BANDA MUERTA - Tape - 2014

   As a teenager, I was really into garage punk, but I luckily fell into quality shit right off the bat with bands like THE MUMMIES, THE BRENTWOODS, THE TRASHWOMEN and whatever the fuck Billy Childish was doing at that point. As I delved deeper in, I just found lots of rehash-trite-bullshit-sixties-rock revival with absolutely no soul. It got boring. It was like hearing the BEATLES but not understanding THE SONICS or PLEASURE SEEKERS. I moved on to pure punk and my usual weirdo vibes.
   Lately, I've been coming back to garage punk because it seems like bands understand it again...or I just wasn't paying attention in the right places (more likely). Letting myself be open to these things again has led me to sitting outside of sold-out MUMMIES reunion shows full of boring fuckheads, looking at overpriced Billy Childish reissues and finding out that Elka Zolot from THE TRASHWOMEN is Kreayshawn's mom. You can't go back, but why the fuck would you want to??!
    Luckily, we can all just look to the future with bands like BANDA MUERTA. I'll admit that when the first song came on, I was not that stoked until about a minute and a half in. Something clicked right then and I really started paying attention. I thought "This singer has no dynamics" and then I thought "This is cool...this singer has no dynamics!" It's just full on all the time and something about it reminds me of the same intensity I feel from the singer of LA URRS. The music itself is raw, urgent and extremely catchy. Like it or don't.

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Members of COPYCATS and CARNE

(Calling this band "garage" is kind of a stretch really)

COPYCATS - Demo - CD-R - 2011

   As I have said before, I agreed to write demo reviews at MRR a while back because their stacks of poorly recorded, shitty CD-R's were piling up and no one really cared to talk about them in print. Oddly, not many of the punks there are too excited to listen to the new 3 song demo by BUTT SMELLER or  the bedroom project of DON'T FREAK OUT THE BEARDED DRAGON (the latter is real, by the way). For some reason, I'm into it. A good friend of mine once said that the beautiful thing about punk is that anyone can start a band, but that doesn't mean that they should. I think that's a terrible thing to say, but it pains me to admit that I agree with her.
   In addition to the piles and piles of crap that MRR gets every month, there are also hundreds of incredible punk songs that fly out of their stereo speakers. One of the bands making those sounds is COPYCATS from Granada, Spain. They definitely wear their HEARTBREAKERS, WIPERS and GUN CLUB influences firmly on their ripped sleeveless t-shirts, but they do it well. While never reaching the greatness of the aforementioned bands (who can?), they still manage to crank out quality rock 'n' roll that sounds both timeless and crucial. When music like this is done badly, it can be the worst thing ever, but when a band pays attention to the details like this, it really shines. This is perfect nothing-to-do-all-day-but-sit-in-the-park music. Alternately, it also works well for a 5 am last-drink-of-the-night album or just to get you up in the morning. Take your pick.

Download COPYCATS

For fans of the aforementioned bands, FROZEN TEENS and good, straightforward punk.

CISMA - "Imagenes Podridas" - Tape - 2012

   I just returned from a mind-blowing European tour with my band. Like all tours, there was a string of not-so-great shows. You see, I play punk music and I have devoted my life to punk, for better or worse. Oddly, I have high expectations. I want other punks involved in this scene to play music like they're gonna die afterwards. I want punk writers to speak from their heart with guts to spare. I want punks to look fuckin' punk, fucked up but approachable. This doesn't necessarily mean mohawks and bullet belts...it means you've lived the life you've been given with nothing holding you back. I want punks to play music like they mean it and I want to feel the intensity coming from them. That being said, we had just played a few shows with bands that seemed like they might be happier at their day job and I was questioning what exactly we were doing here in this foreign country. Then, we played with MUNDO MUERTO from L.A. As soon as they struck their first note, I was instantly reminded of why I love punk. They played with passion and a fierce energy that was infectious.
   After their set, I looked at what they had for sale and saw this tape by CISMA. Their roadie, Marta explained that they were a fuckin' hardcore band from the Canary Islands! I was all like "What?" and she was all like "Yeah!" and then I was all like, "Dude, I gotta get this!" Seriously though, I figured that the punks in MUNDO MUERTO wouldn't be peddling some trash along with them on their tour and I was right.
   CISMA plays raw, energetic hardcore that makes me wanna smash my head through a wall. They have a fucked up, noisy guitar sound that rules. Everything about them screams "Punk!" in a way that makes my heart sing. Just fuckin' download it.

Download CISMA

If you'd like to order a tape for yourself, get in touch with them here: cismapunk@gmail.com

   Don't get me wrong about the intentions of the European punks. The squats we played, the people we met and the way people get shit done over there was inspiring to say the very least. If you can keep an anarchist squat open and vital for 40 years, you're definitely doing something right. If you can manage to set up a show for some dumb US band, feed them, give them a comfy place to stay, give them more alcohol than they could ever want and still manage to do 40 other things in the same night, you're doing a lot better than most people in my country. I can't thank the punks in Europe enough for their hospitality and organization. All I'm saying is that we had a rough 4-5 days there and MUNDO MUERTO and Bremen, Germany put us back on track. Thanks.