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    • January 13, 2010 12:29 PM CST
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    • I really like the CK's but there haircuts scream Hard Rock LA, just sayin...

    • January 8, 2010 12:26 AM CST
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    • A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican January 8, 2010 Most rock ’n’ roll bands that model themselves after the Rolling Stones try to be subtle about it. Not The Chesterfield Kings. They’ve always been blatantly proud of it — and never more so than on their new CD/DVD Live Onstage ... If You Want It.

      The title alludes to the Stones’ first live album — Got Live If You Want It! The Kings are introduced as “the second-greatest rock ’n’ roll band in the world.” Singer Greg Prevost prances around like Jagger and bassist Andy Babiuk even looks like Brian Jones. And most obvious of all, listen to the guitar hook of “Flashback.” Remind you of a certain Jumping Jack?
      So dock them points for originality. But still, you’d have to have a heart of stone (dang, it’s contagious!) not to get a jolt from the rockin’ fun these guys bring. Just like the old slogan of the lethal product from which they got their name, they satisfy.
      The Kings, from Rochester, New York, have been around since the late ’70s and releasing records since the early ’80s. Along with groups like The Fuzztones and The Fleshtones, The Kings were leaders of a garage-rock revival in that era.
      In the mid part of the past decade, the band came under the sway of a certain mobster named Silvio Dante (a little in-joke for fans of The Sopranos) aka Little Steven Van Zandt, who made them a flagship band of his label, Wicked Cool.
      This album, recorded live at a Rochester television studio, includes material going back at least as far as The Chesterfields’ 1994 album Let’s Go Get Stoned — which is cool, because so much of their older material is hard to find. (Some of the earlier albums have apparently never been released on CD.)
      Some of the highlights of the show are “Johnny Volume,” in which guest sax-man Chris Wicks wails like Bobby Keys in his prime; “I Walk in Darkness” — a pure ’60s garage-rock thriller with its Farfisa (or at least Farfisa-sounding) organ (by guest keyboardist Paul Nunes) and Yardbirdsian harmonica (by Prevost); “I’m So Confused, Baby” — Nunes’ organ riff sounding like it’s borrowed from “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone”; and “Transparent Life,” which reminds me of “Paint it Black.”
      While the basic sound of The Chesterfield Kings is right out of the ’60s, part of this album is a journey into the ’90s. I’m referring to an “unplugged” four-song segment. The Chesterfields go “country” on Merle Haggard’s “Sing Me Back Home” (which they first recorded for Let’s Go Get Stoned). But the best tune from this part of the show is the country-bluesish “Drunkhouse,” which sounds like some long-lost Beggars Banquet outtake.
      Speaking of going country, the first verse of “Stayed Too Long” starts out as if it’s going to be a rocked-up version of the Louvin Brothers’ “The Christian Life,” the opening line being “My friends tell me that I should have waited.” It soon veers into another direction, however.
      One small quibble: recording this performance at a TV studio probably ensured good sound quality. But I bet The Chesterfield Kings would sound twice as crazy before a hopped-up nightclub crowd where people aren’t sitting politely in chairs.
      More goodies from the garage
      * In the Blue Corner by King Automatic. He’s a one-man garage band from Nancy, France, playing guitar, keyboards, harmonica, and drums and melding them all together through the magic of tape loops. It’s high tech and primitive at the same time.
      On Automatic’s previous album, I Walk My Murderous Intentions Home, he displayed a knack for garage noir. He carries that even further on the new record, On Blue Corner, his second release on Voodoo Rhythm Records. KA expands his sound, showing more influence from blues, sinister jazz, and Jamaican rock-steady.
      A couple of my favorites here are “Doctor Jekyll & Sister Hyde,” which suggests blues from some dark alley with a piano riff lifted from “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” and “Things Are What They Are but Never What They Seem,” which has a melody that might have been inspired by an all-night binge while listening to Tom Waits albums — though it sounds like Jerry Lee Lewis is playing piano.
      “Let’s Have a Party” could be Martians playing rockabilly, while “Le Redresseur de Torts,” with its thumping bass and drums answered by harmonica honks, might be described as a brontosaurus blues. Then there’s “Mood Swings” — with its slinky, sleazy organ and faux Jamaican-rhythm guitar, it could almost be a scene from a movie in which something’s about to go terribly wrong in a cocktail lounge.
      *A Different Kind of Ugly by The Sons of Hercules. Here’s Texas’ answer to The Chesterfield Kings. They might be from San Antonio, but the Sons are far more influenced by The New York Dolls, The Stooges, and other proto-punks than they are by Doug Sahm.
      Singer Frank Pugliese belts ’em out like a world-weary pro wrestler taunting an opponent. He’s already won a place in punk-rock history. His 1978 band The Vamps opened for The Sex Pistols at their San Antonio show.
      While offering few revelations, this album is good rocking fun. I love how Dale Hollow’s guitar goes from Chuck Berry to Cheetah Chrome in nothing flat on “Still Waitin’.”

    • January 12, 2010 10:55 PM CST
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    • While trying to find some answers to Kopper's question about a connection between Little Steven and the garage punk hideout, I came across a top 100 list of essentials by Tim Warren of Crypt and of all the Teenage Shutdown albums, the only ones on the list were the ones I mentioned and the last one mentioned "I'm A No Count" (that's volume 4, by the way). How weird is that? The others are good too but those three are probably the best. "You Better Get A Move On" (vol 7) and "HOwlin' For My Darlin" (vol 14) are pretty great as well. Lieutenant Cheeseliver said:

      'I'm A No Count' is great!

      The tracks by Jolly Green Jiants, The Heard, Outcasts, Chob and Cave Men are personal favourites. Really fine compilation..

    • January 6, 2010 2:28 PM CST
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    • Thanks for the tip! Will pursue those.

    • January 12, 2010 10:39 PM CST
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    • The Barman said:

      This is outstanding. Ian Rilen was back guesting on bass.
      that must have been scary - he died in 2006

    • January 12, 2010 9:40 PM CST
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    • I'm so fussy about that sort of thing, I'm always changing that in iTunes. They also classifying old R&B as "Hip-Hop/Soul" or something.. For what you save over iTunes or Amazon though its worth it.

    • January 12, 2010 2:58 PM CST
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    • Big downside to the Rhino stuff is that the tracks are tagged "Various Artists" for the artist tag

    • January 12, 2010 1:07 PM CST
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    • They just got Warners which includes Rhino Records. This includes all the starter kits aka Nuggets. SF Nuggets only has 12 tracks for DL but the most recent Nugets Comp "Where the Action is" includes all 102 tracks for 12 credits

    • January 10, 2010 5:45 PM CST
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    • Here's the music I've downloaded from eMusic is the past 28 days: * The Roots of The Cramps by various Artists Hot diggity dog! Not only is this a serious eMusic bargain (56 tracks for 12 credits!) it's a serious dose of rockabilly, R&B, surf and garage obscurities.

      In short, these are the songs The Cramps covered or, in some cases the tunes that The Cramps mutated into their original songs. (Listen to "Strolling After Dark" by The Shades and you can easily understand why Lux and Ivy were inspired to add a teenage werewolf.)
      There's lots of overlap here with a now-out-of print 2007 compilation called Songs The Cramps Taught Us. But that only had 31 tracks.
      Among my favorites here are "Miniskirt Blues" performed by The Flower Children, an early band of Simon Stokes; the bubblegum classic "Quick Joey Small" by The Kasenetz-Katz Super Circus; a version of Elroy Dietzel's "Rockin' Bones" by a young Ronnie Dawson; and "Storm Warning," some pre-Dr. John gris-gris from Mac Rebennack.
      Then there's the girl-biker anthem "Get Off the Road" by The R. Lewis Band. "We are the Hellcats who nobody likes/Man-eaters on motorbikes." Well, I like 'em * Interplanetary Melodies by Sun Ra. If Lux Interior runs into Sun Ra up in Rock 'n' Roll Heaven, they will have a lot more to talk about than you might initially imagine.
      You see, Herman Sonny Blount not only played cosmic jazz, but also dabbled in recording doo-wop and R&B in the 1950s. And damned if he didn't make that sound cosmic too! One of the bands represented here was even called The Cosmic Rays, but they're not as otherwordly as The Nu Sounds, a Ra vocal group performing songs like "Spaceship Lullaby" and Africa.
      Norton Records recently released three CDs of this material. I picked up Rocketship Rock over on Amie Street. (My favorite tracks there are the down and gritty "Hot Skillet Mama" by Yochanan -- there are two versions here -- and the short version of "I Am Gonna Unmask the Batman" by Lacy Gibson.) I'll definitely pick up The Second Stop is Jupiter before long.
      * Ow! Ow! Ow! by Barrence Whitfield. Good news: Rounder Records is now on eMusic. That means classic '80s Barrence albums are now available.
      For those unfamiliar with this contemporary R&B wildman, I'd start out with Live Emulsfied, (which I already had) -- if only for "Mama Get the Hammer" and "Bloody Mary."
      But Ow! Ow! Ow! is a fine choice too. Not a bad track here and some, like "Girl From Outer Space" are downright crazy. And for those who like Whitfield's slower, prettier side, "Apology Line" is one of his finest ballads. PLUS:
      * Sun Recordings Vol. 1 by Jerry Lee Lewis. Here's another good eMusic bargain. Several years ago I downloaded eight tracks from this album. With eMusic's new pricing plan, they only charged me four credits for the other 12 tracks.
      Those familiar only with the smattering of Lewis hits they play on oldies radio might be surprised to know that Lewis' fire went well beyond "Great Balls of Fire." He did an excellent version of Big Joe Turner's "Honey Hush," not to mention his raucous cover of The Dominos' "60 Minute Man."
      But even back in those Sun Records years, Jerry Lee displayed his knack for country music. "Who Will Buy the Wine," included on this volume, has as much soul as The Killer's honk-tonk classics like"What Made Milwaukee Famous" and "She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye."
      * Seven tracks from No Requests Tonight by The Devil Dogs. This is a live album, released in 1997 by the Dogs, a fine New York punk/trash trio. It's a California show and the stage patter consists largely of East Coast/West Coast abuse Previously my favorite Devil Dogs tune was their cover of former New Mexico Music Commissioner Tony Orlando's grease ballad "Bless You" from the Choad Blast EP. But here the The Devil Dogs cover Bono -- Sonny Bono, that is. Their version of Sonny's proto-hippie lament "Laugh at Me" is a heart-warming delight. * The tracks I didn't get last month from The Kids Are All Square - This Is Hip|Girlsville by Thee Headcoats and Thee Headcoatees. Most of the ones I got this month were by Thee Headcoatees, Billy Childish's "girl group" of the '90s, which included Holly Golightly, Miss Ludella Black, Kyra Rubella and Bongo Debbie.
      There's a great cover of The Beatles' "Run for Your Life" (remember the John Lennon Rolling Stone interview in which he was expressing politically-correct remorse about this tune?) Meanwhile, "Melvin" is a re-write of Them's "Gloria." But none of these are as cool as "Wild Man," in which the singer sounds as if she's on the verge of a lust-induced nervous breakdown over the boy next door.

    • January 10, 2010 5:25 PM CST
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    • Matt Ayers said:

      "You Really Got Me" is the nastiest, best guitar tone ever. Period.
      I don't know....I think Larry Parypa one upped them with Cinderella and He's Waiting but then they probably would have never been written that way if it wasn't for the Kinks. But then again...the Witch and Psycho actually came out before the Kinks records were released here in the states. I was going to be a doof and answer "stuff you can't buy anymore".

    • January 6, 2010 3:00 AM CST
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    • Thanks for the tip!I did some googling and it looks like he did use a Riviera although one person said he got it after "The Witch". I would still like to know what kind of amps they used. I believe I've heard silvertone before, but i can't remember where I saw that.

    • January 8, 2010 4:59 PM CST
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    • Thanks all. I think I see in itunes what is changed is as Mal says itunes won't send them all to me at once. i will need to individually subscribe to them. I hope all the shows will still be on itunes.

    • January 6, 2010 5:02 PM CST
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    • If you click on the Sonic Nightmares feed - http://feeds.feedburner.com/SonicNightmares - you will see a page where all our shows are listed and on the side you can subscribe via iTunes. This means that when you click this our new shows will automatically download to your iTunes. I am looking for a way to subscribe by email - I'll keep you posted when I get that working. Check my blog also - http://garagepunk.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=37nxh8gfriypc I hope this helps and YES Sonic Nightmares will continue as usual. John said:

      A couple of my favorite shows write back lol. Thanks. I see the all the stuff on the site here but I confess I am a little confused on the options. I am a little older and need to learn the feed stuff lol. itunes made it so easy to get all at once. i do see RadioOblivion and your show ixnayray is still available on iturnes but I guess I need to figure out the feeds from here. Any suggestions or help on the basics of feeds?
      Thanks and keep the shows coming. Will Sonic Nightmares still be going?

    • January 6, 2010 4:47 PM CST
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    • A couple of my favorite shows write back lol. Thanks. I see the all the stuff on the site here but I confess I am a little confused on the options. I am a little older and need to learn the feed stuff lol. itunes made it so easy to get all at once. i do see RadioOblivion and your show ixnayray is still available on iturnes but I guess I need to figure out the feeds from here. Any suggestions or help on the basics of feeds?

      Thanks and keep the shows coming. Will Sonic Nightmares still be going?

    • January 6, 2010 4:38 PM CST
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    • Hey John - The Garagepunk Podcasts ARE still available just not on the garagepunk.com blog anymore. If you've been downloading them from iTunes I don't think anything will change there. The only change will be that our shows will be posted on our individual blog pages here on the Hideout were you can listen to the shows and leave comments just like the old garagepunk.com blog. I encourage you to subscribe to your favorite shows' feed and check your favorite shows' blog pages here on the Hideout (Kopper has posted links to all the show's feeds and blogs on the last post at garagepunk.com). I hope this helps man and keep listening 'cause we are still alive and kickin'!

    • January 6, 2010 4:15 PM CST
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    • Well to make sure you don't miss out on any future shows may i recommend that you subscribe to the whole shebang? Or if you only like certain shows why not head over to the main blog and subscribe there? Kopper has gone to the trouble of listing each podcasters individual feed - get on it!

    • January 6, 2010 3:37 PM CST
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    • Hello, just joined finally after hearing the news that the garagepunk podcasts are not going to be available anymore. That was a bit of bad news since I have been downloading them from itunes for a couple of years now and finding great bands to go out and get their music and even go see if they come down to the beach here.

      How do we get these great shows now? I see some will be available here? Will all of them be? Some still available via itunes? Also I can't thank the folks that put together the podcasts. You are really doing a great service to those of us not wanting to listen to commercial radio crap. Thanks!!

      Thanks for any info.

    • January 8, 2010 12:18 AM CST
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    • glad you dig it! fly sister can't be wrong!

    • January 7, 2010 10:25 AM CST
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    • This thread is truly amazing how it's blossomed over the last year. Thanks to everyone for tips, links and reports. I have really dug deep into lots of the replies, even playing stuff in our Sonic Nightmares podcast. I'll even do a separate show someday with music I've discovered just from this thread alone!

      I'm listening to the link S.Law posted right now, fucking amazing stuff! World Garage!

    • January 8, 2010 12:14 AM CST
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    • I'm putting together the fourth and final volume of "Songs the Lyres Taught Us" for The Mal Thursday Show, and I need mp3s of Lyres' versions of Les Copains' "Give Your Love to Me" and Dion's "Feeling No Pain." They were released as 45s in mid-'90s and are now quite scarce. I'm also looking for the original version of "What's a Girl Like You (Doing in a Place Like This)" by Them (the Ohio garage band, not the Van Morrison Them). If you can help me out, please send me a message here on the Hideout. Thanks!