Bye 'surf punk' what are some examples? Agent Orange? Man or Astro-man?

 

I know Agent Orange were using the Crate Vintage Palamino amps a few years back.

 

MOAM? use Fender amps, of course.

I have a Marshall half Stack and Im getting really into a surf sound like with a ton of reverb and fuzz

What would be a good amp thats on the cheaper side?

And What are some of the Set ups that the great Surf Punk Bands are Using?

Im sure some people know and I know alot of people want to know !

THE BLACK OUT OF GRETELY – GONN

THE UNIVERSE IS PERMEATED WITH THE ODOR OF KEROSENE
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

I WAS WALKING DOWN THE STREET AT NIGHT
THINKING IN MY MIND THAT MY LIFE WAS RIGHT
THE MOON CAME UP AND I LOOKED AROUND
THE STREET LIGHTS WERE ON NOWHERE AROUND.

MY EYES WERE DARK AND MY HEART BEAT FAST
I KNEW THAT MY DARK SIDE COULD NOT LAST

IT WAS DARK AS IT COULD BE
A DEEP SEA DIVER COULD NOT SEE
CARS WERE DRIVING WITH HIGH BEAM
YOU COULDN'T EVEN TELL IF MR. CLEAN WAS CLEAN.

I LIT A MATCH AND I WALKED ON HOME
MY NIGHT SIDE DARK TIME COLD AND ALONE
WALKED IN MY DOOR AND TO MY SURPRISE
I HAD SUNGLASSES ON MY EYES

CRAIG MOORE, 1966
Main Riff

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E||-----5---3--------||

Break

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A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
February 11, 2011

One of the lonely things about being a music critic and a lover of off-the-beaten-wall music is that you tend to get very excited about songs and albums and artists that nobody you know, not even your hipper friends, not even most of your hipper online friends, has ever heard of. You’re the one person in the forest when the tree falls and you scream, “Yes! There was a sound!” But even those who believe you don’t really care.

That’s basically how I felt when the self-titled new album by Simon Stokes and The Heathen Angels came out. It made my day when I got a review/airplay copy in the mail (in an envelope I suspect was addressed by Stokes himself with actual Kate Smith postage stamps. God bless America!). But the few people with whom I shared my excitement only seemed puzzled.

I don’t care. This album is everything I like about Stokes — boozy biker rock, some credible honky-tonk, even some mad folk-inspired ballads that would make your typical folkie wet his pants in fear. I might just crank up my iPod and blast it in my car when I stop at red lights and inflict it upon other drivers and hapless pedestrians. Those with ears to hear will know the weird joy that is Simon Stokes.

What you should know about Simon Stokes: He was born in Michigan, the grandson of a big-band leader, and moved to Los Angeles in the mid-’60s to dive into the rock ’n’ roll biz. He had a band called The Flower Children — though it’s hard to imagine that this tough old bird was ever a flower child. The group had a song called “Miniskirt Blues.” However, I never heard this song until the ’90s when it appeared on The Cramps’ album Look Ma, No Head, with guest vocals by Iggy Pop. (There’s a powerful new version on Heathen Angels.)

In the late ’60s, Stokes formed another band called The Nighthawks, which reportedly signed to Elektra Records on the same day as The Stooges and The MC5. In 1973, he released The Incredible Simon Stokes & The Black Whip Thrill Band, which unfortunately became more notorious for its S/M themes than for its bruising blues rock (and a pretty outlaw-country tune called “The Devil Just Called My Name”).

Stokes seemed to disappear after his 1977 album Buzzard of Love, resurfacing in the ’90s to team up with Dr. Timothy Leary on an album, Right to Fly — also known as LSD (Leary Stokes Duets); the best song from that collaboration is “100 Naked Kangaroos in Blue Canoes.” Stokes also helped produce The Radical, a cool album by American Indian Movement leader Russell Means.

My favorite Stokes work of all time is his 2002 album Honky. There were guest spots by Wayne Kramer and The Bell-Rays’ Lisa Kekaula, but this definitely was Stokes’ show. Songs like “Amazons and Coyotes,” “Johnny Gillette,” “Ride on, Angel” (a Black Whip remake that’s even better than the original version), and “No Confidence” represent Stokes at his rough-riding strongest.

Look Homeward, Heathen Angels: The new album is definitely Stokes’ greatest since Honky, but that just means I like it better than the one album between the two, Head, which was a good record with some great tunes, though more homemade and lo-fi. Most of the songs on Heathen Angels feature a full band — a solid group of rockers who perfectly complement the old master.

The opening song, “Hey You,” is an instant Stokes classic. With the Heathen Angels playing a thumping beat behind him, Stokes sings about a confrontation between a man on edge who basically is irate with the world and someone who looks at him wrong. “Don’t need no lawyer tryin’ to steal my dough/Don’t need that crap they’re playin’ on the radio. ... Hey you, are you looking at me/Hey you, I don’t like what I see.”

Brantley Kearns’ fiddle is out front on the song “Infected,” a minor-key rocker with the refrain, “Everybody’s infected, ’fected ... everybody’s gonna die!”

Another happy little tune here is “Down For Death.” This almost-seven-minute dirge is what Fairport Convention would have sounded like had Fairport Convention been fronted by a homicidal biker. Actually might be “The Black Angel’s Death Song” by The Velvet Underground. A man’s wife and children have been slaughtered by evildoers. It never says exactly why; there’s just the understatement, “a deal gone bad.”

But that’s the last understatement here. As Kearns goes nuts on his fiddle and Michael Starr’s guitar snarls menacingly, Stokes describes in bloody detail how the bad guys get theirs.

It’s definitely not for the squeamish. But that’s OK. The squeamish have their own music.

Besides “Miniskirt Blues,” another old Stokes tune revived here is “A Boa Constrictor Ate My Wife Last Night.” Originally appearing on Black Whip Thrill Band, it’s a dumb ditty, but it’s a fun little tune with a melody similar to that of “Honky Tonk Women.”

Stokes proves he’s got country in his soul on the song “Let’s Do Wrong Tonight.” It’s a duet with Annette Zilinskas, former bassist for The Bangles who also sang with the country-rock group Blood on the Saddle. This is a 100-proof honky-tonker that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on country radio in the ’70s.

There are a couple of cover tunes here including a wild take on “One Night of Sin.” Stokes doesn’t have the vocal talent of Elvis (who did the best-known version of this Smiley Lewis song). But it’s a spirited rendition that works on its own rag-tag terms.

Then there’s “Moth and the Flame,” an obscure song written by the late Sky Saxon of The Seeds.

Whenever you get discouraged and start to believe that most so-called rock music has become too artsy, too foo-foo, too slick, too poppy, too politically correct ... seek out Simon Stokes. He’ll restore your faith.

Of course Hasil Adkins is the supreme ruler!

I've also seen and loved Bob Log III, BBQ & Dead Elvis.

Havent seen Ty Segall live yet but we listen to him alot at our house.

My friend Fred has started a one-man band, I haven't seen him yet but I think its called "Fredovitch" and he also plays organ in King Khan & The Shrines- here is a video I found on youtube of him:

KING AUTOMATIC

URBAN JUNIOR

JOHN SCHOOLEY

BEAT-MAN

NOVAK.

I go-go danced for Nobunny in 2009 at the Funtastic Dracula Carnival and it was really really fun and ever since then I've been such a fan of his songs, he's a real talented and hard-working bunny- he tours constantly!

 

this is also awsome...on a show in sardinia in 2009 NOBUNNY climbs a wall and fells into the drumset...

Best show I have seen in 2010 was by NOBUNNY!!! It was his first show in Switzerland and he totally freaked out...fucked his guitar after the first song and threw it away so that it was broken...went crazy afterwards and jumped into the crowd to end up on the floor with no reaction...everybody thought the show is over, he's totally fucked up! but he went on, affronted the crowd all the time and was dangerous the whole show so that the crowd was scared and went away a bit from the stage...hehe...he ended up totally naked, playing with his penis on stage and fell into broken glass...it was GREAT, like seeing a gay, swishy GG ALLIN with a bunny mask on....

her some videos from the show....

I saw him 2 years ago when he was touring with the sneaky pinks duo backing him up, it was fucking awesome. Saw him again 7 months ago? Different guys backing him, he was wasted, and it was kinda lame 

Nobunny fucking rules.  I just saw him last night for the 10th or whatever time and it was quite possibly the best one I've been to yet.  He caught us outside and gave us free records for being super fans and dancing - what a nice bunny!

late beatles pre let it be rules. abbey road is alright for being from that era, but the real treasure is the white album.

Rubber Sole is the best Beatles album ever, Run For Your Life, Best song, that's just me.

tough question .....Got the mono box set last year and played it to death since. Think i like the latter stuff better .... but everything is great .... my favorite is the White Album !

That's another good way to sum it all up, simple vs. experimental.

Doc Sanchez said:

I'd go for the early stuff, too. But I must say my favourite album is "Let It Be": simple, sometimes bluesy, always really aching songs. Maybe I'd not say early vs. late, but simple vs. experimental.

I'd go for the early stuff, too. But I must say my favourite album is "Let It Be": simple, sometimes bluesy, always really aching songs. Maybe I'd not say early vs. late, but simple vs. experimental.

Go go go !

I'll ask my co-host about recording the live broadcast.  He's the seasoned veteran (~ 10 years) and tech guru.  I spin the CDs and vinyl and he does almost everything from a laptop.  I’m glad I didn’t record last weeks show.  I tried to do a Joe Meek tribute set and it all went horribly wrong.  I wanted to abort the mission and nuke from orbit.  In spite of that, I feel pretty positive about this weeks show; lots of kill my girlfriend / dead lover songs in honor of VD.  Hmmm …that’s not a bad idea for a VD theme – social diseases!

“A sailor travels to many lands, any place he pleases, and he always remembers to wash his hands, so he don't get no diseases”. – Pee Wee Herman

The stories about London after the war were interesting.  I can't imagine living through something like that.

G.G.Plant said:

I held out until I could listen to Depp and the English dude read the book to me while I drive around in my truck. Man, does he ever slam Brian Jones. That's where I'm at. I liked the London Blitz childhood shit too.

Oh, and fuck Phil Spector anyway.

In a rock band, after compressing the various components in a mix you might have about 10db maybe more of dynamic range. I'd give it about -6 to -3 db head room between that and 0. 

Personally I like my punk rock mastered to death with maybe 3db dynamic range on the final mix tops. I also like it loud so I whack it right up to 0db when I think in general -4 is normal. (If it's for a DVD or the telly -10 is the legal limit).

 

Volume does not really come into it, (except that technically a very very quiet signal has less resolution), dynamic range is probably the only issue. If you brick wall or overload your mix there isn't much you can do about that in the mastering. 

 

If you are using tape, you can push the tape and saturate it for effect, if I was using tape, I would probably do this when first laying tracks. 

Interesting question, and I must confess I couldn't follow Atmoic Suplex's advice cause of sheer lack of knowledge. What is the "correct head room"?

As a homerecorder and a dilettante pretty untouched by recording theory I'd say "mix loud, master less", so, digitally speaking, the max of "original data" is there. If the original mix is less, things may get lost, I'd say. But this is just my opinion coming from working with silly shareware programs and homerecordings.

MIx with the correct head room, master correctly.

'Loudness' means almost nothing, especially in the digital world.

Ive got a question i'd like to ask the producers out there. Mix loud, master less, or mix low, master louder?

Party Store turned up yesterday and I've just finished listening to it and I have to say I fuckin love it. Only familiar with a couple of the origoinal techno tunes and am not really a big fan, but I love the way the dirtbombs have scuffed em up and made them sound gritty and dirty, the drumming is ace. I thought it would polarise opinion and there doesn't seem to be any middle ground, you either love it or hate it.