NOTES
From the Underground
DIGIT Did you realize that the house featured in Leatherface: The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre III was also used in Alice Cooper's new video, "House
on Fire"? Do you care? Anyway, said creepy casa was built on a plot of land
just behind Magic Mountain amusement park in Agoura, CA. The movie com-
pany built the house in return for free land rental, so the land owner now
has a brand new abode. The house is perfectly stable, but it has a few gnarly
feature, like sliding wall panels and a moving ceiling. Sounds pretty "killer"
Redd Kross just signed with Atlantic Records, thus winning the "it's
about time you got a major deal" award. The brothers McDonald have been
ruling stage and wax for the past decade-yeah, a whole ten years! Linda
Blair will be stoked. Did you catch LA's miscreant thrift store kings
Celebrity Skin (whose self-titled Lp is
due out on Triple X any day) on a re-
cent episode of angst-ridden yuppie
serial thirtysomething? Japan's
EZO have been dropped from Geffen
because of poor record sales. Even
without a label these guys aren't
exactly starving-their sponsor, JVC
America, still pays the rent in NYC and
flows the high tech equipment.or
Rumor has it that the Hangmen may
not be on Capitol Records any more
by the time you read this. The same
goes for the Beastie Boys. Both bands.
seem to be having some problems with
the label.
賣賣賣
SOUND OFF. There has been a
ROAD KILL The latest reports from Europe have Ice-T and the rest of
the Rhyme Syndicate posse (including Donald D and the Divine Styler.
whose debut Lp's are on fire) selling out shows but battling dismal winter
weather conditions, including 140 mph winds in Manchester, England, and
sub-zero temps elsewhere. Now you know why he called his latest Lp The
Iceberg. Are hip-hop naturalists The Jungle Brothers at the forefront
of the skaterap movement? Were they spotted in L.A. cruising Thiebaud and
Guerrero sticks? Meanwhile, having just returned from a speaking tour of
high schools and colleges throughout the States, the JayBeez plan to return
to the road soon for a full-fledged concert tour... The Ministry U.S. tour
was definitely a sight to be seen. The band played in S.F. behind a six-foot-
SPYZ SPEAK
In the midst of their European
tour, 24-7 Spyz checked out the
recently collapsed Berlin Wall.
Front man Peter Fluid related his
feelings on the experience to pen
man Gitter-We played Berlin
the night before, so we all went
there at around six in the morn-
ing before we left. It was a piece
of history, I had to go there. On
the next record we're going to
write a song called "Decade for
Democracy" about Romania,
East Berlin, Czechoslovakia and
I how they have gotten their
freedom and democracy while South Africa still hasn't gotten theirs.
Even though nobody was around when we were there, I could just
hear the screams of people dying as they tried to get over it. It was
the equivalent of me being in the South and seeing slaves' shackles.
It was a powerful, oppressive presence. I think the wall coming down
is the most important thing you could ever begin a new decade with-a
decade of freedom." The Spyz are now back home working on their
next album, tentatively titled Woodstock 1990.
big uproar surrounding T.S.O.L. as of
late. Seems it all began back last
decade (December, '89), when
Goldenvoice Productions asked
TSOL. to do a reunion show with the
original band members, including ex-
lead singer Jack Grisham (brother of
current lead singer Joe Wood's wife
Dede) and Ron Emory, who now
strums for Lunchbox. Apparently, T.SO.L. founder Mike Roche was all for
the reunion. Mike went ahead and played the show at the Anaheim Theater,
even though Joe Wood and drummer Mitch Dean promised not to speak
to him if he did. The "original" TSO.L., with Mike Roche (who owns the
name, by the way) and Jack Grisham, was offered a deal with Triple X records
and is currently recording. Meanwhile, the "new" T.SO.L. is currently play
ing with a substitute bassist, although they claim Mike is still in the band,
but "on suspension." They have a live album out and a studio album about
to be released on Enigma. Hopefully the guys will sort everything out and
put to rest those rumors that their acronym (formerly meaning True Sounds
of Liberty) now stands for The Soap Opera League.
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tall chain link fence, with high-powered
spotlights scanning the crowd instead
of the band for the full prison yard ef-
fect. Noisy notables including Tez from
Discharge, Lost Cause crooner Joe.
a Rigor Mortis guitarist and the ef-
fervescent El Duce (who united fence
and belly), helped make this a
punk/metal/industrial cage match to
remember
COMIN' AT YA Remember No
Alternative? Look for their mini-
retrospective (1978-82) on half of a new
Beach Recordings sampler (produced
and promoted by perennial punkeroo
Paul Rat). The other half of said slab
contains the searing sounds of San
Jose's Lifeline (formerly Frontline).
...And speaking of silicon city, the
new Ep from S.J's Goodbye Gemini
(on WAAP Records) is said to be a
screamin' scorcher....Berkeley hard-
cores Samiam (whose line-up includes
Thrasher Comics skatin' scrawler,
Sergie Loobkoff) have mega-vinyl
coming out these days: a 7" on
Lookout Records and a conjunction Lp and 12" on New Red Archives. If
that's not enough, you can also find Sergie and the boys on the Make the
Collector Nerd Sweat 10" compilation (on Very Small Records), on a double
7" Earth First benefit comp (on Hippycore) and on an NRA comp, also featur-
ing Kraut, Reagan Youth, Jawbreaker and Crucial Youth. Having covered
every record size possible, Samiam plans to depart for Europe in the fall.
In the meantime, consider them a "must-see."
TRUTH IS DUMBER THAN FICTION Visa spokesman/former insect Paul
McCartney and his musical wannabe spouse Linda are said to be teaming
Previous Page: Notes mentor and eternal king of cosmic
canine funk, George Clinton. Above: We'll tell you
that they opened for Ministry on the recent
cage-match tour, but it's up to you to figure
out what KMFDM stands for. Photos by
Kristin Callahan. Spread: Bullet Lavolta's
Mr. Gipe, just hangin' around. Bottom
Right: Playing in Killing Joke can
really cause some heavy tension.
Photos by Ken Salerno.
up with Taywright Carla Lane to stage a spec
tacular Live Aid-style concert aimed at per-
suading people to give up eating meat. Other
hamburger haters, including Chrissie Hynde,
Tears For Fears and Howard Jones, will fill out
the bill. According to Carla Lane, "We desperately
need a Live Aid style event to help the animals
of the world." Does this mean the profits from
the shebang will be used to sabotage chicken
coops and open cow refugee camps?
MORE STUFF
Promo-pack of the month
award goes to New Jersey's Kryst the Con-
queror. Mo, Doyle (yep, the former Misfit) and
company sent us a big spooky black box con-
taining a load of custom combo tape/cd/penlight/
sticker/cap promo kits. Labels and PR agencies
who think they have the gumption to top that
should start shippin'.
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