Record Reviews!

These record reviews originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on February 27th, 2014

Chain Letters – Bad Reflection b/w Boulevard Girls 7” (Pogo Time Records)
Superior power-pop punk by former front lady of Young People With Faces; the band also featured a No Tomorrow Boy as well, if I’m not mistaken. Chain Letters have warm female vocals laid gently like a soft blanket a top of melodic buzz saw guitars. Chain Letters drum up some super fantastic Ramones-y sing-a-long songs about love and longing. Is there a greater subject to sing Rock N’ Roll songs about? - Jay Castro

Ballantynes - Liquor Store Gun Store Pawn Shop Church EP (La-Ti-Da Records)
Finally we have more than a two song 7” by the fabulous Ballantynes! What you get here are six magnificent songs of rowdy yet smooth, heartfelt mod/soul music to delight your spirits. When I say smooth, I mean Motown heyday Smokey Robinson smooth! The Ballantynes make you want to sit up straight, put on a vintage suit and soak it with sweat from dancing in it all night long. I don’t dance mind you, but this band have come the closest anyone ever has to make me want to. - Jay Castro

Strange Attractor - Back to the Cruel World LP (Mammoth Cave Recordings/FDH Records/Resurrection Records)
This is the third LP from Ontario’s loud, feral 1960’s style garage punk band Strange Attractor. It’s reminiscent of that era’s more energetic acts like The Sonics or the Monks with some contemporary influence like Seattle’s Makers and even some Lost Sounds thrown in there to make things even more on edge. At times it also reminds me of Shane MacGowan’s Nips/Nipple Erectors or even Billy Childish at his most manic. Guitar is loud, drums set to garbage lid bashing tone, and vocals are at shrill level. I like this record more and more every time I hear it! - Jay Castro

The Black Cheers – The Cat, The Bat, The Rat, The Dog LP (Self Released)
So you know that feeling you get when you hear the first 5 seconds of a record and you know it’s going to knock you off your easy chair? That’s what I got when I heard Boston’s Black Cheers. It sounds like a mixture of 1990’s Chicago pop punk heroes The Vindictives and Vancouver’s Black Haloes. They’ve got a brilliant mix of melodic pop punk guts fused with a gritty back alley temper. The singer sounds like he gargles Kerosene with bits of glass in it as a morning ritual! Great record! - Jay Castro

Headspins – Spinster LP (Self Released)
From the windy city came this wonderful LP that blew the doors off of the Audio Ammunition stronghold. Superb ear pleasing power-pop with punk jabs peppered throughout. The music has hints of The Muffs and The Fastbacks. Their Facebook page says they formed in 2005 but this is their debut record. I surely hope there are more tunes lying in wait out there ready for us to ferociously gobble up! - Jay Castro

Voice of Addiction - Modern Day Meltdown EP (Self Released)
This Chicago three piece delivers melodic brawny rock punk with thick guitars, dueling lead vocals and lots of oohs and aahs in the background. Anyone that reads my reviews knows I am not a fan of bands that force feed their political agendas down people’s throats. VOA however is not entirely like one of those groups. The lyrics do have a socially cognizant theme, but the songs on this 7” talk about staying young at heart and finding the strength to survive the daily grind. These are timeless subject matters that anyone with a pulse can relate to. - Jay Castro

Vegas With Randolph – Rings Around The Sun LP (Caged Giant Records)
From Washington, DC comes the third record by Vegas With Randolph and it’s a power-pop paradise. It's so pressure packed with tremendously catchy melodies and amusing lyrics that I found myself immediately replaying this record as soon as it was over. I hear ‘90's power pop influences like Material Issue and Jellyfish as well as The Knack and The Beat, which gives some of the songs a more Rock N’ Roll kick to them. Audio Ammunition didn’t do a year’s best records list for 2013, but if I did, this record would have easily been one of the top! - Jay Castro

Adam Widener – Vesuvio Nights LP (Speakertree Records)
This debut album from the San Francisco singer/songwriter gives us a glimpse of what Wavves or The Jacuzzi Boys would be like if they listened to late ‘70’s British mod revival bands. Adam Widener musically captures the similar sounds of fellow Bay Area psychedelic garage rockers Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall with the song structures and melodies of Paul Weller tacked on. Pretty good stuff I must say. After all, what bands wouldn’t benefit by sprinkling some second wave maximum rhythm and blues in their tunes! - Jay Castro

Big Itch Club Compilation 7” (Bachelor Records)
A marvelous compilation put together by Austrian record label Bachelor records! According to the press release it was put together to celebrate a music club in Dublin Ireland that gets together and listens to records and sees live bands. It starts off with 2 gems by The # 1’s, a melodic ruckus of mod Rock N’ Roll bliss. Next up is September Girls doing fun, catchy ‘60’s jangly garage pop. Bringing it all home is the Faux Kings presenting to us a rollicking hillbilly stomp-o-rama called “Luchadora,” which sounds a lot like The Ramones “Ramona,” but highly entertaining none the less. If this is an example of what those Irish cats get together and listen to, how do I go about starting an AZ chapter of a Big Itch Club! - Jay Castro

Teledrome – Teledrome (FDH/Mammoth Cave Recording Co./P. Trash Records)
WOW, what a great record from start to finish! Synth-pop, new wave sounds with New Romantic melodies thrown in there. Some of their older releases have a rawer production; this LP here is a bit more produced, which is totally fine. Both sounds suit the band quite well, which is pretty unusual. The band does have some punkier sounding numbers found in the middle of the disc like the songs “Antenna” and “Blood Dips.” If you love bands like Echo and The Bunnymen, Human League or even Duran Duran, then this record is going to put a big smile on your face for sure, it did to me! - Jay Castro

Mad Doctors - Fuzz Tonic EP (Self Released)
This Brooklyn, NY trio set free rowdy and thick, lo-fi Rock N’ Roll. Judging by the album cover and their Facebook profile, these guys don’t take themselves too seriously. However with songs slathered in this much swagger and downright charisma, it’s hard for a listener not to. Some of the songs lean into a swampy blues sound and also into sludgy psychedelic, but wherever these guys may roam they never falter from their Rock N’ Roll roots and the good times are sure to follow! - Jay Castro

The Cry –Dangerous Game LP (Top Shelf Records/Taken by Surprise Records)
These Portland, Oregon lads seem to be everywhere right now. This is the band’s second LP and these young guys really know how to hit the PR trail for themselves. The band plays a version of infectious glam, glitter, Rock N’ Roll that typically has a sleazy, shady undertone to it; see Biters. However these four guys play like a Bay City Rollers version of it. Which is not a bad thing by any means; it lends their music a wonderful and unique quality. Sleaze you can fake, a true and honest heart is an impossibility to counterfeit. - Jay Castro

The Rebel Set – How To Make A Monster LP (Silver Hornet/Burger Records)
The Rebel Set unleashes their second LP on us and it’s everything I was hoping it would be. Much like their last LP Poison Arrow, it’s a tapestry woven with swirling surf guitar and lo-fi frenzy set in the background of a 1950’s noir crime movie. The music has an element of fun and danger, but manages not to get cartoon-y. Lesser folk would drop the ball juggling so much into a Rock N’ Roll band, but Joe Zimmerman and his band sound like they’re quite comfortable surrounded by the bedlam. - Jay Castro

Scorpion Vs Tarantula – Claim To Fame LP (Self Released)
On their third full length, SVT continue their path of destruction all around the Phoenix metropolitan area, stomping on all of us puny humans like the Hulk on a rampage. They distribute their brand of bold Rock N’ Roll loud and fast: like a cannonball shot to the chest. Monster guitar hooks are still plentiful, drums and bass still set at thunder clap levels and the vocals are once again violently spewed all over your face. Raging Rock N’ Roll that will surely crack earth beneath the feet of where ever you happen to be listening to it!- Jay Castro

Toy Guitar – S/T EP (Adeline Records)
I first heard of this band when Johnny “Peebucks” Bonnel mentioned them as one of the current bands that inspire him. So when I looked them up, I expected good, but not colossally brilliant! Jack Dalrymple of One Man Army recruits some Bay Area buddies and shoots out some of the catchiest punk rock I’ve heard in a long time. It’s hard to pinpoint direct influences, but there are hints of late ‘70’s punk bluster, ‘60’s garage stomp fun, and power-pop energy. This would be right at home on Dirtnap Records. - Jay Castro

The Monsters - Nightmare 7” (Bachelor Archives/Bachelor Records)
This record contains some campy fun Monster Mash style ookie spooky tune-age ready to coax the Bat-tootsy out of your next Halloween party guests. The Monsters were a boisterous garage, trash, rock-a billy band from Bern, Switzerland and this record originally came out in 1988. Bachelor has reissued it to a 300-copy run. So if you’re a fan of 1960’s retro/vintage style Rock N’ Roll with an injection of The Cramps thrown in, you better act fast! - Jay Castro

The Bloodtypes – Johnny 7” (Bomb Pop Records)
There is such an appealing quality about this band that grabs you upon first listen to their record. I will attempt to explain. Female singer Schnek Tourniquet has a sparkling charisma to her new wave style vocals, fun yet urgent, the guitars are turned up loud and peppered with fuzz tone, and all the while the rhythm section booms away in the back. Think The Go Go’s, blended with The Pretenders and cut with The Avengers.- Jay Castro

Makeouts - Back to Sleep LP (Bachelor Records)
This is the 2nd LP from this Stockholm band on Bachelor Records. This is high-quality Rock N’ Roll wax that sounds like it was recorded by a bunch of fun drunken rogues! It ranges from hard quick tempo beasts to slower, a tad more introspective numbers and a lot of times the songs fall in between even that. Apparently they’ve played in Europe with a virtual who’s who of American garage acts like No Bunny and The Dirtbombs. Hope they make it over to the States soon where I’m sure they will be welcomed with open arms. - Jay Castro

The Ladykillers - Introducing The Ladykillers LP (No Front Teeth Records)
No Front Teeth Records have such a great reputation of putting out brilliant punk records. A label that I will just blindly buy whatever they put out. This record easily falls in with that luminous reputation. This punk rock fire-breathing beast comes at us out of London, and it sounds like it’s from Cleveland, OH. There is a certain sound that defines Midwest punk and this record is slathered in it. Tough, bold and melodic: much like their forefathers The Pagans or Dead Boys/Rocket from the Tombs. - Jay Castro

Plain Dealers – Terminal Darkness 7” (No Front Teeth Records)
This record nearly melted my speakers into mere puddles of smoldering plastic! Ferocious late ‘70’s style Killed By Death type roaring punkers. Plain Dealers lie a bit more on the melodic side of peripheral punk bands of the late ‘70’s like the criminally underrated German punk band PVC mixed with the nasty temperament of say The Jerks or The Rotters. Great tunes, but beware: stuff will get stolen or broken when this record gets played, and yes somehow this happens even when you're listening by yourself!- Jay Castro

Brandy Row/Brandy Row & Truebadours - Split 7” (No Front Teeth)
Right out at the bell comes the new Brandy Row song The Drifter swingin’ at you like an old Johnny Thunders tune or even a Jessie Malin style acoustic jam with that suave vagabond sheik feel. On the B side we got The Truebadours, an all star gaggle of Brit punks from The Gaggers, Rick C Quartet and a few other bands in the NFT roster. This song is called Dirty Street and it’s a more up tempo Pogues influenced jangly number. It has a similar vibe as the wise, philosophizing barroom patron with the dark, traveling carnival worker mystique. Perfect songs for the weary rock n roller that just wants something to wind down. - Jay Castro

Miscalculations - Asbestos City 7” (No Front Teeth)
Miscalculations capture the electro punk angular desperation of late 1970’s San Francisco bands like The Units and Screamers rather terrifically. These London inhabitants however add some of their own lo-fi agitation into the mix. This record sounds like something that was recorded after the bombs all dropped, half the world is dead or dying, and some anxious youths found a 4track recording device beneath a pile of smoldering rubble and begin to do their thing. Start fortifying your vehicles and grabbing whatever provisions you can carry, this record will validate your post apocalyptic angst! - Jay Castro

Instigation - No Way Out 7” (Self Released)
The energy starts burning out of this record the very moment your measly listening device registers what you’re trying to cram through its scrawny copper wires. Blazing fast and shouted in your face punk rock with a capitol P! I hear elements of British Oi! & Street Punk like Abrasive Wheels and Varukers mixed with the speed and primal ferocity of early 80’s American Hardcore. Songs about desperation, anarchy and a Reagan Youth cover (Degenerated), all of this under 7 minutes. This record will make you take your shirt off and start slamming into whatever passerby happens to be in your vicinity! - Jay Castro

Dot Dash - Half Remembered Dream LP (The Beautiful Music)
With their third album, Washington DC’s Dot Dash graciously offers us a set of beautifully constructed 1980’s post punk style dark and delicate songs. This band consists of former Youth Brigade and Saturday People folks. For those of you that remember DC’s Saturday’s People: Dot Dash’s formula doesn’t stray too far from that. DD throw in some Psychedelic Furs and Darklands era Jesus and Mary Chain for a highly enjoyable collection of songs radiating melody and melancholy. - Jay Castro

Average Times – S/T LP (Hosehead)
Well look who comes waltzing into the room thinking they own the place?! These lads boldly parade on in with a dazzling debut LP. Monumentally catchy and loud punk rock bursts in the tradition of The Briefs with some Descendents bratty-ness thrown in for even more entertainment. The song I Hate Tomato Juice and I Hate You pretty much sums it all up! It’s so rare that a band can come out with a tremendous debut record that exudes both confidence and well crafted songs. It sounds like Average Times know exactly what they want and have the capacity to achieve it. - Jay Castro

The Elsinores – Dreams of Youth (Dead Tank)
Out of Lexington KY comes to us yet another release by brooding rock quartet The Elsionores. A lot of the band’s other media reviews compare them to a pop punk sound. Although the band’s songs are definitely rooted in punk and post punk, I hear a lot of early 1990’s Sub Pop influence in here. I detect hints of bands like Seaweed and Afghan Whigs woven through this record’s cavernous and slightly washed out production. Whatever their influences may be, they create some solid songs and package them together for a consistently enjoyable record through and through. - Jay Castro

Jesus Sons – Jesus Sons – (Mock Records)
Listening to this record makes me want to sit in a dimly lit, smoke filled bar with wood floors in the middle of nowhere Texas. Always keeping one eye peeled out the window for the local sheriff and keeping one hand on that six-shooter. Just in case any of the local patrons make you and decide to be do-gooders. That’s the kind of atmosphere this music conjures up. This album is a rollicking, dark and ominous country/ blues bonanza of greatness. It’s dark but not depressing with an ever so slight hint of psychedelia thrown in some songs. Imagine if Roky Erickson, Johnny Cash and Greg Allman had been band mates, this might get you a tad closer to Jesus Sons sound. Here’s hoping that “Johnny Law” never catches up to Jesus Sons! – Jay Castro

The Wise Words of Rev Norb!

The first time I heard Boris the Sprinkler, my brain melted. Sure I’ve heard wit, sarcasm and humor in Rock N’ Roll songs before but never put together so meticulously and sung with such ferocity. I remember thinking the same thing when I first read Norb’s monthly column in Maximum Rocknroll. Norb now fronts another band called The Onions with former members of Last Sons of Krypton and The Tantrums. Just when you think you’ve heard it all, the good reverend is now also producing his own podcast called Bubblegum Fuzz. A punk rock jack-of-all-trades, he injects his trademark mixture of charm, pop culture wisdom and manic energy into everything he does. So prepare to get tie dyed, deep-fried, pie eyed and Shanghai’d tonight with the voice of geek America himself!

This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on February 6th, 2014

Interview by Jay Castro

Shock Treatment: You are known throughout this land as being a bit of a Rock N’ Roll enthusiast. At what age do you remember first being moved by music and what band or musician motivated you to want get a band together and write your own songs?
RN: When I was a little kid, I always thought the Monkees were cool, because they lived in a cool house on the beach together and just hung out all day and played music. Same for the Archies, they just drove around Riverdale in their jalopy and then all of a sudden, hey, they’d be playing music together. My mom says she knew I was going to be a musician because of my enthusiastic reaction to the scene in The Aristocats where the zany Parisian cats are playing jazz in their run-down squat, but I don’t think the full real-world weight of it all hit me until I was in about fifth grade, and I went to go see Bob Hope at Lambeau Field with my family, which would have been about 1976. There were a bunch of opening acts on the bill that night, like, Duke Ellington’s son and I can’t remember who-all else, largely a bunch of old-timey orchestras and vocalists and such, playing in the middle of our football stadium. Midway through the night, they announce the next act: “Dr. Bop And The Headliners featuring The White Raven!” It’s this 50’s cover band – wholly un-unique by contemporary standards, but kind of novel back then, as this is right when all that 50’s nostalgia like Happy Days, American Graffiti, Sha Na Na is really kicking in – and the band is already set up at the 50 yard line and playing some intro music. All of a sudden, this dude in a white tux and tails comes sprinting out of the tunnel in the south end zone, the same end zone in which Bart Starr won the Ice Bowl in 1967! It’s pouring rain, but the guy is just running all over the field, playing air guitar, a completely novel concept at the time, like a nut. It is, apparently, the White Raven, I guess “Dr. Bop” was their drummer. This guy is just running around, playing air guitar in the rain all over Lambeau Field while his band plays on, and the crowd is going nuts. He eventually gets to the stage, and they blast through a bunch of 50’s standards like “Barbara Ann” et al. It was great! I was like, “Holy crap, you can just run around in the rain like a nut and play music and have an entire football stadium going crazy for you? Sign me up!”

ST: The first time I heard Boris The Sprinkler I felt three things simultaneously, primed up, hilarity and intimidation. Intimidation because of the fact that for every pop culture reference I caught 7 more soared past me at light speed. Do you ever worry about your writing referencing such obscure subjects that you might become like an Andy Kaufman type, where you would be the only one in on the jokes?
RN:: Not really, because the songs weren’t really set up that you had to understand the references to “get” the songs, I thought it was more like, I dunno, free association or something. Like, I don’t think one’s enjoyment of the song “((Do You Wanna)) Grilled Cheese?” is severely impacted by whether or not the listener knows what “Schrödinger’s Cat” is, or that “got a record collection that’s as big as a whale” is a reference to that line about a Chrysler as big as a whale in “Love Shack” by the B-52s, or that “got the law on my back” is a reference to the line “Law on my back! Pressure’s always on!” in the song “Pressure’s On” by Red C and/or the song “Police on my Back” by the Equals. I suppose it would be helpful to know who Christopher Pike is. I always hated bands like NOFX where you had to really follow the lyrics in order to get the joke; I thought they were kinda stupid.

ST: You just released a new 7” with your new band The Onions. A band that already had some releases prior to you coming aboard. How did you end up joining the band?
RN: At one point in time, they were doing a few covers by a few of my old bands: “I Object” by Suburban Mutilation, “I’m Not A Date ((I’m an Alcoholic))” by Depo-Provera, and “West of the East” by Boris, so I would occasionally sing guest vocals with them when they’d do those songs live. They also recorded “I’m Not a Date” and “West of the East” for their album, so I went over and sang vocals on those as well. Around Halloween last year, they asked me if I wanted to sing lead vocals on a Dickies tribute set they were doing at a number of Halloween shows, so we played about four shows we me singing Dickies covers with them. That was fun enough that we started doing it full-time.

ST: I know you are also a bit of a comic book/sci-fi enthusiast as well. What do you think of the mainstreaming of “geek” culture with huge budget movies based on Comic Book characters and TV shows like The Big Bang Theory? Which of these movies did you think actually did a good (or decent) job at adapting these characters and stories to the big screen?
RN: I think the Big Bang Theory does a really nice job of working in comic book geekery, it’s all pretty authentic when they talk about comic books or go to the comic book store; as opposed to earlier, less careful portrayals of comic books in mass media like, say, Robocop, where the liquor stores somehow only stock the shelves with multiple back issues of Iron Man from the 1970’s? As far as mainstreaming goes, it is pretty odd to see some hip-hop looking chick walking around in an Avengers t-shirt, especially when knowledge of superheroes above and beyond Superman/Batman/Aquaman/Wonder Woman/Spider-Man/Hulk was wholly outsider knowledge when I was a kid, you had to belong to a sort of secret brotherhood to know who the Avengers were, or Iron Man, or Captain America, or Thor. I thought Spider-Man 3 did a really good job of that bang-bang Silver Age story progression that’s been lost in comics since the 60’s, which seemed to me to be the most like a comic book come to life. And, like most other people, I think that Robert Downey, Jr., is pretty much the best Iron Man for which anyone could hope. I’m also pissed that Christian Bale didn’t say “Somedays you just can’t get rid of a bomb!!!” when the Batplane was toting that nuke out to sea at the end of the last Batman movie.

ST: The book The Annotated Boris: Deconstructing The Lyrical Majesty of Boris The Sprinkler (and other tales as the need arises) came out a year or so ago. I also read that you are putting together a collection of some of your old columns. Have you ever thought about writing any fictional books or even screenplays?
RN: If you heard that I am putting together a collection of my old columns, you didn’t hear it from me. I’ve considered it, but I dunno. I don’t know that that stuff was really written with posterity in mind, plus I don’t even think I saved all my files…and the ones I did are on floppy discs, in Quark 3.11 or something, for Mac. I’d probably have to re-type the stuff…I dunno. Maybe. Every once in a while I think about writing fiction, but I never really have any particularly great ideas. I don’t really know how to do it, so I wonder why I should bother. I guess you just rip off The Hero’s Journey and go from there. I don’t know that I would be any good at things like plot and character development; if I was to write a work of fiction, I’d worry that it would just wind up being a bunch of characters just standing around saying funny things. As far as screenplays go, I have never held one in my hands, so I don’t have an abstract idea of what they entail, what they feel like, how long are they, etc. It seems like other people would be more qualified for this that I am.

ST: I read about the time you gave TSOL a bad record review and there was a rumor that Jack Grisham wanted to cause you bodily harm. Do you ever remember writing about a band in a negative light and 6 months or so later saying to yourself “I was kind of wrong about this”?
RN: I dunno, but I do remember writing a bad review of the New Bomb Turks Drunk on Cock EP, right before I met and became friends with them. I think I’ve had changes of heart about bands in general, but probably not about records in specific, because why would I even bother to go back and listen to a record I already know I don’t like?

ST: You started the Bubblegum Fuzz podcast where you play your favorite tracks, both new and old. Is there anything you listen to that you think would not fit in at all in your Podcasts and may cause some Rev Norb fans to gasp in disbelief?
RN: I don’t think I’ve ever been particularly secretive with my likes and dislikes, so it’s hard to imagine what I could play that would take anyone by surprise. I did play an Elvis song on one episode, and a Beatles song on another; I don’t know if that’d surprise anyone or not. I don’t completely hate classic rock from the 70’s, some of which I liked, before they invented punk rock, so I could see playing some lost nugget by Aerosmith or Nazareth on the show, maybe, if the songs were off the radar and rockin’ enough to not make a mockery of the show’s principles, whatever they are. I’ve also developed a fondness for real early reggae, ca. 1968, so maybe I could toss an old reggae song in there to piss people off. I live to serve.

ST: If you could assemble an ultimate band for yourself comprising of musicians throughout Rock N’ Roll history, a sort of Justice League of bands so to speak, who would be in it?
RN: On the drums, Ringo Starr! On the bass, Sammy from Teengenerate! On guitars, Rick Neilsen of Cheap Trick and Stan Lee of the Dickies! Then I would hire Allan Clarke, Graham Nash and Tony Hicks of the Hollies to sing backup vocals, and Jerry Lee Lewis to play piano. Then I’d hire Peter Noone to sing lead vocals and demote myself to t-shirt seller dude.

ST: I don’t remember Boris The Sprinkler ever touring much, are there any plans on taking The Onions on the road?
RN: Boris actually did tour a little bit; we toured the East Coast thrice, the South, West, and Europe once each. The Onions, I dunno, the economics of touring is a lot more daunting these days. We’ll do what we can without having to break too much of a sweat.

ST: What’s the best way for people to keep up on all of the upcoming Rev. Norb releases, both printed and musical?

RN: KEEP YOUR EYES TO THE SKIES! I’m big on skywriting. Otherwise just track me down on Facebook, I’m a notorious self-promoter.

We Got Nikki Corvette!

Nikki Corvette’s music has been described, quite accurately I might add, as the perfect blend of The Ronettes and The Ramones. Garage bands around the world have been trying to imitate her sound ever since her debut album Nikki and the Corvettes came out in 1980 on Greg Shaw’s legendary recording label Bomp! Records. Although her name didn’t attain the household status that some of her peers achieved, it didn’t make Nikki’s music any bit less relevant. In my opinion, she hit all the marks a lot of her fellow lady rockers of that time missed. It’s more playful and light hearted than Joan Jett’s first records and less of a show boat than Blondie’s Parallel Lines and Eat to the Beat LP’s. Nikki Corvette continues to play her unique brand of sharp, sassy, and fun Rock N’ Roll with as much charisma and bounce as she did back in 1980 with a new crop of musicians she helped inspire. How’s that for the ultimate homage!

This Interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on February 6th, 2014

Interview by Jay Castro

Shock Treatment: You started writing and performing songs with one time guitarist for The Romantics Peter James. How did you meet him and was it him that inspired you to want to write and perform music?
Nikki Corvette: I met Pete when I was 16, his best friend was dating my best friend and we dated for a while. We both liked the same kind of music and went to every concert and show possible. I learned a lot about music from him, but I always wanted to sing in a band. We stayed friends after we broke up and then started Nikki Corvette and The Convertibles together and co-wrote all the songs so he really helped me realize my musical ambitions. Our very volatile relationship did inspire the lyrics for “You Make Me Crazy.”

ST: Nikki Corvette and The Convertibles were formed in a bit of a hurry due to the fact that you had shows booked but no band or songs. In retrospect, do you wish you would have had more time to rehearse and maybe gather your thoughts a bit, or do you feel you benefited by having your career starting off with a bang and not over thinking things?
NC: I was friends with this guy Skid Marx, he played bass and was booking a club called The Red Grape and I was always saying I wanted to be in a band so one day he told me he booked a show for me. So Pete, Skid and a drummer, Bob Mulrooney, aka Bootsey X, put some songs together including a couple I had written with Pete and we did the show but we never rehearsed, just learned the songs separately. Not only was the sound check was the first time we ever played together; it was also the first time I ever sang in a mic!! The show was packed, everyone I knew was there and I knew after the first song it couldn't ever be worse then that!! We got booked every weekend for the next 3 months from that show and we still never rehearsed! It's really hard to say what would have happened with more time to practice, etc, it might have been great but I think the way it happened was best. It was crazy and spontaneous and scary but with time to think, I might not have jumped in; I wasn't a great singer and that might have stopped me. I believe it was fated to happen this way and I'm glad it did!

ST: From what I gather things became a bit romantically complicated with you and some other Corvettes, former boyfriends, etc. Do you feel like this contributed to the breakup of the band in '81?
NC: Like I said before Pete and I dated when I was in high school and his next girlfriend, Lori Jeri joined the band about 6 months after we started playing and that was never a problem. Most of the girls in the band had musician boyfriends who weren't always happy when their girlfriends went on tour, but I don't really think that had anything to do with the band breaking up. I think it had just run its course although Pete, Lori Jeri and I continued to work on other projects together over the years.

ST: To me, the first Nikki and The Corvettes record on Bomp has a sort of sweet sunny disposition to it, a bit more of a West Coast feel and less of what one would think of as a Detroit or New York resonance. Did you have a particular sound you were shooting towards or was it more of a feeling or a 'vibe,' for lack of a better word?
NC: Nikki and The Corvettes had so many influences and inspirations and wanted to be like all of them. I always wanted to be more punk and Pete wanted us to be more pop. The album just ended up being our combination of all of that but my voice was just kind of cute and girly and plus I've always been just super happy and excited about life so that was probably more the sunny West Coast feel, plus I love California, lived there for 24 years, so I'm very much a Detroit California girl. I don't think we tried to sound a certain way, it's just what evolved, what we had to work with, doing the album ourselves and who we were.

ST: In 1997 you published a book called Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven. What is it about and what led you to want to write a book?
NC: It all started as a game Lee Childers, photographer, manager for Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers and Levi and The Rockats, part of the Bowie, Mainman, Warhol crowd and on and on, and I used to play when we were bored at work. We would try to list all the dead Rock Stars we could think of and I decided it would be a great book for all the crazy people like us. I had wanted it to be an encyclopedia of dead rock stars, how they died and where they were buried; a lot of my friends and I like to visit their graves but didn't know where many of them were buried. In the end, I had to cut in down drastically because of time issues, deadlines and the overwhelming scope of it but it's still my dream to publish the definitive book of rock star deaths and a map to their graves.

ST: In 2003 you released the "Love Me" b/w "What's On My Mind" 7” on Rapid Pulse Records. The first record that was released that marked an end to your recording hiatus. How did that project come together?
NC: After a long hiatus from music I started playing again occasionally with a young all girl band called The Pinkz. I got a message from Russell Quan, Bobbyteens, Flakes, Mummies and too many other bands to name, that a friend of his wanted me to play his festival called Rock Action in Minneapolis. I called his friend, Travis Ramin, intending to tell him no but he somehow convinced me to do the show with him and some local musicians. The show was great and Travis and I became really good friends. Next thing I know he wanted to write and record some songs so we wrote 2 songs over the phone, I was in LA, and we recorded them in Minneapolis. Pretty soon we started doing mini tours, East Coast, Midwest, West Coast and then Japan and eventually decided to make a real band of it and we became Nikki Corvette and The Stingrays recording several more records together.

ST: In releasing the Wild Record Party album in 2005, you covered the gamut of pop music, everything from late 70's Punk to late 50's Rockabilly and Doo Wop. Is this a sort of homage to your influences or are these simply songs you've always just wanted to let loose on?
NC: It's kind of a combination of reasons. Some are songs I had always loved and covered in the past, some were songs I just wanted to record and most of them were either a direct influence or representative of my many varied musical influences. There were also a few that were requests of other band members and a few that were compromises between us. It was just a fun record for me because I'm just a true fan, always have been, always will be and it was the chance to do a lot of songs I wouldn't normally do but that I was a fan of.

ST: You have records on many different labels and collaborated with a lot of people through out your career in music. Have you ever thought of compiling your music into a sort of career spanning 'Box Set' collection? Because that frankly would be super fantastic.
NC: I hadn't really thought about it until I read this question but I kind of love the idea! There are a lot of records, especially the Japan only releases, which a lot of people haven't heard and there are some songs on those I'm quite proud of. I think it would be interesting to do, especially to re-release some songs I'm really proud of that were only released in Japan. Some of the recent work I've done is more grown-up and I'm trying some different styles of music and I'd like people to see another side of me. What do you guys think???? I would love to get some feedback!

ST: There have been a number of books and memoirs written about the NYC music scene in the mid to late 70's. You were right there in the middle of it. There's even a story of David Johansen writing an English paper for you when you were in high school! Have you ever seen a passage or read any book that just completely misrepresents those times or anyone you've known from back in the day? Anything that's made you think to yourself "that guy has it all wrong!"
NC: Although there is nothing I can think of offhand, I am absolutely sure there are many instances I have thought this but that doesn't mean it didn't truly represent what the writer felt, it's all relative and personal to everyone in a different way. I have found in talking to people about shared experiences that we viewed them very differently even if we were together and I'm sure I've said stuff about things that happened, that someone else said "No, that's wrong." As far as the Johansen story, I was a college freshman and had stayed up all night hanging with The Dolls, I had an English paper due in a couple of hours on Desire Under The Elms and Johansen actually did help me write it. I got it turned in on time and gave him credit for the help.

ST: You've been involved throughout the years with many young artists, everyone from Amy Gore to LA's The Pinkz, who I saw open up for The Real Kids and totally held their own, and The Donnas. Have these collaborations been a key factor in keeping you inspired to continue to play and write music?
NC: I really love working with different people because they open me up to different styles of music and yes, they very much inspire me to try new stuff and keep me fresh. I'm a little scattered/ADD/easily bored so all these people keep me excited.

ST: What does Nikki Corvette have in store for us in the near or not so near future?
NC: I have so many projects in the works it's insane!!! I am currently working on songs/singles with Hunx from Hunx and His Punks, Kepi Ghoulie from Groovy Ghoulies, Morten Henriksen from The Yum Yums, Kevin Preston from Prima Donna and King Khan as well as writing songs for an album with my band The Romeos. Some Rock N' Roll Art shows with this amazing San Francisco artist Dirty Donny, a book project in the very early stages I will be doing with Deniz Tek, Radio Birdman as well as a mini West Coast tour this winter and tours of Japan, Spain and possibly more of Europe and hopefully Australia next year. I just released a single “He's Gone b/w Rockin' Romeos” with my incredible Italian band The Romeos, right before our last European tour, it's sold out but hopefully we will repress it soon. I have 3 songs I co-wrote with producer Mike E. Clark as well as some vocals that will be on his Zombies Rule record later this month. I am constantly finding new projects and beyond what is already in the works, I'm not even sure what's in store but I will keep working, playing and rockin' as long as people are interested and I'm having fun!!!

An Interview with Nervous Talk!

The stream of fantastic band’s coming at us from Vancouver seems to be never ending. That stream turns into more like a raging river when listening to Nervous Talk. They ride these rapids hard hanging onto a raft inflated with influences ranging from 1970’s style power pop like Cheap Trick, or even catchy pub rock like Rockpile. Throw in some 1990’s garage punk that you might have heard exploding out of Fink or Jack Oblivion’s amplifiers back in their prime and this might get a bit closer to describing their full range of sound. Nervous Talk just released their debut 7” on Mammoth Cave Recordings and it very much reflects this broad range of influence. It’s a bit hard to describe it all accurately, but once you listen to this record you’ll sink right into it just like in your favorite pair of black Converse All Stars.

This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on January 30th, 2014

Interview by Jay Castro

Shock Treatment: Please introduce yourself (or selves) and how you contribute to the Nervous Talk Rock N' Roll machine?
J: I'm Joel and I sing and play guitar not the fancy parts.

T: Todd, sing and LEAD guitar.


ST: Where are you all from originally?
J: I'm from all over the prairies, but I spent the most time in Lethbridge, Alberta.

T: I'm from Vancouver Island. I lived on a boat for a third of each year until I was 15.


ST: How did you all meet and start playing music together? Are any of you in any other bands?
J: We all met each other through our previous bands. I met Shane, our bass player, when he was playing in the Hot Blood Bombers. Trevor, our drummer, was playing in a shitty band called Hazard Lights when I met him. Our bands hated each other. Todd was in Timecopz when I met him. I moved to Vancouver last year and wanted to start something new right away, so I called Todd and showed him what I'd been working on. A few weeks later, Trevor & I were playing some Spits songs for fun and I asked him to join. Shane followed soon after and here we are. Everyone, myself excluded, is in at least one other band aside from Nervous Talk. None of them are as good.

T: Joel originally asked me be a part of the new Moby Dicks lineup that he was thinking of forming. I told him I would give it a try, but a few minutes later we just decided to start a new band. I also recently joined B-Lines on bass and have been playing with them for a while.


ST: You have a new 7” coming out soon Introductions b/w Shut It off, care to elaborate on any details about the release?
J: It's out now on Mammoth Cave Records. 3 songs. Art by Todd/Tony from Noodles//Pans.

T: Our friend Drew recorded us a couple times for free with his Tascam 1/4 inch 8 track. There was a pool table in the same basement so good times. We got hot dog stuffed crust pizza and it wasn't that bad.


ST: Did you have a particular sound or concept in mind when starting out the band? On the new 7” the song “Shut It Off” is a complete Rip Off Records style barn burner and “Introductions” seems like it has a bit of Power Pop or even a Glam influence.
J: The first song I wrote for Nervous Talk might have been Introductions. I'd played a lot of poppy sort of stuff in other bands, but it always had a kind of weirdo/primitive edge to it. I wanted to play classic pop kind of stuff without yelling myself hoarse about hot dogs or science. Todd's stuff has a harder, darker feel to it, much like his personality.

T: We've had a handful of songs with fairly different styles so far. I think we're still trying to find the right mix, but as long as we are liking each song for what it is we'll play it. Joel's dream has always been to have a band and its first release be called "Introductions." Do you get it? It's like an introduction to the band. He writes from deep within. My song, "Shut it Off," is based on what you'll probably want to do when you hear this single.

ST: I recently read that out of all different art forms, music has the power to alter a person’s disposition the fastest. Do you agree with this? Do you have any favorite tunes that you can put on that will lift you out of a bad mood?
J: I think that's probably true. When I'm bummed, "Little Boy Blue" by Angel always brings me back to normal. Until I hear any of that new grunge revival shit that's happening these days then I get bummed out again by how badly it sucks and I have to listen to "Oo Oo Rudi" by Jook. Grunge revival, fuck off!!

T: I wouldn't say the kind of music I listen to be dictated by the mood I'm in. Whether I'm in a good mood or bad I just want to hear some good stuff. If I'm trying to boost my energy before Fight Club I'll throw on something like Teengenerate, Reatards, or Consumers.


ST: You guys have only been playing together for a little over a year and I see you’ve played with some other pretty good bands and you played The Music Waste Festival in Vancouver last summer. What has been the most memorable show the band has played so far?
J: This year's "Winter Waste" show, kind of a halfway to music waste party, sticks out in my mind as one of the funnest shows we've played. Lotta cute girls in attendance. Lotta dancing. Lotta good bands. We also played on this weird Red Bull tour bus thing at some skate contest that Andrew Reynolds was in or sponsoring or whatever. That, for me, stands as one of the most soul-sucking, regrettable shows I've ever played. Ha ha ha. But then later that day, we played a really rad show for 20-some people at our friends studio. Smaller venues lend themselves to better shows.

T: For me it was getting to open for Mark Sultan at the Astoria. I've been enjoying that guy's music for many years so to be on the same bill as him was cool. That skateboard thing was really weird. The stage was pushed off to the side of the park so it didn't really work. I do wish we hadn't of done it but I still managed to kind of enjoy how ridiculous it was.


ST: If you guys could tour with any band/musician from times gone by, who would it be and why?
J: Well that's a toss up between Motley Crue and Led Zeppelin for obvious reasons.

T: GnR, Oasis, and Mitch Hedberg.


ST: I don’t like using the term “guilty pleasure” because I don’t think anyone should be made to feel ashamed of anything they like. However with that being said, what do you listen to that you think a lot of fans may be surprised by?
J: I get pretty stoked when I hear Loverboy, Saga, and Van Halen. Other than that, I just listen to the radio broadcast of the lunar landing and songs of the whales & shit. Guess that's weird.

T: I just played in a Brian Eno Halloween cover band called HalloweEno. Zero guilt attached to liking that stuff but definitely isn't much like NT.


ST: The cassette: a viable, collectable form of music or a fleeting hipster trend that will soon hobble back into the cave of obscurity where it belongs?
J: Cassettes will at least last for a long ass time. They're possibly the most durable analog format for personal music or whatever, so I understand the appeal in that sense. I don't have a ghetto blaster or anything so I don't buy them.

T: I don't have much of a tape collection but I'm always impressed by a good one. They sound fine, I'm all for it.


ST: What music have you unleashed on the world and where can people go to hear it or buy it?
J: Nervous Talk only has the one 7" so far. Look for it on Mammoth Cave Records' website, whatever that is. My other bands, Myelin Sheaths & Moby Dicks, put stuff out on Southpaw, Bachelor, Hozac, Handsome Dan, and Mammoth Cave Records. Guaranteed none of them are sold out. Is that what you mean or did I just make myself look like a douchebag?

T: You can hear some other stuff on our bandcamp page as well. My old band Timecopz had a split single with Fist City, also on Geographing Records. Timecopz stuff is online too.


ST: What does the band have in store for us in the near or not so near future, any tour plans?
J: We're going to keep on writing, trying not to barf, recording, and playing for as long as we can stand it. A tour to Alberta in mid-November is in the works. There's also talk of a tour down South but I don't have any solid info on that yet so keep your ears & eyes open.

T: We'll hopefully have more of everything. We have a steady supply of new songs so that should take us a ways. Can you get us one of those grants?

The Mandates Are Here!

The Mandates are a pressure packed Rock n’ Roll powerhouse blasting out of the streets of Calgary. Some of the other press the band has received describes their sound as very “New York” and I couldn’t agree more. The songs drip with Ramones heart and glow with Dead Boys power. The best testament to this lies in the band’s debut full length, which they released in March of 2013. The album will make you want to fight that fancy dressed jerk that keeps hittin’ on your best lady friend. Then steal that same douche bag’s car and drive it really fast right through the front doors of that convenience store that humiliated and kicked you out earlier for trying to buy cigarettes and beer with your fake I.D. Every impulse a great Rock n’ Roll record should bring out of you.

This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on January 30th, 2014

Interview by Jay Castro


Shock Treatment: Please introduce yourself and how do you contribute to the Mandates Rock n’ Roll machine?
My name is Brady A.K.A. Kirch N. Destroy, I provide guitar and vocals in the Mandates, in addition to being one of the primary songwriters.

ST: The band is based in Calgary, are you all from that area originally?
Brady: I’ve been living in Calgary for over 15 years, our bass player Jimmy grew up in Ontario, but I think we all consider ourselves true Calgarians. Jimmy and I both have been a part of the music scene here for over a decade and each of us have some pretty strong feelings about what it means to be musicians in this city/province.

ST: How did you all meet and start playing music together?
Brady: About four and a half years ago, I quit my main rock outfit and had wanted to start a new punk/power-pop band with a former band-mate and best friend, Sarah. She just happened to be dating a really awesome and motivated punk rock guitarist named Matt Sikkins, and after acquiring the very young and very talented Warren “Tahoe” on drums, being a friend of my newfound accomplice, Matt, we went through a few line-up shuffles before finally asking one of our hometown heroes, Jimmy James to play bass. Sarah had already moved across the country and Jimmy was the perfect man to round out our sound. Matt and I were on such a similar plane musically back then that at one point we nearly wrote the exact same song for each other to learn, coincidentally.

ST: The press I read about you guys all describes you as having a very New York sound. Did you have this particular sound or a different concept in mind when starting out The Mandates?
Brady: When we first started out I think my playing was influenced by a lot of 70’s bands, though not exclusively from New York. Of course we were in love with The New York Dolls and The Ramones and Television and Blondie and all things CBGB so I think if our sound is “New York” it was because of our profound appreciation for that scene. That said I think we took as much influence by the U.K. and L.A. bands of that time, and even more so by contemporary Portland acts like The Exploding Hearts and The Nice Boys and The Clorox Girls. I think it was listening to those Portland bands and their incredible songwriting that got me really fired up in the beginning.

ST: As influences, you listed overpriced pizza. Please explain.
Brady: In Calgary, it seems like everyone leaves the inner city after about 6 or 7 pm to go back to the suburbs where they live. I think it’s for this reason that most districts shut down early and late night eating is awfully hard to come by. Lack of competition in the after-hours pizza market has led Calgarians to be forced into paying over double what you’d pay in cities like Vancouver or Montreal for a late night slice, not to mention it’s usually cold and crusty and you might as well eat some garbage. Frustration and discontent with the very underpins of urban life is the basis for any great Rock n’ Roll band.

ST: And speaking of delicious eats, Discorder actually compared The Mandates and your music to a pizza. Do you feel this is an accurate description of your music as a food dish or do you fancy yourselves as some other tasty edible treat?
Brady: I really enjoyed reading that piece. I think that’s a fairly accurate comparison, especially considering the sheer number of pizzas consumed during the year and a half that I lived with Matt. We had a stack of pizza boxes in our kitchen that was taller than me. We called it “Pizza Mountain” and it got too big so I had to move it outside.

ST: What other than music and pizza influences your songwriting? Books, movies or anything like that ever inspire a Mandates song?
Brady: Most of our songs come from life experience I think, or more likely just daydreams. There’s one called “I Stayed at the Arcade” about a girl who is really good at playing Centipede, I think that’s the closest thing to pop culture inspiring one of my songs so far. There’s also a song called “She Gets Her Kicks from Terry Six (Not Me)” about trying to play like Terry Six from The Exploding Hearts/Nice Boys in order to win over a babe. I guess we also have a song called “Daggers’ Girl” that’s a reference to the 1986 skateboard flick “Thrashin’”.

ST: You recently released your Self Titled debut LP earlier this year. Where was it recorded and are you happy with the finished results?
Brady: We recorded it with our friend Ryan Sadler who also did our previous 7”. He had a pretty cool studio in his basement and we learned a lot from the recording process this time around. We decided we weren’t completely happy with the mixes we had come up with so I got a hold of Pat Kearns in Portland who has done records with Exploding Hearts and Nice Boys and Clorox Girls and many more amazing bands, and he mixed and mastered it for us at his studio, Permapress. I had done a record with him in 2008 and I was really happy that he remembered me well, and was interested in doing a mix for us. We were really pleased with how quickly and efficiently he nailed the final sound we wanted.

ST: If you guys could tour with any band/musician from times gone by, who would it be and why?
Brady: I would probably have to go with Blondie, so I could meet and then marry Debbie Harry.

ST: I don’t like using the term “guilty pleasure” because I don’t think anyone should be made to feel ashamed of anything they like. However with that being said, what do you listen to that you think a lot of fans may be surprised by?
Brady: That answer is probably career suicide, but I think people might be surprised how broad our appreciation of genres extends. Jimmy listens to Top 40 all the time and a really awful new song will come on the radio somewhere and he knows every word and it blows my mind. Matt likes some Reggae and Ska and I like traditional folk and maritime music. We all like Taylor Swift.

ST: What music have you unleashed on the world and where can people go to hear it or buy it?
Brady: As The Mandates, we have a 7” vinyl called “Take You to the Dance” from a few years ago, in addition to our self-titled debut LP that was released earlier this year. Find everything available free for streaming at http://mandates.bandcamp.com and buy it from that website to support the cause.

ST: What does the band have in store for us in the near, or not so near, future?
Brady: We just recently finished recording what will be at least two new 7” records (out in Spring, 2014) and we’re recording a new LP with Pat Kearns in March 2014, hopefully on shelves by the fall. We’re off to the Fall Down/Get Down festival in Vancouver next month and we hope to do some international touring in the Spring as well!

Kurt Baker Is Here!

In 2010, Kurt Baker released an EP called Got It Covered where he introduced the world to his greatest influences by covering their music. This didn’t feel like a covers album though. Kurt turned the volume to 11 and cranked out tunes by power pop titans The Nerves, Joe Jackson, The Vapors and many more. He played those songs with such gusto and gumption I had to hear more of his songs. That same energy continues to electrify piece of music he puts out. I often ask the people I interview if there’s a certain song or album they put on to help them get out of a bad mood. For me, Kurt’s LP Brand New Beat has been permanently added to that list.

This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on January 8th, 2014

Interview by Jay Castro

Shock Treatment: You were born in Portland, Maine, where you still live today. What was it like growing up there? I live in Arizona and Maine is a place I really want to visit before I croak. I imagine rocky shorelines, foggy cold breeze, and lighthouses, just what I see in pictures, movies and such.
Kurt Baker: Hey there! Maine is great, it’s pretty much like the pictures. They don’t call it VACATIONLAND for nothin’! We’ve got scenic shorelines, big moose and awesome fishin’. I actually went way up to the north wood this summer and went fishing with some buddies. We caught some HUGE fuckin’ fish, lots of Coors Heavies were had and even got into a confrontation with a beaver. Maine really has it all. People think that we are Canada and we almost might as well be. In terms of music, it’s kinda off the map. I was really surprised when Bad Religion came to town because usually all we get is String Cheese Incident hippie fest hacky sack bullshit. There is a lot of that thanks to PHISH and their big festivals they throw up here. I tend to ignore that kinda stuff and it’s fairly easy to find great music in my hometown. Portland is the biggest city in Maine and it’s where I’ve spent my whole life up until now. Musically, we’ve got a very very rich scene. There is something for everybody from Stoner Rock to Hip Hop to free form polka. Lot’s of good venues throughout. They come and go, but we’ve still got Geno’s Rock Club. Portland used to be a much more gritty town. The Old Port was not unlike Hamburg, Germany, where the Beatles got their start. Along the cobblestone streets you had rowdy sailors, junkies, whorehouses and GREAT rock clubs. Those days are kinda gone and replaced with resort hotels and high end restaurants. This town is looking more and more like some gentrified suburb in Brooklyn by the day, I can’t stand it! However, that’s just me being a grumpy old local. Maine is nice. Come check it out sometime, we will eat lobsters!!!

ST: What or whom inspired you as a kid to want pick up a guitar and write songs?
KB: When I first heard the Beatles album “Rubber Soul” when I was around the age of 5, it be came extremely clear in my mind that my whole reason for being alive was to play songs. It seems kinda tacky, but we all have those moments when everything makes sense. You’re like “Holy shit, this is totally new, but I totally know it and this is what I’m going to do no matter what”. My five-year-old self had these thoughts rolling through my head when I first heard songs like “The Word” and “You Won’t See Me”. I mean I was so friggin’ adamant about doing music and performing on stage that I convinced a few of my 1st grade buddies to perform “Can’t Buy Me Love” at the school talent show. We dressed up like the Beatles and had mini guitars. “Ringo’s” dad made a fake drum set out of a home beer brewing kit. We did the performance and people really dug it. I can remember it really well. My memory is already totally screwed up and foggy, but I can still remember the feeling of being on stage and having people react to the performance. We were just lip syncing the song, but man I got the itch! After that there was a long time where I just couldn’t find people that were into the idea of starting a band. I guess everybody was just too young to take it as seriously as I wanted to. I jammed around with my cousins; we had a little group for a while. We never played shows, and I couldn’t really play guitar but I had ideas in my head of songs. I must have been 8 or 9 and me and my cousins out in Wisconsin would sit around a piano and come up with songs. It was kinda like the Partridge Family, except we didn’t have a rad fuckin’ psychedelic bus, just a couple cases of soda pop and an out of tune piano. One tune was called “Missing You”, it was a real simple tune, but I can still remember the melody. I don’t have any brothers or sisters but my cousins are kinda the closest family I have. We would always listen to the Beatles, and then newer acts at the time, like the Cardigans and Green Day’s “Dookie”. By the time I got to middle school, I was starting to get into punk rock and, yes I will admit it, Ska music. Not that real deal rocksteady shit, but the dumb stuff like Reel Big Fish. I have a special place in my heart for those bands like Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger, but oh man those were different times when I was younger! Great memories. I pretty much picked up the bass because it was the only thing near me at the time. My mom’s best friend had a son that was a real troublemaker. He was always out getting chased by the cops, calling in bomb threats to the high school, smoking dope. While he was out doing that, I would go over to their house and play his bass for hours. He had tons of Victory Records hardcore CD’s, but also I guess he must have been a closet Ska fan, because he had those albums too. I would pop a Reel Big Fish or Bosstones CD into the player and play bass along to it. Ha ha, oh man.

ST: Your music has timeless power pop themes coursing through and through. I hear a lot of 1980’s Power Pop influence in it. The new 7” Girls Got Money B/W Yeah? Yeah! sounds to me like it has a touch of 1970’s Glam thrown into the mix. Am I totally off the mark here, are you a fan of say T-Rex, Sweet, or New York Dolls?
KB: You are spot on. I’m a big Glam Rock fan. Those records sound incredible. The drums are huge; the guitar is sounds like tons of chainsaws and lawnmowers exploding! Its dirty rock n’ roll music with a sort of bubblegum glean. I love the appeal. Groups like The Sweet and Slade are at the top of my list of favorite groups. New York Dolls are a groundbreaking group. Hell, even that old pervert Gary Glitter really has some incredible recordings. Joan Jett covered like 4 or 5 Glitter tunes on her first couple records. I kinda went back and did my homework and realized that those songs I was lovin’ on Joan’s records were originally singles by the Gary Glitter the Child Diddler himself. If you can get over the fact that some of those Glam singers and celebs, i.e Jimmy Savile, were the absolute worst kind of sex offenders, those tunes just rip. Take a song like Barry Blue’s “Hot Shot,” that’s like some kinda fucked up Octoberfest anthem. The movie “Beer Fest” should have used it. When I got a LP last year by the Italian band Giuda, I was blown away. The thing was recorded a couple years ago and it sounds like 1974. Those guys GET the sound of Glam and how it’s directly related to rock n’ roll music. A song like “Girl’s Got Money” was originally written as a Rockpile sounding song, but when I got that Giuda record, the decision was made to make it more Glam sounding. Even the early recordings by the Oi band Cock Sparrer are totally Glam influenced. Their cover of the Small Faces “Whatcha Gonna Do About It” was a big influence on “Girl’s Got Money”.

ST: You started up your own recording label Collector’s Club Records a couple years ago, what led you to that decision?
KB: Collector’s Club came out all the frustrations my bandmate and label co-owner Geoff Palmer and I were having with other labels putting out our records. My old group the Leftovers did not have a great relationship with our label, which I would also release some albums on as a solo guy, and we still continue to have issues. This label was no way a major label, but they also weren’t a bedroom label, who the Guts and the Leftovers had been working with prior. They had a nice office and stuff. The Leftovers had some high hopes, but it didn’t pan out. We didn’t have control over our music after it was released. Geoff and I were talking and we realized, hell, we really appreciate smaller one-man labels wanting to release our records, but let’s be honest, this is not THEIR music. They might care about it a lot, but nobody is going to give as much of a shit as we do about our own products, so why not just release em’ ourselves. We were both sick of not knowing how many records we were selling, you know. I could go on and on and on, but starting Collector’s Club Records was the right decision. We are a small label, and we really don’t have the capability to do much more except release records by our close friends and ourselves. The most important and also gratifying thing about having CCR is that we see where we are shipping records, who’s buying what and where. It’s an amazing feeling to know and see the outcome of all that hard work we put into the making of the music and releasing of the albums. The best thing to is that we know that we aren’t going to fuck ourselves over. “Brand New Beat” was originally released on CCR on digital and CD, but then we were able to license out the record to 4 other labels internationally. I can’t talk about labels without mentioned my friend Ryan at Jolly Ronnie Records. He really runs a kick ass label, and he’s probably one of the best guys I’ve ever dealt with when working with a small indie label, so I always ask him for advice and we’ve worked together on releases. I wish more label owners were like Ryan!

ST: Your famous motto “Have a good time all the time” seems to be a theme with your music, that’s for sure. Is this a personal motto as well?
KB: Oh hell ya. I mean, it’s pretty much impossible to have a good time ALL the time or is it? I think the best thing you can do is be positive. Our world is pretty screwed up, and who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow? We all get bummed out every now and then, but if you catch yourself and turn it around you can honestly have a better outlook on life. We are all here for some reason. I think mine is to promote positivity through Rock N’ Roll, gummy bears, and twelve-day coke binges! Ha, I’m not being entirely serious, but you catch my drift. Rock N’ Roll music is about feeling alive, being in the moment. If you’re gonna be a Deb Downs, it’s gonna get you nowhere. Nobody is going to want to be around you. Well, that’s what I think. So many people get off on negativity they don’t even realize it either. Sure, it’s real easy to be bummed out all the time and make others around you feel just as bad, but how is that making any progress in humanity? It’s not! Have a good time all the time, and put out the good vibes towards others, you’ll get it back too. I’m a big believer in Karma. Treat others the way you wanna be treated. All that “Life Is Good” t-shirt stuff, yadda yadda yadda, pass me a beer and put on that Motley Crue record dude!

ST: Speaking of good time music, I was recently reading an article in a magazine that said that out of all the forms of art music has the potential to change a person’s mood the fastest. Do you agree with this and if so, what music do you put on when you need a good time booster?
KB: I definitely agree with that. Take a good painting or something; you really need to look at it. Digest what makes it artistically so awesome. If it’s not some nude painting of a bunch of girls eating fruit, I can see how it might take a bit longer for it to change your mood. Once the music enters your ears it goes straight to your brain. It’s got a weird effect on people. I’m not sure how much we, or just me, really know about what music does to us, but it seriously has a strong effect on the way we act as people, our emotions and how our day can be completely flipped around if we hear a certain song. I was dating a girl that used to listen to Joy Division NON-STOP and all she would do would be bummed out and eat chocolate. I often thought about mentioning to her that maybe if she wasn’t listening to such depressing music all the time, she’d be a lot happier. I can’t pinpoint or describe accurately what exactly this feeling is, but when you first discover a record that truly blows your mind, it’s better than any other high, natural or artificial, on the planet. You become consumed with these types of albums. You wanna live in them. It doesn’t happen all the time but every now and then you discover a record so goddamn awesome it can have the power to totally change your entire year. That’s some crazy shit! Music is the best. Oh, I still gotta answer the last part of your question. Usually I put on the Andrew W.K “I Get Wet” album.

ST: What music do you listen to that you feel would really surprise Kurt Baker fans?
KB: I’m pretty vocal about all the weird shit I listen to. Whether it be ABBA or the best 80’s hair metal band on the planet, KIX. Ace of Base “The Sign” is really a super great electro-reggae record. I dig Claudine Longet, she was a smokin’ hot french chick but was bat shit crazy. Made some really spooky pop records. I don’t think it helps that she murdered her husband, a famous skier. She got off scott free! There is a great radio station that broadcasts from an island nearby Portland. They play pop music from the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Old sounds taken directly from 78 records. I love that music, and the lyrics are so far out. I’ve got a pretty open mind when it comes to music and I’m a firm believer that a good song is a good song. If Mumford and Sons actually wrote a good song I’d probably be a fan, but I’m still waiting for them to do that. Not to get off topic and rant some more, but this whole Folk Americana Indie music movement really grinds my gears. As a rock n’ roll and pop music guy, obviously the last thing I care to see is a bunch of dudes in suspenders playing mandolins. It’ s just not appealing to me, and I’m trying to understand why the majority of music listening folks eat this bung up. Maybe it’s a popular genre now because it’s kinda like a direct response to the Emo/Punk/Pop stuff that was pretty big in the 2000’s. Even that was a response to Rap/Rock of the late 90’s. My buddy Dan James and I wear talking and it seems that every musical movement and genre is a direct response to the past. The best example being Punk Rock and New Wave. Grunge was a response to Hair Metal. But what do we have now? A bunch of assholes looking like they are camping out at Gettysburg for vacation.

ST: Following you on Facebook, I notice you are a pretty hard working dude. It seems you play shows a lot and you regularly release records that never skimp on quality. I was watching that Jay Reatard documentary Better Than Something and he was talking about putting out releases and writing and recording so much music because he felt he only had a limited amount of time before the well of creativity ran dry so to speak. Do you follow a similar philosophy regarding your music?
KB: I’ve yet to see that documentary, though I’d love to check it out. I don’t think I agree with Jay on that though. One of the most important things as an artist is to at the very least entertain the thought of changing what you do. Change is inevitable, and part of the fun of creating music is trying new things. If you feel like you aren’t creative anymore, expose yourself to new things maybe travel someplace new, read some different books, hang with people you normally don’t hang out with. As a musician I’m constantly trying to expose myself to different ways and walks of life, to see what turns me on and turns me off. I can kind of understand that when you are younger, your eager to create and make as much music as you can. I often catch myself thinking, “Oh snap, I just pretty much re-wrote an old song” and getting a little frustrated. Writers block happens all the time, and when you get older more things come into play that can take away from your output as an artist, but ones ability to be influenced and harness creativity to create should never run dry. It’s only if you want it to. A guy like Nick Lowe pretty much reinvented himself from a class A roots rock power popper to a shamaltzy smaltzer, but the guy still writes and releases quality music. He just had to change it up a little. I’ve been playing in a lot of groups recently and it’s opened me up to new ways to thinking about how I approach music. The last couple years I’ve been working with an old Portland, ME rock n’ roller named Kip Brown. He’s 100% no bullshit rock n’ roll through and through. I’ve learned a lot from him. Just playing in his group has made me want to try new styles, simplify a lot of things, get to the core of what the music is all about. You can learn a lot from your peers and mentors!

ST: You played in the Pop Punk band The Leftovers from 2002 to 2010 (roughly) and have been doing the solo Power Pop records pretty much since that. You have been carrying the Power Pop banner into battle pretty high for a while. Do you ever feel like you may have painted yourself in a corner musically? Like if one day you said “I wanna work with those dudes in the Mars Volta” but can’t because you’re the prince of power pop and what would people think?
KB: The Leftovers always kinda had an idea that what we were doing wasn’t very popular at the time outside of the pop/punk circuit, at least here in the States. We always would say, “We’re to punk for pop, to pop for punk!!” We saw a lot of bands around us change with the times and get modest success because they started a Screamo band or something close to that. That wasn’t our style though, we wanted to write music that we absolutely loved, and no matter how “hip” it was. I’m very proud of the records the Leftovers made and at its core it’s really “power pop” music played by a teenage punk band. Once I went solo, the songs came out as straight up Power Pop. I like wearing skinny ties and love the genre to death, especially the late 70’s and early 80’s golden era stuff. Unfortunately, it ain’t ’79 anymore and the reality is that Power Pop is the most accessible not accepted music in the pop music realm. If I wanna make music for my entire life, which I intend on doing, I’m going to eventually have to ring up, for example, a guy like Blag Dahlia and say “Let’s do a Blast Beat Surf album.” You just gotta grow and try new things and try to expose yourself to new listeners. I have no problem carrying the Power Pop banner because I love it, and always have though. I also don’t think it would make much sense for me to try and make another straightforward power pop record like “Brand New Beat.” My music at it’s core will always have the elements of what makes Power Pop what it is, but I also feel like I have the freedom to try something new. Maybe my next record will be more influenced by 60’s garage, or maybe I’ll do a 70’s disco record, or maybe I’ll do a NWOBH album. I could also do an album with all those genres mixed on to one. I probably won’t, but I don’t feel any pressure by anybody to stick to one genre and continue to fly the power pop flag forever, and I’m not cornered musically. Whatever music I do make I will love and stand behind 100%, no matter what kind of genre it is. You gotta be sincere and love what you do. Right now for me it’s Power Pop, so into battle we go!

ST: If you could assemble the ultimate Kurt Baker Band, the Avengers of the Kurt Baker Bands if you will, consisting of any musicians living or not, who would you include in this group?
KB: Well, I really gotta give some props to the guys that play in my group right now. I’ve been very very lucky to get to work with such great and talented dudes. We always have a blast no matter what. BUT, if I had to make the ultimate band... i’d definitely want Dan Vapid in the group. I’ve always been a huge fan of him, and over the last few years we’ve become good friends and worked on a song here and there. His vocals are incredible, and he’s one of the best songwriters alive right now. I’d want Ace Frehley on lead guitar, Flo and Eddie from the Turtles singing and hitting percussion, Clem Burke from Blondie on drums. I would ask Paul McCartney to play bass, but he quit using pot recently so I don’t think he’d have a very good time at rehearsal! Sorry, Paul.

ST: What does the Kurt Baker Band have in store for us in the near or not so near future?

KB: Things are looking good for us! Always staying fairly active. We’re probably going to play a few shows in New England and then in December we’ll be over in Spain and possibly France for a tour. After the tour my plan is to stay in Madrid! I’ve wanted to move for a long time, and Boston and New York City just doesn’t do it for me. I love Spain a lot and have some wonderful friends over there, so I decided I might as well have a little adventure over there. It could last 3 months; it could be longer. Spain is a Rock N’ Roll country, so I’ll be playing lots of shows and writing and recording a new album. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’ll most likely have a good time all the time! Adios!