JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 73rd anniversary of Joey Ramone’s birth.
Tag: The Ramones
Throwback: Happy 72nd Birthday, Joey Ramone!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 72nd anniversary of The Ramones’ Joey Ramone’s birth
Over the past year or so, I’ve written quite a bit about the London-based garage punk quartet The Cavemen, and as you may recall, the band can trace its origins to when its founding members, Paul Caveman (vocals), Jack Caveman (guitar, vocals), Nick Caveman (bass) and Jake Caveman (drums) met attending high school in Auckland, New Zealand. Reportedly, the members of the band bonded over a shared love of sniffing glue and wild rock ‘n’ roll. After spending several years drinking and loitering in their hometown’s basements, graveyards and parking lots, they honed their sound, eventually spending the better part of 2014-2015 recording their full-length debut. Interestingly, their debut album received attention locally for their ability to craft furious, face-melting power chord-based punk, inspired by The Ramones, The Cramps, The Stooges, and The MC5. Thematically, the material found the band making references about grave-robbing, necrophilia and other perverse, Troma Films-inspired shit but with a sneering sense of humor.
Just two weeks before the band was about to relocate to London, they went on a national graveyard tour that became infamous for its tackiness and for being ill-fated: the band’s Nick Caveman died in a tragic car accident, which forced the cancellation of the rest of the tour. Since then, Dirty Water Records released their debut across the European Union and elsewhere — and as a result of album single “Stand By Your Ghoul” and their “Burn Out For Love” 7 inch, the now London-based received international attention for boozy and filthy punk rippers.
They built upon their growing reputation for old-school-inspired punk rippers with the release of last year’s Nuke Earth and the “Lowlife” 7 inch, which featured the Johnny Thunders‘ “Born to Lose,” Highway to Hell-era AC/DC and New York Dolls-like “Lowlife.” Interestingly, this year has been a rather busy year for the London-based punk rockers, as they quickly followed the “Lowlife” 7 inch with the breakneck, filthy, troglodyte stomp of “My Baby Knows.” Centered by buzzing power chords, a rousing, mosh pit friendly hook, shouted vocals and a boozy Chuck Berry-like solo, the track is frenzied and furious take on ’77 era punk, compete with Troma Films-like lyrics.
New Video: Join London’s Booze Fueled Punk Rockers The Caveman on Tour
Last year, I wrote a bit about the now-London-based punk rock quartet The Cavemen — and as you may recall, the band originally formed in Auckland, New Zealand when its initial lineup of Paul Caveman (vocals), Jack Caveman (guitar, vocals), Nick Caveman (bass) and Jake Caveman (drums) met while in high school — with the band’s founding members reportedly bonding over a shared love of glue and wild rock ‘n’ roll. After spending several years drinking and loitering around Auckland’s basements, graveyards and parking lots, the band’s founding lineup honed their sound. And over the course of 2014-2015, the band recorded their full-length debut, which received attention locally for material that at the time could be described as furious, face-melting power chord-based punk inspired by The Ramones, The Cramps, The Stooges, and The MC5 while thematically touching upon grave-robbing, necrophilia and other perverse shit with a sneering sense of humor; in fact, when the band was based in Auckland, they developed a reputation for being infamous — or as the band claimed at the time, they were a “great band to clear a party.”
Just two weeks before the members of the band were to relocate to London, they went on a rather infamous national tour to support their full-length debut. Unsurprisingly, the tour included an ill-fated graveyard tour that had to be canceled when Nick Caveman died in a tragic car accident. Dirty Water Records released their debut album across the European Union and elsewhere, and from debut album single “Stand By Your Ghoul” and their “Burn Out For Love” 7 inch, the band revealed that they specialized in a boozy and filthy punk rippers centered around fuzzy power chords, amphetamine-fueled drumming and howled vocals. Building upon a growing reputation for grimy, old-school-inspired punk, the London-based band released, the pummeling full-length Nuke Earth last year, which they followed up with the “Lowlife” 7 inch earlier this year. The 7 inch’s A-side “Lowlife” manages to be reminiscent of Johnny Thunders‘ “Born to Lose,” Highway to Hell-era AC/DC and New York Dolls with howled lyrics, a Chuck Berry-inspired guitar solo and a furious, booze-fueled nihilism.
The recently released video is split between raucous and sweaty, beer and shots-fueled live footage shot while the band was on tour and intimate, behind the scenes footage of the band goofing off while on the road. Of course, the band will be hitting the road with a French and Spanish that will run throughout this month.
New Video: The Cavemen Return with a Scuzzy and Boozy New Single Paired with Debauched Visuals
Earlier this year, I wrote about the Auckland, New Zealand-based punk rock quartet The Cavemen, and as you may recall, the band which was originally comprised of Paul Caveman (vocals), Jack Caveman (guitar, vocals), Nick Caveman (bass) and Jake Caveman (drums), formed while in high school — with the band’s founding members bonding over a shared love of glue and wild rock ‘n’ roll. After spending several years drinking and loitering around their hometown’s basements, graveyards and parking lots, the band’s original lineup honed their sound and over the course of 2014-2015 or so recorded their full-length debut, which received attention locally for material that could be roughly described as face-melting and furious punk that drew from The Ramones, The Cramps, The Stooges, The MC5 and others but thematically focused on grave-robbing, necrophilia and other weird shit with a sneering sense of humor; in fact, they’ve developed a reputation for being infamous — or as the band once claimed they were a “great band to clear a party.”
As the story goes, just two weeks before the members of The Cavemen were to relocate to London, they went on an infamous national tour to support their debut album, and unsurprisingly, the tour included an ill-fated graveyard tour that had to be canceled when the band’s Nick Caveman died in a tragic car accident: their tour van’s engine exploded, and as Nick Caveman was trying to see what was wrong, a passing motorist hit him. Now as you’d also recall, the British record label Dirty Water Records re-released their debut album for release in Europe and elsewhere, and from album single “Stand By Your Ghoul,” the band specialized in filthy, cretinous punk, centered around fuzzy power chords and howled lyrics. Unsurprisingly, the band has released the “Burn Out For Love” 7 inch and it’s a boozy, grimy and filthy punk ripper, full of power chords, amphetamine-fueled drummer and howled vocals. Sonically speaking, the song brings to mind, punk’s riotous boozy and revolutionary roots.
The accompanying video is a cheap and scuzzy cut and paste job on the Mexican punksploitation film Intrepidos Punks featuring the prerequisite debauched orgy of car crashes, breasts and gratuitous biker violence. Enjoy!
Last month, I wrote about the Sudbury, Ontario, Canada-based punk act Tommy and the Commies, and as you may recall, the band, which is comprised of Jeff Houle, best known as the creative master mind of Strange Attractor; Jeff’s brother Mitch, with whom he’s played in power pop act STATUES; and frontman Tommy Commy can trace their origins to when Commy dragged Jeff Houle into a punk rock venue bathroom stall to play an inaudible demo on his phone. And as the story goes. the Houles decided to collaborate with Commy, after being impressed by his vocals.
The trio’s full-length debut, Here Come . . . is slated for release later this month through Slovenly Records, and “Devices,” the album’s first single revealed a band that specializes in a furious and blistering mod punk that recalls power pop and The Ramones on speed, while centered by an incisive criticism of our addictive obsessions with our electronic devices. “Suckin’ In Your 20s” the Canadian trio’s latest single off their full-length debut continues in a similar vein as its predecessor as its an angular bit of breakneck power pop-influenced punk with enormous, rousing hooks that manages to be reminiscent of Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO-era DEVO; in fact, the song seems underpinned by an anxious nihilism that evokes our socioeconomic moment.
New Video: Working Out with Pissed Jeans in “The Bar Is Low”
Comprised of Matt Korvette (vocals), Brad Fry (guitar), Randy Huth (bass) and Sean McGuinness (drums), the Allentown, PA-based hardcore punk/noise rock quartet Pissed Jeans can trace their origins to when the members of the band met while attending Allentown’s Nazareth High School. Bonding over their initial desire to create, as the band’s Matt Korvette has explained, “a different kind of punk focused on dead-ended carnal cravings, sexual depression . . .” and to “bludgeon the listener with dull, monotonous, droning rock music that just sucks the energy of out, the musical equivalent of watching a toilet flush.” And over the course of their 13 years together as a band, they’ve released several 7 inches and four, full-length studio albums, all which have cemented their reputation for crafting a sound that’s a sludgy, furious, and punishing cretinous, troglodyte stomp that subtly nods at The Stooges, The Ramones and 80s hardcore punk and post-hardcore bands — while evoking the deep primal urges of our reptilian sub-brains.
With the band’s recently released fifth, full-length album Why Love Now, the Allentown, PA-based band focuses on the mundane comforts and discomforts of modern life — from fetish websites to office supply deliveries; to the emptiness, confusion, dissatisfaction and convoluted nature of modern relationships and our contemporary world of hypocrisy and bullshit. As Korvette explains in press notes on the new album, “Rock bands can retreat to the safety of what rock bands usually sing about. So 60 years from now, when no one has a telephone, bands will be writing songs like, ‘I’m waiting for her to call me on my telephone.’ Kids are going to be like, ‘Grandpa, tell me, what was that?’ I’d rather not shy away from talking about the Internet or interactions in 2016.”
Why Love Now’s incendiary and furious first single “The Bar Is Low” will further cement the band’s reputation for crating sludgy and bludgeoning cretinous trogolydte stomp-like anthems in which Korvette’s guttural, Lemmy Kilmister-like growling is paired with with pummeling drumming, a throbbing and insistent bass line, and blistering guitar chords to evoke a knuckle dragging, slack-jawed Neanderthal on the hunt. According to Korvette, the song is “about how every guy seems to be revealing themselves as a shithead. It seems like every guy is getting outed,” Korvette continues, “across every board of entertainment and politics and music. There’s no guy that isn’t a total creep. You’re like, ‘No, he’s just a dude that hits on drunk girls and has sex with them when they’re asleep.’ Cool, he’s just an average shithead.” Throughout the song, Korvette and company point out that stereotypical concepts of straight male, masculinity is defeating, empty, and clownish.
Directed by Joe Stakun, the recently released video follows the members of the band at the gym; but they don’t know how to properly use any of the equipment. And while there, the band begins an absurd and ridiculous competition with other gym goers that ends up with a hilarious and horrifying conclusion.
New Audio: Pissed Jeans’ Furious and Pummeling Single “The Bar Is Low”
Comprised of Matt Korvette (vocals), Brad Fry (guitar), Randy Huth (bass) and Sean McGuinness (drums), the Allentown, PA-based hardcore punk/noise rock quartet Pissed Jeans can trace their origins to when the members of the band met while attending Allentown’s Nazareth High School. Bonding over their initial desire to create, as the band’s Matt Korvette has explained, “a different kind of punk focused on dead-ended carnal cravings, sexual depression . . . that sort of thing. Mainly, we just wanted to bludgeon the listener with dull, monotonous, droning rock music that just sucks the energy out of you, the musical equivalent to watching a toilet flush.” And over the course of their 13 years together, the band has released several 7 inches and four full-length studio albums, all which have cemented their reputation for crafting a sound that’s a sludgy, furious, and punishing cretin stomp that subtly nods at The Stooges, The Ramones and 80s hardcore punk and post-hardcore bands — while evoking deep primal urges.
With the band’s forthcoming fifth, full-length Why Love Now, which is slated for a February 24, 2017 release through renowned indie label Sub Pop Records, the Allentown, PA-based focuses on the mundane comforts and discomforts of modern life — from fetish welcomes to office supply deliveries; to the emptiness, confusion and dissatisfaction of modern relationships, contemporary hypocrisy and bullshit. As Korvette explains in press notes on the new album, “Rock bands can retreat to the safety of what rock bands usually sing about. So 60 years from now, when no one has a telephone, bands will be writing songs like, ‘I’m waiting for her to call me on my telephone.’ Kids are going to be like, ‘Grandpa, tell me, what was that?’ I’d rather not shy away from talking about the internet or interactions in 2016.”
Why Love Now’s incendiary and furious first single “The Bar Is Low” will further cement the band’s reputation for crating sludgy and bludgeoning cretin stomp-like anthems in which Korvette’s guttural, Lemmy Kilmister-like growling is paired with with pummeling drumming, a throbbing and insistent bass line, angular and blistering guitar chords to evoke a knuckle dragging, slack-jawed Neanderthal on the hunt. According to Korvette, the song is “about how every guy seems to be revealing themselves as a shithead.”
“It seems like every guy is getting outed,” Korvette continues, “across every board of entertainment and politics and music. There’s no guy that isn’t a total creep. You’re like, ‘No, he’s just a dude that hits on drunk girls and has sex with them when they’re asleep.’ Cool, he’s just an average shithead.” Throughout the song, Korvette and company point out that stereotypical concepts of straight male, masculinity is defeating and clownish.
New Video: Death Valley Girls Go-Go Inspired Take on Troma Films
“Disco,” the latest single off Glow In The Dark is a jangling and propulsive bit of psych rock, complete with droning organs that sounds as though it were indebted to The Jesus and Mary Chain but with a sneering, punk rock air — and a badass, in your face, self assuredness. Interestingly, the recently released music video was directed by Kansas Bowling, who recently directed BC Butcher, the latest release from proprietors of all things low budget gore and horror, Troma Films. As a result, the video is a proper send off to all things go-go but with a Satanic murderess, who kills people with records.
New Video: The Surreal Animated and Hyper Aggressive Visuals for Cowtown’s “Tweak”
Clocking in at 92 seconds, Paranormal Romance’s second and latest single “Tweak” sounds as though it were indebted to the Ramones and 90s alt rock, as the the trio pairs propulsive and thundering drumming with blistering power chords and an anthemic and infectious “oh oh oh” at the hook that you can imagine a crowded and sweaty bunch of kids yelling lustily while moshing — and with a youthful abandon.
The recently released animated video by Molly Kaplan pokes fun at cartoons, the relentless barrage of commercials we’re inundated with on a regular basis — but with neon bright colors and a surreal sense of humor.
Comprised of founding members Bonnie Bloomgarden (lead vocals) and Larry Schemel (guitar), along with Nicole Smith (bass) and Laura Kelsey (drums), Los Angeles, CA-based quartet of Death Valley Girls have deliberately shrouded themselves in mystery. Besides the fact that they’re incredibly photogenic, very little is known about them, except that their aesthetic is deeply influenced by old-school B movies and biker movies — in fact, at one point, the members of the band had developed a reputation for appearing at gigs wearing all leather and parking their beaten up bikes in old-school biker club formations. Now, over the years I’ve written about the band on a number of occasions — including “Gettin’ Hard,” a single that sonically owes a debt to The Stooges, The Troggs, The Ramones and contemporary acts including Lantern, while “Summertime” had the band taking up shimmering reverb-filled garage psych rock.
“I’m A Man, Too” off the Southern California-based quartet’s soon-to-be-released effort Glow In The Dark will further cement their reputation for crafting old-school-leaning rock — but in this case, in a bratty song that indirectly channels Cyndi Lauper‘s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” The Go-Gos, The B52s, Nancy Sinatra and others after a night of vodka, gin and cigarettes as a bratty and infectious hook and chorus are paired with simple and propulsive percussion and loose and bluesy guitar chords while revealing an in your face self-assuredness.
In the decade since their formation, Atlanta, GA-based trio and JOVM mainstay The Coathangers have released four full-length albums and have gone on a number of North American and European tours, all of which have cemented their reputation for writing incredibly catchy songs — and for unruly live shows. During the recording sessions for Suck My Shirt, the band went through a lineup change as Candice Jones left the band, making the band a trio comprised of Julia Kugel (vocals and guitar), Meredith Franco (bass), and Stephanie Luke (drums). Naturally, as a result of the lineup change, the newly-constituted trio’s fourth full-length effort, Suck My Shirt revealed a refined songwriting approach in which the album’s material still retained the raw, seemingly spontaneously simplicity and fury that has won them national and international attention — but with streamlined, more direct arrangements that made the material feel more urgent.
“Make It Right,” the first single off the band’s soon-to-be released fifth full-length album Nosebleed Weekend continued in the same lines of their previous effort as it possessed a similar primal simplicity — in other words although it nodded at garage rock and surfer rock, there was an underlying sneering, “we don’t give a fuck” attitude. The following single, album title track “Nosebleed Weekend” paired their signature sneering “zero fucks given” attitude with an anthemic hook that you can imagine a room full of sweaty concertgoers lustily yelling along with upraised fist and in a way that’s reminiscent of 90s alt rock.
Released just before their sold-out show at Baby’s All Right tonight, the band’s latest single “Squeeki Tiki” pairs punchy and bratty vocals and a catchy hook, a throbbing bass line, propulsive four-on-the-floor-like drumming and industrial-like squeaking and squawking in a sneering “in your face” “zero fucks given” song that draws from garage punk and surfer rock — as though the song drew from The Ramones, The Beach Boys and Nirvana.
If you’ve been frequenting this site a bit over the years, you may recall that I’ve written about the Atlanta-based trio The Coathangers on a couple of occasions. And interestingly, the band has what may arguably be one of the most prototypically punk rock and funniest formation stories that I’ve heard. As the story goes, the band formed when the then-quartet of guitarist and vocalist Julia Kugel (a.k.a. Crook Kid Coathanger), bassist Meredith Franco (a.k.a. Minnie Coathanger), drummer Stephanie Luke (a.k.a Rusty Coathanger), and keyboardist Candice Jones (a.k.a. Bebe Coathanger) decided to start a band for the sole purpose of being able to hang out and play parties — and they didn’t let the fact that none of them actually knew how to play an instrument get in the way of them being in a band and having a good time. As a result, the band’s earliest songs walked a tightrope between abrasive dissonance and a primal minimalism.
In the the decade or so since their formation, the band has released four full-length albums and have gone on a number of North American and European tours, which have cemented their reputation for writing incredibly catchy songs — and for unruly live shows. Back in 2014, during the recording sessions for Suck My Shirt, the band went through a lineup change as Candice Jones left the band. Naturally, as a result of the lineup change, the newly-consituted trio’s fourth effort revealed a refined songwriting approach in which the album’s material possessed a raw, spontaneous simplicity and fury with arrangements that felt streamlined and more direct. In other words, no frills, no bullshit, balls-to-the-wall rock that spiritually channelled AC/DC and the Ramones.
“Make It Right,” the first single off the band’s forthcoming Nosebleed Weekend continues in the same lines of their previous effort as it possesses a raw and furious feel paired with a primal simplicity — it’s grimy, gritty punk that also manages to nod at old fashioned garage rock and surfer rock, complete with a “we don’t give a fuck” sneering attitude. Interestingly, the largest departure for the forthcoming album was the actual recording process. Their previous albums were recorded at The Living Room Studios in Atlanta with Ed Rawls while this effort had the band recording the material at Valentine Recording Studios in North Hollywood, where The Beach Boys and Bing Crosby recorded albums. As the band’s Julia Kugel mentioned in press notes “The studio had been custom built by Jimmy Valentine and he was very protective of his passion. It sounds weird, but his spirit was there, checking in on us and fucking with us a bit.” That shouldn’t be surprising as the Nosebleed Weekend sessions were the first sessions at the studios in 36 years — and yet in some way, the location seems to help capture the materials’ primal immediacy.