Notes From The Underground
A
Il right, the Phantom Surfers have been around for perhaps longer
than they would be willing to admit, far pre-dating the, uh, "wave"
I guess there are still a few bands around, but shit got pretty stale and gim-
micky fast). They've put out another LP that is a little different from most.
They've always put out "theme" records, and this one is supposed to bring
back the "adult party record" genre of the swingin' '60s and '70s. It has guest
THE VIBRATORS
Vibrators
X
Vibrators
Vibrators
HUE
Last Word Spoken, on Adeline, and it's a killer follow-up of their '77
Brit/street/fist-in-the-air-at-the-show punk. Just missed 'em when they
played in my town, and after hearing this I'm bummed I couldn't go check it
out....Junk Records has been putting out some consistent quality shit since
their inception, what, about two years ago? Two recent examples include
Vancouver, BC's, the Spitfires and the Straight from the Gutter...and into Your
Panties comp. The former is some metalicious punk, with a slight Union
Carbide feel, and vocals that teeter dangerously
close to a little too clean without actually getting
...the longest running punk band
in all of England's grand history...
INF
ECF
appearances by Rudy Ray Moore (AKA Dolemite), Blowfly, and a few
others, has gratuitous first-grade humor that'll give you a chuckle, and it seri-
ously ranks up there with the Sounds of the Slot Car Races LP that came out.
awhile ago...Speaking of gimmicks, Seattle's the Gimmicks' debut LP,
Honeymoon's Over, on Estrus, has a manly boss-rock side to it, but it's also a
little fucking psychopathic and dirty and lowdown and simply
rocks...Another finely rockin' LP from Estrus comes in the form of the
Fireballs of Freedom's second LP, Total Fucking Blowout. Keep the MC5
comparisons coming, 'cause this is one in which mayhem is a major ingre-
dient. My only beef is that this record costs a bundle due to the high quality
thick vinyl pressing...And number three from a quality Estrus month is a
Monkeywrench 7". Monkeywrench is the "all-star" band put together by
ex-Big Boy turned recording master Tim Kerr, who plays guitar, and fea-
tures members of Mudhoney, Lubricated Goat, and Gas Huffer playing
messed-up blues stuff. A worthy taste of the upcoming LP...Damn if some-
one hasn't finally reissued Spiral Scratch, the Buzzcocks's first 7". Recorded
in 1976, this stuff predates just about everything associated with the mod-
ern punk era and is definitely some of their best stuff. OK, maybe Pete
Shelley went superwimpy and the Buzzcocks reunion tour was a bit of a let-
down, but this stuff is hard to beat...Another early reissue is Slaughter and
the Dogs's first LP, Do It Doggy Style, and their first three singles (1977-78),
all on one LP. Super-hard driving guitar punk, this one is a classic as
well...Navigating the seas of obscurity and outcollecting the collector geeks
hands down, the folks at Teenage Shutdown have released a few more LPs
in their line of quality '60s rocks. Is it 16 records so far? Or 116? Anyone par-
tial to fuzz will be into I'm Gonna Stay: Target Fuzz. Chock full of barn-burnin'
early generation rock 'n' roll from locales such as Oneonta, Alabama, and
Paducah, Kentucky, and with liner notes that'll make any geek sweat, this
shit's killer... The Bay Area's One Man Army have put out their second LP,
144 THRASHER
there. The latter is a comp that features bands culled
from the Junk roster from all over. If you don't like
the sound of loud guitars, don't bother. Standouts
include RC5, the Vaccines, the Bullys, and Rocket
City Riot, but it's all good. Added bonuses: Messed
up movie quotes in front of most songs and-what
the fuck? Electric Frankenstein sounds exactly
like KISS!...More loud guitar and snarly punk comes
your way in the form of Against All Authority.
They've put out a CD on Hopeless that is full of vit-
riol and is punk as fuck. -Wez Lundry...The
Vibrators, certainly the longest running punk band
in all of England's grand history, are once again
touring the brutal land of cold, mass-produced
beer, and glistening glazed donuts-that's right, the
good ol' USA. Quite smashing indeed, I must say,
for these ruddy old blokes have been over not once,
nor twice, but thrice in the last two years! Even more stunning is the fact
that these vibratingly rocking chaps have been at it 24 years now and it took
them till '99 to get up off their arses and hop a plane over the Atlantic. Their
first trip to the States consisted of just a couple gigs on the West Coast (SF
and LA), but last summer the Vibrators were part of the Social Chaos Tour
along with Vice Squad and the UK Subs among others. This time around,
they're on their own again, and the tour is extensive, something like three
and a half months throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. They have a
new release in tow as well, a full length appropriately named Buzzin'.
Whether you're a Yank, a Canuck, or a member of some wild horde in the
Old World, go see these old fuckers when they buzz into your territory. For
more tour info or to freak out on their gigantic discography, check the
Vibrators site at RawpowerUK.com...As for the whacked-out intergalactic
report, the way-too-funky Shapeshifters are up to their old tricks again,
this time in the form of a conspiracy-laden double CD called Know Future.
MSG poisoning in the Area 51 cafeteria? Jesus Christ with a wooden leg?
Rocked-out crack stars? Just what in holy heck are these sub-sonic MC
wastoids talking about? Fuck if I know, but it sure is fun to drive aimlessly
around town listening to what Circus, Awol, Meck, and company have to
dish out. This double-trouble CD thingy contains songs spanning the seven
earth-years between 1993 and 1999, covering such themes as global
Armageddon (how fun!!), alien life forms (of course!), and the history of the
world (so informative!). The sheer amount of atomic particles on these
discs have the potential to fry the circuits of the ordinary cerebral cortex,
so only those with ultra-brains should dare listen. All superhumans and
higher beings (including dolphins and whales) can acquire Know Future and
other Shapeshifters crap by contacting Mean Street Distribution
at 562-789-9455, or if you're really high tech, go online at
Hello@meanstreet.com. -Andy Harris
WT
RECORDS Hear it now at Tvtrecords.com
ASS
SOUTHERN ROCK
HIGH
Nashville Pussy "High As Hell"
Produced by Kurt Bloch