Notes From The Underground
Our
ur friends Model American (Redwood City
touring our great Superior Court system down on
Polk and McAllister as of late. It seems that one
John S Lee a former "musician" turned el corpo
lawyer type has taken it upon himself to sue
Model American for their name. Back in the mid
'80s, Mr Lee put out a demo tape under a similar
moniker, and upon seeing the band on fliers and in
a few Sessions Records ads, got the crazy notion
that he might just squeeze a little name change out
of these kids, just because. Here's the best part: in a
heroic act of musical solidarity, said corpo-fucker
served process on the group as they were on stage,
setting up for a show. So much for taking care of
your own. Sessions is also working on a new
Missing 23rd full length and just released an LP by
Turnedown called When Things Go Right. The cur-
rent incarnation of
Turnedown features
alumnus of Strife,
Downset, and Fury
66, but don't expect
any gut-wrenching
hardcore this time
around; think more
along the lines of
Dag Nasty or All
and you'll be more
YOU RE
JUST A
PRODUCT
thank you.
than satisfied...Like love and pretty butterflies in
spring, it's hard not to be consumed with this resur-
gence of streetpunk taking place in locales such as
SF and Boston. But how s one to avoid redundancy
and insincerity? By devouring the TKO Records cat-
alog, that's how. TKO has great releases by the
Bodies, the Reducers, the Beltones, and a sick
compilation called Punch Drunk with 20 bands
including Swingin' Utters and Anti-Heroes. Not
to be tied into one specific genre, TKO also puts out
some amazing reggae and dub material by the
Rhythm Doctors, perfect for chillin' with a little G
& G after a long day down at the docks or factory.
-Buck Harrington...There's an epidemic engulfing
rap music at the turn of the century; Flavor Flav
said it in the '80s
and it still holds
true today: too
much posse. Single
00
around. The third and probably most effective way
of stretching out your CD is the greatest hits collec-
tion. Esham, Detroit's acid rap pioneer, has just
dropped 'Bootleg' From The Lost Vault, a round-up of
unreleased and all-time favorite tracks from his pro-
lific career. For the technologically-inclined, the
enhanced CD also features interviews and live
concert footage to help you get up close and
personal with the wicked one. -True 54...Girls
who freak out are cool. You know, kinda like
how that girl Nancy in the first Nightmare on
Elm Street movie flipped out in class when she
was having that boiler room dream. Or how
that girl from that Florida band Discount
nuts when she's on stage with a microphone in
her hand. Wait...you've never heard of
Discount? C'mon. They're from Vero Beach,
dude! The singer-what's her name?-Alison,
goes
with the really cool voice
and frantic, flailing, freak-
out antics during the band's live
shows? Really? You don't know
about them? Geez, that's the pits
for you, 'cause they're done, pal.
Finished. Kaput. No más.
Discount just finished their last
and I agreeing on rock bands. There is one other
band that we all seem to hold a mutual affection for,
and that is South Bay (Santa Monica Bay, that is).
golden boys the Real Diego. In fact, there isn't
DISCOUNT
really much of anything to dislike about this quartet
of suave young men. They're all fully employed
musical geniuses who drive the girls completely
batty any time they play. So how can I describe
what these guys sound like? Well, let's see, they're
one part lovey-dovey sappiness, one part stoner
REAL DIEGO
They're all fully employed musical geniuses..."
MC from LA,
artists aren't able to sustain one of today's 25-song
"bigger means better" albums without one of their
homies dropping by to keep you from nodding off.
Case in point: Spontaneous, a
has 13 guests on his album Spur Of The Moment
Musik ranging from Bahamadia to Xzibit. Not to
say that Spon can't rhyme, it's just that at 15 songs.
and seven (count 'em, 7) skits, the title seems a little
ironic. Just make sure you get it on CD, so you can
skip straight to your favorite cuts...Another way to
give the consumer more minutes for their scrilla is to
take the mixtape approach. DJ Krush has gone this
route with his new release: Code4109. Definitely
something for the blunted. This collection of songs
is like a musical massage, you won't know whether
you're awake or asleep by the time the last track rolls
130 THRASHER
tour as a cohesive unit. It seems as if they're bustin'
up on good terms, but who knows for sure. Their lat-
est (and apparently last) album, Crash Diagnostic, is
out now through the good people over at New
American Dream records. While their live show is
what it's all about, this disc is definitely worth a lis-
ten. In fact, it's one of the only things that the mil-
lions of head-bobbing, helmet-hair emo turds out
there and I can agree on. Alison's voice reminds me
of the singer of the Bangs from up in Washington,
and the band as a whole just smokes through song
after song. It really sucks that these guys are break-
ing up, but word has it that Alison, along with bassist
Todd and drummer Bill, will be in cahoots on a new
project in the near future. Good... OK, so I lied just a
little bit in the segment above about the emo kids
IN-FLIGHT
SNACK.
Nestle
Butterf
groovin', and one part math rock. What this all adds
up to is a girl-melting, smile-provoking swirl of very
original and intricate musicianship. The Diegos have
toured a couple of times over the last couple of
years, getting up to Portland at one point and out
towards New Mexico way on another jaunt. To date,
there is only one piece of recorded material out by
these chaps, a self-titled 7" put out by Saige's
records (22902 Ladeene Ave., Torrance, CA
90505), but they've been playing a lot of new
material at shows and are attempting to get some-
thing going in the form of a CD in the foreseeable
future. Also, it sounds as if this band is all the rage
on the Internet, so if you wanna go that route, get
in touch with them at RealDiego@hotmail.com or
www.RealDiego.Tripod.com. -Andy Harris
BITE MY BUTTERFINGER!
1999 Nestlé. Nestle und Butterfinger are trademarks of Nestle