February 7, 2010 by Sal Lucci
Horribly Wrong
C’mon and Bleed With
Eradicator Records/Shit in Can Records
The Horribly Wrong is a band almost lost to the annals of obscure midwestern punk history. They were active for maybe three years (2002-05), played maybe 20 shows and barely strayed from their home base of Bloomington, IN. They put out a 7” EP and sold through two pressings (the first in three days, the second in five). Every time I would visit friends in Bloomington, I would just miss a Horribly Wrong show by a day, hearing how crazy and drunk and out of control both the band and the crowd were (mind you, this was a time when Plan-It-X Records ruled Bloomington’s scene with their posi-core folk-punk blah.) Then, in the summer of 2005, the Horribly Wrong called it quits. Band members moved on, guess we all do. I was fortunate enough to get one of the 70 or so CDR copies made of the album but I never thought it would get an official release.
For the longest time, I described C’mon and Bleed With to friends as “the best goddamn album you’ll never hear.” Eighteen tracks of lo-fi garage punk that, if recorded in 1994 instead of 2004, could easily have been on Crypt or Rip Off Records. Think the Misfits meets the Mummies. There’s barely a break between songs and the energy stays high throughout. Favorites, in no particular order: “Blood All Over My Body,” “Rogers Street,” “When I Say Evil” and “Attack of the Human Eating Robots.”
Bloomington-based Eradicator Records teamed up with French label Shit in Can Records to finally release C’mon and Bleed With. Don’t miss your chance this time, kids. It’s super limited – 500 copies on 180-gram vinyl (100 on blood red vinyl and 400 on black) – with beautiful silk-screened covers. For the technologically advanced, there is a digital download card included with the LP.
June 25, 2009 by Sal Lucci
Mummies/Back CC’s
June 9, 2009 – (two sets) Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ
June 10, 2009 – Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY
“So why do you think they played here in 2002?”
I turned around and saw my friend Jan laughing, as he brought over Maxwell’s and Telstar Records owner Todd Abramson to ask me this. I climbed drunkenly over another friend and sat on the top of the booth seat. “Well,” I said, “it was listed on their website and I’m pretty sure I saw it in the Village Voice.”
You see, ever since November 2002, I’ve been kicking myself because I missed the Mummies play at Maxwell’s (presumably to promote the then just-released Never Been Caught CD.) Or I thought I missed it. According to Abramson, the Mummies did not play Maxwell’s in November of 2002; he wasn’t aware it was listed on their website and said it was probably just a joke.
All these years, even after moving to the Midwest, I’ve been keeping tabs on Maxwell’s shows so I wouldn’t miss anything special (or at least know what I would miss beforehand). Goddamn those anti-technology jokers, they used the Internet to pull one over on me! Somehow, in all my confusion, the Mummies managed to actually play three area shows (over two nights) as a stop over on their way to two European gigs. Read the rest of this entry »
May 7, 2009 by Sal Lucci
“You can hate a hammer but it’s a good tool,” said Pat Todd, owner of independent label Rankoutsider Records (and front man for Pat Todd and the Rankoutsiders) when asked about the good and bad of South by Southwest. I had no idea what to expect from SXSW – how would it compare to lame-o festivals like Lollapalooza, Warped Tour and CMJ? Why the hell am I, a person who suffers regular, frequently crippling, anxiety attacks willingly surrounding myself by tens of thousands of people?
“Bands of our level spend $1000 to make $100,” continued Todd, matter-of-factly, when asked why independent bands go out of their way to play SXSW. The four-day music festival is undeniably good exposure, not just for bands that are looking for a label or management, but to get their music heard and their name out there. Todd said his label doesn’t pay to bring in its acts, they come in on their own dime and they don’t expect to make any money.
Rankoutsider Records solo artist Patrick “Salt” Ryan drove himself down from New York and seems to be enjoying the party atmosphere (I watched him do three shots of whiskey before his 12:30 p.m. set.) What a way to begin a four-day bender… I thought I should wait a few more hours before I began drinking but that plan lasted about a half hour. Read the rest of this entry »
