Something I Learned Today

After several years of trying I finally tracked down a copy of the 6 song 12″ by DC band Rain. La Vache Qui Rit was recorded in 1987 and posthumously released in 1990 on Guy Picciotto’s Peterbilt label. “Worlds at War” was included on the State of the Union comp. Bert Queiroz provided a brief overview:

Jon Kirshten (Chris Bald’s younger brother) played guitar & sang, Eli Janney played drums, Bert Queiroz played bass (& cover photo), Scott McCloud also played guitar & sang. Amy Pickering, Ian MacKaye & Jeff Turner did backing vocals, Ian & Jeff did production, Don Zientara engineered, & Kurt Sayenga did the design. Glad someone still cares & likes the record.

The music here is firmly in the vein of the post-Revolution Summer sound, call it emo, post-hardcore, whatever. Embrace and One Last Wish are the two bands that immediately come to mind.

Rain - That Time of the Year.mp3
Rain - End of my Mind.mp3
Rain - Snakeout.mp3
Rain - Worlds at War.mp3
Rain - Around the Axis.mp3
Rain - Rivers.mp3

Notes:
>> for those interested, Eli Janney and Bert Queiroz both maintain websites.
>> For another great Peterbilt release checkout Deadline

** It appears that both the Rain and Deadline EP’s will be re-issued by Dischord in the next month (way overdue). I will be removing these tracks shortly given this information **

One of the nice things to find in my mailbox upon my return from vacation was a promo copy of Alternative Tentacles reissue of the collected works of Miami’s The Eat. It’s Not The Eat, It’s The Humidity collects 30 studio tracks and 29 live cuts on 2 CD’s. And you know, it’s about time. The Eat are KBD legends, with their first two singles commanding ridiculous prices. It’s Not the Eat… collects these two gems, the Scattered Wahoo Action cassette from 1982, and the full mid-90’s sessions that spawned the Hialeah 7″. In the late 90’s the band themselves was distributing most of this material on a CDR called Slowly I Turn. All in all, this is enjoyable melodic, garage punk with a biting satirical edge. As the AT bio labels ‘em:

top-floor melodic punk ‘n’ roll - sort of a sped-up Real Kids with rock-bottom Angry Samoans-style lyrics

The second disc is live, and I can do without most live releases. This is no exception. (note that the double vinyl edition skips the live material). I’ll stick with the studio material. The Eat never topped “Communist Radio”, but they come close on a couple of these. Some of my favorites:

The Eat - Communist Radio.mp3
The Eat - Nut Cop.mp3
The Eat - Party Line.mp3
The Eat - Hialeah.mp3

You can buy It’s Not The Eat, It’s The Humidity directly from Alternative Tentacles
(Or, you can try and win one from Peter over at Killed By Death Records)

If you like loaded, pounding, repetitive riffs, banshee vocals, and the occasional 9 minute marathon then this is the shit for you. I’m feeling lazy today (today? how about the past two weeks) so I’m going to cut and paste from the wikipedia writeup on Washington state’s noisemongers Karp:

Karp was a rock band from Olympia, Washington, that formed in 1990 and lasted until 1998… Karp managed to mix the terror of hardcore, The Melvins, and Black Sabbath with an ear for pop-influenced song assembly. The band name is inspired from a newsletter/zine that bassist Chris Smith put out in highschool and is an acronym that stands for “Kill All Redneck Pricks”

Karp would release three full lengths (1994’s Mustache Ride, 1996’s Suplex, and 1997’s Self-Titled LP), with a singles comp (Action Chemistry) released in 2001. Bruising, punishing stuff here - one listen to “Bacon Industry” is proof All releases are recommended if this is your thing, Self Titled LP and Action Chemistry are my personal faves. Take a listen:

from Self-Titled LP
Karp - Bacon Industry.mp3
Karp - Bastard in Disguise.mp3
Karp - Spelling Trouble.mp3

from Action Chemistry
Karp - Freighty Cat.mp3
Karp - I’d Rather Be Clogging.mp3

from Mustache Ride
Karp - Flourpus.mp3
Karp - Me Big Mouth.mp3

from Suplex
Karp - Get No Toys.mp3
Karp - Schotzie.mp3

Notes:
** Pic from Karp page@myspace
** Drummer Scott Jernigan died in 2003.

Imaginary Friend by Sorry was one of those great used bin finds. In fact, I found it in the same store that I picked up a cheap copy of Bands That Could Be God. Both records were on the Radiobeat label and cost me less than $10 combined. Sometimes I miss the pre-internet/Ebay days, days when you could beat the bushes and find gems. Or maybe my issue is that I don’t have a decent store within 50 miles.

But I’m getting off track. Sorry formed in the early 80’s in Boston and played an inventive, refreshing brand of hardcore. Or, as the band has termed it “Pre-Emo, Pre-Indie, Influential OG 80’s Boston Hardcore”. To me, its sounds like a blend of hyped up Volcano Suns and early DC hardcore, but that may be because Sorry members David Kleiler and Chuck Hahn would become future Volcano Suns members. After Imaginary Friend, Sorry would release one more LP - 1986’s The Way It Is on Homestead. Vocalist Jon Easley went on to be in Burn amongst other bands before passing away in 1998.
Below are my favorite tracks from 1984’s Imaginary Friend. You can grab all 18 tracks as winrar archive right here

Sorry - My Word.mp3
Sorry - Misanthrope.mp3
Sorry - Doomed From the Start.mp3
Sorry - Where Were You.mp3
Sorry - One More Step.mp3
Sorry - Buried.mp3
Sorry - On My Own.mp3
Sorry - Dirty Old Man.mp3
Sorry - Honesty.mp3
Sorry - 24.mp3

Notes:
<> More mp3’s and a detailed band bio on the Sorry page@Myspace - including tracks from The Way It Is

This thing has been kicking around for a couple of months now, and I figured it was time to just post it so I can move onto something else. This is all covers, grouped by band. You get covers of Husker Du, Wire, The Saints, Joy Division, and The Dicks. If that intrigues you, you know what to do. If not, a new podcast should be along in 1-8 weeks

Download Here (71 MB, 1:19)

Tracks:
1. Hammerhead - Something I Learned Today
2. Arcwelder - Whatever
3. Alloy - Out on a Limb
4. Lifetime - It’s Not Funny Anymore
5. Sick of it All - Target
6. Minor Threat - 12XU
7. Soulside - Ex-Lion Tamer
8. Big Black - Heartbeat
9. New Bomb Turks - Mr Suit
10. Die Kreuzen - Pink Flag
11. My Bloody Valentine - Map Ref 41° N 93° W
12. Nashville Pussy - (I’m) Misunderstood
13. Candy Snatchers - Lost and Found
14. Lazy Cowgirls - Know Your Product
15. Bantam Rooster - Private Affair
16. Sheer Terror - Everything’s Fine
17. Jawbox - Something Must Break
18. Kustomized - Dead Souls
19. Black Halos - Warsaw
20. Unbroken - Love Will Tear Us Apart
21. Neurosis - Day of the Lords
22. Bassholes - Interzone
23. Dicks - Purple Haze
24. Turbonegro - Young Boys Feet
25. Jesus Lizard - Wheelchair Epidemic
26. Mudhoney - Hate the Police

Columbus, Ohio in the early 90’s must have been a cool place to be, what with all of the great garage punk bands and labels - New Bomb Turks, Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, Cheater Slicks, Datapanik records, and of course Gaunt. 400 miles away from Columbus in Rochacha it was also an exciting time, as it seemed there was a new Turks or Gaunt single hitting the bins every month or so. Man, 1993 was a fucking fantastic year, but I’m getting off track. Gaunt had a way of delivering a big noisy fuck you topped off with a pop coating to help it all wash down, displayed nicely on a bunch of singles, a couple of EP’s and some great albums. If you don’t have I Can See Your Mom from Here or Sob Story just what are you waiting for? Go grab them. The later albums (Yeah, Me Too and Kryptonite) are also pretty decent. I can’t comment on the one and only major label effort Bricks and Blackouts, as I never got around to picking that one up. Only thing missing is a singles compilation, a shame since some of their greatest moments were found on 7 inch slabs. If you don’t believe me then check out “Spine” below. I’ve done my best to put together some of the band’s best 1992-1993 moments, though I’m missing the Fielders Choice EP and the split w/ the New Bomb Turks. If anyone has a copy of these available (for sale or on mp3) then get in touch.

RIP Jerry Wick (1967-2001)

from 1992’s Jim Motherfucker 7″
Gaunt - Jim Motherfucker.mp3
Gaunt - Spine.mp3

from 1992’s Whitey The Man 10″ EP
Gaunt - Silly Watches.mp3
Gaunt - Back Off.mp3
Gaunt - Salvation Army.mp3
Gaunt - Ignored.mp3
Gaunt - Whitey.mp3
Gaunt - USA.mp3
Gaunt - Jim Motherfucker.mp3

from 1993’s Pop Song 7″
Gaunt - Pop Song.mp3
Gaunt - No Hope.mp3

from 1993’s Good Bad Happy Sad 7″
Gaunt - Good Bad Happy Sad.mp3
Gaunt - Quality of Armor.mp3 (Guided By Voices)

from 1993’s Solution 7″ (came with Speed Kills #5)
Gaunt - Solution.mp3 (Pere Ubu)
Gaunt - Black Cat.mp3

The past two weeks I’ve been constrained by work issues and a full load of house guests, both of which have made posting difficult. Things should calm down by this weekend, at which point I expect to have a couple of posts and a new podcast available. Stay tuned.

Shit, there ain’t much I can say about either of these legendary bands that you don’t already know. This split was released by Yesterday and Today records in 1990, featuring one track apiece from each band. The Bad Brains track was recorded in 1979 and was released on the Best of Limp comp. The Black Market Baby song was recorded in 1981, and released on the Connected compilation (same version?).

I picked this up as I my Bad Brains fanaticism was waning, killed mostly due to the glut of live bullshit spewed forth in the late 80’s. Hearing “Don’t Bother Me” was a shot in the arm, a jolt of spastic Bad Brains. Even cooler, “World at War” was my first introduction to Black Market Baby - and christ almighty, it was a fucking revelation. At the time though nothing from Black Market Baby was in print, which was torture, though a year or so later Bitzcore released the Baby Takes and Baby on Board LP’s. Luckily, you can easily track down “World at War” and a ton of other BMB’s greatest cuts on 2006’s retrospective Coulda…Shoulda…Woulda

Bad Brains - Don’t Bother Me.mp3
Black Market Baby - World at War.mp3

notes:
sleeve pic and info from the BMB website. Also cool, :30 Under DC

I’m sure there was more to the Cleveland hardcore scene in the early 90’s than Integrity and Face Value, but those two bands were Cleveland in my circle of friends. Even cooler, they were just a couple of hours down the pike from us which means we got see them a lot. While I dug the evil metal vibe of Integrity’s Those Who Fear Tomorrow, Face Value were the shit. I think the only thing that got me to take off their 1990 Coming of Age EP off the turntable was receiving their follow up full length Price Of Maturity. Man, that thing just rocked - tough vocals, lots of tempo changes, and a gnarly hardcore guitar sound (despite the occasional solo). This was one of the last great tough guy hardcore records I purchased. And really, it was the last great record for Face Value. Follow up’s Kick It Over and Choices (post vocalist Tony Erba’s departure) were disappointing. Erba has gone onto play bass with the H-100’s, 9 Shocks Terror, Gordon Solie Motherfuckers, and Amps II Eleven. He is currently fronting Cheap Tragedies

The CD of Price of Maturity included the Coming of Age EP. This thing looks to be OOP, so you can grab all 22 tracks right here as a .rar archive. A couple of my favorites below. Dance it up Clevo style!

from the Coming of Age EP
Face Value - Can’t Take Much More.mp3
Face Value - Coming of Age.mp3

from the Price of Maturity LP
Face Value - Excommunication.mp3
Face Value - Naivete.mp3
Face Value - Outside Looking In.mp3
Face Value - Unjustified.mp3
Face Value - Emotional Addiction.mp3
Face Value - Withdrawal.mp3

from the Only The Strong comp 7″
Face Value - Someday.mp3

Notes:
Photo from Face Value page at ClePunk