Priests (opening for Hilly Eye) at the Black Cat in Washington DC February 13 2013 photos: Davis White
Galleries
This is an interview I did via mail with Japanese psychedelic speed freaks HIGH RISE back in 1993. Definitely one of the great lost-in-translation interviews I’ve ever seen, all modesty aside. All I did was ask the tough questions.
Fantastic band, too, if you’ve never heard their late 80s/early 90s material. Interview taken from SUPERDOPE fanzine #6, 1993.
Here are some records that Mark E. Smith would like you to listen to, just as soon as you can help him find those missing teeth.
Here’s a great 4-page overview of early Seattle punk rock history, courtesy of an article from DO THE POP! fanzine. The ‘zine came out in the late 90s and was devoted to lost, ignored and underground KBD-style punk in all its forms, both past and modern.
Click on any image to expand it.
Feature from about a decade ago in MOJO COLLECTIONS magazine about Syd Barrett/Pink Floyd bootlegs. I’ve heard some of these – my fave is not here; it’s called “Lost In Space” and has some of their pre-psych, pre-drugs songs on them, as well as all the spaced-out live and studio jams of the 1966-67 period,
The classic “Stooges Wax Museum” article from MOTORBOOTY fanzine, circa 1990.
(From my Hedonist Jive blog, July 2010):
Velvet Underground bootlegs. I have a lot of them – one of the best-documented of the all-time great bands, and some of the platters, even live tapes, are as good as the studio recordings. (Robert Quine’s “Quine Tapes”, which were circulated on tapes for years, got the official release a few years back and recently came out as a multi-LP set with extra tracks). I was rooting through some old boxes and found the Summer 2001 issue of MOJO COLLECTIONS magazine and this nice two-page feature on some of the better Velvets boots. Just stay away from “Screen Test: Falling In Love With The Falling Spikes” if you’re new to this game. (click on pictures to make them larger).
AWAY FROM THE PULSEBEAT fanzine front and back cover, 1988.
Gregg Turner, then very active in the Angry Samoans, writing about THE FLESH EATERS in CREEM magazine, circa 1983.
I watched the MUDHONEY “I’m Now” documentary last night via online streaming – and you can do the same for $5.99 right here. A DVD’s about to ship as well.
My kudos and proverbial hat off to the guys who made this one. They did an excellent job avoiding a lot of documentary cliches, except for the one that says you have to use “found footage” from the 1950s to cheekily illustrate your points and concepts. They were kind enough to interview me for my commentary on a band I saw play many, many times & whom I know pretty well, and they left the dumbest things I said on the cutting room floor. I was positive they’d use this thing I said (as a complement) comparing Mark Arm to Bryan Ferry as examples of two guys who transcended their limited vocal abilities or something like that, and hack the statement to make it look like a major dis. They did not.
There’s a ton of great footage from 1988 to the present, and a chronological walk through the band’s many eras. The best stuff is definitely the “major label years” and why they jumped to a major in the first place after a particularly gross meeting with a guy from indie label Caroline. There are lots on interviewees, from Thurston & Kim to Keith Morris to the Claw Hammer guys to Soundgarden & Pearl Jam and so on.
Someone needs to explain to me what happened to Sub Pop founder Jonathan Poneman. This once-hyperactive sales machine is nearly narcotized during his interviews. Then again, there are loads of veterans of the scene wars in this one, and most have served their cause admirably. Check it out if you’ve got 100 minutes to spare soon.
AGONY SHORTHAND 