DEAD MOON.

There's nothing to hide behind here, and it's not like Fred Cole needs to - motherfucker lays his whiskey-soaked soul out there on the regular - his wife Toody by his side, each of them slinging & swinging their rock-axes through the depths of murky vulnerability.

In the end, they always come through, and if there's one dude in rock 'n' roll who is on the same level that Lemmy is, legend-wise (it certainly ain't Ozzy any more, son), it's Mr. Fred Cole. Dude has been slugging it out on the stage for 48 years now, and the plan is that THERE IS NO PLAN (other than to keep laying it down on the daily until the day he dies).

With soul power like this, there's no need to worry about the immediate future from what I can tell.

Dead Moon - Hard Wired in Ljubljana

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ANGRY SAMOANS.

No need for a punk history lesson here, instead we'll just get to the (leftover) meat of the matter as I finally get around to posting up again after the Turkey Day Madness (as it was around these parts anyways).

For your aural satiation today, I offer up a collection of the first four albums from one of L.A.'s earliest punk, er, "hardcore" bands. They remind me at times of a So-Cal version of the Dead Boys, but on different drugs, etc.

A classic bit of punk history here, grab it here... .

Angry Samoans - The Unboxed Set

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DIE KREUZEN.

The pride of Milwaukee Hardcore, these guys need no introduction (at least around the L-RV)…

Here we have a promotional-only collection that spans their entire recorded output (although this one is lacking heavily in the early material department).
None the less, these guys were great all the way until the end - the flavor may have changed a bit over the years, but for myself (and many others), it's easy to say that they were a truly unique band that transcended the term "hardcore", yet were more hardcore than most when it came down to their approach to tone, melody, songwriting, etc. Dig.

Die Kreuzen - Internal

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WAYNE KRAMER.

As a kid growing up in a no-way-out / burned-out General Motors town in mid-Michigan, The Brother Wayne Kramer always "spoke" to me. His playing in the MC5 fanned the flames of many a revolt in the Seventies; be them political demonstrations, or of "the innner self".
Sadly, the MC5 went down in flames like only they could do it - they will always be legend.

They don't make protest bands anymore, kid.

Wayne has been there & done that more than twice, and has played with the likes of everyone from GG Allin to Red Rodney to Johnny Thunders to The Melvins & quite a few other bad-asses in between. These days, he spends most of his time giving hope to "correctional facility" prisoners via his Jail Guitar Doors foundation, as well as scoring the music for the "television-awesomeness" known as Eastbound & Down.

The man has risen from a dark past - to shine like a motherfucker - to say the least.

Ain't nothin' wrong with that - most of us can only hope to attain some semblance of inner peace, right?

Six strings and a grip of soul.
Fuck yes.

Wayne Kramer - The Hard Stuff + 4

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PETER & THE TEST TUBE BABIES.

I remember listening to this record for the first time - I was living in my Aunt Gloria's basement in downriver Detroit, circa 1986. I was 17, freshly out of high school in my small Tri-Cities Area town - (Bay City) - and trying to "live the dream" of moving to Detroit to be a "skatepunk". I was bagging groceries during the day & driving my shitty car all over to The Motor City at night looking for skate spots & girls & generally a good time, ya know?

(I didn't mention that my aunt was / is a born-again X-tian who put up w/ my heathen ass, but none the less, she was awesome as fuck & let me do my thing. She also made some serious carnitas & homemade chorizo, so why would I bother to complain)?

Anyways, to make a long story short, I first heard this while listening to a "Brave New Waves" radio broadcast on CJAM out of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. That's also where I heard a ton of stuff ranging from bands like Alien Sex Fiend running the gamut of "alternative" all the way to Black Flag & all points of chaos / art-damage in between.

I haven't listened to this album in a really long time, but every time I hear it, I still feel as though it is a "classic" U.K. punk album. The mix is a bit thin, but the riffs on this thing are epic. Excellent rhythm section & vocal harmonies abound as well. A band that definitely has their own sound. Not much of the rest of their catalog speaks to me, but it ain't bad - it's just that this album (for me anyways) is their pinnacle.

Peter & The Test Tube Babies - The Mating Sounds Of South American Frogs

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RUDIMENTARY PENI.

Not much needs to be said about the legacy of this band that still ain't finished...

Rudimentary Peni is one of those timeless punk bands that everyone seems to be a fan of, or refers to as an influence, yet no one even comes close to the way they sound.

That is a good thing.

What I offer to you today is also a good thing - the demos for the DEATH CHURCH album - such a classic - well fuck - ALL of their recorded output is classic, honestly, but um… can I use any more hyphens and parentheses and create more run-on sentences?

YES I CAN…

Not much bottom end in the mix, but all the fury & anguish is in this THIRTY YEAR-OLD RECORDING. I'll bet most of you were still a few years away from being mistakes in your dad's ball-sac when this came out...

Rudimentary Peni - Death Church (Demos)

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Enjoy this recording - heading off to Detroit for a week.

I'm hoping to get one more post up this week, so check back soon (all three of you who actually read this shit & comment, etc).

BEEFEATER.

Been quite a while since I last listened to this…

Bought this when it came out - out of print now, really Dischord? - and damn if it ain't a psychedelic weirdo hippie record that is PUNK as FUCK.

The lineup of this band just looks so wrong that it is absolutely right. The perfect melding of a bunch of dudes who don't fit the rules of the "School of Punk" (as far appearances & musical styles go), and this is why their material is (still to this day) is so unique.

This is a band you'll either love or hate, but in my honest opinion, Fred Smith is one of the most unsung hardcore guitarists ever. Imagine him in a band w/ the other Fred Smith (MC5) - crushing.

Light up, lights down, rock out, etc.

Beefeater - Plays For Lovers / House Burning Down

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FEAR.

Not much to say here - it's fuckin' FEAR!!!

They've been featured here possibly more than any other band; this recording has good sound as well as a tight set of hits - FEAR in their heyday, if you will - AND YOU WILL…

Fear - W.O.W. Hall, Eugene, OR 09.17.1982

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TOILING MIDGETS.

"UNREST IS RIGHT"…

Probably one of the three hardest records I've ever tried to describe would be "Sea of Unrtest" by San Francisco's own Toiling Midgets.
At some points, it oozes some of the most blissful melody ever, but then the turn-around comes and you find yourself alone, desolate, naked, cold, ugly, and trembling in fear - yet it feels incredibly RIGHT - and the stark solace becomes your (best) frienemy.

Huh?

There's about a thousand fucking shitty bands that owe this band a paycheck or two, and while they'll never get the credit they deserve, I can rest assured knowing that I've done my part to help you fill in the blanks of (lost & under-appreciated) S.F. punk/hardcore/rock history.

Oh, and by the way, if you need a stiff drink or a cold beer, stop by the Lucky 13 bar in the Castro / S.F. - Craig (guiarist) pours the drinks there a few days a week. I'll see you there.

You can buy me a shot of Hornitos, bitch.

Toiling Midgets - Sea of Unrest.

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FEAR.

It shouldn't take much for you to realize that Fear was arguably one of the greatest punk/hardcore bands that ever took the stage.

As players, they were highly underrated in the chops/skills department - these dudes could play - and their style was unique.
Excellent songwriting, with some serious acid-tongued socio-political / motherfucker lyrics to boot.

Lee Ving needs to write a book, or have someone write this man's life story, as he has (so far) lead a seriously charmed life.

No need for me to keep preaching to the choir, so go for it and grab this great-sounding recording of the boys tearing it up in Hollywood on Halloween Night way back in 1979 - were you even born yet?

(I was twelve, by the way)…



Fear - 10.31.1979 Hong Kong Cafe, Los Angeles, CA

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