THE NEO KALASHNIKOVS - Turn the Tables/Gorgeous Baby (Studio/Live)

While absorbing the hotness of California’s burning air and beautiful disasters during the past week, I let the latest release by The Neo Kalashnikovs infiltrate the solitude of my compact car getaways. Imagine a very chic Chrissie Hynde collaborating with GVSB to re-write Raw Power for the unsettling and uproarious year of 2014. This seven track EP definitely makes an instant impression. The use of single-noted minimalist riffs creates large distorted space for the angelic growl of Volita Bioletti. This exceptional antidote, courtesy of New Zealand, pretty much blew me away the first time I heard Gorgeous Baby. The catchiness of Turn the Tables, Diamonds, and Rock n Roll Friend pierces like a fish hook through your mouth after a triple dosage of Novocain. High-grade potency mixed with chaotic precision.

If you’re a fan of edgy rock/pop masterpieces like Live Through This, Trompe le Monde, and Eat to the Beat, you’ll be obsessed with this release. Four studio cuts with three live tracks are featured. The live tracks are especially interesting as the sound quality is quite good. Many bands in the live environment cannot replicate their studio output, but in this case, the songs are just racier and rawer versions with stellar vocals that do not lose momentum. The backing band is solid with fitting dynamics and an obvious education in the basics of rock n roll.

The British press was in an uproar over the band’s decision to use starlet Helen Flanagan for their Gorgeous Baby video. A cinematic ode to classy subversion. It looks like the times are rearranging and painting an unmarked landscape. Intelligent is the new sexy. Success is “doing your own thing”. The playing field for rock n roll is a little more even; a world no longer crowded by major labels and cable networks shoving unwanted and lousy music down your throat. We have a really great interview with the band coming up in our next issue in a few weeks, definitely worth a read. Until next time….
-KPM
Fear and Loathing in Long Beach

THE LUXEMBOURG SIGNAL: DISTANT DRIVE

My head is usually swarming with too many disconnected thoughts towards the end of the day. Where am I really going? What am I really doing? I usually have no idea most of the time. When the final curtain comes down on the sun, I usually retreat to my rooftop, take one or two of those blue pills, and light up a smoke for the perfect rest stop between up and down. I let my mind lose itself as I stare loosely at the tapestry of skylines, electrical wires, and cable dishes. I like to drift into the world of blurred lines while an anarchy of sound sparks in the background. Detachment is pleasure at the right moments. Luxembourg Signal’s debut single “Distant Drive” is the prescription for your surreal fever.

“Distant Drive” is like a cosmic clash of Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Blake Babies. Beth Arzy’s meditative and whispery voice gels perfectly with the psychedelic-surf riffs and edgy acoustic strumming of Johnny Joyner. The interjection of Tubeway Army drum dynamics gives this deserving single an epic sound, reminiscent of “Reel Ten” by the Plugz on the Repo Man soundtrack. A lighthearted tease with heavy intentions is the atmosphere on this very cool dream-pop single. On this distant drive, life is better, at least for a little while. Where we end up… doesn’t really matter.

The band turns down the lights and provides a more complex slice of contemplation with “Wishing Pool”. This track sounds like a lost gem from the Psychedelic Furs “Mirror Moves” album. A blend of post-punk guitar jangle with a smoldering melody that keeps itself in a straight-ahead rock groove. A short but sweet follow-up track. The more I check out the B side of this single, I realize it’s just as addictive as the lead track. I always dig a band showing its versatility on a single without having to include filler. Jump on this quick, it’s a limited 7” pressing of 300 brought to you by Portland Oregon’s Shelflife Records. The band is also the latest project by members of acclaimed indie acts, Aberdeen and Trembling Blue Stars. Check it out for yourself and see what you think. -KPM


The Luxembourg Signal
Fear and Loathing in Long Beach Digital Zine

THE ADICTS: (EYES IN THE BACK) INTERVIEW

I remember when I was 19 and driving my friends around, drunk and stoned. We had “Sound of Music” blaring and they sat in horror as I filled up the gas tank with the car running. “Eyes in the back of your head” was booming and I felt this really summed up the maniacal fun of the Adicts. Are you surprised it has been 35 years?

MONKEY: Yes, and no, we should be out on good behavior soon, maybe it has been the longest party ever.
PETE DEE: Its actually been 37 years but a year here or there isn't a big deal. Time flies by. It seems just like yesterday we started, or was it last week. It's illegal to drive drunk I wouldn't recommend it.

As teens that were into football hooliganism, masturbation, and underage drinking, how did these combine into the idea to start a band with Clockwork Orange imagery and insanely well written songs?

MONKEY: The drinking was the main influence as it was 17p a pint then. I think it was 30p, to get into a game with my unemployment card, and masturbation was free but the material was not as good as now, page three has nothing on youjizz, so drunk wanker bootboys = silly/happy/fuck you songs.
PETE DEE: Everyone kid wanted to be in a band back then . For us we had a good combination footy sex drink drugs & a bit of Clocky. So, it's probably why we do it. I used to love the sound of the Fulwell end ( Sunderland ) it was like being in a band, Loud as fuck and all it needed was a Drum kit and a few Guitars. I think it was NME described the Adicts as a Terrace Rock Band. Probably the best thing I ever read. They actually got it right, all the above are what we're into, it was & still is a part of who and what we are.

With the seed planted in 1975, were you influenced by early glam acts such as Roxy Music, Bowie, and Ultravox?

PETE DEE: There were so many good influences in music. the Ziggy era was important. Slade T-Rex, Roxy, and also the Rock bands Like Doctors of Madness, Cockney Rebel, Sabbath & Deep Purple. But prior to that we had The Move, Kinks, and Free. I look back and I still hear great music. There aren't that many doing it these days or should I say turning my mind on with a good tune or great words. Ultravox were phenomenal when John Foxx was the singer. But when Midge Ure became the singer they became irrelevant & shite. We did however invent Ziggy's Bastard Son and it's a Monkey.
MONKEY: We were into all that, still are so it has always been a reference.

Do you consider the infamous live show the band has evolved over the years to be true to the theatrics of original glam?

MONKEY: Yes i think a lot of that was tongue in cheek, we don’t take ourselves too seriously either.
Pete Dee: Who knows. But we do make a mess.

“Songs of Praise” and “The Sound of Music” have the vibe of teen angst, violence, and worldly observations true to the real spirit of punk. Was the band angrier and more disillusioned in its younger days?

MONKEY: Yeah we played along with that a bit but really just developed our own philosophy of trying to have a good time no matter what.
PETE DEE: I think the younger years we displayed our rage a little more. We come from the school of hard knocks. But Has anything really changed out there. No' I will always speak out against things that bother me. It's not normal to state an opinion these days, is it?
Because people are so easily offended. Like wanky hipsters, who think they know everything and pretend they care.
They are all wankers, sitting on the fence and demonstrate by yap yap yap. Then after it goes to shit, they will blame it on someone else. They can hide behind a computer screen or a cell phone and bounce around all day long in a rubber room. Political correctness is not my fave subject. Do I sound any angrier or just smarter these days.
I tell you this I wouldn't hesitate to tell anyone what I think. Naaa I'm not angry. Not disillusioned either. I live in a world that is run by Morons. That's all. So why not write about it.

With the release of “Fifth Overture” in the 80s, the band really showed its pop/rock sensibilities, what prompted the new direction or was it unintentional.

PETE DEE: Fifth Overture was my first full production of an Adicts album, we recorded it just outside Stuttgart, in Germany. It was different, all the songs we had, were the ones, which never made the previous albums because they were too slow or shit. We had been gigging so much we hadn't really written any new songs. So it was a tricky album. The tempo was pretty laid back. a mix of all sorts. It's a great album. I just wish I had a few more days to work on it.
The direction was more of a natural process. We have never stagnated musically, because we think out of the box. We have No rules when we write music.
MONKEY: We are always trying to progress and that was where we were at that time, it’s probably our most obscure album and a bit of a surprise to some people. If that was the only album, we had ever made. I would be proud of it, and I am still even though it sometimes gets lost and hard to find.

The 1990s saw an enormous revival of Punk Rock and the Adicts released “Twenty-Seven”. Most bands from the original era were releasing subpar new outings, you released another, now legendary, essential album for a new generation that didn’t suck one bit! Was the release to show those new upstarts, back then, how to do it right?

MONKEY: No we don’t go into a creative mode with any defined agenda, we just write the songs and if it ends up making a point then so be it.
PETE DEE: Ahhh 27' Well we just knocked that one out quick. We pissed off a few people with that one. the sound of that album sucks it has no uumfff to it. Shame really because if it had ummff to it. That Generation may have got it. But we made our point, and we aren't sorry that we offended anyone. Especially God.

California seems to keep the blood flowing in the Adicts musical machine. Do you find Los Angeles more embracing of your band as a mainstay than other cities around the world, what city has the best girls?

MONKEY: LA is very solid for us, its a young audience, there is always a good vibe (see I'm all LA dude), best girls for what? We love them all, and the boys.
PETE DEE: We wrote a song called California back in 83 because we loved it so much. It is one of our favorite places to play. Ask any band out there, they will tell you the same. South America is embracing more so. I think our fans love us just the same everywhere and appreciate what we are... Women are beautiful all over the world.

Looking back at your beginnings as a pissed off punk band, are those same sentiments still relevant?

MONKEY: Not for me, can’t be angry for that long, but maybe for some oppressed kid in Malaysia.
PETE DEE: I still get angry and frustrated more so when I see poverty. Nothing has fucking changed. Yeah, I'm still an angry bastard, but not the hot head like I used to be and I cannot save the world. But I can help someway and that reflects in the music we make. I just don't like ignorance and it seems more and more people who Think' they are well off need to wake up and think about those who have nothing. We make people smile and happy, that's all right with me.

-KPM
VISIT "FEAR AND LOATHING IN LONG BEACH" AT OUR OFFICIAL SITE
my personal favorite "Sound of Music"... check it out

NEW REVIEW: Muuy Biien

“Nobody hangs up on me. We're through! Oh...uh, and one more thing. I've been cheating on you!” Those words ring true when you’re living in denial and enjoying the short lived euphoria of a funhouse reality. I never know when the party starts or when the party ends. Confusion is bliss sometimes. Muuy biien annihilates the robotic personalities around us with their latest release D.Y.I (do yourself in).

Vocalist Joshua Evans screams, “Another white ego, another good gone bad, to overcompensate for everything you lack” in the blistering and twisted fray of “White Ego”. Equal parts Saccharine Trust and Lost Sounds, this band brandishes an updated cacophony of freeform punk that is ready to start a blood-spattered intellectual revolution. Contempt, hostility, and self-loathing fill the concise blasts of frantic vocalization, the sounds of solitude amplified by menacing bass and guitar interplay.

The album opens with the foreboding dissonance of “Cyclothymia I” and rips into frantic rock mode with “Human Error”. The high hat driven beats highlight the insane guitar action that infect and terrorize with a steady bass driven undertow. Side one of this pristine platter flies by in the blink of an eye with non-obvious hooks planted throughout the poisoned compositions. “What isn’t” and “She Bursts” have a cool Nation of Ulysses vibe running through them.

Side two opens with the fitting “Cyclothymia II” and demonstrates that this modern symphony is a virus in full bloom. Complete with its own orchestral movements firmly rooted in early SST releases, the rage goes into the red with “Virus Evolves”. This tune in particular shreds with a ferocity I haven’t heard from a band in quite some time. The rage gets moody and groove oriented with tracks “Dust” and “Frigid” providing icy post-apocalyptic anthems. The lights go out as your nervous system shuts down during the guitar feedback frenzy of the title track “D.Y.I”. As the dust clears, a beautifully sad piano gracefully leads you to the exit. –KPM

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FEAR AND LOATHING IN LONG BEACH - OFFICAL SITE

NEW REVIEW: Mr. Phreek's Anokist Emporium

Revenge, money, desire, jealousy, and rage…. I’ve been watching a lot of Bates Motel as of late, and I’m also completely wrapped up in the horrific beauty of “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane”. High school was a drag for me. Lame state capital city mixed with mediocre kids who only cared about SAT scores, what school would accept them, and if they were receiving special mention in the yearbook. I remember that my teachers always thought I was stoned, but in reality, it was about half of the time. I spent a lot of time sleeping in school because I was bored out of my mind. I wanted to get my own place, scream as loud as I could in a band, and not have to adhere to mindless schedules and structures.

Watching shows with high school as the backdrop makes me wish I‘d had the super cool weird girlfriend instead of the irrelevant relationships I had absolutely nothing in common with. My point is…. from all of this pent up frustration of state capital high school life, my rage was born and my energy ignited once I left that place. I still have a nightmare every now and then… I am there, in this dilapidated auditorium, and they will not let me graduate. I run to my locker to grab my car keys to leave and I can never remember what the fucking combination is. I panic, I am stuck, and I wake up feeling out of sorts. Maybe that’s a bizarre metaphor for my life but it sounds like Mr. Phreek experienced this as well in the transitional summer of 1996.

Mr. Phreek's Anokist Emporium was the creation of rock journalist and screenwriter Chuck Foster. This raw spit in the face is the Grindhouse version of punk. Sometimes we need that musical knockdown like we need that brutal and beautiful woman that teases for eternity. MPAE achieves just that with a 17 year old Mr. Foster playing every instrument on a 30 track album recorded with a classic Fostex XR-11 four-track. Nothing is sacred in this nihilistic brew of Nardcore, NYHC, and Killed by Death noise- extremism. The guitars are distorted beyond hell, the drums shriek like nails down a chalkboard, and the stripped to the bone vocals scream with perfect and pure teenage rage. The fancy trappings of traditional “punk” records are nowhere to be found.

The anger is addictive and the dark humor lets the acid rain fall steadily on your uncombed hair. This is pure deviant art of the highest caliber, spilling its guts all over you. Within the claustrophobic atmosphere is some excellent versing, chorusing, and a swinging syncopation of wild vocal attack. This is the way punk was meant to be. Shortly after recording this time bomb in his bedroom that summer, Foster would move across the country and never look back. The main catalyst of contempt is a strict Catholic prep school upbringing. How punk is that? Life can be cruel, hilarious, indifferent, and a total high. High school anger and boredom is a complex subject in itself, maybe screaming your heart out and taking the next train out of town is the best way out.

-KPM, Fear & Loathing LB

NEW REVIEW: TUNABUNNY - KINGDOM TECHNOLOGY

Modern rock, what is it? I have no clue as to what that definition implies in terms of sound. Moderate rock is not something I personally care for. When it comes to creating living and breathing music, restraint and moderation should never be included in the equation. Tunabunny diabolically crosses conventional boundaries with “Kingdom Technology” to fuse together an album like no other in the current musical wasteland that pollutes us. A concoction of 80s Paisley Underground, NYC No Wave, and electro damaged melody infiltrate these alluring and unstable compositions of hypnotic back alley fuzz-pop. A memorable experience akin to that mysterious someone who comes onto the scene and no one can figure out what secret agenda is lurking within their coy interactions.

“Airless Spaces” starts the album with a sugary nightmarish drone that haunts with an undignified grace while the static noise and intense understatement of rhythm pushes this movement along. Tracks such as “Good God Awful” and “Canaries In Mineshafts” provide a more linear post-punk process that remains spikey yet steady in its composition. The overall effect is one of electro diversity that sounds like Siouxsie and the Banshees hijacked the recording session for Iggy Pop’s “Zombie Birdhouse”. If it’s possible to combine Avant-Punk, symphonic spaciousness, and trance inducing electro beats, this band accomplishes that lofty musical mission on all levels. “Save It Up” and “Bag of Bones” crush and seduce with their relentless automated hallucination sequences. Brigette Herron and Mary Jane Hassell provide the lush and carnal atmosphere with Jesse Stinnard providing the percussion, electronica, and analog recording of the band’s finest hour.

If you dig ABBA Gold, 4AD releases, and the erratic output of The Fall, you’ll be all over this band. The vocals stand above and beyond with a certain sweet-sinister harmony that focuses outward by making itself another instrument for the band to deconstruct with. If Dancing Queen was playing in the background of your bad dreams last night, this album is calling you. A new approach that sounds massive captures recordings taking place in the band members’ living rooms using obscure audio devices and homemade sound manipulation. My pick for the “hit” off this album is definitely the Paisley Underground influenced “Coming For You”. The fourteen tracks contained on here follow a logical sequence that uses irrational daydreaming as a guide. Even better is that this album is available in its proper format of vinyl, so it plays as a real record should. “Kingdom Technology” flows from beginning to end with its own interludes and subplots of electro-damage, vocal beauty, and jagged guitar chording. I would definitely keep your eye on this band. This entity is onto something that the rest of us don’t know yet. Get a taste while it lasts...

TUNABUNNY FACEBOOK

FEAR AND LOATHING IN LONG BEACH

INTERVIEW WITH THE VIBRATORS

“On the guest list” is your latest CD with a ton of guest appearances celebrating 37 years (wow!) of non-stop punk rock n roll, how did the making of the CD happen and proceeding tour come together?

KNOX: Brian Perera, head of Cleopatra Records, thought that it would be a good idea to get lots of other people involved singing and playing on the record, make it a bit different. Also I’d stopped doing the band (to go solo) and I think Brian had worked out that doing an album like this might be a good way for the band to reach for new fans.

Pure Mania is still considered one the greatest punk LPs of all time, do you think it’s because the band was well versed in writing rock n roll structures before the punk explosion? When I listen to every Vibrators track up to the latest release, there’s a lot of attention given to riffs and hooks instead of a band that is just coasting because of its popularity. Quite an accomplishment!

KNOX: I think the song writing benefited because we were a bit older than most of the other bands. I was very influenced by Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground, plus a lot of 60s music, as were the others, and I think that really helped. I love song writing so I pay a lot of attention to getting the songs right.

Eddie: Knox, Pat and John had been writing for a while, especially Knox so they knew how to write a good song. Popularity had little to do with it, as we were not popular when writing and rehearsing those songs. It was the songs that made us popular!

Where does the band currently call home and is the non-stop touring a way of life, as long as I can remember the Vibrators have been on tour non-stop (so it seems). Most bands do not have the energy to keep up this kind of momentum, where does the energy and motivation come from.

KNOX: The band is London based. I’ve actually had to give up as I’ve got a bit ill, but I’m still writing and demoing songs at home. I actually left the band in April 2011 to go solo but it didn’t happen as I sort of derailed myself and got ill from over-working. I’m still motivated to write and record, in fact I’m about to start work with Charlie Harper (UK Subs) making a new Urban Dogs album. Touring is a great way of life. My friend who has a record shop sometimes has Robert Plant come in, and he said he loves touring with his smaller band, doing smaller gigs than Zeppelin, and he loves travelling around in the back of the van/tour bus.

Eddie: Being a musician means making records and playing live. If you don’t want to do that then don’t be a musician!! When it stops being fun and we have no fans, I'll give up. Home for me is in the wonderful Brightlingsea,UK.

The lyrics of Pure Mania still stand the test of time because they address everyday subjects instead of sloganeering. The topics of an uncertain future, girls, and looking for an escape from the bores of daily life keep the music alive. When you were recording the first album, were you just keeping it solid with the set list you had… getting it put to tape.

Eddie: This is department of Knox, John, and Pat, they were good then and still as good today.

KNOX: We basically just recorded the songs we were playing live, and the album was produced by our then sound guy Robin Mayhew who had been working with David Bowie before us. I think the only totally new song we did in the studio was “You Broke My Heart”. So we knew all the songs from playing them live every night. This was very different to how we record now.


Out of all the Vibrators releases, which album is one you would like fans to hear, that doesn’t receive as much media recognition as the first three outings?

KNOX: I currently like the band’s new album “On The Guest List”, and my favourite song on that album at the moment is “My Stalker” which Eddie Spaghetti from The Supersuckers sings. He does a great job. I also think the album “Hunting For You” is pretty good too.

In the recording process, is there a special way the Vibrators have always approached the studio process? Some bands excel in the studio and others seem to get lost and lose direction. The Vibrators songs are always catchy and self-assured. Is the recording process a fast one for you guys?

KNOX: I usually have finished demo’s, with most of the instruments on them, which essentially the band copy as we never get to rehearse before going into the studio. I’ll have a load of songs demo’d up and the band choose which ones they want to do; plus the others in the band often have a song or two as well. The band puts the tracks down very fast, hopefully with a few changes as it’s good to get input from the band on the songs, as it is a band and not my solo project. You’re always running against the clock in the studio so there’s not much time for experimentation which is a shame, but you accept the process for what it is. I’m a bit of a perfectionist so it can be quite stressful to rush against the clock and not have the songs finished exactly as you’d like. But c’est la vie!

Eddie: This is always a struggle between doing it fast to get the energy and enthusiasm but taking enough time to get the detail in. Also studios cost money so that is a big factor in how much time you have. Basically we try to get drums ,bass , guitar down in one and overdub vocals guitars etc but the new single was done live, we recorded everything in one take only Knox overdub gtr. It's called Slow Death.

With the 37-year anniversary, are there any special vinyl re-releases that are in the works?

KNOX: I’m not completely up to date with all that’s happening with the band (they’re currently touring the USA) but we recently had a new compilation out: “Greatest Punk Hits” on MVD Audio.

Eddie: Not sure on this, but Pure Mania, V2, Alaska 127, Guest list, Slow Death and Baby Baby are out on Vinyl at the moment and Under the Radar has sold out on vinyl. Hope we get some more next year.

Has the digital age made it easier to connect with current fans or more difficult to reach new ones?

KNOX: I’m sure it’s easier, but there’s so much more stuff for people to look at and hear so I’m not sure if that’s so good. I mean there’s only so much time in the day and there are millions and millions of songs out there..... and The Vibrators are just another little fish in the big punk ocean as it were....

Eddie: I know very little about this digital stuff so it's no good asking me! But my children tell me that it works very well. We get them all from 17 to70 at our gigs so the young kids are catching on for sure. They like a bit of rebellious music and not that TV pop stuff served up for the masses.

What’s it like hearing every punk band over the years cover “Automatic Lover”, “Baby, Baby”, and “ I Need a Slave”? The chord structures are intense and always a crowd pleaser… Do you mind these being songs that people associate with you? Is there a concept?

KNOX: I’m not sure there is a concept in them, I just write them. I have quite a broad area of writing; in fact, I’ve got dozens of non-punk songs which we could never really do in The Vibrators. There is a romantic element in a lot of songs, the love songs, which I think comes from being around in the 60s and hearing all those sort of songs then. I think The Ramones also had quite a good grasp of, and were very influenced, by 60s melodies.

Eddie: I very rarely hear bands covering our stuff live 'cause they don’t do them when they play with us but there are lots of recorded stuff. Good on them. The more the merrier I say.

I’ve always loved Alaska-127 and the track “Amphetamine Blue”, where did the song come from and what was the recording and writing of that album in like in the year of 1984?

KNOX: That’s very Buddy Holly and Bobby Fuller influenced. I got the title idea from a song called “Cocaine James Dean” I think, but I never found out who the band was. When I first wrote it the song was just called “Turning Blue” and I thought it needed to sound more exciting. I remember some amphetamine pills were a blue colour so I put that in the title. Also around that time I was making an album with some of Hanoi Rocks (called The Fallen Angels) and we recorded that song as well. That project came about as I had all these songs and my manager at the time had the idea to put me together with Hanoi Rocks, probably to keep them out of trouble, to make an album, and around the same time, The Vibrators reformed and recorded the song as well.

Eddie: This was done at Pat's Alaska studios in about 10 days and I think Amphetamine had been done by Knox before but I figured out was a really good song and we could improve on it. Punish Me with Kisses features me whipping the floor with a leather belt as sound effect, you had to pause for the trains to go over doing the vocals as the studio was under the train lines in Waterloo arches. They left off the 2 songs about Jesus when it was released in the USA but we didn’t know till after!! I thought that was weird.

Do you still see and feel the same enthusiasm in 2014 as you did in 1976, or has it changed?

KNOX: I think I might have more enthusiasm now, or what I have is better directed, more concentrated on the songs, though I kind of miss having those insane ‘teenage’ ideas you have when you’re younger. Funnily enough, I think the newer songs I’m writing, (but yet to be recorded), are getting more political. It’s like when you see the state of the world and the terrible plight millions of people are in, you feel it’s only right to make a statement about it. When I was a kid and people were being blown up and displaced, it didn’t have any real meaning or interest to me. But as you get older you develop more empathy and those situations you now see as terrible, and you feel in a tiny way that you have to draw attention to them so something will be done about them.

Eddie: - I just get up every day and get on with what has to be done. It's still fun for me and we make good friends so we’ll carry on touring and recording for few years.


VIBRATORS FACEBOOK


-Kevin McGovern, Fear & Loathing LB