choke action rocanrol zine 10

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ACTION ROCANROLL MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 10

KNIGHTS OF THE NEW

CRUSADE

THE KRUNCHIES THE GIZMOS PETER SELLERS THEE FINE LINES P.TRASH RECORDS

WILDEBEESTS REAL LOSERS DIE SLAUGHTERHAÜS Plus a lot of nakkid women again uff course!!

WELCOME TO ISSUE NUMBER 10 At choke media empire, we abide by the principle which dictates that we will always position ourselves systematically harvest anything of value for the sake of money, power and / or ego fulfillment.

REVIEW POLICY Basicly, we receive it, we review it. We deserve the right to ignore anything that plainly sucks rocks, we adore vinyl, and all cassettes will be smashed into tiny pieces, unless they bear the obvious markings of a demo tape. If we cover something of yours, we will send you a copy [or more likely a tearsheet] in which the review appears.

AD DEADLINES Don't even think about it, we don't do, too. For ad rates and availibility, please get in contact via email first. Those are the risks, are you the gambling type?

CONTRIBUTIONS We print whatever we like. If you want to send us something, or plan to do something, always send some examples of your “work” first. We reserve the right to edit the shit. However, please do not expect us to edit out stupidity, we leave that up to you.

BLAH BLAH BLAH If you still did not get it… this is not a real magazine. Its just a little letter for some “friends”, the money that floods our bank accounts is used solely to cover a part of the costs. Now stop reading this shit you fucker. Your favourite band still sucks!

BACKISSUES AND SHITE Please visit our website for availibility. Beside of print issues, we’ve got stuff like T-Shirts, Stickers, Buttons,..

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HECHT MINDY YEE EMPLO E OF TH MONTH

WHO’S BEHIND THOSE NUDE GIRLS BUSTIN’ OUT ALL OVER? Well, that would be a headline I want to read every day. Unfortunately I never had the pleasure of living in a word full of nude girls.

This may be the reason why we have so many pictures of nakkid girls in this issue. Why you ask? It’s the jubilee issue of this fine publication, so celebrate with us, sit back and relax, have a glass of top class wine, or [more likely] a can of warm beer, and flip through these pages filled with the latest and greatest in rocanrol[TM] music and enjoy yourself.

I'm letting you off. Arrividerci and Hasta Luego etc.

And don't forget to buy us a drink!

Yours sincerely, the gimp

CONTENTS 04 10 12 14 18 19 20 28 33 37 41 45 48

...................................... THE GIZMOS .................................... REAL LOSERS ........................................... FANZINES ............................ P.TRASH REKURDS ........... I’M JUST TELLING LIKE IT IS ............................... THE KRUNCHIES ............................... PETER SELLERS ........................... THE WILDEBEESTS ............................. THEE FINE LINES .... KNIGHTS OF THE NEW CRUSADE ...................... SEVEN INCH REVIEWS ....................... DIE SLAUGHTERHAÜS ................ OTHER REKKID REVIEWS

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WE SUGGEST TO DRINK A HEAVY RED WINE WHILE READING. OR AT LEAST SOME OTHER DRINK CONTAINING ALCOHOL AND / OR OTHER MINDBLOWING SUBSTANCES. THE STORYS AND STATEMENTS IN THIS MAGAZINE DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY REPRESENT THE OPINION OF CHOKE MEDIA EMPIRE AS SUCH. THAT WOULD BE STRANGE, DON’T YOU THINK?

O

ne or two of you might have flipped through the pages of our last issue which was dedicated to music called BUDGET ROCK™, featuring many bands who couldn't play properly, ripped off songs and recorded these songs in a way that made your ears bleed. Shortly spoken: it was a very energetic and youthful music, although a major part of the people involved have already been over the age of 25. To me, budget rock was like I imagined that the first punk bands must have been corporate rock business wayback when, you know, a bunch of retards who got nothing else to do than listening to music, have the idea to form a band, buy some instruments and amps and give it a shot. Just for the fun of it.

I think that's how THE GIZMOS started, too, they were interested in music long time before they actually started a “band”. Trained on rock monsters 4 CHOKE TEN

like Led Zed or Aerosmith, they got to listen to Detroit and NYC stuff like Velvet Underground, MC5, Dictators or Stooges and got heavily influenced by them, so in 1976, when the Ramones still were a local NYC band and Sex Pistols weren't even a rumour in the USA this group of rock critics and metal heads recorded their first EP, in a bedroom with a four track recording device, stuff that pointed into the direction where punkrock exploded some years later.

As you can easily bear in mind, it is very hard to get the original singles of THE GIZMOS, you won’t find them at any record convention or trade show, I guess you are better of at garage sales, when offsprings of total outsiders try to sell their parents crap… okay, I'm done with this intro, have fun reading this thing about THE GIZMOS, a band that should not be overlooked any longer. And be sure to buy some of their stuff.

Interview with Eddie Flowers early 2005

After the Sex Pistols, too many people just started copying instead of trying to invent their own thing.

Over here, very little is known about this group of people who did their own interpretation of punkrock, apart from cities like New York or London. Influenced by bands like MC5, DICTATORS, STOOGES, combined with the 60s garage feeling, and some standard rock combos like Led Zep and Sabbath, the GIZMOS came together in 1976, in Bloomington, Indiana, right?

Yeah, the original Gizmos happened in early 1976. Ken Highland and I were fanzine writers, so we had definite ideas already about raw music and the punk attitude. We listened to the Dictators, the Stooges, the MC5, the New York Dolls, the Flamin' Groovies, 50s rockabilly, 60s garage bands, early heavy metal. But most of the guys who ended up playing on the early Gizmos records came from different backgrounds--listening to commercial mid70s metal and prog. At the time, this didn't seem at all weird--there were very few people around who were into the kind of stripped-down rock music that Ken and I wanted to make.

How would you describe the time and musical landscape in Indiana back in these days?

Indiana was like most of the U.S. in 1976--bored and restless but unable to move away from the postWoodstock hippie boom that still defined music for most young people. I personally liked those times--before everybody cut their hair and jumped on the bandwagon.

When something did happen, it seemed very special. After the Sex Pistols, too many people just started copying instead of trying to invent their own thing.

How did you get information about "good" music? I mean, did you have any access to new records, magazines, fanzines? How did you get to know stuff like 60ties garage etc.?

Fanzines! I read teen and rock mags from the time I was 10 years old--then discovered the world of fanzines through an article in ROLLING STONE in 1970 (age 13).

That led me to Greg Shaw and his fanzine, which was still called WHO PUT THE BOMP and mainly wrote about 50s R&R. That led me to everything else! I started writing for fanzines at age 14--the first being Adny Shernoff's pre-

Dictators zine TEENAGE WASTELAND GAZETTE. Ken Highland started his own zine called ROCK ON! in early '71-some issues were printed at his high school in Brockport, New York--the 70s were so liberal! The early American punk thing really grew out of isolated people scattered around the country, sometimes with tiny groups here and there. And what tied these people together before '76/'77 was fanzines. I grew up in a small town in Alabama, and Ken Highland grew up more than a thousand miles away in upstate New York, but because we read the same fanzines and listened to the same records, we felt a strong bond as soon as we met. This was really common before the stupid localism of NYC, London, L.A., etc. became the norm among so-called punks. I started buying records in '67 (age 10), so I knew about 60s garage before there was a name for it! My first favorite band was Paul Revere & the Raiders--"Just Like Me" and "Steppin' Out" is about as good as garage-rock gets!

And I got 50s R&R from older cousins in Mississippi--so I was listening to stuff like Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Holly, Little Walter, Little Richard, etc. when I was 11 years old.

I also discovered Zappa in '67, which had a LOT to do with the fuck-you attitude that led to lots of stuff later. Zappa had a much bigger influence on kids who became the first wave of punks than most people acknowledge.

Did the folks behind THE GIZMOS also found GULCHER RECORDS? Before there was Gulcher Records, there was Gulcher magazine published by Bob Richert. The magazine started in the summer of '75. I edited the first issue, and Ken Highland also wrote for it. That first issue (#0) was filled with proto-punk stuff: MC5 on the cover, a long review of the first Dictators LP by Ken and me, Richard Meltzer writing about a wild party thrown by Handsome Dick Manitoba, Metal Mike Saunders (later Angry Samoans) writing about the Sonics, even a contribution from Lester Bangs. At the end of '75, Bob Richert heard a tape of Ken Highland playing some of his original songs, and suggested they do a record. Ken quickly started asking friends to play on the upcoming record, and that became the Gizmos. It was a pretty chaotic event--everybody who was on the record didn't even meet until we set up in the studio the night before recording.

How many issues of Gulcher Mag have been published? Did it have a proper distribution or was it rather a local zine?

CHOKE TEN 5

I think there were six issues of GULCHER. They came out from '75 to '77, if I remember right. They were tabloid format-about 30 pages long. GULCHER was distributed free in Bloomington, Indiana--and went through the mail to all the heavies of the rock press and fanzines of the time. Cub Koda of Brownsville Station ("Smokin' in the Boy's Room") became a regular columnist. By '77/'78, GULCHER was getting to a lot of record stores around the U.S. because of independent distributors popping up as punk-rock and new wave happened.

How old has Bob Richert been when he started it, and how old have you been? Did you have any experience in editing a magazine?

I was 17 when I edited the first issue, and I think Bob Richert was 25. Ken Highland was 18. He was around too. In fact, Ken lived in Bloomington for more than a year, but even though I worked on GULCHER and did the Gizmos stuff, I never really lived there. I travelled between there and my folks in Alabama.

How did you get to know people like Handsome Dick Manitoba and Metal Mike?

It was all through fanzines. I never had any communication with Handsome Dick (or Richard Blum, before the name change), but I did correspond with Adny Shernoff because I wrote for his zine. Metal Mike had written for all the mainstream mags, including ROLLING STONE, when he officially retired from rock writing in '74 at the age of 19! He had turned his back on all that stuff, but he still communicated with fanzine kids like Highland and me. It was in '74/'75 that I first heard his home cassettes of just him playing electric guitar and singing, including several songs that were later re-written for the Angry Samoans. I had written to Lester Bangs, trying to get my reviews in CREEM (didn't happen!), so I just asked him to contribute something to GULCHER. He sent us a long, long, drugged-out ramble that was pretty great--something CREEM wouldn't print. With Richard Meltzer, I just wrote and asked him to write something. Because GULCHER didn't pay, we got rejected articles and reviews, but that was cool because it was always the most outrageous shit--stuff that other mags wouldn't print. I then later asked Meltzer to do the liner notes for the 6 CHOKE TEN

Gizmos EPs. No problem. Before the deluge of 1977, most of these guys were just happy to get some recognition. I personally think all this stuff is a lot more fun when there aren't lots of scenes and morons to fuck it up. Keep it small.

Did you stay in contact with all these people (Greg Shaw, Adny Shernoff, Metal Mike,...) over all the years?

Not really, except I was pretty good friends with the Angry Samoans throughout the 80s. I still hear from Metal Mike every couple years.

Who financed GULCHER MAGAZINE? I mean, it wasn't a "proper" music magazine, how did you find enough advertising customers?

GULCHER business was done strictly by Bob Richert. He was always a good businessman, and since he distributed thousands of each issue in Bloomington, it was supported by advertising. It wasn't really a fanzine in the true sense, since it was professionally printed and did have plenty of ads.

Is it right that THE GIZMOS never ever really played live concerts apart from private parties? I’m referring to the "original" Gizmos, I heard that the Gizmos without you and Ken Highland played some shows from 1978 on.

The original Gizmos was really a studio thing. We recorded in 1976, and then split until we got back together a year later to record material that became the AMERIKA FIRST and GIZMOS WORLD TOUR EPs (released in '77 and '78). At that same time, in early 1977, the Gizmos did play two shows at a public library in Bloomington. I was sick, so didn't perform. But Ken Highland and the rest of the '77 Gizmos did do those two shows (with the great MX-80 Sound opening!). Not long after, that group of Gizmos played one more show--but without Ken Highland or me. That was in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Bizarros. Everything that came after that was done by a different group of musicians that Bob Richert also called the Gizmos--the only original member

was Ted Niemiec, and he also left the group after a few months.

With the re-releases on the wonderful Italian HATE RECORDS label, do you see a re-vitalisation of the group? Do you have offers for reunion shows?

No plans for any reunion shows of the original Gizmos.

[Note: In fact, they played some recently, for example one at Dot Dash in NYC in July and some New Years Eve shows, but of course it hasn’t been the original line up] How did you get in contact with HATE RECORDS? Didn’t any other label -- especially from the USA -show interest in releasing the old recordings?

The Hate deal was done by Bob Richert, who runs Gulcher Records, so I don't know the details. But those Hate releases came out after the CDs from Gulcher here in the U.S. The Hate vinyl releases were really an afterthought.

Did you play in other bands afterwards?

Yeah. I moved to the stupid city of Los Angeles in 1979, with the intentions of forming a band with another exGizmo, Rich Coffee. It didn't work. I fucked around for a few years, drinking lots of beer but not doing much else.

Then, in 1985, fueled by LSD, I formed Crawlspace with Keith Telligman and Allen Clark, who were also then in the Lazy Cowgirls. Twenty years later--with many different people in and out of Crawlspace--it keeps going.

Constant musical change is what I like best, so Crawlspace has gone from being (among other things) acid-punk to neo-Krautrock-Beefheart free-blues to total improv to noise to our current state of re-learning the AD-E progression that started all the trouble in the first place ("Louie Louie"!).

With your Slippy Town CDR Series, you also released something of the SCREEMIN MEE MEE'S, do you see Bruce Cole and Jon Ashline see as "partners in crime" somehow?

Yeah, I definitely see the Screamin' Mee-Mees as kindred

spirits. They're a few years older, so they started making prepunk racket even earlier, but there's definitely something about punk-rockers who grew up listening to the Stooges and the Troggs versus punk-rockers who grew up listening to the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. I also think the Mee-Mees are just one of the most special things to come out of all the post-60s insanity that you could broadly call "punk." They are so far removed from the money and politics of music that they've always been able to create music that's fun, funny, and inspired. They sound so great, but somehow make it feel like the music is just something to do while they take a break from drinkin' beer!

I don't know if many bands covered GIZMOS songs, I just know that THE PROBLEMATICS did their version of "Real Rock'n'Roll don't come from New York" on their album on Rip Off Records. Did you get some $$$ for that, or did they send you a LP or sth?

Well, "Rock & Roll Don't Come from New York" is a song by the later Gizmos, which I wasn't involved with, so I don't know about that one. But there have been a few covers. The Swedish band Sator and the Bloomington band the Walking Ruins have both covered "Kiss Of The Rat." The Slickee Boys released a live version of "Jailbait Janet," and used to perform "Mean Screen" live. There's a version of "That's Cool (I Respect You More)" on an obscure cassette release by Playette, which an MX-80 side project. Nobody in the band has ever heard it, but Brownsville Station recorded a demo of "That's Cool (I Respect You More)."

Somebody told me the Royal Pendletons did "Human Garbage Disposal," but I haven't heard it.

I saw that you sell some vintage zines on your website, but I also saw the HEAD IN A MILK BOTTLE zine there. Do you care about the zines that are coming out these days?

Buy them? Read them? Like them?

I haven't really paid attention to fanzines for ten years or so.

About the only things I see these days are from people who send me stuff or trades for sale at Slippy Town.

What kind of music are you listening to nowadays? I see you sell a lot of Noise / Avangarde / Kraut Rock CDs, as well as a huge amount of older punk singles, RocknRoll stuff, etc.

CHOKE TEN 7

I got very sick of punk-rock and garage stuff in the mid-80s.

For a long period, roughly 1986-2001, I listened to just about everything EXCEPT punk and garage. Mainly, though, it was jazz, hippie psych stuff (not garage bands), Krautrock, improv, noise, etc. By far, my favorite band of the past 20 years is Sun City Girls--still great and still going strong. But for the past three or four years, I've found myself listening to more and more rock music again. I especially love 50s R&R and blues again--but also 70s punk, 60s garage, MC5, Stooges, Velvets, early heavy metal, Byrds, James Brown, 60s/70s funk, Beach Boys, etc. Nothing modern, though. I don't have anything against the endless stream of punk and garage bands, but I've yet to hear anything very special. To me, it just sounds like stuff I've already heard thousands of times--but not nearly as good. Most of the new stuff I like still falls outside what most people consider rock music.

Today I listened to LOUD by Half Japanese and IN SEARCH OF A SONG by country singer Tom T. Hall. Shit, I even listen to socalled classical music now! I dig really early stuff, like Bach organ sounds, or "modern" composers--Erik Satie, Stravinsky, Harry Partch, and on up to minimal guys like Terry Riley. Real Gypsy music is great, and Middle-Eastern stuff, traditional and classical music from India--I really like all those snakey rhythms and deep drones. You can hear it in Celtic music too. Anyway, this could go on forever!

Please describe a typical day in the life of Eddie Flowers 2005, working days and weekends...

These days, it's pretty goddamn dull! I work for myself at home, doing graphics, running slippytown.com, and selling on eBay, so I spend most of the time with my cat, the stereo, and the TV. Crawlspace gets together two or three times a month to record and hang out--that's Greg Hajic, Joe Dean, and yours truly. I got burned out on clubbing a long time ago. I hate to admit it, but I only see a show or two a year. I can remember in 1979/1980, when I first moved to L.A., going to five or six gigs a week! I saw almost every show the Angry Samoans played in the L.A. area from '79 to '88.

Eddie, thanks so much for answering these questions!

For more information, buy the records.

VULCHER Records from Italy (Hate Records) released a good compilation of their early demos, with extensive liner notes on the backcover. Some pictures, flyers, drawings and personal stuff is on Eddie Flowers’ SLIPPYTOWN website, address see below.

Another recommendation is the “Rock n Roll don’t come from New York” CD out on Gulcher Records, containing 25 songs from 1979-1981, including the tracks of the Split LP with DOW JONES and the INDUSTRIALISTS, a lot of live and studio stuff plus a 16 page booklet.

The GIZMOS who are playing the reunion shows are the “Never Mind To Sex Pistols” line up, which is very different to the original one, and they don’t play early songs like “Muff Divin’” or “Pumpin’ it to Playboy”.

There is a radio session on The Cherry Blossom Clinic at www.wfmu.org you might wanna check out. www.slippytown.com

Real Rock’n’Roll dont come from New York 8 CHOKE TEN

THE REAL LOSERS Hey, what can I say about those guys? When we here at Choke Media Empire heard their record “Time to Lose” for the first time it nearly blew us and our ears away!” What a horrible noise” would your average mother say, but us music journalists know how to get into the song structures of the wild music played by todays teenagers! We tried but failed in the case of the Real Losers! It’s really just plain, distorted noise and we love it! You will too! I’m sure! ------------------------------------------------------------------------> START

OK, FIRST OF ALL INTRODUCE THE MIGHTY REAL LOSERS TO THE KIDS, AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU'RE DOING IN THE BAND AND WHY? I'm the Hand, they're Shake and Hotdog.

I play guitar and they do all the hard stuff. We're the real losers and it's fun being in a band!

WHAT WAS THE FIRST SONG THAT AFFECTED YOU EITHER IN A COOL OR EMBARRASSING WAY? Shake accidentally blew his load when he heard the new Elton John single in a crowded bar. I heard Dire Straights and it made me want to start a punk band WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE COMIC HERO? Shakes's the Hulk, Hotdog's is probably The Thing and mine's Arthur Mullard

afternoon reading comics and listening to records OK, I'LL TELL YOU SOME DRINKS AND YOU TELL ME THE OCCAITION YOU'RE DRINKING THEM (OR NOT DRINKING THEM) BEER Now URIN Shake has drank his own piss! he's also eaten his own shit! True!

HARD BOOZE last night with an house full of people, my head hurts!

TEA Ahh, a nice cup of tea. I drank so much tea yesterday afternoon it made me go all weird ABSINTHE last time I had this overWHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 OF ENGLISH BANDS

YOUR LOCAL FOOTBALL TEAM WAS IN TROUBLE RECENTLY, THEY'RE REAL LOSERS TOO, AREN'T THEY?

Vibrators, Boys Users Teenage Head Automatics and probably Fast Cars and Slaughter and The Dogs

Fuck football!

Football's for people who don't like

laying around on a saturday 10 CHOKE TEN

The Losers at the Horizontal Action Blackout in Chicago

I stole this pic from the Horizontal Action homepage, ay ay ay!

WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO WIN A DATE WITH THE REAL LOSERS? bring beer, that's all!

WHY DO YOU GUYS HAVE A GAL IN THE Cos she started the band! If she'd have had her own way, she'd have found two better looking guys than us retards YOU'VE JUST BEEN TO THE STATES AND CANADA, DID THEY MAKE FUN OF YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR ACCENT? DID THEY EVEN UNDERSTAND YOU? They probably didn't understand a word we were saying.

WHEN ARE YOU ON TOURING THE OLD WORLD (WE HOPE SOON!)

This one’s from their homepage

October!

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE NUDE MODEL? I don't have a favourite, I love them all equally WHAT WAS TO WORST REVIEW YOU GOT FOR YOUR DEBUT LP? We never saw a bad review of it! That's due to our musical talent! We get 'yeah, this band are kind of ok but not as good as (add so-called nme 'garage' band of the week here)'' style reviews locally. We got called 'unlistenable trash' in the local paper which we took as a compliment

TIME LOSE TO

DID YOU / YOUR LABEL ALSO SEND OUT PROMOS TO SOME OF THOSE MUSIC MAGAZINES LIKE Q, VOX, MELODY MAKER??? hahahaha! Never! Fuck all that shit.

Any band who sends stuff into those mags is a bunch of idiots. If they wanna review us, they'll have to go out and fucking buy a copy. Same goes to DJ's and fanzines. They should just fucking download our stuff for free off Soulseek and save us the postage. Eesh already!

WHEN DID YOU PUKE THE LAST TIME, AND WHY? Last night! I puked on the stairs cos someone was in the toilet puking. it was a pretty good party. When I woke up, there was still people hanging out in the front yard drinking!

WHAT ARE YOU GUYS LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Shake is listening to an album of steam trains, Hotdog Is listening to whale sounds and I'm listening to himalayan ear flute music ANY LAST LOSER SHOUT OUTS TO THE WORLD? Hey! Hey! Hey! England is shit! No music taste!

Visit the band at: www.btinternet.com/~drchapman/losers/ ---------------------------------------------Read a better interview at: www.smashintransistors.homestead.com/ ---------------------------------------------Buy their records at: Incognito Records/Soundflat/Flight13 ----------------------------------------------

The first I received after our last issue was printed was this first issue of KRANKENHAUS, a zine done by a sick girl from italy who calls herself Miss Meat.

No, she's not fat. While flipping through the pages I come to the conclusion that either they put something in the drinking water down there or Miss Meat doesn't take her medicine like the docter told her… sick writings and interviews, all about sex and violence and some serious punkrock music… featured in this cool issue are BOB LOG III, THE JABBERS, MELT BANANA, some Photographers and Filmmakers, and hey, there are even some boobs here and there. I think it is sold out by now, but I suggest you visit her site at www.missmeat.com and say hi! And don't forget to check out the videos there… www.krankenhaus.tk Next up is LARSEN from france, it's the issue number 21, and I still hate it because I cannot understand a single think… damnit. Its written in French!!! I chose Spanish as my third language in school because it was the easy way… but now I wanna at least know some words in French, just to get a glimpse of what all these frogeaters are talking aboot. And they talk a lot! This issue has stuff on the COOL JERKS, MONTESAS, THE MONOCAINES, THE BOOGALOO INVESTIGATORS, lots of soul stuff like SHARON JONES and the DAP KINGS, a very cool story about the “Ultraglide in Black” album, by the DIRTBOMBS, in which the original songs are listed and described and much much more, 82 pages all in all, PLUS a 7” single… for 5,50 eypos, unbelievable!!! As far as I am informed, this is all done by one guy, Denis, who also is in a band called SLOW SLUSHY BOYS. This zine is essential unless you don't know the idiom… www.larsen.asso.fr

PRESSURE DROP #3 is a zine featuring ska music, and it finally has evolved some kind of style. The first two issues

12 CHOKE TEN

were and eyesore but this here is okay.

Well a lot of text for my taste… okeh… the article on BILLY BRAGG is nice, the other ones were ignored cause I don't have time to read about ska bands like CLUB 99 and JAN feat UdSSR, I don't even listen their music so where is the point?

See. But that guy fredi who is responsible for this zine surely finds enough short haired guys and gals who are totally into this.

Some kids sent me old issues of a fanzine called THREE CHORDS (which are in fact more chords than I know), it looks a lot like a professional magazine and has a lot of “big” bands in it, like GOOD RIDDANCE, and a lot of hardcore bands I never heard of in my entire life. And wait, there's even some skateboard stuff and advertisements in it. That's more interesting to me than all the interviews, but still, its not like one of my fave skate/punk zines were. Mabee they take it a bit too serious, I dunno. I'm torn! I likeit in some way but each time I take a copy of THREE CORDS, I cannot find an interesting thing… hmm… its my fault. I think SHAI HULUD is a soccer player from Iran. All the others know that this is a band.

With some Promo CDs Mieschka Mayonaise alse sent me VOICE OF CULTURE # 2, a zine dedicated to Punk, Ska and Reggae music, printed and with a very clean layout (too normal maybe).

Featured in this issue are KAPITULATION B.O.N.N., D-SAILORS, TOXOPLASMA, YOUNG SOUL REBELS, and some more bands I've never heard from. Very disturbing is the review of Vanilla Ninja, one of the bands that got put together by a TV casting show, in which Mieschka is raving about them. Hm. Well, guess everyone got his own taste. TO finish this off, VOICE OF CULTURE is a nice zine, lets see what happens in future.

Somehow I got the feeling they wanna go big. www.voiceofcultur e.de HIGH HEEL SLUT #8, no surprises here, Wim Retard still likes garage punkrock and real rocknroll, and the zine still has a nasty cover…

Interviewees this time are the great LAG HOUNDS, the MANIKINS (you should definitely own at least one album of them), the HATEPINKS (who have another great album out by now, even in the US!), THE SPITS (rest in piece?),

DRUGSTOP, ALICE DONUT (didn't know they are still around… compliments!) and of course there is another part of the PUNK IN BELGIUM series called Teenage Kicks. Cool issue, a must if you wann know whats hip in garage punk rock right now. cottenier.wim@yucom.be OI THE PRINT is up with issues 15 and 16, congrats! This self titled “drinking class” fanzine is all about Street Punk and Oi Music, with a little bit Ska or RocknRoll like ROSE TATTOO or HUNNS here n there, both issues are rather thin, I think about 28 pages, the layout is not very sensational, but its okay, very clean, the pages are filled with small print and some promo shots. Issue 15 has got BUSINESS, STREET DOGS, SHARK SOUP, SKAOS, SHARK SOUP and more, the RAMONES are mentioned on the cover but all you get is some CD reviews of the Reissue Series… Issue 16 comes up with TOY DOLLS, BROILERS, KASSIERER, INTENSIFIED, TROOPERS, GG ALLIN and an odd interview with a guy who distributes Hooligan Streetwear™ and a free sticker. www.oi-music.com MOLOKO PLUS from germany has a sick release schedule, although these guys do it just aside from their real work, the issues keep coming and coming… the latest one is as always a feast for the eyes, the interviewed bands and people have something to say too, at leat most of the time, and finally they dropped the free CD that did not really make sense anyway. Okay, two or three songs were interesting for me, but the rest was either crap or so good that I already had purchased the CD anyway. Number 28 has got DEADLINE, THREE KINGS RECORDS, COCKTAIL SLIPPERS, FRONTKICK, and more, nice stories about Bonnie and Clyde, a football player called Garrincha, columns and more blah blah… essential zine. www.moloko-plus-de ROCKASS #6 Damnit! I cannot believe that they put out another issue before we do… looking at the cover, I get the feeling that they cant do no wrong, SPITS, GIRLS, MINDS, MOTO, c'mon… they cover the topnotch garage punk bands… just like we do. The have more, a DANGERHOUSE RECORDS story (yes, this is the label who released tons of bands who sounded exactly like the CLOROX GIRLS! Haha!), a quick shot on the new german sensation, the HIDDEN CHARMS, whose debut 7” out on My Ruin records contains the best 60ties garage kicks from germany since… THE ELEKTRAS (oh well, they don't even have a rekkid yet). I don't really get the SOLEA thing which is also in this issue, c'mon guys, are you going emo? Please, behave… also in this issue is a poll, a jury picked the 100 best punkrock records. SUPERCHARGER “Goes Way Out” is listed on place 62 and 98, ha! It's the only album that is listed

Am I wrong or is the number of zines out ther declining? FUCK, this is a very disturbing development, is everybody reading webzines and blogs instead? Did the punkrockers finally develop into a crowd of idiots, drinking beer and schnapps on the shores of illiteracy? Come on… stop sitting in front of your computer, reading / editing weblogs or [even worse] your myspace profile!!!! twice, which means that they have won!

Rockass -> 1 Euro. You buy rockass now, understand? rockass@web.de THOUGHTS #8: They wrote that CHOKE is a bad bad zine, and that we're doing this to get to know “important” people… haha… well, please buy this issue of THOUGHTS, and you will soon know how a frustrated emo kid feels like… I can take criticism, but only from people who know what they are talking about, so please go back to your room and continue wanking to JR EWING or PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES or whatever you think is cool, and don't bother me with your whiny letters. bschlueter77@web.de Back to some GOOD stuff, Troy from Florida sent me old issues of his PANIC ACTION zine, and they are fun! The remind me a lot of PURE FILTH, expecially the issue #1, with FM KNIVES, GREG LOWERY, PUT ONS and THE CONTROLLERS. Issue #2 is already sold out, Issue #3 has got CATHOLIC BOYS, PLASTIC LETTERS and the RADIO BEATS, as well as 2 columns… this is a fun read, a pity that its only a couple o'pages… Troy, do another issue soon! Or I'll re-read all the old PURE FILTH issues again and again… thetransfusions@yahoo.com Totally sick, graphically challenging, nihilistic mayhem from Berlin… yes, you are right, its time for another issue of ANTIEVERYTHING, its issue number 5, on 108 pages (!!!) plus poster, you get to know what Krzysztof and his Crew really hate, what kinda things they find revolutionary and which countries they've been into… plus some music. I cannot give you any info on the contents… you have to find out for yourself what this is all about… because I still don't know it yet… www.antieverything.de FANG CLUB DIGEST NUMBER FIVE This chubby kid Melvin Dundinkle sent this to me, along with the new SULTANAS single everybody is raving about. Well, I didn't have time to listen to this piece of wax yet, but what I did is reading the BOOM BOOM Fang Club zine. Its as thin as the Digest Vol IV, which was all about DIE FLYINK DUTCHMEN and BOOM BOOM [I wont write about this here because I am pretty sure Ferducci already sold all the 20 copies he did at his local Kinko's, and it is OUTDATED too!] this ish V has the the “pretty” SULTANAS on the cover, inside you find apart from the usual burlesque dancer pics, random blah blah and Boom Boom ads a interview with before mentioned girl group, a Q and A with Robert / Kissnrun Booking [old fart! 37!

Ha!] and a hilarious story about the euro tour of LES DUTCH HOMMES. Good issue. www.boom-boom.net ENPUNKT has to offer number 42 (!!! Oh, when we keep sticking to our release plan,

our issue number 42 will be out in 2039…) and its only interesting for the few of you who know german. For the price of one fukken Euro you get a thick A5 sized zine packed with travel stories, show reviews and some personal rants. empunkt@gmx.de The other side of punkrock is featured in DRACHENMAEDCHEN, another zine written in german. They got clean and chic layout, some Pop bands like DONNAS (uuuargh, I wish I had convinced them to stop making music when I met them at the Lookout Freakout in 1999) and THE GIRLS, but (attention!) the major part is taken by stories and columns which are surprisingly entertaining, no emo here sir, this is way more sarcastic and …uhm… punk! Where's the number ten, boys? www.myruin.de OI THE PRINT number 16: more skinhead and punk music featured here, I only know two bands who get an Q n A here, one is SHAM 69 and the other one's LOS GRANADIANS, ladder ones only because I'v been to a nice record shop in Madrid, Spain, which is owned by one of the musicians. There are some fun things in it too, like the a classification of skinheads. www.oi-music.com You like real RocknRoll, Punkrock, Sex and Drugs? HORIZONTAL ACTION is your bible… The got the freshest punkrock sensations the interviews are boring its basicly all about sex but they got great pictures, reviews about every cool 7” that comes out, and some nakkid girls, this time Arianna from KRANKENHAUS zine, showing off fer you. Its funny to see her in this mag cause she sent me about the same pictures one year ago… okay, FUNCTIONAL BLACKOUTS, LITTLE KILLERS, CATHOLIC BOYS, FINAL SOLUTIONS, MISTREATERS tour story…you get the direction, don't you? www.horizontalaction.com

PVC, SATANS RATS,… only 2,50 €. Get it before it's sold out. Sundaystripper@gmx.net BAM MAGAZINE has to offer: THE BRIEFS, ANDY G & THE ROLLERKINGS, THE DICTATORS, LEG HOUNDS, DEKE DICKERSON and stories on Dirtnap Records and Turbojugend, but all is written in Italian language, so that leaves me with the fabulous CD and the fine layout… bam@bam-magazine.it

Andre Pilz No Ilores, mi querida Weine nicht, mein Schatz This is a fictitious story, told from the perspective of a skinhead named Rico Steinmann. The reader comes with this guy through his every day's life, filled with hate against the totalitarian society, violence, football, alcohol and, as an important part of the plot, the love relation to a Mexican girl which causes some serious troubles with his skinhead-friends.

This book definitely did not make me comprehend this whole skinhead-thing in a better way.

It is not a history lesson, just as it is not about glorifying or criticizing the skinheadcult, it's simply a story, an illustration of the way how a skinhead thinks and acts, packed in a very thrilling plot. Maybe you should go and buy this book to get a better idea. I liked the writing style and this very rough way how certain things and situations are described without pulling any punches. A gripping and entertaining read. Available only in deutsch. Ezy. [Archiv der Jugendkulturen Verlag] ISBN 3-86546-031-3

SUNDAY STRIPPER is a new zine from Germany, and unsusual for a #1 issue, this one here is pretty good! Its damn good! It circles all around 77 punk and power pop, you get a lot of interviews and stories about bands like EPOXIES, DISTRACTION, SPITS, a great SCREAMERS history, HYMANS, a story about Derry / Northern Ireland, and much more, and thy guys even managed to include a CDR, a soundtrack for reading this zine, packed with REALLY fantastic bands / songs like SIMPPLETONES, ACTION, CHOKE TEN 13

s d r o c e r

We finally got our shit together and interviewe d one of the führers of the european garage punk scene... He is no t one of those who get wasted at shows or coll ect every piece of some “legendary” band no one ever has heard of (well actually i’m not sure about that... so am basicly pretending I that he’s not one of ‘e m) .. . an yw ay s. .. (with support of his la He is dy) putting out so much st uf f re ce nt ly does a 7” faster than ... He most of you can spell “teengenerate”, and mo of the singles are sold st out before they ever ge t reviewed in some shitty mag like this on e, and the best thing aboot it: P.TRASH releases are actually GOOD! Not to mention th at we at CHOKE MEDIA love wierdos like him, but still, we dont know the MAN behind this label... So lets wipe away any fields of vagu eness - lets see if co with our niveaus of in pe terrogation...

14 CHOKE TEN

Peter, you've got family, wife and kids, how come you started a Garage Punk Label (if this is the right term)? Why are you releasing records of bands which are unknown to everyone, except that bunch of nerds who is willing to buy everything that is limited and special…?

Good question… it all started with the SINGING DOGS 7”. One day I found the Ken Rock 7” of this band in my mailbox, and it literally blew me away, I emailed Stefan / Ken Rock the same day, and asked him for the contact address. Three weeks later I had four songs and the O.K. of the band for doing a 7”. At that time I didn't even know where to press the vinyl, or who should do the cover… it all just happened… few phone calls later everything was sorted out.

I'm a big vinyl junkie, if I like a record, I always try to contact the band and the label, and after some time I found out about so many cool bands that just deserve to have some records released… I don't care about genres, or how many or few people actually dig P.Trash releases, I release whatever I like! It was just a hobby, and my interest in doing something in the “garage punk scene”.

Did everything go its normal way from the first day on? I mean, what about setbacks like bad recordings, problems with pressing plants, GEMA / ASCAP, parcels which got lost in the mail…

Hm, no, everything was okay basicly. Okay, I had a bunch of misprinted 7”es with the MANIKINS and DAMNATION KIDS 7”es, this was a bummer, but I've put those in a box and who knows, maybe I can the sell for big money some when ha-ha… The FATALS recordings were delayed a bit, I got three different Master CDs from the band but all of them very mixed very badly, the pressing plant refused to use them. The songs would have been a bit trashier then on the actual recordings. I sent the CDR to “Die Tonmeisterei” like I did with the recordings of DAMNATION KIDS and also the new SUPERHELICOPTER LP to master the songs properly. GEMA fees? I didn't have to pay anything so far…

At the beginning the release schedule was very normal for a small label but since last year and a half you released 8-9 singles, 3 LPs and a DVD… why did this happen?

Well, the “normal” rhythm has been deranged because I lost my job as a carpenter, and with my 38 years of age they told me I'm too old to get a new job that's the current situation in Germany… Well, so I

had more time for the label, so I kind of took this opportunity, and after one year I didn't get anymore unemployment benefits, so I decided to make my hobby to my profession… and now I try to make a living of it, and to support my family.

Okay, this is an explanation for this flood of P.TRASH releases… if you really want to live off your label you have to work your ass off. What does you're apartment look like?

Tens and hundreds of boxes, records, etc…

My wife made an inheritance, a semi-detached house; two rooms of this house are the P.Trash Headquarter. One of these rooms has been my music archive… according to the rules for a record collector. This room is crammed with boxes now, really, tons of records, the second room is the “real” HQ, with a bunch of desks and tables, a MAC, Notebook,… and the new releases which should be sent out… the ones who remain will be transferred to room 1 after some weeks… When I start to stamp the labels, the whole place is a mess, and I also have to use the living room with our dining table…

I can imagine you have been attracted by this kind of music for a long period of time, so did you actually make something before you started the label, like writing for a fanzine, setting up shows, play in an own band etc…?

To be honest, I'm listening to punk rock music since 25 years now, but I never did much than listening… okay, I have been busy with my job etc, and after my daughters were born there was no room for anything else, like doing a zine or shows. Maybe this is the reason why I am traveling on the fast lane right now…

Let's talk about the records, why do you think that the FATALS 7”es get sold out so quickly? Don't you think its a little marketing effect that makes the releases of this band so rare? What is your opinion?

I don't know… hm… It's weird, I could tell you four or five other bands who are very similar to the FATALS, but instead of getting them sold to folks all over the world, they are collecting dust in my CHOKE TEN 15

mail order boxes… After THE FATALS did their self-released 7” I have been the first who wrote them to ask them if they want to do a single with me. I thought that apart from a few garage punk collectors no one would buy this kind of music. In my humble opinion the debut 7” is just fantastic!!! I bought a whole box of 7”es directly from them, to support them a little bit, I forwarded one of the copies to Nils Westphal, the SUPERHELICOPTER mastermind, he is always searching for that kind of music. Later, when I did their “Livin' in my bed” 7”, this thing got crazy, four weeks after the release date the single was sold out… A pity that most of the copies went abroad… I mean outside of Germany, like many P.Trash releases. For instance the MANIKINS “Epileptic” LP, reviewed as “milestone of garage punk”, 80% of the print run went was sold to people and mail-order in other countries than Germany… well, seems like the people here rather listen and buy what is announced and played on MTV and VIVA… Yeah, I've got the same feeling… and I'm not talking about typical mainstream radio stuff, I'm referring to bands like THE HIVES who are quite well known, but the kids who listen to their music are not interested in finding out why the HIVES sound like they do, what influenced them to write and play songs like the do etc… the kids are just interested in the CD (iPodded or downloaded…) and maybe they go for the ring tone as well, but that's it. In the USA people are even more ignorant than over here, but there are a lot of people who put their noses into dusty record boxes at record fairs, just to get hold a single they were searchin' for a long time…

I agree, I'm undeviating searching for “new” music or genres for myself, and I am totally happy when I discover something cool, but the next step is to get more of this discovery, for my mail order. Just take some time and browse through my online catalog, and you will see what I mean… and check back every week or two… there are some great records you wont get so easily over here, like all these bands from the Chicago scene I am very happy that many P.Trash bands are playing the Chicago Blackout this year!

16 CHOKE TEN

Tell us something about the daily routing at P.TRASH Records, what's the first record you are playing in the morning etc…

7 am getting up, yes, me too! My daughters have to be at school at 8 am, my spouse (S.Trash) is driving them there mostly, at this time I already switched on my Macintosh to check the emails, that's 20 to 30 each morning, which means that it takes until 2-3 hours until I finally got them answered etc, afterwards I make up some parcels and get them ready for shipping, update the website and keep emailing with bands etc…

The first record I put on my turntable today…hm... COME'N'GO (Voodoo Rhythm Records). I'm playing records all day long, records that just came in for the mail order catalog, and write some lines about them. Now and then I take some time e to listen to promos and demos of new bands, this week I got a very cool thing of a band from Canada!!! The name of the band is “Das Pussyhound” and I listened to their 8-track demo CDR over and over, about 25 times, and I right afterwards I made a deal for a full length with them… well this is one of the bands that are top notch, very similar to THE FATALS. Let's talk about this band in some months, when the LP is ready, I think some folks will think “Where does P.Trash discover all the cool bands?” , all I can say is pleas take some time and LISTEN to the demos you get sent, it's really worth spending 30 minutes of time sometimes. Okay, now it's 11:12 pm and after 15 hours of working I leave it… for today… yeah, that's the life of a guy who is running a one-man-label…

You were talking about making a “deal”, what about the business side of P.Trash, are you working with contracts or are all the agreements with bands etc based on a handshake?

Basically it's like this: I tell/write the bands how many copies of the print run they get, and I keep the emails. That's it. I haven't had any problems so far!!! The first real contract I'm doing is the one with DIGGER AND THE PUSSYCATS, for their second full length release, but that's just because Spooky Records from Australia owns

DISCOGRAPHY FULL LENGTHS FULL TRASH 001 The Manikins (Swe), Epileptic LP FULL TRASH 002 The Heartattacks, Here Comes The Heartattacks LP FULL TRASH 003 Demon's Claws, Demon's Claws LP FULL TRASH 004 Superhelicopter, Sweet Nice And Happy LP/LP+7" FULL TRASH 005 [not released yet] FULL TRASH 006 Black Time - New Vague Themes One Side LP FULL TRASH 007 The Manikins - Lie, Cheat and Steal LP FULL TRASH 008 Digger & The Pussycats, Watch Yr Back LP FULL TRASH 009 Jeffrey Novak - Southern Trash LP SEVEN INCHES P.TRASH 01 Singing Dogs, Hell Blues P.TRASH 02 The Manikins (Swe), Don't Gimme A Choice P.TRASH 03 The Damnation Kids, Runaway P.TRASH 04 Drugstop, Machine Gun P.TRASH 05 Singing Dogs, Suck The Dog P.TRASH 06 Anna & The Psychomen, My Baby Needs To Rock 'N' Roll P.TRASH 07 The Fatals, Stereo No Phonic P.TRASH 08 TJ And The Lipstix, Masquerade P.TRASH 09 Demon's Claws, Demon's Claws P.TRASH 10 The Manikins (Swe)/The Ulcers "Epileptic Love" split P.TRASH 11 Blowchunks, Hey Stupid P.TRASH 12 Shakin' Nasties, Victim Of Time P.TRASH 13 Jeffrey Novak's One Man Band, Fire In The Hole!

P.TRASH 14 Digger & The Pussycats, Card Shark Annie P.TRASH 15 John Woo - Space Fight For Anarchy P.TRASH 16 The Mistreaters - Live Like You P.TRASH 17 The Feelers - Parts And Pieces P.TRASH 18 The Manikins - The World That Once Was Ours COMPACT DISC Digital Trash 01 - The Fatals ...

Digital Trash 02 - The Heartattacks - Here Comes...

Digital Trash 03 - The Plastiques 101 Digital Trash 04 - The Manikins - Lie Cheat and Steal DVD Visual Trash 01 - The Doodle-Li Bop`s - Last Gig

the rights for the CD release.

Do you think you will stay in this genre? Don't get me wrong, of course the bands on P.Trash are diverse on a certain level, but you know, will there ever be a pop record or something similar?

You never can tell… the point is that I definitely have to like the music, maybe there will be a poppy demo in my mailbox which I totally dig, who knows??? I've already been warned by Kalle of the MANIKINS two days ago, he said the songs for the upcoming LP are … well, he said “You will have a fucking pop record with the Manikins ha-ha!” I am curious about it. Maybe the MTV / VIVA kids will like it too? Trash goes POP!!!

Okay, thanks Peter, and good luck with the next releases.

P.TRASH RECORDS www.ptrashrecords.com

Dornbuschweg 10 33649 Bielefeld Germany

CHOKE TEN 17

I’M JUST TELLING IT LIKE IT IS How many people were at the VIVE' LA AMERICAN DEATH RAY show in Munich? Twenty? Twenty-one? I'm not able to spell this band's name, and I am not able to understand what kind of music they make. I remember 15 people standing around, no one wanted to leave the place, just because the music was “art” somehow. With the exception of 4 songs, it was dead boring.

I never thought I'd be at a TOCOTRONIC ever again, but it's like … it happened okeh? In case you don't know them, they are boring band from Germany who are to blame for a lot of bad rekkids, now they got another guitar player, some bloke from the UK who looked like an a-sexual mod and is moving as fast as a sloth, and they are even more boring then ever. I emptied four beers during the first 40 minutes, and still it thought it was BORING, but I'll go to their next show, the merch girl was rrrrreet petite!!!

MONSTERS / AMOKS / another band - The Amoks (from Australia?) played way too quiet, and too long. The place was packed with about 200 rockabillys and their fat and badly tattooed girlfriends, it was too hot and it took me 20 minutes to order a beer. A very bad premise for a nice evening, but finally the 3 or 4 (?) men from Switzerland saved the evening with their version of Trash RocknRoll, Lightning Beat-Man fell off the stage, the two drummers almost had a heart attack and the girls danced like cray-zeee. Wunderbar.

!

A S S HO

HOSS

A!

DUH FLYING DUTCHMEN / THE STAGGERS - Well, wanting and having are two different things, I wanted to see them live, but having them in our club in Innsbruck, hm… to put it mildly, I was prepared for the worst, and I am sure most of you who listened to their now sold out album are on my side. I don't know what kept them together [they disbanded right after they were back in the USA], definitely not the money, I suppose they didn't make any. Maybe Robert / Kissnrun sipped something in their drinks each night, I don't know. However, the clean but very entertaining 60ties outfit THE STAGGERS opened the night and managed to get the crowd in a dance dance dance mood, later, when the horny hairy DUTCHIES entered the stage, people weren't really sure if this are just a bunch of back wood retards or the band. Well, what can I say, watching them “make music” is like going to a crazy house, unbelievable that they did play real SONGS, with MELODIES and everything. Weird things happen when you get whacke d by serious lightning - the kids went nuts!!! I never saw so many broken bottles after a show at the PMK. One day later DIE DUTCHMEN played at some stupid club in Munich, the promoter is an arse handing out 3 (!!!) drinking tickets per capu, which is exactly the amount that keep these Seattlelites in a merry pin. The show was okeh but nothing compared to the impact they had on Innsbrukkk.

MINDS / MUGWUMPS - Whut a way to end the year of 2004, one day before New Years Eve these New Wave Punkers came to our New Pmk Hideaway! I was drunk for two days straight, BEFORE the show. Really. All I can remember is what I had on mee digital photo device next day, and that my friends is not suitable for most uff you… THE MINDS were great (I think), especially the FIIEP FIIEP FIIIIIEEEP organ!!!

SOCIAL DISTORTION - An old man singing some ballads about how hard his life as punk was 20 years ago. I know better things to do than listening to this, unfortunately I got the ticket about a month in advance. All I can say is that it causes nausea seeing 2000 greasers aka colossal douche bags trying to be cooler than uhm… the other 1999.

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY Every time you turn the light on/off, a new song is going to be released with Holly Golightly's voice on it. I think. The songs are okay, seeing Miss Golightly live and in “action” was a bummer. Over one hour of narcissistic and soulless girl pop.

I liked you better when you very in THEE HEADCOATEES. DIGGER + THE PUSSYCATS Cray-zee evening in Berlin, been at this show with my girlfriend and Jared of the Black Lips, had flatulence and was piss drunk, and still I wondered how primitive and wylde these two lads from Aussieland can act on stage. They may share one brain cell, but that's a recipe for success when it comes to monotonous garage punk rock!!!!

THE ROBOCOP KRAUS New Wave Indie Rock for students who think WIR SIND HELDEN are too mainstream and “go for the REAL thing” instead uff course this was the most boring shows that have ever been plonked in front of me. Saw them 2 years before, and I liked them. Have to re-think the situation.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. I met up with Alix who doesn't like me, and Jay Reatard who didn't really like me to. I am very good at observing people, and after Jay threw beer bottles and a stool my way, and made a funny pantomime, showing me the way he wanted to cut off my penis… I finally realized that there are some bad vibes floating around us. Anywhoo… the REATARDS were great, TOKYO ELECTRON too… and the ANGRY ANGLES were quite good too, although Alix seemed to get paid for every time she was yawning…

18 CHOKE TEN

The Modern

Guide to Professional ! g n i k n i r D TODAY WIF:

AMANDA OF THE

KRUNCHIES

First of all, the usual blah blah... Why did you start a band? What was the ignition?

We started a band mostly out of sheer boredom...our general love of music was also a factor.

Do you see similarities between the visual appearance of your website and your way of playing punk rock music, very simple, basal and uhm... primitive?

Both indicate that when it comes to web design and music, we have no idea what the fuck we're doing. None whatsoever.

Why did you chose "In de winkel" as title for your 12 Incher, do you have ancestors from the Netherlands?

Our great Uncle Pim owns a winkel in the Netherlands. He sells expensive cheeses and such.

What's the most positive thing anyone said or wrote about the KRUNCHIES? Like a complete exaggeration or something like that...

-"The Krunchies are better than a blowjob from God".

How do you guys manage to get drunk and to keep it on a certain level of drunkenness, without

getting a blackout or so.

It's all about pacing yourself. It also helps to have a little something in your stomach before you start drinking, and to drink water in between alcoholic drinks.

Do you (mis)use accelerators like shot s?

Only when I'd like to get drunk fast or when my asshole friends insist on buying them for me.

What's your favorite drink to get was ted / relax, hang out?

me gas. I'll drink any Beer is good for relaxing, but gives h is too harsh for my hard liquor except for tequila, whic is gin and tonic, stomach. My favorite mixed drink doesn't really drink Kevin likes whiskey and coke, Matt much at all. think they're just What about cocktails? Do you for girls? that like flavor! I Not at all. Cocktails are for people a man drinking an wouldn't think anything of it if I saw apple martini or something. whilst Describe the best experience you had being under the influence of alcohol! dibly Hmm...any instance I had where I got incre sex when I drunk, danced my ass off at a show, had . got home and woke up feeling great - under the Are there any experiences you had proud of? influence of alcohol - you are not so es, Embarrassing stories about band mat es. selv them by stories they would never tell the in k drun ing -Well, Kevin's kind of the embarrass n Kevi s that band. There have been a handful of time pukes all has been the guy that takes his pants off, elf. No hims s over himself, or passes out and pisse specific incidents of this come to mind. got Do you remember the first time you drunk? ing Yes. I was in grade school and I was drink park. a in ds Gatorade and vodka with some frien up?

When was the last time you threw ol or This morning, actually...but it wasn't alcoh pregnancy related, thankfully. a Please tell me your way to get rid of ! cure r hangover. Your best hangove is starchy Hmmm...I usually try to eat something that some (bread, mashed potatoes), drink water, take if that up... all it puke don't I aspirins, and pray that g. happens I just spend the day cryin

THE BAR! THANKS! AND NOW, BACK TO www.criminaliq.com

Http://thekrunchies.tripod.com

CHOKE TEN 19

Many, many years ago (but not before Dick Dale was born), when this action rocanroll magazine was in it's infancy, and you stinkin' kids were still listening to ICE CUBE and MILLI VANILLI (while discovering your sexuality), we did the glorious issue numbe r five of choke fanzine, with cocaine addict LOUIS DE FUNÈS on the cover. At the end of the article dedicated to this glamorous and hyperactive actor we gave our fellow readership a small hint which celluloid superstar we wanted to write about in the upcoming issue. Yes yes, the super-smart ones even unravelled the secret and found out WHICH person it would be, just by reading four small wurds: “Next Issue: Peter Sellers?”

Well, what can I say, everyone of you may have heard of the overnight success we had with this issue number five, and if not, you can easily find out everything about it in your HISTORY BOOKS. To keep it short, it was unbelieveable! We have been invited to late night shows, various imprints wanted to hire our staff members, pop groups tried to get their piece of cake by singing about us, they even re-named songs, just to be in our wake (“Mambo Nr.5”). We were very busy at that time… so somehow we lost track… but now, exactly 5 years after our ascent into the world of top notch journalism, we picked up this idea again… and after some months of recherché and talking to witnesses of this time period, here it is… distille d information about...

The Life and Death of

PETER SELLERS As seen by the gimp

[Photo: Desmond Russel] 20 CHOKE TEN

INTRODUCTION: PAUL COYOTE The man who never was

Peter Sellers was born to well-off English family of entertainers on September 8 1925 as Richard Henry Sellers. His parents worked in his grandmother's acting company. Throughout his childhood young Peter, an only child, was spoilt since his parents' first child had died at birth. In fact they called him Peter in memory of his older brother. Although his father was protestant and hismother was Jewish, he attended catholic school. By the early forties Sellers' played the drums while touring with some jazz bands. His show business career in comedy paradoxically started during WW II: He served in the RAF (well, the Royal Air force and not the Red Army Fraction, you stupid kid...), where he met Spike Milligan and other future workmates. He became an official RAF concert entertainer and did impersonations of superiors (an experience that definitely helped him later on while shooting "Doctor Strangelove").

After returning home from war, he started to work for the BBC, where he suddenly broke into prominence with "The Goon Show" and his several voice impersonations. This show is indeed called the predecessor show of the also outrageous "Monty Python's Flying Circus". The show ran successfully from 1951 to 1960.

Simultaneously Sellers began to force a career in film, but it took him 23 films, until 1959's "I'm Alright Jack" to break into stardom as a movie actor. This film led to various star vehicle movies in the 1960s, a period that definitely saw peter Sellers in some of his best movies, showing some of his most outstanding performances.

There are quite a lot to be named: the wonderful "The Mouse That Roared" (only one of his movies, in which he plays more than one character, a proud tradition in true British comedy, also see: "Monty Python's..."), "Doctor Strangelove or: How I Learned Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (truly a work of genius by master-director Stanley Kubrick.

Again Sellers, oscar-nominated for this piece, took over three roles), "What's New

Pussycat?" (Woody Allen's debut movie), the James Bond spoof "Casino Royale" (this is rumoured to be remade as a serious Bond-movie since it was the first Bond novel

by Ian Fleming), the absolutely amazing "The Party" (Peter Sellers as Indian wannabe actor Hrundi V. Bakshi is a mustsee and this is not only a beautiful comedy, but it also works as a milestone in experimental film because most of it is improvised. The script only had about 52 pages while a usual script has about double as much...).

The role he probably is best remembered for is the one of the demented Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies by top-notch comedy director Blake Edwards (another legend, who also directed "The Party").The original and probably the best "Pink Panther" was made in 1963 with several sequels following. They even did a "Pink Panther"-movie after Clouseau (=Sellers) had died: they just recycled old footage and combined it with new material of other actors. Can you say "blasphemy"?

But Sellers could not manage to grab a hold when he reached the top and the 1970s saw him in various Grade Z-films. He claimed that he had to do them due to money problems.

CHOKE TEN 21

Most of the younger ones don't even know him, some of you might have seen his biggest commercial success, playing the character of INSPECTOR CLOSEAU in THE PINK PANTHER (and of course the four sequels, plus the posthumous collection of outtakes called “Trail of the Pink Panther”), but of course there was much more that made him one of the strangest actors in history.

Looking back at films like before the mentioned Pink Panther series, “The Party” or “There is a girl in my soup”, you might think that Sellers is just a guy who has an incredible talent in entertaining people, a simple comedian who was lucky enough to get a couple of roles in movies which turned into cash cows at the box office. The truth is - he was a lunatic, filled with paranoia, greed, envy and fury. A person you really don't want to be friends with… Some might say that this may have been the logical effect of being in the limelight for a long period of time, but in fact he was that kind of person even BEFORE he became famous blame his mother Peg… After returning home from the war (he was drafted into the British Royal Air Force, ) he pursued to get a position in the BBC but none of the auditions he took part of resulted in an engagement. Due to the fact that he was so impatient, he called up Roy Speer, producer of the BBC radio program, and posed as a popular radio star and

recommended himself to Speer. The producer was impressed with Sellers impersonation and gave him a spot on air… Later on he founded together with three others “The Goon Show”, a radio show based on comedy sketches. With this programme Sellers established himself as impressionist and after several years he had earned the exposure necessary to begin a career in film. This was the beginning of his downfall as “normal person”… He moved out of London (with his first wife ANNE HOWE and son Michael) and bought a big villa in Chipperfield.

Women, women, women...

His first movies were quite successful (including “That mouse that roared” and “Ladykillers”), but he always wanted more, wanted to go further… then he met SOPHIA LOREN, to shoot the flick “THE MILLIONAIRESS” and of course that gave him a “glimpse” of the glamour world.

Sellers lost his heart to Loren (sic!) and he began his career as philanderer. From now on he had the uncontrollable urge to “get to know” a lot of women. Loren wasn't very fond of Sellers, don't get me wrong here, they were friends and everything, but Loren didn't let him come too close. Although she was the reason why Anne Howe left Sellers (she always thought that he was messing around with Loren), there has never been any french kissing et cetera…

Later Anne said in an interview something about the relationship between her husband and the voluptuous totty from Naples: “It was total madness the way he kept blabbing to me about Sophia Loren. Total and utter madness… He'd lie in bed and say “I can feel her spirit coming into the room” and he'd spend our money on her…”

(BTW: Loren was married to Carlo Ponti, a film producer from Sicily) Just to make clear that he was totally out of mind, here is a dialogue between Peter Sellers and his business partner Wolf Mankowitz: Sellers: “I'm in love with Sophia, this is serious.

We are in love. I'm going to get together with her…”

Mankowitz: “Really? Does she want to leave Ponti? That's most unlikely…”

Sellers: “Well, she doesn't know about it yet.”

So, there was no love affair at all... that's not e

22 CHOKE TEN

GOAT’S CHEESE AND THE SHE-WOLF: SELLERS AND SOPHIA, 1969

his craziness and ugliness. He was 53 and she was 24. Frederick worked as actress, and Sellers was very impressed by her movies.

“She is a good one, that girl, and a terrific bloody actress.” The problem this relationship had was once more Sellers' behaviour. It was hot and cold, it oscillated from ardour to hatred, reconciliation and remorse and of all of his wives, Frederick surely had the most consistently terrible time. He was so jealous and full of paranoia, he was so sure that she would cheat on him that, when he worked in the UK and she was in the USA, he sent her messages signed “Your nearly ex-husband”, the next day a dozen roses would arrive because he felt sorry for what he did.

only Sellers' fault. Pierre Rouve, the producer of “The Millionairess” once said “The woman the least interested in sex that I ever met in my life is Sophia Loren.” Because she was unobtainable, Loren stayed Sellers' ideal woman.

From that point on he started to live a certain way of life, a lifestyle most of us would label as “extraordinary”. (See next chapter) He threw a lot of parties, went out a lot, spent money on booze drugs and women he lived the life of a star! And he definitely was a star, money came in faster than he could spend it, he did five films in 1964 and married the beauty BRITT EKLAND (who later co-starred with Peter Sellers in “The Bobo”, and became a Bond girl in 1974's “The man with the golden gun”) after he fell in love with her while seeing a photo of Ekland in a magazine.

With her he finally made it to the international boulevard press, and mebbe more important Peter Sellers was the first man ever on the cover of Playboy Magazine. [BTW: His daughter Victoria Sellers made was photographed - in other pose - for the April 1986 issue...] They divorced six days before Christmas in 1968, Sellers married Miranda Quarry in 1970 (she's now “Countess of Stockton”), and after another divorce, he married LYNNE FREDERICK, in the midst of

The age difference was ridiculous, she was a coquettish and lively girl, an he was an jaded old man who showers her with furs and pearls… just like the relationship between Alice Rage and Fu Manchu (played by Sellers of course) in “THE FIENDISH PLOT OF DR. FU MANCHU”: Alice says “I don't think age matters.”

Fu replies “You shall have everything your heart ever desired.”

She undresses… and he says “I'm just a feeble old man…”

Well, its horrific to think of them having sex, indeed.

Frederick was way more than a bride, Sellers needed her as mother, sister, daughter, lover and friend. Finally her duty was to boost his

CHOKE TEN 23

SELLERS [AS HRUNDI BAKSHI] AND BRITT EKLAND WATCH A PLAYBACK ON THE SET OF THE PARTY, 1967

confidence, she had no seperate emotional existence anymore. He was an emotional and physical bully, especially to women, hurtful and destructive, filled with paranoia, greed, fury and envy… a charming man huh? Well, he was an artist…

Fast cars... and more about his lifestyle...

He definitely had a car thing… It started when he was working in vaudeville (with his parents). In an interview in 1964 (at a time when he just started to get big dosh for doing films) he said that he had 60 different cars since 1948. “This chap, this car salesman in North London, opened up a showroom entirely for my benefit. I'd go to him with this mad lust for cars inside me, and see something I'd want and get it. And next day I'd be back trading it for another car.”

Sellers was also very interested in useless things, his residence in Chipperfield was full of ludicrous gimmicks. The property built in Elizabethan Style, was quickly reshaped to suit his preferences. “I have only to hear about a new electric oven with a built-in fridge, and I've got to have it”, said Sellers. There were five hundred metres of toy railroad track in his garden, swimming pools with no water in it, a giant mechanical elephant in front of the house (which had ten bedrooms and 2 garages obviously it should have been the other way round…). There has also been a small movie theatre, and of course a lot of stars and starlets were invited for weekend parties, where Peter Sellers played the grinning host, just like in THE PARTY… Although he had spent so much money on unnecessary crap, or just whooped it out, he didn't have the feeling that there is something intrinsically wrong about it.

24 CHOKE TEN

“Buying what I want is not really extravagance. If you bought what you don't need that would be extravagance. I always persuade myself that I need what I buy. I don't believe in being the richest man in the cementary. If I see some gadget car and I want it, I buy it. I have that bloody thing. I certainly haven't got a guilt complex about spending.”

Well, its just how you look at it… to me it's a wonder why he did not went bankrupt one day, waking up in the gutter with no belongings except the clothes he's wearing… I mean, excessive lifestyle, women, fancy cars, children he had to pay for… unbelievable, but he always had a pack of people around him who needed him, to make more money. They stuck up for him no matter what mood he was into…

Some kind of personality disorder...

His second wife Britt Ekland said, in the week of the funeral, “Being married to Peter was like riding a rollercoaster. One minute you were flying high, the next you were running low and I'm sure that his other wives found that too… He feared the macho-type man posed a threat to him, so he was jealous if another man even glanced my direction.”

Like mentioned before, Sellers' mother played a predominant role on his way to a socially disabled man. He grew up living in a small apartment located right above a candy shop, and of course every time he had problems or just hung loose, he went downstairs to comfort himself with chocolate and other sweets which naturally made a chubby kid out of him he spent a lot of time down there, cause he hat a lot of pressure. He was literally born into a situation where he logically has to be a great impersonator: he had to replace a lost boy, his dead brother, so he had to act like a double of his brother, who died a year BEFORE Sellers was born. He felt like he had to fulfill Peg's super-normal expectations a state of living that doomed him instandly. It hasn't even been easy for him to be at home and as a matter of fact he'd always been afraid he was not quite REAL. I mean, his parents called him PETER (which was the name of his dead brother) instead of RICHARD HENRY, his real name… can you image to be normal if you grow up like that? Betcha….

As a consequence he always wanted to be perfect as an actor. Sellers was a dog in a manger, trying to act better than any other, mainly beautiful actor on the set.

Thus lead into a mad and bizarre behaviour. For Sellers success not only meant money and women, what he really was aiming for, and what he needed the most was the admiration of professionals, of other actors, and as a not-very attractive man he needed the admiration of women…

Peter Sellers became that kind of a person who has to look into a mirror as soon as he detected one, and on top of his vanity, just before he was shooting “Prisoner of Zenda” in 1979, he underwent plastic surgery, yards of flappin' and saggin' skin were trimmed… this is why he is wearing high collars in the movie…

Director BLAKE EDWARDS was one of the few persons (aside of his psychotherapist and his manager) who could cope with him, and handle the person Peter Sellers. Not always though, but most of the time. At the zenith of his career Sellers had no moral sense, no judgement, when he didn't want to shoot a scene, he just went off the set and drove cruised around with one of his cars, or locked himself at home… It was like if he was seeing how far he could go and what he could get away with next.

Does he think he’s funny?

Of course Sellers has often been invited to parties, and he definitely followed many of this invitations, but he wasn't really what the hosts were expecting, they were always thinking he is

SULKING ON THE BALCONY , PARIS 1980

“I'm very lucky being married to a very pretty girl, but I'm very conscious of not being anything to look at. One of these handsome stars once said to me, “Jesus, I admire your acting. Let's facing, I'm just good-looking.” And I thought, just good looking! And there he was staving off all these luscious birds…”

CHOKE TEN 25

THE FELLOW IN THE BRIGHT NIGHTGOWN: SELLERS AWAITS THE INEVITABLE... 1980

going to do an act, and they were waiting for some funny sentences, but he didn't do anything… In addition to this he was a bad conversationalist, too.

“I'm a classic example of all humorists only funny when I'm working.”

I want to add one thing here, just to let you know what odd sense of humour was buried deep inside his mind: In his will he had explicitly requested that GLENN MILLER's song “In the Mood” be played for his funeral, although he deeply hated that song…

Acting or being someone?

Born with a natural talent, furthered especially by his mother, Peter Sellers had a very special way to get into a character.

After accepting a script and discussing the play with some important persons (producers, other actors, director,…) he started with the voice of his character. He always wanted to find out what the character sounds like, through the voice and the way this character is speaking, he is developing the rest of it. Sellers often did some drawings of the character, just to show them to the make up artist later on.

And then something strange happens…

“The person takes over. The man you play begins to exist. I sink myself completely into every character I play, because he has begun to live in me.”

On the set he always tried and managed to “keep the flow”. He was not only playing a role anymore, he more or less lived like the character he was supposed to play. For instance he never ate with other people, he ate alone in his room or trailer. When he was playing the Indian Dr. Kadir in “The Millionairess”, he almost became an Indian.

Sellers grew so much like an Indian that off the set real Indians would take him for one of them.

In several movies he had to play multiple characters, a quality he could fulfill more 26 CHOKE TEN

than appropriate, THE GOON SHOW was nothing else. He could slip in and out of characters with surprising speed, just look at flicks like “The Mouse that Roars”, Dr. Strangelove” or the hundreds of disguises of Inspector Clouseau. In private life he had problems… he didn't know what to do if he was asked just to be himself.

“I do not know who or what I am. There used to be a me behind the mask, but I had it surgically removed.”

Being There His last movie [aside of the two which were release posthumous] was one he wanted to do for many many years, adapted from a novel by Jerzy Kosinsky. Few weeks after the novel has been published, Kosinsky recieved a telegram by Chance the gardener, the novel’s leading character: “Available in my garden, or outside of it.” A telephone number followed, and when Kosinsky dialed it and Peter Sellers answered.

Sellers was so overwhelmed by this story that he wanted to get this film made.

As Chancer, Peter Sellers plays an illiterate and passive, simple-minded gardener who has lived his whole life on a estate of an eccentric millionaire named Jennings. His only knowledge of the "real" outside world, an encroaching innercity ghetto area, is through watching television.

When Chance's benefactor dies, he is evicted by the estate's lawyers and wanders aimlessly and helplessly into the streets of Washington, D. C. As he emerges into the outside world, he is confronted by a young urban gang, and threatens to 'turn them off' with a TV remote control channel-changer. Later in a freak accident, he is struck by a limousine owned by Eve Rand (Shirley MacLaine) and bruises his legs. She takes him to her dying, patriarchal, industrialist husband Benjamin's home for treatment from her personal physician Dr. Allenby and recuperation. During the trip, he identifies himself as "Chance...the gardener," which is incorrectly interpreted to be his full name - Chauncey Gardiner.

Chance's pronouncements and generalizations are taken to be profoundly intelligent, metaphorically deep, and wise. He becomes wealthy, is treated as a famous celebrity in the media, and becomes a political advisor for the rich and powerful, including President 'Bobby'. His new-found popularity leads to talk-show appearances, insider parties, book publisher advances, and the potential to become a presidential candidate. Wanna hear an example?

When he is asked about death, he replies: “I’ve

seen this before, it happens to old people.”

Or his line on looking out a car window: "This is just like television, only you can see much further.”

This film is more or less a forerunner to the Tom Hanks movie “Forrest Gump”, and got two Academy Award nominations.

Anne Levy, his first wife, said that for her it is difficult to watch this movie because it is toonear the truth. Sellers - like Chance the gardener - he was feeling that death was closing in on ist star.

Finally, when his life really came to an end, he organised a bonfire at his chalet in Gstaad, to burn photographs and memmorabilia, an immolation of his past.

He flew to London where he insisted on paying a visit to Golden Green Crematorium, wanting to see the ovens, where five days later his corpse would lay and be torched, accompanied by the Glenn Miller tune “In the Mood”...

[END]

CHOKE TEN 27

<----WILDEBEESTS

--> Alright kiddos, it’s garage tyme with <----

Iif you havent heard of these three lads to date, the reason is probably that the wildebeests seem to be united kingdoms best hidden secret when it comes to garage music! Hailing from the green hills of scotland these three guys really know how to combine garage-beat music with the hard hitting sound of punk! Forget about the headcoats, solarflares, buff medways and whatsoever! This is it!

But read on what these guys have to say!

The

FIRST OF ALL PLEASE TELL ALL THE KIDS THAT DON'T KNOW, WHO YOU ARE, IN WICH BANDS YOU PLAYED OR PLAY BESIDES THE WILDEBEESTS AND WHEN YOU STARTED THE LAIRDS OF THE BOSS RACKET?

Lenny: Hi kids my name's Lenny Helsing, I'm the drummer in the group, and I do some of the singing too, he he. I also play in The Thanes, guitar and vocals, and I drum for another group in Aberdeen called The Downroads, who have yet to properly release anything.

John: Kids? erm well hello... my name's John Gibbs, I play the four string guitar and do some shouty vocals occasionally. I used to be in the Kaisers (many moons ago, and before you ask...I don't know what they're up to nowadays - probably split-up but don't quote me on that) I also play double Bass with Hipbone Slim and the Knee tremblers and Bass guitar with the Masonics.

Russ: Er Russ here .. Pop Rivets, Milkshakes and Delmonas with Bruce Brand, Mick Hampshire and B Childish. Len Bright Combo with Wreckless Eric and the Mindreaders with Sexton Ming and Richard.

YOU RELEASED A 7" AND A LP ON THE NOW DEFUNCT "TEENAGE KICKS" RECORDS FROM AUGSBURG. HOW DID YOU HOOK UP WITH PETER SCHLUMP? Lenny: Hey Russ, I guess it's over to you???

John: erm... Russ?

Russ:... Do you know I can't remember. I think he approached me on the street in a hectoring sort of fashion…

Interview: chris reeky Pictures: jockhinio watson

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WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE CHILDHOOD TOY?

Lenny: A football and a pogo-stick, I knew that would come in handy in my teenage years a punk rocker.

John: A battered old 'mystery action' Dalek toy and my Dinky Thunderbird two (I still don't know where I lost that damned tiny Thunderbird Four) Russ: A record. A 78 rpm jazz number called Jada I used to take it bed with me instead of a moulinex.

HOW DO THE BEESTS CHOOSE THEIR COVER VERSIONS?

Lenny: We say I wanna do this one???or I wanna do that one.

John: Erm... well a bit of this and a bit of that... all done over a cup of tea, spilled blood and broken teeth...

Russ: liberally

YOU PLAYED SOME GIGS IN THE U.S.A. AND ON THE CONTINENT (FOR EXAMPLE FESTIVAL BEAT IN ITALY). WHAT WAS THE MOST EXCITING TOUR FOR YOU, AND WHEN ARE YOU COMING BACK OVER HERE?

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28 CHOKE TEN

<-------------------

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Lenny: I think my favourite was the USA visit, especially the gigs in San Francisco. I can't remember too much of the Festival Beat appearance???best not dwell here!

John: Well they're both different really, I think I prefer the European shows but then again the USA ones have been good as well... I reckon my favourite is still Paris (or maybe Las Vegas Grind) it really doesn't matter where they are, as long as people have a good time... as for the next time we come over – if somoeone wants us please get in touch!

<-----

------

--- Th

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******CHECK FOR AVAILIBILITY!****** CHOKE TEN 29

Russ: We have actually enjoyed all our excursions and are looking forward to Aya Napa and Ibiza HOW DOES A REGULAR REHEARSAL OF THE BEESTS LOOK LIKE?

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John: Stay in my room and find out if there really is someone who sneaks in and steals all of my left socks or whether it's just my inability to keep track of them.

Russ: Rehearse fully clothed

TELL SOME EMBARRASSING STORYS ABOUT EACH OTHER.

Lenny: Like an invisible fly party with invisible tea and cakes.

John: A bit like an Elephants graveyard... very hard to find and possibly just a figment of the imagination...

Russ: Like the back of your head IF THE WILDEBEESTS WOULD BE A FOOD, WHAT KIND OF FOOD WOULD THEY BE? Lenny: Invisible tea and cakes.

John: Scab and Matter custard (with a side portion of rabbit food for Lenny) Russ: We are the Offal of the Rock and Roll world WHAT SHOULD OUR READERS KNOW ABOUT YOUR STYLE OF ROCK'N'ROLL?

WE'VE GOT A SECTION IN OUR FANZINE CALLED "CELEBRITY HANGOVER CURES". WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING AFTER A HEAVY NIGHT OUT?

Lenny: forgetting anything and everything for awhile Russ : A swim at Portobello at 7am and a tattie scon roll with Hp sauce John : Doesn't getting a hangover involve sobering up? erm... stay drunk

From left to right:

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Lenny: That it doesn't matter if it slips in and out of fashion. As long as we play together the rumpus will continue.

John: Whackity, Thump, Twang!... erm just yer basic honest Rythmn and beat really with a bit of Punk rock thrown in liberally for good measure.

Russ: It is!

Lenny: Hey guys, woddyafinx eh should we, eh????????????????????

John: I reckon we've equally embarrassed each other at one time or another (or at least given each other a good laugh... usually involving a drink or two) but we try not to clash with each others gaffs... usually one of us each time we are away somewhere.

Russ: I taught Billy Childish how to play guitar

John gibbs, lenny helsing and russ wilkins

> -----------------

YOU RELEASED SOME STONES TRIBUTE 7"es ON NORTON REC'S UNDER VARIOUS OTHER NAMES. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? AND WHO MADE UP THE NAMES FOR THOSE BANDS?

Lenny: Billy got in touch 'cos he wanted to include our rendition of the 'Stones 'Please Go Home' that we released already on Sympathy a few years earlier??? then we all thought it'd be great to do some things using assumed names. We all made up the individual group names.

John: Yup something like that... you'll have to guess which ones are us! (I'll give a clue - not ? and the Mysterians)

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE BEESTS SONG THAT WAS WRITTEN FROM A PERSONAL EXPIERIENCE? Lenny: over to one of you two I guess!

Russ: Moosehead is all about John John: Definitely Bubblegum Fuzz because almost every line in it is a true experience by a certain pointy hatted member of our troupe!

WHAT IS THE MOST WORTHLESS INVENTION OF THE LAST 20 YEARS? Lenny: _________________ Russ: The Student John: where do you want me to start?

Alcohol free beer, vegetarian Haggis, those bloody 'orrible headless guitars, reality TV shows, those 'orrible new Mini's and volkswagon beetles... the list is endless!

WHAT WOULD THE BEESTS DO IF THEY WERE INVISIBLE FOR ONE DAY?

WHICH BANDS HAVE PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE AS A MUSICAL / VISUAL INFLUENCE FOR YOU?

Lenny: That would be telling!

Lenny: Too many to mention but The

Selected discographia: Lp’s: > sticky death molecule (teenage kicks rec’s) > go wilde in the countrye (sftri) > dimbo party (alopecia rec’s) 7”es: > hidden charms (screaming apple rec’s) > Call of the wildebeests (Corduroy rec’s) > i feel alright b/w dinoraur (teenage kicks) > just like me (sftri) > up yer pipe with.... (Sftri)

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-> --------beat /punk /rock and roll and I suppose in a way Pretty Things, The Poets, 13th Floor Elevators, Syd's Pink Floyd, Outsiders, The Zombies, The Damned, The Dovers, Eater, The Adverts, Q65, The Saints and The Beatstalkers come to mind… Russ: Link Wray, Beatles, Kinks, Led Zeppelin, The Nice, Todd Rundgren, The Damned, The Damned, ATV, Johnny Moped, Devo, Mott the Hoople, The Damned.......

John: Waaay too many... see lennys list and add Link Wray, The Kinks, The Big Three, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and The Monks to name just the icing on top of the whopping great big aural Lardy cake AS YOU ARE FROM EDINBURGH WAY UP IN THE NORTH, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE BILLY CHILDISH/ MEDWAY/LONDON SCENE?

Lenny: Well the Medway clan have got themselves pretty well kent for the last god knows how many years, and sure we all dig bits and pieces from a lot of it. The Milkshakes most obviously, and there are a lot of Billy, Bruce and Mick's other stuff too which is great to listen to. Don't know too much about any London scene, it's always been too fragmented and schizoid for me, though there have been a few groups who stand out from the many, like The Aardvarks.

Russ: I am far from any scene and I think we are as a band too. Maybe that's why we aren't touring the states all the time - we don't really fit – long may that continue.

John: Well the 'Medway scene' has always seemed to provide people with good rock' n' roll groups and it's kind of hard for me to distinguish a separation between Medway, London and the Wildebeests - we're all playing honest

I've polluted the Medway scene with Scottish blood recently by playing with the Masonics and Holly Golightlybut let's not forget that Russ was and always will be one of the originators of the Medway scene... (also let's not forget the Gruffmen, Auntie Vegetable or The Mindreaders!)

About the London scene, I don't know of that much going on really apart from the Embrooks (they're from Folkstone... do they count?) Dutronc and the Buckets WHAT ARE THE OTHER BANDS FROM EDINBURGH WORTH MENTIONING WHEN IT COMES TO GARAGE/PUNKROCK/ROCK'N'ROLL?

Lenny: In garage/punk/rock'n'roll terms there ain't too much happening of late, just the oldsters who are long dead and buried now: The Offhooks, The Stayrcase, The Rubber Dolfinarium, The Beeville Hive V, The Pterodaktyls, The Sinister Urge… even much newer faces like The Contentions have now called it a day… so really there's just the surfin' shads' sounds of Preston Pfanz & the Seaton Sands going on in that genre. Although along the road in Glasgow we have The Grease Monkeys, who I think are one of the best punk'n'roll bands to have come out of Scotland in years.

Russ: Rezillos and Richard Jobson - ha ha ha ha John: Erm I'm only aware of Preston Pfanz & the Seaton Sands... it's a shame really because a few years ago there seemed to be quite a few interesting bands stepping the boards in Edinburgh.

------------

WHEN AND WHERE CAN WE EXPECT NEW RELEASES OF THE MIGHTY WILDEBEESTS?

---<---

Lenny: Steady on old chum we ain't past it yet!!!

Russ: what happens if I touch thi..............

John: They came, They chewed cud and They released some bloody good records...

THANKS FOR THE INTERVIEW, GUYS!

---------

<--

32 CHOKE TEN

THE END!

Look at those rekkids!

-------->

----

----

ANY LAST ROARS OF THE BEESTS?

------------

Lenny: I only know that Larsen Records in France should hopefully release our long-anticipated 4th LP "Annie Get Your Gnu" sometime in 2005.

Russ: I'm doin the sleeve (sic) John: Hopefully Larsen will put out the LP quickly and we're going to record a whole load of new stuff very very soon...

--

THEE He- haw,

you

foll owe rs

of

primitive rawknroll music, here is a brand new band you possibly never heard of if you still are buried deep in yer record collecshun, counting how many HEADCOATS albums

e s n i e F Lin

you own, and bitching aboot things like why the BUFF MEDWAYS suck so bad and blah blah. Save your tens of euros (or dollars, fer you USA folks) and stop buying that olde stuff.

I admit, most of them records are okay, but better run and sup port

ban ds

who

real ly

deserve it and, more important, who defi nite ly need to be supported. So here is a new band frum Springfield, MO.

As I could gather from your biography, you played your first show on Halloween 2001, how long have you been together before, and did you play in some other bands before?

Jason: We started the band as a side-project that was going to record a 4 or 5 song EP and maybe play one show. Justin and I were in another band that broke up a few months after that so we just decided to do this in its place.

Justin: Yeah, it was never meant to be a “real” band. It was just something fun to do.

So what kind of band have you played in when you started with THEE FINE LINES? Jason: We have been in quite a few with many different kinds of rock and roll from fast punk to covering oldies to doing Ramones-based stuff. The main band we did was called Fugue, who broke up a bit after we came up with the “Thee Fine Lines” project.

Justin: Yeah, mainly punk rock.

Why is it that Trista isn't in the band anymore?

Jason: Well that is a very complicated matter! My standard answer is that we had personal and ethical differences. That way I sound like a high-ranking government official!

Justin: It was just something that had to happen.

To put it in other terms, you both didn't like her anymore

so you had to kick her out? What is she doing now?

Jason: Unfortunately that is partly true! We were a tight-knit core for many years but time seems to have changed things…

Justin: Ha! There's not really much of a reason to get into it. Things just weren't the way they should have been, so we had to do it. I don't know what she's doing now.

The new bass player, Jonathan, does he have any “past” when it comes to music and playing in bands?

Is he also sharing the vocals like Trista did?

Jason: Yes, he is a well-established musician in the fine tradition of all things musical, despite our attempt to make him otherwise! And yeah he sings some, too!

Justin: He's singing all the backups, but he probably won't do any lead vocals.

Do you think the band is going in a different direction, now that the female vocal part is history?

Jason: Not at all. Justin wrote most of the stuff anyway and we continue to rock on!

Justin: The music's the same as it always has been. The only difference is that she won't be singing any songs.

You released the first 7” on Wee Rock Records a label that is totally unknown to me. Is it “just” a at

REMEMBER WHAT GARAGE ROCK SOUNDED LIKE BEFORE EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN WAS CALLED “GARAGE ROCK”???

CHOKE TEN 33

..

FILE UNDER: THE HEADCOATS MEET THEE HEADCOATEES. label that features a lot of local bands? How did you hook up with them?

Jason: Justin and I have been doing Wee Rock Records since 1995. For the most part we have put out our own bands and lots of local bands. Over the past couple of years there have not been many local bands that we are into so we have branched out with some bands, though still rooted in the midwest of the United States, including The Jet Set, The Itch and The Jim-Jims.

Oh, I didn't know that you are the one's behind WEE ROCK… You release a lot of CDRs of bands from your area, which is a cheap way of promoting bands and giving them a little bit of buzz. On the other side, you also released a bunch of 7” singles.

Which is more or less a money dump… I mean, breaking even is extremely difficult with vinyl singles... what are your experiences?

Jason: That pretty much sums it up! We did help with the Jet Set full length CD but things were a bit goofy with that one. We might get around to doing real promotion and CDs one of these days! Maybe there will be a glorious day when we can release a fulllength vinyl LP! Justin: We just like music, so we help any bands we like that want or need help. We don't make any money

from it, and that's completely fine with us!

Who is running LICORICE TREE Records then? Your album is the first ever release on this Austin / Texas based label, you must have mad quite an impression on those guys…

Jason: Licorice Tree is run by Chad and Julie. They are the nicest people in the all of Austin and quite probably the world!

Justin: Chad contacted us out of the blue and asked us if we'd want to put out a full-length on his label. He'd heard our stuff on WFMU and he'd also heard our 7” records. I'm glad he liked us, cause it's turned out to be a great relationship!

Do you play live a lot? And more important, do you wear those striped t-shirts all the time?

Jason: Yeah we play quite a bit. I work a day job so mostly we do weekend shows. We try to do 3 or 4 days at a time around the midwest when we can. We toured the east coast in the summer of 2003 and the west coast just this past fall. As for the stripes, we do wear them most of the time, though not all the time. We just do whatever feels right for that show!

Have you ever planned to come to Europe?

Jason: yes. We had discussed a tour centered around Germany with a band from here called The Itch but things fell through so we did the west coast tour instead. We have had some recent discussion with the Jet Set abour a UK/Europe tour next summer, but who know what will happen!

When reading to (mostly) very positive reviews of your debut CD out on Licorice Tree Records, are you happy with the comparisons the reviews are making, or do you often think “nah… that's not like us!”???

Jason: It is great how most of the reviews have been good! We started the band mostly because we really loved Billy Childish and his projects and wanted to do something similar. That is obvious! However, since we never planned on being a “real” band we never thought of how reviewers might compare us to him or Thee Headcoats. For myself, I think its an obvious and flattering comparison, but one that as we have progressed with the band is less true. Many of our early songs were purely based off of Childish-inspired stuff, but over the last year and a half, there are fewer and fewer songs that are that direct. But really, does “Louie Louie” ever get old? I think not!

Justin: Most comparisons are good. Some reviewers like to mention that our songs are rip-offs of other songs. It's completely true that some of our songs are total rip-offs, but most of the time they just have the same kind of feel as the other stuff. If people think our songs sound familiar, I guess we're doing something right.

Yes of course, if you decide on playing some kind of Garage Punkrock (or whatever it is called…) styled music, it is obvious that you cannot re-invent the wheel. And I guess most of the bands don't even want to… Your album has

34 CHOKE TEN

been recorded in 2003, now we've 2005, did the sound of THEE FINE LINES develop in any kind?

Jason: If so it wasn't on purpose! It kinda just happens and is hard to judge when you are part of the band.

Justin: Yeah, we haven't changed on purpose, but we probably have changed. You can't help it.

What about new recordings, you recorded a christmas song? No other plans?

Jason: Actually yesterday and today we finished recording a version of “I Want You” (by the Troggs) for a compilation coming out on Illbilly Records sometime later this year. We also have plans for another 7” to be recorded soon and (most likely) out on Licorice Tree!

Justin: The christmas song was just something I thought would be fun to do. I wrote it one night and we recorded it a few days later in two takes.

Unless someone asks us to be on a christmas compilation, it'll probably never find proper release on vinyl. I'm definitely excited about putting out another 7” record, though! Hopefully that'll be soon!

What are you guys doing when you're not playing in a bar in front of 20 people who would be there anyway?

Jason: Working diligently to help the lives of children and taking care of my own son, Avery!

Justin: Eating too many Reese's Pieces!

[END]

P.O. Box 333 - Springfield, MO 65801 - www.weerockrecords.com CHOKE TEN 35

PROLOGUE: Yeah yeah yeah, this band is a JOKE. And if you don’t get it, throw away this magazine cause in that case you haven’t gotten the fukken point. Buy some emo mag instead, with THOUGHTS and OBJECTIVE JOURNALISM and whatnot. Here is choke media territory, so keep your tongue in cheek and read on.

KNIGHTS CRUSADE OF THE NEW

The KNIGHTS OF THE NEW CRUSADE - or KOTNC - are an assembly of old men who played in other “important” bands before, now they are sick of their odd jobs and - ACHTUNG! - they disguise, drink way too much red wine and whilst being DRUNK they wrote about 100 hits. With this slew of dance tunes under their belts / helmets they began giggin inthe bay area in S.F., local hipsters saw them and brought the message to europe and uff course the garage rock scene (okay, all 30 people) immediately caught fire... And the rest is history? Nope, 12 or 13 of them hits can be found on a longplayer released by SCREAMING APPLE in Germany, and although the cover artwork is bad bad bad, this piece of plastic is already a classic (fuck, that rhymed?).

I wallow in knowledge that there are thousands of garage rock enthusiasts who hold subscriptions of this magazine to get the latest in guidance and inspiration. Well, here is the first interview of the KOTNC in the olde world!!!

[Most photos by Elliott Warren - at a Dot Dash show]

CHOKE TEN 37

My God Is Alive... ...Sorry About Yours!

THE GIMP’S UNVARNISHED INTERVIEW WITH MIKE 1 Your debut record is out since half a year, and the press over here did not write a single line about it. Don't you think it would be better to spend some money on PR to get some media coverage, than getting these expensive live costumes and wardrobe?

Ha! Our costumes weren't expensive, although they cost more than Scoop (Mike 2)'s bass! We wouldn't know where to spend PR money even if we had some to spend. And even if we wanted PR money, God doesn't always give you what you want: just what you NEED.

First of all, I don't want to ask you why you do this band or who is responsible for the ignition… our readers are aware of the power who is leading this project. What I want to know is who decided to take the genre of „garage music“ as vehicle to convert folks all over the earth to Christianity? As you most likely know, the so called garage music scene is a very small one. Why are the Knights of the new Crusade not a Hip Hop or R&B band?

Garage rock, punk rock, rock and roll, whatever you call it, is what we like to play. We like other kinds of music, of course, but when we try to play R&B it still comes out rock and roll. The CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) scene leaves us kind of cold: we haven't heard any bands from it that interest us musically, and there seem to be a lot of "career" musicians involved, which is fine if that's what they want to do, but opens the door to all sorts of compromise (bands toning down the "Jesus references" when they get signed to bigger labels). It's a matter of their own consciences, of course, as to how much they want to render unto Caesar and how much to God. We know how we feel.

How did you find your fellows, did you know each member before the band was founded or was the idea of bringing up the Knights of the new Crusade first, and then you put a flyer on the blackboard of local churches and rectories searching for band members?

We attended the same church in Bakersfield (the father of Zeke, our original drummer, was the minister there). We played in the garage (literally) for several years before being inspired to write about the things that were most important to us. As I said, the CCM scene wasn't really an inspiration: we were more influenced by rocking gospel like Rev. Louis Overstreet, Brother Claude Ely and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

38 CHOKE TEN

I don't know much about the Knights of the Crusade, but have they been priests and pastors, living in celibate? Are you also living with this burden?

Catholic priests can't marry, but there are many branches of Protestantism that allow ministers to marry. We don't believe in pre-marital sex, but that's an unimportant issue. We frequently get people asking facetiously if they're going to Hell because they do this or that. The Bible is clear: we are ALL sinners and have ALL fallen short in the eyes of the Lord. The only thing that saves is TRULY accepting his love, which removes the desire to sin. But you don't get saved simply by not sinning, even if it were possible for humans: that's putting the cart before the horse.

You played Stinky's Peepshow some weeks ago, did you feel comfortable there? What feelings did you have when you entered the stage? Has it been a successful show?

It was a successful show, although there were some mishaps. A drunk woman cut her hand when she grabbed my sword. After the show I went to make sure she was alright and she said ck

that she didn't think the sword was real, even though she'd seen me stick it into the stage. This is the problem with alcohol and drugs: it impairs judgement and lowers the resistance to temptation and other foolish actions. But we feel it's important to play places where regular people are and expose the message of the Gospel to people who may not have ever really heard it or are maybe ready to really hear it.

Later this year (or more likely next spring...) you will also visit the old world, to you think you will have enough time to travel to the places who were so important for the Christian Church, when they evolved from the underground, places like the catacombs in rome, or the massive amount of monasteries in Spain, Lourdes, the Vatican,â&#x20AC;Ś ? Did you inform your booking agent about it?

I like sightseeing, but I'm more concerned with people and their souls than with relics. Even some Protestants get caught up in Holy Things, which are still just Things. Sometimes people seem so caught up that it's almost like pagan idolatry. The original Crusades failed because it became an excuse to grab land and wealth. Our New Crusade is about souls and spiritual warfare. As William Blake said, there are evildoers who want to depress mental and prolong corporeal war." We are against violence and for the war of ideas, because we know Jesus will win!

You are pointing out the non-violence aspect of your band, so why do you take swords on stage, is it because you want to be as close to the original Crusaders in the visual appearance, or do you use it as show element.

The sword is for show, of course: originally, it was just a prop for the photos, but after the album came out people kept asking where the sword was so I started using it on stage. I've had to explain to people (especially some other Christian bands) that the sword

Bible and a represents spiritual warfare: even though the e peopl of lot a hor, metap al lot of hymns use marti I wonder it. with time hard a have (including Christians) -34!

10:33 ew Matth with time if they have a hrad in front of When touring Europe, you will be playing your fine men and women who don't really speak onto age mess your fer trans you will How language. them? barriers.

The Holy Spirit overcomes any and all language side. safe the I'm also learning Esperanto, just to be on agent? I Why did you chose Kissnrun Booking as your not is he on met him several times, and in my opini only ng hippi wors believing in any kind of god, he is one thing: MONEY. don't want He offered, of course! But it's also true that we ct intera only we e wher to insulate ourselves in a world get to able be won't we wise with other saved people, other it need who e peopl the to out l The Message of the Gospe the most! arital You mentioned that you don't believe in pre-m lity, sexua of s form other t sex, what abou masturbation, unchastity in mind, etc. for Sex is unfortunately one of Satan's greatest tricks

CHOKE TEN 39

leading people astray. That said, it's also unproductive to get sidetracked into ranking sins: in fact, it can easily lead one to make excuses for one's own sins instead of recognizing them and asking forgiveness (as with the Pharisee that Jesus warned us to not be like).

You are living near San Francisco, right? This city is known as a stronghold of homosexuality. Did you ever have problems playing this city, with your hardliner mentality concerning sex?

In the same vein, homosexuality is not a "worse" sin than other lusts: they are all sins and we are all sinners who have fallen short in the eyes of God. It's not for humans to condemn other humans, although it is the duty of Christians to try to help people to find Jesus. If Jesus is in your heart, you don't want to do the wrong things anymore. We probably have gay and ex-gay fans, but we don't make homosexuality a special focus of our ministry.

Which one of the KNIGHTS OF THE NEW CRUSADE is the weakest part of the chain, who is in danger to fall down to become a sinner, and what would be the reason therefore, wine, women or gambling?

It's all too easy to convince oneself that other people are more prone to temptation, but that's acting like a Pharisee (and we know what Jesus thought of them!).

We never know what temptations are going to lie in our path, that's for sure. All we can do is pray for strength to resist.

The humans are a very depraved and wicked species. All of us have their vices… some are smaller, some are inexcusable. Which is your biggest vice?

Doubt.

Beside of bands from the CCM, or old hymns and sacred music, which songs are on your play list, which bands can you recommend, which bands should get some more attention?

THE PILGRIMS (British 60s Beat band: great comp CD out called Telling Youth the Truth)! A lot of the stuff we're into (Sonics, Back From the Grave) gets attention, but it should get a lot more: those should be million sellers!

ALL HEPPED UP ON THEE LORD John plays guitar like no one's ever played it before. In fact, he plays it like he's never even played it before! His favorite Gospel is Matthew and his favorite book of the OT is Ecclesiastes.

Mike1 "sings" and sometimes hits random keys on an organ if there's one laying around. His favorite Gospel is Matthew, favorite OT book is Genesis.

Mike2 plays bass when he remembers to bring it. He also sings "Dangers of Dating," the only ballad on the album. His favorite Gospel is John, his favorite OT book is Proverbs.

Zeke breaks sticks and even hits the drum heads when he's paying attention. He can't pick a fave Gospel "because they're all good," but he has a favorite OT book. It was also his parents' favorite, which they named him for: Ezekiel!

Which band originally wrote the song you recorded as “Secret Sign”? Nutley Brass?

The Sea Monkeys. I picked up their CD in the budget bin of Bakersfield's only used record/CD store. It originally made fun of the Freemasons (I don't have strong feelings about the Masons one way or the other), but it was a killer song and we started playing with it and got the idea for making it about Roman times.

Thanks for everything. May the lord be with you.

So kids, that’s about it... for now. I’m pretty sure we will hear more about the KNIGHTS soon, mebbe they even come over to Europe, you never know.

40 CHOKE TEN

I’M SORRY GLENDA! NO SEX TODAY! I REALLY HAVE TO FINISH THESE

7 INCH RECORD

REVIEWS NOW!!!

BLOODSHOT BILL | Lonely nights One-man-band invasion part 87!!! Or so!!! Well, Bloodshot Bill plays Drums and Guitar and is hoopin' and hollering over very 50s influenced songs, just like BBQ and John Schooley, maybe even a little bit trashier and hillbilly than before mentioned guys. I hope I get to see him live once. Squoodge.

BUSY SIGNALS | Love and Dust This is another fantastic release on Douchemaster, the BUSY SIGNALS, some kinda all star band if you leave the fact aside that they're no stars of course, but anyhoooo they play in bands like KRUNCHIES, CARBONAS and TYRADES. Fast Punk rock with some old power pop / new wave thing as well, unbelievable catchy and breath-tay-king!!! Really! Heard the first press is sold out, be sure to bug them to do another! Douchemaster.

3 DELICIAS | Way to gloom Totally awesome band from Spain [Madrid?], noisy and uncomfortable punk rock, two guitars and one drummer, very driving and monotonous, reminding me of old punk rock like GUN CLUB and maybe even SWELL MAPS, only harder and rougher.

Great single!!! And outstanding silkscreen artwork!!! Big Black Hole.

DIE ROTZZ | Tugboat 45 Fukken cool punk rock in the KBD vein by three guys from New Orleans, one of them is also in KAJUN SS, the new band of King Louie. DIE ROTZZ blows out four fantastic songs that sound like if the three piece have “I-don't care at all” tattooed on their foreheads. Don't try to get this, it is expensive on eBay already hahaha! Die Slaughterhaus.

THE ANGEL SLUTS | Hot teen Action Well, what a nice title for a seven incher… Wreck 'Em Records from Memphis here with dirty RocknRoll, could have been on Junk Recs as well, four tracks full of simple riffing and even some singalongs, very danceable, best with a can of Colt 45 in handBTW: This is not a girl band. White vinyl, limited to 300. Wrecked Em.

THE DIRTBOMBS | Tanzen gehn' I've never been a „fan“ of the DIRTBOMBS, they have a lot of really good songs and I dig the „Ultraglide in black“ album but I never got the hype around them. Here they are with a very special single, I mean which band would cover NDW and german chartbuster Hubert Kah's “Tanzen Gehn'… in german… wow.

Strange thing. The flipside is a very cool, slow and soulful tune called “The house as a giant bong” (get it?). Worth buying for the exotic factor! Soundflat.

THE BAMBOO KIDS | Cokehound loves me Brand new single by the very handsome guys from New York City, saw them on tour in November this year, a band who can turn an assembly of very different people to a funhouse with their very catchy and melodic style of garage rock. This 7” here has got two cuts, both of them are unreleased as far as I am informed, and it's released on the band's own Manic Panda Label. If you dig their great full length releases on Get Hip and Bid Dipper, this is definitely something for you! Manic Panda.

DISCONVENIENCE | War on wankers A new band from Umea / Sweden, two girls and a guy, play punk rock in the tradition of the GITS and other early female fronted 77 punk bands, and thus not bad I admit, If someone had played me this record and told me it was some rare punk gem from way back when, I wouldn't have doubted it for a second. Five songs that really go into your ears, snotty middle finger in the air and pissedoff lyrics. Check out www.disconvenience.com for some listening examples.

BEAT BEAT BEAT | Cheap Time / Not so innocent Every time I fart another hot new band seems to pop up in Atlanta, Georgia, and I'm farting quite often… this one here shares members with both the CARBONAS and FRANTIC, both of 'em have releases out on the fantastic label DIE SLAUGHTERHAUS, this debut 7” as been released on an imprint called DOUCHEMASTER, and its got four fucking great songs on it, its all a mix of early LA punk and power pop or something like that, think of THE BEAT and TEENAGE HEAD… plus a lot of that snotty attitude those young punks seem to have… get this soon… cant wait for the long player on Dirtnap / Alien Snatch. Douchemaster.

THE EMBROOKS | Back in my mind A new Seven Inch by this UK Freakbeat Trio who already had releases out on Sympathy for the Record Industry, Voxx, Dionysus, … the title track is from their great 2004 album on MUNSTER Records called “Yellow Glass Perspections”, the flipside is exclusive to this release here. Uff course recorded at Toe Rag. Cant do no wrong here. Butterfly.

BLACK TIME | I spit on your lifestyle Well, these lads from England may spit on my lifestyle, but they do it in a really cool way. Sick noisy garage punk, and when I says noise… I mean uncomfortably distorted sounds that make you feel uncomfortable… You definitely cannot play this record when you are DJing… but if you like the HUNCHES, go for this seven inch!

Shake Your Ass.

THE ESCALATOR HATERS | TV Addiction Boy This two guys and the girl from Switzerland do poppy punk rock, like a bunch of bands from the UK used to do in 1977, really catchy and the are glued into your ears but I think the fours songs on this seven inch have deserved a better recording and/or mixing, its really a pity that they don't sound as powerful and clear like they used to be. I dig lo-fi recordings a lot, believe me, but with this kinda of music it doesn't work at all. Well, maybe next time THE ESCALATOR HATERS spend more time and money on the recordings. Meanwhile I have to listen to this over and over again. Sprinter.

CHOKE TEN 41

THE EXCITERS | Johnny's too messed up I am quite sure by the time you are reading this, the single is already sold out. THE EXCITERS crank out some very catchy 60ties garage punk rock, fuzz guitar riffing and exactly the right vocal work, somewhere between singing and shouting. We will hear some more of this band soon, I bet. Delincuentes.

Finland. The Heartburns are from Finland as well, and the crank out f4 fantastic up-tempo punk rock smashers, not in the now so modern The Briefs style, nope sir, they sound older, like early LA punk mixed with a lilly bit of garage rawk. “Monday Morning Fever” is a fucking hit for god's sake. You can listen to all of these four songs on the Wanton Records website wantonrecords.net but better off, buy the wax! Wanton.

THE FLAKES | Straight Jacket This band from Sweden (Note: It's not the Russell Quan Band) fits perfectly into the poppy punk tradition of their country. The track on Side A was featured on the European Pop Punk Sampler released

by Stardumb Records. The other two songs need a better production, they would hit the YUM YUMS standard then, but still they are good power pop tunes. Comes on clear vinyl. Black Juju.

HIDDEN CHARMS | dto 60 Garage Punk mixed with early RIP OFF Records style, plus: organ support here and there, and to be honest, up with the new SUPERHELICOPTER album the best thing that came from Germany this year. This six (!!!) tracks raw dog you and bust on your stomach.

Brilliant. My Ruin.

FLASCHEN | You're negative baby Three mid-tempo garage punk tunes, nice but not really good or special. There are a lot of garage bands in France right now, but most of them are just mediocre, and yes, I am negative, baby! Trash Mondain.

THE HUMANS | Warning Very strange garage rock band with Martin Savage, five “songs”, one song is called “Black Lips”, the last one is an interesting version of jingle bells on a megatron… well, not a thing I wanna hear each and every day. For all collector nerds: three different sleeves… hahaha!!!

Ken Rock.

THE FOUR SLICKS | Betty Lou This is the new band by Jon Von Zelowitz, Ex-Mr.T Experience, ExRip Offs, and also into LES DRAGUERS. The Fours Slicks may have punk rock song structures, but they mix it with a lot of Rock'n'Roll / Rockabilly, songs titles like “Veronica”, “Betty Lou” or “You lied to me honey” reveal the problems the four guys are dealing with. Get it through their web home at www.fourslicks.com Self Released.

FRANTIC | Attaque What to expect from a band called FRANTIC? Uff course chaotic noisy out of bounds rocknroll / punk rock, demented, deliberately harsh, aggressive and crazed out. These boys grew up on the notso-save-side of the town. Die Slaughterhaus.

FUMESTONES | Quiero ser Billy Childish!

Cool new slap-o-vinyl by los madrilènes, of course a wild fuzzy ride trough 60ties garage music, four songs, including the great title track. Well, I surely don't wanna be Billy Childish, because he's an old fart! Limited to 300. Jolete Macana Garage Works.

GOOGLE-A | Koi No Doctor More garage rock mixed with surf beats from this cool Japanese combo, strange vocals and weird pronunciation two very entertaining songs that make you shimmy and shake, and forget about the 5-6-7-8's or the MIGHTY MOGULS! Great cover artwork by a girl called Chichiwan! Sazanami.

CHIP HANNA | With Busted Hearts Now this is funny, the same label which was responsible for the latest HATEPINKS 7” releases a bluegrass/country single by an ExUS BOMBS and Ex-ONE MAN ARMY drummer… Beginning with “Cold Virginia Mist” the single's got a warm feeling, but the second song is kinda boring. Side B starts with the classic “I saw the light”, can't do no wrong with that one, and finally there's another uptempo, banjo dominated song called “So ask him now”. Very nice and entertaining single, although there is some kind of clean “Oh brother where art thou?” feeling I really don't like. Squoodge / Drunk'n'Roll.

THE HATEPINKS | Play the songs from The Plastic Congelators This single was sold out before it was even released, the reason therefore is that a) there were only 333 copies made and b) there's really some buzz around these french no-wave punkers! Here they crank out three typical HATEPINKS tunes [don't know if they are really playing “covers” of the Plastic Congelators here…], if you are lucky enough to find a copy, buy it! Squoodge / Drunk'n'Roll.

THE HEARTATTACKS | Challenge you Some kids from Svenska try to rip off the japs TEENGENERATE and they succeed!!! Two cuts on a one-sided single, rrrraw and energetic, just like it should be. Buy this and then the LP on PTrash, both are must-have's, seriously. Let's go RocknRoll!!!!!

Savage.

THE HEARTBURNS | Retard on the run Another cool release on the relatively new WANTON Label from 42 CHOKE TEN

THE HYNKELS | dto.

Snotty and very british sounding punk from Vienna, some vocal parts have an early HC touch, especially the second song “Guns & Uniforms”. You don't find new stuff like this very often, the garagey “production” of the five songs even gives the whole record an 80ties punk feeling. The name HYNKELS refers from the Chaplin flick “The Great Dictator”… so you get an idea of the twisted humor of this band. Very nice release!!! I hope we can listen to some more songs pretty soon. Mohawk.

LITTLE BARE BIG BEAR | Little Man Unknown to me, this band from London, England, has recorded two songs at Toe Rag Studios. The first track is a hard psych-pop song, the flipside is a slower psych rock song with a cool guitar solo and weird sounds. Band members include Andy Morgan from The Nerve and Bronco Bullfrog and Jon “Mojo” Mills from the 80ties garage rock band The Nuthins. Butterfly.

L'ORCHIDÉE D'HAWAII | Iron Horses b/w Beyond the reef When I got this piece of vinyl I thought this would be some kind of French girl pop, I don't know why, well, its not! This trio from France somehow mix surf music with howls and shouts at least on the A-Side. The B-Side contains a totally different tune, instrumental Hawaiian Lounge Music with some crazy side swipes! Very interesting band, hope Larsen will release some more of them!

Larsen.

LOTA RED | The Vintage Tapes Up-tempo rockabilly from Germany (I think), released on the small but cool Sprinter Record label from Switzerland, four songs, all of them are entertaining, I suppose this is the perfect music for a Hot Rod Custom Car Weekender, loud and fast but not too hard. Sprinter.

LOU & BENNY | Dents de lait, dents de loup Soulful tunes by this french guys, organ sounds like in “96 Tears”, I don't know who Lou is, and Benny either, well, maybe they are members of the SLOW SLUSHY BOYS, that would sound logic to me.

The B-side is delivered in a very laid back offbeat rhythm (I am trying to avoid the term “Reggae” here…) Larsen B-Soul Series.

MASTICA | Uomini This band from northern Italy plays some heavy fuzzed out psychedelic rock, sung in Italian language which gives the two songs some exotic feeling. There must be LSD in Italy. Not my genre, but it sounds professional. Crusher.

THE MINDS | We got the pop This here is already sold out so try your luck at mail orders… three new songs, this time not as clean and powerfully produced like their incredibly good album on Alien Snatch Records, its more garagey and trashy recorded which is not a bad thing at all! It's powerful poppy punk rock with a fiiep fiiep fiiiiep organ and great vocals.

Hope they bring on a new full length some when. Plastic Idol.

THE MOJOMATICS | Ballads in the suitcase This is a fantastic two-men band from Venice, Italy, we invited them

to Innsbruck some months ago, and they played an amazing set with their unique mixture of garage punk with blues, well in fact there is a lot more blues then punk in it… The debut album “A Sweet Mama Gonna Hoodoo Me” out on Alien Snatch Records is already a classic, here we got two more songs for those who still cannot get enough…like me!!! Can't wait for another release of the MOJOMATICS! Shake Your Ass. THE MONOCAINES | Highest price New Mod/Beat band from Hamburg, Germany, on a rather new label! Four songs, including a cover by THE OUTSIDERS “Time won't let me” and “Non Stop Dancing” by THE JAM). Great record, not as boring as most Mod bands around. Be sure to buy this, it's gonna be sold out soon. CopaseDisque.

THE MUTANTS | Drunk Mambo Outtakes!

Here is some old stuff of the strangest band from Finland, THE MUTANTS. These two tracks have been recorded before they went nuts on mambo rhythms and before they sold thousands of records in India (really!). That doesn't mean that this songs here are not as crazy as usually… well, I guess there is a reason why the word “drunk” is appearing in the title of this seven-inch… dangerous and deluded instro mayhem! G-r-e-a-t! Wanton.

THE MUTANTS | Stampede Caravan #2 Black Juju Records has style! Great artwork by Portugal's finest artist, Jorge Alderete, orange vinyl, cardboard box… this single is a winner before I even put the needle on the wax… I'm quite sure everybody is already familiar with the sounds of this finish band, weird mambo rhythms, some organ action, some sax… instrumentals from the mental home… Black Juju.

THE PEACOCKS | Turn on the lights Another great release by Switzerland's hottest punk rock import since … well, there has never been any other, nevertheless, here are four songs on black vinyl plus unusual artwork. If you really don't have an idea what these three guys are about, check out there releases on Asian Man, Crazy Love, Householdname, … they toured the US and Japan, Europe of course too, they play for 2 hours straight, with a stand up bass and hundreds of great uptempo, sometimes poppy, sometimes more rockabilly drenched tunes. The Peacocks rock. Sprinter.

RADIO DEAD ONES | Out of tune Catchy sing-a-long punk rock for fans of both RANCID and US BOMBS, top notch for the genre, really. I don't listen to that kinda music very often but say 6 or 7 years ago I would have gone berserk on tunes like this. GMM. RAISED BY WOLVES | Motorpsycho Oh oh oh… seems that there are soooo many bands out there which absolutely go for the category “apeshit rocknroll”, like these kids from the backwoods of …well I don't know if there are backwoods in Vancouver, Canada, anyway, the three songs here are definitely examples of perfect garage punk rock n roll, haven't heard wild shite like this for a long time. Seems like Ken Rock discovered another gem here. Cover art by Darren Merinuk. Ken Rock.

REAL LOSERS | Gimmie Action / Dum Dum Baby The latest release by the british no-fi garage punk rockers, hope these kids will come to Austria soon, I am so curious how they sound when playing a live set. This release here has two new songs, plus the obligatory “Rejected at a High School Dance” every band has to cover for this single series… High School Reject.

REVEREND SAVAGE & HIS HOLY ROLLERS | dto.

Filed right next to the KNIGHTS OF THE NEW CRUSADE album, this platter is played quite often here… this is a all star band of folks who use(d) to play in MONSTER, HENRY FIATS OPEN SORE and the MAGGOTS, plus Martin Savage on the vocals, doing two songs about Jesus and the advantages of becoming a christian… haha… 300 copies only… hurry kids…

RICHARD JAMES & THE SPECIAL RIDERS | Jeff Gunn Didn't expect good songs here, with a ugly cover artwork like that, but Richard and his pals are entertaining as hell, first tune is a

stompin' garage song that's sounds played by a one-man band e.g.

John Schooley, the flipside has a sad and quiet Jeffrey Lee Pierce cover. I can hear a lot of alcohol and drug abuse here, which isn't a bad thing. Limited to 300. Wrecked Em. RITALINS | Kelly This is the first release of this record, and of the Ritalins from Scotland, too, I guess. Of course THE APERS come to my mind after a few seconds into song one… and hey, the second track is even called “I wanna be an Aper”… but after all, they are fun, this 7” contains four fast and poppy punk rock tunes with a snotty Mickey Mouse™ voice, be sure to check them out when you are into the other Stardumb Bands. All Nite.

RIVER CITY TANLINES | Get away Didn't catch them on tour earlier this year! Damnit. Alicja Trout's new band, still a bit wavy but no keyboards here sir! Catchy and powerful, great vocals, great artwork, good job Mr. Ken Rock! Ken Rock.

SCHIZO | same Another sick re-release on Germany's unique Red Lounge Record label: SCHIZO from France. Heavy Psych music, the singer sounds like Lemmy of Motorhead, at least in some moments. This thing came out in 1970 for the first time, in a ridiculously small print run, I don't know how the folks at Red Lounge discovered this gem, but they added an extra track and re-released it with the original artwork. As I said before… sick! Red Lounge.

SIR HENRY FIAT'S BASTARD | 6 track EP No chances to get this via mail-order now… try eBay… and spend some money… Henry Fiat without his Open Sore, six tracks (!!!), the cover sleeve is in fact a poster, inner sleeve is printed, total collectors shite… but still top notch action rock n roll for you kids! Song titles include “George W Bush is a fucking hippie”, “German discipline” and “Your mom us a fucking mongo”… Ken Rock.

SHOP FRONTS | Don't Quit Debut release by this NYC band, band members include Tom / Dot Dash (he's throwing the wildest garage punk parties in the big apple) and Jami Wolf, former ZODIAC KILLER and r'n'r columnist. They use the play-it-simple-stupid formula and sound like that early punk thing, 77 or so, with a fantastic cover of OUTCASTS (no, not the Ms Jackson Outkast… uff course!) f-f-f-f-f-frustration, and two own hits.

And I say hits because they really HIT you! More please. Soon. Now! Rapid Pulse.

SLOW SLUSHY BOYS | When will we get the power?

Another fine release by this (are they already?) legendary band from France, this time the fantastic 60ties soul / boogaloo music is supported by a horn section, groovy… the B-Side contains the same song, instrumental more or less, plus some uuuuhss and aaaahs by the great girl band THE GODZILLAS. Larsen B-Soul Series.

SPITTING COBRAS | Idle /w Tickin Pretty genuine rock music with a sleaze edge here and there, for bikers and cowboys. I hafta smoke a lot of weed to find this good.

Wrecked Em. THE STAGGERS | Be my queen Definitely one of the best 60ties Surf / Garage bands around right now, with the second 7”, Three songs you might be already familiar with when you saw them live, all of them sound like if they were covers, but nope sir, the STAGGERS are very clever when it comes to “borrowing” some things from other, older crap. This single is, as of course their upcoming full length on Soundflat Records, top notch, great songs, great artwork, two thumps up!!! CopaseDisques.

STONEAGE HEARTS | Suzie More Psyched Power Pop anthems from down under, Melbourne that is, this time they sound a little bit poppier to me that on the current full length album called “Guilty as sin” which was released a few months ago on Off The Hip / Alive Recordings, sounds like a line up change to me… I don't know, I don't wanna start searching for the CD. I recommend this here for people who like the poppier side of psych… Butterfly.

CHOKE TEN 43

THE SULTANAS | You're the one /w Move on now After the FLYING DUTCHMEN split up (much too soon for my taste, but good bands or better FUNNY bands never fucking last, do they???) the witty businessmen at BOOM BOOM CASTLE have a new horse you can bet on, well in fact the SULTANAS are three horses …errm… girls, and they play nice girl group-eske singalongs about me (“You are the one”) and their ex boyfriends (“Move on now”). The cover art does not really reveal anything about the visual appearance of this girls, but you can tell that the three are not the brightest, I mean signing a record contract with Boom Boom is the last thing you should do, I heard you have to sleep with Danny Ferducci twice a day and / or wash his feet. I don't now what's more disgusting. Anyways, back to the recordings, think of the hairy and smelly sisters of THEE HEADCOATEES mixed with SHIRELLES, CHIFFONS, ANGELS, et cetera… et cetera… et cetera… and you are damn near at the sound of SULTANAS, good music that is…. Boom Boom.

SWELL MAPS | 5x7” Box An AMAZING box set here from MUNSTER RECORDS, Spain, 1000 copies only, 5 seven inches plus a rare poster, presented in an elegant box with silver embroidered printing. SWELL MAPS have been a brainchild of Nikki Sudden and his brother Epic Soundtracks, plus another guy, starting in the early 70s, getting on they play list of John Peel, recorded four singles and two full lengths who reflected the diverse musical tastes of the protagonists, ranging from early punk rock to weird absurdity… and here we get the first four seven inches re-released, recorded in 1979-79, coming with the original artwork, the fifth seven inch contains three previously unreleased songs. A priceless must have and beautifully packaged relic from the past, hand numbered. Munster.

TOKYO ELECTRON | Will put a charge in you This is the proof that small and young labels are still putting out the best shite, this kids beating out the best of rock'n'roll, garage and punk, sounding monotonous and chaotic at the same time… they are coming to Europe this fall together with the REATARDS and ANGRY ANGLES… This single is already sold out but I think they are doing a re-press soon. Shattered.

TOKYO ELECTRON | She keeps me shut Fantastic cover artwork, maybe the best cover Bongout did you far!

TOKYO ELECTRON from USA with four new songs out on the great BIG BLACK HOLE label from Madrid, and I think this is the best thing I've ever heard from TOKYO ELECTRON, noisy but steady, wild but not too spazzed out, four great songs with a very unique guitar “sound”!!! Big Black Hole.

TUNA TACOS | Look at this boy Nice and clean beat music, perfect for an after show dance at the Atomic Café where local hipsters wanna impress their overdressed girlfriends with their knowledge of obscure bands from Netherlands… well, it wouldn't be bad if the TUNA TACOS would have some chili up their asses, then they would really be as TEENBEAT and GARAGE STOMP as advertised on the back cover.

The songs are nice and toe-tapping but this band has the same problem like DOCTOR EXPLOSION, a bit too normal and slick… four Songs. Soundflat.

VINYLS WITH MORE BANDS THEN ONE ON IN. SOMETIMES TWO. SOMETIMES MORE.

SPLIT | 20 BELOWS / ZATOPEKS Two more Pop Punk Bands, the 20 BELOWS from Denmark, and the ZATOPEKS from the UK. Ladder ones look like a bunch of wierdos and have three songs on this beautiful piece of white wax, and I think I know all the songs from a demo they sent me ones, although they sound more powerful and way more kicking than on the CDR. But still, I don't know why they want to blow Jerry Hormone, like the announce in the third song… I couldn't believe what I was hearing when I flipped to the 20 BELOWS side, man, that guy is definitely on helium when singing, sounds like a piss drunk Minnie Mouse™… but still the 3 songs are kinda funny, singing about the problems of adolescents. Great artwork by Stefan Tijs, one of the Stardumb Records head honchos. All Nite.

44 CHOKE TEN

SPLIT | ANGRY ANGLES / THE REATARDS / TOKYO ELECTRON Well, a tour single! I don't know if the songs are exclusive to this release, but anyhow… the REATARDS song is a smash hit, the ANGRY ANGLES song is totally different to the songs on the P.Trash Records 7”, more RocknRoll, great stuff though, and TOKYS ELECTRON play a Jeffrey Evans Song which is okay, I lied them a lot live, but I cannot get warm with their recordings. Ken Rock.

SPLIT | ATOMSMASHERS / DELOREANS Two bands from Italy, the ATOMSMASHERS already have a thing on RIP OFF Records, they kinda play that noise garage punk some of the early Rip Off Bands played. They rip them off quite cool, especially with the song “High Time”, the second song could be a better recorded SUPERHELICOPTER song as well. The DELOREANS look like honest guys who try to sell pizza, but in fact they rock a lot harder, like the little brothers of TURBONEGRO with Italian accent.

Cool split single, definitely worth some dosh! Rockin' Bones.

SPLIT | COOL JERKS / THE WAISTCOATS Number One in a new split single series on Soundflat Records… here's the concept: each band plays two own songs, sung in the language of the other band! HA! So here's the COOL JERKS from Germany, singing in Dutch, and THE WAISTCOATS singing “Alles was ich hab”… GREAT!!! Hopefully there will be another one of this INTERNATIONAL SPILT SERIES out soon! Soundflat.

SPLIT | HI-FI KILLERS / LOS DRAGOS The HI-FI KILLERS were so nice to send me this piece of vinyl, hailing from France they play stripped down rocknroll with a heavy blues rock influence, sounds badder than it is actually. Of course they sing with a heavy accent, very charming tough. “Get a move on” is very catchy, the songs even has moments especially the refrain of a song you can play on so-called alternative radio stations. LOS DRAGOS from Italy are a lot rougher, there's a lot of noise and distortions, the two songs sound like typical blues infected punk rock tunes, but here and there you get a bit of 70 rock as well, many stopgo passages and some guitar licks prove it… Nicotine.

SPLIT | IT BURNS / THE PHENOMS This is surely the ugliest cover art I saw in 2005. THE PHENOMS play cock rock and would have been perfect for the JUNK RECORDS (rip!) label, IT BURNS are also more in the testosterone area, MOTORHEAD and NINE POUND HAMMER comes to meee mind… clear vinyl! Beercan.

SPLIT | SHAKIN' NASTIES / THE HATEPINKS Fantastic spit of two bands with BRIEFS flavour… means they both have that energetic now wave touch, the NASTIES from Germany are a little bit more handsome, while the HATEPINKS, maybe the most important punk rock import from France since the NO-TALENTS, have two faster, a bit insane, cocaine fuelled tracks, including the great anthem “Kissing Cops with my ass”. Awesome artwork and packaging. Sold out very soon I guess. Relax-o-Matic Vibrator.

V/A | NOT PSYCHO ENOUGH? Vol.1 Yeah, finally someone is taking tribute to one of the best Australian bands ever, the COSMIC PSYCHOS! These strange old men had some great records, preferably during the hey-days of Amphetamine Reptile Records. Dull City Records pushed four bands into recording Cosmic Psychos songs, THE MORMONES (great trashy version of “Allright tonight”), THE BAD PREACHERS, SLOGGY and SUPERHELICOPTER LTD. (fantastic track, like always from a band with Nils Westphal). Vol.2 is already in the works! Dull City.

V/A | SOUTH AMERICAN TEENAGE GARAGE PUNK GREAT piece of wax, done by the nice folks of Butterfly Records from Barcelona, Spain. Don't get misled by the title which is suggesting that this is a sampler full of bands who had a single in the 60s. The four bands on this compilation are active, THE TANDOORIS are serving an exquisite organ drenched stomper, maybe the best song on this seven inch. Up next are the PEYOTES, also from Argentina, with a softer version of 60s garage rock. The flipside has got ELIO & THEE HORRIBLES, musically similar to the Peyotes, but the vocals are a lot angrier, wilder. Then there is also a track (well, in fact two tracks) by THE SUPERSONICOS from Uruguay, who are more surf /

DIE SLAUGHTERHAÜS

RECORDS

Tired of buying garage punk rock records which will “blow your mind” sounding “out of suitable for a advanced mu this world”, but aren't sic connoisseur? Don't you feel repulsed by advertiseme labels who want to palm the nts of so-called garage pun ir latest releases off on you k with yet another lame “sound MUMMIES” comparison… duh s like RIP OFFS meet THE ! Cut their heads off!!! I don 't wa like… Atlanta's DIE SLAUGHTE nna hear another cover ban d. I want the real deal, RHAUS RECORDS!!! Many mu sic savants and opinion lea through the gentle vibration ders are finding welcome rel s and sound waves of DHS ief products. Now, after over ten time to reveal the dirty little top notch releases, its abo secrets behind this tremedou ut s success… Lets hear Jared of THE BLACK LIPS!

Please tell us about the beginnings of DIE SLAU GHTERHAUS records, is it just the usual story that there's a band which couldn't find a label, releasing records by them selves, or did you pursue that so-called DIY ethic? What was first, the (Ex- Georgia Tech frat residence) Die Slaughterh aus or the label?

Well, I was 17 and ten of us moved into this old frat house that was huge and totally shitty (in a good way) we wante d to have shows there every weekend so it needed a name.

So the house was around about six months before the label. There wasn't really a conscious DIY ethic. We didn't know about any small labels and never even thought about someone else putting it out. We didn't know about the whole "scene" or anything. We were very naive. It was a killer house and the parties were insane. I don't know if I could do it again. It really sucked waking up and having to eat there, and the bathrooms were atrocious. It was eventually condemned while we still lived there.

You told me about some changes that have been recently, THE LIDS broke up and Alix started her own label. Does

that have any consequences for Die Slaughterhaus?

Her label SHATTERED RECORDS is actually a subsidiary of Die Slaughterhaus. THE LIDS are actually doing another LP on Rip Off. Minus the girls though. Frankie from the TYRADES is gonna drum and me and Cole are helping Bobby Ubangi on it.

Should be great, Bobby wrote all the songs anyway.

With the success of the BLACK LIPS, being on one of the leading record labels in the underground scene of the USA, BOMP RECORDS, have an impact on Die Slaughterhaus? I mean, did you sell more 7”es than before? Do you have a distribution in the US and in Europe?

Success is pretty relative. I have never been poorer in my life. We literally steal food and go to homeless shelters on tour. I'm not joking. The BOMP thing has helped out though. I don't know if it helped Slaughterhaus or not though. I think people just like the bands we put out. We are very lucky to have friends that make such good music.

Who is responsible for all the artwork etc? As I could gather from the last releases I got, you hardly use any computers when designing cover artwork.

I do most of the artwork and we hate computers. Its all cut and paste stuff. I might use Photoshop if I was that computer savvy, but I much rather be a computer illiterate.

I saw a picture of a live show of THE LIDS, and somehow it looks like you are playing bass at that show? Right?

Yes you are correct. I was the first bass player but couldn't do it because of touring. But me and Ubangi are working together again on some new bands including THE LIDS. I'll play bass and or guitar for the next record.

How many people include this Die Slaughterhaus universe? How many are order,

Ian and Jared [BLACK LIPS], Munich June 2005 CHOKE TEN 45

working on getting the releases done, mail order, etc.?

We are many but only two or three of us really work on the label. Everyone pitches in someway or another. It's kinda like a collective thing.

You are going to tour Europe this year again, how has the last tour been, did you financially break even? I'm just asking because most bands more or less loose money, especially when they tour for such a long period of time, and you even did a UK legâ&#x20AC;Ś We've never made any money or even broke even. It's been an endless money pit for the last three years. But it's a lot of fun, and worth the money we lose.

Mark Sultan will play Innsbruck pretty soon, I'm very curious about him and his music. You also told me that you have recorded some songs as oneman-band. I this whole one-man-band thing booming right now or what?

I have some shitty demo stuff. I haven't really had time to sit down and record proper. I guess there's a bunch of people that do it. Probably because it's a lot easier and

more profitable than being in a band.

What kind of songs are you playing as J.Swilley?

More blues or country influenced?

It's more country type stuff. It's about all I can really do with that setup.

Are you performing live a lot, of just occasionally before Black Lips shows?

No I rarely play. I'm not sure if any of the other guys have really seen me before. The black lips won't let me open up.

Who's the current second guitar player of the BLACK LIPS? Did you finally find someone who fits?

Our new guitarist is Ian. He's from Memphis by way of New Orleans. He used to be in the RENEGADES with me and Cole. Our old guy was in California the day we were supposed to leave for a tour within the seeds, so we called Ian and asked if he would go. We picked him up in Memphis and drove clear to Cleveland teaching Ian all the songs along the way. He works out really good.

Any chance that THE LIDS are coming to the old world some when?

I don't know. But anything could happenâ&#x20AC;Ś

ALIX Have you been involved in this DIE SLAUGHTERHAUS thing from the very beginnings, or did you get into it when the LIDS formed? Who was in THE LIDS, and how long did they exist?

Well, I've been friends with THE BLACK LIPS since I was 15 or so, and they started the label basically with the help of Mark the mastermind soon later. I would help booking shows with Slaughterhaus bands and out of town bands, and had DJ nights with Jswill called Slaughterdays at this short lived club called the Neutron Bomb (where THE LIDS recorded their LP), which was a blast, and exposed Atlanta kids to some good music.

It wasn't until I moved in with Mark about a year ago that I helped out with distribution and getting DIE SLAUGHTERHAUS out there. I went to NOLA and saw the KAJUN SS and wanted to put out a single by them, so I begged them, and they did. All though I started SHATTERED RECORDS with Jay, I still love and support Die Slaughterhaus. It's in my blood - and in my house (me and Marked lived together). The Lids were Bjay's brain, basically. His brain lasted 3 years - roughly.

Did you play in other bands before?

Nope. I played in a band during THE LIDS called THE WET DREAMS, which was kinda dark wave B-52's and PYLON influenced. We would cover CHROME CRANKS and BLACK LIPS songs at shows. A 7" of old recordings is coming out soon on Die Slaughterhaus.

How did you get in contact with RIP OFF chief G-Lo, and did he offer to bring out THE LIDS debut rekkid, or did you ask him?

When we did the 7" we sent it off to bunch of different places, RIP OFF being one of them, and he loved it. So, we then talked about doing an LP, and over a year and a half and 4 recording sessions later, it was out!

You quit the LIDS and started your own band with Jay Reatard, can you tell us the reason why?

I never quit THE LIDS, they imploded. Bjay wanted to take 46 CHOKE TEN

it all these weird directions after the other girls left the band. He wanted to get this girl midget and a morbidly obese girl to be the replacements for the other girls that left the band. He thought it would add more of a "gimmick". The fat girl tried to come on our Midwest tour, but she couldn't fit in the van, and the midget freaked me out, so I told her to fuck off. Bjay's working on a new record with a bunch of new retards - Jay's recording it.

Please tell us something about SHATTERED Records, its also run by you and Jay, right? Until now you did some 7"es, are there also full lengths in the works?

SHATTERED RECORDS is me and Jay. TOKYO ELECTRON 12" LP is out now! Coming up is a RAT TRAPS 7" and a DIGITAL LEATHER LP when we get back from tour.

You are playing in the ANGRY ANGLES now, I just checked out the song on www.myspace.com/shatteredrecords and I think it's pretty different to the stuff you did before, when you were in THE LIDS, right?

Restating your statement - yes. It is different than THE LIDS. The ANGRY ANGLES 7" is definitely "different" but still melodic and catchy. I'm just glad to be playing bass and drums, and not just a tambourine. We all still love each other - friendship is what it's all about.

Why are you doing so many special versions on SHATTERED RECORDS, you know, different covers, color of wax etc… just to annoy so-called record collectors or what?

We do different color wax and limited editions just to mix it up, and make some collectible and make some available and in print at all times. I like having a certain aesthetic to the label, and I think people really like it.

If anything we do it more for ourselves than anyone else... it makes it fun for us.

Any plans of the bands on SHATTERED to release some records on European labels?

Kenrock Records will be doing a tour 7" with REATARDS, TOKYO ELECTRON and ANGRY ANGLES as well as P.Trash Records who is doing an ANGRY ANGLES tour 7" - both will be available on our European tour.

When will you finally do a "singles collection"… would be easier for us to get all sounds on shattered…

Eventually, that would be cool. Like to do a Southern comp... we'll see.

Who has been responsible for the songwriting in THE LIDS? What about the ANGRY ANGLES, are you writing the songs together or what?

Bjay wrote all the songs in The Lids with the exception of a few covers. Me and Jay both write songs in the Angry Angles. *raise your hand if you care* What happened to the WET DREAMS? Wet Dreams were just a defunct band from the beginning. We are always on and off and had different members. We probably played a total of 5 shows and 1 insane house party.

We have some really great recordings that were done at NoTown (RIP), and are hopefully gonna come out on a 7" on Die Slaughterhaus.

You're coming to Europe pretty soon, together with THE REATARDS and TOKYO ELECTRON, what do you expect? Having a good time? Making some friends? Getting rich?

I expect to eat some cheese and bread, and hopefully drink some warm beer if I'm lucky.

What is your opinion about internet forums like garagepunkforum.com, do you think it's just a good way to promote records / opinions or just a reservoir for nerds?

I think it's both. I admit I read it and post on it.

Goner board is better though.

You've been at the DOT DASH show in July, which reunion was okay, TEENGENERATE, LOS REACTORS or GIZMOS? TEENGENERATE definitely! LOS REACTORS were ok. I thought the GIZMOS were good considering they only did the later poppier stuff, which I like.

It was fun though. Kajun SS was the best band hands down.

www.dieslaughterhausrecords.com CHOKE TEN 47

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THE PRIESTS Tell Tales CD / LP I got a parcel of Garage Pop Records, a very nice label from Rochester, NY, some years ago, and among other CDs of acts like THE GRINDERS and THE QUITTERS there was also a CD by THE PRIESTS included. Here they are back again, with a new record on a new label, and the sound of the band developed a bit. It has gotten darker somehow. I mean, they always had that “dangerous” thing, maybe coming from the seed that THE CRAMPS brought up. With this record, they also included a fuzzed out organ, which does its thing on the soulful and lyrically disturbing songs… better check it out for yourself, the song material is quite diverse, while “More” is a straight rocker, there are also tunes like “She don't” which reminds me a lot of THE MURDER CITY DEVILS slower songs.

DEXATEENS Red Dust Rising CD Yeah! I am happy! They still have that Alt-Country influence! Think of UNCLE TUPELO crossing the borders of Alabama (that is where the DEXATEENS hail from, southern fried), with Gram Parsons in their back packs… sleazy melodies but still dirty, a lot of lazy, laid back tunes, but still there are some rusty rock and roll songs too! The title track even reminds me a lot of GRANFALOON BUS. Gosh, I love this album, it's just the right record for cruising around in a car without A/C… great cover artwork, too!

UGLY BEATS Bring on the Beats! CD/ LP Another great band from Austin, Texas, the UGLY BEATS with their debut album on the perfect label, Get Hip. “Bring on the beats” is a record full of poppy garage tunes that make you wanna dance and shake until you finally find yourself hopping around in your room (somehow I am glad that I have the CD version, so I can avoid that the needle is jumping out of the groove) and you will DANCE at the latest when you are at song four, “Lonely Side of Town”! What a song!!!! I swear, when I heard it for the first time I kept pushing the repeat button at least 5 times… perfect!!!

HIGHSCHOOL SWEETHEARTS Heels'n'Wheels CD / LP Five minutes ago I did a review for the new ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN album, and as flipped through the pages of the booklet, the name “John Steele” caught my attention… now I am reading the press release for the HIGHSCHOOL SWEETHEARTS CD, there's “John Steele” again! And it's the same John Steele!

Okay, so when not connected to a 100.000 MegaVolt power plant, he is doing guitar work at this very power-poppin' band, which includes a female vocalist (and bandleader) and a nice Farfisa Organ in the background. If you think this another lame 60ties Pop Band… you are definitely not on the right track, this is am mixture of THE DONNAS (only the good things, not the arena rock posing) and NYC's SIT'N'SPIN, plus a little bit PANDORAS… got the picture? A very good and entertaining album (with an ugly cover…). , check this out if you are into femme vox and fresh Power Pop. THE MAINLINERS Bring the sweetlife CD Hm, I cannot help myself, from the first chord on this sounds like the garage pop version of the MURDER CITY DEVILS, which is a VERY good thing! Another surprise is that this band is not from some hip city in the USA, where garage pop bands are a common thing, THE MAINLINERS are from Sweden! The press sheet says that these five lads are not “concerned with image or with having the proper haircut”, well, finally a thing that's 100% right, they really don't look like MANDO DIAO… but they make the better music, and that's what counts, right kids? So give them a shot, check out some of their songs on their website at www.themainliners.com and be dazzled by a minute.

DIPLOMATS OF SOLID SOUND Destination get down CD Another new release on Estrus Records that does not fit into the Garage Punk History of the label, the promo sheet says something about “File under: Acid Jazz”, pfew, well, definitely! 12 songs full of grooves, organs and sax, solid sound that is, and its cool, its so good to listen to when you got sick of all the new punk shit that sounds more 80ties than ever, here you go back to the slick seventies… I'm surprised, but I like it!

DMBQ The essential sounds from far east Okay, this band from Japan is named DYNAMITE MASTERS BLUES QUARTET, which makes me already roll my eyebrows… they kinda play psyched out blues, very heavy and intense, I can even hear some hard rock riffing, but there is also c-h-a-o-s and (I suppose) a lot of improvisation. Difficult stuff, sir… and dangerous! I don't wanna know what's happening if you are on psycho chemicals AND whiskey, with this album on volume 10…

MIDNIGHT EVILS Breakin it down Like a bloodhound off the leash this album will roll over you, it's the second attack from Minnesota's own MIDNIGHT EVILS! Last time they were “Straight til morning” (Estrus, 2004)… well, I guess not really, but here they are breaking it down… your idea of save and contemporary Rock n Roll you see in every glossy magazine and all these crappy lifestyle programs on TV, these hellhounds are sweatin', cursin' and running all over you, not unlike their colleagues from THE MISTREATERS. Buckle up for a ride you'll not forget… and you want to do again and again!

COMPILATIONS A FIST FIRST SAMPLER OF NEW MUSIC - First label sampler by the relatively new noise punk rock weirdo label from NYC, they got big names like THE FALL, garage punk like GUITAR WOLF and COACHWIPS and many unknown gems like the great LAMHORNE SLIM, BUNNYBRAINS or THE INTELLIGENCE. I don't know where you can buy this here, but if you see a copy, grab it! Narnack.

HORMONAS KIMS TEDDY BEARS Giants of RocknRoll in the match of the millennium 10” Very cool slab of vinyl, maybe the best release Nicotine Records ever has done: Two bands from Italy, KIM'S TEDDY BEARS play punked up Rockabilly with dark, uncontrollable touch, a feeling like the early CRAMPS record had, where you could guess that if you meet these guys at a back alley, they are up for no good… HORMONAS do four songs, more traditionally, but still their kind of rockabilly is also not restless and happy, the tunes sound like if some old Rockabilly would team up with DEADBOLT… comes with a very cool sticker. Nicotine.

THE HUNCHBACKS THE WAUKEES THE BATTLEDYKES CD Seems like ALL NITE RECORDS wants to be the small brother of Stardumb Records, concentrating on European pop punk bands (a thing Stardumb was famous for, prior to signing all these US combos), here we've got three great girl fronted Pop Punk Bands. THE HUNCHBACKS, sounding a bit like the TEEN IDOLS, fast and simple, but still very melodic, deliver 4 songs. THE BATTLEDYKES (who have releases out on Stardumb and Thunderbaby) are kinda different, maybe because of the backups, but the songs are no good, they got a lot better ones. Finally there are THE WAUKEES from Italy, four snotty pop punk tunes with the typical Italian-English pronunciation, very charming! It I had to decide on one band, I'd vote for THE WAUKEES! All Nite.

SACTO SCENE REPORT Vol.1 CD A five way split, each band contributes two songs: WHISKEY REBELS easy to guess, with a name like that, this is drunk punk rock, like early DROPKICK MURPHYS without sag pipe, catchy and with a lot of singalong potential. PRESSURE POINT Hm, their first song reminds me of a very very old BAD RELIGION tune, but I forgot the name, the second song is faster, aggressive punk rock. KILLING THE DREAM Hardcore Punk, even some Screamo Moments, good drums, very entertaining. THE SECRETIONS This is funny, more pop, and funny lyrics, my favorite band of this compilation. I hope I can check them out soon on a full length. THE ROUSTABOUTS Street punk with cool vocals, mid tempo and very very catchy. If you are that kinda person who wants discover some new bands instead of buying all the old crap, be sure to get this, its good because its cheap! TKO. SILUH RECORDS Audiovisual Pressinfo 01 CDEP New label from Vienna, three releases so far, the bands sound very indiepop to me, named GSCHU, GRAFZAHL and TCHI. Let's see what's coming next. I hope the keep searching for new bands instead of releasing a CD by Co-Label boss Robert Stadelober / GARY… info@siluh.com WILD SAZANAMI BEAT Vol.2 CD Very diverse Compilations from the Japanese shores, and most bands are from the land of the rising sun, so this is a very good opportunity to check out what's happening in the 60ties / Beat / RocknRoll over there. I just want to mention a couple of bands… THE PORTUGAL JAPAN (great “Have Love Will Travel” Cover), GOOGLE-A (who already toured Europe), CHOCOMATES (the jap version of CUB), COOKIE AND THE TWINKLE ARROWS (surf with Japanese sounds)… In fact, the bands not from Japan are THE WOGGLES (you should know them), MOJOMATICS (unbelievably great blues punk!) COOTERFINGER, GAJIN A GO GO, TIKI TIKI BAMBOOS and TONY BORLOTTY and the I SUOI FLAUERS… This is a gem! Sazanami.

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D I K K BAD RE

AMERICAN HEARTBREAK Postcards from Hell / You will not be getting paid DoCD FINALLY I get these recordings on CD… Don't get me wrong, its not that I don't like vinyl, but my copy of this album is so worn down, the needle keeps skipping, yes, I played it DEAD. So here is the ReRelease of this album, five years after it came out on Coldfront (CD) and Radioblast (LP), and it is still catching me… what you get is 15 anthems packed with punk rock, glam and singalong choruses, and in a perfect world songs like “Brain Vacation” or “Please Kill Me” are played at all so-called alternative radio stations… In addition to this, you gat a second CD, with lots of interesting stuff, like live and acoustic versions, a remix of the 2003 “What you deserve” EP and for you computer geeks two videos! Now go end get this. PLY. ANTISEEN Bad will ambassadors CD Antiseen is a pretty unique band, and there are few combos out there in the wide area of punk rock music which have that kind of a reputation for being a bunch of not-giving-a-fuck rockers… I don't know why this new album is coming out on TKO Records (and not on their own Steel Cage imprint), but I guess that it's a good catch for the label from Huntington Beach. Here we have 15 hard rocking, testosterone soaked tracks that are exactly what Antiseen followers were waiting for: nothing new, but fulfilling the high standard to the maximum. TKO. THE APERS Skies are turning blue CD Well, that's quite a step THE APERS took in the last few years, but listening to this album (which is the third full length release) makes me think that they are heading to the wrong direction. I'm sorry, I really like these Ro*town punk rockers, I organized a bunch of shows for them etc. but most songs on this album bore me. The songs are not as catchy as they used to be, it's too poppy, to slick, to normal.

Where the hell is the snottieness in Kevin's voice, Ivo's drums are somewhere in the back, Jerry's guitar playing sounds jaded… hm… I am sorry, maybe you win a lot of fans with this album, and I hope you still put on a great show a punk rock show when you play live (and I am the first standing in front of you, singing songs like “Grim Reaper” or “Do you remember how I cried”, but this release doesn't do anything for me. Stardumb.

THE APRIL FOOLS dirtysomething CD They describe their music as “Alternative Happy Rock”, sounds more like “Dead boring hippy shit” to me… No Label.

ASTEROID B-612 Reading between the lines CD This is the forth and last album by the Australian rockers ASTEROID B-612 before they called it quits, Singer Johnny Casino formed a new

band (JOHNNY CASINO'S EASY ACTIO), and in search of a new label I guess he got so much response about his old band, so NO TOMORROW records (who also brought us SUZY Y LOS QUATTRO) asked him why not re-release this album, with a different artwork and of course with five bonus tracks. To be honest, this here is for guys who like typical Aussie rocknroll, not as clean as the stadium rock monsters of the USA, more like the slightly awkward style of bands like CELIBATE RIFLES or NEW CHRISTS. No Tomorrow.

BANDA BASSOTTI Amore e odio CD Really boring Skapunk from Italy, someone informed me that they are very popular down there, and that up to 17.000 people come to their shows, so maybe they've got something … something I don't get at all. I rather stick to red wine and pasta, and not to Banda Bassotti. Gridaloforte.

BASSHOLES same Not bad! The BASSHOLES already had a bunch of releases, including full lengths on In The Red, Sympathy for the Record Industry and Matador Records, and this here is their 7 or 8th full length, but somehow they always have been out of my radar, so until now, I never heard any song of them what a pity! This two-piece band is doing some really good garage / blues / even a lil' bit of country music, very diverse, sometimes rough as can be, but then a nice tune like “Daughter” is sneaking around the corner, sounding like a traditional, but showing us how different the BASSHOLES own songs can be. Be sure to check this out. Damnit, I missed them when they were on tour with Jeff Evans earlier this year… Dead Canary.

GLYN BAILEY Toys from balsa CD Relaxing pop album by a singer / songwriter from England who stepped back from doing politics (he was working for a Labour MP), and now he is singing songs about Communist feasts, abusive relationships, cannibalism, plastic bags, funerals and Laurel and Hardy in Heaven. Quirky music, indeed. Glynb.

BBQ Tie your nose CD This is one of the many one man bands that keep coming out of nowhere these days… BUT wait, this one is actually different. Mark Sultan aka BBQ has played in bands like LES SEXAREENOS and THE SPACESHITS before he started this project here, and hey, “Tie your nose” is such a party album you'd never expect from a one man band! This album is full of soul-shaking songs, tunes that take you back to frat parties in the 50s or 60s. We had him here in Innsbruck some time ago, together with the MOJOMATICS from Venice, Italy, and he is also very good at his live appearances (on stage, off stage CHOKE TEN 49

didn't talk at all…). If you are into all this 50s and 60 compilations, try this!!! Bomp.

BEASTS OF BOURBON Low Life CD Unbelievable, formed in 1983, the Aussie legends BEASTS OF BOURBON are back with a new live album, recorded at a club in 2003, in great quality. Well, no surprise that this CD is full of whisky-drenched songs located at the dangerous side of rawk n roll… The CD starts like a hurricane, and you soon get into the beats of bourbon, but on the long run it seems to be a bit tiring. I heard they even played a bunch of re-union shows in 2005, well, maybe hearing AND seeing would give me another, much better impression. Comes with a cardboard sleeve. Munster.

JELLO BIAFRA AND THE MELVINS Sieg Howdy! CD For a second time this icons of underground punk and rock music team up for another sledgehammer release filled with hard rockin and still weird songs and noise collages. After listening to the whole album four times now, I still cannot say if it is good or bad… its there and its monumental, its something I will still hear ten years from now. Starting with the Alice Cooper classic “Halo of Flies” they get me with a space rock tune called “The lighter side of global terrorism”. The track list for itself is great, like this song “Those dumb punk (will by anything)” yeah right… The cherry on the top is the 21st century version of “Kalifornia uber alles”… pfew… a monster of an album! Alternative Tentacles.

BLEEDING HEART Lifeless CD Boring metal hardcore music from Finland. We have bands like them in Innsbruck, too. Every time I see them I'm starting to grin. I want to be there when they finally realize how ridiculous they are / look / play. Full House.

BLOATED GOAT Go go go CD Honestly, sometimes I wonder if the band itself really thinks the crap they recorded is good. This is a perfect example for talent-free uninspired and stupid melodic pop punk. Loony Groove.

BLOOD OR WHISKEY Cashed out on Culture CD If you think FLOGGING MOLLY is too punk, this might me interesting for you. Irish Folk music with punk attitude (at least at the photos inside the booklet) with beside the usual instruments banjo, whistles and accordion. Punkcore.

THE BLOODY TEARS Downhanded CD That's what I call brave, this band from Austin, Texas, is kicking off their debut album with a cover of THE RASCALS “Come on up”, which seems to be a garage punk standard like “Louie Louie” or “Psycho” these days… but the good news is: after this furious start,

they top it with more organ driven garage rockers, and in addition to this, there's SOUL in every tone, which makes this album to a very danceable and vintage sounding journey, with a lot of own songs, and some more covers (Otis Blackwell, Bobby Freeman, Cornelius), who in fact fit in just perfectly. This is the fourth full length on Licorice Tree Records, and still no so-so release in sight.

Licorice Tree.

BLOWFLY Fahrenheit 69 CD Most of the time we get CDs that suck rocks, sometimes we get stuff that's really good. But once in a while… like every 12 months, we receive a release that leaves us speechless, like “What is this??? Is this good?????? What the fuck is this?????” well, this time it is BLOWFLY, a comedian in the 70s, alongside with Rudy Ray More and Redd, who became a XXX singer / rapper after he conceived serious hits with his own band, and as a songwriter for KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND and more… now, the hedonistic and politically incorrect superstar put on his superhero costume again, and did this … “record”… the first full length of BLOWFLY since 1988!!! On Alternative Tentacles!!!!!!! Wow… listen, he is singing about booty, pussy and boogers, does a parody on R.Kelly's “I believe I can fly” (of course it's called “I believe my dick can fly” here…), called for support from artists like AFROMAN and GRAVY TRAIN (!!!Sensational!!!!) and did “Fahrenheit 69”… great! Outraged!

Unbelievable… Alternative Tentacles.

BOMBER Booze, Dope & Fever CD Wow, I never thought this disc would be that cool! Recorded in 1999, BOMBER consists of two guys from THE FLAMING SIDEBURNS and two from THE MUTANTS, but the music is not some kind of mixture between those two bands (which would be strange… 60ties garage mambo rock?), it's country! Its that kind of music you want to hear after a hard day at work, when you sit on your terrace or in the garden with a drink and a smoke… laid back, warm and dusty rock music, songs about opportunities you couldn't take, drugs you did take, and the lordie-lord… a fantastic release on Bad Attitude records from Finland. This is going to be on top of my stereo for a very long time, this will not be shelved! Bad Attitude.

THE BRIEFS Steal yer heart CD Another BRIEFS album that cannot top the debut release “Hit after Hit”, but still its unbelievable how this boys can write and record great records like this here whilst being on tour around the whole world constantly!!! Of course you don't have to expect something new, it's the BRIEFS, and they kept doing melodic and hyper-active tracks with some 77 punk in it, no-wave they call it. BTW: this is the first album they recorded with their new bass player, Kicks from the New Town Animals, former bass player Lance Romance did the photos and some back-ups! BYO.

DEMOS Here, at Choke Mansion, we do not only receive the outcomings of garage punk rock superstars, no sir from time to time we get a CDR from a young and unfortunate newcomer band, they ask us for our opinion and tend to think that we have the guts and money to release something of theirs… which is ridiculous… well, the demos are mainly awkward, but here and there are gems we would love to work with… but read for yerselves…

NO HEAD ON MY SHOULDERS “Full length preview” Bad name, Skapunk, and a title that makes me shiver. Trashcan.

SUZANNE SILVER “demo” Sick noise music, too complicated for me, psychotic in some way. The email address is suzannekiller@yahoo.com and who knows, maybe they really killed her.

THE TRANSFUSIONS “New sounds for a new generation” The band of the kid who also is responsible for PANIC ACTION zine [good], playing lo-fi punk rock [good], doesn't sound like one of these new wave punk bands, more like a relic of the 80s [good]. See, no negative points. Keep practicing and send more!

SURF CRIMINALS “Brenta Surf'n'Roll Music” Italians play clean surf instros, nine songs, some covers like “Misirlou” [sic!] and 50 CHOKE TEN

“Rumble” [double sic!] but still, if I'm in the mood, with a Pina Colada in my hand and a Cigarette in the other, this is cool! surfcriminals@libero.it THE UNABOMBERS “It's not that we don't love you, it's just that we don't care” What kinda title is this huh? The Unabombers from Sweden are amazing, this is the second best demo for this issue!!!!!! Fast and furious punk rock, raw as fresh meat and good humor!

Man, this is great! More!!!!! Please!!!! markuslarssson@hotmail.com FREE MOJO “Demo” Really bad blues rock, but what can you expect from a band with a name like this.

BOARED TEENAGERS “Demo” Really noisy garage punk, done by some kids in Algeciras, Spain, wild and fast, the singer sounds like a Mickey Mouse, but its not annoying, nine songs including a cover of the RIP OFFS. One of the band members is doing a webzine called Psychozine or something like that. Get another band name, and send more.

MAKEOUTS “First steps” Four songs… and… its so unbelievable!!!!!!!!! Fucking great Rip Off Records styled punk rock from Sweden wanna do a record with them but P.TRASH already singed them. “Baby don't walk by” is already an instant classic. Choke loves Makeouts [the band].

OAK ACETATOR “Demo” Another waste of time, resources and money. Ridiculous art rock from the UK. One of the worst things I ever got to listen to. oakacetator@ntlworld.com SATAN CLAUS “Demo” Band info: they are together since 10 years. My ears: How can you be in a band for ten years, still have no proper recordings, no taste in music, no talent and not the slightest idea of what we here at CHOKE MEDIA really hate? Skapunk.

MR BONZ ONE MAN BAND “The exciting sounds of…” Wow, Mr.Bonz, I am impressed, very entertaining rockabillish sounds from this one man band from France! This guy used to be in THE WANGS before, a surf band who had a couple of releases out, on this CDR he goes a different way, covering four rocknroll songs, and doing one own called “Tata Yaya!!!”. I'm pretty sure this guy will find a proper label pretty soon, I'd buy all his records! mrbonz@free.fr JOHNNY CASINO'S EASY ACTION “We've forgotten more than you'll ever know” Well produced rocknroll from Australia, 10 songs, don't know if this already has been released, sounds very professional to me, and I think I saw sth of them in a mail order catalog… hm… the first song is similar to some NINE POUND HAMMER, but not so redneckish,

CHURCH OF CONFIDENCE On the hook! CD Nice mid tempo rocking punk music, of this Berlin based band which has releases out on several labels like Rodrec, People like you, Knockout,… here they are more rocknroll than ever, they even cover that old tune “I am a man of constant sorrow” you may know from the “O brother where art thou” flick. A blend of rockabilly is also mixed into the 13 tracks, which makes this CD to a nice party record, right between Social D, Peacocks, Turbo ACs and stuff like that. Wild at Heart.

CIVIT Massacre CD These girls must have some serious problems, from second one to the last tone of this CD, they are shouting at me, and I guess they don't have very nice things to say, looking at song titles like “Hardcore Bitch”, “Bleed and Burn” and “Closet Death”… In tradition of bands like L7, LUNACHICKS and more recent THE DISTILLERS, the foursome plays loud girl punk, but they don't look like if they've done it for more than 14 days. Check out the cover on the internet or in your local record store (if you are lucky to have one that carries Bomp / Alive / Disaster rekerds), it looks like a punk version of Vanilla Ninja, one of the casted bands they put together on some TV programme… hm… well, the music is for angry girls, if you dig above mentioned bands, you cannot go wrong with this here! Disaster.

THE CLERKS Planet Orange CD File under: dead boring contemporary big band ska that makes me shiver. Wolverine.

THE COOL JERKS International LP + Bonus 7” Great 60ties Beat album by these German guys! This is their third long player, the [well acclaimed] previous album “Wir beaten mehr” already had some songs in different lingos on it, with this “International” album the COOL JERKS even go further, you can find songs in English, French, Dutch and Italian here, the topics are the same, they sing about girls, girls and girls… It's a nice party record, although for my taste it's a bit to clean, like most 60ties Beat rekkids… Comes with a bonus single containing the SMALL FACES hit “All or nothing” in German… Soundflat.

COUGARS Pillow Talk CD Nice title… not very fitting to this kinda music, but nevertheless… I love this Doris Day movie. Doris surely would not have had a ear for COUGAR, Go-Kart Records newest signing, a band that would easily fit to labels like AmRep, Quarterstick or Touch & GO about ten years ago, intense, tight, noisy and powerful rock music with a dynamic horn section… the promo sheet says ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT and BOTTOM 12… well, damnright!!! Great disc.

CUTDOWN Invincible CD Must be pretty hard when you grow up in Finland, when you've got no money to get drunk and become a rawk n roller. Then you are forced to become a straight edger, play in a metal HC band full of pimple faced wankers and do lyrics like “I have eyes on my back I stand and wait for your attack!” Embarrassing, even for this genre.

Full House.

DEADLINE Getting serious CD Wow, at first I thought this band is all about stupid simple hardcore music, with a name like that and some tattoo scenery on the cover, but its a nice and entertaining punk rock band with a girl on the mike, fresh and fast like the early TILT albums, and with songs like “Wave you goodbye” they even remind me on very old stuff by DANCE HALL CRASHERS but DEADLINE are from London, England, not from California, still they have a very positive and I'm sure their audience has a great time at the live shows. PLY. DENNIS MOST & AUTIOLOVE Live at the El Cid, December 1976 CD Hm, I don't like it, I think I'm only a fan of the power-poppish Dennis Most. Too much guitar wanking here… Captain Trip.

DISTRICT Don't mess with the hard punx CD Haha, they are back. I liked them a lot, many years from now, and I also liked the PUBLIC TOYS (singer Pascal Briggs band prior to DISTRICT), with hits like “RocknRoll Parasite”… DISCTRICT is a lot poppier, but they still have the sarcasm and humor, but the music is softer… hm… but this will find its fans for sure, lets hope they stay together for some time, after all these line up changes trough the years. PLY.

VOODOO RHYTHM RECORDS Jurastrasse 15, 3013 Bern , Switzerland info@voodoorhythm.com - www.voodoorhythm.com THEE BUTCHERS ORCHESTRA STOP TALKING ABOUT MUSIC CD/LP Three guys (two of them used to be in the SELL-OUTS) from Brazil, produced and recorded by Tim Kerr = high octane rawknroll with a lot of classic touch, think Stooges and Stones. There are some real hits on this record, like track 3 “You betcha” or the mellower “Drama Queen”… which make this release a nice gem with exotic bonus! Really good, in fact.

JOHN SCHOOLEY AND HIS ONE MAN BAND CD After the REVELATORS got disbanded, John Schooley had fun with the HARD FEELINGS, and after VOODOO RHYTHM put out a four track single about a year ago, the one man band seems to be his main thing. This LP / Digipak CD has got 12 tracks to offer, and although some of the songs begin like “contemporary” Fat Possum Recordings like 20 Miles or Elmo Willams, its Trash Blues at the purest, takeno-prisoners kind of stuff. He is shooting that own and covers songs right into you're face, then you have to think about it, do you love it, or do you hate it… well… if you have got taste, the answer is logical…

There must be a special farm where Beat-Man cultivates his One-Man-Bands… here's a new one, called KING AUTOMATIC from Nancy, France, and he is delivering some fast and hard blues trash that in fact sounds like electro punk in some moments, mixed with classic rocknroll vocals… he even dares to cover KRAFTWERK's “The Model”, a insane piece of music… go check it out fer yourself… this is kinda revolutionary in the One-Man-Band microcosm!

Voodoo Rhythm has released a lot of high quality stuff in the last few years, but in my humble opinion this record is one of the best ever on this great label: HIPBONE SLIM and the KNEE TREMBLERS “Have knees, will tremble” CD. Just look at the personnel, Bruce Band of THE MILKSHAKES and HEADCOATS (he also played drums on this years Holly Golightly tour), Sir Bald Diddley and Joe Gibbs of THE KAISERS, guest musicians Holly Golightly, Mickey Hampshire (Milkshakes),… recorded at Toe Rag (where else…) this album is a must-have for everyone who can spell RocknRoll… this is a perfect mixture of Rockabilly, 60ties beat and RocknRoll… I better stop with this review before I run out of superlatives. Buy this, dance to this, or be shot.

This here just came in, THE GUILTY HEARTS, another primitive band on Voodoo Rhythm, this time from the suburbs of L.A. Hispanic quarter, with ex members of Loafing Hyenas and Blood on The Saddle. No wonder these 13 tracks here are mostly wild and noisy garage punk tracks with a whole lot of blues in it, they even cover GUN CLUB's “Jack O Fire”, so I guess you get the direction…

A VERY good possibility to get into the VOODOO RHYTHM jungle is this gem here, a label compilation presented in Reverend Dan's “Music for Nimrods” Radio Show, low budget sampler with many sensational songs of the latest Voodoo Rhythm Releases, plus some not even released things like the fantastic band from Valencia, Spain, WAU Y LOS ARRGHS!!! If you already have a lot of VR releases, get this

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c/o Peter Eichhorn P.Trash Records , Germany , 33649 Bielefeld Dornbuschweg 10 @aol.com rec ash ptr om s.c www.ptrashrecord

SPLIT THE ULCERS / THE MANIKINS 7” Six songs on one 7 Inch, each band does two originals and then they cover themselves vice versa. The MANIKINS from Sweden should already be known, they had great albums on P.Trash and Rockin' Bones, they are fast like the HOT POCKETS and catchy like the HIVES, but still garage punk to the max. THE ULCERS from England are a lot different, more classic punk rock I think, hm, I dunno, I better go for the MANIKINS! Yellow vinyl, by the way.

DEMON'S CLAWS 7” + DEMON'S CLAWS s/t LP Oh what a surprise, I thought that would be some boring psych pop album, the cover photo really looks like if these long haired would go into that direction.. .well… I was WRONG!!! This is fine trashy alt.country!!!! These guys are from Montreal, Canada, a city which is known for fine acts like BBQ, SPACESHITS, SEXAREENOS, SCAT RAG BOOSTER etc etc… well, in fact “incest” is the word… so its now wonder that the guys behind the DEMON CLAWS played in a bunch of bands before, grouped around Jeff Clarke and Skip Jensen, the four lads did an amazing record, trashy and country-eske at once, think GIBSON BROS with some blues punk and early Stones attitude… I cannot stop spinning this album, I even think it's a pity that I didn't get this on CD as well (out on Dead Canary Records) because I cannot play in my car stereo as well… The 7” inch is top-notch as well, great cover artwork by Bongout, silk screened… Go for it!

DIGGER & THE PUSSYCATS Card Shark Annie 7” Sorry, no they aint got girls in the band as the name suggests, Digger & the Pussycats is a two-piece from down under, which seems to be on tour in Europe for at least half a year. I got their “Young tight and alright” CD a few months ago, cool shite, especially the SUPERCHARGER cover version was outstanding.

With this single the developed a little bit more into the GUN CLUB (kids, this is an oooold band from Australia you should worship at least once a week) direction, serious rocking stuff!!!! Give me another full length!

THE HEARTATTACKS Here comes… LP A perfect TEENGENERATE rip off, fukken insane garage punk rock, not from Japan, but from Sweden I think, great flashy cover artwork, can't do no wrong here, sir, buy this thing or be the biggest loser in your punk rock club. The only bad thing aboot this is that two guys in here have long hair, which makes them look like some hippies, but maybe this is popular or even necessary in the land of the HELLACOPTERS… haha… Buy this now. No kiddin.

ANNA & THE PSYCHOMEN My Baby needs to Rock'n'Roll 7” Maybe the best release this nice folks from Milano, Italy ever did!!!

Wild (well, its on P.Trash, it has to be wild!) and catchy garage punk rock with a females singer, great voice by the way! Four songs, three originals and one cover version, originally done by TEENGENERATE. Be sure to catch them live, they played as support to the CLOROX GIRLS lately in Innsbruck, and totally blew me away! Great band, great single! This release is also available in a special edition of 100, including a comic book!

THE FATALS 7” There's some serious hype about this band, which is in fact a bad thing most of the time. Well, this 7” is the first time I got to listen to some songs of them, and I am not disappointed, raw and rocking garage punk, distorted and wild. Not bad for a bunch of frenchies, reminds a bit of SUPERHELICOPTER recorder with some guitar solos.

TJ & THE LIPSTIX 7” A single sided 7”, the debut of this band from Italy (???), female vox, garagey sound, an itsy bit like SPASTICS or DONNAS in their very early days. The first song is pretty fast, the second one is even playable at a garage punk DJ night, so check it out. Both songs have been written by Martin Savage, by the way…

JEFFREY NOVAK Fire in the Hole! 7” Jeffrey is a teenager, growing up in Tennessee, and he ain't got no friends, so he started a one man band, playing trashy-as-can-be 52 CHOKE TEN

punk rock songs with a whole lotta blues influence, plus I am quite sure he's got a bunch of OBLIVIANS records standing next to his stereo. This is surely one of the better one-man-bands, seems like this “genre” is exploding right now. Handmade silk screened covers, available in different colors… oh it must be terrible to be a P.Trash collector…

BLOWCHUNKS Hey stupid! 7” Four new songs by these German trashpunksters, catchy tunes, sometimes even melodic (!!!) which is quite a novelty for a release on P.Trash Records… I hear they only have a bunch of seven inches out by now, well listening to these tracks makes me wonder when they are back with a full length. Keep on going kids, we're waiting patiently!!! This 7” comes in a beautifully silk screened cover, artwork done by Eric Stanton.

SHAKIN' NASTIES Victim of Time 7” Aha, P-Trash goes 77 punk, with this brilliant release by an upcoming German punk rock band, the three songs on this seven inch are even better than the ones they had on the HATEPINKS / SHAKIN' NASTIES split on Relax-o-matic Records. “I hate the universe” is a hit. None less.

SUPERHELICOPTER “Sweet, nice and happy” LP Sick sick sick… but not as distorted and noisy as their earlier releases!!! The project “SUPERHELICOPTER” had many names in the past, and there even were some side projects, but this full length determines that they are back in perfect shape, more diverse then ever, this LP has so many different things to offer, from the organ driven intro to noise fragments to songs with female vocals, and of course the usual no-fi garage punk attacks. The limited edition comes with a special one sided screen printed 7”.

ANGRY ANGLES Crowds 7” Sweet Alix and Jay Reatard playing noisy and distorted punk stuff, not as easy to swallow like THE LIDS. Three songs, the last one “Blockhead” is a plain hit, a song that's crawling into your brain instantly. I saw them live some days ago, now THAT was funny, Alix was yawning, Jay was kinda bored too, but still, great songs!

P.Trash.

DRIVING THE SALT The ghosts stopped watching CD Old school hardcore for the kids, very professional, good recording quality, good artwork, intensity and a certain amount of melodies but not my cup of tea. Nevertheless, if you like Strike Anywhere, Good Riddance and a harder version of Boy Sets Fire, give it a try.

Striving for togetherness.

DUNE BUGGY ATTACK BATTALION Children of the resurrection CD How can a band with a Charles Manson reference sound so nice and carefree? This band's name is a subtitle in one of the first books about the Manson family books… surprisingly entitled “THE FAMILY” written by rock musician Ed Saunders. Back to the CD… its psychedelic pop music, okay, the feeling of this album may not be as far away from the Manson Family like I stated above, there are no messages or orders for blood sacrifices… but maybe a lilly bit of LSD here and there… but well, if you read UGLY THINGS regularly, you will like this disc! Deep Red. ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN Burn bright, burn fast CD / Picture LP Good grief, ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN are back… buckle up for a demolition joyride through fast, raunchy and high energy punk rock (and when I say punk rock I mean PUNKROCK, not that soft sissie version you see on MTV when the hip hop videos get a five minute break but wait, EF are played on MTV, too, regularly featured on VIVA LA BAM… ). Here is the story about this record… their 14th full length… its said that they hid their best songs from each recording session, saved them, re-recorded them just to celebrate their 13th anniversary record! Believe it or not, still this album is a full throttle punk rock hybrid between DEAD BOYS and ZEKE. They even manage to give MUSIC MACHINE's “Talk Talk” a punky edge! Go get it. TKO. THE EMBROOKS Yellow glass perspections CD This is a perfect Freak beat album. That's it. Stop buying the 2nd class Sixties Reissues, this MUNSTER RECORDS masterpiece will do it way better, these twelve songs are so authentic that it's even a little bit frightening, maybe the three EMBROOKS are in fact time warped from 1967. Extremely recommended. Really! Munster.

THE EPOXIES Stop the future CD The Epoxies are back! Hooray! Synth action, strange vocals and songs about Radiation, Toys and Robots some things never change. Well, the Promo CDEP I got years ago was not as clean as this new disc out on Fat Wreck Chords, but still, its fun listening to them, they always remind me of SUPERNOVA. Get this and get synthesized!!! Fat.

THE GHOULIES Reclaim the world CD Finally a good HC/Punk band, THE GHOULIES from Uppsala, Sweden, powerful and driving songs which have lyric wise much more to offer than most of the songs their competitors. I saw them live once, which was a little bit monotonous, maybe they only played the fast tunes that evening. But this album here is highly recommended. Rockstar.

THE ESCAPED s/t CDEP Old School Hardcore from Portland, Oregon, six songs for pogo kids who dig VARUKERS and DISCHARGE, THE ESCAPED feature two vocalists, which brings a lot of energy into the whole thing.

TKO.

GOOGLE-A Dendeke Rock Combo CD This is a cool band from Japan, playing surf and garage rocknroll, in a funny stile, and a unique feeling, you know, every band from Japan is somehow different. “Deneke Rock Combo” is an album full with danceable 60ties influenced tunes, sometimes very similar to other jap bands like the over-hyped 5-6-7-8's, other songs are faster, more in the vein of THE MIGHTY MIGHTY MOGULS. The Sazanami label does not have a distro in Europe yet, but I am sure it will not take long until you can get this album at your favorite mail order or record shop, BUT you can order it directly at www.sazanamilabel.com Sazanami.

FILTHY THIEVING BASTARDS My pappy was a pistol CD Two SWINGIN' UTTERS and one ME FIRST AND THE GIMMIE GIMMIES plus a drummer play Irish folked up songs with a lot of different instruments [violin, accordion, organ, piano,…] some of the songs could even be on SWINGIN' UTTERS records, well, the punk rock version maybe, but within these 15 songs are too many boring uninspired songs I must admit I don't like THE POGUES, maybe this is the reason why this album isn't a big shot for me…

BYO. FM BATS Everybody out… shark in the water CDEP / 12” New sounds from the Costa Mesa, California, based Punk rock Label TKO, weirdo punk with strange bass lines, distorted vocals and unusual hook lines, but still it is so fucking far away from being as artsy fartsy as this description may suggests. The forth songs for instance is a short excerpt based on the bass melody of “Stand by me”, and right when you think that there could be developing something, the songs stops and the next one destroys the scene and hits you right in the face. Let's hope the come over the pond soon, wanna see this live and in action. TKO. THE FUCKADIES You're the bunny, I'm the beast CD Hm, strange. When I saw this band about a year ago in Innsbruck, I thought, well, this is another street punkish band I don't really like. Now, after listening halfway through the debut CD I wonder if I was that drunk or if these lads from Switzerland drastically changed their musical direction… beginning with a loud chaotic tune (including a piano) the FUCKADIES set standards for other bands, there is a lot of 60ties punk riffing that made the HIVES to everybody's darlings. They are even not too shy to give the harmonica a chance… Check out the song “The poor man's working class” and be dazzled. Great tune! Could even be a cover!

Just kidding… hey, the artwork is outstanding; the production is just right, go for it. Fuckadies are goooooood! Subversiv.

FURY 161 Los reyes de la carretera CD The label from the Netherlands which comforts us with very unique 7” releases (especially the packaging is outstanding most of the time) is sending a full length of a band called FURY 161, which also got released on 10” as I could gather from the press sheet.

They “boiled up from the sewers of Rotterdam” they say, and what I can hear is that they are dirty indeed, the seven rockin' tunes are far away from being slick or easy, it's some serious rawk mixed with some 60ties stuff (it's the organ's duty to take you there). Tear It Up.

GRAFTON Blind Horse Campaign CD Heavy and sluggish rock and roll music, played by some miscreants from Columbus, Ohio who seem to have loads of records from labels like Quarterstick, Touch and Go and AmRep in their shelves… while listening to songs like the opener “I've been looking” it is easy to imagine the live impact GRAFTON are able to make, you can see the sweat dripping from Lou Posters forehead or the beer drummer Jason spilled splashing from the snare drum… go see 'em! They are touring Europe right now! [okay, they have been…] Dead Canary.

GRAVY TRAIN Are you wigglin'? LP Ye ye a new GRAVY TRAIN rekkid!!! These wierdos from SF completely took me to gaga land with the opener of their last platter, “Tittie Bounce”, and with this new vinyl here they are about to set new standards. Only about 5 seconds in song nummero uno you get the direction… “Toot toot! And a Beep Beeeep!!!” cray-zee new wave electro punk with hits like “(Everybody do) The Thingy” and “Ghost Boobs”. Definitely in my Top 10 list this year! Kill Rock Stars.

GREEDY BEES a lifetime for the disappointment CD Very bad sounding (and I am not only referring to the music) Ska Punk from Switzerland. These guys even look boring, except from the one who's got a Pennywise shirt on. Oh my gosh. If you are 14 and stopped listening to Boygroups, this might be something for you to revolt against your parents… 808.

GUITAR WOLF Love Rock LP Thanks to Alien Snatch, I received some items from Narnack Records, a VERY interesting label from New York City. Included in this promo pack was the last album ever of lo-fi punk rock band GUITAR WOLF from Japan, Billy aka Bass Wolf died some months ago, he had a heart attack… well, living on the fast lane ain't the healthiest thing… well, Narnack did a great job here with the LP release, the cover has a cut out in shape of a heart, the inner sleeve fits to the cover, top notch packaging I say… the music, well, after five studio albums, GUITAR WOLF didn't change so much, its still noisy and fast rocknroll / punk rock, a lot of shouts and grrrrroowls… and songs titles like “Katsayuma Tobacco City” or Shinkansen High Tension”… recommended for both, Guitar Wolf fans and newbies… Narnack.

THE GENERATORS The winter of discontent CD Every time I hear or read something about THE GENERATORS, it reminds me that the pigs took my drivers license the day after I first saw them live. Hm, well, I know I cannot blame them but they played at least an predominant role… it was a fun night, with lots of booze of course, and melodic punk rock anthems played by this L.A. based band, who always seemed to have a lot of influences by British bands, as well as idols like Social D. With this album, you will not see them in any small clubs anymore, this is punk rock for 400+ persons venues. This here is way better than the last BONES album. PLY.

THE HATEPINKS Plastic Bag Ambitions CD / LP New shite from the French side, LES HAINE ROSES, finally found a US Label releasing these 13 new songs on CD, the LP is done by their friends at Lollipop. This songs here are a bit different to the fantastic “Sehr gut RocknRoll” album… they are faster and shorter and maybe more hectic… hm… I liked the other album better… this one sounds like it was written on coke… Fans of the band should check this out of course, but if you don't know the HATEPINKS by know I suggest to buy the first full length, or better off go and see them live!!!! TKO / Lollipop.

THE GENTLEMAN CALLERS Don't say what it is CD “Twang Rock” from the label of THEE FINE LINES, and these four lads play very British and cool rock music, not as harsh like some HEADCOATS records, more contemporary and slick, sometimes even “Please please me” Beatles-like… You know, not really beat, not really KINKS rock, but somewhere in between. For my taste its a bit toooo smooth and normal but I'm sure this kind of music has a lot of followers. Get some sound samples at www.myspace.com/thegentlemancallers. Wee Rock.

THE HOLLOW POINTS The Black Spot CD I don't know where label boss Duane Peters digs out all this bands we've never heard of. THE HOLLOW POINTS from Seattle have been featured on last year's “old skars and upstarts” sampler, this is their second album, and I hafta admit, it's a bomb! They mentioned a Social Distortion reference in the press sheet, but I don't see / hear it at all, this record is all about angry punk rock, melodic but not clean, aggressive but still so much rocknroll drive in it... I am stunned! Disaster.

CHOKE TEN 53

HOLY GHOST REVIVIAL Bleeding Light CD Justin / CLOROX GIRLS sent me this band's debut album, released on his own 17 Television Records label and Johnny Cat Records.

First I expected something similar to the CLOROX GIRLS, fast and catchy punk rock… hm… but this here is something completely different! After listening to the first three or four songs I can hear similarities to PLEASURE FOREVER, a Sub Pop band that seems to be likeminded. HOLY GHOST REVIVAL also have these lush, sinister and brooding five minute songs, but in contrast to Pleasure Forever, HGR is a real rock band, not an art concept that went on tour. All I can say about this album is that you can listen to it over and over, it simply is impossible that this gets boring, but beware kids, this is definitely not for the normal punk rock connoisseur!!! 17 Television / Jonny Cat. INSECT SURFERS Satellite Beach CD This is a surf band from Los Angeles, with a best of CD on the unique Greek label GREEN COOKIE Records. The Insect Surfers formed in 1979 in Washington DC and were endlessly gigging in the early 80s, until they broke up in 1984. Mastermind Dave Armson moved to Los Angeles and put together a new Insect Surfers Crew, they dropped nearly all the vocal songs they got and developed a very special surf style. Sometimes the tunes brings desert scenarios into your mind, other songs are more psyched out, fuzzy, and some of the tracks here are surf interpretations of well known songs, like “Zorbas Theme” and “Mr.Yunioshi” by Henry Mancini. If you search for interesting surf bands, this comp is a perfect possibility! Green Cookie.

INVISIBLE SURFERS DoCD Not to be mistaken with the INSECT SURFERS, this band here comes from Greece and plays nice surf instros. I got this here directly from there manager, who wasn't able to send me any info sheet, cover artwork or track list, he only sent two CDRs… and as if this would not be enough to get me angry, he kept writing twice a week, asking if I already did a review, and when the new issue is about to come… hm… that's not a very good basis if you want to receive a good review, huh? So, to sum it up, music is okay, a bit boring, but that may come from my aversion of listening to more than 10 instro songs in a row, the “management” of the band is bad bad bad. I don't even know the title of this double CD. Nor the label.

IRA The body and the soil CD We dig Garage Punk rock, so this kind of pathetic slow metal core does not bring a smile on our faces. Go-Kart.

JETBOYS Jet Patrol LP Its been a while since I got this album, but I still listen to it each and every day, somehow it brings me into the mood to get up…. it makes me even feel that its okay to get up at 6:30 a.m. just to go to work, and after work, when I listen to it, I wanna go out immediately, to get some drinks, see some bands… gosh, this Japanese band is so fucking energetic, its like if I would listen to TEENGENERATE or the early REGISTRATORS for the first time again… Demolition Derby made it, they released the first proper full length of the JETBOYS, 10 years after their first release on SFTRI… Demolition Derby.

JR EWING Maelstrom CD If you've ever listened to a song of Jr Ewing, you know that they fuckin´ rock (plus they are the best European live band)! What we

have with their new album is far off what they did in their last releases, even when they still play their typical driving and very energetic post-hardcore without leaving any time to breathe for the listener…but there are a few significant changes, especially concerning the vocals. Imagine a mixture of Ozzy Osbourne and the singers of Engine Down and Blood Brothers and you know what the frontman´s voice sounds like now…very melodious and, in my opinion, a bit strange. I was soo surprised when I firstly put the (awesome produced!) cd in the stereo…at the beginning, it left the impression that Andreas´s new way of singing at the top of his voice slows everything a bit down, but alas, since I got used to this change, I ´m really into the 10 new songs. Just killers no fillers! Jr Ewing sounds noisy and, not at least, the song structures are more complex than anything on ride paranoia without loosing the great flow of the older songs (that's what I can't stand on this overloaded Dillinger Escape Plan Crap he he ). Somewhere I red that they've already made it into the Norwegian top 15 with Maelstrom, but this really shouldn't prevent all the self righteous hardcore outsider kids from buying it. Jr Ewing still hits you in the face and you can't get wrong with this record.

KILL THE HIPPIES Erectospective DoCD This here really came last minute, so I aint got no time to listen to it as long as I should… but even if I had a day more or two, I would not get through all of the songs of this collection of the Kent, Ohio, based punk band with the nice and shiny name KILL THE HIPPIES. The two CDs here contain no less than 77 (how punk is this!?) songs, and all I can say about it right now is that this is very 80ties punk and very funny! I like this tongue in cheek humor, and the music motto is “keep it simple stupid”! RocknRoll Purgatory.

THE KONKS s/t CD Another new band on Bomp, one of the coolest labels around. I don't know where the KONKS are from, but it must be some area with caves and poisoned drinking water, this rekkid sounds as retarded as can be, rattlin' an' rollin', a labeled as garage rock, this sounds really raw and wylde… like if you threw the cheapest guitar, bass and some drums into the monkey cave of your local zoo, wait for 3 minutes and press the “record” button on your cassette player. 12 songs, including an AEROSMITH (!!!) cover, this album has a lot of garage punk, plus a heavy dose of sick Mississippi Delta Blues inside. Check this out, but don't play it too loud, it might ruin your speaker system… Bomp.

THE KRUNCHIES In de winkel LP Oooooooh… this is good!!! Fast, fresh and rude, okay, the first time I got to listen to this LP I couldn't decide at what speed I should play it… 45 sounded to fast, 33 to slow… maybe??? Well, its gonna be played at 45, so fasten your seat belts, this is really frantic and chaotic in some way, sometimes it even sounds like if the threesome (two guys and a gal) take a race against themselves… means that everyone tries to finish the song first… If you're not afraid of sum weird punk rock, try this! After the FUNCTIONAL BLACKOUTS Chicago's got another band which tries to rip the term “punk rock” to pieces… Criminal IQ. THE LEGENDARY HUCKLEBUCKS Rattle all night long and shake you CD This band from Pittsburgh sounds like a lot of fun… imagining a live show of this foursome, it just smells like a night of dancing, singing and drinking… The first couple of songs reminded me pretty much of REVEREND HORTON HEAT when they did the

DVDS DOODLE-LI-BOPS Last Gig Switzerland, really crazy lo fi shit, and this is As I write this, it will be sold out fer sure. The DOODLE-LI-BOPS were a two man band from as often, P.TRASH did some very special well, me… believe to have you insane, show, Halloween a at gig last their of recording a live black, gold, and glow in the dark… packaging, the DVD comes in a tin box, and there are three different screen printed versions, THROW RAG Live at the House of Blues lot of cool acts like One Man Army, Alkaline Trio, This is Episode 15 (!!!) of the Kung Fu Records “The show must go off” series, featuring a RAG, one of the best live bands around, with a Adolescents, Neil Hamburger, etc. So this here is a full concert of Salton Sea's own THROW around, uncomplicated and chatty, but folks friendliest the are guys these stage, Off too! music, excellent and great stage appearance In addition to the set of 15 Songs, wild. go audience the in kids the and when they hit the first chord, a wild punk rock show begins, the chance to catch them live, go for it! If not, there's some interviews (very disturbing…) and a thing on the area they live in… If you have buy the DVD! V/A BAD BOYS FOR LIFE cool tracks. The first DVD is dedicated to the The very active label from Dortmund, Germany, released a double DVD with a shitload of AND THE HUNNS and DAMNATION, PETERS DUANE “Where the bad boys Rock Tour”, with THE BONES, DEMENTED ARE GO, of videos of PLY bands, beside of before compilation a is DVD Second The interviews. and shows, the from videos live including a lot of GENERATORS, THE REVOLVERS, THE SPOOK, THE AK, HEARTBRE AMERICAN mentioned bands there are also THUG MURDER, 54 CHOKE TEN

“Smoke 'em if you got 'em” album, but later on the HUCKLEBUCKS take a more traditional rocknroll alley and mix it with just a lil' bit of country and rockabilly, and throw in a big dose of punk rock… definitely a part-ee record!!! RocknRoll Purgatory.

LEONOV Halleluja Baby CD Ugly Cover and a bunch of guys who look like if they studied way too long, but very professional and tight alternative rock music that will find a huge crowd this summer, I'm sure. Really not my cup of tea, but I have to maintain that this five song CDEP will find international acknowledgement easily, this here is way better than overrated Austrian acts like Garish, Naked Lunch, Jugenstil or The 05. You can listen to all of these tracks on their website at www.leonov-official.com Self Released.

CHAZ MATTHEWS Amazing Graceless CD 45 minutes of nice punk rock songs from Ex-Dimstore Haloes, recorded at home, I think he even played all instruments by himself.

The production is pretty mediocre, that kind of music really needs a proper recording. All in all this 13 songs range from okay to very good, but still I doubt that I put it in the CD player again pretty soon. Full Breach Kicks.

THE MEOWS At the top of the bottom CD Mail from Spain! No Tomorrow released a new one by THE MEOWS from Barcelona, and wow, this is rocking so fine that you finally forget that they are from Spain!!! No accent, no bad production, just pure fun rawknroll boogaloo with a lot of punk moments from wayback when… think of REAL KIDS and DICTATORS, and now add some 60ties soul-stomping-groove! Killer. No Tomorrow.

MHZ Harness the power LP Although this is a brand new Demolition Derby release, the recordings of this band date back to 2000-2001… as far as I can gather from the press info, this are the complete recordings of MHZ, a band that consisted of Flying Nun Records co-label boss and Ex MONARCH Andy Clayton and Don Blum / VON BONDIES and a guy called Ben Mancell on bass. While they were an active band, they only put out one single 7”, last year “Harness the power” has been released on Flying Nun on CD, and DemDerby did the LP version now. Enough blah blah, the music is straight and punchy, somewhere between the earlier recordings of the GAZA STRIPPERS, MISTREATERS and tech / science fiction influenced bands like DEVO, MAN OR ASTRO MAN or SERVOTRON… good mixture huh??? Recorded at Jim Diamonds Ghetto Recorders… Demolition Derby.

THE MOVING SOUNDS Don't sleep on this CD Well, for me it's hard not to sleep on this… its nice and clean garage rock from Sweden, but way to normal, too slick, I couldn't find any edges. Hm, I know there are hordes of people who dance to this kind of music for hours, like the rich kids at Atomic Café in Munich, but I'm not one of those wannabe hipsters. I wanna hear rocknroll, not some kind of elevator tunes. CopaseDisques.

NAZIS FROM MARS Space Pebbles LP Okay, it doesn't really make sense to review this here… the record is already sold out, but mebbeee you find a copy in some record shack if you are lucky! This band (with the very interesting name…) delivers that kind of electro punk you won't hear in your “alternative” radio… forget STEREO TOTAL or crap like that, listen to underground sensations like this band from the Netherlands. The sound may not be as easy to swallow like the usual punk rock meal, but be sure to give them a chance, and you'll not regret it. Oh, this is a 12” LP on 45 rpm. Ken Rock.

NERVOUS NELLIE Don't Think Feel CD Wow, finally an outstanding release on Go Kart Europe. I didn't like a lot of the stuff they did recently, aside of the fantastic DUESENJAEGER album, but this here is top notch, too! This band is way better then their stupid band name may suggest, it's an Indierock [yes, this term is still around! Don't call everything emo!] combo from Sweden, with nice melodies, but not as pop drenched like WANNADIES or YUM YUMS, its more like an 80ties version of Koufax, there is a lot of harsh guitar work in there, stuff that reminds me of DINOSAUR JR at “Where you been” and PAVEMENT at “Crooked Rain” era. Check this out! You won't be disappointed.

Go-Kart.

NOB DYLAN AND HIS NOBSOLETES Positively 12 Stiff Dylans No way… Reverend Norb, the human grasshopper, former MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL columnist and BORIS THE SPRINKLER mastermind recorded - with support of a backing band - a bunch of

BOB DYLAN songs… and guess what? It's GOOD!!!! 14 Dylan songs in a garage punk rock style, and the best thing is: he did not chose Dylan's “hits” like “Like a rolling stone” or “The times they are achangin'”, no, he took some lesser known songs, and puts them into a snotty punk rock outfit. Great record, although I know it makes more sense for people who know the original versions, otherwise you might not find things like the lightning fast spoken word intro [which is in fact the first song of Dylan's legendary “Blonde on Blonde” album] so funny… Alternative Tentacles.

ONEPERCENTRES currently CDEP This is nice, sounds like that “Godamnit” album of the ALKALINE TRIO, when they didn't try to be a Goth punk band and when they still had normal haircuts. It doesn't even sound like a Japanese band, there's no accent. If you like poppy punk rock, this might be interesting for you! Millionaire Recordings.

THE ORIGINAL THREE Been dealt a losing hand CD When not on tour with everybody's darlings THE BLACK LIPS, guitar player Ian is spending time with his band THE ORIGINAL THREE. After two self released things and a 7” on Shake Your Ass records in Italy, here is the so-to-say debut album, nine stripped down and dirty garage punk songs with blues influence, simple beat and help from friends like Jay Reatard and Alicja Trout on two tracks. Way better than most of the bands who try to jump up on the garage punk wagon, but still this is nothing outstanding. Maybe I have to listen to this for several times. I hate doing last minute reviews. Empty.

OUT OF CONDITION Perceiving symptoms of a dying conscience CD Melodycore in the vein of NO FUN AT ALL for the deaf and dumb. I hope these kids will find a job soon, in order to be unable to play in a band anymore. There should be a law that you are only allowed to buy instruments when you've got some taste in rock and roll music.

808.

THE PHENOMS Home brain surgery kit CD Well, it looks like a proper CD, in fact it is a short life CD. THE PHENOMS are way better here then on the split 7” with… hm… I forgot the other bands name, well, here these Chicago lads rock out some noise punk rock in the vein of BULEMICS, MISTREATERS and even DEVIL DOGS. This is fun, check them out at thephenoms.com, it's truly no reinvention of rocknroll music, but it's a nice ride!!!

Beercan.

PISTOL GRIP Tear it all down CD Genuine Street Punk rock music from these guys from El Lay, here you've got studded belts, tattoos, leather jackets, band t-shirts and attitude, anthems to sing along to, maybe even a circle pit. I'm sure the kids go wild when they enter the stage. I liked the debut “Shots from the Kalico rose” a lot better, but who am I to judge? BYO. PLANLOS Klartext CD Sounds like Die Toten Hosen, which is a VERY bad thing. Poser punk music. Goldene Zeiten.

THE PORTUGAL JAPAN same CD I didn't get any info, not even the artwork just the CDR… but what I could gather from the internet (which is not really much, because most sites I found were written in Japanese…) is that this is a new all girl band from Kumamoto (don't ask…), Japan, who play in the tradition of SUPERSNAZZ and FIFI AND THE MACH 3, means a lot of pop drenched punk rock tunes with nice, little-girl-like vocals. I really hope that the Sazanami stuff will soon be available here, this CD will get a lot of recognition from both, magazines and fans of modern power pop combos! Sazanami.

POTION Band of outsiders CD Our only “alternative” radio station is flooded with bad bad electro pop music, it seems that everyone who can handle a keyboard, drum machine and a recording device is played in the radio… This duo is somehow different, they use a similar instrumentation to the stuff that calls itself electronica, but there's something spheric in the tunes, the same kind of warm and relaxed feeling I get when I listen to STEREOLAB albums. The singer Annie Maley has a very jazzy voice, combined with that space / agent sound carpets and the driving beats (how are pretty much in the background) it's a very unique mixture, give them a listen at their website. I don't know if this 9 track CD is distributed in Europe, but I am sure you can get some info on www.potionmusic.com Blue Note.

THE PRICKS Maximum S&M CD CHOKE TEN 55

WIZZARD IN VINYL www.wizzard-in-vinyl.com

This time the releases I got from this Japanese label are not as good as last time. To poppy, to normal, to mainstream. For example this guy called CHRIS VON SNEIDERN (The wild horse CD) is really really awkward, some of the songs even remind me of the teen flick LA BOUM, and these are the better ones… this is the music you hear on mainstream radio at 4 a.m.

MICHAEL CARPENTER (Rolling Ball CD) is a little bit better, its more power poppish with a little 60ties feeling, but still, to much “folky arrangements”, uuarrgh!

The next CD, which is in fact a CDEP is “In this city” by a girl called LISA MICHOLS, is, as you can easily bear in mind, a poppy record with female vocals, think of Bangles and Rachael Gordon. One song here is written by Lou Reed, the other ones are originals. Well. Unexciting but nothing that makes me wanna puke, the songs are nice and round, I guess there are dozens of singers like her, in any major city in the US, playing in art café's and colleges. The next band is also far away from being something special, EASTERLY (self titled CD) from Salem, Oregon, but the are not bad. Sounding like a (yes, it is possible) poppier version of Teenage Fanclub, with some Fountains of Wayne and Posies in it, this guys can surely entertain you on a lazy Sunday afternoon, when you've got nothing to do, not even a six pack is in sight. Well, they mainly sing about broken hearts and girls who run away, so try not to be too depressed when putting this into you're stereo.

RUDI is a fukken great band, maybe the first punk band out of Belfast, Northern Ireland. When I received this CD I couldn't stop listening to it, although most of the songs are on it 2 or even 3 times, in alternate versions. I like this kind of punk. I guess the kids wouldn't even call it “Punk” these times, poppy melodies and its not even loud… well, the times they are achangin', on this CD (limited to 500 copies) you'll find 18 tracks from four different radio sessions the band did between October 1979 and November 1981, there's even one John Peel Show, just great. If you dig stuff like BUZZCOCKS, JAM, UNDERTONES, you will also have a lot of fun with this CD! (The Radio Sessions 1979-1981).

THE OTHER KIDS got a retrospective with a release on Wizzard on Vinyl, the 14 songs on this CD range from their early days in 1984 until 1997, what you get is harmless indie pop music, for people who thing REM was too gloomy in the 80s.

Rounding up this Wizzard in Vinyl reviews corner is a CD by a band called THE NOW (Here come… CD), never heard of them?

Well, me too. Seems like this boys are/were lads from RUDI's Brian Young, because he re-released the first two singles of The Now on his Last Year's Youth label. These songs are also on this compilation, I guess the 18 Songs included on this CD are (aside of some studio outtakes which never were produced properly are all this band ever recorded. I maintain this is only for the hardcore collectors of early britpunk.

Oh, last minute, I received some more Wizzard In Vinyl Releases, like “The Lipstick Menace” by Oslo's TRASHCAN DARLINGS, originally released on East Side Music (if I remember right) and you get a high does of glam punk rock, so if you dig the REVOLVERS and WILDHEARTS, you'll dig this too.

Dedicated to GEOFF LIP DANIELIK, here is a CD crammed with songs of the band he has been in all over the years 19781981, which are THE NOW, ALTER EGO, PEROXIDE, plus there are some newer recordings dated 2003. File under: Power Pop/Punk.

THE GO “Instant Reaction” is another re-release of an early 80s power pop / punk band, this collection contains the four tracks of the rare first single, released 1980, plus 18 additional tracks which were recorded in 1982 in their garage very cool power pop of a then young band which played CBGBs and all the other punk joints wayback when.

THE LET'S GO'S “Rancho Relajo”: The press release said “skandinavia's answer to the SUPERSUCKERS”, I say no. This sounds more like surfed up Ramones punk rock, fast and catchy, and at most of the songs I catch myself humming and toe tapping! This is the Japanese pressing with one bonus track.

And finally there's a two disc retrospective of the late 70s power pop band THE EXPLOSIVES, one CD contains live recordings, the other one is (yeah, you already guessed…) full of studio recordings. The info says “This ain't no wimpy 'n fey skinny tie power pop” but looking at the pictures and listening to the music, I maintain that its exactly like that…

56 CHOKE TEN

Extraordinary lightning-fast punk rock with a Mickey Mouse voice, it's so fast that it's sounding a bit chaotic, but it's similar to some earlier ZEKE recordings. Well the singer is totally different, this one here is singing at a high level, very monotonous, too, that my brain begins to ache after five songs. I'm too old for this. Rockstar.

RADAR STATION Spirit of Desire CD This Mini CD was sent along with the great MUTANTS “Drunk Mambo Outtakes” 7”, but what we've got here is something completely different, this is vintage rock and roll music, no clean shit, no guitar wanking, but so much genres mixed up into one hell of a CD… very diverse, and with some saxophones and a lot of percussion instruments. If you want to discover a new side of Scandinavian music, this is it, it's convenient and dangerous at the same time, its soft rocking and hard hitting, I am sorry, I cannot describe it in a better way. Wanton.

RANDOM Who really cares?! CD Up with 3 FEET SMALLER, CHEEK DAKOTA, JUGENDSTIL and SIDE EFFECT the worst “Punk rock” band from Austria. Listening to music like this makes me rubbing my ears so hard that they finally fall off my head. Suspect.

RANDY'S RIPCORD Love CD Two girls and a boy on drums play genuine melodic punk rock, not unlike FABULOUS DISASTER, BAMBIX, HEROINES, but still you've got the feeling that this is not the real thing. Nice, but nothing special. And please, get a haircut. Go-Kart.

THE REAL LOSERS Music for Funsters LP I didn't really like their first record, it was okay, a nice trashy thing, but nothing I would put on my record player more often, but with their sophomore album they got me… “Music for Funsters” is an unbelievable cool and stupid album, this three ugly kids from England (two boys and one girl) are pushing the term “trash rocknroll” to new limits, putting so much energy and melody in the songs, but still they sound like as if they were recorded over the telephone (long distance call). Oh, I hate loving this record!!!! So many people kept raving and raving about it… but I couldn't resist… if you liked their first LP, you will go loco on this one… Alien Snatch.

THE REATARDS Not fucked enough LP If you don't like this, I don't like you. Send back the zine, I'm not kiddin'. Empty.

RED LIGHTS FLASH free CD Being the first international signing of the A-F Label (run by AntiFlag people) is pretty impressing, especially for a band from Austria, but the four guys from Graz really really deserve it. It's so impressive to watch them over all these years, with their first album on the now defunct Remedy Records label, getting better and more professional with every recording, playing hundreds of live shows all over Europe.

Yeah, the music is not really my thing but still, although I am not a follower of this HC/Punk rock genre, I can decide what's good and what's crappy, and this album is clearly up with the big names, like Good Riddance, Strike Anywhere, etc. equals powerful and aggressive punk rock music. A-F. RENTOKILL Back to convenience CD Totally mediocre melody core punk that bores me. I cannot understand why the kids listen to this, maybe it's because kids are dumb and take too much drugs. Or to less drugs. Or because they beat themselves up at bad punk shows and their brain becomes useless, and then they kinda like this music. That's the only explanation. Rise or Rust.

ROCKET 350 Built to last CD Oh what a surprise! Looking at the cover of this CD I thought this is all about boring hardcore music… but milliseconds after I pushed the play button, a smile came onto my face, cause this is nummero uno rockabilly / rocknroll music, a soundtrack for a cool dance party, traditional and modern at the same time. They do not have the problems like most rockabilly bands have, here every song does NOT sound like the other!!! Hooray!!! RocknRoll Purgatory.

ROCK'N'ROLL MONKEY AND THE ROBOTS Detroit Trauma CD Well, sometimes myspace.com is a nice instrument to get to know a lot of whacky underground bands, like it happened here with ROCK'N'ROLL MONKEY AND THE ROBOTS who added me on as their “friend” and sent me this CD shortly after. Its more or less a one man band, with some heapin' helpers, but don't get me wrong, this is not one of these one-man bands which are so popular right now, like BBQ or John Schooley, this here is more like ATOM AND HIS

PACKAGE mixed with Lou Barlow Lo-Fi home recordings, or maybe some punked up Guided by Voices stuff, funny and weird songs, hilarious (and sometimes disconcerting) lyrics… be sure to check out www.myspace.com/rocknrollmonkey or their label www.drasticplastic.com!!! Drastic Plastic.

RODRIGUEZ Black Finger Tips 10” Finally, after the great 7” on Varmint Records, new material by Austria's rawest and roughest punk rock institution, RODRIGUEZ, nine songs all in all, one cover by THE BOYS included. After the very cool intro the first track “Arizona Love” explodes in your speakers, and easily are set back to their fantastic self titled debut.

The second track “Can't take my eyes of you” has the for RODRIGUEZ typical little guitar solo things, well not much changed in the last years, they've become more professional and self confident, but there's a thing I don't like, to me this album is too “normal”, its lacking the freaky and maybe dangerous things they had on their other releases, okay, all songs are more or less of the same mid-tempo, there's even a chaotic part with a saxophone buried in the last song (heavily inspired by the NEW BOMB TURKS) but its not as fresh as usual. Maybe they only spent too much time rehearsing and recording. Don't get me wrong, this is still a very good effort, but if you ask me, the debut is better. Relax-o-Matic Vibrator.

THE ROYAL CREAM Death is not a destination, it's a state of mind CD Although the whole album is recorded and produced like most bands which got played at the so called alternative radio stations I really like this CD. This three piece (two guitars and drums) delivers nine soulful rocknroll songs with melodies and hook lines that seem to be plastered into your ears like forever. The music makes you feel good, although lyric wise it is not that positive… song titles like “Deathtrip”, “From mad to worse” or “Another kind of blues” can give you a direction… Big Bongo.

SICK OF IT ALL Outtakes for the outcast CD A compilation of b-sides, compilation and soundtrack songs, two live tracks plus a remix of “Just Look Around” by House of Pain… mainly for fans I guess. Still, SOIA are the best hardcore band I ever saw. If you are new into this crap, try “Scratch the surface” or “Just Look Around”, two essential albums of the early nineties. Fat. SIMON CHAINSAW & THE HIPPY KILLERS Told me a lie CD More hard rock from chainsaw boy and his fellows, more music to run away from. One word: nausea. Wild Dog. SIT'N'SPIN Doin' time with CD Oooooh…. I have a weakness for poppy girl bands… so this new CD

by SIT'N'SPIN is catching me by the first note… I only knew some compilation tracks and the 7” on Austrians premiere garage label, PURE VINYL, so I am more than thankful that Heidi Lieb, who is responsible for almost all songs on this album, sent it to me.

SIT'N'SPIN is an all-girl outfit from NYC playing straight and melodic pop songs, but it is not too sugar coated or too cute… just a little bit. Some of the songs have some country in it, e.g. my favorite track “Drinkin' of you”. If you are into CUB, MUFFS, SHONEN KNIFE or older stuff like PLEASURE SEEKERS, take some time and listen to some tracks on their website at www.sitnspin1.com. Blood Red. SKARAMOUCHE Never ever touch CD I don't understand how it is possible to make contemporary ska sound so bad and boring. That's totally beyond me. Okay, a chick with a flat voice is trying to sing, the rest of the band (which consists of 10 people by the way…) is an eyesore, pale faced losers in dinner jackets. I rather do my tax declaration than listening to this longer than 2 minutes. 808.

SKARP Requiem CD Ultrabrutal grinding Metal Core. Man, they must have had a very difficult youth… Alternative Tentacles.

SKEPTIC ELEPTIC Paranoid Pretty CDEP This is a the “single” to their full length, also out on Caustic Rock, with two songs of the LP and two unreleased tracks, “Le Petit Mort” and the WHO cover “Substitute”, plus, as a little extra they even added a video track to the song “Rocky Horror Freakshow”.

Essential, for the followers of classic 77 punk! Caustic Rock.

SKEPTIC ELEPTIC Sick Sick Sick CD Another great effort by this very likeable Austrian 77 punk band, released on the very active German Caustic Rock label. This 12

songs are by far the best ones that ever came from Skeptic Eleptic, it seems that constant touring left some marks on the songwriting, years ago they were just following the blue print of a typical punk band that fell in love with their heroes from the first punk wave, now the four guys from STP and Vienna seem to concentrate on other things than eyeliner and studded belts -> the songs! I haven't seen them live for ages, but on record, they sound a lot more mature and self confident. But still there's a thing, the production is a bit to flat for my taste, if you compare it to the latest releases by Neurotic Swingers or Hatepinks, they just sound more powerful. www.skepticeleptic.de -> check out some MP3s. Caustic Rock.

SMOKE OR FIRE Above the city CD Mostly these Press Sheets delivered with promo CDs contain nothing but exaggerations and not-really-truths, plus some odd list to show us with which bands they had to share stages with… here, right after I put in the CD, my eyes discover two names on the press info… AVAIL and HOT WATER MUSIC… and that's exactly what this band sounds. Formerly known as JERICHO, they moved from Boston to Richmond, Virginia, changed their name (after some christian rock band tried to sue them) to SMOKE OR FIRE and got signed by modern punk rock's biggest players, Fat Wreck. And with an album like this, the story has not ended, well, it's at the beginning I guess, millions… err… thousands of HOT WATER MUSIC and AVAIL fans thirst for bands like this. Fat. SMUT PEDDLERS Coming Out CD Nice streetpunkish music from a bunch of Americans who don't know when they should better shut up. Especially the singer John Ransom seems to be a prototype of an ignorant, dumb, loudmouth American. I'm sure Ox Fanzine can tell you a story about that. Music OK, opinions uuuragh. TKO. THE SPITTIN' VICARS The gospel according to CD I'm sure this will sell like hot cakes, a label with a lot of punk rock credibility, good hymnic songs, great (but for my taste way to slick) production and a guy in the band who is also pounding the skins for DIE TOTEN HOSEN. Congratulations, Tom, honestly, but I don't think I will listen to it very often. Radio Blast.

ST.HOOD Sanctified CD EEEEK!!! The only thing more annoying that metal HC is bad metal HC. Full House.

STREET BRATS See you at the bottom CD Amazing anthems by Chicago's STREET BRATS, really, I got the same feeling like wayback when I first listened to LIBERTINE from Canada, great songs, great production, the right amount of singalong hymns and snottieness, perfect!!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Full Breach Kicks.

THE STAR & KEY OF THE OCEAN Vintage Soup… CD After their mediocre surf album in 2003, this French band with the strange name is back, again on the cool label from Greece, Green Cookie Records, and this disc is quite a step forward I must say, sounds like the finally have found their style, its funnier, there are even some songs which remind me of the PHANTOM SURFERS (Well, some parts of it), because they have a little beat rhythm in it.

There are even some slower and darker songs on it, but all in all it's a good surf-beat records, plus there's beautiful digipak artwork!

Green Cookie.

THE STEPBROTHERS Baby, it's over CD This is Mike Mariconda's (Raunch Hands, Devil Dogs) new horse… and it's a bit different to everything he's done before. His fellow companions have also some musical history (Damn Times, Titz, White Heat) but I don't ever heard any tune of those bands, well, this CD here is going in every corner RocknRoll has ever developed, there are some Soul / RnB tunes, some straight rockers, there is even one Rolling Stone-ish “s-s-s-s-sensation” inside. A very diverse and not easy album you have to listen over and over before you finally fall in love with the one or other song… This here is one of the first releases of Licorice Tree Records, a label that finally keeps raunchy rocanroll alive in Texas. Licorice Tree.

STILETTOS Making history by repeating it CD I don't know I liked STARDUMB a lot better when they put out all those Pop Punk Bands from all over Europe. The Stilettos don't really overwhelm me, neither on this recording device nor at a live presentation of their material. It's nice and kinda “wild” and “garage punk rock” but… only “kinda”. Okay, few songs really kick some ass, like “Feeling all right” who could even make it onto a mix tape. What I want to say is THE STILETTOS are not bad or anything, but I CHOKE TEN 57

think I will never have the feeling to step up to my record shelf with a thought like “LETS HERE SOME STILETTOS!!!!!!!!! LETS FUKKEN ROOOOCK”… got that? Stardumb.

THE STONEAGE HEARTS Guilty as sin CD Now, this is a prototype, a role model of how fuzzed-psych-power pop music should be like these days! This band is from Australia, already legends there, and this is their second album out on OFF THE HIP (and Alive Recordings in the USA), and they have that certain thing that makes a release special, topping other bands who try and try, while the STONAGE HEARTS simply ROCK. Stop buying those 60ties compilation everyone already has, get this. Really. Off The Hip. STRAITJACKET Modern Thieves CD This is cool! Up tempo, clean, middle finger in the air street punk, very similar to acts like PISTOL GRIP and MADCAP (before they became cheesy and signed some bigger label). Think of old stuff like STILL LITTLE FINGERS, modernized and paced up a bit, and you got the sound of this foursome from Portland, Oregon. Definitely a good punk record! TKO. STRYCHNINE Born in a bar CD If I remember correctly, I've seen them years ago in a local youth center, maybe it was 1996 or 97? I dunno. Back then this band from Oakland delivered a really fast and trashy hardcore punk show. I've never ever listened to one of their recordings all over these years, although I saw ads for their CDs in fanzines, and even some gig reviews, I didn't know that they are still around. Seems like they found a perfect label, the sound became more compatible to the kids ears, although the singer still growls and shouts like a machine.

Surprisingly, in all the 13 power chord filled tracks, there is a cover of THE SONICS classic “Strychnine”, I don't know why, maybe they are making a bow for the drug, not for the band. If you like fast HC punk with singalong parts, you won't like to miss this here. TKO. SWING DING AMIGOS The Mongolia Chronicles CD Totally chaotic punk, like if SCARED OF CHAKA played at 45, with a lot of effects and noise samples. These kids must be sick of over caffeinated, lyrics are English and Spanish, but you don't get them anyways. This is fun! RocknRoll Purgatory.

SURFAHOLICS The sugar smile on candy faces CD Re-release of this soon to be classic Austrian punk rock jewel. After the release on Spiderweb Records quickly sold out, Crony Records from Innsbruck stepped in to put it out once more, with slightly different cover artwork, better mixing and on digipak, a top notch release!!! I'm sayin' this ALTHOUGH I know them. If you don't have the first pressing, don't be too late again with this one! Crony.

SUZY Y LOS QUATTRO Ready to go CD I liked the first EP of them, called “Freak Show”, here is the full length and I am a bit disappointed, it is way too slick and to poppy, and that girl should better sing in her mother tongue (that is Spanish) or get some English pronunciation courses. My suspicion is that they wanna make them big, as big as DOVER maybe. Which is sad cause there goes a nice pop punk band… hm… No Tomorrow.

England. Well, Garage Rock might not be the right term, there are some songs that have a Bowie-esque feeling, others are simple, funny pop tunes plus there are some mellow alternative songs that even reminded me of slower and quiet Frank Black songs, strange huh?

Seems like this band is still trying this and that, still in search of “their” sound. Interesting record, dough. Check out track 5: “Lazy old river”. Face Value.

TREND Navigator LP / CD Two years ago this German band released their debut, you could read raving everywhere, this quenched me and I thought this would be just another band that gets a decent underground hype, nothing more. Then about a year ago I was DJ-ing with Tex Dixigas and Jezebel Hell, and they were very fond of TREND, too, so I gave them a listen, and… well, I liked it a lot! Here they are back with the sophomore album, again very stylish designed and packaged (I think there are different versions, die normal one and the one I got, a DVD case in a screen printed cardboard box) and the best thing: the music is a blast too! Simple / minimalist but very powerful take-no-prisoners PUNKROCK mixed with a lily bit new wave, unbelievable catchy and disturbing at the same time. Maybe a classic in a couple of years.

Plastic Bomb / Sounds of Subterrania.

TURBO AC'S Avenue X CD I don't think that the marketing budget for this band and release is that short… all I got is a CDR, no info, no cover, no song titles, nothing. Come on… Still, what can you expect from a new TURBO AC'S album? Right, some things always stay the same, so here you got 15 more surfed up punk'n'roll anthems, this time a little more spaghetti western influenced than on their last record. Fuck, I can't wait to see them live again. And to have the cover art, I'm pretty sure there's a half nakkid girl pictured again. Bitzcore.

VENUS HELLS Bloody slut choir CD Whut? Are you kiddin'? Go away. Le Pussiquette.

VICTIM OR VILLAIN The line CD Well done Melodycore from Tyrol, with some ska here and there, perfect music for skate kids, way better than most other “punk” bands from Austria, like 3 FEET SMALLER, SIDE EFFECT and similar shite. Be sure to check them out when they play some youth center / skate contest near you. Done in full DIY ethic, released on the (more or less) own label. Bands United.

WHISKEY DAREDEVILS Greatest Hits CD After 14 years of COWSLINGERS the band broke up, shortly after three of them regrouped with a new guitarist and formed the WHISKEY DAREDEVILS and they continue doing what they did most of the time, play country punk and drink a lot. Hm. Well, here you have nice up tempo songs, traditional flavored stuff and even a decent cover of DEAD KENNEDYS' “Let lynch the landlord” but it's not really good. If you REALLY like the SUPERSUCKERS, maybe this can put a grin on your face too. Drink and Drive.

ZATOPEKS Ain't nobody left but us CD If the title of this record is referring to the current situation in Pop Punk, they might be right… haha… This rekkid starts with the great SWEATMASTER Tom Tom Bullet CD song “The summer I fell in love with Jimmy's girl”, a tune that Second album (if you don't count the Mini CD with cover versions) of already has been on their demo and their 7” on All Nite Records, in a this Scandinavian band, their debut from 2002 “Sharp Cut” was more rougher version. Then there're 13 other songs, pretty pop stuff with a difficult, compared to this here, from the first song “Tom Tom Bullet” blend of 50ties rocknroll feeling here and there, and a lot of has a lot of tunes with hit potential, a very danceable mixture of rock singalong qualities. Some of the songs may stick into your brain for and roll music and some soul influences, if you know the hours. They're fun! This CD is not going to be shelved, summer is SEWERGROOVES, you know what I am talking about! Sharp guitar coming and I will keep it in my car, perfect music for cruising with sound, really good vocals and just that right amount of g-r-o-o-v-e! It's open windows. Stardumb. a pity that I only got the Promotional Copy in a cardboard sleeve… now I have to invest some euros to have this on vinyl! Bad Afro.

ZOOMEN same 10” TOKYO ELECTRON same CD When I saw them at a gig in Munich few weeks ago I was pretty surprised. I only knew one 7” they did on SHATTERED RECORDS and one 7” that came out on the great BIG BLACK HOLE label from Madrid, Spain, but they contain rather hard and fast songs, as far as I can remember, but at this live show they were totally different, they had a lot of slower rocking songs, and (yikes!!!) even some country twang here and there. This debut album on Portland's EMPTY Records is validating the memories I had from the Munich gig, you get fast smashers like “Mis Ojos”, great garage rockers like “Electrify me” and nice cunt-ree things like “They'll come for you”, which makes this record a real gem, get this!!! Empty.

THE TRELIKS Coffee or Tea Organ based garage rock, very clean and not very wylde, from 58 CHOKE TEN

Wacky in-your-punk rock from Toulouse, France, on this great 10”, released on the up and coming Relax-o-Matic Vibrator Record label, run by a NEUROTIC SWINGER. Eight raw as fresh meat punk rock songs, distorted vocals not as gaga like THE HATEPINKS, more rawk n roll here. You should definitely check out their songs on www.myspace.com/zoomen, and then order the record, sicko! Relax-omatic Vibrator.

ZSK From protest to resistance CD Well, basically this is just about everything I don't like: melodic punk rock, clean production, (mainly) German lyrics, and stupid paroles…

BUT I like this album! Its fun! Its catchy and I think (and hope) these kids from Berlin know what they are talking about, when they sing about animal rights, racism, police terror etc. there are 13 songs on the CD, and there's even a bonus CD-ROM inside, with loads of information about the topics mentioned before. Great packaging as

Achtung Achtung...... It’s Varmint Records Vol. 1, september 2005 Welcome to our huge mailorder catalog. It gives me great pleasure etc... Below you find a selection of recordings financed, designed and marketed by the fine finks at Varmint Records [that’s us!]. Take some time - and a brief look on what we’ve got to offer. I’m quite sure you soon will realize that these items are “kewl” and “gnarly” [are these expressions dated?]. All you have to do is BUY them, these sounds are truly spectacular and will make a hipster out of you.

TEENAGE BRATPACK 7” [VR001] What a kick off! 6 great bands [THE APERS, THE WIMPYS, THE PORTABLES, THE REEKYS, STINKING POLECATS and MACH PELICAN] play 6 great songs. And the cover artwork is cool too!

3,50 EUROS

RODRIGUEZ “TRIP FONTAINE 7” [VR002] A garage punk s-s-s-s-sensashun from the backwoods of town called Althofen, which is most likely the uncoolest place to grow up. But these RODRIGUEZ kids found a way to survieve and “learned” how to play guitar, bass, etc. Three tracks, a hellride “extra-ordinaire”.

3,50 EUROS

KEPI “IT ONLY GOES TO SHOW” 7” [Vr003] GROOVIE GHOULIES singer does country? Yesssss! Another 3 song 7” that makes your eyes wet, this time it’s heart-breakin’ and leg shakin’ olde fashioned country music.

3,50 EUROS

BLACK LIPS “HIPPYS” 7” [VR004] Here is our latest rekkid, and this here is dope! The Freakout University graduates from Atlanta, Georgia, play incredibly danceable garage punk songs, recorded by King Khan at his Moon Studios. Oh, this record is so good, I don’t even want to sell a single copy...

4,00 EUROS PLEASE CHECK AVAILABILITY BEFORE ORDERING [We almost have averything in stock, but humour us anyway]. Prices are subject to change [but very infrequently] and DO NOT INCLUDE SHIPPING. We accept cash [but we are not responsible if we dont recieve your money] all major credit cards and paypal as well as a bank draft. BUY ALL ITEMS FOR 12 EURO only. Thats it. Please allow 1-2 weeks for domestic delivery. We also have tons of non-varmint releases for sale, check the info-super highway. info@varmintrecords.de

www.varmintrecords.de

GET YER CHOKE FANZINE BACK ISSUES...

Hard to believe but we still have some copies of OLDER issues of CHOKE FANZINE. Well uff course most of the groundbreaking and now classic zines were sold to underage wierdos, loners, and using my charms, I even managed to sell them to gurls. After a wylde par-tee at my place including private dancers and imported liquor, i woke up UNDER my bed, and saw that box, filled with old issues of CHOKE. To cut the story SHORT, here is what I have, better BUY it now before i put it on eBay!

ISSUE 06: INTERSTELLAR RECORDS AMERICAN HEARTBREAK SXSW FESTIVAL INTERVIEW WITH A PHONE SEX GIRL BMW 2002 II TURBO TONS OF COLUMNS AND STORIES (THIS ISSUE IS A SPLIT ISSUE /W CORDOBA 78 ZINE ISSUE 08: THE IMMORTAL LEE COUNTY KILLERS, NEW BOMB TURKS, THE MUFFS, GORE GORE GIRLS, THE FEVERS, THE BRIEFS, POTBELLY, THE FUZZTONES, SURFAHOLICS, SUPERHELICOPTER, STEVE MCQUEEN STORY

ISSUE 07: CELLOPHANE SUCKERS, ATOM & HIS PACKAGE, THE DICTATORS, RODRIGUEZ, SONIC DOLLS PROPAGANDHI, LAKE PUSSY HI*TOPS, STARDUMB RECORDS MUNSTER RECORDS, 80TIES TEEN FLICKS, LOVE BOAT,...

ISSUE 10: BUDGET ROCK ISSUE THE MUMMIES, BOBBYTEENS, RADIO X RECORDS, RIP OFFS, PHANTOM SURFERS, SUPERCHARGER, THE FLYING DUTCHMEN, THE OKMONIKS, ESTRUS RECORDS, PLANET PIMP RECORDS,...

EACH COPY 3.00 EUROS PPD WORLDWIDE! DROP ME A LINE AT chokemediaempire@gmx.at FOR INFOS ON AVAILIBILITY! CHOKE TEN 59