Lots of heavy as shit singles and bands to watch for you today on review stalker. Keep things coming and know that we do listen and share things first on our soundcloud.
To start check out the A-side off this new 7″ from this noisy band from Queens called Dead Waves. Recorded in one take with Mr. Albini – just how he likes it. This tune has got enough stomach churning distortion to make your seizures and morning shakes feel like a good thing. PRF crew alert here this is right up your melvins encrusted alley.
Next up is Weird Womb from NY and the A-side “Pale Piss” from their 7″ ep Ruined by the 90’s recorded at Vanancy nyc. Tighter than mudhoney with Henry Rollins style singing. Maybe a little more on the Guy Picciotto style in the vocal department when i think about all the tracks. This is more punk than 90’s grunge in southern California Wasted Youth kind of way. You can order the 7″ WEIRDWOMB.COM.
Check out the grinding grunge off of the Bay Area’s post-punks Street Eaters. Here’s a track from their upcoming release Blood::Muscles::Bones on Nervous Intent Records. The 1st track reverse tracks from this coming record starts off like Hüsker Dü’s Dreams Reoccurring off of Zen Arcade then it goes strongly forward. Female fronted vocals which reminds us of Amanda Black Wine(Don Giovani).
On tour now doing all of North America so be brave and indulge yourself and check them out live they will be on the East Coast in July! Full date listing on streeteaters.com
These next guys called Hive Bent – reminds me of a version of Battles meets No Age. Really all there is to say. Check them out pretty big sounds for what sounds like drums and super sonically heavily distored bass. Sure to break a bass string near you or at least your punk hymen. Whatever comes first.
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MUSIC REVIEW: We love the idea of having a ton of meaningless short songs hit you one by one instead of long as winded punk drama. The Ramones made it ok and these tunes are half the length. When it’s good the fact that it’s the same melody over and over and the same progression means there is room to grow. Enter LA’s Girl Tears with no keyboards to be heard and where size/length/width does not matter. Just good old buzzcock like sing-song tunes where it goes by so fast you can’t even pretend to know the lyrics. The same 4/4 beats hit you on the head like highschool popularity contest. Sometimes faster. Sometimes slower. Sometimes in double time. The attitude has the simple energy where one song just runs into the next for no apparant reason other than they want to do their job and get back to the bar. Job well done and thanks for not snuffing out punk and smothering it with all the extra stuff. Total running time is faster than teenage sex.
Genius is a band from South Korea but going for an American sound heard many, many times before, yet not easily definable. If pressed for comparisons with Western counterparts, I would say somewhere between the Night Marchers(San Diego), maybe even Spoon-like (Austin), even coming off vaguely Violent Femmish (Milwaukee) at times.
Overall Beaches, their 3rd full length album, is not bad but doesn’t stick either. While some songs like “Simple and Normal”, “Catch A Job” or Thanksgiving” catch your attention, interest quickly wanes like a roller-coaster reaching the crest before the inevitable plunge to quickly finding something else to listen to. After a couple of struggled listens, I can’t tell if Genius’ tedious, lackadaisical approach is deliberate and they are just too cool for school for everyone (especially themselves), or just plain lazy.
RIYL: Teengenerate, Nine Pound Hammer, Empty Records
We dig our old pal Sluggo; a former bartender and booking guy at the Court Tavern in New Brunswick NJ. Although he goes by The Slugger on his weekly Radio show on WRSU radio show (Thurs 6-7pm 88.7fm). His friends call him Doug. In this cast he plays a solid set of some pretty awesome Pre and Post punk rock and New Wave. Every week is something different though and he does NOT take requests. Basically if you’ve ever put a quarter in jukebox at the Court is what listening to this show is like. Almost. Except for the drunks breathing on you at the bar and the old movies playing on VHS on the old TV. A education none the less with tunes by Butthole Surfers, Devo, Captain Beefheart, Jonathan Richmond, The Cars, Mission of Burma, Roxy Music, The Sparks, Peru Ubu, The Damned, XTC and a ton shit I’ve never heard ever before except by name and some more popular tunes. Follow him on Facebook and also check out his band Mr. Payday. Also a education in what punk rock should be like.
Fascinating behind the scene stories about one of the coolest legendary punk rock clubs, City Gardens, in the very scenic Trenton New Jersey, spanning the late 1970’s to 1994. DJ Jeff Werz talks for 1:45 and plays lots of music with the authors. Amy Yates Wuelfing and Steven DiLodovico co-authors of “No Slam Dancing, No Stage Diving, No Spikes” talk about putting this book together and doing over 420 interviews! The book is named after the large ass sign at the door. This is when punk was dangerous and skin heads ruled the roost and one week you could go see the Circle Jerks and then the next Fishbone or ween. The book will be published March 10, 2013 and is available online at www.noslamdancing.com. We only got thrown out one time for stage diving at City Gardens and that was enough. My back still hurts!
ALBUM REVIEW: The shear velocity of the punk rawk squaks coming out of the band Poor Lily (Bronx, NY) reminds is what we liked when we first heard Fresh Fruit for Rotting vegetables by the Dead Kennedy’s or Circle Jerk’s – Group Sex. There are more to the dynamics besides playing fast and the tidal wave of the 19 rip-roaring tunes on Vuxola is surely the evidence. You could easily bag and tag it with tunes titled “Microwave” and “Slurping Sludge” which seem to even harp back to themes that were sung about in the 80’s! Hell the singer even seems to be channeling Jello but you know what? It’s super fun and we don’t care. This is a great gate-way to the punk rock genre for the kids. Don’t we need more gutter punks anyway to remind us why we rebelled in our youth in the first place? Highly recommended so you can annoy your neighbors. What evidence do you really need?
I don’t know shit about this band called CRYMNL HYGNE but they have enough variety in their songs to satisfy most pavement fans, brit punk and the Swell Maps with one firm kick to the balls. I don’t know how I do it but somehow this stuff finds me this way. Which is really is the soul purpose of this blog to make me turn on my bar stool. There have been dry spells at times then suddenly a few random hits and I’m in cheap beer heaven. Mangod I hope there is such a thing? I would post every song of their’s if I could but you’ll just have to go listen for yourself on their bandcamp page like I did and drop them some dough. It’s raw at times like sorry ma forgot to take out the trash the suddenly they show-off with a guitar melody or two. Yeah this full length is that fun and raw. This is everything a college drop-out rock experience should sound like. Anyway, thank these fine folks over at www.smallsmilerecords.com collective who can spells better than us for sure.
SHOW PREVIEW: Beware this is celebratory and shameless plug for a bunch bands that used to play The Court Tavern in New Brunswick, New Jersey a whole fuckin’ bunch. Before the Gaslight Anthem & Screaming Females there were these bands who played this juke joint more times than these bands can collectively count. The Court Tavern was our local version of CBGB’s situated in downtown New Brunswick. Forever, this was the venue of choice to see a band live where chromosomes and some DNA floated around freely. Wasn’t too big or too small but basically it was cruel and fair. The sound system was amazing and if you played there often enough the bartenders always bought you a drink or two even when you weren’t playing. That was respect. Anyway, on Saturday May 19th a bunch of the old guard will be playing a show together at The Brook Arts Center in Bound Brooke NJ up against that forsaken Bamboozle fest. So come-out if you live nearby or want to get away from the Assbury crowds. This will be well worth the 10 spot to catch DJ Ed Wong & Lisa Uber spinning songs with some local Art along with music by Aviso’Hara , The Wooden Soldiers, P.E.D, The Blisters, The Stuntcocks and Jigs and The Pigs. Facebook invite is here for directions and details. The doors open at 7:30 and show starts promptly at 8pm sharp.
Here’s a couple by what we consider the band known as The Blisters. This is punk rock version that Nirvana once invited to open for them in Ohio. There’s a bunch of bands with the same name but these guys are the originals. Used to be bands could call each other out on having put out a release first to claim the name. I suppose we have alternate realities. If you dig the replacements and pop-punk then should be right in the neighborhood of your like meter. Most make-up wearing bands are not worth the recycled beer can their music is made of. This is pure New Jersey rock-n-roll. I’m gonna take b/w Leaving you MP3s by The Blisters
Next up is P.E.D (post ejaculation depression). Cute acronym right? This is a infamous New Brunswick band that was fronted by Samuel Shiffman from Complex Records who personally turned me onto the Chicago band The Poster Children. He’s also notorious and infamous for the running of the mouth or the lack there of living among us but not seen. He’s a lurker and somehow he’s coming out (not ghey) hole to make some noise with the rest of the rock geezer.
I can say with pure unadulterated glee what a motherfucking miserable sod I was for so long. I can’t say that I was really look back with anything but horror… actually I have to say that I really don’t look back at all…” – Sam 2010
Here’s a whole diatribe from Sam where the quote above was ripped from on Jim Testa’s Jersey Beat.com.
Johnny & J.J. Stuntcock Melody w/ Chris Pierce on Drums!
Also sharing the stage will be The Stuntcocks which have had as many rotating members as any of the above bands.
Johnny Stuntcock has been the steady anchor all this while. The Stuntcocks are New Brunswick institution all their own.
Punk Rock Guy MP3 by The Stuntcocks. This is a classic.
The first band and real reason to get there early is seeing Greg Di Gesu’s band The Wooden Soldiers. His music has gone by different names but has been the corner stone of roots rock meets Nick Lowe on the pot run you just made up from the Everglades. He’s street poet who stories weave in and out of the groovy grooves. Enjoy! Commercial Ave MP3 by The Wooden Soldiers from hippies, punks and rubber men (1987) A Thousand Miles Away MP3 from Lazy Man’s Load (1989)
Here’s a video by Jigs & The Pigs who are headlining the event. They were a real early band that played the Court. Sort The Who meets, New Wave meets Iggy Pop. You decide. It’s going to be an amazing night.
Some sounds like these sounds: Can’t Hardly Wait(live) MP3 by The Replacements from Shit, Shower & Shave It’s A Long Way Back To Germany B-side MP3 by The Ramones from Rocket To Russia Dynamite Chair MP3 by Poster Children from Tool Of The Man The Diamond Church Street Choir MP3 by The Gaslight Anthem from American Slang Embrace The Sound MP3 by Drag The River from Closed Birthday Boy (Ween cover) MP3 by Chris Harford from Band of Changes. This is one of my favorite songs in the world. The first time I heard this covered was at the court tavern around 1996 and it was a version like this by Chris. Cool eh?
Glen Matlock was there writing most of tunes on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols. Maybe not cool or stupid enough to stick around for their run but in post-pistol life he’s cashed in. We know the face of the pistols infamous line-up but most record geeks know he was one of the actual musicians with some song writing skills. Here’s a couple but gotta say not much as changed since the rockn-roll genre was invented but somehow was the intro-drug for most of us into punk because of it’s easy accessibility.
City Gardens Riot on The Dance Floor film skate deck
As hard as we may try to write about new music the past keep coming up again and again like unwanted overgrown hair and reminds me just how truly awesome things were way back when the slang “that was so 10 minutes ago…” never crossed our minds because the landscape of haircuts were so diverse from band to band and scene to scene. We were constantly consuming so much great music at such a rate that personally I think you’d be a fool to stay affiliated to any one genre of music but lets just say punk and alternative music encompassed everything. Including the Skinheads, Skate punks, Ska fans, hardcore fans and metal kids all under one roof.
From about 1986 through 1995 or so I used to go to as many shows as I could at City Gardens in Trenton, NJ which was as dangerous as Newark. A couple times my friends and I showed up to a $5 show like Fugazi and it was just sold out with a line still wrapped around the 1,100 capacity cinder block club. This was pre-internet so the only way you’d ever know about a show in my area was by word of mouth or from a flyer. The best part was the diversity of bands that Randy Now used to book anywhere from The Ramones to Robyn Hitchcock to 24/7 Spyz. This club is where I stage dove for the first and the last time to Fishbone. I got kicked out of the club after falling on my back then paid my way back in again to see the rest of the show from the sidelines. Luckily it was raining and I convinced the door guy it was not sweat but I was just wet. I still think my back cricks from that fall but regardless it was so worth being part of historic venue and experience of really being in the mix at a live show.
There are a little under 5 days left to donate anywhere from $25 to as much as you want to become either a Crowd Surfer or attain Club Owner status over on Kickstarter page to help bring the story of City Gardens and Randy Now to the screen in the flick Riot On The Dance Floor. The more dough the better the soundtrack will be for this movie which; will help Director Steve Tozzi bring this film truly to life. Anyway, here’s some bands I can remember seeing and as I write I keep thinking of more bands I saw play there.
Some bands I saw at City Gardens: good clean fun MP3 by Descendents from I don’t want to grow up Knock It MP3 Fishbone from In Your Face (1986) I Just Want Some Skank | Beverly Hills MP3 by Circle Jerks from Group Sex The Godfather MP3 Dag Nasty from Wig-out at Denko’s (dischord) Turned Out MP3 The Rollins Band from Lifetime (1988) My Wife and My Dead Wife MP3 by Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians from Fegmania! (1985) Waiting Room MP3 Fugazi from 13 Songs Monkey Trick MP3 The Jesus Lizard from Goat Ocean Size MP3 by Jane’s Addiction from Nothing Shocking Hands All Over MP3 by Soundgarden from Louder Than Love We Care A Lot (Slash Version) | Epic MP3 by Faith No More from This is it These two songs pretty much almost demolished the building. I remembering back at the bar trying to get drink and then running right into the mosh-pit when they played Epic. Fun times.
There are bunch more bands of lesser status but none-the less of same level of importance so maybe I’ll do a follow-up post of tunes. I know I’m leaving out a few or at least ones I know I saw!
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