Help me out folks. For some reason this band seems familiar to me. The clothes, the hairstyles, the uptempo youthful musical style reminds me of another band whose name escapes me at the moment. Let me think....Hugo is so cute, but his brother Osvaldo is sort of a bad boy. What a scamp! Pelin is so mysterious. And of course there is good natured, fun loving Caio. Sometimes I wish that boy would get a break once in a while. The Mop Tops, the tight trousers, wait a minute....There can only be one reasonable explanation.
The Beatles ripped these guys off!!!!!
Ayer. Todos mis problemos paracido muy remoto.
We Love You Shakers, Oh Yes We Do....
It makes me so angry even today. I'm a little too young to remember, but I remember my parents telling me how we waited and waited at JFK airport for our idols to show. Unfortunately, we were the only ones there. Those four copycats from Liverpool had stolen their thunder a few weeks earlier and Mania De Los Shakers died before the plane hit the runway. I still have my tiny Shaker Boots that I wore that day. Kids used to pick on me at school because of my Los Shakers lunchbox. You would think having an empire that the sun never set upon would have been enough for the Brits. But they just had to take Uruguay's greatest legacy from them. The bastards. Perhaps the CIA was involved. It's just like when they stole The Simpsons idea from Argentinian TV. No wonder they have such a beef with Brazil on that show.
El Doh!!!!
That's why we were not allowed to have Beatles albums in our home, and I had never heard of the band until I was eleven. To add further insult, the Beatles took my personal favorite Shakers song, Boleto Para Pasear, translated the lyrics into English and made it into an international hit.
But I jest. I picked up this first album of Uruguay's Shakers, and they have to be one of the greatest Beatles inspired bands. It sounds like they conjured up the spirits of the Fab Four with a Ouija board. But of course at the time, the Beatles were all alive. Except Paul, of course. He was replaced by Hugo, and no one noticed but me. And Yoko.
This a well played collection of Beatles inspired songs--it would be funnier if they weren't so good. This band was very popular, particularly in Argentina. There is even a version of I Only Want To Be With You in French. Most of the songs here are in English, which is too bad, because I like the way they sing in Spanish, there is a much greater confidence level there.Very melodious music, really nice harmony work throughout. If you are a Beatles lunatic, you probably didn't know you need this, but you do. No border fence should keep this Riodelaplatabeat music from you. Here are some more wacky photo ops.
Bigger Than Jesús?
Los Shakers are:
Hugo Fattoruso (lead guitar & vocals,harmonica,piano)
Osvaldo Fattoruso (guitar,vocals)
Roberto "Pelin" Capobianco (bass)
Carlos "Caio" Vila (drums)
Despite the Fleshtones song "The World Has Changed", at least one thing has not changed--the Fleshtones' are still rocking the garage after all these years. It's already 2010, and the dudes still abide, even putting out a Christmas album recently.
Phony Society-- We Reject Your False Values
I am very gratified to say that Raven Records has released a greatest hits of the IRS years compilation of the Fleshtones. There is all but one of the Roman Gods tracks, about half of Hexbreaker, live tracks, singles, and two songs off their Upfront Ep (wish they had the whole thing).
The Fleshtones are one of the ultimate party bands, a potent concoction of garage rock, psychedelia, surf rock, and RnB. Founded in Queens in 1976, the band helped spearhead the garage revival of the 80's, at a time when such a subgenre was considered passe by the cognescentis of good taste. But they persevered and have continued to put out a slew of releases throughout the following decades. The lineup featured front man Peter Zaremba who was also host of MTV's The Cutting Edge in the 80's. Keith Streng was the Guitar and Jan-Marek Pakulski played Bass. Gordon Spaeth was on Sax and Bill Milhizer was their drummer. From top to bottom this Cd is a blast. They are masters of this genre but not in preservationist sort of way. These guys rock out on all 25 tracks here--I think they did a great remastering job on this one.
I saw these guys 25 years ago at Irving Plaza in New York. I can't remember much about the show now but I do know I enjoyed the sloppy exuberant performance. I think they took one of the drums and did a sort of a Conga line out of the venue at the end. But I'm glad to say I saw them. They really are an extraordinary band live, which has earned them a very loyal fan base. I saw them when I was home from College on Christmas break, and they seemed like the perfect keg party band to me at the time. All these years later and after innumerable gigs they are still unbeatable.
The non-hits are all here. Most are originals though they all sound like long lost Nuggets from some obscure 60' s compilation. Let's See The Sun, What's So New (About You)?, The World Has Changed are all songs that sound older than their years. One of my favorites is The Girl From Baltimore from their first Ep. Unfortunately the comp doesn't have Cold Cold Shoes, or their cover of the Stones' Play With Fire that were also on the Ep. Of course, there are the Halloween tracks, like the raving B-movieisms of Screamin' Skull, The Dreg, the mystery beat of Shadow Line, Hexbreaker, Roman Gods, and Return To The Haunted House. It makes you want to howl.
On Super Rock! you have the stomping RnB of R.I.G.H.T.S, and a sweet take on Lee Dorsey's classic Ride Your Pony. There is the American Beat tune from the Bachelor Party soundtrack with its lengthy musical syllabus at the end. The instrumental track The Theme From "The Vindicators" completely rocks out, as does Roman Gods. New Scene is another great track, an organ drenched fuzzed out big medallion teensploitation track. "We're Young We're Cool, and We Care". The darker edged and melancholy Hope Come Back shows another side of the Fleshtones songwriting chops. I've Gotta Change My Life is another fast paced psychedelic gem, just as Right Side Of A Good Thing is infectiously uptempo soul music.
In other Fleshtone news, Raven Records, in addition to this anthology, has released a Hexbreaker/Speed Connection Live in Paris twofer Cd. In light of this develop, I wish they had just released a Romans Gods Cd with the full Upfront ep and singles. Nonetheless this is one tight collection for any fan of high octane Rock Music. If you like garage music, or are into bands like Hoodoo Gurus,Young Fresh Fellows or the Dirtbombs you can't go wrong with this.
I have not heard the the album Kudos by Surf City, a new band from New Zealand. It comes out here November 1, and I can't wait. Their first recording from 2008 (the Foghorn Leghorn gone postal eponymous Ep), was an anarchic blender whirling of The Clean, Pavement, Kaleidoscope World-era Chills, Beach Boys, Bird Nest Roys, Undertones, Jesus and Mary Chain, Animal Collective, even Sonic Youth. With my love of the classic New Zealand sound of the 80's, 30 seconds listening into this ep and it was like hitching a ride in a Flying Nun Records Time Machine. Well, to be fair, they have greatly updated the Kiwi sound for the 21st century. I have high expectations for Kudos--their ep was some of the most exciting music I've heard lately. I only wish I didn't have to wait two years for this!
So noisy, exuberant, yet so harmonious. I have no idea what they are singing about on this album, but I love every minute of this short 6 song recording. Surf City is comprised of guitarists Josh Kennedy, Davin Stoddard, drummer Logan Collins and Jamie Kennedy on bass. Headin' Inside, the opening song, is reminiscent of songs like Tally Ho! and Getting Older by the Clean with the wonderful organ and guitar treble. Dickshaker's Union is very much a distorted and alternatized version of a Chill's song like Satin Doll, or Kaleidoscope World. But all in all the influences add up to being more than a sum of their parts, as this music is absolutely brilliant.
Twenty years ago New Zealand music captured the attention of music fans around the world. The Chills, Clean, Bats, Verlaines, Bailter Space. Unfortunately, at some point it seems that people stopped paying attention to the scene there. You have to believe that there were worthwhile projects going on. I can readily attest to that. I think if Surf City's new album is any bit as good as its first, they are going to take the world by storm. Well, maybe that statement is a little excessive. I'll say this much--this band is exciting, with a lot of potential, and I think that if you give it a fair listen you will become a big fan, as I am.
Goblin Pride could be the greatest album ever. But it's too late for me. The Goblins have already taken over my home town. Save yourselves. Or maybe the best solution is to just submit to Goblin Mania and avoid annihilation. The mysterious Beau Grumpus, The Phantom Creeper, Dom Nation, Buh Zombie all do stuff and make songs. In a better world they would be filling Giants Stadium in New Jersey instead of Bon Jovi. Right now they are biding their time in the Windy City.....Like the Wyld Stallyns in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure they may just be that game changer, that wild card. I try to play their music every day, so that I can be prepared for the approaching New Goblin World Order.
They are clearly a band for the new millenium--their songs are adored by America's youth--they look to them in the same way young people idolized Bob Dylan in the 60's. The topics they address in their music touch on all the things Americans are most concerned about. The song Pride is about pride--why should we pay attention to anything else in the world. We've got our own problems, folks. Cutlass is about cars with a neat car horn solo, but there is a hidden message there regarding energy independence maybe. Giant Robot Rock N Roll is about the 2000K crisis and our nascent fear of being conquered by Robots. Selena is about the late tragic Tejano pop singer, but I think it also about the debate on immigration that is a big issue to some people in the US.
One of the highlights of this album is (The Police Are Just) Doing Their Jobs, and again there is that underlying issue again; how can we reconcile public safety with constitutional freedoms? The New Ordery tune Worst Brother Ever analyzes the complicated relationship between the Unabomber and the brother who ratted him out! I feel like I now see America's Civil War in a whole new light. Ken Burns should be ashamed. The songs are short but full of wisdom, like Haikus, or maybe Limericks. Their humanitarian side is unabashedly obvious here, I mean, have The Rolling Stones or Jay-Z written an anthem for the Special Olympics? But they aren't in the cutthroat world of Rock N Roll for accolades; they are here to teach us to be better.
One godsend are the autobiographical numbers included on this album. One look at the album and you will notice that these rock and roll superheroes keep their true identities anonymous. Who are these guys? You want to know everything there is to know about them and it eats you up in side when there is so little information available. Thankfully there are Living On Goblin Time, The Goblin Rider, and Goblin Girl to help fill in the blanks, so that we understand the unassuming men in the masks who are out keeping our streets safe so that bums like me can blog in peace. The first song makes it clear that we are Goblins. The Goblin Rider is an inside look at the fast paced world of rock icons like a sonic version of MTV's cribs. Goblin Girl uncovers the pain and frustration of being a Goblin, and is also a call for full female equality in our society.
This album may be the only thing that can save our planet from complete anarchy. Learn their lessons in the same way you have studied our American Constitution. Above is a Halloween Treat for you and your loved ones courtesy of the Boys. Below is one for the resistance.
Leatherface is in my opinion one of the great punk bands of the last 20 years. I'm listening to the mighty Mush album right now and it still makes my heart race. They were a band recommended to the high heavens by The Big Takeover and after listening to Mush once, it was clear to me that all the accolades were spot on. In the 90's, when I first heard the name of the band, I jumped to the conclusion that they must be some dark heavy metal band. Today I would probably think the name would have something to do with Botox or Jersey Shore. As far as punk bands go, I can't think of any band that represents better than these guys. I think Leatherface should have been the one to have the Punk Opera instead of Green Day.
Because Mush is one of the top 5 albums of the 90's--the passionate hoarse vocals of Frankie Stubbs, the jackhammer rhythm section of Andrew Laing and Steven Charlton, the crushing twin guitar assault of Dickie Hammond and Stubbs. They are a sonic powerhouse. The topics of the songs cover so much ground also, you pigeonhole this music at your own peril. You can call it hardcore, but even with the gruff vocals and aggressive tempo and volume, the music is incredibly infectious. It's easy to say Leatherface is Lemmy from Motorhead (or Inflammable Material era Jake Burns of SLF) fronting Husker Du, those elements are there. I would say, however, that stylistically there is something else going on here. I don't think the killer version of Message In A Bottle at the end of the Cd is at all ironic. If you back and listen to the other songs, you can hear some elements of the Police here. In the passages between verses, you can hear those twin guitars mesh together with the rhythm section and I can hear it. And it is one of the best covers you could ever hope to hear.
Frankie Say Don't Relax
The Police cover is almost like a statement of purpose for the band, just like Husker Du's reverent destruction of Eight Miles High by the Byrds. Taking the passion and raw power of punk rock and melding it with the melodious music of the 60's. And this flamethrower passion is what takes this record its relentless edge. The pace is exhausting--it beats you up. And this defiant strength runs through the whole gamut of life experience, from relationships, politics to ecology and philosophy. When you hear I Want The Moon you can hear the hunger in the bellow of his voice. In some way its like the hunger you can hear coming out of every pore of Oasis' Live Forever. But that hunger is the traditional hunger that I felt as a teenager wanting to be a rock star. Get rich, get girls, get famous, get adulation, break TV's, leave your pedestrian upbringing behind. Leatherface is more about living a good life, seeing some justice in this world, though you don't really have a lot of faith in all that. But you don't give up your ideals and personal decency, because it's the good fight.
You could say Frankie Stubbs is like an Everyman standing up to the world, but I don't think that this is accurate at all. It's a crappy insulting stereotype. When you peel back the curtain take a good hard look, it turns out that an Everyman is a somebody, with intelligence, pride, humor, strong opinions, sympathy for the downtrodden: in other words, a living breathing individual who doesn't suffer fools gladly. You may not be king of the world, but everyone's life is important, and what affects you is important, whether it is a new law passed, or a fight with your girlfriend. It's so obvious it sounds stupid when I say it. But I guess when I hear this music its like having an Avatar. You step into his shoes for a few minutes and you feel empowerment, in the same way when you hear Jake Burns sing "Everyone is Someone" in Nobody's Heroes.
But like the best bands you can hear the provenance of the music. Leatherface is from Sunderland in Northern England, and I imagine it being a bleak place, where people dreams don't get too far off the ground. If you're stuck in a place and the jobs have all gone, what is your future and how are you going to deal with all that? Bowl of Flies seems to embody this despair in a nutshell. The real capper is the blowtorch Dead Industrial Atmosphere, fury directed at a whole society and way of life gone wrong, where people are simply beaten down by work, politics, religion, hypocrisy. Sometimes political songs are so preachy, but this song is simply amazing, a masterpiece of overwhelming conviction.
The songs also turn inward and deal with personal life--it seems that internal and external life aren't that separate here. You can hear the tremendous longing hurt and loneliness in Not A Day Goes By, where you lose someone for good--they are physically distant, yet always remain in your consciousness.Yet there is also the upbeat energy of a song like Springtime, which is another highlight, where Frankie looks back and reflects on happy times. Baked Potato is a poppier number also, where he reflects on people and their idle everyday chitchat, which to him seems like a form of living death. I Don't Want To Be The One To Say It, also roils against complacency. "I would rather die than while away the time of day", he sings. Dylan Thomas said as much in his poetry. "Everything under the Sun, must be for everyone" is the egalitarian sentiment in the anthem Pandora's Box, another scorcher.
Unfortunately this album may be a little tough to get right now, but it is one of the good ones. It seems that the British label Fire Records may be releasing this shortly, but I don't have any details about when that will happen. It is available as an mp3 file. There are plenty of cheaper places to jump in like Horsebox, Dog Disco, Minx ,The Last, Stormy Petrel, or the split Cd with Hot Water Music. All worthy albums. But Mush is punk rock firing on all four cylinders and another cornerstone of a great punk rock library.
I live in a small city on the Hudson River just north of NYC. It is an area know as the Hudson Valley and in our area the Hudson River narrows dramatically, creating the only Fjordland area found in the US outside of Alaska. It is a beautiful area of New York, with the softly rounded green low lying mountains forming a natural channel for the broad majestic Hudson. We have magnificent views, and there are many boat excursions where many tourists from around the world pass by our shores. There are also some strenuous rocky hiking trails with scenic vistas on both sides of the river.
One of my friends and I used to joke that in our little town, it was Halloween every day. I do like things that way, mind you. My old barber used to discuss this issue with anyone who would listen. Often outsiders would come in for a haircut, and they would have questions. There were many theories tossed around, UFO's, LSD use in the 60's, the Nuclear Power Plant on our southern borders. It may be the legendary 1992 meteor fragment that hit the trunk of a Chevy Malibu on Wells street and is now in the Smithsonian Institute.
Maybe it's the bitter Dutch ghosts of Henry Hudson's crew, 17th century tourists to the area. Most of the World is familiar with the writings of Washington Irving--he is one of the Hudson Valley's great legacies. His home Sunnyside is a historic site in Irvington, a Village that bears his name. Even though Rip Van Winkle is set in the Catskill's, I like to imagine that I might run into some tiny drunken Dutchmen in bowling shirts while I'm out on a hike, if not in a local bar.
When I was younger I used to imagine what I would do if I was Ichabod Crane and had to fend off a Pumpkin Headed spectre on a horse. The Old Dutch Cemetery is in Tarrytown, to our South. My area is also the setting for the magnificent epic novel World's End by famed contemporary novelist T.C. Boyle which is set in both the 17th and 20th century. There are still traces of our early Dutch heritage here, most notably in place names, Cortlandt, Fishkill, Peekskill, Spuyten Duyvil, Verplanck, Da Bronx. In the 19th century my hometown was a major manufacturer of iron stoves, but the rumors that the Dutch Oven was invented here have no historical founding.
But there are phantasmagorical stories that abound, beyond ordinary human understanding. When I think of Halloween I think of the gibbous moons, brisk eldritch weather and fiendishly bright foliage of my own stomping grounds, not the sunshine, palm trees or bayous of more temperate vistas. And I honestly believe that we have a pretty fair stake as a Halloween Mecca. In Nyack, they have an annual Halloween Parade. For us it seems a little redundant. For instance, this is our High School mascot. That's right, Big Red himself.
You Will Read This Blog
You don't think its a coincidence that our high school has won so many State basketball championships, do you? Seeing professional athletes thank Jesus after victories does get a little tiring after all. How, I ask, does someone in a city of 20,000 get elected Governor or get to star in a children's television show with their own Playhouse? And all the H.P. Lovecraft tales set in my hometown have mysteriously disappeared.....
But on to my story. This is a true story, not an urban legend like the old apple with a razor blade in it bit. You can't make up things like this.
A number of years ago a couple was handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters on a Halloween evening. The wife, for some reason, took her dentures out and left them on a table near the front door. At some point in the evening, there must have been a stressful moment, when many costumed children were at the door with bags, waiting for their candy. At this hectic instant, the husband must have grabbed a bunch of candy, and in doing so also grabbed his wife's dentures. Later that evening, his wife could not find them anywhere.
The next morning the man was on the radio, gave an account of their Halloween misfortune, and urged any child who might have found dentures in his trick-or-treat bag to please return them--I think they even posted a modest reward. Obviously, buying new dentures was an expense and inconvenience they did not want to incur. I just hope that the unlucky youngster did not mistake them for candy teeth and unwisely put them in his or her mouth.
It must have been a heartwarming moment when the costumed kid came home, checked out all his loot and found such an unexpected treat. If I was going to do a Halloween version of the film A Christmas Story, I would definitely include this delightful scene. Unfortunately I never heard whether the teeth were returned to their rightful owner. Though they do say that on clear nights with a full moon in October, local citizens have seen spectral ghost teeth mysteriously and Gogolianly wandering the streets of our quaint downtown, searching vainly for their lost mistress....A frightening horror story for around the campfire, particularly if you are a dentist.
