It was all just a dream. It was only a movie. No one was watching you that closely. The psychedelic burn that comes with the fever of living never seems to reveal the unexpected twists that land us in the future we never saw coming. 2008 was a bizarre year for me, filled with animalistic inebriation and pharmaceutical elation, feeling completely secure while losing myself in the sparkling purgatory of Southern California. That time eventually passed and the reliable decadence of Las Vegas became my new artificial high a year ago. In 2008, the birth of a new cosmic psychotropic symphony was taking place in Cleveland, Ohio. Almost a decade later, it is finally complete and its DNA mysteriously altered by the strange times that have passed.
Dark Rides and Grim Visions is a fantastic voyage through hedonistic hallucinations, euphoric black holes, and the unpredictable shades of gray that live within the human condition. New Planet Trampoline wants to expand your mind, disintegrate your perception, and infect you with capricious lysergic rock heavily drenched in psychedelic double vision. The unhinged soul of Syd Barret seethes through this vinyl maze of calming acid rock madness. Vibrating Manzarek organ lines and reverb-singed vocals spin like diabolical clockwork feeding off the ruins of Pink Floyd’sThe Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Second Hand’sReality. Guitars spin in and out of orbit while the hyper-focused rhythm section adds a spark to the themed compositions with creative tempo changes and gritty garage rock dexterity. The band exists in many dimensions on this double album, floating through psychedelic pop, avant-garde garage, and primal progressive rock. The artwork of the gatefold packaging on this double LP is just as intriguing as its contents… tune in and drop out.
The lingering stale smoke of haunted hotel rooms and doomed romance share a beautifully tragic quality, the same backwards on/off switch that resides in serrated sunrises and elusive sunsets. Heavy emotions and hollow memories swaying in an obscene motion while creating more questions than answers. Who else has stayed here? Why do I feel chained to something that I despise? Why do I keep returning to this place? Disheveled reflections and an aggressive unease saturate the latest releases by Witching Waves and Great Lakes. Mental music, expanding and contracting, painting complex electric portraits that disintegrate when touched.
Witching Waves – Crystal Cafe (HHBTM Records)
Witching Waves bash the bleak mid-decade slump with raging pristine minimalism and slithery post-punk tunefulness on their latest creation Crystal Cafe. This album grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. The pounding tribal punk beats, chunky bass lines, and scratched fuzz guitar lay the foundation for the insanely catchy noise pop vocals of drummer Emma Wigham and guitarist Mark Jasper. Aggressive art punk and experimental garage noise collide, creating a new animal born of anger, despair, and frustration. The grungy symphonic grind of Pink Flag era Wire blends into the white-hot intensity of early no-wave and Vaselines grandeur on this 11 track full length of manic rock meditation.
Heavy with hooks and rawboned single noted phrasing, tracks such as “Twisted”, “Seeing Double”, and “Make It Up” deliver pleasantly eardrum-piercing candy. The intense and deliberate detachment in “Pitiless” and “Flowers” offers a somber detour into the band’s more introspective moods. The red-hot single off this collection is the irresistible and unnerving “The Threat” with its new-wave inspired melody and sophisticated dirty pop production. This is one of my favorite albums of the year so far and definitely a worthy addition to your vinyl or digital library. If the end of the world sounds this good, I hope that it comes tomorrow.
Ben Crum, with his latest incarnation of the long running Great Lakes, mischievously remodels Wilco’sSky Blue Sky with the subtle abandon of Whiskeytown. The singer-songwriter sheds the psych-folk of earlier releases in favor of a darker roots rock approach sprinkled generously with whispered indie intensity. An uplifting melancholia guides the exposed mid-tempos and edgy alt-country ballads. “Swim to the River” and “Kin to the Mountain” demonstrate a firm grasp of mid-70s Neil Young and Rolling Stones country tinged laments. “Bird Flying” and “Blood on My Tooth” are notable standout tracks, extended harmonies fueled by decadent chord changes and brooding percussion.
“Wild Again” perfectly captures the essence of this record with its hallucinogenic slow burn and sweet but bitter psychedelic country choruses. Vibrant but low-key female harmonies accentuate Crum’s unique understated vocal delivery throughout this collection of song, adding to the strength of the refrains and nuanced transitions. Wild Vision is a warm reinvention of Crum’s subliminal artistic vision, every song a crucial component in its soothing shadowy stroll.
I love the feeling of driving through dimly lit desert roads late in the night. A hallucinogenic purity fills the air, as it pulses through the mind creating attractive patterns of confusion and secrecy. The endless road going on and on, like the waves crashing where I used to live. A steady stream of jangled rhythm that rewrites itself whenever the mood strikes and the timing is right. As always, my mobile soundtrack is essential. I got lost along the way. I didn’t mind and I didn’t forget the cool new sounds that were coming out of my car stereo speakers.
The swift beat of loose spontaneity cracks the frozen ground of preconception on the two latest singles by legendary surf guitar maestro Susan Surftone. As a leader in the third wave surf revival, beginning in 1995, she continues to boldly venture into areas not commonly visited by surf guitar purists. With a love of 60s garage rock and 70s NYC punk, it’s obvious why Surftone has a renegade attitude when it comes to making instrumentals that rock and songs that madly swing.
Brimming with a mysterious musical sexuality and grooving in a hot cold trance, “Little Bit Lied To” is an exceptional single. Combining the suave grit of Mink DeVille and the earnestness of Broken English era Marianne Faithful, this surf-wave pop bomb keeps the melody flowing with a rocking staccato backbeat. Susan’s vocal performance on this number is instantly memorable with its sweetly detached and punky delivery.
“ShadowLand” kicks out the jams with an unapologetic Thunders style six-string aggression that rides a rockabilly wave of bouncy percussive bashing. Spastic and fun, this titillating track flies by way too fast. A nice and volatile slice of surf-garage finesse combined with punk purist simplicity. Both of these singles complement each other by accentuating the different dimensions that always make any Susan Surftone release a required listening experience. These singles are now available on her official site. Support independent music and check out her unforgettable live show when she comes through your town.
With heroin overdose deaths beginning to reach levels of the AIDS epidemic at its height, I can only come to one conclusion, people are seriously bored in the USA. I don’t blame them. I totally understand that there is nothing fun about paying bills and planning your own cost-effective funeral. Where have all the good times gone? Brilliant minds ignored while the nauseating cycle of political sloganeering takes center stage. Winners and losers, black and white, and an ornery public obsessed with emphatic expression about nothing.
During times like this, the brightest people I know use this opportunity to dive into their passions, their art, their music, and their dreams. Uncertain times are a fertile ground for the creative mind and its temperamental disposition. I’ve had a severe craving for some raw garage power pop and the Radiohearts are the best dealer in town. Back with a new EP after just releasing the scorching Lot to Learn EP a few months ago, this masterpiece of garage pop art insidiously crashes the backyard party of underground music, burning bright and burning fast.
“Tell You” kicks off the festivities with its revved up Barracudas meets Modernettes uppercut. Gnarly single noted riffs and crunchy string amplification crackle and spin. The production packs a severe solidity lacking in most modern garage creations. “So Low” follows next with its Top of The Pops hit single sounds, haunting the earbuds with the ghost of Buddy Holly and the hyper angst of the Nerves.
The rhythm section of Jason Cordero and Mike Yager locks in tight with a thunderous boom and snap that gives this record an addictive underlying rumble. “My Heart Has an Obituary” masterfully highlights how the bass and drums play a huge role in the controlled recklessness of the band’s hook-filled compositions. “Who Are You?” wraps up this quick fever of classy madness with the surefire guitar interplay of Ed Stuart and Tony Ferralez. The glue holding the heart of the Radiohearts together is the unique croon and snarl of vocalist Ed Stuart. An ambitious and appealing urgency shines in the vocals throughout these tunes. This is the band’s second release on the infamous No Front Teeth Records. These Long Beach boys are moving fast and with their current momentum, I can’t wait to see what’s coming next. Vinyl is limited to 300 copies, sleek colors and two different covers, so move fast.
I was first introduced to the Humpers courtesy of a feature in Flipside magazine in the early 1990s. What caught my interest was the comparison to the Dead Boys and the action packed photos of a drunken live set that seemed unreal at the time. I was only getting my fix of garage rock n roll through reissues that were coming out, of bands that no longer existed. Other than that, it was an underground world filled with Fugazi, Screeching Weasel, and math rock hardcore bands taking up space in my favorite zines. This sound and intoxicating wildness was something I craved and when I got ahold of Journey to the Centre of your Wallet, I was officially hooked. Scott “Deluxe” Drake was the charismatic front man that held this loaded gun of a band together. The Humpers ruled the 1990s garage scene and became bigger with their signing to the Epitaph label. As the decade ended so did the band. Drake continued with the Vice Principals, an impressive solo career, and his latest and greatest, the Lovesores. The following is an interview I did back in the summer of 2014 for Fear and Loathing LB magazine. This is the official digital blog reissue of that interview, one of my most enjoyable too. -KM
What was your first experience with the LA music scene and what led you to start playing guitar and singing?
SDD: Well, like most people, I started out as a fan, buying records and going to gigs. I moved to Southern California in 1980 (from Central California), so it was a great time for music. Black Flag, X, Adolescents, Weirdos, Flesheaters, Social Distortion, etc etc etc. There were so many great bands. I sang with a band in Merced called RH Factor, but we only played live one time at an Air Force party. The first band I joined in SoCal was The Naughty Women in 1983, playing guitar,barely hahaha. I joined them because I liked that they were a cross between punk and glam (not Sunset Strip style glam, but 70’s trashy stuff like Dolls, Stooges, Runaways, etc).
What was the atmosphere like at the time… filled with debauchery, exciting, or dull?
Suicide Kings started around 1984, after Naughty Women broke up. Mike Crescione (guitar player from Naughty Women) and I started it. The scene itself wasn’t debauched, but The Suicide Kings certainly were! Around that time most groups were either playing Hardcore or trying to be Red Hot Chili Peppers, so there weren’t a lot of punky rock and roll bands around, especially not in OC. We were based in Stanton.
I was first introduced to the Humpers through your landmark album “Journey to the Centre of your Wallet”, how did the band form and what was your favorite early release?
The Humpers started when I broke up Suicide Kings. A couple of the guys were really strung-out and we just weren’t moving forward. I wanted to do something more high energy musically as well. At first, I intended The Humpers to be all new people, but Jeff Fieldhouse came over to my place and said PLEASE let me be in this new project,so I said okay, which is one of the best decisions I ever made! We met Jimi Silveroli through a mutual friend (I think it was Kerry Martinez?) and Jimi had no background in punk rock at all, he was into Rush and stuff like that, but I guess he had fun playing with us, because he ended up drumming with the Humpers for good.
Billy Burks we got through an ad in The Recycler (the only time that THAT ever worked) and on bass at first we had Jaybird Blake, who became another drug casualty…and then Billy’s friend Mitch Cartwright took Jaybird’s place. We picked-up guitarist Mark Lee alongside the road in Sioux City, Iowa. He was a stowaway hahaha. I didn’t really like many of our early recordings to be quite honest. I’m very self-critical, the songs were good, we just didn’t know what to do in the studio. I don’t think we really started to get into a recording groove until “Journey…” which was our 3rd LP.
I remember seeing the band early on, on tour in Philadelphia playing to a small crowd and at the end; you were playing to packed houses. What do you think led to the band’s rise to mass underground popularity?
I think we appealed to a wide range of people. We always wanted to be “inclusive”. Like, if you like loud guitars with memorable riffs, 3 chords, maybe some funny / smartass lyrics, you’ll like us. You don’t have to dress a certain way, or have any certain politics, all you need is a love of high-energy rock and roll, and a few drinks probably helps.
After being signed to Epitaph, the band went into the studio and re-recorded fan favorites from past albums, what made you decide to redo certain songs?
Well, the LPs we put out before only pressed 1 or 2 thousand copies, Epitaph was pressing 40,000. So the vast majority of people who bought that LP had never heard us before. We figured it would be wise to stack the thing with our best songs.
What are your thoughts on the last Humpers record you did with Epitaph? I’ve always loved “Ghetto in the Sky” and the different approach that song took.
The last LP had some good songs on it, but it was pretty unfocused. We were burned out from touring and the band was on the verge of splitting up, so there were starting to be musical differences and everyone was just sick of each other to some extent.
If I remember correctly, at a show in the mid-90s you told me that the band was going broke touring and owed the label money. Is it true that Epitaph wouldn’t let you record under “The Humpers” name after you left the label?
Well, they stopped supporting us MID-TOUR on our last tour. Our van broke down and we called them and asked for help and they said NOPE. So, their patience with us ran out and they cut-off the cash. But, no, they never said we couldn’t use the name or anything like that. We had a contract with them for 3 LPs and we gave them 3 LPs,then the band broke-up and that was that.
How do you feel about the Vice Principals recording you did after the Humpers? Was it cathartic or a change of pace in any way?
Well, the whole point of the Vice Principals was for my brother (Jeff Drake) and I to do a record together. I see it as an opportunity lost. To me, the expectation was that we’d write a bunch of new tunes together, but we ended-up only writing 2 or 3 together and the rest of the LP was covers and things that we wrote individually. So it was a bit frustrating, but it’s a pretty fun record anyway.
I know so many fans that love your solo record “Grand Mal” and treat it as a long lost Humpers record. How did your approach differ with this album than your other solo releases?
Well, the main difference is that I wrote EVERYTHING on “Grand Mal” (except 1 cover) all at the same time. It’s sort of a concept album, really. All about the dangers of love and crap like that hahaha. My other solo records have been more “patched-together”, old stuff and new stuff, with no over-riding theme.
Your newest band the Lovesores kicks ass! What made you decide to get back into the band racket again?
Cheers! The main thing that made me want to start a real band again was collaborating with Jeff Fieldhouse again. He’s by far my favorite person to write songs with, so when he expressed interest in starting something new I was very excited. He’s no longer with The Lovesores (he left due to some family medical issues) but I’m really proud of the stuff we wrote together. And I really like all the other guys in the band. It’s a way more relaxed experience than being in The Humpers and everybody pitches in, which is cool.
Do you prefer writing your own material or collaborating on songs with a band? I know that on such Humpers classics as “Fast, Fucked, and Furious”, you were the sole writer.
I like both. Sometimes I come up with a complete idea and it’s fun to flesh it out by myself, but other times I’ll have a lyrical idea and I’m stumped for music. So it helps then, to have some input.
Will the Humpers make another record? Do you enjoy doing the occasional reunion gig?
Ahhh... the $64,000 question. I really don’t know. It’s up to the other guys. I’ve told them if they put some music together, I’ll write the words and, so far, nada. Meanwhile, I have a working band in The Lovesores, so that’s where my energy is going. I have no qualms about recording with The Humpers, but there’s more expectation attached to it. I don’t want to put something out just to put something out. It’s got to be good. And, yeah, I always enjoy playing with those guys, they’re my brothers, even when we’re pissed off at each other!
What made you decide to leave California?
It was just time. My wife, Jeannie, and I wanted a change. Sometimes you have to shake things up a bit to keep it fresh. So, not one thing in particular, maybe we were just bored!
Any words of wisdom after serving your time in the rock n roll machine?
Hmmmm, words of wisdom. Well, if you go to the grocery store to grab a few items, and you need milk, get all the other stuff first and get the milk last. Because that gallon of milk is pretty heavy to carry around while you’re shopping...That’s all I’ve got. Cheers!
I remember being a little kid, agitated and bored in the backseat of our family station wagon. I was young enough not to be in school but old enough to be aware of what was around me. I would have to ride along with my mom to pick my dad up from his job. It felt like it was always gray, always cold, and everything just stood still, nothing to look forward to in the near future. I just witnessed people looking miserable, doing their daily routines and it depressed the hell out of me. Why the fuck would I want to be an adult? What a drag! What a serious fucking drag. I would escape into my head while sitting restlessly in the car, listening to the softer rock featured on AM Radio at the time. I would dream of places that had nonstop sunshine, full moons every night, and people who talked to each other about exciting things.
The radio was a friend that gave this dreary atmosphere a mysterious soundtrack, made-for-television movies about teen runaways made me feel like I possibly had a chance to go somewhere else. Those last words from the lost souls of the lost late 1970s haunted me in the early 1980s. The luminous sullenness of Fleetwood Mac, Gary Wright, and America held a darker meaning. It was the sound of neighborhood couples having affairs, going to strange parties, and losing their way in an impromptu sexual revolution.
Animal Daydream’s Citrus EP takes the soft strains of dark feelings and polishes them with a charismatic college-rock blade. The opening track “Citrus” lifts off immediately, with a contagious cocaine fluidity. The abundant harmonies and vibrant strumming bring to mind the retro daze of Fleet Foxes. The Brian Wilson bliss of “Sun (Turn Around)” has a nice touch of psychedelic expansiveness that beams into the ultraviolet buzz. “All That You Can Give” keeps the blissful flow moving along with a slight detour into folk rock balladry. Closing out this four-track collection of retro softer rock eccentricity is the choice cut, “In My Room”. This track has a serene and wired aloofness that eerily echoes the vibes of the Love classic, Forever Changes. If you’re looking for something different, then look this way.
Video in motion, prisoners of our own electronic devices, the dull thud of a door closing, and the nervous shudder of one opening create unusual monsters in our imagination. There’s nothing more beautiful than a twenty-four hour establishment, reliable availability is so hard to find in an age of face-time dating and inconsistent suspicion. You can give into the constant state of panic, or just not give a fuck. I prefer the latter. Is it really worth wasting valuable moments of your life wondering if you have a safety net or back up plan? The neon laced violent dance of nature carves the tempo and twists reality into unrecognizable fashion statements constantly. The latest full length by Antlered Aunt Lord creates an alternate universe of apathetic gold for the unsuspecting masses. Impetuous hooks of melody and insomnia fueled chord changes forge a new wave of songwriting that is difficult to define but soothing in its syrupy uncertainty. This motherfucker of musical mayhem requires several listens to acquire a proper addiction, it shrieks and whispers like a fallen star staging a comeback with a live suicide for the final act.
Vocal commotion and overdriven amplified harmonies instigate a joyous paranoia of indie-glam-pop that hits hard and caresses with uncleanliness. If Frank Black covered the first two Squeeze albums and used Frank Zappa as his producer, it might come close to the opulent cacophony presented on Ostensibly Formerly Stunted (And on Fire). AAL consists of only one band member, the eccentric Jesse Stinnard (recording engineer and drummer of the infamous Tunabunny). This collection is a shortened showcase pulled from hundreds of songs that Stinnard has accumulated in an impressive short amount of time. Brigette of Tunabunny shot the video premiere (featured here) for “Throwback Bikes”. A very impressive debut that leaves you wanting more, but each listen opens up a fourth dimension that allows this body of songs to reshape and reinvent itself with repeated exposure. Choice Cuts:
“Hi-Beam Hi-Priest”-“Pray for Glam”- “Questions from Our Publicist”-“Munsonfly”-“Sigil to Noise”
