Thursday, June 30, 2011

Lack Of Interest-The Blvd,Boyal Heights CA- 6/35/11

 
Now if you have been reading my last blogs,I've told you not only 2 reviews already about Lack Of Interest but of their mascot,Grandpa Of Interest. He's the drummers grandfather and he's on their t-shirts and goes to all their shows. He is a very nice old man who I always greet at shows. This dude always wears band shirts of Grind/Death/Powerviolence bands. Today they were throwing a show for his 84th Birthday. To everyone he is the grandfather of all the Grind/Powerviolence/HxC scene so of coarse I went to celebrate our Grind-pa. You guys know how I think its lame to go to shows,miss all the unknown bands and just go for the main ones. I sadly did this today because Mexico beat USA in football(soccer like you monkeys call it) and since the show is in East La area...there was a bunch of cops closing streets and Mexicans goings nuts with their flags. Mexican fans being happy is cool. Cops shutting off main streets is not. So I missed the 3 opening bands and one of them(Fetus Eaters) I really love.

I made it in time for Retox. I told you guys in February how much I love the lead singer,Justin Pearson(JP) because he's in 20 bands and they ALL kick ass. The Locust being his main bad ass band. Tho he's an anti-musical genius,he's real cocky. Last time I tried to talk to him(well kinda) but I didn't really wanna bother this time. Another thing about last time,they had barley started playing(4th show maybe) so they didn't have much songs. This time they still brought their insane live tactics and more songs. The crowd was full of hipsters and everyone was into them. JP was screaming off the tiny stage and kids were just dancing along. They did a great set again. After I told I told JP good job and he just said Thanks and walked away. First Album "Ugly Animals" is coming soon. Ill for sure check it out. Don't get me wrong guys,Retox fucking rules.
 Lack was hitting the stage. This being my 4th time seeing these guys was excited for them. They're nobody will ever get tired of seeing. But while they were setting up,2 girls(singers of Eat The Living and Bastard Noise) passed out cupcakes,kazoos,and party hats. All which had Grandpa's face on it. We sang happy birthday and he seemed really happy.Throughout the whole day I was telling him Happy Birthday and how much he ruled. All the hipsters left after Retox(LAME!) so for the time I was able to get upfront with Lack Of Interest. As always they start with Never Back Down. Everyone sang,jumped and moshed around. Lack Of Interest is a legendary Powerviolence band but refuses to headline. After the fast and great set I took a pic with Grandpa Of Interest. We were both happy in the picture.

 Up next was Bastard Noise. I only stayed for 2 songs,but The drummer passed out Pillsbury Hardcore stickers! Right now as I'm typing this I left a comment on facebook asking the Singer of Bastard Noise if there will be a Reunion. Sadly not(and he thought they sucked). Bastard Noise started and for 2 songs,they were badass. Check em out and also check out the singers past legendary bands,Man Is The Bastard and Pillsbury Hardcore. I really enjoyed this time tho I left early.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

A DEVOTIONAL

Ye have locked yerselves up in cages of fear; and,behold, do ye now complain that ye lack freedom. -Lord Omar Khyyam Ravenhurst, K.S.C. "Epistle to the Paraniods" The Honest Book of Truth Principia Discordia Free your mind and your ass will follow. - George Clinton, Eddie Hazel, Ray Davis

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Guest Commentary from Grant Peter

A decaffinated Grant Peter

Awhile back my friend Grant Peter asked me if he could dispel some commentary on The Bigfoot Diaries. As a previous bassist for Mood Beside, Autocrat, and the now defunct A Dead Hero, he had been a fixture on the local music scene and it's not uncommon to see him at shows supporting the local acts. For the most part he and I see eye to eye on what's cool in rock and roll, and with my heavy work load as of late, I welcomed his ambition to contribute to this page. That being said, I do have one issue with his rant which you can read at the bottom of his post, which is here...

White Suburban Kids

I have this co-worker, and don't get me wrong he's a solid dude. He is polite, respectful and does his job. He plays in a band, a screaming, metalcore outfit. I have no idea what they sound like. I think he's 19 years old.

We'll bounce band names off each other and its pretty funny. He'll say "Do you like Pantera?" To which I will respond, "I FUCKING LOVE PANTERA, THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL CHANGED MY LIFE!" (Yes, I was screaming as I said this.) Or, he'll asked "Do you like Alice in Chains?" and again, "I HAVE A POSTER OF LAYNE STALEY ABOVE MY BED!"

But then he'll do this, and it make me mad: "Do you like Miss May I?... How about The Devil Wears Prada?... Attack Attack?"

And now, it's time for the education. "Dude, those bands blow. No one will remember them 20 years from now and if they do, it will be because they are brunt of some stupid joke. How about Botch? Or Coalesce? Fucking Converge for crissakes! How about Black Flag, or the Dead Kennedys, how about the bands that originated the breakdown and didn't simplify it to a 4/4 time where the hits come on the 1st and 3rd beat?"

His response is classic, yet ultimately disappointing..."Huh? Do you like any mainstream bands?"

The short answer is no. Mainstream sucks. It always has and it always will.

Take Black Flag for example, after Damaged came out they were gaining in popularity, so what did they do? Completely shifted gears and released My War which had far more to do with Black Sabbath than the hardcore punk scene they had helped give life to. Or what about Tool? They have had Grammy nominations, been played on our very own Lazer 103.3, have sold out concert tours... These could very well be solid arguments for them being a mainstream act. I would beg to differ, however. In fact Tool might be the most anti-mainstream band that is recognized as popular. Think about it, my favorite record Lateralus, clocks in at 78:51, you're standard CD only holds 80 minutes worth of music. Their guitarist even mentioned in an interview that they did it just to piss of their record label. And how about the fact that they only release an album about every six years (vs Nickledeadroachpuddletrapt who consistently hock out a pile of shit every year and a half? PS. Fuck you Billy Gibbons for appearing in that Nickleback video).

The problem with mainstream metal/hardcore/punk/whatever core is that it's afraid. It's too afraid to do something different and is merely content to follow in trends set way back in the '
'90s (even before). For example, go to youtube and search "Botch vs Norma Jean," and you'll see how bad this modern subcore music really is.

I'll end this with a quote: "If you're in a band and you join a scene, you're already too late."-Josh Homme

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe you already know what my issue is with Grant's Post... Couldn't  Alice in Chains be considered a mainstream band?

Maybe that's not the issue at hand here. Personally I do not have a problem with a band just becasue they are a a part of the mainstream. Being played or even featured on Lazer 103.3 (or other corporate stations) doesn't automatically disqualify a band from being cool (Alice in Chains is a good example)... It's these radio station's affinity to force down our throats the bands that do suck, which generally, is most of ones on their play lists. I have had it with the pretty boy metal bands such as Hinder, Seether, Three Days Grace and the bands that Grant listed above. The radio station's relentless promotion of these bands is what drives me crazy, and the fact that people accept these bands as legit even upsets me more. But I do get Grant's point, and I do agree with him for the most part. Tool will be talked about forever... As will Alice in Chains. They have merit to the music scene because they are innovators and beat to their own proverbial drums. Thay have set a standard and raised the bar to a level that isn't easily matched, and for that they should be recognized. Miss May I and Attack Attack... Not so much. I like the fact that Grant pointed out that nobody will be talking about these bands in twenty years. Largely in part because nobody is talking about them now.

Well... Except that kid that Grant works with. But like the rest of us, he is entitled to his opinion. And being so young, he still has time to be exposed to some cool music that he isn't currently listening too.

Thank you Grant for your commentary. I appreciate your input.

Now do yourself a favor and get that kid a copy of Go Girl Crazy by The Dictators... He'll never talk about The Devil Wears Prada again.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Gnarmagedon Fest-Glasshouse Pomona,CA-6/18/11

 This has to be one the best shows I've been to in my life. Its rare I got the a fest and enjoy almost all the bands. This show was created by fans for fans... No greedy fucks, no fuck overs, just real fuckin Hardcore done right. There are some changes from the flyer. Bad Reaction was dropped due to family stuff. Monster Squad (street punk not hardcore) was replaced by my hometown heroes and underrated Hardcore Punk legends, Circle One!

We left early,but we were still lagging it sick. We got in line, and when we finally got in Hooded Justice was already hitting the stage. Now these local backyard boys from OC are more than just a backyard band. They are amazing. I don't just consider them my favorite local garage band. I consider them one of my favorite bands period. For the past month or so I've been kinda talking to the singer and showing support for what they do. They're a great mixture of Hardcore Punk, Powerviolence, Thrashcore,and Grind all in one sexy sandwich. They started playing, and the very few people that were there (real hxc kids who supports unknown bands) were digging them. I was singing along to their songs and yelling that they should've headlined the whole damn show. They did Napalm Death's half second song "You Suffer" then their short song being 3 seconds long, "Defecation". Lyrics to that song are "Sometimes...I gotta take a shit". I asked for a button but they had sold out. 30 min later the drummer came to me and gave me one... Real nice guys. They have one demo out and it could possibly be the best demo of all time. Words cannot really describe how great this band is. Give it one week and Black Flag would reunite just to play with these guys. Yes,they're that good. I demand you  download this and spread it like crazy. Hooded Justice demo!

Hooded Justice

Up next was a street punk act called Static Thought. They were lame. I went to sit down down with friends and we talked about Cats: The Musical.


Static Thought

For the second time this week I saw Concussion. Though there wasn't as many people there, I was definitely more into them than the last time. While the singer was on stage he and I were talking about the pizza incident. Once again these guys kicked ass and got off stage to sing "Hybrid Moments" (Misfits) with me and some other kids. These guys need more recognition. Please download their bad ass demo and tell everyone to listen to it if they wanna get laid.  DOWNLOAD DAMN IT!


Concussion

Up next was a band Ive never heard of called Dogends. They're a Nardcore (Hardcore from Oxnard Ventura CA and they have rhythm) band and they fuckin' ruled. Kids seemed to know their lyrics and kids were moshing in circles for these guys. From what I know they've been broken up for a while and had reunited for this fest. They were great but the singer was pissed and seemed like he didn't wanna be there. He kept telling the audience to "eat a dick!" but we still loved em. I need to find music of these guys soon.


Dogends


Once again it was time for Media Blitz. Now the singer and some other guy are the 2 responsible for making this event happen. Super respect to them for throwing the show and being in a badass band. He kept mentioning how happy he was that it was successful. Once again MB hxc fans threw them selves every were and sang to all their songs. These guys rule. Please check em out,you wont regret it.

Media Blitz

Up next was a band I was VERY excited to see. It was announced the day before that they were gonna replace Monster Squad and bunch of people were happy bout that. I told the promoters to get 'em a long time ago and of course they said yes. As soon as I walked in I saw the guitar player, Mike V. and we talked. I asked him about more shows coming up and the new record. I also spoke with their new singer and he was such a nice guy and a great person. Circle One was fronted by the late and very great John Mascias. I consider them hometown heroes since they are from from the city I'm from, Pico Rivera. I can go on and on about this band but I'll have to tell you the Legend that is Circle One later. They got on stage and me and my other buddy (and other Pico Riverian and C1 fan) were super excited. The singer kept telling people to try to get on the stage. He would go to the rail for us to sing along with him. Me and few others sang into the mikcrophone. Mike even dedicated a song to all the people who were there from Pico Rivera. Then they introduced Tim Gallegos. He was the bass player for Wasted Youth in the early days and Bad Religion. He recorded the EP "Back To The Known" with them. Ive met this guy before. He's always at punk shows telling his stories. Finally it was great to see him on stage and they did two Wasted Youth songs. They ended with Highway Patrol Man and dedicated it to John Mascias who hated cops more than anything and ended up getting killed by them. Afterwards I talked to them some more, bought a shirt (finally),and even got patches. Please look for their album "Are You Afraid?". Its a fucking classic. These guys played with Bad Brains, Black Flag, Bad Religion, etc back in the day. They never got their recognition. Its about time they they do.

Circle One
Next was a new and very hardcore band with a huge following.  Rotting Out... You cant be any tougher than they are. They remind me a lot of Suicidal Tendencies in many ways. They wear their own band merch with a cholo edge. They have motivation lyrics and they give speeches. And like Suicidal their fans are wild. I mean REALLY FUCKING wild. The singer has no front teeth and pulled his giant hood all over his face and sang to the crowd. Everyone sang a long while people were stage diving and jumping on the dude yelling. These guys are gonna be big. I mean huge. Check out their album "Its Just A Life". Buy it. You wont regret it. Its amazing. One of the best bands that played. They are so amazing live... How hxc should be.

Rotting Out

There's nothing more I despise more than stupid hippie anarcho punks who bitch about every little thing in the world. These jokers (Resist and Exist) showed videos of animals getting abused. They had a bunch of Animal Rights posters and a bunch of lame stuff. The guy had stupid spikes and the chicks voice (In anarcho punk you have to both a male and female sing so they can show equality) was super annoying. They were passing out fliers promoting vegetarianism and other superficial causes. I hate shit like that. Being PC is annoying and these guys do it to the max. To quote the badass band that played after them "Hippies, We hate 'em!". So the whole time they played we went to sit down and I was making fun of a security guard who looked IDENTICAL to Stone Cold Steve Austin. Peace Punk is gay. Listen to The Mentors for crying out loud.

Resist and Exist
Up next was the band that I've been wanting to seen for years, one of the greatest punk bands in history. JFA (Jodie Foster's Army). I recently heard their new album. It wasn't hardcore. It was good punk rock but not the JFA I knew and loved but they started off with a punk song. It was Ok. Then they played some fast skate punk. The place went nuts. They dedicated "Out Of School" too all us graduates (2011 wooo!). I was being pushed around and was singing along. They did most of their classics which I went nuts for. Everyone was singing along. Even the covers were crazy. The Surf Song Baja, The Charlie Brown theme song, and even the cholo bouncer was into their cover of Lowrider. This is band you must see live if you love punk rock. If you don't have We Know You Suck in your punk collection then you actually do suck! "Surf Punks we're not....Skateboard we do!"

Jody Foster's Army
Up next was new hxc band that is a must to see. Well at least I thought so. From From the Bay Area is Sabertooth Zombie. They're supposedly a big deal. I've heard their old stuff and it's pretty good. But their recent stuff has it mixed with Stoner metal which I don't dig. People went insane for them and they played were some song I did really dig. They were badass with stage performance. The guitar player ended up pissing off the whole audience. "Ive been wanting to come LA to say this! Fuck the Dodgers, SF Giants baby!" Of course people got pissed. I thought it was fucking cool. I'm not into baseball but Dodger fans ARE fuckin' lame. Hopefully I'll see them the next time they come.

Sabertooth Zombie
After SZ was another legendary band, Ill Repute. Ive missed em twice before, but not this time. They just started doing shows again and I excepted 'em to be good. But Wow! Not this fucking good. There are very few bands that sound identical and have they same vibe they had back in the day. People went nuts and we all sang along. This band really pooped me out. They were as nuts as the times Ive seen D.R.I. (imagine both together?!).We were all singing and kids were crowd surfing and people were yelling "Nardcore! Oxnard! Fuck You!". As I said, they just started playing shows again, so hopefully they will tour a bit. They're a must see band and I'll go see them again for sure. They were so intense I had to sit down the rest of the show. You need to get "What Happened Then?" It's is the best Nardcore album ever.

Ill Repute
We went to sit down. DOA was next. Yes they are a big deal but I was so pooped. I had shaken hands with Joey Shithead before. They played the classics from Fuck You and Rich Bitch. From the back I was gladly enjoying the set. I drank a Monster energy drink  because I promised myself months ago I had to crowd surf to "The Prisoner". Sure enough I did and I  left a happy camper. I didn't stick around for Agent Orange for the following reasons:

1.I was so fucking tired.
2.They suck live (seen em before)
3.They play in So-Cal all the time.

This has to be one of the best shows ever. Gnarmagedon 2 will be just as great. Maybe better. This is Hardcore!
DOA

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Media Blitz-Pepz Pizza, La Habra CA 6/10/11

Now this show was fun! Hardcore, free shit, pizza,what else could I ask for?!? Me and my girlfriend got their kinda early so we walked around the area. I found a badass thrift shop. I bought a Graf Orlock shirt with a Wookie on it for $2. Grindcore + Star Wars = Badasss.  After that we went to Big Lots and stole KISS buttons. We get to the show and theres those hardcore kids with their drug free patches waiting as well. They finally let all us kids in and everyone orders a pizza. The pizza was ok for being cheap but I had the runs after. But I still respect this place for throwing hxc shows for free. As they set up the little stage I was on my 4th soda refill.

 First band was called The Shrills. They looked like Morrissey fans and the guitar player had a skull mask on. They played fast weird music. Not hardcore. Imagine The Cramps in full blast. I give this band major credit for being unique. The kids loved 'em and so did I. My girlfriend was surprised I liked 'em,but they were good.


Up next was a band called A Dying Breed. All the members of this band were in the pit for The Shrills, so when these guys played The Shrills were moshing for them. Kids were dancing for them and they did a great Adolescents cover. Great to see kids play real hardcore punk rock. These guys will go places.


After them I had to take the biggest shit ever. Holy crap was there a line. The guy in front of me had explosive diarrhea he got from the pizza (like me!). While he was on the crapper we talked how that pizza made us fart like crazy. The 3rd band was setting up and I was pissed 'cause I thought I was gonna miss the whole damn set. After I finished I noticed that the guy who was farting 5 seconds ago on the toilet next to me was the singer for this great band, Concussion. These guys ruled and the singer was white, bald, pissed, full of rage! Holy sheeeet he reminded me of the '80s punk scene! People went crazy for 'em and they were so good. After the whole show he and I talked again about the pizza. Nice guy, great band. I'll be seeing them again on Saturday.


This was a record release party for Media Blitz. This band has been going strong since '05 and they ain't stopping. They started playing and kids were moshing harder and other kids were even jumping off arcade (video game) machines. The singer was interacting with everyone and screaming tough. The guitar player was super nice and was talking to me when I was shitting. They ended with a Beastie Boys cover of "You Gotta Fight for your Right to Party" and the whole crowd jumped on him and he crawled out that huge mess like an old cartoon. They fuckin' ruled. I will be seeing Media Blitz and Concussion this Saturday with bad ass hardcore legends DOA, JFA, Ill Repute,etc.


Check out these 4 bands now.

Agent Steel-House Of Blues,Hollywood CA 6/7/11


Ugh! Let me try this again... Im really getting sick of Thrash/Metal shows so this might be the last one for a while. I mainly went to this because it was free. As is my style, I arrived super late. Currently, I have no Internet so I apologize for the lag.

Evildead played this for free two months ago,and because its the same guitar player...He allowed his legendary speed metal band Agent Steel to play. They hardly ever perform, so it was cool that they were playing, let alone for free.

The first band I saw was an East LA death metal band called Dia De Los Meutros. Imagine Brujeria in Spanish form. The crowd seemed to be into 'em and so was I. People really dug 'em and the chick singing was great. They just released their new album for free download. I suggest you check it out.


Next up was speed metal legend Agent Steel. They recently got a new singer and he did a great job. They played all their classics but the the bouncers were being dicks. Kids were flying every where and security was pushing them off, making shit worse. The band however played most of their greats and they were REALLY into it. I'd recommend 'em to you metal heads with their first album, Skeptics Apocalypse. Sorry cant tell you much more,except they were cool.

Agent Steel

Monday, June 13, 2011

THE GIZMOS - LIVE IN BLOOMINGTON 1977/78 (GULCHER RECORDS)



Handsome Dick Manitoba of the Dictators once said that he was glad he wasn't a kid growing up nowadays; the drugs suck, the music sucks, etc. Well he said this back around 10 or so years ago, and the thing of it is, things haven't really gotten any better. They actually in many cases seem to have gotten worse. Maybe that's why this 2 disk set of live Gizmos almost seems to take on an almost sacred kind of luster. Call me crazy, but I think this thing is as essential to your music collection as the New York Dolls or the Seeds.

This is pure teenage rampage groovieness. Its the music of cold beer, cheeseburgers, comic books, boss tv, and the eternal quest for kicks and girls. This is right up there with the Dictators Go Girl Crazy or early Beach Boys records in it's anthemic celebration of teenage shenanigans. The first disk sounds a lot like the Velvet Underground if they were more into Coke A Cola instead of Heroin, and disk 2 reminds me of the Germs if they had more bubblegum sensibility.

Each disk gives you a different incarnation or more of the band. The list is just to long to name everybody, but you've got Ted Niemic, Ken Highland, Rich Coffee, Shadow Myers, Dale Lawrence, etc. Eddie Flowers is sick in the audience but hey he's there, and that's more than you can say about a lot of turds these days who cancel the show because of being hit by pigeon poop. (By the way, just to show how big a bunch of pussies those Kings Of Leon are, the same thing happened to Cyndi Lauper and even she kept on with the show.)

This thing is great from the word go, Mean Screen, Human Garbage Disposal, I'd Rather Live In Wilkie North (a rewrite of Muff Divin' for the radio audience),Gimme Lobotomy, To covers of Kiss, Them, 13th Floor Elevators, and more. It's all good and your gonna want to hear it if you consider yourself somebody attuned to the real energy throb that is rock n roll. And if you find yourself in the frame of mind to want to do something good for the youngsters out there, well then give them a Gizmos record. Who knows, maybe you'll change the future for the better.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

RIP Seth Putnam. May 15, 1968 – June 11, 2011


Seth Putnam was a sick fuck, freak, loser, and my idol.

Everyone who knows me personally knew that his band AxCx was one of my all time favorites. In fact they were the band that made me love the genre of Grindcore. C'mon lets face it. Grindcore is the WORST genre ever, and he made it even worse! That's how badass the man was. Who would ever have thought his music (ha!) career would have gone this long?! His band's name is super offensive, you make 10 second noise, all you sing about is rape, child abuse, drugs,and homosexuals. The band made 11 albums from 1988-2011. Seth even did some back screams on Panetera's album "The Great Southern Trendkill".

I listened to some of AxCx songs so I decided to buy one of the Cd's, "It just gets Worse." Right away I was blown away. The songs were short as fuck and the song and lyrics were offensive to the max. Songs like "Freddy Mercury got AIDS from Eazy E" and "Pepe The Gay Waiter" made me love this band. The two things I fuckin' loved started to merge together. Shock Rock offensive lyrics like those of GG Allin and The Mentors with fast noise like The Locust and Napalm Death (only bands I knew at the time.) I was hooked on this band and told people how much they kicked ass. No one seemed to like them.

I continued to look for their music and find out more about the ingenious that is Seth Putnam. After never finding another Cd (only 1) and no merch whatever, I just stole their music and loved it. The way Seth would want it.

Fast forward almost 2 years. I found out that they were gonna tour. They hadn't been in LA in 3 years and I was super excited. When I found out that they were gonna be in my local Grind bar I felt like a kid in a candy store. When I woke up that morning I was just thinkin' "Holy shit im gonna see Seth and AxCx!". I knew it was a risky thing though... Either Seth would be nice to me or just kick my ass right there. He's vicious like that. When he walked into the bar I was so excited. I felt like I was meeting Mickey Mouse when I was 4. We made eye contact 'cause he saw my Siege shirt (a band he was in for a bit). I asked him for a picture and tho he was so messed up on drugs....he picked himself up to take a pic with me. He had to sit down the whole show. I fuckin loved every second of it. I left with a T-Shirt and a big smile. I couldn't wait for him to come back. Sadly I will never get that chance now. Some Grind bands were happy that Seth had died. Those assholes were being homos in their daddy's sack while Seth was on stage hitting girls. They don't wanna admit they inspired them. This man survived a coma,I never thought he would leave so soon. I'm so glad I met him and saw AxCx live. He was my hero,he is my hero. Seth Putnam RIP you asshole of a legend.

Seth in the middle, Turtleboy on the right

Monday, June 6, 2011

Des Moines Treasure: Del "Saxman" Jones

The first time I met Del "Saxman" Jones, I was a guest in his house. I knew a little about his incredible career... The time he spent touring with James Brown and the short stint he had playing saxophone with Tina Turner. I knew that he had written a song that was used in a Pepsi commercial, and I was aware that he had been inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame.

Del "Saxman" Jones
What I didn't know, was what to expect. I had approached Mr. Jones through email, asking him to meet me at a bar, which is what my normal protocol is when it comes to conducting personal interviews. I thought it was pretty neat that a musician of his stature made his home here in Des Moines, Iowa, and it kind of took me by surprise when he invited me to his house.

"It's where my office is," he said. "It's where I keep everything, and it will just be easier that way."

It made sense to me. It's not every day that one gets a chance to hang out in the house of an internationally respected musician. I phoned Cveckian, the Bigfoot Diaries tech guy and invited him to come along, and to bring his camera just in case a good photo opportunity presented itself. He agreed, and we met at the address Mr. Jones provided us. A few minutes later, we were inside, and it became obvious right away that this was viewed as a business venture on the part of the Saxman. We were led to his office, which was a treasure trove of photographs and old school R&B memorabilia. There were photos of Mr. Jones on the walls posing with various celebrities... Jean Claude Van Damme, Naomi Campbell, Chubby Checker, Isaac Hayes, Jackie Chan, Buddy Miles, Michael Brecker, Cindy Crawford, The Princess of Thailand, and several others. There were concert posters, backstage passes to various festivals and events, letters of gratitude from some of the largest hotel chains in the world (for instance: The Grand Hyatt of Hong Kong) thanking him for the times he played at their hotel, plus a multitude of other photographs and documents polarizing his extensive musical career. It reminded me of being at Planet Hollywood.

He sat in his easy chair behind his desk, and Cveckian and I sat across from him, and after I turned on the audio recorder, we started to ask questions. Now Del "Saxman" Jones is not a man short of words. I realized right away that there was no way that this was going to be a proper interview, where I ask a question, get an answer and write it down. I was simply overwhelmed with the length of Mr. Jones's answers. I had asked him how he got to become a saxophone player, and his response was way more than I could have hoped for. I heard about how he took the saxophone as a child through the urging of his father and, how he played all through each level of the public school system, how he didn't really want to play while in college at Drake University, but rather concentrate on wrestling. And while in high school as a junior he joined a funk band called New Establishment with a bunch of "older cats," some of who had played in Vegas and with The Platters, and how he had dropped out of school to travel to the south with these guys, and how eventually this band got screwed, and instead of playing at this high class venue as they were promised, they were basically put on hold, how he and his band mates were all but stranded in the south, living in an apartment together and not working. Then Bob Marchand (Shake Your Moneymaker) came by and asked them to play and tour with him, which essentially was the break that a young Del Jones needed, and it proved to be the starting point of his very illustrious career.

New Establishment (Del Jones on far right)
I realized at this juncture of our conversation that there was no way I was going to take the time to transcribe this entire interview as such. I simply wouldn't have the time. But I also realized that Del "Saxman" Jones had an incredible story to tell, and I felt honored to be sitting in his office hearing about it firsthand.

Del Jones allowed us to visit with him for about three and a half hours. He told us a little bit about when he toured with Bob Marchand and later, how he was asked to join James Brown's band from the band's manager. He wasn't even sure if the guy was legit. "But I gave him props," Del said. "Because you never know... He could be a friend of a friend, or an uncle or somebody." As it turned out it was James Brown's manager, and for the next two years, he toured the world with the Godfather of Soul. Del told us about how the penalty for making a mistake while performing with James Brown, who was a stickler for perfection, was at least fifty bucks. He relayed a great story about how, as a rookie, he missed the band bus on a gig to the Houston Astrodome, and had to snivel his way past the security at the show to join the band on stage for sound check. It literally took him going form gate to gate (He says that the Astrodome is 9 miles in diameter) to find somebody who would actually believe him enough to contact Danny Ray, who was the MC for the James Brown Show. Danny told the security guy to go ahead and let him in... "So," said Del, "I go back there right, and I see the guys snickering, they are like That damn rookie! So I got fined for missing the bus, I got fined for being late to the sound check, and there was another one... it came to like 400 and some odd bucks for that one little deal!"

Modern day Saxman
Finally after a couple of years, he left the James Brown band and picked up with Tina Turner. It was a whole new experience for Del who was used to the precision and structure of the James Brown entourage. "Little did I know the drama that was going on behind the scenes," said Del with a chuckle, referring to the Tina Turner camp. "Ike (Turner) liked to carry guns... During practice one time, Ike and the guitar player were discussing a chord. But Ike wants to be right and this guy was telling him, 'No it's a B,' then it turned into a 'fuck you, no fuck you'... It started getting like that. And Ike stood up, pulled out that gun and said, 'What else you got to say?'... The guy got quiet. 'As a matter of fact, you are done.' And out the door he went. I'm like 'Oh no. That's not good... I don't like this.'"

Del said that he lasted six months with the Tina Turner camp before he quit and headed back to central Iowa where he formed his own band with local musicians in Des Moines. It never really panned out for him, so he moved out to Las Vegas joined up with Split Decision. With this fresh new group, he did stints on Dick Clark's American Grandstand and the Don Cornelius cult production, Soul Train. They did tours with bands like War, The Commodores, and Cameo, to name a few. Del spent ten years with this band, and only moved on when he was given the opportunity to play with the C.C. Ryders Band. Though he had no way of knowing it then, this would lay the foundation for Final Mix, the band that the Saxman formed and is playing with currently. This new band, The C.C. Ryders, was formed exclusively to play at the world-class Grand Hyatt Hong Kong Hotel for the grand opening of JJ's Nightclub, the crown jewel of Hyatt's flagship entertainment center. It became a very popular spot on Hong Kong's nightclub scene, and it became an instant destination for locals and tourists alike.

Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
Only the world's elite could afford to party at JJ's. It cost thirty dollars just to get into the door. "Drinks started around ten bucks," Said Del. "House champagne was $170 a bottle. Dom Perignon was $230.... Christal was $220... Louis the XVI was $125 a shot... So it was all high end... But people would buy it like it aint nothing."

What started out as a 6 month commitment for the C.C. Ryders turned into a 10 year run at the Hong Kong Hyatt. Eventually all good things must come to an end, and with the changes in international trends, Del Jones decided to come back to Iowa and take another attempt at doing something with the local musicians that Des Moines provided. This time, it proved to be a successful venture. With his internationally acclaimed status, Del was able to accumulate the best musicians Des Moines had to offer for his type of show, and he put together the appropriately named Final Mix Band.

Final Mix, who along with Del includes Pa Cha Vang, Travis Hawkins, Brian Goodner, Brian Daye, and Maxx G. Flipping, has been a staple on the Des Moines music scene since 1999. It's high energy show features pop music and motown, with a heavy dose of sexual funk. At a recent show in Pleasant Hill, there were no less than 9 ladies on the stage shaking their asses at the command of the band. This of course was a delight to us men who were in attendance, and I was amazed at the hypnotic power the band seemed to have over these middle aged women. The energy was so intense, that when the band finally took a break, it was like a vaccuum had come in and sucked the life out of the room. And while I will be the first to admit that the music they play is not from my genre of choice, I will say that you would have to dig pretty deep to find a group of more talented musicians playing together with a sound as tight. You add in the fact that Pa Cha Vang, the bands' female vocalist, is a about the cutest little thing on the circuit, and you have a little something that will appeal to everyone.

The Final Mix Band
The band just released a new DVD called FINAL MIX BAND LIVE, and you should be able to get it from the Saxman himself. It's good to have Del "Saxman" Jones here in Des Moines. His life is one of legend, and it's great that Des Moines can call him our own.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Chumly Porter (D.R.I.) RIP


Chumly played bass in the Full Speed A Head album. He was with the band for 2 years and even longer than that, he was a roadie. He will be missed. Once a Dirty Rotten Imbecile, always a Dirty Rotten Imbecile.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

An Interview With Eric S. Brown: Bigfoot, Zombies, and Apocalptic War

As a kid I had a very sinister recurring nightmare. It kept me awake for many many nights during my childhood. It involved a menacing creature... A large hairy mass with bright piercing white eyes. I would hear it outside my bedroom door coming down the hallway with each step getting louder and louder and the rumble of his steps would cause the house to shake. From moonlight through my window, I'd watch in horror as the bedroom doorknob began to turn and I'd hear his heavy breathing from the other side of the door... The door would slowly open and in frozen terror I would wait to finally see the scary beast as he and I locked eyes... He peering at me as if he were delighted to have finally found his prey... And me staring back in absolute horror... Clutching my blankets as they were my only sanctuary against this evil creature...

When I woke up from that dream, there was always an initial feeling of relief that it wasn't a real event, but then another shock of horror. It was as if that creature had me in a spell, and was still standing there looking at me under a cloak of invisibility... I was never sure. Was my door open when I went to sleep?... Hadn't it been closed? That creature's terrifying face is still engraved into my memory today, and I am well past the days of my childhood.

Dreams are funny... Until now I have never written this nightmare, but I still have a vivid mental recollection of it. If I were to put this story into book form, I'm sure that it wouldn't be a best seller, but then you never know. I talked with Eric S. Brown the other day, who did just that... He wrote novels based off nightmares he had as a child, and from those stories he's built a very successful writing career.

Bigfoot War
Available on Amazon

His book, Bigfoot War (Kindle Version from Amazon) gained Mr. Brown cult like status in the eyes of his fans. His newest release, Bigfoot War II Dead in the Woods just went to press a few days ago, and was released to Kindle last night. It will be available in paperback in a few short weeks. I was able to have a chat with Mr. Brown about this new book, and other projects that he has been working on.

.Eric S. Brown... Please tell me about yourself.

I'm a horror author living in North Carolina. I grew up watching movies like Dawn of the Dead and the Legend of Boggy Creek. To date, I have written over 30 books and have had hundreds of short stories published.

Are most of the books you've written centered around Bigfoot as the central character?

Actually, most of my books are zombie apocalypse stuff. I had been writing zombies for years before I came up the concept for my book Bigfoot War. To date, Bigfoot War and Bigfoot War II: Dead in the Woods are my only Bigfoot books on the market. However, I have a crypto-horror collection coming out later this year as well as a Bigfoot comic book from Knightwatch Press entitled Croatoan. I am also currently at work on Bigfoot War III: Food Chain.

The Legend of Boggy Creek is based on actual events, as is much of the lore that is published about Bigfoot. Do you tie actual situations into your stories, or is it completely fictional?

Oh my take on Bigfoot is crazy different. The creatures are stronger, tougher, and WAY meaner than any I've seen before. They eat flesh and really go to war with the humans in the south. Though, they're still Bigfoot, they're based more on my childhood nightmares than any real science. Bigfoot War is an almost apocalyptic take on the mythos. In the first book, a small town of 800 people struggle to survive as a whole bloody tribe of like over sixty beasts come out of the woods and attack the town. Things get even crazier in Bigfoot War II as the zombie apocalypse occurs in the wake what happened in the first book. Yep, zombies and Bigfoot together in book II. It's one heck of a bloodbath.

Bigfoot and zombies. Two of the current cultural icons... Heh. Do you get alot of marriage proposals?

Marriage proposals? Ha. The Bigfoot War trilogy does have a VERY loyal group of fans. They're super supportive of it. There's even a fan created Facebook page that's trying to get it made into a movie.

That rocks! Have you been contacted by any movie companies about it?

Um, I cant' talk about that. Sorry.

No problem... Who did the artwork on the Bigfoot War book covers?

Gary McCluskey did the art for Bigfoot War II: Dead in the Woods. Sadly, at the moment, I can't remember who did the art for the first one. I can however say the town is a real place up north. The publisher took a photo of it and merged it with the art on Book 1. I wish I knew the name of the town, but I do not.

Bigfoot War II Dead in the Woods
(Available in paper back soon)

How far are you on the third book, and when do you expect it to go to publishing?

Bigfoot War III: Food Chain is moving along at a steady pace but I don't know how much longer it will take me to finish it. At best, I'd say it might be out early next year.

Tell me about your writing style... Do you have a complete story in mind before you begin the process, or do you kinda write off of the cuff, letting the story "write itself"?

My writing style is very fast-paced and visual when you're reading my stuff. My books tend to MOVE and keep you turning the pages hopefully. As to my process, I usually come up with an idea and then the world and characters drive the story from there.

What keeps you busy in your personal time?

I love watching horror films and science fiction stuff and I am a life long comic book collector who started buying books at age 4. I am also a husband and father.

How long will the story go... In other words, how many books do you plan to write about Bigfoot War?

As of now, I plan for it to end of Book III however I do have an idea for a prequel so we'll see.

Then what is next for you... More Zombie books?

The next thing I have coming out after Bigfoot War II and the Bigfoot comic book, Croatoan, is a collection of short fiction from Naked Snake Press. It's kind of like the book Unabridged, Unabashed, and Undead: The Best of Eric S Brown except this time instead of being all zombie stuff there'll be a bunch of crypto horror tales too including Mothman and Yeti stories.

You seem to know alot about crptozoology. What are your personal beliefs when it comes to the existence of the Yeti and Bigfoot?

I totally think it's likely that they exist. I just hope they aren't as bloodthirsty as my take on them.

If our readers are interested in buying the Bigfoot War books, can they get them at all the major book stores?

Any book store can order them but it's unlikely unless you live in western North Carolina that you'll find them waiting there. Most likely you'll find my book War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies from Simon and Schuster instead. However, Bigfoot War and my other books are available via Amazon.com, Bn.com, etc.

I think if you're a fan of "survival horror", "apocalyptic fiction", or enjoy Bigfoot horror B movies, you'll love the Bigfoot War trilogy. So check it out eh?  Thank you Mr. Church for having me by.

You are most welcome, Eric. Thank you for your time.       

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Elway Drummer Garrett Carr Talks About John Elway

How does a band of Colorado miscreants go from absolute obscurity to being ridiculously famous in less than 24 hours? With John Elway's help of course.

The Denver Broncos all time leader in thrown interceptions has given the Fort Collins, Colorado punk rock group Elway an early Christmas present. It seems that he is up in arms about the band using HIS name as their own, and has had his lawyers contact the band asking them to change it to something a little less... Um, threatening.

Apparently the staunch republican ex-NFLer isn't too keen on a bunch of starving musicians using his moniker to promote themselves. The letter his attorneys sent strongly urged the band to change it's name, but stopped just short of including a cease and desist order.

"We're not out to get John Elway. This situation is hilarious and he needs to loosen up," The band's lead singer Tim Browne told the Associated Press,  Life's too short to worry about a punk rock band using your name."

Elway the football player (No. 7)

Yeah... You would think that John Elway, who, in January was named was named executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos, would have bigger fish to fry. The NFL season is in jeopardy because the owners and players can't seem to get on the same page as far as labor negotiations go, and you would think that maybe his mind would be a bit more focused on that, as opposed to what name some some local punk rock group is calling themselves.

Ironically, since this incident, Elway (the band) has found sudden international fame with the story exploding on the world wide web. These fellas, who just a few weeks ago were playing in near empty basements on the Colorado State campus have suddenly been deluged in an avalanche of unexpected fame. They just finished a tour of the Midwest, and are now finding it hard to relax in the wake of what happened this past week.

I was able to reach Garrett Carr who is the drummer for the band via email just as the tour ended. He was gracious enough to spend some of his "rest time" to answer a few questions.

First of all, tell me about Elway, and how the band started...

I moved out to college in Fort Collins, CO and Tim found out I played drums and started talking to me for it. We found our bassist Joe through some common friends and then later our guitarist Brian, an old friend of Tim's, moved to town and joined.

How has the band handled the recent surge of popularity from John Elway calling you guys out?

We recently signed on to Red Scare who did a great job telling us what the hell is going on (legality/publicity wise, etc). From then on out the media has taken it and blown it up way bigger then we ever imagined with little help from us. I guess the story is the perfect combination of drama and washed up sports stars for the masses to root to. It's a highlight of the ridiculous bullshit people can try and make money/gain power from.

Is it something you have noticed, or is each day business as usual?

It's hard to turn away from. It's like a train wreck of a backfire from a "sports legend." Pretty awesome.

Elway (the band)

If you could talk to John Elway about the name of the band and the option to keep it or change it, what would you say?

"No."

What exactly is John Elway's beef with you guys anyway? Is it just that you guys play punk rock?

Elway (the guy) isn't only a sports star but a business man who owns a steak house, car dealerships, and probably loads of other crap. I guess he doesn't want a few kids playing OK music to sully his name.

Who/what are the biggest influences to Elway's music?

Lawrence Arms, Hot Water Music, Alkaline Trio....

What's next for the band?

Rest! Maybe a little less drinking. We are coming home from tour and doing nothing for a bit.

Just curious... What IS your favorite football team?

Red Sox.

Well... there you have it folks. It's not the Denver Broncos.

LEGION OF THE NIGHT (VHS)



While a lot of people out there are telling me how I need to see the latest Fokkers flick on DVD, I think I'm just going to go ahead and ignore their advice. I'm also going to NOT go to a showing of The Hangover II. Why not? Because I really didn't think the previous movies in those franchises were really all that great. Certainly not as great as many people have been making them out to be. So instead of watching those lame movies I decided to waste my time watching something else. And just to prove to everybody just how much of a dinosaur I am I got myself a movie on video tape.

The movie in question is Legion Of The Night, a 1995 flick that I have actually been seeking for a long time and found it on VHS. I assume that this thing is not on DVD, as I haven't been able to find a copy, and it likely may never make it to DVD, so I decided to plunk down the very minuscule amount of money to grab this little treasure. Ok, so treasure may be pushing things a bit, but I did enjoy watching this thing, and that's probably more than I can say if I went to see the latest rewrite of Dude, Where's My Car?

What do you get with this movie? Well, you get zombie assassins, gangsters, violence, gore,and Ron Asheton. Yeah, that Ron Asheton. Founding member of The Stooges, guitar player for many great bands such as New Order, Destroy All Monsters, Last Race, and Dark Carnival. A guy who's importance in rock n roll is so prominent, that even that dueschebag Jan Wenner's turd ball rag Rolling Stone listed him 29 in their list of 100 Greatest Guitarists. Even those pussies could not ignore the level of this guys stature.

Anyway, you got a scientist who's is reanimating the dead. He gets his funding through the mob who force him to use the zombies as a hit squad. Once the mobster has taken over due to all his competition being wiped out by the undead killers, he kills the scientist. The scientists son, teams up with his fathers assistant and go out for revenge.

If you have seen a lot of these low budget, non-Hollywood horror/action films you know what your in for. Is it a bad movie? Well yeah, but it's a good bad movie. It's entertaining and fun, and really what more do you want out of a movie? This thing evokes that certain atmosphere that makes me watch it through all of it's flaws. I get the sense watching this that the people making this movie did it because they just wanted to make a movie that they thought would be kind of fun to watch, instead of a bunch of marketing degree careerists who don't even have an ounce of creativity, who seem to be running Hollywood these days.

If your so inclined, you could pick this thing up on Ebay or Amazon for dirt, and if you have an operational VCR on the premises maybe you should. If your the kind of person that liked reading Psychotronic Video Magazine and dig the kind of movies that mag championed then you will probably like this movie, if not then go waste your money on Hangover II like the rest of the cattle.

By the way, Matt Jaissle produced, wrote, and directed this movie. I thought I should through the creators name out there. There are no pictures or posters I could find for this movie (that should show you how obscure it is) so that's why the photo.