Something I Learned Today

Sado-Nation were ( are? ) a melodic punk band hailing from Portland, OR. Formed in 1978 the band engaged in so many personnel changes that trying to keep track is a task I don’t wish to undertake. Most noticeably the band switched from a male vocalist(Dave Corboy) to a female singer in their early days(Leesh Anderson). The confusion is evident on 1980’s debut 7″, which featured 4 songs, two each from the respective vocalists. The tracks with Corboy singing (”I’m Trouble”, “On Whom They Beat”) are great - really rough and frantic sounding. The other two tracks have distinct pop-edge and ultimately aren’t as intense, though “Mom & Pop Democracy” is catchy as hell.

Sado-Nation - I’m Trouble.mp3
Sado-Nation - Gimme You.mp3
Sado-Nation - On Whom They Beat.mp3
Sado-Nation - Mom & Pop Democracy.mp3

>> the whole EP has been reissued by Greg Sage’s Zeno Records as part of the History of Portland Punk CD. A Worthwhile investment, it includes 7″s from the Wipers, Stiphynoids, Neo Boys, Sado-Nation in addition to the whole live LP “10-29-79″.
>> Sado-Nation has their own page on Myspace with the requisite sound samples

I stumbled across The Left originally when listening to the Killed By Hardcore bootleg. My search for information on this band has been relatively fruitless. What I can gather is that The Left were a Pennsylvania band who released a remarkable 12″ called Hell, It’s The World in 1984 (and a decent follow up Last Train to Hagerstown in 1985) As far as I can tell this is OOP*. It’s a shame, as this is great stuff. 8 tracks of melodic, mid-tempo punk in the Dischord/DC vein. Distinctive sounding even after 20 years.

The New Bomb Turks covered this one a couple of years ago, which inspired me to initially track it down. Their track “Fuck It” pops into my head everytime something goes wrong in my world (even though the song is about drinking). Fuck it, man! Here are a couple from Hell, It’s The World:

The Left - Fuck It.mp3
The Left - Hell.mp3
The Left - Frontline.mp3
The Left - 5:00 AM.mp3

*Both 12″s were reissued on one LP in 1989 on the Gift of Life imprint. I don’t believe this has been reissued since.

Yesterday I mentioned the Bug Jar fest scheduled for tomorrow in Rochester, NY. Guzzard played the fest in 1996.

Guzzard - Glued.mp3
How to describe Guzzard? Well, imagine a band built around the noisy Helmet model but a bit faster, more melodic, and less repetitive. Of course in the early 90’s Helmet clones were a common thing but Guzzard caught my attention with their 1993 AmRep debut 7″ which featured “Glued”. I’m not sure what it is, perhaps it’s the barely contained energy captured by engineer Tim Mac. This 7″ was a true AmRep classic. The band’s subsequent three albums proved to be cleaner sounding and somehow less satisfying, but still enjoyable in their own right.

sometimes the family life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’ll be attending a family picnic on Saturday when I should be in Rochester for the Annual Bug Jar Fest

Bloody Hollies - Downtown Revolver.mp3
Buffalo’s Bloody Hollies will be tearing things up for free at the Bug Jar fest in Rochester this weekend. What to expect? How about in your face, amped up garbage rock. The track here is the album opener from 2003’s Fire At Will, released by the folks at Sympathy. The band had previously released Got it Where it Counts in 2001 on Rochester’s own Garage Pop label that has slipped out of print.

If you like what you hear you can preview the whole dang album on the band’s site!

If you are in the upstate NY area on 8/28 stop down to the fest at the Highland Bowl in Rochester and check out the Hollies along with the Sadies, We Ragazzi, and scads of others. Afterwards, stop by the bar itself and have one of those amazing $3 Long Island Iced Teas

Why not throw one more from Fire at Will your way?

Bloody Hollies - Dogfight.mp3

yeah, I know this track isn’t any kind of overlooked gem or some great ignored band, but I act on my every whim. I was out of town for work last night. As I sat alone at the bar eating dinner this track came to mind for obvious reasons.

Quicksand - Dine Alone.mp3
track taken from 1993’s full length Slip has Quicksand showcasing some choice post-hardcore. Quicksand should be familiar to all, releasing a classic 7″ on Revelation and two excellent full lengths major label (Polydor and Island, maybe? ) that sound taut and powerful 10 years later. Quicksand epitomized the sea change of early 90’s hardcore away from moshable tough guy crap to a slower, complex, and more atmospheric songcraft. In short, the hardcore kids (band included members of Gorilla Biscuits and Beyond ) began to grow up and leave their old toys behind.

from the latest release by Greg Cartwright and co.

Reigning Sound - You Got Me Hummin.mp3
I hesitate to call Reigning Sound the new band for Greg Cartwright, as they have released a bunch of albums over the last couple of years. I guess I’m still hoping that the Oblivians will permanently reform and these “new” bands will be considered “side projects”. Yeah, I won’t hold my breath. I may be the only person to actually admit I’m not gaga over the post Oblivians bands ( Reigning Sound, Compulsive Gamblers) Too 60’s garage rock for my (limited) musical tastes. In my mind a case of where the sum was so much more than the individual parts. That said, I’m completely on board with Too Much Guitar from the Reigning Sound. It is truth in advertising, a more “rocking” album than previous ones. It doesn’t get any better than “You Got Me Hummin”, an energetic,catchy rocker that I’ve been playing over and over.

If you have patience and better luck than me you can attempt to hear some sounds from the bands maddening website.

Gandhi existed for a brief moment in time several years ago as the new band for Page Hamilton. It looked as is the band was set to record and release an album, marking the return of Hamilton to the nu-metal scene that he essentially created with Helmet. The band posted several demo tracks on their now defunct website ( www.gandhiband.com ). So what happened? According to the bio on the Helmet website Gandhi dissolved after Hamilton tired of living in LA and working with an NY based band. But I’m guessing from the following quote that Hamilton was contractually prevented from using the Helmet name.

Earlier this year, Interscope label chairman Jimmy Iovine called HAMILTON. He wanted to speak with him about two things. He first asked if PAGE would like to produce acts for his label. (HAMILTON’s first job, the solo album from Bush
singer Gavin Rossdale, is slated for release later this year). And then, Iovine
told PAGE he would like for him to return to Interscope and make HELMET records. “After all these years, I was offered the opportunity to have the band name I started with,” says HAMILTON. “That’s kind of hard to pass up!”

As it stands now Helmet will be releasing a new album entitled “Size Matters” on September 14. “Everybody Loves You” looks to be included on this, along with at least one other Gandhi era song ( “Enemies”).

As for the Gandhi songs, well, they sound like Helmet - Agressive, chunky guitars, memorable chorus. The only tweaks are some electronic flourishes here and there. Helmet fans will not be disappointed.

Gandhi - Enemies.mp3
Gandhi - Everybody Loves You.mp3
Gandhi - Just Like Me.mp3
Gandhi - Money Shot.mp3

>> Update 6/2005: one of the reasons this post was updated is due to the fact that I generally prefer the Gandhi material to the songs on Size Matters
>> A Helmet fan site

well… I updated my links, adding some new MP3 Blogs ( which most probably already know ) in addition some other blogs from people kind enough to link to me. Check them all out.

Digging around I found some free cuts from Ikara Colt, one of my favorite new bands.

Ikara Colt - Sink Venice
Ikara Colt - Repetition
Ikara Colt - Don’t They Know

ending the week with the noise rock stylings of Tar

Tar - Building Taj Mahal.mp3
Tar were the forgotten step child of the early 90’s noiserock world. Everyone fawned all over Helmet, Jesus Lizard, etc. while this hardworking band from Chicago quietly went about it’s business, releasing 5 albums and scads of singles for AmRep and Touch&Go. Tar had a unique guitar sound that stood apart from the grunge and metal stylings so prominent at the time. I remember reading the band’s sound was a result of custom made aluminum guitars, but I’m not a guitar tech so I’m not qualified to comment. Whatever.

Over and Out was Tar’s swan song, released in 1995. At that point the band had decided the ride was over and the only thing left to do was to release one last set of songs. Over and Out sounded fresher than the previous LP’s by a long shot, their best end to end album since 1991’s Jackson. The formula for Tar is pretty simple. Rumbling bass lines, loud, atmospheric guitars, low key vocals, songs that start slow and soft and build to crescendo. “Building Taj Mahal” is a freaking behemoth.

It’s download one, get another day here at SiLT.

Tar - Muncie.mp3
Tar did record a great deal of rocking, upbeat music. This song isn’t one of them. A somber number, second only to the track above in terms of power and emotion on the last album. I’ll leave it to another MP3Jay to post the other stuff.

new ( to me ) music from the infamous Paul Bearer & co.

Joe Coffee - 3 AM and 4 Again.mp3
Joe Coffee is a NYC post-hardcore band lead by the inimitable Rev. Paul Bearer and a cast of other NYHC players. For those in the dark, Bearer was the driving force behind legendary NYC hardcore band Sheer Terror. I won’t delve into that band’s history now, I’ll save it for a later post. Needless to say I was happy to finally uncover 2002’s Bright As the Stars We’re Under after looking for quite awhile. The first press of the CD disappeared quickly, but luckily was re-released earlier this year . Make no mistake, Joe Coffee is not Sheer Terror, the jackhammer hardcore and gutteral vocals are mostly absent. Instead Joe Coffee is features a more “mature” hardcore rock&roll sound - I know that is usually the kiss of death for some, but seriously it works. The key is Bearer’s strongly sung vocals and evocative lyrics. If you absolutely need a Sheer Terror reference point think Love Songs For the Unloved rather than Just Can’t Hate Enough. I’m glad to know that Paul Bearer is still out there, busting the balls of everyone, skewering everything. In short, making the world a more cynical and darkly humorous place.

A review from DOA

For those interested it looks like there is going to be a Sheer Terror reunion show on Oct 10-2004 at CBGB!