Yes , Knox had what I heard were some pretty serious health issues a while back , but , I also heard he's doing fine , now , but has chosen not to tour with The Vibrators , anymore.

Also , he must be about 70 , by now. Touring must be a bitch. Some people can do it.

He still records with them , occasionally. But , you know , he was the whole personality of the group. The one time I saw the band , sans Knox (The word had'nt got out , yet , about his illness.), they soldiered on , they were trying , but , they needed a frontman , and if Knox was unavailable , they needed a ringer, in my opinion. Another Lead Singer /Guitarist might add a new dimension , but , it's like The Buzzcocks without Pete Shelley.

Knox is a super nice guy , too. Very funny and pleasant . Those are the ones you remember.   

Read somewhere that Knox has had health issues and that's why he's not touring. But without Knox, to me it ain't The Vibrators.  And prior to the show, i was listening to a recent Vibrators LP of cover tunes they liked playing, and indeed it did sound like a Vibrators cover band!! Ended up not playing that record on the show for that exact reason!!

Did'nt know about Charles M. Young. Living in once - Deadhead infested Rogers Park , Chicago , I sure got my kicks spinning "Bring Me The Head of Jerry Garcia". There was another great Deadhead - bashing song called "Do The Jerkoff" by Dimentia 13 , when they , too , were based in Rogers Park - "Camping out , smelling like trout , is'nt that what life is all about ? It's a marathon at The Ticketron.....". Sadly , it was never released. 

The Vibrator(s) are playing just  few blocks away from here in September....It's not the same without Knox , though. I understand , they need to make a living, and the other two guys have put in their time , but , the one time I saw the latterday lineup , they sounded like a Vibrators cover band. 

Radio What Wave Playlist Aug 28 2014

First show back after some forced time off. Big Thanx to Ryan In The Red (aka RJ) for manning the dials and pots and playing some cool garage rock that we all dig!! You can catch Ryan at the garagepunk hideout doing his show Rock City Madness on a fairly regular basis.

1. The Mogs....Swamp Love...from the El'Mogamundo CD on What Wave Records. Defunct Burlington Ontario combo, brainchild of our good pal Rob Munro (RIP).

2. Royal Crowns...Heavenly Body From Outerspace...from the 32 Miles To Memphis CD from about 10 years ago. Royal Crowns will be at the London Music Club on saturday night and feature Teddy Fury, from The Bop Cats.

3. O Lendario Chucrobillyman...Nothing To Choose...from the Mad Monkey CD on Off Label Records from Germany. This is the start of a special on Off Label Records, self described as a small label, but sure has a lot of cool releases!! This one man band is from Brazil, touring the world, spreading the madness that we all love!! 2013

4. O Lendario Chucrobillyman...Chicken Strange...from The Chicken Album CD on Off Label Records. This guy has a chicken obsession as both CD's have songs with Chicken in the title.

5. Jonah Gold and His Silver Apples....Hard Working Man...from the Pollute The Airwaves CD on Off Label Records. Hard indeed, from this German combo who have that chug and ramble feel the Velvet Underground perfected. 2014

6. Pea and The Pees....Read Between The Lines...from the Golden Treasures CD on Off Label Records. German combo, 2014.

7. The Vagoos...Cease...from their self titled debut CD from 2014 and this was my first taste of the Off Label Records. Totally demonic fuzz on this tune that blows my mind each spin. German combo.

8. Lynx Lynx....Paisley Girl...demo for an upcoming release on Off Label Records. Another German combo, this one is a bit noisier than the above on the rest of this demo.

9. Marshmallow Overcoat...Beverly Pepper...from The Very Best Of double LP. Vocalist Tim Gassen has just released his third edition of The Knights Of Fuzz book. Well over 500 pages and once our copy arrives, we'll get Tim on the air to talk about this book. I can't wait for my copy to show up!!

10. The React...Only Living For You...recent single on La Ti Da Records outta Vancouver. Really really nice power pop with a garagey feel to it.

11. The Liggs...It's Not You Babe...new demo from this Brantford Ontario based combo.

12. The Mongrels...All Systems Go...Radio WW Session from May 2/2013. The Mongrels host the monthly Rock'n'Roll Rent Party at the APK here in sleepy London Ontario. Next edition happens Sunday Sept 7 at 3PM in the afternoon. Opening will be Westminster Park and some clown named whatwave dave is the MC. See ya at the show!

13. Dave Rave...4th Of July...brand new demo from our good pal Dave Rave!

14. Hurricane And Able...Such A Star...from the brand new download The Beginning Or... This is a combo featuring our pal Shawn Larouge (Space Slave, Fine Print and many other bands) that is mainly a studio band. They played out for the very first time a few months back in Toronto. London soon we hope!

15. Flesh Rag...Night Stalker...from the Too Fucked Up cassette. Brand new Hamilton Ontario combo featuring former Rocket Reducer and current Mystic Matt!

16. The Vibrators...Baby Baby...from the Guilty LP. The Vibrators (Eddie) were in town the night this show aired.

17. The Vibrators...London Girls...from the Pure Mania LP. Played the shit out of this record when it came out back in 1977 and it still gives me a boner to this day!!Pure punk influenced powerpop at its finest!!

18. Iron Prostate...Rock'n'Roll Nursing Home...from the Loud Fast and Aging Rapidly LP from 1991 on Skyclad Records. This goes out to bass player Charles M Young who passed away last week. Chuck to his pals, was the first journalist to bring The Ramones, Sex Pistols and many other punk combos into mainstream media as he wrote for Rolling Stone Magazine back in the late 70's. Charles understood the music and introduced so many of us to the Ramones for the very first time! Read his 1976 interview with the band and you can tell he got it, long before the rest of us!

19. Iron Prostate...No Class...as above.

20. Noble Savages...Music Will Kill You...from their self titled debut.This song sums up so much.

21. Simply Saucer...Dance The Mutation....from the recent Baby Nova 12". Yep, i can dance the mutation as it's one of only 2 dances i know, the other being the pogo!

22. Ding Dongs....Ding Dong Party...from their 2010 debut LP on Norton Records. Norton Road show is coming to Toronto this sunday, with a rare appearance by The Ding Dongs. Bloodshot Bill and Mark Sultan make up this combo.

23. Ding Dongs....Are You Ready?....from their 2013 LP, Rang Tang Ding Dong on Norton Records.

24. Daddy Long Legs...Coming After Me...from their 2012 LP, Evil Eye On You on Norton Records. DLL and label honcho  Miriam Linna will also be part of the Norton Road Show. If you're in Toronto on sunday, the El Mocambo is the place to be for this extravaganza!! Norton brought the road show to sleepy London Ontario in the spring of 1991 and you shoulda been there!!

Thanx for all the well wishes the last coupla weeks!! I now have a laser eye so i can see through most clothing and around corners! It's just so great to be able to see outta both eyes!!

And a big thanx for all the phone-ins, emails, facebook messages and Heys!! That's what makes it all worthwhile!!

Back next week with some special guests, some of the members of The Boy From Nowhere are going to be doing some kind of acoustic show live onair as they prepare for their reunion show the next night at APK. More details as they come in, but as always, we just go with the flow, which is generally downwards and around the bend!!

You can catch the archived show at:

 http://chrwradio.ca/programs/radio-what-wave

Due to a family obligation your bi-weekly dose of garage-punk will be ending earlier than usual today. The Jeff of the Future Radio Show will be on the air and the web on Saturday August 30th from 1:00-2:20PM EST. You can listen at 89.7 WITR-FM in Rochester, NY or streaming live at http://witr.rit.edu.

I've only got one 7", Spiral Girl which i bought for the flip side cover of the Zachary Thaks tune. Haven't played it in ages, so it's time to pull it out. Tanx for the X Men info!

and thanx for the trib to the band that has remained in my top 3 for well over 30 years.....The Fleshtones!!

The X-Men and upcoming gig info

Enjoy

I gave it a listen earlier today and loved it! Really cool album.

Ty Segall's new album Manipulator is released yesterday. You can listen to the full album for free at NPR Music, First Listen: Ty Segall - Manipulator (click!) I really like Ty Segall and am wondering what you all think about this album. Enjoy!

This is the official teaser:

Looks like we're getting closer to actually putting this one out! Stay tuned...

This was floating around on Facebook. Thought I'd let it infect this place.

Hey , Darren ,  We still say "You're a gas" or "It's a gas" , meaning something good....Tho' not many of us say it , anymore. There was an article , though this was 25+ years ago , about how US slang has gone down the tubes , and would do well to take a tip from The UK.   Of course , American slang is even WORSE , today.

Yes , you gotta have "Roman Gods " and "Hexbreaker", and I'm still a fool for "Up Front'' , though not many people , including the band themselves , seem to like it. I have'nt disliked any of their albums , though some were more consistent...They've had peaks and valleys like any REAL band . The "Living Legends" comp , which only came out on CD and Cassette, and very briefly , on IRS , is a must - have , too , if you can find it. Highlights from the first two LPs , early singles , EPs , and an unreleased track or two.

They are a dish best served , live , though their recorded output demands an earful , too.

As I say , this is real life , this is not a test.  It's not too late to have ''Intoxication of The Fleshtones".

John, you're a gas man !  (that's local, for good by the way ) since the the advent of the microsoft spell checker I've become convinced that I'm now illiterate !  at least in terms of the 'correct' usage of English 'english'...........Gotta love the the Fleshtones ! Roman Gods and Hexbreaker are essential, no excuses !

"So stuipid , he can't spell.". 

And I did (Enjoy.). Chris Sick (Great name.) got the essence of The Fleshtones and boiled it down to a single shot. It's still not too late to pick up on 'em ...

And don't miss Joe Bonomo's indispensible "SWEAT" . One of the best Rock reads , ever. You'll swear Joe followed them around like a fly on the wall for the whole of their career.

You'll laugh , you'll cry , yeah , you'll probably hurl too.

The truth ain't pretty , pretty , pretty (Pretty stuipid !). 

Trash, Garage Garbage and Other Delights

Enjoy !

BTW , I just saw the video for X's "True Love , Pt. 2" for , literally , the first time in 30 years.

I did'nt know that Chris D. from The Flesheaters and Divine Horseman played The Devil. He did'nt need to be painted red for the part , but , he was. The first time I saw him in person ,  he looked so scary , I just about jumped out of my skin. Of course , he turned out to be a super nice guy.  The Blasters were in  the video , as well. Billy Zoom briefly appears as Gene Vincent , with whom he worked in LA , ca .69-70 .  

I interviewed Sylvain Sylvain in The 90's. He said , there's always going to be a generation that wants shock - appeal in their music.  He said he did'nt consider the Dolls "Shock" so much as Alice Cooper , because he got across to more people , and pushed the Horror card . But , he said , for him , the REAL shock song was "They're Coming To Take Me Away" by Napolean XIV , when it came out .  Marilyn Manson , he said , just represented something to the kids that Alice Cooper had , previously.    I said , yeah , but , if Marilyn Manson is leading our kids to The Devil , then , The Devil must be one lame- ass motherfucker. 

Eyes Of Satan - New Bomb Turks (the Pagans cover)

YES.....There was'nt much info about his death.....I saw a couple of small press items , yesterday , and , of course , there's some good footage , like this , on You Tube . 

R.I.P. Billy.

Yes! I listened to that podcast too,it was pretty cool, Ty is very interesting and a huge music buff for such a young guy. Also one of my faves over the past 4 years, great catalog of albums already. His sound has Covered so many great styles while being original at the same time! On Maron's WTF podcast- as you know but other GPH kats may not, he does tons of interviews with musicians, many garage/rock and roll enthisiasts would appreciate like- Iggy Pop, John Foggery, Billy Bragg, Jack White, nick Cave, henry rollins, Josh Homme, Mojo Nixon, Tenacious D, Mike Doughty, just recently Bob Mould ,Dave Alvin, Jay Mascis and on and on, nice long interviews with a guy who digs Rock, cool stuff.

Comedian/podcaster Marc Maron interviewed Ty Segall a few days ago on his WTF podcast.

It's pretty entertaining. Maron is a fan and is somewhat familiar with Ty's work (as well as Thee Oh Sees!) and seems curious about the garage world. At one point Ty tries to explain Billy Childish to him and recommends several albums by The Fall.

And toward the last, in a complete random thought, Ty talks about eating "Christmas" enchiladas (that's with red AND green chile) in Santa Fe. (He played here last March. I snapped the picture below) 

You can listen to the interview HERE

Tanx SWT!!!! Never heard of BB till now and i'm really digging him!!!

Very cool. Thanks! Can't wait to check it out. :)