You can't be TOO old to Rock , a fact which 76 y.o. Jerry Lee Lewis , who just did a phenomenal show in Chicago , drove home . I would have been just as happy with an all - Country set ,but he complemented the minority portion of the show, The Honky Tonk killers , with full throttle , too fast for The Autobahn , Rockers. And , he played piano like he just shot Arthur , backstage.   Arthur Itis.

I think  Little Richard turns 80 next year , Chuck Berry is , what, 86? And , I hear he still does great gigs in St. Louis . He was terrible , here , but I saw him 10 years ago in St. Louis , and he destroyed ! Marvin Rainwater is also a Rocktagenarian , Link Wray was well into his 70's when he passed (His birthdate is in dispute ,but , he was at least 75.). Claude Trenier Rocked it well into his 80's , his 81 y.o. Brother , Milt , still performs (Tho' a lot of people , especially my UK bRETHEREN , WOULD SAY IT'S NOT rOCK'N'rOLL. It's damn fine showmanship , tho.). Fats Domino retired some time back , but my Dad and my Grandpa were younger when they retired. Wanda Jackson turned 70 a year or so ago. There's a lot of others ....But ,  Sky Saxon was rumored to be 70 or 71 at the time of his ascension (His widow , Sabrina , would'nt reveal his date of birth.), The Wailers had members in their 70's , as , I guess , The Sonics do , now , too. Mike and The Ravens were probably all in their early 70's when they made 3 great , REAL Garage Punk CDs. The Trashmen have got to be pushing 70 , and , well , there's more....

As far as guys older than The Downliners Sect or The Pretty Things (BTW , is'nt Dick Taylor , bless his sweet heart , 70 by now ?) who listen to them , still. There's got to be some.

There are quite a number of bands from the '60s still performing. There was a post here just the other day about an upcoming festival with The Trashmen and a couple others. The Sonics have played recently, too, and Chuck Berry still plays monthly in St. Louis!

I just hung out with Doug Moody (of R&B and later Mystic Records fame) and he's in his 80s and still coming out to shows and recording bands in their twenties.

My Grandma was 12 in 1955 and she's still playing rocknroll records into her late 60s 

I'm 53 and probably one of the oldest Hideout members.  This started me thinking.  Here in the UK you would have first heard Elvis in 1955.  If you were 16 then you'd be 72 now.  Does anyone know of senior citizens out there who are still rocking?  By rocking I don't mean listening to Oldie stations on a Sunday drive.  I mean actively listening to the Chocolate Watchband, Beefheart, Downliners Sect or whoever.  Or even seeking new and wild sounds.  Can you be too old to rock?

Ha, Slade, alright, ya sold me, I'll be looking up their stuff! Hey, I do like the Sweet now, tho' it took years. You might think about putting those 2 cassettes on youtube, sound screamin' (and no Meteors, thank Christ! Ugh, psycho-billy, non, just gimme Cramps)

John Battles said:

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 !!!!!!

 

Every single Billy Childish album.

"You've got to decide, then, whether you want to just keep repeating yourself, in the hope that you keep those first people interested, or whether you want to be true to yourself. Which in some sense is more Punk Rock than anything."

-Elvis Costello

"Punk can be a mental ghetto.  People get into it and make all these rules and pretty soon they’re worse than born again Christians and have stupid three hour conversation about things like, which band is a sellout and is straight edge cool or un-cool and it’s just completely idiotic.  So punk has taught me the aesthetic of the outsider, which is great, but it’s also taught me not to get involved in petty little cults." - Jesse Michaels

"Guiness is what I drink when I'm not drinking." -Shane Macgowan

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

I'd love to be a spunky male groupie :):):)

John Battles said:

There definitely ARE Male Groupies , but , how they go about it is very different , at least , most of the time.... I've met Female rockers who were very sexy and very friendly , but , I was'nt trying to make them uncomfortable , just make conversation , and , they understood that. Whether it went beyond that , I'm pleadin' the fifth. Maybe some of them want to have Male Groupies. You have to understand , we Men are generally clueless on such matters.

Any guy with sense does'nt want to step over the line , or be out of line....

Maybe some Lady Rockers are'nt making their interest clear , because they don't want to be percieved a certain way , or they forget , WE'RE GUYS. We're the ones who need to be hit in the head once in a while , to know the other in interested.

 

I saw The Pandoras in '86 , and , while they had a lot of Male fans in attendance. Most of them were terrified by their sexual confidence and aggression. Not this boy.

First show was John Denver when I was a kid. 

First punk show was Fugazi for the Repeater tour. 

Best show might have been Nobunny this past summer, but i have been lucky enought to see some great ones over the years. 

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.

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:

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