So before entire collections of weird prank calls and ‘found’ recordings were traded by the click of a mouse, they were often put on cassettes. And well, I found a gem, but for the life of me, I can’t remember its provenance to save my life.
Google “Troubadour” and this comes up
A raspy man with an effeminate voice talking about his harp and then singing. That’s the background.
I remember that Teasley and I had put this on a tape along with the (now legendary) Jackie Starr calls, but hell, that was over fifteen years ago! Now I’m left wondering "What the hell was this all about in the first place?" So yeah, chime in.
Oh! And did I mention that I met the half of team responsible for the Jackie Starr tape? And yep, sure enough, he actually WAS Jon Spencer’s sound guy. He’s got tons of ‘outtakes’ which, if I ever get around to it, I’ll post on the site. Go check that call out. It’s a stone cold classic!
Hey. This seems like one of those rare performances that you might not have heard about. Steroid Maximus, JG Thirlwell’s big band project, project is going to be playing a free show in Prospect Park this Friday as part of the Celebrate Brooklyn Festival.
Thirlwell AKA Clint Ruin is the man behind such projects as Foetus, Wiseblood, Manorexia, and probably a lot of other stuff I’m forgetting. He also composes the music for the Adult Swim show, The Venture Bros (which sounds a lot lie his Steroid Maximus stuff).
Anyway, Thirlwell will conducting a twenty piece orchestra, playing the Ectopia album and some Venture Bros stuff. It should be really cool.
Hopscotch, flying kites, family drives, & state fairs are now all forbidden. Just keeping you up on the news. We’re headed out to find a tribe of Choctaws to help Joyce pack. Appearently, she has already taken her hair back to 1985? How much acid wash clothing can fit in duffel bag?
Because Barack Obama won’t return my phone calls, I’m going to go ahead and officially declare this Melvins month. After 26 years, they’re still as prolific as they ever were. Yesterday, they released their 19th (before you correct me, I’m only counting full-lengths of new studio material) album, The Bride Screamed Murder.
It’s pretty cool. There’s been a lot of talk of this being more avant or weird or something, but I don’t know. To me, it seems like a natural progression of the albums they put out as a four-piece. I mean, there’s some totally unique stuff on it, but what Melvins album isn’t totally unique in and of itself? Its also very Alice Coopery, even for a Melvins album.
One song that seems to be polarizing fans and journalists is The Water Glass, the opening track based on military cadences. I think its great and totally works. It’s a perfect track to open with, and I really look forward to hearing it live.
Yesterday also kicked off the US (and some Canada) tour with Totimoshi (and some Isis). And a Melvins tour isn’t a tour without merch. These guys have cornered their collectors’ market. From what I’ve heard, they should have two big items with them.
The first is a split 12" with Isis containing alt versions of two songs from TBSM. The second is the long-awaited 13 disc box set that includes every album they released through Ipecac Records + Electroretard – The Crybaby in a handmade box limited to 300.
Now, I would imagine anyone willing to shell out the cash for these albums already has them. So, you’d pretty much be buying an expensive box. But it is a pretty fucking cool box.
The only live song that I have (and I think the only song ever played previously to last night) from TBSM is the cover of My Generation. It was recorded on 8-18-08 at the Drunken Unicorn. Enjoy.
I’m cleaning out my in-box and this email has been staring at me square between the eyes for six months. And well, instead of rewriting what this gentleman so eloquently states, I thought it best to just cut and paste and let his truth shine out. It should come as no surprise that Chunklet has been long-time fans and friends of 6FS for (at least) 17 years. So without further ado, from Mr. M. Thomas Davies, Toronto (who I hope will let me buy him a beer or five at NXNE next month):
-Never make fun of one of your favorite bands whilst standing next to the soundboard… Apparently, they can hear you, and when low attendance + bad weather + a show in Canada are all on the menu, it could be mistaken for "being an asshole".
-Never judge a band based on their singer’s potbelly and the new drummer’s ponytail and the fact that one of the major contributors left 10+ years ago and the band itself broke up 8+ years ago. These things, apparently, mean nothing. And expectations and preconceptions, when shattered, are a humbling experience.
-It is not a band’s job to humble your shitty attitude, you selfish prick.
-It is possible for 40 year old men to wipe the floor with a roomful of 20 year old boys.
-It is possible for 40 year old men to wipe the floor with their 20 year old selves.
-Is this band ever going to get its fucking due? Seriously, what the fuck?
Six Finger Satellite (The new milennium edition)
While Severe Exposure is a guaranteed party, Law of Ruins is a fucking masterpiece, deserving of suitcases of cash and its own exhibition wing at the Guggenheim (whatever the fuck that is) entitled "Everything Ever Good At Once With The Addition Of Things Never Heard On Record Before".
This new shit they’re on is quite good. Live, this was perhaps the best outta the three other times seeing the band in their "prime". This includes the time when sandwiched ‘tween some supremely supershitty mid-90’s indie rock bands had the entire audience backed into one corner of the room, feeling about an inch tall and as lame as an ironic tattoo. Also of note: The only band to ever hold their own on a bill against The Jesus Lizard.
I’ve included a Six Finger show from ’95 at the Paradise in Boston when they were opening for Mike Watt. Also including a brief J Ryan intv from the same era. I’m 99% sure it was all recorded by Jon Littlefield. So thank you, Jon.
Personally, I find it difficult to not speak in hyperbole when discussing the band, so I’ll just say that they were easily one of the best bands I’ve ever seen live and it was a crying shame that their performance at SXSW last year was the ONLY performance they did in Austin while far lesser bands were doing five or six. Such a crying shame.
While discussing crying shames, I’d be criminally remiss if I didn’t mention that 6FS has released a record they did ten years ago on Load (highly recommended) and a new record of new jams on Anchor Brain (also highly recommended).
Over and out.
Thee Satellite. J Ryan. I think this photo was from the Echo Lounge, ’99
All these years later, all I really remember is that it didn’t go particularly well.
Listening back to this tape fifteen years later, I’m amazed that I didn’t tape over this, but well, blame the pack rat in me.
What we’ve got here is Louisville’s own Crain at the 40 Watt in 1994. I was running late and as I walked in the doors at the club, people were saying that the band was asking for me from the stage between every song. I’m sure you, the intrepid reader, are wondering why. Well, that’s easy.
Crain @ the Capitol Theatre Backstage, Olympia cJames Bertram
I had started writing in Athens less than 18 months earlier and I pleaded to do an interview with Crain for their upcoming gig opening for Bad Brains. Yeah, Bad Brains. Anyway, I arranged the interview and talked to Jon Cook for about 20 minutes. And what happened during said interview? Nothing. Absolutely. For twenty minutes.
Now granted, I was still new at the whole interviewing business, but as time has worn on I’ve discovered that Mr. Cook is/was notorious for being sort of, well, eccentric. Some might even say "textbook Louisville". Then again, I was never much for textbooks. Wait, where was I? Oh right, Crain.
The article I wrote for Crain’s (one and only) Athens show talked exclusively about the weather in Louisville and any other topic that Jon spouted off during our brief conversation. Any attempt I made to redirect or bring us back on topic was met with utter confusion. So, well, that’s it. It’s not much of a story, but that’s the story.
Crain live
I had recently purchased a Sony hand held tape recorder to take around in Athens and was super excited to give it a crack on Crain‘s gig. I remember being so excited to see them that I just hastily hit record and stood front and center as they were saying "this is our last song" and then followed with "Is Henry here?" All these years later I’m left guessing as to why they were asking for me, but I guess the legend of it is always better than the truth, right?
I’m also including mp3s of Crain‘s two singles which are both outta print and pretty killer. I still love that period before this style of music was calculated, recalculated and recalculated again. But that’s math rock, huh?
And finally, I’ve been encoding a bunch of old tapes from back in Athens this past week and one find was yet ANOTHERCrain gig from a month after the 40 Watt gig at the Somber Reptile. I remember not being able to attend because of a work commitment the next morning so I passed my tape recorder off to (then newly acquired pal) Jerry Fuchs. Of course Jerry recorded the show and you can still hear him talking in between songs to friends. I’m including a link to this for friends of Jerry. God, it’s been six months and I still miss that fucker VERY sorely.
NOTE: Wanna check out more killer vids by other Louisville bands like Sunspring, The Enkindels and Endpoint? Click here.
So, I recently found out that Isis decided to disband a few days ago, stating:
"We’ve seen too many bands push past the point of a dignified death and we all promised one another early on in the life of the band that we would do our best to ensure ISIS would never fall victim to that syndrome."
It’s a pretty respectable reason to stop. No one wants (at least from an artistic standpoint) to become the Rolling Stones. I would say their best album was released way back in 2002, so maybe they have a point.
Either way, I always enjoy seeing them live (which hasn’t been very often the past five years or so since they moved to the other side of the country) even though they played primarily new stuff.
Anyhow, the band still has a handful of shows before they officially call it quits. I’ll be seeing them in about a month opening for The Melvins, so that should be a good sendoff. The tour starts tomorrow. If you get a chance, check it out.
This is their long out of print Live 02 album. It was recorded in Stockholm on March 19, 2003 for radio broadcast. The band notes that although this is not their best set, it’s (as of 2004 anyway) one of their best recorded sets. Enjoy.
Oh, Tom Hazelmyer. I started writing him postcards and inquiries about his record label Amphetamine Reptile from my mom’s house in Southcentral PA back in the late 80’s. Responses were always jagged, always crass, and sometimes hilarious. Most everything I was able to gather about the label was thru Your Flesh (run by Tom’s best pal Peter Davis), Conflict, Forced Exposure and Siltbreeze fanzines. The rest was anybody’s guess. And that level of mystique did nothing other than pique my interest even more.
Early AmRep gigs I saw were either in Philly at the Khyber Pass or in DC at the DC Space or 9:30 Club. Surgery, Halo of Flies, Helmet, Cows, Tar, God Bullies, Vertigo, Hammerhead, you name it. I was terrifically intimidated about meeting bands back in ’90 or ’91 (luckily I would shed that nonsense away) so I’d just stand in awe as I watched these bands perform. Shirts and records were bought. Stickers were applied to every record crate in the house. Tom’s performing and ability to snag great bands was sterling. Yeah, you could say I drank the Kool-Aid.
As time wore on, Tom continued to put out spectacular records. The Dope, Guns series was a firebrand. Rock solid AmRep package tours solidified the label’s cache. 1991? It was a heady time, for sure.
In 1996, he signed his first band from Georgia, Servotron. On their first tour I tagged along and we did a show at the First Avenue opening for Man or Astroman? Of course, the entire AmRep tribe were there and the next day I met Tom. I remember he barreled into the room, looked at me sitting on a couch and said (something to the effect of) "Didn’t you say I should be selling records at the mall?" And that was my official face-to-face introduction to Tom. AmRep began advertising in Chunklet and, as years have gone by, I still continue friendships with people that have worked at AmRep at one time or another.
In 2001, my pal Dan Schlissel notified me that Tom wanted to talk to me about a project he wanted to start working on. Shortly thereafter, Tom and I spent hours on the ol’ dog and bone discussing said project: The AmRep Book. As a fan from the early years of the label, I was both flattered and confident in knowing that I was the man for the job. Tom flew me up to Minneapolis for a few days and we sat at his bar Grumpy’s and discussed everything under the sun from the label to Peter Davis (Creature Booking/Your Flesh), Tom’s gun collection to what it was like growing up punk rock in the early 80’s. I really did enjoy my time with Tom. He’s a master grade smart ass, but you know what? He’s got the chops to back it all up. No doubt about it.
Now, I neither fancy Tom, nor myself, as people that talk a big game and not follow through. However, the AmRep book has really yet to happen. Here’s why: We can’t find a publisher. Moreover, we can’t find a publisher that’d be willing to give us a budget for me to dedicate (I’m guessing) a year of my life. So if anybody knows where we could go, consider this an open solicitation to all reading this.
So 25 years after starting AmRep, I thought it best to interview Tom about the label that has defined NOISE for at least two generations, his signature drink the Dead Nazi, his new band HOF and, awkwardly enough, his recent (no joke) 39 day coma. You started AmRep while you were a Marine in Seattle. Here it is 25 years later. Why are you celebrating the silver anniversary of what started out as a vanity label became a big indie label and is now back to being a vanity label? Do you find it a bit ironic? Actually, not ironic at all. After a decade break from being a "big indie label," when I started doing small vanity projects I realized that doing just that was far more fun than attempting to rule the world. Well, maybe one small pond in it.
I remember talking to [John] Anglim (Halo of Flies’ drummer) and he told me that Amphetamine Reptile was the finalist for the label name. Can you remember any of the other candidates that were in the running? I don’t recall thinking about it all that much. In my mind, we would be on Touch & Go, Dischord, Homestead or something soon enough and ditch the imprint. Fortunately, all listed took a pass. Their loss as they missed out on hundreds and hundreds of sold units. (ha-ha)
The AmRep logo is without a doubt one of the most distinct in the music industry. How long did you sweat over it? Was "NOISE" always incorporated in the logo even though the word itself isn’t part of the label name? Yeah, NOISE was just used as a graphic, and as a reminder that you were not likely to be getting some sensitive singer songwriter bullshit (ha-ha). I spent quite a while on it, and then sent it to the bass player in Tar who was working at a architectural print house or something and he cleaned it up and did actual typesetting for it.
Haze in Dallas, X-marks THEE spot
If you were to guess, how many t-shirts have been printed with the AmRep logo on the back? Would it be in the high five figures? Easy. We were printing tons for bands and mail order, but any band on the label could use it freely on their own on t-shirts as well.
In all the years I’ve known you, Tom, you’ve always seemed to discount your own band although Halo of Flies were easily one of the most unique bands on the label, and one that very few even ever saw perform. Does all of this stem from that midwestern modesty thing or do you really not think much of what you’ve done? Fair amount of it is midwestern modesty by far. I certainly felt more comfortable being behind the scenes than front and center stage. I don’t have the objectivity or concern to know where and why that band will/should/does fit into any overall big picture.
Although HOF shares the initials of Halo of Flies, it seems to have very little musically in common with its predecessor. Is HOF just your way of carrying your own musical legacy without having to come up with a new name? In a nutshell, yes. Didn’t want to start completely from scratch, as the last time I did that (Gear Jammer) I realized how hard it was, but at the same time not sully the old rep, and distinguish the new version. So we became SSD, er, I mean HOF.
Record collector scum. Since the label started, you clearly have contempt for them. Since that is the case, why are you so calculated in how you punish them? Do you secretly relish it? I’m a collector of many things so I certainly have a swollen collector gland, but also I think at times the music/art gets lost in the feral pursuit of objects. That’s the point where I can’t help myself from being a dick.
Like the fish that got away, were there any bands that you would’ve signed in a hot second but were snagged away? Been asked this a lot, only a few come to mind. Brainiac, Jesus Lizard, Barkmarket, Bailter Space.
Mac (Tim ‘Mac’ McLaughlin, Halos bassist, AmRep "house engineer") was to AmRep what Martin Hannett was to Factory. Agree or disagree? He was of incredible valuable service and a tremendous pain in the ass I don’t miss.
What is your take on the current musical climate? What climate? I just hear mountains of luke warm rehashed genres and sounds already done better decades ago. What the fuck, youth? Make something new, the world DOES NOT NEED 17th generation punk, post punk, emo, whatever. Give me something NEW!!!!!!
I know you’re often asked what is your favorite AmRep full length or single, but to a lay person, what ten releases would you suggest to let people understand what the label is all about? Cows "Cunning Stunts" kinda captured a bit of everything everyone was trying to achieve.
You’ve told me that the Cows were the quintessential AmRep band. If that’s the case, why aren’t they performing for the 25th? Don’t know. Some weird thing/chemistry between Kevin & Shannon that I have no grasp of. I’ve tried as have others to no avail. Strangely no one knows of any bad blood, or at least not a significant enough amount of it to have them stop from doing something. Maybe in 5 years. (ha-ha)
c Aesthetic Apparatus
We all know the line up for the 25th Anniversary, but what about bands that contacted you once you announced the line up? Folks did come out of the woodwork once it was announced but due to time constraints it couldn’t be done.
The night of the 25th Anniversary Bash, you have two bands that haven’t released a proper record on AmRep (namely White Drugs and Gay Witch Abortion) which lets me know that you’re still actively listening to new bands. What other new(ish) bands have been turning your ear? Not enough to mention, and that depresses me.
Any regrets with the label? Did you grow to fast? Sign a band you wish you didn’t? Hire somebody you wish you didn’t? All of thee above. (ha-ha)
AmRep cage match at the AmRep 25th (by weight class): Buzz vs Haze. Mark Arm vs Mike Hard. Steve Austin vs Jon Spencer. Who wins? What’s the over-under? Who will be handling the money? I’m only whoop yer ass, in public. I handle the money motherfucker. Them’s the rules.
I don’t know if you want to discuss this publicly, Tom, but you were very close to dying last year. Going into as much detail as you’d like, can you fill us in as to what happened? 39 day coma. Grand Mal seizure, meningitis, encephalitis, pulmonary embolisms, blood staph infections, and TONS more. Should’ve checked out 5 or 6 times easy peasy. I dunno, didn’t feel like it yet. Maybe next year. (ha-ha)
As somebody glancing from the outside, it seems like you’ve been going on overdrive since you’ve awakened from the coma. Would you agree? Why is that? Rehab of sorts. I was told to take it easy. Said it would take me well over a year to function normally and get past the brain damage. I’m fucking incredibly stupid.
What drink will you be thrusting into my hand at Grumpy’s? Will it be the Black Nazi? What the hell is in that thing? Do you often choose that drink just because it’s got a funny name? It’s called a DEAD NAZI, damn you journalist/writer types have crappy memories. I stick to whiskey these days.
And finally, so uh, what’s the story with the AmRep book we’ve been hearing about for the past ten years? Fuck. You tell me, dickweed.
c Jeff Kleinsmith/Patent Pending Industries (Chunklet Hearts Him!)
In addition to this incredible show on Friday. Please get ready for the panel action the next afternoon….
All The Other Panels At NXNE Are Wrong. Here’s Why. 2:30 – 3:30 pm (Saturday June 19) Regency D Great. So you just blew a week’s pay to see some lousy band and even lousier panels over a weekend in Toronto. Way to go! But fear not NXNE‘er, sit back and watch as two industry veterans with literally several years of experience between them explain why every other panelist at this conference couldn’t find their way out of a dark closet with a flash light. Do you find this is offensive? It’s probably because you are either a panelist (likely) and/or you take yourself and the music business far too seriously (very likely). There’s the distinct possibility of full-on adult nudity. For the sake of the authorities, those under 18 must be escorted by a guardian holding a box of Tim Horton’s doughnuts (for the panelists).
Moderator: Nick Flanagan (comedian/member of Brutal Knights)
Panelists: Damian Abraham (Fucked Up/Polaris Prize winner (!!!)) Henry H. Owings (Chunklet Magazine/comedy record producer/author/heckler/dog lover)
Looking forward to yet another awesome weekend in Toronto. And you know what? I think my lovely wife will be tagging along! And also you know what? X, The Stooges and Les Savy Fav are ALSO performing. Get pumped!
Prepare for your skin to crawl–this is one of those incidents wherein something you’ve long treasured manifests in the mainstream with Lovecraft-grade gruesomeness. I pre-apologize.
I was flying to NJ back in March, and on my flight they showed a movie called "Motherhood." All you need to know about this movie is its title, and the fact that it’s set in modern-day Brooklyn. With that much info alone, you can surely imagine the look and feel of the movie, and you can probably come close to guessing the storyline. I didn’t demean myself by truly watching the thing, but of course I ended up doing some slackjawed gawking for long stretches, with no audio, whenever I looked up from whatever I was reading.
At one point, I looked up at the movie, and thought that I saw something familiar–an album cover (CD). Familiar but too bizarre to be real. No fucking way, couldn’t be, not in this movie.
I forgot about it.
Well, I just now remembered that incident, and decided to Google around a bit to make sure that I had not seen what I thought I saw.
I had seen it. And good god, it is just cover-your-eyes excruciating, and do-not-reflect-upon-it embarrassing.
“We’re all in this together. Except you. You’re a dick.”
