OK... FINALLY, another e-version of the Teen Scene.  Can't believe
the last one was in late *June*!  I gotta apologize for that... it mainly
happened 'cuz the print version of #53 didn't come out till mid-late
August.  And that 'cuz Quisp got too busy to work on the layout and I had
to do it myself.  Please note, I am NOT blaming Quisp for desertion or
anything, just stating what happened.  Anyway, that should also serve as
an explanation for why some of the stuff inside is kinda old.  Well, let's
stop in for some business stuff, then you can get down to the good stuff
(yeah, I don't much care to read the business crap, either.)

Inspired by Mr. DJ Johnson of the excellent Cosmik Debris e-zine (the Surf
Summit found in the last couple issues was simply incredible, so point
your browser at http://www.greatgig.com/cosmikdebris), I've decided a
table of comments would be in order this time.  Of course, DJ sets it all up
and makes it look nice.  I'm way too lazy.  So here's a quick rundown of
what's inside and in what order...

BUSINESS JUNK... basically just back issues, ad rates, all rights reserved,
etc.
INTRO... what do *you* think this is?
LETTERS... just one, actually
THE TOUR... I spent five nights in a row seeing The Muffs, The Queers, &
Cub
THE STATICS... "Uncle Bob" Kondrak talks with Zack
AFTERSHOCK NUMERO UNO... Case Elliott reports from the 1st post
GShock garagefest
REQUIEM FOR A RECORD STORE... Pier Platters is gone and I'm
bummed
DARIN LIN WOOD... "Uncle Bob" chats with DLW about his various
projects
BRIAN WILSON LIVE... The Platterpuss' dream come true
CALIFORNIA SCENE... Matt Fidelibus hands over an update
THE ROCKINGHAMS... Do The Pop editor Alan Wright reports on these
Power Popsters
THE CREATION... the best Mod group ever and a recent CD-EP
DM 3 UPDATE... Perth correspondent Michael Seman tells us what's up
with Dom & Co.
THE MAKERS LIVE... R. Salvo catches 'em in their hometown of Spokane
RANDOM NOTES... just me talking about whatever (mainly reading
material)
ZINES... a whole bunch this time
5 INCH DIAMETER... CDs from The Swingin' Neckbreakers, Flat Duo
Jets, Flamin' Groovies, Vacant Lot, and a whole lot more
ALL BY MYSELF... singles and such
HIGH TIDE & BONFIRES... surf sounds
COMPS... just a few
YET MORE REVIEWS... a few more of various types
GOT LIVE IF YOU WANT IT... 'tis verily true, @ 4 months worth (edited
down)
NEWS BITS... much of this right from the bands themselves, in msgs to TS
HQ
ADDRESSES... where to get this stuff

BUSINESS-TYPE STUFF

BACK ISSUES:
       Since I've got the originals to every issue, I can still go out and
make copies of just about any issue you might want.  Personally, I'd prefer
you didn't go below #30 or so, 'cuz I find some of these things to be an
embarrassment, but the choice is yours. Unlike other 'zines, though, I'm
not gonna go thru a huge list of what's in each one.  This mag has come a
long way in the past five years, though I'd say we've stayed pretty true to
the same sort of music we started with.  (Ish #1 began with a review of
The Gories trip to NYC with go-go gal Margaret (now a Demolition Doll
Rod) going all out... On the first night, her top off at Maxwells, she went
after rockabilly star Joe Clay on all fours - he backed away.  On the next,
she went after three members of The Raunch Hands... yes, like Joe Clay,
they were on-stage at the time.)  So here's the deal (all prices include
postage, but please include a
self-addressed envelope):
#1 - #21:  $1 for two issues.  Pick of this litter is #17 (Dec., '91), with a
preview of The Mummies' first East Coast visit.  #11 (June, '91) includes
my first taste of Estrus Crust.
#22 - #34: $2 for three issues.  A rant about CBGB's bullshit (#26); review
of Iggy at Continental (#30); story on Nardwuar (#31); and a DMZ
reunion at The Rat (#34).
#35 - #46:  $3 for four issues.  The Muffs & The Real Kids (#35); The
Swingin' Neckbreakers (#37); Eric tells a whopper & gets away with it
(#38); Joan Jett at Maxwells (#39); The Spectors (#40); The Dictators at
CBGB's (#42); Man or Astro-man? (#44); Bluesman vs. Blair or Southern
Culture on the Skids Live (#46).
#47/48 - #51: $3 for two issues  (or $1, plus 55 cents postage for one).
GarageShock, '94 (#47/48 - I thought this was a double issue at the time,
but...); the end of The A-Bones (#49), story/review of the Fuck The
Mummies CD (#50); year-end review, '94 (#51).
#52:  $2, a whopping 22 pages!  Featured is an interview with The Boys
Who Make All The Noise - Fortune & Maltese.  Also read about The
Scientists one-off reunion in Perth, what's up in the CA garage-Mod scene,
trip thru 80s San Diego, & hang with the Platterpuss.
#53: $2.50, as (at an astounding 32 pages) it was the longest yet.
GarageShock, '95, The Texas Speed Trials, The Untamed Youth, The
Makers, The Muffs, The Kaisers, and tons more.
Now that you've got that down, keep in mind that this is only a skeletal
view of what's in all these old issues.  Tons of reviews (records, shows,
'zines, books, even films) and news in just about every issue.  (Plus more
than a few appearances by The Platterpuss.)  Some fun stuff, some serious;
it all depends on the issue.  Enjoy.  And please give me time to go make
copies.

       The Teen Scene is also available in text-only e-mail form F.O.C.
("That's Free Of Charge.")  To get it this way, simply send an e-mail
message to [email protected].  (Introduce yourself while you're at
it.)

       In addition, through the help of my old pal Harrison Bergeron, the
TS can also be obtained in DocMaker form (MacIntosh only, at the
moment.)  This form is a stand-alone application that includes the text,
plus tinted pictures and an occasional sound clip.  (And maybe a
QuickTime video, at some point in the future.)  Since the TS has grown so
large, this form will be broken into two pieces. Since this'll be compressed
you'll need Stuffit Expander (available all over the place.)  To order any
one piece, state which one you want and send a 1.4M Mac 3.5" diskette
plus a dollar to cover postage.  To order all of them send 2 diskettes
and $2 for postage.

       The Teen  Scene is copyright 1995, Blair Buscareno.  The rights on
all writing and pics are property of the authors & photographers.  Any
recordings found inside are provided courtesy of the bands and the record
labels.  If you'd like to pass the Teen Scene on to a friend, feel free, just tell
'em where you got it and give them the whole thing, not just some little
piece.  If you'd like to include any writings published in this mag for your
own publication, just be sure you give credit to both the Teen Scene & the
author of the piece.  And send me a copy.

AD RATES (print version only):
1/4  pg - $20
1/2  pg - $35
Full pg  - $65

Keep in mind that we will only take ads from companies / groups whose
products we believe in.  (So contact us before you send a check.)  Speaking
of checks, make them out to Blair Buscareno.

Also, while ads will only appear in the print version, I would like to
acknowledge this issue's advertisers here... So thanks go out to
Dionysus/Hell Yeah Records, Mint Records, & Stanton Park Records.
Their help is very much appreciated.

INTRO...

       FIVE YEARS!  I can't believe it.
       The first 'zine I remember ever seeing was Mike Stark's Trash Beat
back in 1984 or so.  Of course, there were other cool ones all over the place,
too... Ron Rimsite's 99th Floor and Greg Prevost's Outtasite, for example.
But Mike Stark's was the one that first dented my consciousness.
Eventually, I decided I wanted to do one of my own.  I even talked up the
idea to some friends my senior year of college.  In 1987, I moved into my
first apartment (in Wallington, NJ).  The following Spring, I started
drawing up plans for a publication.  I came up with a bunch of names,
asking Bill Jones and a few others to come up with some, as well... In fact,
I still have the list somewhere.  I went so far as to write to ex-Absolute
Grey drummer Pat Thomas and ask him if he'd like to be involved.  By
that point, Pat had written for quite a few publications and had moved to
SF, where he was starting up Heyday Records.  Pat actually sent me an
article on The Droogs.  Of course, by this time it was late '88.  My staff was
to have been a bunch of Long Island pals.  Most of us were bumming out
at the time 'cuz The Secret Service had just broken up.  So much for my
mag.
       Meanwhile, Matthew Kaplan was in his last semester of law school
out in Portland, Oregon.  He had a habit of calling late at night after seeing
bands at Satyricon.  We decided we'd start a zine together.  Both of us
started preparing stuff... Matthew even did mail interviews with some
English pop bands he liked.  Once he got home, we started trying to get
things off the ground.  We soon found out that working together was not
too easy.  We had tons of stuff, but it was tough to put it together.  Speed
of Sound was becoming Speed of Snail.  Eventually, we decided on a stop-
gap measure... a mini-zine called 738 MPH (I'm still partial to the name...
maybe I'll switch back someday.)  There wasn't much in there, really... a
bunch of reviews, various news, a Platterpuss column, and a couple
quickie articles (two or three paragraphs.)  Oh yeah, and a cover photo of
The Devil Dogs at Maxwells by Andy Peters.  Still, we'd done something
and we were burning to get on with more.  Thing is, Matthew had a
couple things going on at the time.  First, he had a girlfriend.  And,
secondly, he was supposed to be studying for the Bar  exam.  Since he was
the one with the computer, I had to go over to his place to do any work on
the thing.  His time was limited, though, and I hate being on other
people's schedules.  So we took a break.
       On the last weekend of August, tho', The Gories came to town.  The
first night they played Maxwells with Joe Clay.  The next they were at
Chase Manhattan with The Raunch Hands.  The weekend was sufficiently
inspiring that (bored at work the following week) I decided to write about
it.  Then I decided to see if I could fill up four pages and give them out to
various friends at shows (much like I'd been doing with my Concert
Calendar for the previous 2&1/2 years.)  A couple weeks later, I had a
new one.  I did them at random intervals at that point (mainly every few
weeks), but stopped for about 7-8 weeks around Christmas (personal
reasons, thank-you-very-much.)  Once I climbed back on, though, I started
doing it monthly.
       Things were going well with the TS, and I was enjoying it.  At one
point, I had more to say than would fit in four pages, so I decided to go to
6... as a one-time thing.  Yeah, right.  A year later, the ante was upped
again.  I figured it was the perfect size... just light enough so I could mail it
with one stamp.
       I left the Equitable in May of '94.  That Memorial Day I went out to
GarageShock for the first time.  Going to school that summer, I found I
was way too busy to put out the mag.  I was writing, but I didn't have
time for finishing touches.  Since the result was way longer than ever
before (I shrunk it to a little more than double size, but it was really triple
the material), I called it a double issue.  I decided it deserved a cover, and
Pete Ciccone obliged.  Once again, I was thinking the size would never
last.  Wrong again, folks!  #49 was almost as long as the "double issue".
Eric Fusco told me he had to read it twice to digest the whole thing.  Quisp
N. Quake said the same thing, that it was too long to read without some
sort of break for the eyes.  So he volunteered to do layout.  And the TS has
looked much better ever since that landmark 50th issue.  Eventually, I
realized I couldn't afford to do this any longer unless I got an ad.  Thank
you, Estrus.  I'd thought #52 was a mongo ish till I saw what I'd done in
#53.  Whoops!  So I sent out a call for ads.  And got a wonderful
response, too.
       Here we are now, five years down the road from that whim.  Tons
of changes in the Teen Scene and my life.  This mag has done wonders for
me.  Not only am I aware of a greater variety of cool rock'n'roll, but it's
forced me to write on a regular basis.  Hopefully, I've improved a bit over
time.  But the most important thing that's happened is that I've met some
fantastic people from around the world.  Sounds mushy, I know, but it's
true.  I love coming home and seeing a letter from someone asking for a
copy.  (I prefer it when people take the time to write a line or four, but...)
Getting 'zines and records have their rewards, as well, but I'm being
completely sincere when I say it's the people that keep me going.  Thanks
to all of you.
       Now, I'd like to thank all the folks who've been involved in some
way with this mag over the past five years.  The Platterpuss (obviously),
Matthew Kaplan, Kathy Pongraez, Jeff Cuyubamba, Pat Lozito, Ognir,
Brian McCloskey, Brian Diffenbaugh, Wildgirl, Phil Schrader, The Jelly
Slide, The Grip Weeds, Rich Osmond, Dino Sorbello, Eric Fusco, Roger
Mah, Marisa Langston, Chris Hedlund, The Skeever, Tom Bessoir, Bill
Jones, Bob Kondrak, Pete Papageorgantis, Bill Luther, Mike Sinocchi, Rory
McGee, Matthew Fidelibus, Pete Ciccone, Case Elliott, LJ Cunningham,
Alan Wright, Mick Seman, R. Salvo, Tom Ward, Quisp N. Quake, Estrus,
Dionysus, Get Hip, Not Lame, Mint, Stanton Park, and Audities.  And The
Bluesman - for inspiration.  (He's never actually written anything for me,
but he pops up in almost every issue, so...)  Thanks, also, to all the people
who keep sending me fantastic records, zines, books, and encouragement.
Most of all, thanks to Roberta, for putting up with me.
       Congratulations go out to my old friend Brian and his lovely wife,
Mary, on their September nuptials.
       Now, let's get into it...


HANGIN' ON FOR DEAR LIFE:                       THE LATEST MAIL STOP:
Blair Buscareno - crashing headfirst into 30    34 Highland Cross #2
R. Salvo - live in Spokane                              Rutherford, NJ  07070
Alan Wright - Does the Pop in Seattle
Bob Kondrak - pics & interviews                 &A NEW E-DRESS, TOO:
Jeff Cuyubamba - pics & scanning assistance     [email protected]
Case Elliott - makes room for Memphis
Mike Seman - reports from Perth
Matthew Fidelibus - now our SouthWest correspondent

Dear Teen Scene:
       Although I am a big Platterpuss fan, I feel that I must correct him
on an error he made in Teen Scene # 52.  He said, "All I know is that I
should be picking up the paper and reading about Don Mattingly and
Paul O'Neill..."  I believe that instead of Messrs. Mattingly and O'Neill he
meant to say "BOBBY BONILLA and BRETT BUTLER".  Please bring this
to his attention.
                               - Mr. Jones

Mr. Jones:
       We thank you for your letter.  Unfortunately, the Puss labors under
the misconception that the Yankees play baseball.  Imagine that -
baseball... in the American League!  Unfortunately, the therapist who
deals with this sort of disorder isn't a part of the Teen Scene HMO.  Any
suggestions on how to remedy his disorder would be quite welcome.

THE TOUR - THE MUFFS, THE QUEERS, & CUB
(I'm finally getting around to writing this over two months after the fact.
Forgive me if my recollections aren't quite as vivid now.)

       I'd first heard about this tour sometime in the late Spring.  Well,
actually, I'd originally heard that The Zeros would be included rather than
The Queers, but I would've been just as happy either way.  As the tour
began (out in California), I eagerly awaited reports from friends around
the country.  Finally, it was time for this greatest of package tours to make
it to the NorthEast.

Tuesday August 22nd - JC Dobb's (Philadelphia, PA):  This tour came
around at just the right moment.  I was done with classes for my Master's
in Math Education at Rutgers and I wasn't working yet.  So I didn't have
to worry about getting up in the morning.  The Bluesman joined me for
my final radio show at Rutgers, then we went back to my place, unloaded
the records, and pointed the Smurfmobile towards the City of Brotherly
Love.
       Now, this one was listed as a 6 PM all-ages thing, so when we
arrived at 6:15, we were kinda afraid we were going to miss Cub.  Of
course, when we saw a line going around the corner, we knew we'd
missed absolutely nothing.  What was weird was that, except for the
members of a couple of the bands and their road crew, we were practically
senior citizens in this crowd.  The only audience members older than us
were the parents of a 12 year old.
       We made it in just as Cub started up.  I wormed my way up to the
side of the stage, near where Robynn was standing.  As they finished up
one song, Lisa saw me and smiled.  Then the next song was dedicated to...
ME!  Lisa introduced "The Day We Met" and told the story of how we'd
met at Continental in NYC a couple years earlier.  "Do you remember?"
she asked.  I nodded as she said, "Of course you do," and jumped into the
song.  The set skipped merrily along and I was smiling from ear to ear.
       Muffs' bassist Ronnie Barnett was a bit further back on the side,
towards the rear of the stage, so after the set he brought Bluesman and I
upstairs to hang out.  Which is when I got the chance to meet Neko.  I'd
known she was the drummer for this tour (and that she'd been out with
the group a couple years earlier), but we'd never met.
       Time then for The Queers.  Now, I knew damn well that the punk
types would go completely and absolutely delirious for these guys, so I'd
decided to watch from backstage.  At first, I thought I'd just wait till the
next night and see 'em then, but as soon as those supercharged melodies
hit my cranium, I knew I'd have to watch.  Sure enough, the crowd went
nuts, but... well, no wonder.
       Finally, it was time for me to see The Muffs again.  Now, sure, I'd
gotten to see 'em a couple months earlier at Maxwells, but somehow this
felt more like what it was supposed to.  Maybe 'cuz I knew I'd be seeing
them again the next night, and possibly yet again on Thursday.  This was
the start of things, rather than just some one-nighter.  (See, I like my good
times to last.)  For The Muffs, I didn't care if I was in the midst of a crowd
of crazed critters; I wanted to be a part of it.  Of course, without acting like
a complete and utter jerk there was no way I'd get right up front at this
point.  So I settled for being about 10 feet away from the stage.  The
Bluesman, however, eventually swung his bluesbulk thru the maelstrom
and right up there.  What I appreciated most, I guess, was that The Muffs
didn't just do new LP stuff, but instead did material from just about
everything they've released.  Plus, I already had a set list.  Ronnie knew of
my obsession with getting the things, so he made up a special copy for me
beforehand.  I pulled it out at one point in the middle of the show to see
what was next.  A girl next to me looked and said, "Huh?" By the
time they were through, I was a sweat-soaked mess.  As they finished,
people started exiting.  But they came back and did an encore!  Yup, pure
happiness.
       I hung out for a while, then went upstairs to see who'd be joining
Blues & I for the trek over to the Khyber Pass.  After all, it was still early,
and The Friggs were opening for Laika & The Cosmonauts.  Imagine, I
was gonna see two fantastic shows in Philadelphia on a Tuesday night.
(I'd never have believed that one if someone had told me even a month
earlier.)  Eventually, Ronnie Barnett & Lisa Marr jumped in the back seat
and we were off.  As we passed Dobb's (in typical South St. traffic), we
convinced Muffs' drummer Roy McDonald to squeeze in.  A few blocks
later, time to park and move on to Phase 2 of a Fab Philly Freakout.
       I can't really recall who the opening band was, but they were done
soon after we arrived.  As the Friggs got onstage and were almost ready to
play, I see a tall blonde gal pushing forward.  Ms. Kim Shattuck.  Who
complimented Ms. Jezebel on her cool guitar.  The Friggs went all-out and
a wild time was had by all.  Afterwards, everyone hung out and had a
great time as Laika & The Cosmonauts did their thing.  (If you like
melodic instrumental surf stuff, you'll go ape over this bunch.)
Eventually, however, Blues & I realized we'd best be heading back home.
(A drive that included a stop at one of those horrible rest stops... one that
had cardboard burgers left over from the Eisenhower administration.)

Wednesday August 23rd - CBGB's (NYC):  The closest to home.  Mint
Records honcho (& lead Smuggler) Grant Lawrence flew in for this one
(and the next three stops on the tour), so we had a grand old time hanging
out.  Before the show, I stopped over at the CB's Pizza Boutique to drop
off a couple copies of Foster Child for Tony Miller.  It was there that I
spotted the Cub gals.  So we all hung out, talked, caught up on life, the
universe, and everything.       Oddly, this is the night I remember the least
about.  I remember having a damn good time, seeing tons of friends, and
dancing like a complete & utter madman.  But that's really about all.  (And
I don't even have alcohol to use as an excuse.)  I must've been pretty
floored, though, 'cuz I asked Blues if he was up for a trek to New Haven
the next night.

Thursday August 24th - Tune Inn (New Haven, CT):  Bluesman finally
decided he'd make the trip, so I took what amounted to the long way
around and picked him up at his place up in Sloatsburg, NY.  Fairly
smooth sailing on this ride, and as we took the exit for New Haven we
saw The Queers van directly in front of us.  We waved, then followed
them to the club.  (Extremely lucky for us as the two sets of directions
we'd got were sort of conflicting.)  When we got to the club, we found Cub
sitting outside still trying to find out what the deal was.  Evidently, the
club was having sound problems.  And the owner was acting like a jerk.
Neko, especially, was displeased.  Mightily.)
       Things eventually worked themselves out, though, and the show
was a go.  Cub went on fairly early, playing in front of a rather sparse
crowd.  (This was the only show of the Northeast swing that wasn't jam-
packed.)  My friend Bill made it in time to watch them and was quite
pleased.  But who could resist Cub, anyway?  Songs like "My Flaming Red
Bobsled", "Life Of Crime", "New York City", "The Day I Said Goodbye",
and a cover of The Ramones' "She's A Sensation" make it crystal clear why
I love this group.  Melodies dancing on melodies, with a big smile on
everyone's faces (band and audience.)
       It had become obvious to me that there were quite a few Queers'
fans in this audience, so I tried to hang back.  But once I heard "Next Stop
Rehab", I knew I had to spend at least part of the time up front.
Sometimes you've just gotta let go and not care.
       Then The Muffs.  Fast Eddie was up and ready for this one.  Geez,
we all went crazy.
       Uh-oh... memory freeze.
       I said my goodbyes this time.  I was pretty sure this was it.  Still, I
told Cub there was a slight chance I'd make it to one of the other shows.
So they said they'd put me on the list, just in case.  I drove Blues home,
then myself all the way back to the cursed blah-town of North Brunswick.
Geez, I was beat.

Friday August 25th - (Providence, RI): Roberta called me from work in the
middle of the day.  She was upset 'cuz I'd gone three nights in a row and
she hadn't even gotten to go once.  OK, I said, I'll meet you in front of our
new place in Rutherford.  (We'd be moving in the following week.) She
actually wanted to go to Providence, Rhode Island to see this thing!  (I
think she's been hanging out with a bad influence.)  We almost talked
ourselves out of it only a couple miles down the road.  Once we got onto
the Bruckner Expressway, though, the excitement was building.  And once
we passed New London, we figured we were almost there.  All that meant
was that we had no clue about the geography of Connecticut & Rhode
Island.  Well, finally we got to the point on 95 where the signs for
Providence are abundant.  Thing is, we had no idea which exit we were
supposed to take.  We just decided to take one and see what happened.
Which led to us calling the club, and me listening to an answering
machine giving directions.  What's amazing is that we got pretty close.  I
pulled over at a gas station and asked the guy at the food counter.
Who just happened to be a punk (one who was bumming that he'd be
missing the show 'cuz of work.)  Finally, we pull down the street the club's
on, looking for parking.  We make a left.  BAD decision.  This place is full
of way-too-much-makeup/big-hair gals and tons of cars.  Some guy in a
sports car was a couple cars in front of us and stopped dead to talk to his
adoring minions.  We just wanted to see Cub.
       After parking, we walked down the block to hear Cub blasting out
into the night.  Which made us hurry.  Once at the doorway, we saw Eric
from the Queers, who asked if we were on the list.  We were, thanks to
Grant & Cub.  When Grant saw us he told us to go up front so Lisa &
Robynn would know we were there.  We did & they were mightily
surprised.  Roberta was extremely happy to be there.  (Heck, so was I.)
       The Queers went on and did yet another amazing set.  I'd really like
to relate more about it, but what sticks in my mind most about this night is
The Muffs' set.  See, it's like this.  In the middle of a song towards the end
of the set, Kim came over and knocked into Ronnie.  Hard.  I think he fell a
bit.  More than a bit miffed, Ronnie went over and checked Kim into the
audience.  She threw her guitar down and went after him.  Ronnie threw
down his bass and went off the stage.  Roy came out from behind the
drums, went up to a mic and said, "I'm not mad at anybody."  Kim
decided to play "Just A Game", a solo thing.  We all pretty much thought
that was it for the night, but eventually they came back on and did a few
more.  Including having Joe King come up and sing a Ramones song with
'em.
       We ran into Maxwells bargal Abby this night, back in her home
stomping grounds to hang with an old friend.  Quite a nice surprise, that.
       Afterwards, Roberta and I had to figure out just what we were
going to do.  I'd been at the last four nights of the tour; Roberta & I had the
whole apartment to pack up for our move; and it was a long trip home.
Lisa Marr told me we had to go to Boston.  After all, that would give me
the record for most Cub shows caught in one tour.  I wasn't completely
convinced, but I also didn't feel like driving home from Providence at this
hour.  So Roberta suggested we get a hotel room.  Of course, we didn't
know of any nearby, so we got directions from the bands for the one they
were all staying at.
       A couple of the bands said they were having a party, but Roberta
and I decided we'd be nuts to do that.  We ordered out for a pizza and I
went to hit the ice machine.  As I popped the bucket under the machine, I
heard a voice.  I jumped.  (I was in my own little world, serenity and calm
having finally descended upon me.  So much for that.)  It was Grant.  He
laughed.  I laughed.  We realized the ice machine was broken.  On then to
another floor.  (This one worked.)  He invited us to come to their room
and hang out.  As much fun as that might've been, I was tired.  And
looking forward to a pizza.

Saturday August 26th:  We awoke in Providence.  Providence?  Oh yeah.
We got ourselves ready and were out of the room with 15 minutes to
spare.  Before we left, though, we figured we'd call up Cub & say
goodbye.  Well... here's one group that wouldn't be out by checkout time.
Robynn anwered; I'd woken her up.  (Sorry.)  Downstairs, then, for an
expensive breakfast.  Midway thru, The Muffs' tour manager showed up
by himself.  So he joined us and we talked and talked.  About the tour,
about the previous night's altercation, etc.
       Then we sat in the lobby for a few minutes.  And the bands started
coming down.  I should've known what was going to happen.  I think
Roberta did.  We were convinced that we should journey to Boston for the
final night of the tour.  Which made Cub happy.  Neko & Robynn came
with Roberta & me.  Neko told us about all the places she'd lived and how
the one thing she remembered from being a little girl in New England was
Friendly's.  When we saw the signs for one, we pulled in.  Nothing like a
good reminder of what slow service is all about.  I mean, all I ordered was
some ice cream.  I started wondering if they'd had to go milk the cow.
       We still arrived at TT the Bear's incredibly early.  Way before it was
even time to soundcheck.  By this time, the Cub van had arrived (with
Lisa, Grant, & Ronnie).  We eventually ran into everyone on the street and
traipsed around looking for entertainment.  Of which we found precious
little.  Roberta and I decided we'd each try calling a friend to see if they
were gonna come down.  Well, her friend Mandy was booked to attend a
wedding, but I'd called ex-Voodoo Doll (now guitarist for The Nines)
Evan Shore.  And told him that a line was already starting to form, so if he
was serious about coming, he'd be smart to come down now and get one.
       About a half hour later, Evan arrived with girlfriend Nancy.  He
looked at the line with absolutely no enthusiasm.  So we chatted for a
while, catching up, etc.  Suddenly, Grant poked his head out.  "Is this OK?"
he asked, pointing to the guest list which read, "Blair + 3."  "YEAH!  Thank
you, Grant!"
       Finally, it was showtime.  "Hey, Blair."  Huh?  That voice was
familiar.  I turned around to find NYC pal, Jeff Cuyubamba, off on a
weekend away from home.  This turned out to be quite convenient, as Jeff
likes to take pictures.
       When Cub went on tonight, I knew this was definitely my last time
seeing them for a while.  Although by this time there were rumors that
they might make it back to the East Coast with Pansy Division.  (Guess
that tour only made it to the eastern part of Canada, though, 'cuz I never
saw a listing for here.)  Even so, it was on this tour that I'd heard that Cub
& The Muffs might be at Maxwells for New Year's Eve.  Anyway, so
tonight was something special.  Tons of the favorites were played, plus
one or two special ones.  And they sent out a heartfelt dedicaton to The
Queers, since this was the last night of the three groups together.  (The
next day they'd all journey to Joe's place in New Hampshire for a big party
before The Muffs & Cub swung back towards the other side of the
continent.)
       Then it was time for The Queers.  Now, as far as I can tell, The
Queers alone could've sold this venue out and then some.  Geez, they can
pack The Rat.  Why the hell was this at TT the Bear's?  Much better would
have been next door at the Middle East Downstairs.  One report said the
club turned away about 200 people at the door.  Well, like you've probably
figured out, Boston is just about home base for The Queers.  Granted, Joe
lives in New Hampshire, but Boston really is the capital of New England.
Tonight's show saw at least three ex-members of The Queers in the
audience (a guy named, I think, Bobby, who used to sing for 'em, Evan,
and ex-DMZ guitarist, JJ Rassler.)  As it turned out, about midway thru
their set, Eric turned his guitar over to JJ, and The Queers proceeded to
dip into the deep recesses of their back catalogue.  JJ sounded incredible,
his guitar charging through like never before.
       Finally, it was time for the last set of this tour for me... The Muffs.
I'm not gonna dwell on this, but let's just say I knew this was it for a while,
so I just let myself completely fall into it.  Yup, punk rock bliss.  Nothing
less.  And the band didn't seem in the least affected by the previous
night's... misunderstanding.

       Well, we drove Jeff back to his hotel and then hopped into the car
for the long ride back to North Brunswick.  As it turned out, we ended up
sleeping for an hour and a half in the car at a rest stop just below New
Haven.  And I must've still been pretty out of it an hour later, 'cuz I missed
the signs for the Cross Bronx Expressway and suddenly found myself
heading onto the Throgs Neck.  It happens.
       Roberta & I got home about 8 AM, went straight to bed and then
spent the evening packing.  OK, so this trip was completely and utterly
insane.  But we had a fantastic time.

Cub / The Potatomen - The Day I Said Goodbye  (Lookout/Mint)
       The newest joint venture in the indie-pop world comes to us
courtesy of the coolsters at Lookout & Mint Records, from Berkeley, CA &
Vancouver, BC, oh-so-respectively.  As per usual, what gets this reviewer
flying high is the material from Cub.  (A group that should be voted "Most
Likely To Put A Smile On Your Face" in every yearbook.)  The title track
here is definitely the hit.  This one's chock full of melody, but shows
exactly where the band is at today.  It's definitely faster than a majority of
their early stuff, and shows them catching the comet by the tail and
hanging on for the ride.  Also not to be missed is their cover of Joan Jett's
"Runaway", with Lisa G. throwing in some fun backing vocals.
       As to the Potatomen... Well, this stuff's still melodic and all, but
much slower... kinda jangly, actually.  Still, their cover of Buddy Holly's
"Words Of Love" should get you singing along.  Good stuff, but overall,
I'm recommending this one on the basis of the Cub tracks.  (Not that that
is much of a surprise to regular readers.)

The Queers - Move Back Home (Lookout)
       I'd been playing this one on "Biff-Bang-Pow" (my radio show... in
case you'd forgotten) fairly often, but hadn't yet gotten around to buying it
YET.  Then I ended up catching the band five nights in a row.  Of course, I
really didn't want to be carrying around CDs all night, so I kept waiting
till the end of the show to go over to the merchandise table.  And, by that
time, they'd usually closed up shop.  (Not their fault, really.  As any of my
friends will tell you, I've got a big mouth, so I spend lotsa time after shows
gabbing away.)  In Boston, though, Roberta made sure I got one, going
over to the merch table and picking one up for me.  Next afternoon at
home, this thing went on three times in a row.
       Starting off with "She's A Cretin", The Queers jump around through
a whole disc's worth of infectious pop-oriented punk rock.  Well, OK,
there are a couple tracks that are more punk than pop ("High School
Psychopath II"), but overall, this is just a fast pop record.  "I Gotta
Girlfriend", actually, is more pop than punk.  On Love Songs For The
Retarded, there was a track called "Debra Jean" that practically screamed
out, BEACH BOYS!  Well, if "I Gotta Girlfriend" isn't quite that obvious,
it's still got some definite echoes of prime Brian Wilson.  Besides, the next
track, "Hawaii", is a Brian Wilson song.  And, except for picking up the
tempo a bit, this really is in the heart of Beach Boys territory.  The Queers
even throw in the falsetto backing vocals.  Yup, pure bliss.  As is this
whole record.  Hard to believe The Queers have been a group for
something like 15 years.  All I know is, they're making some of the best
records out there today.  Not to mention putting on some incredible
shows.

THE STATICS (by Bob Kondrak)
       I looked forward to the late booking of the Primate 5 and The
Invisible Men at The Weathered Wall on 8/11/95.  Both groups were
sandwiched between alt rock groups from the "K" records family.  The
club, a vintage room sitting next to the '62 World's Fair monorail track, has
a faded decadence, with its hodgepodge lining on the walls and balcony.
The interview took place in Zack's truck cab.  Zack sings and plays guitar
in the Statics and the Invisible Men .  We sat talking while the headliner,
The Deflowers, played. Time to kill waiting to load up after the gig.  I had
long since finished a pint of bourbon and was riding close to nervous
system shutdown.  The discography and its chronology came over the
phone in a conversation a couple of days later..

Bob: You seem to be the dominant personality in the Statics.  Is it your first
group?
Zack: My friend Donny and I formed the group, he played drums and I
used to play bass.  (Donny played drums on 1,2,3 and 8)  That didn't work
out cause we could never find a guitar player.  So I switched to guitar and
talked Diane, my girl friend, into playing bass.
Bob: I like her bass playing in The Statics.
Zack: Yeah she does alright.  She played the piano and the trombone for
several years and has a musical inclination.  Donny was our first drummer
and he was my favorite.  He was the greatest but he didn't like to practice
or show up for things so we had to get another drummer.  Bryant is our
current drummer.
Bob: Tonight I saw you playing in the Invisible Men.  When did they get
started?
Zack: About the same time we got rid of Donny, Thanksgiving 1993.  The
original Invisible Men line up was me on guitar, Shannon playing bass
and Danny playing drums.  Like The Statics with a different bass player.
What happened was we kicked Donny out of the Statics because he
couldn't show up for practice, so we put him in the Invisible Men since we
didn'trehearse so often.  But after a while we had to kick Donny out of that
band too.  He just quit showing up.  Then Shannon went to play drums
and we picked up Tom and Carlos.
Bob: Who plays what in the group?
Zack: I play rhythm guitar, Shannon plays drums, Tom plays lead guitar
and Carlos plays bass.
Bob: Isn't Shannon the Fall Outs' bass player?
Zack: Yeah.
Bob: He must have the same take you do, both of you coming from
different groups?
Zack: You would think so, but personalities don't always...
Bob: The last time I took pictures of The Invisible Men I noticed all you
guys looking in different directions while playing, kinda out of place.  In
the Statics pictures everybody in the group seems in place.
Zack: Yeah that's right, cause we don't practice enough in The Invisible
Men, but that's something I don't worry about.
Bob: Besides the single on Rat City with Frustrator/Real Creep (Rat City
02 recorded in Aug '93) how many records do the Invisible Men have out?
Zack: There are two,  the first one is on Rat City and that was recorded in
Donny's basement by Johnny Vinyl.  We recorded again but it was just
me, Tom and Shannon.  Tom and I both played guitar and Shannon
played the drums.  Then we went back and Shannon played the bass on it
cause we hadn't picked up Carlos yet.  There's a new single coming out on
Estrus for Halloween by The Invisible Men.  Its a 4 song ep and Shannon
plays both the bass and drums.
Bob:  I enjoy the Invisible Men set a lot.
Zack:  It's just covers.
Bob: Well I didn't know that.  I've not been able to buy the Statics' LP yet
and when I do I'll dig The Statics more.  I had an instant good feeling
listening to the Invisible Men.  The Statics' sets I've heard I've had to think
about.  I remember The Statics opened for Dead Moon at the OK Hotel
and Toody the bass player in DM walked by as you tuned up and yelled
"keep practicing".  Throwing out a kind of a nice slap.
Zack: The Statics first show was with Dead Moon and Fred Cole mastered
our Rat City lp.  He's got a mastering machine down there in Klackamas,
Oregon.  They are cool people.
Bob: Yeah I picked up Pebbles Vol 8 with a Lollipop Shoppe cut and Fred's
voice sounds just like it does in Dead Moon.
Zack: "You Must Be A Witch"?

Bob:  What do you think about the garage music explosion, the renewed
interest in garage music and all?
Zack: It depends on what you call garage music.  I don't like a lot of the
Estrus bands.  I do and I don't.  I like punk bands.
Bob:  Do you like The Makers?
Zack: I love The Makers,  The Makers are spectacular.  Mike Maker is one
of my favorite stage presences.  Yeah, I like a lot of it but not all of it.  It's
hard to say.
Bob:  Well how do you feel The Statics fit into all that?
Zack:  I think the important think is to be your own band.  Like I used to
really worry about that.  I wanted to be on this bill with this band or I
wanted to put out a record on Estrus.  I used to want to really fit in.  That's
not what it's all about.  I found that the less you worry about that, the
more relaxed you are.  Then the more people accept you, if you are just
who you are and not trying to be something else.  People want to be an
Estrus or a Sub Pop band and it's just the wrong way to go.  Like the Fall
Outs have been around for 10 years. They have always been there and
they have people that like them.  Some people hate them; they opened for
Mudhoney and people in the audience didn't know what to think, it was
so different.  But they kept doing it and now they are big stars, more or
less.  I try to fit in where I can and not worry about it.
Bob:  A sensible approach: listen to your muse when writing songs.  I
would ask some questions about those songs, since I guess you're the
songwriter for the group, but I'm still hunting down the LP and only have
the Empty 7".  I do remember (from the shows I've seen) some references
to the White Center district in south Seattle.  I enjoy that you have
references to the "southern culture" of Seattle.
Zack: Yeah! Beautiful downtown White Center.  There's one instrumental
called "The Scourge Of White Center", and another instrumental called
"Delridge Boogie".
Bob: How about that hamburger song?
Zack: Oh Yeah "Burgers And Fries".  But that's just about hamburgers and
you can get them anywhere.  I actually mention Beeps in San Francisco as
a great place to eat hamburgers.  Beeps and Dicks are my two favorite
spots to get burgers.
Bob:  I'm living near Dick's on 45th but I'm sure people reading this on the
East Coast don't know about Dick's, but its up there with White Castle for
us.
Bob:  You guys got any more recordings?  Any upcoming gigs?
Zack: No, we might have a gig in Portland on Halloween.  But neither of
the bands has anything coming up in Seattle soon.  This thing tonight was
a last minute thing.
Bob: I was happy to find you and Primate playing tonight.  How do the
other 2 Statics feel about you playing in the Invisible Men?
Zack:  They don't care.  Bryant is only 19 and he just plays drums, he
doesn't do any song writing or singing.  He doesn't care.  Diane never
plays her bass unless she's at practice..  She never attempts to write songs.
It's nice, no one to argue with.
Bob:  Thanks for the interview, I'll let you know what Blair plans to do
with it.
Zack:  I've met Blair several times.  At Garage Shock 2 years running.

Over the phone a few days later Zack talks about some upcoming releases
for both the groups he is in.  He also mentions that he may be looking to
form a new group since the Statics have been together since '92 and
getting gigs in Seattle might be easier  with a new group.

Statics Discography: time line of release.
1. Theme/All Mixed Up (7") - Rip Off RO 001
2. I Quit - track on Puget Power Vol 4 (7"ep) - Regal Select RS 18
3. Hey Hey/Don't Mess With Us/Rhino Chaser/Sooprize Package (7"ep) -
Super  Electro SE 702
4. Scourge/Goodbye/Sooprize Package/Your Love (ep) - Sooprize
Package   Magazine UK insert - Real Records Real #1
5. Rat City (lp) - Rip Off RO LP001
6. An Unrespected Man/Just Get Away/All Of Your Love 7" - Empty 307
7. Jelly Stone National Park - 8-Van split 7" with Sick & Wrong

Coming Soon...
1. Invisible Men 7"ep recorded by Johnny Vinyl - I'll Hunt You
Down/Why
Don't You Do Me Right/This Town/Game Keeper - Estrus
2. Statics 10" ep - Pinball Junkies/I Need Rock and Roll/Roxbury
Lanes/Radio Song/Let's Go Away (a Wipers cover) - Estrus
3. Statics split 7" with Primate 5 coming out on LA's Dead Beat records.

AFTERSHOCK NUMERO UNO
Barrister's - Memphis, TN
June 23-24, 1995

       We arrived at the Memphis airport around 1 PM and got to our
hotel around 2. Since my girlfriend and I flew up we had no car and hence
had to walk not too far down the street (Madison Ave. for all you types
that keep up) to Shangri-La Records. This place is very similar to Sound
Exchange except for the fact that it had a considerably larger amount of
reading material and of course the music selection was somewhat
different. Also, the people there were very nice and I found that to be
refreshing. To cut it short, after buying some vinyl and eating we
hightailed it back to our hotel to call my friend Vanessa I met via the 'net
who was going to be lugging us around Memphis the next couple of
days. I couldn't be more grateful to her as taxis and any other form of pay
transportation were obscenely expensive. Well, after some time she came
and picked us up and we arrived at Barrister's at around 8:30.
       Now what Barrister's is.. is basically just a bar that bands play at on
the weekends and such. I suppose it would be similar to the Blue
Flamingo in Austin plus a lot more space to fuck around. In other words, I
liked it from the start. Anyway, as soon as we got in, The Hate Bombs
were preparing to play and I knew that they were gonna be good. They
played (I think) both songs of the "She's the Girl" 7"  but those were the
only two I recognized, except for the old 60's cover they did by the Teddy
Boys ("Jezebel"); it pretty much rocked. After they finished, the Adolescent
Music Fantasy scurried on stage and started their set. From what I can't
remember, they must have sucked.  Following them, '68 Comeback got
their shit together and began to play. Actually, The Oblivians were the
ones setting up, but much to my surprise Jeff Evans (lead vox. of '68
Comeback) was up there as well so what had happened is he just did his
thing with the Oblivians playing for him. The crowd was building up at
this point and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Me, not being
the biggest '68 Comeback fan around, parted ways to get some fresh air
and waited for them to end. They played an extremely long time(or
should I say Jeff sang an extremely long time..) and finally the
Oblivians were next. It didn't take long for them to start since none of the
equipment had to be switched out. I couldn't wait, though, 'cause I really
like them and hadn't had the chance to see 'em live yet. They eventually
began and played almost every song I knew by them like "No Reason To
Live", "Static Party", and "Jim Cole" among many others. One of the songs
I liked best that set had to be "Shut My Mouth" and Eric was the one who
happened to be on vocals at that time. It was amazing, simply put. The
thing about the Oblivians I like a lot is the fact that any one of 'em can do
whatever. Like they all can play drums and the guitar. Anyway, they got
the lead singer from Guitar Wolf to come on stage and do vocals for a
song which I won't name simply because I don't know what it was,.. and
the crowd loved it. They dragged that out for a while and... once they
finished we left to get to the hotel. After all, it was 2:30, and we still had
stuff we wanted to do.
       The next morning, or I suppose I should say afternoon.., we got
picked up to go thrift shopping and go to Shangri- La again. We spent
money, we ate, we whatnot else, and then Vanessa dropped us off at the
next hotel we were going to be staying at. Following about 2 hours of
sleep she came back and we all headed to Barrister's for the second half of
the show. I had fun the first night but this was the night I was ultimately
waiting for. Well, The Cowslingers were setting up by the time we arrived
and I had mixed thoughts on what to expect. I knew that I didn't really
like 'em to begin with, but I thought I'd feel differently when I saw
them live maybe. Apparently not 'cause my opinion stayed the same. I
think this is due to the lead singer's voice, which I really don't like.
Otherwise, if you try to block the vox. out with your mind, the guitar line's
sound was very impressive. I'm thinking these guys did a cover of
"Jezebel", too, but my memory fails me once again. Impala was up next
and I was anxious to see what they had to offer. As stated elsewhere in
this issue, their sound is adequately described as 'Memphis sound meets
the Westcoast" if that helps you understand any. Their all insto
barrage was surfy at times and bluesy at others, all depending on whether
Justin was on the sax or organ. It was obvious to me that this band had
talent so I was glad to be seeing them. The Woggles took the stage next
and I must admit that was the longest set of the night. Not literally, of
course, it just seemed that way. Not that they're bad or anything, it's just
that I don't take well to 'em. Leave it at that. And fuck if I can't remember
if they did "Jezebel", as well. All I know for sure is that two of the bands
out of either night did the song.. maybe not three. Anyway, they were
very active on stage and weren't boring to watch, fortunately.
       OK, we sat down for a little while, had a beer, fucked around, and
eventually The Royal Pendletons were ready to play. I was cynical at first
on how I would like this band, but I was glad to find out that they weren't
bad at all. They sort of sounded like the Oblivians in their own way, plus
they had an organ up front which was really loud so you can imagine how
I felt. I hope I get the chance to see this band again someday. Well, after
they called it quits, I was pleased to hear that Guitar Wolf was coming up
next. I, along with a lot of other people, waited patiently as I knew this
band was going to be rockin'. They finally came out, people went nuts
yelling their name, and they posed for pictures (I'm guessing..) by
standing on two different amps in the front of the stage. If I wouldn't have
been so close up, that would have been a great camera shot. When they
actually started playing I could tell immediately that these guys were a
little bit cocky. They knew they were bad, I guess. They played many
noticeable songs, one being "Kung Fu Ramone" and another being
"Summertime Blues". That's right, they did a cover of that old song and let
me tell you, it fucking rocked. Later in the set the lead singer for them (I
still don't know his name) repaid the favor he received earlier by
dragging Eric Oblivian up on stage and throwing a guitar on him so he
could play with 'em. It was fun and from what I could tell the crowd was
enjoying it too. They finished after a long time up and when they did they
just ran off stage into the back of Barristers which I thought was kinda
funny. It made it look like they were avoiding getting talked to and fucked
with by the crowd. At this point I was happy, so Man or Astroman?, who
were up next, was just icing on the cake. Their setup was very elaborate as
it had 3 TVs plus the big Barristers one in the back, 2 megaphones, a big
Man or Astroman? poster hanging in the back, and a few other things I
can't remember right now. The lead singer dressed up in a "space suit"
along with a "space helmet" and I had high expectations at this point. I
wasn't disappointed when they finally started. Their speedy surfy set was
a nice end to this whole show. Not to mention the ad libs in-between
songs was very funny; with lines like "you primitive humans wouldn't
understand" I was entertained. I can't tell you what all this band played
because I really don't have any of their records,.. but I can tell you they
smoked. I can also tell you that they were full of gimmicks. Like throwing
star crunches and such into the audience, you know how that is. After all
of this we were ready to go... the time was around 3:30 and I was as tired
as sin. Vanessa took us the short trip to our hotel and we all said our
good-byes. The next morning we paid some asshole shuttle driver $16 to
haul us to the airport so we wouldn't be late. All told, once in the airplane
with my fucking peanuts and Pepsi, I was looking in my wallet and
realized I spent every last cent except for three dollars on this trip. Now
how's that for taking the exact amount of money needed? --- CE

(Case Elliott is the editor of Make Room!, a garage-punk 'zine outta
Temple, TX.  For info on how to contact him and/or get his 'zine, see the
'zines section of this ish. -- BB)

REQUIEM FOR A RECORD STORE
       I'm not really sure when I made my first trip to Pier Platters.  My
guess is that it wasn't before August of 1987, when I made the move from
Long Island to New Jersey.  I was 21 and a newly minted graduate of the
niversity of Rochester up in the cold country of New York State.  I'd taken
a job at Equitable Life in their Pensions group in Secaucus and - therefore -
had made the move across the Hudson, finding an apartment in a little
town called Wallington, just past the Meadowlands.
       While moving to Jersey was a scary thing (growing up on Long
Island, Jersey is the place everyone laughs at most... kinda like LI is to NJ
teens), there were some positive aspects.  For one thing, a couple of my
close pals lived Jersey-side.  Well, actually a couple of 'em lived just above
the border in Rockland County, NY, but we won't quibble.  Anyway, this
meant that some of my best friends would be near enough to hang out
regularly.  And so it came to pass that I made my first trips to Pier.
Honestly, I've no idea what I bought that first trip.  Hell, I don't even
clearly remember the trek itself.  I do  remember that the Bluesman was
the one who told me I'd been going the long way around... and gave me
the directions that cut my trip by a good 10-15 minutes.
       Pier Platters was my record store of choice in my adult life.  Sure,
NYC has a few good ones, but Pier was something special.  For one thing,
the people there were always cool.  If you were there on a regular basis,
they got to know you and treated you well.  Besides, their prices were
usually better than most the NYC shops.  (Add in that NJ sales tax is less
than NYC and this stuff starts to really add up.)  Besides, they had the best
Aussie selection of any shop in the area.  Pier is where I got into all things
Dom Mariani (now of the DM3, but then still in The Stems, my fave
Australian combo of all time, and one of my top groups.  Period.)  It's
where I bought my first Stems 45.  (And most of the rest of them.)  And
where I discovered Dom's surf project, The Stonefish.  And then the
SomeLoves.  It's where I got a whole truckload of stuff from Down Under.
Including my Radio Birdman stuff, Hoodoo Gurus 45s, Lime Spiders,
New Christs, Eastern Dark... you name it.
       Another thing I always loved about Pier was their 45s.  They had a
whole lot of 'em.  Even in the lean years of the late 80s, Pier Platters
always had a good selection of seven-inchers.  And at reasonable prices,
too.  Not only that, they also had the dollar bins.  Tons of singles for a
buck each.  And we're not talking about stupid 70s schlock 45s, either.
This bin included some stuff that was only a year or two old.  Plus a fair
amount of Aussie stuff that I knew nothing about.  And for a buck I was
always willing to take a chance.  And I scored pretty well.  Lotsa stuff on
Citadel eventually made its way into those boxes.  And soon after that into
my greedy little paws.
       And then there was the used section.  Actually, let me rephrase
that.  The used store.  For a while back there, Pier existed at two locations,
back to back.  The regular one on Newark Street and the used stuff around
the corner on First.  And they had tons of cool stuff.  We used to spend
hours going through it.   Eventually, this store closed down (the beginning
of the end?), and the vinyl (new and used) was moved to the second floor
of the Newark Street store, while the CDs remained on the first floor.

       Some pretty fantastic Saturday afternoons were spent at Pier
Platters (always both stores) with The Bluesman, Mike Sinocchi, Matthew
Kaplan, and Andy Peters.  Later on, The Skeever occasionally made the
trip, too.  Still, my favorite story will always be of the first time we ever
took the Platterpuss along for the ride.  Here's the Readers Digest
version... I guess it must've been a Friday evening or something, though I
suppose it could just as easily have been Saturday.  Still, my memory
seems to give it that Friday evening feel.  And I get the feeling Matthew
was around, too.  But, anyway... The 'Puss (who'd been a record nut for
years) was like a kid in a candy store.  One who doesn't know when to
stop, at that.  I was having a pretty good day myself - having piled about
50 or 60 bucks worth on - when Th'Puss suddenly asks me if he can
borrow a couple bucks.
       "Umm... how much?" I ask hesitantly.
       "Oh... about $50 or $60 should do it," he replied, quite matter-of-
factly.
Now, I'm a pretty nice guy, usually willing to lend a friend a couple bucks
when it's necessary, but... well, there's a reason I'd stopped at the amount
of records I'd piled up myself.  Simply put, that's all I had on me.  So I had
to refuse our friendly neighborhood Platterpuss.  He turned to the nice
counter-person.
       "Is there a bank machine nearby?"
       Right on the corner, actually.  So the Puss put his records on the
counter and went to get some dough.  Once back, he resumed his quest.
Finally, after I'd read about all the liner notes I could stand, Monsieur Le
Puss was ready to take his leave of this house of audio pleasure.  Once
outside, I happened to ask how much he'd spent.
       "$300."

       I'm still pretty bummed that I missed most of Pier's last year of
existence.  Living down in North Brunswick made it pretty tough for me
to journey up to Hoboken with any consistency.  At least, not during store
hours.  I guess I should be thankful that I was back in time to catch the last
month.  Which is when the big-time sale started really kicking in.  My first
trip came the second weekend in September, when I got an unexpected
phone call from Foster Child editor, Tony Miller, who was up from
Baltimore for the weekend and was in the mood for some record-buying.
       Now, while there were definitely some discs I wanted, I was pretty
low on funds, so I kept this trek to a couple singles.  At this point, though,
Pier Platters still looked like itself.  But I went back a couple weeks later.
       September 30th was the second to last day of Pier Platters existence.
Actually, I'd thought it was the last day.  I needed to make one more
pilgrimage.  Upon walking in, however, I began to regret my decision.  I
thought, "My final memory is going to be of a ghost store."  Downstairs,
where the CDs were, was about 90% empty.  On the other hand, the price
was right.  Everything in the store was 50% off, and discs would go for no
more than $5, no matter what their original price.  Can't beat that.  Not
that there was all that much stuff that I wanted, but there were a few
things I'd never gotten around to picking up (like a Greenberry Woods
CD, a recent 9 Lb. Hammer disc, and Girl Trouble's New American
Shame.  And something you'll hear about elsewhere in this mag, a 3-
songer by The Creation.)  Once I was through downstairs, though, it was
time to climb the spiral staircase to vinyl heaven one last time.
       Unfortunately, there was no $5 limit upstairs.  Otherwise, I
might've gone home with a whole lot more stuff.  Some pretty rare 45s in
there.  One I wanted was the debut 45 by The Salvation Army (who later
grew into the Three O'Clock) on New Alliance.  The sticker said $40,
which (after the 50% break) would still be $20.  Much as I'd like to own it, I
had the songs already and... I just didn't have that kinda money for one 45.
(I guess I'll never be true collector-scum.)  I did, however, part with $12.50
for a Radio Birdman 7"er.  I figured I'd never get another chance at it, so...
Besides, this was gonna be the only thing I spent that kinda cash on.  Some
prices amazed me... I mean, The Mono Men 45 with "Jezebel" selling for
$15?!  Well, sure, it'd only cost $7.50, but... I got that one when it came out
- for a normal price.  Most of my money, this last trip, went in one last flip
through the Aussie bin, as I picked up that Radio Birdman 45, along with
The Hoodoo Gurus "I Want You Back"/"Who Do Hoodoo You Love", The
Lime Spiders' "Slave Girl" and an Angie Pepper (w/Deniz Tek) seven-
incher.

       I'm going to deeply miss Pier Platters.

DARIN LIN WOOD INTERVIEW
SATYRICON, PORTLAND, OR 8/19/95:
       Darren plays in both Fireworks and 68 Comeback who, along with
the Cheater Slicks, are touring the west coast.  I went to the show in Seattle
on Thursday and drove down to Portland the next day for another taste.
       I find Darren sitting alone in a big booth.  A large aluminum baking
dish with cheese enchiladas is on the table between us.  I can't hear him
over top of the opening band playing in the next room.  Darren sips a cola
and smokes a cigarette.  After tonight's show he has to drive down to San
Francisco.  They play at The Bottom of The Hill club on Saturday and then
it's on to Costa Mesa on Sunday.  In LA., a break from driving for a few
days before another gig later in the week.
       Darren, a stylish, razor thin rockabilly rebel, cool and deadly.  I
offer him some bourbon which he refuses.  I pour myself a glass and begin
with some things I'm curious about.

B: How did Black Top get together?  Mick's from the Gories and you and
Janet are from Fireworks.
D: When I was in 68 Comeback on our first tour we were up in Detroit and
I met Mick and talked to him for a while.  When I got home I talked with
Janet and asked her if someday she wanted to do something.  She said,
"Yeah." So I called up Mick before Fireworks toured Europe and said,
"Hey, would you be interested in doing something?" and he said, "Yeah,
why not?" When we came home from Europe we set it up.

B: Mick lends and interesting aspect to Black Top.  You and Janet are
exciting  to watch and then to have Mick in the band too, there's an
exciting dynamic going on.
D: Yeah, Mick lends that to anything he does, I would imagine, yeah.
B: I'm glad to see you showcased in Fireworks. I wasn't hip to him or you
till I saw Black Top. After that I bought the Fireworks LP on Crypt Set The
World On Fire and have been listening to that for the last few months.  I
noticed last night in Seattle you didn't do too many songs from that
album.  I heard "Hey Fucker" and "S Link". Did you write "S Link"?
D: It's a Link Ray song called "Slinky" but I changed it around a bit and
called it "Slink".
B: Oh "Slink" and I thought it was "S Link", yeah cool.
D: In Black Top I wrote a lot of those songs.  I started that thing.  The band
was my idea from the very beginning.  And I called Mick in to be the man
that sings, but I'm still involved in all the song writing.
B: Interesting, I'm glad to hear it.  Because man I like your song writing
style.  Your songs kick.
D: We just wanted something different for Black Top.  A different style
from what we are doing in Fireworks.  We wanted to keep it as separate as
possible.  Mick is definitely showcased in Black Top, but I don't know
what kind of image people have when they see Black Top.  They might not
know it but I was the one who put that group together and wrote a good
portion of the songs.  When Mick was writing his songs he was going
through my notebooks and writing lyrics - not all of them, but there are a
few of them where he did that.  I have a lot more to do with Black Top
than people think.  Without running the risk of sounding egotistical or
having to put myself forward..
B: No it's good to clarify things.
D: Yeah because a lot of people thought I was just along for the ride on
that.  When in fact they are along for the ride with me.
B: The songs on the Fireworks Crypt album, why are you not doing more
songs off that?
D: We have been touring for so long doing those songs, we are trying to
do some of the new songs., just for ourselves maybe.  I don't know how
many people out there have seen us more than once or twice, but the point
is to bring some new things into the picture.

B: I've been listening to the Crypt LP and only have that.
D:  You have to get the one on Au Go Go; that one kicks ass. It's called Off
The Air.  It should be out soon, if not now.
B: I heard a trace of Buddy Holly in a couple of your songs.  A melody
from "Rock With Me Annie" in a song.  I like that you go beyond it when
you remind me of a standard. "What'cha Want" struck a chord in me.
Standout vocals and catchy lyrics. "When She Passes By" takes me to a
place I've been to before. I wondered how you write them.
D: I use a lot of theft.
B: (laughing) What do you mean?  Are you watching things happen to
other around you?
D: I steal a bunch.  I stole "Whatcha Want" from an old rockabilly tune.
B: No fucking way!
D: Yeah I steal songs, I steal ideas, I mean when your playing rock and roll
if you come out saying to yourself, ah I'm doing something new - you're
totally full of shit.  And you couldn't possibly do something new. My
approach is pretty fucking humble.  I just take stuff I love and piece it all
together.  Sometimes flat rip songs off.  Change lyrics around or add my
lyrics to the music.  When I do steal like that I try to use really obscure
songs.
So they are not obviously traceable.
B: Well that's good! So you have a big record collection or have you had
your ear tuned in all your life?
D: I've been listening for a long time to things of that caliber.  I've always
loved old rockabilly and that old Rolling Stones sound.
B: It suprises me how much I am reminded of psychobilly bands when I
watch Fireworks.  Do you object to that label?  That scene is starting to
happen.
D: Yeah, but I've never been into those guys.  They look so absurd.  I've
never been into psychobilly at all.  I would think we look more traditional.
I love Hasil Adkins, that stuff is awesome.  I think Benny Joy and some of
those raw rockabilly guys were actually trying to sound good.  They just
recorded so shitty or were so bad it sounded like they were psychotic.  In
fact they were actually trying to be good.  That's more what I like instead
of someone on purpose trying to be wacky.
B: OK, what about the Lo-Fi idea.  Some songs on the Crypt album have
your voice so obscured in a ripping wall of sound.  Guitar riffs keep
clawing away.
D: The word Lo-Fi is not a word I use on a daily basis.  Its a new kind of
tag.  I object to that term obviously.  But I have always been into home
recording.  You know, kids going into the garage setting up their
equipment and going for it.  Put out a 7" and be really proud of it. That's
what I'm emulating, not the Lo-Fi.  I didn't know anything about Lo-Fi
when we started.  I knew some bands did home recording because of my
punk rock days.  It's nothing new.
B: You have a cool style, I noticed last night when you played guitar in '68
Comeback you paused to open a pack of Camels and light up.  Evans
referred to you as Darren Lin Wood start of stage, screen and television.
You are addressing many things people are going to think about... It's Lo-
Fi, It's psychobilly.  You are aware that they already try to label you.
D: And hopefully I can confound them.
B: Besides the Crypt album, what else is out or coming out from
Fireworks?
D: A new mini LP on In The Red is coming out soon and many of those
songs are originals.  We cover Jack Starr's "Petrified" and Cat Clit's "One
More Night".  Other than that all the music and lyrics were written by me
and I am really proud of that.  I'm going to hand off the DAT and the
artwork to Larry of In The Red when we get to LA. and so it will be out in
a couple of months.  Larry's a great guy.  I've known him a long time.

(Darren's lady, Janet, the drummer in Fireworks, walks over to the bar.
Her long blonde hair set up high with a black ribbon on top.  She is
wearing a short black and white jacket, patent leather mini skirt, tight
weave fish nets and black ankle boots with squared off tips.)

B: Man, Janet is awesome!
D: She works hard.
B: Hey, how was the Fireworks European tour?
D: Great, we went to Holland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland,
Austria and Czechoslovakia.
B: Did you go over to England?  I think they would dig you over there.
D: John Peel actually went out and bought our record "Set The World On
Fire" and flipped out over it and wanted us to do some Peel Sessions. But
it wasn't in the cards this time.
B: He's a cool old guy and it would be good to have something by
Fireworks on Strange Fruit.
D: The first shows we did on the tour were in Germany. It was Southern
Culture On The Skids, Fireworks, and The Beguiled.  Later In Dresden,
then in Paris we played shows with Swinging Neckbreakers .  Paris was
an amazing show with 600 paying customers.  Kids dancing on the stage.
It was insane.  All I could see were people all the way out.
B: Any videos from the tour??
D: There's a video from a gig in Holland and one from the German bunker
we played in.  This was a fucking bunker, a fortress and they were like,
"Oh, no, we don't talk about that, it's a club."  Yeah, we knew it was a club,
but it used to be a... chain racks on the walls.
B: Yeah, they have some weird clubs in Germany. They like the club life in
Germany. Thanks for the interview, it was good talking with you.
               By Bob Kondrak

I JUST WASN'T MADE FOR THESE TIMES - AN EVENING WITH
BRIAN WILSON
                                                 The Platterpuss

     A few months ago (Sept. 7 to be exact) I was lucky enough to realize a
life-long dream of  mine which was to see Brian Wilson, who was my first
and still is my ultimate music hero, in the flesh, healthy and happy and
performing in a relatively small hall. Of course, when I got home, one of
the first things I did was to write all about it for alt.music.banana-truffle,
my cyber-home away from home. When Blair asked me to write about the
show for Teen Scene I said I was more than happy to do so. Reading over
my post of that night I realize that I could never write about this incredible
evening more vividly than I did at the time. So, the next few paragraphs
are exactly what I wrote that night followed by a review of his new CD "I
Just Wasn't Made For These Times".

         Tonight I had the incredibly good fortune of seeing Brian Wilson
perform live (mucho thanks to TweeKid for taking me as his plus one), an
experience that none who were there will soon forget. First they showed
the movie "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" which was directed by
Don Was. This is a movie that any true fan of the Beach Boys music has
just gotta see as it focuses on Brian's  music and not so much all the stories
about his drug use and fucked-up childhood. The man is truly a genius!
Then it was time for Brian himself, backed by an all-star band that
included the Paley Bros., Don Was and Paul Schaeffer. Brian was
absolutely amazing. They did 6 songs, "California Girls", "The Warmth of
the Sun", "God Only Knows", "Do It Again" (twice - once fast and once
slow) and "409". Brian was pretty relaxed, joking with the audience and it
seemed like he was enjoying himself.
        Brian has always occupied a special place in my heart. When I was 13
years old I got my first Beach Boys album, "All Summer Long". I
remember the amazing  feeling I got when I  heard "Don't Back Down" for
the very first time. It was one of my first realizations of the greater powers
of Rock & Roll and ever since then I've felt a special spiritual kinship with
Brian.  To see him happy and getting out there again, without the "help" of
Eugene Landy is especially gratifying. I apologize for making this post so
long but I'm still so overwhelmed that I just had to share it. I love this
man!!

       Listening to I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, which was also
produced by Don Was, these 11 songs seem to be more a statement of one
man's struggle and victory over his own personal demons, a deliverance
from a horror that most of us can't even conceive of, a triumph of good
over evil, than it does a mere pop album. These songs are all remakes of
songs from various points in Brian's career and its truly fascinating,
hearing old favorites like Caroline No. This Whole World, Do It Again and
The Warmth Of The Sun in this new light. Gone is the falsetto, wide-eyed
innocence of his youth, but in its place is a kind of older and wiser, world-
weary yet relatively contented voice  that adds a whole new perspective.
While I would have liked to hear new some songs (and it is reliably
rumored that there is at least one whole album's worth in the can) this is
still a treat that, only a few years ago, I would have never dreamed
possible.
       As much as I love the new CD, if you're just a casual fan of Brian or
the Beach Boys, the significance of it would probably escape you for the
most part and your money might be better spent elsewhere but, if you
ever get a chance to see the movie, it is truly not to be missed and may just
make a rabid fan out of you if you aren't one already. --- JS

CALIFORNIA SCENE
       Many changes have occurred in California's 60s music scene this past
summer.  Unfortunately, the end result is fewer bands.  The damage
spanned the state, leaving few scenes untouched.  In the Bay area, the
Loved Ones, a fine mod influenced R&B band from Oakland, played their
last show at the American Music Hall in San Francisco the last weekend of
June.  The early word is that long time collaborators Bart Davenport and
Xan McCurdy will soon start a new project.  Earlier this year the
Monarchs, another fine Bay Area R&B band, called it quits following the
departure of Ron Silva.
       In Los Angeles, "Action" Andy Rasmuessen left the Bomboras, a
popular surf band featuring ex-members of the Finks and Witchdoctors.
Rasmuessen plans to concentrate on the Sleepwalkers (a San Diego based
rock and roll band with garage, rockabilly and surf influences) and
hopefully to start a few new projects.  Also in San Diego, bassist Mike Stax
and drummer John Chilson have left the 60s influenced punk band Evil
Eyes making the future of that band uncertain.  Jay Wiseman, the Evil
Eyes' singer may recruit new players, but Stax's and Chilson's aggressive
playing will be missed.  The Shambles, Bart Mendoza's and Kevin Ring's
San Diego based psychedelic influenced power-pop project, continue to
depend upon temporary drummers which hinders their live
performances.
       To further complicate matters, the San Diego scene also lost a
valuable venue this summer when Megalopolis closed on June 24.  With
Megalopolis serving its final call, and Teen Scene's trusty California
correspondent (that would be me) moving to Arizona for graduate school,
a party was deemed to be in order.  Revelers (and all too few mourners!)
who packed the tiny club were treated to a fine show.  Megalopolis
regulars (and Friends Of Matt) D-Revolver and the Shambles played with
L.A.'s incredible psych-poppers the Jigsaw Seen.
       D-Revolver had the unfortunate position of being the opening act.
Many of the early arrivers engaged in some serious socializing, while D-
Revolver provided dissonant, yet oddly appropriate, background music.
The Jigsaw Seen were up next, and their spell-binding psychedelic pop
brought the focus back to the music.  Readers who are unfamiliar with the
Jigsaw Seen would do well to acquire their single (Get Hip/Skyclad) and
CD EP (also on Skyclad, but out of print), but the band really shines when
they play live.
       Jigsaw Seen's masterwork is "My name is Tom", a wonderful
psychedelic trip, in the style of "Forever Changes" era Love, which clocks
in at about 7 minutes on record but pushed 10 minutes live.  The band
often plays a medley of "My name is Tom" and Love's "Daily Planet"
which can be an all night affair, but they restrained themselves this night.
       The Shambles were up next, with a borrowed drummer.  They played
a short originals set and then became a live 60s jukebox.  Everyone had a
great time shouting out old favorites.  Their drummer sometimes missed
the mark (at one point Bart grabbed a drumstick and assisted the
drummer while singing "I can only give you everything") but that didn't
detract from the fun.  Before the end of the night, the Shambles invited the
Megalopolis regulars to sing their favorite songs with the band.  The most
entertaining of the guest performances was Victor Penalosa (the Melanies)
singing lead on the Manual Scan song "Nothing can be everything".
       Now that all of the bad news out of the way, there have been some
promising developments in the scene.  In San Diego, the Ogres, Ron
Swart's garage band, have reportedly found a real singer which is sure to
improve their sound.  Ex Tell-Tale Heart bandmates Mike Stax and Eric
Bacher are talking about starting a new band.
       In the Bay Area, the Black Diamonds long awaited CD will soon be
released on Monarch records.  There aren't any plans, as of yet, for a Black
Diamonds tour in support of the CD, but Carl Rusk, Tom Ward, and Ron
Silva are planning on doing a few Nashville Ramblers reunion gigs (in
California) near the end of the year.  Ward, who seemingly can not play in
only one band at a time, has started yet another band, this time a modern
jazz combo called "The Pieces of Eight".  Finally, my move to AZ has
expanded the scope of Teen Scene's West Coast update to include the
entire Southwest!  How's that for a happy ending? --- MF

ROCKINGHAMS
       Jim Basnight. Jack Hanan. Chris Crass. Those names might mean
something to people who remember Seattle before the media-hype
explosion. All three of the Rockinghams have a history in Seattle music
going back as far as 1978. Guitarist/vocalist Basnight began in the pre-
punk outfit the Meyce before forming powerpop legends the Moberlys,
whose 1979 debut LP was voted one of the Rocket's "All-Time Top Ten
Northwest LPs." Bassist Hanan got his start in the Feelings who became
the Cowboys, a successful new wave group that existed from 1979-86.
Drummer Chris Crass had been in about 30 local bands as both a
drummer and a guitarist, including obscure outfits like the Vains (who
included a young Duff McKagan) , before moving to Los Angeles where
he played with everyone from 1950s rockabilly legend  Sleepy La Beef  to
punk transvestite Wayne/Jayne County. In 1990, Chris joined the Muffs,
playing on their numerous indie singles and debut album for Reprise. He
left the Muffs in the fall of '93, after a grueling North America tour,
returning home to Seattle because, as he says, "I was tired of the record
company, tired of the band, and tired of L.A."
       After kicking around for a few months, Crass hooked up with
Basnight and Hanan to form the Rockinghams. Initially, the band was a
quartet, but when second guitarist Sean Denton left, they decided to
remain a three-piece. "We rock now," says Basnight. "The three piece just
rocks so much harder." Indeed, the Rockinghams have that classic trio
punk-powerpop sound akin to '77 bands like the Jam. They chose the
name Rockinghams because  when Chris and Jim lived in L.A., they often
drove by Rockingham Drive (yes, the infamous O.J. Simpson estate site!)
and though it would make a great name for a band. Hanan adds "Plus,
we're a bunch of hams. Rocking hams!"  Tired of the current "alternative
rock" sound, the Rockinghams play tight, energetic, melody-based rock 'n'
roll. Crass is quick to point out, "We're as much punk as we are pop."
Hanan adds that "We're not afraid to say we're pop. Iggy was pop. The
Sex Pistols were pop. We play rock 'n' roll, and we like what we do."
       For a trio of 33 to 37 year olds, the Rockinghams really can rock.
Crass has a hard time staying behind his kit, when he's not pounding it
into submission and adding great harmony vocals.  Basnight, the
charismatic individual that he is, jumps and bops around with his
patented "shaky leg" routine. Jack, with his big bass, adds some fine heavy
basswork, and certainly fills out the sound. They play new Rockinghams
originals, like "Hello Mary Jane" and "Rock 'n' Roll Girlfriend" off of their
"Monsters of Rock" cassette. They also throw out the occasional Moberlys
oldie and some select covers such as the Sex Pistols' "Did You Know
Wrong," "Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie and "Just Like Me" by Paul Revere
and the Raiders.  "We've made a point though," Basnight says "Of working
on original stuff, because we don't want to become just a cover band."
Few of their songs reach past the two-three minute mark.  Live, they're
like a cross between the Who, the New York Dolls and the Sonics!
Musically, the Rockinghams like to mix it up, drawing on influences from
the '50s, '60s and '70s. "A good song is a good song," says Crass,  "Whether
it's '50s rock n' roll, '60s pop, or '70s punk. What matters is it's a good
song."
       Basnight is quick to add, "There is a lot of crappy music out there.
A lot of people with marketing strategies, trying to get the right look and
sound." The Rockinghams could care less about looks and marketing
plans. They've just released a six-song cassette to garner some attention
and act as a taster for an actual full-length CD release, due out shortly.
       Also of interest is the recently re-issued Moberly's First Album,
which Jim has released on his Precedent Records label (7616 Latona NE,
Seattle WA  98115). Actually, the CD is not an exact re-issue of the original
LP which came out on the Safety First label in 1979,  deleting a few songs
in favor of some  rarer tracks such as the brilliant "She Got Fucked" and
"Love Is Beautiful."  The CD includes liner notes by Yellow Pills editor
Jordan Oakes, and a great selection of power-poppin' tracks like "Live In
The Sun," "Blow Your Life Away" and "Sexteen." Check it out! --- AW

THE CREATION
       The first time I ever heard of The Creation was at a record store in
Huntington Station, Long Island sometime in the Summer of Fuzz, 1984.
Not that there was a record by them there; there wasn't.  But that's where I
saw the 3 X 5 card put up by my pal Jim Gange, whose band, The
Convertibles, had just broken up.  Jim, one of the best bass players I've
ever had the pleasure to know, was forming a new band with his
Smithtown pals Rob Normandin (guitar) and Dave Long (guitar, organ,
vocals).  They were looking, according to that little card on the bulletin
board, for a "drummer into the early Who, The Creation, and The Action."
Well, pretty soon they found one Steve Peper.  My guess is that Steve, like
me, only knew The Who at the time.  But when he hooked up with
these guys, he soon became aware of the rest, as the band, in their early
days especially, was extremely into the Mod scene, covering two of The
Creation's best - "Biff Bang Pow" (a song I'd later name my radio show for)
and "Try And Stop Me".  Dave Long would leave the group pretty early
on, to be replaced with a wildman named Wayne Manor.  These guys, The
Secret Service, would become my favorite on the NYC metro area scene.
       But this is about The Creation.
       Once back in Rochester, NY for school that following fall, I began
scouring the record stores, looking for stuff by The Creation.  Eventually, I
found How Does It Feel To Feel (Edsel), which included much of their best
material.  Inside were the obligatory liner notes (pretty good ones, too).
However, these were better than most.  Long, telling the story from the
band's early days as The Mark IV right through the end and beyond.  I
played that record over and over again.  The Creation became my number
one Mod group of all time.  A title they hold to this day.  (Proudly, I'm
sure.)


       Anyway, as you've no doubt discovered by now, this wasn't meant
to be some kind of history of the band.  So what's the point?  Well, about a
year or so ago, I'd heard The Creation had reformed and released a single
on the label that had been named after them.  However, a friend who shall
remain nameless told me it was nothing special (I'm sure he'll deny it if I
confront him with it, but...).  I listened, as so many other old groups
reunite and... well, they suck.  But on my last trip to Pier Platters, I saw a
copy of Creation By Creation For Creation (Creation Records... obviously)
that would only cost me three bucks.  This was the CD version, which
evidently has one song not on the 45.  I got home and put it on.  Geez!
These guys haven't lost a friggin' thing!  "Creation" begins with a chord of
declaration.  A sort of "We're back.  Watch and see how it's done!"  They
throw in that vibrating sound that gets me in every time, then go on to
remind us what Power & Volume are all about.  And they never let any of
it get in the way of the melody.  The energy's way up and these guys
sound like they never left.  Now, maybe you're thinking, "OK, they did
one decent song.  Fine."  Nope.  'Cuz next up is "Shock Horror".  Yet more
of what I loved these guys for.  Not only that, this disc's got that extra
track the 45 doesn't have, "Power Surge".  Which is exactly what these
guys give out.  "I get this terrible urge / an Electric Power Surge..." and the
guitar, still playing those melting supercharged chords.
       So good to see these guys can still write and play incredible music.
I just wish they'd come play NYC.  I'd go absolutely nuts.
       (Through my mention of this on Modslist, I've since learned that
guitarist Eddie Phillips has again left the group, which means it's just not
the same.  Such is life.)

DM 3 UPDATE
       The DM3 have just released a new CD EP, titled Something Heavy
(Citadel).  It has three new songs, plus live versions of "Now You Know"
and "Foolish".  Speaking of which, the Foolish 7" single took some time to
get here.  The reason being that the band did not  want anybody to buy it
because it is pressed in France.  So the hip record shops that sell this sort
of stuff agreed to put on stickers stating DM3 are opposed to nuclear
bomb tests in the Pacific.
       The new album will come out on October 2.  I don't know what
songs are on it, as they have only been playing one or two new songs in
their live sets.  They have been playing once a week for nearly two months
now.  They are back to a trio now, without Ian Campbell.  This doesn't
make much difference as Dom is so good on guitar, even one night when
he was sick with the flu, he managed to sound great.  The songs they have
been playing would be something like the following:  "Far From Here",
"Blue Thing", "Like This", "Foolish", "High Rotation", "1X, 2X, Devastated",
"Up In The Air", "Please Don't Lie" (new) and some covers: "Makin' Time",
"Do Anything You Wanna Do", "Now You Know", "Girl Soul", "Move Me",
"Just Ain't Enough", plus an instrumental I can't identify.
       I was pleasantly surprised to hear the two Stems songs, as Dom
was quoted in a review earlier this year as saying, "This is the last time we
are going to play "Move Me".  I supposed he does get pissed off with
people calling out for Stems and Some Loves songs each time.
       The DM3 are rumored to be touring Europe later this year.  If you
want to see them in the USA, I guess you will have to keep spreading the
word how good they are. --- MS

The Makers
Friday July 28th
Big Dipper
Spokane, Washington

       The Makers are true savages.  This hometown show at the Big
Dipper proves once and for all that these Estrus recording artists are the
true bad boy heirs to the Sonics/Rolling Stones throne.  Yes, they are jerks,
but they walk the walk, as well.  Their real lifestyles adequately reflect
their stage show - they are flashy, sassy and do not suffer fools gladly.
       Playing mostly new, unreleased junk, they proceeded to shame
their garage punk peers by breaking it down raw and fast.  Don Maker,
perhaps Garagedom's finest bass player was unusually sober this evening.
Halfway thru their typical 30 minute set, Don challenged the entire front
row to a good old-fashioned knuckle-rumble which they wisely declined.
Mike Maker, equal parts Iggy, Rudy Martinez, and Jagger, danced,
prowled and climbed all over the beaten Dipper stage with feverish glee.
Tim Maker had a little trouble with his equipment as usual, but managed
to lay down enough inarticulate noodling to keep up.  Jay Maker, turning
in a brutish performance, actually monkey-jumped over his crap-vintage
drum kit into the audience with gibbon-like panache.  And of course, the
music was wild as ever.
       My new favorites have got to be "I Resent" and the irresistible,
anthemic "Shout On" from the forthcoming double 7" on Sympathy.  Old
faves like "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah", "Bust Out", and "Four Button Suit" never
sounded better.  To my amazement, the crowd even sang along with the
latter.  In this day and age of recycled, retro cutie punk, The Makers are
one of the few true animalistic rock n' roll bands out there today.
       Attitude!  Hail, Hail Rock n' Roll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! --- RS

RANDOM NOTES ON LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING
(MAINLY
MINE):
       One of the nice things about being done with student teaching is
that I've found time to read again.  I'd gotten to the point where I was
barely able to get through a short story every week.  (This may have had
something to do with watching junk TV, but...)  My last week of student
teaching (with only one class to teach), I finished two books.  My favorite
of these was Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem.  Sort of a
near-future cross between the old hard-boiled PI thing and a tech-
head/drug-addled/mindless society.  The press calls it a marriage of
Raymond Chandler and Philip K. Dick - and they're not too far off.
Even if you end up disagreeing with that tag, I'd bet you end up enjoying
this one.  Some off-beat humor threads in quite nicely.
       I rarely read magazines, but I make sure I keep my subscription to
Fantasy & Science Fiction current.  While they've got great departments
(science, books, films, etc.), I'm in it for the stories.  And in the past six
months, they've presented two stories by Nina Kiriki Hoffman.  The first,
"Home For Christmas" is one of the most enjoyable, feel-good stories I've
read in ages, about a homeless girl with a talent for talking to inanimate
objects.  This one was in the F&SF Christmas issue (which I finally got
around to reading last week).  The story was pure delight, with an ending
that really packed an emotional wallop.  Her next story for the mag, "For
Richer, For Stranger" is just as good.
       I had just enough time left in my lunch break today to make it
through a short short by Jack McDevitt, entitled "Cruising Through
Deuteronomy".  I've always been a big fan of time travel stories, but I find
that these days it's hard to be surprised; too many writers take the same
tack.  Not Jack McDevitt.  He takes an utterly different path in this one.
The news media prints a report that a scientist has almost completed a
time machine.  A pastor comes to visit to keep him from doing so.  Most of
the story deals with this confrontation.

       After reading the latest major media article on 'zines (in The New
York Times Sunday May 14th), Roberta suggested that we do a personal
'zine together.  It's tempting.  As I mentioned some months back, I've
explored other avenues of 'zinedom before.  The thing about doing a
personal 'zine is... I kinda feel like I'm already doing one.  This mag is very
much about my life... or at least a decent-sized chunk of it.  Sure, it's
mainly the music end, but it's a rare issue that makes absolutely no
mention of other facets of my exalted existence (HEY!  I heard that.)  At
the present time, I really don't have the energy to devote to putting out
another full-time publication.  Of course, if Roberta decides she needs the
outlet, I'll be more than happy to lend a hand.  I really would like her to
start writing again... she's extremely good at it when she gets going.

SPEAKING OF LITERATURE...

       So... here I am, sitting at another boring temp job.  The only stuff I
really have on my desk is left over from the woman I'm filling in for.  See,
according to a co-worker of hers, she's of the extremely lazy sort; if she can
get away with sliding the stuff over to someone else, she goes for it.  When
she was "training" me on Tuesday, she said there was all this stuff they'd
asked her to type into a spreadsheet.  Thing is, she had absolutely no
desire to do it - so she dumped it in my lap, even though I know
absolutely nothing about industrial bricks.  Now, I'm in an interesting
position here.  See, I can just blow it off completely, 'cuz I'll be gone by the
time she gets back.  There'd be no repercussions at all.  She can't really
complain to her boss that I didn't do it, 'cuz it was her job to begin with.
Even if her boss was outraged, he's not here this week.  He won't be able
to yell at me.  My timesheet will already be signed by the personnel office.
I'll have gotten paid, anyway.  One problem with this scenario:  I was
brought up to be sort of conscientious.  While I am an incredible
procrastinator, I've always made sure my work got done.  So, I can't
exactly keep myself from doing this stupid stuff this woman's shoved at
me.  There're seven salesmen whose weekly call reports have to be
transferred from paper to spreadsheet.  There's just not enough, though, to
keep me busy for the four days I'm here.  The first day, Tuesday, was the
1/2 day "training", so that left three days.  I've decided to do two people
per day, which leaves one for Phony Joanie.  Which one?  The one with the
absolute worst handwriting.  (Possibly worse than my own.)  What does
this accomplish?  Well, just that good ol' Joan will still have to do some of
this - and she'll have to do the most annoying one.  I can even justify it.
See, I can't really read this guy's ink blots; at least she's got some practice.
Besides, I'd much rather play Minesweeper.
       You've gotta be wondering right now (or maybe you just don't
care), "What the hell does this have to do with 'zines?"  Well, not too
much.  Except that's where I first started glancing through the latest ish of
For Paper Airplane Pilots.  Well, I'd read the intro before, but I got into the
meat about 10 AM this morning.  Usually, I read 'zines front to back
(kinda like the way I eat my food... hmm, that'll take too long to explain).
This time, though, I just opened to a page and started in.  First thing I ran
into was an "interview" with Strunk & White.  (The guys who wrote The
Elements of Style)  I laughed a bit louder than I probably should've for this
sort of environment, promptly throwing me into a coughing fit.  Next
stop, things that "Make Hulk Mad":  people sending no money for a zine,
microwave popcorn, contradictions in Superman's behavior, etc.  Techno
music, though, was the best entry.  "Techno music frighten Hulk.  Hulk
listen and all Hulk hear is throbbing pain in head.  Hulk wait for fill-in
key, but it not come soon enough - just boom boom boom boom boom
boom until Hulk so mad he smash DJ into bloody death.  Now DJ feel
same pain Hulk hear.  Hulk hate dance."Music types covered in this ish
include Butterglory, Ivy, Tattle Tale, Spatula, Mountain Goats, Kicking
Giant, & Lou Barlow... not exactly normal TS fare, I know.  And, while I
read these things, I tend to enjoy this mag more for the other articles (like
the stuff I mentioned earlier.)  The highlight of ish #5, for me, was in the
supplement, Chuckfactor, which included an interview with Charles
Schulz (I'm still not sure if it was for real...), followed by various music
folk explaining who their fave Peanuts characters are and why.  The FPAP
gang has also started a label (Papercut Records) and have a couple
releases just out, including a 4-song comp with a Cub track on it.  Send $2
to FPAP, PO Box 12011, Gainesville, FL 32604.  (E-mail
[email protected])
       One of the first people I ran into at Lutherama, '95 was Mr. Larry
Grogan, editor of The Evil Eye.  Larry had sent me a message earlier in the
week letting me know that he'd have a copy of the hot-off-the-presses EE
#16 for me at Billy's... and that I had yet to send him a copy of TS #52.
(Ulp.)  What I need to do is set up a mailing list... as if I didn't spend
enough time on the computer already.  Anyway... Once again, Larry's
stocked up on the goodies.  The feature this time out is on Doug Sahm,
who recently appeared at Maxwells on a Sunday night with The Last Real
Texas Blues Band (a show I had to miss... Here's a hint: you don't face
ninth graders at 9 AM without a decent night's sleep.)  Larry's piece
follows Doug Sahm from his first 45 in 1955 right up through the present.
His lead paragraph, though, rang some pretty loud bells..."How do you
start an article about Doug Sahm?  To about 80% of the world, you'd have
to explain who he is.  That, in and of itself is a damn shame."A few friends
were passing thru town this past March.  I ran into them at Maxwells on a
Saturday night.  Upon hearing they'd be in the area for a couple days, I
suggested they catch Doug Sahm the next night.  "Who?"  "You know,
Doug Sahm... from the Sir Douglas Quintet."  "Don't know 'em."  "You've
heard 'She's About A Mover'..." "Nope."  Now I start singin' (bad idea).
Still no response.  OK... time to pull out the big guns.  "You've gotta know
'Mendocino'..." Another blank look... which led to some more bad singing.
Geez... people really don't know who Doug Sahm is.  So I'm gonna have to
get another copy of this ish of the Evil Eye and send it off to 'em.
       So, what else?  "5 Great Glorias" pretty much explains itself.  Nice to
see Larry & I agree that Them's original takes the checkered flag.  Bill
Luther chips in with a couple of reviews, as well as "Ten Great Singles on
the Page One label."  The jazz side of town is covered this month with a
piece on vibesmeister Cal Tjader.  Larry goes off twice this ish... first in his
editorial "The American Ruse: Parochial America", then when he rends
Oliver Stone limb from limb for his "Natural Born Crap".  Also in this ish,
Larry checks in with three favored UseNet groups - alt.music.banana-
truffle, alt.music.byrds, and alt.rock-n-roll.oldies.
       In #17, Larry's "political rant" (his words) is sent towards
Cleveland, Ohio.  Or, more accurately, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
(well, "Hall of Shame", as Mr. Grogan so aptly puts it.)  While he makes
sure he gets his licks in, he also simplifies things for the instant
gratification crowd by including a list of Who's In & Who's Not (Gene
Vincent, VU, Link Wray, and more).  This time out he's got an interview
with Johnny Ramone, articles on Francoise Hardy, Funkadelic,  and
Stereolab, a biting film critique of Kids, a goodbye to Sterling Morrison
and Jerry Garcia, plus reviews of zines and records (including a couple by
Bill Luther.)  Now, as most of you know, Larry and I don't always agree
about music.  I've only heard Stereolab once or twice and... well, I wasn't
impressed.  And I've never been a major fan of P-Funk, either.  (Such
blasphemy, I know.)  Thing is, Larry's one of those writers that can make
even subjects I have no great interest in seem... well... interesting.  Which
is why I always end up reading his mag cover to cover.  Send $2 per ish to
Evil Eye, c/o Grogan, 3 Tulip Ct., Jackson, NJ  08527. (E-mail to
[email protected] or [email protected])
       As you've no doubt noticed over the past year or so, there's a
number of mags that get mentioned over and over again (quick of you.)
Well, two reasons for that:  first, this bunch publishes at least as often as I
do; second (and more importantly), these mags are well worth the measly
amounts of moola you're being asked to lay out.  Which leads me to
Schlock #16... this issue of John Chilson's 4 news-sized pages might well
be labeled (as the ed. himself notes) the "Beth Accomando" issue.  Beth's
one of John's best staffers, having covered some great pieces in the past
(She's the one who wrote the insightful Russ Meyer piece... noting that the
ladies in Faster, Pussycat!  Kill!  Kill! are some of the strongest American
female characters... ever.)  Beth accounts for 75% of this month's ish,
checking in first with an article/interview on Crumb and its director,
Terry Zwigoff.  She then moves on to a piece on the two The Bride With
White Hair movies, 1993 Hong Kong favorites, again pointing out the
strong female roles.  (By the way, I've come to look forward to Beth's
articles with each issue of Schlock... I only wish it was easier for me to find
some of the movies she writes about.)  The rest of the issue is split between
John's editorial and Steve Johnson's "Short Takes", capsule reviews of films
from Disclosure ("Demi Moore plays a heartless bitch rather effectively.")
to I Like It Like That ("If you want to pay to watch more kids yelling at
each other, be my guest."), hitting Clerks and Road To Wellville and more
along the way.
       Unsurprisingly, John has managed to fire off yet another issue
while I'm still waiting for TS 53 to come out.  #17 starts out with a short
bio of George Shearing, nominated by Schlock as "THE composer" for the
"soundtrack to the 1950s bachelor pad."  As we've seen in some of the past
issues, this one has a "Spilled Ink" section, interviewing a zine editor.  This
time, the focus is on Rod Lott of Hitch ("one of zinedom's funniest and
most wiseass magazines I've read in quite some time," writes John.)  It
amazes me how much Mr. Chilson manages to fit into 4 newspaper sized
pages.  Steve Johnson once again chips in with short movie reviews, John
takes a look  at a bunch of movie trailers, and Beth Accomando is back
with even MORE of "The Asian Files."  (Evidently there's a big Honk Kong
film fest going on - over by the time you read this - in San Diego.)  But
where do I find these flicks?  Definitely make sure you keep up with this
'zine.  Send a buck to Schlock, c/o John Chilson, 3841 4th Avenue #192,
San Diego, CA  92103 (e-mail can be sent to [email protected]).  Oh
yeah, just before I went to press with this ish, John sent me #18 (!),
featuring a quick profile of NYC indie filmmaker Ethan Minsker, a bunch
of zine, record, and film reviews, and more of Beth Accomando's "Asian
Files".  (This time she checks out Ringo Lam's Full Contact, which sounds
like one of the wildest action flicks ever.)
       The first issue of RALPH that I remember getting was one dealing
with one of my favorite all-time LPs, The Kinks' Kontroversy.  Over a year
later, writer Ralph Alfonso comes back to that general period with an
issue entitled "ModPopTwist '66", a series of pieces inspired by various
parts of the subcultures those words all bring to mind.  Titles like
"Brighton Mist", "Til The End Of The Day", "Vox Guitars" and "Gloria
Drank Dirty Water On Her Way To The 99th Floor" should give readers an
idea of just where this Beat-oriented poet is coming from.  And just in case
you're still clueless, it starts out with Ralph printing lyrics from The Small
Faces "My Way Of Giving".  Send $1 to RALPH, Box 505-1288 Broughton
St.,  Vancouver, BC, CANADA V6G 2B5 (e-mail [email protected]).
       Roberta went out to San Francisco and all I got was... Well, that's
none of your beeswax.  We'll concentrate on the 'zine she picked up for
me, Scram! #3.  First thing I notice (well, after the cool comic-fied cover), is
that the editrix is none other than Ms. Kim Cooper, who I've occasionally
corresponded with via e-mail.  Actually, to be honest, I wasn't sure it was
her till I asked, but... Anyway, the thing starts out with Kim's apology for
how late the thing is (two years since the last ish); turns out she used to
have a coeditor type who said he could handle it, then ran off with all the
goodies.  See, even this dreamworld known as ZineLand isn't quite
Utopia.  Ah well, the snake in the garden, etc.  Let's get into it... First up...
"Disneyland For Malcontents"... I gotta go to Disney with Kim next time
I'm out West.  "Cheap Sexual Kicks", "Make Park Empoyees & Visitors
Uncomfortable", and more... While there are various record reviews later
on (in which Kim proves herself to be a lady of quite exceptional tastes),
the best record-related stuff comes in more depth.  For instance, an almost
song-by-song rundown of an early 70s Burt Reynolds LP.  (Scary stuff.)  A
"semi-true story of the Bee-Gees" is just that... A particular favorite is the
piece on the similarities between Nancy Sin & Lee Hazlewood and Sonny
& Cher.  (Play Outer Limits theme here.)  There's tons more greatness...
including tuf on the Poppy Family, an interview with Pansy Division, and
a chat with both Jackie & the Cedrics & Yoshiko of the 5,6,7,8s.  What's
wild is how into their subject the writers get.  And yet they're never afraid
to make fun of it (or themselves).  The cover price is $2.50, but I'd make it
an even $3 to partially cover postage.  Scram, PO Box 461626, Hollywood,
CA 90046-1626. (Note: the next ish is now on the stands.)
       Egghead. is a digest-size mag centered around the band of the same
name (yes, the period is intentional).  Reviews, sports and advice (both of
the light humor variety).  And (in #12), "Portrait of the Artist As A Go-
Go's Fan", which follows a guy thru going ga-ga for the Go-Go's in 5th
grade (while dancing with a 7th grader he had his eye on) right thru to the
present.  One question, is the song "Let's Have A Party" that the Go-Go's
covered live the same one everyone knows and loves as done by Wanda
Jackson?  (Whose version, by the way, blasts out of the homemade radio in
Dead Poet's Society, which I got to watch in class a couple weeks back.)
Most of this mag seems a bit too indie-pop oriented for me, but reviews
include material by Teengenerate & Jackie & the Cedrics.  Send a stamp to
Egghead, 30-28 34th St. Suite 4G, Astoria, NY 11103.  (E-mail
[email protected])... My main question right now (one I
could've gotten answered if I wasn't too lazy to e-mail my query to 'em) is
whether Egghead., the zine, still exists.  See, a month or so after getting
that package, the Egghead. Secret Society sent me the first installment of
Go Metric (the "special prom issue").  While they've changed the name
(done to celebrate their evolution from newsletter to "publication"), the
content is much the same... lighthearted and fun.  Favorite parts:  the "ask
Brian Wilson" advice column, the second Jackie Chan piece I've read in the
past six months (1st was in Schlock some issues back), some record
reviews of stuff I really like (Cub, for one... and another review of
The Gain 45 - which I WANT), and a rock'n'roll word find puzzle.  (Extra
points on the latter for putting the 1019 in Spot 1019 in one box.  Made it a
real toughie.)    Best line: in reviewing a Live LP, Mike says, "Does anyone
really expect someone to listen to (...) and go, 'Oh, jeez, what was I
thinking, crack isn't the answer, thank God for that ponytailed guy who
never wears a shirt?'"  Same address and price as above.  (E-mail on this
one to [email protected])... Geez, now I'm feeling kinda lousy.  I just
got GM #2 in today's mail (7/17).  And they haven't heard word one from
me (better e-mail Mike, I guess).  OK, so I'm not the publishing superman
you once knew.  Life has its lousy moments.  While I've come to expect the
unexpected from the Egghead. crew, GM #2 surprised me - there's a
review of a Van Halen show!  ("I think my devil sign still needs some
work.")  On the less surprising side, an interview with George Tabb (Letch
Patrol, Iron Prostate, etc.)  Best is "National Temp Stick It To The Man"
Day (slated for July 24th, unfortunately.  I'll be in school, so I won't be able
to take part.)  Well, there's more fun in this ish, but I'll leave that for you to
discover.  For now, I'll just apologize to this bunch for taking so long to
review their stuff.  #3 features interviews with Cub, Thirsty, & the Lab
Ratz, advice on having a brush with a celeb, how not to spend money, and
tons more assorted advice, rants, silliness, etc.  Enjoyable.
       Skeever's getting hi-falutin'... the latest CapSoul Reviews doesn't
even bother with a number... it's just the "July-August '95" issue.  Now, as
it turns out, I'd read most of this before it made it to print... as Skeever's
got not only the Dictators & Solomon Burke live reviews on his Web page
(http://www.inch.com/~skeever), but reviews from the Platterpuss, as
well.  Also in this ish (for all I know, they're on the Web page, too... I just
don't spend my whole day there like some people) are reviews of The
Woggles, Ronnie & the Pussycats, Swingin' Neckbreakers' show (tho' it
was 5/20/95, not 6/27, Skiv-pal), a bunch of reviews by the Skeever (some
second-hand, some not...), his ever-popular "sketches", places to go on the
World Wide Web (many available via his own page now), and... a
rundown of some of the incredibly stupid crap that gets sent to CapSoul
HQ.  Send a buck to... uh, there's no address listed here, Steve.  What are
the "electronically handicapped" supposed to do?  Never mind, I'll dig
your stinkin' address out of a back issue.  Me, I treat my readers with
respect.  CapSoul Reviews, Apt. 6M, Astoria, Queens 11106.  (E-mail to
[email protected]).
       A while back, I got an e-mail message from Case Elliott, editor of
Make Room!, asking if he could print my report from GarageShock, '95.
Yeah, sure, said I, just send me a copy.  As it turned out, Case and I were
able to pull off a trade.  He was going to the shindig in Memphis towards
the end of June.  While I wanted to go, that just wasn't gonna be possible...
so I asked Case if I could run his report from that event.  And so it went.
Well, MR #5 includes both my GS, '95 report and Case's Memphis piece.
Poor guy had to shrink the typeface like mad to fit it in less than 6 pages.
(So I had a bit to say... deal with it.)  Also in this one are interviews with
The Satans & Impala.  Then there's the record reviews.  Case takes on the
garage material, leaving the punk/HC stuff for his pal Tim.  Mr. Elliott is a
bit more of a critic than I am.  While I'd agree that The Swingin'
Neckbreakers "I'm In Love With Me" doesn't measure up to Live For Buzz,
I can't see how anyone could say they're not "as much of a garage band as
people say."  Or maybe I can.  A few people on alt.music.banana-truffle
have pointed out the different perceptions of the term garage.  If yours is
lo-fi r'n'r, then I guess the Swingin' Neckbreakers really aren't a garage
group.  But I use the term the way I originally learned it... when the 80s
garage thing was in full swing, 'garage' meant stuff influenced by the
"Sound of '66".  And the Neckbreakers have much more in common with
The Sonics than they do with the Rip Offs (who also happen to be high on
my list of coolsters).  Anyway, Case comes to the point at the end, though,
saying that "it shouldn't really matter, they still rock," telling the reader to
go out and by Live For Buzz.  What else?  Well, Case uses his space to
go off about whatever's on his mind (it is, after all, his zine.)  Oh yeah, just
to prove that I'm slower than the slugs that used to live under the deck of
my childhood home in East Northport, Long Island, Case has gotten yet
another ish out (#6) before I've gotten around to putting out #54.  This one
steals the back and front cover from a Rip-Offs 45 and features "Reviews.
No Interviews, no ranting, I promise." Send a buck per ish to MR, c/o
Typo, 3118 Keller, Temple, TX  76504.  (E-mail to [email protected])
       Besides giving me the lowdown on The Rockinghams, Alan Wright
also sent a copy of the latest issue of Ucking Things, published by his old
bandmate (from the 14th Wray), Pat Shanks.  I'm getting pretty into this
mag.  When you get right down to it, what Pat's done is create a letter to a
bunch of friends he may or may not have met.  It's about whatever's on his
mind:  the old stubby beer bottles of his youth; shoe-gazers (not the indie-
pop thing, but what the term means to Pat - people who judge others by
their footwear); what Spring means to him; a road trip; Carl Sagan, the
idol; an extremely funny piece about vomit stories; straight-edge (again, to
Pat, this does not mean a certain type of music... instead, we're talking
whisker-removal); the neighborhood watering hole; "That's
Cool" vs. "That's Trash"; an interview with a friend that goes absolutely
nowhere (like most of my conversations); and lots more.  Including, of
course, a two page bit on (mainly) 80s garage-psych records you may have
missed out on.  Like I said, whatever's on Pat's mind at the time.  Funny,
at times, but mainly just a look at one guy's life.  And he opens the door so
you can get a real good look every once in a while.  Definitely worth the
measly $1 that he's asking for it.  Ucking Things, 162 Daly Avenue #12,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6E9, CANADA.
       Now... what's amazing to me is... Well, actually, what's truly
amazing to me is that these next couple zine reviews are being written
nearly 3 months after the first one.  But what I was originally getting at
was that in the space of 24 hours I've gotten two zines I've never seen
before... plus one I've been reading for a while now, but haven't seen for
some time now.  Let's start with one of the newbies.  First up, a note in the
mail today from Jim Freek, co-editor of Fruitbasket Upset (cool title, huh?)
Seems he saw a review of the TS in Audities  (*I* haven't even seen that
yet) and wanted to know if we might do a trade.  (Sure thing.)  The
Summer, '95 edition (also known as ish #2) begins with an in-depth look at
the Anime Expo '95.  Now, I really didn't know much about Anime
before this article.  Well, OK, I was able to retrieve a basic idea of what it
was (a Japanese animation form that stresses attention to detail) from one
of the many heavily cobwebbed corners of my swiftly degenerating gray
matter.  BUT, thanks to a sidebar, I soon had the basics down.  Actually,
reading the coverage of the Expo kinda reminded me of writing my
GarageShock bit... Of course, the events are completely different, but the
piece is done very much on the personal level.  Which I like.  (I also liked
how the guys used a 1964 newspaper ad for a Kinks show to take up the
space at the bottom.)  After Anime, it's time for a visit with The Cherries.
Then their nominee for "Ron Wood of the Month", Frank Infante of londie.
Then it's on to what often makes up the meat of the Teen Scene, record
and show reviews.  Jonathan Richman, the Lazy Cowgirls, Supersnazz, the
Alter Egos (a group with Rich Coffee's "latest Who fascination (...)
exploring more of a hard pop direction."  I'd like to see this.)  While
Monkees cover act The Missing Links sound fun, it's You Am I that I most
want to check out.  They're described with many Mod names, plus Alex
Chilton and Pet Sounds Beach Boys references.  I wish I'd had money this
past year... then maybe I would've heard these guys already.  Funniest bit
in the whole mag has to have been the "Snack Attack", where co-editor
Shaun goes after McDonalds for their stupidity in opening up a third
window in the drive-in lane.  But showers Wendy's with praise for their
big screen (so you know that they didn't screw up in keying in your
order.)  "There's something majestic about seeing your order displayed in
such huge, bold letters," writes Shaun.  "I feel like I'm ordering a meal
from God."  Throw in a look at a Bubblegum comp, an Eggbert Records
feature, and a look at some bands that should just give up, and it's $2 well
spent.  Just before I went to press I got #3 in the mail.  This one's got tons
more shows they've been to, records they've listened to, zines they've
read, and a summertime full of fun with The Neptunas.  Not to mention
the school cafeteria story.  (Interesting how I almost never go to the
cafeteria now that I'm a teacher.)  Send money to 1943 Sunny Crest Dr.
#666, Fullerton, CA 92635.  ([email protected])
       Last night was the Nine Pound Hammer / Lazy Cowgirls show at
Maxwells.  So there I am, handing out copies of #53 to friends and
acquaintances, when I run into Raunch Hand George Sulley.  I hand him a
copy and continue on my way.  Within 30 seconds, tho', a guy comes up to
me and tells me he's from Montreal and work on a zine up there.  Could
we do a trade?  (As I said before... Sure thing.)  This one's called Gravy.
Now, while it's over 85 pages in length, my main interest was in the
interview with the Devil Dogs and the conversation with Grant Lawrence
of the Smugglers (which ran about eight pages!)  Some readers are
probably into Blues Explosion (I'm not a major fan myself, but...), and
they're in here, too.  As for the rest: Gaunt, Sebadoh, Helmet, Rancid, The
Goops, Chokebore, Samiam... not really my cup of unsweetened iced tea.
A bunch of record reviews (many of which I disagree with... they say The
Vikings' "Rock All" is the weakest of the songs on their two 45s... NO
WAY!  It's the best.)  How much is it?  No clue, but I'd send a few bucks to
cover postage.  728 Ville Marie, Longueuil, QC  J4J-SE7  CANADA.
       A most welcome sight in today's mail came from Oil City, PA,
home of Joe Johnson and one of my fave mags, 3:AM.  This one's listed as
Volume 2, #1 (yet another pal getting fancy on me.  Nice try, Joe, but I'll
still think of this as #19.)  As usual, it's crammed full of horror and trash
flick reviews, yet another movie fan expo (again at the Meadowlands
Hilton... I guess if you're talking gore, you might as well head for the
swamps.. get lucky and maybe you'll find a piece of Jimmy Hoffa floating
around.)  Joe has a real way with a story... even if he can't get a bed in a
hotel room he reserved himself.  The main musical thrust this time
is towards spy music, with a major nod to the Man or AstroMan guys.  We
also get some Carterberry tales from Bill himself.  Mainly about nudie bars
(to put it in Al Bundy language) in Youngstown & Wheeling.  Throw in
yet another page of Candy Del Mar stories/lust and Joe's handed over
another winner.  And for only $1.75, yet.  Send your cash to Joseph
Johnson, 152 West 3rd St., Oil City, PA 16301.
       And, finally (well, sort of), is another newbie, the Aesthetics of
Trash #5.  I've known editor Roger Mah (er... R. Mothra) for some time
now, since he's been a buddy of Bill Jones since their undergrad days at
Lehigh in the mid-80s.  And Roger's even written for this mag in the past.
But somehow I never got an ish of AofT before.  (When was the last one?)
As with most mags, there's the obligatory reviews (live, recorded, and
print), plus some e-mail from Martin Phillips (of the Chills) on what he's
up to these days.  The eatery rundown is pretty cool (especially Roger's
record of 54 ribs... Next time Roger's in YC, we'll have to grab some
together.)  But the highlight of this ish (and the reason you better throw
two GWs in the mail pronto) is the interview with Kent Steedman of the
Celibate Rifles.  It seems Roger kidnapped Kent the day after the latter
played with Deniz Tek out LA-way.  (Uh... why didn't they play NYC?)
Definitely worth your cash.  $2 to 16835 Algonquin St., PO Box 103,
Huntington Beach, CA  92649.
       Whoops.  Almost forgot about one of my personal faves - Audities.
The summer, '95 ish (#4) features artist updates on The Connells and
Judybats, but it's their regular columns that make it worth your cash.
These include a "Musical Guide To The Wires" (the internet, the airwaves,
and the written word), part 4 of their "Guide to Indie Music Sources" (a
fantastic label guide, this ish goes from Oglio thru Sonic Unyon, catching
Popllama, Pravda, Precedent, Razor & Tie, SOL, and many more along the
way), "Second Sightings" (stuff you may have missed the first time
around), "Up Around The Bend" (coming releases), Digging Through The
Bins" (I think you can figure this one out), "News Bits" and tons of power
pop reviews.  Actually, their reviews magnify what's best about this mag.
Firstly, they're not afraid to spend more than a couple lines per record
(usually, it's a few paragraphs each.)  Better than that, though, up top they
give you a rating (on a 1-5 scale), plus their picks, what it's like, and some
comments.  Throw in a picture of the disc or tape cover and it looks damn
good... As does the whole presentation.  Very well put together.  $3 to
Audities, PO Box 1555, Stafford, TX  77497.

PICK OF THE ISH!
       Like I said back in the intro, it's always great to hear from people in
the mail.  So I came home the other day, took a look at the mail... bill, junk,
bill, records!, junk, junk, magazine, New Zealand!  (Well, not the whole
country... just a return address.)  Hm... I opened it up to find the Hipsters
Quarterly Review and a letter from its editor, requesting a trade for my
own mag.  Now, I've gotten some real barkers in the past, so I figured I'd
better take a gander first.  Actually, I read the letter first (kinda like a
birthday present... read the card THEN open the gift.)  Also in the
package, it turned out, was a survey for worthy music critics such as
myself... (Cough.  Choke.  OUCH!).  And ish #9 of editor Andrew's
previous publication, Where's The Snake?  I started with that one.
Entertaining, to be sure, but little of the music was really in my ballpark.
So I found myself hoping the name change came about for a reason.  Well,
since Hipsters QR #15 is the pick this go-round, the outcome is a foregone
conclusion.  Reviews of your fave garage and rock'n'roll dance party comp
discs (including Turban Renewal and Destination Bomp), plus looks at
The Tell-Tale Hearts & Pandoras CDs, among others, complemented by
interviews with Greg Shaw about Bomp!, Long Gone John on Sympathy,
Bon Von Wheelie in re Girl Trouble, and Jeff Dahl (well, what do you
think he talks about?)  Chuck Eddy goes on about something to do
with the Diddley beat, but the best part is yet to come.  "Glad He Ate Her!"
is Andrew the Ed.'s chat about "pseudo-sports"... more specifically,
American Gladiators, which has evidently been co-opted by the English
under the name (take a guess... YUP!) English Gladiators.  Evidently, the
Australians weren't quite as inventive, though... their's is just called
Gladiators.  The best part comes when Andrew tells us about the "stats
abuse".  Honestly, I thought about quoting, but you need to read this
whole article... it's hilarious.  Maybe I should ask Andrew if I can publish
it here.  Usually I don't like to do that, but... well, we'll see.  In some ways,
Mr. Palmer has the same approach that I like to think I have... dropping
out of his subject and grabbing for some obscure tangent... because he
wants to.  (He also goes in for some damn fine alliteration.)  I have no
idea how much Andrew charges... it doesn't say.  Besides, it'd be
meaningless to you, anyway, since he's in New Zealand.  I'd say send him
a few IRCs... or send him something cool in trade.  Andrew Palmer, 9
Reihana St., Orakei, Auckland, New Zealand.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING... (WELL, YOU GET THE PIC):
       I guess The Little Black Leather Book of Rock'n'Roll (compiled by
Divine Laboratories) has been out for over a year, but I'd never seen it till
the wonderful Ms. Peggy Shanks sent me a copy.  (Thank You!)  This
handy little shirt pocket-sized thing contains tons of great rock'n'roll
quotes.  From various points-of-view about the subject itself to just what
it's all about.  The silly, profound, funny, sexual... you name it.  Now, the
credits say Divine Laboratories, from Vancouver.  But, really, this is the
work of Ms. Lisa Marr of Cub.  And she's dug up some real fantastic stuff.
And has even included a favorite lyric of mine in her section on quotes
related to Elvis (entitled "The King & I").  That's from her hometown pals,
The Smugglers.  "We used to love Elvis till we saw Depeche Mode." (From
"Rock and Roll Was Never This Fun".)  I'd really love to give you a few
more of the quotes in here, but then I'd have to go around and pick them.
And (honestly), I'm just too lazy.  Not to mention that there's just too
damned many good ones.  Sure, some had me laughing; some had me
snorting derisively; others just plain kept me interested.  Oh, yeah... One
more thing.  Lisa's placement of some of this stuff is especially well done.
But you'll see what I mean when you get your own copy.  The price on the
back says $4.95, but I'd include an extra buck for postage.  Or maybe you
just want to write to them first.  Or look for it in a cool store near you.
Anyway, the address is Arsenal Pulp Press, 1062 Homer Street #100,
Vancouver, BC  V6B 2W9  CANADA.

5 INCH DIAMETER
       NOW!  What you've all been waiting for... Here 'tis, the new LP
from The Swingin' Neckbreakers!  As with The Muffs, the Trenton trio
waited two years to hand over their sophomore swinger.  Also like The
Muffs, it's another winner.  Shake Break (Telstar) features fifteen more
reasons why these guys are one of the top garage groups playin' today's
scene.  As with their first LP, the guys waste no time, whacking the
listener over the head with the aural assault of "Wait."  Next up is a track
that's been a live favorite of mine for quite some time, "Mighty Mack", as
the temp picks up and the rock really starts to roll.  The party hits high
gear with "Ice Water" (extra points for Tom Bergin's fantastic harp
blowing).  Speaking of bonus points, check out Dave Amel's organ color
on "Help Wanted", yet another full-out dance party favorite.  And any
band that does right by Bobby Fuller ("Shakedown" in this case) gets my
vote.  And the cover of Chuck Berry's "I Wanna Be Your Driver" should be
enough to get just about anyone out on the floor.  Then there's Kev
Power's fave Neckbreakers' original, "Action Kid".  This one slows things
down a bit, reminding us at the same time that Tom Jorgenson can not
only pen some rockin' ravers, but has a real way with a melody, too.  "A
Thousand Times A Day" is one of those things you wanna hear blasting
out of car radio speakers as you fly down the main drag on a Friday night.
That feel of Friday night about to burn.  As to their cover of "The Girl
Can't Help It"... the first time I saw 'em do this I practically shot through
the ceiling.  This song's an old favorite and the Neckbreakers throw in so
much joy juice that this deserves hit status.  Geez, I wish the world could
hear this one.  Maybe people'd start understanding the power of REAL
rock'n'roll again.  Geez, listen to Shaggy fly on that solo!  No way they can
match the frenzied energy of this one, so for the last track they about-face,
playing it slow & deliberate, yet HARD on a version of "Brown Eyed Girl"
that rivals The Golliwogs' original.  (And once again, Tom Bergin shows
up with some real soulful harmonica sounds.)  And when they pick up the
tempo... WHEW!  Summing it up, then, this is the proof that The Swingin'
Neckbreakers are still leadin' the league.
       The first time I remember hearing of The Flamin' Groovies would
have to be in the Fall of '84, hanging out in Matthew Kaplan's room at the
University of Rochester in upstate NY.  Now, as it happens, Matthew,
while trying to hip me to some pretty wild sounds, was also kind of
pissing me off at the time.  Which meant I wasn't about to give him the
satisfaction of learning that he'd just turned me on to something that had
blown my mind, "Teenage Head".  A belated Thank You", then, to
Matthew the K.  And to the incredible folks who run the Norton
Records empire... 'cuz they've given the world a whole bunch more
Flamin' Groovies to groove to, titled California Born and Bred.  On the
back, the headline reads "23 Revved Up Teenage Blasts From The Vaults!"
Well, I wouldn't term them all 'blasts', but almost everything on here is
pretty damn exciting.  First off, let me explain... all the stuff on this digital
doohickey comes courtesy of the original lineup of our boys.  As many
Groovies' fans will tell you, the later stuff had some pretty incredible
moments, but the wildest rock'n'roll sounds came while the original bunch
was still intact.  This disc includes live sounds, acoustic demos, warm-ups,
outtakes, rehearsals, and radio spots.  And in-depth liner notes from one
of the bands' biggest fans, Ms. Miriam Linna.  From the get-go, a version
of "I Can't Explain" (an outtake from Teenage Head), you know this
disc's gonna explode.  On, then, to a rehearsal of "Shakin' All Over" at the
Matrix.  The acoustic "Hangin' Around", a demo for Flamingo, puts you in
the room with the boys, just hangin' and singin' and havin' a good time.
What it's all about.  Then a blast through "Carol" before the pace gets
changed completely... with "Buddy, Can You Spare A Dime" live at the
Matrix.  "Evil Hearted Ada" shows the bands chuggin' thru some pop
R&B.  Then over to the Fillmore for "Have You Seen My Baby".  They
introduce the song and suddenly I'm listening and feeling what it
might've been like to be seeing them do this one on-stage, rockin'
like mad back in a city that would gain fame for its hippie culture of the
time.  Gotta hand it to the folks out there, though, 'cuz the Groovies
evidently did pretty well.   Geez, I'm gonna find myself talking about
every track if I don't shut up.  This is a damn wild disc.  It's the Flamin'
Groovies.  Need more be said?
       A week or two ago, it was time to teach my students about
databases and how to create them.  As a sample, I'd created a short one
dealing with music.  (Yeah, like that comes as a surprise.)  First group in
the list were Southern Culture On The Skids.  Their current release, Dirt
Track Date was perfect for my purposes 'cuz I wanted to do more than
sort by name.  I wanted them to see what a secondary sort field can do.  So
first I had them listed for the CD version, on DGC.  Then I listed the LP
version on Telstar.  (Pretty swift, huh?)  Anyway, I've got my teacher
computer hooked to a couple big monitors suspended a foot or so
below the ceiling up front.  So class starts and this one kid looks up there
and says, "Southern Culture On The Skids?  How do you know about
them?  They're cool!"  Any reader of this mag knows I've been into
Southern Culture for a while, but my students don't possess your
incredible knowledge about my life (or lack thereof.)  So I explained and
moved on with the lesson.  As it turns out, a number of these kids are
pretty into S.C.O.T.S.  Made me pretty happy, actually.  So, anyway... the
disc.  While I'd still rate For Lovers Only as my fave full-length thingie by
these guys & gal, this one comes awfully close.  Once again, they mix a
ton of styles:  southern boogie, funk, r'billy, r&b, surf, pop, and tons of
fun.  A few old chestnuts get a new workout here ("Camel Walk", "White
Trash", "8 Piece Box"), but it's the newer stuff that gets me going most:
"Skullbucket", sounding like Link Wray goes surfin' feel; "Firefly", a
chuggin' bit that gets pretty & melodic on the chorus (especially when
Mary throws in those smilin' backing vocals); "Make Mayan A Hawaiian",
an instrumental that stretches languidly on the beach as the sun dips
beneath the horizon and the fires start in the sand (this one's gonna be a
major hit on my post-dinner beach blanket next summer); "Galley Slave"
seems to be pretty solidly in the surf camp when Mary throws in
some of her famed high vocals (sounding much like "Rumors of Surf", but
lower down) to give it a slight Star Trek feel; and then there's "Whole
Lotta Things", reminding us to put a smile on our face, 'cuz this music
thing is - after all - supposed to be about a good time.  "Whole Lotta
Things" is one of those that you just want to get up, grab a partner, and
swing 'em around with a big, wide grin on both your faces.  There's a
bunch more fun on this one... go grab it.  This is a DAMN good record.
       The Flat Duo Jets are something special.  Absolutely nobody else
sounds like them.  Which, I guess, is both good and bad.  Bad 'cuz the Duo
Jets are so damn great.  Good, tho', because when a bunch of bands start
sounding the same, most of them suck.  (Geez, think how many pathetic
Cramps imitations you've heard.)  Anyway, like I said, the Duo Jets are
one of those groups that are just completely different.  What's great is that
they manage to forge their own sound while still owing a great debt to
some of the best rock'n'roll ever to come down the pike.  Geez, I mean...
anyone can go bang a guitar and make stupid noises.  (And get called
"brilliant" and have the Village Voice salivate over 'em, etc.)  But to be so
obviously in love with some of the swingin'est sounds ever laid down and
still be original... Now THAT is something else!  So, to the point, then.
The group's latest, Introducing... (Norton), is yet another slice of rock'n'roll
heaven.  Starting with the "Theme" (the FDJ are one of the few non-surf
groups that believe in the power of the instrumental... and they really let it
rip, too), heading into "Goin' To A Town" (as Dexter sings his heart out),
and all the way thru one of the most heartfelt versions of "Pretty Thing"
I've ever heard, these are 20 tracks I'd rather not live without.  And these
guys also know how to go thru a ballad so you actually feel it.  The music
tugs hard and the vocals pluck even harder.  (Check out "I Don't Wanna
Listen" or, better yet, "I've Been Loving You Too Long".)  Forget about
picking choice cuts; they change with my moods.  Can't wait to see 'em
again in a couple weeks.
       Now, as most of my friends know, I've never been overly
impressed by The Brood.  In their early years (mid-80s), some writers
hailed them as "the female Chesterfield Kings", but that never made any
sense to me; the Brood never truly excited me.  (Well, except for a song
here and there.)  And while their most recent trip to the NYC area was
good, I still wasn't converted.  Even so, their Hitsville disc (Dionysus) is
definitely a strong one.  One thing I *do* admire the group for is their
devotion to pure garage-punk... they've never really strayed far from the
original vision.  Now, while some critic-types might call that stagnating,
I'm more of the opinion that these gals know what they like and see
no reason to deviate for deviation's sake.  This thing's chock full of
fuzztone, organ, harmonica and (above all) attitude.  But what sells it is
the energy and song selection, which includes some dynamite covers ("I
Can't Believe", for one) alongside their originals.  Particular faves  include:
"I'm Through", thanks to prominent organ bleating; the dark, foreboding,
organ-led instro, "Beat Girl"; and a blast through "I Need Love".  Cool
version of "Talkin' 'Bout You", too.  This one's been making repeated trips
into my disc player... for obvious reasons.
       First time I ever bought a record by The Smears I panned the hell
out of it.  I'd gotten the dang thing 'cuz there was some crude drawing of a
Vox Phantom on it.  (Repeat after me, "You can't judge an apple by
looking at the tree / You can't judge honey by looking at the bee.")  Well, a
couple years later and what should pull up to my mail slot but a ten-
incher called Smears In The Garage (Dionysus).  I can't say I was verjoyed,
but... well, Dionysus has put out some cool stuff over the years and
they've been extremely cool to me, so the least I could do was throw it on
and give it a shot.  What the hell... at least they did up the cover to look
like one of the Girls In The Garage comps.  And they were covering some
old garage faves.  First up is "What A Way To Die"... snotty and cool, as
they stick fairly close to the Pleasure Seekers' original.  Their version of
"Cum Into My Mouth" seems faster and more obnoxious, tho' not as
inviting (am I gonna get attacked for saying that?) as The Headcoatees'.
On to The Glass Opening's "I'm On Your Prey", where the girls sound
downright sweet on this more melodic number.  And, due to my pop
leanings, probably my fave track on this bugger, though it's definitely a
battle with their take on "The Hurtin' Kind" (one of my all-time garage
faves.)  While I really didn't need to hear another version of "Wild Thing",
this one is pretty nuts.  Geez, when I was 18, I thought X's version was
something... but this one's almost menacing.  Would I put it on for pure
pleasure?  Umm... no; for that I'd go to the previous two tracks.  But I'd
also let the side play out.  OK, that's it for the 10"er.  But the CD also
includes a previous EP done by the group for Hell Yeah.  If you're a major
fan of these girls, grab the disc; if you're just in it for the garage sounds,
buy the vinyl.
       We Walk Alone (Lucky) is the latest effort by The Exploding White
Mice.  This one starts off on a rather ominous note, a number called "Born
Loser".  As dark as this instrumental is, they occasionally chime in with a
melodic guitar line to chase away the shadows.  Next up, they head for
pop territory in "51st State".  You'll be singing along in no time, especially
on the chorus when they gang up for a dual vocal thing.  When I heard
"Faceache", starting with "Everytime I think of you," I thought they were
about to blast into "1-2-3 Red Light".  Even the way they sang it.  As it
turned out, obviously, this was another original, way on the smile and bop
around side of things.  Love those dual vocals that pop up on occasional
lyrics here and there.  Fantastic.  What's nice is that these guys keep
the beat moving the whole time.  "Something Wrong" gets things moving
faster while keeping that melody going.  And when they get to the chorus,
the guitar comes to the front to join in the singing.  OK, this one doesn't
pack the same wallop as their disc on NKVD a couple years back, nor does
it hang around the garage caves of Nest of Vipers from back around '85.
BUT... this is still a damn good disc.
       Vancouver seems to be bursting at the seams with great rock'n'roll
these days.  The latest gift from the folks at Mint is too late... no friends,
from a bunch called Gob.  This punks things out with that melodic flair
that grabs me every time.   Well, OK, they don't concentrate on the melody
through every song, but it's stuff like the opener, "Extra, Extra", that gets
me going every time.  And the energy of "Fido Dildo".  My fave parts,
though, come when they throw in the backing vocals.  That kinda stuff
always puts a smile on my face.  Oh yeah... they also do a punked-up
version of The Smugglers' "Hey Stephanie."
       Since last we heard from The Vacant Lot, the group's gone through
a major realignment.  In fact, singer/guitarist/songwriter Pete Ciccone is
the only remaining original member.  Happily, this hasn't stopped the
group from putting out yet another incredible batch of sweet treats for the
ear.  Shake Well (Shake Records) is jam-packed with melodies that'll have
you singing along in no time.  What makes this all the more apparent to
me is that I was nowhere near as familiar with these songs before I
dropped it in my digital doohickey as I was with the first two discs.  For
one thing, the band doesn't play as often as they once did, so I hadn't seen
them enough to get to know the songs.  The main reason, though, is just
that - prior to the first couple LPs - The Vacant Lot used to be recording
stuff they'd been playing live for eons.  Now, however, they've played the
material live a bit, but fans are just starting to get to know the new
batch of classics:  "Anticipation", "Realized", "Feel Better"... just keep
reciting in order.  As the Platterpuss said to me on the phone tonight,
there are tons of melodic, poppy-punk groups out there, but why listen to
all of them when you can just throw on The Vacant Lot and get perfection?
(Well, actually, that's nowhere near an exact quote, but it's close enough.
Besides, it's true.)  The new bunch has tons of energy, what with Chris
Raymond whacking the beat and Mike Hoffman letting fly on guitar at all
the right times.  Honestly, it's damn hard to pick a favorite.  "Let It Go"
ranks way up for me, as it bops along at a nice clip, guitar singing along,
and Pete blasting the chorus over and over into your brain.  And the
slider, "Always In The Way", smack between garage-pop and punk.  This
one's chunky and wild and is fast becoming one of my live faves.  Still,
there's "Sweetest Sound", as Pete takes the first line all alone, with the
band jumping right on his tail.  So, like I said, I can't really pick a fave.
This is another one that's gonna be on my tops of the year list.  (Geez, this
is a good issue for these.)
       Along with that Cub/Potatomen split came another tasty
snackmate, a 4-songer from the Mr. T Experience, Alternative Is Here To
Stay (Lookout).  Not only is the title a nice takeoff on Danny & the Juniors'
1950s hit ("Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay"), but the lyrics shade that way on
occasion.  While at the same time poking great fun at the whole alternative
scene.  Of course, comedy's all well and good, but if the thing doesn't do
the job, musically speaking, then I might as well listen to Dr. Demento.
Luckily, MTX come thru on that score, too.  (Extra points for the lyrical
references to "Let's Have A Party" and "Where The Action Is".)  Better yet,
though, is track #2, "New Girlfriend".  Of course, they can't resist a few
fun pokes ("My girlfriend is better than you / She's got bigger breasts and
a higher IQ."), but what sells this one is the pop-punk melodies, punching
thru and flying along with the top down.  The extra touch comes via
the cool backing vocals.  (I've always been a real sucker for "ooooh-
oooooh" vocals smoothing things out.)  Next up is a change of pace, "You
Today", acoustic and slowed down, but still with a sweet melody.  They
finish up with an alternative" version of the title.  Overall, this is a disc any
fan of melodic punk should go nuts over.  That drum bit in the middle of
the title reminds me of the one in the Vacant Lot's "Cyclone".  Placement,
sound, and all.  (Hint:  That means I must really like this.)
       A Double Dose of Pop (Not Lame) features (in addition to great
cereal box cover art) two wonderful pop groups from opposite coasts.  The
first nine tracks are provided by The Rooks, whose first disc blew me
away with its engaging melodies, fantastic harmonies, and stellar
songwriting.  Here they continue on the same path.  Three of the tracks
here are remixes of songs from that first disc ("Reasons", "Love Said To
Me", and "Steeplechase"), with six new ones thrown in.  Of these, it's hard
to pick a favorite, although I dearly love the acoustic "Music Sound
Sensation".  Mike Mazzarella has a real way with melody.  It doesn't
matter if the song's slow or fast, Mike knows exactly what he's doing.  In
addition, he understands that speed isn't a necessary element.  (Something
I was reminded of recently by an old friend who came out one night after
not having seen a garage-type show in quite a while.)  It'd be easy to
spend the next four pages writing about how much I love The Rooks,
but... umm, I can't really afford that.  I'll put it simply: this is the kind of
pop that I could listen to all day and all night.
       The other group on this disc is Twenty Cent Crush, from LA.
While I don't think they're in The Rooks' league, they're still a formidable
pop force.  Again, another group that believes in the power of backing
vocals and songwriting.  Of their stuff, my favorite is "Sunday Girl" which
kicks off with a sunny day jump in its step.  Still, "A Little Fortune &
Fame" definitely gets me going.  And then there's "Tuesday Morning (Let's
Just Stay In Bed)", reminding me of a mid-period Beatles ballad.  And...
whoops, I'm about to start off into a song-by-song rundown.  Nope.  Look,
A Double Dose Of Pop will bring joy to any power pop fan.
       Dialogue from Psycho starts up The Minstrels' Ev'ry Which Way
(Anaba Pacific), as their version of "Jack The Ripper" fades up.  And they
let fly, with the screams sounding off in the background.  After having
seen them, I was surprised they'd begin with this one, as it's not the major
portion of their sound.  Well, sure they do it well (really well), but their
greatest strength is their devotion to a modernized Mersey pop.  (Well,
that's a gross oversimplification, but...)  And that's where we find them on
"Let Me Fly The Sky".  "Crimson Star" is a beautiful - breathtaking, actually
- ballad.  "Good Lovin'" is not the thing we've all heard by The Young
Rascals, but instead a fantastic 60s pop type number with a hopped-up
railroad shuffle beat.  What amazes me, I guess, is that they can do
so many songs that are really on the slower end of mid-tempo - and I still
love them.  (Kinda restores my faith in myself.)  "Don't Say No" is a perfect
example.  Geez, these guys really can sing.  And play.  The guitar here is
so tasteful it amazes me.  "Can't She Be Mine" sees the guys picking up the
pace a bit and flies a bit further into mid-60s Brit sounds, but - again -
without any kind of slavish imitation.  The vocals... geez, I'm gonna keep
saying it... The vocals.  The vocals... WOW!  Then back for a ballad in
"Because I Think Of You".  How many bands do you go see that do one
true ballad, let alone record a few of them for the same disc?  And of
those, how many do it to such stunning effect you wish the song went on
forever?  And this one'll put you in dreamland with a contented smile
on your face.  When I saw them and they went into Jonathan Richman's
"Dancing Late At Night" I was grinning from ear to ear.  Not just because
it was a Jonathan song, but because these guys had managed (as they do
with almost every song) to make it so much a part of them.  Personally, I
don't think it sounds like Jonathan at all, as it's going full tilt rather than
taking Jonathan's sparser approach.  However, there is one main
similarity... both versions paint a vivid picture of the subject at hand, both
lyrically and musically.  These guys blew me away at CB's in July, opening
for The Trashwomen & The Swingin' Neckbreakers.  The smile on my face
was unmistakable.  This is the kind of music that I truly love.  Much as I
love The Kaisers, The Minstrels get extra points from me for making the
music their own, shaping it to fit themselves, rather than the other way
around.  Fantastic vocals, stellar songs, and fine musicianship.  Hope
they come around again soon.  Make sure you look for this one.

ALL BY MYSELF
       The first time I heard The Neanderthals was when they played
Maxwells earlier this year with The Kaisers and The Planet Rockers.  Up
came these guys in leopard skin togas.  From that alone I knew I had to
give them a chance.  So, on that trip to Pier with Tony Miller, I finally
picked up the group's 45, "Arula-Mata-Gali"/"Girl & A Hot Rod"
(Spinout).  The upside's right in the garage primitive/party tradition.  "Say
these words, and girls will come to you."  Saxational!  A couple guys
singin' the thing together.  Pure genius is this track.  It's not about revvin'
up the tempo, or hitting a fuzzbox, or some snotty punk sound (and it
sure as hell isn't about finesse); it's about gettin' girls by repeating
the magic words.  Ah, rock'n'roll in its pure form.  The first time I ever
heard a version of the flip was via The Untamed Youth, so I suppose
that'll always be my fave version.   Even so, The Neanderthals take a
different tack, going... grainier.  Not as fast, but somehow more... 60s.
And Eddie Angel's guitar screams along nicely as the band gets wilder.
Glad I finally picked this up.  This will definitely be on my personal faves
of '95 tape.
       The last thing I heard by The Fells didn't do much for me.  Actually,
nothing I've ever heard by The Fells has ever done much for me.  But
when a record company sends you records, the least you can do is pop
'em on the hi-fi for a few seconds.  Surprisingly (to me, anyway), "The
Visitor" (Gouramie) stayed on all the way through.  Friends from the
Southwest often praise these guys to high heaven as one of the better
garage groups.  Like I said, though, they never sounded real garagey to
me.  Well, this time around... they do.  For the most part, anyway.  Maybe
this "Visitor" is meant as a way of exploring the heart of garage territory.
(Or maybe I'm just flapping my gums.)  Either way, this is a cool garage
groove with a slight bit of melody and some noise behind.  The vocal is
partially buried, but gives off a truly cool sound, anyway.  Down below,
they take on The Trashmen's "Bad News" and pull it off quite well.  This
one's real straight-ahead and doesn't vary much from the original.  I'm
impressed.
       You'll recall that last year I picked The Drags' debut single as one of
the year's best.  "I Like To Die" was pure garage attitude, and I was nuts
over it.  Which made me pretty damn bummed that I didn't get to catch
'em live at GarageShock like I'd planned.  This past summer, a 2nd 45
came out and, tho' it had its merits, it wasn't quite what I'd hoped.  It
seemed much closer to the hardcore side of punk than the garage.  Well,
luckily, their latest release, "Well Worth Talking About" (Rat City) sees 'em
sounding better than ever.  I tend to like this more than most other garage-
oriented stuff I've gotten recently simply because... well, it's more garage.
Sure, the top side lets the gas flow freely into the engine, revving high and
running hard, but it's done in a charged, chunky way befitting some of the
coolest garage-punkers.  Stuff like "60 Second Swinger" or many of The
Sonics best.  Chunky chords bonked out loud and proud.  Down below,
they rip into "Rosalyn".  This one's even more in the 60s garage mode.
Well, sure, they've Drag-ified it, but they're still screamin' and creamin' for
their fave cave-sounds.  Looks like The Drags have another BlairBoard hit
on their hands.
       The East LA EP '64-'66 (Bacchus Archives) features some truly fine
sounds.  On the flip, there's the unedited version of Cannibal & The
Headhunters' "Land of a 1000 Dances", not to mention The Aldermen
doing "House of Wax", with some dripping organ to give things the right
feel.  But it's up top with The Atlantics that I get my biggest kicks.  The
second track, "Beaver Shot" is an instrumental that fits its subject perfectly,
down low and slow for just the right atmosphere.  But the track that sends
me (and Roberta, too) every time is "Fine, Fine, Fine" which became a
particular fave of mine on the air this summer.  "If you got a girl, like my
girl / Prettiest girl in the whole wide world... Fine-Fine-Fine, So-So Fine...
That's what they call my baby."  This one has a pre-Beatles purity to it.
And, while the EP says '64-'66, I'm guessing this one was actually
written a couple years earlier.  There's a definite late 50s/early 60s vocal
feel here that gets me smiling and singing along the whole way.  Yeah, it
spent much more than its fair share of time on my turntable this summer.
And it's still there.
       Somehow I managed to read Grant Lawrence's liner notes to The
Stand GT's "The Cracklefan" (Mint) before I threw it on the turntable.
Which meant I already had a smile on my face when I threw it on, leaving
me in an extremely receptive state.  And the band delivers.  This one has a
good sense of melody and a just faster than mid-tempo beat, not to
mention some pretty cool vocal parts.  Some definite Bum-like tendencies
on this.  Oh yeah, and (from what I could make out), this has something to
do with loving the crackle on old hit 45s.  Extra points for that.  Down
below things are a bit slower, but the melody more than makes up for it.
       I'd heard of Meow at least a month or two before GarageShock this
year, thanks to a tip from e-mail pal Kim Hammond.  Consequently, I was
bummed to find out they were playing up in Vancouver while GShock
was going on.  Which meant I'd miss 'em.  Well, a couple days before the
Muffs/Cub/Queers tour hit the NorthEast, Kim sent Meow's debut 7" 6-
songer (Twist Like This Records).  And since drummer Neko was playing
with Cub for the tour, I had a chance to ask her about it.  Evidently, the
band really wanted to play on some show out in Vancouver, but they'd
just started and didn't have songs... so they got some friends to help them
out.  Evidently some of these are a product of that.  Either way, these three
gals sound like they're having a blast.  The beat is happy and up and they
hit with some real power on certain tracks.  Tracks include "Catastrophe",
the band's "Anthem", "Kill Kill Kill", "Kat Nip", "One Night Stand"
and (the track that'd be the big hit if things got to that point) "Boy
Groupies".  This is the one everyone's probably gonna be quoting... which
means I should refrain.  But you know me better.  "There's only one reason
for this band / We want to attract boys from all over this land... We want
the boy groupies."  Kinda nice how they turn things around.  Geez, how
often have you heard a bunch of guys saying they formed a band to get
girls?  Yeah, too many.  Meow turn it around nicely.  In essence, this is
fun, upbeat pop.  Some will call it punk for the DIY aesthetic and the low-
budget sound.  Whatever.  This should bring a smile to most faces.  I'm
hoping they'll tour.
       Joe McGinty brings us some delightful mellow-pop (think certain
Lee Hazlewood moments) with his combo, Baby Steps on "Air On A G-
String" (Worrybird Disc).  This one uses strings to great effect, plus more
than a couple keyboards from Joe's personal collection.  A bit of an early
70s Beach Boys feel comes through at times, too.  The "Scream Savers
Theme", composed for a Binary Software commercial, has a fun, messing-
around quality to it.  One that'll be perfect for a Hallowe'en tape.

HIGH TIDE & BONFIRES
       My first full weekend back in Rutherford, I found myself up at 8:30
AM waiting for the refrigerator guy to come.  When he finally came (an
hour late), he brought his whiny, inquisitive eight year-old helper.
"Daddy... what's this?"  "That's a compressor."  "How about this?"  "And
this?"  AAAAHHHH!  Anyway, finally the guy leaves ("It's under
warranty; I'll have your landlord get Frigidaire to replace the part.  One
week later, still no part.  Thanks, guy.  One night's sleep down the tube.)
It did have one perc, though.  I was awake at 10:30 AM when Foster Child
editor, Tony Miller called to say he was in NJ.  "Does this mean you want
to come over, Tony?"  "Uh... yeah."  So he did.  And after dawdling for a
bit, then getting some food at the rebuilt Tommy's Diner (that's right... you
remember.  The old one blew up a few years back.), we finally made it to
Pier Platters in Hoboken.  Which is where I picked up a few things I'd
been wanting.  "What's this one sound like?" I asked the nice young lady
at the counter, pointing to The Death Dealers "Kanpai Osaka" 45 (Mr.
Pan).  "Hmm, I haven't heard that."  What the hay, I thought, deciding to
live on the edge.  Besides, they had cool Reservoir Dogs type names... Mr.
Pan, Mr. Tone, Mr. Sheen, etc.  The title track hands the show straight over
to the lead guitar, which starts with a run, launching into a full-tilt surf
menace till the guitar heads for the best waves and rides it wild before
settling into calmer surf nearer to shore.  "Kungfu Rock" heads off the
second side, letting the sax set the mood.  Throw in some psychotic yells
and some fast and frenetic guitar up top and I've been converted.  They
finish things off by turning on the vocal mics and going after "Oooh, My
Soul", an old favorite of mine.  This shows their crunchier, more r'billy
side.  Overall, maybe you'd call 'em a raunchier Jackie & the Cedrics... One
of the recurring topics on the Cowabunga electronic mailing list (for instro
surf discussions), is lo-fi versus hi-fi.  Trash/low-budget vs.
musicianship/hard work.  (Something like the lo-fi/hi-fi garage debate on
alt.music.banana-truffle.)  Now, the surf crowd is pretty reasonable.  This
group tends to be pretty intelligent, well-spoken, and knowledgeable.  But
what any debate like this boils down to is personal taste.  Very few people
are going to suddenly say, "Oh, yeah.  What was I thinking?  Of course!
You were right and I was wrong.  Thank you soooo much for setting me
straight.  From now on my tastes will be correct.  And if I stumble, please
put me back on the path to enlightenment."  (Psst.   Where the hell is he
going with this?)  Oh, right.  Sorry.  This bit's about The Vulcaneers, who
are very much in the lo-fi/trash camp.  "Last Call"/"Ankle Breaker" has
much in common with other Radio X records.  Production is either non-
existent or at a minimal level.  The A side is obviously supposed to be
taking place in some filthy watering hole in one of the less wholesome
corners of the universe, some type of no-beings-land.  Bad Star Trek
insults abound ("Hey you Romulan she-male!", etc.) Thing is, when they
actually get around to playing, these guys hit Surf Central with an almost
Cardassian attitude.  (Sorry, couldn't resist that one)... You'll notice that
there are a few reviews of not-so-recent stuff in this ish.  Well, there's a
bunch of reasons for that.  (And I won't bore you with them.)  Suffice to
say, however, that some of these records actually made it to my abode
back in June.  But since they happen to be pretty cool, I figure it's the least
I can do to review them. The Boss Martians first impressed me some time
back with some really melodic surf-oriented material, both instrumental
and vocal.  Now, I've run into a few folks from out in the Pacific
Northwest who say these guys are just a bunch of frat boys.  Could be.
Personally, I don't care either way.  As long as they keep playing the same
sort of stuff that's found on their debut disc (Dionysus Records).  The
record again features both instro and vocal surf material.  There's an organ
in the mix and a definite touch of the Untamed Youth in their sound (less
of the garage/party sound and more of the surf pop).  Personally, I think
the organ should've been waaaay higher in the mix.  On "Diggin' 58" for
example, there's a real cool Farfisa part that's just too far in the back.  Give
it to me loud, boys!  My fave track happens to be "Hey Tina!", a vocal track
that comes closest to the poppier aspects of the U. Youth than anything
else.  Even so, there's nothing on this disc that I don't like.  Extra points for
what I suppose is their theme song, "The Martian Stomp", a surf-stomp
instro that'd be just perfect for those beach parties I went to in high
school... Wading thru the tides of time, we find The Esquires Flashin'
Red , '63-'68 (Bacchus Archives).  The disc begins with the title cut, a cool
instro with the guitar taking the point and leading the way.  Now, while
"Flashin' Red" is the classic, my fave track ends up being "Squad Car",
what with its deserted, chilly dawn-feel.  Lots more cool instro tracks on
here, too.  The band also does some vocal numbers, but those don't rise
too far above the average garage group, while the instro tracks are
something special.  Well, let me amend that... The last two tracks on the
disc are by the group The Esquires had evolved into by '68, The Police
(thankfully no relation to Stink's bunch.)  Both "Just Who" and "The
Notice" ("I just got my notice / brought to me by my sis"... ah, rock'n'roll
poetry) are a bit more savage than the earlier vocal numbers, with "Just
Who" standing out as the winner... Still walking thru the sands of time, we
visit with Gene Gray & The Stingrays, with "Surf Bunny"/"Surfers Mood"
(Linda/Bacchus Archives).  Up top they're very much in surfer beach
party mode, with a slight "Goo Goo Muck" feel.  Down below?  Can you
say "Rumble"? (I knew you could)... Back when I was an undergrad up in
Rochester, NY (mid-80s), we got an EP from a Washington, DC group
called The Insect Surfers.  Kind of a modernized, almost New Wave, take
on surf.  Very cool, but different from those Challengers records I'd been
freaking out over.  Well, a few years ago, I got a copy of something new by
The Insect Surfers.  According to the address and info on Reverb Sun,
Dave Arnson had moved out to California and gotten a new bunch of
guys together.  Well, here they are again, this time with an 10"er called
East West (Dionysus).  Much of this saucer explores the chilly, dangerous
Sound of the Surf.  Cuts like "Tiger Shark", especially, show this.
'Razorback" is one of the more powerful, menacing cuts.  The disc also
shows the band live, on "Starfish Ranch" and a cover of "Jack The Ripper".
The band shows a tendency to explore some almost psych territory.  The
lead guitar doesn't run through normal surf the way many do.  Instead,
we hear a willingness to explore, float, and invent... Like The Insect
Surfers, Pollo Del Mar believe in experimentation and exploration.  Their
4-song 7", featuring a surf side and a turf side, shows variety as they
explore some decidedly non-traditional surf sounds. stretching the
boundaries of the genre as needed.  My fave track would have to be
"Insecticide" (a tribute to the I. Surfers?)... Recently, I asked Lee Joseph
who some of his current faves were.  One of these turned out to be The
Bomboras, which shouldn't come as a surprise, considering he's put out a
couple things by them now.  Still, what with Dionysus, Hell Yeah, and the
Bacchus Archive series, Lee puts out quite a bit of stuff.  Well, OK, I'd
really dug The Bomboras' Forbidden Planet EP, but... Then I received their
latest, "Last Call"/"Surfin' Bull" (Dionysus).  Well, let's just say Lee's got
good reason for loving these guys.  Up top is a real primal bass rumble
with some fantastic staccato guitar runs way on the low end.  Yup, I was
impressed.  As things head towards the finish, the lead runs up high,
builds it up, and gives off a final gasp... a release.  But, as usual, it's down
below that things really begin to fly.  Now, my guess is that "Surfin' Bull"
is a surf tribute to Sitting Bull himself.  With the tribal beat that's going on,
I'm betting I'm right.  What sends this one into my personal pantheon is
the organ, thick and eerie.  Sure, the guitar opens up and lets loose later
on, but it's the organ theme that keeps coming back, setting the mood.
Last time out, The Bomboras took the day's trophy.  Well, they do it again
here, proving themselves to be world class competitors.

COMP TIME
       Thanks to Ms. Tuesday Knight, I've known that A Perfect Pop
Compilation, 1991-1994 (Perfect Pop) was on its way for quite some time.
This is, as its title suggests, a comp of material from the gang at Perfect
Pop, a label devoted to sounds with melody, often with some sort of psych
influence.  Groups included are King Midas, The Time Lodgers, The
Release Party, Astroburger, the Monsters of Doom, The Bartlebees, The
Blind Bats, The Tables, Todd Dillingham, The Loch Ness Mouse, The Silly
Pillows, and Robert Birdeye.  And while the first 17 tracks are from
previous releases, the final eleven are unreleased.  These, of course, end
up being the most interesting to me, as I've got just about all the other
stuff.  These start with The Blind Bats (the first Perfect Pop group I ever
heard, thanks to a letter and cassette from bassist Tuesday Knight a few
years ago.) doing "I'm A Believer" (always a fave of mine) with Sandy
Shore's Farfisa singing out joyfully at all the right times.  Definitely one I'll
be spinning quite often.  As I went through this disc, I remember hearing
The Release Party's "The Return Of The King Bees" without looking at the
disc and thinking how the guitar had a real buzz-sound to it.  Then I look
and see the title and I thought, "Geez, if I describe it like that I'll be
accused of throwing myself into some sort of tired clich� thing."  But... that
wasn't it at all, was it?  Anyway, this one's a definite fave... interesting
sounds flying around.  One of the "legendary" bands in this circle seems to
be The Tables.  Listen to "Why Not?" and maybe you'll understand why.
Energetically trippy, this one psychs out with a smiling power.  The Silly
Pillows, formed out of the ashes of a 1982 Rochester, NY high school
group called The Degrads, appear here with a track called "Perfect Pop",
thereby closing out the disc with something that truly is just that.
       One I've had for quite some time now is SymPOPhony #1 (Not
Lame).  This is a four by five type thing that takes on some of the cooler
power pop groups from around the US and lets them strut their stuff
through an EPs worth of tracks each.  Honestly, there's not a loser on here.
Actually, one friend, reviewing it on-line, said he didn't much like Martin
Luther Lennon doing "Dancing With Myself".  Now, personally, that song
was a definite fave of mine as I finished up high school in '83.  This
version takes a whole new perspective, slowing it down and going for a
much bassier feel.  Personally, I love it.  (So, by the way, did my brother
Glenn, who made me repeat it a couple times on that long drive out to
Indiana for our brother Drew's wedding in June.)  But this one's hardly
MLL's best track.  For that, I'd either have to go to the first track on the
disc, "I Own The World", an energetic blast with definite mid-80s leanings,
or the slower "No Love Lost", with some melodic strumming and strong
backing vocals, not to mention a semi-a cappella midsection.  Of course,
"Disconnected" deserves mention, as well, but I've got four bands to go.
My fave track by The Rockerfellers is much easier to pick; it's "I Love You
Better".  This is the kind of thing that deserves major airplay, thanks to a
melody that's got me hooked, more of that wonderful backing vocal stuff
that I love, plus a chorus that stokes the energy flame.  What scares me
about Cherry Twister's "Leila" is that the vocal sound eerily similar to Yes.
Luckily, that's where the similarities end.  And when they move on to
"Rose Garden", I feel like I'm in a certain octopus' garden.  I've no idea
what "hooskinawahway" means (if that's what they're really singing),
but "Frozen Teeth" definitely picks up the tempo while still keeping the
beat nice and straight-up.  The Finns seem to be reaching back to the late
70s/early 80s on "Satellite Receiver", but somehow it seems extremely
now.  Revved up, with space sounds thrown in to beef up the effect.  I'd
like to see this one live.  Something I'd like to get up, dance and sweat to.
Lastly, the one band loyal TS followers have read about before, The
Shambles (the San Diego bunch).  Now, lately, I've been listening to tapes
of some of my radio shows from the past year on my way to and from
work each day.  One particular show has been going back and forth rather
often.  And there was this one song on there that was slower, with a sad
longing to it.  Thing is, I couldn't remember who it was till I pulled out
this disc again, to finally write this review after having the disc for almost
four months.  Sure enough, it's The Shambles' "I Believe".  I'm impressed.
Now, just to keep myself from going on too long, I'll shut up now and let
you go buy this.  (I meant NOW!)
       The Parasites cruised through a little while back.  And, as befits a
band of their musical persuasion, they had a host of stuff available for
consumption.  In keeping with my role of "poor college student", I was
stingy with my greenbacks and only picked up a split single they'd done
with The Beatnik Termites (on Just Add Water).  The BT's waste no time,
zipping thru a little ditty entitled "I Don't Wanna Be Bad" in just 54
seconds.  And while the verses border on the hardcore side of punk,
they're just melodic enough (and end quickly, anyway) to keep you
going till that next catchy chorus, in which they once again pop out the
punk in an extremely bubblegum version of The Ramones.  The Parasites,
however, spend over three minutes on their endeavor, "I Almost Loved
You", which gives them more time to set things up.  And, while they do
give an actual intro, pretty soon they chow down on the meat of this one,
sprinkling a fair helping of melody on top to make their punk that much
more palatable.

EVEN MORE REVIEWS
       Now, Bluesman was always a much bigger fan of Jack O'Fire than I
was, but the release of Beware The Soulless Cool (1+2) has forced me to go
back to the older stuff and give it another go.  (A good thing, too.)
Anyway, this disc features the boys interpreting some of the treasures
from their own record collections.  This includes material from Chester
Burnett and Willie Dixon thru JD Loudermilk, Link Wray, The Who, The
Cramps, Wire, The Emperors and more.    Damn this is powerful!  Not one
weak link in the chain.  Call it blues, R&B, soul, punk, whatever... you
need this.  Buy this or suffer... I've been checking out Mondo Topless
pretty much since their formation.  It's been a few years now, but they've
finally got some vinyl available.  "I Want To"/"Real Gone Girl" (Worrybird
Disc) is a strong introduction to this Philly foursome.  Leading things off is
a mid-tempo garage punker strong on the organ.  Sam Steinig's Vox oozes
throughout.  Combined with his low-end vocals (baritone, maybe?  As if I
would have a clue), this gives this one a real thick-syrup Original Sins feel.
(Something I'm sure Sam will agree is a true compliment.)  Underneath,
they slow it way down.  This one's high point is Sam's organ solo.  His
fingers fly and it GOES... Way back in the mid-80s, I used to go see this
band called The Alter Boys.  By about 1989, tho', a few members of the
group had formed a side project called The Gashounds, which eventually
became their sole project.  Well, all bands (except, I guess, The Rolling
Stones) eventually drift apart.  Which left singer John Carruthers without
a group.  Not for long.  The story goes that he found himself drinking with
another pal from the NYC scene and they found out that they were both
into country.  Now, while it's hard to call Lancaster County Prison
(named for the place a friend was incarcerated) a straight-ahead country
group, that's the main influence at work here.  Though I get the feeling
that they won't soon be finding themselves on the Grand Ole Opry stage.
If only 'cuz this bunch will always have some punk in them, no matter
what they do.   Maybe it's John's voice, but this stuff sounds just like a
countrified version of the music John's been into for years.  Which is just
fine by me.  Oh yeah, I definitely like their version of "Battle Of New
Orleans", with two very different voices taking vocals together.  And a
pretty inspired instro break... Hot Damn In High Heels Slut (Hell Yeah)
proudly proclaims itself as "Music For You Horny Bastards." And what
with the glitzy LA-looking curtains and the gals on the cover, you're
starting to understand why.  Of course, record jackets don't make you put
records on over and over again.  So let's get to it... this isn't really my sort
of thing, but there are some moments of sweet sleaze that I'll be throwing
on when I'm in the mood.  For instance, "On Top" what with the saxes
creating the sort of sweaty sex sound that only a sax can.  Then, of course,
there's the "hit", "My Panties Are Too Tight."  While this one isn't gonna be
hitting Top 40 anytime soon, there's a definite appeal (give the sax sound
some credit for this one, too)... One of the tough things about getting
promos is figuring out what gets reviewed.  Personally, I've got a policy of
not writing nasty reviews about stuff I got for free.  If I've spent my own
money on it, then it's fair game.  But if someone spent their money to send
me something, I figure it isn't doing them much good if I get really nasty
about it.  Besides, I've only got limited space.  And I'm not about to blow
my ears on something I hated just 'cuz someone sent it to me.  So I had to
decide whether to review A Slice Of Lemon (Lookout/Kill Rock Stars).
This thing's a double disc, which I just don't understand.  There doesn't
seem to be any really unifying theme.  Some of this stuff I actually despise.
Other stuff means almost nothing to me.  But there are a few tracks that I
really enjoyed:  The Delightful Little Nothings "Blah Blah" reminded me of
The Go-Go's "Vacation" at times; Pansy Division's "Ring of Joy" not only
features a great melody, but some hilarious lyrics ("it's an orifice for
stimulation... Any girl, any boy, can break on thru that ring of joy.") sung
with such happiness that you've gotta love it; Shaken 69 hand over "Rudy
Rudy", a fun ska-pop romp; Sunnychar's "Mr. Holiday" might be a bit
silly, but it's really poppy and fast and fun; The Bomb Bassetts "Love Like
Gravity" has a definite relationship to vocalist Dallas Denery's old
combo, Sweet Baby, but tends to be a bit more frenetic; I suppose it's
obvious, but Cub's "Green Eyes" is probably my fave track here, with their
genuine smiles coming right through in the melody.  The cuts by Mr. T.
Experience & The Potatomen are also pretty good.  Now, I think I've
painted a prettier picture of this comp than I truly should.  This is far from
a garage record.  In fact, like I said, there is no unifying musical theme.
There's some stuff that's way too far on the hardcore side for my tastes.
But the tracks I mentioned are definitely cool... Geez!  A record from
Brazil!  Brincando De Deus explore a few different musical territories, but
their better stuff hangs out in a sort of indie-dream land.  Definite pop
melodies on Better When You Love (Me) (Self).  This isn't really my main
musical thing, so it's a bit harder for me to do comparisons.  (Yeah, like I
spend lotsa time on those in other reviews.)  They definitely seem to enjoy
throwing feedback into the equation.  A vague similarity to Our American
Cousins every once in a while (in case anyone wants a reference point).
One or two songs seem to stray further from that than I'd like, so I move
on to the more engaging tracks.  A bit slow at times, but they have the
sense to throw something in that makes you want to listen all the same.
Maybe it's the softly shining guitar notes sprinkled here and there... I must
be getting old; I can't recall whether I ever published my review of The
Silly Pillows' 7"er, "Lacing Up My Sneakers."  (Of course, if I weren't so
lazy I could just look back a couple issues and check.)  Anyway, their
latest effort, Up In The Air (Perfect Pop), is pretty much a comp of
previous releases.  Included are tracks from their Little Teddy LP,
Strangest of the Strange, and all four tracks from the aforementioned
Perfect Pop EP.  The order of the day here is songcraft.  The Silly Pillows,
simply put, have a strong handle on just how to put a song together.  Like
Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys, many of these songs seem constructed rather
than simply  hatched.  Many different sounds can be heard, with engaging
melodies woven throughout.  The arrangements, the backing vocals are all
simply superb.  No need for a play-by-play here, each song stands up all
on its own.  I just got this one as I was closing out the ish, but I get the
feeling it's going into regular rotation at TS HQ... From Vancouver, BC
come Gaze, with a self-released four-songer that falls more into the
dreamy side of things.  Melodies, but more laid back... Sticking up there in
beautiful BC, then, we hear from Pluto, with their debut CD, Cool Way To
Feel (Mint), staying faithful to the sound of their singles... An issue or
three back, I intro'd folks to the smooth, light-hearted fun-pop of The
Beauticians, via their debut 45.  Well, now this bunch has seen fit to release
Imperiale (Cheemo).  Moving from "Silk Velour" (never before has a song
sounded so much like a fabric; never has a fabric so-well described a
band's forte), through their hit single, "New Age Song For A Cynical
Generation" and beyond, this one laughs at itself in all the right places.
Will this make you get up and dance?  Well, no.  But if you're in the mood
for something to put on while you relax, this'll put a smile on your face... I
remember being in junior high in the late 70s and seeing some older kid
walking around with this cool baseball-type shirt with the name Pezband
on it.  I asked him what it was and he told me they were this band his
big brother had been nuts about when the family lived in Chicago.  Well,
actually, that's not true at all.  I really have no idea when I first heard of
Pezband.  But Not Lame has just released four songs recorded by the
original lineup in 1974.  Of these, "Eddie's Pals" hits me hardest, but all of
them are hook-filled Power Pop (the liners say the term was coined by a
reviewer attempting to describe the group's sound.), with great singing to
boot... I still haven't found the by-now-no-longer-new  7" by The Rip-Offs,
but at least I picked up the Savage Middle-Aged Rip-Offs EP on Pure
Filth.  These recordings are proclaimed as the first the band ever did (back
in August, '93) and show the boys were just as blistering back then as they
were later on.  I'd have to pick "Hooked On Phonics" as my fave, but that's
probably only 'cuz "Zodiac" made an appearance on their LP last year.
Yeah, The Rip-Offs are lo-fi punk, so what?  If you don't like it,
nobody's forcing you to listen.  Or, if they are, thank 'em.

GOT LIVE IF YOU WANT IT IF YOU DON'T, EXERCISE YOUR FAST-
FADING RIGHT TO MAKE A CHOICE

Saturday June 10th... Tonight's show down in Asbury Park is enough of an
excuse for the Platterpuss to come down early and do my radio show
with me.  Since th'Puss was just two days short of completing his 44th trip
around the sun, I decided I'd let him program pretty much the whole
show.  Which he did with a vengeance.   After a quickie trip to Cheap
Thrills, we headed back the Teen Scene Central and hung out for a bit.
Me, I napped.  I think The Puss played Myst for a bit, then reverted to
form and spun records downstairs. I dunno, I was out cold.  Finally it was
time for that Asbury Park run.
       Now, I've never actually done this trek from the New Brunswick
area... I've always cruised down the Garden State Parkway and gone from
there.  Not this time.  That wouldn't make sense, I'm told.  So there I was
cruising South on 18, wondering when the hell I was gonna see signs for
Route 36.  Turns out it's waaaay down.  But Lord Tom's direction's were of
the first magnitude and we made it hassle-free.  What nobody'd told us
was there was some opening band at this place... Geez, I don't even
remember the name of the venue.

       Well, the next weekend found Roberta & me jumping into cousin
Jason's dad's Ford Explorer along with Jason and brother Glenn.  Leaving
on Thursday night about 10:45 (thanks to NorthWest Airlines which
delivered Roberta's bags 12 hours after they actually got them)
       There were a few good shows on Friday the 23rd, but... personal
reasons (shut up, I said they were personal reasons) prevented me from
checking out Ronnie & The Pussycats with The Royal Crowns at
Brownies, The Rooks at Sidewalk, or The Subsonics at Coney Island High.
Such is life.
       While I didn't catch any shows this weekend, I did make it over to
what Rob Farrell termed "Lutherpalooza" after my radio show that
Saturday.  Much of the NJ gang was there, plus a few NYC-types, along
with a few friends from Pennsylvania.  I always love Bill Luther shindigs...
the music is better than any other parties I'm ever at (even my own, I
think), people are completely relaxed, and there's tons of people who've
known each other for about 10 years.  Besides, Billy stripped down to his
skivvies and joined the beer bottles cooling off in the ice floes sitting in his
rowboat.

Friday, June 30th... 11 years ago this night, the FuzzFest was held at 240
West in Manhattan, starring The OuttaPlace, The Fuzztones, The Tryfles,
The heepskates, The Vipers, and The Mosquitos.  Tonight we were at the
Lion's Den for the latest installment of the Mind's Eye.  Leading off the
attack were The Gnats, coming in low and hard.  So far, their numero uno
(for me, anyway) is "Night Ride", an insistent garage-punker that never
lets up.  My only complaint about their set this night was that I couldn't
hear enough of Jon's guitar.  Louder, please.  Can't wait till these guys
decide to do a 45... While a couple friends happen to be playing in Adam
Roth's Psychic Penguin, things just seemed a little too progressive to
warrant denying my stomach the natural goodness of some NYC
pizza.  So, Danny & Spencer joined me for a walk down to Bleecker where,
unfortunately, the pizza was  not what I'd hoped.  The creamsicle was,
though... Back then, to the Lion's Den (ooh, a rhyme.)  Next up were The
Insomniacs.  I suppose I could go on and on, raving about how far these
guys have come in the last 5 years, but you've heard me do that enough.
Even so... this may have been the best Insomniacs set I've ever seen.
Certainly, it was among the top three.  Call it Mod, garage-pop-psych,
whatever; these guys just turned it on pure and simple.  And I was lucky
enough to have a dance partner to enjoy the festivities with.  The guys
went from ravers like "You Make It Move" and "Going Out Of My Mind"
to psychedelic pop ditties ("Mind's Eye") and dance floor faves ("Jump
And Dance"... yeesh, they better record this one soon.)  And, of course, my
longtime love, "Sylvia Grey", with a guitar line that just keeps singing over
and over in my head.  The guys were more than ON this time out... they
were IT!  I don't think anyone could've taken these guys tonight.  Nope,
nobody.  One mid-80s garage scenester (who hadn't caught any of this
stuff in quite some time) was heard to say, "These guys are better than The
Vipers."  And she was right.

Sunday, July 2nd... This was the big "Brownies Punk Fest" weekend.  Five
nights with 4 groups per night, most of whom would be recorded for a
live CD to be released on Feralette Records sometime in the fall.
Obviously, I missed the Friday night show.  Saturday night had a couple
cool acts, but we took the night off and stayed home.  Sunday, tho'... well,
no way I was gonna miss The Vacant Lot... last time they played, nobody
had the decency to tell me, so I missed out.  Not this time.  One of the
other bands must've had a rather young audience, 'cuz the club was using
that dastardly "no re-entry" policy (ostensibly to keep the kids from
passing IDs back and forth, I guess.)  Of course, this meant that I was not
about to go in and endure hot, smoky air until it was absolutely necessary.
So I hung outside for a bit.  Finally, time for the Vacant Lot.  Well, gang,
Pete and the boys smoked it up tonight... I found myself talking to this gal
from Dallas for quite a while.  She was up visiting a friend who was
leaving NYC about a week later.  They'd looked thru the paper for
something to do and somehow ended up at Brownies... knowing
NOTHING about the bands playing.  I gotta give 'em credit... I haven't
done anything like that for quite some time.  Anyway, she and her friend
were going pretty wild.  The melodies were flyin' fast and dancin' up a
storm - from the fast ones to the just barely slower numbers (personal pick
hits like "Remembers Me" and "Blue My Mind" come to mind).  Throw in
that cover of The Barracudas' "Neighborhood Girls" and I'm a happy man.
Can't wait for the next record.

Monday, July 3rd... When I showed up at Brownies this time, I inquired
whether we were free to come and go as we pleased.  Yup.  (Hallelujah!)
So I stepped in.  Up on stage were five guys, four of whom I recognized...
ex-Soul Assassins Flick Ford (mouth) and Brian Spaeth (guitar), the
hardest-working-musician of the night, Gordon Spaeth (sax), and ex-Optic
Nerve/Ravens/Fad guy Frank Manlin behind the kit.  And they were
stayin' true to the (mainly mid-) 60s groove, too.  Some pretty cool garage
action, with only one or two misfires.  "What are they called?" I asked of
Pete Zaremba, who was shakin' me around, pretty psyched about the
whole night.  "The St. Marksmen."  Hmm... I'd like to hear a 45 of some
of their straight-ahead garage stuff...  I'll admit right now that I've never
been much of a fan of Roscoe's Gang, which is why I took the time to step
outside for a breath of fresh NYC air.  (Of course, I know a bunch of you
reader-types are into these guys... don't take it personally, it's just my
opinion... they don't do anything for me)... Now, it'd been ages since I'd
seen The Waldos.  Some years back, I was seeing these guys at Continental
what seemed like every week.  And their show tonight reminded me
why... basically, these guys are doing much the same thing that leader
Walter Lure did with Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers almost 20
years ago.  In fact, they even do some of those songs ("Born To Lose" for
one) along with newer stuff right in the same vein.  And it's still fun.  I
gotta pick up their CD.  Oh yeah, guess who played sax with 'em?  That's
right - Gordon Spaeth... I hadn't seen The Fleshtones since that show in
that closet (uh, I mean 'restaurant') in Brooklyn in February.  My friend
Lou, from 'RSU, was up for the show... at some point he asked me, "Are
they ALWAYS this good?"  "At least," I promised.  The Fleshtones know
how to mix it up... stuff from the older records, plus tracks from the last
few discs, and even some of the stuff due out on their next LP.  During
"Leather Kings", I once again found myself doing the choreography... right
arm out, facing down; then left arm, ditto; turn the right palm up; then the
left, ditto; right hand to left shoulder; then, left hand to right shoulder;
now bow.  Yup, you got it.  (Actually, maybe I've got the hands mixed
up...)  At the end, it was time for their march out... right thru the doors to
the back of a truck... playing as they drove away.  The Fleshtones... "Put
'em in the Hall of Fame!"

Tuesday, July 4th... I showed up early, real early.  Like a bit after 8 PM.
Now, to some of you out-of-town folks, that doesn't mean much.  Your
city/town/general store/whatever probably closes down the bars by 2 the
latest... which means a much earlier start.  But in NYC, the bars don't have
to close till 4, so we usually start nice'n'late (which gives us all a chance to
get dinner, see a movie, nap, or indulge in other... pleasant pastimes.  So
this was early.  And it showed, too.  See, New Yorkers are used to shows
starting late, so most don't show up till 10:30 or so.  Bad idea tonight, 'cuz
they all missed out on The Insomniacs, who proved that they really are
one of the best bands in town.  Unfortunately, too few of you are smart
enough to realize this.  Geez, gang... get with it.  Can't wait to hear
whatever track of their's appears on the live CD.  I guess I could go song
by song, or do some sort of rundown on them, but I said enough about
their Friday night show, so we'll leave it go.  Get everything they put out...
Now, another group that's never done much for me are The Mad Daddies,
so I went outside and had a chat with Insomniacs drummer Mike Sin.
Still, I heard the MDs do a pretty swingin' cover of "Pretty Thing" from my
perch just outside the window... Ah, finally it was time for Los Primos.  I'd
missed their show at Continental a few weeks earlier, so I was damn
psyched for this one.  (And, as it turns out, rightfully so.)  Ex-Devil Dogs
Andy Gortler (guitar/vocals) and Mighty Joe Young (drums) are joined
here by Candy Del Mar (ex-Cramps' bassist) and Pete Linzell (sax at
various times for tons of groups, including The Vice Royals, Dragsters,
Raunch Hands, Devil Dogs, etc.)  I had absolutely no idea what this bunch
would be like.  Well, not exactly.  I figured they'd probably be lots like the
Devil Dogs.  And, I guess, there are similarities to one facet of the D. Dogs.
But this group is definitely another animal entirely.  Sure, there's some
punk in the stew, but it fits blends together (perfectly) with a certain late
50s/early 60s NYC musical greaser-tough attitude than anything else.
Andy's a talented songwriter... he manages to take his favorite rock'n'roll
from past eras and just go beyond them all to create something real
leasing.  Now, all the little punk kiddies may not be as hyped about this as
the D. Dogs, but I, for one, have no problem with that.  The single should
be out by the time you read this, and the disc should be ready in the fall...
Next up were The Botswanas, who've been rippin' a wide path thru the
NYC scene recently.  Unfortunately, the smoke was getting to me, and I
was pretty beat, so after a few songs I decided to grab a breath of air... and
ran into a few friends outside.  So I listened to most of the set from just
outside the door.  From what I heard, it was a damn good set... but "I
cannot tell a lie" (let's hear one of today's politicians say that and mean it),
I wasn't focused on the band the whole time.  Sorry, gang.  Next time, I
promise... Well, The Friggs were supposed to close out the show this time,
but... well, Palmyra Delran got nailed in the eye by a vengeful bungee
cord and had to go to the emergency room.  Thankfully, I hear she's OK
now.

Friday, July 7th... Rock'n'Roll Bliss, pure and simple.  I mean, Ronnie &
The Pussycats, The Trashwomen, and The Swingin' Neckbreakers all
together on the CBGB's stage.  What I hadn't counted on was The
Minstrels.  Actually, the reason I showed up at 9:30 was 'cuz I vaguely
remembered Todd A. saying they were on this bill.  But I really didn't
remember much about them.  In fact, I'd never seen them before, tho' I
seem to recall someone giving me a tape of them a few years back (and I'd
liked it, but hadn't heard anything about them since.)  Now I remember...
this has gotta be the same bunch... Back in TS #12, Brian Diffenbaugh
reviewed an EP called Come Out To Play.  "They sound like they look: a
Merseybeat, sometimes folky sound reminiscent of The Flamin' Groovies
and early Beatles."  Brian goes on to mention that the guys cover songs
by Jonathan Richman (the title track) and Ben Vaughn's "She's A Real
Scream", which he says "they turn into a Beatles-styled rave-up a la 'Dizzy
Miss Lizzy' or 'I Saw Her Standing There'."
       OK... so let's get to tonight.  I started out hangin' back a bit, as The
Minstrels began in more of an instro vein.  But when things really started
to kick in a bit later, I went right up front.  Brian's description of the band
from some four years back still holds pretty true.  The vocals were passed
mostly from the bassist to the drummer, but all three contributed backing
vocals on a regular basis... and DAMN GOOD! backing vocals, yet.  Beat
was the mainstay, but these expatriated Quebecois also checked in at the
Link Wray rest stop, not to mention the big surf gulp that began the trip.
Like I said, tho', Beat was the name of their best game, and these boys
know their way around that camp.  While they don't fly as frenetically as
The Kaisers, they outdo the Scottish lads when it comes to melody.  The
Minstrels know melody.  And their singing... well, birds die of envy.
(Hmm... maybe I'm laying it on a bit thick.  Well, too bad... these guys
sound DAMN GOOD!  Remember that - DAMN GOOD!)  You should've
seen the big, wide grin on my face and the sparkle in my eye.  Geez, the
band's drummer could see how much fun I was having from his perch
way back there onstage.  Yup, I was happy.  Throw in covers of Jonathan
Richman's "Dancing Late At Night" and, well - like I said - I was happy.
Real happy.  DAMN happy.
       OK... next up were Ronnie & the Pussycats.  These four gals have
been making quite a splash with their appearances around NY town.
Yeah, sure, it's mostly (all?) covers, but nobody gives a damn.  Why?
Well, firstly, their choices are primo.  But, more importantly, they pull 'em
off with energy spurting out their pores.  (Pretty amazing... I just sweat.)
And I get to hear Sue Stanley singin' backing vocals... and Heidi Lieb
hittin' that guitar and worrying about little else.
       Time then, for the out-of-town trio, The Trashwomen.  My first-ever
time seeing these gals.  I remember tuning into their trashy tramping a
few years back and thinking, "These girls are having FUN!"  The T-women
went wild this night, having yet more fun.  As did the crowd.  While all
the gals were fantastic, it's Elka (guitar) who gets my hands-down vote as
the biggest 'wow'.  Her guitaring was... uh, wow.  (Can you tell I'm not a
musician-type?)
       By the time The Swingin' Neckbreakers came on, I was plumb-
tuckered out.  Which, of course, didn't stop me from jumping around like
a maniac.  I just took breaks now and then.  (Hey... gotta rest here and
there... I'll be 30 in a couple months.)  Of course, when they slammed into
"The Girl Can't Help It", I was on my feet, gettin' ready to stomp-and-
shout-and-work-it-on-out (and just about any other frenzified flakiness
you can think of.)

Thursday, July 13th... I ended up missing Blacktop's big Wednesday night
show in NYC, thanks to my 4 hour class in the morning, plus afternoon
interviews that had me travelling to the top of the Garden State Parkway
then about 65 miles down it immediately thereafter.  Well, that just meant
I'd have to see this bunch the next night at Maxwells.  Which I did.  And
was mighty pleased with my decision.  These guys & gal were the cricket's
chirp.  (Gotta stay away from cliches like "the bee's knees" and "cat's
meow", y'know.)  Seeing Mick out front again was a pure joy.  And
watching Darrin Lin Wood was pretty damn cool, too.  Not to mention
Janet, who was whackin' those drums just right... in addition to being
extremely attractive.  (Maybe I should be leaving that kinda stuff out of
the mag, but... well, that's part of the rock'n'roll experience, gang.  I mean,
plenty of girls are nuts about guys in rock'n'roll bands.  What's wrong
with guys being attracted to a girl onstage?  OK, let's get outta here before
we're cut off at the pass.  Hope that made sense to at least one of you out
there.)  Anyway, Blacktop handed over most everything off their vinyl-to-
date, plus a version of "Idol With The Golden Head", which Mick did to
such great effect with the Gories back in the days of yore.  My only regret
is that this lineup is no more.  (Of course, the new lineup is something to
look forward to with great anticipation... see the Bits & Pieces section at
the end of the zine.)

Now... I went to a fair amount of shows over the summer... but at some
point, I just got too busy to worry about writing all this.  Or maybe I just
got too lazy.  Actually, it's both.  I was spending so much time finishing
up with school that, after learning how to lay out #53, I was in no mood to
write down what shows I'd been to.

So let's pick it up with September 1st over at Maxwells.  I got there a
couple songs into The Hentchmen's set.  They were riding high at the
time, organ dancing out front, etc.  All the hits and more.  My only
problem was that they played a bit too long for my tastes.  I ended up
heading out for a chat with a few friends.  I could still hear from my spot
in the hallway, but I was also able to catch up with my friend Danielle,
who I hadn't seen in a couple years.  Later on, Danielle asked me if I was
ready to dance.  We first got to hanging out when I used to go out to
Bethlehem, PA every week or two to see The Original Sins, St. John's
Alliance, or The Creatures.  And she was my #1 dance partner out there.
Would I dance tonight?  "I don't know..."  Well, she was not going to take
that for an answer.  So dance I did.  As The Original Sins once again
reminded everyone why they've been one of my favorite bands for nearly
eight years now.  Tonight's set included material from almost every record
and was (as usual) a damn good time.  The only thing that got in the way
of my enjoyment was these two buttheads.  Let me explain... well, better
yet, we'll use ex-roomie Andy's description.  "Some people think that
paying your six bucks gives you the right to act like an asshole."  And,
y'know, it doesn't.  So these guys are pretty much slamming each other all
over the place, happy as can be, completely oblivious to everyone else in
the room.  Now, if they were, say, in high school or college, I might've
understood.  But these chumps had to be at least in their late 20s (like
yours truly).  And they just have no repect for anyone else.  Well, chump
#2 was a bit further from me, so I didn't have too much of a problem with
him.  But Numero Uno kept flying into me.  When he finally hit me head
on, I told him to watch it... that I was trying to dance (civilized-like).  But,
inside of a minute, Chumpo went flying into me yet again.  But this time I
was semi-ready.  As he hit me, I managed to step back a bit, grab him, and
use the rest of his force to slam him up against the cement wall.  Now,
genius boy had absolutely no clue why I was treating him in this
neanderthal manner.  (I told you he was oblivious.)  After his friends
separated me from him, he asked me why I hadn't just asked him to
refrain from his offensive actions.  OK... whatever.  Luckily, the Sins
played a good while longer, which gave me and Danielle a chance to get
back into the dancing groove.

Friday September 9th:  Back at Maxwells again, this time for The Hi-Fives,
The Flat Duo Jets, and The Swingin' Neckbreakers.  Now, I hadn't heard
the Hi-Fives (well, not under that name... I had a seven-incher by them
from their days as The Ne'er-Do-Wells), but both Eric Fusco & The
Platterpuss had had good things to say about them.  So I was pretty
bummed out when I got there and found out they were halfway thru their
set.  But, from what I saw... well, I gotta see them again.  These guys were
a ton of fun, pulling off some real 60s Mersey-style moves, playing some
fun, almost Beat-style, rock'n'roll.  But the thought that jumped to mind
more than any other was... The Smugglers.  And, evidently, they get that
comparison quite often.  Which doesn't bother them at all... 'cuz The
Smugglers are a ton of fun.  (In fact, the two groups have a split 45 coming
out.)

Sunday September 10th:  A Sunday night and I'm going out?  Geez!  I
gotta wake up at 6:30 AM.  Am I completely nuts?  Maybe, but I hadn't
seen 9 Lb. Hammer or The Lazy Cowgirls in quite some time.  I'm gonna
cut this one short and just say that I had a wild time.  9 Lb. Hammer
delivered the goods bigtime.  And the crowd was pumped for it, too.  It
seemed like a bunch of folks left before the Cowgirls went on... but that
was their loss, 'cuz Pat & Co. went wild.  Pat brought the show right into
the audience only to find himself tackled by Ms. Jodi.  The Lazy Cowgirls
are only getting better.  Shame on those of you who blew this one off.

Saturday September 16th:  Somehow things just weren't feeling right this
night.  Not enough get-up-and-go on my part maybe?  Hard to say.  I
thought I'd be missing something when I turned around about a mile from
my house to go back and check if I'd closed the refrigerator.  But actually it
ended up being a good thing.  See, the paper had said Mildred Pierce were
opening.  Well... they weren't.  Instead there was some truly horrible band
on when I got to Continental around 10:30.  So bad, infact, that I overheard
the bartender tell the lead singer something like (and this is NOT a direct
quote, so leave me alone), "Every time I see you guys I like you less and
less."  (Of course, he went on to blame it on the other guys in the band.)
Luckily, Los Primos were up next.  Not a big enough crowd for my taste,
but the band was still pretty rockin'.  Definitely different than the
Fabulous Andy G.'s last outing (The Devil Dogs), with some great sax
sounds courtesy of Pete Linzell (also currently of The Vice Royals).  More
on them later.

Friday September 22nd:  Two stops on tonight's itinerary, which makes
me feel a bit like I did about six or seven years ago.  Plus, I'm living in
Rutherford, so I can stay out late and not have to worry about the long
drive home.  First, I head over to the Lion's Den in the West Village, for
the latest installment of the revitalized Mind's Eye.  I showed up just in
time to catch the Wrong Directions.  This New Haven trio is pretty much
The Double Naught Spys without a bassist.  They didn't do many
originals, but the one I remember was pretty cool.  As were their
covers of a couple Remains' songs.  Next up were The Creatures of the
Golden Dawn, who've got a new disc out on Collectables.  (Well, actually,
it's older stuff finally seeing the light of day.)  I've been seeing these
Bethlehem boys for about 8 years or so now.  I'll have to agree with a
recent post to banana-truffle that said they're just getting better.
       Over to Coney Island High, then, to catch The Chesterfield Kings.
Now, as many of you know, I spent the mid-80s going to school up in the
Kings' home stomping grounds of Rochester, NY.  Yeah, Rochester... it's
between Buffalo and Syracuse; it's cold; lotsa snow (add in a few extra
inches for the "lake effect" every time, too); Nick Tahou's Garbage Plates;
House of Guitars; and The Chesterfield Kings.  Back in the mid-80s, the C.
Kings ruled the garage roost with the likes of The Lyres, The Miracle
Workers, The Pandoras, The Vipers, & The Fuzztones.  Now, all but the
Kings & the Lyres are gone.  The Kings, like The Lyres, however,
have been thru a number of lineup changes.  At this point, the only
originals are vocalist Greg Prevost and bassist Andy Babiuk.  And, truth
be told, most NYC area fans haven't been too high on the group since
about '88 or so. Me?  Well, I remember being pretty down on Berlin Wall
of Sound when it came out.  (And I still rank that as the band's low point.)
And, while I enjoyed last year's Let's Go Get Stoned for what it was, it still
doesn't come close to the group's first three LPs.  So... you'll remember
that - thru a quirk of timing - I saw the guys twice within a week's time
last year.  You'll also recall that not many folks much cared for the boys'
performance down at Maxwells last October.  I thought it had its
moments, but evidently not much of the old guard really cared for it.  And
there weren't that many people there, either (which may have had
something to do with the fact that the guys hadn't even come to NYC for
something like four years before that.)  So I walked in this night only out
of a sort of loyalty to old friends.  I checked out part of the Turbo ACs,
who were in the midst of a charged-up Mod portion of their performance
and sounding pretty good, Rickenbackers blazing.  Things changed a bit
later and I headed down to CI High's Detention Lounge to see if Andy or
Greg was around.  I ran into Andy and chatted for a while.  It was then
that he told me that they were gonna play the same set they'd done on a
recent European tour, a sort of "greatest hits" set.
That gave me some hope, but I still didn't know what that really meant.
       Then they came on with "Stop", the title cut of their second LP, from
1985.  This was looking good.  Real good!  Fast Eddie had just come from
the Stiff Little Fingers show over at Tramps and the look on his face was
priceless.  This was what he'd always loved from the Chesterfield Kings.
And when they moved on to "99th Floor", he blasted off.  A few songs
later they hit "Bad Woman" and we both went into orbit.  That cruncher
has always gotten me bouncing off the walls and tonight's take on it was
no different.  Follow this one by "Little Girl" and "Are You Gonna Be
There?" and barriers were being smashed to smithereens.  They eased up
for "Critics Choice", the perfect change-up to lead into "Time To Kill" (a
personal fave from the first LP).  Not much later, we heard "Satisfaction
Guaranteed" and "60 Second Swinger."  (The latter being one of the tracks
that got me nuts about these guys way back when.)  "Don't Need Your
Lovin'" had us completely gone.  It's been over a month since this show
and I'm still reeling over just how good these guys were that night.  I hope
they keep doing sets like this.  'Cuz that'll have 'em reminding folks just
who the Kings are.  So, to answer a question from alt.music.banana-
truffle... yeah, they were MORE than worth the trip across town this night.

Saturday September 30th:

Friday October 13th:  I'd missed The Vacant Lot's record release party a
week and a half earlier 'cuz it was during the week and I didn't want to
take the chance of being out real late on a school night.  So I showed up to
Coney Island High this night in time to catch the boys do their thing.
Unfortunately, Mike's guitar was having some pretty major problems this
time out.  Even so, they blasted thru a set dominated by material from
their new LP, peppered with a few choice older numbers, plus covers of "I
Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" and an encore of "Drive In".  Next up
were The Dickies.  Before they went on, I stood around the second or third
row, next to Holly, who's pretty tiny.  We hadn't seen each other for a
while, so we said our "Hello's" and got on with the business of waiting for
the show.  Then this biiig, steroid-type one-time punk bullies his way thru
us, looks at Holly and says, "Aren't you a bit small to be up front?"  Holly
just kinda looked at him and said, "Aren't you a bit big to be up front?"
       The Dickies went on and a huge shock wave of flesh and bone
flattened most of us against each other.  So I spent the next 45 minutes or
so a bit to the side.  Meanwhile, this one rather attractive young lady
latches on to Brutus and he clears a path thru the crowd with her for the
rest of the show.  He was in a pretty wild mood already, so I guess when
she ripped her shirt off (don't worry, Mom & Dad, she had a bra on...
strictly PG-13 here) Brutus got kinda excited.  So much so that she
eventually started coming up with ploys to separate from him.  Even if it
meant being manhandled by half the crowd as she passed above their
heads.  (Before Le Brute plucked her down.)  Geez, she even did a little
time using a couple of us as human shields, playing hide & go seek with
the guy.  I guess he might have gotten the picture if she hadn't kept going
back to him.  And I suppose those kisses probably didn't discourage him
much.  Later, she went home with her boyfriend.  The Dickies?  Oh, yeah...
they were great.  Lots of the old hits plus a couple new ones.  What else do
you wanna know?

Saturday October 14th:  I got to Maxwells early tonight, since The
Botswanas were opening up.  I won't dwell on this, but this bunch is really
taking off.  Definitely a group everyone ought to see.  Power-pop with a
definite feel for the garage, but dwelling nowhere near the past.  Anyway,
tonight the place was packed 'cuz Southern Culture On The Skids were in
town.  They've been pulling packed houses around here for a while now,
but tonight's was different.  Many of the old familiar faces were either
waiting for Monday night's show at Irving Plaza in NYC or they just
hadn't gotten tix in time.  As a result, lots of the newer fans were around.
Not really a bad thing, 'cept these folks don't know enough to dance.  Still,
the band sounded great, on both old & new.  Todd A. reprised his Santo
role, the Skid-Ettes (a bunch of Hoboken-NYC gal-pals acquainted with
the band) came onstage to dance thru a few songs (and hand out the
chicken), and I got to hold the limbo pole.  For me, the highlight was my
favorite from the new LP, "Firefly".   Can't wait to see SCOTS on New
Year's Eve.

Friday & Saturday, October 20th & 21st:  I got to the Mercury Lounge just
about 11 PM on Friday night.  Not a smart move as it turned out, 'cuz the
joint was jammed.  Sold-out, actually.  But I hung on line, anyway, as
Bailter Space (described by one attendee as "the evil anti- A-Bones")
finished their set.  Sure enough, a bunch of BS fans left and the door-types
let a few of us in.    I worked my way forward, running into a few old
friends, chatting, etc.  Then the band came on and time to talk was at an
end.  Time for Man or Astro-Man?  "We're from Space."  (They meant
Outer.)  The next night was at Maxwells, an infinitely better venue... for
just about any band I'd ever want to see.  Tonight, Dex Rex played it
smart... he donned the Dex Rex 2000 robot gear at the start of the show,
rather than the end.  This way, if he fell, someone would be on-stage to
help him up.  Unlike the night before, when he lay face down on the stage
for nearly 15 minutes after the show.  At one point, either Birdstuff or Star
Crunch messed up (the band opinion was that it was Birdstuff), but
refused to do the required push-ups.  Birdstuff said he'd do 'em if Star
Crunch did, but somehow neither one went at it.  Geez, Coco did 'em the
night before.  Of course, when Coco messed up at the second go, it was
decided that he wasn't gonna do 'em this time, either. See?  That's how
discipline erodes.  Next thing you know, these space refugees are gonna
be too wide to fit back in their space suits.  All 'cuz they refused to do a
couple measly push-ups.
       Surf instro stuff is going thru a real boom right now, partially due,
obviously, to the return of Dick Dale.  And, OK, "Misirlou" is "that song
from Pulp Fiction", but most of the surf groups out there right now have
been doing this stuff since long before the movie.  And before the Al
Bundy TV cheapo collect call phone commercials, too.  Before Los
Straitjackets placed a song on Melrose Place.  While some of these groups
stay in the traditional mode, others are adding, subtracting, multiplying,
and dividing the sound. Some just let it flow and flow, others go for the
spaghetti-western thing, others get tough with it... and then there's Man or
AstroMan?, best known for their sci-fi angle.  (Of course, anyone who's
listened knows they're doing MUCH more than just that, but...) In my
opinion, MoAM? are the most popular of all the instro-surf influenced
groups around.  (They're certainly my personal favorite, tho' The
Bomboras are making a damn good run.)  And, as with the night before,
the Maxwells show sold out early.  The guys picked from just about every
point in their gigantic discography for these sets... including a couple
vocal numbes... "Destination Venus" & the "MST 3000 Love Theme" have
become major fan favorites.  But so have a bunch of the older things, like
"Nitrous Burnout" and "The Joker's Wild."  And, while the schtick
certainly helps bring in a few fans, it's the group's BIG sound that carries
'em forward.

Friday October 27th:  Roberta had said she wasn't into making the trek
down to Philly tonight, so I finally made good on my promise to take her
out to dinner at this local place that's all into natural food.  (Me, I'm
perfectly happy with White Castles, but Roberta's still clinging to the old
ways.)  Of course, right before I left, I put on Teengenerate's first 45.  She
was hooked.  I gave her three minutes to get ready.  She took ten.  We still
made it to Philly with plenty of time to spare.  As it turned out, The Friggs
were playing over at Khyber nice and early.  (There was some Philly
Music Convention-type thing happening.)  We missed it, mainly 'cuz
we ended up hanging out with Coco, Star Crunch, and Marisa, who was
finishing up her MOAM? interview (should be ready for TS #55) just as
we arrived.  I gotta say, usually when I hang out with rock'n'roll bands
before the show, the conversation is more about music than anything else.
This one, however, detoured into the world of computers.  Various Mac
hardware and software made their way into the discussion, but a fair
chunk of the discussion was on Web pages and Netscape Navigator 2.0.
But we're supposed to be talking about the show here.
       Eventually, the Astro-boys had to start thinking about the show, so
Marisa, Roberta, & I made our way upstairs to watch Los Primos.  I tried
hanging back with Roberta, but when they went into "Pretty Flamingo", I
had to be up front.  This one's becoming a particular favorite of mine.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS:
       Most of this section comes in the form of e-mail messages.
       I'd been cruising around UseNet when I dropped in on
alt.music.alternative.female for the first time in a while.  Which is where I
saw a couple comments about Brenda Kahn.  Through asking about, I
found out how to get in touch with Brenda and soon got the following
message from her.  "Good to hear from you.  You may have heard I am no
longer with Sony.  They dropped my record 2 weeks before the release
date.  Now I'm making plans to mail order it myself, and release it
through independent distribution later in the fall.  I have a new band
together and we should be playing out by the end of the summer."
(OK, OK, old message, I know.)
       As I stated last issue, one of the nicest people I met at GarageShock
this year was Tim Kerr of the Lord High Fixers.  I asked him about his
own group's recordings, as well as some other material that he's had a
hand in producing. (Much of which he's given me a preview of.  And this
stuff is sounding incredible!)  So, first, about the LHF.  "It will all be on a
CD from Au Go-Go and various vinyl over here... Estrus, Sympathy, In
The Red, etc..."  Now, about the rest of the stuff he's been working on.
"The Motards album will be on either Little Deputy or Empty.  The Death
Valley 10" will be on Double Naught Texas comp Vol. #1.  ...Au Go-Go
[for The] Makers... Sympathy/Estrus Cryin' Out Louds... No Lie (along
with a texas speed trial live recording)."
       As many have heard, Blacktop have called it a day after an
extremely brief existence.   Much news was heard on banana-truffle about
the revamping of the group.  First, all we heard was that Darrin & Janet
(guitar & drums) of the Fireworks had split the group and that Lord High
Fixers' Tim Kerr & Stefanie Friedman had replaced them.  Then the news
was that the name was the Soul Imperative Quartet.  Then The Imperative
Quartet.  Finally, this news from Tim.  "The official name for this (Blacktop
new thang) is The King Sound Quartet. We are recording right now and it
is going really good with lots of new ideas to work on for future
recordings... Covers at this time are "Memphis Train" (Rufus Thomas),
"Whole Lot Of Shakin'" (The Miracles), and we are going to attempt
"Tonite Space Is The Place" (Sun Ra).   Pretty crazy, but its a blast!"
       Alex added, "Look out for a 10" on In The Red Records and a 7" on
Estrus in early '96."
       Henry Owings writes, "The Oblivians and MOA? singles should be
out by summer's end.  Oblivians do "Pill Popper part 1&2" which smokes
live so much it's on the B side."
       From Stanton Park Records' chief Aram Heller, "The Nines have a
brand new 45 on a new label called Clamorama."  For those who're
unaware, this is the group formed by guitarists Evan Shore & Dave
Harrison upon the dissolution of The Voodoo Dolls in the Spring of '94.
       Aram also had news of his own.  First off, he's got a 'zine coming
out, entitled Banjo Room Revisited "after a club that was in Cambridge in
the mid to late 60s."  In addition, he's got a new comp coming out, called
Relative Distance Vol. 2.   Included on it will be "All 60s bands:  Bad
Manners, Bondsmen, Travis Pike's Tea Party (the same track as Bill's
comp, unfortunately) Triangle, Barracudas, and on and on....I sequenced
this almost 2 years ago, I can't remember right now cause I haven't been
working on it for a few months. It is probably not going to be out till the
end of the year."
       I asked Deke Dickerson if the Dave & Deke Combo had anything
in the works.  "Yes, the album is completed.  It should be out on both vinyl
and CD in January or February.  It's called Hollywood Barn Dance and is
going to be on the HEYDAY record label of San Francisco."  Also, adds
Deke, "I'm working on a bunch of new ECCO-FONIC releases, mostly
rockabilly reissue 45's (Missouri stuff and otherwise) and maybe even a
Deke LP if I can find the time to record it."
       Grant Lawrence chimes in with the following news on his wild
Vancouver bunch, The Smugglers.  "Hey, here's some Schmuggie news for
you: besides touring around western USA this Sept/Oct (Grant sent me
this in early September, I think.), us Smugs are finally doing a European
tour! Yeah, so far we have a week of Spanish dates booked for early
November and we HOPE to add dates in France, Germany, and maybe
Belgium, Italy or Switzerland. We're excited!  Just read the latest great
issue of TS again while recording a new Spanish EP at Dave's (for the tour,
entitled, and I think you'll like this one, "Senor Pantsdown").
       And he issues the following warning, "WATCH OUT!!! ...for these
new Smugglers' records: "Whiplash!" 7" (1+2 Records/Japan), "Talkin'
'Bout You" 7" (Pin Up Records/Germany).  Coming soon: "To Serve,
Protect and Entertain" 7" EP (Homo Habilis Records/USA), "Senor
Pantsdown" 7" EP (Rock 'n' Roll Inc. Records/Spain), Smugglers/Hi-Fives
"Summer Games" split 7" EP/CD-EP (Mint/Lookout!
Records/Canada/USA)."
       Mark Smith, lead singer for The Creatures of the Golden Dawn
passes along the following info on upcoming/current releases.  "Standing
At The Gates Of Time will be out in a couple of weeks (it's on the shelves
according to a friend or two; review next ish? - ed.)  - 16 songs from the JT
era (Editor's Note:  JT was the lead guitarist for the Creatures during their
first couple years.  Around '87 or so, he released a single by his then-side
project, The Original Sins.  Soon after, the group split up, with Creatures'
bassist Ken Bussiere & drummer Dave Ferrara joining JT in making the
Sins a full-time thing.), and 2 from 1990 - "Clown With The Broken
Frown", and "Living In Sarah's Lies".  It also includes the original (pre-
Neckbreakers) "Same All Over The World" from 1986!  The second one
will be out in early 1996, and is about half done.  We're doing it at Coyote,
and Peter Zaremba is asst. engineer (OOOHH...).  Dave Amels came and
played on a cover, and will be providing more scintillating organ playing
on a few originals next session."

BANANA-TRUFFLE RUMORS, ETC.:
       Hey, here's a hot one that I have from a reliable source who shall
not be mentioned."The guitarist for The Makers has quit and is moving to
San Francisco, where he will join up with Mr. Greg Lowery and Mr. Shane
White to form a new band, which will probably be the snottiest, rockin'est
band yet.  (Lab Rats) But have no fear, The Makers have already found a
new guitarist. I don't know who that is.  (A guy named Jamie, who's said
to be pretty damned wild.) The Zodiacs is  the name for Greg Lowery,
Shane White (ex-Rip-Offs), Tim Maker and whoever their new drummer
is.  Greg said he dumped "the Lab Rats" after seeing too many other bands
with rat names at the record store. So it's back to something more
personal.  And the gimmick is wearing black, cuz "black is it, man" (a
direct quote)."


AND THE REST:
       Drummer Mighty Joe Vincent has left Los Primos.  Filling the stool
for an indefinite period is Mike Zadroga, ex-Vacant Lot and many others.
       Ms. Ginger Moon has left The Friggs, reportedly to start her own
group and play stuff more suited to her own personal tastes.  Replacing
her on bass will be Ms. Sookie Von Trapp.  Many NYC-area fans know...
uh, Sookie, from her days in Sit N'Spin, but she's also been extremely busy
since her move from New Jersey up to Manhattan a year or so back.  She's
played with tons of folks, most notably (to me) Ronnie & The Pussycats...
The Chesterfield Kings are recording a surf album!  This was first heard
from two distinct sources.  Not hard to believe, really.  After all, Andy told
me back in '85 that they wanted to do a surf LP.  Of course, he also
promised a folk-punk LP.  Hmm, be great if that happened, too.  Maybe
someone needs to put the bug in his ear.  Anyway, as you've already
read, I had a chance to talk to Mr. Babiuk before the C. Kings set at Coney
Island High.  'Tis verily true, the Rochester fivesome are, indeed, working
on a surf LP.  Instrumental surf fans, however, will have to look
elsewhere, 'cuz this one's surf vocal.  All covers, too, I believe, including
"Our Car Club" and "Little Honda".  Why such obvious choices?  Basically,
Andy said, they're only gonna do one surf record - they might as well do
the ones they really love.  They're evidently having such a good time with
the surf thing that they're considering a surf-only tour.  While they record
this one, however, they're also doing a regular record.  This one includes a
cover of an old Chocolate Watch Band chestnut... with Jorma Kaukonen
sitting in on guitar!... One of the best groups in Boston in the 80s were The
Prime Movers, starting with (if I recall) their cover of The Haunted's "1-2-
5" back around '81, and continuing thru their track on Battle of the
Garages, Volume II, the early version of their "hit", "Come To Where It's
At" (if you haven't heard this one, you're in for a treat), as well as some
songs on the old Throbbing Lobster comps, plus their Matter of Time EP.
Best of all, though, were their live shows.  When they broke up (was it
'87?) I remember being pretty bummed out.  Almost all of them climbed
right back up on the rock'n'roll horse, tho', with a few of the guys forming
a real heavy pop trio called The Slaves.  (I remember someone at the time
saying they were between the Blues Magoos and Blue Cheer, but that was
way too much of a rock description; these guys had damn fine pop roots.)
They did one LP with a track called "Radio Daze" that still gets spun on
my turntable to this day.  But it was singer Cam Ackland that really took
off, playing with The Voodoo Dolls, one of the best rockin' groups of the
late 80s/early 90s, recording a few singles, plus one LP/CD, and blowing
everyone's minds with killer live gigs.  So what's the point?  Well, The
Prime Movers are back together and (sez Quisp) itching to play out.  As
drummer Dennis moved out to the West Coast a few years back, his spot
is filled by ex-Voodoo Doll Bruce Pierce.  Look out for these guys, 'cuz
they're one of the best... The Original Sins disc on Bar None is going
through some changes, it seems.  Originally, it was supposed to just be the
material that JT released on LP as Turn You On.  But it's taken Bar None so
long to get on the ball with that project that they've decided to expand on
things.  This brought the O. Sins to NJ to record some other material.
Including, I think, all of JT's Bethlehem LP.  This was a recording JT did a
few years back that was supposed to be a solo release.  He got a couple of
the other Sins to back him up, but it was supposed to be under his name.
It was extremely different (I thought) from the Original Sins material of
the time.  Nowhere near as wild.  More on the level of stuff like "Why
Don't You Smile, Joan?" and "Read Your Mind" from Big Soul.  Well,
anyway, Bethlehem never came out.  Which really bummed me out, as it
was a strong record.  Here we are now - it must be at least five years later
(though my time sense has been off before) - and they've rerecorded that
stuff as a band to be included with the Turn You On material (and some
more stuff) on what may be released as a double disc set by Bar None.


WHERE TO GET 'EM...
Cheemo Records
#45-345 East Broadway
Vancouver, BC
V5T TW5
CANADA

Dionysus Records
Hell Yeah
Bacchus Archives
PO Box 1975
Burbank, CA 91507
[email protected]

Gaze
720 W. 19th Ave.
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1X2
CANADA

Get Hip
PO Box 666
Canonsburg, PA  15317

Gouramie Records
PO Box 856
Tucson, AZ 85702

Lucky Records
PO Box 4636
Seattle, WA  98104

Mint Records
#699-810 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC
CANADA  V5Z 4C9

Norton Records
Box 646 Cooper Station
New York, NY  10003

Not Lame Recordings
PO Box 9828
Aspen, CO  81612
[email protected]

Perfect Pop Records
Daelenenggata 14A
N-0567 Oslo
NORWAY

Pollo Del Mar
4104 24th St. #237
San Francisco, CA  94114
[email protected]

Precedent Records
7616 Latona NE
Seattle, WA  98115

Pure Filth Records
PO Box 77473
San Francisco, CA 94107

Rat City Records
9014 45th Ave. sw #20
Seattle, WA  98126

Self Records
CX. Postal 2211
Salvador/Bahia/BRAZIL
40.210-970
[email protected]
http://www.dcc.ufba.br/~deus

Shake Records
598 Victoria C.P. 36587
St-Lambert, Quebec
CANADA J4P-3S8

Telstar Records
PO Box 1123
Hoboken, NJ  07030

Twist Like This
PO Box 540995
Houston, TX  77254

Worrybird Disc
PO Box 9548
Atlanta, GA 30347


Well... that about wraps it up... Catch ya next time...

               Blair

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