NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND Hieroglyphics returns with
DEL
the funky homosapien
F YOU'VE EVER LOOKED AT A DROP OF
water through a microscope, you know that
there can be a whole world of activity
bustling around in a place that you thought
was just a stagnant pond. Take a glimpse at
some of the organisms organizing them-
selves to overthrow the unimaginitive overlords of
contemporary hip-hop. Starting on the West Coast
in Oakland, Blackalicious have been bubbling
along for a few years, touring and working with
people like DJ Shadow and Latyrx trying to
make
name for themselves, and they've finally
gotten an album off the ground. Nia (a Swahili
word meaning "purpose") is a collection of 18
banging tracks that stimulate your cerebral cortex
with Gift of Gab's animated delivery style and
Chief Xcel's jazzy loops. Across the bay in San
Francisco, Bomb Records keeps your fader finger
twitching with more turntablist releases than you
can shake a Vestax at. The latest and greatest are
the Return Of The DJ, Vol. III, Who's Your Daddy
from DJ T-Rock and Inward Journeys from DJ
Faust. In the Midwest, Chicago's best kept
secret, Mass Hysteria, are set to cause total
chaos with "Exclusive" produced by Panic of the
Molemen, "There Was a Time," and "I Get A
Rush." Their sick three-song release of hardcore,
punchline-packed lyrics and head-nodding beats
is delicious earfood for hungry heads from coast
to coast. Check out their track in the Thrasher
video Scorchin' Summer, then call 773-212-9057
or e-mail www.masshysteria2000@hotmail.com if
gracing the stage on this night, which of
course meant that my good buddy Sean and I
were steady gettin' liquored up in the parking
lot of the club by 8:30. The ever-fabulous
Bobbyteens were up first, and as usual they
were a complete explosion of bright color
and loud-ass rock. When it came to the last
three songs of the set, Yoshiko Fuji, head-
mistress of Tokyo's 5678's, jumped up on
stage and shared the vocals with the "Teens'
head honchette, the illustrious Miss Tina.
What followed was a whole lot of screaming,
spraying beer, and some more screaming.
Fuckin' great. The Loose Lips were next, and
anyone familiar with former San Francisco
bands the Rip Offs and the Infections will
know who these guys are and what they
sound like. For those not in the know, the
Loose Lips are a straight up rock band whose
members are getting progressively more and
more boring with each consecutive band they
form. While this latest incarnation can hold
its own on stage, they just don't stand up to the
almighty Rip Offs of yesteryear. Blah, blah, blah.
OK, so the Real Kids were the headliners, and see-
ing as it was about one in the morning and I was
tanked, I decided to mosey on up to center stage
to take in all that these old fuckers from Boston
could dish out. This turned out to be a very good
idea, too, 'cause the Real Kids turned out to be a
Real Good band. Word has it that these guys start-
ed out way back when I was still in baby britches,
and considering the fact that they all look like
BOBBYTEENS
reach infinity...In
reverse warp, find it the pre-
vious night emerging from the towering
jungle of Zen Guerrilla's Marcus Durant's sky
fro. Soul-screaming through the old Bell and
Howell film projector speaker, Marcus and Zen
Guerrilla in whole played stadium sized
rock/blues, as did the grande Hellacopters and
"A COMPLETE EXPLOSION OF BRIGHT COLOR AND LOUD-ASS ROCK"
you can't cop it at your local vinyl outlet.
Continuing to the east my brother, to the east, DC
to be exact, is the hometown of one Pat One, a
skater with a fat sack of beats for all your needs. If
you need to lace your video part with some origi-
nal tones like the ones found on his 1989 breakbeat
tape, hit him up when you see him busting back-
side 180 nosegrinds at Pulaski. Just up the coast
is a city called New York which is known to cough
up an occasional underground gem. Operation:
Doomsday is a highly original, offbeat album from
one of the masterminds behind the short-lived
early '90s group KMD-MF Doom, formerly
known as Zev Love X. Doom took on his new
identity after his brother/partner, Subroc, was hit
by a car and died. The pain and sorrow of losing
his brother melds with the upbeat comicbook and
cartoonish feeling that characterized KMD for a
dope melancholy, sci-fi mix that sort of sounds
like Dr Octagon on downers. -True 54...I man-
aged to find myself at a great show at a place
called the Garage, in what must be West LA or
something like that. While this Garage place is
notoriously known to be a haven for "Flamin'
Dice" types (my code word for wanna-be rockabil-
ly vermin), the billing on this show was too entic-
ing to stay away. The Bobbyteens, the Loose
Lips, and the Real Kids were among the fine acts
trolls (except for the drummer, who looks like a
cross between Frank Gifford and the Unabomber),
I suspect this to be true. Appearances aside, these
guys were tight, kicking out straight rock 'n' roll
madness for over an hour to a packed and enthu-
siastic house. When all was said and done, I left
the joint without a copy of the Real Kids' new sin-
gle, "Down To You," on TKO records (all my
money went to mass-produced hops and barley
juice), but I'd suggest picking one up if you're a
fan or think you'd like to be. -Andy Harris...Hey
kids, this month no schnapps, just a gulp of that
non-filtered hard rock 'n' fuckin' roll with a shot of
ol' uncle punk and a splash of soul. Saturday Night
Fights at the Transmission Theater with the
Streetwalkin' Cheetahs and rioteers in exile
Fear. I guess the limp-wristed mob that jumped
your editor-in-chief and your mild mannered
reporter were just standing in line for the hot tubs
before Thrasher opened up the beerslide crash-up
derby. Meanwhile, four upside-down crosses
awarded to the mega lead mix of Acid King and
their gig with four-wheel-slide champions Fu
Manchu. Near midnight AK spawned rapid pro-
gression of bug decomposition and a walk
through atomic peril. Deeper than Saturn's amoe-
ba surface black stingrays raced the nickel-plated
core to the nam toms of Fu Manchu stretching to
frontrunners on the
highway to hell, the Supersuckers. Somewhere
on that highway burnin' fuel the lead singer found
a ten-dollar sunglass special. What more can be
said than with that lineup the two-night stand at
Slim's was reduced into a glycerine of the highest
power. All bands have new releases that will be
mandatory for what the Supersuckers would call
an advanced rock 'n' motherfuckin' roll education.
From Sub Pop, already oozing off the rack with
sweet black crude is the fallout from Fu Manchu,
Nebula To the Center, the signpost ahead, good-
bye. A bonus on this slinky is a collaboration with
Mudhoney's Mr Arm, who with the trio perform
a top of the pops cut of the Stooges" "I Need
Somebody."...Hey! Ho! Ha! Keep the Rock 'n' Roll
with the kids at Estrus, more shit kick'n, bottle
throwin', Southern kickass with the Quadrajets'
When the World's on Fire. You too can run NASCAR
with "John Lee Hooker is My Heavy Metal," "All
My Rowdy Friends Are Dead," and "If You Ain't
Down With Ronnie (You Ain't Down With
Me)."...Also at the track wrinkling the competition
are the Drags and the Lord High Fixers. If you'd
rather leave the grease pit for a shag at the derby
post-party, Famous Monsters are Around the
World in 80 Bikinis, a comp of rare 7-inchers and
other monster riff-ics. -James Jackson
Both Sides of the Brain
Coming soon from Hiero:
Souls of Mischief - Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution
Pep Love from the Prose Ascension
And Casual - TBA
Visit us at www.hierogylphics.com
or
www.funkyhomosapien.com
Hiero Imperium Recordings
P.O. Box 10871 Oakland, CA 94610
Tel: 510.444.5351
Album in stores March 7th
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