Boogie Witch @ Borderline Records

BOOGIE WITCH is a big-thumping rock act fronted by "Harmonica" Dan Baucer, a legendary rocker who was born for the stage but condemned to the Philadelphia Record Exchange. He's known for leading the charge while slingers who could be his sons (and grandsons) quaff wiz & chew pep pills in an attempt to keep up with him.

*editor's note: There is no time listed on this flyer, but a reliable source says the band goes on at 9pm.

Spring 2012 Music Preview: SPACIN' & KING BLOOD

'Sunshine, No Shoes' by SPACIN' from Deep Thuds



'Dead Meat' by KING BLOOD from Vengeance, Man


King Blood: "Dead Meet" from king blood on Vimeo.

NEW FNU... Saddle Up

FNU RONNIES first crawled out of the muck during the cold winter of 2006. I think that they used an apostrophe at the time and spelled it F'NU. At any rate, I've never received a straight answer as to the meaning of the moniker. The closest I've gotten to the truth has to do with a run-in with John Law and the name "Ronnie" being scrawled into the arrest book beside the phrase "Full Name Unknown". Maybe that's true. Who the hell knows?
An unlikely trio if I've ever seen one, they were brought together by manual labor & an interest in cold beer & late nights. One was a rather accomplished guitarist, another had a bass clef tattoo, and the other had just acquired a drum kit. I had trekked out to see an early version of the band at a miserable backyard party, but the first time anybody saw 'em as FNU Ronnies-- with Mike "Greaser" Reaser on bass --, they were set up on the floor of a basement dive in Center City. Now closed down to make room for an old-timey cocktail joint for the type of person who likes to purchase both drinks and atmosphere from a barkeep with a waxed stache, it was then the type of place drown yourself in dim lighting with shots of bourbon and big cans of beer. Most patrons wore dark glasses to obscure darting eyes. The night in question was hosted by a third tier gossip columnist in one of the local rags. The guys in the band, each a hustler of a different shade, had for some reason desired this platform and improbably gotten it. I imagine it was negotiated over the hushed exchange of illicit substances and in coded slang.
It was freezing cold that night. Windy and Icy. A Monday night, if I remember correctly. The room could hold about a dozen people comfortably. I had to hunch down to keep my head from the ceiling. There couldn't have been more than six of us, but the drums and amps and all that were spread over most of the floor. We were all corralled against the wall waiting for something to happen while amps buzzed and and the drummer smacked his snare and cymbals and made adjustment. The bass player tuned up and stood rigid & patiently. Jim's amp, a hefty combo job, sat on the floor, and he just turned it up and up and up until the parking garage across the street erupted in a chorus of car alarms. Piercing reverb & delay from both sides. Then they got going.
I'm sure it all started with guitar, as the other guys looked to Jim for direction. The drummer first struggled to keep up & then cocked his head to hear what was happening. There was a lotta reverb on that guitar, really filled the room and probably the apartments upstairs. Had the sound of a bad-time Tromo spy movie. There was probably a microphone, but the puny PA was as ineffective as the warning on a pack of smokes. Jim shouted into it a few times. It was knocked over, picked up a few times, and eventually abandoned all together. Jim and Kyle exchanged tense looks and gritted their teeth. Reaser, ever the straight man, kept his back straight and his glasses on his nose and let his instrument display his enthusiasm. On a tiled floor, Street Kyle's drums crawled away with each beat. He chased them between beats, and eventually he was in front of the other guys. I don't remember if the electric shorted out or if the guitar amp started spewing smoke or if the bartender unplugged them or if an intra-band shouting match broke out. Maybe they just ran out of songs. Either way, the set ended. If it had gone on any longer, Kyle would have been playing outside on the sidewalk.

FNU RONNIES' long-anticipated album, called Saddle Up, is available now from Load Records.

Saddle Up is for those who have asked "Jello was always tinkering around with other acts; why couldn't East Bay Ray link up with Chrome or the Buttholes? Or at least Crust?"

Thursday Feb 9 in Philadelphia

M. Baird, 2012

Ray Pettibon in Ewing, NJ

Raymond Pettibon. You don't need to be some goofy patron of the arts to appreciate that guy's work. You just need to be a normal, red-blooded Black Flag & SST Records fan. You know, the type of fellow who can recite all those radio commercials at the end of Everything Went Black, appreciate all the sour notes in a Ginn solo, and who will argue 'til last call that no, Rollins did not ruin Flag and yes, those later records do kick ass. And like Ginn & a litigious trigger-finger, Flag & the art of Pettibon will always go hand in hand. The bars, the little puppet on My War, the ill-fated cop in the Police Story illustration: this is the stuff that decorates the lockers & living rooms of creeps who pace around at midnight & struggle to discover a third way to blast a concept.

But this blog entry is no history lesson. There's an exhibit titled Raymond Pettibon: Early Drawings & it's hanging on three white walls at the College of New Jersey. It's got images of surfers, self-obsessed big-league hitters, locomotives, introspective tight-rope walkers, a few sexually-charged 60s teenagers, a drawing that can be a none other than little brother Greg (or the other sky-high guitarist, Dez), a Vavoom or two & a film from 2004 titled Repeater Pencil. Much of it looks brand-new to these eyes. Weirdos & misfits from up & down the East Coast are already clogging Route 31 and creepy-crawling the campus. As the saying goes, you guys would be fools to miss it.

Here are some photos, taken without the benefit of flash photography.

Promotional Image:

useful info: http://tcnjartgallery.pages.tcnj.edu/2012/01/17/raymond-pettibon-early-drawings-5/ 

WATERY LOVE, Thursday Feb 9 in Philadelphia

Doors @ 8pm

@ Johnny Brendas

2011: RY WHARTON

A year or two ago, a disparate cadre of weirdos was intrigued by a fuzzy, overblown blast of meditative skree on a self-released record titled Eyewash Silver (quickly repressed by the fanatics at Permanent Records). That thing took up a lot of time on the turntables of certain low-key maniacs. It was made by an act called KING BLOOD, and it seemed to come out of just about nowhere. The truth is that it came from somewhere & it turns out that the guy at the knobs is no stranger after all. Ry Wharton has been dipping his paws into the little snow globe of bastardized rock music for a long time now. Some readers may know him from the bands Snake Apartment or Showers. Some of those same readers might be familiar with his flirtations as impresario with the singles-only label Skulltones or the Twonicorn cassette label.


Vengeance, Man by King Blood will be released in 2012 on Richie Records // TestosterTunes.



things that made 2011 better:
- david gatten's 'texts of light' retrospective
- andy stott- we stay together 2lp
- negative plane- stained glass revelations 2lp
- date palms- honey devash lp
- mikael cronin- s/t lp
- peaking lights- '936' lp
- kourosh yaghmei 3lp
- ragnar kjartansson's 'song' at the carnegie in pittsburgh
- both tim hacker lps
- manilla road- live after midnight lp
- zomes- earth grid
- bruce mcclure performances
- john maus's addictive 'we must become pitiless censors of ourselves' lp
- kraus- a journey through the first dimension with kraus 7"
- all of the reissues on the crypt
- getting hitched

2011: JOHN SHARKEY III

Next up to glance back at 2011 is a fellow most readers will recognize. He answers to Sharko, but he signs his checks John Sharkey III. Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed his transformation from an internationally recognized crowd-baiting, ostentatious son-of-a-bitch with a flying-V into something much worse. He’s now the type of killjoy who spends social gatherings on his feet, staring at the television and yelling about the events of whatever contest happens to be airing. 
Didja see that!? My little sister could make that play!!
No need to slum it at a stinky rock club. If you want to catch a whiff of his wit these days, all you’ve got to do is tune in to sports talk radio. On the Philadelphia airwaves, he’s a frequent caller & he’s got an awful lot to say about the local pros.

1. The works of LeSean McCoy.
2. Jimmy Rollins re-signing with our Philadelphia Phillies for 3 (4) more years.
3. Iris DeMent performing live at the Arden Gild Hall, Jan 28th.
4. The NBA lock out ending.
5. Side A of the Watery Love single on Siltbreeze Records.
6. The burdens of home-ownership.
7. Having to leave the country under 2 times.
8. Gillian Welch performing live at The Philadelphia Spaghetti Warehouse, Oct 20th.
9. The Adjustment Bureau.
10. My first born son delivering a bare-fisted pummeling to a Circle of Hope* cult member at the tender age of 17 months. Good work, 4.

*editor's note The Circle of Hope is a religious congregation comprised of young people, many of whom outfit themselves at second hand shops and wear beards. One might notice them sipping lattes at quirky coffee shops during the day or quaffing pints of craft beer after sundown as they swim with the secular eccentrics, just as the fish swims in the sea. 

2011: ANDREW MURRAY

Andrew Murray, Perth's Most Erudite & Handsome Fellow four years running, took a few sips of Polish Hot Chocolate, served in the traditional manner while on walkabout in the city of Kraków, & rattled off an economical best-of list for the year 2011. There is much to admire in plain talk, plainly stated & plain to see.

Top 5 movies-
1. Bridesmaids
2. Our Idiot Brother
3. Crazy Stupid Love
4. Contagion
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2

Top 5 Records-
1. Total Control-Henge Beat
2. UV Race- HOMO
3. Rank/Xerox- Rank/Xerox
4. Woollen Kits- Maths
5. Hounds of Hate-No Redemption

West Coast Eagles player of the year-
1. Josh Kennedy

2011: MAX MILGRAM

And here's a thrilling guided tour through the emotional ups & downs of 2011 as experienced by Max Milgram:


At first I listed the Phillies on here in a pretty optimistic tone.  While it's a shame that a record-making season had to fizzle out in such a pathetic fashion, the end is ultimately all that matters.    So fuck them.  That last series was terrible.  Better luck in 2012.
1.   All the fine releases on Richie Records//Testostertunes.  Every single one of them display countless charms and musical integrity (and one even has an ex- member of Integrity).
2. Watery Love- Two Thrills 7".  Yeah, the songs "rock", for better or for worse, but what really seperates this one from the pack is the keen understanding and breadth of feeling it conveys.  Adult topics  dealt with empathy.
3.   Getting real into cooking poultry.  Always considered chicken to be the least exciting thing to eat but 2011 found me getting a real hang on getting a great balance of sharp and crispy skin with moist meat.  Roasted chicken, duck confit, thanksgiving turkey, crusted thighs with peanut noodles,  fried, whatever.
4.  Any get-together at the Killinger house is always a fantastic evening filled with good cheer and happy friends.  Wether it's Megajam Booze Band practice or just an impromptu hang, the place exudes positivity and hospitality.  On two occasions I watched Jason deliberately spill a huge bucket of bottle caps.  While that was no fun for anyone, it still seemed right in the context of the evening.  Thank you to Jason, Eva, Uriah, Ada, and Tichy.
5.  The one-two punch of Watery Love's "Die With Dignity" and "Two Thrills" 7"s.  Too  "real"to be contained on one 7".  The length of the songs and the physical limitations of the format also contributed.
6.  Watery Love "Die With Dignity" 7".  Some might argue that there's too many songs but every  last one of 'em is a stone cold killer.  I'd say that's a problem most bands wish they could have!
7.  Finally getting with the digital age.  First I started to use these things called "emoticons" with my text messages.  Then I joined www.twitter.com after a 2 month internal and external debate.  Now I'm on www.facebook.com and being utterly demolished by everyone who I play Scrabble with.
8.  Tony and Danielle Rettman as houseguests.  Spent a couple of drunk record-listening and turkey-talking nights with this dynamic duo on their Philly visits this year.  But the best thing is that in the morning, they're OUTTA HERE!  No coffee drinking or brunch eating for these guys!   I really appreciate the speed of departure so as to avoid weird questions like "Why are you sleeping with my underwear?"
9.  Watery Love "Two Thrills" 7".  Has anyone noticed the guitar action on this puppy???!!!  Wow!

2011: STEVEN PEFFER

As promised, here is a list of bright spots from 2011. First installment comes courtesy of Cleveland’s Steven Peffer, a fellow who needs no introduction to faithful readers of this web presence.

Peffer, in green (stock photo)

Forma S/T LP ( Spectrum Spools )
Love this album. Listening to it as I type this.

Watery Love 7" ( Siltbreeze )
How did this happen? They cover a real lousy L. Reed stinker and just blow it outta the toilet. A very listenable adult punk music record from a band who honestly can be quite unlistenable.

Milk Music Beyond Living 12" ( Perennial )
Lots of guitar fuzz on this one. So much better for my ears than most of those long hair hippie dippy directionless guitar-heavy bands that have been taking over.

Brain Idea Cosmos Factory 12" ( Mexican Summer )
Spectacular release. Very pleasant. Not pretentious. Sorta reminds me of The Clean and 3rd album Meat Puppets. Doesn't sound like those bands. Just reminds me of them. Great record.

Hauschka Salon Des Amateurs LP ( Fatcat )
Somewhere there is a wonderful and beautiful Chinese lady filmmaker. She is filming a playground built for adorable little furry cats. This is its soundtrack.

Ranil Ranil's Jungle Party LP ( Masstropicas )
Collected recordings from some Peruvian guitar playing insaniac.

Iron Curtain Desertion 1982-1988 2xLP ( Pylon )
Dark Cold Minimal with lyrics!

His Electro Blue Voice Worm / Wolf 12" ( Holidays )
This band absolutely destroys. Great band. A truly wonderful band. Nice wide open 12" for the boys to spread their wings and crash into the goddamn mountain. Wonderful shit.

Total Control Henge Beat ( Iron Lung )
Awful artwork and wasteful-deluxe packaging. But it's what's in the grooves that counts right? Easy listening and occasionally abrasive synthetic jam-on music. Sometimes I can understand the lyrics and that is when I stop listening. These ladies have the world in palm of their hands. What will they do with our world?

Iceage New Brigade LP ( What's Your Rupture? )
Saw these lady boys live in concert this year and wanted to see them get folded up and stuffed into the closet. The album does rock the house. A very good album. I walked down the street and paid 15 dollars for this album. Listen to it all the time by myself. Can't believe I own a record on this whack label.

Gaunt Whitey The Man 10" ( Thrill Jockey )
My least favorite format. Splendid record. Every time I was somewhere this year and saw this gem, I would make he record player play the record. I do not own this record. I would love to own this record. Great shit.

Broken Water Peripheral Star 12" ( Perennial )
The gay 90s are back. They are fighting for headphone time inside my ear buds. Maybe this is lesbian music? That is just fine with me. Just like my boy Howard, I love lesbians.   

Keep On Jammin' !!!

Up Next, 2011 highlights from some other interesting person.

Watch this space

Do check back for fascinating year-end lists carefully compiled by noted tastemakers.

Two events, lots to do... BIRDS OF MAYA & SPACIN'

Fri Dec 16th

Birds of Maya

Tin Horses

True Gold

Thur Dec 22nd

Spacin'
Boogie Witch

Both Events @

Little Bar
736 S 8th St
9PM $7 21+

MOVED TO THE LEVEL ROOM @ 2102 MARKET STREET

Double-A on drums

take it home here.

Party with these fun guys... BREAKFAST AT NIGHT

Tom Lax (left) & Richie Charles

This photo is a few years old, but these guys still look pretty much the same. The only difference is that they're more fun now. For evidence, please attend BREAKFAST AT NIGHT on Tuesday December 6 at the Little Bar in Philadelphia. At 8 o'clock, we're gonna start playing records that really have no business being played in a public setting & we ain't gonna quit until at least midnight. No cover, cash bar. Attendance is mandatory.

TACO LEG & WATERY LOVE!! New music, new singles!!

New music for the end of the year. Long-anticipated and with potential to satisfy: TACO LEG Printed Gold & WATERY LOVE Two Thrills. Each release has Aussie connections: Taco Leg is an Australian band & Two Thrills was released by Negative Guest List Records from the greater Brisbane region.
For those who wish to buy both records, scroll below and save on shipping.

TACO LEG

Printed Gold

45RPM 7" single

330 copies

Three new songs from TACO LEG, ambassadors from the city of Perth, a seaside burg in Western Australia which, as any visitor can confirm, served as a model for The Village to which Number Six has been condemned. The principle mode of travel is hot-air balloon & the locals cheer a longneck of VB with a salute to favorite son Gus Chambers. It’s a strange, isolated district inhabited by a society just a little too askew for general population.
Taco Leg visited all the major United States markets in late 2010, and this is the first blast we’ve heard from the guys since that historic trip. It's also a preview to the forthcoming album on the Fan Death label. Printed Gold is a buzzy single-noting headbanger and it shows all the confidence of a Ryan Howard home-run. In fact, in a tribute to his American fans of the diamond, the guitar player wore batting gloves for the recording session.
A certain high-ranking Aussie musician and writer pointed out to the band that their approach has a lot in common with FANG. The guys not only took the trouble to figure out just who the hell is Fang, they even learned the band’s most memorable tune & put it to tape. The result? An interpretation of “The Money Will Roll Right In” that’s a few degrees drier, more inspired, & more determined than the original. Certainly, these guys stand a chance at the film career that proved elusive to Sammytown & that crowd.


Printed Gold by TACO LEG by TestosterTunes



Here’s a clip of Taco Leg live in the USA: http://youtu.be/PeMhjThu-vs



US-8$ ppd
Canada- 9$ ppd
Elsewhere-12$ ppd 

WATERY LOVE
Two Thrills
7” single
Negative Guest List Records

We’ve got a limited number of copies of this import single from Philadelphia’s WATERY LOVE. A-side is a pounding CRAMPS cover. The flip, a chugging staple of WL’s live set called “A Condom.” Buy now or forever stalk the used bins.

US-8$ ppd Canada- 9$ ppd Elsewhere-12$ ppd

***NOTE***

For both singles..

US-14$ ppd

Canada-$16

Elsewhere-$22

Old chat with KV, online this time

Here's the contents of a quick chat I had with good buddy Kurt Vile. It took place in the autumn of 2010. This piece originally ran in the pages of Negative Guest List magazine. You're unlikely to find a copy of that pub on the shelves of any store anywhere. It's only fair to make available this enlightening discussion to a whole new generation of tech-savvy readers & music fans.

KV & daughter, 2011

Philadelphia is an American city that stands proudly on a strip of land between two brown and polluted rivers. You could cross either river by driving or even walking over a bridge. But there’s no good reason to do so. On the other side of the Delaware lies New Jersey, a state known for endless highways, shopping malls, Bruce Springsteen, and beaches where hypodermic syringes routinely wash ashore with the shredded globs of dismembered jellyfish. On the other side of the Schuylkill: an area called West Philadelphia famous for college campuses, poor grooming habits, and communal lifestyles. Between these two cultural wastelands, Philadelphia is full of a lot old buildings, some new ones, an rickety public transportation system, and old men who use their walkers to smack around young people. It’s populated with all types of inbred mutants, drug-addicted zombies, stuck-up losers, and cocky pricks from all strata of society.
One such cocky prick is a guy named Kurt Vile who plays guitar and sings. He’s a handsome man with youthful good looks and he’s got about two dozen brothers and sisters. Most of them are also musicians, but I’ve never heard any of their tunes. Anyway it’s been a real treat to hear KV chase his muse over the course of about half a dozen records and to watch him take the stage (particularly when THE VIOLATORS are behind him).

This interview was originally conceived as a real blockbuster for the front cover of NME, but Kurt proved too wily to pin down in the days leading up to his US Tour. Instead of a lengthy dose of penetrating journalism, I instead offer some volleys sent back and forth from my miserable living room in Philadelphia to Kurt’s blackberry as he hurdled through some of the more bucolic stretches of the network of the United States highway system.

What’s up tonight?

Be better once we get to Seattle. Get there late night tonight but 2 days to get there from Menneapolis, been nonstop drivin, kinda brain frying, and radio show at noon tomoro. Starting tomoro be best for interview, plus we got a TM on west coast..

My man is hoping to get it done soon. Wanna just text it?

Yeah sure, how long is it gonna be? I’ll be driving in a couple hours and I’m kinda tired now thought so I don’t know how interesting I’ll be but I can do it now if ya want..

Well why don’t you tell me a little bit about your new van...

It’s sweet. It had only 40k miles on it when I got it. It’s a dodge Ram 3500 15-passenger. A nice dark blue in color, looks beautiful at night especially. I don’t know why. I’m stoked. Never imagined owning my own. Right now Adam is driving and we’re jamming a Yoko Ono tape that I stole from you. Everyone loves it in the band except for Mike Zanghi! It’s a nice landscape right now though: Montana style.

What do you mean? It’s all flat and gray with a stunning sunset?

The Rocky Mountains, guy. Not flat at all. Mountains, rolling hills, winding highway roads, lots of green, pine trees, sunsets, cows... The whole shebang. (single tear rolls down face)

PS signal tricky round here you’ll probably get some delays, just don’t worry too much about me.

But I always worry about you. Somebody has to keep an eye on you, teach you right from wrong, etc..

Yeah but I’ve finally blossomed into a beautiful grown man. Thanks to you Richie. And now it’s time I moved on and went into the world on my own.

And I guess I was thinking about Wyoming or Utah or some other place.

Wyoming has Yellowstone Nation Park. That is similar to here and beautiful as well. I think some of Yellowstone is also in Montana but I could be wrong. I HAVE been wrong before.. Montana has Glacier Nation Park too. That’s intense.

Are you guys finding time to visit parks and take in all the natural beauty of our United States?

No time for that much. Few days off here and there but.. Violators are tight from all the gigs, that’s good at least. Gonna play live on kexp Seattle tomorrow morning. That’s why we’re bookin’ it over from Minneapolis with two days to get there. 26+ hour drive with no stops (but we stop).

Touring can be a struggle. Do you focus more on physical of mental fitness when you’re on the road.

Well... Mental fitness is good to shoot for. A lot of trial and error on that front. We’re doin’ pretty good on this run but in the past there’s been some roughish moments. Trying now to take it slow, ya know? Don’t let little shit stress you out, one thing/day at a time. And don’t talk shit behind backs. Paranoia gets evil. We’re doin’ good though! Physical? I dunno, whatevs, we’re still young...

You been eating right? You’ve got to take care of your body, man.

I try, Rich. It’s all I can do. My body craves some bad foods, now and again. But I’m only human. Wow, What a boring subject!

I’m telling you dawg: Your body is the most precious vessel you’ll ever own.

(The Philadelphia Phillies turned in an offensively limp performance to lost to the San Francisco Giants.)

Did you hear about the Phils?

Yea only cuz of my psycho bandmates. ‘Aw man I really hope they keep Werth...’

I’m impressed that you can spell the rightfielder’s name correctly.

I was wondering if I did or if you’re being sarcastic. What can I say, I just love games.

It’s like I’ve always said: All the bush league batters are left to die on the diamond.

Thanks, Shakey.

I bought a CANNED HEAT record. What do you think about that?

Cool. We just listened to hallelujah seconds ago. Check out the tune “Time Was”. One o the best tunes I heard all year..

I’ll give it an ear. I’ve been going back over some obvious tunes that I never really gave a chance. Might even listen to the Stones of of these days.

I’ll get u Beggars Banquet. Can’t deny them man. Can you imagine if all there was was the VU? That frequency all the time. Too jagged after a while.. Beggars has a jagged sound alot too (in a way) but more delta blues and a relatively new dabbling into heerion vibe. Nobody got quite close to that style of blues ever again. If there was no Keith Richards there’d be no nobody post.

You should download the song “time was” right now and jam it in headphones btw. Lemme know whatcha think. Bet it makes you feel super good.

(Turns out he’s right. Great melancholy tune.)

So are the VIOLATORS in tact for the foresesable future?

I think so. I hope so. The original lineup can NOT be beat.

That kicks ass.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

For the deleted first draft, click here.

Next Monday. Attendance is Mandatory.

TOTAL CONTROL
&
WATERY LOVE

Monday November 13

10pm

@ Little Bar

8th & Fitzwater

Philadelphia

Catching up with DX & Total Control

Mikey, poolside. 2011.

Let me be clear: the jury in my head is still out on Total Control. The Melbourne-based act issues records that fuse guitar & electronic music in a way that is definitely interesting & worthy of consideration. It sounds to these ears like some sort of re-working & reassembly of sounds I remember from 80s radio during trips to the orthodontist & home from Little League practice. I'm thinking of VH1 heavyweights such as the Eurythmics & the Georgia Satellites. Indebted to Flock of Seagulls, for all I know. Perhaps it's better described as New Wave. It's a feel-good type of sound, all right. And I simply haven't got an ear for it. This is how it sounds on record, mind you. It's the sound of mechanized pelvic exercises. On stage, however, Total Control, as I recall, is a different beast altogether & I'll be a face in the crowd at each & every area gig from now until the sun engulfs as all. They're furious & loud up there, even if there was a tambourine & keyboard.Last time through town, they dragged about a dozen weirdos onstage. Actual weirdos. Not just a bunch of normals acting at being weird. Guitar weirdo is a humble baby-faced fellow named Mikey and he's famous for his handsome smile & sunny disposition & for playing guitar in the Eddy Current Suppression Ring. On vox, a true weirdo-Internationale called DX. He also fronts a raging HC act called Straightjacket Nation & he's one of the great Aussie thinkers, as evidenced by Distort Magazine, the recognized bible of Cult Hardcore. Last time I saw him, he looked like a member of B'last, right down to the long hair and the Uniform Choice t-shirt. The other weirdos, I couldn't tell ya too much about. They all spoke a strange version of the English language & they all had their faces stuck in a jar of Marmite.

DX was patient enough to answer some questions.

So you've been on this soil a number of times, and you've probably traveled in the US more than most Americans. What the hell for?
I grew up ricocheting from one corner of Australia to another. I saw a lot of that country. I also found American hardcore at the right age, in particular the Midwest glories, which was a sophisticated and subtle imperialism as all that shit made me want to revel in the rewards of hard work (ie. spend money) and then the rewards of being a consumer (ie. Debt) by traveling your country at every opportunity.
 I'm driving thru AZ now and I prob see this joint much like any foreigner swollen with romantic frontier notions from film (it looks like a leone film at one point, then that scene in north by northwest with the crop duster next minute).

Why drag yourself on stage and perform your songs every night for a month or two? Can it be more rewarding with each consecutive night?
You spent most of the year working and reading and thinking and making songs. A couple months on the road is good to ensure you don't become entirely introverted and useless as a writer or as a worker. It's the work side of making music. As you'd probably be aware there is no cumulative glory, it ebbs and it flows, but there is a reward in moments like my ole bud R Charles taking a couple minutes outta the day to sincerely and formally interrogate my intentions.

This past summer, about a hundred bands from your native Australia flew over and criss-crossed the US. Is that the dream of every young Aussie Rocker? To clog our highways and soak up our entertainment dollars?
I'm certainly curious how you people have received the spate of antipodean traveling bands. I guess many people want to see an empire declining, some people want to exploit a second world economy for cheap records and drugs, some people want to take advantage of the fact that the Internet age has somehow imbued Australian music with a tinge of legitimacy and maybe a pretty Midwest farmers daughter'll really make em feel alright and some people want to tour somewhere where the drives are less than 12 hours between cities and you can speed on the highways easier and the tour can last longer than a week. Some sickos really just wanna tour, sir, can ya believe that?

There was probably a time when Australian punk rock-influenced music was distinct from what was coming out of America (and other places). You're a world-traveler, a guy with an insatiable appetite for music. Is there any distinction any more? Or are we just sitting in a big melted pot of tunes?
I could generalize that American bands are generally more theatrical and euro bands less song orientated and Southeast Asian punks bands more about the collective experience but thatd probably be more about looking for exceptions to the melting pot rule that I guess Brit nerd Simon Reynolds characterized as post Internet retromania.

I understand you're a heavy reader of Terry Southern. Want to tell me why I should spend some time on him? I only know he was involved in Easy Rider and I just read a piece of his involving a visit to a baton twirling competition in Mississippi.
My buddy Brace turned me onto Southern the day I flew into San Francisco and the first line of Red Dirt Marijuana had me hooked. The same drug addled hyper macho hunter dealt with, but less obviously swinging from Hemingway's ball sack and much funnier. My favorite writer right now is Joan Didion. She is brilliant, her smarts are intimidating and she can throw a word hard. Southern ain't in her league, but he can definitely play. His short stories are strong: check out the blood of the wig and heavy put away for sleaze laughs and Red Dirt Marijuana has something on Carver. The second day I was in sf I picked up about 20 books, I'm really looking forward to reading on this tour as the last few months I haven't had much chance. Happy to talk books with ya in Philly.


Catch TOTAL CONTROL live & in concert somewhere in the USA or in the EU at ATP, especially Monday November 14 at the Little Bar in Philadelphia w/ WATERY LOVE.

 The Hammer by Total Control