OUR LADY OF NAPALM - Tape - 1999

   I don't know too much about the history of this SF band because I never saw them and I wasn't around during their short existence. This band teamed the punk upbringing of Ivy (drums....also in LOS CANADIANS, MIAMI and many more) with the stoner rock / metal stylings of Janis (guitar) and Erika (bass)(also in HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE and LOST GOAT respectively) and they made music that fell somewhere between those styles. They recorded these ten songs, which I think were intended for an LP, but it never saw the light of day...probably because everyone had so many other projects going on. I don't even know the song titles. Song #4 is a great Ivy-fronted song that ALLERGIC TO BULLSHIT (Ivy's later band) tried to work into their repertoire, but it didn't really pan out. There's also some great stoner-style jams, full-on rockers and a DEAD BOYS cover. Get into it.

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This tape is from the shelves of Ivy Jeanne.

   Ivy went on to sing for ALLERGIC TO BULLSHIT, BLACK RAINBOW and MIAMI. Just like every other drummer who has ever lived in the Mission, she once played drums for SHOTWELL. Erica also played in LOST GOAT and AMBER ASYLUM. Janis has played in PAGAN BABIES (with Courtney Love and Kat from BABES IN TOYLAND), HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE, STONE FOX, L7 and in PINK's (yes, that PINK) backing band. She also has one million hilarious stories that I cannot repeat here. 

HICKEY - "The Ultra Heliocentric Underworld Of The Most Evil Terrifying and Naked Cult Of Hickey. Rare and Unreleased, Unstoppable Rock!!" - 1998 - Tape

   If you're at all familiar with this blog and many of the artists that I've shared on it, I don't need to tell you why HICKEY is important. I discovered punk through THE MINUTEMEN and THE RAMONES. It was because of HICKEY (along with BLACK FORK, BIKINI KILL and 50 MILLION) that I became fiercely attracted to the DIY aspect of punk that keeps me going today and their influence still informs just about every musical decision I make. It's kinda ridiculous.
   I copied this tape off of my friend Ivy way back in the late 90's. Initially, I was not that into it and preferred the band's piles of 7" EP's and their unfuckwithable LP. As time marched on, the songs on here kept creeping into my life and many of them became some of my favorites by the band. HICKEY was known for having a remarkable live show. Sometimes, they played all of the "hits" back to back. One time, I saw them and they just kinda jammed for a long time. It wasn't bad. The 3 members became an intuitive, unstoppable unit that was not afraid of experimentation and going out on a limb...even when it failed. I think some of that comes across on this tape.

  The tape starts off with a couple of unreleased (?) songs and then delves into the band's epic cover of MANOWAR's "Kingdom Come". That song originally appeared on the Probe Records compilation "Death To False Metal", but this is the original six-and-a-half minute version with an extended jam (p.s. it rules). Next up is a weird version of "Last Nite on the Planet" with Shell (I think..it sounds like him. Edit: It's Aesop) making pro-wrestler comments throughout. The next few songs are by HICKEY MILLION, who you can read about if you follow that link (and yes, you can download the file on that page when you get to it). The rest of the side is filled with jams, cover songs (SQUEEZE, DAVID BOWIE, GUNS N ROSES, STOOGES), alternate takes and interviews with teenagers at a live HICKEY show. Side 2 (or for you, song #21) kicks off with a radio promo and goes straight into a live set on KDVS in Davis, CA. There's more jams, a really cool duet with Matty and Allison Wonderslam, more cover songs (AVENGERS and SABBATH) and that damned trumpet they stole from VOODOO GLOW SKULLS all those years ago.
  I'm still constantly impressed by the amount of stuff that this little band recorded in their brief lifetime...and how much of it is really great! I mean, there's still more, although the further you dig, the sadder it gets. Drug addiction is not pretty, folks, so let's just stop here and enjoy this great band and all the years of inspiration they have injected into our lives.

Download HICKEY Oddities

(Just to warn you, this is a large file. 230mb)

Thanks to Ivy Jeanne for the source tape (mine is thrashed).

Thanks to Aesop for giving the green light and drumming on these recordings.
Thanks to MRR for digitization help.

Thanks to Chubby, Rizzler, Wade and Shell for making it out alive.

Thanks to Matty Luv for everything. R.I.P.

...and since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, why not check out this live HICKEY set from V-Day 1997?

PASCAL'S LONG LOST MIX TAPE - 2007

   In my last year of living in Bloomington, IN, I made a whole lot of mix tapes for friends, both locally and far away. I would sit in front of the stereo for hours, laboring over 90 minutes of the perfect mix of punk and weirdness. Then, I would hand deliver it to someone's door or drop in the mail at the post office just 5 short blocks away. It took moving across the country to California to realize that I was utterly and morbidly depressed. I don't think that making mix tapes is a sign of depression (far from it), but I do think something is amiss when one is putting all of their free time into tape making or drinking endless pints of whiskey while flipping the same DEAD MOON record over and over.
   I think there is a certain beautiful power in mix tapes that can not be replicated by a mix CD or a play list. Many, many people have explained this in the past, so I won't bore you with the details, but there is something to be said for having to listen to each song in real time as you make the tape.
   Most of the tapes I made for folks eventually reached them...except for this one. I made this fairly eclectic tape for my friend Pascal in Paris and then never, ever mailed it to him. I took it to work and listened to it a lot. I carried it around in my bag with intentions of dropping it in the mail for him. I even flew to Europe, went to Paris and hung out with Pascal but forgot to take the tape with me. So, Pascal if you're reading this, I apologize. If you send me your current address, I'll mail you this tape. I mean it this time.
   In the meantime, I think this is a great tape with styles flying all over the map. Seriously. Have you ever gotten a mix tape that segues from UKE OF SPACES CORNERS to LIMPWRIST? KATRA TURANA to TULSA? OI POLLOI to JOHN DENVER to OMAR SOULEYMAN to ARTIMUS PYLE? BUNKER HILL to MEN'S RECOVERY PROJECT? It makes sense. I like this tape a lot. Maybe you will too.

Download Side A

Download Side B

All music on here is vinyl to tape. No digital.

THE STRANGER STEALS - Demo - Tape - 2000

   I don't really know too much about this Little Rock band of train hoppers and hard rockers, but I do know that they're great. I used to wake up and blast their song "Insectiuroid Inspector" in the morning while cooking breakfast. It's actually possible that I was rocking the very tape that this was ripped from, since my memories are from the time Erick lived with me in Chattanooga (it's his tape). Speaking of Erick, here is what he has to say about THE STRANGER STEALS...

   "Holy shit! Alan Disaster (CHAOS L.R.), Louisa (FOXY EMMA) Lloyd and Jeremy join up with Little Rock's wildest frontman, Victor Wiley for this shreddin' rock.Victor was in countless Little Rock bands, most notably UPTOWN PROPHETS OF THE ARMAGEDDON and sadly died way too fuckin' young of a heart condition in 2007. I saw them with JACK PALANCE BAND at the Dustbin in Portland and it blew all of our minds. We had glitter stuck on everything for weeks too."

   My friend and breathtaking comic book artist, Nate Powell put out a CD of the band in 2001 which may or may not be available (my suspicion is the latter) from his now-defunct record label, Harlan Records. Turn this up and let their fucking huge guitar riffs melt your mind.

Download THE STRANGER STEALS

This tape is from the collection of Erick Lyle.

You can find a very touching write-up about Victor right here.

R.I.P.

FREIGHT TRAIN - "Fire It Up and Crank It" - CD - 2004

   Some of my regular readers may wonder, "Yo Harvester, what the fuck is up with this hard rock shit?" Well, my friends, sometimes you wanna let your hair down, drink a beer and listen to some completely non-ironic butt-rock. FREIGHT TRAIN started in 2004 and put out this 5 song EP. They played all over the Bay Area and even opened up for UFO one time. Let's be honest though...did I actually listen to this in my life before yesterday? Well, no.
   The real reason I am writing this is to give praise to their drummer, Sam Adato. Besides busting out killer drum beats, rocking an honest mullet in a 2012 SF and having a true love of loud rock n roll, Sam also runs one of the best drums shops I have ever been to in my life right here in San Francisco. Tucked away in a little corner of SOMA, Sam Adato's Drum Shop is a little hole in the wall filled to the brim with new and used drum equipment. In the middle of it all, Sam stands behind his desk tinkering with old hardware, shooting the shit with customers or drumming on the desk to super loud rock music blasting on the stereo. He offers completely non-judgemental service to everyone who walks in the door. I can't tell you how many times I have taken the biggest piece of shit cymbal stand or broken lug into him and he has not batted an eye. If he doesn't have the part you need (which is rare), he'll usually offer to "rig something up" for you for free or cheap, which I can appreciate as someone on a tight budget. I took a broken bass drum pedal in once and he fixed it with spare parts sitting around and charged me $2 for the 10 minutes it took him to fix it. Also, I've always seen him use the utmost patience when dealing with customers that don't know the first thing about drums. For example, once a mom was in the shop getting a part for her son and she said something like "It's that big drum that you hit with your foot? What is that thing called?" I was facing away, rolling my eyes and looking through the drumsticks. Sam patiently explained that it was a bass drum and then went on to tell her about the different tones you could get with different tunings. The woman left the shop thanking him for his patience and expertise...and she didn't even play drums.
    I know from talking to my female drummer friends that the drumming world (as is most of the rock music world) is such a dude party. It can be difficult as a woman to walk into a music store and get good advice from any dude without being talked down to. It can also be really intimidating as a new drummer, not knowing all of the names of every little piece of a set. I have recommended Sam's shop to numerous female friends of mine and they always reported back that he treated them with respect and dignity. When my friend Sarah was buying a cymbal, she told him that she didn't know what she was looking for. Sam let her set up some drums in the store that were similar to her own and let her try out different cymbals until she found the one she wanted...then he knocked some money off of the final sale.. He's always been fair with people, as far as I have heard, and that really means a lot to me.
    So, download this CD or don't, but if you're in SF and you need some drum advice or parts, give Sam a chance. I just wanted to talk about him a little bit...to show that doing these little things really mean a lot to me.
Thanks, Sam Adato!

Free download no longer available by request of the band.

This CD is from the collection of Erick Lyle.