Staccat09
untie Christ has released their
full-length, Life Could Be A Dream
(Lookout! Records), and, man, does this
slab smoke! Featuring Exene
Cervenkova and DJ Bonebrake of the original LA-
based punk powerhouse X-along with Matt
Freeman of Rancid-the album is like a journey
back in time to the days of X (but without John
Doe). Nevertheless, it's great to hear Exene fronting
a band again and not just wowing the art/coffee-
house crowd with her spoken word shenanigans...
For all you fans of older style, ballsy punk, The
Dead Boys' Younger, Louder and Snottier has been
re-released on Bomp! Records. It's basically an
unmastered version of
Young, Loud and Snotty
but, according to the
first pressing, "has
more balls than the orig-
inal" Steel Wool is
back in the studio work-
ing on their 3rd album,
which will be titled,
Retirement Plan
Undeterred by the fact
that they have no con-
crete label deal worked
out as of yet, they're
picking up the tab them-
selves, although
Georgia's Reservation
Records may step in to
assist at some point.
Guitarist Jon Wright
promises the record will be "good for skakin' your
ass"... Although Bantam Rooster is a two-some, I
wouldn't call them minimalists by any means; their
caterwauling could take out a band with 3x the num-
ber of members. A little bit country, a little bit
rockabilly, they're the Flat Duo Jets turned up to
10. Deal Me In (Crypt Records) is a screaming testi-
monial that sometimes it just takes 2-WL.. Sure,
Todd "Willis" Bridges had a 14-gram-a-day coke
habit and has spent time locked up, but he delivers
the goods with Show & Tell: A Stormy Remembrance
Of TV Theme Songs (Which? Records). Accompanied
by The Talking 'Bout Willis Experience, Bridges belts
out the Diff'rent Strokes
okes theme, while Murphy's
Law covers the one from Zoom and H20 does
Cops... Talk about a tribute. It's obvious that Fat
Mike was way into that "Free to be. You and me"
stuff back in the day, so it's no wonder that his "pro-
ject" band, Me First And The Gimme Gimmes,
has unleashed a barrage of vintage West
Coast style punk rock covers from the
decade that gave us "Dance Fever" and
leisure suits. Don't be more punk-than
thou. On Have A Ball (Fat Wreck Chords).
the fellas provide a few bowling tips and
include favorites like "One Tin Soldier,"
"Fire and Rain," and "I am a Rock"... From
hardcore's lost and found dept comes new
releases from Elliott and Broken Hearts
Are Blue. Elliott's "In Transit" 7" (Initial
Records) highlights the bare, honest voice
of former Falling Forward singer, Chris
Higdon. But, unlike scene-darlings Falling
Forward, which had more of an up-tempo,
melodic-hardcore style, Elliott is minus the
crunchy guitars and a bit more emo. The
band-which includes Falling Forward
bassist Jonathan Mobely, former
Empathy guitarist Jay Polumbo and drummer
Kevin Ratterman-is working on their new 7" and
have a full-length on the calendar. Broken Hearts Are
Blue feature bassist Daniel Buettner from
Ordination Of Aaron and drummer Ryan Gage of
Current. The debut release. The Truth About Love
(Caulfield Records), may come off as a little sappy at
first, but the 9-song full-length is more moody than
melodramatic, with jangling guitars, solid drumming,
and the husky voice of singer Derek Brosch.
STEEL WOOL
Unfortunately, future plans for the Kalamazoo, MI-
based band are up in the air as Brosch recently
moved to Denver, CO-JE... Warning! Agnes Gooch
is not a heavy metal band like Alice Cooper, a boo-
gie-rock band like Molly Hatchet, or a glam metal
band like Lizzy Borden. Nor are they like Marilyn
Manson, Veruca Salt, Ethel Meatplow, The
Judybats, Betty, Sandy Duncan's Eye, or The
Voluptuous Horror Of Karen Black. But they are
a band that worships at the altar of XTC and
Squeeze and are probably rooting for a Cheap
Trick comeback as much as Cheap Trick. Their
impressive debut album is called Blind and is on
Warner Bros' Revolution label-MW On the bus
ride to and from school, I used to pick on the kids
who played the saxophone, 'cause I always thought
they were such wussies. But, Less Than Jake's tasty
blend of happy-core punk, hard-edged ska, various
tempo changes, and cool harmonies made me realize
I was wrong. The Gainesville, FL-based
band discovered the magical combina-
tion for a major label, debut release.
Losing Streak (Capitol Records) is not
LTJ's 1st release, however, but rather their 13th, so
major label status doesn't mean shit. Doing it them-
selves for years, we now have been blessed with
their best. "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts" and
"Jen Doesn't Like Me Anymore" were both previ-
ously released, but here they've been re-recorded
and added to a delicious serving of 14 other scrump-
tious choices. With talent and a sense of humor, Less
Than Jake is like the West Coast version of The
Mighty Mighty Bosstones, or No Doubt without
Gwen Stefani-/S... There is nothing like going to
show where all of the musicians are lifelong pimps. In
one afternoon, Maceo Parker, Dick Dale, and
Buddy Guy gathered a large crowd in SF's Golden
Gate Park, with an even larger beer line. Attn: All
Surfites, paddle aside to the big wave thunder of
Dick Dale. I'm dance-impaired, but I have to admit
that Maceo Parker has continued to develop some
deep progressions since his days with soul brother,
James Brown. And Buddy Guy proved that he can
play just about any ol' damn thing and wouldn't be
caught dead in a pair of fruit boots-JJ... Ubiquity
Records once
ce again gives you more of what you need
with a 13-track compilation of beat fusion by some
of the best mix masters in the business. Your guides
through the trip-hop extravaganza are none other
than Cut Chemist, Bugs, Indiana's own Molasses,
and Bay Area biggie, SkyJuice. Audio Alchemy
(Experiments In Beat Reconstruction) is one-part blax-
ploitation theme song, one-part elevator music, two-
parts new school porno soundtrack, and a sure hit
for any fish fry, briss or backyard barbecue-CN ...
East Coast hardcore is still in full effect, due large-
ly in part to Boston and their current offering, Cast
Iron Hike. While Watch It Burn (Victory Records)
puts CIH more in the alterna rock realm with its
melodic undertones, it still has us left feeling the
fury... Sevendust have been out and about this
past summer, performing their metal mayhem in US
arenas, most likely near you. But, if you missed your
chance to see them, no need to fret, you can still
pick up their remarkable self-titled debut (TVT
Records) filled with emotion-laden lyrics resulting
from some true-to-life experiences ... With so
many different bands and records coming at you
from every dark corner of the globe, it's some-
times easy to overlook what's already been here.
Let Honest Don's be your guide along the sunny
coast of California as they take you to their lat-
SEVENDUST
est sensation, the Mad
Caddies and their ska-core
Punkness. I know what
you're thinking: "Another
ska-core punk band from.
California?" But, take it
from me, these guys got
the hook and are a lot more
fun than any other you've
heard in a while. Just check
out their debut release,
Quality Soft Core. And the
debut self-tilted from SF's
own The Other is another
breath of fresh air. They are
punk and they rock, but they
are truly like no other. Stay
tuned for more on these
guys in the near future-JKH.
Move Your Feet To
The Bongo Beat
The sizzlin' sounds of
JUMP WITH JOEY
Traditional ska with liberal doses of jump blues, dub reggae and Afro-Cuban jazz.
Jump With Joey
SKA-BA
RCD 10374
WSKA-
BA
SIR COXSON SELECTS.
LYRICS
While End ALPHONS
PLSKA
STRICTLY
YOU
POLTINO
Jump With Joey
GENERATIONS
UNITED
RCD 10375
JUMP
Jump With Joey
JOEY
STRICTLY FOR YOU
VOL. 2
RCD 10376
With special guests: Rico Rodriguez (The Specials), Roland Alphonso
(The Skatalites), Coxsone Dodd (Studio One), Lonnie Jordan (War),
Clappers Priest (Dread Broadcasting Company), Johnnie T. (Bad
Manners, Linton Kwesi Johnson).
Play Your Hand To The
ChaCha Cha...
THE
WINNER
THE WINNER
Original Soundtrack
RCD 10392
THE WINNER, an Alex Cox
film, is the latest in the string
of neo noir/cocktail nation
ouevre most recently epito-
mized by LEAVING LAS
VEGAS, CASINO, COCKTAIL,
and SWINGERS. The score
features the music of Daniel
Licht as performed by Joey
Altruda With The Cocktail
Crew (the core unit of Los
Angeles underground heroes,
Jump With Joey).
Spicy Latin jazz-flavored cocktail music, straight up.
RYKO
Visit: WWW.RYKODISC.COM
Please support your local retailers. If
you are unable to find a local source
for these releases, you may mailorder
them by calling: 1-888-2-EARFUL
(1-888-232-7385).
©1997 Rykodisc
geezer black science
The powerful second album from legendary
Black Sabbath co-founder
Geezer Butler
and his crew - featuring guitarist
Pedro Howse and new singer
Clark Brown.
Produced by Geezer Butler and Paul Northfield.
Look for geezer on the road all fall!
AVAILABLE AT ROCKING RECORD STORES EVERYWHERE
TVT RECORDS 23 E. 4TH ST. NEW YORK NY 10003
TEL 212 979 6410 FAX 212 979 6489 WWW.TVTRECORDS.COM
IVI
RECORDS
1997 TVT Records
JE: Joe Epstein JKH: Jasmine K Huynh JJ: James Jackson WL: Wez Lundry CN: Chris Nieratko JS: Jon Stain MW: Morgan Walker