PASCAL'S LONG LOST MIX TAPE - 2007

   In my last year of living in Bloomington, IN, I made a whole lot of mix tapes for friends, both locally and far away. I would sit in front of the stereo for hours, laboring over 90 minutes of the perfect mix of punk and weirdness. Then, I would hand deliver it to someone's door or drop in the mail at the post office just 5 short blocks away. It took moving across the country to California to realize that I was utterly and morbidly depressed. I don't think that making mix tapes is a sign of depression (far from it), but I do think something is amiss when one is putting all of their free time into tape making or drinking endless pints of whiskey while flipping the same DEAD MOON record over and over.
   I think there is a certain beautiful power in mix tapes that can not be replicated by a mix CD or a play list. Many, many people have explained this in the past, so I won't bore you with the details, but there is something to be said for having to listen to each song in real time as you make the tape.
   Most of the tapes I made for folks eventually reached them...except for this one. I made this fairly eclectic tape for my friend Pascal in Paris and then never, ever mailed it to him. I took it to work and listened to it a lot. I carried it around in my bag with intentions of dropping it in the mail for him. I even flew to Europe, went to Paris and hung out with Pascal but forgot to take the tape with me. So, Pascal if you're reading this, I apologize. If you send me your current address, I'll mail you this tape. I mean it this time.
   In the meantime, I think this is a great tape with styles flying all over the map. Seriously. Have you ever gotten a mix tape that segues from UKE OF SPACES CORNERS to LIMPWRIST? KATRA TURANA to TULSA? OI POLLOI to JOHN DENVER to OMAR SOULEYMAN to ARTIMUS PYLE? BUNKER HILL to MEN'S RECOVERY PROJECT? It makes sense. I like this tape a lot. Maybe you will too.

Download Side A

Download Side B

All music on here is vinyl to tape. No digital.

CHICKENHEAD / LOS CANADIANS - Split CD - 2002(?)

   I never heard of CHICKENHEAD until a year after they had already broken up, so I never got to see their singer Chuck Loose set himself on fire. I never got to see their guitarist, Iggy running around in boxer shorts and spitting beer in people's faces. I only had their 7" from 1993 to listen to and wonder what kind of fucked up people write these fuckin' punk songs about stealing cars, drinking Robotussin and not having a future. My bandmate, Joey Tampon would always bring his CHICKENHEAD demo tape on tour an only play it in the middle of the night on long drives. The warbly fucked sound of that tape was so alien to me at the time, but so full of life, nihilism and decay. I got their 7" and spent many wasted nights blasting it in the park in downtown Huntsville: "Do you like my car?! It was free because I STOLE IT!!"

CHICKENHEAD playing on the moon. Photo by Josie, I think.

   CHICKENHEAD started in 1991 in Miami with Chuck Loose on vocals, Iggy Scam on guitar and Buddha on drums. They put out the aforementioned, ramshackle demo tape before adding Scott on drums and moving Buddha to bass. Their shows could be chaotic and fucked. Chairs got thrown, bottles got broken and beer got spilled. They went on a couple of tours around the US that seemed to be funded solely off of crime and scams. After routinely getting banned from clubs for silly offenses like spitting beer on people, destroying mics and setting themselves on fire, the band called it quits in 1993 after a show in Berkeley, CA.

   LOS CANADIANS, also from Miami, evolved out of CHICKENHEAD and a short-lived band called THE TRI-RAILS. Buddha and Scott (from CHICKENHEAD) played guitar and drums respectively. They were joined by a wizardly bass player named Timmy and Ivy on vocals. LOS CANADIANS and most of CHICKENHEAD either lived at or hung out in an abandoned 13-story hotel in Biscayne Bay called "The Mutiny", which is where a few of LOS CANADIANS' early songs were written. They played their first show in an abandoned, hurricane-damaged warehouse outside of Miami in 1992. LOS CANADIANS wrote fast, quick tuneful songs about alienation, pain and drugs. I didn't "get" them at first, but they soon became indispensable in my life.

LOS CANADIANS on the moon. Photo by Josie.

   I met Iggy and Ivy at the same time in the parking lot of a life-changing all day punk show in Chattanooga in 1995 (across the street from Wally's at McCallie and Holly). The next week, I played a generator show in the Everglades that Iggy set up with LOS CANADIANS, THE STUN GUNS, AGAINST ALL AUTHORITY and many more. Over the years, I got closer to these people and this music that provided so much inspiration to me. Iggy (now Erick), Ivy and Buddha have maintained a close musical partnership over the years that lasts to this day, writing countless, timeless classic punk songs.

  This CD was put out by This Here Records out of Chattanooga and compiles almost all of the recorded output for both bands. One of my favorite things on here is the acoustic, early version of LOS CANADIANS'  "Never Can" recorded in the Mutiny. It's my favorite song by them and I would be happy hearing as many alternate versions of it as possible, Chuck Loose still lives in Miami, went on to play in THE CRUMBS and now plays drums in the DUST TRAPS. Timmy is currently hiding out in the middle of the country and plays bass in HELLO SHITTY PEOPLE. Buddha has been in so many bands that I can't even keep track of them all. He currently lives in Chattanooga and plays guitar in the FASTBOYS (they have a new record that you can get from Young Monster) and HIDDEN SPOTS. Scott went on to play in THE HIDDEN RESENTMENTS with Iggy. He now lives in the East Bay and plays drums in CITY DELUXE. Iggy and Ivy went on to play in a few bands together over the years, like MIAMI, ALLERGIC TO BULLSHIT (with me!) and they are currently in BLACK RAINBOW (with me and our friend, Morgan..next show in March in SF). I think that covers it.

Download Mutiny in Miami - CHICKENHEAD / LOS CANADIANS
updated May 2013

CHICKENHEAD photo by Josie, I think.

Sorry if this is a little scattered. I'm getting over some wild sickness and can't think straight.

SHOTWELL - "Geneva Avenue Fallout" - Tape - 1999

   SHOTWELL started back in 1994 (as SHOTWELL COHO) and they continue to (sort-of) exist as a band to this day. To me, and many others, they are as synonymous to the Mission District as burritos, norteños y sureños, street-sold churros and the Mission theater sign. Their rough, tuneful songs have mirrored the class struggles, police repression and the pure fucking joy of living in San Francisco for the past 17 or 18 years. The band has been a revolving door of drummers, bass players, and second guitarists with Jimmy Broustis manning the vocal / guitar duties since day one. On record, Shotwell is flawlessly flawed, shambolic and raw. Most of their albums and singles have been on constant rotation anywhere I've lived for the past 15 years and many of their songs have helped to inspire a constant, snarling disdain for authority. SHOTWELL yearns to live in a world that is free of cops, drinking in public laws and the upper class. A live SHOTWELL show can go in a few different directions: On one hand, it can be the best thing ever - dancing punks, a tight band, Jimmy's long, rambling diatribes that end up making such a concise point that you'll think about it for the next two days. On the other, they can be a terrifying, depressing affair where the band sounds like harsh noise, Jimmy is trying everything he can to make the songs fall apart and someone gets punched. I've still managed to have fun at those shows though...somehow. Alcohol is usually involved.

    This tape is one of my favorite things that SHOTWELL has ever recorded. It shows the band at a really tight, ragged point and the songs are all top-notch. Jimmy asks a few timeless, musical questions, such as "Where the fuck is Eppli?" (sources are still unsure) and "Do we have what it takes? We've got 5 years....fuck no.." (it's now been well over 5 years and sources are still confused as to what we had 5 years to accomplish). Jimmy's voice does that beautiful thing that it does where it goes from a half-laugh to a snarl that lets you know that he's not fucking around. All the while, he is backed up by the breakneck, steady drumming of Iggy Scam and the solid bass-work of Greg Snyder....and then Carl Rice...How many bands do you know of that change band members so quickly that they can't even keep the same people throughout one album? Most of these songs later appeared on their fabulous split LP with MIAMI (which came with a 30 page zine that chronicled the efforts of the Mission punks to start having punk shows on the streets of SF after all of the all-ages warehouses got shut down), except for their excellent cover of the AVENGER'S "Cheap Tragedies", which can only be found on this tape.
     I think my favorite line from this tape is "...tell me to get a fuckin' job! Fuck you Nazi, I'm throwing rocks!"
    If you want to keep up with SHOTWELL's website, which has not been updated or relevant since 2001, you can find it HERE..

Download Geneva Avenue Fallout

This is for the people who are still in the streets in Oakland today, fighting for economic justice and against police brutality.

Photo of SHOTWELL playing an illegal show at 16th and Mission BART in 2001 by lil' Sarah T.

 And now, to the best of my abilities, I'm going to try and name every person who has ever played in SHOTWELL. Please chime in if I missed anyone.

Jimmy Broustis                    Buzz Lee

Tony Rojas                          Iggy Scam / Erick Lyle

Mason                                Paul Curran

Aaron Cometbus                 Ivy Jeanne
Phil                                    Pete Simonelli
Chris Myers                       Antonio Ramon

Ben                                    Colin Atrophy

Greg Harvester                   Ken Williams

Carl Rice                            Greg Snyder

Steve Moriarity                  Matt Birdflu

Buddha                              Morgan Stickrod

Ryan Maddox                    Joey Alone

Paul Barger                        Abe
Garritt Heater                     Wade Driver
Cinque Adams                    E.r. Conner
Ernst                                  Alan Disaster
Shellhead                           Matt Powell
Todd Siemens                    Brontez Purnell
Caroline Paquita                Mike Wilson

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES FROM DAY ONE - Tape - 1997

   Iggy Scam put out this tape in 1997 and it brought to life a ton of bands that I had only read about (mostly in SCAM, the zine) or heard about by word of mouth. It was a revelation to hear real, live songs by bands with names like DARVIS BROWN AND THE SMOKE ASSES, VANBUILDERASS, LES TURDZ, and KREAMY LECTRIC SANTA. It was more than that. It was fucking exciting and it changed my life. It helped to open up my life to a whole world of complete and utter badasses who mostly have remained that way through the years. This is where I first heard "Revolution Sound" by THE STUN GUNS, where I first heard THE DRILLER KILLERS (who inspired me to make my own shirt with a Sharpie), where I was introduced to the genius of "Can't Take It Away" by THE MORONS and so, so much more. "Stupid Fresh" by KLS still sends chills down my spine every time I hear it. This is also where I first heard THE FUNYONS, a band powered mostly by one man named Steve who plays his simple-yet-insanely-catchy songs only on the streets, which I've always respected immensely. You may also know Steve as the principal songwriter behind ONION FLAVORED RINGS, who have been also churning out quality pop-punk for 10 years, even though they have slowed down in recent years. The cool thing is that Steve still plays FUNYONS songs unannounced on the streets of San Francisco all the time.
   This tape proclaimed "30 bands! 51 songs from The Region!" and that term (the region) has stuck around for all these years and has evolved into "region rock". But what the fuck is "region rock" and why should you care? I can't answer the latter, but I can tell you that the term "The Region" was coined by Cinque Adams. It  is loosely defined as an area in the southeastern US that is shaped like a triangle with points in Dogtown, AR, Tom Foote;s house in Chattanooga, TN and the ruins of an old hotel called "The Mutiny" in Coconut Grove in Miami. Bands from The Region mostly shared (and continue to share) ideologies, band members and much more. I don't want to define it too much because it's not mine to define. It's ever-shifting and belongs to the punks of the southeast. Don't think about it too much. Just close your mind.
   The songs were compiled by Iggy using (I'm sure) the cheapest of equipment and the barest of essentials. The same could be said for many of the bands recording their songs. The music was dubbed onto tapes stolen from chain stores and distributed through the US by touring bands, traveling kids, punk post, and a couple of small distributors. I remember getting 10 of these in the mail from Iggy and they were all snatched up by the punks in my town within a couple of hours. I don't even have a copy of this anymore.

   I did a sequel to this comp three years later, which you can find right here. This comp was originally posted on Region Rock and More, (so you can ask him why all the songs are weirdly numbered and out of order) but is no longer available there since Megaupload was shut down by the feds. I wanted to keep it around and easy to access, in case people want to hear it. It's an important document in the history of southeastern punk rock. This is for Forrest Haye, Andrew Ross Powell, Chris Cottie, Brian Turd, Victor Wiley, Mike O'Brien and any other winners we've lost along the way.

DOWNLOAD///Updated July 2013

 





STUN GUNS - Live on WNYU - Tape - 1995

STUN GUNS live at Churchill's in Miami. Photo by ??

   This very recording right here, which is legendary and almost mythical in my mind, is one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place. When I was typing the words to the first or second post ever, I thought "I have to get a hold of that live STUN GUNS tape and make a good digital copy of it one day." My good friend, Erick Lyle was kind enough to mail it across the country, along with 30-40 other tapes that are on loan to me for a bit. If you're as happy as I am about this, be sure to buy the man a coffee the next time you see him. Enough about that....let's get the stories rolling. Here is what George Kelley, the bass player of the STUN GUNS had to say about this time in the band's history.

  "This would have been in August, 1995 towards the end of a nine week tour with the almighty SHAFFERS from Chattanooga. Considering that it was eight people traveling together for over two months and doing all sorts of destructive things to themselves, I don't think there's one person in either band who wouldn't have called it an amazing experience. I sure would.

   We had our fair share of fucked up shows on that tour (it wouldn't have been the STUN GUNS otherwise) but we nailed it a lot too. A day or two after the WNYU show, we had a gig in Manhattan - I think it was called the Gnat Club - that I still think was our best performance ever. We were just super tight at that point, at least when we could stand up.

   So, this would be a little slice of that time. Probably equal parts sloppy and inspired with a little Paul (Enema) Lecours cursing on-air to drive the staff nuts, too. But we genuinely loved what we were doing and loved each other, too. And not a day goes by that I don't miss Andrew Ross Powell and wish that he was still here."

STUN GUNS in Alabama in 1996. Photo by me.

   Erick Lyle has always been a big supporter, friend and archivist of the STUN GUNS since day one. It is because of his tape comp "Technical Difficulties From Day One" that I ever heard the amazing live version of "Revolution Sound" from this recording (the same goes for many, many other people). This is his take on this era of the STUN GUNS and the southern punk of the mid-90's...

    "This is the closest thing to a foundational moment as survives today for what is now popularly called "The Region". Sure, Eric Nelson's band, AUDACITY came to Miami from Dalton, GA to play with CHICKENHEAD in 1992. Sure, Andrew Powell (STUN GUNS drummer) actually went to live in Dalton and went on tour with THE SHAFFERS in 1993. But the real unity began in summer 1995 when Miami's STUN GUNS and Dalton's SHAFFERS embarked on an ill-advised, over-ambitious, yet now legendary 3 month tour of the United States. With almost no shows and no money, this rolling blackout was quickly joined by THE HOOKERS - a proto-SPAWN SACS of Michigan / Miami wildness. The three bands simply showed up and lived for days in punk houses across the country from Lansing, MI to Portland, OR to the roof of NYC's ABC No Rio, closing countless minds as well as their own, forever, along the way. THE SHAFFERS attempted to record in Lansing, but Eric's voice was blown and they never liked the recordings. This trip to WNYU with Region ally and Yonkers legend Joey I, is the best surviving recording of the band (SHAFFERS) and includes some of the best STUN GUNS material too. Accidentally amazing, transcendent, hilarious and simply the best!"

   For those of you in the dark, the STUN GUNS were a Miami punk band that were around for a good chunk of the 90's who delivered catchy punk that was equally inspired by melodic punk, Goodfellas, and the hard living of Miami. Paul Enema would sling out off-the-cuff one liners as quickly as he spit out his rapid-fire lyrics that were both bitingly cynical and tragically astute. George Kelley was always a super nice guy who seemed to be able to discuss anything with anyone and held everything together with his solid bass lines. Their guitarist, Buddha was and still is one of the best guitarists I have ever heard in my life. Andrew Ross Powell is still one of the most inspirational drummers (and people) I've ever seen or heard. Just being in the same room with him felt electric and exciting sometimes. His absence from this world is palpable and uncomfortable at times. Along with hundreds of other people around the world, I will always feel a strange vacancy in this punk scene without Andrew in it. I hope he's resting in peace somehow...or at least putting lotion in his foot-long devil-lock, writing a 43 chord song on the guitar and playing the drums like a man possessed in an alternate reality. RIP forever and always.

One of the many reasons Andrew was such an inspiration to me is because he put everything he had into his every performance. Here he is seen playing bass for KLS at a show where he broke 3 strings on the bass within 2-3 songs. Photo by Josie.

Download STUN GUNS

Updated 2013

...and if you're wondering, "soooo...where's the SHAFFERS stuff?", it will be posted tomorrow.

Thanks to Maximum Rock N Roll for letting me use their superior digitizing equipment for this tape so I could get the best quality possible and for all the hard work they've been doing with their magazine since 1977....and for bailing me out of jail in 2002.

OH!!  I ALMOST FORGOT...You can still order the outstanding STUN GUNS LP from Do Ya Hear We!!

HORRIBLE ODDS - "Underground" - Tape - 2002

   THE HORRIBLE ODDS wrote these songs alternately between my front porch in St Elmo (Chattanooga) and a dingy bedroom in North Chattanooga where it was so cold that you could see your breath inside the house. Then, they somehow made it to New Orleans to record these songs, even though none of them had a car and half the band didn't even know how to drive. Then, they played maybe five shows and went their separate ways...or to be fair, their drummer Iggy, went back to California and the rest of them continued playing in their band, THE JACK PALANCE BAND. Somehow, these eleven songs perservered throughout the last nine years and not have lost one bit of their stamina or charisma. This has been the soundtrack to Fall for me for the past nine years running. I dare you to listen to "October" and not have it running through your head for the rest of the day. All of these songs are hopeful, triumphant and perfect.
   Ten of these songs later appeared on an LP that came out on Onion Flavored Records that is still available right here. Eric, Mike and Buddha are still playing together in HIDDEN SPOTS. HORRIBLE ODDS drummer, Iggy Scam was last seen in a squat in Daly City, trying to invent a tree that sprouts tall cans of Schlitz.

                           HORRIBLE ODDS CITY   

Updated 2013

Thanks to Anandi for (unknowingly) loaning this one out for download. Someone stole my copy in 2003. I know who you are and I am still mad at you.

TOTALLY CHAOS - Tape - 2004

    It turns out that I don't really know that much about TOTALLY CHAOS besides these few things: 1. They were from Minneapolis. 2. This tape is their only release. 3. They rule. 4. If you don't like "17th Beer", "Stitches" and "Wild Outside", you might not be into punk.
   Really, that's about it. If you know more info than that, please comment and tell me more.
  This band features members of FROZEN TEENS, HIDDEN SPOTS and many more.

                        

DOWNLOAD

Updated 3/2020

FUCK THE CURSE - Compilation Tape - 2000

   FUCK THE CURSE is a compilation tape I put out in 2000 that served as a follow-up to Iggy Scam's "Technical Difficulties From Day One" tape from 1997. Both tapes chronicle punk bands that reside in a loosely defined part of the Southeastern US commonly known as "The Region". A lot of these bands shared members, tour vans, houses, romantic partners, diseases, and more. I'm happy to say that I put out this tape 11 years ago and I am still good friends with a large amount of the people who played (or still do play) in these bands.
   Most of these songs were not featured on any records and were never on anything else besides this tape. They were recorded in houses, storefronts, warehouses and in some cases, a real studio. The recording quality is all over the place, but that's punk, right?
  The title comes from a JARVIS practice tape where they were talking about how all our friends' bands could not afford to get decent recordings. It just seemed like we were all cursed to have these fucked up recordings and toil in obscurity for the rest of our lives, which is fine.
  That's all....you can read the inserts (included in the download) for more information. Here's all the bands and songs on here...

DOWNLOAD. Updated Aug 2013

JACK PALANCE BAND - 1st Tape - 1995? 1996?

  Jack Palance Band were (still are) the soundtrack to the lives of a lot of the people that I know and love. The songs on this tape are the formative stages of the greatness that this band evolved into. It sounds similar to the kind of people they were at the time: sort-of politically correct, sort of pop-punk kids who grew up on a steady diet of DRI, COC and any other tapes they could order from Thrasher Magazine in the 80's. If there was ever a book written on Region Rock and Chattanooga (and there should be), these guys would be in the first chapter and almost every single band mentioned in the book would name them as an influence. Eric Nelson (guitar/vocals) and Mike Pack (bass) should be given lifetime achievement awards for consistently playing completely badass punk for twenty years straight. (Buddha --their second guitarist but not on this tape--should also be given this award with a backup MVP award).Jeremy Edds (drums) was constantly pushing the envelope, playing faster and more intricate beats than most other people in the region at that time. Eric, Mike and Buddha are all still playing music together in HIDDEN SPOTS.
   This tape was, most likely, recorded on 4 track in Dalton, GA while a little drunk and high on ditch weed. This tape is warbly (although it was also like that when it was given to me by Eric in 96) and has been played in excess of 1000 times in the factory stereo of a Ford Festiva. In addition, it has been in my bag on countless tours, hitchhiking trips and played on numerous shitty tape decks all across this god-forsaken land.

Jack Palance Band at Heart Of Huntsville Mall 1996. Photo by Butch

         UPDATE 2020: I re-ripped this demo because the files were missing and now they're available again. Listening to this 25 years after it was recorded is eerie because songs like "Wrong" and "Testosterone" are still sadly relevant. JPB still rules. Racists can still eat shit. 

DOWNLOAD (Link fixed 2020) 

BRIS--"Complete Discography" tape. 2000 (?)

  BRIS!! They were a punk as fuck band from Chattanooga, TN. Not like "bullet belts and charged hair" punk as fuck, but "I'm just gonna keep wearing these clothes that I've been wearing for the past 2 weeks and not give a fuck" punk. They started out as J.E.D. (which stood for "Jesus Eats Dick") but soon morphed into this wild sounding beast. Their only release was a criminally muddy sounding 7" (through no fault of their own. The songs came from this same recording, but the guy that pressed it got the songs from a third generation tape and it sounded like the band was playing underwater) that came out two or three years after the band broke up.  They are really one of my favorites  of all time! At one time, this band had 3 (!!) guitarists, one bass player, one drummer and 2 singers. This recording is from the 2 guitar days.You can read more about the band HERE

   Photo by ?????

     Features current and former members of Gravebound, ADD/C, Cavity, Forced Vengeance, Jack Palance Band, Are You Fucking Serious?, and about one million more.

       This photo by Brontez

      Next one by Blaire Newhard

Download a collection of tones in the key of "fuck you".
Updated May 2013