It always bothers me when I bring in a CD from home to listen to while I work, because I have to listen to it on my computer’s disc player, which doesn’t sound bad, mind you, but I’d rather have it playing on a nice, big stereo system where I could really crank it up. This release, for example, needs to be played LOUD to be fully appreciated. And since I can’t do that without blasting everyone else out of their offices, I’ll try to keep it down low enough to work while I hammer out a short review telling you all to run out and buy this sucker immediately (if not sooner). What the hell am I talking about? Well, if you haven’t figured it out from the cover art pictured above, Nimrod, I’m talking ’bout the fantastic reissue of White Lightning: Lost Cadence Sessions ‘58 from the late, great Link Wray and His Ray Men on Sundazed Music. This is the perfect medicine to take if you’re sick to death of this fucking highly annoying ’80s music revival and sudden appreciation for anything recorded in the era of crappy, soulless (over)production. That’s because this record has TEETH. And those teeth will gnaw and tear at your brain with such primitive ferociousness that you’ll be lucky to come out of this listening party alive, friends. Give Link Wray a Danelectro and listen as he bends, plucks and strums the Devil himself out of them thar strings.
This release came out last August, and I’m just now getting around to reviewing it. So sue me. I’ve decided that there is really no time limit involved with reviewing good records. No expiration date. So don’t be surprised if I throw in an older release now and then when I feel the need to tell the world what I think of a certain release.
Now, about this record. It’s simply splendid. Downright MUST OWN for any true fans of Link Wray. The guitar is loud and up front, crunching, distorted, mean, and nasty. This is rock’n'roll, friends. This LP was originally intended to be the follow-up release to the blockbuster hit, “Rumble,” you know, the only instrumental song in the history of music to be banned from radio airwaves because it was inciting riots (or so they said). This was the late ’50s in the good ol’ US of A, and everyone—Cadence Records label-owner Archie Bleyer included—was talking about this new threat to the morals of the American youth. So they gave Link & Co. the boot and shelved the album, where it sat, collecting dust, for nearly 50 years. That’s where our pals over at Sundazed Music come in, because they were finally able to get the rights to re-release this splendid historical set so all of us HONGRY rock’n'roll connoisseurs could finally sink our own teeth into this thick, meaty platter.
Note: The vinyl LP version of this release is limited to 1,000 copies on numbered, high-definition vinyl. HD vinyl? Yeah, ya got me, but there ya have it!
Here’s a taste (please note these tracks will be removed after a few weeks):
This one came out not too long ago on Voodoo Rhythm, a label that hit a bit of financial trouble as of late. The band is the Movie Star Junkies, a great broken blues-punk combo from Turin, Italy, whose primary influences are (quite obviously, actually) the Birthday Party and the Gun Club. This particular record, the band’s first full-length LP, happens to be a concept album (no shit!) about Herman Melville of all people, the famous 19th-century writer and adventurer (best known for the classic, Moby-Dick). Thus, the record is full of stories of shipwrecks, illness, religion and love, although I’m not sure exactly how most of them relate directly to Melville’s life. Maybe they don’t, who knows? But what I can tell you is that most of these tracks are incredibly dark, exotic, moody, and crawl along menacingly, full of emotion, lust, anger, fear and desperation. This is a record I can listen to back-to-back for a couple of hours and not get bored with it, and that’s saying something. This shit just sounds IMPORTANT to me. Like, future classic important. I guess time will tell if that actually happens and is considered such, and it would definitely be a lot more probable if they can churn out a couple more masterpieces like this one, so we’ll just have to wait and see if that ever happens. But I, for one, am keeping my fingers crossed. Heh. And here I bet you thought I was a “glass half empty” kinda guy… Shame on you.
I don’t know how many of you remember (or even ever heard) a band from a few years back called the Starvations, but they remind me a LOT of them, in fact, even moreso than the aforementioned influences. I’m also hearing a bit of Turpentine Brothers as well as later-period Deadly Snakes here, too. Think spaghetti westerns meet pirate movies set to music. Ah, hell, why do I even try? Here, just listen to a few choice cuts:
By the way, if you dig these sounds, definitely go see the band performing live at Lemmons next month (Saturday April 25) with Kentucky Knife Fight and the Argonauts (yes, admittedly, this is a show I set up… so please excuse the blatant self-promotion). How often do you get to see an Italian blues-punk band up-close and personal? Especially one this good?
My wife, Gina, and I had the pleasure of seeing the Symphony this past Saturday night. Apparently I and twenty-three others were e-mailed invitations by Eddie Silva, Publications Manager at the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and the man behind the SLSO Blog. The odd thing about me receiving this invite was that I never really considered myself part of a local bloggers guild, and that, for whatever reasons, either deliberately or unwittingly, I tend to operate slightly outside the mainstream and don’t ask for (nor expect) much in the way of recognition or respect for my meager contributions to the “blogosphere.” I’m just doing it to do it… not because I fancy myself as any kind of “writer” (far from it!), but, ya know, for shits and grins, so to speak. Yet, despite my unashamed “bloglodyte” status, I still got included on what appeared to me to be a pretty short list of local entertainment and/or pop-culture bloggers. Well alrighty, then! I suddenly feel like part of the local crowd! So I checked with my wife to make sure the evening was not already booked and sent my RSVP back to Mr. Silva. “Sounds great! I’d love to take you up on this,” I wrote. And, as it turned out, I was one of just nine (out of two dozen, mind you) to indeed take Eddie up on his offer and actually go. But I have to admit I felt pretty honored and privileged to do so. So even though I’ve already thanked him in person, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank him again for the opportunity to experience this!
Going into this, I really had no idea what to expect, because, for some reason, I don’t remember ever going to see the symphony—ANY symphony—ever before. Now, I may have gone as a kid and possibly during high school or college for Music Appreciation class, but again, I don’t remember it. And I’m pretty sure I would remember something as spectacular as this. Gina (my wife) had been once, but she, too, had not gone since she was a young girl. So this was a pretty big deal for us… this ain’t no pizza, PBR and trashy rock’n'roll at smoky dive bar, this is a get-all-gussied-up High Society kind of event featured world-class musicians—actual MUSICIANS (not ordinary people pretending to be)—at one of the world’s finest orchestral concert halls. Damn, we’re movin’ on up!
Rock’n'roll (and, specifically, garage rock), by its very nature, champions the musically inept. And it should. It’s the people’s music. Anyone can do it. And anyone DOES do it. Which is why not all of it is that great… in fact, very little of it is by any means great or entirely unique. Most is pretty bland and predictable. The performers that are the most memorable and also most successful are usually those that can come up with a certain shtick… they are those that can totally NAIL either a stage presence, look, swagger, attitude or novelty to their live show or recordings that excites people, causing them to want to buy records, produce podcasts and yell and scream for more. And I fully admit that I’m one of those guilty of screaming, dancing, and championing this stuff. The reason I love rock’n'roll isn’t because it’s the most interesting, complicated, and difficult music to play or appreciate. I love it because it’s fun to listen to and gets me to shake my ass. It’s debauchery and mindless fun set to music. This is obviously not the case with classical music. Not at all. It’s the exact opposite, in fact. (Or, at least, that’s what I thought…)
So did I feel a bit like a fish out of water as I entered the amazing Powell Symphony Hall Saturday night, decked out in my wedding-slash-funeral duds? As Sarah Palin might say, “You betcha!” I felt like I’d entered another world. Huge, beautiful chandeliers dangled in the lobby overhead, ornate fixtures and fancy-schmancy decor, lots of velvet, reds, golds… and lots of important-looking people dressed to the nines. I felt like I’d just strolled onto the set of a movie. The hall itself was even more impressive. Much larger than I imagined it would be, but even more magnificent in detail and design. “This is really something!” I thought to myself as we took our seats—fifth row, mind you—just as the music was starting.
The program that night, “Beat Movement,” featured David Robertson conducting two U.S. Premieres. It started off with jazz bass virtuoso John Patitucci playing a work for electric (standup) bass and electric bass guitar. That’s probably the first time I’ve heard a six-string bass. He performed Mark-Anthony Turnage’s U.S. Premiere of A Prayer Out of Stillness. Fantastico! After that we were delighted by the amazing musicianship of Leila Josefowicz performing another U.S. Premiere, this time it was Steven Mackey’s Beautiful Passing. The program in our hands told us Leila plays a violin that was made in 1724. As if that isn’t impressive enough, the woman was skilled enough to make me believe she’d been playing that instrument for that long a time, yet looked quite young. Was this science fiction? Pinch me.
Now, I won’t bore you with my ill-advised attempt at trying to critique the music beyond that. I couldn’t tell a violin virtuoso from a good amateur if my life depended on it, but I can tell you that I was totally, completely enthralled by what was happening on stage. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. “This,” I said to myself, “is my first REAL concert.” Yes, I’ve seen many “shows”—rock’n'roll and the like—but this was so amazing and different that I honestly felt like I was hearing music for the very first time, or at least I was hearing this level of music performed this exceptionally well and performed by such skilled professionals that I may as well be hearing it for the first time. It was so precise, so delicate, and despite the lack of electronics other than some carefully positioned microphones and a few small speakers, so LOUD (especially during The Rite of Spring) that I was totally blown away. I couldn’t help but stand and applaud after it was over. Magnificent.
Intermission. Time to relax for a few minutes, look around, breathe, run to the john and then down a quick martini at the bar before heading back in for the grande finale, Igor Stravinsky’s powerful and controversial composition that helped to create jazz and other forms of modern music of ALL shapes and sizes, The Rite of Spring. I mean, if there is one symphony that a primitive, big-beat rock’n'roll fiend like me would appreciate, it’s THAT ONE. And one of the first things I did after experiencing this one live was to go online and order it on CD. I felt it was that important to own this music, along with my Sonics, Ramones, Stooges, Mummies, Cramps and Oblivians. Hearing more than a hundred musicians bumping and grinding along to the complex rhythm structures, timbres and dissonance had me literally moving in my seat. And it’s no wonder, the premiere of this ballet in Paris in 1913, with its complex music, violent dance steps and provocative story line, elicited catcalls, whistles and boos from the audience, which escalated into arguments and fistfights before finally degenerating into an all-out riot… Punk rock!!
So, yeah, it may have taken me forty-three years to finally make it out to the symphony, but you can bet your sweet ass I’ll be back. This was an experience I can’t wait to have again and again. And I can’t wait to take our son with us next time, too.
For more info on the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and Powell Hall, visit www.slso.org.
I’ve been riding the bus to work lately, which has given me some extra time to do some reading. I just finished a great book that I thought I’d recommend to any pulp/crime fans out there called Devil Born Without Horns. I was really surprised at just how good it actually was… especially for anyone who’s ever had a dead-end job in retail or warehousing (or, even more specifically, the furniture business). I used to be a warehouse manager at a CompUSA store many years ago, and believe me, the author is spot-fucking-ON when it comes to accurately detailing the dysfunctional nature of warehousing and delivery, not to mention just how fucking annoying salespeople and bosses can be. The author, by the way, is Michael Lucas (who has a had a fairly active history of being in some pretty cool bands, such as the Phantom Surfers, Wild Breed, the Pussy Hounds, Poontang Wranglers, the Knights of the New Crusade, and the guy behind Repent Records) and the book is published by his new publishing company, Rudos and Rubes Publishing. I’d give it a big fat thumbs up, or probably about 4 out of 5 stars. Seriously, it was that good.
Oh, by the way, he also just published a book of short stories by Johnny Strike (of SF punk pioneers Crime) called A Loud Humming Sound Came From Above, and I started reading that one this morning. So far, so good. There’s info on that one on the Rudos and Rubes site, too.
From now on, when it comes to sneakers, I’ll only be buying Vans, or my new favorites: PF Flyers!
Ever since Nike bought Converse and started making Chuck Taylors I’d been searching for the perfect, comfy sneaker to wear (sorry, I’m just not a big fan of Nike). Plus, I’d always had problems with Chucks just being too flat… I used to buy these little green arch supports at Walgreens that Dr. Scholl’s made. They fit the shoes perfectly and made a world of difference. But then Dr. Scholl’s got fancy and changed the design of their arch supports. The new ones were thicker and bulkier and did not fit inside the shoes very well at all. In fact, they made them way too tight. Crap. So I started experimenting with other shoes, went through a couple pairs of Sketchers that kinda looked like black bowling shoes, then Sketchers stopped making those. Started looking again…
Late last summer a friend of mine recommended PF Flyers. He’s got a pair that he’s been wearing for years. *YEARS*. I was a bit incredulous about that, but I looked into them, anyway. I thought, what the hell, I’ll give ‘em a shot. So I went online and bought a pair of PF Flyers hi-tops that I found on some store on the Web thru Froogle.com. They look very similar to Chucks, and even have stripes on the back. Cool. The first pair I got were too small for my feet, and they were the right size. So I had to return them and get a 1/2 size larger (11 1/2 instead of 11). But these were PERFECT. I mean, I could not believe how much better they fit than Chucks. And they had better arch supports in them so I didn’t need to worry about inserts. I’ve had these shoes for 8 months now, and wear them every day. They still look and feel great and haven’t even started to fall apart yet. Some of the fabric on the inside has worn down and the rubber has started cracking at the bend of the foot, but other than that, and a little fading, they’re still in great shape. The sole also appears to be made of a stronger rubber than Chucks, because there’s only minimal wear there, too. So I now believe my friend (thanks, Johnny!). These shoes definitely can last for years, even if you wear them a lot. I’ve never had a pair of Chucks last longer than six months without falling apart on me.
I’m getting ready to buy a new pair (the sandlot ones pictured above), but I’ll still wear these as spares. I just wanted to pass along the tip that if any of you are looking for a good alternative to Chuck Taylors, to try ‘em out. You won’t be disappointed.
(Yeah, they’re more expensive than Chucks, but totally worth it.)
I’ve always liked these guys, been a fan for years. I wanna say at least 15, if not longer… I even get autographed Christmas cards in the mail from them every year and I don’t even know why. I’m guessing it has something to do with doing The Wayback Machine all of those years. Anyway, I finally got a chance to catch ‘em live here in St. Louis over the weekend when Little Steven’s hyped-up, circus-style “garage” tour made its way into town. The fuckin’ Kings STOLE the show. Seriously. And I don’t think I’m being biased. They were just on fire. Greg Prevost was all over the audience, dragging his mic cord behind him, then back up on stage swinging the mic stand around, narrowly decapitating those who dared to stand in the front row, and then WHACKING it up against a big beam on the ceiling directly overhead. Kicking, rolling, jumping, prancing, pouting, sneering… this was rock’n'roll, motherfuckers. The real deal, and they showed everyone which band had come to really knock us flat on our collective ass. The Charms sucked big hairy ’70s rawks, The Supersuckers were boring cowpunk/metalbilly (the hoosiers loved ‘em, though, naturally), and the New York Dolls were better than expected (considering they’re just a shell of their former selves with David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain being the only original members left… well, Syl joined the band in ‘72 after Rick Rivets left, but that’s early enough). I didn’t care too much for their new material, but the classics were done right (“Pills”! “Trash”! “Lookin’ for a Kiss”! “Puss ‘n’ Boots”! “Jet Boy”! “Bad Girl”! etc.), and it was great to hear them played live. Johansen looked good, too, surprisingly (he’ll turn 57 in a few weeks), and the rest of his band did a great job. Sure, I would have much rather seen the old band with Thunders and Killer Kane, but that wasn’t gonna ever happen, so this was definitely the next-best thing, and I’m VERY glad I didn’t decide to skip it. Oh, and it was really nice hangin’ out with Kings drummer Mike Boise and meeting guitarist Paul Morabito after their set, too.
As good as the Kings and the Dolls were, I gotta question the sound at Mississippi Nights. I’m not sure if the tour’s soundman was to blame, or the club, or Rolling Rock beer, or what, but it was a low-end heavy, thumpin’ bass affair. Way too loud, too. And don’t give me that “if it’s too loud, you’re too old” line… this was too loud in the WRONG way. Loud like that boomin’ hoopty car with the thumpin’ bass in the trunk loud. Fuckin’ horrendous. If you’re gonna blast us away with your million dollar sound system, fine, but do it with more TREBLE, dumbasses! This is ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, not hippity hop.
BIG crowd, too, including a lot of aged, grey-haired rockers and rollers. I almost felt like a kid again, haha. I don’t think it sold out, but there were a lot of people there. Lots of familiar old faces that I haven’t seen in years, and a few I hadn’t seen in over ten years! Yep, the Dolls show pulled ‘em out of the woodwork. I wish ONE TENTH of these people would come out and support some of the other local rock’n'roll shows and not just come out when there’s a big-name tour hitting town. Something as little as that can make a big difference between living in a town with a shitty music scene and a GREAT one.
The go-go dancers? A joke. Sure, nice to look at (esp. the brunette!), but their moves sucked. These girls need to learn how to SHAKE IT, not just move around acting like they’re dancing with a drink in their hand at some singles bar.
I drank a free bottle of Rolling Rock, shared a pitcher of something good from the bar with Bill, and then drank about five bottles of PBR. Needless to say, I was a bit lit, but not too bad. Woke up the next day with a slight hangover and a bad case of hairy beer tongue, not to mention a moptopfull of cigarette stench (I could even smell it in the shower… singin’ “I’m gonna wash that smoke right outta my hair!”). But it was totally worth it. These kinds of shows don’t come along all that often… which makes me wonder why some of you (I won’t mention names) missed it. I mean, what the fuck? Yeah, $20 was kinda steep, but it’s not like you have to pay that much to see a show like this that often… Oh well, whatever.
All in all considered, I thought it was a great show. We missed the opening band (The Misses), but that wasn’t entirely unintentional.
The Dee Rangers could be one of the greatest overlooked bands in garage rock today, but why that is is simply beyond me. Maybe it’s because they’re Swedish, and have simply been given the slip because of the success of so many other Swedish rawk’n'roll acts, who knows. I guess it’s a good thing we don’t have to rely on hype to know what’s good, right? Well, some of us don’t, I suppose. The garage freaks in Europe seem to know what’s up, as these guys have been invited to play at some pretty high-profile festivals over the past year or so, including Gearfest in Sweden this past June, the Primitive 2 Dutch International Garage Festival in July, and they’re booked for the Spanish Beat Goes On festival that’s taking place just a couple of weeks from now. And there’s good reason why they’re finally getting this much-deserved exposure. While these guys have been kicking some serious garage-punk ass for quite a while now, accumulating quite an impressive discography of singles on such great labels as Estrus, Rockin’ Bones, and Munster, they haven’t been able to put forth that one really great record that might just push them to the top of the heap… that is, perhaps, until now. Quite frankly,Five Spanish Minutes was one of the best rock’n'roll releases of 2005, yet unfortunately I don’t think many people on this side of the Atlantic even knew about it. In fact, only one person even bothered to list it in the Best Albums of 2005 topic on the message board (go figure). This is simply a fantastic album, and, in this humble reviewer’s opinion, is easily the band’s best to date (the other two being 2002’s So Far Out So Good and 2003’s Pretty Ugly Beat—both on the now defunct White Jazz label). This new LP, which was released towards the tail-end of 2005 on Germany’s Screaming Apple Records, is ripe with organ-driven, hip-shakin’, swingin’ ’60s-flavored garage rock, and the album is not short on great songwriting that includes powerful hooks that make it one of the most memorable LPs I’ve heard in quite some time. But what impressed me most about this album was the band’s obvious departure from the more Fleshtones-influenced sound of their previous records. I don’t know if “matured” is the word I really wanna use here (since maturing in rock’n'roll is usually so closely related to suddenly sucking ass), but it’s clear to me that they’ve really come into their own on this release and have nailed down a sound that is anything but bland or predictable retro-garage. Indeed, it’s records like this that clearly show that this often overly crowded genre still has the potential to produce exciting music that takes the best elements of the past and throws them at ya with enough verocity that you can’t help but be optimistic about the future of garage rock. Let’s just hope that the Dee Rangers continue to be a part of that future. Enjoy the MP3s below. They’re my top picks from Five Spanish Minutes.
Dee Rangers – Hey Girl (MP3)
Dee Rangers – Empty House (MP3)
Dee Rangers – I Miss My Girl (MP3)
For my next set of Xmas tunes, I’ve selected three cuts from the latest album from Davie Allan & The Arrows. This has got to be one of the best Christmas albums I’ve heard in a long, long time. In fact, I would go so far as to say it ranks right up there with The Ventures’ classic Christmas Album. This disc contains twelve Christmas classics done by the King of Fuzz, Davie Allan, and comes not long after his infamous Curb Records LPs finally got their long-awaited reissue on Sundazed Music. Little Steven contributes some guitar on this LP, too, and he also took care of the production. This is simply a holiday masterpiece, and even though it’s a bit late now to order this one in time for this year’s holiday, you should at least pick it up for next year. And all the years after…
Davie Allan and The Arrows – Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me (MP3)
Davie Allan and The Arrows – Ho Ho Seven/Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (MP3)
Davie Allan and The Arrows – Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (MP3)
Oh yeah, and I should also remind you to check out Al Lien’s Christmas Special that was just posted tonight over on the Pirate Radio Podcast on this very site. Enjoy!
Hi folks! Lots of stuff has been going on lately and I haven’t had much time to spend on this blog (aside from trying to quell the number of CPU minutes this and the podcast have been using up, causing threatening email warnings from my Web host, thanks mainly to annoying spambots that seem to like attacking WordPress blogs). So anyway, I haven’t had much time to post any new reviews lately, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to start uploading some Xmas songs, since it’s that time of year and all. First up is Springfield, Missouri’s Thee Fine Lines, whose latest Xmas offering is “O, Santa,” and is posted below along with their song for last year’s holiday season, “Nothin’ But Tears.” Thee Fine Lines are a fantastic live band and also have a great full-length CD that was released in 2004 on Austin, Texas’ Licorice Tree Records. Fans of Billy Childish bands like Thee Mighty Caesars and Thee Headcoats should take notice…
Thee Fine Lines – O, Santa (MP3)
Thee Fine Lines – Nothin’ But Tears (MP3)
The Gentleman Callers finally released their long-awaited debut CD a couple of months ago on Springfield, Missouri’s Wee Rock Records, and it’s an absolute thriller from start to finish! Those of us in the St. Louis area are already well familiar with what these guys are all about, but thanks to this great release, some of the rest of the rock’n'roll world is finally getting hip to their garage prowess as well. Don’t Say What it Is has garnered some great critical acclaim all over the planet, and it’s easy to understand why… it’s simply a great collection of songs that exemplify exactly what The Gentleman Callers are, and that is one of the premier rock’n'roll bands of this decade. Think The Pretty Things or The Yardbirds meet The Greenhornes and you’ve got a pretty good lead on what these twenty-somethings are all about. Danceable, soulful, mid-’60s R&B with plenty of groove and passion. All of the instrumentation (including the snotty, attitude-laden vocals) sound great. The fuzz is there, the Farfisa’s in full effect, and the mix is perfect. It’s got the good warmth of a fine analog recording without sounding “lo-fi” and it’s produced just right without coming off as slick. And quite honestly, there’s not a dud on this disc. And I was happy to see they included a track from their live performance on my radio show (“If You Don’t Want Me to Love You Again”) from October of 2004. A really nice job on a simply essential CD. Can’t wait for their next!
Show tonight! That’s right, for those of you in the St. Louis area, you can catch The Gentleman Callers live tonight (Saturday Dec. 10th) at Lemmons on S. Gravois in South St. Louis. This will be the band’s second show with their new man on keys, Seth Porter (from all reports of their show last week at the Creepy Crawl, “they’ve never sounded better” —Bill Streeter, Lo-Fi Saint Louis). Also appearing will be The Jet Set from Milwaukee and also local garage/rockabilly phenoms The Vultures. I’ll be there, how ’bout you?
Please enjoy these MP3s from Don’t Say What it Is:
The Gentleman Callers – I’ve Got Mine (MP3)
The Gentleman Callers – Hey Little Girl (MP3)
The Gentleman Callers – If You Want Me to Love You Again [Live on KDHX] (MP3)
I’ve been riding the bus to work lately, which has given me some extra time to do some reading. I just finished a great book that I thought I’d recommend to any pulp/crime fans out there called 
