Life In A Bungalo

One of the most ferocious rock bands to be born from the New York/New Jersey punk scene, Electric Frankenstein sweat rock ‘n’ roll. EF weren’t so much conceived as emoted from the ashes of everything cool about rock. They tear down music to its most primitive, carnal elements, plug the guitar into the amp and shred at eleven. Life In A Bungalo interviewed guitarist and founder Sal Canzonieri to find out what he thinks of the current rock scene, the low-brow art poster movement, the upcoming release of a set of Circus Punks based on the band’s artwork.

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Kill Your Idols DVD
Palm Pictures

This is a tale of two movies. The first half of the documentary provides an overwhelming history of the pre-punk NYC movement and the post-punk No Wave scene of the late early and late ’70s. Suicide and Lydia Lunch might be legends, but hearing them babble about how great they are does not make for much eye candy.

Things pick up a bit with the early ’80s and the creation of the greatest noise rock band in the world–Sonic Youth. But as soon as they are mentioned, the film skips to 2002 and so begins a half hour long bashing of the current New York rock scene by aging No Wave veterans. There seems to be quite a bit of resentment against the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Strokes by the elder scenesters, but what is most depressing is that the movie totally ignores great No Wave bands like Mission of Burma and Beat Happening. It’s like No Wave just ended with Sonic Youth until a bunch of little kids picked up the reigns in 2002.

Not a bad movie for early history, but definitely not the end all to be all manifest of the No Wave scene. To fill in the blanks, pick up “Our Band Could Be Your Life” by Mike Azerrad.

Eric Pigor’s art is like a test tube filled with parts of the Addams Family, some vintage horror movies, and a touch of Mexican wrestling. He blends kiche with cool and has just released a Circus Punk that epitomizes his creepy sense of style. With Halloween approaching, Life In A Bungalo decided to visit Unkle Pigors to find out what he’s been up to.

So what’s your home like on Halloween? Judging by some of your creations, you must have lines a mile long for candy.
No, the neighborhood isn’t quite like it was as when I was a kid. Must be all the people being a bit afraid to let their kids wander the neighborhood door to door these days.

When I was a kid and I went out I remember just seeing a sea of kids in costumes running down the streets with me. I do my own spookhouse now just so kids have a bit of spooky fun like I remember having when I went out trick or treating. Otherwise it’s just door-to-door free candy. You might as well just go to the store and buy your own bag of candy then. Read more »

Bastards of Young DVD
Image Entertainment

Bastards of Young is a feature-length that sadly has nothing to do with The Replacements (even if it does borrow its name from their classic single). Instead, the documentary focuses on the New Jersey punk-emo scene that spawned in the ashes of the 1994 punk revival. While I could care less about the bands featured in the movie, the director does a fantastic job showing how different growing up punk in New Jersey is from the rest of the world.

New Jersey has a different kind of scene, a different kind of sound, and unity that seems to exist way after punk died off in the wake of the rap/rock movement. The film talks in detail about the New Brunswick basement show, mentioning the birth of the scene at Handy Street and the part The Bouncing Souls played in uniting punks throughout the state.

Production is top-notch. Tons of interviews, great information, and professional editing give the film a real polished look. Bands showcased include, Fall Out Boy, From Autumn To Ashes, and Thursday. Full songs from live shows are a nice touch, but make the film drag a little. It also would have been nice if they actually interviewed some of the more old school bands that really gave their blood sweat and tears for the movement, such as The Bouncing Souls, Lifetime and Weston, but I won’t nitpick. This film is a snapshot of a scene that lives and breathes the DIY ethos, pick it up or rent it. It’s worth it for nostalgia alone.

 

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Huck Gee took center stage at Kid Robot New York tonight as the recently renovated store released the tenth edition of its namesake figure. This might have been the most organized Kid Robot party ever. You had to wait in line outside and get a wristband in order to enter the fancy new store. There also wasn’t any alcohol or refreshments in sight—very unusual for a KRNY party. Huck Gee was pleasant as always, signing everything put in front of him. The store was selling all three versions of the new figure, but Huck didn’t bring along any artwork or custom figures, at least as far as I could see. Read more »

Betrayed
“Substance”
Equal Vision

Betrayed broke up before they even got started. I believe this record was out for about 2 weeks before these boys called it quits. It’s a damn shame because this is a solid debut.

Betrayed was made of members from Champion and Carry On and was produced by Kurt Ballou of Converge. “Think Twice” and “Substance” set the pace and they never look back. The entire disc clocks in at about 28 minutes. There’s plenty of substance in this release and a good amount of Judge and Youth of Today influence too. While it doesn’t measure up to the brilliance of Have Heart’s disc, “Substance” remains a fun listen.

Every once in a blue moon Equal Vision decides they want to get behind a hardcore band that keeps them true to their roots—they did it with previous bands like Black Cross, but they never seem to get the credit they deserve or the push from the label. “Substance” is one of the best releases on Equal Vision this year and I doubt anyone will remember it even came out by year’s end. I’m happy that if you search hard enough through all the cookie-cutter Fallout Boy and AFI rip-offs you can still find real punk and hardcore bands—Betrayed could have been a band that mattered

Doesn’t Rock l Kinda Rocks l Rocks l Really Rocks

IMA Robot at The Mercury Lounge, New York, NY: September 27, 2006

A sense of déjà vu swept over me the moment I walked into The Mercury Lounge. Nearly three years ago, IMA Robot stormed the stage of Club Sin-e really early in the evening, tackling a mostly hipster/industry audience with their blend of ‘70s style punk and Bowie-era new wave. The audience (not yet buzzed off their Jack and Cokes) staggered dazed as the band, led by the most awkward singer ever, tore the place to bits—literally smashing equipment and most of the stage monitors. Read more »