Interview conducted with Gee Strings guitarist Bernadette Shock Treatment: Hi Bernadette! Can you please tell me who’s currently in the band and what everyone does?  Bernadette: Hi Jay! In addition to the long-term survivors Ingenius Pop (Vocals) and me, Bernadette (Guitar), w e've had the current line up for three and a half years. Our spanish guy Curtis on Bass and Alex on Drums! Alex also played in German  60´s garage punkers The Satelliters  for many years . Great lineup …some people say it's our best lineup ever…you know the rhythm section in a band is really important…its not all about the guitar and singer . We really wanna try to keep this lineup together and record new songs next year. Speed Soul Racer by The Gee Strings Shock Treatment: What band made you want to pick up an instrument and learn how to play? How old were you and how did you discover this band? Bernadette: For me, I got my first records from my older brother, stuff by Status Quo, Alice Cooper, T. ...

After years of traveling through space and time punk rock has accumulated loads of useless barnacles on its underbelly making it slow, heavy, and nearly unrecognizable from its original form. A myriad of worthless musical offshoots that are parasitically feeding off of the punk movement have left people confused as to what that word even means anymore. In walk London’s Scraps. These three tattered young men have taken on the wearisome task of scraping these worthless elements from their music and are stripping down punk rock back to its fundamentals. By doing so, they have succeeded in resurrecting those exhilarating qualities other British groups like Eater and the Damned possessed back in the late 1970’s. Scraps have taken it back to where it started; making punk rock lean and mean once again. This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on December 11th, 2014 Interview by J Castro Shock Treatment: Let’s start out by telling me what everyone does in the band: BOBBY: Scraps ...

Ever hear some tired old morons making fools of themselves droning on that punk rock isn’t the same as it was back in the old days? Well those boring geezers are right, in a lot of ways it’s better now! Folks that start punk bands nowadays have the benefit of chipping away at bits of different scenes from decades of recorded history. Take Los Angeles’ Rough Kids, they add their own unique zest to an already volatile mixture of punk rock and it makes for a distinct explosive mechanism with a blast force capable of permanently etching the shadows of the people in their audience on to the surrounding walls. Punk rock may not ever save the world but it can help tear it down so we can build a new one on its ashes and Rough Kids makes the perfect demolition device. This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on November 24th, 2014 Interview by J Castro Shock Treatment: Please tell me who’s in the band and what you all do to keep Rough Kids the toughest gang on the block: LUIS: dr...

Crusaders of Love aren’t just an excellent band that take tips from past rock n’ roll royalty like Marc Bolan, Johnny Thunders and Alex Chilton, they’re a force that struggles to preserve a time in rock n’ roll history when music mattered, a time when people took pride in their record collection and actually knew a little about the band that was emblazoned on their T-shirt. I may be preaching to the already converted and it might sound like a terrible cliché in the world of underground rock n’ roll, but evidence seems to show that this ideology is dying in popular culture. Art has been reduced to “entertainment” and consumed like a fast food cheeseburger. Music like what the Crusaders of Love play deserves to be savored. Only then will your soul receive the sustenance it needs and deserves to carry on. This Interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on November 7th, 2014 Interview by J Castro Shock Treatment: Let’s start out with some introductions. Who are ...

The Smoke Bombs smash and grab fistfuls of British Street Punk in one hand and early 1980’s Southern California hardcore in the other. They then take it to an old abandoned warehouse downtown where they mix it up and add some secret ingredients. They then stuff some ping pong balls full of it and create a device that emits a dense, hard hitting brand of punk rock into the atmosphere immediately upon ignition. They hurl these handmade concoctions at unsuspecting audiences and it causes the foundation beneath the arid desert floors to quake. So remove any loose articles of clothing and strap your shoes on tight, The Smoke Bombs have arrived and the room you’re in is about to turn upside down! This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on July 21st, 2014 Interview by J Castro Introductions! Please tell us who you all are and what’s your function in The Smoke Bombs: LAYTON: Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar BRANDON: I’m Brandon Meunier and I play guitar in The Smoke Bombs. JASON: Ja...

San Francisco’s Richmond Sluts play a blend of New York Dolls style glam, Question Mark and The Mysterians garage with a cut of mid ‘70’s Jagger/Richards strut stirred up and served flawlessly on a shiny silver platter by someone wearing a feather boa. What I like most about this band is they can crank out some wildly catchy party anthems as well as songs that delve deep into the darkness of human emotion. I’m glad some bands realize the importance of not only having great music for when the party’s in high gear but for the mornings after as well. This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on May 16th, 2014 Interview by Jay Castro Please introduce yourselves and how you contribute to the Richmond Sluts. SHEA ROBERTS - vocal / guitar CHRIS BELTRAN - bass JUSTIN LYNN - organ / vocal KC KOZAK- skins JESSE NICHOLS - guitar Where are you all from originally and how did you all meet and decide to play music together? SR: I’m from SF and Chris was from southern California,...

Imagine a 747 Jet Liner flying over The Atlantic at night in heavy turbulence. You’re flanked between Johnny Rotten on your left and Henry Rollins to your right. Suddenly the cabin pressure drops and the plane begins a sharp descent straight down towards pitch black ocean waters. Everyone assumes it’s the storm’s doing, but then you and your aisle mates look out the window and in between lightening flashes you catch the profile of that goblin from the Nightmare at 20,000 Feet Twilight Zone episode straddling the engine fiendishly tearing it to shreds. This somewhat describes what I experienced the first time I heard Cleveland’s Plain Dealers. They take ‘70’s British punk and tack it to a molten slab of 80’s American hardcore. And what you’ve got is some of the meanest, snottiest, white knuckle punk rock either side of the Atlantic has heard in quite some time. This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on  Interview by Jay Castro Shock Treatment: Please introduce...

Gathered together in September of 2012, Sex Crime is a swashbuckling synth-punk Rock N’ Roll faction causing a commotion in Portland, Oregon. This band possesses all the greatness of it’s members former bands: the raging guitar hooks of The No Talents, the manic energy of The Epoxies and unrefined street punk power of The Rickets, just to name a few. They put it all in a big black fiery cauldron, add some black magic spells to it, and pour it all over wax for you to enjoy. If you are a fan of any of these guy’s and gal’s former bands, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t be, you will dig Sex Crime in a major way. If you’re not, this is a great place to start! This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on March 13th, 2014 Shock Treatment: Please introduce yourselves and how do you contribute to the Sex Crime pogo machine? Celia: Ryan: guitar, vocals, Cecilia: keyboards, vocals, pogo, Holly: bass, vocals, bang bang Tim: stand up drums, vocals The band is based in Portland but wh...

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, 201...