Something I Learned Today

After several years of trying I finally tracked down a copy of the 6 song 12″ by DC band Rain. La Vache Qui Rit was recorded in 1987 and posthumously released in 1990 on Guy Picciotto’s Peterbilt label. “Worlds at War” was included on the State of the Union comp. Bert Queiroz provided a brief overview:

Jon Kirshten (Chris Bald’s younger brother) played guitar & sang, Eli Janney played drums, Bert Queiroz played bass (& cover photo), Scott McCloud also played guitar & sang. Amy Pickering, Ian MacKaye & Jeff Turner did backing vocals, Ian & Jeff did production, Don Zientara engineered, & Kurt Sayenga did the design. Glad someone still cares & likes the record.

The music here is firmly in the vein of the post-Revolution Summer sound, call it emo, post-hardcore, whatever. Embrace and One Last Wish are the two bands that immediately come to mind.

Rain - That Time of the Year.mp3
Rain - End of my Mind.mp3
Rain - Snakeout.mp3
Rain - Worlds at War.mp3
Rain - Around the Axis.mp3
Rain - Rivers.mp3

Notes:
>> for those interested, Eli Janney and Bert Queiroz both maintain websites.
>> For another great Peterbilt release checkout Deadline

** It appears that both the Rain and Deadline EP’s will be re-issued by Dischord in the next month (way overdue). I will be removing these tracks shortly given this information **

One of the nice things to find in my mailbox upon my return from vacation was a promo copy of Alternative Tentacles reissue of the collected works of Miami’s The Eat. It’s Not The Eat, It’s The Humidity collects 30 studio tracks and 29 live cuts on 2 CD’s. And you know, it’s about time. The Eat are KBD legends, with their first two singles commanding ridiculous prices. It’s Not the Eat… collects these two gems, the Scattered Wahoo Action cassette from 1982, and the full mid-90’s sessions that spawned the Hialeah 7″. In the late 90’s the band themselves was distributing most of this material on a CDR called Slowly I Turn. All in all, this is enjoyable melodic, garage punk with a biting satirical edge. As the AT bio labels ‘em:

top-floor melodic punk ‘n’ roll - sort of a sped-up Real Kids with rock-bottom Angry Samoans-style lyrics

The second disc is live, and I can do without most live releases. This is no exception. (note that the double vinyl edition skips the live material). I’ll stick with the studio material. The Eat never topped “Communist Radio”, but they come close on a couple of these. Some of my favorites:

The Eat - Communist Radio.mp3
The Eat - Nut Cop.mp3
The Eat - Party Line.mp3
The Eat - Hialeah.mp3

You can buy It’s Not The Eat, It’s The Humidity directly from Alternative Tentacles
(Or, you can try and win one from Peter over at Killed By Death Records)

If you like loaded, pounding, repetitive riffs, banshee vocals, and the occasional 9 minute marathon then this is the shit for you. I’m feeling lazy today (today? how about the past two weeks) so I’m going to cut and paste from the wikipedia writeup on Washington state’s noisemongers Karp:

Karp was a rock band from Olympia, Washington, that formed in 1990 and lasted until 1998… Karp managed to mix the terror of hardcore, The Melvins, and Black Sabbath with an ear for pop-influenced song assembly. The band name is inspired from a newsletter/zine that bassist Chris Smith put out in highschool and is an acronym that stands for “Kill All Redneck Pricks”

Karp would release three full lengths (1994’s Mustache Ride, 1996’s Suplex, and 1997’s Self-Titled LP), with a singles comp (Action Chemistry) released in 2001. Bruising, punishing stuff here - one listen to “Bacon Industry” is proof All releases are recommended if this is your thing, Self Titled LP and Action Chemistry are my personal faves. Take a listen:

from Self-Titled LP
Karp - Bacon Industry.mp3
Karp - Bastard in Disguise.mp3
Karp - Spelling Trouble.mp3

from Action Chemistry
Karp - Freighty Cat.mp3
Karp - I’d Rather Be Clogging.mp3

from Mustache Ride
Karp - Flourpus.mp3
Karp - Me Big Mouth.mp3

from Suplex
Karp - Get No Toys.mp3
Karp - Schotzie.mp3

Notes:
** Pic from Karp page@myspace
** Drummer Scott Jernigan died in 2003.