NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND
y roommate, Andy, came home from a show and told me, "You have
to see this band; they dress like 18th century aristocrats and sound
like High Voltage-era AC/DC." Recently I actually had the chance to
see The Upper Crust, that very band, at the Covered Wagon Saloon in San
Francisco. The band members wore pancake makeup with beauty spots pen-
cilled in, powdered wigs, ruffled shirts, velvet knickers, stockings, and heeled
shoes. Their sound really did resemble early Bon Scott-era AC/DC, and they
fucking rocked. They sang of the hardship that goes along with being members
of the upper class aristocracy and they made it clear that we, the peasants, were
fortunate to be graced with their high class rock
'n' roll. The band originated in Boston in 1994
and all of the members have been involved in
the Boston music scene for years. The original
members include Lord Bendover (Nat
Freidberg), Lord Rockingham (Ted Widmer),
Marquis de Roque (Marc Mazarelli), Duc d'is-
tortion (Dave Fredette), and Jackie Kickassis
(Jim Janota). The band has had a few lineup
changes since its inception, including the loss of
founding member Marquis de Roque, with his
subsequent replacement by Count Bassie
(Chris Cote). Bassie is also a co-founder of
Upstart Records, the band's label. If you think
the band sounds a bit pretentious, what with the
outfits and names and musical themes, you're
right. Just keep in mind that these are educated
chaps, with a member even going so far as to
have a scholarly book published by the Harvard
Press. Ooh la la! But even so, working class or
upper class, powdered wigs or powdered
donuts, these lads in fancy pants do indeed
rock and you just might want to join the
impoverished poor, huddled at their feet, the
next time they're in your town. -David
Franklin and Andreas Trolf...
Tony's house was a
wreck. Like my mom
Thumbs up to drummers who actually HIT their drums. The Blacks were
good-so good that I bought an album, yet I was so drunk that it took me until
now (a week later) to figure out where the hell I put the thing. It's called Hate
You Like Gold and it's put out on a record label thingy called Chemical Valley
Records out of Tucson. I'd look into it if I were you. But yeah so, them bands
really shook that stinky little house on 4th Street that Saturday night. Almost
everyone got sprayed with pee and margarita mix, and every dark room I
walked into was filled with the sweet sounds of drunken lust on a hot summer
night. Summer is almost over as I write this,
The Upper Crust but ain't nobody gonna forget that party any
time soon. Andy Harris...Viva la Skate
Rock! Nearly 20 years after the term was
coined, The Clay Wheels are keeping it
(un)real. They've just released a DIY CD enti-
tled Solid Gold in memory of Tim Brauch that
features sounds of skating and sounds to skate
to. Classic skate punk with a touch of surf-all
these guys ride and are ready to down shots,
skate your spots, and play the opening
slot... The Compulsive Gamblers are some of
those Oblivians folks doing what they did
best: mess up blues, with a Southern gospel
feel. Their debut LP is called Bluff City and it's
on Sympathy. Come worship at the altar of
sour grapes...Junk Records is one of those
labels with a gimmick. Fortunately for them it
is putting out high octane punk. Hey, so what
if some of this stuff starts to sound the same, as
long as it sounds like this! On the long-playing
front, they've just released The B Movie Rats
Bad For You. Maybe the best of the most recent
bunch, possibly because it's the only LP, this
shit is a devastating kick to the neck. No sensi-
tive shoegazing going on here, just plain kick-
ing your ass. On the Junk
7" front are several wor-
thy of mention:
...these lads in fancy pants do indeed rock...
always says, it looked like a cyclone had hit it.
The stank of stale beer and sticky sweet mar-
garita mix was all over the walls, floors, and even
the sleeping inhabitants sprawled haphazardly
about the place. It was the morning after. The night before had been filled to
the brim with mayhem, the way a party in the numbered streets of Pedro tends
to get when the summer really kicks into gear. The keg had been tapped by nine
and the bottles of Champagne were the next in line, right in time for the rock
band that got real naked in the living room and rocked like an old sardine boat
caught in a winter storm off Point Conception. The naked dudes were The
Fleshies, a band from the wild concrete jungles of Oakland. A pretty good
punk band they were, with enough comical mania to make you wanna pour
frozen margarita juice all over yourself and anyone in the near vicinity. The
singer really started to look like Emilio Estevez by the end of the night, but
that's another story. Anyway, around 11 some kind soul decided to relieve the
sweltering partygoers in and outside the house with a thirst-quenching mixture
of piss and tapwater, supplied liberally from the spout of a high powered
SuperSoaker. I don't think anyone except for Cara, a Pedro local who's rarely
seen without a red can of Tecate in her hand and the look of love in her eyes,
even realized the contents of the mixture. Either that or the kids just didn't care.
Whatever the case, it cooled the crowd sufficiently enough to bring on the next
band, straight from the searingly hot Sonoran Desert. This was The Blacks,
three guys who (you guessed it) were all dressed in black but were not black at
all. They fucked it up. The singer screamed while he played the licks, the bassist
thumped and thumped some more, and that drummer, man, he put 'em all to
shame. I don't know how that drum kit of his manages to take the abuse.
144 THRASHER
Portland, Oregon's The Weaklings stomp like
their labelmates on No One Can Stop You but
definitely get the cover choice award this time
around for their rendition of The Real Kids'
Do the Boob. Fellow Northwesterners The Valentine Killers from Seattle pick up
the pace and spread the anger in the same vein as The Candy Snatchers. Get the
fuck outta their way, man!... Wait a sec, another Swedish band has slipped into
my playstack without me knowing. The Upskirts have a 7" on Rock'n'roll
Blitzkrieg records (the label's debut?) and it's a lot rawer than most of the other
Swedish stuff coming out. Radiation Romeos and Panda Stomp bring to mind
some earlier punk stuff, such as The Ramones or Dickies... The Banana
Erectors from Japan have put out a few 7"s, and their female vocalist has this
cute, absolutely appealing voice and simply kicks it out. Another band that has
graduated from the Ramones rock and roll high school...Pure noise and may-
hem is a good way to describe the first 7" by Destruction Unit. Straight out of
The Wongs and my latest place of residence, Tempe, AZ, this shit is fucked up
and might make you cry, spit, throw up, shit your pants, or go into fits. Lo-fi as
all get-out with an organ that'll churn your stomach, songs about death, disease,
and more death. Ouch...On the zine front, I just received an issue of Balance,
from back east. This is a killer zine dedicated to the nomadic skater and is
printed in conjunction with a website (www.sk8te.com). This one's a collection
of stuff put out throughout the years, mostly concerning road trips (to: Tucson,
Skatopia, Spain, the Southwest, and elsewhere) plus some Boston area coverage.
With an attitude close to my heart (skate, travel, avoid BS and the law), naturally
I'm gonna dig it. There's no price on it, but I'd send at least a buck or two to 1770
Mass. Ave. #293, Cambridge, MA 02140-2808.-Wez Lundry
Logg's
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09.1