A Powerful Six-Track Alternative Rock Statement

J-Pop phenomenon Feed played their first gig in New York City at the CMJ conference in 1998 on the festival's "Psycho Nite." Throughout 1999, they toured extensively throughout Japan, played SXSW, were featured in Japanese mags such as Dictionary, and were even backed by the owner of the department store DEPT. They became so revered in certain circles that they were asked to play a gig with Smashing Pumpkins at the famed Budokan.

This EP was self-published in 1999 and the soaring vocals and edgy guitar sound attracted the attention of Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye who produced the next album that they were to record. Here's a sampling of some of their tracks. The actual CD is out of print but the EP can be purchased online through emusic.com.

Market Grows for Designer Shopping Bags

The Bags were the first band put together by Alice Armandariz and Pat Morrison after meeting each other while auditioning for Venus And The Razorblades. They got the name for the band by wearing grocery bags over their heads during their performances; however, this was a short-lived fad as Darby Crash kept pulling the bags off of their faces as they played. Their gigs usually turned into small riots, with one altercation occurring between the band and Tom Waits.

This 7-inch EP is a collection of the original single put out by Dangerhouse Records and two tracks from the compilations Yes L.A. and Dangerhouse Volume 2.

For more insanity, refer to the film The Decline Of Western Civilization.

You can also catch up with Alice Bag on her official website.

Tuneless Thrash

There is so much to say about the Offenders that it's difficult to know where to begin; to sit and read most of what has been written about them (by people who most likely never saw them) just doesn't touch on the significance that this band had on the Austin scene.

Someone was quoted as saying that when it came to the hardcore scene in San Francisco, there was no way to escape the Dead Kennedys; the same can be said of the Offenders in Austin, Texas. It seems that more often than not, they were included on the set list anytime a band played in Austin; name any hardcore band you can think of, chances are the Offenders played with them.

The band had a loyal following in the skater crowd and the local skins were really into them as well. This seemed rather surprising as the lyrics of the songs weren't necessarily indicative of the mindset of your average skinhead at that period in time. This was a day and age when SHARPs (Skin Heads Against Racial Prejudice) weren't readily available.

The allure this band had on the psyche of hardcore youth in the '80s was the intense brutality of their sound. This was hardcore at its harshest- a wall of noise that engulfed you as soon as the first guitar chord was stricken; lyrics that sang of youth revolt and riots; the insanity of war; societal and family expectations unmet that created rifts- all of this was captured in songs that were, more often than not, only a minute and a half. JJ, the vocalist, was another factor in this appeal. Having run away at a young age and living in the streets gave him the street cred that most people who tend to care for that sort of thing gravitate to. Once his writhing and screaming on stage are witnessed, they are forever carved into the consciousness. The Offenders were the living embodiment of American hardcore music and are as essential as Black Flag were-at least in this writer's mind. If you've never heard of the Offenders then you don't know shit about Texas punk.

The Offenders have been described as Texas' answer to Discharge. This is a pretty accurate comparison as their initial sound on We Must Rebel (the first LP) tended toward noise not music (to co-opt a phrase!) and on the later releases the sound was a lot more polished and slightly leaning into the realm of metal without all the chugga-chugga nonsense. You can see the same kind of progression in both bands if you listen to their material in sequential order. Although, the Offenders didn't have near the amount of output that Discharge has.




When the Offenders played their big reunion gig a few years back, it was no different than when they played on stage 20 years ago. JJ still had that amazing stage presence. There has never been another front man quite like him. Unfortunately, a week after the gig, he was picked up by the police for attempting to score drugs and was kicked out of the band as these were the types of problems that supposedly led to their break up the first time (at least according to Pat, the drummer). They attempted to continue playing with a new front man, Dave Death, but the gig just wasn't the same magic. There were never any performances after that. Pat, the drummer went off to play drums in a metal band called Ignitor, who has gotten a lot of acclaim and performed in many metal concerts around the globe. Tony, the guitarist, helps run a historical and locally-run movie theatre in town. Mikey, the bass player, lives in SF now and still plays in bands. Some of this information is sketchy; send a comment if you know more.

An interesting thing to note: there are regular online comparisons drawn between the Endless Struggle LP and the I Hate Myself/Bad Times 7-inch. The 7-inch has quite often been touted as the final stage in the evolution of the band; the ultimate perfection of their "sound." However, the 7-inch was actually recorded and released prior to the Endless Struggle LP and seeing as how both records were put out by Rabid Cat Records, it would perhaps be best to consider who the audio engineering personnel on each recording was rather than attribute this to the "growth of the band."



Food for thought.

Now here's something to sate your need for aural consumption.

Runs That Sneer at His Demons

Blue Note Records' first volume of recordings that Miles participated in while he was still struggling with his heroin addiction. These sessions took place between 1952-1954 and the tracks recorded in the later months demonstrate remarkable beginnings of a style that he would soon master within a short span of time.

These sessions were recorded with such greats as Jay Jay Johnson on trombone, Percy Heath on bass, Art Blakey on drums, Oscar Pettiford on bass, and Horace Silver on piano.

Blue Note has since re-issued both volumes of this set with extra tracks on CD; you can buy it here.

Here's the LP version if you just wanna give it a listen before buying it.

Here We Go Again....

Naked had a track called Pre-War Germany on Bullshit Detector Volume 2. One Step Forward Towards Reality sounds as if it was recorded during the same session as the solo track on the Crass Records comp.

This is good, mid-tempo British punk released by the SubHumAns label (Bluurg Records) in 1983. Bluurg has a CD release of this single accompanied by 4 of their demo tapes- 23 songs in all- for 8 Pounds (Sterling)/12 Euros/$16!

Yr Hen Wlad

Compilation of Welsh bands printed by Words of Warning in 1987. Two of the bands on this 6-track single sing in their native tongue; Yr Anhrefn is renowned throughout Wales for their dedication to only singing and writing lyrics in Welsh. This was the second release put out by the record label.







Liner Notes

The Record

Houston Punk

A compilation of rarities released by Really Red, The Hates, and Legionaire's Disease. The bands in their own words:




Really Red: "Being involved in the explosion and turbulence of the Texas and American punk movements of the late 70s and early 80s was a truly exciting and gratifying experience. The bands, audiences, publishers, artists, and DJs were cutting their way through uncharted areas, breaking lots of rules as they invented a new counter-culture. Being a small part of the lives of the wild, inspiring, and often crazy people that we met along the way was well worth the time, money, and energy spent. Not to mention the often frustrating experiences with rip-off promoters, cheap motels, lousy sound systems, unresponsive DJs, and abusive police. There are many ways to measure success. REALLY RED never had any dream of becoming stars nor was our intention ever to "get signed" by a major label (a goal that seems all too common with so-called alternative bands of the 90s). Our aim was to be somewhat of a catalyst (however small) for thought, outrage, fun, action, and ultimately CHANGE and to have a great time provoking it. I don't know if we succeeded or failed in that area. But I do feel that we turned out some good music, for our limited abilities and the somewhat restrictive musical genre we chose. It is most gratifying to know that we are still remembered by a few. Thank you to those who were there then and those of you who are listening now. Never give up."

The Hates: "I felt really bad when the '80s came around, people were telling me, 'Punk is dead, you need to do something else.' There were some really lean years there. I thought we really hit our stride again during the late '80s, but it was the Reagan era and people still turned their nose up at punk rock. It's not something that ever caught on until now, if you want to say that. But I feel like punk now is watered down, made user-friendly, radio-friendly. To me, there's no such thing as pop-punk. It's either punk rock or it's pop music."

Legionaire's Disease: "I'd rather see you dead."