As Portsmouth is "my city", and the only Garage band to come from there (of any note) would be the Green Hornets, but the Vendetta period. After that they were a little too "pop" for my taste.

In Toronto, some of my current favorites are the PowWows, Evil Eyes, Leather Uppers (who just played a show recently, so I guess they are current?), Primordials, BBQ (now lives in Toronto), .... all I can think of for now.

Ottawa and Montreal have better "garage" bands. Toronto seems to have better punk/ hardcore/ metal bands.

Understanding that this is my band account for Thick Shakes... I think I would pick

Radio Control from Boston, MA, or Triple Thick (Who are on the Hideout, I believe).

So, bands local to you. Signed or unsigned, current or past?

Mines would be The Kosher Pickles from Glasgow, Scotland.

I'm ready to testify!

Kick out the jams motherf...er!!!

A W E S O M E

Give a try to the ProCo You dirty Rat effect...I've just bought used and it sounds great in my opinion

I've just test the new effect for some minutes yesterday (today will be the official test with the band) and as the claim says: it has "more fuzz than a police convention!" ha ha, that's right! What a powerful fuzz it is!

I've got a '78 Telecaster and a Peavey Calssic 30 amp and it sounds great! Unfortunately I can't push it to the limit cause with my guitar the amp starts screaming cause of the too bright tones but is still a great effect.

Sure that with a guitar with humbucker pickups it will give you the boost as a fuzzed single coil guitar can have.

I've also got a Big Muff effect but this Dirty Rat sounds even better.

Some of my most fave:
The Hondells-"Hot Rod High"/"Little Honda"
The Sigma Five-"Comin' Down"/"Pop Top"
Warren Smith-"Miss Froggie"/"So Long I'm Gone"
MC5-"Looking at You"/"Tonight"
T.V. Slim-"Flatfoot Sam"/"Darling Remember"
The Dictators-"Who Will Save Rock 'N' Roll?"/"Savage Beat"
The Howlin' Wolf-"Evil is Goin' On"/"Baby How Long?"
The Replacements-"I'm in Trouble"/"If Only You Were Lonely"
The Lime Spiders-"Slave Girl"/"Beyond the Fringe"
Bill Walker-"Party Time"/"Wineo"
The Mutants-"I Say Yeah"/"Cafe au Lait"

I think the Equals had to have had a bass player in the studio. That instrument was usually the loudest thing heard on their records.
 
John Battles said:

The Equals , three Guitars , no Bass....centuries before it was cool.

 

Sometimes , the fewer people you have , the less likely someone is to get killed. Also , two people might have the chemistry that 4 or 5 don't. It all depends. If it's still good music , I don't mind the absence of a bass so much. But , about 10 years ago , the bassless bands started getting so bad , Donald "Duck" Dunn , God rest his soul , probably could'nt have helped them.

Sometimes it's just doin' with what you got. I'm a bass player (living in Olympia, WA at the time) and when a drummer friend of mine, Matt, said we should start a band, the Bodides, we were switching off between drums and guitar because it was just the two of us. I thought, fuck yeah. We played our first gig a week later with the Rock and Roll Adventure Kids from Oakland (two guys).
Matt's touring thru L.A. now with his current two person band, The Maxines.
I'll agree that sometimes a bass would have filled out the sound a bit, but that's not what we were after. Nobody ever left a show feeling they didn't get their moneys worth for the performance.
And as far as band dynamics go, there's less people to disagree when I make a suggestion. Oh yeah!

It works for some people. The Cramps made it for 10 years without a Bassist , but , when they opted to bring one in , that was their choice. The music did'nt suffer. Royal Pendletons , a famous producer....HMMMM....tried to straddle them with a studio Bassist. Big money was offered , but , they knew that'd never happen. Guess who?  The Equals , three Guitars , no Bass....centuries before it was cool. The Dead Boys started out without a Bass player because Jeff Magnum did'nt want rejoin them after their first incarnation as Frankenstein . Gibson Bros. , Demolition Dollrods , others , I dunno. Someone said the first - ever Rockabilly - influenced band without a Bassist was The Cramps. But , that honor would actually have to go to Suicide. They got along , but , that's a horse of  a different color. Silver Apples , too. They made it work. Lee Michaels only had himself on keyboards (And other instruments , in the studio.) and a drummer. What's that relatively new two - piece Black snake orchid overdrive , or something. Keyboard player , drummer , non - suck 70's Rock. I forget their name , sorry. Black opel cobra or something.

You can OD on bass , crank it up way too loud when it does'nt work that way , or , of course , crank out the terrible 80's Funk (Seinfeld incidental music , anyone? I had to FOLLOW AN HOUR OF THAT , RECENTLY. ) influence. Sometimes , it's the Soundman's fault , if he's used to DJing "Dance" music , the bass and drums will be painful. Untamed Youth even got the Disco treatment the first time they played in Chicago , more than 10 years after their first attempts to get booked here...... 

Bob Log III is another great example of what one guy can do on his own.

Audio Gasoline said:

The Flat Duo Jets are one of my top favorites too - they fucking kill it as a two-peice, but their first album with Tone on upright bass was a real gem also.  The Cramps went for years with out a bassist too, no?  I don't think anyone could say their music suffered for it.

I see where the OP is coming from, but some bands can certainly pull it off to great effect.  One man bands? Rhythm is usually as simple as a stomping foot or thumb taps on the body of their geetar, and it often suits their music well. I highly recommend Scott H. Biram for a great showcase of what one person can accomplish on their own.

Bass Drum of Death and DZ Deathrays are touring together right now. Both 2 pieces and both rock VERY hard.

Really depends on the style and the VIBE.

Cramps, Oblivians, Bantam Rooster, Soledad Brothers, Gories, RL Burnside and tons of bluesmen...The trebly madness provokes a different mayhem.

The week's show featured music from the new Hives album, two tracks from the recent Hideout comp (Blue Squares & The Scumbags), New Kind of Mambo, Guided By Voices, 999, Ty Segall and more!

Download/listen to the podcast here:
http://cjamlog1.cjam.ca/mp3dirnew/36-Revolution_Rock-20120710-1030-...

Check out my blog post on Lex Hives:
http://revrock.blogspot.ca/2012/07/lex-hives-show-412.html?spref=fb

The play list for this week:

1.  Teenanger – Red Eye Station
2.  Jaill – Perfect Ten
3.  Mystics – Last Time (Demo)
4.  The Scumbags - My Baby’s Gone Away
5.  The Blue Squares – It’s No Wonder
6.  New York Dolls – Looking For A Kiss
7.  The Professionals – Payola
8.  Iggy Pop – Sweet Sixteen
9.  Fictions – Fication
10. Terminal Spectators – Another Day Another Dream
11. Guided By Voices – Hang Up And Try Again
12. Sloan - People Of The Sky (Live)
13. New Kind of Mambo – Luv Me True
14. New Kind of Mambo – Land of 1000 Dances
15. Paul Jacobs – Pickin’ Up The Slack
16. Pow Wows – Pandemic #44
17. Ty Segall Band - The Bag I'm In
18. Ty Segall Band – Oh Mary
19. The Black Angels – She’s Not There
20. The Spelling Mistakes – Hate Me, Hate Me
21. 999 – You Can’t Buy Me
22. Raptors - Can't Win
23. The Hives – 1000 Answers
24. The Hives – Take Back The Toys 
25. The Hives – Patrolling Days

Love me some Count Five, Sonics, Cynics, Monks, Electric Prunes, Them, et al.

But my top choice(s) came out within the last 15 years or so, specifically the first 3 Greenhornes albums: Gun for You; Self titled; Dual Mono.

They've since cleaned up their sound a bit (and **** is still my favorite LP from 2010), but if you can get the Boscobel Blues EP from Third Man (Vault Package 6), it's worth the price you'll pay on discogs or ebay. Earlier (rawer - Jack White produced) versions of songs that would later appear on their glorious East Grand Blues EP. And a fantastic cover of James Brown's I'll Go Crazy.

So it's good to hear that most agree the Exile was their best. Although Let it Bleed is right up there as far as I'm concerned.

Of their earlier stuff, definitely Aftermath and Between Buttons. And Out of Our Heads (if only b/c it has the quintessential rock n roll song with the most recongizable guitar riff ever...)

I was always biased against their later stuff b/c i assumed they got old, tired and just were cashing in. But Voodoo Lounge and A Bigger Bang are great records. Finally got them on vinyl. I now own all of their US releases on wax. It took a while, but well worth it.

And for what it's worth. I love the STones and the Beatles. But when people ask me which one is better, I throw them a curve and say "THE KINKS"

Brian Jones era hands down

I love the Ramones. And no, they didn't jump the shark.  I only saw them once... at Lolapalooza 1996 of all places in Tennessee... and they still had it. Sweltering 90 degree heat and they still rocked the Converse, blue jean, black T shirt, black leather jacket look. The best sound.

I dig most of their stuff, even the later stuff. But "My brain is hanging upside down" from Animal Boy is one that comes to mind form the later years. And heck, the whole "Adios Amigos" LP is a fine listen.

The Pygmies said:

That's awesome.  The lead singer, Paul, also runs Mammoth Cave http://mammothcaverecording.com/ . It's one of the best labels in Canada right now. Pretty much all the bands are worth checking out.

triggahiccups said:

Saw these guys and drank many drinks with the lead singer. All great people making AMAZING psyched out jams.

The Pygmies said:

If you're looking for a great new Garage-Psych band you MUST check out the Ketamines. Definitely my favourite album of the year.

http://ketamines.bandcamp.com/

 

Great suggestion. Definitely enjoying the Ketamines. Thanks.

Yeah.....I think I know the bit you mean.....Joe is questioning (in a very polite and restrained way.......hmmmm....) The Lord about the level for his vocal mic.(?)....they do use it in the ARENA doc.

John Battles said:

I have a documentary on VHS , BUT IT'S A STRAIGHT UP SCREAMING LORD SUTCH Bio . Joe Meek figures into the proceedings , of course , and there's some great home footage of Meek RECORDING THE SAVAGES (Probably also in this Meek/SutchBio.), but it's all about our Lord , which art in Heaven.

Torpedo Monkeys, Dead Elvis, the METALUNA IV