CARRIE NATIONS - Demo - 2002(?)

   CARRIE NATIONS was born in the little town of Athens, GA; a town that is known for its vibrant music scene that has produced countless amazing (and horrendously shitty) bands over the years. It's a place where the rent is cheap and the booze flows endlessly til the wee hours. Anyone who has ever given the town of Chattanooga a bunch of shit for its alcohol consumption should try hanging out in Athens for a week or two. You'll be wishing you were back on Cole's porch drinking tea in Tennessee in no time.
   We were talking about this band though, right? CARRIE NATIONS, I believe, didn't actually have a bass player when this demo was recorded (If I'm wrong, sorry Jon) and the other guys in the band recorded the bass parts themselves. They recorded it at Tight Pockets, the now-defunct all-ages show space in Athens, which has many countless stories of its own. Five of these six songs were re-recorded for their 2003 LP, "Be Still", but this demo shows the songs in an earlier, rougher form. I've been on tour with CARRIE NATIONS all over the East Coast, Midwest and the South, but I don't think I've ever heard them play the last song, "Dumpsters As Providers Of". Maybe it was just out of their repertoire by then? I don't know. Actually, I don't know much about this demo at all, except that it is good and you should listen to it. If you want to hear them play all of these songs a million times faster, then click here. Thanks to Chad for sending this recording to me.

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CARRIE NATIONS accepting the Flagpole award for Best Punk Band in Athens. The funny part is that none of these people are in the band.

THIS NEXT PART HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH CARRIE NATIONS.

   By now, you may have heard that over the last weekend in my neighboring town of Oakland, there was a huge political march that intended to take over an abandoned building in hopes of establishing a "command center" for the local Occupy movement. Everyone has their issues with tactics and intent (including me), but I want it to be known that I support these actions wholeheartedly. My band was supposed to play either inside the building or outside of it on a bus, but that never happened because the cops exercised their power as brutish thugs by attacking innocent adults and children with gas and rubber bullets. If you only read mainstream media sources, they make it easy to point a finger at the protesters and see where they may be at fault. From their reports, it's easy to imagine a sea of black-clad people heaving boulders with makeshift catapults at innocent little cops just trying to do their job. What is actually happening is that the cops are completely out of control and attacking people for no reason. Here is a picture of the crowd marching on Saturday:

   There were families, young people, old people and little kids. I watched livestream footage of a cop knocking a middle-aged woman (who was doing absolutely nothing) backwards over her bike and then she was swarmed by 10 cops with batons drawn as she was arrested. Cops trapped people in a park, ordered them to disperse, then wouldn't let them disperse, and attacked them with tear gas in a residential area. City officials try to make protesters look bad by stating that they committed property damage by breaking down a fence. The reason they broke down the fence is because the cops trapped them, tear gassed them and then penned them in to make a mass arrest. People broke down the fence to escape (successfully) from the cops. (as a side note, the fence in question here was erected by the city around a city park at a very high cost to keep protesters out. Neighboring schools had previously used this park daily for physical education.)

   One last thing. The SF daily paper had this quote: "Among the most violent incidents that occurred Saturday night was in front of the YMCA at 23rd Street and Broadway. Police corralled protesters in front of the building and several dozen protesters stormed into the Y, apparently to escape from the police, city officials and protesters said. Protesters damaged a door and a few fixtures and frightened those inside the gym working out, said Robert Wilkins, president of the YMCA of the East Bay."

 For one thing, THAT is the "most violent incident"? That is not violence. That is some smart people escaping cops who are trying to pin them in and arrest them for a "crime" of walking around in the streets exercising their right to free speech. I found a quote elsewhere (I wish I could find it now, but I lost it) from a woman who said she was working out when a lot of protesters started running through the building. She said it kinda freaked her out, but she didn't actually feel in danger until she saw cops chasing them with their weapons drawn.

   The Oakland Police Department has really fucked up and history is going to look back on them in the same way that it has looked upon the cops in Alabama during the Civil Rights movements of the 1960's. I urge you to read articles written by independent sources who don't have corporate interests kicking money to them. If you would like some more stories about this, please check these out. Thanks

Aid and Abet

National Lawyer's Guild

Huffington Post

AlterNet - which includes a great picture of the cops teargassing themselves.

Also, keep in mind, that less than two short years ago, OPD said they didn't have enough money or resources to keep responding to certain crimes, including burglary, grand theft and failing to register as a sex offender. Article here.

TERRIBLES - "The Future As Seen From The Future // There's Too Much Everything" - CD-R - 2005

   This is the first album that I ever heard by TERRIBLES and it also the one that enamored me to them, thereby making me a lifetime fan (as opposed to a LIFETIME fan, which will never happen). As mentioned previously, they have been a band since 9th grade (going on their 15th year now) and they have rarely stepped foot outside of their environs of New England. It could be insularity. It could just be laziness, but THE TERRIBLES have stewed in their own town for so long that they have crafted a sound that, while inspired by many random sources, is wholly their own.

   This CD-R is apparently a concept album on chaos theory and shows the band still digging into their love of the MEAT PUPPETS, but also getting truly weird and delving into some elements that sound inspired by "Cacophony"-era RUDIMENTARY PENI. One of my favorites on this album, "Romancing the Bunsen" is about the universe unlocking its secrets and chaos, but sounds sort-of wistful and romantic. When I listen to this album, I can't help but conjure up images of a rainy Worcester, MA, goofy kids falling all over each other while dancing and big rotting houses.
   The packaging on this is insane. The front and back cover is a 3 color, intricate screen-print (see above) and it's sewn together to make an envelope (made by bass player, Mike Leslie). The lyric sheet is a giant 2 foot by 18 inch, 2 color, double sided print that is folded up into the envelope (made by guitarist Jamie Buckmaster) . There is also a second insert that is just a great drawing of their drummer, Matt Carroll with all of the song titles around him (made by...Matt Carroll). They did all of this crazy work for a CD-R release about chaos theory and they probably made 50 copies of it...many of which did not make it very far outside of Worcester, MA. It's this kind of weird, obsessive vision that really draws me to these people and this is exactly the kind of band that makes me feel like i'm not alone in this world.

The poster.

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Ever since I first heard this, I can't stop thinking that there really is too much everything.

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..

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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

THIS IS MY FIST - LP Demos - Tape - 2004

TIMF live at The Stork Club. Photo by Adam Pfahler.

   THIS IS MY FIST started around 2002 and I knew they would be my new favorite band before I even heard them. You see, their singer / guitarist Annie had previously played in Chicago's AMBITION MISSION and I knew numerous people who had made mix tapes comprised solely of the songs she sang. This is not a slight to the rest of the band, because they also knew how to sling a chord and sing a song (listen to "When Babies Attack" for proof), but Annie had something going on that the rest of us wanted to hear more of. Lucky for us, she started this band after A.M. broke up (well, YEARS later) and sang every goddamn song all the time. The first time I ever saw them, at Mission Records in SF, I wanted a tape of 50 songs immediately. Unfortunately, they had written maybe 7 songs and they weren't recorded yet. Annie's raspy, yet sweet voice was coupled with her ear for a great guitar hook and backed up by Will and Todd, who made up a rather formidable rhythm section. I was hooked. Their first 7" came out a little later. It wasn't everything I wanted it to be. It seemed like they were holding back or something. It's rumored that the guy who recorded it was telling Annie not to scream so much and kept bugging her to sing more softly. I actually don't know if that's true, but a few folks told me that. (now, I like that record a lot). 

   Later on, I heard they were recording an LP and I couldn't wait to hear it. But, I did have to wait..and wait.....and wait a whole lot more because they took so long to record it. Apparently, they were re-recording stuff, adding guitar tracks, re-doing whole songs, rewriting lyrics, etc, etc....This went on for a couple of years. When it finally came out, I had completely forgotten that it was supposed to exist and the band had already broken up. Their LP, "A History of Rats" was everything I had ever wanted from THIS IS MY FIST and more. It was tough. It was tender. They hated the fuck out of George Bush and let you know it. The rasp was back in Annie's voice even though she had stopped smoking. I rejoiced and listened to the record almost every day when I woke up. It was better than coffee...okay, okay, it went really well with coffee...let's not get carried away here. See for yourself: You can still order it from No Idea.

    This tape has early versions of some songs from the LP and a couple of subsequent 7"'s. The tune "Country Time" is an alternate version of "E-Ville Pt 2" that has completely different lyrics. Other songs have alternate parts to them and it's interesting to listen to it and see how much some of the songs changed over time. If you're a nerd about this band like I am, this is a really great listen. You don't have to be the world's biggest fan though to thoroughly enjoy this.  

   The good news about THIS IS MY FIST is that they are back together with a different lineup, playing regularly and writing new songs. I played a sweaty basement show with them in Chicago (unfortunately for me and the rest of the Bay Area, that is their home now) last September and they were just as good as ever. After scraping my jaw off the floor after their set, I couldn't stop telling them how good they still are. Please do yourself a favor and go see them to dance your ass off. If you're on the East Coast, they are playing at Ladyfest Boston in February with a ton of amazing bands. Go for them. Stay for all the other great bands, informative workshops and new friends. Until then, blast this tape on repeat.

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  EDIT: Late note from Annie: "This was recorded at Dutch Oven by Craigums. It is still me, Todd and Will.so it had to be late 2003 or early 2004. I'm pretty sure my mom was in town and she was also there when we recorded this. SHOTWELL played in our kitchen that week and my mom made lasagna for the people who were there. Morgan Stickrod's backpack caught on fire and a hackeysack fell out. Needless to say, we were all shocked.....This doesn't have much to do with the recording, but it's all kind of lumped together at this point."

This tape is from the collection of Erick Lyle.

THE JETSONS - EP and Comp Track - 1981

   In 2001 or so, my friend, Amy made me a mix tape that was made solely of bands from Indiana and she included the LP comp "Red Snerts", which compiled bands from the Hoosier state that were affiliated with the Gulcher Records label. One of the bands that really stuck out for me (besides the ZERO BOYS and DOW JONES AND THE INDUSTRIALS) was a little band from Bloomington called THE JETSONS Their track on the comp has a lite power pop feel to it, but has more damaging lyrics like "I wanna puke, I wanna vomit on your feet, but you're such a cliche punk, you'd think I was being real neat."  I wanted to hear everything this band ever put out, but had no idea how to find it.
   I later found out (from the Maximum Rock N Roll archives) that THE JETSONS had one EP that came out on Gulcher Records back in 1981 and then they broke up. The first song "Suicidal Tendencies" has a really warm, totally early 80's feel to it and is just as good (or better) than their comp track. My favorite part is when the singer is chanting "Kill myself ! Kill myself! Kill myself! Kill myself!" at the end. The other two songs "Genetically Stupid" and "Killing" are also great and make me want to hear more by them, but this is all there is since their demise came soon after this recording.
   Members of this band were also in the LATEX NOVELTIES, one of Indianapolis' first punk bands and one of them went on to form THE UNATTACHED in Worcester, MA. That is all I know. I love this band.

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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

 





QUADRILLION BABES - "Breast Friends" - Tape - 2008

   I was living in Bloomington, IN for a few years and found myself in a bit of a depression, not knowing what to do with myself in the last year before I finally moved away. I kept seeing this teenage girl at parties who wore her hair in two braids that went past her waist. She was always standing in the corner, looking eager to join in at dance parties, but seeming too shy to do so. I started talking to her whenever I saw her (I was usually drunk), whether or not she talked back to me. Our conversations were brief and noncommittal. Like, once I found out her name was Marilyn. I know it sounds creepy, but I honestly just wanted to be her friend. She was painfully shy and I was horrendously overbearing, but we slowly became something more than acquaintances, but not quite friends yet.
   There was a "Band in a Hat" drawing (where people put their names in a hat and someone draws out names in groups of four and...voila, you have a band) and fate put Marilyn and I in a band together with a friend named "Myke with a Y" (our 4th guy showed up once with no equipment, watched us silently and left....we never heard from him again). Marilyn had only played solo before and this was her first band. She brought a few songs to practice that were simple and catchy. Myke wanted to play the state anthem of Indiana for some reason. I came up with a hundred or so band names by thumbing through the dictionary and grouping two random words together without looking at them first...like "Stopped Venue", "Burning Month" or "Nothing Clubs". I read the list aloud to Marilyn and "Quadrillion Babes" made her laugh the hardest, so we agreed that it should be the name of the band. After the Band in a Hat show, Myke left the country, my friendship with Marilyn solidified and we decided to keep playing music together.

QUADRILLION BABES at Guilty Pleasures "Band in a Hat" show. Photo by Ginger Alford.

   Our friend, Leah played bass with us for the equivalent of about 5 and a half minutes. We decided to ask our friend, Chiara to play bass, even though she had two children, school and artistic commitments. She was stoked to do it and we continued on until I moved away to San Francisco.

      JRD recorded this tape in his basement on a four-track and I feel like we did the whole thing in 2-3 hours...maybe less. Chiara and I kept foolishly convincing Marilyn to leave in any screw-ups because it would make it more interesting. JRD laughed at us..or with us....take your pick. (by the way, you can also record with him in Bloomington at Vegas Hotel.). It sounds a little rushed and flubbed, but that's our fault. We were having a lot of fun and that's the important part.

QUADRILLION BABES at Sweet Hickory in Bloomington. Photo by Joe McCann

   Like I said, I moved away to SF and I'm still there. I do this writing and I play in NEON PISS. I'm also a social worker, but this is about music, I think. Chiara ended up in Chicago, working on her art and great writing about disabilities, sickness and life.. She also wants to play music, so if you're looking to start an awesome band in Chicago and you need a bass player, get in touch with her. She's a lot of fun to play music with.  Marilyn started a band called AYE NAKO while she was still in Bloomington and they were much better than QUADRILLION BABES. Then, she moved out to Oakland and played in FLEABAG (with Joe from AYE NAKO) and DIRTY MARQUEE (with me, again). Not content to stay in one place, she moved again to Brooklyn (and now goes by Mars) and started a new version of AYE NAKO (with Joe again!) that rules harder than everything she's done musically thus far. I'm proud and honored to have played in this short-lived band with these two great people. 

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More live photos by Joe. Thanks!

Chiara with a very large cat. Bad kitty.

DRAW THE LINES - Olympia Music Compilation - Tape - 2011

   I was tricked into buying this tape, but that's okay because it's really good. You see, I ran into the band DOGJAW a couple of times and our bands even played together in Seattle last year. I like them a lot. They play slow, driving, droning music with two intertwining female voices that are both haunting and commanding. I saw them play at a great house show in SF and wanted to buy something by them. I bought this tape without looking at the track listing and then later realized that it was a compilation of bands from their hometown of Olympia, Washington. Their guitarist, Meg offered my money back when I said something about it, but I decided to keep it because DOGJAW are quality folks and I would expect them to have some quality shit with them on their tour. I was right.
   DOGJAW opens up this tape with two sprawling, beautiful, epic songs that break the ten minute mark (combined). They are followed by CRUDE THOUGHT who blast through 3 fast, driving punk songs. Bay Area locals may be happy to know that CRUDE THOUGHT will be in the area at the end of February with the ultra-hyped (all deserved) HYSTERICS. (also, DOGJAW will be here again in March). Next up is ANASTATICA, who I initially wrote off as being kinda dramatic and hokey, but then they grew on me immediately and became one of my favorite songs on this comp. It's super stripped down, DIY, feminist black metal. Unfortunately, they broke up, so my hopes of headbanging to these songs live, ever so slowly and forcefully are now dashed. They remind me of the best parts (read: all of it) of the acoustic songs by DOOMSDAY CAULDRON. Next up, I feel like DOGJAW (the organizers of this comp, I believe) is trying to pull one over on me by throwing in a French band called BIT PART. They're from France, right? Is there an Olympian BIT PART? I don't know, but whatever nationality they choose, they are fast, punk and great. Side two starts of with HARK HOW THE BELLS, which takes a few songs from their demo, which you can find by clicking on that link. PITTED YOUTH follows it up with a dirge-y, screamy approach that rules. I regret not watching them when my band played with them, but I was just too sweaty and tired to deal with anything (because I'm old). MARGY PEPPER is kinda minimalist and reminds me of early K Records stuff. BROKEN WATER closes out the tape with a ruling song that sounds like it could have been out an outtake from "Daydream Nation" with elements of MY BLOODY VALENTINE, which I'm sure they're not too happy to hear, but that's what it sounds like to me. Deal with it.

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If you'd like to get your own copy of this tape, don't hesitate to write to dogjawolympia@gmail.com and they will hook you up.

JACKWACKER - "Things From Inside Your Body" - LP - 2006

   In 2005 or 2006, I hitched a ride to Louisville, KY to go see IMPRACTICAL COCKPIT play at a little neighborhood bar. They were the only band on the bill and they played a great, sprawling hour-long set that literally cleared the room of every paying patron in the building. They had opened up the doors to the bar and the torrential downpour outside was blowing into the building. We thought that the burly biker-looking bartenders and door-guy were gonna be pissed off that the band had driven away their customers and left them with a weirdo band, their friend (me, who wasn't buying anything), the guy who set it up (Kris) and the one other spectator (hi Christina!). After playing the last note of the set, the dudes at the bar, who had been staring sternly the whole time with their arms crossed, asked "So, are you guys into SUN RA and BEEFHEART?" It turns out that the guys at the bar were stoked to hear improvisational noise and skronky sounds. They didn't give a fuck that we ran everyone off and they gave us a lot of free drinks. We went back to Kris' house afterwards to see his insanely huge record collection and talk nerdy about FRED LANE and DAVEY WILLIAMS until the wee hours. He said that he helped with a collective called Black Velvet Fuckre that had just put out a triple LP by his group VALLEY OF ASHES that had already sold out before it even got pressed. I knew that this guy must be up to something good if he can manage that.
    After getting back home to Bloomington, I found this LP by a band called JACKWACKER and bought it for these two reasons: They were a local band from the early 90's and Black Velvet Fuckre had put it out. When I got home, I was not prepared for the weird, mega-distorted, totally fucked onslaught that greeted my ears. At first, I couldn't really tell what the hell was going on, but I knew that I liked it. The band consisted of only two guys, but it sounded like three or four. The guitarist was playing a guitar that had 3 bass strings and 3 guitar strings on it. The drummer was playing...well, a drum set. There was some intermittent howls and yelps, but most of the vocals were minimal. Some hacks in the music journalism field keep comparing them to LIGHTNING BOLT, but I don't really think it's an apt description. For one, they predated LIGHTNING BOLT by years and they were far more minimal, more jazzy and way more drone-y at times. A lot less freak-out and a lot more straight-up improv.
  I had a really hard time finding out any info about them when I got this record. From what I could tell, they lived in Bloomington, Indiana in the early 90's and recorded a lot of these songs live in basements around town. Then, they moved to Madison, WI and recorded the rest before breaking up. I asked people around town if they knew anything about the band and no one really did. I asked old-timers and lifelong residents, but no one I asked had ever even heard of them.
   I played 3rd guitar (!!) in a doomy sludge band called GOURMET SCUM and we were invited to play with a lot of other folks on a local radio show where each band was asked to do one original song and one cover by a local of any era. We chose to "interpret" a JACKWACKER song ("Hashslinger") live and in front of an audience at a downtown auditorium. After our ramshackle barrage of drop-D sludge, a guy walked up to me, said he appreciated the JACKWACKER cover and he didn't think anyone remembered them. I asked if he ever saw them and it turned out that he was the drummer, Rob. He said that they played a lot around Bloomington, but no one ever seemed to "get" them or appreciate what they were doing. After moving to Madison, they broke up after a year or so and life led Rob back to Bloomington, where he stopped playing punk/noise and got more into free-form jazz and improv. I didn't ask him much more about it because he seemed wholly uninterested...and there was a noise nerd around town who kept completely fucking hounding him for info...so I backed off (also, after this show, the noise nerd assumed we were a JACKWACKER cover band and was trying to get us to play shows as JACKWACKER, which we never did or acknowledged...because we were our own band.)
   This record came from out of nowhere for me and I am really glad to see that this kind of noise was going on in the Midwest in the early 90's. It's destructive, cathartic, and insane. I love it.

Download JACKWACKER

THE SLACKERS - Tape - 1994

   Remember back in the day, about 13 hours ago, when I posted that SLACKERS discography and said something like "Well, it's not a real discography because they put out a tape that I don't have."? Blair Menace, a Huntsville native and lifetime punk, quickly sent over this rip of their tape. NOW, you have their entire discography. This tape is warbly and fucked from years of hard living (plus, it was probably not in the best state in its original form), but it still punk as fuck and awesome.

  Download SLACKERS Tape.
Link updated 4/6/15. RIP Heiko)