The Fleshies Introducing the Fleshies photo: sorrystaterecords.com The Fleshies conjure up distinct memories in my brain. No, not of circle pits and skateboarding empty pools. The Fleshies remind me of the Pennsylvania country side. It’s in my long drives where I would most often consume albums in their entirety without interruptions. I knew I had always enjoyed the Fleshies (or just “Fleshies” as they used to be called), but on a 2 hour drive through the aforementioned Pennsylvania countryside I...
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Mike Watt, the Pedro man with the bass in his hand has nothing left to prove. He’s shown himself a musical man in the very sense of the word ever since the Minutemen and has been a formidable presence, with collaborations with everyone from Nels Cline, Kira Roessler, Iggy Pop, and Todd Congelliere. The man has had a career of making music, both as personal expression and as part of a greater whole. He has seen and been through so...
”arrrrrrgghh, wouldn’t you now it be international talk like a pirate day when me + my missingmen be shoving off for moe’s alley in santa cruz, ca to kick this ‘dick watt tour 2019’ off w/a gig there tonight? aye, it be.” Thus begins and ends Mike Watt’s announcement on his Instagram page that they’re going on tour. Grammatical mistake and all. This is good news… the part about them being on tour. I’ve been doing band interviews on and off since 2008, without...
WHO: SNUFF WHAT: There’s a Lot of it About WHY: Snuff will always be one of the underappreciated bands in punk rock. A shame, because they’re the band that made Fat Wreck more than just a punk label. There was a debt and silliness to them that made them both approachable and underrated, and whenever I listened to their albums I could expect something familiar, completely different, and still find something new to discover every time. Their new album is...
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More with Feeling Original Cast Recording Growing up on a tropical island in the Caribbean in the 90s has its benefits and drawbacks. The benefits are that you’re on a tropical island in the Caribbean and there’s no way your puny developing brain will be able to comprehend how good you have it for several more decades. The drawbacks (maybe?) are that, culturally, you might be a little deprived. Sure, far be it for me...
The Melvins Pinkus Abortion Technician It’s mind-boggling how such a prolific band can be so under-appreciated. Krist Novoselic of Nirvana fame has said that the Melvins are the only band left standing from the grunge-rock cacophony of the Nineties (take that, Pearl Jam), and even the new kids like Mastodon have gone on the record as saying they’re one of the greatest bands on earth. Of course, the Melvins don’t care what people say about them – they’re too busy...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the HumanWorld LP by Peter Perrett. As of 2019, saying that singer/guitarist Peter Perrett has had a storied career would be a laughable understatement. After forming (and then collapsing) Glory in 1976, Perrett formed the fantastic Only Ones in 1978 where he established one of the greatest songbooks in the history of power pop. Perrett has ridden The Only Ones, off and on, ever since then (the band has broken up and...
Mannequin Pussy Great Scott – Allston, MA – September 19, 2019 One of the joys of being an avid music listener is getting absolutely blindsided by a band you’ve never heard before. I try never to pay too much attention when listening to new music, which is a perfect way to let an album kick your ass out of nowhere. This year that album is definitely Mannequin Pussy’s Patience. It turns out I had actually heard of them before, having...
WHO: Mannequin Pussy WHAT: Patience WHY: It doesn’t happen often that a band comes out of left field to completely blow us away. As a first exposure, Patience absolutely demands the listener’s attention. In a turbulent 25 minutes, it manages to be funny, sad, emotional, desperate, furious, gentle, elaborate, and sharp. It gives you its heart of a platter and leaves you hungry for more trying to decipher how exactly did all the parts fit. The bar has been set...