The Cramps, The Phantom, Primitive Idols & Back From The Grave and other stuff you need !

Available end of Jan 2015. 

The Cramps.    Coast to Coast  CD.

Ho Hum.....CD release of what appears, at first glance, to be just over half of the 'Live at Club 57 !!  1979' Double LP bootleg, although there are an additional 7 tracks which purport to be a radio broadcast, In fact the CD claims it is two different radio broadcasts which probably is the case. Nothing new here to my knowledge except the format and packaging. From the info on Rough Trade website this is due out 25-26th Jan 2015. (It will also be available at 'Spin CDs'..at a cheaper price, thanks to Ian for the heads up on that).

http://www.rockinitis.com/45s-rockabilly-repros

The Phantom.  Love Me (Alternate version) / Hey Bop Bop (From Acetate)  Ltd 300 copies.

Now here's a little gem that I got my hands on recently. Fantastic little package although very pricey (So be warned) Nice heavy weight vinyl, beautiful, thick card sleeve and a fantastic sound. Released by a little specialist Rockabilly label in France called 'Rockinitis Records' they are well worth checking out for the repros that they stock too.
Obviously a work of passion considering the effort and amount of work gone into it for just 300 copies.......get yours as soon as possible for they won't be around much longer.....I cracked for a 'Phantom' T-Shirt too, sad bugger that I am.  

Ah dadadada da......and other brilliant Hispanic sounding stuff

The Primitive Idols. My Baby Ain't No Square EP. Infringement Records (also available @ bandcamp for 5 bucks). 
A few weeks ago I was raving about the Portland band 'The No Tomorrow Boys' as I like them a lot....Anyways, I had mentioned in the post that the Bassist, Noland Nocount was somewhat 'in abstentia'.... Like dead or serving time.....As it transpires, neither of which is true, thankfully. Prior to taking the role of bass maestro with The NTBs, Noland was in another group where he was guitarist and chief crooner of...The Primitive Idols (Think it's the title of a Cramps bootleg too) way cool moniker nonetheless and they put out a lovely slab of red wax consisting of four tunes....one of which is a storming cover of one of the all time garage greats......DEMOLICION by LOS SAICOS...I flipped when I found this out as apart from Los Peyotes (not English speaking I know, but) I'd never heard of a current band covering them....now the bad news,....... it was released 2 years ago ! never distributed ! and they only pressed 300 copies ! Well, what can I say ?  They even manage to slip in a couple of bars of 'The Munsters Theme' midwaythrough the song ......It was put out on a little known Portland label called 'Infringement Records' and is sure to be a future classic....I'd say, contact them and get yours while you can.....as we say, it's the dogs bollox !

Infringement Records : http://primitiveidols.bandcamp.com/

Happy, Happy Early Christmas !!!

It's Here !  OUT ON CRYPT RECORDS ON FRIDAY, NOV. 21!!!
BACK FROM THE GRAVE Volume 9 (Crypt Records) 18 years after Grave 8, and at last it is here! Grave LPs 9 & 10 on one MONSTROUS 30-song, DELUXE triple FOLD-OUT digipac - with TWO 24-page fullcolor booklets crammed with liner notes, band photos, label scans. The ULTIMATE in 60s punk IN- SANITY!!!! Balls-out, cruder-than-hell, RARER than hens teeth rawness - 13 of which are the ONLY copy in existence, 5 of which there are only 2 copies in existence! 30 cuts from: WARLOCKS, RAEVINS, EMERALDS, WHY-NOTS, TURNCOATS, SHAKLES, KNOLL ALLEN & THE NOBLE SAVAGES, JAMES BOND & THE AGENTS, THE FOUR, ORPHANS, IT’S THEM, NOBODY’S CHILDREN, HOTBEATS, GMC & THE ARCELLS, HARD TIMES, JOHN ENGLISH III, EXPRESSIONS, ETC!
BACK FROM THE GRAVE VOLUME 9 and VOLUME 10 LP's will be out on Dec. 9!

Tav Falco's Wild and Exotic World of Musical Obscurities. DLP        Stag O Lee Recs. 
So, fed up with all of the Born Bad imitators ?....sick to the back teeth with shelling out for for Cramps tie-ins ? Here's something worth throwing a few shekles at.....It's been out a little while and if you haven't indulged yourself recently, now may well be the time to do so ! 
Whatcha get is a Rockabilly purists wet dream to start with BUT it soon leads into 'Terre Inconnu' with the likes of The Harry Lime Theme and other weird stuff, far weirder than the Martin Denny track....Lux would be proud of you, seriously !!! There's even a Panther Burns track of them covering 'Real Cool Trash' a fave of mine from a French band called the Dum Dum Boys, they themselves even doing a musical score to a porn movie in the 90's....nice work if you can get it Huh ? It's out on a double heavyweight vinyl LP on Stag O Lee records (just click on the tab in the mail order list to the right) and it comes with a free coaster too (aka CD). 

More to follow..........

TRASH ?...........What is it ? Part One.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghil469LHFE

Firstly, this is aimed more for our American compatriots and overseas (Non-European) visitors who've contacted me regarding what constitutes a 'TRASH' band or the 'Trash' sound.....for all intents and purposes, particularly in context of this blog, It's a catch all term for the pre-dominantly British bands from the very early 80's to the latter part of the 80's who weren't strictly rockabilly, 60's garage punk revivalists or psychobilly but who had crossover appeal to these genres at the time. Psychobillies generally saw these bands as part of their scene, Klubfoot nights and the like in particular, but apart from sharing some of the more primal root influences, the 'Trash bands' were nothing like groups such as King Kurt, The Guana Batz and their ilk.

This album has 'Hidden Charms'

Drawing on inspiration derived from the first wave of  60's Garage Punk compilations such as 'Nuggets', 'Pebbles' and the releases by Moxie like the 'Boulders' and the 60's Punk EP's, white lable rockabilly compilations featuring artists such as Rod Willis (He of 'The Cat' fame) and evergreens  The Phantom, Link Wray and Hasil adkins who, incidently, were no where near as well known back then. The 'scene' if can be called that ?  was more of a convergence than anything else, The Cannibals had come from the UK 'Pub Rock' circuits with the likes of The Inmates, Dr Feelgood and The Count Bishops & Flying Tigers in particular making up numbers in the never stable Cannibals line ups (35 plus members or so). The Sting Rays brazenly wore their colours on their sleeves openly, giving praise to both The Cramps and The Meteors (original and first line-up, it must be pointed out) on their debut LP. I'm of the opinion that without a doubt they took more musical influence from the former, with more of the attitude and stage presence from the latter. The original line up of The Meteors even got in on the act with a release under the name of The Clapham South Escalators covering The Electric Prunes 'Get Me To The World On Time'. Meanwhile over in Kent,....... Chatham and The Medway areas to be more precise, Billy Childish and his merry band of cohorts had taken their punk sensibilities from The Pop Rivets and mashed it together with  large doses of Beat and Garage giving us first Mickey & The Milkshakes then plain and simply The Milkshakes.

Includes added 'Paralysed Purple Rays' Aka The Sting Rays.

Early in 1982 over the water in Dublin, The Golden Horde had formed adding a rather deranged twist to the mix with their surf/psyche RnR....Bal (Lead singer of The Sting Rays) along with other members of both The Sting Rays and The Golden Horde would collaborate later on the fantastically titled release (1986) of Duane Ripley and The Go Go Set's 'Revenge of the 50 Foot Killer Go Go Girls'....The flipside being an equally disturbing mouthful, as Micheal and The Multi Coloured Rainbow People's  'The Day the Fish Came Out Dancing in Guru Weirdbrains Mind'......acid anyone ?
 

Front page news no less !

Speaking of Bal (Sting Rays, Bananamen, Earls Of Suave etc etc)....he was getting around quite a lot, he graced the front cover of  'Sounds', one of Britains leading music papers at the time, in april of 1983, which shed further light to the sordid goings on in some of the non too salubrious London clubs.
In particular, self proclaimed 'King of Trash' Mike Spenser, Head honcho of The Cannibals was organising regular gigs in venues across the city including the much adored Clarendon in addition to setting up his own label 'Hit Records' which mainly released The Cannibals material although they put out 'The Trash Box' a repackaged box set of the first 5 volumes of Pebbles as well as an EP by The Bugs (which is essential).

Classic Trash line up.

Whilst Big Beat (A subsidiary of Ace Records) were by far and large responsable for the major part of the vinyl output catering to this 'genre' releasing the hugely influential compilation 'Rockabilly Psychosis and The Garage Disease' as well as the first Hasil Adkins LP (Yep, even before the faultless Norton Recs), that of The  Legendary Stardust Cowboy and Nervous Norvus just to add to the confusion. It was the label set up by Pogues producer Stan Brennan, Media Burn, which was by far the more focused, specialising almost exclusively in what can be termed 'Trash Garage'.

Absolutely essential......the epitomy of Trash.

Releasing greats such as Ug & The Cavemen (kind of Trash All Stars with members of The Sting Rays, X-Men) The Milkshakes, The Prisoners, The X-Men (See previous posts), The Purple Things, The Golden Horde and The Surfadelics among others, some 18 releases in total, all of which are worth owning. The Vibes, (Pre-Purple Things) for me are one of the very best, origianally from Essex they very nearly didn't make it to vinyl at all but fortunately the fine people at Big Beat put out their killer debut EP and so preventing them from an imminent split...Their one and only LP, 'What's Inside' is about as good as it gets, a thunderous stonker of an album which owes as much to The Cramps Psychedelic Jungle as it does to all those 60's Garage comps they plundered.

You need this folks !

As mentioned, Big Beat were behind a lot of the earliest 'Trash' releases, whether they actually considered it to be such I can't really say, guess it just evolved that way and labelled itself,  but by putting out The Bugs only album, The Sting Rays debut LP, The Tall Boys releases, The Prisoners (Not really Trash but you can't exactly leave them out, not even purely by association as some of their cuts are truly magnificent) The Milkshakes and Mighty Caesars, they kind of paved the way to the sound gaining wider audiences even getting a slot on Channel 4's prime music show 'The Tube' and the EP 'Four on Four' subsequently culled from the show.

In the next part I'll put up discographies and some other bits and bobs but in the meantime checkout Charliespliff's on youtube TRASHARAMA collections.  And no I have forgotten the likes of Emptifish (See previous post), The Trash County Dominators, Bad Karma Beckons, The Shockwaves, The Bananamen, Earls Of Suave  and the host of other noteworthys........just hope this goes some way to explain my take on what 'Trash' is.

Enjoy the trip.            

THE HIGH LEARYS......From OZ to Brighton !

Be There Or Be Square Dudes !

Hot on the heels of the likes of The Teamsters, The Youth, The Grys Grys from France and not forgetting Ireland's very own The Pacifics come the fabulous 'High Learys' all the way from Perth, Australia. They'll be gracing the stage at Brighton's Prince Albert on Friday the 12th Dec thanks to the good folk at STAY SICK !

Bringing their high octane beat to the south coast for the first time, these mop topped freaks have only been together since 2012. Already with a couple of slabs of prime wax to their name, they've just had their debut album released by those fine purveyors of  cool 'Soundflat Records' one of Germany's leading labels for Garage Punk/Beat/R&B.......But who am I kidding, you know that already.

"Here come The High Learys" debut LP out now!
http://www.soundflat.de/shop/shop.cfm?lang=en&artnr=19395

Nice one Lutz............
STAY SICK is back from the grave to present the greatest 60s beat garage rock n roll from down under

★ ★ ★ THE HIGH LEARYS (Australia) ★ ★ ★
https://www.facebook.com/thehighlearys
http://thehighlearys.bandcamp.com/

From the sunny west coast of Australia The High Learys bring you the swinging sounds of the mid '60s, their influence of British freakbeat and rhythm and blues mixed with their love for American garage and psych gives the band their unique sound and their Mod styled sharp dressed manner. Forming in 2012 the band have already released their debut LP on Soundflat Records, Germany and are ready to hit the skies to bring their music to the ears of the masses! Bring it on HIGH LEARYS!!!



                                                                          ★ ★ ★

                                         REX SPEEDWAY & THEE FORTUNE TELLERS
                         fuzzed out f***ed up way out garage rock from the sewers of Brighton

                                                                             ★ ★ ★

THEE JEZEBELS
Fresh from their debut gig on the 7th these three ladies, formed from the NEASDEN BEES & the SINE WAVES, are making fuzzed-up, freaked-out, wild rock 'n' roll!

Tickets are £6.50 adv +bf and MORE ON THE DOOR so save your beer money and buy them in advance from:
PUNKER BUNKER or RESIDENT (tickets in shops on monday)
Online from Wegottickets.com
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/298755

8pm-11.30pm
PRINCE ALBERT Brighton
just down from the station

The X-Men.......Re-union gig at Pompey Rumble.

Snazzy wide angle HD.....didn't have that back in the day !

Crikey !  A surprise of the most pleasant kind !.........following an early start (6am) from Cork airport, going to the wrong train station in London then getting off at another, equally wrong train station in Pompey to get picked up, not to mention being fed a line about the Guinness being sub-standard at the venue, I was mentally prepared for disappointment.......Upon arriving at the Wedgewood Rooms in Southsea I was presented with the spectacle of all manner of weird and wonderful looking creatures....most of whom wouldn't have looked out of place in a Todd Browning movie !  We hadn't missed any bands and not only that but the Guinness was more than agreeable !.....Things were looking up !

Someone please explain the pink boa to me !

I'd been rather eager to catch 'All Cramped Up' live since hearing about them earlier on in the year as well as being somewhat curious as to how a band that plays Cramps covers....(which is kind of funny as The Cramps were basically a cover band....But oh' so much more) would go down having a female doing Lux's job ?  Rather well actually, is the simple answer to that one....gargling, groaning and totally at ease in the role, Caz belted them out with gusto, backed by twin Gretsch's. I particularly liked their take on Teenage Werewolf as it came across as a girlfriends scarey lament about her boyfriend more than anything else which was pretty cool and their killer version of Psychotic Reaction had me after about 15 seconds.....now, if there ever was a 7" single begging to be released that would be a fantastic pairing ! 

Next up on my list of to not only see, but pay attention to, were Chris, Clive & Bob, collectively known as The Hillmans....however it wasn't to be due to the combination of a malfunctioning pyrotecnics device and a bad case of the squits. The last minute stand-ins  'The Dukes of Bordello' doing a Sterling job (They actually took the opening slot).

And the joint was a rockin'

After a brief interlude and closure of the venue to conform with some antiquitated English licensing law. Saw, what was for me, the main event of the evening, it had been an awful long time coming but one of my all time favourite groups had reformed and I always feel a little trepidation about this happening.....sometimes it works and sometimes it's better to just have fond memories....bearing in mind it had been some 26 years since the last time they had played together.....we could easily have been presented with the spectacle of The XXXL-Men (and ladies) but no way....they came onto the stage looking half their age, the only real difference being the height of Mr Star's quiff....a mere 10 inches or so as opposed to the 2ft monster of bygone times.
I probably should mention at this stage, that for the occasion, a ltd edition cd had been made and by ltd I mean very limited...like just fifty hand numbered copies (both singles, the mini LP and the John Peel sessions all gathered together) and the last remaining copies were launched into the audience midway through their set ! The gig was also filmed by a certain Mr Alan Gange (who has filmed the previous Pompey Rumbles too) but I don't have any contact details so you'll have to do the detective bit yourselves. Although if you trawl youtube I'm sure you'll find plenty of clips.

The rather unfortunate 'Gonk' photo, it's just the light.

The venue appeared to be almost full when they took to the stage and they received a more than rousing reception when they broke into the first song. All classic X-Men...Talk, Do The Ghost....Leave My House particularly for me was a stormer. Mark really getting into the occasion, loosing the jacket and rockin' out, rather agile & nimble for a guy of fifty (Yes Mark, you've still got it !). Taking on the role of Voodoo Vicar, he was liberally distributing libation in the form of Jim Beam to those fortunate enough to be close enough ! The sound coming out of the Vox Continental was pretty amazing as was the job done by fellow Wampus Cat on guitar. I can't recall for certain as I was mesmerised but I'm fair convinced they played their entire recorded output with a superbe encore of The Revillo's 'Yeah Yeah'...a fine duet to be sure ! The set was finished of with a crazed rendition of 'Who Do You Love' and then the feckers turned the lights on !   Well worth the trip over and the best news of all is that they'll be playing again !! With a date lined up in May 2015, in the meantime you'll just have to check their facebook page for updates.....and who knows we may even get to see some new material on vinyl ? 

Just a note, Debbie will be in Paris on the 16th Dec bashing the skins for Dutronc ! Allez les gars (Merci Mr Noone).

Cheers to Glyn & Grogsy for the photos. 

The No Tomorrow Boys.......Switchblades and Leathers !

The No Tomorrow Boys.

Hailing from Portland, Oregon. The No Tomorrow Boys play fast and furious Rockabilly with punk attitude a plenty, think The Fireworks, Blacktop and early Guitar Wolf....they do a killer version of 'A-Bomb Bop' too. Just to put things into perspective these guys don't do songs longer than 2 minutes, their debut album has 14 tracks and runs to just about 28 minutes....proper Rock'n'Roll !

You need this album.....REALLY !

They've just had their debut album released in Europe on Germany's 'Hound Gawd' records and it's a blinder. 'Bad Luck Baby Put The Jinx On Me' was originally released late (Sept 2013) last year on Hovercraft Records (some on white vinyl incidently)....What you get is dangerous R'n'R, leathered up delinquents with chains and flicknives knocking out badass tunes, bastard sons of Link Wray (just listen to Firecracker) and Vince Taylor/Gene Vincent with a hint of Heavy Trash....in fact more than just a hint, could say they're cut from the same cloth but with a tad more youthful exuberance. It's rare enough these days for me to get very excited about new releases as there's far too much drivel out there but I have to 'fess up and say I was well taken with this.
One Word.....Brilliant !

Not so juvenile delinquents.

Danny Dodge, frontman and vocalist can belt out a tune with style, oozing menacing cool, Matt mayhem, fret fingerer extraordinaire (I think he looks like a young Nigel Robertson, the original drummer of The Meteors) truly knows his craft, bending those strings and pulling out classic chords where as skin pounder Jimmy Beat keeps it altogether with solid rhythms, Nick Knox without the shades no less.....now that's a compliment !
On their early singles they were a four piece with Noland Nocount on bass but he's either deceased, in prison or out and about in places unknown....why he left is a mystery to me and I guess the guys aren't saying !   
Here's a great retro style clip of them doing a track from the album 'Shy' : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfKO1VjWido

This gang got together sometime in 2010 after what looks like a multi pile up between the the Lords of the Flatbush, extras from the Wild Ones and the Fonz on his motor sickle. Their first vinyl outing was a self released 7" called 'Do The Tomorrow Twist' put out in 2011 they followed this with a 2nd 7" 'Animal Eyes' on Rapid Pulse Records in 2012, with the title track making an appearance on the album too.

The departed Noland Nocount.

The last single to be released, a 3 track EP put out by Eli's Mile High (Club) Records is called 'Teenage Vice' and there's a promotional video to go with the title track worth seeing, very nicely done with that kind of 'film noir' feel to it....speaking of watching them and since the N-West of the states is a long drive from here in Ireland, they've been nice enough to have posted a full gig in HD which you can find here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkwF4WvRQTw 

Yeah, I'd travel to catch them live when they eventually get over to Europe (Hint for the folks at Hound Gawd). Until then I'll just have to make do with what I hope will be the first of a good few albums and I'd strongly recommend grabbing any of their vinyl releases as soon as you can, don't think there's going to be much disappointment....and the more cynical of you can always check it first at bandcamp....Try before you buy !
All the info for label etc is listed below and for once I'm happy to say that those of you who only own a CD Player have lucked out !......shame really (Not).

The No Tomorrow Boys at Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/thenotomorrowboys
The No Tomorrow Boys at Bandcamp : http://thenotomorrowboys.bandcamp.com/
Hound Gawd Records : http://www.houndgawd.com/shop/en/home/
Eli's Mile Club : http://elismilehigh.com/records/

Enjoy. 

Cult Of The Psychic Fetus...........In The Shadow Parlour !

Something very strange in the waters of Ohio, not sure what it is, Radiation ? Pollution ? Elixir of the bizarre ?  but at the very least, to say that over the years this part of the world has spawned some wild and weird creatures is a serious understatement. Lux Intereior, and Nick Knox, Die Electric Eels, The Pagans, Pere Ubu, Stiv Bators & The Dead Boys, Devo. Not forgetting royalty in the form of Screaming Jay Hawkins no less. They all have their roots in either Akron or Cleveland.....

So it really shouldn't come as much of surprise that the CULT OF THE PSYCHIC FETUS tread these very same streets. Although they look like rejects from a Misfits tribute band fronted by a malnourished Uncle Fester, they play serious Surf & Cramps influenced Rockabilly...much, much more interesting than most of the US (predominantly Californian) bands that look as if they should be interesting and good, but deliver some form of  weird heavy metal, thrash which is so far removed from Rockabilly or Garage Punk that it should have it's own genre.....either that or I'm stuck in the mud holding up progress ?
So apart from a total obsession with the macabre, a look that wouldn't be out of place at a Danzig gig and a name that makes me think of some kind of Industrial Goth band. They actually deliver the goods spot on, Rockabilly riffs a plenty, loads of echo, Surf breaks and a driving beat mean you get a seriously cool sound. They describe themselves as 'Gothabilly' and I'm not going to argue against that looks wise, though I haven't heard any Goth band sound like this before.

Uncle fester needs a Wighat !

More 'Memphis Morticians than Sisters of Mercy for sure and certain...The Reverend Doom (vocals), Victor Von Gore (Replaced 'Ghastly' on guitar), Lord Erik (Bass) and Alex Murder (Replaced Markus Dark on Drums) obviously continue with that Ohio peculiarity for pseudonyms too. Forming originally way back in 1992, it would take them 5 years before self releasing their first full length album (S/T on Black Tower Productions). Some time between 1997 and 1999 they became involved with 'Raven Music Group' who titled and repackaged their initial album, re-releasing it as 'Orgy Of The Dead' in 1999.
Here's a review from Legends Magazine:
 
"Totally over the top, they blend surf guitar with rockabilly rhythms. The sepulchral lyrics are sung a little too cheerily. The only way you could not appreciate their debut, Orgy of the Dead, is if you took the band more seriously than they take themselves.
It's cheesy, gloomy surf, and the band knows it. It's fun, and it's meant to be. Dead Bride is a good example. Picture gothed out muppets bopping around on the Muppet Show stage rockin' out to dissonant guitars and golden-oldies drumming.
Despite the psycho-billy leanings, the Cult is decidedly moderately paced, preferring fun romps to fast-paced killing sprees, something a zombie could shamble to."

Wouldn't mind catching them live.

 And here's what New York's Street Beat had to say about them at the time:

Cult of the Psychic Fetus, Orgy of the Dead  (© 1999 Raven Music Group)

"Ian Hunter once said, "Cleveland Rocks," and these boys seem to keep that torch burning. There's something about rockabilly meshed with horror or gothic overtones that is like, well, peanut butter and chocolate. It just goes together so well. And though at times the effect borders on novelty, the four boys do a bang up job. "Dead Bride" is a coffin-surfing delight, a driving number that has some great lyrics – "dead bride, room temperature thighs" – that'd have Norman Bates doing a Texas two step. Lead singer Reverend Doom and company may remind you a bit of the Cramps, but then again, all good Gothabilly will, and this stuff is good. If you hurry, you can buy a copy in time for your Halloween party. Boo!"

Stand out tracks being 'Dead Bride' and  'Orgy of the Dead' you can give them a listen here :
Dead Bride  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njORtY-sdqI 
Orgy of The Dead  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TEMy5DwJGc    

2nd album but really the 3rd.

2000 saw the release of their 2nd album 'She Devil' along with a mini CD and a 7" single featuring the title track of the album...I have tried over the years to track down both the only piece of vinyl they released and the mini CD, which have proven impossible to get hold of (Anyone have them, let me know thanks). The MCD has an unavailable track 'Blue June' and apparently the 7" was pressed in both red and blue vinyl. I'm guessing there were problems with the label/record company as it looks as if it was never generally distributed.
According to reviews and general opinion, they are more of a live sensation than a studio band, going as far as recording their albums live to capture their 'true' sound.....Usual gripe from me here, there's no vinyl !

With The Memphis Morticians.

They toured extensively in the US but as far as I'm aware have never made it across to Europe. Often headlining at festivals, they've appeared on the bill at 'The Vampyre Ball' in New Orleans, The Psychobilly Luau,  New York Psychobilly Rumble and The Drop Dead Festival as well as doing the rounds at classic venues such as CBGB's..........
They also contributed tracks to a series of 'Gothabilly' compilations on Skully Records 'Wakin The Dead' worth tracking down as not only does it feature Cult Of The Psychic Fetus but 'Deadbolt' and 'Empress Of Fur' doing their classic 'Johnny Voodoo'........She reminds me of Betty Page...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6FNVeB5H5A

Bit of a wait for the next album and the last one with Raven Music, was 2004's 'Funeral Home Sessions' which came out in a tin box ala PIL's 'Metal Box' and again, no disappointments and so if you do come across it....grab it !
Not a lot happening on the release front since then but if the rumour mills are to be believed ?  there's a new release due shortly by Rev Doom's new project,  'Shadow Parlour' (it's aready available to download but I don't really count digi-formats as proper releases) so go give it a listen on their facebook page over there.

Facebook page :  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cult-of-the-Psychic-Fetus/124617935739

Just right for your Halloween Hoedown !
 

Nothin' But Trash........The Radioactivators,..Random Round Up !

Bit of a mixed bag on this post, a few little bits I thought some of you maybe interested in, some of you may already know and some of you couldn't care less about !

https://www.facebook.com/thexmenspiral

First up is that The X-Men have a Facebook page up since the beginning of the month (Oct 2014) packed full of seldom seen photo's, gig posters and other interesting little gems....Big heads up to Charliespliff for bringing it to my attention. Only a few more weeks to go until they're playing live in 'Pompey'.....Can't wait !

On the subject of the aforementioned Mr Spliff, for a good number of years now he has been hosting a channel (best way of putting it) on YouTube and if you've never found it, not only will you be in for a very pleasant surprise but you'll be blown away by the sheer amount of material he's posted so far,.....it's without doubt my favourite place on YouTube. He's an absolute fanatic about anything 'Medway' and the 'TRASH' scene in general. You'll find unreleased material, demo's and radio sessions as well as rarities and general releases from anyone that's been associated with the whole shebang. Head on over and be prepared to get wigged out : https://www.youtube.com/user/Charliespliff    

Way too much Pastis if you ask me

Another place on the big bad interweb that I find myself way too often is Mr Noonification's blogspot 'Nothin But Trash V2.0'. Earlier on in the year I was shocked and dismayed when I looked in and was confronted with the image of a body on a gurney, tagged 'DECEASED'...One of my favourite blogs had decided to call it a day after 6 or 7 years of bringing some fantastic sounds and introducing me to material which otherwise may have went under the radar. Lots of 60's French (Ye Ye) stuff in addition to all the Garage, Trash and Beat....The great news is that he's back since July, hence the 'V2.0'.....Take a look and he posts regularly almost every week, so you're sure to get your jollies off......and if not, at least your ears will be happy !   http://nothinbuttrash2ndedition.blogspot.ie/

Nigel Lewis & Vince Clarke !!!

Trawling through the vinyl over the weekend and listening to a good few tracks that I hadn't heard in a good while, I pulled out the The Radioactivators 7" (2001) and gave it a spin....nothing odd about that except that this has got to be the strangest, most unlikely collaboration you could imagine !
Nigel Lewis (Original Meteors, The Escalators and The Tall Boys) teaming up with Vince Clarke (of Erasure, Depeche Mode and Yazoo) to knock out some form of 'Electrobilly' ....Mind boggling BUT it's nowhere as near as bad as it sounds ! Granted, the A-side 'Knock On Your Door' has very little in the way of any Electro influences and is just a cool song unmistakably by Nigel Lewis....The B-side is a totally different kettle of fish, entitled 'Bopp' it's an Electro Synth fest, strangely listenable.

 The offending track : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-YLCpfMOPM

 Here's a bit of an explanation of how this weirdness came into being.

'Peanut Butter & Jam released the track, coupled with a B-side ('Bopp'), the same year. Whilst there's little information available about the label, it only ever put out this single, and it was believed to have been supported by Mute. Available only as a 1500 copy limited edition 7" large-centre single, the track feels like an old-time jukebox promo, which is altogether fitting given the style of music here. 'Knock On Your Door' was written by Vince and Phil, with ex-Meteors singer / upright bassist Nigel Lewis providing the vocals. The Meteors claim to be the originators of psychobilly, which successfully fused punk with rockabilly.

In an interview with a German website (psychobilly.de), Lewis explained that the collaboration came about through Kevin Green, the co-songwriter of 'Bopp', here credited as 'K. van Green'. Green was the bassist in a post-Meteors project Tall Boys and also worked on building studios; he had worked on a studio with Clarke, which was presumably his 37B studio in Chertsey. According to the interview, 'Vince said he wanted to make a rock 'n' roll style record so Kev got in touch with me,' said Lewis. 'Kevin more or less produced the sessions. Vince is a very enthusiastic person but I don't think he really understood what I was all about. I remember thinking ''if this isn't a success I'll eat my hat''. I no longer have a hat.'

'We had just started recording the [Family Fantastic] Wonderful album,' explained Phil Creswick to me by email, 'and Vince had met Nigel Lewis a few months earlier. He was so incredibly impressed with him, not just because of his voice and look, but because he lived his whole life as this rockabilly persona. Everything about him was associated with the Fifties and Sixties.'   

This extract was borrowed from a 'Mute' related website called 'Documentary Evidence'

It took me a while to recover after too.......

 

Thee Gravemen...........Shenanigins in the cemetary !

Taking him back.......to the grave, obviously.......pun a go go !

We turned The Ghastly Ones down !

Those purveyors of everything trashy, Thee Gravemen have their 2nd album in the can now and are just waiting on a label (Crypt ? bad joke I know, but they do already have The Gravediggers !)....this eagerly awaited platter should be out sometime early next year and if it's half as good as their debut on Dirty Water Records then it'll have been well worth the wait.
The guys, Daz Trash (Ward) and Lee Tea (Thornton) got together in a pub in Malmo (Sweden, where they both found themselves relocated after following their respective affairs of the heart) after Daz had been putting a few gigs on locally, about 6 years ago, both had been in bands before and have a decent enough pedigree between them, having been in 'Skitzo' 'The Nuthins' Thee Exciters' and 'The Branded' over the years....Lee also goes by the moniker of 'Leadfoot Tea' for his one man band solo stuff.
Their first live appearance was at a Johnny Cash tribute gig way back then and the 2 man, RnR, Garage-Trash monster has been rolling on since, encouraging folk to enjoy themselves and get naked....how often the last part works?  I've no idea !  

Wish I was going !

Prolific giggers on the European circuit they can be found to be doing something most weekends. Check out their facebook page to find out what they're up to and where: https://www.facebook.com/TheeGravemen

Falling somewhere between 'Screamin Lord Sutch' (although not so much the RnR sounding stuff, more 'She's Fallen In Love With A Monster Man', 'Til The Following Night', 'Murder In The Graveyard' etc) and Hasil Adkins, along with The Cramps providing additional inspiration as a duo (no bass). The drums and guitar are well to the fore with Daz knocking out pounding rhythms to Lee's often scuzzy, dirty guitar sound, listen to 'Night Terrors' or their cover of 'The Jiants' Tornado to get where I'm coming from. They're not exactly a garage band, distinct lack of organ, but they're not exactly a 'Rockin' (as in Rockabilly) band either although in saying that, in many ways it's a stripped down, minimalist Rockabilly approach, they've managed to blur the lines between the two. Kind of 'Garbageman' era Cramps with a dash of The Ghastly Ones (sans the surf) in terms of visuals, although neither can claim originality in that dept either or the ghost of Abe Lincoln would be on the phone asking for his image/look back !

The first EP from 2009.

Thee Gravemen released their first vinyl offering back in 2009, the great 'My Girlfriend Is A Werewolf' EP (and dedicated to the Memory of Lux) on the aptly named 'Dig The Grave' label, the title track being a great stomper about a hirsute lady fetish no less.....This was followed in the same year by the release on London's 'Dirty Water Records' of the 'Haunted' single, a self penned ditty with a great cover on the flipside of Screamin Lord Sutch's 'All Black and Hairy'.....something of a pattern emerging here.....Bearded ladies anyone?
Daz and Lee do all of their own recording in Lee's studio 'The Gravecave' (Malmo, Sweden) all vintage analogue and only ever direct to tape, there's been a good few bands recorded there to date too including 'The Felines','The Scumbags' and 'The Youth' to name but a few. (All the info for enquiries at the bottom of the post or contact Lee through the website by clicking on Thee Gravemen tab/icon on the side or Facebook).

On vinyl in glorious mono

 In 2011, Dirty Water Records released their debut album on both vinyl and CD, a punchy 14 track platter which includes the 4 tracks from their first EP as well as a couple of covers like Randy Alvey's 'Green Fuz' and the absolutely demented 'Oh Baby' which is actually Phil Spector on some serious drugs...Check out the original here, you won't be disappointed : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMQieqMIEgY

Daz also surpasses himself on his take of Sandy Nelson's 'Let There Be Drums'....a rather nice bit of drumming if ever there was !

There's no getting away from these guys !

Their 3rd 7" came out on Sweden's 'Heptown Records', entitled 'Rockin' In The Graveyard' but shouldn't be confused with the classic by Jackie Morningstar as this is a self penned original with some great use of what sounds like a Theremin to me, the flipside being a fave of mine 'Tornado'. While the guys were doing the obligatory gig in Brighton for 'Stay Sick', Neil 'Sick' Smith filmed them out and about in town and at the beach which they neatly turned into a rather cool video for title track, here it is for your perusal
: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLeCytl7Xq4

Apart from the constant gigging, the studio, the occasional release on their label, the latest being a solo effort by Lee Tea as 'Leadfoot Tea' called 'Grease and Oil' (some available on tasty pink vinyl, and he's done split 7" with 'Five Finger Discount' both of which are well worth picking up if you can find them...taster here, love the way he's nicked the riff off of 'Uranium Rock' for 'Shake It On Down' ...: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVVUzS3l600   But I'm getting side tracked here, every year, the guys organise 'The Munster Raving Loony Party' in Spain. 

Thanks to Ryan Air,  I'll be heading off me thinks.

In Daz's own words, here's the what, where and who for next year....



"The MRLP is a annual on going party near Tarragona/Barcelona that will definitely happen in 2015, between april 30 – 2 May to be exact. It will be the 4^th year running now and happens at the new site at a little seaside town called “Roda de Bara” at a holiday bungalow and camping site called “Arc de Bara”. It’s a great 3 day party “usually” in basking sunny weather just 50 metres from the beach on site there are swimming pools, concert marquee, bars, club, supermarket and a load of fantastic bungalows. The party has become a real family thing where everybody knows everyone and we all get drunk and party together each year! A super mini holiday before the tourist season starts!! It is nearly fully booked with bands already but nothing I am releasing at the moment".

Back on the subject of musical output, last year (2013) the guys teamed up with the one and only 'Dead Elvis' to release an uber ltd 4 track EP (which I don't have, so anyone got a spare going ?  I'm sure we could work something out) and there are plans afoot to release more together, probably making it at least an annual thing to coincide with the MRLP event. (See previous post on the man Dead Elvis himself)....I can let you know though that the single/EP for release next May has already been recorded !

Talk about limited editions....just 200 copies !

Now this year, while finishing the upcoming album and between playing, they managed to get another release out on their own label 'Raving Loony Records' a great slab of 7" vinyl (100 copies each of Red & Green wax) featuring the excellent 'Night Terrors'. The B-side is 'Papa Was A Java Skull' by Denmark's 'Java Skull' who I think may be ex-members of The Untamed...very cool indeed as I actually prefere Java Skull over The Untamed.....and good luck finding a copy of this, although if you've enough chance you may still be able to get a copy through Thee Gravemen Facebook page.....just don't hold your breath ! 



There's probably another release from 'Leadfoot Tea' before the end of the year so keep your eyes peeled for that, as per usual it'll be a very limited release. Daz has an event happening in Berlin Blues Trash in December, check the flyer above and here's a link to the facebook page for it : https://www.facebook.com/events/641877092577637/
and you get into The Ramones museum too....
And something to make me look forward to next year is 'Leadfoot Tea' coming to Ireland next spring (at least I think it'll be springtime, not that it matters as it'll be raining anyways).

Here's all the contact blurb, gig news and the best way to get your hands on their releases.
Thee Gravemen on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/TheeGravemen
Leadfoot Tea, One Man Trash & Roll on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/leadfoottea
Munster Raving Loony Party in Spain on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Munster-Raving-Loony-Party/228468517216340
Dead Elvis & Thee Gravemen on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/DeadElvisandTheeGravemen

For ordering records, try contacting them via facebook or try Heptown Records, Monster Mash Records, Dirty Water Records mail order sections.

Keep it cool folks.