Playlist:
The 101′ers–Letsgetabitarockin
Man Or Astroman?–Electrostatic Brain Field
Mike Ness–Cheating At Solitaire
Shira Girl–Daddy’s Little Grrrl
X–Universal Corner
Stray Cats–Rumble In Brighton
7 Shot Screamers–Vampire
Turbonegro–Rendezvous With Anus
Descendents–Talking
The Misfits–20 Eyes
Samhain–Death Comes Ripping (Live)
Kevin Federline–KFed Freestyle
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros–Road To Rock N’ Roll
The Original Sinners and 7 Shot Screamers at CBGBs, NYC, March 22, 2006
“Happy hump day,” yelled 7 Shot Screamers singer Mike Leahy before blasting off a half hour of pure rock ‘n’ roll that can best be described as a cross between The Clash and Johnny Thunder’s solo stuff. Here’s the catch–the band plays with an upright bass, and they don’t sound anything like a psychobilly band. Read more »
Some Girls
“Heaven’s Pregnant Teens”
Epitaph
I’ll be the first person to tell you that American Nightmare aka Give Up the Ghost was the best hardcore band since about 1988. I even dug craziness of The Locust for a while. So when Wes Eisold of AN and Justin Pearson of The Locust get together and start a thrashy and trashy hardcore supergroup you would think it would be good right? When all is said and done I just wish American Nightmare would get back together already.
Screechy feedback and guitar destruction is a good way to sum everything up. This ain’t Julianna Hatfield folks—and I feel sorry for any of her fans that go to check out that next Some Girls show. Wes is still pissed and the whole album seems to brutally attack religion. They even throw in a cover of “Religion Pt. II” by Public Image LTD. For good measure.
This is a total mess and is almost unlistenable, but it seems as if that’s exactly what they were going for. The title track is a good hardcore jam, but I want a little bit more bang for my buck. Stick with the old bands.
Doesn’t Rock l Kinda Rocks l Rocks l Really Rocks
Girls in Hawaii
“From Here to Thereâ€
China Shop Music
Girls in Hawaii are good for a sunny drive home and are a perfect way you get you out of your “winter depression.” Hell the boys even agree with me with a song titled “Time to Forgive the Winter.” Taking cues from Radiohead, The Pixies, and REM- “From Here to There†is an excellent selection of pop gems.
Girls in Hawaii sing in broken English. It sounds kind of silly for some songs, but you’ve got to give them props for trying. Hailing from Belgium, the band has gotten a ton of play in Europe and is finally on their way to world domination.
“9:00am†is the perfect open for this record. In fact all of the songs fall into a quiet, but fun indie rock sound. Fans of current indie sensations like The Shins or The New Pornographers will eat this up. The album closer, “Catwalk,” even clocks in at 15 minutes! For more info check out www.myspace.com/girlsinhawaii.
Doesn’t Rock l Kinda Rocks l Rocks l Really Rocks
Jonah Matranga
“There’s a lot in Here”
Equal Vision
Jonah makes girls panties melt. It’s official. After watching and hearing the way the ladies shriek at him you’d be hard pressed to determine a reason why he’s not as popular as Chris Carraba of Dashboard Confessional.
Included in this CD/DVD package are two lives shows, one in a living room and one at a club. The audio companion features both of these performances in all their lo-fi and rock star glory. Jonah constantly interrupts his own songs to interact with the crowd; he encourages loud singalongs and emotion. He should not be dismissed as some emo songwriter hack, after all this man was responsible for Far and Onelinedrawing.
The audio is a bit hard to stomach as cell phones go off, crowd banter interrupts songs, and generally speaking the guitar simply is not loud enough. The live recording did make me want to check out all of the original recordings. The track “Lukewarm” with his full band ROCKS. If you’ve ever been interested in this handsome man this is the place to start. And if you are like my finance, you’ll probably also want to make out with him. Also included are videos for all the tracks on “The Volunteers.” Jonah is perfect for Equal Vision.
Doesn’t Rock l Kinda Rocks l Rocks l Really Rocks
Formed in 1989 by Danish submarine operator and tattooist Kim Nekroman, The Nekromantix survived at least two waves of psychobilly going on to release successful records on Epitaph’s Hellcat imprint. Commandeering a handmade coffin-shaped upright bass, Nekroman has written dozens of songs featuring the creatures of the night and tons and tons of ghouls. Read more »
If kicking ass had a soundtrack it would feature more than a few songs by the Turbo A.C.’s. This band of NYC castoffs has created the perfect melding of rock and punk satisfying both the greaser and mohawker nestled deep within your rock ‘n’ roll soul. After stints on Blackout and Nitro Records, the trio is back with a tremendous record called “Avenue X” out on Gearhead Records. Life In A Bungalo caught up with singer/guitarist Kevin Cole to talk about the current scene, the new record, and kicking Dexter Holland’s ass. Read more »
