Our favorite Italian glam trio FAZ WALTZ was in T.U.P. Studio, Brescia (Italy) last November to record a new album containing 10 new songs written and composed by Faz La Rocca. The Mastering was done by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room (U.S.A.). The forthcoming album is due to be released somewhere around April 2018 but a single (Julie/I'm Bleeding) is already out. The B-side is exclusive to this release.
The A-side, Julie is an infectious tune and I've been told that the single has been aired many times so far by Rodney Bingenheimer on Little Steven's Underground Garage Radio show.
Physical copies of the single (Black, Red, White vinyl) were released by Contra Records (GER), Spaghetty Town Records (U.S.A.), Tongue Records (ITA) and can be purchased here: www.fazwaltz.com The digital version is available, amongst others, on bandcamp.
Hailing from Perth, Australia CATZILLA is an amazing garage/pop combo featuring Coo Jarvis on lead vocals, keys & percussion; Andy Jarvis on guitar & backing vocals; Tracey Devery on bass & backing vocals and Trevor Judd on drums. The quartet's debut long player is the ideal mix between brilliant infectious pop tunes (think Blondie's first album in 1976!) and fuzzed-out stompin' garage. As the band states it itself, this is the perfect soundtrack for your next go go party! So it was time for this blog to have a very interesting chat with guitar player ANDY JARVIS. 1) For the viewers of this blog that don't know you, What would you tell about CATZILLA to introduce yourselves? How long are you guys and girls together as a band? Were you in other bands previously? Who is playing what instrument in the band? What can you tell about the origins of the band's name?
CATZILLA has been together for nearly 3 years. Coo plays keys and is the lead singer, Andy is on guitar and backing vocals, Tracey on bass, backing vocals and monkey noises and Trev is on the jungle drums. We had a band called Rocket To Memphis (2005-2013 - kinda swampy, voodoo rock n roll). It split when the drummer moved to Melbourne and we decided to do something a little different, more along the 60s garage lines. The new name was inspired by a crazy toy we found in Japan, like Godzilla but with a cat’s head!
CATZILLA recorded a 4 track vinyl EP (“Going Wild”) in 2016 and mixed it with Matt Verta-Ray in NYC. We’d done the last two Rocket albums with Matt and really like working with him. Last year we toured in Japan and had the honor of playing at one of the Back From the Grave events in Tokyo and also with the Neatbeats in Osaka.
2) About the recently self titled debut record, what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a live in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?
It was very much a live recording in the studio. We all love working that way and with this kind of music, really believe it’s best way to get the right sound. We over-dubbed the Hammond for logistical reasons (it was in another studio!) but there were very few other overdubs.
3) To what kind of music did you listen to as a teenager and does it still influence your today work? What was your favorite band as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have a influence on your own work today.
We all grew up listening to punk and post-punk stuff and I’m sure some of that still shines through
now! Coo and I had a band in Sydney, in the mid-late 80s (Toys Went Berserk) which was more along those lines - from more off-kilter sounds like Siouxsie & the Banshees to catchier things like early Blondie. The Cramps probably still have an influence on us now, along with Link Wray, the Sonics and in general, 60s garage, beat and surf.
4) Some people people might be tempted to describe CATZILLA as a 60's garage/pop band. Do you agree with this description or do you consider there is way more than that?
I think that’s a pretty fair description! We sometimes call it "gogo rock n roll" - it’s 60s-inspired, catchy, fuzzed-up and fun!
5) Is there a main composer in the band or is everybody involved in one way or another?
I write most of the songs (Andy) but Coo has written lyrics and music on several tracks on the new album. Everyone contributes their own parts to the final arrangements.
6) Do you have a video on youtube featuring a track from the latest release?
We shot a video for the opening track “Boy From Another Time” It one of the more catchy tunes on the record and you can watch it here:
7) What can concert goers expect at a gig of CATZILLA? Are you playing any famous cover songs?
We play mostly originals, with just a few covers - maybe not super well-known ones though… a favourite is “Kitty Kitty” by Floyd Dakil (who also did “Dance Franny Dance”). We recorded a version of that on the album.
8) Perth seems to have a long history of rock bands (The Stems, The Stanleys, The Volcanics, etc ....) is CATZILLA in connection with all these guys? And is there something special in the air in Perth that pushes people to start rock bands?
You’re right Eric! Also the Scientists, Hoodoo Gurus and many others. I think maybe there’s something in the beer actually! We know quite a few of these musicians of course - it’s a pretty small scene here. Perth is actually one of the most isolated cities in the world - perhaps that’s why?
9) What are the plans for the rest of 2018 as far as CATZILLA is concerned? Are you planning to tour Europe soon to promote this newly released record?
We’re playing as much as we can locally at the moment and we’ll hopefully get over to Sydney and Melbourne later this year (it’s 5 hour’s flight away, if you’re wondering why I say “hopefully”!). Next year, we’d like to get back to Japan but if someone is willing to fly us over to Europe, that would be fab!
10) Anything you would like to say to the viewers of this blog?
Big thanks for doing this feature on CATZILLA Eric. It’s very cool to have the chance to let people know what we’re up to and I hope a few of your readers dig the new album. Keep supporting the great bands out there making real, rockin’ music and go see ‘em live if they come to a town near you!
Scots Pirates - Scots Pirates In Wav - Scans are included 1Misery 2I Want More 3Other End Of The City 4Dante 5Sugarcane 6Running Away 7Out Of Our Minds 8First Step 9Dreams Never Lie 10The Road Home 11And Then There Was Love 12The Blues 13I'm The Man 14Empty Heart 15Sixteen With A Bullet 16 Detroit
During the 1980s, Morgan formed the Scott Morgan Band, which occasionally played in the Ann Arbor/Detroit area. In 1988, his band released an album entitled "Rock Action," which found Morgan (guitar and vocals) backed up by ex-Sonic's Rendezvous bassist Gary Rasmussen and ex-Stooges drummer Scott (aka "Rock Action") Asheton. The trio later toured in America under the name Scotts Pirates, which took its name from Morgan's song "Pirate Music," and released their self-titled album in 1993. It was followed up with the record "Revolutionary Means" in 1996.
The Beau Brummels - 1965 - Volume II In WAV - Scans are included 1You Tell Me Why3:05 2I Want You4:00 3Doesn't Matter2:00 4That's Alright2:12 5Sometime At Night1:50 6Can It Be2:28 7Sad Little Girl3:30 8Woman2:48 9Don't Talk To Strangers2:21 10I've Never Known2:03 11When It Comes To Your Love2:11 12In Good Time1:49 Bonus Tracks 13Woman (Vocal Version)2:41 14When It Comes To Your Love (Unissued Instrumental Version)2:08 The Track "Don't Talk To Strangers" was recently covered on the latest Flamin' Groovies full length. http://www.mediafire.com/file/tts1vilhi3s1lr7/The%20Beau%20Brummels%20-%201965%20-%20Volume%20II%20%28Sundazed%201995%29%20%20WAV.rar
THE REAL TEARS from Uppsala, Sweden are the rock'n'roll best kept secret with the best guitar sound in years. And they write songs like no one else.
Just listen to "Bad Girl", that's an anthem for generations to come and a lesson in songwriting. Simple and memorable at the same time!
This blog HAD to interview those 4 crazy dudes from way up North!
1) For the viewers of this blog who don't know you, What would you tell about THE REAL TEARS to introduce yourselves? How did you meet and decided to start a band together? Who is playing what instrument in the band?
A: Real Tears is a bunch of rock n roll pleasure avoiders trying to enjoy the void. We’ve got Victor from Horbo city spankin’ skin. Gasse is knocking up the bass like a refrigerator turning into a nuclear reactor. Behind the curtains of Burt Cocaine, Jöge is rubbing his six string dagger across the eternal crime scene. Singing like a near extinct castrated electric eel in the muddy Fyris river is, Rune.
It all started when Rune and Jöge were living on Finnish brown leather sofas in our rehearsal space called the beavers alley. We had different bands going but figured it was time to start one together. We never thought that respected journalists would ask us to be in their well knows magazine.
Anyway, riffs and melodies we’re scattered all over the place like silverfishes waiting to be recognised. We caught a few, killed a few.
2) About your debut full length record released on Snask Rekårds!, what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a live in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?
A: Before this we had made a lot of dirty recordings on an 8-track tape recorder, the machine was a total wreck. All we had beside that was a cheap 8 input soundcard, some weird external preamps and a bunch of basic microphones. We had a pretty clear idea how the songs should sound like but understood we couldn’t do it live. The room was probably big enough but there we’re too many beer cans lying around. Back then we were only a three piece. Jöge, Rune and Rotten Mind-singer Jakob on drums. We tracked drums together with one guitar played by Rune. The basic melody was there but most lyrics were missing (from our memory). We lived by the concept that everything is forgotten, we only had to remember it. After that we added bass, a second guitar and bongo drums on the song Beersday (can you hear them?). We headed straight to the pub. When we woke up in our designated sleepingstations, we used the next six months to remember the lyrics and record vocals. We headed straight to the pub. 3) What are your favorite topics to write about or the topics that come easily when you write a new song?
A: Girls…and some good ol nights when we had a few beerzzZZZzz…
4) THE REAL TEARS have an undeniable Scandinavian approach of power pop/punk that could lead to compare you to The Yum Yums, The Basement Brats, etc. Do you agree with this comparison or do you consider there is way more than that?
A: The Yum Yums and the Basement Brats sound like they could be two killer bands man, but we’re sorry to say we actually never heard them. Thanks for the tip though!The Scandinavian sound is hard to define for us. We listen to everything that comes our way, some times the worse the better. Btw, as for swedish bands, we wouldn’t mind being compared to a powerpop band called Rottweiler from the 70s.
5) Is there a main composer in the band or is everybody composing his own songs (words and music)?
A: Singer Rune and Guitarist Jöge writes all the songs. It usually starts with one of us trying to fool the other one they have a good riff going. It always sucks in the beginning, but the counterpart is too nice to say something negative about it. Add some mojo and some attitude. Play it twenty times. Then there you have it. Some times it’s just as easy to fool someone else as it is to fool yourself. In the rehearsal space or at the pub. Hey! I left my wallet at home.
6) To what kind of music did you listen to as a teenager and does it still influence your today work? What was your favorite band as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have a influence on your own work today.
A: Rune: I listened to Manowar, but they had no influence on me, maybe just miserable.
Jöge: I always listened to Kiss, still my favorite band.
Gasse is a total ragger. He’s an encyclopaedia of old american cars and reatarded punkbands.
Victor played peoples pants off since he was 10 years old. No need for influences.
If there’s one band we all would agree influenced us all, it would be the GIZMOS.
7) Do you have a video on youtube featuring a track from the latest release?
A: Yes. The first track on the LP is also the first song we made. It’s called ”Can’t Get You Outta My Head”. We don’t really know what it’s about, but it is some kinda love song. It’s recorded in the beavers alley with an old VHS camera. We bought the camera from an old guy called Börje, including his rather exotic tapes. The outcome is inspired of what we saw.
8) What can concert goers expect at a gig of THE REAL TEARS? Are you playing any famous cover songs?
A: Expect to see us struggle, but the struggle is rejuvenating. We’re always thankful to get a chance to play, so we bring a good mood. We give it all, never leaving a glass empty, or full. We have not yet played any cover song. Our songs are total rip-offs anyway…HAH! Gasse is a total ragger.
9) What are the plans for 2018 as far as THE REAL TEARS are concerned? Are you guys planning to tour Europe soon?
A: So far we’ve played a few shows in Finland, Germany and Italy. All highlights for sure. Would love to do it all over again. Invite us please!The plan is to make another record. And we will play a few shows in Scandinavia. But we suck at organising stuff. Also, every time a new Real Tears record is made a baby is born, literally speaking. So let’s hope for the best!
10) Anything you would like to say to the viewers of this blog?
A: We want to meet you all. Play for you all. Drenched in foam, beers all the way home. Hope to see you around!
Bash & Pop - Anything Could Happen In WAV - Scans are included 1.Not This Time 2.On The Rocks 3.Anything Could Happen 4.Breathing Room 5.Anybody Else 6.Can't Be Bothered 7.Bad News 8.Never Wanted To Know 9.Anytime Soon 10.Unfuck You 11.Jesus Loves You 12.Shortcut
Anything Could Happen is the 2nd album by Bash & Pop, the long-awaited follow-up to 1992’s Friday Night Is Killing Me. The helmsman of the group is one Thomas Eugene Stinson, better known as Tommy of The Replacements - the seminal band of which he was co-founder, bassist and sparkplug. Now, coming off a fruitful 18-year stretch playing bass with stadium rockers Guns N’ Roses (“It was good for me on so many levels”) and a hugely successful 33-show Replacements reunion romp, Tommy is clearly jazzed to be doing his own thing again. https://mega.nz/#!a1FilBpQ!OnhGME9ktXbpcyjQmtvTiqoeTnruRGsKAk6QVTOKdB8
Special Thanks to Joey R.A. Mone for this great contribution
Portland based SOMETHING TO DO Records released the aptly titled "Canadian Graffiti" of the Pop-Punk veterans from Ottawa, Ontario, THE RIPTIDES.
Once again the band delivers the goods with an album full of songs that will be stuck in your head and that you will be humming for days: "Goodbye Hawaii", "Fast Girls", "I couldn't care less", "Totally Wasted"......
This blog is a long time fan of the band so when the opportunity rose to have a chat with singer Andy Vandal, there was no hesitation.
For the viewers of this blog who don't know you, What would you tell about The Riptides to introduce yourselves? How did you meet and decided to start a band together? Who is playing what instrument in the band?
The Riptides are a Canadian punk rock band who have been playing shows putting out records for 20 years. We put out our first record in 1998 and have been disappointing our parents ever since. I guess you could say the band “technically” started back in 1992 because our core, long-running members Andy Vandal (vocals), Bob Goblin (bass) and Doug Vermin (guitar) all met in our first year in high school in our school band. Yep, we were band geeks. We’d do big band stuff, Dixieland, swing, broadway – didn’t matter – we were pretty good at it and had so much fun. We have had quite a few drummers over the years but now we’ve got Bulltit who goes way back with us.
About the new full length record "Canadian Graffiti", what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a live in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?
We were pretty used to the recording process when we went down to Sonic Iguana to record this new record. We have done like seven records with so we know what he expects out of us, and we know how prepared we have to be. That being said, it’s a long, process. We recorded “Canadian Graffiti” in one week. The process consisted of first laying down the drums, then bass, then guitars. Those would be happening sequentially throughout the week while every night/evening was my time to lay down a few hours of lead vocals. So, during the day you had one of those 3 instruments, and then each night you had lead vocals. I’d get about 2-3 songs recorded each night for vocals. Most vocal takes were probably kept to an average of about 10 takes all the way through each song. Which is pretty decent. Then, after those 4 things were done, by the time we hit the following weekend we were recording the back-up vocals, lead guitar, and whatever extra bells & whistles we came up with during the week. We had to always keep ourselves in check: we had a notebook going to check off all our priorities and ideas, and we always, always, always kept our time on the clock. If something was taking too long to get right, we’d try it another way to save time. If something we felt just wasn’t working – we’d ditch it and move on. Our whole goal on this new record was to trim the fat and get to the point.
What are your favorite topics to write about or the topics that come easily when you write a new song?
A lot of our songs are about girls, relationships and where life takes you: fights, heartbreak, divorce, new found love, teenage love, puppy love, hating each other, and everything in between. But we write about other stuff like pop culture, comic books, b-movies, horror, sci-fi, surfing, zombies, surf instrumentals, spies, serial killers……also we always tend to chime in every once and awhile with some comment on current politics….not to try and stand on a podium and preach and shit – just put out a song about something that’s pissing us off – it’s just an outlet to get stuff off our collective chests. Overall, we haven’t changed this formula in literally 20 years, and we don’t intend to change it. In the end, it doesn’t really matter what your subject matter is – most important is if you have a melody/hook that is catchy and memorable – that’s the only thing that matters in a song. You could write a song about watching paint dry and if it leaves you humming along to it the next day, then it was a good song regardless of the topic.
Is each of you guys composing his own songs (words and music) or are all the songs joint efforts?
Bob is kind of the one who comes up with most of the songs that make the cut. Usually Bob will pitch an idea to Doug and I and then we play around with it to see if it will work. I’m very picky about song structures, the proper keys, how a song plays out, so I love getting involved in that stage. I can’t say enough about the importance of having a strong melody down before anything else. Many times we just make up a list of cool song titles and the song just sort of writes itself; you say the title and the melody just flows from it. But yeah basically Bob will come up with the nuts & bolts to the songs, and me & Doug add our own stuff whether it’s lyrics, vocal ideas, arrangements, etc. We're our own harshest critics, so we always do our own filtering no matter who wrote what, and we all have to agree on the decisions 100%. There’s no “fuck you guys, I don’t care what you think, it’s going on the record” kinda stuff – because we all have the same understanding as to what each record should sound like collectively, with each batch of songs. Ultimately, we all want what’s best for the record.
To what kind of music did you listen to as a teenager and does it still influence your today work? What was your favorite band as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have a influence on your own work today.
Ramones, The Beach Boys and The Barracudas. I’d say those were the 3 bands that I grew up with loving and they still influence our work to this day. The Beach Boys’ “Endless Summer” was the first record me and my brothers ever owned. We played that thing every day for 10 years straight, bouncing off the couch air-guitaring to every note on that record. Once Teen Wolf was doing back-flips on the roof of Styles’ van to the tune of “Surfin USA” it was forever cemented in our collective consciousness. So if I had to pick out one single record that forever influenced us, it’s Beach Boys’ “Endless Summer”. The Ramones came naturally out of the Beach Boys’ influence – they just did it faster, louder and tougher than anyone before them. It wasn’t a huge transition to go between those two bands. So if Beach Boys have THE record for me, I have to say THE band for me has got to be the Ramones without question. They changed everything. But your readers know that so I won’t get into all the ways why. Then finally, The Barracudas. Lead singer Jeremy Gluck is originally from Ottawa (our hometown). You have to get their compilation of “Through the Mysts of Time”. That is essential pop punk, garage, rock’n’roll. When our good friend Jerry gave us their “Subway Surfin’” 7-inch when we were kids it was like “Whoa.” They fucking killed it. Huge influence on us. In fact, Jeremy Gluck co-wrote a song on our 2006 album “Hang Out” which we subtly paid our homage by calling it “Subway Surfin’ 2” Ha Ha! It was an honour to work with him on that and it was so much fun.
All your previous full length were always released both on CD and Vinyl. So it is only natural to ask, for the buyers who prefer CD over vinyl, Will there also be a CD version of this record or will this stay a vinyl only thing?
Nope. Where we’re from, nobody buys CD’s anymore so it wasn’t a business model that made much sense in investing in anymore. I looked at my own world, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I even played a CD…maybe like 5-6 years ago? No, not worth our time investing in something nobody has an interest in buying. We don’t have a lot of space in the van when we play shows so we always need to pack merch that’s going to sell. These days, we’re selling vinyl records and t-shirts and it’s working for us.
"Drop Out" was released on Rally, "Hang out" on Red Scare, "Tales from Planet Earth" on Asian Man records and the new one, "Canadian Graffiti" on Something to Do Records? What can you tell us about this constant change of label?
I’m not sure about “constant change.” I think being in this business for over 20 years, there’s been a lot changes. The business model has changed, technology has changed and we’ve really just rolled with the punches. We manage all of our own stuff digitally now, where even a few years ago it was much more difficult to do that. Labels don’t make the ’90’s money they used to so the whole industry has had to adjust. “Drop Out” was only reissued on Rally. All of our early albums were released off our own label called Goblin Records. The first record outside of our own label was Red Scare who put out “Hang Out” in I think 2006. When the chance came up with Asian Man - to be on the same label as two of our favourite bands The Queers and Screeching Weasel, we jumped at it. From 2009 on we put out about 5 records with Asian Man Records alone – one full length and four 7-inches. Working with Mike Park was so awesome. He’s a great guy; honest, up front and totally transparent. Very humble dude too. We’re big fans of Mike and his label. When we came up with this new record, there was this kid from Portland, Oregon who wrote me out of the blue with an interest in putting out something of ours and his enthusiasm, his drive, and his creativity was really refreshing. His name is Matthew Ostrom with Something to do Records. Keep an eye out for him – he’s a good businessman and cares about the quality of every product he puts out so much. He’s a record collector first and foremost, so he wants to put in the hands of fans stuff that he would wanna see. We couldn’t be happier. I’d advise any pop punk fans out there to check out his label, and if you’re in a pop-punk band maybe get in touch with Matthew if you’re interested in putting something out.
What can concert goers expect at a gig of The Riptides ? Are you playing any famous cover songs?
They can expect something that’s not boring, and certainly not pretentious. That’s why I love bands like the Ramones, Dwarves, The Queers – simple, fun bands that play the hits in about 30-45 minutes and then go home. So our live shows try and emulate that (without the talent those bands have/had). We have always played covers of Ramones’ “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg” and Dwarves’ “Drugstore”. We’ve been playing those 2 covers for almost 20 years and people seem to like it so we’re not changing it.
What are the plans for 2018 as far as The Riptides are concerned? Are you guys planning to tour Europe this year?
Yeah we’re busy in 2018. We’ve already started writing songs for the next record, we’re booked for some festivals, we’re playing shows again, and we have several tours coming up with some of my favourite bands for the fall. We’ve been wanting to play Europe for years now. My parents use to live in Rome, Italy for a while so I’ve been over there many times. Love it. We have a lot of people writing us from Spain, Brazil, Portugal, Denmark, Italy, Germany, UK, etc. to get over there. So we’re totally into doing it. Any booking agents reading this interview send me a message. Let’s do something!
Do you have a video on Youtube featuring a track from the latest release?
We shot a really fun video last summer for a song off the new record called “Goodbye Hawaii” directed by Petr Maur. It was shot in our hometown of Ottawa, ON at Britannia Beach. If you’re ever in Ottawa in the summer season go grab a juicy burger at Baja Burger Shack at the beach. It’s the best. Anyway, yeah – if you wanna check out the video we shot here’s the official link:
Anything you would like to say to the viewers of this blog?
If you’re at the bottom of this- thanks for taking the time to read it ha ha! Thanks for still caring about small punk bands with big hearts. Don’t ever grow up. Support independent labels. Come out and have a beer with us next time we play in your town. Reach out to us anytime – we like to keep in touch and respond to just about anyone. As long as you’re not a dick, we’ll be your friend. That’s the greatest advice to live by - “Just don’t be a dick.” See ya in the pit! Highly recommanded! PURCHASE A DIGITAL COPY HERE: https://theriptides.bandcamp.com/album/canadian-graffiti
