Hunger Farm - First Demo/Radio Tokyo (1988)

Getting the job of your dreams, winning the lottery, your baby being born; pft! Not EVEN as joyous as an old sought after release popping up on bandcamp!

I think I already mentioned how I mail-ordered a bunch of stuff from Cargo Records, including most of the Nemesis Records catalog. Nemesis was mostly known for hardcore, but there were a few wildcards on there like Fishwife, Pitchfork, The Offspring and a band who put out a couple of my favorite 7"s: Hunger Farm.

Their music is a little hard to describe, basically an awesome mix of indie rock and punk. A description that would also suit another of my faves: Treepeople. Hunger Farm popped up on an old Flipside Records compilation in 1991 that seemed a good fit for them (and appealing to me) with bands like Big Drill Car, Monsula, Green Day and Bad Religion alongside some of Flipside's weirder roster and tastes.

I never learned much about the band, but I loved everything about their 2 7"s; cool artwork, strong vocals, weird lyics and a great rhythm section. I learned later that they were featured in an old Gullwing skate video that I still haven't seen to this day. (Not sure I'm nostalgic enough to sit through an hour and a half of that.)

They released a CD that didn't quite live up to the 7"s, but is still pretty good. But at some point I found out that they had an earlier demo with a couple of amazing songs. I got a crappy copy of it and eventually tracked down the singer of the band who sent me all their stuff on cassette. Unfortunately, he cut off the beginning of one of those awesome songs. It seemed like I would never get a quality version of that stuff. When JGoon and I talked about starting a label many years ago, a Hunger Farm discography was one of the first things I wanted to release, just so I'd have a decent copy of everything.

But in my sporadic search for them on the internet, I found that someone has put up all their old stuff on bandcamp, including the 2 demos that feature all of the songs from their 7"s. Now admittedly, the bandcamp versions of the last 2 demos still don't sound too great, but I will rip the 7"s eventually.

This demo sounds great though for a cassette transfer. I did clean it up a little, matching the volumes a little better and remastering it a tad to the volume of their album. I've been wanting a decent copy of the song "Circles" for a while and now I finally have it! If you've never heard them, that's the song to start with. It's like some kind of new wavey, post punk, dream pop punk hybrid.

The singer has some more recent solo stuff up on ReverbNation under the name Trash Martyr that's pretty good too. He sent me a CDr of songs that I'll have to dig up the next time I'm at my parents' place.

Hunger Farm - Radio Tokyo Demo (1988) (R) (vbr 0)

The Bar Feeders - Wyoming

Used to see these guys in San Francisco. Fast spazzy punk along the lines of FOD, Stikky or old RKL.

And a video full of puppets doesn't hurt either!

Payola$ - In A Place Like This (IRS, 1981)

Here's an 80's album that is ripe for a reissue. You probably (should) know them by their 2nd album's hit, "Eyes Of A Stranger," also featured in the movie "Valley Girl." That song had a similar new wave/reggae vibe to The Police. And like The Police, The Payola$ started out a little more punk influenced. On this, their first album, they tread a nice mixture of new wave, '77 punk and reggae. Maybe a little closer to The Clash.

The band was from Canada, but their singer hailed from England, enhancing songs like the title track and "Jukebox" with his cheeky delivery. "Jukebox" and "China Boys" were redone from their debut 4 song ep. I actually prefer those versions since they're slightly faster, but they still sound great on this album.

I wish they had continued along this path a little more before embracing more of a pop sound. This is really a great album though, probably overlooked by punks for being too new wave and 80's fans for being kind of obscure. They seem to have released some of their later albums digitally, but this one is still out of print in any form.

Payola$ - In A Place Like This (R) (vbr 0)

Notes: So I grabbed a flac version of this from a torrent site. Thanks, Person! It's a really good rip, but quiet, so I cleaned it up a little and remastered it a bit. I also included remastered CD versions of the songs "In A Place Like This" and "China Boys" (in addition to the vinyl versions) from one of their Best Of CDs.

Life Sentence - No Experience Necessary (Walkthrufyre, 1989)

RIP Eric Brockman, singer/guitarist of Life Sentence. Not the inspiration I wanted, but an excuse for an overdue post.

If you were a skater, punk or zoogie (my friend's name for metalheads) in the 80's, you at least knew OF Life Sentence. Their simple logo was ubiquitous (that's right) in magazines, especially when heavy hitters like Metallica and DRI sported their t-shirts. That's about the best music promotion you could get in the 80's.

I bought (or "acquired") both of their generic looking cassettes from the Mainstream Megastore in Milwaukee. I didn't see a huge difference between the albums at the time. They were both fast and melodic, like a tighter, less posi version of early 7 Seconds. I still don't quite understand why one is lauded as a classic and the other seems mostly forgotten. Of course there was a big lineup change between albums, but that began during the recording of the first album!

The band broke off into 2 camps, both using the name Life Sentence. Eric Brockman recruited a new rhythm section and they recorded this, their second album, No Experience Necessary. Songs like "No Experience Necessary" and "Win, Lose Or Sue" are as classic to me as "Problems" and "Punks For Profit" from the first album. I guess older people and those "in the know" didn't like the cleaner recording, or picked sides in the split. I didn't know about any of that stuff at the time.

And it's been a long time since then, so hopefully the band members have some fond memories from those days. And hopefully new and old Life Sentence fans take a listen to this great album.

Life Sentence - No Experience Necessary (R) (vbr 0)

Notes: So this is taken from the CD version of the album. All the songs were on 1 track, but I separated all of them and remastered the album a bit.

Best Of 2015

It's that time of the year again, when I go through everyone else's best of lists to find bands I should put on my best of list. Just kidding. Kind of.

I definitely have a lot less albums from 2015 than previous years. Maybe I'll be playing catchup in 2016, but I think it was a bit of a slow year for good music. Of course it gets harder and harder to keep up with everything and find really good stuff all the time, but I think the good stuff nowadays is mostly a rehash of older stuff. Not that it can't be reworked or perfected. But I think in 2015 I was content with revisiting a lot of old stuff and trying to get my all-time favorite stuff a little more organized.

Some stuff I still need to listen to more from this year:
Negative Self - ST (ST is right, total How Will I Laugh worship.)
Meat Wave - Delusion Moon (Not sure I get all the Hot Snakes comparisons, but I dig it.)
Meatwound - Addio (More meat, only meatier. Heavy, noisy hardcore.)

* Albums *

BEACH SLANG - THE THINGS WE DO TO FIND PEOPLE WHO FEEL LIKE US
Maybe if the Foo Fighters had a touch of Dave Grohl's ubiquitous punk past in their music, they'd sound something like this. This is what a rock album should sound like. Heartfelt, urgent, sentimental. But it's not a nostalgic look back at the way things were. It's a renewed hopefulness from a fellow 40 (something) year old who's grown up, but not used up.

BUSINESS MODELS - ROOM
Alright, this actually came out a few years ago, but I just found out about it recently, even though I'm a big fan of Man Without Plan. So this is basically MWP with a 2nd singer. I believe the bassist/singer and drummer were from other well known bands, but it's Barclay's signature voice and guitar licks that reeled me in.

CHRISTIAN FITNESS - LOVE LETTERS IN THE AGE OF STEAM
Andy Falkous from Mclusky and Future Of The Left goes solo-ish with this new band. As caustic and witty as ever, but maybe a little more memorable than FOTL.

CHVRCHES - EVERY OPEN EYE
I'm still not sure if I like this better than the debut. It's a little more solid, but maybe missing the hits of Bones. But with their mix of 80's, electro, keyboards and female vocals, I'm not complaining.

DAILY RITUAL - DAILY RITUAL
These punks from Singapore sound they they belong in Portland, or Southern California circa 1981. A little Observers, a little TSOL. More solid and catchy than a lot of the other bands going for this sound.

KRISTINE - KRISTINE
I liked Carly Rae Jepsen's album this year, but a synth loving Greek woman named Kristine has created an even better throwback to catchy 80's pop. I came across this singer's work on youtube and through collaborations with retro new wave instrumentalists. Put this next to your old Madonna, Bananarama and Jets albums.

NIGHT BIRDS - MUTINY AT MUSCLE BEACH
Okay, a lot of modern punk bands get a little stagnant after 3 or 4 albums, but Night Birds keep getting better and better. They achieve that classic punk sound, mixing melody, urgency and memorable music.

PLEASURE LEFTISTS - THE WOODS OF HEAVEN
This album makes me miss the goth room of the 80's night at Cat Club, which we'd frequent often in SF. Dark and dancey post punk from this female fronted band.

RADKEY - DARK BLACK MAKEUP
Somewhere between the Misfits and Naked Raygun, but less punk, more rock. Great deep vocals, driving rhythms and tons of melody.

RED DONS - THE DEAD HAND OF TRADITION
I'll probably always prefer the Observers, but the Red Dons never disappoint. I debated seeing them again the last time they were in town, but I'm so glad I did because they're just one of those bands that bring it live. And on record, more of that catchy Wipers influenced post punk.

ROYAL HEADACHE - HIGH
This album was pretty hyped up this year, and for good reason. Catchy, garage punk with a touch of mod and Motown.

SLAVES - ARE YOU SATISFIED?
Sarcastic, aggressive, pounding punk. Like a mix of Nomeansno and Blur.

TURNOVER - PERIPHERAL VISION
Somewhere between dream pop and slick 90's emo. Very lush and layered sounding, but loud enough not to put you to sleep.

WARM SODA - SYMBOLIC DREAM
These guys continue their catchy power pop sound. If there was a benefit show to save the teen center in the movie "Over The Edge," Warm Soda and Sheer Mag would be a good fit.

* Eps *

THE BOMB - AXIS OF AWESOME
A shame to see them go, but they've had a good run and are leaving on a high note. Great melodic punk with Jeff P's trademark vocals and whoa oh ohs!

THE KIMBERLY STEAKS - CHEMICAL IMBALANCE
More great Lookout! Records inspired poppy punk. "Ticking Over" is a jam and there's a fun cover of "I'm Into Something Good."

* Reissues *

SUBURBAN LAWNS - SUBURBAN LAWNS
Great old new wave from this male/female fronted band. Hectic, jerky, off kilter stuff that will make you scratch and bob your head. Includes the 5 songs from their Baby EP as well.

TENEMENT - BRUISED MUSIC VOLUME ONE
Yeah, not really digging the newer direction of Tenement. I miss their old pop punk sound. Luckily there's this, a collection of their earliest (and best!) material. Maybe I'll give Predatory Headlights another chance sometime.

Ignite - Scarred For Life / Ash Return Demo

So one day I see an ad for a 7" by a new "supergroup" featuring members of No For An Answer, Unity and Justice League. Who are also on the same label as a recent favorite, Triggerman. And described with those 2 magic words: melodic hardcore. Money order sent off to Ringside Records!

When that first Ignite 7" arrived, it didn't leave the turntable for a while. Like a lot of OC hardcore, they had an interesting take on old school hardcore. The music carried the tradition, but there were slower, DC style moments. The lyrics were emotional and semi vague, like other bands across genres at the time. And the vocalist was the icing on the cake. Randy Johnson had previously yelled for Pushed Aside, but here his vocals were like when Dave Smalley went from DYS to Dag Nasty. A perfect fit for the band.

I eventually learned of another Ignite release on the dreaded Lost & Found Records, so I tracked that down. It contained the songs from the 7", 2 more Randy songs and 3 songs with their first singer, Joe Foster from Triggerman? What? I had no idea. His songs were really good too, but I preferred Randy's voice.

Finally they put out a full length on Conversion Records. 16 songs?! This is going to be amazing! Plunk it on the old CD player...

...Uh, what the fuck? Where's Randy?? Why is Luciano Pavarotti singing now???

I guess the news of their lineup change never reached me. Call On My Brothers was a huge letdown. I can hang with Past Our Means, but an entire album of operatic hardcore is too much for me to take. Especially when I was anticipating a Can I Say for the 90's.

I've compiled all the pre Zoli stuff here. The Ash Return demo (featuring Joe Foster) was released on a split CD with X-Acto. The audio isn't the greatest, but I tried to clean it up a little more, taking out some of the hiss and balancing the volumes. I think it sounds better now.

Scarred For Life CD (1994)
   01) Automatic
   02) Slow
   03) Where They Talk
   04) Shade
   05) Turn
   06) Ash Return
   07) Should Have Known
   08) Scarred For Life
Ash Return Demo (1993)
   09) Ash Return
   10) Distance
   11) Slow
   12) Should Have Known
   13) Far Away
   14) Sided

Ignite - Where They Were (vbr 0)

Now This Is Rock N Roll!