GARAGE ZINE scionav.com Vol. 2
Human Eye 路 Natural Child 路 King Tuff Jacuzzi Boys 路 Hex Dispensers 路 cola freaks
STAFF
CONTACT
Scion Project Manager: Jeri Yoshizu, Sciontist Editor: Eric Ducker Creative Direction: Scion Art DirectION: mBF Production Director: Anton Schlesinger Contributing Editor: Brian Costello Assistant Editor: Maud Deitch Graphic Designers: Nicholas Acemoglu, Cameron Charles, Kate Merritt, Gabriella Spartos
For additional information on Scion, email, write or call. Scion Customer Experience 19001 S. Western Avenue Mail Stop WC12 Torrance, CA 90501 Phone: 866.70.SCION Fax: 310.381.5932 Email: Email us through the contact page located on scion.com Hours: M-F 6am-5pm PST Online Chat: M-F, 6am-6pm PST
CONTRIBUTORS writers: Christopher Roberts, Adam Shore Photographers: Miguel Angel, Clayton Hauck, Leslie Lyons, Kara McMurtry, Stephen K. Schuster, Rebecca Smeyne
Scion Garage Zine is published by malbon Brothers Farms. For more information about mBF, contact info@malbonfarms.com
Company references, advertisements and/or websites listed in this publication are not affiliated with Scion, unless otherwise noted through disclosure. Scion does not warrant these companies and is not liable for their preformances or the content on their advertisements and/or websites.
Š 2011 Scion, a marque of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. All rights reserved. Scion and the Scion logo are trademarks of Toyota Motor Corporation. 00430-ZIN02-GR COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: Stephen K. Schuster
SCION A/V SCHEDULE 27th 28th CHECK IT OUT!
Scion Garage Show in Austin, Texas Scion Garage Show in Chicago, Illinois
MAY 2011
3rd 7th
APRIL 2011
Scion Garage 7”: King Tuff / Hex Dispensers
JUNE 2011 Scion Garage 7”: Cola Freaks / Digital Leather
now avaiable
scion garage 7”
Scion Garage 7”
The Strange Boys / Natural Child
Human Eye / Sex Beet
WATCH!
STREAMING NOW AT SCIONAV.COM
MUSIC VIDEOS
BLACK LIPS
Davilla 666
TYVEK
“Modern Art”
“Esa Nena Nunca Regresco”
“4312”
ASK SCION Question: The range of types of artists that Scion works with on garage rock projects is pretty broad. What classifies a group as “garage”? Answer: Garage rock isn’t an aesthetic and it isn’t a fidelity. Garage rock is just straight up, no chaser rock & roll. It’s just guys and girls getting a band together and having fun, conveying as much emotion as possible in as little as possible. It’s that simple.
— Christopher Roberts of VICE Music If you have a question, email us through the Contact page on scionav.com
www.scionav.com/film/newgarageexplosion
Danny Gonzalez of the Miami-based trio Jacuzzi Boys recalls some of their most memorable shows so far. San Francisco, California In 2008, while on tour with King Khan & the Shrines, we played the Great American Music Hall. The show was great, the people enjoyed it, the Shrines killed and the next thing we know Jello Biafra’s hanging out with us backstage. At that time, the Shrines would always finish it with “Rebel Rebel,” and we’d go onstage with them and I’d play percussion. It was this whole experience of playing San Francisco for the first time, and ending it with Jello Biafra and Gris Gris, onstage singing “Rebel Rebel.”
New Orleans, Louisiana
Bloomington, Indiana
On our first tour in January 2008, we get to New Orleans and there’s no one at the show. No promoter, no nothing. Our friend Matt shows up and tells us the show wasn’t promoted and nobody knows what’s happening, so we decide to leave. As we’re on the highway, we get a text from Matt telling us to come back because he got people to come out. We play for like seven people, which was fun, but as it turns out, LSU is in town playing for the national championship of college football, and then it becomes the most insane partying on the street.
On our last tour, we played Bloomington. It was the summer and usually with college towns, when all the kids are gone, it’s sleepy. We play this pizza place, and the kids keep showing up, and we’re in the corner playing and everyone goes bananas. Afterwards, we drive up to this house and inside is the ultimate dance party. Michael Jackson’s on, everyone is sweating, people jumping on the couch. First we’re dancing with one girl, then another. Then we walk three blocks to a pool and everyone starts jumping in the water, and we’re like, this is absurd.
Miami, Florida
As told to Brian Costello
Some time last year we were gonna play a show in Miami at a place called the Electric Pickle. We had never played there before, so we show up and they don’t have a sound guy and there isn’t really a PA. And just our luck, Gabriel’s amp breaks and my bass amp breaks. We don’t play a single song. Instead we play 15 to 20 minutes of noise with Diego’s drumbeat. There’s this homeless dude we call Little Richard who introduced us, and he gets so excited he doesn’t want to give up the mic, so it’s him screaming and us making noise until they tell us to stop. It was an ultimate disaster.
myspace.com/jacuzziboys Hear “Coral Girls,” Jacuzzi Boys’ contribution to the Scion A/V Garage 7” series at scionav.com/ garage
Interview: Brian Costello Photography: Rebecca Smeyne We can all agree that the word surreal gets thrown around way too much, but if anyone’s making it mean something again, it’s Hamtramck, Michigan’s reigning King of Weird, Tim Lampinen, a.k.a. Timmy Vulgar. Vulgar is a visual artist and musician known for his part in bands including Human Eye and Clone Defects. In the following interview, Lampinen gives clear answers that make total, rational sense… on Opposite Day. You seem to have always had this fascination with planets, even going back to your Clone Defects days. What’s your favorite planet in the solar system and why? The planet of Venetia. It’s a planet of women. I’m trapped on it, and I’m the only dude there. My other favorite, I’d have to say, is the sun. In 2006, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet. Do you agree with the scientists who made this controversial decision? I think Pluto is still a major planet if you think it is. Those scientists are jerks. Mr. Know-It-Alls. I wrote a song called “On the Surface of Pluto.” It’s also a planet full of ladies, like Venetia. What effects pedals are your favorites to use to get that distinctive Timmy Vulgar guitar space noise? The phaser gets the atmospheric sound, the reverb brings out the sustain, and I won’t tell what the other two are, because I won’t give out my secrets. But if you’re searching for a crazy guitar sound, and you’re into any kind of weird noises, I’m sure you can find it if you set your
mind to it. I don’t know if I even have my own guitar sound. It’s awesome people think I do. I’m just going for something raw and loud and outrageous. Like the Kinks, I used to poke holes in my amp back in the Clone Defects days. You don’t want to use too many pedals. I try to keep it minimal. I don’t want ten pedals on a board and not know what they all do. You were recently awarded an arts grant through the Kresge Foundation. How did that come about? A local artist friend of mine told me I should apply. I looked into it and followed the directions on their website: filled out the questionnaire, submitted two letters of recommendation, an artist statement, a bibliography, write-ups and interviews. I submitted four songs—two Human Eye songs and two solo songs. I got it in fifteen minutes before the deadline. They called me four months later and told me I got it, and I was blown away. It’s touching to be appreciated for something musically. You don’t think a sophisticated arts foundation would support what I’m doing. I’ve never felt like I’ve struggled with punk rock, but it has been trying to keep jobs while sustaining a band. This helped pay for the album.
Talk about the new Human Eye album, They Came From the Sky. Sacred Bones is putting it out. It’s the same sound—heavy, freaked out psychpunk—but not as noisy as the other stuff. Some songs are more in a classic-style psych. It’s my favorite record that we’ve done, even though all bands say that. It’s how a third album should be: really loud, really broad, like how we sound live. How do you come up with your lyrics? Do you free-associate or write a bunch of verses and pick your favorites? Lately I’ve had writer’s block. I don’t want to write about the same things. I start writing about stuff like salamander brains and I’m like, I already wrote about that. Usually I come up with the music and jam the song, then some inspiration comes into my head and I’ll scribble down a few words and go from there. It’s usually pretty spontaneous. timmyvulgar.blogspot.com myspace.com/humaneyedetriot Hear Human Eye’s contribution to the Scion A/V Garage 7” series at scionav.com/garage
Story: Brian Costello Photography: Miguel Angel & Clayton Hauck When describing the essence of the Hex Dispensers’ sound, vocalist/guitarist Alex Cuervo says, “Take the most basic punk rock traditionalism and tried-and-true garage punk maneuvers and inject just this tiny bit of dissonance or discomfort into them so they’re recognizable and fun, but there’s some kind of darker underbelly going on.” Indeed, over the course of two albums, three 7-inches of their own and a split 7-inch with Haunted George, Hex Dispensers have delivered instantly accessible, ridiculously catchy garage rock in two to three-minute bursts. But when your songs have titles like “Doomsday Romantic” and “It’s Your Funeral, Minion,” you know there’s something more going on than the typical bubblegum teen drama expressed by bands working on the poppier side of the spectrum. “The music aspect of what we do is pretty basic. It’s not surgery,” says Cuervo. “There’s a deep, deep well of bands who have done the simple, catchy, direct style of punk rock to draw inspiration from.” Fair enough, but pulling it off is a lot harder than it looks, and when you hear a band like the Hex Dispensers, you realize and appreciate when songs are done right, and when they’re digging deeper for ideas. The band’s latest album, Winchester Mystery House, takes its name from a mansion/tourist attraction in San Jose, California. According to Cuervo, “Sarah Winchester believed that the house was haunted by the ghosts of people who had been killed by Winchester firearms. She kept obsessively building onto the house for 38 years so that the spirits would get lost in this maze of a house and never find her. It’s weird and fascinating.” After releasing more 7-inches in 2011 (including a Scion A/V split with King Tuff), Hex Dispensers plan on writing material for another LP. “Hopefully we can get that recorded this year and release it in early 2012, before the world ends,” Cuervo says. thehexdispensers.bandcamp.com
Hear the Hex Dispensers’ contribution to the Scion A/V Garage 7” series at scionav.com/garage
The bands in Chicago’s garage scene continue to create an eclectic, dangerous and genre-defying noise borne out of a tight-knit supportive community of obsessive rock & rollers. Since 1999, Matt Williams has booked countless shows for local and touring bands, in locations ranging from the city’s most notorious dives to its most respected venues. All while drumming in bands including the Baseball Furies, Lover! and Hot Machines. Williams gives us a brief glimpse into what makes Chicago one of the best places to see (and play in) bands. The Empty Bottle & Hideout
When the Horizontal Action guys and I started to independently book and promote shows around Chicago in ’97, the only places that would really accept lo-fi, no name garage rock were dumps like Big Horse, Pops and Roby’s. Those were great lawless times. We brought in such acts as the Reatards and Persuaders for their first tour through Chicago, and bands like the Clone Defects. The mid-size clubs that did/still rule are Lounge Ax (RIP), Hideout, Fireside Bowl and my all time favorite, the Empty Bottle (I might be a little biased here, since I work there). The Bottle and Lounge Ax did a lot of late 1990s garage rock at the time, such as Oblivians, Guitar Wolf, Mono Men and New Bomb Turks with fests like Bottle Shock. The Bottle and the Hideout seem to still hold the reins with the garage scene today, and the Bottle was kind enough to allow the Horizontal Action crew do our last three annual Chicago Blackout Fests there, which were some of the biggest shows we did at the time, with such bands as the Testors, Oblivians with Quintron, the Reatards and the Pagans. Aahhhhh, fond memories...
Local Bands
There are always literally dozens of great bands happening in Chicago, but off the top of my head, some of the bands I really like are Outer Minds, the Runnies, the Ponys, Tyler Jon Tyler, Radar Eyes, Paul Cary, Tiger Bones, E.T. Habit, Nones, VEE DEE, Heavy Times and Disappears.
Permanent Records & Reckless Records
Two of the best record stores in town are Permanent Records and Reckless Records. Lance and Liz opened Permanent about five years ago, and have been killing it since. It’s one of the best small independent stores in the city. They specialize in new garage/punk, psych and weirdo stuff. They have a great selection, and they’re big supporters of the live music scene. Also, they have live instores.
C.H.I.R.P. Radio
C.H.I.R.P. came around about a year ago, if I remember correctly. They’re only online right now, but hope to broadcast soon since the FCC laws just changed for smaller stations. Great programming and DJs! emptybottle.com To find out what bands are coming to Chicago during the monthly Scion Garage Shows, visit scionav.com/garage
TYVEK
4312
WATCH THIS VIDEO, PLUS OTHERS FROM DAVILA 666, BLACK LIPS, CHEAP TIME AND MORE
SCION A/V MUSIC VIDEO SERIES
SCIONAV.COM/MUSIC/SCIONAVVIDEO
COLA FREAKS
Interview : Adam S hore Photog ra phy: Kara McMurt ry
eaks came from Last year Cola Fr r Scion ence, Kansas fo Demark to Lawr er sw an made them Garage Fest. We said. ey th at wh ’s re . He some questions st s in Denmark fir How did listener Freaks? respond to Cola ss]: At m Rasmussen [ba Illu e od Th rs de An use ca be it e lik le didn’t home a lot of peop hardcore us vio pre r ou to they were used ft. ught it was a bit so bands, so they tho with computer de ma re we s mo The first de sounded weird. drums and it really recorded [vocals]: And we Mads Stobberup ht. nig middle of the it in one take in the
d and with Jay Reatar You went on tour the en be ve ha t us em the Pixies. Thos hat W . in ed u’ve play biggest venues yo was that like? s really s scary, but it wa Rasmussen: It wa fun too. cool s]: It was a pretty Jacob Elvig [drum s, but it’s ow sh se tho do experience to t bigger. y other show, jus just like doing an ger and big is ing ger, cater Everything is big really good… e not no spitting. You’r Rasmussen: And ey gave us Th . ge sta on it allowed to sp use I I have to spit beca towels to spit on. me. It sli of lot a I produce have asthma so . was really weird
What are your lyrics about? Stobberup: Horses. Wh atever comes up. My own paranoia, and life in general. It’s just lyrics. What should people expect from a Cola Freaks live show, besides a lot of spitting? Rasmussen: I don’t kno w. Fighting? Stobberup: No! Elvig: Ten to 15 songs played with energy. Stobberup: Us against them. That’s pretty much what it is. Rasmussen: Sometim es it’s like a riot, other times it’s pretty pea ceful. It’s all about how much people want to fight. But mainly it’s music. Ge nesis played fast. myspace.com/colafreak
s
For a video of this intervie w and footage of what Genesis played fas t looks like, go to scionav.com/music/garag efest
Pablo Esp Carloada Lar s rieu
Story: Maud Deitch Speaking over the phone from his house in San Espada and Larrieu have been documenting DaJuan, Puerto Rico, director Pablo Espada mat- vila 666 as they transition from Puerto Rican rockter-of-factly describes his music video making ers to a major force on the US garage rock scene. style: “It’s kind of a trashy natural thing that’s By touring with them, Larrieu says, the two have more about what you can put together with not only gathered enough footage for a full-length what you have than trying to get something re- documentary, but they have also acquired “a realally clean and perfectly photographed.” Work- ly good education in American garage rock & roll.” ing in partnership with Carlos Larrieu, the duo have been doing music videos, tour visuals and And after all these years of collaboration and generally chronicling the band Davila 666 since documentation, how will the directors know when 2007, when, according to Espada, they were its time for the Davila film to finally be released? “just talking, partying one night, and [the idea of “The idea would be to stop after this tour and see collaborating on a video] just sort of came up.” what happens,” say Larrieu. “I have a whole storyline that changes and changes and changes. I Those resulting early videos—grimy, staticky already have the ending that I want, but I want things shot on VHS and Super-8—are a perfect to see what happens to see if there’s something compliment to Davila’s frenetic and dirty brand I should add.” of garage rock. However, the years the directing team has spent with the band have also given vimeo.com/user2379619 them time and experience to begin exploring other media. “Now that technology is a bit better Watch “Esa Nena Nunca Regreso” by with high definition, I’ve been doing some aniDavila 666, directed by Pablo Espada and mation,” says Espada. “These last eight months, Carlos Larrieu for the Scion A/V Video everything we’ve done has had a lot to do with series, at scionav.com/music/scionavvideo animation and green screen and special effects.”
Story: Brian Costello Photography: Clayton Hauck The magic of smaller towns is that the weirdos tend to hang out together, and they don’t strictly adhere to one subgenre of music. Brattleboro, Vermont’s Kyle Thomas fully embodies this spirit, getting involved in projects that include the freak folk of Feathers, the sludge metal of Witch, the alt-pop of Happy Birthday and the straight-ahead rock & roll of King Tuff. Here are six of the wildly divergent albums that Thomas has played on. Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday (Sub Pop, 2010) Released after the band had played only a few shows, Happy Birthday’s sound is an irresistible mix of fey glam, a lo-fi imitation of ELO and Thomas’s distinctive brand of crazy-yetvulnerable quirk, the one quality that links all of these disparate releases together. Happy Birthday is one of those albums that grows on you from the third listen onward, strengthened by the 1990s alt-pop of “Too Shy,” the roller rink coupleskate of “Maxine the Teenage Eskimo” and the stone heartbreak of the album’s closer, “Fun.” Witch, Witch (Tee Pee Records, 2006) Metal, in all its permutations and offshoots, ain’t the most subtle of genres, and on this debut album from Thomas’ band with Dinosaur Jr. guitar legend J. Mascis, Witch fully embraces the epic grandeur needed to pull off songs with titles like “Soul of Fire,” “Black Saint” and “Hand of Glory.” While you’d expect Sabbath sludge on the guitars and Bonham bombast on the drums, what you don’t expect (even with the Mascis involvement) are Neil Young moves. The result combines a deep appreciation of the form with the experience to know what works in these songs and when. The album is another example of Thomas’ ability to fully immerse himself in whichever style he’s working in. Feathers, Feathers (Feathers Family, 2005) Thomas’s foray into airy, lush T. Rex/Donovan neo-folk is the late-night smooching soundtrack for errant knights everywhere. These are the kinds of jams you’d like to hear
while eating roasted mutton with your bare hands at the Medieval Times in Schaumburg, Illinois, as warriors joust in front of you on flying ostriches. This album also features Ruth Garbus, who plays drums in Happy Birthday. King Tuff, Was Dead (Colonel Records, 2008) For those more focused on the garage-punk world, Was Dead was their first introduction to Kyle Thomas’ music. Gentlemen Jesse & His Men covered the King Tuff song “Connection,” which is one of the more perfect pop songs to come out in recent memory. In the King Tuff context, Thomas’ voice has a nice Tom Verlaine cool to it (with enough Hell exuberance thrown in to keep it from being big city blasé).
Witch, Paralyzed (Tee Pee Records, 2008) Paralyzed picks up where Witch’s debut left off, and added the influence of the Sabbath-infused Side 2 of Black Flag’s My War. In fact, Paralyzed sounds like it could have been on one of the more obscure releases from SST from the mid-1980s—part of the label’s “Blasting Concept” challenge to hardcore kids to push beyond the rigid definitions of punk rock. And though Thomas’ singing can get a little too elfin for this kind of gig, a noisy freakout like “Psychotic Rock” perishes such silly thoughts. King Tuff, Mindblow (Spirit of Orr, 2006) This is the hard-to-find debut of King Tuff. Some of the songs reappear either in different or exactly the same versions as on Was Dead. The raw attack take on “Laserbeam” on Mindblow definitely has more of a Television vibe to it, while songs like “Black Zelda, “Hands” and “Staircase of Diamonds” are, quite simply, some of the finest examples of contemporary rock & roll (genre, schmenre) to be heard in recent years. myspace.com/kingtuff Hear King Tuff’s contribution to the Scion A/V Garage 7” series at scionav.com/garage
THE SPITS
SCARY SWAMP
WATCH THIS VIDEO, PLUS OTHERS FROM THE DIRTBOMBS, HUNX & HIS PUNX, PIERCED ARROWS AND MORE
SCION A/V MUSIC VIDEO SERIES
SCIONAV.COM/MUSIC/SCIONAVVIDEO
Sex Beet in New York City
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E TH
douchemaster
records
Since the middle of last decade, Atlanta’s Douchemaster Records has been a steady source for the best in power punk releases. They’ve put out music from artists including the Carbonas, Gentlemen Jesse & His Men, King Louie, Livefastdie and Lover!, among many others. Douchemaster’s Bryan Rackley discusses four key releases in their discography, and the stories behind them.
S, ONA RB CA
Predator, Predator (2011) It’s dark, and it’s not pretty like all the other trendy stuff right now. It’s punk, and I don’t have to use words like “pop” or “power” to describe it, which is a real treat for me. There have been some gems, but overall I think I’d like punk to be punk again. This Predator record is going to be pretty refreshing to a lot of people.
E
Gentleman Jesse & His Men, Gentleman Jesse & His Men (2004) Up to this point, the label was still a hobby. The Cheap Time and Hex Dispensers singles were very popular, but they did not prepare me for this. I announced the release of the record, then went to work. When I got home that night I had roughly 300 pieces of mail order to tend to on top of the wholesale. We had no online postage printing system at the time either, so all those labels had to be handwritten from invoices printed off a single computer. After a friend made it clear that I was an idiot for doing things that way, he set me up with some pretty liberating technology. It’s been our most popular release by far and has really helped keep us afloat.
T TEX GE RA
GE RA GA
SE & HIS MEN, T EMAN JES HE CA ENTL R B ONA R, G ATO S, RED Y UBANGI, PREDATOR, GE ,P BOBB NTL AS E M A NJ E
Bobby Ubangi, “Another Girl Like You” 7-inch (2009) After B Jay got sick, he dedicated the rest of his life to writing songs and being around the people he loved. When I got a call that he was in the hospital and that his cancer had spread, I had just submitted the masters and art files, so I got on the phone with United and Imprint, explaining that B Jay was sick, and those guys got it all pressed immediately. He was really proud of this record and the LP that Rob’s House got out a few weeks later. I felt like these records gave B Jay a sense of accomplishment that made dealing with the sickness a little easier. I miss him, and I’m really glad that we got the opportunity to do that record.
GA
The Carbonas , “Frothing at the Mouth” 7-inch (2004) This thing started it all. Greg King told me at a bar one night that he wanted to do a single with songs from the LP, so we scraped together all the money we had and sent off for 200 copies. It took two or three months to sell those records, and then we sent off for another 300. It was during that pressing that the record caught a buzz, and it kept selling. We wound up selling about 2,000 copies. We realized we were bringing in enough money to sustain more releases. If we had known we were going to sell more than 200 records, we probably would have given a little more thought to the label’s name.
R
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Nashville’s Natural Child sets its tales of fear and loathing to a distinctly Southern garage sound that’s packed with the driving howl of shifting moods. We got the trio to gather around the computer and collectively answer some questions via email, but we don’t know when they were telling the truth and when they weren’t. “Nobody Wants to Party With Me” from the recent Bodyswitchers album seems like the kind of story that’s happened to rock & roll people before. In fact, a few of your songs have that late-night-turned-ugly vibe to them. Do you write these songs the morning after these things happen? Kid Rock wrote those
Interview: Brian Costello Photography: Leslie Lyons What are some other bands in Nashville worth checking out? What are some of the better places around town for garage punk bands to play?
D. Watusi and Denney and the Jets. They’re songs. We’re not really allowed to say anything both awesome and real hot right now. We else about it. We chill with him as much as we like to play at Glenn Danzig’s House and can. the Springwater and other houses and stuff.
Tell me about “The Jungle,” the song you recorded for the Scion A/V Garage 7” series. This real nice guy in
myspace.com/naturalchildband
New York recorded it. We all met him. We wrote Hear “The Jungle,” Natural Child’s contribution to the it late one night together. We like to party. It’s Scion A/V Garage 7” series at scionav.com/garage about that, but you know, in the jungle.
You make references to classic rock like Pink Floyd and the Stones. Are you fans of those bands? Pink
Floyd kinda suck, but the Rolling Stones are our favorite band.
Story: Maud Deitch The cassette enjoyed 20 years as
for bands to have something to
one of the most popular audio
sell at shows when they don’t
formats, but it’s spent near-
have the money to press up vinyl
ly as long fighting extinction.
or CDs. The format’s signature
Tapes first suffered a major hit
hard, warm hiss and crackle also
when CDs became the dominant me-
hold particular appeal to garage
dium at the start of 1990s, then
artists.
nearly got put out of commission
And so, more tape-centric labels
at the end of the decade fol-
have begun cropping up, run by a
lowing the online proliferation
new breed of DIY music distribu-
of mp3s. Since then, tapes have
tors. Burger Records, based out
been mostly forgotten by every-
of
one except a fringe few who col-
railroad
lect cassingles at second-hand
California, was founded in 2005.
stores and pillage the deep sale
Burger has emerged as the go-
bins of rapidly closing music
to label for garage bands look-
retailers.
ing to put out music on cas-
Still
some
independent
never
stopped
a
storefront tracks
between in
some
Fullerton,
labels
settes. They have done releases
their
by Nobunny, King Tuff, Ty Se-
bands on cassette, most nota-
gall, Black Lips and more, often
bly Olympia’s K Records. Putting
releasing albums that larger la-
out music on tape remains cheap
bels may have put out on vinyl,
and easy, making it a great way
but have sold out of.
releasing
Another
tape
label
is
Kevin
Greenspon’s Bridgetown Records. Greenspon
put
out
tapes
from
artists including Cleveland garage poppers Cloud Nothings, and considers tapes to be more of a listening philosophy than a medium. “A strong personal connection can be formed because it’s not an easy format to dump the hit single onto an mp3 player, and you can’t skip through the
burgerrecords.webs.com
tracklisting.” Greenspon says.
bridgetownrecords.info
“The actual tape and the album become one and the same.” Greenspon also gets where the detractors of tapes, who complain about poor sound quality, are coming from, but offers that they have the same advantages and drawbacks of any other format. “In the end, tapes are just like CDs or records,” he says. “They’ll keep people coming back if
they’re
executed
well
and
turn people off if they’re not.”
...debut LP coming soon. OUT NOW...
Kid Congo... Gorilla Rose LP/CD
Thee Oh Sees Castlemania LP/CD
TV Ghost Mass Dream LP/CD
Dirtbombs Party Store LP/CD
Davila 666 Tan Bajo LP/CD
www.intheredrecords.com
S K C I P TOP CHRISTOPHER ROBERTS
Christopher Roberts, of VICE Records and host of VICE Radio on Scion Radio 17, spotlights the music he’ll be listening to in the coming months. Off! First Four EPs (VICE) Featuring LA punk rock royalty Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks), Mario Rubalcaba (Hot Snakes, Rocket From The Crypt), Steve McDonald (Redd Kross) and Dimitri Coats (Burning Brides), this is a tour-de-force of hardcore punk rock. It features completely undeniable one to two-minute songs served up in a box set featuring art by Raymond Pettibon, who’s famous for the original Black Flag cover art and those iconic black bars—which is probably one of the most tattooed images in the world next to ships and girls. The Raveonettes Raven in the Grave (VICE) The Danish duo is back with their fifth studio album. This is probably their darkest masterpiece yet. It features their new single “Recharge & Revolt,” which I have yet to be able to get out of my head. It’s infectious, it’s brooding and it’s garage pop at it’s finest. Not to be missed. The band goes out on tour with Tamaryn this spring, so look out for that. They’re also releasing this nugget with a limited edition poster, 180gm vinyl and some other goodies only available from the pre-order on their website theraveonettes.com.
Kurt Vile Smoke Ring For My Halo (Matador) When I first heard Kurt Vile’s Constant Hitmaker, I almost had to throw out my Cass McCombs records. This guy just writes great songs. Period. He has an undeniable sense of the subtle, quirky charms that make music interesting and relatable on an artistic level. Put this on every Sunday for the rest of your life and you’ll thank me when you’re 75 and the happiest, most inwardly stable person in the world. I’ve been looking forward to every release Vile’s put out and he has always served up more than I expected him to. Craft Spells Idle Labor (Captured Tracks) This band really caught my attention with the track “After The Moment.” It’s a mellow beast of a pop song. These guys got picked up by Mike Sniper’s cred-heavy Captured Tracks label, which means they’re still cool even if they make songs your girlfriend will fall in love with immediately. Quintron Sucre Du Sauvage (Goner) Legend of the Nola music scene, Mr. Quintron has played on records with Oblivians, and has inspired everyone from the Black Lips to the Spits, and probably even Big Freedia. This record is a particularly interesting outing for the New Orleans garage-dance-funk organist, because he recorded it while actually living in an exhibition at the New Orleans Museum of Modern Art. People could walk right up to the studio he set up and collaborate with him. It just doesn’t get any more real than that, people.
vicerecords.com Listen to Vice Radio at scionav.com/radio/channel1
aquariumdrunk ard.com Aquarium Drunkard a truly eclectic mix of features genres, seen through a Los Angeles-focused a radio show on Sirius lens. With XM and daily offeri ng s of downloads, video and interviews, Aqua s, sessions rium Drunkard is the spot to learn more ab favorite independent out your artists that you have n’t heard of yet.
gonerblog.blogspot.com The Gonerblog is the online presence of iconic Memphis label Goner Records. The folks at Goner have made it their mission to keep you up to date with the latest news and tunes from garage acts from Memphis and beyond. They don’t miss a beat.
KING TUFF at scion garage show, chicago, IL.
HEX DISPENSERS at scion garage show, chicago, IL.
KING TUFF at scion garage show, Austin, TX.
GUESTS at scion garage show, Austin, TX.
HEX DISPENSERS at scion garage show, chicago, IL.
GUESTS at scion garage show, Austin, TX.
GUESTS at scion garage show, Austin, TX.
GUESTS at scion garage show, Austin, TX.
KING TUFF at scion garage show, chicago, IL.
GUESTS at scion garage show, Austin, TX.
KING TUFF at scion garage show, Austin, TX.
GUESTS at scion garage show, Austin, TX.
Scion’s commitment to artistic expression provides a platform for passionate ARTISTs to focus on developing their art and exploring the endless possibilities. To learn about current and past projects from Scion Audio/Visual (SA/V), please visit scionav.com.