NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND
Who knew that The Dwarves had a psychedelic
side? I sure as hell didn't; that is, until I picked up Lick
It, a new CD/double LP on Recess Records that is
filled with the most sinister-sounding shit The
Dwarves have ever done. All the material was orig-
inally recorded between 1983-1986 and it don't
sound at all like the old Dwarves stuff I'm used to.
Mummy organs
and hollow, re- 1
verb-heavy vo-
cals dominate, but
they
punk fest in some parking garage structure over in
Hollywood with the likes of Dystopia, JFA, and Dr
Know. From the looks of the video my friends made
of the event, it would seem as if the band managed
to drag out of all the flophouses of Southern
California and beyond the dirty middle-aged punkers
who cut their teeth on the Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
back in the '80s. While the show didn't look all that
exciting on tape, the books my friend Tito bought
NBTs continue their tradition of guitar-heavy, sneer-
ing punk. Finally (at least for now). The Hellacopters
are on a split 10" with fellow Swedes Gluecifer; it's
on Man's Ruin, and, needless to say, both bands
smoke...Supersnazz is an all-girl band from Japan
that put out some killer stuff in their earlier period
and then smoldered as their popularity increased.
They seem to have lost some of the hype and gained
back quality. A sample of their new shit, which
11
the same dirty bas- drink Tecate like good Arizonians!
tard ethic
ethic that The
Dwarves are famous for is there, even in those early
days. Following right on the coattails of these '83-'86
recordings is another Dwarves release on Recess
called Free Cocaine. This one covers a bunch of ma-
terial from 1986-1988 and it serves to show how
much the band changed in style over just a few years.
That's not to say the evil is gone on this one, but
rather that it's just less eerie than Lick It and more
hent
bent on DAMAGE. Put together, these two releases
consist over 70 Dwarves songs, making them a
must for all you fuckers out there...Just got some
more music in the mail the other day. This time it was
a compilation CD sent by
AGE Put
my friend Shaggy in
Denver called The New
Frontier. While labeled as
a compilation of Colorado
punk bands, the CD actu-
ally has a bunch of differ-
ent styles of music on it,
ranging from some real
good punk rock to a lot of
stuff which completely
blows. There are too
many new-age goof ska
bands and hip-hop/punk-
funk bands to keep me re-
ally content. The disc
does have its moments
though, particularly in the
form of bands like The
Blast-Off Heads, The
LaDonnas, The Down-
-Outs, and Pinhead
Circus. If anything, this
CD serves to show that
from DRI singer Kurt Brecht were another story al-
together. What?! The singer of DRI, one of the punk-
est bands ever to exist on earth, is an author?
Yessiree, my friend, and a goddamn good one at
that. One of the books is called Whore Stories, and it
is essentially tale after tale of fucking hookers and
fucking more hookers in numerous places around the
world, such as Amsterdam, the Tenderloin district of
SF, and Waikiki, Hawaii. What could be better than
this, you ask? Well, just flip through the other book
by Brecht, The Thirty-Day Diarrhea Diet Plan, and
you'll have your answer. This one is made up of jour-
breakfast of
champions
the Land of Coors and Mork from Ork has a similar
music scene situation as the rest of the world; that
meaning they got a handful of ass-kickers mixed
into a big bowl of shitty bands. But hey, don't listen
to me. Check it out yerself by getting in touch with
Soda Jerk Records at PO Box 4056, Boulder, CO
80306...One of the more floor-shaking bands to pass
my way as of late are called The Weird
Lovemakers. These guys from Tucson, AZ blew
into Koos Café after several hours of battling the
creatures of the desert and the mighty Santa Ana
freeway, and they practically shook the old house
down with their version of loud-ass punk rock. All I
really need to tell you is that two of the guys sing.
they all drink Tecate like good Arizonians, and the
bassist is a substitute Spanish teacher. Send all in-
quiries and Spanish homework to The Weird
Lovemakers via Empty Records, PO Box 12034,
Seattle, WA 98102...I know it's hard to believe, but
DRI is still together after all these shit-faced years.
In fact, just recently these imbeciles played an all-day
116 THRASHUR
nal entries old Kurt made as he travelled through
Mexico back in the eighties. Fucking, drinking, drug
use, lyrics to songs he wrote while on the trip, and ac-
curate descriptions of the culture and landscape of
Mexico are what you'll find in this one. Both books
are quick reads, but they also give DRI fans a closer
look into the mind of the mighty Kurt. Write to Dirty
Rotten Press at 4401 San Leandro St # 6, Oakland,
CA 94601 to order these and other books by Kurt.
You will be pleased. Andy Harris...As the bidding
war for rock gods The Hellacopters continues, they
still manage to put out a few releases here and there.
First off, Sub Pop was wise enough to sign them up
for one of their recently-continued "Singles Club"
7's, and it is a fuckin' smoker that chronicles their
(de)evolution towards a more '70s
70s sound
and away
from their punker side. Who fuckin' cares? They
rock. Next up is a split single featuring the 'Copters
and Ohio's favorite sons, The New Bomb Turks, on
the Anyway Records label. Again, the former shows
their '70s sound à la MC5, heavy duty rawk, and the
sounds remarkably like some Shirbirds stuff from
a couple years back, is found on the Sympathy sin-
gle "It's Alright"...Speaking of foreign punk, Brazil's
The Sellouts have put out another killer 7" of
angry punk. Check out "Swinging Bombs" on Rapid
Pulse records, if you can find it... The Suicide.
Kings played a New York-late '70s punk thing with
a little touch of the '80s metal obnoxiousness, and
featured The Humpers' Scott Drake. It's pretty
raw and the sound is spotty, but it's worthy... The
Morning Shakes have an LP entitled Switchblades
and Sideburns, and it's a blast of lo-fi punk that's sim-
Marshall
ilar and perhaps meaner than The
Headcoats. Production by The Devil
Dogs' Steve Baise reads to me like a
stamp of approval...Reissue of the
month is
is another LP by The Meters.
This shit is the funkiest stuff ever and
should not be missed by a single soul.
It's a self-titled LP, and it's on Josie
Records... For all the bitching I do
about Phoenix and its shitty punk
scene, I keep finding out about a few
good bands. Sam The Butcher plays
good
good
hardcore and just put out a
record called Assembly Line on Far Out
Records. It's definitely worth a listen.
although I almost didn't forgive them
for their butchery of one of my fa-
vorite Elvis Costello songs.
Breakfast of Champions is a fiery
ball of estrogen and spit beer.
and
These three women throw fucking
down without a punch pulled and are
here to rock harder than the boys.
Songs about drinkin' and fuckin' fill
their CD entitled Breakfast in Bed. Sounds
yummy... The Necessary Evils are an American
mess: hopped-up junk rock, slopped up and far out,
a little like The Cramps on a mean streak. Scooch
Pooch has put out a couple of winners this week,
including The Fumes' latest LP, Pure Bad Luck.
This is furious high-octane punk from the
Northwest these guys shovel the bullshit to one
side and proceed to kick your rose-scented ass. It's
a must-have. The second gem to come from the
Scooch Pooch stable is a posthumously released
live CD from Southern redneck powerhouse Nine
Pound Hammer. These guys were great, and this
is no exception. Blaine has gone on to front
Nashville Pussy... Finally, check out Howard
Zinn's A People's History of the United States CD
from Alternative Tentacles. Zinn is a dyed-in-the-
wool, proud to be a leftist, activist academic. If you
can't sit down and read his book of the same name,
this collection of stuff from a lecture at Reed
College is worth listening to. -Wez Lundry
MUSTARD PLUG
"Pray For Mojo"
SHELTER
Out Now!
MUSTARD PLUG
PRAY FOR MOJO
New record from these Ska-Punk guru's out of Grand Rapids, MI. On tour all over the US March-June, 1999.
also available: Evildoers Beware-HR620-lp/cd/cs go to www.hopelessrecords.com for tour updates
HR638-LP/CD/CS
PO BOX 7495 VAN NUYS, CA 91409 WWW.HOPELESSRECORDS.COM PRICES: CD-$10 LP/CS-$7 ALL PRICES POSTAGE PAID IN THE US. ADD 25% FOR FOREIGN ORDERS
*
ONE MAN ARMY IS
ON TOUR NOW!
look for the invasion
NEW PINHEAD GUNPOWDER,
dates or go to our web site
adelinerecords.net for full
listings and stuff.
ONE MAN ARMY
DEAD END STORIES
ONE MAN ARMY
'Dead End Stories'
CD-$10 LP-$9
PINHEAD GUNPOWDER
SHOOT THE MOON
'Shoot The Moon' has 7 new
awsome songs. You need this
record, it's super good!
All prices are postage paid in the US.
Canada add $1 eh?, Overseas add $2.
SEND SASE FOR OUR FREE CATALOG
(it aint big, but it's got the best records and it's
the first one we made so it's a collector's item)
CDEP-$8 LPEP-$7
ADELINE RECORDS
5337 College Ave. #318
OAKLAND CA. 94618
*
Also New From
Hopeless
nobodys
Nobodys
Generation XXX
The Queers
Punk Rock Confidential
88 Fingers Louie
Back On The Streets
HOPELESS
RECORDS
ALL ORDERS GET A FREE
PG, OMA OR AFI POSTER -
UNTIL WE RUN OUT, OK?
"RAGING HARDCORE...
...FROM THIS GREAT
EAST BAY BAND"
Flipside, dec. '98
AFI
g.
a fire inside
AFI's 'A FIRE INSIDE' ep.
7"-$5 CDEP- $7
000
Adeline
Adeline Records - the Mickeys Malt
Liqour of record labels