Radio Days are a power pop trio hailing from Milan, Italy. They have been on the scene since 2008, playing in their current line up since 2015. They are the perfect mix of Beatlesque melodies and 70's punk energy; easily combining the sounds of early Elvis Costello, the Rubinoos' vocal harmonies, Big Stars' scratching determination and the Knacks' catchy melodies.
Their latest release is a 3 tracks single 7” vinyl out since a few weeks on Spanish label Snap! Records. The A-side and leading track,‘I Got a Love’, is catchy as hell and contains an infectious riff that could come straight out of Carnaby Street. The lyrics speak of a love we all desire and can relate too, if even on a superficial level. This track is taken from their forthcoming album "Rave On!" which will be released on 21 May 2021.
The 2 tracks on the B-Side are exclusive to this release: ‘Baby Blue’ is a piece of nostalgia, channelling Beach Boys harmonies and featuring Spanish singer Lia Pamina on vocals but the real fine surprise here is Radio Days' take on ‘In The City’. It gives the song a whole new dimension and is worth alone the price of admission.
Hailing from Siena, Italy, Proton Packs is a four piece including Matt - Drums, backing vocals; Alex - Guitar, backing vocals; El Leon Blanco - Bass; Brodie - Guitar, Vocals.
Their latest full length "Paradox" was released some months ago on vinyl by Mom's Basement Records and on Digipak Cd Version by Bad Man Records
1) For the viewers of this blog who would not know you, What would you tell about Proton Packs to introduce yourselves? How long are you guys together as a band? Who is playing what instrument in the band nowadays?
We're an Ecto-Punk band from Tuscany, Italy. Matt and Alex live in Siena while Brodie and El Leon Blanco live in Arezzo. Ecto-Punk means punk rock with a sci-fi vibe. We've been together for 16 years, now.
Matt and Alex play drums and guitar respectively and are there since the beginning. Brodie was the next to join, around 15 years ago. He plays lead guitar and sings. El Leon Blanco joined around the time we were writing Space Opera (our second album) and we haven't changed line-up since then.
Matt used to sing most songs in the early days but now Brodie does lead vocals on all of 'em 'cause he kicks ass and we didn't like the "two singers" approach too much to begin with.
2) About the latest full length record "Paradox", what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a "live" in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?
We always record all the rhythm tracks (drums, bass and rhythm guitars) together in the same room at the same time with headphones and all the amps in separate booths. It works for us because, if you're prepared, it saves time and adds to a more natural flow of the songs. After that, we record guitar leads and licks and then vocals. Once the bulk of the recording is done we add a few effects, percussions or little synth or keyboard parts if the songs require that. We don't really do overdubs but just minor edits if a take is otherwise good and we just need to fix some small thing.
3) Do you use the nowadays digital recording technology or do you guys only work with analog machines in analog studios?
The last three albums were all recorded digitally but through a huge 32-channel '96 Soundcraft DC2000 analog mixer. We think for our kind of punk rock, digital recording works just fine, as long as you don't indulge in over-editing or tampering.
What really makes the difference is the way you play your instrument. In punk rock you don't need to be a virtuoso, you just need to go in the studio well prepared for the songs with the right kind of muscle-memory.
Plus digital recording is quicker and cheaper, if you do it right. We wanna give a shout to Freddy from the Leeches, who is our producer and works at New Mood recording studio! He's the best!
4) Is there a main composer in the band or is everybody involved in one way or another?
We all write songs and then we cherry-pick the best of the batch. Sometimes we write separately at home, sometimes we write all together during practice. The arrangements are all done collectively.
That's when we add maybe a muted-guitar part, a break or change the song structure. On Paradox probably 60% of the songs are Brodie's and the rest is by the other guys.
5) What is your favorite topic/topic that comes easily when you write a new song?
Normally it will be something about sci-fi, hard boiled/espionage or horror, to a lesser extent. The idea might come from a novel, a movie or sometimes even from a wordplay but, even when we get inspired from another work, we always try to put our own spin in it and take it someplace else. Song titles are very important for us: if we have a good title, we probably can scramble together a decent enough tune.
6) To what kind of music did you listen to as teenagers and does it still influence your today work? What were your favorite bands as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have a influence on your own work today.
If we had to name just 3 bands, it would probably be Ramones, Misfits and Screeching Weasel. They're the bands that the four of us will always love. It's really hard to play in a punk rock band and not be influenced by these giants.
7) Do you have a new video on youtube featuring a track from the LP??
We actually have 2! One is for "Man With the Eyepatch" and the other is for "Retrofuture". They were both done by Richard Sliw Deagen Frith from Laughin' Jula's Record Reviews! He's great!
8) What can concert goers expect at a gig of Proton Packs? Are you playing any famous cover songs?
We try to keep it short and sweet with little to no stage banter between songs. We usually play the more recent stuff we put out 'cause we like to think it's better than the older songs, ha! We don't play too many covers, but we might throw in the occasional Screeching Weasel or Lillingtons hit from time to time!
9) Are there any bands in world today you consider yourself close to?
Vapids (Jimmy sings on Real Identity), Mugwumps (Chris sings on Three Holes In My Head), Zoanoids, Black Russians, Ratbones, Livermores.
10) What are the plans for 2021 as far as Proton Packs are concerned?
We're constantly writing new songs and we're hopefully gonna do one or two splits with a couple of great bands. Let's keep our fingers crossed!
11) Anything you wanna add?
If you wanna make good albums, throw away 75% of the songs you write!
Today, Bruce Moody consider himself one lucky power pop survivor from the original heydays of an era that has long since passed.
Over the years, his musical adventures have taken him on an amazing journey through the music maze to places he never dreamed of going and it allowed him to meet many of his musical heroes. Highlights include chatting with Paul McCartney on the phone, doing shows with Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, A Flock of Seagulls, Sparks, and also bowling with members of The Go-Go's and Blondie. He also worked with Buddy Holly’s producer and manager Norman Petty at his studio in Clovis, New Mexico where Holly recorded his greatest songs. In fact, Norman Petty was the one who inspired him to write more songs and to release his first record which turned out to be the "Fresh Out!" EP.
This CD album "Forever Fresh!" is a collection of Bruce's power pop tracks from 1979 to 1986, many unreleased until now. This album has 23 songs, all of which have been meticulously digitally remixed and remastered exclusively for this release. The deluxe gatefold package contains liner notes and a website address for lyrics, the players on each song, recording dates and studio information.
01) For the viewers of this blog who would not know you, What would you tell about you and your musical background to introduce yourself?
Although I actually started playing music in bands as far back as 1968, I seem to have had the good fortune of always finding really good musicians to play with and that’s always made me a better musician. After playing in many copy bands for years in the clubs, I became interested in writing my own songs around 1977/1978.
I started recording song ideas at home on a four-track reel-to-reel tape recorder in order to perfect the songs before going into an eight-track professional studio that costs money. In 1979, I recorded a group of five or six songs at Amphion Studios in Houston. I didn’t really have a band at the that time so I asked some of the best musicians in town to help me record the songs. Although Amphion was an eight-track studio, I still had lots of little ideas for guitar lines, harmonies and percussion things I wanted to include in the songs.
I ended up playing and singing about nine different parts on every song, including my normal stage instrument of bass guitar. Three of those six songs are on the Forever Fresh! album. There’s a musical biography on my website BruceMoodyMusic.com, along with lots of photos, song lyrics and details of the players on each song.
02) Can you also introduce the other musicians who participated in the recordings? Are those the guys pictured on the inner sleeve of the CD? What instrument were they playing? Were they part of your usual touring band or were they guns for hire?
> Wow! You have to remember that these songs range from 1979 to 1986 and I played in four different bands during that period. The main players on the songs on the album are Rick Richards on drums and harmonies, Danny Kristensen on guitar and harmonies, Keith Lancaster on Keyboards, Doug Hines on keyboards, Terry Carolan on guitar and harmonies and Richard Morant on guitar and harmonies. There’s a complete personnel listing of who played what on each song on my website. Danny, Rick and I have always been the real nucleus of all my original music bands, which includes both in the studio and live shows. The guys on the inner sleeve of the CD are Danny Kristensen, Keith Lancaster, Rick Richards and myself.
03) About this 23 songs collection "Forever fresh", what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a "live" in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?
All of the above, really. On the recordings where time and money were big considerations, we’d try to only use two tracks, play the basic track together live in the studio, in a nice stereo spread and then use the remaining six tracks for overdubs. I would sing the lead vocal, sometimes during the live take but on a separate track, just in case I screwed something up and had to fix it later without making us have to do another entire band take.
On some of the earlier songs, I sang most of the harmonies, mainly because I already had the blend I wanted in my head and I knew the parts. On those songs, we’d usually end up bouncing down four tracks of vocals down to two tracks, in stereo, and then there would be four more tracks left to put down a doubled lead vocal, each on their own tracks, and then two more tracks to do overdubs, like an extra rhythm guitar with a lead part on one track and either a keyboard part or percussion part, like a tambourine or something, on the last available track. If we’re rehearsed well, I like having the band play live together on the main tracks. You can really feel the energy in the takes on this album where we do that! That said, I’m playing all the instrument and doing all the vocals on “I Feel Strange”, “The Closer I Get” and “Missile Envy”.
04) If you were to record new material in 2021, would you use the nowadays digital recording technology or would you keep working only with analog machines in analog studios?
That’s a great question. Probably some combination of both digital and analog. It really comes down to feel. Sometime a digital drum part can sound so stiff and regimented that it dehumanizes the feel of the song. When you play with a live drummer, there’s a slight ebb and flow to the song that’s more natural. Of course, playing with Rick Richards for all those years really spoiled me! The guy was always rock solid, unless you asked him to play a sloshy hi-hat on the back beat during the chorus or something. Transferring basic analog tracks to a DAW works fine, though. I also prefer to actually play keyboard parts in real time, all the way through with the track, verses looping or copy/pasting all the parts.
Recording the overdubs in the digital world gives you so much instant flexibility as far as tones and effects go. It’s a very convenient medium and there are some great tools and plug-ins out there. In some instances, though, to my ears, what’s left of them anyway 😊, there can be a certain “warmth” missing sometimes that digital tools just cannot duplicate, especially in the guitars. You just have to experiment and see what sounds best to you, I think. Some of the digital plug-ins for vocals do nicely replicate that vintage warm tube sound you get from the old analog compressors. Terry Carolan turned me on to the Abbey Road mixing console plug-in and we used it every song on the album during the mastering process.
05) How would you describe the music you're playing?
I like to start out with a nice melody and lead vocal so that I’m working with an actual song verses writing something off a digital drum beat with a repetitive guitar or keyboard riff or something like that. There’s nothing wrong with that. I just like coming up with a nice lead vocal part with an interesting melody first and then adding some cool harmonies. That’s what inspires me when I’m writing. Although I don’t have an actual band right now I still like to work with song ideas as though I’m writing for a band.
06) What is/was your favorite topic/topic that came easily when you wrote a new song?
There’s always to “go to” subject of relationships and other personal life experiences. I like to write about different things, sometimes putting the real meaning or inspiration cloaked between the lines, so to speak. But sometimes not. I do like to play with words and I take great pride in the lyrics. There’s a sort of different sounding song for me on the album called “Secret Place”, which is about me dealing with depression.
I literally wrote the entire song in about 15 minutes; words and music. It’s been cathartic for me to just lay that out there. Maybe it’s helped someone else, too. I don’t know. “Secret Place” was featured in an Australian independent movie a few years ago. There’s also a song on the album called “Above Suspicion”. I’d been to a classic movie double feature back in 1983 that showed both “Above Suspicion” and “Double Indemnity”, both starring Fred MacMurray. I ended up using the title “Above Suspicion” for the song, but I used the subject matter is from “Double Indemnity”, which I thought was fun!
07) Do you have a video on youtube featuring a track from this collection?
There’s a very simple still images only video for “At The Rock Club” on YouTube right now. There’s also a video for “She’s A Liar & A Spy” out there somewhere, but I have one of those awful 1985 shag haircuts in it! Thankfully, the copy I have isn’t very good, as it was probably saved from an old VHS tape. It might be best to leave that one in the vault!
08) Way back in the days, what could concert goers expect at a Bruce Moody gig? Were you playin' any famous cover songs during the gig?
Our shows were always very high energy with lots of three and four-part harmonies. Having played in so many bands over so many years, I’ve played a ton of copy songs ranging from The Beatles, of course, The Cars, The Police … There’s even a sound check song on YouTube somewhere of my shortly-lived band Artisan playing “Yours Is No Disgrace” by Yes!
09) Are there any bands/artists in USA you considered yourself close to musically speaking, back then or now?
1960's Top 40 radio in the US was very cool! Back then, The Beach Boys harmonies were, and still are, fantastic! I’ve always liked The Association, Chicago; bands who wrote great melodies with lots of vocals. These days, I love Elbow, especially their song “Lippy Kids”. The way they approach their song arrangements and instrument parts is fantastic! There are a bunch of bands whose songs I really like these days. But the tunes stream by so fast that I forget to look and see who it was! From a pure songwriting aspect, I really like Fountains of Wayne. When their bassist and chief songwriter Adam Schlesinger died last year from Covid, I did a video tribute to him and the band with massive help from Terry Carolan, Suzu Highmarts from The Highmarts and Atsushi from the band Gorilla. The video is on my website.
10) To what kind of music did you listen to as a teenager? What were your favorite bands as a teenager? Name 3 bands/artists that you consider still have an influence on your own work.
The Beatles were probably the cornerstone of my early musical influences. I instantly fell in love with The Who, in particular Pete Townshend’s writing and John Entwistle’s bass playing. I also loved listening to Cream, Chicago, The Byrds and Hendrix when I was a teenager. I actually saw Jimi Hendrix in concert on May 9, 1969. I even met him before the show! There was something about that guy that was quite other worldly. I remember watching him play live and hearing notes coming out of his guitar that he didn’t physically seem to be playing! Beyond him using a fuzz effect or a wha-wha pedal, sometimes there would be a few extra notes ringing out from those Marshall amps, almost like an overdub! He covered a lot of ground on his guitar. The lead in “Waterfall” is an example of that.
But I still love Pete Townshend’s writing to this day. There’s such a great body of work to listen to. I got to correspond with John Wicks from The Records over the years and ask him things about how certain songs were recorded, how they did the harmonies, etc. I also got to tell him how much I loved his songs before he died. That was really special for me. Elvis Costello is another one of those writers whose songs are great to listen to and dissect. For pure power pop pleasure, The Outfield’s Biggest Innings album is hard to beat.
11) What are the plans for 2021 as far as Bruce Moody are concerned?
Later this year, Meanbean Records is releasing “At The Rock Club” on a vinyl compilation album called Standing In The Shadows - Volume One. Also, Terry Carolan and I will be recording some new stuff together, remotely of course due to Covid, probably starting this spring. There are those who’ve been wanting me to come play in Japan for the past few years. I would LOVE to do that!
12) Anything you wanna add?
Just to say thanks, Eric, for keeping us aging power popper’s music alive!
More than 14 years after their break-up, THE MIGHTY GORDINIS are back with a full instrumental album.
Reduced to NICO on drums and Hammond and Mighty RICKY on guitar and bass, the duo comes up with one of the most interesting instrumental records heard in years.
The newly recorded album, "Sounds from a distant galaxy", displays some very cool surf tracks, but also more adventurous tunes like "Five Miles South of Mumbai" or "Grabuge à Khartoum".
The album also features a long time stage favorite of the VICE BARONS, the well know track "SHOCKWAVE" initially by Zorba and the Greeks.
Japanese label WATERSLIDE RECORDS reissued THE WIMPY'S first full length album DO THE WIMPY'S HOP! with no less than 7 bonus tracks! In their own words, THE WIMPY'S play the perfect soundtrack for an American teenage movie i.e. they are mixing the oldies Rock & roll vocals and harmonies with a power pop/70's punk energy. Time for this blog to talk to bass player Hirocky:
1) For the viewers of this blog who would not know you, What would you tell about The Wimpy's to introduce yourselves? How long are you together as a band? Who is playing what instrument in the band? How did you come up with the name of the band?
We are punk rock & roll band, The Wimpy's from Osaka Japan. Our line up has been same from the beginning, Hirocky (Bass, Chorus), Sobby (Guitar, Chorus), Yummy (Vocal & Guitar) and Annie (Drums). We love punk rock music and oldies music equally and want to combine together.
We started this band as The Wimpy's around 1995-1996. All members went to the same college and we belonged to the same music/band association in that college.
I (Hirocky : Bass & Cho) was in other two bands before The Wimpy's started. One of them called "Gas 3" which was Rip-Off record styled killer garage punk and we released one single on Skippy Records. And the other one was called "Bug Sneakers" which was more Lookout record styled pop punk and we also released some singles.When these bands broke up, I asked Sobby (Guitar & Cho) to start a new band together.
He was in other band called The Rabies which was more Screeching Weasel/The Queers style punk rock and they also released one single on Skippy Records but they were not so active. I asked him to join as guitarist because he likes pop punk but also he also likes more rock & roll style. We started to play as a trio with our friend as a temporary drummer, but we soon realized we needed another member who could sing well as a lead singer for more pop style and also play backing guitar because we want to play several styles songs, but we wanted to develop our own unique sound with keeping pop punk rock style, so we asked Yummy (Vocal & Guitar) to join. He always hung around with us and we knew he was a very good singer. In the end we needed an actual drummer, so we asked Annie (Drums) to join. He was playing drums in Bug Sneakers with me before.
About the name, we did not have an actual name until our first show, so we had to decide it. Sobby picked up this name because of the former singer of The Queers, "Wimpy". Also we like the meaning of this word too. A Couple of years later Wimpy actually came to Japan with The Queers for some shows here and we met and he gladly gave us his permission to use this name!
2) About your full length record "DO THE WIMPY'S HOP!", what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a "live" in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?
We always record our music at the same recording studio in Osaka called "Studio A" with the same recording engineer named Mr. Nakajima. Their recording charge is very cheap, so it was very helpful for poor punk rockers when we recorded this 1st album. We recorded the basic instruments part as "live" in the studio, We were not so mature players and we still did not have any digital recording equipment like pro tools, so if somebody made a little mistake, we had to do the song all over again. However I think we did all songs in one day. We added the lead vocals and choruses and some additional guitars part. We always record all the vocal/chorus part twice and put them together, but we try not to do anything that we cannot do on the stage because so many times we got disappointed with some bands because they don't or they can't play or sing their own music the way it is captured on record, you know what I mean??
3) Do you use the nowadays digital recording technology or do you guys only work with analog machines in analog studios?
We are not so picky about that. We only want to record songs with some decent quality and charge. First time I recorded songs at a studio, it was still recorded on reel tape, and it was very tough because we could not make any mistake. So nowadays digital recording help us a lot, but also even young not matured bands can record their songs like some very experienced bands, so as my opinion it makes music not exciting, especially punk bands. Sometimes young and not mature punk sound make some miracle.
4) Is there a main composer in the band or is everybody involved in one way or another?
Mostly Sobby writes songs, and I write a few songs, but we arrange the songs all together at the studio.
If we have it difficult to decide about some ideas, mostly Sobby or I will make the decision. Also we are Japanese and English is not our native language so my wife, Beccee is American so she helped us with English from our 2nd album.
5) What is your favorite topic/topic that comes easily when you write a new song?
Definitely heartbreak/love like 50's or 60's rock music and some irritated situation we are facing in our life. Actually our 1st demo, we sang about some Ramones related fake story, but Chris from Surfin' Lungs suggested that it would be better for us to sing more our own real stuff, so we changed our style.
6) To what kind of music did you listen to as teenagers and does it still influence your today work? What were your favorite bands as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have a influence on your own work today.
My first purchased CD was "Tribute to Randy Rhoads" by Ozzy Ozbourne when I was 11 years old. I think I was a metal head as a teenager. Definitely it does still influence me today because the first time I watched the video of a G.B.H show, I thought their music was very good but their live performance was very boring. Their audience seemed to be more aggressive and passionate than the band itself. Mostly metal bands perform in a more exciting way on stage, in my opinion, so I still like doing head banging or dancing around on stage and that's the influence. 3 favourite bands as a teenager and still have a influence on me : probably Misfits/Anthrax/The Wildhearts
7) Do you have a new video on youtube featuring a track from the CD?
We don't have it now . But soon we will have movie clip with our Muffs cover song for my friend youtube channel.
8) What can concert goers expect at a gig of The Wimpy's? Are you playing any famous cover songs during the gig?
Fun & Smile! If you will know the songs, you can enjoy to sing along. We do some cover songs, but maybe they are not very famous. These days we do alot "Little Wild One" from movie called "That Thing You Do", "Work Out" of Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumbler and also "Beat Your Heart Out" by Zeros. Before We covered "She's The One", "Hawaii", "Loyola" and "You Make Me Crazy".
This month we recorded a Queers cover "I Met Her At Rat" for the Queers tribute Vol.2 which will be released by Council-Pop Records & Pro Rawk Records sometimes in the future, and also a Muffs cover "End It All" for my friend's youtube channel.
9) Are there any bands in Japan today you consider yourself close to, musically speaking?
Piggies (They released their music only Japan, but Waterslide will release their new album soon, so they will be known more internationally), Supersnazz (I really miss them!), Charlie & The Hot Wheels (Real Surf punk rock & roll band but they released their albums only in Japan)
10) How would You describe the music you're playing?
Soundtrack for American teenage movie. Or Rock & roll music with oldies heart and punk rock engine. We are trying to present music in Pop Punk Rock & Roll style with mixing oldies/power pop/70's punk.
11) What are the plans for 2021 as far as The Wimpy's are concerned?
We will release a new album. The recording is finished. So it will be released this summer.
Also we will join the Queers tribute, but I am not sure when will it be released.
12) Anything you wanna add?
Thank you for interview. I wish people will check our songs on Spotify/Youtube/Apple and if you will like us, please buy CDs anywhere you can buy.
Hailing from Malmö, Sweden, comes this new and very promising young band named MOM (Donny, Luke Frank and newcomer Spike).
Their first full length, "Pleasure Island" is filled to the rafters with crunchy guitars and catchy choruses. It is certainly one of the best debut albums ever released in 2020. Watch out for these guys, they are going to be huge in the years to come. And remember where you read it first!
So it was time for yours truly to have a very interesting and enlightening talk with guitar player Donny.
1) For the viewers of this blog who would not know you, What would you tell about you and your musical background to introduce yourself? Can you also introduce the other members of MOM who participated in the recordings?
I'm a product of my dad’s record collection. The apple doesn't fall that far from the tree. He has always had a great taste in music: Dwight Twilley Band, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop... You name it! I got my first guitar when I was about 13 and I started to write songs as soon as I learned a few chords. Those first songs were kind of crude and childish, but I had a lot of fun. It was a magical time. It wasn't until a few years later that I got to play in a band that I started to take songwriting a bit more seriously. We played a lot of punk, at least it sounded punk, you know. Me and Luke go a long way back. He used to be the tough guy at our school, messing with all the kiddies. As for me and Frank, we used to be neighbors. He lived upstairs from me so I heard all this music blasting through the roof. That's really how the band started: one day I just knocked on his door and off we went! We had a common interest in songs, how they function and why some songs feel better than others. We used to show each other ideas and stuff, sort of a Lennon-McCartney relationship but with a lot less talent. Come to think of it, I guess that we were more like Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons: Just two teenage boys having fun, thinking that we were the coolest thing around. I don’t know, it’s not that long ago, but I certainly don’t see myself as a “Paul Stanley” type of person. Not anymore.
2) About MOM's debut full length album "Pleasure Island", what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a "live" in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?
Well, we recorded the album with a dude called Harry. I think that he and Luke knew each other from way back. Funny guy, but not much of a talker. Anyway, the album wasn't recorded in a professional studio, but in Harry's cramped basement. He took care of the recording, mixing and mastering. Because we didn't have a drummer at the time (which we have now and we call him Spike!) I had to do the dirty work of playing drums on most of the tracks. I believe Frank played drums on Suzie (Use Me) as well as on our version of The Miracles' "The tracks of my tears" (a single b-side). And because we recorded the album during the summer it was a warm, sweaty and vicious affair! I cannot remember exactly, but some tracks were performed with the drums and bass playing together in real-time to a click-track, but most of the tracks are mostly overdubs. The main reason is that I don't really have the physical prowess to be able to play a whole song all the way through. As I said, playing drums is hard work. Still, we strive not to make too many edits specifically on the drum tracks. Other than that, the album was a bliss to make; we had a few beers and played loud guitars. Luke, being the kind of guy he is, also spent time experimenting with different instruments to, I guess, enhance the soundscape: playing cowbell with a banana, putting kazoos through fuzz pedals, running half-naked around the basement trying to capture the sound of bare skin. Harry happily obliged. Some of it ended up on the record, I think!
3) Do you use the nowadays digital recording technology or do you only work with analog machines in analog studios?
I don't really know, it’s all magic to me. Analog microphones. Analog instruments. Computers. Robotic players playing like machines.
4) How would you describe the music you are playing? If I were to call it PowerPop à la Big Star, would you agree with this label? Are you proud of it or do you consider there is way more than that?
When someone asks, we usually just say guitar-driven pop music. It tends to paint the best picture of what we do. Powerpop, or simply rock ’n’ roll, is probably a good description as well although it certainly is up for debate as to what exactly merits those labels. I mean, something we realized after releasing this record is that people often compare us with a lot of bands we never even heard of. As for the Big Star comparison, we would be thrilled if anyone thought of our music as being similar to Big Star's in any way, but we don't necessarily draw that line ourselves. I grew up with their first two albums (#1 Record & Radio City), and I guess that it sometimes shines through in our music, but it's not necessarily by design, or that I'm aware of it myself. Obviously, the music is sort of centered around hooks; everything from melodies to specific drum fills and arrangement choices. The focus is always on the song and how to put it together. And we never jam! Mostly because we suck at it, but also because we don't have the luxury to spend too much time on an idea that hasn't already been worked through in the privacy of one's lonely bedroom. We live in different cities, you see, so we have to spend our time with care.
5) What is your favorite topic/topic that comes easily when you write a new song? I'm not sure that I have a favorite topic. Songs usually just come to me, and I'm not really in charge of when and how. I'm not really that aware when I write lyrics, but I know that it's more important to get them to sound good rather than what they contain. However, some of the usual stuff that I end up writing about are the same things that any sensible songwriter ends up writing about: Difficult love, loneliness, boredom, having fun, wanting to have fun, etc. But then again, I don't know what topic the next song I'll write will deal with. I have a big heap of new songs that I'm currently working on. Some of them have lyrics, but most of them don't. We'll see, maybe the next album will be all about riding horses and eating ice cream.
6) Do you have a new video on youtube featuring a track from the newly released LP??
Unfortunately no. We made a quick and silly video ourselves for ”Tonight” when we released it but have yet to find someone more professional interested in making a video for us. But it’s definitely something we want to do in the future, probably for a new release. We’ve noticed we don’t look that good on film. Luke can’t seem to behave on set either, he gets too excited. Guess we’ll have to work on that.
7) What can concert goers expect at a MOM's gig? Are you playin' any famous cover songs during the concert?
It will definitely be great fun and, hopefully, loud! All those years of hula-hooping have made me half-deaf. Some of us have been playing together for a long time so I think we sound really tight as a group. Since the world has been on more or less lockdown for a year we haven’t been able to take this outfit on the road at all, so we are very stir-crazy at the moment and eager to play. Those first gigs, once they come, will surely be something you don’t want to miss out on. Because the album is just over half an hour long we feel compelled to take on a few songs to cover, which is fine because there are so many good songs out there - powerpop or not! Maybe we should do one by ABBA, I don't know. We'll see.
8) Are there any bands in Sweden today you consider yourself close to, musically speaking?
To be honest, not really. There are a few good rock bands but they tend to be either more punk or "rock" than we are. Most contemporary pop bands in Sweden play some kind of mellow synthpop, or indie rock, which tends to be either too serious and/or sad for our taste. Still, there are a few good bands out there. We like our pop music to be fun and heavy on guitars. Now when I think about it, the band The Wannadies is probably the closest bet. Catchy tunes, a great look. And fun! Their song "So happy now" is great.
9) To what kind of music did you listen to as a teenager? What were your favorite bands as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have an influence on your own work today.
Oh man, I listened to a lot of bands that can be considered either shit or awesome. This is a tough one because I got into The Replacements, Teenage Fanclub, and Fountains of Wayne way later, which are the bands that I sort of connect the strongest to nowadays. Other than Big Star I also listened to a lot of Matthew Sweet. 100% Fun is my favorite album by him. I guess that I also have to say Tom Petty. What a guy! Too cool for school. And the songs! Quality stuff. That kind of rock’n’roll music keeps coming back to me and maybe, unconsciously, it influences my own music. You are what you eat. Nonetheless, it brings me great joy.
10) What are the plans for for 2021 as far as MOM is concerned?
Hopefully, 2021 will be good to us. 2020 was good for us too since we released a debut record on a whim that recieved way more attention than we might have hoped for starting out. In hindsight we were kind of stupid releasing an album in a year like the last one so first off it would be really nice to be able to do some touring this year. We’ve also got a ton of new demos that we want to do something with. Just what exactly is undecided but there will definitely be new music coming this year, that is all I can say for sure. We’ve also found ourselves a drummer so it’s great to finally be able to rehearse a lot together this year.
11) Do you guys love your Moms?
Of course, we’re not monsters! Although, it does cause some tension having to give 20% of our revenue to them for the copyright of using their names… By the way, is "mom" a title you get? A role you play? Anyways, we adore our moms, even though they always tell us to make our beds!
12) Anything you wanna add?
Yes! We just got Pleasure Island on CD’s available for purchase through our Bandcamp and we’re working on getting it out to record stores. It will also be available on vinyl through Wanda Records in Germany by early March this year. If your readers like our music then buying the album helps out a great deal for planning a future tour. And thanks for the interview!
Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts MUCK & THE MIRES (Muck: Vocals and guitar), John Quincy Mire (Bass), Jessie Best (Drums) and Pedro Mire (Lead Guitar) are playing their unique brand of Garage Rock since 20 years now and they have albums produced KIM FOWLEY and JIM DIAMOND.
Their latest full length, "Greetings from Muckingham Palace" again produced by Jim Diamond has been recently released on DIRTY WATER and it is probably their best stuff so far.
So it was time for yours truly who is a fan of the band since day one and beyond to have a very interesting talk with Evan Shore (aka Muck)
1) For the sake of the argument, let's say that a very young viewer stumbles upon this blog for the first time and doesn't know who Muck And The Mires are: what would you tell him about the band to introduce the various members and also your body of work?
I’d say “Where have you been man?! We’ve been touring all over the world for like 20 years!” After shaming them, I’d proceed to let them know “Muck and the Mires have taken what the Beatles were doing at the Star Club in Hamburg and transported it to the stage of CBGBs. We’ve released 110 songs. Google us” Cause the one benefit of naming your band “Muck and the Mires” is you are guaranteed to be the first thing that comes up in a Google search.
2) About the newly released album, "Greetings from Muckingham Palace", what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a "live" in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs? What was Jim Diamond input in this recording?
We always record the band live and then overdub vocals and any additional tracks. It’s one of things that attracted us to Jim Diamond as this was his preferred method of recording. We’re a tight, loud rockin’ outfit and it's much harder to capture that energy when we are not all playing in the same room. The pandemic forced us to make some concessions when we recorded our EP “Take Me Back To Planet Earth” earlier this year, but Muckingham Palace was recorded before the pandemic and, after several delays, has now finally been released. We used to record at Jim’s legendary Ghetto Recorders studio in Detroit, but since it had closed, and Jim was living in France, it was more cost effective to fly him to Boston then for four of us to fly to France or try to cram in a recording session in the middle of a tour. And as a bonus, Jim got to experience one of our famous Nor’easter snow storms. We got stuck together in the studio for the entire weekend and never got show him around town.
3)As far as the recordings of this latest album are concerned, did you use the nowadays digital recording technology or do you still keep on working with analog machines in analog studios?
Both. We recorded the live band to 16-track tape and then transferred to digital for the overdubs. The best of both worlds! We rehearsed quite a bit for the sessions because there is little room for error when recording to tape. And there was not a lot of tape; the supply had run dry at the time and we had to use a reel of used tape for the session.
4) What is your favorite topic/topic that comes easily when you write a new song?
Love songs are always the easiest which is probably why there are so many out there. Just look at how many times people rhyme “heart” and “apart”, or my pet peeve, “girl” and “world” which don’t even rhyme. We’ve got quite a few songs that cover the topic, but we always try to put some effort into our lyrics whether it's the juxtaposition of of soon/late in “Too soon to fall in love, too late to turn back now” or using inside rhymes inspired by the great songwriters of the 20's and 30's. And while several of the songs on the new record are about girls, I am not sure that “Mint Condition” or “Messed Up Mary “ can really be classified as love songs. I don’t see anyone picking those as their wedding song. Although “Sunny Feeling” might make a good wedding song. It's a lot better than that stupid Ed Sheeran tune everyone was getting married to a couple of years ago.
5) To what kind of music did you listen to as teenagers and does it still influence your today work? What were your favorite bands as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have a influence on your own work today.
That’s easy. The Crickets, The Beatles and The Ramones.
6) Do you have a new video on youtube featuring a track from the LP??
Yes. We’ve gone a little video crazy during the pandemic. Since we are unable to tour, we decided the best way for us to be seen was to create music videos. We’ve done videos for half of the songs on the album; “Too Soon To Fall In Love”, “Cupid’s Not a Friend of Mine”, I’m Your Man”, “Strange Waves”, “Break It All” and “Sunny Feeling”.
7) Are there any artists in The USA today you consider yourself close to, musically speaking?
I don’t hear anything that sounds close to us on US radio. But we live close by to Aerosmith, The Barbarians and the band Boston!
8) You Started out with the Voodoo Dolls in the early nineties. Do you think it was easier to be in a rock'n'roll band way back in the 90's than it is now?
Well it depends on how you define “easier”.Looking back, the 90's was probably the beginning of the end in terms of achieving mainstream success playing rock music. But that doesn’t mean it was easier being in a band. No GPS or cell phones made finding the venue impossible. You had to physically mail cassettes to venues and then try to get someone live on the phone to get a gig. I remember the first time the Voodoo Dolls opened for The Ramones at the old Channel night club in Boston. Johnny Ramone (who I was friends with) got us the gig, but we still had to call the venue to get the soundcheck and load in info. But every time I called, the booking agent was on the other line. On my fifth try, the dude grabs the phone from his assistant and says “If you call here one more time you are OFF the show!” and hung up on me. So we ended up showing up at the club at like 11AM because we didn’t know what time to be there and didn’t want to miss sound check for the 3,000+ capacity show. The other difference about the 90's versus nowadays is that bands today will typically share their gear, and some venues even provide back line. But back in the 90’s everyone was playing out of gigantic Marshall stacks and big drum sets and SVT bass rigs and nobody shared their gear with the other bands on the bill. If it was a small venue, half the room was filled with a music store’s worth of equipment. It seems crazy now looking back at it. I think half the bands back then just wanted to get signed so they could have roadies!
9) You are the main composer in the band. For a new song, do you come at the rehearsal with a full demo with lyrics and music all worked out or is everybody involved in one way or another?
Muck and the Mires started as home demos I made which eventually got released on AMP records in Canada and Soundflat Records in Germany. So the live band was formed after the record came out and I’ve stuck with the process of recording demos of songs. When we worked with Kim Fowley I had sent him my home demos of 12 songs for our “Hypnotic” album. But when we got out to California to record, I discovered my package sitting on his kitchen table unopened. When we got to the studio, he reached out and handed me an acoustic guitar and said “Forget those demos…now play me your 12 BEST songs.” I’d get through maybe 10 seconds of a song and he’d yell “STOP! Next…” or “YES!” If he liked it. And he was right. We ended up replacing half the songs and ended up with a much better record thanks to him. Although, he initially vetoed the song “Hamburg Time” after hearing only 10 seconds of me muddling through it. I protested and enlisted the rest of the band to join in with me, and that performance secured its place on the album. So the moral of the story is, a demo can sometimes sell the song better than just the lone songwriter. And this also helps underscore the reason I surround myself with people who are better players than me. As flattering as it is when the band sticks to the demo version , it’s equally rewarding to watch the songs evolve and come to life as we play them and collaborate.
10) Since many years now you are DIRTY WATER recording artists. Is this the label that suits Muck And The Mires the best? And if so, why?
Indie record labels are like bands. They have their own followings and style and personalities. When Dirty Water and Muck met by chance at the roulette table of the Gold Coast Casino in Las Vegas it was definitely a gamble that paid off big for us. We hit it off right away in terms of musical tastes, sense of humor and work ethic.
11) What are the plans for 2021 as far as Muck And The Mires are concerned?
We are really hoping that 2021 sees a return to live music cause we are SO ready to hit the road.
12) Anything you wanna add?
Buy our new album. Buy our old albums. Don’t be like that kid in question one and wait five more years to discover us!
The Fleshtones are back with "Face Of The Screaming Werewolf", released on the great Yep Roc label. This blog being a long time fan of the band, the opportunity was perfect to finally have a chat with Peter Zaremba and Keith Streng. Here it goes:
1) For the sake of the argument, let's say that a very young viewer stumbles upon this blog for the first time and doesn't know who The FLESHTONES are: what would you tell him about the band to introduce the various members and also your body of work?
Peter Zaremba: Please let's not start by arguing. Probably many people won't know who The Fleshtones are, but by now it's a marvel that they don't. I can modestly say that we are the band that inspired the bands that they love. I'm Peter, I sing, blow the harmonica and try to play keyboards but don't try too hard. Bill Milhizer, ex of The Charades of Troy, New York has been our drummer since 1980. Ken Fox, the Canadian guy, formerly of The Raving Mojos and Jason & The Scorchers plays bass. Keith, please introduce yourself and tell Ratboy about our body of work…
Keith Streng: Hello, Keith here! I am the guitarist who had a house for the band to form!!! We play an exciting blend (Super Rock) Combining everything explosive and rhythmic with a dose of soul to go!!!
2) About the newly released album, "Face Of The Screaming Werewolf", what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a "live" in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?
PZ: I guess we were still pretty 'live' considering the alternative. We lay down a live 'basic' and go from there. I gotta say I started out with the idea of keeping over dubs down to a minimum, but things change once the tapes rolls. Michael joked and called us the most edited band in the world. We do have a habit of 'whittling' our songs, usually because we already have ideas in our heads of what we want the song to sound like. We don't just 'see what happens' much in the studio -that can happen on stage.
KS:Live track by track blow by blow and then we top it off with sugar and spice (Some overdubs)
3)As far as the recordings of this latest album are concerned, did you use the nowadays digital recording technology or do you still keep on working with analog machines in analog studios?
PZ: Gee I don't remember, I know Michael uses a computer but I like all styles of recording, it's what you do with them that counts. Keith what do you say?…
KS: This album was digital reality!!
4) What is your favorite topic/topic that comes easily when you write a new song?
PZ: You'd suppose monsters and stuff would be the easy 'go to' topic but we don't write about that stuff as much as we think about it. We have a pretty broad range of interests to write about, but I gotta say a large degree of sincerity has crept into our writing as of late. Life?
KS. There are so many things every day that are fun and rocking!!! Impossible to have one topic, Better to open your eyes! Girls???
5) To what kind of music did you listen to as teenagers and does it still influence your today work? What were your favorite bands as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have a influence on your own work today.
PZ: I think Keith will agree, we listened to everything that was on the radio, and that meant everything! Radio was very different then, you heard all sorts of crazy stuff plus of course the British Invasion, and the earlier music the British bands wet trying to copy, all sorts of soul and R&B, latin and boogaloo, the first generation of American 'garage' one -hit wonders, then when radio went to hell in 1969 and became unlistenable we became record geeks a bit, tracking down Kinks, Move and Yardbirds records and the American blues artists that influenced them, but of course strange stuff too. Wait -that's not 3 bands, and I forget The Ramones, The Stooges and The MC5. Keith, 'Plus’…?
KS: The other Keith!! The Rolling Stones forever!!!
6) Some of your early records were compiled a few years ago by the Australian label RAVEN (It's Super Rock Time!; Hexbreaker! / Speed Connection Live In Paris 85; Roman Gods / Upfront EP...Plus) but some never made it to CD, for example "Fleshtones Vs. Reality" why is that so?
PZ: Yeah, wasn't that great? Universal Music was just sitting on all our IRS stuff so it was nice that Raven decided to release it so people could at least hear it. I hope Raven didn't regret that! Good Australians! Now Fleshtones Vs. Reality and Angry Years were both released by separate small extinct labels so that would be harder to do. A shame, both really good albums -all our albums are good! Maybe Yep Roc will gather all this stuff together for a box set, and include our Ichiban albums from the 90s too. They did mention doing that. I boon to the listening public. YepRoc, are you reading this?
KS: Yep Roc could do just a box set of the albums we recorded for them, That’s how much we have to offer!!!
7) Are there any artists in The USA today you consider yourself close to, musically speaking?
PZ: This question always makes my mind go blank. Why am I thinking about the Subsonics? Are they still around? Clay is. Or The Gories? Nat Freedburg of The Flies, Titanics, Upper Crust and now solo has always been an inspiration. Now Daddy Longlegs are marvelous. I think Keith kinda raised them up? Keith?…
KS: Brian used to be my assistant when I was doing “Man with Van”. He was good at that but better at being a rock star!!! I told him to just go out and play and be seen, And now look!!!
8) Do you think it was easier to be a rock'n'roll band way back in the 70's than it is now?
PZ: Well RIGHT now it isn't easy to do anything. So yeah, when we started it was easier once you realized you didn't need any money to start a band. And you didn't need much money then to do anything, but there was only a handful of places to play. In New York it was Max's or CBGB, until WE started getting bands into Club 57 and Irving Plaza. Then clubs mushroomed all over the country. Now we can only hope that live venues survive all these lockdowns. No one wants to catch covid for sure, but bands need a place to play other than their basement (like where we started ourselves!).
KS: If you have the love, passion and energy rock and roll is always waiting!
9) Is there a main composer in the band or is everybody involved in one way or another?
PZ: Keith and I have always been the main writers, and I think we're writing more and better now than ever. And writing together again! Ken Fox contributes songs too that are always a welcome change of pace from Keith and my ranting and raving (but we do have our sensitive sides -listen to Keith's 'Alex Trebek' on the latest album). Bill Milhizer hasn't blossomed yet as a composer but something tells me that when he does bloom -look out!
KS: Still waiting for Milhizer’s Delight!!!!
10) Since 2003 you are Yep Roc recording artist. Is this the label that suits The FLESHTONES the best And if so, why?
PZ: short response" YES. Why? Because they started Yep Roc to sign bands like us. In fact the Yep Roc guys hired us to play their frat party when they were still in college and told us "when we get out of school were gonna start a label us we can sign you!". True story. Yep Roc is the best because they put out music they love. Just look at our label mates. Anyone would be proud to be on that label!
KS: Yep Roc is the only label for the Fleshtones because THEY like the Fleshtones are REAL and LOVE what they do!!!
The Fleshtones always drink for free!
11) What are the plans for 2021 as far as The FLESHTONES are concerned?
PZ: To get back into action -world-wide! And I'm ready to record a NEW album, what about you Keith?...
KS: We have a tour in May booked for the Fleshtones, That is ground zero, I plan to play every stage that will allow me!!!!
12) Anything you wanna add?
PZ: Yeah, as the Carpenter's sang -"We've Only Just Begun…" Thanks for listening.
KS: 2021 will be the return of Everything Good and Right!!!! Starting with the Fleshtones!!!! Tune in!
"Face Of The Screaming Werewolf" is available at independent retail only and will be released direct-to-fan in early 2021. You can find the CD / LP at a record store near your home using this link: https://recordstoreday.com/Stores
Here are The Fleshtones LIVE in Lyon in November 2019.
