5.24.2009

BARK HARD.



Straight-ahead / fast-as-fuck / chaotic / Zorlac--shreddin' skatecore from Houston, TX. fronted by none other than John "Tex" Gibson & Todd Prince - both major (pro) players in the Texas skate(rock) scene back in the eighties.
John can still rip it these days - I'm assuming Todd does as well, and while this isn't your usual "tough guy" hardcore, it is without a doubt a solid piece of hardcore / skate rock history.
"Skaterock" as a sub-genre hasn't held up real well over the years (if at all, really), and these guys were better than most of the pack - that goes for skating ability as well as rockin' ability, by the way.

Goes down down great with some snapback-gnarlers on fat coping (followed by a couple cold ones, bro)...



Bark Hard - The National Band of Texas


Link in comments.


* Re-Upped: 09.14.2010*

5.20.2009

MÖL TRIFFID.



I've been sitting on this one for a while...

I must warn you right now - it's hard for me write about these guys as they were/ are family to me.
I was friends with them in Ann Arbor, MI in the late eighties, housemates for a while in the early nineties, then they migrated to San Francisco & I followed suit six months later in early 1992, and once again, we were housemates for a brief period.

Let me digress for a moment, and speak on Ann Arbor "back in the day"...
In the eighties, you could:
1). Get a ticket for skateboarding - it would cost you $50.
2). Get a ticket for weed possession - it would cost you $5.00.
3). You could rent a big room for the summer in a huge frat house for $100 a month.

Ostensibly, I spent a few winters working shitty kitchen jobs, saving up $$$ / weed / acid, renting one of those rooms, quitting said shitty kitchen job, and basically trippin' / smokin' / skatin' / rockin' and drinkin' lots of vodka & lemonade all summer long.

There was a small hotbed of bands going on in A2 back then; Club Heidelberg & The Blind Pig were solid venues, and while the scene spawned some under-appreciated gems, it also spawned some seriously ego-driven bullshit bands as well, and those who figured out that A2 was starting to no longer be a haven for true weirdos (high rents were well on the way), well... WE LEFT!

(Editor's Note):
While I am a blog purist who likes the flavor of a blog written by ONE PERSON (I hate "blog team" blogs too) - and when I say one person I mean that IT WAS WRITTEN BY ONE PERSON, NOT CUT-AND-PASTED FROM THE INTERNET - I am going to hand over the rest of this post to a true old friend by the name of Smelly.

He was the critical link in pushing this band to smear its beautifully-grotesque din upon an SF music scene that no longer exists in the terms of sincerity, originality, and most importantly flat-out / balls-out ROCK POWER.

Sit back, relax, and get a lesson in early nineties art-metal, A2-to-SF style. Or don't.

This one's for me anyways...

***(A concise missive on the brief history of Möl Triffid)***

by Smelly (proofed by L-R V)

"Spawned via the boredom of mid-Michigan and their love for metal mania, a band that remains to this day misunderstood, underrated, & betrayed by hipsters and scenester from the 90's. Their arrival in SF in 1991 was fantastic on the backs of Jesus Lizard (Duane loved them), to their first solo show at the Chameleon Club (w/ Tribe 8), Möl Triffid were never, ever welcomed to SF or the Bay Area scene, yet they lived and experienced some of the best underground shows of the era.

Manic metal riddled with lyrical paralysis from an over-educated book worm spread thin by the nervous attention of stage fright, Kurt by far was a freak performance. Days and hours before the show he'd be sent to mental and physical convulsion(s) by the "back-stage butterflies".
More common than not, many actors/singers/musicians/poets do suffer from stage fright. You'd never had known it with Kurt because oh his strong physique, and appearance of outer manhood.
He has BIG BALLS.

Kimo Ball remains today as one of the 6-string shredders who have yet to be noticed and supported - maybe Duane from Jesus lizard saw this before others? With Kimo's pure intent, and delivery of imagination and power chords, Möl Triffid remained unspoken for and unacknowledged though the team of lyrical madness and powerful guitar attack that were superior to any hip bands of the 90's.

Möl Triffid survived a myriad of change moving from A2 to SF.
Morphing and dealing with the inevitable drummer changes, Austin was soon to take the throne of thud and thunder from Scott, and their sound changed and swung a bit more to the "art" of metal and not the "threat" of metal.

The underlying factor that kept Möl Triffid from succeeding on a level of acceptance in the scene was just one - it was not their ability to write rock, deliver it and slaughter it, it was in fact that they weren't social, nor did they have the suaveness of a social elitist among scensters, whether it was the grungy / post-punk scene of A2, or the art indie rock of SF.
They never had a spokesman with the ability to rub elbows with the likes of scenesters / hipsters, cool cats, or those media moguls of the weekly papers and zines. College radio ignored them and top-ranking band members from other bands feared the mighty Möl Triffid.

Möl Triffid did better on the road then where they lived, loved and worked - unexpected audiences could see and
feel
the vibe of passion at traveling / touring road shows.
Though Möl Triffid had very little travel and touring experience, they did spread across the Midwest to the mountains of Colorado, to the valleys and peeks of California, and up and down the West Coast.

Bass monster Dave S. had a brief stint with (the) Melvins (featured bassist in GRUNGE: The Movie) while Buzz was recovering from soda pop and licorice addiction. Dave now has a jazz band / teaches blues/jazz back in Ann Arbor once again, and plays in several A2 Gypsy swing, other different style bands.

Kimo went on to play in a pop band called Griddle, and now has teamed up with Ralph Spight and Jello Biafra - you KNOW who they are, right?
Scott is somewhere on an Indian reservation, Austin performs in an art rock band, and Kurt has become a film maker / novelist".



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Möl Triffid - Touch the Monkey




Thanks to Dave S. for getting in touch & sending the recordings - I missed them all these years and thanks to Smelly for the Lessons of the Road (amongst other things)...

5.13.2009

ANGER.



A long-lost-in-my-garage recent unearthing, The Magic City's Anger was a fertile amalgamation of the upstate NY sXe thug-core sound with the brutality of classic Floridian Death Metal - the final element coming from the hands & feet of Mr.Alex Marquez, formerly of Malevolent Creation & Demolition Hammer (among others).

I'm pretty sure not alot of people have listened to this; check it out as it may surprise you - a lost classic from my collection for sure...



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Anger - Miami, FL




(It is suspect at best to think that the band photo above is actually of THIS Anger, but if you think about it, HOW SICK DOES THAT LINEUP LOOK, HUH)?


Now playing: Helios Creed - "Nugg" the Transcript
via FoxyTunes

5.07.2009

BRAINOIL.



You ever been to Oakland, CA???

The East Bay ain't no joke, and Brainoil is the soundtrack to your apprehension....

The region has always bred (punk/HC/metal) bands that stand out above the rest, and while I tend to shy away from posting much sludge around here due to legions of overly-mediocre bands that have saturated the genre -(look around, bro)- Brainoil has always hulked above the rest.

No question about it.



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Brainoil - Brainoil




5.01.2009

CRETIN.



It's hard to believe that Cretin has been around since 1992 seeing as how they hadn't released a recording until 2004.
The band has been on hold more often not, but the material that has seen the light of day is top-notch.
It's hard for me to not think of such greats as Terrorizer & Repulsion when I listen to this - yes, it's that good!

The band has been threatening to release a new album for a few years now, but have been on hold while lead Cretin (Dan) makes the (full) transformation from frontman to frontwoman (Marissa).



(Link will open in new window)


Cretin - Freakery