311
In Stores October 12th
UNDER&RSUN'S
The Action Swingers play gut-level
street punk with a vengeance, all
anger and no pop. Back in 1993 they
recorded some stuff at Toe Rag, the
Thee Headcoats-affiliated noise
kitchen, and it's raw as hell, raspy, and
totally killer. Much of it is Decimation
Blvd material, perhaps their best, but
thrown in are a few covers as well
(Black Flag, Subway Sect)... The
Creation were an obscure mod-pop
band from the mid-'60s that often
evoked The Who comparisons. While
the comparison is valid, to an extent,
that doesn't mean they didn't do their
own thing as well, including suppos-
edly being the first to play guitar with
a bow (later made famous by Led
Zep's Jimmy Page). All their stuff
has been reissued as two double LPs,
and it's a damn fine listen...Although
they've been around for a while, I was
recently turned on to the Bell Rays.
My friend described it thusly:
"They're too hard to pigeonhole;
they're not 'garage' or 'pop' or any of
the other labels people ascribe, so no
one knows what to make of them and
just decide not to like them." He was
right, but man, are people missing out
if they pass this up. High energy, max-
imum punk rock and soul, this is hard
to describe well, but it's almost as
though a young Tina Turner fronted
a noisy punk band that reflected a
soul upbringing. There I go again,
making it sound retarded, but it's
really good. Scooch Pooch reissued
the Vital Gesture LP Let It Blast, and
it's a smoker! And speaking of the Bell
Rays, they're on a split with Fireballs
of Freedom that comes with issue
#17 of Multiball, the Portland, OR
zine dedicated to punk and pinball.
Always an entertaining read for afi-
cionados and non alike, this one
comes with a mighty fine 7"er to boot.
Write to PO Box 40005, Portland, OR
97240 for more info...The Baseball
Furies just put out one hell of a noisy
slab of wax in the form of a 10" on
Flying Bomb entitled All-American
Psycho. Pure bedlam from Buffalo,
these guys do not let up for one
instant, wringing your neck and kick-
ing you hard in the nards...From Italy
come the Chronics, heard on their
brand spankin' new 7" on the unflap-
pable and unquestionably irritating
Rip Off Records. Straight up '77 snot-
punk that redeems Rip Off for some
of their recent lapses in judg-
ment...Booze, drugs, and chicks fuel
122 THRASHER
get quite right. And that Irish tra-
dition! Their version of the
Pogues' "Fairytale of New York"
is reason enough alone to pick
up the album. Definitely the
most bestest Fat band
around. Just ask David
Grohl... The Long Beach Dub
All-Stars, after trying the patience
for months of a legion of punks
and dubheads, finally got their
Skunk/Dreamworks debut out on the
street. Right Back is the title of the
disk, which features collaborations
with the likes of HR, Barrington
Levy, Tippa Irie, and Half Pint. If
you're not too familiar with
roots/reggae music, this record could
serve as the perfect primer; not only
does it outline the past with heavy
doses of dub, dancehall, and tradi-
tional Jamaican ska, but offers
glimpses of what those styles evolved
into, i.e. punk rock and hip-hop... To
be further educated on the history of
dub, check out any of the releases
on Manchester's Blood And Fire
label, especially their latest comp
entitled X Ray Music: A Blood And
Fire Dub Directory. Selections from
the fire for the Midwest's Dirtys,
whose sound can only be described as
"dirty." Raw, wrecked, but not reha-
bilitated, these guys punch through
four fast numbers on their "Teenage
Teenage Problem Child" 7" on
Transparent Records. Find it. Steal
it...Books can (and should!) be written
about perennial LA bar-punk band
the Lazy Cowgirls. These guys have
been spewing out the killer punk for
eons, and continue to do so with no
sign of abatement. I recently had the
pleasure of seeing them live again,
and my only complaint is that they
didn't play long enough. Patt Todd
screams his lungs out and shakes that
bald head like there's no tomorrow.
For a sample of their latest, check out
the "Don't Count Me Out" single on
Sympathy... The Retards are taking
'tard punk to the masses (someone
has to, after the demise of the
Motards). Silly, offensive, and, well,
just plain retarded, but I mean that in
the most endearing sense of the word
only. If you don't have their LP on
Goner, you'd best pick it up, or at least
check out their new single on eMpTy
records... The Valentine Killers hail
from Olympia, WA, home to sensi-
tive "indie" "rock," the riot grrl move-
ment, and some very mellow hippie
burnouts. However, the 'Killers are
none of the above, playing some high-
powered snotty punk that will have
the sensitive types ducking for
cover. Look for their single on
Mortville Records... Ex-Fallouts
Dave Holmes' new band the
Wiretaps have just put out what will
soon be referred to as a classic 7".
"Romulan Invasion" is the a-side, and
punk classic "Don't Talk To Me" is
the b-side, and therein is some of the
goddamn catchiest garage-pop
tuneage ever. 'Nuf said. -Wez
Lundry...By the time you read this,
every brace-faced mini-punker in the
world will have their hands on the
new No Use For A Name record,
aptly titled More Betterness. No
Use don't compromise. They've
been cranking out their brand of
pop-soaked punk for the better
part of a decade, each new
release proving a fine lesson in
progression, all the while stay-
ing firmly rooted in power and
style. NUFAN songs are blue-
prints for the heavy blast beat,
pull-at-your-heartstring anthems
that no one else ever seems to
Lazy Cowgirls
Lee Perry, King Tubby, and the
Congos' Cedrick Myton (among
countless other dub luminaries).
make up yet another essential and
comprehensive collection of roots.
music wouldn't even exist... What's
up with the cops videotaping kids
(i.e. children, as in under the age of
18) outside 924 Gilman Street?
Seems to be in line with the latest
effort by a few surrounding busi-
nesses and an overzealous city
council to have the club shut down.
For the past 12 years, the building
located at 924 has housed a variety
of community events including art
exhibits, small business workshops,
and Narcotics Anonymous meetings,
not to mention consistently cheap
punk shows every Friday and
Saturday night. Some claim the
club has spawned graffiti, even
though members spend their own
time on the weekends repainting
walls throughout the neighbor-
hood. Gilman's motto is and
remains "Doing it for the kids, not
to the kids..." The Berkeley Police
Department might try the same.
-Ryan Henry
MISFITS
FAMOUS MONSTERS
JERRY ONLY:
MICHALE GRAVES
18
Brand New
MISFITS
Tracks!
Including the
Soon-to-Be
Classics
"SCREAM"
SATURDAY
MICHT
&FIEND
CLUB
DR. CHUD
DOYLE VON FRANKENSTEIN:
ROADRUNNER 1999 Roadrunner Records, Inc.
Produced by Daniel Rey & Mixed by Ed Stasium
RECORDS www.roadrunnerrecords.com www.misfits.com