Shit, you're from Texas? Cool, did you ever see Really Red (I always missed 'em)? Yeah, regarding Lithium Xmas, my friend Scott Edgerton had a younger brother who was (I think) and original member. Small world... Stickmen w/ Rayguns, everyone I know was scared shitless of Bobby Sox. When I visited Dallas, tho', he seemed like a nice guy to me. Wish I'd seen the Surfers when they were at their most chaotic. I met Gibby and Paul, very cool folks, but that was years later. You made the rounds!
 
John Battles said:

First show ever - KISS , July , 1976 , with Bob Seger (Still kicking ass - check out "Live Bullet" , if it sets you back over a dollar , you was robbed.)  , and the now - popular Power Pop cult heroes , Artful Dodger. I was 11 years old (Before it was the norm to be a preteen at a KISS concert.) , so , of course , I loved it. I thought everyone on the bill was really good , actually.

This show got me out of a potential hazing when I started Jr. High. Some uptight older kid was giving me a lot of shit , when another one said , "Hey. Leave that guy alone. He was at The KISS concert.".

First Punk show ? uhhhhhh....Some people would say "That's not Punk , that's New Wave" , to which I'd say , "That's not I don't give a shit , that's I really don't give a shit."

But , the first show of note , for me , was at a house party in Denton , Texas , 1980 . My Brother's band at the time , The Jetsons (Feat. The future MC 900Ft. Jesus , Mark Griffin.)were playing with Chef Physique and Brave Combo , who used to be GREAT , no World Music , just Garge Rock Polka.). That was when I realized , like Leo Sayer put it "Hmmm...now waitaminnit ...I CAN DAAAAAANCE!!!". I was on the fence about a lot of the new music , but , that show turned my head around (Tho' we had to miss Brave Combo.).

Useless trivia : Mark Griffin went on to become a founding member of Lithium XMas , the still underrated Heavy Psych outfit. Several years later , my Brother , Tom Battles , joined the band , as well , and , in between , the Husband and Wife team that led Chef Physique briefly joined Lithium Xmas ( Who had NINE members at the time. Plan 9 only had eight .). 

Until I had an ID stating that I was 19 , tho' (All the cool kids had believable fake IDs , they tell me.), I did'nt see a lot of bands besides The Jetsons , The Telefones , 10 minutes of Chron Gen , Plimsouls ('81) , Robin Lane and The Chartbusters (same) , The Clash (82) The Stray Cats (same) and The Dead Kennedys w/MDC , Hugh Beaumont Experience , Butthole Surfers and Stickmen With Rayguns, also in '82 . DKs WERE VERY GOOD , I WAS STILL REALLY INTO 'EM. Hugh Beaumont Experience had their moments , they were pretty funny. They were all younger than me , which was encouraging.

The B-52's, so classic! You're lucky, I've always missed 'em. Fun should be priority no.1...

Yeah, hardcore pretty much destroyed punk for me. I wouldn't even read MRR for years, it was synonymous w/ hardcore. Luckily, I learned about all those other sub-genres...

Jager, whew, licorice blackout ("and last"). Amen to that.

Alison said:

My first show was the B-52's at Six Flags Over Georgia when I was 13 - it was after Love Shack had come out.

By the time I came of age, "punk" just was a bunch of insecure, asshole "hardcore" dudes, so I can't say I saw a real punk show until 2006 when I saw The Avengers play CBGB's.  They were great of course.

My best show was on my 21st birthday when I went to see the band Toenut play at The Point in Atlanta.  They said happy birthday to me from the stage and when the clock struck midnight I legally had my first and last shot of Jager.

First show ever - KISS , July , 1976 , with Bob Seger (Still kicking ass - check out "Live Bullet" , if it sets you back over a dollar , you was robbed.)  , and the now - popular Power Pop cult heroes , Artful Dodger. I was 11 years old (Before it was the norm to be a preteen at a KISS concert.) , so , of course , I loved it. I thought everyone on the bill was really good , actually.

This show got me out of a potential hazing when I started Jr. High. Some uptight older kid was giving me a lot of shit , when another one said , "Hey. Leave that guy alone. He was at The KISS concert.".

First Punk show ? uhhhhhh....Some people would say "That's not Punk , that's New Wave" , to which I'd say , "That's not I don't give a shit , that's I really don't give a shit."

But , the first show of note , for me , was at a house party in Denton , Texas , 1980 . My Brother's band at the time , The Jetsons (Feat. The future MC 900Ft. Jesus , Mark Griffin.)were playing with Chef Physique and Brave Combo , who used to be GREAT , no World Music , just Garge Rock Polka.). That was when I realized , like Leo Sayer put it "Hmmm...now waitaminnit ...I CAN DAAAAAANCE!!!". I was on the fence about a lot of the new music , but , that show turned my head around (Tho' we had to miss Brave Combo.).

Useless trivia : Mark Griffin went on to become a founding member of Lithium XMas , the still underrated Heavy Psych outfit. Several years later , my Brother , Tom Battles , joined the band , as well , and , in between , the Husband and Wife team that led Chef Physique briefly joined Lithium Xmas ( Who had NINE members at the time. Plan 9 only had eight .). 

Until I had an ID stating that I was 19 , tho' (All the cool kids had believable fake IDs , they tell me.), I did'nt see a lot of bands besides The Jetsons , The Telefones , 10 minutes of Chron Gen , Plimsouls ('81) , Robin Lane and The Chartbusters (same) , The Clash (82) The Stray Cats (same) and The Dead Kennedys w/MDC , Hugh Beaumont Experience , Butthole Surfers and Stickmen With Rayguns, also in '82 . DKs WERE VERY GOOD , I WAS STILL REALLY INTO 'EM. Hugh Beaumont Experience had their moments , they were pretty funny. They were all younger than me , which was encouraging.

My first show was the B-52's at Six Flags Over Georgia when I was 13 - it was after Love Shack had come out.

By the time I came of age, "punk" just was a bunch of insecure, asshole "hardcore" dudes, so I can't say I saw a real punk show until 2006 when I saw The Avengers play CBGB's.  They were great of course.

My best show was on my 21st birthday when I went to see the band Toenut play at The Point in Atlanta.  They said happy birthday to me from the stage and when the clock struck midnight I legally had my first and last shot of Jager.

For me, my first show was Cheap Trick on the One-On-One tour. It was in a basketball stadium, so the sound was a little washed out, but I was so stoked to hear 'em play that I didn't care.

First punk show was the Big Boys, (Texas) in a tiny li'l bar called Backstage, 1983.

Best shows, so far: The Cramps w/ Nick Knox, Stay Sick tour, and the Boredoms, 1993. Both shows were off-the-scale energy, wow...

Most disappointing show was The Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, 1996 (SXSW, ack!) the singer was waaaay drunk, the gtr player was pissed-off, and the band maybe played 20 minutes.

More cuteness:

Ha Ha! :)

Mina said:

I also have a crush on Daleks. I find those plumber arms and whatever the other thing is called in English very kinky. ;-)

Man Or Astroman's verson of Frosty The Snowman.

Share your favorite surf/instrumental Christmas song:

Henry Rollins

As long as I tell the truth I feel that nobody can touch me.

Peter Prescott

Punk rock is unique and individual and is not for everybody, so almost by definition it can’t be popular.

michael azerrad, from Our Band Could Be Your Life

“The 80s were a little like the 50s- it was sort of a conservative era, money conscious, politically nasty, and Republican… And usually that means there’s going to be a good underground. There’s something to get pissed off with communally.”

Killing Joke

It was while rampaging across Europe that Killing Joke hooked up with Konrad “ Conny” Plank, the legendary producer/madman who had famously produced Can, Neu!, and Moebius. Plank provided the inspiration for their third album, Revelations, encouraging Ferguson’s love of the occult, and drawing out for the first time the facination with Masonic imagery which later inspired a number of songs. […] Coleman developed a career as composer in residence for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra ( the country where he now lives most of the time)
-from Al Spicer’s rough guide to punk

The Butthole Surfers

The influences were clear; the cacophonous jungle howl of the Birthday Party; the Fall’s caustic chants; Pere Ubu’s art-punk; the synthetic mystique of the Residents; the eerie, bleak side of Public Image, Ltd.; and the turgid, rambling assault of Flipper.
-Micheal Azerrad on the Butthole Surfers, from Our Band Could Be Your Life

When an interviewer asked why Haynes electronically manipulated his voice so much, Leary explained, “It’s just because, y’know, he’s got knobs and he can do it. It’s like, why does a dog lick its balls?”

john doe

People knew Devo for some reason, so that’s what hicks would yell out of their pickups to slag you: “De-e-e-v-o!” or “F-a-a-g!” You could elicit that response  by wearing tight black jeans and a leather jacket with a regular haircut. Here we were in Hollywood, where you’re supposed to be able to do anything and not faze people, and the general public was offended by this style. Everyone I knew just scratched their head, wondering what it was that pissed people off so much, but it gave you the feeling that you were fighting the good fight.

-from we got the neutron bomb

Mark E. Smith & The Fall

“If you can’t deliver it like a garage band, fuck it.” -Mark E. Smith

“It’s possible that John can form some kind of nightmarish career out of his enthusiasm for unlistenable records.”- john peel’s school report, 1950’s

“The Fall’s Peel Box, and by association, their recorded output in general, reads as a secret history of the last 3 decades of popular music.” - stewart lee, the wire primers

ed sanders

Punks reminded me of armadillos: people whose attire was a kind of armor to protect themslelves from the tentacles arising from the iridium to get them.

-from legs mcneil and gillian mccain’s please kill me

Damn, computer's fucking with me. In the meantime please enjoy this article I just found:

A History of Punk

Why don't you try Lost In Tyme from Greece? is about the recent global garage scene.

Every single Billy Childish album.

There's so many.....But , since I was just talking about 'em-

Lithium Xmas "Aneurysm" (Cassette only. Some of the same material turned up on a CD , "Bad Karma" (?) , years later. ). Total mindfuck Hard Psych. Covers of Beefheart , Ultimate Spinach , Alice Cooper Group , Nilsson , Red Krayola , Lemon Pipers , George Harrison and the cast of "Godspell". No mere Psych Replacements , they made every song their own , with room for songs of their own.....But , what they could do with "The Iron Butterfly Theme" , now that , you should hear (It appears on "Helldorado" , a collection of then - new originals and covers from the early days.).

Washington Dead Cats (Same?)  Also cassette only. French Psych/Psycho/Horror Rock , with Pere Ubu embellishments. They're still around . These hommes did not suck The Meteors' tit. They were into something different , altogether.

David Bowie "The Man Who Sold The World" - Maybe not underrated , so much as overlooked , it has the unfortunate disctinction of preceding "Ziggy Stardust", and , largely , only remembered , today , because Nirvana covered the title track. T. Tex Edwards' version of "Black Country Rock" is so much better , it's not funny. This album reeks of nihilism and paranoia . and it's as heavy , or moreso , as the first two Sabs' records.Marc Bolan's on it , too !

Slade on Stage  - I know it's quite likely no one will back me on this , but , of their three official live LPs , I've always thought this one was hands down , no contest , the best.

It's 1982 ,the band is just getting on their feet again . Two years prior to their one good - sized American hit , and more than 5 years since a real chart single in The UK (Barring Re- appearances of "Merry Christmas , Everybody.") , the band had just recently set Reading ABLAZE with a surprise appearance , and they were'nt looking back.

Faster than a speeding Punk record , Heavier than The New Wave of British Heavy Metal , capable of turning England over to The Geordies with one detonation of the atom bomb blast that is Noddy Holder...... LOOK ! UP ON STAGE !!! fuck me , IT's SLAAAAAAAAAAADE !!!!!!

John Brannon, singer for Laughing Hyenas, has been playing more lately, too. He is fronting Negative Approach approach again (both of which are bands from my town). 

His voice sounds as good as ever.

Andy Seven said:

Speaking of Michigan, I also like The Laughing Hyenas, an amazing band.

Speaking of Michigan, I also like The Laughing Hyenas, an amazing band.

Wow, crazy article, well done! If they stop making CD's, it won't be any big deal to me. They've never had the emotional connection that I have w/ vinyl, tho' they were handy to carry around and play at work. I think Billy Childish called them drink coasters. Besides the cold digital sound, CD's don't have colored wax, readable lyrics, decent-sized art, gimmicks in mastering (33/45 singles, plays from outside-in, etc.). While I never cared about selling CD's, selling records genuinely hurt. Good riddance, I say...

Yes, Bodaco, you can find 'em here, Roky Erikson fronts a cowpunk band, not really.