Seeing the Sonics in 2008, Larry didn't retune or switch guitars during the show but they might not have been playing in the same key as the old records either since Gerry can't really sing inthose high pitches anymore. But the Witch is in the key of G (almost all their songs are) but Larry was one of the first guys to use barre chords as opposed to more standard style (like those used by country and western guys or rockabilly). So he did get a deep sound, like on Louie Louie for example. The Music Machine did use a drop D for Talk Talk though. Be careful though if you learn garage songs straight off of sixties comps or singles. They didn't have electronic tuners to get correct pitch. A lot of the time they relied on a Keyboard player or sax to tune a guitar to. But a lot of groups that didn't have those instruments did a lot of guessing. I had to worry about my guitar strings snapping so I could learn Psychotic Reaction. Jamie said:

I read somewhere that Larry Parypa used drop-D for "The Witch" with a Jaguar or Jazzmaster. I have no idea if that's true.

I also have to remind myself not to care so much and just play. But then again why not put some work into the things you love to do.

first off you need some real vintage equipment... buy the worst 60's guitar you can find out there and the cheepest rotten tube amp. i swear nothing will sound more rotten garage then that. no need for high price guitars or amps, you can through that junk right out the window, and the best tuning is being untuned. as for the treble part, i agree, varies from amp to amp but i just crank it all the way up just to make sure.

I read somewhere that Larry Parypa used drop-D for "The Witch" with a Jaguar or Jazzmaster. I have no idea if that's true.

I also have to remind myself not to care so much and just play. But then again why not put some work into the things you love to do.

When you listen to those old recordings you have to remember that half the charm of what you're hearing is the old recording equipment. one of the techniques used to try to combat the 'rumble' that you can get from a record player was to cut the bottom end out of everything that was been recorded as well as the fact that the frequency response of a lot of the microphones and recording equipment was, to put it plainly, shit.

Your simply not going to get those vintage sounds from modern equipment because of a variety of reasons. Modern manufacturing is more precise, components used in electronics have better tolerances, pickups are machine wound instead of hand wound etc.

As already mentioned you can get close to those cool old school tones by tracking down vintage guitars or old microphones but as soon as you plug them into a modern DAW its gonna be modernized again.

Freddi's comment about the open D tuning is worth checking out also check out open A, really easy to use when you're super pissed.

Doc Sanchez nailed it when he said don't think about it just play.

Cheap guitars sometimes do the trick. Like the Japanese Teisco. You can pick em up fairly cheap off Ebay and the like.

Don't worry...my mom use to spell potato the same way. I don't understand why the plural adds an e which probably adds to the confusion. This is a great discussion by the way. I was reading in my local paper (for Vashon, WA) that they cancelled the high school prom due to low ticket sales. Why low ticket sales? Because the school banned grinding, which isn't even dancing as far as I'm concerened. I can't understand how it is that kids can't learn real dancing, even Washington DC go go styles. I'm starting to think that watching Shindig and Hullabaloo should be a school requirement. DammitDave said:

Kopper - That's either the British spelling or my s must have blown off. That usually happens after a night of draught ale and cauliflower cheese. I should have used spell cheque. Either way, colour me embarressed (rosy red with severe shame).

Kopper - That's either the British spelling or my s must have blown off. That usually happens after a night of draught ale and cauliflower cheese. I should have used spell cheque. Either way, colour me embarressed (rosy red with severe shame).

ooh, i just love dance crazes! when our radio station had its radiothon last year one of the premiums i offered was a 2-disc "dance craze" cd..it was so fun to make!

Did Dan Quayle teach you how to spell potato? ;) DammitDave said:

I can Mash Potatoe and I can do the Twist...

I can Mash Potatoe and I can do the Twist...

Hmmm... here's a dvd:

No vids, here, but plenty of instructions! http://www.sixtiescity.com/Culture/dance.shtm

Double posts are great. It'd be great if some people here posted who they agree with who were already mentioned as well as new mentions. That way, there could actually be a tally. NoHitWonder said:

...okay, some more, mostly modern-era stuff (yep, some double-posts for sure, but who cares?):
CRYPT RECORDS
JOHNNY THUNDERS/HEARTBREAKERS/NEW YORK DOLLS
THE MOORAT FINGERS
GUITAR WOLF
BLACK LIPS
THE SPACESHITS/KING KHAN/BBQ
BLUES EXPLOSION
NEW BOMB TURKS
JEFF EVANS/68 COMEBACK/GIBSON BROS.
PVC
TEENGENERATE...

...okay, some more, mostly modern-era stuff (yep, some double-posts for sure, but who cares?):
CRYPT RECORDS
JOHNNY THUNDERS/HEARTBREAKERS/NEW YORK DOLLS
THE MOORAT FINGERS
GUITAR WOLF
BLACK LIPS
THE SPACESHITS/KING KHAN/BBQ
BLUES EXPLOSION
NEW BOMB TURKS
JEFF EVANS/68 COMEBACK/GIBSON BROS.
PVC
TEENGENERATE...

and let me add Marty Thau of Red Star Records. Milissa Ross Greenberg said:

Lyres, DMZ, the real kids, Billy and Miriam/Norton Records to start

...well, did anyone mention GAUNT???
at least their "Sob Story" and "I Can See Your Mom From Here" albums are reason enough for me...

Redeldededeldedelde dum dum!

i haven't experienced this same thing exactly, but i DO get the feeling that djs get no respect. i have been on shows here in my hometown and sometimes when it gets advertised the dj gets left off entirely. last nite i dj'ed a show and there was some sort of technical difficulty where there was a loud (very annoying!) hum because of the turntables. the sound guys didn't even try to fix it, they just shrugged and said, "you have do just put up with it." when a friend of mine with some technical know-how walked up to me and looked at the equipment, he said, "sounds like a faulty cable." he even knew which one because of which speaker the hum was coming from. none of the sound guys tried replacing any cables or even took a look at the problem enough to diagnose this rather simple problem. if it were a band having technical issues, it would have been fixed immediately, obviously. but the dj just has to deal with crap sound all nite long...it totally ruined my nite and my experience.

hey there fellow garage freaks!!! let me add Johnny Walker from the Soledad Brothers, the mighty Billy Childish and Arso Vivo from the Fuzztones (it means burnt alive in italian, how sick is that!?)

Sebastian Vulva, The Parents. ;o)

Latest Records Review - www.rockaroundtheblog.com

- The Brimstones - Shut Me Down 7'' [Go Ape 2010]

- v.a. The Astounding Freak Party, Dance With The Vampire [Rigolboch Ricordz 2010]

- Thee Wylde Oscars - Right, Yeah [Off The Hip 2010]

- Bunnyranch - If You Missed the Last Train [Artez 2010]

- Goodnight Loving - Arcobaleno [Wild Honey 2010]

- The Druids of Stonehenge - Creation [Sundazed 2010]

- The Above - st [sr 2010]

- The Incredible Staggers - Zombies Of Love [Soundflat 2010]

- X-Ray Harpoons 7'' [copaseDisques 2010]

- The United Space League 7'' [Bellyache 2010]

- Los Vigilantes - Mi Mami Dijo 7'' [Slovenly 2010]

- The Mark & The Spies - Find Yourself A Way 7'' [Vinyl Junkie Rekkids 2010]

- The Electric Mess - st [sr]

- Thee Attacks - That's Mister Attack To You [Crunchy Frog 2010]

- Paul Messis - Lost and Found 7'' [13 O'Clock 2010]

- Los Saicos - ¡Demolición! The Complete Recordings [Munster 2010]

I've been trying to get as many direct orders as possible before adding it to the other Rudos and Rubes books available there. It can be ordered at http://www.rudosand rubes.com. It won't be at Borders, as my brief involvement with a distro that serves them and other chains ended with self-described "underground publishing icon" Vale of Re/Search (my description would be "outdated pseudo-underground scammer") pocketing all the book sales for acting as middle man. Trying to get into the mass-market/chain book outlets now seem to me as futile as the mass-market/chain music outlets; that's the way the cookie bounces! And the cover shot is of Darin Raffaelli, who is always up for anything ridiculous. Tim Moore said:

Does anyone know where I can get this book? Amazon says its still unreleased, but it was supposed to be released 3/1/10???? Borders.com says its on back order.....
What the F?!!!!!

There is also Duophonic in Germany. As cheap as GZ but much better to communicate with. They also have specials from time to time. I love these guys so check 'em out.

I heard Hasil Adkins staged the fight in the doc about him, but it cracked me up - I used some of the footage in this vid. Cheers, Anne  

Bitch Slap Attack from Anne Mette Rasmussen on Vimeo.