Something I Learned Today

Just passed the 3 year mark of SiLT a week or so back, and I despite the recent lack of posts I swear I’m drainin’ every last drop out of this motherfucker. The fact that “draining” in this case is interchangeable with “recycle” is a given, right? Take for example post #440, which is composed of 75% recycled content of post #8, which was my review of Nine Pound Hammer’s Kentucky Breakdown LP. My take:

so needless to say I was bit skeptical about the new release from the reformed Nine Pound Hammer. I enjoyed their last studio effort Hayseed Timebomb, but that was 1994. In the interim guitarist Blaine Cartwright’s formed Nashville Pussy who’ve released a handful of albums of cock rock’n’roll posturing and AC/DC ripoff riffs. Nine Pound Hammer is less “arena” rock and more buzzsaw punk. They have been billed as “cowpunk” but you won’t confuse this for any Uncle Tupelo or other “Alt-country” crap. The only thing cowpunk is Scott Luallen’s hillbilly vocals, which you’ll either love or hate. I love ‘em, which is the biggest reason I’m a fan. Kentucky Breakdown provides 13 tracks of hellacious backwoods rock that continues right were Hayseed Timebomb leaves off - If I didn’t know better I’d swear this album and the previous were recorded at the same time, not 10 years apart.

Both Kentucky Breakdown and Hayseed Timebomb still get alot of play on the ‘ol Ipod, both albums chunk fulla big buzzsaw guitars and lyrics skewering life south of the Mason-Dixon line. Emerson over at OldPunks.com just wrote about Nine Pound Hammer, and when two mp3bloggers with a combined age somewhere north of retirement age recommend shit, then you know it’s gotta be the real deal. Take a listen:

from 2004’s Kentucky Breakdown
Nine Pound Hammer - Drunk, Tired, and Mean.mp3
Nine Pound Hammer - He Done Run Outta Worms.mp3

from 1994’s Hayseed Timebomb
Nine Pound Hammer - Steamroller.mp3
Nine Pound Hammer - Skin a Buck.mp3

from 1992’s Smokin’ Taters
Nine Pound Hammer - Long Gone Daddy.mp3
Nine Pound Hammer - Don’t Get No.mp3

from 1988’s The Mud, The Blood, & The Beers
Nine Pound Hammer - He’s Gone.mp3
Nine Pound Hammer - Runaway Train.mp3

Links:
>> Nine Pound Hammer@myspace
>> Buy Nine Pound Hammer releases

Fulfilling a request I received recently, this is the 1993 compilation Set it On Fire! A Tribute to the Scientists. Man, I used to love these themed based compilations, but at some point it got played out for me. This one is pretty solid, both then and now. At the time it served as both an introduction to many cool bands (Cheater Slicks, Mono Men) as well as a primer on the weird, wild sounds of the Scientists. I actually heard this before I heard any of the Scientists actual releases, prompting me to seek out the Subpop compilation disc Absolute (the only Scientists material readily available in the latter half of the 90’s) . Nowadays, you can (and should) pick up the two Scientists compilations out on SFTRI - Blood Red River and Human Jukebox.

But back to this comp - 12 songs, 12 bands of the noise/garage/trash persuasion originally released on the Dog Meat label out of Australia. There’s alot of hits on this one. My choices here are the Slicks, Mono Men, Mudhoney, and Sugar Shack, but really, there ain’t a stinker in the bunch.

Cheater Slicks - Set it on Fire.mp3
Honeymoon Killers - Murderess in a Purple Dress.mp3
Mono Men - Swampland.mp3
Stump Wizards - Bet Ya Lyin’.mp3
Star Spangled Banana - Frantic Romantic.mp3
Walkingseeds - Nitro.mp3
Mudhoney - We Had Love.mp3
Sugar Shack - Hell Beach.mp3
Vertigo - Pissed on Another Planet.mp3
The Philisteins - Teenage Dreams.mp3
Laughing Hyenas - Solid Gold Hell.mp3
The Sunset Strip - It Must Be Nice.mp3

I have absolutely no musical ability, but if I could play anything it would be guitar. And if I could play guitar, I would love to have the ability to deliver the goods like Austin, TX one man band John Schooley. Hailing out of the Missouri backwoods, Schooley spent the second half of 90’s laying down raw chords of nasty garage slop as part of The Revelators. After the Revelators split Schooley picked up with the Hard Feelings, taking on lead vocals in addition to guitar. While none of the bands three LP’s approach the singular greatness of The Revelators We Told You Not To Cross Us, there are plenty of individual moments that showcase the Hard Feelings fusion of 50’s greaser rock, 60’s soul, and 70’s punk energy. What sets this apart for me from the vast pool of garagepunk & roots bands is the filthy slide guitar freakouts that Schooley delivers. Check “Who’s That Knockin’?” or “Fox in the Henhouse”. Walter Daniels blowin’ harp ain’t a bad thing either. The Hard Feelings are currently in limbo, but John Schooley’s One Man Band is going strong

from 2000’s Fought Back and Lost
The Hard Feelings - (We Need Another) Vietnam.mp3
The Hard Feelings - Who’s That Knockin’.mp3
The Hard Feelings - Fox in the Henhouse.mp3

from 2001’s You Won’t Like It … ‘Cuz It’s Rockn’Roll!
The Hard Feelings - The Boss is Me.mp3
The Hard Feelings - Hollywood Lives Laid Bare.mp3

from 2003’s Rebels Against The Future
The Hard Feelings - You Said a Bad Word.mp3

from 2003 single on Tear It Up
The Hard Feelings - 100 Miles An Hour.mp3

Notes:
>> Official sites forThe Hard Feelings and John Schooley. And MySpace too.
>> Buy some Hard Feelings releases

Every review I’ve come across compares Sweden’s The Blacks to The Oblivions, and after you take a listen I’m sure you’ll see the similarities. Not that this is a bad thing - The Blacks spew out some mighty fine Memphis-via-Stockholm 2 guitars-and-a-kit trash, all dirty and gritty. A total of 4 7″ records released from 1997 through 1999 ( 2 more posthumous 7″ ep’s were released in 2003) on labels including Big Neck and Savage (guitarist Martin Savage’s own label). Below are a handful from those first 4 records:

The Blacks - Let It All Hang Out.mp3
The Blacks - Sock It To ‘Em, JB.mp3
The Blacks - What I Got.mp3
The Blacks - Call The Shots.mp3
The Blacks - Don’t Be Cute.mp3
The Blacks - The Boss With The Hot Sauce.mp3

Dallas, TX’s Fireworks were scheduled to be my 4th of July 2005 post, but somewhere I took a left turn and ended up with Last Rights instead. So, here in 2006 what better time to dish out some lo-fi, blown stack rock’n'roll? A 3-piece of two guitars and a drummer, Fireworks 1993-1997 run saw them put out 7 singles, 3 albums, and numerous comp appearances on the likes of Crypt, Augogo, In The Red, and 1+2. Alternative Press of all places hit it:

This sounds like what you think Jon Spencer Blues Explosion would
sound like from reading about them… Actually, this is pretty swampy, with a lo-fi feel…fucked-up vocal sound. It’s juvenile-delinquent rock. Bad-boyrock…It’s hard to go wrong with a trashed -out swamped-up blues-a-billy number

Or, as guitarist/vocalist Darin Lin Wood describes them, “(Fireworks is) music for people who like fucked up music.” No matter how your describe it, one listen confirms this is raw, rootsy trash. Below are my two favorite singles by the band. Check that thicknecked guitar on the last two tracks

from 1993 single on Easy Action
Fireworks - Silver Moon.mp3
Fireworks - Moonshot.mp3

from 1995’s single on Human Fly
Fireworks - Baby Go!.mp3
Fireworks - Don’t Let It Go.mp3

Notes:
> Darin Lin Wood and drummer Janet Walker paired w/ Mick Collins to form the side project Blacktop.
> Guitarist James Arthur would later turn up in the Necessary Evils. He is currently fronting the Golden Boys
>All three of Fireworks LPs seem to be readily available - check out Lit Up! , Set the World On Fire, and Off the Air

I thought it was just yesterday that I posted some tracks from bands associated with Rip Off Records, but it really has been awhile since I covered anything from them. So why not take a listen to The Metros, who are responsible for some of my favorite records on Rip Off. A 5-piece from Detroit, the Metros released two singles and an album between 1998 and 2000 before vaporizing. I’ve read descriptions of the band’s sound as “pure Gun Club fueled punk”, which suggest to me the reviwer either didn’t listen to the record or doesn’t have a clue about the Gun Club. Whatever. The Metros dish out two minute chunks of gritty garage punk with hooks, and dig it. I think all of their material is still available, check them out if you haven’t already. Here’s a taste:

from their first 7″
The Metros - Hot-Wired.mp3

from their 1999 self-titled LP
The Metros - Black Leather.mp3
The Metros - Lay It On Me.mp3

from their second 7″
The Metros - I Gotta Go.mp3

Details are sketchy when it comes to The Beguiled. I think (but can’t confirm) they were from somewhere in Orange County, CA. After releasing an LP on Dionysus in 1988 the Beguiled reappeared and found their mark in 1993 with this here single on Estrus. Fuzzy, swampy, and dark sounds spew forth on this one. Three of the four tracks would be cleaned up enough to appear on 1994’s excellent Blue Dirge LP. I myself prefer the raw sounds and rougher vocals of this 7″ to the LP. The Beguiled ended soon after the release of Blue Dirge when guitarist Mike Ball was killed by a drunk driver. Bassist Steve Pallow would go on to form the even creepier Necessary Evils

from 1993’s Estrus 7″
The Beguiled - Black Gloves.mp3
The Beguiled - Kitten With A Whip.mp3
The Beguiled - She-Devil Rock.mp3
The Beguiled - Woman is Trouble.mp3

from 1994’s Blue Dirge LP
The Beguiled - I Walk Alone.mp3
The Beguiled - The Screaming Rummy.mp3

It took me a bit to warm up to it, but The Lamps 2005 release on In The Red is one of the most oddly enjoyable albums I’ve heard in awhile. The Lamps sound is a steam-rolling blend of primitive trash rock crossed with anti-social noise, which is “thumbs up” in my book. Virtually every review of this record I’ve come across name checks the Necessary Evils and either the Cramps or the Gories, so I’ll do the same. Everyone also seems to mention that artwork, which as you can see is in fact pretty fucking creepy. Track this one down. Take a listen:

The Lamps - Hot Plate.mp3
The Lamps - 2o” Of Monkey.mp3

Notes:

I don’t care what anyone says, I dig the Riverboat Gamblers. I’ve read a great deal criticism of them on various message boards that state the Gamblers records are “too rock”, or their shows are “too choreographed”, or they’re “rockstars” for playing the Warped Tour. Hell, I too was skeptic, but a listen to 2003’s Something To Crow About made me a believer. It flat out smokes. Their 2001 self titled is also a worthwhile rawk investment. To me the band sounds like a tougher version of the Supersuckers jamming with Sugar Shack, cranking out melodic, anthemic rock action. Good stuff.

Despite all of the praise I’ll warn you off of 2004’s Backsides, which is supposedly a ‘contractual obligation’ deal. By comparison to the previous releases Backsides is relatively mediocre, dragged down by lackluster songs and muddy production. I’m hoping the band’s planned next album (supposedly being recorded now) plays like proper follow up to Something To Crow About. Here’s a couple:

from 2001’s self-titled debut
Riverboat Gamblers - Jenna.mp3
Riverboat Gamblers - Drink Alone.mp3

from 2003’s Something To Crow About
Riverboat Gamblers - Rattle Me Bones.mp3
Riverboat Gamblers - Ice Water.mp3

End:

God as my witness, I thought The Bellrays had broken up. Apparently I was misinformed, as their Saturday night date in Rochester attests to. Huh. For a couple of years there the Bellrays were all the rage with their brand of “maximum rock ‘n’ soul”, a mix of punk drive and powerful vocals. The best approximation I could come up with was Patti LaBelle fronting an overamped MC5, take that for what it’s worth. 1998’s Let It Blast was a staple in my CD player for many months. 2000’s Grand Fury was more of the same but failed to stick with me, which may be the reason I drifted away. Since then the Bellrays have released a couple of more discs, including their latest The Red, White, and Black on Alternative Tentacles. Here’s a couple from their earlier releases:

from 1998’s Let It Blast
Bellrays - Hole In The World.mp3
Bellrays - Cold Man Night.mp3

from 2000’s Grand Fury
Bellrays - Heat Cage.mp3
Bellrays - Under The Mountain.mp3

End: