Geez am I getting old! NOFX, the band that I considered the new punk, is 25 years old. It is funny that the whole 1980's wave of SoCal punk bands that emerged after the original onslaught of bands like Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys, et al... are now the old guard. Bands like Lagwagon, NOFX, Rancid, Bracket, etc.
So NOFX are turning 25 years old. Lots of great music. Lots of great cds, lots of great shows. The band that will play a punk show ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, for ANYONE deserves our debt of grattitude for keeping the fire going. The last cd they put out was a live one that captures the fun that is a NOFX show and it is definitely worth the listen. NOFX has done everything but a Christmas cd. How about NOFXmas? Nice idea, huh.
I always like the sense of humor in their music, their prolific writing, their liberal politics and their sloppy great musicianship. Believe me, it takes a great musician to sound like you don't practice...
Fat Mike and the gang, Here is to another 25 years! I will be 70 years old at that time, but probably still a punk, after all...
Showing posts with label Dead Kennedys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dead Kennedys. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Guitars I love: 1989 Fender Stratocaster
I bought this guitar brand new in Chicago back in 1989. I always used heavier guitars and darker tones, but wanted to add the Strat to my aresenal. I kept the pickups all original, along with everything else on the guitar. It played great right out of the box. It has played many gigs in seedy clubs and smoky bars but still looks great. I removed the whammy bar and tightened the bridge all the way down to make it a hardtail. Great for garage rock, indie and screechy punk. The maple neck is my favorite feature. I also added Straplok to keep myself from dropping the guitar. Best song to play on it? Soup is Good Food by the Dead Kennedys or What's So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding by Elvis Costello.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Jello Biafra Speaks about Decision '08
Jello Biafra of the legendary Dead Kennedys and independent record label Alternative Tentacles [www.alternativetentacles.com], recently did an interview with the sundance channel regarding the upcoming election.
"Here it is:
1. What's your favorite political movie?
There's so many, where do I begin - "Boat People"? "Dr. Strangelove"?, "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. t"?
2. What role do you feel art plays in politics?
People respect and listen to artists far more than politicians. In an
age of dumbed-down, censored, Soviet-style mass media it is up to
artists to be what Chuck D once called "The real CNN". If we don't wake people up to what's going on, who will?
3. What do you think is the biggest issue for the next generation of Americans?
Preserving human rights and our Constitution. We can't fight global warming without this. Who would have thought that we would have to struggle to have our vote counted - and stop wholesale torture and prison camps - in the alleged land of the free?
4. Who was the first political candidate you were excited to vote for and why?
Can't remember a person, but it sure has been fun voting down new sports stadiums. Local ballot questions and initiatives may well be the most important reason to vote and vote smart.
5. What factors are important to you in choosing a president?
They must be on the right side of the issues I care most about. I will not vote for anyone who supports the Patriot Act, the Drug War, the death penalty, NAFTA, corporate bailouts, etc. One Strike You're Out.
Or to put it less politely, F#$% YOU. I'd rather work or vote for something I want and not get it than work or vote for something I don't want and get it.
6. What issues would you like to see politicians focus more on?
Standing up and saying no to the Military Industrial Complex, the Prison-Industrial Complex, the Homeland (In)security-Industrial Complex, and now the Election-Industrial Complex. Use the money we waste on the war machine for the homeless, the poor, our underfunded schools and to repair and upgrade our crumbling infrastructure for the 21st Century. It's so much easier to get around when there are proper train systems. Imagine how much easier travel would be if our high-speed rail technology caught up with Europe or Japan!
7. Which issues would you like to see politicians focus less on?
Handouts and socialism for the wealthy while the world burns.
8. Which candidate's initiatives do you feel better address environmental concerns?
Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, Dennis Kucinich. Did Al gore ever get rid of all his stock in Occidental Petroleum?
9. This is your soapbox - shout it out! What do you need to get off your chest?
There are two things about an Obama regime that worry me the most.
1. I remember someone else who had the audacity to misuse peoples' Hope when they were desperate for a change, and his name is Bill Clinton. Let's not forget it was not Bush but Clinton who gave us NAFTA, the WTO, the Telecom Act of 1996 that opened the floodgates for Clear Channel and Fox News, and laugh out loud Abstinence-only sex "education." Clinton signed Newt Gingrich's cruel welfare reform bill at the urging of Al Gore. And, yes, it was Clinton who planted the seeds of the economic meltdown when he gleefully deregulated the banks. If Obama turns out to be another Clinton - and surrounding himself with Biden, Lawrence Summers, Robert Rubin and Zbigniew Bzrzinsky is not a good sign - I fear he will break the hearts of whole energized generation of voters who won't feel it's worth it to participate again.
2. When Clinton got in, people rejoined "Ding Dong, Bush is gone. Now we can finally sleep at night" - and went to sleep for the next 8 years! We can't rest easy and sleep this time. There will be no change from Obama or a congress of corporate-owned Democrats unless we increase the pressure and keep a blowtorch up their ass the whole time they're in power. We need leaders, not more deal makers, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid (remember him?) need to be replaced with people who actually give a s#$t.We stopped Vietnam. We torpedoed the Gulf War. Our civil rights and environmental awareness as we know them today didn't happen because our corporate lords granted the peasants new rights out of the goodness of their corporate hearts. They don't have any. We got where we are because we got together and fought for it. Same for the New Deal. It was us. And the only thing standing in the way of more wars, more Abu Ghraibs and more Guantanamo Bays coming soon behind a Wal-Mart near you is us.So don't give up, OK? Besides, causing trouble is so much fun.
10. Do you have any recommended links, books or movies so people can learn more about the issues you care about?
Don't hate the media, become the media. Don't just question authority, question bloggers. Question this site. Help people develop better bullshit detectors. I don't think people should be able to graduate from high school without passing a class on media literacy. But for some reason they don't have those classes, so we need to spread our knowledge instead."
My personal editorial comments? I think he makes a lot of valid points. I wish Obama were more liberal, less middle of the road. I hope he doesn't waste the political capital he has built up. I hope this election shows a real swing to the left, and the end of the Rovian politics of fear. I, like Biafra, am more inclined to the Green Party ideology than the Democrats. Let's hope there is a strong green voice in the Obama administration.
"Here it is:
1. What's your favorite political movie?
There's so many, where do I begin - "Boat People"? "Dr. Strangelove"?, "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. t"?
2. What role do you feel art plays in politics?
People respect and listen to artists far more than politicians. In an
age of dumbed-down, censored, Soviet-style mass media it is up to
artists to be what Chuck D once called "The real CNN". If we don't wake people up to what's going on, who will?
3. What do you think is the biggest issue for the next generation of Americans?
Preserving human rights and our Constitution. We can't fight global warming without this. Who would have thought that we would have to struggle to have our vote counted - and stop wholesale torture and prison camps - in the alleged land of the free?
4. Who was the first political candidate you were excited to vote for and why?
Can't remember a person, but it sure has been fun voting down new sports stadiums. Local ballot questions and initiatives may well be the most important reason to vote and vote smart.
5. What factors are important to you in choosing a president?
They must be on the right side of the issues I care most about. I will not vote for anyone who supports the Patriot Act, the Drug War, the death penalty, NAFTA, corporate bailouts, etc. One Strike You're Out.
Or to put it less politely, F#$% YOU. I'd rather work or vote for something I want and not get it than work or vote for something I don't want and get it.
6. What issues would you like to see politicians focus more on?
Standing up and saying no to the Military Industrial Complex, the Prison-Industrial Complex, the Homeland (In)security-Industrial Complex, and now the Election-Industrial Complex. Use the money we waste on the war machine for the homeless, the poor, our underfunded schools and to repair and upgrade our crumbling infrastructure for the 21st Century. It's so much easier to get around when there are proper train systems. Imagine how much easier travel would be if our high-speed rail technology caught up with Europe or Japan!
7. Which issues would you like to see politicians focus less on?
Handouts and socialism for the wealthy while the world burns.
8. Which candidate's initiatives do you feel better address environmental concerns?
Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, Dennis Kucinich. Did Al gore ever get rid of all his stock in Occidental Petroleum?
9. This is your soapbox - shout it out! What do you need to get off your chest?
There are two things about an Obama regime that worry me the most.
1. I remember someone else who had the audacity to misuse peoples' Hope when they were desperate for a change, and his name is Bill Clinton. Let's not forget it was not Bush but Clinton who gave us NAFTA, the WTO, the Telecom Act of 1996 that opened the floodgates for Clear Channel and Fox News, and laugh out loud Abstinence-only sex "education." Clinton signed Newt Gingrich's cruel welfare reform bill at the urging of Al Gore. And, yes, it was Clinton who planted the seeds of the economic meltdown when he gleefully deregulated the banks. If Obama turns out to be another Clinton - and surrounding himself with Biden, Lawrence Summers, Robert Rubin and Zbigniew Bzrzinsky is not a good sign - I fear he will break the hearts of whole energized generation of voters who won't feel it's worth it to participate again.
2. When Clinton got in, people rejoined "Ding Dong, Bush is gone. Now we can finally sleep at night" - and went to sleep for the next 8 years! We can't rest easy and sleep this time. There will be no change from Obama or a congress of corporate-owned Democrats unless we increase the pressure and keep a blowtorch up their ass the whole time they're in power. We need leaders, not more deal makers, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid (remember him?) need to be replaced with people who actually give a s#$t.We stopped Vietnam. We torpedoed the Gulf War. Our civil rights and environmental awareness as we know them today didn't happen because our corporate lords granted the peasants new rights out of the goodness of their corporate hearts. They don't have any. We got where we are because we got together and fought for it. Same for the New Deal. It was us. And the only thing standing in the way of more wars, more Abu Ghraibs and more Guantanamo Bays coming soon behind a Wal-Mart near you is us.So don't give up, OK? Besides, causing trouble is so much fun.
10. Do you have any recommended links, books or movies so people can learn more about the issues you care about?
Don't hate the media, become the media. Don't just question authority, question bloggers. Question this site. Help people develop better bullshit detectors. I don't think people should be able to graduate from high school without passing a class on media literacy. But for some reason they don't have those classes, so we need to spread our knowledge instead."
My personal editorial comments? I think he makes a lot of valid points. I wish Obama were more liberal, less middle of the road. I hope he doesn't waste the political capital he has built up. I hope this election shows a real swing to the left, and the end of the Rovian politics of fear. I, like Biafra, am more inclined to the Green Party ideology than the Democrats. Let's hope there is a strong green voice in the Obama administration.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Ten Essential Punk Albums You Should Own
Here is another of my useless "Ten Essentials" lists. This is my subjective, opinionated, useless list. If you disagree with it, fine. How punk is that?
Black Flag- Damaged
Descendents- Somery
What more can be said? "All"! These guys wrote the blueprint for SoCal self-effacing punk with a sense of humor. Their "heart on sleeve" tunes were emo before there was emo. Short, interesting uptempo songs rule the day. All-O-Gistics should be a recognmized religion...
Minutemen- Double Nickels on the Dime
The Clash- London Calling
Black Flag- DamagedThis was the "White Album" for alienated youth in my day. Black Flag and Henry Rollins combined to form a scary amalgam of punk and metal noise not unlike the Hindenberg crash. When Henry shouts "I want to live... I wish I was dead", it was like a rallying cry for us 80's punks.
This album was deemed so dangerous that the LAPD had to break some heads... Jello Biafra's satirical lyrics and the band's fast-paced delivery set the tone for Reagan-era punk. This infamous psychedelic edged hardcore album features 10 tracks including the old favs Soup Is Good Food, Jock- O- Rama, Goons Of Hazzard and MTV Get Off The Air!
Descendents- Somery
What more can be said? "All"! These guys wrote the blueprint for SoCal self-effacing punk with a sense of humor. Their "heart on sleeve" tunes were emo before there was emo. Short, interesting uptempo songs rule the day. All-O-Gistics should be a recognmized religion...
Husker Du- Zen Arcade 
Recorded in a whirlwind session, this double album set the standard for hardcore and noise punk. The swirl of guitar feedback, and pounding drums set a thousand imitators in motion. Songs like "Broken Home Broken Heart" invented emo, while others like "Standing by the Sea" pushed hardcore into new directions with longer and slower arrangements and new ideas. This is a must have cd.
Minor Threat- Discography
Invented straight-edge punk. Sparse, emotional music that predated emo, before emo was a bad word. Minor Threat was short-lived but long will be remembered. One of the all time classics.
Minutemen- Double Nickels on the Dime
This double album had like a hundred songs on it. All of them good. DIY punk from 'Pedro CA. This was my soundtrack for the 80's. "This Ain't No Picnic" was a great one... The neat lyrics by D. Boone, the pounding bass from Mike Watt and the impeccable druming of George Hearly was a match made in indie punk heaven. The sound was sparse and excitable. As Mike Watt would say in his unique dialogue: "These guys jammed econo".
Rancid- 2000
The Punk Revival record that shows that punk is still alive and kicking. This album is THE punk record of the new millenium. Makes you love punk again. In the 90s, as I got a job and became a member of society, I was searching for some new grooves. Along came great SoCal bands like Rancid, NOFX and the gang. This album rocks, it goes for the throat, and it proves that the younger generation "gets it". Punk lives!
Ramones- Ramones
The first punk record ever. The Ramones invented punk. Do not be misled...
I remember hearing this album and thinking, these guys are nuts. Second playing... these guys are pretty good. Third playing... these guys are gods... Took arena rock and sacraficed it on the alter of rock and roll.
Sex Pistols- Never Mind the Bollocks
The Britpunk esthetic. Snarling, bad attitude, off key. Often imitated, never topped. Johnny Rotten set the standard for impudent, arrogant, hateful band leaders in the early days. Sid Vicious was, well Sid Vicious. And the rest of the band wailed with an urgency and self-destruction that let you know that the Pistols would self destruct but become imortal.
The Clash- London CallingAs a high school kid growing up, this album was my favorite. So many songs. So many styles. The Clash showed that you can be punk and still cover a lot of territory. Here is ska, punk, crooked jazz, street folk, and a plethora of other styles filtered through this amazing band.
Hope you find some good albums on this list. If you have any comments, or other albums I forgot, let me know. Here is a good start for a punk cd collection that will show you a lot of different bands that were important along the way. Happy listening!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Musical Reunion
Musicians who have the spark, the connection, can pick up where they left off... Even after a 20 year layoff. I had the pleasure of reuniting with my old punk bandmates last week. We grabbed a set list from 1987 and went to work. Old originals, Dead Kennedys, Husker Du, Long Riders and even some old REM when they were still indie. Suddenly it was the late 80s again and we were practicing for a show.
Our drummer moved on to Atlanta, I moved on to Chicago and our bass player moved to North Carolina. We stayed in contact on and off over the years. The musical kinship never fades.
It was amazing that, if we had a couple of hours to practice, we could have knocked off a gig later that evening. It was a blast to play the old tunes and wonder about what might have been...
Our drummer moved on to Atlanta, I moved on to Chicago and our bass player moved to North Carolina. We stayed in contact on and off over the years. The musical kinship never fades.
It was amazing that, if we had a couple of hours to practice, we could have knocked off a gig later that evening. It was a blast to play the old tunes and wonder about what might have been...
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