Tag Archives: punk

Metallica Fridays (no. 33): Meeting My Fears (no. 8,375)

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i once had a tattoo on my left leg that said ‘no fear’, surrounded by balloons.

About 19 years ago i was riding my bicycle (of course), and i had my neck cut by some kite string with balloons attached to it. If you’ve heard any of the stories that came out within the past year about people being injured (or worse) by random kite strings, then you know that kite string is no joke. i am grateful to have survived. As a result, i developed a fear of balloons.

i wanted to lose this fear, and the tattoo was a reminder of encouraging me to do so. As a result of my legs being messed up from being hit by a truck (which i am extremely grateful to have survived as well) i lost this tattoo. Coincidentally (or not) i began developing a whole other heap of fears. While it may be true that fear is simply representative of False Evidence Appearing Real; but suddenly becoming an amputee will probably do that to you on some level.

So now i have to start over and find my voice again.

As i’ve mentioned various times, Metallica has been a major soundtrack in this journey of starting over. The context of their music is quite different now, as a nearing 50 disabled adult whose life experience has now shifted, versus a young kid who was much more mobile with two legs. While my brain struggles to process various things (due to the accident i suppose), my brain is still functioning with dozens and dozens of thoughts and ideas all at once, and it’s frustrating that i can’t get them all out. i usually have something nearby where i can record my ideas (whether it’s paper or a recording device)- and a lot of times those ideas happen when i don’t have access to something, like i’m in the bathroom/shower, or if i’m in bed and don’t feel like getting up to get said things to record on.

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This 72 Seasons album has been incredibly helpful in terms of helping me access some of this creativity. It’s also been helpful in acknowledging that i still have a few fears i was unaware were still around.

This may be a pretty common fear- and it may sound strange to some folks that it’s one i have, given the amount of things i do on here- but one of the fears i do have is a fear of truly accessing my own creativity. i am not a great musician or singer, and i don’t particularly like the sound of my own voice; however, i love creating, so i do it. Creating is a means of survival. i create, but i’m always seeing something in it that makes me recoil, like i played a note weird, or that i’m not good enough.

And suddenly, the universe brings a wonderful song to us called ‘Room Of Mirrors’, the penultimate track on 72 Seasons. To me, ‘Room Of Mirrors’ works similar to ‘Purify’ (the penultimate track on the wonderful St. Anger), in that they both describe the process of truly opening yourself to be vulnerable to others, and breaking down every cell, every atom. To truly open yourself to others is one of the most difficult things to do. Even the most encouraging words sometimes sound like a criticism, either due to painful experiences that have shaped your life, or the voices inside your head telling you ‘no’.

In a mirrored room
Talking to myself
And the voices pushing back
I’ll let them inside my heart
But they’ll tear it all apart

In a mirrored room
Just a simple man
Naked, broken, beat, and scarred
What do I really know?
That fear of letting go

Letting go is scary. Your thoughts are going 250 miles a minute, and you write and record all of these ideas when you can (to the point where it’s even difficult to remember where you put them). You are blanketed by all of these ideas, but to actually put them out into the world is taking that blanket off, leaving you cold. But you need to get up and jog through the forest of your brain to keep warm.

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…And so it began, where we were sitting in the theater listening to the tracks of the album, in the global premiere. There were already songs i was familiar with (due to them being released as singles previously). With the new songs, i closed my eyes for much of it, and just took in the music. Not only is every single song a lyrical deep exploration (charting some of James Hetfield’s best), but so many of the songs are dripping in rich harmony… especially a song like ‘Room Of Mirrors’. As i sat in the theater, my brain immediately went there, with both James’ vocal melodies, as well as the guitars.

Over the course of this week i was messing around on the guitar, practicing one half of the guitarmony on the bridge of ‘Room Of Mirrors’, and a cover began to develop. As i mentioned earlier, i’m not the greatest musician, so a lot of times when i cover a song i do it either from memory, or inspired from portions of the source. i can only play to my own limitations, so i’m not going to play a song similar in style to Metallica, as i’m not great at palm muting, barre chords, pinch harmonics… or even guitar in general.

The foundation of this cover was actually the vocals. After i did those, i did drums, then bass, then guitars. The original song reminded me a bit of Bad Religion (one of my favorite punk bands of all time), which may be what truly endeared me to the song (beside its wonderful lyrics). When i began developing the cover, i kind of heard a ska punk rhythm in my head, mixed with the B52s. i cannot tell you why. i also am horrible at soloing, so i didn’t even attempt to for this song. The song stays pretty much in the solid ‘pop punk’ (?) realm, i guess, with some vocal harmonies- again, which i’m not great at. But…

…i am doing my best to face my fears. i am holding that mirror up to what scares me. That said, i am a survivor of things more scary than my terrible vocals.

AmRep!!!

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There’s music i’ve liked over the years, that (at least to me) has not particularly been attached to a scene. There’s record labels that have served as the base for particular scenes or genres: Blue Note (jazz); Megaforce (metal); Nonesuch (classical); Nervous (hip hop and house); Lookout! (East Bay punk)… For all intents and purposes, Minneapolis-based Amphetamine Reptile predominately has featured ‘noise rock’ bands (like the Cows, Today Is The Day and Unsane), but the label has also had bands such as Servotron and Supernova. i used to have a gang of AmRep releases on vinyl, and ended up selling a bunch of my records in order to move to another state. Little did i know that these records would go out of print and become incredibly difficult to find- and if you do see them floating around, they’re being sold for a ton of money.

i was actually listening to Supernova’s Ages 3 And Up (an album i actually used to have on vinyl, and currently have on CD, which was released on AmRep/Atlantic), and i thought to myself, ‘perhaps i should make a post featuring some AmRep bands’… So here we are. Since i’ve already mentioned Supernova (a band who is pretty fun live), i will post one of their songs first.

On ‘Invasion’ (from the above mentioned album), Art Mitchell (the bassist) plays one of my favorite riffs on the whole album. Not only is the bass the lead instrument here, but it’s a major component of Supernova as a whole. While many of the songs are inspired by science fiction, this is a song where the band spell out their name in the chorus.

‘Some Sara’ by Boss Hog (from the 10″ EP Girl +, which i do have the vinyl of in a box somewhere in another state), has some cowbell in the background- my guess is that it was recorded with the vocal mics? One of my favorite things about this band has always been the drums; very simple and tom heavy, Hollis (who also played guitar in the band Lo-Hi) had a punk rock style. i have met everyone in this band, but i used to know and hang out with Hollis and Jens (bassist). They were cool, humble peoples. i hope they’re all doing well.

Everyone in this post, i have seen live at least once. Helmet, i have seen about twice. As a punk/hardcore kid, i was really into their ‘stripped down noise’, as well as their desire to stay away from the 4/4. i am certainly not as good of a drummer as John Stanier, but ‘Ironhead’ (from Meantime, in which the vinyl edition was on AmRep and the CD/cassette version was on Interscope) is perhaps my favorite Helmet song of all time, so i wanted to try it out.

The main riff actually does remind me of the intro riff to Metallica’s ‘No Remorse’, just downtuned. i have no idea if that’s just me.

And finally… we have (the) Melvins, one of my favorite bands of all time, and a band i have seen about 3 or 4 times live. My playing doesn’t even compare to Dale Crover, one of my favorite drummers. Dude goes hard.

i should have worn my fro out for this one, in solidarity with my fellow fro wearer, Buzz Osborne.

‘Night Goat’ was originally released on 7″ (on AmRep), then reworked on the Houdini album (which was released on vinyl on AmRep, and CD/cassette on Atlantic). Lori Black (aka Lorax) was credited with playing bass on this song/album, but i think it was Crover who actually did. i’m playing the album version. Initially playing to this song, i did it similar to Crover, with more kick. When i record though, sometimes what i’ve practiced beforehand isn’t even present. This is exactly what happened with this song. What ended up happening is that LARS came out. i can’t seem to get away from it. His playing is in my subconscious. If you know Lars’ style, you know what i mean. i love Lars, so i’m not complaining. Still…

i think this was the first Melvins song i posted. Perhaps i will do a whole Melvins post. We shall see…

This One’s For The Grrrls…

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i was sitting around thinking one day (when does that NOT happen, right?) about the numbers of women who inspired me- the multi-instrumentalists, the composers, arrangers… The women who rejected the notions of what they should do, and how to be. The ones who laid the foundation for not only me, but all the kids who today and yesterday who have been marginalized (by gender, class or culture).

i wanted to make a post honoring these women, but it was difficult to know where to start. Do i start with Betty Davis? Phyllis Hyman? Teena Marie? Alice Coltrane? LaBelle? Chaka Khan? Marlena Shaw? Randy Crawford? Angela Bofill? Rachelle Ferrell? Memphis Minnie? Do i go with Mother’s Finest? Silverfish? DQE? ESG? Skunk Anansie? To make it a little easier i narrowed it down to all-women bands. And still, that’s not easy… because you have everything from Girlschool to Fanny to The Runaways to Big Joanie to Cub to the 5,6,7,8s to L7 to the Bangles to The Go-Gos to Luscious Jackson to The Raincoats to The Slits to (two of my favorite current bands, Voice Of Baceprot and The Warning)… you get the picture.

So i narrowed it down a bit more… and it ended up developing into creating a longer post then usual.

i think i’ll start with ‘Catnip Dream’ by Shonen Knife, because cats are the GREATEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. They have other cat songs as well, ‘I Am A Cat’ and ‘Like A Cat’. If you make a number of songs about cats, i automatically like you.

(And of course, my hat is actually applicable here.)

Slant 6 was one of my favorite bands from the ’90s. They were only around for three or four years. In those years i saw them live about 2 or 3 times, and even interviewed them for a fanzine i was doing at the time.

To me, ‘Don’t You Ever’ (from Soda Pop * Rip Off) is one of the greatest album openers. i am just playing drums here. ‘Semi-Blue Tile’ was the b-side of the ‘What Kind Of Monster Are You’ 7″. For this song, Christina Billotte’s vocals remain, but i play bass, drums and guitar.

The Lunachicks was one of the funnest shows i have ever seen… and they made a love song to Mabel King. Perhaps the ONLY love song to Mabel King!

It was interesting to edit and look back on this series of videos, because i tend to forget about being covered neck to foot in tattoos (despite seeing them every day). i don’t wear shorts a lot (outside of the time i’m practicing with the prosthetic), so it was funny to see my leg bouncing up and down with the kick drum, with all the visual tattoos and scars. i also forgot the shirt i was wearing has a hole, so you can see a peek of my rib piece (if you look close enough- of course, that rib piece has to do with cats). Outside of forgetting my own canvas, i absolutely love and am obsessed with people who are covered- especially women. So seeing the Lunachicks makes me very happy.

i’m playing drums to the title track to the album Jerk Of All Trades. This song goes after my heart, because i’ve had to punch a few dudes for touching me without my consent.

Speaking of never underestimating a woman… Klymaxx wants to inform you to never underestimate our power.

Before they gained popularity with songs like ‘The Men All Pause’, ‘Meeting In The Ladies Room’, ‘I Miss You’ and ‘Divas Need Love Too’, they were more of funk band. Solar Records had some gems, for sure. Before i was a burgeoning punk kid, Klymaxx was the first all-women band i recall being familiar with, by name. Maybe even before the Bangles and the Go-Gos.

i am playing to the title track of the album, Never Underestimate The Power Of A Woman. i know my drumming isn’t as funky or in the pocket as Bernadette Cooper (who co-wrote the song), but i obviously aim to be respectful.

Another band i have seen live (and if you’ve ever seen them you will not forget it) is Tribe 8. A few of the members currently identify as trans; however i still am posting one of their songs because during the existence of Tribe 8 they all did identify as women (and if i am wrong about that, i apologize). Tribe 8 had no qualms about pointing out the intersections of oppression (i think having band members comprise of Indigenous, African and Asian folks helps), and they were unapologetic in their queerness. Also, they are incredibly cool people. At least they were when i met them.

The song i am playing to here, ‘Republican Lullaby’, speaks to the pro-militarism, jingoism, xenophobia, disinformation campaigns and racism/white supremacy permeating the republican party (in the u.s.); i would argue though, that these lyrics should extend to democrats as well. If you pay attention close enough to the policies (and not these low hanging fruit issues they want you to focus on) you will find little difference between the two.

One of the most well-known groups coming out of the Riot Grrrl movement was Bratmobile. They were a band who used humor to relay messages around sexual violence, racism, and more. i ended up forming a pen pal/friendly relationship with guitarist Erin Smith (who was living in Maryland, if i’m not mistaken). Whenever they came to town i would see her, and hang out a bit.

Bratmobile remind me a bit of the Misfits- tonally, not visually. They actually did cover ‘Where Eagles Dare’, so i may not be too far off. Here, i play to ‘Brat Girl’, which was probably an anthem for many a punk girl (or boy, or agender person) who got groped at a show, or taken advantage of in other ways. There’s no bassist in the most well-known incarnation of the band, so i decided to experiment with what that would sound like here (as well as (obviously) play drums).

And finally, i decided to play one of my own songs- a song i haven’t played since i was about 17 or 18 years old. In fact, it’s a song you can hear in the very first post i made for this site.

As mentioned in that post, i was in a band called The Girlymen. It was the first band i was ever in, with Mayumi (drums), and Abby (bass). i honestly have no idea what most of the lyrics are to this song (save for the title: ‘Chock Full Of Crap’), so i kept Abby’s original vocals, and just played guitar, bass and drums. i need to see if SHE remembers!

And yeah, i am using a China cymbal. Oh no… i really AM turning into Lars!

It always comes back to that, don’t it? Hee hee…

SST!

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One of my favorite record labels coming up as a punk kid was SST, founded by Greg Ginn in 1978 (i definitely have my criticisms for Ginn, but one thing that is definitely a positive is that he loves cats). From Bad Brains (the greatest punk/hardcore band of all time), fIREHOSE, Hüsker Dü, Dinosaur Jr., Saccharine Trust, Negativeland, Screaming Trees, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden to so much more; the label had a variety of sounds, from straight up hardcore punk and reggae, to jazz-inspired and ‘avant garde’ rock, to country.

For this post i figured i would pay tribute to the label who inspired many a kid like me, and who sprouted more than a few bands who ended up being loved by many.

i’m gonna start with The Minutemen, one of my favorite bands of all time. i suppose you could technically file them under ‘punk’, but they were so much more than that. Like many other great bands they were heavily influenced by jazz, funk, ‘classic rock’ and a range of other styles. Mike Watt is one of the greatest bassists of all time (and happens to be criminally underrated), and ‘Joe McCarthy’s Ghost’ (the song i play here) is seen by appreciators of the band to be one of his greatest bass lines.

The Minutemen’s catalog is full of love songs to the people’s class, heavily and consistently critiquing capitalism, neoliberalism, fascism, and imperialism- so it’s a given as to why they are one of my favorite bands. The band ended upon the physical death of D. Boon (due to a car accident) in 1985.

i am not as good of a musician as George Hurley (drums), D. Boon (guitar/vocals) or Mike Watt (bass/vocals), but i hope this updated ‘2022’ remix/rework of ‘Joe McCarthy’s Ghost’ is respectful to the legacy of The Minutemen.

One of my favorite albums ever released on the SST label is the Meat Puppets’ Up On The Sun. They are one of those bands who, like many metal and punk bands, started out a bit more ‘noise/hardcore’ oriented, then by the next album started adding elements of the things they would be more known for (think Kill ‘Em All to Ride The Lightning). You definitely hear early on what they would come to be; however, in general, the first (self-titled) album (or their EP In A Car) sounds fairly different from the second album, Meat Puppets II, and NOTHING like the third album, Up On The Sun. If you know me well enough, you know i love me some early Meat Puppets. That said, i am a sucker for some wonderful melodies. From Up On The Sun on, that’s what they did.

i may actually post some more Meat Puppets stuff at some point; as for now, here’s me playing drums to ‘Seal Whales’, a pretty chill instrumental.

(The photo at the beginning, while beautiful, is not real. It’s a digital creation by Elena Vizerskaya. Fur seals are in the southern part of the world, and Beluga whales are in the north. Also… sadly, seals and whales aren’t exactly friends. To me, seals and whales are both beautiful.)

The first piece of vinyl i ever purchased (at the age of 15) was catalog no. SST 003- Black Flag’s Jealous Again, the six and a half-minute ep. The rest is history.

Here, i play to one of the songs from that ep (where Ron Reyes was on vocals), ‘Revenge’, as well as ‘Police Story’ from the Henry Rollins-era Damaged album.

Robo (que tocó la batería en esos dos discos) es uno de los mejores bateristas del hardcore/punk.

Now we have another great SST release (017 to be exact), Kill From The Heart by Austin, Texas’ own The Dicks. Staunchly anticapitalist/antiracist/antifascist and pro-LGBTQ+ (Gary Floyd had no problem battling anyone who opposed his existence as a gay man), The Dicks had the kind of energy i wish bands still had. They understood that where you stood mattered, because, even though people love to claim punk and metal is for outsiders, regardless of ethnicity, orientation, etc.; the fact that Floyd had to fight people at shows proves this is not always the case. The fact that folks who are not European still get told they don’t belong in these scenes prove this is not the case. The fact that people who aren’t dudes are more scrutinized for playing ‘heavy’ music shows this isn’t always the case.

As a person who fills out some of the checks on this list, it’s important for me to know what position a band takes on particular issues.

Also, The Dicks had no problem being associated with the sickle and hammer, in one way or another (just as The Minutemen wrote a song literally called ‘Sickles And Hammers’).

Word. Also, The Dicks have a love song to Marilyn Buck. Therefore i love The Dicks.

From Kill From The Heart we bring you ‘Anti-Klan’ (pt. 1), and ‘No Nazi’s Friend’. Something tells me that David Yow (of the Jesus Lizard) was massively inspired by Gary Floyd.

And finally, we have a different kind of SST- a little nod to ‘Sade’s Sweetest Taboo’ (or Sea Surface Temperature?), by Prince Rogers Nelson.

i am gonna be honest. When i first saw the cover of SST years ago, the punk kid in me was scratching my head. ‘Is Prince gonna do some punk? Look out now!!!’ But no… the song is in regards to the devastation that occurred after Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 (interestingly, that was Michael Jackson’s 47th solar return). The song is part gospel, part social commentary; not uncommon in Prince’s 35+ album catalog. ‘S.S.T.’ was released specifically to raise money to help those reeling from the disaster. All proceeds went to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s Hurricane Katrina Displaced Residents Fund.

i was messing around, and felt the song sounded pretty good in half-time, so that’s what i did here.

So Much Music In The World…

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People keep telling me that i know a whole lot about music, based on the variety of the music i like. Also, based on the time i did radio for 11 years i was able to host many of the other shows, from punk to house to hip hop to gospel, at the station. The truth is though, there’s way too much music out there for anyone to really know that much about it. There’s whole worlds, past and present, i have yet to see.

What i usually post here is merely an incredibly small section of music i listen to, and of course its minuscule compared to what i don’t know.

i also think about how people tend to listen to and experience music a little differently these days. A pretty significant percentage of people who consume and/or listen to music tend to do it digitally, so they may not interact with the music in the same way if it were a piece of vinyl, or even a cassette or compact disc. i’m not sure of how many people look at an album’s credits on their streaming services.

i know people listen to music in different ways in this day and age, but do people actually even experience music anymore? This is not a sarcastic or anger-ridden question; i sincerely want to know. Do people say, ‘Give me something that’s not hard or cold’?

Because that’s what Yoko said.

i know people make fun of/create memes out of Yoko Ono and still blame her for the breakup of the Beatles (despite counters from the actual band on that issue); however, she actually has some pretty cool music out there. Approximately Infinite Universe is actually a pretty good album. i also remember seeing her host a film exhibition years ago at (i think) the Whitney Museum, and i love how people were trying to impress her by name dropping, and she wasn’t having it.

‘Give me Something’ (from the Double Fantasy album with John Lennon) is a song i always liked too. When i first heard it i thought it sounded like Siouxsie And The Banshees. Given that i only have one foot, i can’t open and close the high hat. So to create that ‘effect’, i just combined the ride and high hat. Not as effective as the real thing, but it does the trick.

For this entry i combined some Detroit (MI) and Venice (CA) punk, with Negative Approach and Suicidal Tendencies, respectively. Both bands were pivotal in the early midwest and west coast hardcore scenes. NA’s ‘Pressure’ (from the Negative Approach 7″) is one of the shortest songs of all time (not beating Napalm Death’s ‘You Suffer’ though). ‘Memories Of Tomorrow’ and ‘Fascist Pig’ (from ST’s (self-titled) first album) are also fairly short, so i combined all three.

There’s nothing like some good ‘ol classic hardcore…

…And there’s nothing like some good post punk/funk.

This next song, ‘It’s Not Me’ (from the Step Off album) by ESG, actually had only bass and vocals. i decided to keep Renee Scroggins’ vocals, play the bass and add drums. It’s an entirely different song. i also have a fascination with ‘unrequited’ love songs and films. This song is from the perspective of the recipient of the love. Who hasn’t heard the words of that song themselves? Rejection is very painful, but it can also be seen as a lesson.

We end the post on an interesting note- literally. No, really. Listen until the end of the song.

‘The Ballad Of T.V. Violence (I’m Not The Only Boy)’ is the final track off of Cheap Trick’s first (also self-titled) album. (note: It’s technically not the final track (as it’s the last side on side A), but i always listen to the sides in opposite order. So it’s the final track to me. The sides of some pressings read as ‘side A’ and ‘side 1’, soooooo…).

Originally the song’s lyrics were specifically about serial killer Richard Speck, until the record label (Epic) requested they tone it down. The original lyrics must have been stress-inducing, because the reworked lyrics aren’t exactly sunshine and rainbows. Many people probably think of the band as ‘arena rock’ or maybe even just ‘pop rock’. That said, they do have songs that are more harder leaning.

¡¡¡RAMONES!!!

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Let me tell you something… If someone tells you that Ramones music is easy to play, they are lying. The simplest-appearing things are the most deceiving. All those downstrokes (though easier on bass than guitar) are hard on the wrist, and the constant fast 16th notes on the drums are an arm workout. i was pretty much just doing power chords too (i didn’t focus on the barre chords, so don’t beat me up too much!)

i got into a whole bunch of bands at the same time. i saw no problem being into both (the) Ramones and Metallica, and also groups like De La Soul. The first person to introduce me to (the) Ramones was the dude named Anthony. While my sister hung out with the popular kids in high school, i hung out with mostly the misfits, punks and metalheads. Anthony was the biggest Ramones fan i knew at the time. He was absolutely obsessed with them. i think he played drums and went to band class.

i ended up getting their albums on cassette and bringing them to school, when people asked me if Howard Stern was in a band (If you don’t know what Howard Stern OR Joey Ramone look like, go look them up now, then come back to this). Interestingly (or not) (the) Ramones were a massive staple on Stern’s show throughout the 80s and 90s. So yeah, while i KNEW of them, saw them on the tv and movies and even heard their music over the years, i never was FAMILIAR with them until i met Anthony.

So thanks guy, wherever you are.

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(The) Ramones are a strange one. They absolutely (very publicly) hated each other. They were famous, on major labels and sold out stadiums, yet remained underground at the same time. They were on total opposite ends of the political spectrum.

22 years may not seem like a long time in comparison to other bands celebrating their 30th and 40th years together… But that’s a long time for a band like (the) Ramones.

(i’ve met two out of four of the OG Ramones- Joey and Dee Dee. Interesting times…)

My favorite Ramones song of all time is ‘I Don’t Want You’. i know people tend to gravitate towards the faster, classic, ‘edgier’ songs, but the Joey-leaning (and penned) songs are among my favorites. The bridge always breaks my heart: “I want you, I want you to stay/But I guess it just can’t be that way…”

i am doing everything here: guitar, bass, drums and ‘attempted vocals’ (shout out to a Mr. Kirk Hammett).

My other favorite song of theirs is ‘Here Today, Gone Tomorrow’. This version posted here was recorded either 2014 or 2015. i think when i recorded it, i think i remember the mics being hot, and i totally forgot to check.

‘Chasing The Night’ is another Joey penned song (along with Dee Dee and funk/rock bassist Busta Jones). This is another one of those ‘deep cuts’ that tends to get skipped over. There’s a version floating around where drummer Richie sings; however, i’m drumming to the album version.

One of my favorite things about (the) Ramones is that the bass tends to be higher in the mix- especially in the earlier recordings. You started hearing less of that, from Road To Ruin (perhaps my favorite Ramones album, and also the inspiration for my favorite punk/hardcore band, Bad Brains) on. In many guitar-centered bands, the bass is usually buried. Whenever i record i do my best to mix things as evenly as possible, so nothing is prominent over another thing. That said, ‘Go Mental’ has a bass line that needs to stand out. So it is a little higher in the mix here, than it is on the album. Their lyrics are much darker than a cursory listen lets on.

i’m just playing bass here.

Leave Home is probably my second favorite Ramones album, and i wanted to open the final song with a little ‘easter egg’ before we got into the actual song, ‘Chain Saw’! i DID NOT attempt vocals in this one, so you got the original here. i did however, play drums, guitar and bass.

i am no Joey, Tommy, Dee Dee, Marky, Richie, CJ, Johnny (or Clem Burke). But i hope you enjoy!

(This one’s dedicated to Derek, the biggest Ramones fan i currently know.)

Going Back, Yet Moving Forward…

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Despite being half a century in a few years (which is weird to say) and experiencing massive things as an adult, i’ve done my best to live life as simply as possible. i’ve never really been that interested in all those things you’re expected to be into at my age- the long career where you begin to identify with your job, ‘investing’ in a house, the so-called ‘2.5 kids and a dog’… i actually quite like being an adult, and have no desire to relive my youth. i just don’t support the societal expectation and limitation that adulthood entails.

There are definitely things from my childhood that make me smile when i think about them though.

i saw Rainbow Brite And The Star Stealer in the theater when it came out. It was released just after i turned 9. i honestly don’t remember anything about the plotline; i do, however, remember the song that played during the end credits. i do remember the film credits being similar to the end credits of the tv show- Rainbow Brite riding the horse (Starlite), with a rainbow palette constantly moving in the background. i guess i remembered wrong, because while the credits DO have a rainbow palette constantly moving, it’s the credits themselves that are rainbow.

i absolutely looooooove ‘Rainbow Brite And Me’. Yeah it’s sappy and the synth drums are bad, but i don’t even care what anyone says. i’m absolutely sure the machines behind the Rainbow Brite franchise are horrible (the Hallmarks, the Mattels, the DIC enterprise, etc.) but that song makes me cry of happiness.

And rainbows themselves are some of the most beautiful things on earth. There should be more songs about rainbows. Kermit is wrong- there’s not enough of them.

Still in the ‘land of synth drums,’ i decided to play around with another memory of my youth- The Facts Of Life. The theme was one of many co-written by Gloria Loring, Alan Thicke and Al Burton, and was sung by Loring. Like many theme songs, there’s a longer version (which i am playing to here). Again, though i watched the show a lot as a kid i don’t remember a lot of what happened. One thing i do remember was the introduction of Geri as a primary character for a while. It was really cool to see someone with cerebral palsy living their life on a popular tv program, because as i mentioned in another post, you don’t see to many folks in the disabled community as primary characters in popular culture in a way that’s not pathologized.

And heeeeeeere’s where we get out of childhood and more into teenager-ism, with Wire. Pink Flag is one of my favorite ‘post punk’ albums, and ‘It’s so obvious’ is a pretty great deep cut. i was thinking of playing it on drums, but i decided to just play it on the (still unnamed) bass.

The One-Bumblebee Band…

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It feels really good to be reunited with the drums… The thing is though, not having the drums gave me more space to give love to the other instruments. So of course i became inspired, and said, ‘Lemme just do some full songs.’ i am just a punk kid, and am not at the point of virtuosity (which you can see if you’ve been paying attention to these posts- HA!)

i felt inspired, and got the guitar, bass AND drums out to do some D.C. hardcore (or harDCore). i wore out the Flex Your Head compilation (blurry cover vinyl edition), and there were a couple of songs i felt would be really fun to play. i don’t have the crunch of the early D.C. bands (interestingly, i sound like i’m playing Cali skate punk, with an east coast accent- the best of both punk worlds, i guess).

i don’t drink alcohol or do any type of drugs- i don’t even take so much as an asprin, nor do i do caffeine…. except for the time i laid there in the hospital for two months in an immense amount of pain, and i had to take a gang of painkillers and muscle relaxants. i don’t wish the feeling of morphine, dilaudid (or any narcotics) on anybody. i was so out of it, and had intense nightmares a few times. Also, i couldn’t go to the bathroom.

As i said, i wish that on no one. i was extremely fortunate to not have developed a dependency or addiction. i ran out of the prescription, and never reordered, because i didn’t need to. i am saying all of this to say that for all intents and purposes, i would be considered ‘straight edge’, save the time in the hospital (and i’m sure some reactionaries out there would call me a traitor for even using drugs in the hospital. Whoever thinks that way, good luck with having survived a massive traumatic accident and a limb amputation with no meds). i don’t call myself straight edge, and despite being drug and alcohol free i don’t judge others for partaking.

i love me some straight edge punk though. i mean, ‘Master Of Puppets’ is one of the greatest straight edge-themed metal songs of all time (despite it being written and performed by a band who were alternately called Alcoholica). i was once in a band in the 90s where we were all ‘straight edge’. And of course, even though there were prior songs and artists which eschewed the drug-addled life, there was the (reluctant) foreparent of straight edge hardcore, Minor Threat. Flex Your Head featured other straight edge bands like Government issue and SOA.

One of those songs is ‘Waste Of Time’ by Youth Brigade. As i said, i don’t judge people for partaking, but yo, i love this song. Always have. It definitely was not a waste to do this song. All the instruments got some love- Jerome (the guitar) and his bass and drum siblings.

Help me to name them.

Another song from the compilation i did was ‘Nic Fit’ by The Untouchables. i love the song but i honestly have little idea what Alec MacKaye is singing (save a few words)- so i took what (i guess) were some lyrics from the Sonic Youth cover, and made up a few of my own. Also, i think on the OG Danny Ingram is playing on an open high hat, but i’m playing it on closed.

i actually started this one out on drums, then played everything else around it. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…

Crass is one of my most favoritest punk bands of all time (Bad Brains is, to this day, number one for me). They are easily in the top five. The foreparents of the anarcho-punk movement (which is some of my favoritest type of punk), they were a collective that fused art and music, challenging the capitalist ideology/ethos (and all which fall under the umbrella of it, such as patriarchy, imperialism, neoliberalism, commercial media and consumerism).

i love that (being a staunch anticapitalist myself) i don’t even necessarily agree with all of Crass’ viewpoints- they’re Anarchist and i’m a Nkrumahist-Tureist. i mean, there have been a number of Anarchist individuals and organizations who have definitely struggled with Crass on particular positions. There are many shades of particular objectives and ideologies. That said, i have no qualms with paying respects to a band who contributed to my burgeoning ideological development as a teenager. The first person i need to thank is actually Ronald Reagan. i saw him at 10 years old and he inspired me to begin developing even then, an intense hatred for capitalism. i just didn’t have the words for it.

On the music front, one of my favorite things about Crass is Pete Wright. i absolutely love his bass playing, and sadly i don’t really hear anyone talk about him. i honestly can’t even pick a favorite, but ‘Do They Owe Us A Living’ (both versions) and ‘Darling’ (which i do here, but only the bass) are a couple off the dome.

An even bigger thing i love about Crass is that even though they were tagged with the ‘punk’ label they heavily critiqued ‘punk culture’ as being conformist and nihilistic. As someone who identifies as a punk kid (because it was punk that shaped the person i am today), i actually can’t be mad at their sentiment. Also, their primary influences were blues, jazz and various aspects of ‘counterculture’ visual art.

i hope i do his playing at least a modicum of justice. Especially since the bass kept trying to fall!

The final contribution to today’s post is another Crass song, ‘Shaved Women’. This song is interesting because it really does ask us to look dialectically and question our position on particular things. The song does refer to women in France who were seen as ‘collaborators’ to the nazis during the war. After the allied forces won, those women had their heads shaved as a form of public humiliation. Due to the band’s consistent antipatriarchy/antimisogyny messaging, it does force the listener to ask if the women were willing collaborators (for sleeping with nazis), or were they forced to do so in order to survive? Were they assaulted (or worse)? People do things every day of their lives in order to survive (such as have their labor exploited); so we are forced to ask ourselves, how ‘low’ is one willing to go just to feed our ‘screaming babies’ and ourselves? Sexual violence has historically been a major factor in war (which Crass actually did songs about). So would this situation be any different?

The other widely held interpretation is calling to question women who shave their bodies (and adhere to other patriarchal beauty standards). Are these women collaborating with the enemy? The desire to fulfill unrealistic standards (and the consumerism it entails) contributes to the “decadence” that occurs, while “people die.” The more we consume, the quicker it leads to our death.

But! If that’s all we know, do we understand the role of being a collaborator?

Questions, questions…

Crass were pretty open in stating their contradictions. They called for the listener to make up their minds about how something was interpreted. That’s not always necessarily the best thing, considering there are too many people who don’t actually listen to messages, and react to something based on a surface-level reading. However, i do understand what the band means when they say that, especially since they were pretty open about where they stood, when they were a solidly functioning collective.

i am playing Jerome, along with the yet to be named bass and drums…. along with vocals, and a couple of train samples. i’m certainly no Eve Libertine, but… i don’t have to be.

i’m just a bumblebee.

So there you have it… el uno abejorro banda musical, lejos de la colmena por el día. i hope it’s not too bad.

(This post is dedicated to Cicely, Eli and Shamole)

ima punk ima punk ima punkpunkpunk (bass edition)

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It might be a few days before i get back on the drums (as i am waiting for some materials to do some further soundproofing)… i miss playing- a lot, but playing other things, that’s fun too!

i don’t have a lot of space (or a lot of money), so i feel like i accomplished something with building a mini studio (with the help of Casey, who is much more tech oriented than i am. i have been extremely grateful for his knowledge, and his assistance). i’m using a Behringer U-Phoria UMC404HD audio interface (for the drums and keys), and a Spark 40 amp (which is technically a practice amp, but again, i don’t have money like that to get both a bass and guitar amp. The Spark works for both). For vocals, i have a Shure SM7b.

Now that you know the equipment, you can now hear what it does (HA)! Today, i’m playing some punk rock on the Ibanez GSR105EX 5-string bass. The interesting thing about the bass is that i kind of play it like a guitar, and i play the guitar kind of like the bass. i cannot tell you why. i know i also don’t play songs like how they’re ‘supposed’ to be played; my guess is because i’m just playing by ear, as opposed to reading the tabs… but then again, from what i hear a whole gang of tab books are wrong.

Recording all of this was an interesting process. Usually when i film drum stuff it’s recorded directly from the phone (until i get a better/more dedicated camera some day). i realize that filming piano stuff isn’t that easy, because there’s no good place to put the camera. In terms of guitar or bass, the Spark app is on the phone, so i have to record the song, then film myself playing to what i played. It’s not ideal, but if i’m gonna be on film then that’s what i gotta do for now. (i may opt for just audio later, who knows?). i know there is a way to film through the Spark app, but i haven’t explored that yet.

One thing that’s a bit different about this post is that you also see my legs… well the one and a half of them. Say hi… i see my legs all the time, but i don’t look in the mirror much, so i don’t see ALL of me. So seeing this is kinda interesting and strange. i have to prop the right leg (her name is Mbuya) on a pillow, so the guitar or bass won’t fall.

————————————————————————————————————————–

i was doing some writing and cleaning, and i was listening to Agnostic Front’s United Blood EP (which to me is one of the greatest hardcore records of all time) and i said to myself, i’m gonna play some AF. i remember being 15 years old and seeing them for the first time at CBGBs- someone gave me their wristband, and the rest is history. i had a few of their albums at that point, but Victim In Pain was the one i wore out.

So the title track it is.

This next song is definitely one of my favorite hardcore songs of all time, from another record i wore out. i had Out Of Step on vinyl, and the Minor Threat compilation on cassette. The folks i was in my first band with, we actually met at a Fugazi show. We covered the song ‘Minor Threat’ in that band (where i played guitar).

And now, i play ‘I Don’t Wanna Hear It’ on bass. It comes full circle.

And finally… we actually have a repeat here- but not really. A number of posts ago i played drums to the final live performance of (the) Ramones’ ‘Pinhead’. Here, i’m playing bass to the album version. In between, there are posters of the film Freaks, which the song is based off of. i haven’t seen it in almost 20 years, but i remember that it was a big deal, because it’s one of the few movies that have folks in the disabled community as clear protagonists. That of course was a big deal at the time it was made. Does the film (and its promotion) have contradictions? Of course. Still, the film industry hasn’t greenlit many films with disabled actors as primary characters to this day; and when they do, the stories tend to be tragic.

Yes, i know i play it more like Johnny than Dee Dee… i have met Dee Dee though. He was quite nice.

i Do What i Can Do, So i Do It

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i continue to try an seek out other amputee drummers, and so far, i’m so amazed at all of the things i see. i am literally a baby in this experience (well, technically a toddler), and i have a ways to go before i can get to the level of a Caleb Graves, Jack Thomas, Jason Barnes and most famously, Rick Allen. It’s mostly dudes i have seen highlighted in the community- no surprise there.

i’m here representing those of us who are less known or acknowledged- or not known at all (raises hand here).

i thought about all of this because figuring out different things amid the limitations has been interesting. For instance, in a traditional set people who use double kick obviously use the left foot. i have never used my left leg for the kick before, so i was surprised at how fast i adapted. There are other things i have to sort out while playing, such as playing a particular pattern in place of the alternate open/closed high hat- such as the following song.

‘Is It My Body’ is probably my favorite Alice Cooper song. Frank Zappa found them interesting (and strange) enough to put them on. Their first few albums (of which Love It To Death (where the above song is on) is among them) were more straight ahead rock, as opposed to the metal of the proceeding years. Neal Smith seemed to be a pretty big fan of the open high hat.

But alas, i did what i could do.

Soooooooooo… i finally got a keyboard again, after years of not having one. i used to play piano all the time (and even wrote whole songs), but i was never proficient at it. i kind of forgot how to play; i hope it’s like what they say about bicycles- when you know how to do it you don’t forget.

i hope that’s true though, because i intend to ride again.

i can still play some notes, but the technique is TERRIBLE. i wouldn’t even call it a technique. i have never seen anyone play this bad- HA! But i wanted to show it anyway. Because you have to start from somewhere.

Go ahead. Make fun of me. i know i look like a little kid playing on a small Casio.

It’s okay though. i have Touré the octopus by my side.

‘Every Little Step’ at a time counts.

Speaking of… i got a request to play to some ’90s R&B. i did play to the one SWV song a few posts ago, but i couldn’t think about what else to do. Then i thought about the severely underrated Bobby album, by of course, Bobby Brown. My favorite BB song is the one i played above on piano), but Bobby is a much more mature work.

‘Get Away’ is the jam, but of course i had to punk it up (shoutout to Infectious Grooves). And of course, Lars was (subconsciously) all over this. i have to laugh about it at this point.

Drums are definitely a way to get away…

And finally, we have Toto.

My first exposure to ‘Hold The Line’ was actually Millie Jackson’s version (If you haven’t heard it go check it out). i have the album now, but the only Toto songs i remember knowing as a kid (besides the Thriller association) were ‘Georgy Porgy’ and ‘Rosanna’. Toto was one of those bands (like The Police, Hall & Oates, Wham!, The Doobie Brothers, Kenny Loggins, Ambrosia, etc.) that crossed over into the hood.

Jeff Porcaro was one of those drummers who prominently put the swing in rock music. i hope i did him justice here.