DEVO - Gates of Steel

I was a little late to Devo, a friend gave me the Freedom of Choice cassette (still have it) when it came out in 1980 (he also gave me ACDC's Back in Black cassette that same year, still have that too). Later I discovered their early stuff, most of which I have picked up on vinyl over the years, and as with moist bands they earlier the better, because as time goes on a band tends to water their stuff down. Not sure why that is, but Freedom of Choice, their last good album is still my favorite, every song kills it...holy shit I played the hell out of that cassette. My son recently asked me for a Devo mixed CD, which got me to thinking about what some of my favorite tunes were. I'd have to say the number one tune is "Gates of Steel"... Twist away the gates of steel Unlock the secret voice Give in to ancient noise Take a chance a brand new dance Twist away the gates of steel Twist away Now twist and shout The earth it moves too slow But the earth is all we know We pay to play the human way Twist away the gates of steel A man is real Not made of steel But the earth is all we know We pay to play the human way Twist away the gates of steel The beginning was the end Of everything now The ape regards his tail He's stuck on it Repeats until he fails Half a goon and half a god A man's not made of steel Twist away Now twist and shout The earth it moves too slow But the earth is all we know We pay to play the human way Twist away the gates of steel A man is real that's how he feels

This here live vid from 1980 is just about the most perfect performance ever, to have been a fly on the wall. I had a chance to see them sometime in the mid-80s at the Forum in LA, my buddy had tickets in hand. Of course his opinion of the show was that it was epic. This will have to do, imagining myself there...

[video width="450" height="360" mp4="http://mustard-relics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Devo-Gates-of-Steel-Live-1980-MVDvisual.mp4"][/video] The audio in case it iPod! worthy... Devo - Gates of Steel (Live) My buddy Chris' band Labrador did a very fine cover of the tune... Gates Of Steel

Gage

My boy Gage backing up Anthony Keidis whose getting hassled by some off duty cops... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4coSDwn4rI&w=560&h=315] Gage was the first person I met in college (if you don't count orientation, in which case it would be Trey of Mr. Bungle). The taxi dropped me off at the Jolly Giant Commons parking lot, and I lugged my shit up probably 1000 stairs to where the Redwood/Sunset dorms were. Gage was sitting there, with long black hair, a leather jacket and a Ramones shirt, looking like one of the Ramones. He turned me onto a lot of good music over the years, The Stooges being one, and the best early reggae/ska/rocksteady compilation. We had a shit ton of good times over the years, until good times turned to really bad times, but he was an inspiration to turn myself around and know that there is life beyond the madness...

Satyress - Dark Fortunes

Not sure how I know Jamie LaRose (as I've mentioned my memory is terrible...my brain holds memories like a colander holds water), but somehow she is one of my "friends" on Facebook. She resides in Portland, and I've got a few peeps there, involved in music, one way or another, so that may be the connection. This site is proof positive, I am a staunch music lover, so my interest peaked when I found out that Jamie was in a band. Not only is she in a band, but she fronts an out of this world, killer band. Once I got a chance to hear them, I was instantly a follower.  If you took the above band photo at face value, you might guess they were a stoner/doom type of outfit, but they're deeper than that.  Listening to their songs, there's variety, like there is in a deck of Tarot cards.  They can do stoner and doom, but they can also do the precisest of progressive rock, Sabbath-y psychedelic heaviness, chugging early 80's thrash and I hope I'm not stretching it too much, but there's even some European folk metal that almost delves into raw black metal.  Every song is different, not a moment of repetition to be found.  What is common throughout though is Jamie's otherworldly siren-like vocals, a guitar player that has honed his skills to razor-sharpness, a bass player whose sound weighs a septic ton, and holding it all together is a drummer that would make Bill Ward proud.  Underneath it all, as it should be under the general umbrella of rock and roll, Satyress really know how to play, to be, the blues. They're releasing their debut album, Dark Fortunes, on April 18th, that's one fucking week from today people.  If you don't believe me and the humbleness (yet serious as a fucking heart attack) that is Mustard Relics, go check out heavy hitters in the review world like The Obelisk, Terrorizer and Decibel Magazine (where you can stream all their songs). They're releasing their debut album, Dark Fortunes, on April 18th, that's one fucking week from today people...500 copies on vinyl. If you're interested you can pre-order the vinyle or get the digital at their Bandcamp or you can socialize with them on Facebook and catch up on current goings on. Here's a couple streaming for ya...the hit is "Soma" in my opinion, but every single one of their songs is well worth a listen... "Esta Noche" [audio mp3="http://mustard-relics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Satyress-Esta-Noche.mp3"][/audio] "Soma" [audio mp3="http://mustard-relics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Satyress-Soma.mp3"][/audio]