deverova chyba - club 59

released 2006

so there i was...just randomly hopping from video to video on the youtube the other night...and this band kept showing up...i'd never heard of them before...so i figured i'd give their video a click

and 4 plays later...i was hooked

this is a threesome from the czech republic

they play something that will appeal to fans of bands like: the jesus lizard...shellac...nomeansno

and they do it while using only 2 basses and some drums

and not to worry...you're not having a stroke...the vocals are in their native czech tongue

varlata.

DL: club 59

scratch acid - 1.2.87 - de effenaar - eindhoven,netherlands

the thing known as "scratch acid" will be on the move this coming fall

and here's a list of where not to be when that happens:

11.1 - variety playhouse - atlanta,ga

11.2 - cat's cradle - carrboro,nc

11.4 - 9:30 club - washington,dc

11.11 - lee's place - toronto,canada

11.12 - metro - chicago,il

12.13 - el rey theatre - los angeles,ca

12.14 - the fillmore - san francisco,ca

12.17 - neumos - seattle,wa

there will be more upcoming shows announced

and if you feel brave enough to show your face (or the rest of your body for that matter)...this is what you could very well experience for yourself

1 - eyeball
2 - lay screaming
3 - damned for all time*
4 - for crying out loud
5 - mess
6 - el espectro
7 - skin drips
8 - albino slug
9 - big bone lick
10 - s.d.b.j jam
11 - mary had a little drug problem
12 - cannibal
13 - this is bliss
14 - the greatest gift
15 - she said
16 - owner's lament

*=andrew lloyd webber cover

DL: scratch acid @de effenaar

Pines Of Nowhere - Pines Of Nowhere

Label: Slowdime
Year: 2000

Remember the old hardcore band Dead Image? Yeah, that's ok, most people probably don't either, but they were pretty good. Good enough that "ex-Dead Image" actually registered with me on some level. So Chris Turco of Dead Image, and later Oswego, had this brief band going from around 1999 to about 2002, and they played something not far off of what Dischord was releasing at that time, i.e herky-jerky rhythms (not far removed from their Minutemen via Gang Of Four influences) with shouty vocals, and a hint of late 80's Revolution Summer style proto-emo.
There's also a member of Trans Am all mixed up in here. You know, for all the Trans Am-heads out there.
When they play it straight, this band really clicks and unleashes some potent jams. Good shit.

DL

melvins/the jon spencer blues explosion - black betty

released 2011

yeah...this is one of those things that sold out as soon as the thought entered into thomas hazelmyer's head

it's both bands covering the leadbelly jam

your saturday nights just got a whole lot better

bam-ba-lam.

DL: black betty

clockcleaner - auf-wiedersehen

released 2010

this was the band's swan song

on this album...the band completely ditch all of their noise rock leanings and go full bore into some goth/shoegaze/post-punk territory (vocalist john sharkey could totally pass for some early bauhaus peter murphy)

so if you're down with bands like alien sex fiend...the birthday party...the cramps...medicine...joy division...

DL: auf-wiedersehen

skatenigs - chemical imbalance

released 1993

if buttholes are peep shows...then the 'nigs are the window to the soul

remember when industrial music was worth listening to?...ah,the early 90s...PSALM 69...BROKEN...TOO DARK PARK...ANGST...BEERS,STEERS AND QUEERS...

good times

you could also throw the skatenigs album STUPID PEOPLE SHOULDN'T BREED onto that list

this was a promo that was sent out to the radio stations (remember when bins at used cd stores were filled with these things?)

you get the radio remix and the video mix and the album version of "chemical imbalance"

DL: chemical imbalance

the jesus lizard - live at brixton academy 7"

released 1994

this was a one-sided 7" that came along with a copy of a zine called FEAR AND LOATHING (issue #21 to be exact) that was released over in london,england

1 - the art of self defense
2 - nub

DL: the jesus lizard @brixton academy

black congress - davidians 7"

released 2010

do you like the jesus lizard's pissed jeans?

well...you can either take the risk and steal them from off of the clothesline...or you could just download this

choose wisely

DL: davidians

Nudibranch - Automaton

Label: Self released
Year: 1995

A few weeks ago I had a hankering to digitize some records I've had sitting around being all analog and not being digital, so I asked my friend James Joyce (yes, THE James Joyce) if I could come over and listen to records, digitize them, and drink some beers. Not a bad night huh? So first off, we gotta big up Double J for the hospitality. Then, we gotta talk about this particular 'lil gem. When I was flipping through my 7"s, this one jumped out as the quintessential Shiny Grey Monotone candidate. It's a little known 1990's band that hailed from the once-and-future hotbed of Richmond, Virginia, that came along and blitzkrieged anyone lucky enough to see or hear them before splintering off into a hundred fragments (or in this case an equally mysterious/great band called Gingwine) before anyone even knew what was happening. Certainly you can hear the influence of hardcore in here (I would hope they had moshed their balls off at a few Four Walls Falling / Shadowman / Elizabeth Herz triple bills prior to forming this band), but they take it in a very distorted and blown-out direction, not unlike Pachinko, or someone else...who would also be characterized as "not unlike Pachinko". The vocals are a wash of muffled groans and bellows, the guitar cuts across rhythm section's pounding stutters as they drone, stop and start again. Noise-punk?
I only saw them play once (where upon I purchased this very record) and they were an unstoppable train that belted the sparse crowd across the face from start to finish. I also clearly remember the drummer absolutely staring a hole through my girlfriend (now wife, thank you very much [and yes, I'm sure she was thrilled the be there...I was "that guy" who drug his poor girlfriend to shows...and why she stuck with me I'll never know]) for the duration of the set, which somehow didn't make either of us uncomfortable, more like, "I wonder if that guy can hold this up the whole show?". It added to the overall strangeness of the band, in a good way, and made the performance all the more memorable (obviously, right? it was almost 20 years ago).
Highly, highly recommended.

DL

the blood brothers/milemarker split 7"

released 1999

post-punk emotional hardcore

do you like those words put in succession?

well then you're really going to enjoy this because this is what those words sound like

DL: the blood brothers/milemarker split

melvins - 1988 rehearsal

buzzo
dale
lorax

1 - intro
2 - your blessened
3 - pee wee from hell
4 - vile
5 - bang bang*
6 - creepy smell
7 - dead dressed
8 - echohead/don't piece me
9 - ever since my accident
10 - let god be your gardener

*=cher cover

DL: 1988 rehearsal

the swan king - eyes like knives

released 2011

take 1 part asschapel (vocalist dallas thomas)

take 1 part planes mistaken for stars (bassist jamie drier)

then add a guy from chicago,il named zafar musharraf on drums

and then you get something that would appeal to fans of bands with names like: drive like jehu...planes mistaken for stars...unwound...young widows

(though you don't necessarily have to like things in alphabetical order to dig this)

DL: eyes like knives

fire ants - stripped ep

released 1992

this what came out of former nirvana drummer chad channing...2 brothers of malfunkshun/mother love bone vocalist andrew wood...and a member of the methodists coming together

sound-wise...you can definitely tell it came out of seattle in 1992

DL: stripped ep

nirvana - 8.19.90 - the casbah - san diego,ca

on this date in the year 1990...this happened

kurt cobain
krist novoselic
dale crover

this isn't the entire show...but it's a decent chunk of it

and you should be happy with decent chunks

though the wall behind kurt's head wasn't

that's right...i went there

1 - in bloom
2 - floyd the barber
3 - love buzz*
4 - dive
5 - school
6 - big cheese
7 - about a girl
8 - stay away
9 - lithium
10 - scoff

*=shocking blue cover

DL: nirvana@the casbah

the united sons of toil/lars bang larsen split 7"

released 2011

this was sent my way by lead son of toil russell hall

this business was released over in germany to coincide with the band's first ever european tour (which you can learn all about here...and whilst there...you should see about ordering yourself an actual copy of this nice slice o' vinyl...but do it soonly as they're selling like whatever the vinyl equivalent of hotcakes is)

the united sons of toil continue to remind us that we'd let a hobo do things to us in a dark room to get the 90s back (oh...it's just me?)

lars bang larsen are essentially an instrumental band that hails from germany...so they allowed lead toiler russell to provide lyrics and vocals (with fellow tusot member bill borowski providing some howls)

so...go on...lather...rinse...buy some vinyl

oh...and click on the DL

DL: the united sons of toil/lars bang larsen split

goat punishment - live tribute to nirvana

now some of you may be looking at the above picture and thinking to yourself "hey,man...i've totally seen something like that somewhere before"

and you'd be right

it's obviously an homage to the frank zappa album SPEECH IMPEDOPHILE

seriously...go and look it up

the rest of us will wait

ok...now that we've gotten rid of that guy...

grAy was supposed to post this(and i'm paraphrasing here) when he "got off of his fat ass" (and i'm not saying that the man's ass is big...just don't let it catch you making eye contact with it)

this is weezer playing under a pseudonym somewhere in hollywood,ca back in 1998 (though grAy apparently has one that was played at the casbah in san diego,ca)

and i'm just gonna go ahead and say it: weezer should just abandon their future plans and travel the country playing nothing but pre-1991 nirvana

1 - mr. moustache
2 - aneurysm
3 - breed
4 - dive
5 - swap meet
6 - blew

DL: goat punishment

dinosaur jr - get me

released 1992

hello there

remember me?

and just when you thought that you'd gotten rid of that smell

"and just where have you been mister?"

well...let's just say that if you ever have to pull off the interstate to use the bathroom at a rest area...just make sure that if you do it at 3:00am in a stall that has a hole in the wall with the words "let's play mystery meat!!!" written over it in permanent marker...as tempted as you may be to play the game by seeing the words written in fancy lettering and the 3 exclamation points and the glitter...don't do it...just do your business and leave

but enough about me

this was a 12" that was released over in the uk

you get a song from the WHERE YOU BEEN album ("get me")...a flying burrito brothers cover ("hot burrito #2")...and an acoustic version of the song "quest"

and now if you'll excuse me...i have to go and remove the shag carpeting grAy put everywhere in my absence (and no...the stains don't make it look psychedelic)

DL: get me

Vaz + Hawks + Pygmy Shrews + Black Skies = Atlanta September 3rd!

If you live within the sound of my voice (or the 404, 678, 770, or 706 area codes), I hereby decree that the evening of September 3rd, 2011 shall be filled with loud music, preferably loud, aggressive, music, and you kind sirs (and that one girl who reads this) are ordered in attendance!

I mean for reals...it's Vaz...ex-Hammerhead for Christ's sake! And Hawks, thee best band in all of Atlanta right now (although, truth be told, there's this upstart group calling themselves "The Black Crowes"...look out Hawks, they seem hungry)! And Pygmy Shrews...diabolical hardcore oblivion straight out of 1979 Los Angeles County albeit from 2011 Brooklyn! And then, to top it all off, fucking Black Skies...the heaviest thing to come out of the Research Triangle since the Shiny Beast / Regraped split lp!

Look ya'll, I am getting older (and fatter...what?!), and my evenings are pretty sacred to me, but this lineup is just too good to pass up, even for an old fart such as myself. So if I can motivate out the front door to have my face sandblasted for a few hours and knock back 13-18 beers in the process (maybe that would explain the fatness?), then there's no excuse for a young, virile, whippersnapper such as yourself not to go.

You have been put on notice.

Facepuller - Anatomy Of Noise

Label: Bang On
Year: 1995

Am I mistaken in remembering that this band had a brief brush with "fame" when Drew Barrymore wore one of their tshirts on the Arsenio Hall Show (or a similar talk show)? Did I just make that up?
Well, Drew Barrymore or not, I have always been a fan of this band's metallic noise rock. It's got a Pachinko via Fudge Tunnel via Tad sound going on, and I'm not sure what about that could be bad. Unless you just really hate Drew Barrymore that much, then I guess it's possible your listening experience could be tainted.

DL

Fugazi - Peel Session 1988

Label: Bootleg
Year: 1988

Someone, and I'm not naming names, said something to me to the effect of (and I'm paraphrasing, but you'll get the point), "what are you going to do, stay up late blogging about obscure bands?".
Why? What time is it anyway? 11:05pm? And what the hell is this "Fugazi" band?

DL

No Knife - Drunk On The Moon

Label: Goldenrod
Year: 1995

Maybe more important than explaining this San Diego band's melding of post hardcore with indie rock, is the disturbing lack of Life's Blood videos currently on YouTube. What kind of crazy, mixed-up world are we living in where it's easier to track down a clip of "white girl does the Dougie" (RIP, for reals) than it is to find some live footage of Life's Blood crushing through "Left Out On The Ice To Die"?! Not the kind of world I want my children to grow up in, that's for sure!

DL

Janitor Joe - KCL b/w Bullethead

Label: Amphetamine Reptile
Year: 1992

Janitor Joe are like a depressed and angry Cheap Trick, which is, in my mind at least, a compliment. Of course, you're not to be expected to be completely in tune with my mind, as I don't pretend to understand what's in your mind, or minds, or one collective mind. I'm sure whatever it is, it would be mildly shocking at first, but ultimately soothing in the long term. Not unlike a hot dog eating contest, or a street riot, or something.

DL

Whores - Ruiner

Label: Bandcamp
Year: 2011

When I was in a functioning band, we played a few shows with Whores, and I just thought they were the bee's knees. Complete annihilation every song, never throttling back to let you catch your breath, the band just bulldozed through a set of vintage noise rock like a baseball bat to your neck.
The drummer in a live situation can take a little getting used to, as he sets up his kit front and center, but orients it sideways just to make sure you get a good look at him, then proceeds to showboat beyond Tommy Lee styled theatrics, throwing sticks, climbing over the drums, shooting the audience the bird, yelling, spitting, whatever. I hated that at first as I thought it distracted from the music, but over time I got used to it, and a friend of a friend who recorded these songs informed me that he just plays like that, even in practice or during recording, it's just the way he plays. Fair enough.
Anycrap, if you like straight ahead rocking destructo-thud, then this one is for you. Hammerhead meets La Gritona! The link below takes you to their Bandcamp site, and you can listen to the record for free, but download the fucker for $5, it's well worth it. Hail Atlanta Noise Rock!

DL

Anodyne + Keelhaul - Split

Label: Chainsaw Safety
Year: 2002

Have you listened to that new Tombs record yet? You should.
So if you have, and you wanted to get a little deeper into the history of Tombs, you could certainly do worse than this two song offering from pre-Tombs Mike Hill band Anodyne. You'll get one full-on earth scorching destructo metal assault, and one disturbingly calm Throbbing Gristle cover. Yin and yang? Peanut butter and chocolate? Country and Western?
Side two is Keelhaul, being the best Keelhaul they can be, and then being an even better Keelhaul because they become Craw for a minute. Not that Keelhaul don't already have Craw DNA all over them (just...not in my eyes...please), but bringing in Joe McTighe to guest on vocals exhumes the Ghost of Craws Past, and gives this ole man goosebumps.
Raging upon raging.

DL

Wildildlife - Pea's Feast

Label: Chicas de Hoy
Year: 2007

I've been on vacation, and otherwise traveling for work the past week or so, accounting for the shameful lack of posts here. My apologies to our faithful 15...maybe 17 readers.

As far as "new" bands who consistently bring the thunder, and bring that thunder alongside a delivery of weirdness, there aren't many that can compete with Wildildlife. They are never predictable, but also never irritating, even when they jar your senses by interjecting a noisy sax skronk in the middle of an otherwise healthy post-something sludgy groove. It works. They can go from Harvey Milk (whom they did a split with) to Helios Creed to Bailter Space to Butthole Surfers and back all in the course of one song, and somehow the ride makes total sense. Shouldn't, but it does.

This was released as a CD-R by the band after recording it themselves in their practice space, and later Crucial Blast packaged it up with some demo material, and you can still get that version from the label. You actually should get that version at some point, it's highly recommended.

DL