Destroy-LA, July-August 1982

Straight out of Canoga Park, I have to say that the entire Smoke Seven catalog was pretty hot. Smoke seven of what I ask you? I bought them as they came out and heaviness abounds. "Born Innocent" alone would have made them legendary but that is only scratching the surface. RF7's 1982 debut "Weight of the World" is like an early 70's biker-metal private press that mutated into hardcore when taken out of the deep freeze. And cover art that would put a smile on Jim Shaw's face. Not too get too Roland Barthes on you, but the cover art reveals as much of the inner psyche of where Felix Alanis was at, as does the cover of "Damaged" reveal the undercurrent of inner turmoil caused by the constant police and societal repression of the extended SST family - and by implication that of the harassed fans - seeing themselves in the mirror with Henry's bloodied fist. Some pent up and heavy shit going down in SoCal.

Where the hell are today's vocalists who can hold a candle to the likes of John Brannon, H.R., Alanis (or even Chris D. for that matter). The knob is turned past 11 eleven brother.


After seeing Easy Action live years ago, clearly Brannon's vocal skill and subtlety have gotten better and better with age. Take that Bryan Ferry, whose own solo cover of "The In Crowd" Brannon and Easy Action bested with pathos that Byron Ferrari could only dream of from his limo window. Which brings me to another mode of Smoke7 heaviness altogether via the "Public Service" lp from 1981 which I got a lot of enjoyment out of and was a nice local compliment to the stuff Rodney was playing. It also made me search out stuff by all the bands on the comp. The Thompson Brothers and Damon were kind enough to scoop me out of some early 80's, late summer doldrums and bring me to some roller rink in North Hollywood to see Circle One, the Angry Samoans, Shattered Faith and some others I can't remember now. I do remember Don Bolles being the dj between bands and being suitably impressed that he subjected all the baldies to the likes of the Seeds. That and a radical set by John Macias and Circle One. The show started with John saying that he "WANTED THE FUCKING LIGHTS OFF NOW!" Whoa. My memory of the night is that he had some face paint or charcoal right out of Walter Hill's "The Warriors." I was stoked that I got the hits like "Destroy Exxon" and "F.O." Anyway, in the barn I have the complete run of the Destroy-LA fanzine from Van Nuys. If Bell hadn't cut up my copy of issue number one in junior high, maybe you wouldn't have gotten the radicalness of the cover that is issue number two right here and now. Later I will post the Sex Sick interview with Kira Roessler and and the Alley Cats, which are interesting takes on the Masque-era right in the midst of hardcore.

Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine/Nick Kent on Hawkwind 1972 (NME) and the Smiths 1986/Monoshock 2012

While in Melbourne a few weeks back, I managed to miss my old pal's Monoshock's warm-up gig in San Francisco. Warm up for what? You tell me. Japan, UK and continental festivals all finishing with an Australasian leg of the world tour ending here in NZ. Nice, no? That should have been what happened the first time. Instead, all we get for the gig is a 180 gram repress of one the 1990's quintessential records. Did Thirsty even listen to his free promo that we flung to him at the time? The rumble of "Cryptozoological Disaster" still defines the era for me - what is with all these self serving folks writing books about that era without including a CHAPTER on the making of this record. While missing the Monoshock gig, I did happen to find this old NME 1972 yearbook in a 1985-vintage psychotronic video shop (where the owner told my daughter not to touch the clamshell VHS cases as they were "collectible"!), and oddly not in one of Melbourne's forty plus record stores. That said, you get Nick Kent on Hawkwind. Lemmy drinking a Newcastle Brown Ale, Dik Mik in front of both the Sam Gopal lp AND "Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine." "From Bolan to Beefheart"!! It says it right there on the cover. After watching Monoshock, move yourself to some VINTAGE 1986 Nick Kent (right after John Peel) as he pontificates at 2:40 of the South Bank Show special on the Smiths. Dead on as always. Outstanding stuff. More Kent and Hawkwind in the archives here if you can be bothered to search.

Rocket From The Tombs Plays Real "Cleveland Music"

About ten years ago I got to see the first Rocket From The Tombs performance in 27 years at UCLA. I thoroughly enjoyed it front and center and it was a bit surreal to see them given that in my universe (and my pals'), they loomed as large as any of their own influences. Equals. Prescient, in fact, as they synthesized all that was great about the late 60's/early 70's teenage wasteland culture, honed in on the bare essence and made a new music for young people. That they had risen to that stature is even more amazing because we only had a ninety minute bootleg cassette tape (and the bootleg album and single of portions of that tape). That is all that existed for decades. We knew where it ended up but how did it get there. Is not that first Pere Ubu 45 one of the benchmark recordings of the 20th Century and a total headscratcher to boot. Listen to it again and one wonders from which planet did it emanate. How do we get to Pere Ubu up through lp number two and that perfect first Dead Boys record (Cheetah you are too harsh on the second Dead Boys lp). You are to tell me that somehow, some guys in a rundown loft in Cleveland in 1973-1974 started that? Thanks to folks like Chris that legacy never totally fizzled out. The legacy of Peter Laughner is a whole 'nother piece to the puzzle which I have been spending decades to unravel. Do try to find Richard Hell's excellent piece on Laughner in his book of writings and drawings Hot and Cold. The scan below is from BTC #15 from 1989 which Chris will still sell you. Does anyone know which CLE publication originally published this? Guessing from early 1975. This whole memory jog was started by the best rock memoir that I have read in the past year which is Cheetah Chrome's A Dead Boy's Tale: From the Front Lines of Punk Rock. I finally read Just Kids as well which is older and just as fascinating. About this article . . . Whoa! Where to begin with this one. Who was Lucy D. Smart? I read this thing and think - damn straight! Written by RFTT's own Minister of Information. Read the quotes from these guys - Bell, Laughner and Crocus. There was too much brain power in this band for 1975 CLE for it to possibly last. I am serious. What strikes me is that it is refreshing to know that in the pre-punk dark ages, someone gave some serious ink space to an intelligent and original group of musicians who did not have a record deal or shag hairdos at the time. Where was Gene during this interview? Read his book and get some insight to his headspace at the time.

Dennis Wilson and Fleetwood Mac Double Vision/"Only Over You" composed "with special thanks for inspiration to Dennis"

In my opinion, the most interesting historical point of Cynthia Gianelli and Paul Newell's essential 1977-78 documentary "Never Mind the Sex Pistols, Here's the Bollocks" is the mainstream music industry's disgraceful shutdown of KHJ AM in Los Angeles from playing and supporting the Ramones as a singles act in 1977 or thereabouts. At the time, it would have no doubt blown open the Ramones to the ears of the biggest and most influential teen market in the US. I don't have my three editions of "Rock and the Pop Narcotic" handy (to date the definitive non-apocryphyal take on the era), but does Carducci reference this? It would have made a big difference in my house to have won a copy of "Rocket to Russia" instead of Linda's "Living in the USA" from KHJ in 1978. I digress. Dennis doing the promo with Christie for KHJ and wearing a great shirt, the picture of which would make a great shirt or bag itself.

Dennis Wilson and Rodney Bingenheimer/Pacific Ocean Blue record signing at Tower Sunset October 1977

Not quite sure whether Rodney was actually playing anything off of Pacific Ocean Blue in between Blondie, the Ramones, Iggy, Annette Funicello and the Sex Pistols during October 1977. I do know that ten years later that you could pick up the lp for a buck in Santa Cruz as I did. I am thinking about a whole week of only Dennis Wilson photos. How sweet would that be. Here is numero uno.

Donald Sutherland and Father Yod: The Source Family on Film Part II/Alex in Wonderland (Mazursky, 1970)

Dining on the patio of the Source, Father Yod and Ahom on your left, Donald Sutherland on your right in hippie headband. Paul Mazursky's Alex in Wonderland (1970) is a Fellini homage with Fellini himself in a cameo as well.



Not unlike Renoir's cameo in Frawley's The Christian Licorice Store (1971) though without Tim Buckley. A minor and seldom seen New Hollywood picture, unfortunately there are some painful and cringe inducing agitprop moments that have not aged well. The film does contain a faux military battle on Hollywood Blvd., where one can see that Let It Be was showing at a theater during its filming. Mazursky himself plays a studio exec in the film and Sutherland, as an aspiring first time director, takes a liking to a print on the office wall, a similar scene repeated as Vincent Chase takes a liking to a painting on Ari Gold's office wall in season two of Entourage. If the Source existed today (the restaurant that is), Vinny, Johnny, Turtle and "E" would be dining there. A crtitical examination of Sutherland's 1969-1974 films forthcoming. Below is Buckley's cameo in The Christian Licorice Store. Thanks to Steve for the print.

"The Most Self-Indulgent, Impossible, Elitist, Brilliant Recording Ever"/The Dictators in TOTP 1975

Unless you were Sparks, you didn't really have a hope in hell in being covered in what was billed as "America's Only British Rock Magazine" between say late 1972 to around 1976. Thus my surprise to see Ira's note from the April/May 1975 issue (No. 8, Bolan cover) of Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press. Fellow fanzine writer acknowledges other fanzine writer makes good, even going so far as to call Adny a lyrical "genius." Also calls 'em a cross between 10cc, the Beach Boys and heavy metal. The real parking lot heavy metal of 1975 along with KISS, the Gizmos, BOC, Thundertrain, Aerosmith, etc.