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    • October 28, 2011 8:58 PM CDT
    • When I asked them why they weren't coming to NYC, they said that last time they came no one came to their show. NYC really doesn't appreciate the classic acts. It's sad.

    • October 28, 2011 3:04 PM CDT
    • Damn, never got to see em play.

    • October 28, 2011 12:31 PM CDT
    • At least we still have Coldplay.

    • October 28, 2011 8:55 PM CDT
    • Cymbals Eat Guitars and they sucked. Attending the Norton 25th in a couple of weeks and Hot Snakes in December.

    • October 28, 2011 2:54 PM CDT
    • Cool , I could've seen Hunter , too. But , I never got into his solo stuff that much , some of it....It was , like $40 , here. The Cynics are also playing in Chicago , next week. They can still tear the young upstarts a new one. Watch , listen , and learn. This is how it's done.

      MikeL said:

      For some reason, my response to this thread ended up in the costumes thread.  I don't know how that happened.

       

      Anyway, I posted before that I saw Ian Hunter last night, and he put on a really good show.  He played one of my favorite Mott songs, "Roll Away The Stone," along with "All The Young Dudes" and "All The Way From Memphis."  My only complaint is that he didn't play "Once Bitten, Twice Shy."

       

      Next week, I'm going to see the Cynics at the 31st Street Pub.

    • October 28, 2011 2:50 PM CDT
    • Nice pic. If you scroll up , you'll see that I was there , too. I could'nt believe they did the first album , first , but I guess they wanted to get it out of the way. I've seen them 4 times since they started touring the States , again , in '97, and they've always put on a great show.

      But , they also , generally have only done the two "Hits" from the 1st LP , "New Rose" and "Neat , Neat , Neat". Once , when they and The The Dickies blew the "Misfits" , Agnostic Front and Balzac from Japan (Who , at least ,were better at being The Misfits than The Misfits playing that night.) off the stage , they also did "See Her Tonight".But , I was looking forward to seeing them do the first album , live , even tho' it's not the original band (It's a real band tho' , and a very good one.). Oh , well. That's my lot. Dave looks like Lionel Atwill with that moustachue. I saw him on TV A YEAR OR TWO AGO , HE REMINDED ME OF A THINNER , UHHH , straight , version of Charles Laughton. But , I think that was more his theatrical mannerisms than his appearance.  

      Brian Shapiro said:

      Saw The Damned for the first time last Tuesday, great show

    • October 28, 2011 2:33 PM CDT
    • For some reason, my response to this thread ended up in the costumes thread.  I don't know how that happened.

       

      Anyway, I posted before that I saw Ian Hunter last night, and he put on a really good show.  He played one of my favorite Mott songs, "Roll Away The Stone," along with "All The Young Dudes" and "All The Way From Memphis."  My only complaint is that he didn't play "Once Bitten, Twice Shy."

       

      Next week, I'm going to see the Cynics at the 31st Street Pub.

    • October 28, 2011 2:26 PM CDT
    • Saw The Damned for the first time last Tuesday, great show

    • October 28, 2011 7:45 PM CDT
    • Playlist Oct 27/2011

       

      This is the final edition of The Fryfogles Years specials...for those that don't know, Fryfogles a club here in London Ontario up until the early 80's. Literally TONS of cool and not so cool bands played there over the years. We concentrated on bands that played there approximately 30 years ago, as this is CHRW's 30th anniversary.

      1. UIC...Crop Dusting...from the Our Garage LP that came out in 1986. UIC were THE BEST band to ever come out of Exeter Ontario!! Fuck the rest, these guys were The Best from Exeter!! They wisely left Exeter and moved to Toronto where they became fixtures on the scene.

      2. UIC...Green Lady...from the Wiseman Sessions....the BEST sessions these guys ever did!! We're still trying to get this one released on vinyl. Fred, are you reading this?!?


       

      Some contact sheets of Ted of UIC in action.....from the archives.

      3. Durango 95...Sandra Sez...from the Lose Control LP on Star Records. Way cool Oshawa combo who merged into The Purple Toads a few years later and played many shows at the Key West here in London Ontario.

      4. Durango 95...Guitar Guitar Guitar...from the Mother's Day LP on Star Records, released in 1990, long after these guys had packed it in.

      5. Flipper...Way Of The World...from the Album LP. Flipper only played once here, and they somehow had members of the opening band up on stage with them for part of their show at Fryfogles.

      6. Forgotten Rebels...This Ain't Hollywood...from the OPM CD. This song title is presently used by the coolest venue this side of Toronto. The Forgotten Rebels played just about everywhere here in London, starting in the summer of 1980 and just played this past summer at Call The Office. That's over 30 years of obnoxiousness!!

      7. Battered Wives...Angry Young Man....from the first LP as drummer Cleave Anderson pointed out to me that they played Fryfogles and members of The Romantics were in the crowd watching them!! And the Battered Wives opened for Elvis Costello at Alumni Hall here in London in the fall of 1978. I'm still kicking my ass for not going to that show! My logic at the time, was that it wasn't punk enough for me! Call me stupid!!

      8. 63 Monroe...Weekend Punx...from the Rumbleskunk compilation CD as there's a feature on their previous namesake, NFG in the fanzine that came with the CD. These guys are from London Ontario and recently released a 7"....but they wanted 12"

      9. Magazine....A Song From Under The Floorboards...from An Alternative Use Of Soap LP. It was a Howard Devoto show at Fryfogles and he did play some Magazine songs i've been told.

      10. Robbie Rox...Reeming Me...from the Construction Site LP. Toronto musician who had a shaved head back in the late 70's before it was trendy and sang in a very high voice, yet he looked like a wrestler! Oxymorons to the max with this guy and most of his jazz tinged tunes dealt with putdowns of people he didn't like, which seemed to be just about everybody! My fave song by him is "I'll Be Fucked" where he almost sounds like Blood Sweat And Tears until you realize he's repeating I'll Be Fucked If I Do!!! Priceless!! I was a big fan and made a drunken fool of myself when he played at Fryfogles, screaming out for songs that he hadn't played in years. Yep, i got the evil stink eye from Robbie that night! And Rena ended up dragging my drunken ass home before the bouncers could escort me out!

      11. Mettle...5/4...from the Domestic Animals cassette of London Ontario bands. And recorded live at Fryfogles 10/23/81. Former Demic Robert Brent goes artrock.

      12. The Hippies....Nuclear Disaster...from their one and only 7"...Many years later, this band, minus singer Kelly Mulvey morphed into The Boy From Nowhere with Jon Traut on vocals.

      13. Dead Rabbits...No Way...local combo who released nothing back in the day, but reformed in 2002 for a Boot To The Head (reference to the Blue Boot, original name of The Cedar Lounge which was the punk mecca back in the day)..recorded at Call The Office.

      14. Dead Rabbits...Your Ego...as above. Should mention regular listener Kerry Piper drummed for this outfit of criminals.

      15. The Diodes...Time Damage...from their first LP from 1978. First punk band in Canada to release a record, first punk band in Canada to be on a major label and first punk band to play here in London Ontario!! And they're coming back to London on Friday Nov 18th at Call The Office...all 4 original members!

      16. The Diodes...Noise...from the Sony Best of CD.


       

      The Diodes at Call The Office June 2010...

      17. The Diodes...Tired Of Waking Up Tired...from their 1978 LP Released.

      18. The Rattlers...Little Black Egg...from the Rattled! CD on Dionysus. These guys opened for 999 6/12/81 at Fryfogles...another show that i missed.

      19. Goddo...Hard Years....from their first LP from 1978. Not sure if Goddo played Fryfogles, but they definitely played at Ye Olde City Hall just up the street back in 1978. They did a 3 night stint there, and me and my buddy Derek (RIP) were right up front for all 3 nights. One night, right in the middle of a song, Greg Godovitz jumped on top of our table while doing a guitar solo and we both had to hold the table to prevent it from tipping over dumping Greg and our beers!! ANd Goddo is coming back to London on Nov 17 to Downtown Kathy Browns.

      20. Rough Trade...It's A Jungle...from their Avoid Freud LP. Rough Trade also played The Spoke here at the University and she made a comment playing in the rec room of the country club at the University. I've got a live tape of that show somewhere and it'll get played on this radio show some day.

      21. The Mods...Step Out Tonite....from the 22 MOnths CD on OPM. They played The Cedar Lounge 2 times and drummer David Steinberg went on to play with Stiv Bators and in a late version of The Dead Boys. He's now a bigwig lawyer in Toronto but still gets behind the kit every once in awhile!

      That's a wrap on The Fryfogle Years. It was a lot of fun digging out records for this one and we got some pretty cool comments about it, so we may do specials on other venues from days gone by as we preserve London's musical history here at Radio What Wave.
      Thanx to everyone who contributed to CHRW's Fundraising drive during our show....Kerry, Dan, Rena, Ashley and Cory!!! Kudos to you guys!!

      Next week we'll be spinning a bunch of new stuff and maybe a coupla things that didn't get played on this show.

      The London Record show is this sunday at Centennial Hall here in London....come say HEY at the CHRW table!!

      And we've got another big show coming up on Sat Nov 5th...The Hook Up, The Fine Print and The Reply at Brennan's Beer Bistro on Clarence St in Downtown London...9:30PM showtime!!!  Here's the facebook event page:

      https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=252194134820010&ref=ts

      And here's the link to listen to the archive for this show:

      http://chrwradio.com/podcasts/94-9CHRWThu1900.mp3


       

      The Hook Up at Grooves Records, Sept 2011.


    • October 28, 2011 6:26 PM CDT
    • ....Sure , I used to like The Doors. But , we've had Jim Morrisson coming out of our ears since about 1980 - 81. Musically , I would'nt hold them against the original Animals , either , but , that's just me. When I was a kid in the 70's , the only Doors songs I ever heard on the radio were Love Her Madly , Hello , I Love You , and Light My Fire , and only the latter in rotation. I remember hearing Riders on The Storm a lot for a while , but , that would have been right after Morrisson passed away. I knew who they were , and who HE was , by the time I was in Jr. High , but , they really were'nt a big deal at the time. They were'nt popular in the way Jimi Hendrix was popular with younger people....yet. I THINK jIM WAS PROBABLY INFLUENCED , TO A DEGREE , BY ERIC , and The Doors , to some extent , by the classic Animals lineup. Probably . But , EVERYTHING i'D EVER READ ABOUT tHE dOORS , THEY'D SAY that Love was the band to beat. The Seeds' names only started getting dropped , recently.

      Nick X said:

      Yeah, I think the only reason I compared them is because they both have baritone voices, also because I was drinking gin and tonics and playing "It's my Life" really loud and got caught up in the moment pondering why Eric Burdon's status as a rock icon didn't carry over into today's generation like Jim's Did. In my world it did, ha. Like Kopper said, I was never a massive Doors fan, Jim openly stole riffs from the Kinks and fancied himself some kind of post modern poet. Eric was just a salt of the earth blues singer trapped in a white kids body.

      DanyHell2011 said:

      They are completely different from each other. It is like compare wine and beer. Maybe you would prefer one or another, but it is a matter of taste and not who is better than the other. 

       

    • October 28, 2011 3:32 PM CDT
    • Yeah, I think the only reason I compared them is because they both have baritone voices, also because I was drinking gin and tonics and playing "It's my Life" really loud and got caught up in the moment pondering why Eric Burdon's status as a rock icon didn't carry over into today's generation like Jim's Did. In my world it did, ha. Like Kopper said, I was never a massive Doors fan, Jim openly stole riffs from the Kinks and fancied himself some kind of post modern poet. Eric was just a salt of the earth blues singer trapped in a white kids body.

      DanyHell2011 said:

      They are completely different from each other. It is like compare wine and beer. Maybe you would prefer one or another, but it is a matter of taste and not who is better than the other. 

       

    • October 28, 2011 5:22 PM CDT
    • Show #347: "Halloween Special: Rock 'N' Roll Monsters, Ghouls & Ghosts"

      Every 3 weeks I leave an open slot to do random themes and whatnot. This week I'm doing a different kind of Halloween theme, bands & artists with names dealing with some sort of monster, ghoul, ghost, etc. I figured every other radio DJ in the world is doing Halloween themed music, so I decided to do Halloween themed band names. The music really has nothing to do with Halloween at all, just the name of the band! Tune in tonight (friday) at 10pm to hear bands like: Goblin, 3 different Banshees, 2 different Gremlins, The Spirit, 3 different Phantoms, 2 different Trolls, Kenny & The Fiends, Phantom, Reign Ghost, Spirit, The Troll, Zombies, The Devil's Anvil, Os Mutantes, The Phantom Five, The Devil's Own, Satan's Chyldren, Death, The Phantom, Wolfman Jack & The Wolf Pack, The Creatures, The Ghost, Groovie Goolies, Spirit Of John Morgan, Banchee, New Trolls, Demon Fuzz, The Vampires, The Vampires Of Dartmoore, and many many more!!!

      ***To stream The Metaphysical Circus live via the web click this link: http://portsmouthcommunityradio.org/listen ... to listen to past shows, view playlists and more, fan the show on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Metap ... 50?sk=wall … or check out my website (to be updated someday): http://eggmanrulez.com/
      Live every Friday night at 10pm to 1am EST on WSCA-LP 106.1 FM, Portsmouth Community Radio!

      Watch my playlist unravel before your eyes LIVE here: http://wscafm.radioactivity.fm/

      Egg

    • October 28, 2011 5:13 PM CDT
    • The Big Mix – 12/24/2010

      1. Zig Zag Wanderer – Captain Beefheart
      2. I’m Not A Bad Guy – Heinz
      3. Hava Nagila – Dick Dale
      4. Too Much Monkey Business – The Yardbirds
      5. Killer On The Lamb – Banjo and Sullivan
      6. Kawanga! – Los Straitjackets
      7. Chug-a-lug (the eggnog song) – Roger Miller
      8. In The Past – We The People
      9. Hand A Bowl – Culture
      10. Love In A Void – Armitage Shanks w/ Kyra Rubella
      11. Baby’s Liquored Up – Beat Farmers
      12. Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down – Maddox Brothers and Rose
      13. Sling That Thing – Andre Williams
      14. What You Lack In Brains – Batusis
      15. You Drive Me Ape You Big Gorilla – The Dickies
      16. Chocolate Moose Theme - Chocolate Moose
      17. I’ve Laid Some Down In My Time – Colton’s Big Boss Band
      18. Love To See You Bleed – Roky Erickson
      19. Snack Crack – Wild Billy Childish and the MBEs
      20. Smiling Like A Killer – Motorhead
      21. Spoiled Rotten – Chinese Millionaires
      22. El Entierro de los Gatos – Los Saicos
      23. She Said Alright – The Easybeats
      24. Banned In Jerusalem – Acid Baby Jesus
      25. Little Boy – Movie Star Junkies
      26. 3 Poison Kisses – 44DD

       

      Bonus Tracks (The host of the next show was late – snowstorm)

      1. Goo Goo Muck – Ronnie Cook and the Gay Lads
      2. Come On Kid – The Stingrays
      3. Can’t Be Touched – T Model Ford
      4. Lick The Pipe Peter – Lee Scratch Perry
      5. Brains In My Feet – Purple Canteen
      6. Boys From County Hell – The Pogues
      7. 15’ Of Pure White Snow – Nick Cave
      8. Shakin’ – Groundhogs

    • October 28, 2011 4:03 PM CDT
    • My first show as regular co-host:

       

      12/16/2010

      1. Feel It – It’s All Meat
      2. Creature With The Atom Brain – Roky Erikson
      3. Demoted – Prima Donna
      4. Go Go Boots – Drive-By Truckers
      5. The Man With The Gallows Eyes – Wild Billy Childish and the Chatham Singers
      6. I Believe - Wild Billy Childish and the Chatham Singers
      7. No Brain – The Wangs
      8. It’s Up To You – The Hi-Fives
      9. Lick It – Dwarves
      10. Baby Let’s Get Lost – The Beatdowns
      11. Max’s Kansas City – Wayne County and the Backstreet Boys
      12. Backbiter – The Ruts
      13. Lose Your Mind – The Third Bardo
      14. Freakin’ Out – Mondo Topless
      15. You’re Just Like Me – Deadbolt
      16. Black Knight – River City Tanlines
      17. I Can’t Hardly Stand It – Charlie Feathers
      18. Louie Louie Music – Armitage Shanks
      19. Get Out Of My Hair – The Gruesomes
      20. La Plaga – Big Sandy and Los Straitjackets
      21. I Am A Beast – Los Psychedelicos
      22. Surprise Surprise – Lulu
      23. Drag Is Back – The Monsters
      24. You Don’t Need Me – The Gorgons
      25. 18 – Pagans
      26. Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut – Bo Diddley
      27. Death’s Head March – Legion of the Damned
      28. Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight – The Rezillos
      29. Ram It Down – Judas Priest

    • October 28, 2011 4:01 PM CDT
    • I co-host The Big Mix radio show along with Stan Or Astro-Stan (aka Stan The Man, aka Happiness Stan) on WDBX 91.1FM  Carbondale, IL on Friday nights 6:30-8pm Central Time.  The show features a variety of old and new rockabilly, surf, garage, and punk along with a smattering of “other” to spice things up and keep you guessing.

      Stan has been doing the show for about 14 years and I joined as second banana in December 2010.  There is live streaming (http://www.wdbx.org/) but no show archive or Facebook/Myspace page (at least for now) so I’ll try to document our set lists here on a regular basis.

    • October 28, 2011 4:33 PM CDT
    •  My Old Band, The Hexxers had a Hallmark Sponsorship. I still have the bass pictured on the right, but I changed the pickguard to a tortoise shell guard.

    • October 28, 2011 2:36 PM CDT
    • kopper , Yeah , it says "Bloopers" on some of these , but if they're actually the real commercials , it does'nt make sense. But , I'm glad Grayzell is getting some kind of work , and maybe some notoriety , when so many of his peers are dead or unable to play out , anymore.

      kopper said:

      I don't think so. I think these are the actual commercials. Maybe I'm wrong, but these seem like intentional bloopers. Watch some of the others... they're all like this. Rudy starts saying something, goofs up, curses, and the dude with the hot dog & headphones on comes up laughing hysterically. Pretty unfunny, actually.

      John Battles said:
      It is ridiculous , but , these are the outtakes. Have'nt seen the finished commercials. This is probably the first time an obscure , Old School Rockabilly artist , such as he , has done a TV commercial since Cordell Jackson played rings around Brian Setzer in that Bud Light commercial , though Cordell was in a class of her own ,not stuck on one thing.

    • October 28, 2011 1:57 PM CDT
    • I don't think so. I think these are the actual commercials. Maybe I'm wrong, but these seem like intentional bloopers. Watch some of the others... they're all like this. Rudy starts saying something, goofs up, curses, and the dude with the hot dog & headphones on comes up laughing hysterically. Pretty unfunny, actually.

      John Battles said:

      It is ridiculous , but , these are the outtakes. Have'nt seen the finished commercials. This is probably the first time an obscure , Old School Rockabilly artist , such as he , has done a TV commercial since Cordell Jackson played rings around Brian Setzer in that Bud Light commercial , though Cordell was in a class of her own ,not stuck on one thing.

    • October 28, 2011 1:50 PM CDT
    • It is ridiculous , but , these are the outtakes. Have'nt seen the finished commercials. This is probably the first time an obscure , Old School Rockabilly artist , such as he , has done a TV commercial since Cordell Jackson played rings around Brian Setzer in that Bud Light commercial , though Cordell was in a class of her own ,not stuck on one thing.

    • October 28, 2011 9:43 AM CDT
    • That's what I needed to know! Yeah, wow... there are actually a whole bunch of them, and they're all pretty ridiculous. Like this one:



      Ken said:

      Pine Brothers, I think

    • October 28, 2011 2:16 PM CDT
    • Thank you for posting this. I'm glad to see they're still with it.

    • October 28, 2011 12:36 PM CDT
    • A friend of mine was talking to Mick about guitars.  Mick said he'd never take a guitar worth more than a hundred dollars on tour again.  When something happens to them, it's too painful otherwise.  I can see that.

    • October 28, 2011 11:24 AM CDT
    • In honor of Halloween, I'm going to post this column I wrote for the Santa Fe New MExican a couple of years ago about one of my favorite ghost songs. 

       


      A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
      October 30, 2009

      Painting by James Clark

      (Art by James Clark. Used with permission.)

      An impressionable 12-year-old rode to the top of an Arizona hill one afternoon with an old Cowboy friend to check a windmill. A big storm was building and they needed to lock the blades down before the wind hit. When finished, they paused to watch the clouds darken and spread across the sky. As lightning flashed, the Cowboy told the boy to watch closely and he would see the devil’s herd, their eyes red and hooves flashing, stampede ahead of phantom horsemen. The Cowboy warned the youth that if he didn’t watch himself, he would someday be up there with them, chasing steers for all eternity.


      Sixty years ago this frightening vision, now found on the Western Music Association Web site, was etched into the consciousness of America. “Ghost Riders in the Sky” is a perfect Halloween song for the West. It’s the only cowboy song in which “yippie-yi-yay” becomes a demonic taunt. The boy who heard the tall tale from the old cowpoke would grow up to be forest ranger/songwriter Stan Jones.
      “Ghost Riders” became a huge hit in 1949, a year after Jones wrote it. Pop-folkie Burl Ives was the first to record it that year. Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Peggy Lee chased the devil’s herd, too, and before the end of the year, avant jokester Spike Jones merrily mutated the saga of the demon cows and fire-snortin’ horses. But the biggest hit at that time came from pop crooner Vaughn Monroe, also in 1949.

      Of course, it didn’t stop there. It’s been covered by everyone from Concrete Blonde to Dean Martin. Frankie Laine, another popster with an ear for cowboy songs (think “High Noon” and “Rawhide”) also covered “Ghost Riders.”
      Artists like Bob Wills, The Sons of the Pioneers, Gene Autry, and Marty Robbins brought “Ghost Riders” back West. Dick Dale went surfing with it. Ronnie Dawson made it a rockabilly romp. The Southern-rock group called The Outlaws introduced it to the dazed and confused generation in 1980. Johnny Cash sang it with the Muppets. Tom Jones took it to Vegas, and the Legendary Stardust Cowboy took it to Mars.

      The fact that “Ghost Riders” has a cinematic feel to it is no accident. Jones did a lot of soundtrack work for John Ford Westerns, including writing music for The Searchers (in which John Wayne spoke a catch phrase that inspired a Buddy Holly hit, “That’ll Be the Day”) and Rio Grande.

      When Jones wrote “Ghost Riders,” he was working for the National Park Service in Death Valley.
      According to the Western Music Association Web site, “The Park Service made Stan its representative to Hollywood film crews when they came to Death Valley. After a long, hot day of filming, cast and crew members often sat around and listened to Stan’s songs and stories. They encouraged him to get a publisher in L.A.” Shortly after, “Yippee-yi-yay, yippee-yi-yo,” was being heard across the land.

      My two favorite versions of “Ghost Riders” are no longer in print. The one that raised goose bumps on me as a kid was on a 1964 LP called Welcome to the Ponderosa by Lorne Greene — yes, a tacky TV tie-in from Bonanza’s Ben Cartwright. This version has a full-blown orchestra, a chorus, and Greene’s distinct gravely voice. (Greene’s hit “Ringo” was also on this album.)

      Then there’s the country-rock version from New Mexico’s own Last Mile Ramblers, from their 1974 album While They Last. The artist currently known as Junior Brown is playing guitar, and the vocals are by Spook James. This was always a highlight of the Ramblers’ shows at The Golden Inn and Bourbon & Blues. You can hear the song on my latest podcast at bigenchiladapodcast.com.

      I’m not sure how many cowboys changed their ways because of the warning in the song. But next time you see lightning in the sky, look for those red-eyed cows and gaunt-faced cowboys.

      Also recommended for Halloween:

      * Rob Zombie Presents Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures. On his previous music project, Texas singer Jesse Dayton, whose résumé includes stints as a guitarist for Waylon Jennings and Ray Price, teamed up with bluegrass singer Brennen Leigh to create an album of sweet country duets with songs like “Brand New Heartache,” “Take Me,” and “Back-Street Affair.”

      Since that time, Dayton was apparently kidnapped by the evil Rob Zombie and transformed into a fiend named Captain Clegg (a name lifted from a 1962 film starring Peter Cushing) to sing hillbilly horror songs like “Headless, Hip-shakin’ Honey,” “Two-Headed Teenage Transplant,” “Transylvania Terror Trail,” and “Macon County Morgue.” These and seven other tunes appear on what is easily the Halloween album of the year.

      Fans of Zombie’s most recent movie, Halloween II, might recognize Clegg and band from a music/dance scene in the flick. But this isn’t the first Zombie/Dayton collaboration. In 2003, Zombie enlisted Dayton to write and record tunes — such as “I’m at Home Getting Hammered (While She’s Out Getting Nailed)” and “Lord, Don’t Let Me Die in a Cheap Motel” — for a fictional hillbilly duo called Banjo and Sullivan in conjunction with Zombie’s 2005 slasher flick, The Devil’s Rejects.

      Although Dayton’s background is in country and rockabilly, there are all sorts of influences here. Take the opening track, “Zombie a Go Go.” It sounds like a Farfisa-fueled garage rocker — at least until the steel guitar solo. “Dr. Demon and the Robot Girl” is a tribute to late-’60s “country fuzz” production, an era in which fuzztone guitars, electric sitars and folk-rock elements crept into some country music.

      None of these tunes is destined to become a classic like, say, “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” They’re all pretty dumb, but then again, they’re all good fun for “spooky people gettin’ Dixie fried,” as Clegg sings on “Honky Tonk Halloween.”
      BLOG BONUS:


      Here's a couple of "Ghost Riders" videos:



    • October 28, 2011 11:03 AM CDT
    • A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
      October 28, 2011


      Southern Culture on the Skids has always excelled in good tasty swamp rock. The group’s latest album, Zombified — released this month just in time for the Halloween shopping rush — goes deep into the swamp, where mossy monsters dwell.


      Most of the album was released in Australia back in the last century (1998) as an eight-song EP. Guitarist/singer Rick Miller and crew added a few new songs for the American version. The band calls it a “tribute to the horror and exploitation movies that populated Southern theaters and drive-ins during the ’60s and ’70s.”

      Like the best SCOTS recordings, the sound here is a seamless blend of country, surf, rockabilly, garage-rock, exotica, swamp-rock, as I mentioned, and probably some secret ingredients the group will never tell.

      Miller always sounds like a hip bumpkin — whether he’s singing about funny aspects of Southern life or, as on this CD, witches and zombies. Mary Huff plays the bass and sings far too infrequently while Dave Hartman drums. There are a few guests on some tunes, the most significant being Chris “Cousin Crispy” Bess on organ and Steve Grothmann on sax.

      Miller wrote most of the songs, including the title track, “Devil’s Stomping Ground,” and “Eyeball You Later.”

      But there are also some fine covers — a Creedence Clearwater Revival instrumental, “Sinister Purpose”; “She’s My Witch,” a cover of a song by rockabilly Kip Tyler; John D. Loudermilk’s eerie “Torture” (sung by Huff, who sounds like she’s been, well zombified); and best of all, “Primitive,” a garage-y snarler originally done by a band called The Groupies, and probably best known by its version by The Cramps.

      There are more instrumentals than usual for a SCOTS album. Besides “Sinister Purpose,” there are “The Creeper” — on which Miller’s guitar dares to go delightfully obnoxious trying to summon the ghost of Link Wray, and “Swamp Thang,” which is upbeat, funky, and, naturally swampy.

      One unusual song here is “Bloodsucker,” featuring an acoustic guitar and a lilting Caribbean/New Orleans arrangement. Trom-bonist Dave Wright colors this track.

      Even though Zombified is perfect for Halloween spookfoolery, virtually all the songs here stand on their own and would sound just fine at a SCOTS show any time of year.

      Another monstrous treat ... or is it a trick?


      * Pop Up Yours by The Monsters. No, this isn’t a Halloween-themed album, but how could I not talk about a new record by The Monsters during this special season?

      This Bern, Switzerland-based band has been around since 1986, fronted by Reverend Beat-Man, the owner, founder, and resident (un)holy man of Voodoo Rhythm Records. The group plays what it calls “chainsaw massacre teenage garage trash punk.” And they have these really snazzy red jackets.

      The songs deal with love, lust, revenge and rage, based on simple riffs and Beat-Man’s shredded vocal chords. One of my favorites here is “Blues for Joe.” I don’t know who Joe is, but Beat-Man seems pretty upset as he screams “What you gonna do now, Joe.” Also commendable in its sweet, crazy fury is “Crawling Back to You No More.” There’s a pumped-up Bo Diddley beat at the core of the song.

      The songs are mostly original, though many of the mutated, frantic Hubert Sumlin guitar riffs sound hauntingly familiar. There is one cover tune, a trashy — and I mean that in the nicest possible way — version of “Speedy’s Coming,” originally done by German metal screamers the Scorpions.

      The Monsters seem to play with psychedelia on the closing track “Into the Void.” It starts with church bells and ends up with feedback and bashing drums.

      It’s great that there are still Monsters on the loose.

      Horrible mention: Here are a couple of recently released albums appropriate for the season.

      * Halloween Album w/Sound Effects by Thee Cormans. This California band basically plays instrumental “surf” music. Titles include “Surf Shack of Doom,” “Haunted Sea,” and “Werewolves in Heels.” The sound effects are indeed bitchen.

      * What Happens in Hell Stays in Hell by Nekromantix. Here are more crazed horror-soaked psychobilly sounds from this trio led by Danish expatriate Kim Nekroman, who plays a coffin-shaped standup bass. Some songs sound closer to Slayer than to Carl Perkins. “Bela Lugosi’s Star” has a cool Johnny Cash chunka-chunka beat, and “I Kissed a Ghoul” has a weird reference to the Happy Days theme.

      Halloween Spooks 2009Celebrate the Season!

      * Live spookiness: I’ll be playing some of my own monster hits like “I Lost My Baby to a Satan Cult,” “Wolfboy,” and “The Thing in the Mud” on Friday, Oct. 28, at the Aztec Café’s All Hallows Hell Performance Party, along with ex-Angry Samoan Gregg Turner and his new band The Mind Parasites. It’s 7 p.m. to midnight at the Aztec (317 Aztec St.). There’s a $3 cover (cheap.)

      * Radio spookiness: The 87th Annual Steve Terrell Spooktacular starts at 10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, on KSFR-FM 101.1 and screaming on the web. Tom Adler of “Folk Remedy” is substituting for me Friday night on the Santa Fe Opry.

      * Podcast spookiness: The 2011 Big Enchilada Spooktacular is scaring people all over the internet. Visit . And if you want even more creepiness, check out the GaragePunk Hideout Podcast Jukebox HERE. There's several recent shows with ghastly Halloween themes over there.

      * Spotify spookiness: Hey Spotify users. There are hours and hours of haunted sounds on my monster-size Halloween Spook Rock playlist on Spotify. Get Spotify for free at www.spotify.com