Please join us for four days of fantastic fun! Over 30 bands including LEN BRIGHT COMBO, the original 1977 lineup of THE GIZMOS, PAUL COLLINS BEAT, THE REBEL, PROTOMARTYR, and many more, including lots from the great country of Australia.

We are also hosting an art show featuring the artwork of TIM KERR, BUTCH ANTHONY, BRUCE WEBB, and JOHN HENRY TONEY.

Complete band list:

THANKS FOR POSTING THAT LINK , DARREN. I guess I did'nt give much thought to the fact  that "Blues Fix" was never released on vinyl..... this was when I'd just got my first CD player (At least I bought it at a yard sale.), and EPs like "Blues Fix" and "Ultra Twist" were only turning up on CD , Tho' "Stay Sick" (Against the label's wishes.) did come out on vinyl , as did all their subsequent albums (Exc. "How To Make a Monster.). At the time , I wondered what took 'em so long to do a Blues- related release.   Hard to believ that was 22 years ago.

The Cramps...'Blues Fix' vinyl release !

Finally and at long last a vinyl release of The Cramps 'Blues Fix' EP.

Release date 29th Sept 2014

This is long, long overdue......22 years is a wait and a half ! Four cover versions all produced by Poison Ivy incidently.
A-Side: Hard Workin' Man (Capt Beefheart). It's Mighty Crazy (Lightnin' Slim).
B-Side: Jelly Roll Rock (Walter Brown & The Alleycats). Shombalor (Sheriff & The Ravels).
Apparently, this is a limited edition of 1000 on 10" blue vinyl although on the ACE website it is listed as an LP ?
If you want to be sure of getting a copy ? You can pre-order it on the ACE Records website by hitting this link: http://acerecords.co.uk/blues-fix
Turnin' Blue !

Checkout the blog 'Trash, Garage Garbage and Other Delights'

...I think I still have one of their singles....a lot of that Estrus stuff did'nt stick with me , a few years later. But , I liked The Fells , just never got around to hearing them much.

The Fells are one of my favourite bands of that genre/ era. I have their Lp, which is great. However my favourite release is the 10’’ they put out. “Star Time” is such a great song. It’s made numerous appearances on mix tapes. They have a healthy slew of good singles too. It’d be nice if there was a singles comp for the Fells. Never did get to see them live. Great recordings.

I REMEMBER THE FELLS.   I was helping to promote a bill they were supposed to do , here , with The Royal Pendletons and The Hentchmen , if I remember rightly. THe SHOW WAS CANCELLED , tho' not because of The Fells.

So my Panic album came in the mail about 2 days later after I wrote that. "baby please"is supposed to be on it, and it's even written on the back of it, but it's not included on the album! not sure if it's test press fuckup or not, but ah well. The entire album rules, nonetheless.

"Fells" on Estrus Records, classified as budget rock. Anyway, a really exciting and consistent album of the early 90's. I discovered it in a record shop in Brussels, the guy was playing it. A nice discovery. 

"Get attuned to our tyme" by the extraordinary, shamely unknown X-Ray Harpoons. This is their first LP, several years after an EP and a couple of singles. German folks. I saw them 3 months ago in Paris. We were 50 or so. The guys sounded great, especially the farfisa and the guitar. Plus one of the nicest voices of these days' garage!!!

Playlist 08/02/14

Iron Prostate Bring Me The Head of Jerry Garcia
Iggy & the Stooges I'm Sick of You
7 Seconds Leave A Light On
Social Distortion I Wasn't Born To Follow
GTVs Cry If You Want To
Norvins All Is Forgiven
Mystic Brew Don't You Want To Stay
Miracle Workers Infected With You
Electric Frankenstein That's All I Need
Cheats Sinners & Saints
Real Tears Turn Around
Trousers I Get Around
Muffs Like You Don't See Me
99ers Godzilla's A Punk
Snails Gypsy Woman
Stupidity Go
Thingz Down N Out
Stupidity Some Kinda Love
Quity and the Don'ts All of You
Mysteios Cold Fusion
Safes Know It All
Wild Smiles Round & Round
Beach Party Geronimo
Thee Oh Sees Drop
Electric Mess Better to be Lucky Than Good
Tijuana Bulfight Too Fast
Parquet Courts Sunbathing Animal
Lovesores Mission To Mars
Orwells Southern Comfort
White Reaper Ohh (Yeah)
Reigning Sound You Did Wrong
Doughboys Countdown
World Break Down I Saw You Die!
dragSTER Evil Craze
Cryptics Do The Trash
Los Tiki Phantoms Kalifornia
Godfathers Gone To Texas

The Jeff of the Future Radio Show will be on the air and the web from 1:00-3:00PM Saturday August 2nd from 1:00-3:00PM EST.  You can listen at 89.7 WTR-FM in Rochester, NY or streaming live at http://witr.rit.edu.

Speaking of Question Mark & the Mysterians... be sure to watch this and sign the petition to get them inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame:

A news item from Bay City , Michigan , yesterday informs us that NY Journalist , Alina Simone , will be hosting BBC a documentary on Garage Gods , ? and The Mysterians. Simone graciously turned down a potentially far more lucrative assignment to do a tell - all book on former Bay City resident , Madonna , to work on this project. If there were a Grammy Award for Common Sense in Music , baby , it'd be hers. 

The irony is , that ? and The Mysterians were not based in Bay City , though "96 Tears " was originally recorded there. Various members of the group lived there , but , they eventually made their home base in Saginaw at the time (Guitarist , Bobby Balderrama , once told me the song was recorded in a band members' living room .... so , it's probable that "96 Tears" did , in fact , see the light of day in Bay City , one year before it's actual release. ), in any case ,  the BBC will descend upon Bay City (Already fully aware that The Rollers never lived there , either.), next month  . Naturally , this could have been done a long time ago for a US - based TV program. Don't look at me . I already hosted  a "Chic - A - Go Go " episode dedicated entirely to ? and The Mysterians , featuring interviews with the entire band , in '97.  Obviously , the likes of VH1 were'nt going to pick that up , but , they did do an interview with "?" ( His friends call him "Q".) for the short - lived "Where are They Now?"program (Which also featured what was probably the late , great Cub Koda's last TV appearance.) around that time.

The further irony is , we're just now learning that John Kerry is not the only prominent Politician with a Garage Rock Past.

Former Bay City Mayor , and State Representative with the 96th (yes.) Ward  , Chas Brunner , it turns out , played Drums , briefly , on tour with ? and The Mysterians , and claims that he nearly played on "96 Tears" when he was only 13 (This statement is backed by members of the group.). Given the on again - off again nature of second Drummer , The Late Eddie Serrato's relationship with the band , Brunner  ( A friend of Keyboardist , Frank ( aka Little Frankie) Rodriguez )  was asked to fill in for a doubtful Serrato (Who still had a full time job.) for the recording , but , Eddie returned , then left , momentarily , after the band had a hit. Brunner played a series of dates , then , Serrato came back.

Brunner was never officially a member of the band . In fact , Bobby Balderrama informed me that they only ever had one White guy in the group , on an official basis , and that it was'nt Bass Player , Mel Schacher , who played in a later version of the band , before going to greater heights of fame with Grand Funk Railroad. I forget his name , but you can see his picture in the Norton Records " Do You Feel it , Baby?" gatefold.

? AND THE MYSTERIANS ("THE GREATEST ROCK AND ROLL BAND IN THE WORLD , BABY !" Question Mark.) 

THURSDAY , AUGUST 16 , 7 PM , OLD CITY HALL , 814 SAGINAW , BAY CITY , MICHIGAN , FREE !!

Alina Simone and Rep. Brunner announced plans to attend. And......YOU ? 

Radio What Wave Playlist for July 31st and Special Fill-in for Aug 1st

We had Robert Mongrel, of the infamous pub rock band The Mongrels in to talk about what is going down on Sunday August 3rd at APK. It's the premier of Rock'n'Roll Rent Party, starting at 3PM with Space Slave hitting the stage on the hour and later The Mongrels hit the stage. It's a great way to spend a sunday afternoon seeing some top notch bands and still be able to get to the salt mines next day for the weekly grind. That is if you work this monday.

It's going to be a monthly affair with The Mongrels as the resident band and different bands sharing the bill. No cover, pass the hat around to donate to the band and yours truly will be the yammering MC for the event. Come on out sunday for some fun!

1. The Frost....Rock'n'Roll...taken from the LP, Michigan Rocks (indeed it does!) and goes out to Dick Wagner who passed away this week.

2. The Mongrels....Piece Of Crap....from a Radio WW Session aired 5/2/13.

3. The Mongrels...No More Tears...as above.

4. The Fine Print....Nobody Likes Me...from the cassette Record Store Day released by WW Records. This band features Shawn Larouge, who's latest band is Space Slave is opening on sunday. Space Slave have nothing recorded but we had to play some bands/songs featuring Shawn Larouge.

5. The Fine Print...Remember...as above.

6. The Fine Print...Time Is Right...as above. BTW, the cassette was a limited editon for Record Store Day 2011 and is long gone. And The Fine Print broke up right around that time.

7. Ducks Deluxe....Coast To Coast...from their 1974 debut LP on RCA. This is pub rock!

8. The Mongrels....All Systems Go...from the Radio WW Session.

9. Dragsville....Royal Drag....from their first ever show at Brennan's, 11/3/12. Yet another Shawn Larouge combo.

10. Hurricane And Able....11 On The Dial....download from yet another Shawn Larouge combo.

11. Hurricane And Able...Suddenly.... as above.

12. Hurricane And Able...Time...as above.

13. The Mongrels....Do It... from the Radio WW Session.

14. The Liggs....It's Not You Babe....brand new demo from a brand new Brantford Ontario combo

15. The Bardos...Meat Heart....brand new download from a band that went under the name Cursed Arrows. The Bardos are presently on a cross Canada tour, wisely avoiding sleepy London Ontario.

16. The Above...Coming Around....from their brand new LP, Waterbury Street. NYC combo who mix mod, garage, pop and lots of hooks.

17. Lionel Lodge....Shut Down...from his brand new CD, The Agitator.

18. Dustbin Flowers....Bayside Jenny....from their debut CD.

19. Dead City Soul Review....If They Come In The Morning...from their latest demo. DCSR are moving out west....as in way out in western Canada.

20. Magic Christian....Let's Shake....7" on Hammer City Records featuring; Cyril Jordan, Clem Burke, Eddie Munoz, Paul Kopf, Gord Lewis, Dave Rave and Hamilton's best kept secret, Michael Fonfara.

21. The Plimsouls....A Million Miles Away...one of my favourite singles and Eddie Munoz is on lead Rickenbacker on this one. Eddie, Clem and Keith Streng were  at This Ain't Hollywood on friday night with their new combo, Split Squad.

And that's a wrap for the thursday show. Big thanx to all the phone-ins, you know who you are and it's always appreciated!! Thanx for all the emails, facebook messages and Hey's!!
On to the friday noon-time fill in that ran from 12:30 to 1:30PM with Melissa Parrott as a trainee.

1. Dead City Soul Review....Breaking The Shackles Of Love...from their latest demo.

2. Masked Boy....Cool....from the Self Loathing download. One man combo from Wheatley Ontario....google map that one!

3. The Mogs...Run Like Hell....from the El'Mogamundo CD on WW Records. This one goes out to Rob Munro who passed away a couple weeks ago. RIP buddy!

4. Lionel Lodge...Smile...from the brand new Agitator CD.

5. Dustbin Flowers....Plasticine Nicotine....from their brand new II CD.

6. The Liggs....1950's Delusion....from their brand new demo...brand new Brantford Ontario combo.

7. The Bardos...Devils Weed....from their brand new 3 song download. Formerly known as The Cursed Arrows.

8. The Above....The Prisoner....from the brand new Waterbury Street LP.

9. The Mongrels....All Systems Go...from the Radio WW Session.

10. The Mongrels....Do It....as above.

11. The Mongrels...No More Tears... as above.

12. The Fine Print...Hanging Over Me...from their only CD, Standing Out.

13. The Fine Print...Tonight... as above.

14. The Magic Christian....Tomorrow Never Knows....from their Evolver CD.

15. The Plimsouls....Playing With Jack....from the Kool Trash CD. This song refers to Peter Case playing with Jack Lee (and Paul Collins) in the highly influential Nerves band.  This version of The Plimsouls features Clem Burke on the drums.

16. The Plimsouls....Falling Awake... as above.

17. The Plimsouls....Now....from the Plus CD. You've probably heard The Finks (local combo) version of this song played on Radio WW as it's a fave of mine.

Hope this helped the lunch time patio beers go down a bit easier as we eased into a long weekend here in Ontario.

You can listen to the podcast for the regular Thursday show at:
http://chrwradio.ca/programs/radio-what-wave

What is that track starting at minute 18? Is it "the local motions - tell her"? Does anyone know more about this band? Frickin love that sound...

yeah , you're right. He's facing this courageously. He already said he's doing better than anyone who may mourn for him.

Probably the best way to go... 

All our thoughts to Billy! 

.....I meant to say Coiro was standing in for Rath.

Billy Rath , former Bassist for the legendary Heartbreakers , one of New York's most influential Punk bands , it was just announced , only has a few months left to live. He was still performing with his latter day band , The Street Pirates , until recently , when his health toook a turn for the worse.

Rath effectively took over when original Heartbreakers ' Bassist , Richard Hell , was ousted from the group , after an unsuccesful attempt to overthrow Johnny Thunders' position as frontman. Naturally , his savage Bass parts fit right in with The Heartbreakers' Cochranized Guitar and Drum combinations. They quickly became favorites in Manhattan , challenged only by The Ramones , Dead Boys , and , later, The Dictators. They played select dates in The U.S. and Canada , and , just a few months into Rath's tenure with the group , found themselves on The Anarchy Tour with The Sex Pistols , The Clash , and The Damned. the Damned were bumped off the tour early , though , and the majority of dates were cancelled. Still , the band renmained in Britain for a year , partly because the local Punk crowd tood to them like a fish to water, but , also because addicts were treated far more humanely than in New York.

I could not tell you what has recently put his life in jeopardy , though Rath , like his fellow Heartbreakers (Barring Walter Lure , arguably.) had grappled with addiction for years. In fact , his actual whereabouts , it seems , were only known to a few , until he resurfaced in Boston , formed The Street Pirates , and became a fixture on The Beantown musiic scene. Rath was conspicuous in his absence at what would turn out to be The Heartbreakers' last reunion gig , shortly before Johnny Thunders was found dead in New Orleans. But , for the many "Rent Party" , and occasional tours The Heartbreakers did , after breaking up in the late '70s , Rath was sometimes replaced by Tony Coiro from Walter Lure's band , The Waldos (Coiro passed away recently , though Lure still plays out on occasion. ) . When asked why Coiro was standing in for Lure , Walter told Tim Stegall, "Oh , he joined The Hare Krishnas or something.....".   But , as of 20 - some years ago , Billy's current status was a mystery to most.

Rath found himself musically active , and well - liked , in Boston. But , bandmate and best friend , Jack Christoforo (aka  J.C.Ripp.), announced that Billy has gone home to be with his family , is now at peace , and is expected to go in peace. He is only expected to live for a few more months , but is asking that friends and fans do not mourn , but  celebrate his life and teh music of The Heartbreakers , as he has , adding that he is in better spirits , now , than those who've thought about and prayed for him . He is ready , he is not afraid of what lies ahead.

No , MikeL, "Cotton Candy" was by no means a cinematic triumph. It was Ron Howard getting his toes wet in the fishin' hole called  Movie Direction , in which , of course , he LATER attained respectability and widespread acclaim... I'm sure whoever reviewed it at the time (If anyone did.) must have panned it. Clint Howard said , recently , that he much preferred doing "Rock'n'Roll High School" , which he'd just come back from doing , than he did when shooting began in Dallas (Single Bullet Theory.) on "Cotton Candy". He said "My Brother used Charles Martin Smith's original music because Ron's idea of Rock'n'Roll was Bob Dylan and The Beatles ! I was into The Ramones , tehy were my kind of people !!".

Clint said that he tried to convince Ron to make "Cotton Candy" more like "Rock'n'Roll High School" , musically , but , he would'nt budge....It was a great opportunity for my friend , Mark Ridlen , and the embryonic version of Quad Pi (I don't remember what their band name was at the time.) to play the bad guy band , though all they got to do was the wretched joke version of "I Shot The Sherrif", but , nothing came of it.  I'm convinced it's never been released to VHS or DVD because Ron Howard is THAT embarassed by it.......

John, I remember watching "Cotton Candy" when it was first aired:)  I had forgotten all about it until you jogged my memory.  I liked the movie at the time, but it wasn't exactly a cinematic masterpiece.  Guess that's why I forgot aboout it.

John Battles said:

....I VAGUELY REMEMBER THE JOHN Candy / Lee Ving bonding. What movie was that ? I forget.

vING WAS IN "gET cRAZY" , TOO , AS A CARICATURE OF HIMSELF , i GUESS , "pIGGY" , AND DID A PRETTY ROCKIN' "hOOCHIE cOOCHIE MAN" (By FEAR , WHO WERE'NT IN THE MOVIE.. ).  Otherwise, the movie only eludes to Punk (And has the otherwise extremely rare "Chop Suey " by The Ramones.)....Malcolm MacDowell and Lou Reed are in it , too.

"VALLEY gIRL" CAME OUT PRETTY LATE for The Valley Girl craze , BUT IS STILL A PRETTY FUNNY 80'S TEEN COMEDY , ESPECIALLY FOR HOW BADLY Punk IS DEPICTED.

It starred a still little - known , not yet truly annoying , Nicholas Cage as thE male lead (It was best to watch it on TV, they used to censor one scene where he said "FUCK OFF!" , AND Made it say "SCREW OFF ! OKAY? JUST SCREW OFF !!". who says that?).  E.G. Daily (Pee Wee's Big Adventure) is in it , too.

"COTTON CANDY" IS STILL A CULT FLICK , Never had a proper commercial release , and I doubt it was ever re- run on Television , except maybe by local stations in need of time - filler. I don't know.

NOT AT ALL. HOPE I DID'NT GET CARRIED AWAY , BUT , THE MENTION OF DENTON BRINGS BACK ALL THESE (MOSTLY GOOD) MEMORIES , BEFORE IT BECAME , OR APPEARS TO HAVE BECOME , AUSTIN #2 (AND I HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF AUSTIN FROM A LOOOOOOOOONG TIME AGO , AS WELL.). 

Thanks for the feedback

You're right , there's no reason to fear Pop - oriented Punk , in The Buzzocks / Vibrators / Boys (and Undertones , Dickies , etc.) kinda vein , but "Pop Punk "as a genre , in all it's whiny, bed - wetting glory, detracts from the idea of real hooks and real songwriting . It'd be great if more bands could fuse the two , Punk and Pop , into something not , as we say in the states , wussy - sounding. Maybe you say the same thing !   But , The #1s aren't doing it for me that much....I intend to give them more of a chance, but, upon first listen , they're far superior to American 90's Pop Punk , though they don't sound like they're breaking any new ground.

That said , I think they'll make it. It would be cool if Ireland had an internationally popular band , again , that could make us forget U2's  inexplicable rise to world dominance (I really thought they'd peaked around 1983-4. Little did I know.) .

The comparison to Denton , Texas is interesting. I did'nt know Denton had any distinctive sound , and only learned , about 8 years ago , that they'd long since usurped Dallas as the live music center of North Texas. In 1980 - 81, when I first went to shows in Denton , with my Brother , the whole scene pretty much consisted of a then- still great Brave Combo , and  unknown , to this day , bands like The Frenetics , Chef Physique , and The Jetsons. When I read about Denton's burgeoning scene , people usually start in the early 90's , as though nothing happened there , previously. There was Bliss (Punk/Rock) , Snake Farm (Funny Punk) Charred (No Wave - ish.) , and Whirlygigs (60's Power Pop) , and myself (Trash.) . Original bands from the 80's have been wiped clean from everyone's memory. There were no places for "Punk" bands to play , except house parties , prior to then. Dallas did'nt recognize Denton , which is only an hour away , and , now , Denton is'nt recognizing Dallas.

Sorry , I know that has nothing to do with this band. I'm just reminded of when Denton was barely a blip on the radar , barring North Texas State University's Jazz Band.

The Number Ones aka The #1's

Self Titled
Static Shock (UK) 
Deranged Records (US) 

Thirty five years after The Undertones put Ireland on the Punk map another band is pushing forward with similar youthful vigor. Sure there might have been hundreds of bands of similar pop punk in the last 25 years but its still great to hear such a cohesive collection come together.
In just the first five minutes anyone that has been ruined by 90/00s pop Punk desenstization should have their faith restored in the genre of music. Songs of heartbreak and young love provide the stories. The rolling bass lines over the chorus on "Sharon Shouldn't" with the muted "woo-hoos" is probably better than most songs from like bands. The care free "Boys" is juxtaposed with punk caliber ballad's "Girl" and "Tell me Why". "Anything" even features a pretty ripping guitar solo. What seperates The Number Ones aka The #1's from the rest of the pack is what seeps in at the edges."Heartsmash" and "He's Too Good" have flavors of Denton,TX style punk (Marked Men, Early RiverBoat gamblers). "Tell Me Why" at moments gives me that same feeling that the Flamin Groovies gave me the first time I heard Shake Some Action.
This is fun and nowhere near meanspirited. This band might not ever venture out of Europe. For all intents and purposes down the line might end up on a 2014 version of Killed By Death Comp. This week The Number One's might be the best ~18 minutes of music you hear all week.

Gee, it only took the Cynics three years to notice my review of their last CD:)  Oh well, better late than never.