Cringer - Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo Chari Bari Ruchi Pip Peri Pembo

Really the main reason I posted this was so I could write 'Tikki tikki tembo no sa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo'. I always wanted to do that. Also I am a big fan of Lance Hahn (Lance passed away on Sunday, October 21, 2007, due to complications from kidney disease). I've seen both Cringer & J Church many times at Gilman St. & other Bay Area venues & parties. There are mixed feeling about this release, but Cringer was a true voice of their time & place when this came out. The Bay Area anarchist punk scene was just exploding at this time. Lance had taken over the vocal duties from Gardner who was now concentrating on bass. Derek Imose, from Hawaii was playing drums. Lance was now singing his own lyrics, bringing a much more personal delivery of his mix of political, personal, & sometimes impressionistic songs.

Cringer started in Hawaii in 1984 with Lance Hahn, Ed Tarantino, Gardner Maxam & David Carr. Lance & Ed had previously been in the straight edge/skatecore band, Scarred For Life. David had been in several different bands including the Vacuum & Devil Dog. Gardner had been in Hawaii's first hardcore band, the Sharx. This line-up played several times live on KTUH & recorded three demo tapes: a split with Scarred For Life, We Are All AOK & The Vinegar Tasters. They relocated to Los Angeles in 1986. The group got their major debut with a track from an early demo appearing on the Mystic Records compilation, We Got Party. Hooking up with Vinyl Communications in Chula Vista, this line-up recorded their first 7", Perversion Is Their Destiny.

David & Ed split soon after the 7" was recorded. Francis Sippin from Free Will joined on vocals for a short period of time. Simon Barry, who had previously played in the UK anarcho band Flowers In The Dustbin, joined on guitar. This line-up recorded the second 7", Zen Flesh, Zen Bones as well as tracks for the Exclusion compilation on Nabate, Metal Gives Us A Headache on Hippycore & "Cottleston Pie" for The Thing That Ate Floyd on Lookout.

Derrick Imose from Hawaii joined & Simon eventually split. Nigel Wong joined & the group recorded their first album, Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo Chari Bari Ruchi Pip Peri Pembo.

Year of Release: 1990
Label: Vinyl Communications VC-12
Genre: Punk

Tracklist:

Side Yin:
A Song about Hawaii
Russia
Sunday
Peace and Harmony
The Dumb Song
Anti Climax
El Salvador
Berlin Wall
Walk In Closet

Side Yang:
Two Friends
Just the Same
This Town
Take Back the Night (revisited)
Carmen
Sentient
Funk Song
Zen Hana Hou

Download: Cringer - Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo Chari Bari Ruchi Pip Peri Pembo
Download Size: 101MB (ripped at 320Kbps)

Levi & the Rockats - Live at The Louisiana Hayride

The Louisiana Hayride was a radio broadcast from the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday helped launch the careers of some of the greatest names in American country music, names that included Hank Williams, Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, & Johnny Horton. Elvis first debuted "That's All Right Mama" on October 16, 1954. He stayed with the Hayride for a year before moving on to sign with RCA Records & Colonel Tom Parker. The next big name to hang his star on the Hayride door was Johnny Horton. He remained a member of the Hayride until his death. On November 5, 1960, Horton was killed instantly in a head-on collision with a drunk driver on Highway 79 at Milano, Texas while he was returning home from a performance at the Skyline Club in Austin.

In November 1977, Levi Dexter & his band, The Rockats, made their debut at the Royal College of Art, within the shadow of The Royal Albert Hall. Johnny Thunders jammmed at the end of their set. The headliner band that night was the reggae band Steel Pulse. On December 26, 1977, Levi & the Rockats closed the “Boxing Day Relapse” concert at The Music Machine in London with Siouxie & the Banshees & Adam & the Ants, establishing them as the first neo-Rockabilly band to emerge from the burgeoning London punk scene. In March 1978, Levi records “Evil Minded Mama”, a duet with Jayne County & The Electric Chairs. They toured England, Scotland, & Wales together on the first ever Ted/Punk Tour. By May 1978 Levi had relocated to the U.S. to get an 'American Perspective', moving first to Los Angeles where they were welcomed by bands like X. On November 10th 1978, Levi & the Rockats made their U.S. debut at Max’s Kansas City in New York opening for The Cramps.


On July 14, 1979, Levi & the Roackats, a neo-Rockabilly band from England, newly transplanted to Los Angeles, became the first rock performers to play The Louisiana Hayride since Elvis Presley played there nearly 25 years before. This is the live recording of that historic show.

Levi & the Rockats are: Levi Dexter - vocals; Eddie Dibbles - guitar; Guy Hemmer - rhythm guitar; Smut Smiff - bass; & Dean Thomas - drums. The Rockats were the last act ever introduced by legendary emcee Frank Page, who had emceed the Hayride for over 30 years & who had introduced Presley in 1954. His introduction is the opening track.

Year of Release: 1981
Label: Posh Boy PBS-162
Genre: Rockabilly

Tracklist:

Side A -
Introduction by Mr. Frank Page
Rock-a-Billy Idol
She Ain't No Angel
Tired & Sleepy
Lonesome Saturday Night
Side B -
Room to Rock
Crazy Baby
Love this Kat
Other Side of Midnight
Note from the South.

Download: Levi & the Rockats - Live at The Louisiana Hayride
Download Size: 61.5MB
(Ripped From 28 yr. old PoshBoy Vinyl at 320Kbps)

The Wesley Willis Fiasco - Spookydisharmoniousconflicthellride

To many the late Wesley Willis will never be considered anything other than a novelty act, his music often reserved for when they need a quick laugh, rarely taking the time to reflect upon the meaning behind his bizarre lyrics. However, his music is important to me for much more personal reasons. My mother, like Willis, is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. It can be very difficult to understand those who have schizophrenia and the depth of the conflict that they must deal with. Wesley Willis is one of the few examples that we have of a person diagnosed with Schizophrenia, who was able to make a career as a successful musician, and share the inner turmoil that he constantly faced with the world. Willis' created music as way of dealing with his encounters with demons, which occurred mainly on the CTA bus lines in Chicago. Willis coined the term "Warhellride" to describe these frequent encounters. His approach to music was simple and crude, often dealing with obscene subject matter, and frequently sporadic in nature.

The majority of Willis' musical output featured only Willis accompanied by his Technics KN keyboard. Willis didn't actually play any of the notes heard on his solo work, instead he simply used the one-note autochord feature on his keyboard. A variety of different programs were utilized, although the bulk of his solo material consist of the same program being used extensively, with only slight variations in the key or tempo of the song. As a result, much of the music on his albums sounds very repetitive. Fortunately the repetiveness is made more tolerable by his outrageous lyrics and vocal delivery.

His lyrics http://ligamusic.com also usually follow a general pattern, although to classify Willis's lyrics according to any conventional rhyme scheme or meter proves difficult. Lyrics generally began with a verse: a four-line spoken stanza, usually consisting of statements about the subject of the song. This was followed by the chorus, which was simply the subject of the song sung anywhere from three to six times in a non-professional, "drunk anthem" type style. Then another verse and another chorus, followed by an instrumental bridge section, where Willis, who had taken to heart the advice he had heard that the ideal song length for radio play is two minutes and 50 seconds would push the "fill" button repeatedly on his keyboard, usually triggering accompanying sound effects. The song ended with another verse, a chorus, and the words "Rock over London! Rock on Chicago," a catchphrase from an hour-long WXRT radio show. It was often followed by a company or product's name and slogan. Each song would end with a different slogan. If performed live, "Chicago" would be replaced with whatever city Willis was performing in.

On a few occasions Willis collaborated with other musicians, with The Wesley Willis Fiasco being the most well known collaborative effort. The style of music was much different from Willis' previous solo material, as the Fiasco concentrated on more of a punk style. The band consisted of Willis on vocals, Pat Barnard on (Lead Guitar), Dale Meiners (Rhythm Guitar), Dave Nooks (Bass) and Brendan Murphy (Drums). They released only one studio album, Spookydisharmoniousconflicthellride (a reference to Willis's description of his schizophrenic episodes). The Fiasco toured with many bands, most notably Rocket from the Crypt, Lordz of Brooklyn, and Sublime. They also released a much sought after and hard to find 7" vinyl split with Sublime, as well as a split with Chicago's The Frogs

Due to conflicts between the Fiasco band's shows and Willis's solo keyboard shows, the band broke up while on tour in Ohio in 1997. Willis stated that the demons in his head worsened during the tour, causing him to constantly yell at the band. After the break up Willis went on to release a number of solo albums. On August 21, 2003, Willis died at the age of 40 in Prospect Heights, Illinois due to complications from chronic myelogenous.

The details of the life Willis lived are perhaps more interesting than the music he was able to produce, as I would assume would be the case for many who live with a powerful psychological disorder such as Schizophrenia. In life Willis was not only known for his music, but for his larger than life personality as well. He would often headbutt fans and random people that he met, which resulted in a large callus on his forehead, which can be seen in almost every photo of him in existence. He was also known for attending hundreds of concerts, where he sold the majority of his CDs face to face. At the time of his death, he had recorded over 1,000 songs but his total life savings were less than $200. Having sold out hundreds of venues across the country, the question still remains where all of his money went. Although Wesley is gone now, and his money remains missing, his legacy and music still remain for all to enjoy. Rock on Chicago... Wheaties, Breakfast of Champions!

Year of Release: 1992
Label: Urban Legends
Genre: Punk, Outsider Music

Music blog News http://allmusicnews.wordpress.com

Track List:
1. Get On The Bus
2. I'm Doing It Well On The Side Of The Rea
3. Pop That Pussy
4. Casper The Homosexual Friendly Ghost
5. I Can't Drive
6. He's Doing Time In Jail
7. Bar Is Closed, The
8. Jesus Is The Answer
9. Blood, Guts & Fire Trucks
10. She Loves Me Truly
11. Drink That Whiskey
12. Steve Albini
13. Steve Albini (reprise)
14. I'm Sorry That I Got Fat

Download: The Wesley Willis Fiasco - Spookydisharmoniousconflicthellride
Download Size: 96MB

These Arms Are Snakes/Russian Circles Split 12" EP

This is the first of a series of promo albums released for Record Store Day that I will be posting over the next few days. These Arms are Snakes is a post-hardcore band hailing from Seattle, while the members of post-rock group Russian Circles are natives of Chicago. Both bands are signed to Suicide Squeeze records, and are touring together at the present moment. This split EP was originally released to celebrate their European tour in November 2008, with only 1,000 copies being pressed on 12" black vinyl. 500 copies were sold on tour and 500 were available on Sargent House's webstore. It was reissued once again for Record Store Day, again limited to 1,000 pressings, only this time on 12" clear vinyl.

Year of Release: 2008/Reissued in 2009
Label: Sargent House
Genres: Post-Hardcore, Post-Rock, Math Rock
Bitrate: 260VBR

Download: These Arms Are Snakes/Russian Circles 12" Split
Download Size: 20MB

Phallus Dei - Pornocrates

As I promised several people, more Phallus Dei. If you want more info about the band, go here. Phallus Dei put a lot of time & creative effort into writing their songs. The payoff is an immaculate sounding & composed piece of musick. This is one powerful album.

"Monumental." On Pornocrates the line-up is the same as Cyberflesh.

Phallus Dei is: Oliver St. Lingam - vocals & sequencing; Mk. E - guitar, acoustic guitar, flute, bass, & keyboards; Joris Huijbregts - bass, keyboards, accordion, & sequencing; & Richard van Kruysdijk - drums, percussion, synthesizer, keyboards, guitar, & sequencing. Written, arranged, produced & performed by Phallus Dei.

Best music http://ligamusic.com

Year of Release: 1994
Label: Paragoric PA 06
Genre: Electronic Industrial

Tracklist:

Dog (Prologue)
On Aloneness
The Arising (A New Day Version)
Unguided Love
Pornocrates (Bloodlust a Go-Go version)
Insignificance
Ladyshave
The Outer Bone
Circles on Circles (Dreams ov Channel Five version)
Never to Believe (My Release version)
Veiled Statues
Dead Birds Floating
Current Lullabye (Epilogue)

Download: Phallus Dei - Pornocrates
Download Size: 109.9MB

Kris Ellestad: A mix of Fleet Foxes and Beirut?

I know, I know, it sounds inconceivable!! But could it be true? We got a lovely and personable email from one Kris Ellestad, a Canadian from the prairies of good ol’ Calgary (S man, where you at?)

Ellestad is a special treat for all of us, because well, he is into this whole digital age mp3 download thing that spurs artists to fame, and he really gets it:

I’ve been writing and recording songs for about 8 years now, though I wouldn’t say I began to write songs I enjoyed playing until about three or four years ago. During that time I put together short ‘albums’ of material from distinct periods in my life, including some live shows, and shared them with family and friends. Some of these I liked more than others, and they ended up on a single-page website I made, all for free download.

In case you misread that last sentence, I’ll repeat a part of it. “…and they ended up on a single-page website I made, all for free download.” Yeah, he’s hip.

But the thing is, we obviously wouldn’t discuss an artist who simply has free music up unless we actually liked the music. Crazy notion right? Ellestad’s music is simple yet beautiful. With a very earthy sound, Ellestad meshes overriding strings and percussion with a mix of what sounds like bells and flutes, depending which track you choose. His voice is eerily reminiscent of Zach Condon’s and the music is lo-fi all the way to its core. The material that I’m sharing with you here is sort of the new direction Ellestad is taking with his music - that direction being a good one. After such a ringing endorsement, how can you not take these tunes for a test run?

Kris Ellestad - “The Secret” [MP3]

Kris Ellestad - “November Steppes” [MP3]

Kris Ellestad - “Acorn” [MP3]

Pick up the other 64 tracks for free download here. Thank you Kris Ellestad.

Miss COED: Misty Dawn

Yowza - you better hold on to something before checking out this chick, or you might pass out from horniness! Ridiculously sexy blond bombshell, Misty Dawn takes looking hot to a whole new level. The 27-year-old Dallas, Texas bikini and glamour model has appeared in countless publications, including the 2006 Miss Bikini and Auto Bodies calendars and was a Playboy Cyber Girl. Excellent http://ligamusic.com