The Stompin' Riffraffs......A Dude & 3 Chicks !

It's no real secret that I have a bit of a soft spot when it comes to Japanese Rock 'n' Roll bands, be it The Bait Ones, The 5678's, Guitar Wolf, The Tokyo Cramps, early Supersnazz & Mad 3 or any of the literally 100's of garage and rockabilly bands that have emerged over the last 25 years (and longer)....The Stompin' Riffraffs are no exception. I love the attitude that they all seem to share in common regarding their varying musical ability and approach to lyrics....so what if they don't always get the words right and who cares if there's a bum note or 10 !.....They ROCK and they know how to party !  Our good buddy Lee Powell recently wrote a nice piece on them which should leave you wanting to seek out and get their releases....Here it is.

Need the glasses ?

Stompin’ Riffraffs.

I’m not the world’s biggest fan of social media but to me personally one of its great appeals is being able to follow news on bands and labels which otherwise may well be overlooked.  It can also acts as a wonderful catalyst for the exposure of a bands work and provides the means to reach a far greater audience, which is how I inavertedly stumbled across one of the most exciting and immediately captivating bands I’ve had the pleasure of hearing in quite some time.  I was scrolling through the Facebook page of Wild Records, who in my mind are one of the most impressive, high-calibre labels around, when I happened across a kooky looking video, whose static image reminded me of something out of a Tarantino film only more psychedelic.  I was intrigued so pressed play and instantly the music that burst from the speaker slapped me around the face and threw me to the ground in an explosion of rockabilly in raging Technicolor turned up to its full volume and then some.  It was bloody amazing and instantly pulled me into the atmosphere and sound it created. I was buzzing with excitement and flabbergasted by what I’d heard. I had to know more and so began my bizarre journey into the strange and unusual world of the magnificent Stompin’ Riffraffs. 

High Class Riff Raff !

The song that initially caught my attention and started my torrid love affair with one man and three chicks was the phenomenal “Phantom Rock”. It burst from laptop screen in a full-on audio and visual tsunami of fast-paced rockabilly music and images. If you think of wild primordial rockabilly set in a world where 60’s Batman collides head-on with the visuals from The Monkey’s TV show opening theme song (but not the audio), amid a bar-room brawl where the house band oozes  a kitsch sexuality and entrancing charisma then you’re most certainly heading the in the right direction.  It was genuinely one of the few songs I’ve instantly been captivated by, it rocked relentlessly and by god I needed to hear and know more about the band. 

Lucky Fella !

Formed in 2011 the quartet from Tokyo, Japan consist of the swarve looking Nao on lead vocals and guitar, who is joined by the wild, masked girl gang of Rie on bass (and screams), Miku on piano, Theremin (and screams) and Saori on drums (and screams). Together they produce an amazing, none stop-barrage of rockabilly tinged rock ‘n’ roll which is awash with shreds of 60s garage punk-rock ala The Sonics and the cool slick early 60s instrumental surf, which are encapsulated in the tight embrace of relentless energy, fun and passion. There’s no way in the world you could listen to The Stompin Riffraffs and not feel the urge to let the music move you.

The band have produced an impressive canon of work since their formation which is made up of 5 or so 7” singles, an EP and two albums, the most recent of which has just been released on the US Wild Records label. The album is due to be followed in a few months’ time by the 7” releases of the aforementioned “Phantom Rock” which I can’t wait to get my hands on.

As it says on the tin....The Front Cover !

Their new album, the incredible “A man and Three Chicks” pulls in every element of their sound; rock n roll, garage-rock, surf and rockabilly; and thrust it together as one hell of a white-knuckle rollercoaster of rock n roll.  With excellent production and for that authentic analogue texture, recorded directly onto ¼ inch tape in Wilds Records studio, it helps produce a wonderful live and loud feel to the overall sound of the album. It just screams to be played loud and the louder the volume gets the wilder the rockin’ atmosphere of the album delivers.   Each song is an absolute gem filled with a wild, untamed in-your-face rock n roll ferocity and vigour, and bloody hell it’s fun too.  I can imagine watching this quartet tear up the stage live would be a show you’d never forget, so hopefully like their label mates The Delta Bombers they’ll become frequent visitors to these shores.  But until then pick up their new album and experience 12 killer tunes played with the feral and unbridled passion rock n roll should be played. 

Roaring trade in Green Hornet masks !

“A Man and Three Chicks” should be readily available by the time you read this, so if you like rock n roll, loud, fast and fun then you need this album. Check out the bands Facebook page for videos and music and their websites for news and a chance to get your hands on some very limited 7” vinyl’s, which they are more than willing to ship worldwide (I’ve received my package as I was putting this article together).

I may have raved about the Stompin’ Riffraffs rather a lot but I honestly can’t enthuse enough about them and their music which I quite simple adore.  I must have listened to the new album pretty much daily since it arrived and it just keeps getting better with each listen.  The Stompin’ Riffraffs are without doubt one of the best examples of contemporary rock n roll around. I’m so grateful I stumbled across that video. 

Big thanks to Lee and The Stompin' Riffraffs.

The Terrorsaurs....Dinosurf Schlock & Roll ! By Lee Powell.

We're really being spoilt of late with some great home-grown Surf bands making a splash ! (Sorry about that), What with The Sine Waves down Hastings way, bands springing up left right & coastal....and these guys, The Terrorsaurs from the Midlands !..It would appear that something is a happening ! Although there is a chronic shortage of beachfront in their vicinity, they've taken The Trashmen philosophy 'You don't need no beach to be a Surf band!' and ran with it.....

All round good guy and Alt-Ted, Lee Powell recently had this to say about them...Enjoy !    

The Terrorsaurs

“Well, I don't know about art, but I know what I like
I'll be a-surfin' in a swamp on a Saturday night”

“I Ain't Nuthin' But A Gorehound” – Lux Interior, The Cramps

David Ickes worst nightmare !

Instrumental guitar driven surf as a musical genre has always sat side by side with rock n roll and during its heyday in the early to mid-60s it offered the same air of rebellion that emanated from the rockabilly and rock n roll. The mood was intense, the music fast and furious, danceable and fun, all attributes that helped surf establish itself as a sub-genre of the larger rock n roll scene, and spawned tracks such as Miserlou by Dick Dale which has become a timeless surf classic and a track still covered by many in the “billy”/RnR scenes today.

Fast forward 60 years and much like rockabilly and rock n roll, surf is going strong with a number of bands riding the wave of a surf revival which has rolled in alongside a wider appreciation of rock n roll as a whole.  However modern day surf sits somewhere in the darkened under-belly of the R’n’R genre which is inhabited by the strange, weird misfits of raw and untamed 50’s and 60’s independent rock n roll bands, burlesque/bump and grind soundtracks, 60’s garage punk, early 80’s trash and psychobilly and anything else which slips between the cracks of respectability of conventional rock n roll. And you don’t get any more unconventional than The Terrorsaus, a 3 piece instrumental beast that has limbered in from the Swampland, in the grime 'n' slime of central England or Birmingham as it’s known to most of us.  

Now Dig This !

Combining the primordial beat of early rockabilly and the untamed, raw walls of guitar driven surf instrumentals The Terrorsaurs have become overlords of pure, unadulterated Schlock ‘n’ Roll, Creating tidal waves of interest, intrigue and fear in their wake. So much so that the US’s leading rockabilly label Wild signed the band in 2014 before releasing their debut album ‘the Shlock Singles’ the same year and their follow up, the hotly anticipated monster of a sequel “Atomic Lizard Party" in February 2015. Whilst not exactly fitting into the conventions of the usual Wild roster it goes without saying that the Terrorsaus possess that unbridled passion that resonates from their label mates and deliver in with guitars a blazing across track after track of lowbrow instrumental rock n roll surf and then some.

Origins of the band are somewhat sketchy but rumour has it what a certain “Rumble” guitarist may have accidently created a time warp through a wall of guitar noise and went back in time only to return with 3 souvenir eggs from a chance rendezvous with a devishly frisky female  Komodo Dragon. 

With a salute to instrumental surfs origins The Terrorsaurs strive to expand on the sounds and atmospheres’ that can be created in rock n roll music of this ilk and do so with a smooth, swarve charisma finished with a cheeky wink. Their music is lush, head bobbing, toe-tapping, tail swinging dance music, with a wonderfully sleazy yet somehow almost decedent feel to it. The trio who make up the band obviously have a great passion for the music they play even if it is presented with a tongue firmly in cheek, and why the hell not. Wasn’t rock n roll all about rebellious fun and challenging the pre-conceived? So the band may record under aliases, so they may play with reptile/dinosaur masks on but bloody hell they rock and their music personifies this wonderfully. 

Creating somewhat of a cult following the band have just retuned a mini Japanese tour and showcased their own brand of fuzzed out shlock ‘n’ roll at various venues around the UK throughout the year. They have also just released a fantastically collectable 7” single in green vinyl with a scaled feel cover on Dig The Fuzz records which is limited to just 299 copies. 

Stellar Surf !

Whilst some may not approve of the bands theatrics even if their music more than demonstrates their skill as musicians, I have a feeling that if he were still with us Lux Interior would have whole heartedly approved about what the Terrorsaurs are going and rightly so. Put your reservations to one side, shed those clothes and enjoy what the Terrorsaurs are doing.  Legions of fans already are.  Are you brave enough to join them?

www.terrorsaurs.com

With a new single out shortly and their 1st album still available from various outlets including the Trash Wax store (www.trashwax.com) you really should check them out if you haven't done so already and they're doing a UK (& Dublin) tour in Oct-Nov so catch up with our scaley friends and have yourselves a ball !

Big Thanks to UK Rock 'n' Roll Magazine for giving these guys coverage in the first place.

www.ukrock.net 

Kip Tyler..........Jungle Flippin' & Rumblin'.

Long before 'Expresso Bongo' !

 Most of you should be familiar with the tunes, 'Jungle Hop' (as covered by The Cramps on Psychedelic Jungle) and the moody classic 'She's My Witch' (as covered by dozens of bands including Tav Falco & The Fuzztones) by Kip Tyler & The Flips and Kip's story is a bit of a disaster in terms of success, as having a great image, the first black clad rocker to take to the stage on a motorbike (long before Gene Vincent and Vince Taylor), record labels that believed in him and were  keen to promote his releases, voice-overs in the movies for actors that couldn't sing, as well as having Phil Spector as his pianist and Sandy Nelson as his drummer at various points, not forgetting Kim Fowley as his roadie ! But it appears that the fates were against him and ultimately he'd fade into the background while the various members of his band would go onto greater things...his luck failing as far as losing his entire band in 1958 to Duane Eddy where they became 'The Rebels' !
 

Repro available here : www.trashwax.com

Kip Tyler passed away almost 10 years ago in 1996 and had always preferred not to talk about his rock 'n' roll years and I don't suppose you can blame the man for that, a case of so near yet so far...Bruce Johnston, the bass player with The Beach Boys from 1966 onwards had featured among the shifting members of The Flips as did various other musicians from 1956 onwards who eventually graced line-ups for 'Eddie Cochrane', 50's popsters 'The Teddy Bears' and another surf duo 'Bruce & Terry'. Even though musical success kind of escaped him, plenty of opportunities came his way, being an in demand live performer into the mid-60/s (He once appeared as the only white act on a coloured bill which included both Laverna Baker and Richard Berry). He also produced bands for various Californian labels including 'Gyro' for which he incidently released the pretty cool instro 'On The Flip' as well as the pretty lamentable middle of the road track 'Girl from Ipanema' when he attempted relaunching himself as a bit of a popster before finally dropping the music biz entirely in 1965. 

German CD release from 2003.

Kip's better known tracks such as 'Wail Man Wail', 'Rumble Rock', 'She's My Witch' and 'Jungle Hop' have appeared on many comps over the years including the essential 'Born Bad' series but to my knowledge there has never been an album compiling his work on vinyl....there was however a 27 track CD release back in 2003 on a German label called 'Hydra' which is well worth hunting down, be warned as it also contains a few dodgy tracks.

It should also be noted that the 'Kip Tyler' who was doing the rounds in many of the seedier skin flicks of the 90's is not the same guy !
 




Here's the shameless plug folks, check out the website for the goodies !  Lots of new stuff up there for you to get acquainted with : www.trashwax.com

Take it easy and Stay Sick !

The Cramps, Vince Ripper, Mad Music For Bad People......

Available from : www.trashwax.com

Strangely enough, it's been a busy last 4 weeks as usually releases tend to fizzle out and dry up for July & August. However this year seems to be a little different, although that could be down to the simple fact of being involved in the label and having to deal with pressing plants, publishing and administration (negatives) chatting with the bands, discussing artworks & enjoying the music (positives).
Lot's of exciting stuff happening in the coming months, in particular the start of a new publication/magazine which is called 'Mad Music For Bad People' ! My understanding is that this is due to be launched at this years Bedlam Breakout Festival (Sept 11/12/13)......as you can probably guess from the title, this rag has a firm orientation to all things Crampsical for sure, but that's just part of it, as it intends focussing almost excusively on recent and contemporary bands, aiming to inform on and highlight the current scenes, the shakers and movers as well as gigs, festivals and record releases....Rockabilly in all of it's guises !

www.bedlambreakout.com

Speaking of 'The Bedlam Breakout' a little birdy tells me that this will be the last chance to catch a couple of the bands live (Hmmm, how many times have we heard that ?) apparently both The Sharks & The Demented Scumcats (Sparky from DAG's garage punk band, who incidently, have just had their truly amazing and horribly expensive album 'Splatter Baby' repressed, bad news is that it's only 158 copies on purple vinyl so making it as rare as the initial release....get if you can) will no longer be playing live following the Northampton weekender !

Rippersville....Freaking Awesome Track !

Other news is that our Vince Ripper release on Trash Wax finally made it out of the pressing plant, 6 weeks later than expected truth be told but, alas, that be the nature of the beast presently, due mainly to the major labels swallowing up any manufacturing capacity out there....it's a beautiful item, even if I say so myself, great sleeve reminiscent of the 'American Werewolf In London' publicity shots on the front and the rear kind of harking back to the artwork of early Alien Sex Fiend releases and the tunes themselves are both killers !
Alien Sex Fiend go Rockabilly !....Ex-ASF guitarist ‘Rodent’ unleashes his inner Cramp and delivers the goods with this fantastic cover. It’s the flipside ‘Rippersville’ which really steals the show though, think wigged out ‘Peter Gunn’ meets The Meteors ‘Attack Of The Zorchmen’ on acid ! With just a 100 copies on coloured wax it's already shifting fast but don't worry if you miss a purple copy as we got a few more 100 copies on regular black vinyl too.

Available from here : www.trashwax.com

The CD version of our 1st release also got to see the light of day recently, The magnificent Vibes album, with alternative artwork in a digipak and the folk overseas were happy that they didn't have to sell the children to pay the postage rates ! Limited to just 250 copies, so you know what you have to do.

The Shockwaves circa 1985.

 Whilst on the subject of CDs and The Vibes, our next CD (yes, I know) will be The Shockwaves....an amazing combo from the 80's who had recorded 8 tracks for a split album (with The Locomotives) for Mike Spenser (he of The Cannibals), unfortunately for whatever reasons, these recordings were never released....that is until now ! Musically they fall squarely between The Vibes and The Purple Things, to such an extent that on hearing them the first time I thought I was listening to unreleased Vibes material....the truly amazing aspect isn't so much as the album never being released but the commercial success the members of The Shockwaves went on to enjoy after splitting up, the guys ended up such diverse groups as Orbital, The Shamen, Alabama 3, The Charles Napiers, The Diaboliks and Dan is currently the sometime Bassmeister for The Dustophonics.............Coming Soon (vinyl edition will be out at a later date)! 

Loads of Cramps related stuff crawling out of the woodwork, including a lovely interview with Kid Congo Powers currently up on his blog where he mentions a ton of stuff I was totally unaware of...Did you know Jeffrey Lee Pierce was half Mexican ? or that of the hordes of folk who have graced the Cramps line-ups over the years that only Nick Knox and Kid Congo himself actually stayed on friendly terms with Lux and Ivy !!! Anyway if you're interested get on over and read it first hand for yourself.

Made from old Trabants.

Lot's of Cramps bootlegs this year I've noticed, over in the UK it looks as if someone has latched onto an EU loophole which allows them to release live material that has been played over the radio, or somesuch (anyone want to confirm that ?)... Anyway, for a good few years now there has been a slowly emerging 'Billy/Garage' related scene in Russia, centred primarily around St Petersburg, with bands like The Swindlers kicking it off in the early 90's (Mad Fish, The Rattlesnakes and a good few others) and not forgetting our own favourite Russians Messer Chups/Guitaraculas/Bonecollectors and over the years a lot of Cramps material has appeared on flexi disc (not the best quality but cheap enough to be accessible) so you can imagine the joy of hearing that not only is there a thriving Cramps scene over there but a totally paralell one (Here's hoping the Chinese never get into The Cramps) and after much to-ing and fro-ing I managed to track down a few copies of an amazing pressing of The Cramps 1st gig at The Peppermint Lounge, it's a beautiful record, lovely sleeve and a brilliant sound....getting them cleared through customs was a nightmare and story that I won't bore you with.....but if you see a copy anywhere, get it as it's brilliant, you can try our website but not sure how many are left from the couple of boxes we had. 

Stay Sick folk until the next time !

Shop is here : www.trashwax.com   

Trash Wax on Discogs : www.discogs.com/seller/Darrenross  (one offs and single items).

Heavy Trash...Interview with Lee Fisher

Second prize !

Big thanks to Lee Fisher who managed to catch up for a quick chat with Matt Verta Ray of Heavy Trash, currently touring the UK......and we finally get the info on the 'Missing' album direct from the horse's mouth !
Was supposed to be there for the Brighton gig but an unfortunate series of events including my car deciding to take a sudden break from starting put paid to that ! Did get a small consolation in that the ever gracious Mr Chris Moore got the guys including Bloodshot Bill to sign up a poster of the event for me which shall be framed and up on the wall double quick time......so read on ! 

Too often perceived as simply a hobby band for Jon Spencer in his downtime from the Blues Explosion, Heavy Trash are so much more than that – an explosive and raw rockabilly outfit with a perfect set of influences but the nous not to simply mimic them, and as much Matt Verta-Ray’s band as Spencer’s. They haven’t released anything since 2009’s fabulous Midnight Soul Serenade and tour rarely. Why the lengthy downtime?
“We’re not very goal oriented. Part of that is the fact that we have NY Hed Studio (my place in New York) to treat as our personal sonic playground. Jon’s been pretty busy with Blues Explosion and I have other projects going such as a band with my wife (Disturbios) and one with Mama Rosin and Mick Collins called Broadway Lafayette. I think we tend to take for granted our sweet studio setup since it’s always there. In our minds, we’re always just kind of plugging away at things, writing songs, recording, mixing, so there’s not such a conscious effort to get active again. When the oil flows to the tubes in the Heavy Trash section of the machine, that part of the equipment springs to life.”

Album number 5 for 2016 !

There’s a new album imminent called Noir – a vinyl-only collection of unreleased oddities coming out on Seriés Aphōnos. “We had originally wanted to have something auditory or audible to hawk at our shows, Elvis back-lot-out-of-the-car-trunk style. It’d been a while since we´d released any records. We have reels and reels of recorded material lying around the studio and it seemed feasible to release a quick single for a tour we had coming up in France. But as we were putting it together, a full length album started to emerge – I guess like most artists, we feel we have a lot to say! – so then it was a question of format. We were going to release it in a blank white sleeve like a disco 12 inch record and maybe make a rubber stamp with the pertinent info. Actually we’re still probably gonna do that someday, so no stealing kids! Jon had done something with Aphonos before, I think with Boss Hog, and one of my favourite artists, Gemma Ray had an SA release. Jon and I both loved the artwork and the unified style (all the jackets in the series are done by the same guy) so we asked Andy at Bronze Rat, who also heads up Aphonos, if they’d take us on. Andy was great. Gave us free hand with everything, the weirder and artier the better, which is good because we have a lot of weird stuff in the vaults!”

 

Get yourselves along !

One of the standout tracks is Jibber Jabber, which seems to be a plea for authenticity in a synthetic, mediated world. But Heavy Trash have always embraced a certain amount of, if not pastiche, then at least a kind of exaggeration in what they do. So is the plea itself a little ironic?
“Well, it’s showbiz! There’s built in artifice and so looking for authenticity, while a compelling endeavour, is one that will remain unrewarded. I personally really love poetry in which the speaker is using a criticism of some outsider to take a look and a poke at him or herself. Sometimes the critique is unconscious. A lot of the punk tradition is pretty accusatory, which stems from the energy of rejecting a power structure that’s squashing poor little us. But when you’ve been around as long as we have, it’s difficult to claim perfect innocence. We’ve all been attracted by money, legitimacy, sex appeal, creature comfort, tons of not-so-flattering indulgences. So yeah, pointing the finger can have its ironic side and we’re not exempt. Jibber Jabber started from a great groove on the standup bass that our drummer Sam Baker came up with.”
As for the vinyl only release, will Noir ever appear in anything other than this vinyl edition? “We’re on the same page as Aphonos as far as vinyl goes. We love it, it sounds looks and feels great, it’s less ethereal than some wispy digital file and so why not? We’ve no plans for any other format for this record. We’re holding out to release it on the next technology that replaces digital! As far as making it a bit harder to get one’s paws on, well, that can have its appeal. Why not make the kids work a bit to get it on the old mp3 player?”

In a recent Quietus article, Jon was quoted as saying that the ‘missing fourth album’ will stay missing, should we expect any new Heavy Trash releases any time soon?
“I heard about that article and asked Jon about it. ‘Hey, is there something I don’t know about that I should?’. He said that he was just being silly and kibitzing as he sometimes does in interviews for shock value. We have the album about 90% done and will probably get back into it in earnest around December of this year. What’s the rush? We don´t plan on dying anytime soon but if we do, I´m sure there’s a competent mixer out there who can put the album together from the recordings we have already!”

Muchos Gracias to Lee Fisher and Narc Magazine. Cheers Guys.

www.narcmagazine.com

Dr Bontempi's Snake Oil Company.......A cure all for those musical blues !

My God, Got Mine !

Yeehaw !  My oh my oh my.....hot off the press and hot on the heels of his last slice of genius that was 'Witches, Spiders, Frogs & Holes' comes this beautiful slab o' wax.......by opting to release this fine opus through those eternal purveyors of quality 'Squoodge Records' Dr Bontempi has guaranteed an amazingly desirable obeject, containing what is probably some of the most inspired, if not exactly original, takes on Hillbilly, Country inspired Western Swing and even Blues......not to mention the inclusion of the Surf standard 'Misirlou'.

Better than The Soggy Bottom Boys !

I suppose really it's best to give it the full rundown from top to bottom....the packaging conceived by Roland & Ele at Squoodge is just simply fantastic, from the sepia toned image of The Snake Oil Company members on the front of the cover to the printed, heavy-weight die-cut inner, complete with added 'Snake Oil' (I always wondered what happened to Jagermeister empties). The vinyl is the usual quality you've come to expect from a Squoodge release, 180grm+ with the first 100 copies on red vinyl and then just 350 copies on black vinyl which means that if you are reading this after the end of July 2015...it's long gone !  Side one sets the tone and kicks off with 'Franny Lee Stomp' a fiddle driven stomper with some pretty decent guitar work thrown in for good measure. Next up 'That Is Why She's Gone' is classic C&W subject matter of which no self respecting album of this genre should have missing, lovely steel/laptop work and a smattering of 'lonely cowboy' harp playing give it that authentic feel even though it's a Mr Bontempi original !  'Dixie Fried' should be familiar to most of you who bother reading this blog and if it isn't....may I suggest you go get yourself some Carl Perkins albums forthwith. 'Apache Cry' was written by Marcel & Paul Sheahan and rests firmly in that Indian lament style complete with the classic 'injun' rhythm.....Hmmm, The Doors classic, a Ouija board and someone channeling the spirit of the dearly departed Johnny Cash......this just has to be heard, Spooky !

A rather ltd edition of just 77 copies !

Much Ink has been used over the years regarding 'Misirlou'...Greek, Turk or even Egyptian in origin ? 150 years old ? probably older but frankly this is a great version with a distinctly Arabic/Flamenco(ish) feel to it and not a surfboard in sight, Adagio.....Allegro....Adagio !  Finishing up the first side is a bit of happy, hillbilly hoedown, 'Pistol Boogie'....Great stuff indeed. 
Side two starts off with a great version of the Shorty Long song 'Burned Toast & Black Coffee' with who, I'm assuming, is Ira on lead vocals....class. Bit of Bo Diddley is always welcome here and this is no different, countrified 'Who Do You Love' anyone ?  'Ghost Memories' starts out with a nod to Ennio Morricone but quickly slips into classic fiddle and steel guitar combo, nice melodies too.
'Matterhorn' evokes that kind of 'Marlboroman' cowboy image, rambles along with a rhythm you could ride a horse to, although it's about the perils of mountain climbing !
The next track is Warren Smith's brilliant 'Uranium Rock' probably better known to a lot of you as being covered by The Cramps, The Snake Oil Co tear this up and put a hillbilly spin on it making actually closer to the original than later versions.
I'm a little confused about 'Working Girl' is it about the fact that his girlfriend has a job or that she is a 'working girl' ?  either way, great song and the album comes to a close with 'All I Can Do Is Cry' showcasing what a great vocalist Marcel is. This is one hell of an album and the strange thing about it is that you don't even have to appreciate country styled music, per se, to like it.....Weird that !  A way cool album, superbely packaged and full of surprises......AWESOME.

D.

www.trashwax.com

Surfs Up !.........The Sine Waves album is out !

Fresh from the lab.

Well, all you wannabe Gremmies and Gremlettes, the soundtrack for your summer is with us ! The new Messer Chups album 'The Incredible Crocotiger' is out on CD (as well as digital download for those of you who are basically deaf) and the much anticipated masterpiece that is 'Into The Syntax Era' from those beach loving, coastal dwelling hipsters 'The Sine Waves' is finally with us...It's a real corker from those mysterious geeks who are mainly holed up in their underground Sinelab on the outskirts of Hastings, where rumour has it, they take their space age surf and 'smash it all to pieces' before subjecting it to some form of molecular reconstruction resulting in what can only be described as a tsunami of sound !    Try riding that fecker baby !

Phase one.

Overseen by the dastardly Dr Magnus Psyke, his minions (not very evil unfortunately) Deltron 6000, Spectrum and Project X have entered phase two of their audio development programme, phase one (code-named 'Scientific Sounds of) having met with only limited success due to an unforseen malfuction in the replication process which  resulted in a significant shortfall of units in order to achieve the desired outcome.
Having taken the original prototypes from phase one, 'Tsar Bomba' and 'The Fly' and processing them through an audio amplification system, an eminently enhanced and superior result has been achieved, further bolstered by the addition of 'Dark Matter', 'Moon Computer and four (4) other appropriately and scientifically long titled compositions, make this an obligatory acquisition for your next Tiki party on Pluto !

They was working in the lab....on a monster Smash ?

As to who they really are, well I'm not telling outright but it's hardly rocket science now is it ?
What I can say is that there is a 'Jezebel' an X-Man, some dude from Armitage Shanks & Ye Ascoyne....By the way, Does not contain traces of/or recycled  Man Or Astroman !!!   
Here is a full 30 minutes or so of them at last years weirdsville : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEeQacI5pCc
And here's a rather groovy video they did for the track Tsar Bomba : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReU1izhvgpE

The Sine Waves on Facebook so look them up !

It's a very short post this time around as we've been working on the website store WWW.TRASHWAX.COM and believe me when I say I'm no web wizard, man I am slow !

Go check out the vinyl goodies listed up on the temp store at discogs :  http://www.discogs.com/seller/Darrenross

Next post up (very soon) is an absolutely amazing retrospective look at The Vibes, basically everything you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask !

Later folks.