Life In A Bungalo

The Spunks
“Yellow Fever Blues”
Gearhead

The Spunks are a ferocious trash rock export from Japan that bleed rock ‘n’ roll. Every song on “Yellow Fever Blues” kicks ass harder and louder than any of The Spunk’s American counterparts. The songs are basic, “I want girls, beer, loud guitars” type tunes, but the simplicity of the lyrics and the blitzkrieg fast guitars make for some bad ass rock songs.

A good chunk of the songs on “Yellow Fever Blues” (what an awesome title, by the way) aren’t in English, so trying to decipher what the singer is screaming is next to impossible. Hell, I can’t figure out what he’s saying on the English tracks either. Luckily, rock is universal, and these boys hand it out in fistfuls. Picture Zeke, but not as hard on the ears. Highlights include the humorous “I Love Wok & Roll” and a pretty dead on version of “Brand New Cadillac.”

This record is a must for anyone bitching that good rock records aren’t being made any more. Or for anyone that thinks Japanese rock begins and ends with Guitar Wolf. Here’s another one for the collection.

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Following in the path of the Pixies and Pearl Jam, Rancid have released live editions of all their summer tour dates. Eschewing CDs all together, the shows are available for on MP3 for $9.99 or higher quality FLAC files for a couple of bucks more. I bought the last night of the band’s New York series and the sound quality is fantastic. All the songs from the set list are included, but banter has been trimmed so the shows can fit on an 80 minute CD (if you want to burn a copy). Luckily the shows were well balanced song-wise and included tracks spanning Rancid’s entire canon and a few Operation Ivy tunes.

This series is well worth the price, and might be the only official best of/live record the band releases for a while. For what it’s worth, this also might be the last chance to hear Brett Reed play with the band. The original drummer of Rancid left the band on Nov. 3 for unknown reasons, and has since been replaces with Branden Steineckert, formerly of The Used.

Roger Miret and The Disasters
“My Riot”
Sailor’s Grave

Roger Miret has managed to do the unthinkable—he’s gained the adoration of millions of young punks from the Hot Topic generation with a sound he helped develop back in the day of skinheads, riots, and matinee hardcore shows.

The Disasters play melodic punk rock that’s accessible to old school Agnostic Front fans and Good Charlotte fans alike. That might sound like a scary proposition, but hell, it pays the bills. The band straddles the line between the Swingin’ Utters and Rancid—lots of fun sing-alongs, catchy choruses, and energetic guitar work. The songs are short and fun, but the lyrics are definitely from an elder statesman of the hardcore scene. Not matter how cheery they sound, most of the songs are about life on the streets of New York, circa 1984.

The best number on here is a tribute to a legendary NYC band, titled simply “Ramones.” Rather than just cover one of their songs, Miret weaves a tale that incorporates many of the band’s song titles and catch phrases, while staying true to The Disaster’s signature sound. Looks like Miret has his feet firmly planted in the future, and The Disasters are going to be here for a while. As Miret sings halfway through the record, “We are the warriors and we’re here to stay.”

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Mad Sin
“Dead Moon’s Calling”
People Like You Records

With every new Mad Sin record, the band comes closer and closer to mainstream acceptance, and “Dead Moon’s Calling” might be their most radio-friendly album to date. Opening with a demonic sounding “Intro,” you’d think the record was either treading into metalbilly terrain or that it’s going to sound like an AFI record. Surprise, the band pulls a bait-and-switch and tears into a modern psychobilly tune that sounds as catchy as anything the 12 Step Rebels have ever recorded.

Every track on this record runs at top speed, with clear and punchy vocals, a mile-a-minute low-end thump, and some awesome call and response choruses. These are the type of songs you find humming to yourself well after you turn the iPod off.

“Dead Moon’s Calling” just grooves; the songs are fast enough to sound like “No Control”-era Bad Religion, but the twang and horror themes rock out better than any Tiger Army or Nekromatnix number. Singer Koefte Deville is a master storyteller, spinning yarns about death, fear, and nightmares.

This record is an ideal primer for fans of modern psychobilly that find Demented Are Go too hardcore and The Horropops too cheesy. Mad Sin have been playing awe-inspiring pyschobilly for decades, and their music sounds just as fresh and cool today as it did back when they first shredded onto the scene. This is required listening material.

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Josh “Shag” Agle premiered his latest series, “Donna Con Bambino,” at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York City Friday night. The event was packed and nearly every painting was sold in advance of the opening. Donna Con Bambino strays a bit from Shag’s last New York show (”Before the Eviction,” 2004), and features his trademark mysterious women sauntering about as disaster strikes on the television.

“There’s a theme running through the paintings where people, especially women, aren’t reacting to bad situations and just staying cool–which is a trait I admire sometimes,” Shag told Life In a Bungalo. “I wanted to do show based around that theme. I wanted to do domestic scenes, instead of scenes taking place in nightclubs or bars, I wanted it set in their own homes. I also wanted a pet there to make it feel more homey and comfortable. I also wanted to symbolize the outside world on the television screen.” Read more »

Evil Dead the Musical
New York’s New World Stage
340 West 50th St.

I love the Evil Dead series. Just about every year I sit down for a marathon of all three schlock horror classics and chime along to every one of Bruce Campbell’s catch phrases. Hell, I even had him sign his autobiography “Give me some sugar baby.” So, I was a bit shocked to find out that a musical had been made of my favorite horror movie. At first I was a bit apprehensive. I mean, come on, most musicals suck. I have about as much interest in Wicked as I do getting a rectal examination. But there I stood, on a mild November 10, waiting behind a line of metalheads, freaks, and fellow horror nerds, hoping to see my favorite horror hero Ash break out the jazz hands. Read more »

Jeff Soto is back in LA for his second solo at BLK/MRKT, also marking the gallery’s fifth-year anniversary exhibition. The show, “Cold Ice Age” will run from Nov. 18 to Dec. 16, with an opening reception on Saturday, Nov. 18 from 6 to 10pm.

Featuring a new series of paintings on canvas, panel and paper, Cold Ice Age continues Soto’s intrepid exploration of his private imaginary world but with a twist–the amplified conscience of a new parent; the show’s title refers to his intensifying apprehension about the future of the world on behalf of the next generation.

Dan “Wavedog” Fenelon has switched up his style a bit by adding a more metallic feel. His latest Munny, Fuse 2, combines his traditional tribal markings and coloring with a very realistic copper design. This new surf/mech syle just makes for a crazy-cool look that’s sure to be a hit with vinyl and custom fans alike. Read more »