24 de julho de 2008

Circle Jerks (first 3 albuns)

Formed in 1979 by Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson, the Circle Jerks combined the rebelliousness of the Sex Pistols and Ramones with the aggressive athletic elements of the surfer/skateboarder crowd from Hermosa Beach. This coastal city just south of Los Angeles ignited the initial explosion of hardcore bands. Including bassist Roger Rogerson and drummer Lucky Lehrer, the band recorded their debut album, "Group Sex", in 1980 on Frontier Records. Containing 14 tracks, the songs ranged in length from 1:35 to 27 seconds, taking the hyper blast of punk to the next extreme. With the release of the album, an appearance in the documentary film about L.A. punk The Decline of Western Civilization, and their incendiary live performances, the group's stature was assured in the budding hardcore community.

Their second LP, 1982's "Wild in the Streets", continued the intensity while injecting a humorous slant into the music by covering '60s pop hits "Just Like Me"/"Put a Little Love in Your Heart," applied with their slamdancing aggression. The joke was expanded on Golden Shower of Hits, their third album, released in 1983. The second time around they tackled "Along Comes Mary," "Afternoon Delight," "Having My Baby," and "Love Will Keep Us Together." Golden Shower also marked the incorporation of a few longer songs that hovered around the three-minute mark, including "Under the Gun," "High Price on Our Heads," and "Rats of Reality." At this point the band took a two-year break, which found Hetson joining the newly formed Bad Religion, taking on guitar duties for both bands well into the next decade.

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22 de julho de 2008

Black Diamond Heavies - Every Damn Time

Stripping the deep blues to its frame and running the music through a big stack of amps while shaking it into a cold sweat, the Black Diamond Heavies are a band from East Nashville, TN, who prove that in terms of sonic impact and soulful energy, size doesn't matter much at all.

The Black Diamond Heavies were formed by keyboard man and vocalist John Wesley Myers, Mark "Porkchop" Holder on guitar and harmonica, and drummer Van Campbell. Myers was previously a member of the feral blues-punk combo the Immortal Lee County Killers, while Campbell had kept time with the Invisibles and the Rum Circus.

The Black Diamond Heavies started gigging in 2004 and self-released an EP called You Damn Right in 2005. The record and especially the BDHs' wildly frantic live shows won them a rabid fan following, especially in the South, but in early 2006 Holder amicably left the band, unhappy with the rigors of life on the road.

Myers and Campbell opted not only to continue without Holder, but to not replace him; stripped down to a two-piece, the band's music became even more raw and intense than before, and in the summer of 2006 the band scored a record deal with noted garage punk label Alive Records. The Black Diamond Heavies' first full-length album, Every Damn Time, was released in early 2007.

1.Fever in My Blood
2.All to Hell
3.Leave It in the Road
4.Let Me Coco
5.Poor Brown Sugar
6.Stitched in Sin
7.White Bitch
8.Signs
9.Might Be Right
10.Guess You Gone and Fucked It All Up

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14 de julho de 2008

ESG - A South Bronx Story

ESG (Emerald, Sapphire and Gold) are a band from the South Bronx, New York, U.S.. The band originally consisted of sisters Maria Scroggins (congas, vocals), Renee Scroggins (guitar, vocals), and Valerie Scroggins (drums), and friend Leroy Glover (bass). ESG have been influential in a wide range of musical genres, including hip hop, post punk, disco, and dance-punk.

ESG's music is centered around complex polyrhythms, a funky bass and pop-flavored guitar.

The group's work had become popular among hip-hop artists searching for samples, with such acts as TLC, the Wu-Tang Clan, the Beastie Boys, Big Daddy Kane, Gang Starr, Tricky, Jay-Dee (J-Dilla) and indie rockers like Unrest and Liars. The group addressed this issue on the 1992 12" EP Sample Credits Don't Pay Our Bills.

Major kudos to Universal Sound for compiling ESG's best works for A South Bronx Story, a crucial document of sparse, old school funk. Until 2000, the group's scant material had been nearly impossible to find.

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