"Humboldt in Hollywood" w/ Nathan Pierce

I don't remember Nathan (not because he's not memorable, more so because I'm a mushbrain), but he's one of those old Humboldt heads, the locally born and bred variety, that was around during the 7 years I lived up there (87-94). I've chatted with him a bit on the dreaded Facebook and of course the topic was music. Turns out he's got a connect at Kchung Radio 1630 am, Chinatown, Los Angeles and he was fixin' to DJ a Humboldt "punk rock" broadcast...turns out he did two broadcast, two weeks apart. He played about 90% of the bands that I remember from that time, mid-80s, early 90s, plus some killer ones from after that.  Well worth a listen if you're a fan of that special breed of punk that only Humboldt could have produced...  Humboldt In Hollywood 05.12.2014 Humboldt In Hollywood 05.26.2014

Tina Frasier Memorial 2014

I was not close friends with Tina, but more of an acquaintance. I don't remember much about her except that I would see her around at all the shows, but I know that she was a long time Humboldt County scenster. It was the cancer that got her and it affected a lot of folx up in that area. So my buddy James, another big part of the Humboldt scene for decades, sent me a CD the other day with lots of cool Humshit that I will be sharing in the upcoming months, among them this comp, that I'm assuming he made. This is just a sampling of Humboldt bands, really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the talent coming outta that place over the decades, a lot of them you can get more of here at MR.  31 songs and right at the 80 minute mark make it a nice hefty listen and would fit perfectly on a CDr so you can play it in your jalopy... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=215ziVtbxSY&w=560&h=315]

The Hitch - Prince of the Sawmill 7"

There's a ton of the Hitch around here and I think with this release we've the entire van full of their physical releases. And what a mighty release this is, from about the middle of their existence, 2001, it's some of the finest tuneage they've got. Prince of the Sawmill is the hit, being the title track, sort of a midtempo crunch-a-thon until about half way through the tune, where they break it down in a heaviest of ways to let you clean the mud off your boots. A working class band with a working class anthem, takes me back to a time when it was sweat and grime was what your days were all about, and at the end of the day your clothes would walk themselves to the hamper. Side B, is not some sloppy filler either, it's a little more high tempo with this killer funky psychedelic vibe, showing the band can mix it up. These guys are not only some of the finest human beings on this God forsaken planet, but they've got talent oozing out of their pores and when it comes to Rock n Roll, they blow the doors off the pick up truck...

Prince Of The Sawmill Subliminal

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkRSCqE98No&w=560&h=315]

EDIT: Ran across some photos a while back on Facebook (forgotten the name of the person who took them...apologies)...way before beards were cool...

Hockaloogie - Spitoons 7"

Been a while since we featured a band from the indomitable Humboldt County, this time around, Hockaloogie, who we featured before with their Houses Of The Oly cassette. There's this Humboldt Punk group on Facebook that I lurk around occasionally and virtually ran into a woman named Kathy Frasier who happens to be married to Tyce, who was the singer. She offered to send me this 7" from a box in her garage, so that we could have it here. Hell fucking yeah!  Saw these guys numerous times and played gigs with them at least a couple of times, but brain damage prevents me from recollecting specifics. As a result listening to this 7" was like something fresh and new, not something 22 years old. All and all, this is a pretty killer little record. Real snotty slightly metallic catchy post-punk with a little jazziness thrown in, a sweet combination only a Humboldt band could churn out. Not sure which I like better, the tape or the 7", but it's not a competition is it, they are both very indicative of a extremely vibrant scene Humboldt had in the late 80s, early 90s. The hit on this thing is "Tights" in my opinion and if there's any criticism of the record, it's that there isn't enough music. Thanx to Kathy and Tyce for the putting this in my lap and allowing anyone else who stumbles across this place to have a listen...in a box, in the garage, is no place for good music...

Tights She Cries Phallus Rudeolf

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Suj7mX_vMhs]

The Hitch - New Huevo

Look around here and you can find a shit ton of the Hitch, a band that I'd like to think I may have sung for, had I stayed in Humboldt (now that would have been cool, but probably better that I wasn't, just would have brought them down a notch and they were top fucking notch). Only saw them play once, in downtown LA sometime in the mid-90s and as was natural for any fellow seeing them play, was completely blown away. I was drunk, as was the norm in those days, so the specifics are hazy, but I remember very well being overjoyed at getting to hang out with my old buds Steve and Jeff (turns out it's the last time I got to hang with them in person). My bro Jefe, recently posted this vid and had this to say, "the hitch, new huevo instrumental. live video from e&o lanes in blue lake shot by metal mike, song recorded at prairie sun by noah landis."... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn-1cG2oMZA&w=560&h=315]

Letterbomb - Demo

How fucking true is that? The only thing that would have made the comic better, is if he had been pushing a wheelbarrow full of records, gotta have some selection. I was trying to explain to someone the other day, how a friend of mine, over 30 years ago, had told me that a wave (analog) represented sound so much more accurately than binary code (digital).  You can really tell the difference in listening and I do prefer vinyl over CDs, but that's just because I'm a nostalgic motherfucker.  Just learned a couple of years ago that 45 rpm is better sounding than 33 rpm...has something to do with the length of the grooves.  I get this audiophile catalog in the mail every so often, they sell all kinds of outrageous stereo equipment and also represses of albums on 2 45 rpm 12"s, none of which I can afford to buy...but a guy can dream. I have missed out on a hell of a lot of raging Humboldt music since leaving there 20 odd years ago, may as well be 200 years ago.  My latest discovery at the hands of Jeff Langdon via Faceplant is a band called Ravens featuring stellar front woman Melissa Medina.  I posted a sampling of her epic vocals when she did a Beatles cover, fronting for The Hitch... The Hitch - Come Together This time around, you get more of a straightforward rock and roll thing, but you know that over the top RnR boogie you can only get straight out of Humboldt. Kind of a stoney, bluesy harmonica infused, garaged vibe...a garage surrounded by redwoods, ferns and banana slugs.  They have a Myspace (but the tunes on there belong to another band with the same name, strange), a bunch of vids on Youtube and I think they were one of the bands featured on the Rural Rock N Roll documentary (essential viewing).  According to Jeffe, "Recorded at the raven's practice space 2004 on south g street in arcata. engineered and mixed by jeff langdon on an adat 8 track recorder. featuring melissa medina on vocals, kevin harp on guitar, mike donahoe on bass, and bandon wayne on drums."  Here it is where Jefe put it at Soundcloud.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUtwd9VtBJI&w=560&h=315]

Yet another Humboldt band I missed, seeking my fame and fortune in the big city, was Letterbomb. I had asked Rob Perkins if he had been in any other bands since Grimace and he turned me onto them. According to their Myspace they were active around 00's, but I don't know anything else except the low down he gave me, "im playing drums morgan on guitar Gregg Mall on bass and Vince signing..we did this in one take..so it has some slop...4 songs one right after the other no stopping. but its pretty much exactly how we sounded live..we were fun to watch and tight ! we had good equipment so our shows sounded good." Actually I do know something about the band, they fucking killed it. For doing this in one take, they didn't miss a beat. Kind of a sped up melodic hardcore thing, with just the slightest of metalic-ness shining through. Think Bad Religion mixed with Suicidal Tendencies, but of course with that Humboldt made rubber stamp of approval. I wouldn't expect anything else from Rob of Grimace or Morgan of One Man Running...I don't remember the other two guys from my being up there.  Listening to the tunes again, just now, it's amazing how fast they are chugging along and still maintaining any semblance of melody.  This is a band that I would have definitely liked to have seen live.  The "hits" in my opinion are "Cycle" and "Reflecions"...

Cycle Don't Hesitate Embrace Reflections

EDIT: The links are dead and I don't talk to Rob anymore, he "unfriended" me on fucking FB, apparently he's kind of an alt-right type person now, so I have no way of getting them back.  Too bad, as these guys really shredded...

Lord Ellis - S/T

Sometimes things don't look too fantastic, so when something comes along that'll make you smile, it's a good thing, right? Does this GIF represent an ironic moment?  When I'd go to baseball games as a kid, I don't know what entertained me more, the beach balls bouncing through the crowd, hoping it would come my way, or the ushers in a mad scramble, keystone cops-like, to grab the ball. They were always so proud of themselves when they got it, but what was the point, why not just let the ball entertain, if the ushers didn't get it, it would end up on the field anyway, thus giving the ball boy/girl another invaluable task, for that highly refined and dubious skill set. Been sitting on this one for far too long, it's time to enlighten. Lord Ellis has been here at MR before but it was way back when, and they were calling themselves El Yeti. A little over a year later and you would be abso-fucking-lutely correct if you assumed like I did, that these studs would make good use of their time and hone their sound into razor sharpness. More songs, more gigs, more time to blow the minds of anyone lucky enough to hear them. I stand 100% behind what I said before about these guys, "Not sure how to describe it. Could go the easy route and call it some kind of stoner/doom/sludge conglomeration, but that’s too easy. With the keyboards and that heavy as fuck sound, you might call them a modern day Deep Purple. Deep is a good one word description. Metal in the most general sense, but not the sparkly shiny variety. With the drummer and the bass player of the Hitch, any reference to that band would be warranted, especially the bottom end. Regardless of how you hear them, you know that this isn’t some bullshit pretend band, this is the real deal and represents Humboldt County, Kali at it’s finest." I've known a couple of these guys for 25+ years, played music with them, am in awe of their talent, so you might say I'm a little bit biased. Well, hell fuckin yes I am, but that doesn't mean shit, you'd have to be an asshole not to objectively worship the sounds these guys are putting out. There is no weak link here, these four characters are the best of the best at what they do and they shine bright.  You can hear a little bit of each one of the bands these guys have played in, in the mix.  Humboldt heavy hitters.  I've always sworn that there is something in the water in Humboldt County that churns out all these killer bands (regardless of genre). Lord Ellis drinks a tall glass of that water daily. I can not say anything though that will adequately capture how damn good they are, you just have to listen. So, like most bands these days, they've got a Facebook and they have a Reverbnation. This CD is on the South Spit Records label, an old Humboldt staple, but they haven't really set up a system yet as to how to get this bad boy to you (I got mine from the band cuz I'm cool like that). Your best bet is to hit them up at those sites and see if you can't get one of these guys to let you know how much and whatnot. I had a hell of time picking out a couple of tunes to sample from, there's not a dull moment on this, even with the variety, and, in fact, this is hands down album of the year 2013 for me. I did manage to pick out a couple that will give you a quick feel though and I feel like they have very different sounds here...

[embed height="520" width="640"]https://www.reverbnation.com/Lordellis?wordpress=1[/embed]

The video below and others like it are courtesy of Sean Pitney (a name that sounds familiar but not sure if he was in Humboldt when I was).

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My-O4x1GIzA]

They have T-Shirts too (even ones that fit my fat ass)!

Splinter Cell - Can The Baby Reach The Meth

Brand new tune (rough mix) by some old Humboldt buds...kick ass!

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/95155491" params="" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

Nuisance - Humboldt County 7"

First thing that came to mind on this one, was how horrible Psilocybin mushrooms taste (don't ask me how my brain works).  Some people could handle them, some even enjoyed them, but I was more the peanut butter and crackers type, or better yet steeped in tea. What do you know, an ex-drunk druggie thinking about drugs...hahaha.  Don't really get cravings anymore for the addictive shit, but I'll be damned if I don't feel like taking a little trip. Been acquainting myself with some industrial music, both the classics and some more recent stuff, trying to broaden my musical horizons.  There may be sub-genres within the industrial framework, but I haven't learned the art of differentiating those yet...ambient, noise, drone, etc.  This industrial thing makes great listening while multitasking on the computer, but would really go well with a couple of caps and stems.  Here's some old and new stuff for your sampling pleasure, be sure to look into buying their stuff, these industrial bands tend to be very prolific and have a buttload of releases... Esplendor Geométrico - Unidad De Control Blue Sabbath Black Cheer & Pig Heart Transplant - Untitled Cyrnai - Parts Of The Insomnic Wheel 03 The Guilt Øf… - Social Recall Rewind Ivs Primae Noctis - Solo Odio Throbbing Gristle - No Two Ways/Last Exit Nuisance is a band that we've visited before in the form of their Attractive Nuisance demo. One of very few Humboldt bands to have an impact outside of Humboldt (Mr. Bungle was a big one that comes to mind, still need to post a demo or two of theirs), but I guess they had to move away to do that.  That says nothing about the dynamic nature of the Humboldt scene though, which is vibrant and unique.  Before I go any further, the full content of the Nuisance part of this post was completely stolen from Little Records I Have Loved, but these days blogs are disappearing faster than liquor at a bar, his is an apparently dead blog with no recent updates, and I don't want this lost in time...plus it goes good with the Humboldt stuff floating around here. Do your self a favor and read his post (while it lasts), he really has some good insights and a love for the music.  Anyway, this is a Humboldt band, but this is a Santa Rosa release if that makes sense and as I said I got to see them play live when I first got up to Humboldt. It's funny, some guy got after me in a comment for calling these guys poppy on the other post, but on this 7", which I like better and more closely resembles the live experience I had, they are sort of a punky kind of hardcore, even some metal riffage thrown in. The drummer really shines on this, can't get enough of that rat-a-tat-tat.  You can pick up a copy of this bad boy at Discogs for $5. Three very different tunes here, but I'd say my favorite is the first one.

Terminal Fuckup King Rat Sungod

EDIT: This is my rip of the 7"... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2i2g9sDEi8&w=560&h=315]

Fire Demons - Nothing Left Inside

My old bro/bandmate Jefe's Humboldt Kali band, Fire Demons, doing a killer cover of an old Black Flag tune. The vid is just out-fucking-standing, done by a guy (I don't know it's a guy, that may be a sexist assumption, women can be great videographers, just like men can) who calls himself TimeLapseCamera on Youtube.  Edit: Jeff told me the videographer is another old Humboldt head, Bob Gitzow.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXta1BEIAw4]

Vision & Sound - Humboldt Council of the Blind (benefit compilation #2)

My buddy James did a solid by everyone involved and just released this CD.  As the title sez it's a benefit for the Humboldt Council of the Blind, so based on that alone you would be doing a solid by picking this up (only 100 of these bad boys pressed).  These bands have also done a solid by donating their music to the cause, but it can't hurt for them to all get this kind of exposure.  Each and every band is good, but peeing compiled in this kind of project makes then great.  The variety here is staggering and serves as a reminder and testimony to the fact that Humboldt has it going on musically (as it has for decades).  A few of these tunes may not be my cup of tea, but I still found myself digging the tunes based on the quality of musicianship alone.  No bullshit filler here, 24 bands, 78 minutes of mostly Humboldt County, Kali bands and pure toe tappin pleasure.  You can get this directly from  Mr. Forbes through paypal at...

Forbesx4 (at) sbcglobal (dot) net

Or mailed to: Meth Bog Records 515 Silva Ave Eureka, ca 95503

...for $8 ppd You might want to get in touch with him first to be sure these are still available as I said only 100 were pressed. If you're a Humboldt resident, you can pick them up for dirt cheap at all the local record stores. Do yourself a philanthropic solid and pick this up, you wont be disappointed...

I'm too lazy to type the tracklist...

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kTGPa6du1U&w=560&h=315]

El Yeti

I got in touch with my old buddy Steve a while back, I'm always bugging my old musician friends to turn me onto whatever it is they're doing musically. Anyway it turns out that he has this new incredible thing going on with himself, the old drummer from the Hitch, Roshawn, the old bass player from The Hitch, Andy Sorter From Grimace on keyboards, and this guy Pablo who was in Dragged By Horses.  Not sure how to describe it.  Could go the easy route and call it some kind of stoner/doom/sludge conglomeration, but that's too easy.  With the keyboards and that heavy as fuck sound, you might call them a modern day Deep Purple.  Deep is a good one word description.  Metal in the most general sense, but not the sparkly shiny variety.  With the drummer and the bass player of the Hitch, any reference to that band would be warranted, especially the bottom end.  Regardless of how you hear them, you know that this isn't some bullshit pretend band, this is the real deal and represents Humboldt County, Kali at it's finest.  As far as I know this is from a live session they had somewhere.  You can check it out at their Reverb Nation

Splinter Cell - Will You Be My Friend?

The long awaited Splinter Cell CD arrived in the mail a couple of days ago.  SC are not strangers around here there's little bits and pieces all over the place, here and here, amongst some other random places, but this is their first "official" release.  I'm biased, because two of the three piece are really old friends of mine (one a former band mate), so I don't know how valuable my opinion is.  The bottom line is that I think anyone could would see how good this CD is.  Just the cover alone should tell you this will at least be something interesting.  I had Lil Jimmy (bass) write up a little something, just to get the bands take on this little piece of plastic...

"Splinter Cell is literally the culmination of 30+ years of the punk/rock band experience. No genre slapping or generation gapping. The songs don’t sound like the other songs & whatever. The 3 of us have played with each other in Humboldt County (again)for the past 4 years with Henpecker & Artifacts of Pleasure before becoming Cell Mates. We have played in countless other bands &, again, whatever. This is our now & we don’t know when to quit. Really, what else is there to do at our age. Sean, Jeff, & James welcome your commentary & your friendship. The “Will You Be My Friend?” cd by Splinter Cell(Meth Bog Records #6) is $10 ppd to Paypal; Forbesx4@sbcglobal.net Find us on Facebook & on Myspace. We are very modern & technologically advanced."

I listened to this two times in a row when I first got and couldn't find a weak moment.  Not sure how to describe it, except that it's post rock with it's multiple influences.  There's a groove to their tunes, a snotty punk vibe and tight musicianship.  As Jimmy said, these guys have been at it a long time, heard a lot of shit to get inspiration from and aren't virgins when it comes to the ins and outs of being in band.  This is the most polished I have heard them sound between the live takes and the rough studio stuff (you wouldn't think this had been recorded in a living room).  The mix is perfect, even on my weak computer speakers I can hear the vocals and every instrument, nothing is lost and it's powerful.  I fucking love these guys and kick myself for my own semi-poverty, not being to make a run out to the west coast for a live dose.  A solid group of dudes, lucky to call them friends. Just two samples here for you, I guess my faves, be sure and get the CD from Lil Jimmy at the above address.  WARNING: The chorus on "Rope-A-Dope" is highly infectious and contagious.  It is clinically proven to cause minor insanity and involuntary spasms.  By the time the song is over it will have branded your brain and be played over and over and over again.  You hum it on the toilet, during sex, and when someone is trying to tell you something important.  BEWARE! [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7v1F616ie8&w=560&h=315]

@ the Alibi 02/06/10 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4diwfuZRTQ&w=420&h=315]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqvSesXD7LY&w=560&h=315]

Dieselhed - Live

I know I've seen this movie, but which one is it? Like the sum total of the experiences in my life, they all run together as singular events separated by locations.

A new pet peeve of mine, motherfuckers who start shit over the internet.  And even though I've only run into that a few times, that shit is rampant.  I never used to talk shit unless I planned on getting my ass kicked.  Oh well, I've got to keep up with the times.

Getting cold where you guys are at?  I'm reminded every year that I can do below zero temperatures with no problem, but it's that fuckin', well below zero, windchill.  No jacket think enough you know?  Makes me think of my landlord working on an oil rig in North Dakota.  Speaking of landlords, we will be homeowners starting February 1st...yeah!

Had a ska moment, does anybody else get those?  Was discussing Madness' "One Step Beyond", a song that captured me in the early 80's to the point where I took classes in saxophone in college.  Just when you think you know everything, I discovered the other night that it was a sped up cover of an incredible original... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ukZmiFKzog&w=560&h=315] So I got to thinking about my live ska experiences, which are very few that I can recall.  Dave Wakeling  of the (English) Beat moved to San Diego while I was living there, so I'd go down to Ocean Beach with the first wife, get high and drunk and see him play (about a dozen times).  He was actually really good, the old tunes and his new ones.  Now that I think about it though, is that ska...hmmm.  My real 1st generation ska moment (twice, once in Humboldt and once in Solana Beach) was seeing the Skatalites. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9HyXc4e7Qc] ...an acoustic thing Wakeling did on the radio in San Diego... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmwW9aS0A5Y]

We've already seen Dieselhed's round here at the Relics, but it's hard to go overboard on sweetness. Wikipedia describes them as "a San Francisco-based band, originally from Arcata, California." I will always think of them as a Humboldt band that spread their wings and escaped,  So many good fucking bands came out of that place, but very few made it out into the big world.  I've gone into them on previous posts, so suffice it to say that these guys play some seriously good, sophisticated, quirky, sing along, tight shit.  Here is a vid of them covering Pink Floyd's "Time"... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jlBUy_O3Dk]

...and doing one of my favorite songs. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDPi6bP8GRA]

The Hitch / Mos Generator - split 7"

The most graphic gif I've run across yet, from the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  When I was at my worst, my darkest days you might say, I too had the gun in my mouth, but I didn't think the 22 I had would do the trick...pussy.  Didn't cross my mind at the time that I was shooting heroin every now and then anyway (on top of guzzling 2-3 fifths of vodka 24/7) and could just go out the easy way by overdosing.  Ah but then we wouldn't have the Mustard Relics, as quiet as it is round here.  Nothing worse than feeling sorry for yourself, but I suppose there's a time and a place for everything.  Speaking of suicide, it turns out that the coroner finally figured out that Amy Winehouse died by drinking herself to death (does anybody care about her, I do), thus suicide by addiction (one of a few similarities to Billie Holiday). Amy Winehouse - Back To Black Billie Holiday - Don't Explain Heard this song on the radio and was glad I did...in usual Mustard fashion, I felt the need to do some overkill with the tune. The heartfelt original (we've all been there)... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rz92JWtS50&w=560&h=315] The manager at this restaurant that I worked at up in Humboldt after I graduated from college, Casa de Que Pasa (right next to the head shop run by Chet the uber-hippie from Superman's bizzaro world), was really into Chris Isaak. I suppose most of my friends probably can't stand the guy, but I would think there's one thing you can't deny, like Morissey, he's got one hell of a voice (I know I'm foolish)... Chris Isaak - Solitary Man And just to piss you off further, how about Mr. Isaak with none other than Stevie Nicks (c'mon, you know there's at least one tune off of Rumors you like)... Chris Isaak & Stevie Nicks - Solitary Man LOVE the arrangement on this one, the plucked guitar, the horns and organ, this is a damn good version, granted, if you liked the tune in the first place... Crooked Fingers - Solitary Man 80's-esque soft metal version, not bad if you like Winger... HIM - SOLITARY MAN In my mind this version gives this song all the legitimacy in the world, if THE MAN IN BLACK saw fit to cover it, then it must be good, and as usual Mr. Cash takes it, makes it his own and absolutely always surpasses the original... Johnny Cash - Solitary Man Even more legitimacy, a reggae/dancehall cover (hahahaha), I dig it... Skin Flesh & Bones - Solitary Man Version This one sounds like Neil Diamond covered by the Mamas and Papas, take it or leave it... The Deep Six - Solitary Man I'm not too into the xylophone unless it's used by the Violent Femmes, plus I get the feeling this guy thinks he's Neil Diamond... Tony Carey - Solitary Man I like the drums on this one and made me think that the tune would do well in a Tarantino film (a good one to end our little journey on... Ups and Downs - Solitary Man How about a taste of the Hitch? It's been a while, we've visited them twice before. I've babbled a little bit about them, mentioned I saw them in Hollywood (now that I think about it, it may have been downtown LA), my connection to two of the band members and most importantly that they fucking rocked. This tune here represents some of their best stuff in my opinion and even though I have a hard time with long songs, this one is captivating from beginning to end. Hard and heavy like John Holmes' schlong. The band on the flipside, Mos Generator is similar in sound, that 70's heavy rock influence taken to an extreme (I guess you'd call it sludge, stoner, or doom, but I think all three tunes are punk as fuck). The second of the two tracks from MG is the better of the two in my opinion, sort of a speedy sludge. Kind of cool that these tracks were recorded in each bands' practice pads and then mixed by Tony of MG. DIY, but the packaging is pro with it's gloss and fold-out-ed-ness.  I've seen copies of this out in the intersphere, so if you dig it you might be able to pick one up. Thanx Jeff for sending this to me, so that you mugs could give it a listen...

The Hitch-Tongue In Cheek Mos Generator-Gus's Boogie Mos Generator-Rebecca 3

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOaNiSri0aA&w=560&h=315]

V/A - Making Blindness Fashionable (Humboldt Council Of The Blind Benefit CD)

Anyone know what band this is, they look like they rock...hahaha?  Can't let a little pukin' stop the bangin', ya know. Haven't read too much on the Occupy Movement, but I guess I'm down with the basic premise. This country and really the whole world is not served well by the super rich, the destruction of the middle class and the plight of the working poor. I'm trying to stay away from serious topics, but there is some humor. 1st, apparently the guys who are going out of their way feed these groups are frustrated by the freeloaders who could give a shit about the movement and are just looking for handouts. 2nd, DRUM CIRCLES. Now I'm down with drumming and the many forms it has taken throughout the history of mankind. But the social phenomenon of the modern day waspafarian drum circle is just classic. Having been around that sort of thing, most people can't handle it at all, but for me after a while it's silly and annoying (just my opinion of course). Where it gets interesting though is that you've got these drum circles going on at the occupy things and I know that the establishment must be annoyed as hell...and that is good.

Friday's are cool, but wishing that the other four days of the work week would fly by, is not.  And then Saturday flying by only to be bummed all day Sunday because tomorrow is Monday.  What a life...hahaha.

Always on the hunt for new, to me, music. Ran across The Nurse, an all lady outfit, out of  '83 Japan, via Sean's Damaging Noise bleaorgha...give that first tune a listen and tell me that isn't some cool shit. 01-the_nurse-japanese_title 04-the_nurse-japanese_title 13-the_nurse-japanese_title Just because things have been a little strange in my head lately (when things are repeatedly strange, they aren't strange anymore, they're normal...talking to myself really, out loud)...some bootleg live SPK from the "At The Crypt" cassette, just for that moment... SPK - Berufsverbot About four years ago, I reconnected with Lil' Jimmy Forbes after years of only being in touch with a few folks from my Humboldt days that still reside there.  James has really come through around here a provide rips of a lot of Humboldt bands from days gone by.  My impression is that he is a mover and shaker in the scene up there these days.  This comp is an example of that moving and shaking, and is a slice of the 2008 punk, alternative, metal, etc. scene up there.  As the titled says this was a benefit for the Humboldt Council of the Blind and with 22 bands there is something for everyone.  This really is proof positive that Humboldt is a melting pot of creativity.  I wasn't into all the bands but they're all good if that makes sense.  The standouts for me where the Eureka Garbage Company, The Fire Demons, Machete, No Not Yet (Peggy M. on Vox?), Monster Women, Warren Teagarden, the Hitch and Henpecker.  Enjoy... Eureka Garbage Company-Young Lovers The Ian Fays-Broaches & Buses Neptune Society-Mad Dog The Ravens-Do You Want It The Fire Demons-Hole In The Ground The Buffy Swayze-My Birthday The Delta Nationals-The Last Logger Leaving Town Machete-Dirty Piggy Dynamite Sweater-Buffy Swayze Nipplepotamus-Living Fence Eric Nevis-Help Me, Jesus No Not Yet-Never A Good Time Arrogant Hare-Hearts Come In One Size The Monster Women-Diary Of Disconnectedness Warren Teagarden-Haircut Madi Simmons-Living Witness The Hitch-I'm Sick Common Vice-Mayflowers Broken Hearts-Sno Henpecker-Responsibility Universalia Jane-No One's Shaman Tin Can Luminary-Army's Peace 23 I know that nobody's going to download each and every one of those songs and according to my sources this thing is sold the fuck out, so in my never ending effort to please the voiceless, download the whole thing here.

Lank - Faceless Love Songs demo

Not too much to reflect on, it's quiet here as Fall approaches, but the wife and I are enjoying life to the best of our abilities and are seriously looking at buying our house along with 10 of the acres it sits on.  The world is still the world as I observe it from a distant plain, but the locals occasionally remind me of the good, bad and just how it is, in folks.

A couple of emails my Grandpa sent me (the views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Administrator...but they're good for a laugh):

Over 5000 years ago, Moses said to Israel, "Pick up your shovels, mount your asses and camels, and I will lead you to the Promised Land." When Welfare was introduced, Roosevelt said, "Lay down your shovels, sit on your asses, and light up a Camel, this is the Promised Land." Today, the government has stolen your shovel, taxed your asses, raised the price of Camels and mortgaged the Promised Land to China.

One day an old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch. The old German Shepherd thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep shit now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the panther is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder, if there are any more around here?" Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!," says the panther, "That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!" Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the panther. So, off he goes. The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther. The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!" Now, the old German Shepherd sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?," but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says... "Where's that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!"

...one of the interesting images (thumbnail) that came up when I entered the phrase "circle of life".  This one, personally relevant, used without permission from some guy living his life with it's profound and mundane nuances, and like me sharing it with nobody in particular, at his own place called Chublogga. One thing that's been cool about doing the Relics for almost 4 years now, is the virtual friends I have made who have shared interests.  One buddy Jan, outta Germany, and I share an affinity for the Gore.  Long story short story short, I had recommended "Hobo With A Shotgun" and he recommended "Ex-Drummer" (very interesting), which I'm downloading right now. Try out this Lifespan Calculator, yeehaa...I'm gonna make it to 69. A couple of classic tunes that someone mentioned that I thought I would mention and/or share... Marianne Faithfull - As Tears Go By (cover of the Stones tune). Marianne Faithfull - Sister morphine the Stones cover Something Humboldt-esque that goes with the tape below, a mixed tape from Sam Atakra that he recorded off of KHSU...must be the late 80's, early 90's, Killcore 2. Well worth a listen, some familiar, some not so, all hits.

One of the last demo tapes in my possession from the Humboldt days (Sam sent me an extra copy too).  We played SEVERAL shows/parties/whatnot and I always liked them, but with Doug fronting the band, you were guaranteed some excitement.  As far as specific memories though I am once again at a loss and am just left with the far away look through the cloudy glazed eyes of a pseudo burnout.  I asked Doug to give this post some meat and potatoes, and share some first hand recollections.  He came through in spades...

"Lank were a band out of Arcata from around mid-1990 to about mid-1992, maybe 18 months or so. I kind of inserted myself as their singer when I walked in on their practice one afternoon and told them I’d do it even though I hadn’t really been asked to. The band split when Jeff, Greg, and I graduated from college and moved on to other cities and Troy moved to Ukiah to fight fires. Our last show was at the Power Station, at a show with a transvestite theme where we were only allowed to play if we all wore dresses. We played one last time when Jeff got married in the late-90s, though, with Josh Baker from Sawhorse/Things I Hate/God Hates Computers on guitar because no one could track down Troy. Hands down, my favorite shows we ever played were when we got to open for Citizen Fish and Antiseen at the Power Station and when we played the Eureka High School Sadie Hawkins Dance.

The Faceless Love Songs demo came out right as we were breaking up. Several songs were taken from our live show at Gilman, which was a pretty bizarre show because it took place amid the Rodney King riots while the city was supposed to be under martial law. There were maybe five or ten people there besides the members of the bands. Another several songs were taken from a live radio show we did on KHSU, I think during Erin Yanke’s radio show, but don’t really remember. Two songs, “9066” and “What We Got,” were taken from the only studio recordings we ever did. We had recorded them without vocals with Ed Cole, another KHSU DJ and the guitarist from Garden Weasel, while he was taking an audio class through Humboldt State. I added the vocals by setting up a mic in the production room at the radio station and singing along with the tape while dubbing it onto another. For the spoken section of “9066,” I ran the vocals through a telephone line because I didn’t like the way my voice sounded straight into the mic. In ’96 or ’97, I went in to a friend’s home studio to add vocals to the other studio recordings, but the original tape was fucked up from the years I spent living in damp basements. The tape was released with six different color covers just for the fuck of it and included a little lyric book.

Some notes about the songs: “9066” is about executive order 9066 and the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. It was specifically written for the show we played with Spitboy on the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. “It’s not that far a step to becoming what we say we hate.”

“What We Got” is a simple song about having a hard time finding meaning while living in a small college town.

“The John Osteen Love Ballad of Christ the Impaler” got its name from the televangelist and faith healer John Osteen. As an instrumental, I played bass and Jeff moved over to harmonica.

“1 + 1” is just a love song. What ya gonna say?

“The Way It Was (Is a Way It Never Was)” is about my drinking and drug use in high school. The stories make it sound like a lot of fun. It was actually pretty traumatic.

I wrote “Self-Destruction” in part about my drinking (which was getting increasingly out of control at the time) and my other self-destructive tendencies, with a heavy dose of self-mockery. In the recording, you can hear the mic for Troy’s guitar getting knocked over, which is what fucks up the sound for the next several tracks.

“Dark Ages” was originally about this gal I had a crush on even though I was in a relationship with another gal. A “look but don’t touch” kind of song that morphed into a song about isolation in general after my girlfriend found some rough drafts of the lyrics. I was quite the upstanding fellow at the time.

“Snap” was one of my least favorite songs to play live. Loved the slower parts, but the fast parts always felt a little off to me. The “music’s my morphine” line was inspired by my friend Steve who had some pretty powerful experiences with it after breaking his leg.

“A Faceless Love Song” is about losing your identity in a relationship.

“Recursive” is about the drug dealer I lived with in high school, about getting strung out on cocaine, and about how I still craved it four years or so later.

“Invisible” was inspired by the novel “The Invisible Man” by Ralph Emerson and more specifically by the end of the novel in which the narrator recognizes that he is essentially invisible to white society and uses that invisibility as a means of subversion. It is by far my favorite song of ours.

I wrote “She Said” about this crazy woman in the parking lot of the Arcata Coop who put a curse on me because I asked her to stop pan-handling on the property (which was part of my job at the time). There weren’t any actual lyrics, just me trying to recreate the woman’s rants off the top of my head. As a result, I think the way this song came across live was heavily influenced by how much I’d had to drink on a given night.

“Trinidad” Suicide by insignificance.

“American Society” is an Eddie and The Subtitles cover.

Sometimes you need to just write a stupid, fuck-all song. “What the Fuck?” was our attempt at that.

I was always afraid that someone would interpret “She’s in Love (With My Girlfriend)” as an attack on lesbians. It wasn’t. It was a personal attack on a woman who wanted to sleep with my girlfriend but not with me.

“Holding Pattern” is about feeling like my life was going nowhere as college graduation crept nearer and nearer. Maybe partying would help…

“Crimson and Clover” isn’t so much a cover as it is another drunken fuck-all song."

...my response, "Now that's what I'm fucking talking about sir, almost hate to put it into the post as it shows my short comings with all the rest of the posts. A great read with so much I'd forgotten or never knew at all.  The break down on the tunes is something I should do with all the songs I've been involved with, as if anybody cares.  Your input makes this an over-the-top treatment of the band and with it being on the net it serves to at least to be a resource, should anyone choose to find it. Thank you so much Mr. Grime."  Anyway, enjoy some Lank...

 

The John Ostecot Love Ballad of Christ the Impaler

1+1

What We Got

Way It Was

9066

Dark Ages

Snap

Faceless Love Song

Recursive

Invisible

Trinidad

She Said

9066 (The Anniversary Song)

What We Got

What The Fuck

She's In Love (With My Girlfriend)

Holding Pattern

American Society

Crimson and Clover

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybf2af7FTcA&w=560&h=315]

The Jolly Ho-Ho's - Drunks Are People Too LP

Duh...a pic of me that my son took at my new favorite  fancy style coffee chain, Mochas...handsome fucking devil...if you enlarge the thumbnail you can see my nose hairs.  Kinda bummed right now because my time with Liam is over until next summer. Jack of TSOL (shameless name dropping, actually I am just one of 5 million faceless "friends" he has on facebook) sent a request out for medium's (tarot readings, crystal balls, speaking to the dead, etc.) the other day and being the polite sort that I am I suggested a place in Hollywood that I've mentioned around here called the "House of Hermetic". If you remember, I mentioned that the two little old ladies who ran the place (probably long since passed into the spirit realm) had some kind of incense that could drive unpleasant people from the store. Anyway, Jack comes back with a link and apparently the store made Hate Magazine's List of "Satanic Cults".  You see I am secretely satanic.  What I wanted to write back was that Wicca predates Christianity and that satanism was a Christian construct, when it wasn't enough to demonize the Jews they had to create an enemy that could be found anywhere and in anyone. Anyone remember this tune from about 1984, File 13 - Tastes So Good? I didn't even know what it was called back then or who did it until I just did a search using the lyrics I could remember (the internet is amazing). Takes me right back to high school. There where these hot little clubster twins, who loved this tune, my buddy Kevin dated one for a long time...I dug on the other one, but she thought we should just be friends...hahaha.  First time I ever had a gun pulled on me, the four of us were cruising the Glendale/Burbank border in my '74 Volkswagen Bug. Cops pulled us over, had him and I get out out and lay on the ground at gunpoint. Apparently someone had reported that we had kidnapped the twins. If only I could have added kidnapping to my long list of crimes...a legitimate criminal instead of a small time hood.

A buddy of mine that I haven't talked to since Humboldt, Nick Reynolds of Grimace, asked me if I was playing music these days and I said no because of the redneck environment I live in.  His response, "yodel, banjo billy tornado rage rock"...perfect.

My first thoughts after listening to this for the first time and doing the rip, "...elements of punk, ska, flamenco, mariachi, Violent Femmes-ish country Pogues-ish penny whistle stuff (track 21) and hardcore that almost borders on power violence at times...some pretty incredible shit.  I know I saw these guys several times, mostly parties I guess, but it's real hazy (kids, don't fuck with drugs and liquor, because at the very least it can be like a psycho girlfriend and fuck with your mind...worse...your memory).  Sam (who is the reason I have this cassette at all gives up a much better description of these guys than my faded memory could ever supply over at his Atakra site (that's a must go to site anyway).  Used to party quite a bit with one of the guitar players, can't remember his name, big guy who drove a huge beat up suburban.  He actually loaned me that suburban when my truck broke down...cool guy.  We lost touch I guess after one of my close buddies socked one of his buddies in the eye with his keys in his hand.  Actually broke the key off in the guy's head just missing his eye.  Bad scene, because that dude was pretty cool too, if I remember right, just a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.  Anyway this is a "must-listen-to" piece of Humboldt history.  Sorry no track titles if it had something included with that kind of shit, it's long gone.  Released in 93?  I don't know shit except this is some badass shit. EDIT: Just minutes before I posted this I found out from Sam who found out from one of the band members, Payson, this was not a demo, I assumed that as it said "Hated in Humboldt" on the cassette and the album is obviously called "Drunks Are People Too".  Oh well I'm an idiot, but I guess when all is said and done, at the very least you get some of the almight Jolly Ho-Ho's.  On a side note you can still pick up a copy here and here. Jolly Ho-Ho's-01 Jolly Ho-Ho's-02 Jolly Ho-Ho's-03 Jolly Ho-Ho's-04 Jolly Ho-Ho's-05 Jolly Ho-Ho's-06 Jolly Ho-Ho's-07 Jolly Ho-Ho's-08 Jolly Ho-Ho's-09 Jolly Ho-Ho's-10 Jolly Ho-Ho's-11 Jolly Ho-Ho's-12 Jolly Ho-Ho's-13 Jolly Ho-Ho's-14 Jolly Ho-Ho's-15 Jolly Ho-Ho's-16 Jolly Ho-Ho's-17 Jolly Ho-Ho's-18 Jolly Ho-Ho's-19 Jolly Ho-Ho's-20 Jolly Ho-Ho's-21 Get the whole thing in one neat little package here.

Saké - demo 1995

I don't know about where you live, but in my neck of the woods it has been straight the fuck HOT. All my years of physical labor and sweating for a living, the heat never bothered me, but being an office slut has made me pathetic. My son and I have spent a lot of time indoors, where my wife has the air conditioning running 24/7 and sucking what little money I have right outta my wallet (but I secretly appreciate the relief found in the cooler indoors).  It's got me agitated as hell and it doesn't help making the startling transition from pleasant coolness to blazing heat just to have a smoke.  Once things have cooled down a bit we go outside and throw the football around, so we're not completely sedentary. My son Liam, like myself, is a music lover.  His thing is rap, which I've dabbled in but I always liked the political, social change type bands (ie. Public Enemy, Criminal Minded, etc.).  I can't get too into the whole "nigger", "bitch", "ho", materialistic worship of money, senseless violence thing, but I suppose somewhere in the variety of shit I do listen to, a person could find a lot to object to.  Anyway, I've heard of Lil Wayne, never listened to him before, so Liam turned me on to a damn good tune.  My computer doesn't do justice to the bass so a real stereo or good headphones is recommended.  That booming bass, the mono tone stoned out vocals and the mix are a nice a little change of pace. lil wayne - a milli Have I tried before to get you to come to terms with your inner 5 year old with Spongebob bowling?  Shit, 334 posts and I know I'm repeating myself.  Not repeating myself with this next band though. As promised, my old Humboldt buddy Sam Atakra came through with flying colors by sending me not one but two packages of Humboldt related music.  I missed these guys and gal by a year during my 7 year tenure in Humboldt Kali (I was told I was not cool for calling California "Kali"), which is a real shame as they are one of the best bands to come out of the area.  I think my last band Grout would have made a great combo to have shared a bill with them, and actually the band continued on after I left so maybe they did.  Don't know too much about the band and a google search is useless because "Sake" with an accent on the "e" is spelled the same as "sake", so you get tons of entries like, "for Pete's sake".  Other than this demo the only other recordings I know of is a 7", 10" and a split LP.  My buddy Bat Guano weaves a tapestry of  words at his Fugitive Equilibrium blog and did two Sake posts here and here. I really can't put this band into words anywhere near as poetically as he can. One place I did manage to find in a google search, by using song titles, "Eureka", "band", "music" and maybe a few other words to make the search more specific, was Mostly Blue Skies Above Us. Some good additional input and my impression is that all of Sake's vinyl is included in the zip.  A fucking metric ton of thanx to Sam Atakra for sending me his second to last copy of this demo (he sent me a ton of other good shit including the Jolly Ho Ho's demo and their LP [his last copy]).  You can find Sam at his Live Journal, a mountain of videos at his Youtube and his own killer website Atakra Productions.  I was waiting for some more intel on the band as the bass player went on to be in The Hitch, which also featured two good old boys who were my former bandmates. Didn't get a response back and I'm itching to post something...so...anyway... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD6TrfcAurg&w=560&h=315]

Hockaloogie - Houses of the Oly cassette

My wife had surgery in Denver this weekend (all went well). Half the population of Northwest Kansas can handle a knife good enough to gut, skin and dress a deer, but we have to drive 5 hours to find a surgeon who can handle a knife. Probably for the best.  On the way back my wife was passed out hopped up on oxycodone so I decided to see what kind of radio stations I could find. Most of the trip is on interstate 70 and at the time I was passing through almost non existent, Flagler Colorado. Hit the search button and it went clear though the numbers twice with no discernible radio station within earshot. It made me think, which I get to do a lot of on that drive, that as isolated as I am, there is a whole shitload of this country that is even more desolate than I am. And is that such a bad thing? I mean what is radio but a repeating playlist, sensational hand picked news headlines and lame ass commercials. A little peace and quiet may not be such a bad thing. But...there's always a but, the world does not stop churning just because you aren't exposed to it. We watched a newer movie last night called Black Death, roughly set in 1350 England that has been ravaged by the plague. Word has reached the Bishop that there is one village that has not been effected by the plague and so he sends out some inquisition type guys to go investigate, because they are sure that there must be some kind of witchcraft involved. Pagan vs. Christian type of stuff. In this world you are either Christian or of the devil, no in between. These guys had taken a message of peace and turned it into suspicion, dogmatism and torture. It turns out there really is a witch, really just a pagan good with herbal concoctions, but the reality was that these villagers had been spared, the "pestilence", because of their isolation and by coming there these "men of God" had brought the black death with them. So even if we are spared the evils of mankind in our isolation, it's still out there waiting the opportunity to find a way in. Like that poor little heathen lost tribe in the jungle, being discovered and allowed the great opportunity that "civilization" has in store. A true and fairly new friend of the Relics, in the form of RAYMOND S. of the great province of British Columbia, mailed me this cassette which I should have already had. The memories are very hazy on these guys even though my band played with them at least 5 times and I must have seen them a dozen or more times besides that. All I can remember is Steve, the guitar player, who was in the dorms at Humboldt State (first floor Redwood?) the same year I was. Good looking, kind of normal guy and I can see his girlfriend's face in my mind. And that is it...hahaha. Maybe some of my buddies will fill in their own experiences and memories to at least fill in some kind of picture for at least the posterity that this place provides. I did post them along with a bunch of other Humboldt bands a while back here. Their two tunes on that will not be found anywhere except here (as I pat myself on the back and rub my belly simultaneously).  Couldn't find any web presence for these guys, which is a bummer because they were a pretty good band.

Fishy Temper Tantrum People Bumping Uglies Duh She Tans Greatly Gracefall

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdbDrudk5O4&w=560&h=315]

A couple of flyers (I think I made the yellow one) from, I'd say '91 or '92. Don't remember the Angelos Pizza one, although those were a blast and we got paid with as much beer as we (our entourage included) could swill and pizza we could chow, which was always a shitload of both. The Angelos shows all run into one big show with Hockaloogie, One Man Running, Grimace, a few others.