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Bananamen (the)

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bananamen

Bananamen – The Crusher

Big Beat Records – NS 88 [1983]
The Crusher / Love Me – Surfin’ Bird

Though it was fairly easy to recognize the Meteors on the cover of the Clapham South Escalators single, the identity of the Bananamen was less obvious and more mysterious.
Here’s the story. In 1983, Ace Records released a reissue of a three-song single by the Bananamen. The Bananamen were supposedly a Minneapolis quartet that released this single in 1965 on Hava Banana records. The group was playing a noisy brand of trash, and one could see the direct influence on the Cramps. The use of a double-bass in their line-up was surprising and pretty unusual for the time. Except that… these songs were actually recorded in 1983, and instead of being from Minneapolis, the Bananamen were, in reality, the Sting Rays in disguise. I remember some reviews at the time writing that the Bananamen were so ahead of their times. There’s nothing like an excellent musical hoax. These songs later appeared on the CD compilation Single-Minded. But if you can, try to grab a copy of the original single. This music is meant for that.

Debbie & Jackie

Nigel Lewis And The Stereo Satellites

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Nigel Lewis

Nigel Lewis And The Stereo Satellites – Satellite Baby

Crazy Love Records – CLEP64434 [2021]
Satellite Baby / Surfin’ Bird – The Train Kept A Rollin’

Nigel Lewis of the Meteors fame recorded these three songs with Chris Shearwood on acoustic guitar and Stewart Rhodes on snare drum December 1980 while still playing with the Meteors.
If there’s an undeniable historical interest, the musical aspect is also gratifying if you don’t expect a clean sound or else. Don’t forget that this is the recording of an informal rehearsal. The sound is raw, and the performance somewhat wild. The terms of low-fidelity or even no-fidelity can’t even apply here. At best, one could describe it as the mix between a bare-bones version of Garage rock with a hint of Tav Falco and Panther Burns, especially in their rendition of Train Kept A-Rollin’.
It’s a limited edition of 300, including red, gold, green, white & black vinyl, so grab a copy while you can.

Nigel Lewis

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Nigel Lewis – What I Feel Now the Nigel Lewis Solo Album

Nigel Lewis What I Feel now

Media Burn MB10 [1986]
True – The Search – It’s Time – There Must Be Something – You’re My Best Friend – Love Song – Orchids And Roses – Heart Of Darkness – What I Feel Now – Ffuzzbox – Bomber

Nigel Lewis (the Meteors, the Escalators, the Tall Boys) recorded this album in 1986. He recorded it alone, using a multi-track recorder.
‘What I Feel Now’ is one weird and experimental album, to say the least. The result is a mix of garage, psychedelia, and even a bit of new wave (some tracks reminding a bit of a garage version of Joy Division.) Lewis seems in a daze (and the listener sure is after the whole album), and his voice is buried under layers of distorted and fuzz guitar with minimal drums provided by a drum machine.

The Radioactive Kid

The Toxenes

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The Toxenes

The ToxenesThe Toxenes – Hot Rod

Killjoy records – Kill 026 [2018]

Hot Rod – Green Room – Caveman -Alley Cats
Like Prince the Toxenes are from Mineapolis but the comparison ends here. This trio plays a solid and straight in your face brand of garage rock.
Hot Rod is the perfect opener for this four-track ep. A perfect blend of garage, desperate rock’n’roll and surf. Next is Green Room which is my favourite, having a strong Cramps feel on the guitar.
B side opens with an excellent cover of the Pandoras’ Caveman and is followed by the more rockin’ Alley Cats with hiccupy vocals.
As usual with Killjoy records, it’s a limited release (400 black vinyl, 50 purple vinyl and 50 x turquoise vinyl) so grab one while you can.

Available here.

Blind Rage & Violence – the End Of Rock’n’Roll

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blindrageandviolenceSwitchblade Records SW-001  [2012]
The Strutter – UFO On Farm Road – Blind’s Big Bonanza – Treat Her Wrong – Headless Chicken – Cat-O-Nine Crawl – We Got A Band Reputation – That Thing Hoodoo – Blind Fought The Po-lice – Baby Baby Baby Baby Baby Blue – Bacon Lube – Who Loves You Three Ways, Baby – The Shiv – Broke-Ass Blues – She’s So Fine, I Wish She Was Mine – Your Last Date
Blind Rage and Violence is a brand new band inspired by Link Wray. The members use aliases but I strongly suspect Deke Dickerson to be Blind Rage like he was the Donut Prince in the Go Nuts and Jethro “the double-neck Daddy-o” Presley in the Keystone Boys. Like wise Chain Link on bass and Hot Link on drums could probably be Pete Curry (the album being recorded at his studio) and Deke’s partner in crime Chris Sugarballs Sprague.
With such a band name, it’s not a surprise to find them play powerful Rock’n’roll mixed with garagey Punk and, as said before, Link Wray inspired stuff (Headless Chicken, for example, being an obvious reference to Run Chicken Run). It’s mostly instrumental with occasional vocal numbers. There’s no song credits but some tunes are easily recognizable though appearing under a different name or with adapted lyrics to match the concept of the end of Rock’n’roll. Thus, Blind Fought the Police, That Thing Hoodoo and Who Loves You Three Ways are respectively instrumental versions of I Fought The Law, That Thing You Do and Love Me Two Times. The same treatment applies for the vocal numbers, Roy Head’s Treat Her Right becoming Treat Her Wrong. You get the idea? One will also find covers of Gene Vincent’s Baby Blue and the Easybeats’ She’s So Fine (an earlier version of this song appeared on Deke’s rarities album, Mr Entertainment).

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Headcoats Sect (thee)

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Thee Headcoat Sect-1 Thee Headcoat Sect-2

Thee Headcoats Sect

Deerstalking Men – DAMGOOD265CD
Strychnine – My Dear Watson – Fog-Bound Pinhead – Troubled Times – Cowboys Are Square – Baby What’s Wrong – Why Don’t Toy Smile Now – The Witch – Squaresville – Lie Detector – Deerstalking Man – I’m A Gamekeeper

Ready Sect Go!– DAMGOOD266CD
Ain’t That Just Like Me – Down In The Bottom – I’m A King Be – Take Out Some Insurance On Me – Knight Of The Baskervilles – I’m A Lover Not A Fighte – Mean Red Spider – A Certain Girl – She’s Fine She’s Mine – I Got Love If You Want It – Ready Sect Go – I’m Ready

A recent discussion with a friend about the Rolling Stones and Sir Jagger’s birthday brought the name of the Downliners Sect back to the map. After that, it wasn’t long before we talked about the Headcoats Sect.
It seemed inevitable that sooner than later, Billy Childish would meet those ’60s rhythm’n’blues misfits that are Keith Grant and Don Craine of the Downliners Sect. Back in the sixties, The Downliners Sect were raw, and next to them, the Rolling Stones and the Pretty Things sounded almost suave. Needless to say that no one ever thought of ennobling Craine nor Grant. And though there was a generation between them, they were clearly with the same page, like fathers and sons. It was not just the hat; it was the music, the sense of humor, and the attitude, both bands sharing the same aggressive, rough, and no-compromise approach. Together they recorded two albums in the second half of the ’90s. Each band benefited from this fruitful collaboration. Childish, Johnson, and Brand brought the freshness of their youth, the right backing band (with a special nod to Johnny Johnson on harp), as well as a bunch of Childish originals that seemed tailored fit for the two veterans. Craine and Grant brought a touch of professionalism to the project. Thee Headcoats records often sound as if they were recorded in the kitchen on a mono/two-track cheap recorder. Nothing like that here with Liam Watson’s recording who managed to capture the vibe without altering the spontaneity of the performance. Musically both acts melt perfectly, Craine’s rhythm guitar and Grant’s superb fuzzy bass perfectly complementing Thee Headcoats. Worth mentioning is the musical dialog on “I’m A Dearstalking Man” and “Ready Sect Go.”
The first album relies more on Childish’s classics with some covers thrown in for good measure (including two Sonics tunes) while “Ready Sect Go” contains classic blues/rhythm’n’blues covers with two Childish originals (Knight of the Baskervilles and Ready Sect Go!). Both are excellent and complimentary.

Find them on Damaged Good website.

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