Days Of Our Youth

The Stranglers-Giants

2012-01-20T14:02:00.000-08:00

Hi dear readers....I was going to touch on the whole Megaupload thing but I feel the other blogs have done a good job of that. Just wonder how long Mediafire and Rapidshare will go on.

BUT that is not the reason for the post! Nope! Many of you may know that I love UK punk...especially from the period of 1976-1979. The Stranglers are one of my favorite bands bar none! With that said, I really enjoyed Norfolk Coast and loved Suite XVI....I have been reading reviews of their new one entitled "Giants" and from all the gushing press I have read, this could be one of their best. I am excited like a kid on Christmas Eve...This comes out March 5th...so go and buy it!

Request For TSOL 4 Song Demo

2012-01-17T14:48:00.001-08:00

This was requested by Pete, so here ya go!

http://www.mediafire.com/?vl66ozwcxc1iaqx

The 'Tone By Request

2012-01-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

Here's all the stuff that did not make it onto Wide Eyes And Nonesense for magoo! Thanks again Chris for hooking me up. Much appreciated. Folks, do yourself a favor and check out this band. They were amazing.

http://www.mediafire.com/?s99vg5hg11sthx1

I FUCKED UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2012-01-05T17:23:00.000-08:00

How could I forget this?????????????????????? This is the album of the year by a million miles. Sorry Johnny, Darius, and Greg....By far this is short of amazing, and I never use the word amazing (until today)

Civilized Society? Violence Sucks

2012-01-04T16:02:00.000-08:00

Dunno much about this band. Who was in it, what other bands they played in etc.....I am not going to pretend that I am so expert on them as I really don't know a whole lot other than they released Scrap Metal before this. This is great Anarcho Punk done with dual male-female lead vocals with some metallic flourishes going on. Pre-curser to Grindcore?? Dunno. This album is well written and just plain rocking. Man I am a sucker for female singers ala Beki Bondage, or bands like Los Cherees, Icon AD, Rubella etc.

http://www.mediafire.com/?riiw4gcpddl9mii

Best Of 2011

2011-12-31T14:22:00.000-08:00

Well here we are on New Years Eve...and yes, the typical best of list. I was not going to do one this year but at the last minute I decided to. Let's hope that 2012 is a great year and that all of you that visit here have a great year.

This list might be incomplete but hey here we are. Occupying the number 1 spot is....

1. Angelic Upstarts- The Dirty Dozen Split with Crashed Out
Who would have thought that Mensi and co. would put out new material...Their best in YEARS
2. Toy Dolls- Credit Crunch Christmas song
I always have time for this band. Olga has seemed to go back to an earlier style...love it!
3. Vice Squad-Punk Rock Radio
Great new album by Beki and the boys!
4. New Chords split with The Templars
I would love to hear more stuff from this French Oi! band. Ex-Veros here!
5. Amebix- Sonic Mass
Yessss some real nice new stuff from this Anarcho band that has come back from the dead

That is it...not too much here because in my opinion 2011 sucked for music.

Help I Need To Hear The 'Tone One For The Money Single!!!!

2011-12-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

A big thanks goes out to Chris for hooking me up with most of The 'Tone singles...that was very cool man thanks!

However I am still looking for the singe One For The Money. DOES ANYONE HAVE THIS???????? Help!

The 'Tone-Wide Eyes and Nonsense

2011-12-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

Ok this release hit me like a ton of bricks! I bought the comp. Welcome To The Welfare State that BYO put out many years ago because Leatherface was on it. When I heard the song This Is A High I was completely smitten with The 'Tone. I bought this compilation of their singles Wide Eyes And Nonsense and absolutely fell in love with this band that had more in common with SLF, Clash, Ruts and Specials than what was being played in the UK at the time. I do need to hear some of their stuff that did not make it onto to here, so if someone can help out this aging punk rocker that would be very nice of you! If you have never heard this band then please check this baby out. It is classic. The band released another album called Here's Another Reason To Believe In Rock N Roll which is equally as good. The best thing about that album is the song called The Real World. IMHO that song is one of the greatest songs ever written. It is a ska-punkish song that just rules my world. That is high praise when you consider that some of the bands that I love like The Clash, Jam, SLF, Ruts, Damned etc. have also written some amazing tunes. I really wish The 'Tone would put out some new stuff......
http://www.mediafire.com/?nmbqgwb3yz9l734

The 'Tone

2011-12-14T11:27:00.001-08:00

Does anyone have any of the singles that The 'Tone put out in the 1990's????? I have Wide Eyes and Nonsense which covers most of the singles but there are a few tracks missing from the singles that I have to hear. Please please please someone help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Subhumans- Same Thoughts Different Days

2011-12-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

I just found out that this is out. What you get is The Subhumans re-recording Incorrect Thoughts because the dick head over at CD Presents who is a greedy turd threatened to sue the band if they released the original. You see the album has sat around unavailable because CD Presents re-pressed the album and it was deleted. What are you to do if you are that band. Well they went ahead and re-recorded the album but included 4 songs from the old days that were not recorded. I Got To Move, Out Of Place, Escalator To Hell, and 21st Century are those songs....and let me tell ya, they are fantastic. Just buy this disc to get those four songs. Recommended!

The Now-Fuzztone Fizzadelic

2011-12-07T10:36:00.000-08:00

Holy shit! So this band which has two singles and a compilation of all of their stuff on one cds gets together in 2004 and decides to re-record their long lost 1977 album. Well what are the results???? This is so fucking good! I mean really good. I love it! Kind of like The Adverts a little, well actually a lot for some strange reason. The playing of course is more direct and fluid then the days of 1977. This is just a wonderful cd to hear. Please check it out and leave a comment.

http://www.mediafire.com/?d36kiy0ah5vspo6

UK Subs Riot '98 Ep

2011-11-28T15:31:00.000-08:00

Crap! Does anyone have this EP??? If so I would love love love to hear it. Please help me out as I cannot find it anywhere on the web. Thanks in advance!
Keb

Wire 1976 Demos

2011-11-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

I love Wire! But truth be told, after 154 they totally lost me. I found this on the web the other day and I thought I would post it. Here we have demos form 1976. Some of these songs appear on the Peel Sessions cd that was released many years ago. This has decent sound quality so it is more for fans.
Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?3cimwjdi7w8j34e

New Toy Dolls Single

2011-11-19T08:10:00.000-08:00

Wow oh wow is this good. I mean really good. Think back to the days of I've Got Asthma, Tommy Kowey's Car, Fisticuffs on Fredricks St. etc. Gone are the lame attempts by Olga to throw in too many guitar histrionics ala metal gods. This is how The Toy Dolls are supposed to sound. Love this!!!

Does Anyone Have Chelsea's Give Me More/Sympathy For The Devil Single??

2011-11-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

Does anyone out there have this??? I have never heard Chelsea doing Sympathy For The Devil and it would be great to! Please someone help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ken

Social Unrest Songs For Sinners 7"

2011-11-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

Well finally this is seeing the light of day. Great chugging along hardcore from one of the Bay Area's best from the early 80's. Most of you that visit the site know that I am a huge Social Unrest fan right?...see interview with Jason Honea. Well this three song effort is more like their pre Jason days and has original singer Kretin Chaos singing. Much reccomended
Ken

Steve and Paul or (The Professionals) Odds and Sods

2011-11-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

well well well, look what we have here. I knicked this from a site in S. America, but really I don't care. This is just too good to not to share. What we have here is demos, and such cut with Paul Cook and Steve Jones with other people, as well as Professional demos. This is how cool this is. You get Chrisie Hynde with the boys, Joan Jett doing You Don't Own Me as well as I love RocknRoll. Some Lightening Raiders, Sham Pistols stuff which would eventually find its way onto one of the 90's Sham 69 albums. The Looters from the movie Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains with Ray Winstone singing and Paul Simenon on bass. Everything on here has fantastic sound quality. So cool to finally here some Sham Pistols and especially cool to have The Looters on my music!! Enjoy!
Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?1wxe8fv36ps2h0v#1

MotorDamn "Over The Top" 7"

2011-11-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

Dunno too much about this other than the fact that The Damned were in search of a bassist and Lemmy of Motorhead stepped into help. Of course you all have heard Ballroom Blitz a million times. Many bands have covered it and in fact The Damned did too. What we have here is the two bands rolling through some songs in the studio. Over The Top has Lemmy singing and to be honest, it sounds like a Motorhead song. The guitar playing on the leads would lead you to believe that Captain is playing due to the whah whah during the solo's. Ballroom Blitz has Vanian singing. This is pretty darn cool. The Damned roled through here last weekend in SF and played Damned Dammned Damned and the Black Album in their full. Missed it...............
Sorry for the delays on putting stuff up. I have been very busy with work and life. I got diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and my back went out so my time has been limited. Don't worry though, I have some gems up my sleave.
en
http://www.mediafire.com/?g1yovt6yct1f2yk

Factory Minds

2011-10-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

A newish band from my neck of the woods having been making their rounds of late. San Jose band Factory Minds is onto something, and my bet is, they will be huge. Like Rancid huge. Wanna bet? They have a better understanding of rock n roll then they do and they understand how to write a hook and then some. Think The Clash, SLF, Ruts with some Specials a bit. Then throw in some Dead 60's a bit and maybe The 'Tone and you will get an idea. Here is the link to some music. I want you to comment because once you hear their stuff you will be saying I am right! Love these guys...I have not seen them yet but will be very SOON! The best thing out of SJ since well ummm The Forgotten.

Music

http://soundcloud.com/factory-minds/tracks

Band website

http://factorymindsband.blogspot.com/

Anti Nowhere Leagure-We Are The League

2011-09-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

Was listening to this today at my home. In fact I had a few windows open and the amount of cursing made me embrassed as my neighbors were in their yards with their kids. Oh well......Just wanted to shout out how much I like this album. An 80's version of The Sex Pistols lyrically???
Ken

The Ramones-Live at The San Francisco Civic Center Plaza 1979

2011-08-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

My first Ramones post and it is a boot! Recorded live at the Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco in June of 1979. The Ramones played an afternoon show that was recorded by radio station KSAN. KSAN was a pretty cool FM radio station back in the day. Many boots that you see that was recorded live in the SF Bay Area was from the shows that KSAN put on. This is a good sounding boot and a great performance! I wish that I was old enough and smart enough to know that they played this show. I would have loved to have been there!

http://www.mediafire.com/?l3953wh58xo6hlo

UK Subs

2011-08-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

Probably my fave lineup of The UK Subs

And a shameless plug of my old band The Forgotten with Charlie wearing a Forgotten t shirt

I just wanted to touch upon something I experienced last night. I went to a BBQ that was attended by a bunch of old high school friends and had a fantatic evening, eating and drinking! Anyways, after a fun evening my wife drives us back home and out comes the music for the hour long drive. I decided upon listening to The UK Subs album Brand New Age. Instantly I was transported back to a teenager and singing along to every song while my wife drove my drunken ass home. While listening to this album it reminded me of the sheer power, excellent musicianship, the fantastic production and just amazing songwriting. I know The Subs were looked down upon by the trendy London punk elite when they started, and the fact that some considered their following to be a little on the simplistic side, again the London elite??? But truth be told, this band was heads and shoulders above many. Their recorded output from 1977-1983 was STUNNING. From Stranglehold to Warhead. From the crushing assault of Endangered Species to Party In Paris. Then the amazing War of The Roses as Nicky and Co. leave Charlie, there is no doubt how damn good this band was. Live? The Subs could, and did wipe up the floor with just about any band. Today we still see Charlie and Alvin still at it, with Nicky joining on certain tours and recordings. I just wanted to shout out how much I love The UK Subs and I am glad that I have met them, listened to them, and how much joy they have given my life. Long live The UK Subs!

New Naked Raygun Single for 2011

2011-08-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

Well after a long wait...#3 is to be released this month...Yeah!!!!!!!!!

The Drab

2011-07-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

Since we are talking San Jose hardcore here. I thought I would let people know that The Drab have songs available on iTunes. Who are The Drab??? They were the 3rd band in the spikey hair axis. Sean Gregonis played in Grim Reality for awhile and then moved onto The Drab. After The Drab, Sean, myself and Lars Fredrikson started a band callled Slip. Slip would last 5 years and then become The Forgotten. Enough history here. Just get this over at iTunes. It is kinda simplistic but a good time piece. I dig it!

Executioner-Anthology

2011-07-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

For those in the know, I interviewed Dave Burks awhile back on this blog. For those that are not familiar with Executioner, they were a band from San Jose that were part of the spiky hair axis of Executioner and Grim Reality (Jason Honea is the lead vocalist for that band before moving onto Social Unrest-I interviewed him too BTW). Anyways, this is for those that dig Crucifix, Bad Brains, Cro Mags meets Dishcarge and then hooks up in a bar with the San Jose hardcore sound ie Los Olvidados, and Drunk Injuns.....Speedy hardcore with some melatic tinges. I digress...This is a VERY comprehensive collection of 29 songs. Some live, some from the glory days, and some from the Growing Pains comp. and some songs recorded a few years ago. This just simply rages! Get it!!!!!!!

Jello Biafra and The Quantanamo School Of Medicine-Enhanced Methods of Questoning

2011-07-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

More of what you would expect from Jello here. Nothing ground breaking musically or lyrically. Jello is being Jello here and I will take that any ole day! I would say this is just as good as the first release so do yourself a favor and find it and buy it. Or you can get it here:

http://punkrockoi.com/

The Afflicted-Good News About Mental Health

2011-07-03T10:45:00.000-07:00

San Francisco punk band that existed in the mid 80's. Saw them open for Whipping Boy and Social Distortion at the New Varisty Theatre in Palo Alto. I thought The Afflicted were amazing and by far the best band playing that night. SD bored the crap outta me, but hey, I still love them! I cannot remember who gave me the file for this, so I will say thanks to however gave this to me. I think the bitrate on this is a tad low so the sound is not that great.
Ken
http://www.mediafire.com/?basbej4rfi4y28d#1

X at The Catalyst 6/17/11

2011-06-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

Well time to see X....again. Seems like I see them every 6-8 months and this time was pretty much like every other time I have seen them....they were awesome! Started the night with my wife and I meeting some friends for drinks and some food. Hung out with Clifford of Blast! fame...(interview coming...) and then off to see one of the most iconic US bands ever. Opening the shindig was Matt Freemans (Rancid) side project Devils Brigade...they were ok'ish but really not grabbing me too much. They did however do a killer version of Police Truck (DKs). Next were X...wow! As always they killed it! Each song was perfect and the band was very into rocking us all out for the night. I went into the pit for Nausea, fell down, and was picked up. I then headed over to stage left where I ran into Steve Corona (Diesel Queens fame) and settled in for the rest of the night. Once their set was over, John Doe and Exene came out and played an acoustic version of 4th Of July that was perfect. Someone mentioned to me, why is it that John Doe is always sweating and you see Billy Zoom with his leather jacket and he is NOT sweating.....hmmm. If you look at Billy, you'd think he made a deal with the devil. He looks the same as he did in 1983.....After leaving, the wife and I went across the street to our fave Mexican food haunt on Pacific and had a free Quesadilla and some killer Anejo Tequila! I was hungover for TWO days! WOW.
Next up for next weekend are The Swingin Utters and Rev. Horton Heat. Same club, same town!
Oh and the bottom picture, it was taken by Billy Zoom...I am the guy with the two finger F U salute wearing the Lonsdale Tee. This can be found on X's site too.
Ken

Frontline-Outside Your Window

2011-06-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

Got this one from System/Sabotage/Chaos blog by request. That was over 2 years ago and since many of my followers are different I thought I'd post this. Frontline were from San Jose and were a huge band in our scene. Fronted by the ever so affable Joe Sib they were a force to be reckoned with. I saw them many many times opening up for bands like The Ramones, and other big bands around 1984-1986. They should have been bigger on a national scale, but well....sometimes these things happen. They would change their name to Lifeline, and would continue playing big shows. Lifeline released a split 12" with SF punk rockers No Alternative and then they would split. Joe would move to LA and start the band Wax that had a hit on MTV called California which is not a bad song for the early 90's pop punk stuff. Joe also runs Side 1/Dummy Records and is an all around great guy. Last year Joe did a comedy tour based on his years growing up as a punk rocker in the early 80's. I saw him in San Jose with all of the usual suspects of the SJ hardcore crews of the 80's. It was awesome! Joe was really, really good. But that does not suprise me, he is a fantastic frontman to begin with. I have also included the track on Rat Music to download to. If you are a fan of Social Distortion, DI, Adolesecents and that ilk, then you will dig this. Seems most SJ bands were influenced by the LA hardcore scene unlike up north in SF where there were a bit more tuneless. Once Lifeline was over, it was my band, Slip that took the mantle and was the big boys on the block. Hows that for ego! Ohhh and don't let the stupid cover fool ya, this is REAL good!!!!
Ken
Outside Your Window Ep

http://www.mediafire.com/?ebq0nwdbp3hhsgb

Rat Music Comp.

http://www.mediafire.com/?tomkxwyjhyl

TSOL-4 Song Ep

2011-06-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

1. Darker My Love
2. White American
3. Perfect Day
4. Politics

Recorded in 2005, this was available for a short time on TSOL's website for free. Dunno if it is still there because I have not taken a look. If it is gone, then here it is for you! Inspired by Neil over at 13th Floor Vendetta. I just wanted to make this gem available to you all. Darker My Love was released on the Suburbia Soundtrack and I think, nowhere else. This is a studio version recorded in 2005. Politics is of course a Damned cover done TSOL style. It kicks ass! Enjoy this folks!
Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?uum8w9amq6k96r9

Dag Nasty-Can I Say

2011-06-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

What CAN I SAY....one of the most distinctive, original hardcore albums ever made. The moment I heard this it was like getting a punch in the face. Straight, direct and in your face melodicism by Dave Smalley, searing guitar lines by Brian Baker...just pure perfection. 30 minutes and then you are done. As much as I love Government Issue's albums Crash and You, this blows both of those away. This is one of my alltime favorite albums. I know this has been posted on other sites, but I wanted to pay my respect to one of the greatest albums ever made.
Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?wkphvl5d39a8lq7

TSOL-Revenge

2011-06-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

You know, I might get slighted on picking this one. But really...I don't care. I do "like" this version of TSOL before they went completely off of the map trying to be Guns N Roses. Change Today and Revenge were good rockin, punky albums that deserve to be listened to. I saw TSOL on this tour for Revenge as they played The Catalyst in Santa Cruz. My buddy and I went thinking that this would be a great show. The Catalyst is a 1000 seat venue (which I just saw X last weekend there)......there was a total of about 50 people there to see TSOL that night...wow. Anyways I did a stage dive and fell all the way to the ground and badly sprained my ankle....fun night. Everbody's A Cop sounds like TSOL of old.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ivx7cxru58ew7b5

1981, 1982, and 1983....What Does It Have To Do With Me

2011-06-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

Since I did a favorite releases of 1983-1984 I noticed it was all UK based. Well I do like music from other countries, most notably mine. You see, I grew up during the golden age of Hardcore, so I thought I'd post my favorite 10 releases from that period.

#1

This one was an easy one. From 1980-1983 this band could do NO wrong. Period. Typical OC guitar playing, harmonies and surf drums round out a amazing debut.

#2

Another band that was flawless from 1981-1983...OC punk at its finest...not too mention some tasty surf tunes for us Cali types

#3

Coined the term HARDCORE? Maybe.....Still releasing great stuff to this day. Awesome live band and just plain legendary

#4

My only hometown release here....wow. You see I like melody and tasty guitar playing. Not that this release was Fresh Fruit #2, it was a different animal altogether. Much faster in pace, The DKs were trying their hand at hardcore and they succeed.

#5

One of my fave bands of alltime. Geekcore at its best. America's version of The Buzzcocks???

#6

Personality, power, originality....sporting one of the greatest frontmans of alltime? Yep. TSOL were HUGE in LA during their heyday. Since coming back they have retained the power of days of old

#7

The Blue Album....follows the OC way of life...soaring guitars, great background vocals, melody and the goold ole surf beat. What sets them apart is Tony's "Iggy meets Darby" vocals. Love them

#8

Ex Adolescents here...played many shows with DI, have seen them a million times, and yes, they follow the OC way!

#9

Funny that this is the only other out of state release on here. You see, I love Minor Threat, Effigies, AOF, Necros, Really Red, Big Boys, Minutemen, Kraut, Bad Brains, Government Issue and many more. It's just that the bands I am listing made a huge impact on me when I was around during those years.

#10

And last but not least. Almost from the OC comes CH3. Melody, power and just plain great songs. Still at it today and still as good!

My Favorite Releases Between 1983-1984...The Top 10

2011-06-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

#1
Released in 1984, Perfection is all I can say. This was a slowed down version of The Abrasive Wheels. Adding melody and rocking guitar playing made this my alltime fave from these two years.

#2 This could also be a number one! Between this album and The Abrasive Wheels album, those two did not stray too far from my turntable. Del's playing on this was unbelievable!! I still love this!

#3 Some might pan this, but I actually liked this album a lot. Vice Squad slow things down a bit and add some crunch. Lia did a great job singing on this and to be honest, this whole era of Vice Squad was quite enjoyable.

#4 I love Oi! But I like the stuff with good melody...and yes the la la Business delivered on this. This still gets many plays at my house! An awesome band that still delivers to this day.

#5 The kings of Oi! What can be said about this amazing band that has not been said before. Still recording, playing live and taking them all.

#6 With personel changes the boys kept rolling in 1984. Not as good as Shock Troops but still full of piss n vinegar!

#7 Another band with personel changes and a little reinventing....A little more subdued than your typical Subs release, but I really dug this when it came out.

#8 I am sure this is will raise a few eyebrows. But hey it is my blog and I love this Ep! Getting into their more "rock" faze, but it still was a fantastic release!

#9 A band grows up in front of our eyes and pulls out their greatest moment! This album was sooo good.

#10 This was a tough choice..It was between Conflict's Increase The Pressure and Dem Bones...Dem Bones barely wins this one. This album has it aall...doomish apocalyptic thrash with Bones unmistakable riffs. Love this!

Blitz- New Age 7"

2011-06-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

Just thought of something....I forgot to mention Blitz in my prior post about bands I dug in 1983....Blitz tops them all, and how in the hell could I forget that...especially when I have Blitz' Voice Of A Generation album cover on my arm....DOH! Anyways, Blitz holds a very special place in my heart. Even their Second Empire Justice album I like...maybe because I dig Joy Division! Anyways, this single is amazing and even to this day, I love listening to it!

http://www.mediafire.com/?a533p2pzh6pevng

Abrasive Wheels

2011-06-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

Ok here is a treat for you all. But first some history! Back in 1983, that was my big year for completely going punk. I listened to the music for a few years, but 1983 it was the year that I really became aware of a lot of bands. PATTB, The Business, Discharge, Broken Bones, Abrasive Wheels, Chron Gen, UK Subs, Angelic Upstarts (yeah I like UK punk more than N. America punk...so what) were all the rage for me. I have posted Black Leather Girl already and between that album, The Mating Sounds of North American Frogs, and Reason Why, those albums ruled my world. Fast forward to 2002 and the news that the Abrasive Wheels have reformed! Yes!!!!!!!!!! Well...... from the news that I was getting, was that they recorded a new album and were looking to release it. THEN, nothing....breakup and Shonna, finding new members...dunno if there was a falling out, though I kinda heard there was through the grapevine. What bugged me was that they recorded an album and I CANNOT HEAR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then comes the Nothing To Prove Ep and the album Skum....To my ears, they were alright, but nothing like the manic, When The Punks Go Marching In (and no, I did not expect them to make a MK II of that) or the sophistication of Black Leather Girl (which I hoped they did...). Well here is the album that was recorded, and I have to tell you, it is DAMN GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!. Melodic, rockin and has flourishes of BLG......on top of that, they do a total Motorhead version of Vicious Circle which just rocks beyond belief! Lullaby is my fave.....though there are many more strong tracks that rival it! Enjoy my treat. Hopefully Shonna does not make me takes this down.

http://www.mediafire.com/?t7abeg065pkr6lo

Red Rockers-Condition Red

2011-06-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

I am sure of that some of you might be familiar with this band. The song China was on MTV quite a bit in the early 80's. Blech......But really, this band had a very nice start. First they released a debut Ep that I have posted on here, and then this fantastic album. For those that dig The Clash or more locally, The Dils and Rank N File then you will dig this. These guys started out in New Orleans and moved to the hip and happening San Francisco punk scene in 1979'ish. This came out in 1980 on the local label 415 Records. 415 is the phone area code for San Francisco and at one time the Peninsula too. The guy that owned the label, Howie Klein went onto major label success and inking Green Day at their label or something like that. 415 had Romeo Void, Translator (Everywhere That I'm Not), SVT, Mutants, Offs, Wire Train, Nuns, Pearl Harbor (Drivin'), VKTMS, and others....Probably the closest SF had for a label that would put out punk/new wave in the late 70's. Trivia, The first real big show I ever saw was The Ramones and Red Rockers at The Warfield Theatre in San Francisco...I don't know what year though. 1981??????

http://www.mediafire.com/?03q11129sohb3t8

Shattered Faith Vol. 2

2011-06-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

Ok ok ok....I am going through a little mid life crisis here. I just turned 47 and I am looking around me and not liking the scene man! Seriously, it has been a little tough turning the page on another year. That said, today was the first day that it has felt like summer here in Santa Cruz, CA....tourists gong to the beach, vacationers hanging, schools out etc. Well my wife is in Michigan for a few days...So I am going to get drunk and wallow a bit. Which leads me to this post. I am a huge Shattered Faith fan. Some of you might know who Kerry Martinez is...he of The US Bombs fame. Kerry is one heck of a cool guy! My old band played with The US Bombs a lot. Like them, but I love Shattered Faith! You see, I am a fan of good, intelligent hardcore done with some melody. Agent Orange, CH3, Shattered Faith, Adolescents, DI, (early) Social Distortion, Vandals, etc.....are you catching a theme here???? OC punk or just good ole melodic Southern California hardcore. I grew up in the SF Bay Area where we had Christ On Parade, CD2, Bad Posture, Crucifix, Code of Honor, etc....though I like those bands, they did not have the sing a long qualities of our neighbors down south. So here I am right now drinking, and listening to Shattered Faith and just digging their tunes. Just an FYI, ignore the first track which is an insipid cover of The Vibrators Baby Baby...yuck.

http://www.mediafire.com/?46cipv8y7daf3g0

A New Twist

2011-06-04T14:00:00.001-07:00

Been thinking about this for a little bit now. I want to pick a year and then post stuff from that year. So with that said, I will be starting off with the year 1983. Watch for some new posts here in the next few days!
Ken

Help

2011-05-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

My page tells me to sign in...when I click on it to sign in, I am already signed in. I cannot post in the comments section nor can I comment on other blogs. I repeatedly will try to sign in and Google keeps bringing me back to step one...what is going on here??? Any thoughts?

Ok, thanks for the replies...I cannot even use the comment section to reply to anyone. I just emptied my cookies, and as Longy mentioned, I signed in at the bottom (how's it going Longy!) and both have not worked. Others are having this problem too, so it must be some kind of Google thing. On my page it say to sign in, when I do, I am already signed in. This is confusing the hell out of me.

Negative Trend-Pop Sessions

2011-05-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

aside from the fact that Rozz sings on this, I don't really know much about this session. I do know that Negative Trend were a shit hot San Francisco punk band. They did not release a whole lot of material but there place in SF punk history is sealed.
Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?474kw0yy903qu

Swingin' Utters-Here, Under Protest

2011-05-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

Ummmmm....just perfection, that is all. Please do yourselves a favor and get this. This album will easily make my top 10 for 2011. I get to see them in Santa Cruz with Rev. Horton Heat in a few months!

RIP Poly Styrene

2011-04-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

Poly, the world was a better place because of your existance. You will be missed.

Chelsea-Traitors Gate

2011-04-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well since I am in a Chelsea posting haze, I might as well throw this one out there too. Not as good as The Alternative, but still a real good album.
Ken
http://www.mediafire.com/?fu73m8xlw2xybkf

Chelsea-The Alternative

2011-04-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

Chelsea can be a strange one. On one hand you had a band that was comprised of Gen X with Gene singing...then you go onto the Chelsea lineup that recorded some amazing singles and a debut album. Then Chelsea morphs into a band that would include Nic Austin and the album Evacuate was recorded in 1982. That my friends, is one amazing album. In fact, after that album, Chelsea would go on to record 3 more albums. Though nowhere near the greatness of Evacuate. Well it is no suprise that once Gene got Nic back in the fold that they would record another great album. And come to think of it, Traitors Gate is pretty darn good too. Maybe it's Nic's Big Country style guitar playing or something, I dunno..enjoy!
Ken
http://www.mediafire.com/?ked6gay72bc42ib#1

Request-The Buzzcocks Japanese All Set Bonus Tracks

2011-04-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

Cannot remember who asked for these, but here they are!

http://www.mediafire.com/?twte1j8wkl59k69

Killing Joke-Love Like Blood Live

2011-03-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

Well I have been in a big Stranglers and Killing Joke listen of late. I forgot about this little ditty and thought I would post it as it seems that it is not out there very often. Kind of funny, Jaz says something at the beginning about being in America, but the info on this says Rockoplast and in Germany..hmmm
Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/file/q561b3djb5x48jl/Killing%20Joke%20-%20Love%20Like%20Blood%20%281985%29.rar

Great Site To Check Out

2011-03-20T17:35:00.001-07:00

For those of you that don't know, my friend Guy Trelford along with Sean O'Neil who authored the wonderful book "It Makes You Want To Spit, The Definitve Guide To PUNK in NI" has a fantastic site for you all to check out. The site has some cool downloads and it seems like each day Guy is adding new bands, news, etc. It is well worth checking out if you like bands like The Undertones, SLF, Rudi, Outcasts, Protex, Moondogs, Victims, etc. In comparison to the London scene, I think that the NI scene was just as good if not better. Please support a great guy and a fantastic page!
Ken

http://nipunk.weebly.com/

Help I Need The Senseless Things Can't Do Anything Ep!!!!!

2011-03-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

Please, pretty please! I have all of their releases except for this one. Can anyone spare a moment and help me out on this. I love this band and I want to hear this desperately!!!!
Ken

Scapegoats

2011-03-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

Well for a change of pace from my last few months of posts here we have a band from my neck of the woods, Santa Cruz, CA. To be honest, I really don't know much about them, other than the fact that they were on the Not So Quiet On The Western Front Comp. They probably played at Club Culture which was Santa Cruz's one and only punk club back in the day. That place had some pretty damn cool shows and I found myself going over there from San Jose, driving the treacherous Hwy 17 to see shows. Now I drive that drive everyday to go to San Jose to go to work. FUN! I have included a link to KFTH that has a little history for you.
Ken
http://www.killfromtheheart.com/bands.php?id=250
http://www.mediafire.com/?xayiu14fij2eubv

Cocksparrer Live

2011-02-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Recorded live in San Francisco at The Great American Music Hall. I ended up missing this show because the tickets sold out in a minute. The venue is 2000 capacity and it puzzled me that it happened, even with two nights! To say I like Cocksparrer is an understatement. I love them...it seems San Francisco does too! This recording was teaken from the second time that they have visited our fine area. I did get to see them the first time when they came through however. I got to hang out with Mick (drummer for The Business) and watch him flirt with my wife...which I found amusing. He's a good guy! Anyways this performance is top notch, energetic and full of hits and some cuts of their last album. In fact, my old bandmate Shea mixed this album! Enjoy it, as I am right now as I am listening to it. Funny thing about this show in 2009, I was at a reggae/rocksteady Dj thing in Santa Cruz dancing away and their were a bunch of skins from SJ... Well, from my understanding that it was going to kick off at one of the two shows. I met these guys and proceeded to annoy the shit out of them to the point that they wanted to maybe take it out on me. Considering that I am part of the old guard and my surroundings were in safe confines nothing happened. To say these guys were probably the most stupid morons I have encountered I was suprised that they knew how to drive from San Jose to Santa Cruz that night. Even more impressive was that they knew who Cocksparrer were. I bet that they thought that they were going to some National Socialist meeting for Hitler's Pansy Division.
Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?1dv6z7d06dpg4fz

Gimp Fist

2011-02-13T16:58:00.000-08:00

Holy shit, where did these guys come from????? If you like your punk with hints of reggae ala The Clash or SLF and mixed with a healthy dose of good sing along Oi! like Red London or Red Alert then do yourself a favor and check these guys out. They are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ken

http://www.myspace.com/gimpfiststreetpunk

Well I just read something that this band has ex members of Red Alert and Major Accident. No matter, there stuff is REALLY good. Love them!

Loudmouth

2011-02-13T16:33:00.000-08:00

I think these kids are from Sunderland UK. I don't know a lot about them other than they are influenced by Rancid, and they surely know how to write and play great songs. Here is a video on Youtube for you all to see. Here I was complaining that there are no new bands huh
Ken

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-UjLbNGCB4&feature=related

The Jam

2011-02-01T17:24:00.001-08:00

I think this was a US release for Polydor. Between 1978-1981 The Jam could do NO wrong in my books. I made sure to get evey 7" and album that came out. As much as I loved The Clash, The Jam meant 10 times more to me. This 12" was just so amazing to me. I still listen to them frequently and still love them just as much.
Ken
http://www.mediafire.com/?y61ufi7f5jlxlm5

The Jam-Waterloo Sunset

2011-02-01T09:43:00.000-08:00

So Sounds Effects gets a 30 year anniversay remaster job with loads of bonus tracks. Low and behold the last track is The Jam covering Waterloo Sunset. The 2 disc set costs $25. I have the damn album. I have all the bonus tracks....execept Waterloo Sunset. Do I want to shell out $25 for ONE SONG???? Does anyone have this song and are they willing to kick me down a copy??? Please???
Ken

A Big Shout Out To Jay IRC

2011-01-29T16:16:00.000-08:00

Hey man, thanks for the heads up on all the bands you suggested to me. Everyone of them are fantastic!! Cheers bud!!
Ken

Now for a debate. I am a huge fan of Cocksparrer, Cockney Rejects, Sham 69, Menace, Slaughter And The Dogs, Angelic Upstarts, early Skrewdriver, as well as most of the bands that came along afterwards ie Last Resort, Ejected, Business, 4 Skins, PATTB, Combat 84, Condemned 84, Oppressed etc. Fast forward to 2011....why is it that bands from France, Denmark, Holland, Germany, Sweeden, Norway, Switzerland and other countries in the mainland EU are better than anything coming out of the UK??? For a place that has such a huge musical legacy why cannot they have bands today that can stand up shoulder to shoulder to the early stuff. Debate!

Does Anyone Else Dig Them???

2011-01-26T16:58:00.000-08:00

I just came across The Veros a few days ago. Wow! Man I need to get out more!! These Oi! folks are amazing. I found out that the are now called The New Chords. I love finding bands that I have never heard!!! I have been listening to all of their stuff and nothing else. Love them!
Ken

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTm6vhL78go

Fear-Paradise Studios 1978

2011-01-16T13:16:00.001-08:00

Well this has been posted on a few other blogs, but since I am from California, supported Fear on some shows, and have seen them, I feel that I can post this. Recorded when the band first got together, these demos I suppose were made to get a recording deal. Since bands like The Dickies were on A&M, X on Slash, The Go Go's signing to I think A&M too??? Anyways, the Masque bands had labels interested in them, so that is why I feel that this was intended for release or getting label interest. Great quality on this as well as some songs that are not on The Record and some that are. Even the trademark tongue and cheek Fear moments are here. They do a song called Fetch Me One Beer that has the melody of Johnny Are You Queer by Josie Cotton. Of course with different lyrics....... Enjoy all.
Ken
http://www.mediafire.com/?dk6ha93c21q6cq2

UK Subs Work In Progress

2011-01-16T13:12:00.000-08:00

Alright I got this the day it was released. This will make my top ten of 2011 very easily. This album is amazing, and probably their best release since The Revolutions Here Ep. I absolutely love this. Do yourself a favor and PLEASE pick this up, you will not be disapointed!
Ken

Dils DIls Dils

2011-01-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

Well I have finally have gotten around to posting this. Originally released on Damaged Goods in the early 90's. This contains their 3 singles and one comp. track. Also included are a whole slew of live tracks for you. Interesting to see the band in their later incarnations veering towards the sound that Rank N File would build on to indie stardom.
Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?go1shlcbicoxq4o

An Omission! Perkele Forever

2011-01-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when, #1 dismiss bands that you have never heard, and #2 are lame (like me!)

Look if I knew this existed in 2010 then this would have been easily my 2nd fave release of the year. Easily! Take all the good aspects of SLF, Pogues, Cocksparrer and you get Perkele. They are from Sweeden and have easliy become a firm fave! Do yourself a favor and please seek this out. This release is awesome!
Ken

The Doubt-Contrast Disorder Ep

2011-01-01T10:47:00.001-08:00

Dunno where I got this from, but it is from any of my blog friends out there I hope you don't mind me posting this. I just finally listened to this for the first time after having it on my hardrive for a few months. THIS IS SOOO AWESOME!!!!!!!! For fans of The Undertones, Protex, Moondogs, Ex Producers than you have to DL this NOW! This is soooo catchy and rocking! Why were these guys not big??? Wow. This seriously had me dancing around my house. Amazing stuff here!
Ken
http://www.mediafire.com/?bjd36pjpva5gb1k

Get it here
http://singsingrecords.blogspot.com/
More inforation on The Doubt here, done lovingly by some scuff necks from NI
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Makes-You-Want-Spit-Definitive/dp/0954605705

UK Subs-Work In Progress

2010-12-25T12:16:00.001-08:00

This is to be released on Jan. 10th. Do yourself a favor and get it. I have listened to bits of this on Amazon as a preview and I have to say that this is a pretty damn good album. While I am partial to Nicky's playing, Jet does a fine job. This album is a tad more varied and I think this is what makes this album work. The beauty of the first 4 albums had the same idea. Not every song needs to scorch a hole in your brain. Even more cool is that you get a Subs rendition of The Sonics classic, Stychnine! I am stoked to get this! Well done Charlie and the boys!! Below is the link for you to hear pieces of each song.
Ken
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004GECNXS/ref=dm_sp_alb

Joe Strummer

2010-12-22T15:30:00.000-08:00

Today marks the death of Joe Strummer. Patron saint of punk rock??? Sure seems that way huh. What other person aside from maybe Sid Vicious can make a mark like Joe did. The difference between the two is that Joe inspired folks to get off their ass and do something and Sid was a cartoon character. Joe has become the poster child of punk deity just like Bob Marley has for reggae. The Clash were my first love in music. The first record I ever bought was London Calling. Train In Vain still makes me smile from ear to ear. In fact, The Clash inspired me to pick up a bass and start a band. Joe you were an amazing inspiration. We all will never forget you.
Ken

Green Noise Records/Dirtnap Records

2010-12-21T10:23:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give a little plug for an online retailer who I dealt with the other day. I decided to order the new single by The Tranzmitor's so went through all the steps of ordering online. The postage rates to Canada were set automatically. The next day I received an e-mail from Paypal with a refund for $1.00 stating that the retailer had overcharged slightly on the postage. How honourable is that and how many retailers would be that honest to give a refund that I totally wouldn't have expected as their postage rates were very reasonable to begin with. Just wanted to mention my experience and spread the word as they have some very cool releases that I'm sure many of the people who visit this blog would enjoy. 2 Thumbs up to Green Noise records.

Now go buy something!

http://www.greennoiserecords.com/

Cheers
Angry

MY 2010 Best Of

2010-12-19T13:47:00.000-08:00

Here we are with my top ten for 2010. Basically I viewed this with the idea that I would rate 1-10 by how many plays these albums or singles received at my home and car. Another criteria was for me to base this on reviewing these releases. So as you see below there are two recent releases that have gained mention. Firstly, The Boys. This is is such a fantastic release that the number one pole is deserving. If it was not released this year, Sham 69 would have won hands down. The second release is the new Wire one. It is pretty damn good too. Now let the debate begin!

1. The Boys-Mattless Boys
Yeah I know they are titled as The Mattless Boys, but really it is The Boys. This is as good as anything they have done in their career
2. Sham 69- Who Killed Joe Public
No Jimmy Pursey??? Sacrilege! Yeah right, this is their best ablum since The Game. This has been in constant rotation in my house since its release
3. Off- First 4 Eps
Keith Morris and Co. finally make an album that has the rage of the early days. This is what Black Flag should have sounded like after the Nervous Breakdown 7”. Classic!
4. From The Jam- Later Days
Russell Hastings and no Paul Weller? Look, I am as big of a fan as anyone with Weller leading The Jam. But truth be told, we will never see that happen again. This song has all the classic sounds that made The Jam my favorite band of all time
5. Swingin’ Utters- Taking The Long Way Ep
I am a little biased but who cares. This is MY blog! Fantastic return by these Santa Cruz/SF punk rockers.
6. Poly Styrene- Black Christmas
Yep, this made my top ten! The slight reggae meets Germ Free Adolescents (song) makes this a huge winner for me
7. DOA- Talk-Action=Zero
DOA have been hitting on all cylinders over the last few years and this is a fantastic release!
8. Killing Joke- Absolute Dissent
In my opinion this is their best since Nightime. Sure wish I could have seen them a few nights ago
9. The Vibrators- Under The Radar
Another strong release by these class of ‘77 vets. They just keep ticking away!
10. Bad Religion- The Dissent Of Man
Was not sure whether this was going to make my top ten this year or not. For me, their formula has been getting a little stale. After seeing them live, I have renewed faith in them. Subsequent listening have proven that this is a great release. Not a classic mind you, but worthy!

Honorable mention:
*Leatherface-The Stormy Petrol....just added this on 12/29/10...I forgot this beauty!
*GBH- Perfume and Piss
Still churning out the speedy, spikey punk that I have been digging since 1982
*Wire- Red Barked Tree
Picked this up today and have listened to it 3-4 times now and I am impressed! Sounds like Chairs Missing in places and 154
*Penetration- The Feeling 7”
This one almost made my top ten. This single is just soooooo damn good! Glad to see such a quality band releasing new material.
Ken

The Dils

2010-12-19T11:24:00.001-08:00

Just to show you all that I am not just hyping new releases and such, I will be posting this in the next few days. This covers their singles, their one track on Rat Music and a slew of live stuff that is not available to my knowledge. The holidays and work have me swamped but I will get this out. This was released in 1990 on Damaged Goods and has not been reissued since. Here is what you get live:

9 Citizen 2:25
10 It's Not Worth It 1:53
11 Intro 0:28
12 National Guard 2:41
13 Tell Her I Love Her 2:18
14 Gimme A Break 2:41
15 Mr. Big 2:25
16 Love House 3:23
17 Wreck Of The Old 97 2:04
18 New Kicks 3:29
19 Before The Law 3:07
20 Tell Me What I Want To Hear 2:12
21 Class War 2:01
22 Blow Up! 2:21
23 I Hate The Rich 1:37
24 C-A-R 2:02
25 Turgid Tosh 3:10
26 Some Things Never Change 3:54
27 Poor Poor Girl 3:52
28 Only The Lonely 2:33
29 You Don't Matter Anymore

9 and 10 live, punks against black lung benefit, Mabuhay Gardens, San Francisco, March 20 1978
11 to 24 live, Aito's, Berkley, November 18 1978
25 to 28 live, Los Angeles, 1979
29 live, Temple Beautiful, San Francisco, September 11, 1979

Ken

Mattless Boys

2010-12-19T11:16:00.000-08:00

Who are the Mattless Boys you ask??????????? Think about it for a second........It is The Boys without Matt Dangerfield. Though you get a fanastic replacement with Vom from Die Toten Hosen! So essentially it is The Boys. Maybe Matt owns The Boys name or something??? Well to be honest here, I am a huge fan of The Boys and all of the poppy punkish sounds! Mainy from It's A Shit Thing put me in the right direction with them. I checked around and found out that they have a full length available. I bought mine on iTunes. Since it was purchased on iTunes and it is a new release, I will not post a freebie for this. Trust me, this will make my top 10 of 2010 very easily! It is available at Amazon and here is the link to Drumming Monkey Records who put this out. I think Vom might have something to do with this too.
Ken

http://www.drummingmonkey.de/

VIce Squad-Christmas songs

2010-12-18T16:12:00.000-08:00

ahhh Beki all Christmas'd up!!! Hey folks go to their site and click on the News tab. One free song and one you have to pay for. Both are realy good!!
Ken

http://www.vicesquad.co.uk/vicesquadshop/home.html

Poly Styrene-Black Christmas

2010-12-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

Hey all, I just wanted to point out that Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex has released a fantastic single entitled Black Christmas. It is kinda reggae influenced and really good IMHO. It is available for free download on her site. Here is the link.
http://www.poly-styrene.com/

Best of 2010

2010-12-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been a little scarce as of late but things have been very hectic in Angry's personal life. Thought I would take the time to post my top picks of the year though. Very good year for music imo. Here are Angrys top releases of the year in no particular order (although I have put one on the top of the list!)

Bouncing Souls - Ghosts on the Boardwalk
Manic Street Preachers - Postcards from a Young Man
Paul Collins - King of Powerpop
Jim Jones Revue - Burning Your House Down
Sham 69 - Who Killed Joe Public
Grinderman - Grinderman 2
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Superchunk - Majesty Shredding
Bad Religion - Dissent of Man
Off with their Heads - In Desolation
Off - Box Set
Hoodoo Gurus - Purity of Essence
Alejandro Escovado - Street Songs of Love
Class Assassins - You've Got it All Wrong
Len Price 3 - Pictures
Devo - Something for Everybody
Alkaline Trio - This Addiction
Against Me - White Crosses

And top pick by far goes to the smokin hot rock and roll lp pictured above! Excellent!

Get it here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SWINGIN-NECKBREAKERS-Pop-Tops-LP-NEW-SEALED-GARAGE-/260701000511?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item3cb2fd933f

Update

2010-12-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hey all, I will be posting some new stuff here in the near future. I just wanted to get my interview with Jason Honea out of the way. Look below and read a great interview that I (as well as Jason) put together.
Ken

An Interview with Jason Honea of Social Unrest

2010-10-23T08:01:00.001-07:00

Grim Reality '84 Foothill College

10 Bright Spikes

The Knit Separates '98

The Catholics are attacking ! Teenage Panzerkorps-

Jason Honea/The Knit Separates

Grim Reality '83

photo taken by Dela Chafee : Social Unrest, Sacramento 9/86

An Interview With A Musical Wanderer; An Interview With Social Unrest vocalist Jason Honea.

What started out as an interview that was going to touch briefly on Jason’s South Bay (San Jose area to our foreign readers )band Grim Reality and then mostly the great Social Unrest, turned into much more than that. To say that Social Unrest were my favorite band second only to The Dead Kennedys is an understatement. They had the ability to write thought provoking, melodic punk songs that were more literate than most bands could do. They were awesome! This conversation takes some turns as we discuss his post Social Unrest involvement with 10 Bright Spikes with UK Subs guitar player Nicky Garrett and other bands that Jason has participated in since. It has been a pleasure talking to him about his experiences, and I thank him for his patience with this interview. Ladies and Gentleman, here it is, an interview with a musical muse
　
　
Q:How did Grim Reality come about?
Grim Reality started as a neighborhood band (Sunnyvale) as a result of rock dreams fortified by the new sounds that not just KFJC was pumping out at us...I think I actually first heard Chinese Rocks late one night on KSJO !! It was the 'Animal World' single by The Last Words that really got me itchy !! Thanks KFJC
Q:How did personnel changes affect the band (do you know that Charles had me try out playing bass??? Or was it another band????? Bad idea at the time, because I could barely play bass at the time) Actually this was a different band than Grim Reality. My mistake!
Personnel changes massively affected the band . Bill Wasmuth was the one that precipitated that once I went to vocals and he didn't have to keep things easy in order for me to keep up...Nico Wenner and Spy of course augmented the band's sound ten fold. By the time those two were in the band we had dropped over 80 percent of our 81-82 material !!! Ron Isa got the band sounding smoother ( I had always hoped we'd get a bassist kinda like Rainy... a smooth Sabbath-ish style. Ron did this sorta) in that he complimented Nico's abilities perfectly and that was a really ,really good idea at the time because it brought us back in or kept us in the game so to speak . What I mean here is that bands like Ribzy and Los Olvidados were just way above us ability wise..... Ron helped us change so much of our sound literally over night. Not sure if you were at the campbell party -show in that garage but what got delivered that night was in part Ron's doing. Don't want to in anyway rule out both Nico and Spy's contributions either though .... of course i could go on .
Q:How was it playing with Sean Gregonis ?
Well, Sean smoothed it all out too. For starters, he had a real bass, and if I remember correctly, he was familiar with the more music than we were. Even more importantly is that he brought all his punk buddies into our camp and this augmented our profile a bit. We weren't just the sunnyvale homestead/fremont guys anymore... Yeah, We met Sean or at least saw Sean play for the first time at the Sunnyvale Community Center when he was with the Resistors...he was there for the initial changes though I can't remember for the life of me now why he quit or left.... Great parties at his place !
Ken:I was at the Sunnyvale Community Center show too….fun night that was!. As for Sean’s dad, that is what I have heard about him. I knew his dad pretty well and he was a great guy that drove kids to shows, let them party at his apartment etc. In fact, many kids crashed at their apartment. Funny thing that Lars Fredrikson of Rancid fame lived in the same apartment complex and worshiped those that hung there.
Q"When Charles went to Executioner, how did that affect the band

Charles was only in the band for a couple of rehearsals.

Q:Oh wow, ok, I thought he was there longer than that.
Was Grim Reality broken up when you moved over to Social Unrest ?

Not initially. In fact, S.U. came snooping around a bit earlier. Jim Brogan saw me perform with G.R. at Agnews State Hosp. and asked me if I would be interested in trying out for SU. I recall being somewhat shocked as an SU fan because I had no idea that Creetin was even on the way out.
It wasn't until a few months later that Spy broke the news to us that he wasn't going to be in Grim Reality anymore. At that point,I think Nico was already getting offers from other bands as well though I'm not totally about of this. At any rate, it basically freed all of us up to move on...As you know, once Grim Reality split both he and Ron Isa went to Whipping Boy. I ended up calling SU, tried out, got the job , and then we started immediately working on that SU2000 material

Q:How did SU fans accept you. I mean, Creetin is legendary! Most of the time it is real hard to replace a lead singer...i.e. Stranglers, Undertones, DKs, etc
SU fans hated me and I think some still do. Basically, with few exceptions, we had to build a whole new audience !
To be honest though , it was one of the best things that could have happened to me...that animosity. I had to really work hard and do my own thing. Create my own identity or reinvent.....and it's paid off hugely. It's made starting new bands and getting new things off the ground later all that much easier simply because I know what it means to scramble, improvise and deal with adversity. Whatever the case, it would have happened to whoever in the end would have replaced Creetin. They tried out a few guys from local bands...
Danny warned me it would be that way and he was right.
And, it happened at a good time, hardcore was changing immensely by '84, and let's face it, it needed to grow- which is certainly what SU did.
But, we all know how much punks don't like change....
And lets face it, a band is an organic thing made up of lives that are of course
changing all the time themselves…

Q:So obviously adding James Brogan, Ray Vegas and you, made for a different sounding band. SU2000 was a stylistic departure from the Ep making Room For Youth and the awesome Rat In A Maze 12". Was it the influence that James brought into the band that made the band different, or was it a combined effort of all three of you? Bringing different influences and such?

Definitely ! Jim , Ray and myself brought in a couple of different things .For starters, Ray could really play his instrument!!!!!! Also, Danny says that he started to tailor certain music for my voice...things like Stranger Inside and even Out my Window. I was really wanting to sing as well… I mean really sing. Although I was doing that Dion/Ribzy voice on SU2000 what I really wanted to do was somehow use my natural voice but I really didn't know how nor was I too sure about what to do. This would have been right when we were starting to write Before the Fall and I was getting super into the Zombies and Brian Wilson. Another aspect: James brought in music like Jimmy Rocks and Public Enemy #1, signature James Brogan stuff really, elements of which we ended up hearing not only on later SU stuff but on that material Jim did after SU. James had very much his own style, certain flourishes and embellishments....also his down stroke strumming. Oh, and, another factor: of course there was metal all over the place at that time ... which had it's influence as everyone knows.

Ken:(Readers, for those that do not know, When Jason refers to the Dion/Ribzy voice, he is talking about longtime San Jose area hardcore band Ribzy which has one of the great all time SF Bay Area scenester in Greg Oropeza)

Q:Because what I mean, Making Room For Youth and Rat In A Maze were more straight ahead ramalama punk, and then you have some lineup changes. SU seems to pay attention to dynamics in the songs, crescendo's, varied rhythm's.

Yeah. I recall someone telling me at some point that SU was born already a 'complete' band ... meaning I guess that it was always capable of offering something ripe and maybe a bit different again and again : Good writing, idiosyncratic musicians and playing, style.... and then later just turning into this indeterminable amalgam.

Was it emo?
was it hardcore?
it wasn't metal...
'seemed' punk-like...
I think it's great that it turned out that way !

And what's even better is that it seemed natural and right without anyone in the band feeling like they had to put the brakes on and see if it fit in with the canon or even check with our public- check their reaction, etc....

Q:Looking back now, I look at bands from this era, i.e. Code of Honor, C2D, Sic Pleasure, Verbal Abuse, DRI, Fang, the were all great bands, and in fact bands I like a lot, but SU and The DK's were different. Style and ability comes to mind. Do you think that you were different than those bands. I will leave Crucifix in a different category as they deserve their own little world because they were sooooo good.

Yeah ! Danny's songs had more chords to'em and he was just capable of exploring more different moods . Not sure how to answer this actually.... I liked some of those bands.... Maybe they were consciously just trying to play 'punk rock' .!!???!

Q:Did SU tour in support of SU2000 and if so, where did you guys go?

We did a summer tour in '85 essentially touring on SU2000 and of course all the old stuff. First show was in Dallas and then up the East Coast. Can't remember where it ended. I just remember the night we got back, I got dropped off at the Varsity in Palo Alto and I was so hungry , I think one of the O'Brien’s gave me a cold hamburger to chomp while driving me back to (408).
(Jason is referring to the 408 telephone area code that we all lived within)

Q:Before The Fall, what an achievement! Of all the SU albums, this one in my opinion was the pinnacle of the band's career. Each release was fantastic, but for me, this is my favorite for many reasons. Again, SU seemed to be following the same formula as built upon with SU2000. The difference is an even more varied approach with some of the best playing the band has ever done. Lyrical theme's and overall musicianship makes the album so special. Jason, what was your thoughts while recording this? It seems your lyrical approach had grown to a more of a, dare I say more poetic in nature? Why I am asking this, is because you listen to American Steel, A Dragon In The Kremlin, Golgotha (which makes me STILL want to run around my house and break things), but it has such a great feel to it. The pinnacle in my opinion is Night of The Long Knives. Jason, if you could explain the correlation between the title and the lyrics please. Is it right for me to say that I can hear some Buzzcocks, later period Wire, Gang Of Four in the music? This album reminds me of what The Effigies from Chicago were doing around the same time.

Right after I joined and we were working hard on SU2000 I started to get really obsessed with lyrics .Certain bands had lyrics that were way better than their music and other bands just had consistently great lyrics. When loud and fast music started sounding all the same to me and metal just didn't do anything for me, I started taking a more interested look at bands' lyrics. This also would have been around the time that I decided I was going to use my natural voice and not a stylized one. It also occurred to me that I wasn't going to lie anymore as a singer and I certainly wasn't going to feign stuff-say stuff because it was popular or just accepted at the time.. .. I think this might have been how Dave Burks was feeling as well-I saw it in certain aspects of his lyrical approach. I can remember really liking some of his lyrics that were lying around his place after R.O.T. broke up. Whatever the case, for me it became about imaginative power activated by strong emotion....an emotional compulsion . Themes and content varied for sure...what was of tons of interest to me then were motivations and intentions, why and how people act on things the way they do....
Night of the Long Knives was about a struggle of sorts within the band. Nothing I want to talk about here.

Q:The reason I mention The Buzzcocks is that a lot of Before The Fall has the same kind of melancholy vibe that was on side two of A Different Kind Of Tension
Well, I think some if it was just compulsive and natural. Another element might be the range of music that all of us were listening to or starting to listen to. I know Danny liked UK Decay and Furio among quite a few other things. Mark had his own broad range of stuff he was into. He turned me onto literally tons of stuff that I just didn't care about before or didn't take seriously !! That b-side basically took off were Stranger in Side/Out my Window dropped off, that's how I saw it at least. We did a show in Nürnberg one time at which we only played that plodding and vibe-y stuff, maybe just a thirty or so minute gig.

Q:After the release of Before The Fall, did you guys hit Europe again? How was Europe and how did they respond to you guys. Apart from The Dead Kennedys and Black Flag, and to a smaller degree, CH3 (because of the releases being on No Future in the UK), were you guys known? How were the shows. From what I have read in the book Get In The Van, Henry Rollins commented on how tough it was playing in the UK. I know The DK's and MDC toured the EU and were treated pretty well. Just wondering.

Europe was fantastic in too many different ways and yes we were treated well. That was right after Konkurrenz in Holland licensed Before the Fall over here . They licensed Now and Forever as well . In '96 we did some shows in the UK and yeah, it did seem tough.
Memorable gigs from this period

Q:Any stories of bands you played with or people that you met?
Did a great show at a squatted planetarium in Copenhagen. Tons of the German shows were great. A show in Ljubljana was probably the high lite of the tour. Rome was great as was Livorno together with the Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers. We had a nice entourage of people traveling with us. Dolf from Trust, Ute from M.A.D. booking tux from Negazione...It was one of the funnest times of my young life

Q:Moving away from Before The Fall, SU released the more adventurous Now and Forever. Creetin sings lead vocals on Handcuffs Too Tight, as well as back up vocals on Sins Of Paris. What was behind this???? Hand Cuffs Too Tight really draws from the bands earlier days. Was this song left over from before you were in the band or was it something Creetin had that he brought in for you guys.

Handcuffs too Tight was written by Creetin following events after some show at the Tool and Die back at that point when he was still in the band. When we did our reunion show at Gilman a few years later Creetin was asked to participate of course and one of the songs played that night was Handcuffs Too Tight. Because the event was so harmonious, we decided to have him come in and record it for that version that was eventually released on Now and forever.

Q:My favorite Buzzcocks song done by Social Unrest! Why a cover and why this song??? I remember buying this album and being so stoked to hear this! Again, The Buzzcocks are mentioned!

Yeah. At some point we started thinking about a cover song ... I seem to recall that we might have experimented with a Vibrators song but I'm not too sure about this anymore. Danny, I believe brought in Ever fallen in Love? ...What I do specifically remember is that from time to time Mark would start playing that signature beat from PIL's Flowers of Romance LP.That would have been fantastic to have done something with....

Q:I noticed Peter Miller produced alongside SU most of the stuff you recorded. Who is he and what role did he play with the band in attaining the fantastic sound you guys had.

Peter Miller is a long standing studio owner and engineer in San Francisco. Originally, he was THEE Peter Miller of Peter Miller and the Jaywalkers, an English rocknroll /R'nB band popular in Britain in the early and mid sixties. He was also a Decca studio musician and if my memory serves me correctly, he learned his tech /engineering skills from Joe Meek.
Later, his studio on Union street was the studio where the Avengers, the Breakouts, Crucifix among a whole host of others did some of their seminal recordings.

Ken:Ahhh The Breakouts…they were awesome!!!
How did the live Mental Breakdown album come about. I know that it was released on the German label Lost And Found...By the way, that thing is impossible to find!

I can't really remember. We finished that Euro tour and I seem to recall getting a phone call from someone asking if it could be released. I might have been the only one that got called- In fact, I think that was actually the case because I have some foggy memory of my telling SU about the call and then our discussing the details.
For me it was a classic case of what was a great live show just not making the transition to vinyl all that well. I haven't listened to that in years but I never really liked it mainly because of my own performance. Also, there was a moment of tension once it came out: I got yet another phone call from someone in Amsterdam claiming that it was stupid of us(me ?) to have authorized it because it was going to distract people away from buying the new, Now and Forever release that was pending at that time...which didn't make any sense to me at all if only because the live thing was just a bunch of old material presented live where as Now and Forever was all new, new material. That's SHOW BIZ I guess ...
Q:Out of all the albums you did with SU, this one had some of the coolest titles. If you could explain Katarina Whitt, Sex Boy and Highroller Desolation Angels (aka Sacred Hearts)
That's when I started reading all those Henry Miller books that Mac(sic) Miller kicked down to me. Oh , and then of course there was all that vintage fuselage/nose art that I was getting into at that point .

Q:Ron Isa comes into the fold. How does this change the band?
Now and Forever, how was this album received? Again, it seems that the band is moving more away from the bands punk roots and stretching their boundaries

I think it came out in the fall of '89 and honestly, I don't think it was ever really 'received'....if you know what I mean... but I may be wrong. As a matter of fact, I think it came out after the band broke up. I mentioned earlier that we recorded that after we got back from that '87 Euro tour. I went to Germany the summer after and James sent me the records once I was living there. No reviews of any kind come to mind BUT, by this point in time I was just completely somewhere else musically, completely distracted ... I don't think I was paying much attention.
Q:Who and where did the album cover art come from? I have always loved this cover. The cool thing about music, and especially punk rock is the artwork on 7" record sleeves as well as album covers.

Mike Miro's daughter Kyle did it...not sure what ever happened to her. Mike Miro ran Positive Press in Berkeley and he also did a lot with Brave Ear mag .Yeah, cover graphics are just too important. Track titles and cover art are their own separate sphere completely yet a huge part of the whole. I've got tons of stuff that I've bought simply because the covers are great or the lyrics, etc are fantastic.... regardless of the music. I also think there've been times when I made some music or scrambled to find some simply because I wanted to get a cover out there !!
Q:In fact, thinking about that, why did you guys only release one 7"...Making Room For Youth??? Considering the 7" record was the cheapest and fastest way to document a band, that was the only single you guys did. Why just albums????? Can't answer that. I personally was super into the whole record collecting culture at the beginning and appreciated all forms of vinyl but as far as our output goes... I don't think we were consciously trying to avoid a 7'' . We wrote and rehearsed lots of new music constantly...I think mainly because of this, the 12" LP just seemed to offer more.

Q:Since SU were more melodic than a lot of you contemporaries, and being SU were an East Bay band...Do you think you helped influence or shape the Gilman St. sound. I mean, most of the bands that were playing at Gilman in the late 80's were much different the Christ On Parade, Neurosis....Namely what I am talking about is how bands payed more attention to melody and structure..Of course we have Samiam in which James Brogan was involved with..
A couple of points come to mind here.For starters I don't know if I can really answer this because, like I mentioned earlier, by this point in time I just wasn't paying attention .That said, although we were as you describe, I don't think we had that big of an influence on anything locally. Europe,again,was different though. In fact, I don't think we had much of an audience in the Bay Area left at all !! Lets face it, most were just completely stuck on Rat in a Maze !!
I will say though that by that late year there were a lot of things and forces afoot...(and not just metal thank Christ)- both locally and nationally that were influencing or going to influence the way things were going to go in the 90s. I can remember our '87 Euro tour really opening my eyes and ears up . American style 80s hardcore was just sinking it's claws in there BUT it was by no means the most interesting or confrontational thing happening...if anything, at least for me, it was the least interesting thing by that time. Other things there really excited me-stuff we didn't have in the US nor really ever would....the implications of which would reveal itself a bit later.
Q:How did the breakup of SU occur?
I cant recall the band ever officially sitting down, talking and then agreeing to split up. I do remember my just wanting to get back to Europe and get on with other music. We did a show in Sacto with 7 Seconds and we recorded 'Now and Forever' with Ron Isa on bass as Ray had split.. Beyond that , it's just hazy for me.Eventually, Danny and Mark both found themselves in Amsterdam while I was in Germany. Ray meanwhile was in Attitude(?) Ron in Whipping Boy (and Blast!??) and Jimmy joined or helped start Samiam.
Q:How did you end up meeting Nicky Garrett of The UK Subs?
James Brogan turned Nickey on to me, maybe because of the Now and Forever LP stuff ....Samiam was, I guess, by this point already releasing stuff on New Red Archives. This would have been a year or so after I got back from Germany...'91 or so. And the timing was excellent because the field was wide open for new stuff. At the beginning Nickey just sent cassettes for me to listen to and it developed quickly from there.
Q:10 Bright Spikes is much different in style and substance than SU or The Subs....now why is that? I hear Wire (which I know Nicky is a huge fan of), but I also hear elements of The Beach Boys in the some of the background vocals, am I correct on this??
Well, Nickey didn't ever, ever really listen to punk anyway and I was fresh back from Europe with my head full of all kinds of new sounds and notions about how a band should be and what was possible- and a lot was possible !!! Nickey immediately jump started everything: he wrote the music, he travelled up to SF to work on stuff and rehearse,he handled studio costs, he organized and motivated- he was kinda intense and sorta the leader. That said however, he gave me tons of free room for me to do my thing... and all I really wanted to do was sing, do lyrics and come up with graphics. Also, I got the first studio line up together which was Nickey and myself plus Ron Isa on bass and Mario Pietryga. from the Upright Citizens on drums. Again, recorded at Peter Miller's on Union Street.Over the course of the next two or three years(?) that line up would change as my childhood buddy Jacek Ostoya took over on bass and a couple of other drummers cycled through- Dave Ayer from Samiam being one of them. We got a ton done real quick: three 10"s, two full length CDs and even recorded a third, Crime Map, which was never released but in my estimation was probably the best.There was a comp track or two as well. We listened to and digested as best we could tons and tons of music. Nickey turned all of us onto older music that we just knew nothing about which of course just gave free license to indulge in everything we thought was cool even more then before . It was all just free association and filling in the blanks with whatever seemed appropriate. Super liberating !!!
Q:How much did you guys play live?
We only did two shows. One was with Mecca Normal and the other just some open night at the I Beam.
Q:SU reformation, how did this occur? How was it playing bass and sharing lead vocal duties with Creetin? Obviously, it must have been tough due to both of you guys being the lead singer of this band at one time or another.
Nickey was re-releasing stuff by other bands by this point. He had already done that Reagan Youth thing and I'm not sure what else if even anything else. He approached us about doing all of Social Unrest's catalog on NRA and it just so developed that he offered to pay for a new album as well. As far as Creetin and I switching bass and vocals is concerned, I don't think we ever had a REAL problem. I don't ever recall having the feeling or getting the impression that he or I was cramping one or the others style or scene. What WAS difficult however was my getting used to playing bass! It was all too new for me and a bit bewildering. Danny used to take time to coach me, etc. and Creetin taught me the basics. To this day, I still don't really play bass but I can use one. Creetin is a bass player by trade and nature. Just listen to New Lows and you'll know what I mean as he's just so present on that recording.
Q:New Lows is a pretty good album, retaining the trademark SU sound. How did you guys end up recording with Billy Joe of Green Day?
ha ha! James Brogan once again !!! Billy was fun . He even sang backups on Sheer Heart Attack ! You can totally hear him.
Q:What are your thoughts on the re-formed Social Unrest that is out playing these days
Seems like they're having fun and doing more than just making ends meetand I think it's really great that they put a new single out . I'd love to see Mark Monte get active in music again....maybe he has been but I haven't heard or seen anything. He's still the most idiosyncratic drummer I've ever ever played with.... and I've played with a ton !!!
Q:What are you doing musically now?

My most current project is 'The Walking Corpses' featuring Karsten Scholl from Teenage Panzerkorps/The Nazi Dogs, myself, Julian Percy from Last Dominion Lost/Ratbag and John Murphy from Death in June,Knife Ladder etc. I'm hoping that we're gonna have a cassette out soon on No Vacation in Montreal. I've also got 'The Greens ,Pinks and Whites' together with Tim Coster (NZ). Both The Shitty Listener, my solo project, as well as Teenage Panzerkorps are both going full tilt. Berlin's been a great place to get things done. There's no end to resources and people with whom to do work with.

Q:What bands have you played in after SU and 10 Bright Spikes ??
Directly after SU I played in a band in Germany called Happy Ever After. We did two singles, one being a cover of Lexicon Devil - one of my all time favorite things in the world. Then later,during 10 Bright Spikes, I was also in a band called Alger Hiss. After that, it was The Knit Separates, The Child Readers, TPK, Tubesock Corpses,The Pumptights,The Yang Mings, The Shitty Listener . The Greens,Pinks and Whites. Now , of course, there's The Walking Corpses. There's been a host of others as well... sometimes they're not even bands per se but just recordings.
Q:After the demise of 10 Bright Spikes, the bands that you have been in are much different than anything you have done in the past ??
Yeah, but now my past is much more extensive than just SU and XBS... As I've said before in the past, it just kept getting better ! I just kept on discovering even more incredible music ....as well as even more incredible people to make it with. The 'punk' became more real the older I got .
Q:How did you end up playing with one of the guys from Death In June?
He's a neighbor of sorts and of course just a big knot of experience and ideas. Murphy's played on some very important recordings with some very inspiring people and acts. I just really wanted to try to do something with him .
Q:Most of your newer projects have more of a post punkish industrial vibe how did you vere into this territory ?
I think the post punk moniker is more incidental. I don't quite see the industrial you mention. What it really comes down to is trying to get back to basics. A voice, singing or otherwise, telling a story or making a claim and then behind it all or accompanying it, carrying it... a rhthym or even some kind of instrument just used to help get the idea across.
Q:What stuff is being released and where can others seek and find your newer projects??
There's tons out there though some of it's kinda limited . Check out : Siltbreeze, No Vacation, Rural Fauna,Softabuse, Digitalis. 3 Acre Floor, Pink Skulls ,Burundi Cloud....I know I must be forgetting one or two.
Q:Are any of these projects playing live ??
The Shitty Listener is always playing out. It's basically just me with some help from only a few friends so it's very easy to just pick up and ''do'' !!! Teenage Panzerkorps(TPK) might, MIGHT do something this winter/spring ...
Q:Any last things that you'd like to add ??
Yeah, I'd like to thank all the people who helped, contributed and been a part of it : Michael Northam for all his various skills-musical or otherwise. Benjamin Aman too . Mel Velarde and Barbara Massacci for being shitty with me ;).Dorota Stachowicz(Los Doros) for all her great drawings and cover art !!! Nickey Garratt for being into it and 'getting' it !! And lastly, there's the kooks who've always been there and helped and inspired all along the way:Loren Chasse, Jacek Ostoya,Karsten Scholl, Glenn Donaldson, Pat Tovez, Kerry McLaughlin,Brian Strang, Christine Boepple, Bob Demmler and .... Danny Norwood!!!!

　

Off!-First Ep

2010-10-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

Just released! 4 songs all under a minute. Think early Black Flag (with Keith singing) and early Circle Jerks...This is classic SoCal hardcore done the way that it is supposed to be done. Absolute perfection here kids. From what I understand, they will be releasing 4 Eps and then compile it on one album. This is raging!!!!! Sure looks like 2010 is going to be one heck of a year for some good tunes!

I just bought the the whole enchilada yesterday, 17 songs and one of the best releases of 2010 by far!

Ken

Killing Joke-Absolute Dissent

2010-10-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

Holy shit! Where in the hell did this one come from??????? This has to be there best album since Nightime! Seriously, the guitars rage, Jaz' vocals are top notch and the playing is inspired. Please do yourself a favor and get this thing. I was very non committal on listening to this and boy was I wrong. This is awesome!!!!
Ken

Blitz-Voice Of A Generation

2010-10-17T16:31:00.001-07:00

This is one of the best punk/Oi! albums of all time. Aside from the somewhat dodgy production this could have been a classsic. Still...the songs are there and boy is this a fantastic album. Heck I loved it so much that the skull is tattooed on my arm. There was a time in the early 80's that finding bands like Blitz, PATTB, Special Duties etc were a cool thing that had an insider feel. You had to search out bands like The Partisans, Blood etc. We did not get the press like The UK did. I know this has been posted on many sites..but mine is cooler!

Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?85tbz4844t1vhuv

Ladies and Gentleman...How Do

2010-10-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hello dear readers and miscreants.....If you have noticed a slight change in Days Of Our Youth then you are very observant. As much as I love 1977-1983 US Punk and Hardcore, I love UK punk from 1976-1985 even more. So as you have noticed, I have been highlighting some of my loves during this period. Angelic Upstarts, PATTB, Abrasive Wheels, etc. I will be going in that direction more and more over the months to follow. So look for some Business, Blitz, Chron Gen, Damned, SLF, and more. This is just a heads up! I will be doing some stuff from the good ole USA still, but I am following what I love. Speaking of music I love, unfortunately you will not be seeing any Bluebeat, Ska, Reggae or Dub here...(and yes I love that music to death), because this is a punk rock blog. One special treat will be an extensive interview with Jason Honea from Social Unrest and Ten Bright Spikes (as well as many other musical journeys)....this will be coming out in a month or so. Jason is from my hometown area, and we met up a month or so ago and hatched this idea out. It is a very in depth interview and I hope you all really enjoy it. Along with The DKs, Social Unrest are one of my all time fave SF Bay Area punk bands. I was stoked to do this, and Jason has been awesome with his patience and thorough answers!!
Ken

The Insane-El Salvador 7"

2010-10-09T16:45:00.000-07:00

I first became aware of The Insane when I heard them on the Punk and Disorderly record in the early 1980's. Of course the song was Last Day and yes, I know the lineup is different than this one that played on the single. I really like all three singles and comp. tracks that they recorded, but by far, this is my favorite. The tempo slowed down a bit and The Insane just became much more dare I say musical?? Compare their first Ep Politics which sounds more like Chaos UK or Disorder and then listen to this one. Big difference!! Maybe it was being on No Future????
Ken
http://www.mediafire.com/?pbd50j0ob6xo3bs

From The Jam-Later Days

2010-10-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

Released today, and purchased today. In fact I was counting down the hours yesterday like it was Christmas Day. To say The Jam was/is my favorite band is an understatement. When I was a teen, they were the world to me. Really, I was obsessed with them. I had to own every single, album etc. I am still that crazy, because I want the long lost album they recorded and shelved prior to All Mod Cons....Fast forward to 2010, and here we have a band that had 2 of the original members of The Jam with Russell Hastings. Time goes by, and now Bruce Foxton is the only original surviving member, with Rick being replaced by Mark Brzezicki. I have always loved Rick's playing, but I have to admit that Mark is more propulsive and urgent than Rick was. I really wish Rick the best, but I like Mark's drumming more. I purchased Later Day on iTunes today and I am sooo glad I did! This has the classic Jam sound written all over it and Russell Hastings plays a lot like Paul Weller. Keep in mind, I really think that Russell is not trying to imitate Paul, but puts his own spin on things. I have listened to it probably 20 times now and with every spin............err ummm I mean play (kids I am 46 now) it just keep getting better and better with each listen. THAT is what makes a great song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I was awake last night thinking about band members, and who is in bands and who is not. I back up what I said about the new Sham album. Members change...all the time. Some bands do well with it and some don't. One can look at The Stranglers, Sham 69, The Undertones, UK Subs, and SLF, and more importantly, From The Jam...BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ken

Pressure

2010-10-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

Does anyone out there have Pressure's 12 Ep that was released on Anagram. The Ep has songs-Pressure and on the flipside were Sixteen Seconds and Check It Out. I have the song Pressure from the Anagram Punk Singles Collection and that is it. I would love to hear the other two songs....Please help me, it is driving me nuts!
Ken

Bad Religion-The Dissent of Man

2010-10-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Another release that just came out is Bad Religion's Dissent Of Man. Obviously different than the new Sham 69 album that I just mentioned, this album rocks too! Possibly their best stuff since The Process Of Belief even. I have tickets for them in November and after hearing this fantastic release, I am stoked to see them in SF! Buy this!

Ken

Sham 69-Who Killed Joe Public

2010-10-02T08:48:00.001-07:00

I just got this the other day, and I have to admit that this is one damn fine album!!!! I have been listening to this non stop for the last couple of days. This just might be their best album since The Game! I know some of you might say sacrilege because this album has no Jimmy Pursey...who cares. Their new vocalist (new??? This is the second album that he has appeared on) does a fantastic job here. One thing I am really digging is the addition of keyboards in some of the songs. To be honest, there is not a weak song on this release, and to me, this is quite stunning. Sham has managed to make an album in 2010 that rocks with a vengeance! Favorites of mine are Little Lady, Last Gang In London, Who Killed Joe Public and The Public Enemy. Top rate stuff lads, thanks for making such a kick ass album. Love this!!!
Ken

Bad Posture-GDMFSOB

2010-09-19T18:48:00.001-07:00

Always loved the cover art to this 12".....Part of the whole Vats scene and regulars at The Tool and Die, Sound Of Music, and On Broadway in San Francisco. Here is their one and only release here for you readers. Ohhh what is The Vats you ask??? Well, I never went there, but from what I know and such, it was a brewery in the southern part of SF near the dog patch. Many bands squatted there like MDC, and many of the other Texas contingent that moved to SF....Not one of my favorite bands but worthy of presenting them to you. I will be working on some C2D, Code Of Honor, Crucifix and others in the near future, so keep your eyes open kids.

Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?49hk1c160641rvy

UK Subs Shake Up The City 12" Ep

2010-09-18T09:47:00.001-07:00

From 1982 and probably my favorite of all UK Subs releases comes this massive Ep! All 3 tracks on this is earth shattering punk the way that you would expect from one of the greatest punk bands ever. All 3 songs on this are deserving of being an "A" side that is how good this is!

Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?npd5b99eof1ny16

Help

2010-09-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

As always.....sorry dear readers....Does anyone have the last two new Stranglers songs that were released earlier this year. I cannot find the friggen things anywhere and I need a fix by one of my alltime fave bands!!!!!!!!!!! Help me please!
Ken

OFF!

2010-09-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhh wow...Man is this good. Who is Off!????? Keith Morris and one of the McDonald brothers from Red Cross, and along with 2 others....that's who! Think early Black Flag with Keith singing....it is that raw and menacing. Here is a link to their Myspace page. There is one song to preview on there. Do yourself a favor and check it out. It is like we have gone back in time 30 years ago. No shit!

http://www.myspace.com/off

Aritcles Of Faith

2010-09-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

Well well...here is some cool news! I have found out that Aritcles Of Faith or AOF to you, are releasing a new album on Alternative Tentacles or AT to you! The good folks over at Punk Vault have posted a video of their new song. It is damn good!!!!!!!!!!!!1

http://www.punkvinyl.com/

Protex-Strange Obsession

2010-08-30T18:56:00.001-07:00

Love this band, love this band, love this band. NI's Protex. Seems that the good folks over at Sing Sing has found their unreleased album. This is not a compilation like Listening In, but the album they recorded for Polydor. Visit the good folks at Sing Sing and get this. You can also go to iTunes an purchase this too.

Ken

http://www.singsingrecords.com/

Angry Needs Some Help Please

2010-08-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

I know all you great people in blogland came through last time I asked for help so here I am again. Was just wondering if anyone out their had the cd Johnny Hanson presents Puck Rock Vol. 1. I'm looking for the Hanson Brothers track "I'm Gonna Play Hockey" Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Angry

Mediafire Question

2010-08-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

Thought I would post a question about something that has been giving me problems for sometime. As anyone that checks out this blog knows I use Rapidshare for hosting my files and when possible downloading files. I have never had a problem with their service but for some reason Mediafire gives me great trouble. It used to work fine for me but within the last six months or so when I click the link to download a mediafire hosted file my computer freezes for about 5 minutes and then the download box will appear. While the computer is frozen nothing else will open. This only happens on the Mediafire links. I find myself now hesitiating to download anything hosted by Mediafire. Any ideas as to why this happens or has anyone else experienced it. Your help is appreciated.

Cheers
Angry

The Fits-Fact Or Fiction 12" Ep

2010-08-16T15:41:00.001-07:00

I first got to find about The Fits when they did the split with Peter and The Test Tube Babies called Pressed For Cash. What started out as a clunky punk band turned into a lean, tight fighting machine. Man did they improve, and improve quickly. This is my favorite of theirs. Some mid tempo rockers and some faster tunes. Nice that they were able to vary their sound. Love this ep.

Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?lj213bc64vxkx16

White Flag-Eternally Undone

2010-08-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am a massive fan! Wild Kingdom is one of my alltime faves. I just got around to listening to this and it is just as good as Wild Kingdom. Mix some psychedelia, Cheap Trick, good ole punk rock and you have one hell of an album. I love this!!!

Ken

Does Anyone Have This?

2010-08-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

I cannot find this anywhere...Instant Agony's last single. If anyone can help me out, that would be great!!!!
Ken

The Damned-The Shadow Of Love 10" Ep

2010-08-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well hey now........my first Damned post since Fun Factory. Here we have my favorite Damned song from their more Goth period. In fact, I might add...Alone Again Or (Yes it is a Love song) comes in a close second. The Shadow Of Love and Nighshift I rate as top notch...but......Would You.....wow, putrid....Could they not find another song to put on there?????? Anyways, I saw The Damned a few times during this period and thought they were fantastic. Yes, they had no Captain, but Roman Jugg and Bryn Merrick (who both played in a Wales punk band prior???) joined The Damned and made The Damned MKXX...kidding.......a functioning unit. I remember seeing The Damned with both of those guys with Captain when they played the Old Waldorf in San Francisco, touring for the massive Strawberries album, with Roman on keys and Bryn of bass....totally cool!!!! Anyways, I am sure my partner in crime will add some other bits and things...Angry where are ya! Here it is, one of my alltime faves....THE DAMNED!

Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?al6sfl2rlo0w5se

VIce Squad-Teenage Rampage 7"

2010-08-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

ahhh Man, here it is. I remember when I bought this little bugger at some little record store in El Paseo. I used buy many English imports there ie Discharge, Vice Squad, Broken Bones, etc. Anyways, I bought this and looked at the cover and thought, hmmm ah they're a 5 piece now and whoa, where is Beki....you have to remember that getting a mag like Sounds, NME (which really would not cover them) or Punk Lives was next to impossible. So....who is the hot girl???? Leah?? Ok, well, crap lets throw it on and see what we have here. Teenage Rampage huh...Good...ohhh I get it, Marc Bolan cover. Nice! But the next song, killed me!!!!!! High Spirits was like their older stuff. Nice! I love this song!! Still do.
Ken
http://www.mediafire.com/?1mkt3hq8azd64td

ps This is it for today!

Vice Squad-Black Sheep 12" Ep

2010-08-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

Well one more from 1984. This is the 7" scan and not the 12" scan so sorry. Another band that really learned how to make some great music. This is with the Sooty and Lia lineup and to be honest, at times I prefer this over era over the earlier stuff. I love both so please no grief ok! Nostalgia! Cool thing....Beki has reformed Vice Squad over the years (much to the original members horror!) and has put out many fantastic albums that I play regularly. Oh and she is still hot!

Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?7154avafbqmp7rc

The English Dogs-To The Ends Of The Earth 12" Ep

2010-08-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

This Ep was an absolute ripper when it came out. Right off of the heels of Invasion Of The Porky Men. Adding Giz on guitar from The Destructors and Ade on vocals from Ultraviolent who had a fantastic Ep on Riot City, here you see The English Dogs propel into speedcore. This Ep is just amazing! Technical and fast, this was on my turntable quite a bit in 1984. Even to this day I love cranking the volume on this one. Enjoy!

Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?82fi35rm8qv4zvl

The Anti Nowhere League-Out On The Wateland 12" Ep

2010-08-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

Dunno how many folks like this time period of The League.....I mean, I love We Are The League and the singles from that time period. But the first time I heard the Four You 7" and then this, I was floored. The band grew up! They can play! Wow! Out On The Wasteland is another one of my 83-84 loves that I have. Again, maybe it is just nostalgia? I started going to shows a bunch in 1983 and saw many bands and it sure seemed like just about everyone was coming over here. Conflict, PATTB, Angelic Upstarts, Chron Gen, UK Subs, Vice Squad, The Damned, Clash, One Way System, Toy Dolls, Discharge, Exploited, and of course The Anti Nowhere League who were supporting The Subs. My old band even got a support slot on one of their comebacks. Cool.

Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?43cn4ppfw97m7gp

Chron Gen-Nowhere To Run 12" Ep

2010-08-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

Chron Gen-Nowhere To Run! I really dig it when bands really learn how to play. Though some would say, and myself included that they were aleady pretty good players to begin with. What I like about this Ep is that they slowed down a bit and really worked on songs. They started doing this with Behind Closed Doors and a few others after there Lp. Another one of my 83-84 loves. By far and away my favorite on this Ep is the song Breakdown...LOVE IT!

Ken

http://www.mediafire.com/?8lty25c992mhoil

Teenage Head (s) - 1983 Tornado EP

2010-08-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

Here we have the 1983 EP by Teenage Head titled Tornado. I'm sure you all know the story of adding the "S" to their name at the record labels request due to this being Teenage Head's big debut in the USA and the name Teenage Head was just way to offensive for the US market. Have times ever changed! Us Canadians sure are raunchy compared to those Americans eh Kenny! One note for you when playing this is that two tracks are tagged together. Long story but I use a Pioneer recorder for ripping vinyl to cd which sounds way better imo than the USB turntables. The only problem is that you have to press a button between tracks to seperate them. I was sleeping between tracks 2 and 3 so they are here as one. The EP is complete though.

Angry

http://rapidshare.com/files/410679661/Tornado_EP.zip.html