+1 for the RESIDENTS...

PRIMATE 5 and THE MUMMIES!

I would offer The Go Nuts for consideration.  Snack rock was a gimmick just a bit ahead of its time!

SKURKARNA - http://garagepunk.ning.com/profile/SKURKARNA

THE MUMMIES..Just saw Los Straitjackets though, so they have to be up there..

There are three that I really dig - can't name an absolute favorite out of this group though:

Phantom Surfers

Mummies

Los Straitjackets

THE CRUSADERS!!!! - naturally

That's a difficult topic, since there are quite a few masked artists I appreciate, such as...

First and foremost, Bob Log III

Then...144

Dead Elvis & His One Man Grave

The Fly & His One Man Garbage

Bruno Gourdo Hot Buttered Wolf

Nobunny

Ninja Academy

Urban Junior (who doesn't always wear the skull mask, but still...)

Amazing One Man Band

Daikaiju are fun

The Ripoffs with their bizarre nylon stocking headgear and plain black outfits were an amazing band. They had some connection to the Mummies thought I can't recall what.

Check these out, If you're not able to do it, you can also buy them!

it seems some peeps here are trying to convince me that Ty is evolving, up to the next level. I think it's a good thing artists are stepping up, but in this case, for me, it's a step down. Jay Reatard was moving away from the garage-scene with his Matador-releases, Black Lips same thing on Vice. Going more "commercial" isn't a bad thing, for the band/artist and a lot of fans go with it. But Ty isn't stepping up, he's lazy, with a nagging sound, boring songs. I still love listening to the new Black Lips, or the Matador releases by Jay. On the other hand, one bad album doesn't make him a bad dude. Let's see what he comes up with next.

Fuck me, forget Ty Segall for a second, did you read that "do we need rock n roll" debate mentioned in that review?

" If we’re going to strip rock n’ roll back to its first principles and concentrate on it in its purest form, then we reached the zenith in the 1990s with Weezer’s first record and Lemonhead’s It’s A Shame About Ray; two records which can’t be improved upon." Christ.

Jon said:

i feel that this review of the album says everything we are thinking about the new Ty Segall.

Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread

 

i feel that this review of the album says everything we are thinking about the new Ty Segall.

Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread

I'll defend this album.  He's growing up a little bit, and he's showing that there's more to his talents than fuzzed out, high speed punk thrashers.  This is a definitely a much more mellow album, and if you've read any interviews he's given about it, he purposely made it less intense than his previous releases.  Goodbye Bread is heavily influenced by T. Rex, Neil Young, and the Endless Summer soundtrack.  It's link punk and glam filtered through California sun and surf.  He fucking nailed this, and holy sweet jesus, it's fantastic.

Check out this interview to see where he's coming from on this record: http://www.pitchfork.com/news/42442-ty-segall-talks-serious-new-album/

Check out "Dancing With Mr D" off Goat's Head Soup.  That's one of the dirtiest guitar riffs ever.  I'm pretty sure Keith's Telecaster was high on smack during that recording session.

Amen.

Pete Fiend said:

Without Brian, they're just the Stones.

The sad part is it seems like the surviving original Stones seem to be trying hard to bury Brian's legacy. They became a very "ordinary" band without him.

Without Brian, they're just the Stones.

Yes, Brian was talented, etc. But he was so whacked out on drugs that he wasn't participating (of course, Kieth was whacked out on drugs too, but he had much more musical drive). He only played on one song on Beggar's Banquet. And after that, he lost the neurological/motor skills to play. His brain couldn't send the messages to his fingers anymore. The others really had no choice but to replace him if they wanted to continue playing live.

Just kidding, it isn’t 1964 – that was just a cheap shot to get your attention.

Some readers will perhaps be shocked and puzzled as to my equipment choice and methods for this live recording at the Cavern in Liverpool. A domestic cassette recorder? One cheap mic? What’s he playing at? Why not a nice little modern handheld digital recorder and a couple of high end condensers? Why not a direct feed from the desk? This isn’t a 60s bootleg, is it?

No,but it’s a 60s sound, for a genuine, authentic beat group, no less; The Beat Rats, all the way from new York City. so they deserved an appropriate treatment. In this case the monster Sony 138SD cassette recorder, and a single Sony F99 stereo dynamic mic, both circa 1972. A 1/4″ machine or anything with valves in would have been an option, but too unwieldy for a superfast set up,and way too fragile in this kind of environment.

The cheap mic sonic was useful(!) – the restricted frequency response knocked out low end rumble by default, so I knew I wouldn’t have problems with muddiness or spiky high end transients. The result would be most reminiscent of a 60s sonic. Theoretically.

I’m familiar with the Cavern – and the shortcomings of its sound system. In such a small venue, the PA system is often overpowering, and configured for one-size-fits-all. So an important aim was to  bypass the house sound as much as possible. My solution was to place the mic very close to the stage, to pick up the natural balance of the instruments, and grab enough vocals from the stage monitors (with perhaps just a little from the PA).

Time was very limited in setting up; no more than 5 minutes to unpack my gear, set the mic, and check everything was working (ie holding a cigarette lighter above the recorder to make sure the tape was turning!). There was no possibility of any soundcheck, and monitoring was well nigh impossible due to the external noise level, so a little intuition was necessary. I set the mic at ear height, roughly 5ft in front of the centre of the stage, with the recorder to the side. To show how small the place really is, I should note that the cable for this mic is a mere 6′!

Other than an unruly drunk bashing into the mic stand during the second song, I just moved the mic once – a foot further back, as I’d noted the vocal was more evident in that position. That always seems to be the the battle in live sound – getting enough vocal in the mix.

But let’s not forget to give credit where it’s due. The band played splendidly and did all the hard work – all I had to do was press record.

In post production, I just eq’d slightly, adding a little more mid range, and a tad of compression on mastering, then culled the set for a 6 track EP.  My benchmark for this record was The Big 3 Live At The Cavern from 1964, which is frankly not that brilliant. Did I do better? Did I do worse?

Admittedly, my choices were a risky strategy – especially opting for a lo fi sonic from the outset. But sometimes you just have to go with your instincts and hope for the best!

The Big 3 here:
http://www.merseybeatnostalgia.co.uk/html/the_big_three.html

and you can watch the gig here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg9byWEm31Y&feature=related

The Beat Rats website:
http://garagepunk.ning.com/profile/THEBEATRATS

More of my vid blogs at:

http://www.recordproduction.com/fran_ashcroft.htm

Double Crown Records Twitter Page:

http://twitter.com/dblcrown

Hey!

Check out Peerless guitars. They are Korean Gretsch,Gibson and Epiphone copies, and are really well made, some say they are better than modern Gretches.

I've got the Gigmaster SC, which is a copy of Gibson es295, and it looks fantastic, with a Gold finish and P90's.It also sounds great for Garage and Punk, and it costs around 700 euros with a hard case.

In the case of the Beatles, sometimes the mono mixes were the ones in which the band was most closely involved, with the stereo mixes being more of an afterthought. For example, I've heard from several sources that the mono Sgt. Pepper is the version the guys approved, while the stereo version had less band involvement. The hideousness of some of the duophonic stereo mixes would seem to support that as well.