UKE OF PHILLIPS/ETWAN SHERLEW - Split 7" - 2003

   UKE OF PHILLIPS and ETWAN SHERLEW are brothers Dan and Matt Beckman (among many friends) and both play acoustic/electric music that seems to be inspired by everything from MICHAEL HURLEY to THE RESIDENTS to PETER GRUDZIEN to DAVEY WILLIAMS to everything inbetween. They incorporate guitars, tape manipulation, reverb tanks, air organs, horns, freight trains and chickens in their songs and final result is beautiful. These songs were recorded on a four track in Dan's (and Amy) old house at 420 Harmony in New Orleans. Matt took time off from his job as a scientist in Alabama to play on this record. Dan, Amy and friends still play under the ever-changing moniker of UKE OF...(last I checked, it was VILLAGE OF SPACES CORNERS). Download this shit and tweak the fuck out.

 UKE OF PHILLIPS on Rampart St in NOLA. 2001.
                                    Download that 7"

VISITOR - Tape - 2011

    There is absolutely no information with this tape. No song titles, no band member's names, no vocals and no fucking thanks list. There is almost one full hour of droned-out, down tuned, multi-layered, fucked up brilliance though. There's 3 tracks on here (possibly 4, but it was hard to tell) and all of them meld into one great piece (peace) that will melt your afternoon away. This tape was left for me on the windshield of the tour van in the rain and it seemed fitting.

                                 Download VISITOR
   Features members of THIEVES and THE SPACECHRISTS

ZEITGEIST - Demo - Tape - 2011

 
    I just got back from tour. Like all tours, there were some low points and there were some high points. One of the low points was our show in Pittsburgh. The show itself was pretty great (for all the other bands), but we played badly and there was so much band tension that you could cut it with a knife. We were giving off bad vibes a mile wide. The drummer of ZEITGEIST traded tapes with me either because he felt sorry for us or actually liked the crappy six-song set that we played to a room quarter-filled with bored hardcore kids. Either way, I'm glad we traded tapes because when his band took the stage, they completely erased my negative mood and made me want to jump up and down (even though I sorta bobbed side to side in the back of the room). ZEITGEIST plays driving, melodic punk that sounds raw and fresh and can fall into the newly coined category of "Knuckle-Draggin Rock" (coined by Cinque). The energy of their live show was invigorating and they were easily the best band of the night for me...which is saying a lot since they were followed by ICON GALLERY and CROSS-STITCHED EYES. I don't know much else about this band besides that they are new and that they are from Pittsburgh. Enjoy this rough-ass recording and order their tape.

                      Download ZEITGEIST tape
  The third song is cut off a little at the beginning because that's how it was on the tape

ON TOUR

No new posts for September because I'm on tour with my band, Dirty Marquee.
Please come hang out with us in your town.
 You can find the tour dates here.

NEON PISS - Demo -Tape - 2010

    Kyle roadied a couple of times for my band and we would talk shit in the van about starting a band together when we got home. It didn't actually seem like it was gonna happen, but then one day, he called me and said we should practice soon. He had gotten our friend, Bryan to play bass and Bryan asked Barker to play guitar. Within a couple of months, we had played one show and recorded this demo in Berkeley. The place we recorded at was a warehouse where Lionel Trains manufactured the sounds of their model train sets. So, basically, we were playing these songs within a few feet of a whole lot of little trains. Also, Neil Young is one of the owners of the place...or something like that. The recording was mixed in a house that was littered with broken glass, overturned chairs and a lot of garbage.
    We made around 400 copies of this tape total and they're sold out. We're not repressing them. A label in Germany made around 150 of them and those are sold out too.. So, now I'm putting it online, even though there's about 45 other places to download it. This is the direct recordings..not ripped from the tape.
  We re-recorded some of these songs and recorded some new ones in Portland with our friend Stan Wright at Buzz or Howl on the fourth of July. It's going to come out as a 12" record in the fall of this year. Then, we'll probably go on tour.If you wanna know where we're gonna go, please be sure to check the NEON PISS blog in the future.

                             In Olympia...2010.
                              NEON PISS Demo

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

REACTIONARY 3 - Tape- 2002?

   My band got lumped onto some crappy hip shows back in 2003 as a favor to a friend. We played some boring ass bar and then played at the Knitting Factory with some fucking shitty bands that bored us to tears. We almost fought the audience. It was stupid. When we got back to playing beautiful DIY warehouses in New England, one of the first bands we played with was REACTIONARY 3 (and DARK LION, but we'll talk about them in the future). It was so nice to be back with a band that did not give a fuck about commercial interests, backstages, or any of that shit. Travis would thank every person in the room for coming out and working their shitty job to be able to give them gas money to get to the next town. I swear, he is the most appreciative person of the DIY lifestyle that I have ever met. He thanks the person taking money at the door, the person who felt like making food for the bands, the people who had the show at their house and the person who brought that one essential cord for the PA to work. Mikey would have his head down, wrecking his bass, playing hard as fuck. Ryan would be doing the same (except wrecking the drums), playing these precise beats, making it look totally easy even though it's really not. They won me over when the rest of their hometown of Gainesville could not do the same. Honest, heartfelt, kinda post-punk, kinda Minutemen-ish, totally triumphant. Fuck yeah, R3!

DOWNLOAD REACTIONARY 3

Link updated 8/11/15

Fun fact: I think I now own the drumset used on this recording....
Edit: No, I don't.

Epilogue 8/11/15: I received the news a few days ago that Travis Fristoe from R3 was not a part of our realm anymore. I didn't know how to take it. Mike T called me to tell me the news as I stood in my friend's yard in Portland. I absentmindedly pulled the petals off of a flower and crushed it in my hand while on the phone. I hung up and dry heaved. I felt numb. I had no idea of the trajectory his life had taken since I was no longer in his immediate orbit.
   I don't want to eulogize him right now but I want to remember what a fucking impact he made on me and the people I know. When Travis talked to you, he made you feel like the special human that you are. A hand on the shoulder. His awkward, full-faced smile. This is still too much for me and I can't write it. Fuck this. The people who knew Travis or were touched by his writing (or music) know what I'm talking about and I don't have to explain it...and that's good, because I can't right now.
   I think my friend E. Conner put it best when she said this in regards to TRUE FEEDBACK STORY (one of Travis' old bands): Almost 15 years ago, (they) showed me a kind of punk where it was ok to be sad and smart and still be angry. To look beyond the cultural creators that dominated the underground and reach back into the entire devastating and beautiful history of art and life. Travis showed me the inside of my room in a new light. No longer alienated from the world but the champion of a new one. Rest in Peace. 

Photos of R3 at Wayward Council in Gainesville by Shannon Smith. She said Travis stopped setting up his gear at this show to come over and introduce himself to her because he knew she lived in town, so they should probably know each other. 

ONION FLAVORED RINGS - "One Big Onion" - Tape- 2001

    Before the ONION FLAVORED RINGS, there was THE FUNYUNS, which was just Steve Funyun playing his songs on the streets of Miami with his guitar and battery powered amp for anyone who would listen. Those songs are now classics in my mind...or maybe I've just heard them so many goddamn times. Even though I have heard these self-loathing pop songs more times than I have probably called my mother in my life, I still find myself drawn to them time and time again. I loved "I'm Used To It" when I first heard the FUNYUNS version back in 1995 and I still found myself singing every word to it when I stumbled across Steve playing it on the street two months ago.That's the thing: Steve still plays on the street all the time with little-to-no fanfare. You can find him in the BART station on Powell Street or at the corner of 24th and Mission playing to a small crowd.
   This tape was the first of many recordings by ONION FLAVORED RINGS and contains many of Steve's classic songs, including one of my all-time favorite anti-love songs, "Remarkable". I've seen OFR turn off all the lights in a room and play "Mummy" in the dark countless times, which was always lots of fun. "The Shame of Quantum Physics" hints at the braininess that was to come in the future of this band. Then, of course there is the sad classic "I'm Used To It", but I never understood why Steve didn't finish the final, biting line of the song on this recording....which is "I'm tired of crying for a cold world". Maybe he was tired of it? Who knows? If you live in SF, try and catch Steve playing on the streets sometime. It's always a pleasure.

                       

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 OFR playing to an insanely appreciative crowd in Asheville, NC. 2003. It felt like we were gonna all fall through the floor that night because the wood was bowing so much. Photos by me.

DOWNLOAD

Link updated 3/2020

IMPRACTICAL COCKPIT - "Trashed Is Good" - LP - 2002

   This IPCP LP from 2002 is right up there with my favorite albums of all time. It's blown out, anxious, energetic, inspiring and as dark and moody as Mid-City New Orleans. This record catches IPCP at the peak of their angular punk years and doesn't shy away from some inventive Improvisation.  They take some songs from their 2001 tape (look a few posts back) and expand on them to make them fuller. I love everything this band put out, so expect even more in the future.
  This was the first release on their own label, Trd Wd (and here), which is still releasing great music. This album was recorded and mixed at their warehouses by them in NOLA. The covers were beautifully hand-printed. The download has a couple scrapes and skips because this record has been well-loved and has had a rough life.

                       Trashed Download is Good...Updated Nov 2013

ORIGINS

   Why the name "Remote Outposts" for a music blog? I like the sound of it. I like that it doesn't tie anything down to a certain genre and I like that every time I say it, it reminds me of this article that I actually got the name from, which is about going totally fucking bonkers in Antarctica.   Enjoy.