the truest sense of this all too arbitrarily-thrown-around fake genre name)?

Lemme propose another fake genre for you....lysergic Krau-Talo freak-funk?

Whatever the case, if this dude rocks a party near you, check it out. His performance last week at The Hub here in Sacto will not be forgotten soon (unless maybe you took a long drag off what was being passed around). And if you wanna order this record, here's where you do it...

http://www.weirdforest.com/store/bandPages/buk-buk-bigups.html#bigups

Can you believe I dropped The Hospitals right after Arabian Prince? I can't believe how seamless it was either. Score "1" for me. Okay...thanks!

Somebody, please issue that Baths cassette on LP already!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

AFS v. 259 ~ Repressive Proteins live on KDVS!

Right around the 20-minute mark of this 2-hour podcast, you'll find the beginning of a live session by my special guest band in Studio A. It's the Repressive Proteins, a Sacramento band that formed last fall and debuted in support of Tyvek at The Hub. They stole the show that night. At once, they're a fun one-braincell-sharing traipse through extreme misanthropy, the next moment, a deceptively heady, supremely sarcastic artpunk band with dual keyboards and other electronics, bass (fretless, really?!?!), saxophone, and four voices. This lineup features members of such bands as Antennas Erupt, Boron & the Grebes/The Sores, DMPH/Klondike & York, and Alak Alas Alaska. Fans of that new SS offering by The Chinese Restaurants should certainly dig 'em, and there's echoes of No Trend and Tragic Mulatto in there, too. This is one of the funnest and funniest bands to see live if you have the chance. While the rest of the band rather vindictively inflicts their violence on the audience,

drummer Chad Stockdale is having the time of his life beating the shit outta some drums. The dude's a total crack-up! A tour is being planned currently for late springtime, and I'll surely report back to you about that when there are details to dish about. So stay tuned for that. Together with Mayyors and White Hole (the new band featuring SS honcho Scott Soriano), Repressive Proteins complete a triumvirate of Sacto scuzzpunks driving negatively-charged grizzly riffs relentlessly into the ground in such a smart/stupid way and with such an imperious, yet infection rhythm that you can thrash and go crazy but also party and have fun. Don't we just have a great sense of humor in this hipness-handicapped 'burg? Why would anyone move to "greener pastures"? (photos by Dyl-Dawg...thanks, homie!)

Speaking of smart/stupid...From hippie-ville, USA, and the capital of community-supported agriculture (Eugene, Oregon), Hanging Coffins and The Elks are two of most unseemly bands. At the intersection of garage-punk, "weirdpunk", "glue-wave", and the DIY-inspired sounds of Shadow Ring, Russian Tsarlag, etc., these guys are high-brow arty and no-brow crude at the same time, and in a way that spells HIGH-larious and fun, for sure!

Hanging Coffins got the next record coming out on Malt Duck Records after a string of tapes for such blogger-darling labels as Jerkwave and Night People. The Elks are quite a bit more raw and propulsive....something you can probably even dance to.

These bands are coming down for just a few California shows this weekend...

Friday, 3/19 in Sacramento @ The Hub
w/ Uzi Rash & Dem Birfday Boyz!

Saturday, 3/20 in Long Beach @ 211 Pine Ave.
w/Shoot It Up

Sunday, 3/21 in Oakland @ the Stork Club
possibly/hopefully??

And finally...

The newest batch from Goaty Tapes is splendid, of course. The El Jesus de Magico stuff ranks with the very best of their vinyl offerings even! And same with the Russian Tsarlag.

But maybe the best cassette of the year so far is that new one by The Baths. Everything you read about that band in SF Bay Area media links them by their social ties and stylistic similarity to Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall. And while the ties and similarities are true enough in reality, that band's ready to stand on their own now. This tape shoulda been on vinyl! "After Death" is one brilliantly crafted pop-song with incredibly detailed (yet not overly stylized) arrangement and production. Put on some headphones when you listen to this, folks!

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

AFS v. 258 ~ Finger on the Paypal Button

This week in AFS...

* Twin Crystals embarks on tour, so get ready!
* that awesomely wild & strange new LP by John Bellows is on-deck to be paypal'd for!
* a rarely heard live take from Thee Oh Sees when "two drummers appeared!"
* yet another new Davis lo-fi ladypower outer-zoning unit...Mama Buries!

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
or, if you have a slower/20th century connection
STREAM IT HERE by next Monday night!

(Email me with any downloading problem questions...)

GUINEA WORMS | B.I.S.I. | Sorcererers of Madness (4rd Year in a Row!) | Columbus Discount *new
JOHN BELLOWS | (You Just Got) Mutherfucked | Clean Your Clock | Moniker *new
THE LAMPS | I've Been on a Lot of Camels | Niels Bohr 7" | Dull Knife *new
NERVOUS EATERS | Get Stuffed | Eaterville Vol. 1 | Penniman 2005 (orig 1976)
TIGHT FITS | All Balls | All Balls 7" | Rat City 1995
STRIP KINGS | Slow Panic | Lightning Breed 7" | In the Red 1996
FM KNIVES | Dead Pink | Useless and Modern | Moo La La 2002
TSOL | Die for Me | Dance With Me | Frontier | 1981 *request
MODERN CREATURES | Too Serious | split 12" w/ Twin Crystals | Slanted Square 2009
WHITE LUNG | Atlanta | tour 7" | Deranged *new
RED MASS | Too Many Parties | Too Many Parties 7" | Wall Ride *new
NICE FACE | Situation is Facing Utter Annihilation | Immer Etwas | Sacred Bones *new
THE PINK NOISE | Step in a New Skin | Birdland | Sacred Bones *new
BUK BUK BIGUPS | Hot Mess | self-titled 12" EP | Weird Forest *new
JAWS | Tone Ghetto | CDR | no label 2004
KOMMUNITY FK | We Will Not Fall | The Vision & the Voice | Independent Project 1983
SECTION 25 | Haunted | Charnel Ground 7" | Factory 1981
BALACLAVAS | Up the Newel | Roman Holiday | Dull Knife *new
BALACLAVAS | Night Worship
TWIN CRYSTALS | Damaged Enough | self-titled | Needs More RAM 2009
JETS | Yeah! | v/a: Killed By Glam | Moon Boot *new
MARINA SWINGERS | Little Swine | I'm a Swinger 7" | LAX 1979
JOE JACKSON | Throw it Away | Look Sharp! | A&M 1979
THE REZILLOS | I Can't Stand My Baby | Can't Stand the Rezillos | Sire 1978 *request
THEE OH SEES | Warm Slime | Live @ KDVS Presents Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom VII, 2009
SONNY & THE SUNSETS | Heart of Sadness | v/a: In a Cloud: New Sounds from SF | Secret Seven *new
THE WHINES | For Your Safety | Hell to Play | Meds *forthcoming
ROSEMARY KRUST | Fire | Bernt Anker 7" | Dull Knife 2009
THE C&B | C-Town Breeding Ground | 1991 Pre-Shadow Ring Recordings 7" | Siltbreeze *new
MAMA BURIES | title unknown | self-titled CS | no label *new
PANICSVILLE | Horseman's Club| split 12" w/ Frankie & the S.E.M.M. | Top Quality Rock & Roll/Nihilist *new
REFLEKTIONSS | Violence Routine/Don't Sell Yr Gifts | split 12" w/ N.213 | Needs More RAM *new

The population of Davis, California, DIY noise and outer-zoning units has grown again with Mama Buries, the duo of KDVS DJ's Juliaaa (also heard in Waxy Tomb) and Charmin Ultra. I caught the tail-end of their live set two weekends ago opening for Caroliner at the Natsoulas Gallery in Davis. It was eerily quiet, so I didn't realize that it was actually happening until it was over. But the ladies slipped me their debut demo cassette smudged with lipstick, and it's truly an auspicious, haunting and freaky beginning! While it may run long at nearly an hour, MB's alternately bewitching and hellraising vibes certainly hold my interest. The best moments show uncommon ingenuity when they chase anti-riffs relentlessly 'til they become riffs that are rather imperious and damn near catchy for this sorta noise. Say...Isn't that something you could say about Shadow Ring, too? Did I just blaspheme the legends? Or does it make you wanna hear Mama Buries? Well, you should!

One of my favorite live bands of the West Coast is Vancouver, BC's Twin Crystals, who begin a down-and-back tour this week. If the icy doom of dark postpunk pleases you, then I recommend you catch them in your city. Does The Units meet early Wipers make any sense? It does when you see Twin

Crystals. Bring friends, dancing shoes, and extra merch for a whole grippa Vancouver stuff on vinyl, lathe-cut, and cassette...

Thu 3/11 in Olympia @ The Northern
w/ Glow Tips

Fri 3/12 in Salem, OR @ a house party

Sat 3/13 in Sacramento, CA @ The Hub (1819 23rd Street)
w/ Buk Buk Bigups, Repressive Proteins, and Burglars

Sun 3/14 in Los Angeles @ The Echo
"Part Time Punks" night w/ Blessure Grave

Mon 3/15 in Tempe, AZ @ Ye Olde Bike Saviours
w/ Blessure Grave

Tue 3/16 in El Paso, TX @ Hideaway
w/ Blessure Grave & Dozal Brothers

Wed 3/17 in Long Beach, CA @ Que Sera
w/ Bestial Mouths & Deathday Party

Thu 3/18 in Bakersfield, CA @ Gallery
w/ Joni Mitchell (that's what it says on the infallible MySpace!)

Fri 3/19 (early show) in San Francisco, CA on The Bus
w/ American Splits & Robin Williams on Fire

Fri 3/19 in San Francisco @ Hemlock Tavern
w/ Captain Ahab

Sat 3/20 in Seattle, WA @ Ruff Gems

Thu 3/25 in Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore
w/ King Khan & BBQ and White Lung

Sun 3/28 in Vancouver, BC @ Casa de Artista
Fake Jazz Festival

This new LP by John Bellows of Chicago, Illinois, is about to drop, and the label's gotta a website now, so get your paypal finger ready! Clean Your Clock encompasses raw, raggedy folk-rock, bristling hard-rock, and almost as many identifiable personalities fighting over one brain as there are songs. This is gonna be there at year's end as one of the best albums of 2010. It's stark raving brilliant! And it strikes me as authentic. John embarks on a tour of the Midwest and down to Texas and back this month, so maybe you can pick it up from him along the route. If you have any doubt that this cat is authentic, check out the YouTube evidence...

Now, the story on that live Oh Sees song....that was the time we declared "two drummers appear" in the form of Chris Woodhouse of Mayyors joining Mike Shoun on the additional drumkit at KDVS presents Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom VII fest last June in the boonies between Davis and Woodland. After a smoking Mayyors set, it was the most fun you could have outside in 100°F heat. Here's a YouTube glimpse from a few minutes earlier...

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

AFS v. 257 ~ Electric Jellyfish live in Studio A!

This week in AFS, Electric Jellyfish from Melbourne, Australia, begin their U.S. tour. In 2008, this band was among the very best bands I saw all year (including bands such as Thee Oh Sees, The Mayyors, The Hunches, Box Elders, etc.). DO NOT miss this band if they come through your area. See below playlist for their tour schedule...

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
or, if you have a slower/20th century connection
STREAM IT HERE by next Monday night!

(Email me with any downloading problem questions...)

EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING | Which Way to Go | Primary Colours | Goner 2008
KITCHEN'S FLOOR | Failure | Loneliness is a Dirty Mattress | R.I.P. Society 2009
WOOLLEN KITS | Tasman | Teenage Love 7" | Periodic Collective 2009
CIRCLE PIT | Total Waste | Everybody Left 7" | R.I.P. Society 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~ Live in Studio A ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ELECTRIC JELLYFISH | Image of Power, Poolside
ELECTRIC JELLYFISH |
ELECTRIC JELLYFISH |
ELECTRIC JELLYFISH |
ELECTRIC JELLYFISH |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ELECTRIC JELLYFISH | Dog Head Pipe | self-titled | Spectacular Commodity/Twin Lakes *new
THE REBEL | Aiming Low, Getting High | The Incredible Hulk | Junior Aspirin *new
ADVANCED SPORTSWEAR | 3 Conductors | self-titled | Junior Aspirin *new
BUK BUK BIGUPS | Endless Fuck | self-titled 12" EP | Weird Forest *new
INCA ORE | Ruff Ridin' | Silver Sea Surfer School | Not Not Fun 2009
THE WHINES | Here We Sit | Hell to Play | Meds *forthcoming
PATRIOTIC WINDOW KLINGS | Concrete | Guitargument CS | Speed Tapes *new
PATRIOTIC WINDOW KLINGS | Endless Smoke
THE MELVINS | Hog Leg | Egg Nog | Boner 1991
WOMAN | Icy Drone | self-titled | Bang! *new
THE SCIENTISTS | The Spin | Blood Red River | Au-Go-Go 1983
VENOM P. STINGER | PCP Crazy | Meet My Friend Venom | No Masters Voice 1986
feedtime | Dead Crazy | self-titled | Megadisc 1985
Interview w/ Electric Jellyfish
GLENN BRANCA | Lesson No. 2 | The Ascension | 99 Records 1981
BILL ORCUTT | High Waisted | untitled 7" | Palilalia 2009
BOB BANNISTER | Hen Fist | Easterly 7" | Remora 1994
SONNY & THE SUNSETS | Mondrian | The Hypnotist 7" | Future Stress *new
THE DEFEKTORS | Static Age [The Misfits] | self-titled CS | no label *new

Seriously, folks...Don't miss these guys! As a band from today's Australia, Electric Jellyfish carry the torch along with Eddy Current Suppression Ring lighting the way to a legendary story of distinctive rock 'n roll beginning with bands such as Radio Birdman, The Saints, X, the Birthday Party, feedtime, etc. Their sound is on par with The Wipers in their heyday...such daring emotional vulnerability, yet it's psych/punk that's sonically full-fledged, solid, walloping, and (to quote Monoshock (yet another peer in terms of quality) "philosophically Stoogely". Catch 'em on tour and bring some extra cash for their new self-titled 12" (limited to 220 hand-numbered copies for people who care for that more than actual music).

Thu 3/4 in Oakland, CA @ Apgar House
w/ Dadfag and the Whines

Fri 3/5 in San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern
w/ Barn Owl and Carlton Melton

Sat 3/6 in Sacramento, CA @ Sol Collective
w/ The Whines and GGreen

Sun, 3/7 in Eureka, CA @ Little Red Lion

Thu 3/11 in Tacoma, WA @ New Frontier Lounge

Fri 3/12 in Seattle, WA @ The Comet
w/ Hypatia Lake

Sat 3/13 in Portland, OR @ East End
w/ Eternal Tapestry and Eat Skull

Mon, 3/14 in Olympia, WA @ The Garden of Sweden
house show w/ Arrington de Dionyso

Thu 3/18 in San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
w/ Gunslingers

Sat 3/20 in Long Beach, CA @ the Prospector

Sun 3/21 in Los Angeles, CA @ Echo Curio
w/ the Black Apples, Young Hunting, The Coals (solo)

Fri 3/26 in Austin, TX @ Beerland
w/ A Giant Dog

Sat 3/27 in Houston, TX @ Super Happy Fun Land
anniversary party

Sun 3/28 in New Orleans, LA @ the Pearl Lounge

Mon 3/29 in New Orleans, LA @ the Saint

Thu 4/2 in Memphis, TN @ Murphy’s

Fri 4/3 in Knoxville, TV @ the Pilot Light

Tue 4/7 in New Brunswick, NJ @ the Court Tavern

Thu 4/9 in NYC @ TBA

Fri 4/10 in Philadelphia, PA @ Pilam
Human BBQ festival w/ Blues Control, Birds of Maya plus many more

Sat 4/11 in Northampton, MA @ the Elevens

Tue 4/14 in New Haven, CT @ Cafe Nine
w/ Thunderfakers and Radical Dads

Thu, 4/16 in Chicago, IL @ TBA

Tue 4/21 in Minneapolis, MN @ Sauce / Spirits & Soundbar

Wed 4/22 in Omaha, NE @ O’Leaver’s Pub

Thu 4/23 in Denver, CO @ Lions Lair
w/ the Black Apples and the Knew

Fri 4/24 in Fort Collins, CO @ Road 34
w/ the Black Apples and the Knew

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

AFS v. 256 ~ Garage Turkeys, Be Warned...

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

AFS v. 255 ~ Killin' It for the Spirit of Killiniq!

HOBOCOP | Ponzi Scheme | self-titled CDR | no label *new
CAFETERIA DANCE FEVER | Sardinian Idol | Man The Lifeboats! 7" | Hovercraft *new
SO COW | The Tony Keady Affair | Meaningless Friendly | Tic Tac Totally *forthcoming
THE WHINES | It's Raining | Hell to Play | Meds *forthcoming
THREE STONED MEN | Before I Go to Sleep | Smells Like the Big Time | Know Knew 1996

To keep AFS brimming with plenty of Can Con this week, we have live in-studio sets from two foot-tap'n twang-wranglers of the Black Lips Generation's best from Vancouver, BC. With the plucky joy of basking in our early springtime sunshine while avoiding an Olympic clusterfuck, the Dead Ghosts and Indian Wars stoked a party in the basement of Freeborn Hall before meeting the Bare Wires for a short California tour. Indian Wars' set begins at approximately the 13th

minute, and Dead Ghosts begin just after the halfway mark. If you're in these cities and wanna have fun, catch this tour...

Tues 2/16 in Oakland @ Fuzzplex
Wed 2/17 in San Francisco @ Pissed Off Pete's
Thu 2/18 in Los Angeles @ The Rosewood
Fri 2/19 in San Diego @ Soda Bar

Thanks to Fenris Wulf for nailing the sound, Dyl-Dawg for holding it down, and our live studio audience!

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

AFS v. 254 ~ Wellspring Has Sprung!

POMPOIR | Unrequited | Exploding Time 12" EP | Isolated Now Waves *new
DEAD GHOSTS | She Likes It | split 7" w/ Smith Westerns | Bachelor 2009
DEAD GHOSTS | Holy Ghost | Holy Ghost 7" | Boom Chick 2008
THE WHINES | For Your Safety | Hell to Play | Meds *forthcoming
NERVE CITY | Golden City | Recordings 2007-2008 | Sweet Rot *new

Get ready for that new Whines' Hell to Play LP coming soon from Meds because it's gonna be brilliant! As I said in AFS v. 213 that "[t]he style of this young Portland band is kinda like the more ruminative moments of The Hunches, thanks to the shimmering sprawls of psych-punk guitar that spiral toward the edges of the incredibly stalwart rhythm section"; that's still completely true, but with confidence, they've outgrown the sorta kid sibling status and into their own shoes which kick so much ass that they're surely one of the best bands on the west coast now. Powerful when stonefaced and beautiful when emotionally vulnerable, this album's range is rare and tremendous. It's everything I hoped it would be after seeing them wallop their debut 7" when they played live. Look for the band to come down the I-5 corridor for a tour to kick off promotion of this new album in March. Dates will be announced here when they are known.

Could the third LP by the Nothing People really be even better than the 2nd, which was better than the 1st, which was also really great? Has any other band from 2000-2010 succeeded in outdoing themselves three times in a row after such auspicious beginnings? The Hospitals? Yes, but I can't think of another off-hand. I don't wanna render my final verdict 'til I let this sink in some more (two at-length listens so far), but I have a hunch it's true. Soft Crash has a more driving pulse than Late Night, but it's just as psychedelic and delightfully dazed.

Sacramento treasure Charles Albright has a new LP out, but not a solo effort.

It's the first album of his band The Megacools, a trio also including his better half (she also drums for The Pizzas). Fans of last year's Charles Albright solo 7" on SS (and previously self-released in an edition of 100) will surely dig this LP. Maybe even just as much! It's quite a riot of wild punchy riffs, hooky melodies, and humorous goofball surprises including some of the best-integrated TV and movie samples since Spazz and No Le$$ succeeded in that arena during the powerviolence era. This record is totally Charles-style which means homemade and limited to 100. If you wanna get this thing....gee, I don't know what to tell you exactly. Do you still use MySpace? Does he even? The band hasn't logged in since November. You might as well just email me and I'll forward it along. Otherwise, if you wanna hear more outta Charles, reportedly there's a solo album to pick up where the 7" left off coming from Permanent Records, so stay tuned to their channels for forthcoming release info!

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

AFS v. 253 ~ Catching Up w/ Weird Forest!

This week in AFS...

* All the latest and greatest Weird Forest releases!
* Davis' creepiest crimson-wave queen, Waxy Tomb's about to debut live!
* The Bay Area's most under-rated musical treasure, Kreamy 'Lectric Santa!
* & much more!

Download this program within two months at this link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
or
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
or, if you have a slower/20th century connection
STREAM IT HERE by next Monday night!

(Email me with any downloading problem questions...)

KREAMY 'LECTRIC SANTA | Everything? | Operation Spacetime Cynderblock | Starcleaner *new
KREAMY 'LECTRIC SANTA | Like Friggin' Gone
THE FEELING OF LOVE | Young Jesus | OK Judge Revival | Kill Shaman *new
THE FEELING OF LOVE | La-Bas C'est Naturel | School Yeah 7" | Sweet Rot *new
U.S. GIRLS | Sleeping on Glass | Go Grey | Siltbreeze *new
BREN'T LEWIIS ENSEMBLE | Memories of Foam | Three Christs of Ypsilanti | Siltbreeze *new
WAXY TOMB | Grey Ice Box Gardens | self-titled CDR | no label *new
HUMAN SKAB | Bein' Bad | Thunder Hips and Saddle Bags | Family Vineyard *new (orig 1986)
HUMAN SKAB | Piano Concert
ALBOTH! | Juerg Solothurnman | Amour 1991 | Permis de Construire Deutschland 1991
MANYMENTAL MISTAKES | Wild Power | Clean the Bloody Tape CDR | ManyMental *new
SHEARING PINX | Xpanding | Weaponry | Divorce 2009
N.213 | Slauterhaus | Sun Knowledge EP CDR | Isolated Now Waves 2005
CHANNELS 3 + 4 | Jesus is Free | demo | no label 2004
RED MASS | Too Many Parties | Too Many Parties 7" | Wallride *new
NÜ SENSAE | Don't Panic | self-titled CS | Oms-B *new
MESS FOLK | Something I Remember | Something I Remember 7" | HoZac *new
AMBER ALERTS | Somewhere Under a Shit Cloud! | Antibodies 7" | Sweet Rot *new
NOTHING PEOPLE | Late Night [Syd Barrett] | Late Night | S-S 2009
BANANA HEAD | In the Tubs | In the Tubs CS | Goaty Tapes *new
ROY MONTGOMERY | Used To [Wire] | 324 E. 13th Street #7 | Drunken Fish 1999
SAM GOLDBERG | untitled (excerpt) | Current | Weird Forest *new
STARVING WEIRDOS | The Density of Life part one (excerpt) | Self Hypnosis 2xLP | Weird Forest *new
STARVING WEIRDOS | Hagen Dazs | The Path of Lightning 2xLP | Weird Forest *new
MAURIZIO BIANCHI | New Heavens New Earth | M.B. Das Platinzeitalter 2xlp | Weird Forest *new
LOVE CRY WANT | The Great Medicine Dance | self-titled 2xLP | Weird Forest *new (orig 1972)
DOUG SNYDER & BOB THOMPSON | Hit & Run | Daily Dance | Cantor *new (orig 1972)
TOUGH TROUBLES | Big Rig | self-titled CDR | Geneva Lake *new

A word to the wise...Buy one of everything on Weird Forest Records! I'll come back later in the week to tell you why. Just trust me for now.

Also, if you are in the Sacto/Yolo area, please come meet Davis' most outstanding upstart noise artist since Slobberaht--Waxy Tomb--as she debuts in live performance at The Hub (1819 23rd Street in Sacto) on Friday, February 5, in support of Pompoir from Vancouver, Canada. If you're lucky, she'll be selling this demo CDR pictured above which is a riveting 31-minute creep-out traverse on the knife edge of timeless proto- and post-industrial sounds and resonant metallic drone. I was intrigued by this CD when I first discovered it floating around in a box a few months back. I had no idea whether it could be from Sheffield, England, 30 years ago, or the newest MySpace mystery profile linked to the FNU Ronnies and Blood. The liner sheet was just a spare torn-off piece of paper with no artist information. So, imagine my surprise to learn that it was KDVS' own DJ JJJulllia of the "here ear" program on Friday afternoons. This would sound really good on a slab of vinyl, so if you're ready to pony up to add her to your stables, ask me to put you in touch. Your mailing list will thank you later.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

AFS v. 252 ~ Splish, Splash...I Was Taking a Bath

If you peel away Banana Head's layers of neu-blues-folk-psych outer-zoning dreariness, you'll find that there's actually a discernable kernel of pop sensibility at the core of several of these songs, and especially the ones with vocals, however distant or whispered. Surely a vinyl-ready release, and like all things Goaty, it's handsomely packaged with a colorful, creative J-card, stamped and exquisitely hand-cut to enhance the consumer's intimate, personal connection to the music. If this doesn't take the prize this week, then surely this new A-side from Jakob Olausson's appearance in the new Columbus Discount Singles Club does...absolute stunner! Two phone calls came in demanding to know, "What was that!?!?!"

The next Ratas del Vaticano LP is due to drop next month, and it's got 16 more psychopathic punk rippers, including one epic bludgeoner that is the new savage weirdpunk's answer to the Subhumans' "From the Cradle to the Grave". HBSP-2X will be serving that up with an EP from another group of Monterrey punks, Inservibles. I'll get to them next week!

Wounded Lion covered Wildman Fischer again, and this time, it's the crowdpleasing chant of "Omar! Omar! Omar! Omar!" that'll worm into your head. I know it seems like every Wounded Lion song so far is immediately catchy and contagious as you sing it everyday to your significants, co-workers, kitties, and everyone else in earshot, ("Pony People" rates serious consideration for feelgood song of the decade!) but there's actually some rather subtle songs on this upcoming debut LP--due March from In the Red--which grow on you over time. I think it was upon the fourth listen that I realized what an ingenious song "Hunan Province" is for containing the best lyrical passage that rhymes a word with itself (twice even!) since 1982 when Marky de Sade sang "I tried everything, I tried counting sheep!/One sheep! Two sheep! Three sheep! Four sheep!/Shut up while a I try to count these sheep!" in "I Can't Get the Sleep in My Head" on the should-be-classic Indoor Fiends LP by The Hypnotics.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

AFS v. 251 ~ Don't Call Me from the Degobah System!

Art for Spastics

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

AFS v. 261 ~ Gobbin' on GGNZLA!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

AFS v. 260 ~ Buk Buk Bigups live on KDVS!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

AFS v. 259 ~ Repressive Proteins live on KDVS!

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

AFS v. 258 ~ Finger on the Paypal Button

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

AFS v. 257 ~ Electric Jellyfish live in Studio A!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

AFS v. 256 ~ Garage Turkeys, Be Warned...

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

AFS v. 255 ~ Killin' It for the Spirit of Killiniq!

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

AFS v. 254 ~ Wellspring Has Sprung!

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

AFS v. 253 ~ Catching Up w/ Weird Forest!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

AFS v. 252 ~ Splish, Splash...I Was Taking a Bath

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

AFS v. 251 ~ Don't Call Me from the Degobah System!

About Me

Links

Blog Archive

Followers

My Yelp Reviews

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

About Me

Subscribe to AFS

Links

Blog Archive

Followers

My Yelp Reviews