VARIOUS ARTISTS - "The Fucking Rice Harvester Compilation" - Tape - 1996

   Rice Harvester was a zine I made for 20 years. A zine is a bunch of paper that someone scribbled on, photocopied for free at a chain store, and then stapled together to hand out on the street so that someone might understand their feelings. For the fourth issue, I compiled a cassette of punk bands to go with the issue. A cassette is a piece of plastic that houses quarter-inch magnetic tape that somehow magically holds music onto it. You put these cassettes into an even bigger piece of plastic or metal with big clunky buttons. These bigger pieces of plastic or metal used to be found for almost nothing at thrift stores or on the street. Anyway, you push down one of those big, clunky buttons and, if everything is right with the world, actual music comes out...or whatever it is that someone recorded onto that cassette.
   SO, like I was saying, I put together a compilation tape that was given out for free with the free zine. I stole every last cassette from chain stores, sometimes just walking right out the front door with a few boxes of tapes in my arms because fuck capitalism and What Is Anything? The tape consists of some local favorites at the time (local at that time meant Huntsville, AL), bands that I wrote to for a song and some far-flung punk bands that were culled from my friend Joey's compilation LP that he never, ever intended to release. Imagine sending off your exclusive song with the intention of having it appear on this cool LP comp, but then it comes out on a free tape with some crappy zine from Alabama. Fuck yeah life!
   THE CRUMBS, from Miami, FL start it off. They were a RAMONES-loving punk band from Miami. They were all fun and everything, but we stopped setting up shows for them once our friend stopped playing drums for them and they said some sketchy shit about women.
  THE SLOBS, from Cincinnati were a weirdly underrated band from the mid-90's and they played sloppy basement punk. They put out a slew of shit, mostly in 1996 and this song, "Politician" did not appear on any of it, as far as I can tell. It's a funny concept for a song. "I don't wanna be a politician!!" Yeah, that's pretty easily avoidable, but a great thing to sing along to.
    JABBERJAW was a Huntsville punk band who always sounded better live than on tape. I saw these three teenagers play a bunch of different shows around town. They were always great, but could never really channel their enthusiasm onto the recording. I asked them to be on this comp and remember being impressed that they knew how to dub a plane crash sound onto their song. I still am. I can't do that shit....still. I love that this song is about being a dead pilot.
   FUN GIRLS FROM MT PILOT were from Nashville, TN and featured four guys who dressed in drag at their shows. The Huntsville scene really liked them, but I was kinda over them by this point. They were really fun and a good band...super bouncy punk and always a good live show, but I just wasn't too enamored like other folks were. What IS interesting is that they broke up and their singer, Cat went on to be a wrestling manager...like total WWF showman style, but on a DIY level. He wrote some articles in zines about it and seeing the similarities to DIY punk was really interesting. This song might be exclusive, but I'm not sure.
   PROPERTY is from Huntsville. They started in 1994(?) and they're still a band. I'm not sure if they've ever left the southeast US. At that time, their shows often included members of the band running headlong into other members of the band and knocking them across the room, completely ending the song. The 5 members of the band brought a lot of styles to the table, but mostly settled into hardcore and catchy punk. They were always great and fun to watch. I bet they still are. I love this song because the teenage singer's voice (Shane) is cracking and the song is just plain great.
  THE GRUMPIES have been discussed at length here, here and here so I will spare you. The two songs on this tape are from their original demo, which I loved so much that I jumped at the chance to be their drummer when the original one quit.
 SWEATER PUNKS were another Huntsville band and their inclusion here is a mystery to me. I don't remember ever seeing them when I lived in town, but their guitarist Seth was always a solid fixture in bands so I probably trusted this new band of his to be good. My friend Jack (also from AL) did some minor detective work (meaning he asked Seth) and came up with this info: The band only recorded once when Jack went over to try out for the band on drums. So, that's him on this recording. The rest of the band was Seth on guitar and vocals and Greg (not me) on bass. This recording never got vocals put onto it, but the song on here was intended as an instrumental. Later, Joey from the 3D's heard this song and asked Seth to join the band. They re-recorded this song as "Spontaneous Human Combustion". Thanks to Jack and Seth for the info!
    THE CRIMINALS were from Oakland / Berkeley and they recorded an exclusive version of their song at Gilman. That's all I'm gonna say because why do you need to know more info about posers?
   JOEY TAMPON AND THE TOXIC SHOCKS was my old band There is more info about the band here.
   WHITE TRASH SUPERMAN wrote the best punk song of the 90's and I asked if I could put it on this tape. They said yes. You can and should find more info about them here and here.
   THE RICKETS were from Olympia, WA and were maybe the only spikey drunk punk band at that point in the town's history. While everyone else was concentrating on twee pop, minimalist punk and feigning pre-teen innocence even though they were pushing 30, THE RICKETS sang about getting drunk, hating their job, destroying Olympia and getting drunk again. Here. they contribute a song about my friend Janelle because it was the 90's and that's what bands did for some dumb reason.
   CHICKENHEAD was a drunken, chaotic machine. This is the last song they ever recorded on the day they broke up. You can find more info about them here.
   That;s it. Enjoy or don't.

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LOS CANADIANS - 4 Track Recordings - Tape - 1995

   I've been holding back on posting this tape for a while because I felt sort of conflicted about it. To me, a LOS CANADIANS without Buddha on guitar and mostly devoid of Ivy's singing is not really LOS CANADIANS. In reality, it is LOS CANADIANS because the band says it is. Also, I'm not sure if they ever intended to have these recordings put out into the world, but here ya go.
   The band recorded this during a short time period when Buddha had been replaced (that's totally the wrong word...you can never replace Buddha) by Bill Beltone on guitar. Let's look at it this way. Remember when you were in school and you would come in to class to find a substitute teacher and you would think "cool....we're not doing shit today." Remember that feeling about how things would feel a little "off" and abnormal, but the day just kinda flowed awkwardly along anyway? That is exactly how this recording feels to me. This isn't meant as a slam against the rest of the band or Bill. I love THE BELTONES and I think Scott and Timmy can do no wrong, musically, but this isn't the best recording...BUT, like I said, I don't think we were ever supposed to ever hear this.
   Most of this was recorded when their singer, Ivy was still living in California and getting ready to return to Florida. The vocals are primarily commandeered by Timmy and Bill. On "False Prophet", Ivy has returned and graced us with her beautiful, raspy vocals. On "First Song" (reportedly the first song that Scott and Timmy wrote together, according to Erick Lyle), Ivy emotionally sings the song without lyrics, which is still the way she figures out the melodies to songs today. You can hear the band playfully poke fun at her towards the end. The tape closes out with the funny "Song That Confused Bill", which also appears on the LOS CANADIANS split CD with CHICKENHEAD that I posted a while back (highly recommended as a better place to start off if you've never heard this amazing band).
  This may appeal to a few LOS CANADIANS fans or may even appeal to people who have never heard the band and don't know what they're missing. I don't know. If there's anything I've learned from doing this blog, it's that I can't account for anyone's taste. Enjoy, my friends.

Download LOS CANADIANS

The picture above was taken from Chuck Loose's old zine, SHEBANG and shows the band playing in '95 at an illegal generator show in the Everglades. See if you can spot me. It's a week after I met these wonderful people.
Tape is from the Scam Magazine files.

ALACHUA BANDITS - Tape - 1993

   ALACHUA BANDITS were a fuckin' band of wild men and one wild woman from the Ft Lauderdale/Miami area. Their singer Tom Foote, guitarist Cinque and drummer Quannah had all recently moved from their home state of Michigan to sunny Florida. They teamed up with bassist, Becky Funn and cranked out this fast, ragged hardcore that was carried by Cinque's penchant for cramming as many chords as he could into one song and Tom's perfectly fucked, broken glass voice. I really, truly don't have much information about this band at all. I asked Cinque if he knew any details about any of this and he said he doesn't really remember anything...not even any of the song titles. Erick Lyle says "The band name came from a trip to Dalton, GA that ended with a breakdown outside of Gainesville in Alachua, FL." From traveling with these guys throughout the years, I'm sure they spent a lot of that time shoplifting booze and eating fried chicken out of a dumpster.
  Members of this band later aspired to greatness with the SPAWN SACS and living in the fabled Chattanooga punk house known as Anarchtica.

ALACHUA BANDITS download
re-uploaded Feb 2016

This tape is from the collection of Erick Lyle.

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.

LETHAL YELLOW - "Declaration Of Retardation" - 7" EP - 1984

    This one is gonna be short today since I spent most of last night puking all over my bathroom (an activity I despise) due to an unknown illness. I feel just peachy today...I can barely sit up and thinking hurts.
   These teenage punks from Miami probably spent a lot of time puking all over the place as well, especially if they were actually ingesting the amount of cheese that they sing about. There are TWO songs on here about eating grilled cheese sandwiches and Velveeta. Other subjects include cockroaches and being a pain in the ass. They're teenagers in the 80-'s...it didn't get too deep.  My personal favorite is "The Obnoxious Song", which is a perfect example of sloppy, young, tuneful punk rock from the 80's during a time when punk was just beginning to go down the tubes of the crossover toilet. At the end, as the song is fading out, you can hear their young singer asking "Did you hear me suffering?" It's my favorite part, since I know him now and that kind of sarcasm is something he is known for. It's good to know that it was still there at 15 or 16 years of age.
   One person in this band went on to be in one of my all-time favorite bands, but I can't really tell you who it is, out of respect for him. You see, he hates this record. Hates it. I heard that he once tried to rip a tape out of the boombox and destroy it because it was on a mix that I made. I want to let him hear my 15-year-old punk band and let him know that things could be much. much worse. I think this record is excellent, so download it now in case he asks me to delete this.

Download LETHAL YELLOW
Updated 2013

Thank to MRR for having this in their archives and letting me copy it.

Also, if you really want to know his name and later band, I'm sure you can figure it out. The rest of the internet isn't as forgiving as me.

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!!

IGGY SCAM - "79th Street Radio" - Tape - 1998

    Iggy Scam has been self-publishing his zine, SCAM since 1991. It tends to focus on the underbelly of society: the underprivileged, the downtrodden, the folks sleeping in the doorways, the freaks and the punks...and it treats them with dignity and respect. It has consistently been one of my favorite zines since I first encountered SCAM #2, which was bigger than the telephone directory of the town where I grew up.
    Iggy appeared on NPR's "This American Life" on Lil' Bobby Hutton Day in 1998, reading his story "79th Street Radio". It chronicles the mystery and wonder of stumbling across a pirate radio station in North Miami and trying to figure out its origins; trying to find the story behind the story. It conjures up images of lonely boulevards at 3am, old rusting cars, and a time in Miami that may be nonexistent in the near future. It's good listening and helps me to remember why I love radio...not the pop stations, but the crackly AM country, the Coast To Coast weirdness, the things you stumble across in the middle of Wyoming and of course, pirate radio.

Download 79th Street Radio

   In the mid-00's, Iggy Scam changed his name back to Erick Lyle and continues to write SCAM. In addition to this, he has contributed articles to SF's Bay Guardian, written articles for many zines and authored the book On The Lower Frequencies, which chronicles years of activism and struggle in SF during the dot-com boom and the ensuing era of living in a world that does not want poor people to exist. He is currently working on a new book and a collaborative art show in SF that is sure to blow some minds.

HIDDEN RESENTMENTS - "Hats Off to Miss 125th Street" - Tape - 1996

    The HIDDEN RESENTMENTS always remind me of a time of copy keys, tone dialers, paper food stamps, pay phones and generator shows in the Everglades of Miami. They were around for a short time in the mid-90's and lived in squatted, sinking boats in the Miami bay. They seemed to live solely on a diet of stolen beer, ramen noodles, thieved salad bar items and any food that was taken out of the trash. Their songs were all heartbroken and desperate; like the whole world is gonna end because your partner left you...the kind of music that many people only feel comfortable writing in their early 20's. Somehow though, their theme song is perfect and timeless.
   Recess Records put this out on a 7" four years after they broke up, but did such a shoddy job on it that I think it's not even worth picking up out of a free box. They left the best song off the record, even though it's listed as being on there. If I tell you any more details, it will just delve into shit talk...and we don't shit talk here on the internet.
    Their drummer, Scott lives just across the bay from me and plays in a band that I do not know the name of. The bass player, Cinque, is one of my best friends and now plays in STREET LEGAL. No one really knows what happened to their singer/guitarist Iggy Scam. Some say that he was last seen running out of a store carrying a case of stolen beer and a crowbar while shouting something about Fidel Castro and a lack of pay phones. Others contend that he is squatting an inhabited 60 bedroom mansion on South Miami Beach in a room that no one ever uses while he writes a million page manifesto on conquering the world one scam at a time. Still others have told me that he stopped drinking, changed his name to Erick Lyle, plays in a soft rock band called BLACK RAINBOW, and writes books now. That can't be true though, can it?

 Download HIDDEN RESENTMENTS and wish paper food stamps still existed

re-uploaded Feb 2016

                        

SPAWN SACS / DRILLER KILLERS - Split Tape - 1996 or '97

   The SPAWN SACS were a fucking trainwreck. Hell, they were two trains colliding into each other, going backwards. They would pass out dead drunk before they played, shit their pants while playing, and give each other blurry tattoos while blacked out at 8 am. They would cover "Blow Up The Embassy" by the FEARLESS IRANIANS FROM HELL and I would get to witness a roomful of the people I love screaming "I wanna kill myself! I wanna lie dead on the floor! It's none of your fuckin' business what I live and die for!". They would try to cram 20 chords into a minute and a half punk song and make it sound mind-blowing. They would dumpster chicken from KFC on tour, reheat it on a grill at someone's house, eat it and shit their pants again. Fueled by stolen whiskey and crappy jobs, the SPAWN SACS migrated south from Michigan to Miami  and then on to Dalton and finally came to a halt in Chattanooga, leaving a trail of shotgunned beers and a lot of broken shit in their wake. Like most bands from the 90's with no money and no thoughts of self-preservation, they did not shell out the money for studio magic. The Spawn Sacs sound best on shitty stereos, playing fast as fuck and screaming their lungs out. This tape will probably not win them any new fans in 2011, but I'm sure they don't give a fuck.

    SPAWN  SACS in a basement in Dalton, GA - 1997. Photo by me.

    The DRILLER KILLERS were pissed and drunk as well, in a different way. Rather than direct their venom at society and religion, the DRILLER KILLERS seemed to have an almost singular vision of B-movie worship and destroying Hollywood. The lyrics to "Malibu is Burning" are still genius to my ears. "I wonder if Barbara Streisand's house is a burning pile of ash? I hope it was her favorite. I wish I'd lit the fucking match!!" The DRILLER KILLERS were triumphant and anthemic, writing a song about fighting rednecks at the bar (where we had punk shows) with the line "The punks will always win!". Unfortunately, they never had any money either (possibly even less than the SPAWN SACS) and never got a very good recording. We're left with these ragged tapes (mine is literally taped together) that have been passed around the southern US for years, but at least we have something to remember them by. Long live the SPAWN SACS and DRILLER KILLERS!

   DRILLER KILLERS in that same basement in Dalton. 1997. photo by me.

   SPAWN SACS at IBP in Chattanooga. 1997. Photo by Ramesh (?)

                                     Download Split Tape