Rock Star Journalist

Small Plastic Songs is the first release from a new boutique vinyl label called Record Collective Limited and features one song each from the forthcoming debut albums of four of Sydney’s “most promising up and comers,” according to the press release. What we know is that we’ve listened to the four-way split, and it sounds just dandy. The shoegaze-tinged, college radio flavored “Wind Shear” from Skullsquadron will instantly grab your attention, as will the additional tracks from Ya Aha, The Aerotrope Guild, and Restless Leg.

“The Record Collective Limited exists because the music business is broken,” continues the press release, with the “boutique, short run releases” taking inspiration from the likes of “legendary DIY record labels like Merge, Flying Nun, Siltbreeze, and Half A Cow.”
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Grave Mistake Records recently reissued Big Eyes‘ demo 7-inch from 2010 as part of a co-release with Evil Weevil, who originally put it out. When Alex at Grave Mistake told me that it’d been recut and repressed at a different plant, I figured this was a good time to sit down and compare the two releases.

Demo 2010 (as I suppose the record is now known) has new art, new labels, and it’s also cut at 45 versus 33. Everything’s different, at least in terms of the physical appearance, but how does it sound? I’m one of those people who’s not going to buy a record I already own just because it’s got a new cover.
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Minneapolis musician and writer Nate Gangelhoff has an impressive CV. He’s played in Off With Their Heads, Rivethead, and Banner Pilot, as well as a band that’s recently put out their third full-length, The Gateway District. The quartet’s remarkably well-known for a band that rarely plays outside of the Twin Cities area, but their pedigree is enough to interest anyone familiar with the current punk scene, with members of the Soviettes, Salteens, and Dear Landlord (to say nothing of Gangelhoff’s laundry list of bands).

Gangelhoff was kind enough to take time out of his rather busy schedule to do an e-mail interview with us about the new album, Old Wild Hearts, as well as his many other musical projects.
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The writer of Image Comics’ The Li’l Depressed Boy, S. Steven Struble, is coming to your town this weekend.

Well, if you live in Kansas. Specifically, if you live in Lawrence or Wichita. He’ll be doing two long-term hangs on Friday and Saturday. Friday, March 22, he’ll be at Astrokitty Comics in Lawrence from 11:00am to 6:00pm, and on Saturday, March 23, he’ll be at Prairie Dog Comics in Wichita. Details for the Lawrence event can be found at its Facebook event page, and the same goes for the Wichita event.
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Unsurprisingly, this entire LP plays at 45 rpm. Frankly, the only thing that would make more sense were it to be a 78. We loved that last release from The Shirks. Their “Cry Cry Cry” single was a monster, but this self-titled LP is pure pedal to the floor rock ‘n’ roll. The whole thing is fuzzed-out, blown-speaker fury, and it is an intense ride.

Thankfully, it’s also a short ride — the Shirks’ style of rock ‘n’ roll, played as it is at 500 miles an hour, can seem like you’re riding shotgun with a madman at the wheel. It’s exciting, it’s exhilarating, and it makes you feel more alive than you thought possible, but you’re ready for a cup of tea and a lie-down when it’s all over.
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Within the last few years, I’ve developed a general manner of reading books such as Mark Goodall‘s Gathering of the Tribe: Music and Heavy Conscious Creation (out now via Headpress). When you’ve a thick book, consisting of many different subsections, and under each subsection a series of essays, you just have to work through it in fits and starts.

What I’m trying to say is that Goodall and and the contributors he’s lined up are going to lay some very deep ideas on you, and they’re going to cover a lot of ground. You’re going to want to allow yourself some time to process it as you go along, or you’re going to fall prey to my usual problem — namely, 2/3 to 4/5 of the way through, you peter out, set the book aside, and move along to something with a linear narrative.
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On last week’s episode of the Nothing to Write Home About podcast, host Matt Pryor (the Get Up Kids, New Amsterdams, et al) was interviewing friend and fellow musician Joshua Berwanger about his time in the Anniversary and the Only Children, as well as talking about Berwanger’s new musical project, Berwanger.

In the course of the interview (which is really quite good, and a must-listen for anyone who was seeing shows in Kansas City during the mid-90s), Berwanger discusses the possibility of a reunion of his most well-known band, the Anniversary, and reveals something pretty astonishing: read more »

Tenement, repeatedly mentioned to me as one of the best bands currently playing, is coming to Kansas City on Monday, April 1, as part of a tour with Give and Night Birds. It should go without saying that I’m absurdly excited about this show, because it’s both early and cheap. Night Birds are an amazing live show, and their 20-30 minute set is worth the 40-minute trip both ways. Tenement’s also supposed to be one of those bands whose live show will make you an instant convert and fan.
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Legendary psychedelic soul bluesman Swamp Dogg‘s first two albums, Total Destruction to Your Mind and Rat On! see reissue today via Alive Naturalsound. I’ve had a chance to listen to both, and they sound amazing. They’ve still got that swamp funk to them, but the remastering job is just absolutely stellar. For those used to vinyl rips and bootleg CDs, these brand-new LP reissues (and first-time official CD releases) will blow your mind.

Hopefully, this will lead to a new generation of folks getting into this somewhat lost musician. While Swamp Dogg’s songs have been covered by the likes of Galactic, it don’t mean shit to be known if folks can’t get your music. Now that’s the case. Both LPs are available from the Bomp! store. Check out two tracks from the reissues below.

MP3: Swamp Dogg, “Creeping Away” (from Rat On!)
MP3: Swamp Dogg, “If I Die Tomorrow” (from Total Destruction to Your Mind)

Lawrence’s the Rackatees and Omaha’s the Shidiots have their upcoming split 7-inch off to the plant for test pressings right now. Let’s hope these two gruffly poppy punk acts will have some new vinyl in time for our favorite warm-weather activity: opening up the windows, putting the speakers right up next to the screens, and annoying the neighbors while we drink beer on the front porch.

As for pressing details, they’re doing 300 copies (each band will have 150 copies) pressed on randomly colored vinyl. It’s looking like the release date will be mid-April 19, but that hasn’t been confirmed just yet — and I think we all know about what happens with vinyl delays, especially considering that falls right before Record Store Day.

We’ve got an exclusive preview track from the Rackatees’ side, entitled “Anthem for the American (Food Service) Worker.” It’s the first song off the upcoming 7-inch. It’s especially great for a Monday morning start to the working week, with lines like “So never trust the manager / The whip that’s in his hand.”

MP3: The Rackatees, “Anthem for the American (Food Service) Worker”