Life In A Bungalo

I finally broke down and started making pdf archives of the 12 issue run of Life In A Bungalo. For those that don’t remember, or are new to the site, Life In A Bungalo started life as Marked For Life, a digest-size fanzine that launched in 1995. Photocopied and super shitty, the first issue was a labor of love and bad writing. The best interview I could scrape together was with local punk heroes Flatus, and the rest of the magazine features poor writing from myself and my miscreant friends. We released like 50 copies of this issue, hand stapled, and photocopied at Staples. In retrospect, there were far worst ‘zines out there at the time, but I can’t read this thing with a straight face. Enjoy.

Download digital copy of Marked For Life #1 (13.3 MB)

Corpse Show Creeps
“Blackblood Call”
Hairball8

Somehow this little gem got stuck behind my amp and I’m just now starting to really dig into it. This band of Minneapolis-based horrorpunks play swinging grooves against a frantic backbeat that makes you want to dance while bludgeoning your head with a broken Jack Daniels bottle.

The music is fun and fast with lyrics that are tongue and cheek, if not a bit cartoonish. “How do I get a girl like her?/ I guess I just roll the dice/ Maybe I can tip the scales/ With a virgin sacrifice,” singer Mutt O’Matic croons longingly on the rockabilly stomp-fest “PPRZQ.” What does that stand for, you ask. Why a psychobilly, punk rock, zombie queen. What else?

The Corpse Show Creeps play psychobilly in the vein of early Nekromantix, with tons of distortion, three-chord punk guitars, and blisteringly fast bass slapping. The CD quality is a bit muted production-wise, but the sound is no less exciting. One listen to “Werewolves” or “I Walk Alone” and you’ll be hooked. A quality pick up for any punk rock fan.

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

Less Than Jake
“Pezcore”
“Goodbye Blue & White”
“Losers, Kings, and Things…”
Sleep It Off Records

Growing up, I was never a big fan of Less Than Jake. Part of it was my hatred towards ska and the huge ska resurgence that took place in the mid-’90s. Part of it was my disdain for horns. Either way, I never took much interest in the band of Floridians and they kinda fell off my radar for a long time.

About four years ago, I caught the band opening up for Bad Religion at The Roseland Ballroom, a cavernous concert hall that looks more like an airforce hanger than a ballroom. The band was up before Bad Religion, but it was hard to argue that they weren’t the headliner. From the moment their banner dropped, 3,000 adoring fans screamed in unison like it was The Rolling Stones returning to England. The place went nuts for 45 minutes. Bad Religion hit stage an hour later to half the reception and most of the kids cleared out. Read more »

Against Me just released a live and acoustic version of their song “The Ocean” from a recent Thanksgiving show. Surprisingly, the band rocks an upright bass. Pretty cool.

Get ready for a big monster throwdown, and I’m not talking Cloverfield. The Kaiju Big Battel guys are heading back to New York on February 9 for a knockdown, beat up, kickass brawl at…wait for it…Webster Hall. Okay, I have no idea how they are going to cram all that Kaiju goodness into a glorified dance club, but hell, WWE use to tape shows from the ESPN Zone.

Life In A Bungalo caught up with Dave of Kaiju Big Battel to find out more about the show and big monster wrestling:

Kaiju Big Battel has always operated of the wrestling industry. We use a lot of the fundamentals of wrestling but we never really treated it like a wrestling show. It’s more like a multimedia event that was more akin to a party than your typical indie wrestling fed. I think Webster Hall is going to be excited. I’m excited to go to that room and I think if it sells out it’s going to be a hot night and we definitely have some surprises for the show including this black box concept, and we have a musical surprise. I’m really looking forward to it.

Kaiju Big Battel: New York Blackout
When: Saturday, February 9th 2008. 7PM doors. 8PM show.
Where: Webster Hall, 125 East 11th St., Manhattan, NY
Tickets: All Ticketmaster locations and ticketmaster.com. $20. This is a 16+ event.

The Horrorpops
“Kiss Kiss Kill Kill”

Hellcat

The Horrorpops always made it clear that they were not a psychobilly band. Don’t let the upright bass and thumping, swinging music fool you. With their third record, “Kiss Kiss Kill Kill,” The ‘Pops seal the deal with a dozen tracks that run the gamut of styles, from ska to new wave.

Frontwoman Patricia Day has grown into her voice over the last half decade. Through out the record, she bellows her voluminous vocals, punctuating her lines with the occasional scream. But mostly, she croons with a slight hint of snotty punk rock attitude amidst her rock & roll swagger.

The record kicks off with the traditional rockabilly twangfest on “Thelma & Louise,” an obvious homage to the classic movie. Guitarist/psychobilly legend Kim Nekroman cranks up a feast of surf riffs, soaked in reverb, while Day slaps her bass into oblivion. Read more »