4 posts tagged “punk”
There's this band. They are punk. They are mariachi. They are Carne Asada. They rule.
Their documentary, Punk Like Me, chronicles the band's formation specifically to do the Vans Warped Tour...complete with wife, baby and in-laws. More than that, it chronicles a defiance to give up on THE DREAM.
When Dogs Rule The Earth
Carne Asada ~ Full Contact Mariachi
Today's selection is dedicated to all the dog lovers out there and especially our favorite dog lover/rescuer who incidentally has us obsessed with that glamorous bag of crazy that is Brenda Dickson (see previous post). Laura, we love all that you do.
It's also a Hi/Lo dedication - one of a cautionary nature to all the dirtbags on Animal Cops who would harm and neglect animals needlessly. They deserve the same inhumane fates they affect upon animals.
This track is perhaps less mariachi in style, but enough to spur your imagination and check out a track or two iTunes.
P.S. There's also something there for Star Trek Next Generation fans.
Goll dang! All these punk show clips have got me all misty and sentimental. Granted, the mist is one of sweat and beer. I saw them a few times from 1993-98, with every show preceding an altercation in the street or motorcycle crash. The lovely Kristina Rawrrr describes her first encounter with them in a review of Bottom of the Hill, the last venue we saw, heard and smelled The Jesus Lizard.
The best live punk band on the planet. No desperate-for-attention mohawks or trust fund-sponsored piercings here. Where runner-up Shannon Selberg and the Cows are a spectacular exercise in dementia and psychosis, the Lizard is visceral intimidation, struggle and confrontation. Singer David Yow commands engagement. If the music doesn't do it, his physical presence and repeated surges onto the crowd does. I've never seen a performer lose so many clothes in these bouts.
The Jesus Lizard
Live at CBGB 12/31/97
What a New Year Party this was.
This clip has them performing two songs, punctuated by whacking fans on their noggins with the mic. The second, "Gladiator", is by far the most frequently played track on my iPod. It's beginning is marked by a thrown beer bottle Yow catches and flings back, effortlessly. Scary quick reflexes.
Better than a high school yearbook, YouTube is has opened the floodgates for musical memories. You may have noticed a recent resurgence in those of a punk-ass nature. Continuing onward, here's one incarnation of the Lower East Side deconstructo-blues band, Pussy Galore (more on them later). Rather than readin', writin' and stealing like Ann Coulter, I just cut and paste a synopsis by Jason Ankney of the All Music Guide.
Fresh off the success of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, he and wife Christina Martinez solidified the lineup of Boss Hog. I had the pleasure of seeing them live at the Great American Music Hall in SF 1995.
Boss Hog Interview
featuring Sick, Winn Cona and What The F***
from their self-titled 1995 album on Matador
All-star NYC blues-punk combo Boss Hog was helmed by the husband-and-wife team of singer Cristina Martinez and singer/guitarist Jon Spencer, who previously teamed in the legendary cult band Pussy Galore. The duo formed Boss Hog to fill a last-minute cancellation at the famed CBGB's, earning instant notoriety when Martinez performed their debut show au naturel; guitarists Jerry Teel and Kurt Wolf, bassist Pete Shore, and drummer Charlie Ondras completed the line-up for 1989's cassette-only Drinkin', Lechin', and Lyin'.
In the wake of 1990's Cold Hands, Spencer formed the Blues Explosion, forcing Boss Hog on the backburner; by the time the group returned in 1993 with Girl +, only Martinez and Spencer remained from the original lineup, with ex-Swan Jens Jürgensen assuming bass duties and Hollis Queens joining on drums. The record's success in indie circles resulted in a deal with major label Geffen which yielded a self-titled 1995 LP; little was heard from Boss Hog throughout the remainder of the decade (although Spencer and Martinez had a baby), but in early 2000 the group finally resurfaced with Whiteout, featuring ex-Goats keyboardist Mark Boyce. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
...and Rove, Cheney, Bush...the whole administration. Let fly the subpoenas and clean house.
Organized Meat
Cows ~ Whorn
Cows frontman Shannon Selberg always put on a great spectacle in their live shows. His ever-present bugle brought a unique form of expression to punk music. The thing's so heavily damaged it resembles cardboard.
Sailor suits, dalmation costumes, bag lady togs, blow-up dolls...you name it, he wore it, usually in a bizarre unpredictable combination. His delivery is powerful, sometimes disturbing and always compelling.
This band hails from Minneapolis, with a unique style all their own. The violent reverb on the bass, atonal screaming guitar and lyrical psychoses all go hand in hand. Considered dischordant by some, they seem oddly at harmony with the popular opinion of the Bush Administration. "Their time has come to go awaaaaay!"
Check the videos section for performances from
the first time I saw them live at the Kennel Club in 1992. They, along
with Rocket From The Crypt opened for Thinking Fellers Local
182...another amazing show.
Repeat performance scheduled for 1/19/09.
