STILL ALIVE

2010-03-01T12:16:00.001-08:00

MY KINDA PUNK

2010-03-01T09:42:00.001-08:00

PARTY

2010-02-28T23:28:00.000-08:00

Holy shit top photo, the dude on the left is the guy from Smith Westerns, bottom photo dude on left is the guy from Smith Westerns too. Both of these guys will be at media club march 7 with Indian Wars and Needles // Pins, cool.

MORE ROTTEN RECORDINGS!

2010-02-28T23:06:00.000-08:00

New Medication recordings 'judgement day' and 'farewell letter' are up on their myspace. So good, I've got a soft spot for repeated riffs throughout THE WHOLE SONG! Never seen these guys play but heard good things from their romp around with Duchess and The Duke's Toronto show. Click photo for myspace.

2010-02-28T18:31:00.000-08:00

JOHN D LOUDERMILK

2010-02-28T18:12:00.000-08:00

John D Loudermilk is from North Carolina and he wrote one of my favorite Flying Burrito Brothers tunes, 'Break My Mind.' Break My Mind's been covered by Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lee Hazlewood and many others. And this dude John also wrote the song Tobacco Road, covered by a shitload of people. Check out the originals and their covers below, so awesome. Oh and also a cool coincidence, when Gram Parsons of the Burrito Brothers was playing with The International Submarine Band they used to hang out with The Blues Magoos a bunch, who are covering Tobacco Road below.

MARY 38

2010-02-28T10:17:00.000-08:00

GONE FISHING

2010-01-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

Still Alive will be resurrected eventually with interviews of Bloodshot Bill, The Dead Ghosts, Indian Wars, Student Teacher, The Shitty Beach Boys & many more.

2010-01-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

2010-01-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

PRIMITIVE.

2010-01-13T10:09:00.001-08:00

Primitive Hands have a new song up called 'Wash It Out' that you must give a listen to now. Some of the yelling in the freak out at the end almost reminds me of the primitive screaks in Rats Revenge pt. 1 & 2, some of my favourite songs on Back From The Grave. Primitive Hands makes really stripped down, honest rock & roll from Montreal with a Demon's Claw or two in there. I don't know what it is about Montreal but the city's got a knack for making rootsy rock & roll that will last through the tests of time. Listen HERE.

LIKE, SO WORTH IT.

2010-01-07T17:40:00.000-08:00

Disposable Shows!

2010-01-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

I just developed this old disposable camera this morning without knowing what I'd find and to my surprise it looks like there's a few flicks from some Vancouver shows over the past month.

TIME COPZ played what looks like to be The Biltmore at a rock & roll pizza party. I like this band more and more every time I see them play. Half punk, half garage, call it what you want it's fucking awesome and tight. They're going down the west coast on tour soon so check their MYSPACE for the dates.

Here's a few photos from what seems to be an old Babar show with Indian Wars and Time Copz. But real cops ended up coming so the copz of time couldn't play that night. There was also a girl passed out for a good 2 hours 2 feet away from where the bands were playing. GET IT TOGETHER!

King Khan & BBQ played The Red Room with no real surprises in their set but it's always a treat to see them live.

2010-01-06T00:02:00.000-08:00

HIT MAKERS.

2010-01-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

I picked up one of my favourite Rolling Stones records today at Dandelion. Rolling Stones: England's Newest Hitmaker's was the stones first album and out of all 12 songs lies one original. When the Rolling Stones cover a tune they bring a whole new swagger to it always do the original justice. On this album there's no question about the group's strong Rhythm & Blues style. I'd find it hard to imagine bands today coming out with only one original number on their first lp. Crazy! Oh yeah and they've got Phil Spector in there playing the maracas on a song as well.

Ghost Songs.

2010-01-03T21:50:00.000-08:00

2010-01-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

DRUGS/SPORTS Party? (steroids)

2010-01-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

SUMMERS FUNNER

2010-01-01T12:39:00.000-08:00

Music Tonight ?

2009-12-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

This Rules.

2009-12-29T22:16:00.001-08:00

VOX KILLS.

2009-12-29T20:37:00.000-08:00

Badass Shit.

2009-12-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already realized, shit's getting pretty country here at Still Alive. I've got a serious soft spot for country induced garage and aside from old country tunes a great place to draw sounds from are old western flicks. Ennio Morricone made some really bad ass sound tracks with strings and fuzzed out guitar notes in a lot of Sergio Leone Clint Eastwood movies. Above is one of my favourites, Once Upon A Time In The West.

Renegade, Outlaw, Legend.

2009-12-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

Anyone looking to kill an hour and brush up on their country americana history should give this Waylon Jenning's documentary a watch on youtube. Renegade, Outlaw, Legend covers it all from Waylon playing bass in Buddy Holly's band, having a crush and eventually marrying Duane Eddy's girlfriend and the birth of Austin as a music capital in America. Check it out.

Renegade, Outlaw, Legend - Part 1

Renegade, Outlaw, Legend - Part 2

Renegade, Outlaw, Legend - Part 3

Renegade, Outlaw, Legend - Part 4

Renegade, Outlaw, Legend - Part 5

Renegade, Outlaw, Legend - Part 6

Renegade, Outlaw, Legend - Part 7

FLORIDA = GRAM PARSONS.

2009-12-25T20:15:00.001-08:00

ROCK & ROLL CHRISTMAS.

2009-12-24T01:27:00.000-08:00

OLDIES.

2009-12-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

TANDOORI HOLIDAYS.

2009-12-20T16:17:00.000-08:00

The holidays are upon us. The past three shows I've seen have all had bands playing a few christmas tunes at the end of their set and now, a holiday message from Tandoori Knights!

2009-12-20T15:56:00.001-08:00

AMERICA.

2009-12-19T12:17:00.000-08:00

Last night Time Copz & Indian Wars caravanned over the border down to Cairo in Seattle for CMRTYZ's Night Of The Living Shred. The border crossing was pretty smooth aside from a weird mind freak moment with a cop calling out John of Indian Wars for being a drummer as he was doing some air drumming up in the front seat. After a few wrong turns, gas stations, rockabilly radio and beers we arrived at Cairo where CMRTYZ threw up a bunch of posters and were selling their awesome t shirts (http://cmrtyz.blogspot.com). Prison, Indian Wars and Time Copz played some tasty rock & roll and punk. Some highlights included Prison's hi hat, which looks like it was in the middle of the Hiroshima bomb or something, Indian Wars covering Little Richard's 'Slippin & Slidin' and some moshing about with Time Copz. America Rules.

99 CENTS.

2009-12-18T12:17:00.001-08:00

Here are a bunch of 99 cent thrift store pick ups that I've dug up recently. Every record or tape I've found has one or two decent tunes by the big names (Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, George Jones) to help em sell and a bunch of shitty fillers in between. Elvis sings a polished version of 'Too Much Monkey Business' on his Flaming Star tape and Clint Eastwood does a cowboy sing along with Merle Haggard on the song 'Bar Room Buddies'. The only other tunes worth mentioning that can be found in there are Jerry Lee Lewis covering Hank William's 'You Win Again' and The Fendermen playing 'Mule Skinner Blues'.

MORE PIZZA.

2009-12-16T09:50:00.000-08:00

INDIAN WARS 7"

2009-12-14T18:47:00.001-08:00

Bachelor Records latest release by Vancouver's INDIAN WARS is out and running fast. Indian Wars half whiskey induced, raucous rock & roll is unforgiving and pulls up a swagger from the rambling George Jones to The Cramps and all else in between. The 7" has four songs that run the gamut from catchy country jangles and reverb drenched pop including the ghostly ballad of Carol-Anne and garagey rambling in Pockets. Picture a blaze of cowboys fighting indians with arrows, tomahawks, torches and pistols all boiled down into a vinyl out on Bachelor Records!

Buy this shit over at www.bachelorrecords.com, it'll be the best 4 euros you've spent in a while. The artwork is crazy and was done by John Malta who drew a gnarly insert for the record too. Recordings done by BIG CAT of The Dead Ghosts. Indian Wars have a slew of shows in the near future as well as a west coast americana tour with The Dead Ghosts in early February. myspace.com/strangehandsband

12-18 Seattle, WA - Cairo Art Gallery w/Time Copz & Prison (CMRTYZ t-shirt party)

1-2 Vancouver, BC - Malone's w/Dead Ghosts

1-20 Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore w/Myelin Sheaths & The Moby Dicks

2-6 Portland, OR - Bender 2010 w/Ty Segall, Dead Ghosts, Audacity & more

Mule Skinner Blues x Merle Haggard.

2009-12-13T12:32:00.001-08:00

Going Fishing.

2009-12-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

The only reason I can justify posting this video is because there's a good chance the fisherman enjoys some truck driving or honky tonk country music as much as I do, if not more.

Dead Dead Ghosts Ghosts.

2009-12-08T23:31:00.000-08:00

Check out these awesome new DEAD GHOSTS t shirts designed by CM RUIZ. The holidays are coming up so buy a bunch for your ma and pa. Head on over to cmrtyz.blogspot.com and let them know! CM RUIZ has done countless Dead Ghosts posters in the past and may be collaborating with a Vivian Girl for the art on their new record that is in the works. In other Ghost news, their song Mayday was used in a Ride Snowboards Art Chantry short that you can watch below. Awesome.

The Shilohs.

2009-12-08T01:12:00.001-08:00

Tonight I was lucky enough to catch a great show at The Media Club. The Shilohs run the gamut from Gram Parsons americana rock & roll, country and even strummed a few poppy tunes without sounding one bit flaky. At times I thought they were the closest I'd ever come to seeing a Vancouver reincarnation of The Flying Burrito Brothers with an old telecaster punching away behind some honky pedal steel. This might be a stretch but if you upped the trashyness on a few of their country numbers you may even land somewhere in the ballpark of Demon's Claws minus their habitual loose drunken shambles. You can listen to two polished songs up on their myspace but who wants to hear that? Get out to their next show to hear the good, bad and the ugly. Oh yeah, and I didn't take that picture above, some photographer guy with a camera bigger than his head did.

myspace.com/theshilohs

COWBOYS & INDIANS (In Sweden).

2009-12-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

Singer, producer and songwriter Lee Hazlewood has had his fingers in just about everything music. He wrote Duane Eddy's hit 'Rebel Rouser' and you'll probably know another one of his songs 'These Boots Are Made For Walkin'. Aside from his ghostly writing and producer work, he wrote one of my favourite cowboy albums, Cowboy in Sweden.

Cowboy In Sweden was originally a one hour tv special that later became an album when Lee Hazlewood moved out to Sweden. The production on the album is comparable to a Sergio Leone western score and Lee Hazlewood does a pretty darn good job of being Sergio's Clint Eastwood. The albums got haunting strings, trumpets, some good old western swing to it and great boy girl duets. Aside from the pristine music, the most appealing part of Cowboy In Sweden are the lyrics and stories that are told. Find this album and listen to it now and check out a bit of the Cowboy In Sweden tv special below. If you enjoy old washy imagery of cowboys, horses & westerns then you'll love this!

2009-12-05T14:57:00.000-08:00

Top 50 Vancouver Bands?

2009-12-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

Discorder compiled a list of their favourite top 50 Vancouver bands from the past decade. Amongst them all lie The Green Hour Band, The Tranzmitors, The Evaporators, Black Mountain and Destroyer. My only concern - WHERE'S NICKLEBACK AT?? Chad Kroeger is a god damn institution in Vancouver and for Discorder to not acknowledge that is plain blasphemy. Check it out for yourself below.

Discorder Top 10 - 1

Discorder Top 30 - 11

Discorder Top 50 - 31

HAS ANYONE HEARD THIS?

2009-12-02T00:17:00.000-08:00

Grace Of God.

2009-11-30T23:17:00.000-08:00

A little while ago I posted an old video of The Gories playing in a Detroit junkyard with trash cans and metal scraps for drums. The Gories cover of Machine's old hit 'There But For The Grace of God Go I' is one of the craziest garagified tunes I've ever heard! Machine's original was a funky disco joint turned upside down with The Gories scrapyard raw feel that makes the song 10x darker. I can't see any garage groups today pulling out disco funk covers these days! Below is the original, click the above photo for The Gories cover.

2009-11-29T23:33:00.001-08:00

SPORTS.

2009-11-29T10:22:00.000-08:00

Last night Mode Moderne & Student Teacher played Malones for a crowd of sports fans, plasma televisions and friends. Mode Moderne played a tight knit Smithsy set with distorted gits (awesome VOX guitar!) and synths floating about. The band requested the sports highlights on the tv screens to be turned off and also probably gained some new fans with some dudes chanting 'HARD ROCK & ROLL!' in the front row. In the first period of the night, Student Teacher played a set of garagey fun and found a way get all shoegazey without a slew of pedals on the floor. They scored a hat trick as usual.

The Ballad Of Hollis Brown.

2009-11-28T17:28:00.001-08:00

POEM PARTY.

2009-11-28T11:28:00.000-08:00

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Mode Moderne & Student Teacher

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Malone's (608 WPender)

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Show starts at 940pm - $5

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Tonight.

2009-11-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

TELEPHONE EXPLOSION FREEBIES!

2009-11-26T18:06:00.000-08:00

Telephone Explosion Records is turning 2 and to celebrate they have given a free sampler of a selection from their 2009 recordings. Here is a track list of the sampler:

Ty Segall - Swag

Le Kid & Les Marinellis - T'est Pas D'ici

Demon's Claws - How The West Was Won

Charlie & The Moonhearts - Tequila

Gardens - As Big As You As Me

Hell Shovel - Already Gone

Teenager - Brain Hiccup

Actual Water - Junk

Black Time - Contract

Holy Cobras - UFO Alien

Download HERE.

ELVIS SHRINES.

2009-11-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

COVERS: Shakin' All Over.

2009-11-24T18:55:00.001-08:00

Those Darlins played with King Khan & BBQ last night at The Red Room. Amongst a super tight set they covered Link Wray's 'Hang On' and they pulled up Johnny Kidd & The Pirate's 'Shakin' All Over' too. A week before Those Darlins covered this old tune, I saw Student Teacher play a super washed up hazy version of the song at Little Mountain Studios filled with harmonics and beachy sludge! Vancouver's cover song of the week?

MONGREL X TANDOORI KNIGHTS.

2009-11-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

Check out this awesome Tandoori Knights interview Mongrel Zine. Tandoori Knights is King Khan & Bloodshot Bill's new spicy rock & roll band with an eastern flavour. The 'Pretty Please' 7" is out now on Norton, get it while it's hot.

Mongrel Zine - Tandoori Knights Interview

KING KHAN & BBQ!

2009-11-22T23:18:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again in Vancouver, notorious garage duo King Khan & BBQ are back in town for an evening of raunchy garage punk with the country flavour of Those Darlins. Mongrel Zine's Bob Scott designed the enticing poster and the good folks over at Timbre are throwing the show tonight at The Red Room. King Khan & BBQ ran into some trouble with the law down south which ended up as a night in jail but they're back on track now. The last time I saw them play at The Biltmore there was a pretty violent mosh pit filled with jocks that led to BBQ playing a few slow songs to calm everyone down. Let's see what happens this time! Apparently The Strange Boys are in town so hopefully they'll play a few songs with Khan & BBQ like they did in Portland a few weeks ago!!

Here's one of my favourite tunes off their new album Invisible Girl:

Strange Video.

2009-11-22T19:34:00.000-08:00

DETROIT SCENE.

2009-11-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

2009-11-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

Rock & Roll Pizza Party.

2009-11-19T10:24:00.000-08:00

Last night Indian Wars, Time Copz and The Dead Ghosts played Vancouver's first Rock & Roll Pizza Party with a whole lot of pizza, Personal & The Pizzas and really good music which was a refreshing change from hearing disco shit between sets at 'rock & roll' shows. The next pizza party is Dec. 16 with Student Teacher, The Tranzmitors and Manic Attracts. Check out Time Copz above and good luck trying to decipher Indian Wars set list below:

Free Pizza.

2009-11-18T00:09:00.000-08:00

If you missed TIME COPZ at Mongrel Zine's release or at a botched Babar night and somewhere else in between, go to The Biltmore tonight to see TIME COPZ break their curse of cancelled shows with FREE PIZZA, Indian Wars and The Dead Ghosts!

More Free Shows.

2009-11-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

Vice and Scion threw another FREE show in New York last week with THE SPITS. I can't see many garage punks buying new Scion cars but hey, keep the freebies rolling!

TAPES: Dead Ghosts x Shining Path.

2009-11-17T09:15:00.000-08:00

I recently got my hands on this old Shining Path / Dead Ghosts split tape from Alabama's Sunburst Records. The combination of Shining Path and The Dead Ghosts is the perfect marriage here for this swampy tape of infectious garage country trash and blues that bleeds tremelo and faint, spooky guitars. 'God Only Knows' and 'Bad Bones' on side B from The Dead Ghosts are accurate representations of Hank Williams nightmares on ketamine with eery lap steel and great country from the swamps up north. The tape's sold out but I hear there's a copy or two of their Live tape from Southpaw kicking about at Dandelion Records in Vancouver. Get on it!

www.myspace.com/thedeadghosts

www.myspace.com/shiningpath334

2009-11-15T11:12:00.001-08:00

King Khan BBQ In Jail.

2009-11-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

(Photo by The Sailor Jerry Blog)

Almost a week away from their Vancouver show at The Red Room, King Khan & BBQ found themselves behind bars the other night in Kentucky for drug possession. They're out now thanks to a get out of jail free card and we'll be seeing them tour with Those Darlins for their latest record 'Invisible Girl'. Read the gossip below:

The Riverfront Times - Latest On King Khan's Kentucky Adventure

Brooklyn Vegan - KK & BBQ's Tour Manager Kristin Klein Out Of Jail

Tonight.

2009-11-13T09:13:00.001-08:00

Woven Bones x West Coast.

2009-11-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

Austin's Woven Bones is creeping up the west coast with a boat load of dates in a city near you. Their new Minus Touch EP is out on ZOO Music and is one of my favorite records of the year.

12-3 San Diego, CA - Bar Pink w/Fresh And Only's

12-4 Los Angeles, CA - 5 Star Bar w/Fresh And Only's

12-5 San Fransisco, CA - Amnesia w/Fresh And Only's

12-6 Sacramento, CA - The Hub w/Fresh And Only's & Ganglians

12-8 Moscow, ID - 1921 Center

12-9 Olympia, WA - The Voyuer

12-10 Seattle, WA - The Funhouse

12-12 Portland, OR - East End w/The Wines

12-14 Reno, NV - TBA

12-15 Ventura, CA - Billy O's

12-16 Huntington Beach, CA - Surf City Saloon

12-17 Los Angeles, CA - The Smell w/The Urinals & Wounded Lion

NEW TANDOORI KNIGHTS VIDEO!!!!

2009-11-10T17:52:00.000-08:00

New Strange Boys.

2009-11-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

If you recently saw The Strange Boys at the Scion Garage Fest and were wondering what that new sax player was doing on stage, why you couldn't hear shit and why she was tapping an umbrella on stage for the whole set - well The Strange Boys new tune 'Be Brave' clears a few things up (not the umbrella). Their new album 'Be Brave' is coming out this February on In The Red Records. For now give it a listen on their myspace page.

myspace.com/thestrangeboys

Haha IDIOTS!

2009-11-08T22:32:00.000-08:00

Local Vancouver newspaper the Georgia Straight gave me a good laugh today with The Dead Ghosts, Time Copz and Indian Wars pizza party show listing later this month. Indian Wars somehow turned into the band Indian Head. Indian Head?? What does that even mean? JESUS!

Medication LP x HoZac.

2009-11-08T10:24:00.001-08:00

Medication's LP is getting closer and closer to your local corner store thanks to HoZac. I can't wait to hear this one. The artwork above was pulled from Medication's MySpace and looks like it might be thrown in the print somewhere. Medication's distant, desperate garage was recorded on a 4 track in his bathroom and we'll be able to hear more of these rotten home recordings very soon. He's coming up to Toronto, Montreal and has a bunch more Americana dates with The Duchess & The Duke. See MySpace for details.

1-11 Montreal, QC - Il Motore w/Duchess & The Duke

1-12 Toronto, ON - Sneaky Dee's w/Duchess & The Duke

myspace.com/rottenhomerecordings

Old Fender Ads.

2009-11-06T16:37:00.000-08:00

Look at more awesome old Fender ads HERE.

The Spinns.

2009-11-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

I got hip to The Spinns last week while chatting with Bloodshot Bill about his band The Half Ways with Pinche Gringo. The Spinns are Pinche's old group and played care free garage punk that could fall with ease into an old Back From The Grave comp from Crypt Records. Whether they wanted to or not they've got that old garage sound going and don't sound shitty like a lot of retro garage nerds can. I don't think they play together anymore but who cares!

myspace.com/thespinns66

2009-11-04T16:46:00.001-08:00

Halloween.

2009-11-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

This past weekend there were a couple nightmare inducing Halloween shows in Vancouver. Student Teacher and Indians Wars played the Mongrel Zine launch at Honey Lounge. I'd only seen Student Teacher play ghetto house party's before and they sounded real good this time around. They brought a smoke machine along with them and an old Fender 15 amplifier strictly for smashing, kicking and abusing!

myspace.com/stdnttchr

Indian Wars ran through a shit load of spooks with a Mystery Plane cover and one of the best covers of The Tamrons hit 'Wildman' I've seen. They have an interview in the new issue of Mongrel Zine 7 which you should pick up HERE.

myspace.com/strangehandsband

Later on that weekend, Bloodshot Bill was in town. He played a great Halloween show and amongst singing Books n' Ribs, Graveyard and some Hasil Adkins he found the time to do a bad ass cover of The Beach Boys Barbara Anne! We did an interview that will show up at some point in the zine uncovering tales of murder, robbery, trucker stop biker gangs and his new project with Mark Sultan!

KK & BBQ: Invisible Girl.

2009-11-02T16:22:00.000-08:00

King Khan & BBQ's new album Invisible Girl is awesome. I've read a bunch of shitty reviews comparing them to the garage compilation Nuggets. King Khan & BBQ sound nothing like 'Nuggets' which has over a hundred songs in the set. Their new album doesn't stray far from what you'd expect and that's just fine. They've got 12 solid tunes that touch smooth doo wop/R&B, Sultanic love songs and your mean garage punk stompers. Lookout for their raunchy rocker tune 'Tastebuds' over a fast shuffle with lyrics covering tastebuds on my cock, cunt, shit and nuts. Strictly for the kids! Invisible Girl is out tomorrow on VICE Records and they're on a monster tour so check their MySpace HERE for dates.

Norton House Of Wax.

2009-11-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

Listen to a handful of Norton Records 45s on their free Norton House Of Wax Podcast Blast NOW! I can only dream about radio being this great. Miriam of Norton Records takes you on a wild ride with smooth narration backed by twangy instrumentals mixed with a Norton interview with Jared Swilley of The Black Lips, Gino Washington, Little Johnny & The Silvertones and so much more! Follow the link to the Norton blog and take it from there. Stop what your doing and LISTEN!

Podcast: NORTON HOUSE OF WAX - Podcast Blast #1

Bloodshot Bill x Grease & Grind.

2009-10-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

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OCTOBER GREASE N' GRIND

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BLOODSHOT BILL

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PAT'S PUB (403 E.HASTINGS)

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TONIGHT!

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Bloodshit Bill's playing tonight at Vancouver's Pat's Pub for annual Grease & Grind. I've had the pleasure of seeing Bloodshot play with Art Adams in Montreal a few years back and it knocked my socks off! Music starts in the video above around a minute in. Enjoy!

Detroit Gals.

2009-10-30T12:08:00.001-07:00

CMRTYZ.

2009-10-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

Carlos Ruiz is an awesome Seattle based artist who's made posters and artwork for a bunch of favourite bands/labels including Davila 666, Fungi Girls, Dead Ghosts, Florida's Dying, Hardly Art and Douchemaster with not much more than a sharpie, a xerox machine and some tasteful photos. The images above are taken from his blog and give a little sneak peek at the process he uses. Check out the blog below and hit them up to get a t shirt from the NEVER PAID FOR series - t shirts based off old gig posters where he didn't get paid!

cmrtyz.blogspot.com/

2009-10-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

Hank Haint.

2009-10-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

I've always had a soft spot for primitive one man band tambourine stomping garage hooligans. With Hasil Adkins listed as an influence, Hank Haint is garage blues done right with the perfect mix of distorted freakouts and mountain hoots to raw lo fi acoustic recordings from his shack. If I wasn't aware of Hank Haint being from across the pond in Southern England I would've pictured the shack to be down south, deep in Americana country. I'm often pretty hesitant with overly bluesy garage but these recordings are just great jungle garage. Give it a listen and check out his tin can microphone HERE.

myspace.com/hankhaint

Party at Pat's.

2009-10-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

Time Copz played last week at Pat's Pub. It was awesome, fast, unforgiving punk. By far the tightest band I've seen play in ages. They're playing this Thursday at Honey in Vancouver for the Mongrel Zine 7 launch. Be there.

myspace.com/timecopz

Jack Of Heart from France played as well. Vancouverites surely got an overdose of Jack Of Heart with 2 shows in two days and then another Portland show at the Scion Garage Festival. They party really hard, play a dirty breed of garage and gradually take off clothes throughout the show. Maybe that was just the lead singer. Bad News Babysitters played as well with some girl group melodies that are still lingering in my head now!

2009-10-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

Dead Ghosts x Babar.

2009-10-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

The Dead Ghosts played a crowded underground shit show put on by Good Burger at Babar last Friday. We met a girl outside Babar who was there to see The Dead Goats play some electro acoustic music. Sorry about that. Take a listen to their jangley country tune 'How The West Was Fun' live at Babar below.

Dead Ghosts - How The West Was Fun

Student Teacher x Eviction Party.

2009-10-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Student Teacher played an eviction party in Vancouver last night that had about 15 bands playing throughout the night covering the bases from punk to the unfortunate genre of math rock. Student Teacher plays really catchy washed out garage with tight, primitive drums and even tighter guitars. Just when you think you know what they're going to play next they'll play swampy slow jams and spaced out sing a longs. Here's a ghetto video of a good song 'Just Can't Stay'. Student Teacher is playing a haunted Vancouver show at Honey this Thursday with Time Copz and Indian Wars. If you can't appreciate this ghetto video check their MySpace HERE.

Primitive Hands.

2009-10-23T10:09:00.001-07:00

Listening to 'I'll Die Alone' on Primitive Hands debut 7 inch gives me the shakes and makes me think what it would be like to play your first early Rolling Stones vinyl in the 60s. Minimal percussion, matured guitar and cool vocals are happening at ease with Primitive Hands, Brian of Demon's Claws side project that makes me want to move back to Montreal. Pick up the 7 inch from Tic Tac Totally HERE. If your out east check out these shows!

10-30 Toronto, ON - Sneaky Dee's w/Teenanger & Red Mass

11-27 Montreal, QC - L'Esco w/Le Kid

myspace.com/primitivehands

Good Burger Venue Change.

2009-10-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

VENUE CHANGE!

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GOOD BURGER PRESENTS

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THE DEAD GHOSTS

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@ BABAR (109 E. CORDOVA)

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BANDS AT 12 - OPEN TILL 5AM

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VANCOUVER

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New Student Teacher!

2009-10-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

Student Teacher makes dark garage punk that bleeds melody and catchy washed up blown out vocals. A few of their songs kick it off with kids venting their problems with feelings of selfishness, being cool and fitting in and they make me laugh at the kid every time. The band's got two new great tunes up. 'Faulty Stance' has ghostly lyrics and melodies throughout the tune while 'Just Can't Stay' is a refreshing crunchy take on a somewhat doo woppy progression. Student Teacher reminds me of bands like Woven Bones in that they stand out with a sound not comparable to anyone else. Check their MySpace for their new songs and the details on their Saturday show in Vancouver.

myspace.com/stdnttchr

1966 Fender Mustang Galactica.

2009-10-22T01:15:00.000-07:00

My friend got this 1966 Fender Mustang the other day for $600. It would've been at least $1000 if it didn't have the minimal galaxy psychedelic paint job on it. Either way, it plays amazing and the space motif rules. Got any new interesting guitars? Send a photo over!

Television!

2009-10-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, this video of King Khan & BBQ playing 'Too Much In Love' at the Scion Garage Fest is so shitty that it's awesome. King Khan's Fender headstock actually glows! Pretend your watching their first show aired on multicolor 3d television in the 50s.

Scion Garage Festival.

2009-10-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

(Words and Photos by Emily McMartin - Live at the Scion Garage Fest)

After a 5 hour drive and a disturbing trip to Denny's we arrived in Portland. I was open minded going into the Scion Garage Festival, not knowing what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. Portland was the perfect backdrop for the festival. Beer was cheap and the four bars housing the festival were within walking distance. Bands mixed in with the crowds and shows flowed perfectly together allowing fans to see many shows within a few hours. Best shows? Strange Boys, with one strange girl on sax, sounding better than a recording ever could. Jacuzzi Boys, Davila 666, Almighty Defenders and Demon's Claw's, who more than made up for their previous show in Vancouver. A weekend full of hip shaking, beer drinking, friendly bands, crowds and excellent garage tunes. Maybe the best of all this was that the shows were free.

Demon's Claws x Vancouver.

2009-10-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

(Photos by Emily McMartin)

Here are two snaps of a drunken Demon's Claws playing in Vancouver last week. Some people were bummed and some people were psyched on the set which had about 4 people playing bass at different times. Half the people at that VICE party didn't know who Demon's Claws was. Either way, it was awesome and Demon's Claws played the tightest show two days later at Scion's Garage Fest.

Bloodshot Bill x Halloween Song!

2009-10-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

Bloodshot Bill's got a new halloween song up that will be in Mongrel Zine's cd comp coming out in a week. 'Graveyard..Tonight!' is a real spooker - give it a listen at Bloodshot's MySpace and check him out at Vancouver's Pat's Pub Oct. 31st!

www.myspace.com/bloodshotbill

Good Burger x The Dead Ghosts.

2009-10-20T00:07:00.001-07:00

The Dead Ghosts will be playing Babar in Vancouver this Friday. $1.50 beers and garage tunes from Daniel of STUDENT TEACHER and the best trap music ever from Connor. If you missed out on Portland's garage weekend then be there Friday to dance and snap them fingers in a whirlpool of reverby garage fun!

GOOD BURGER PRESENTS:

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THE DEAD GHOSTS

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THIS FRIDAY OCT. 23

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$1.50 BEERS

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@ BABAR (109 E. CORDOVA)

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BANDS ON AT 11

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www.myspace.com/thedeadghosts

Sweet Mental Revenge.

2009-10-19T01:49:00.001-07:00

King Khan x The Strange Boys.

2009-10-17T11:23:00.000-07:00

Last night, The Strange Boys played a show at East End in Portland backed by The Black Lips drummer Joe Bradley and The Magic Kid's sax player. After a bunch of tunes, The Strange Boys backed up King Khan, leading to one of the most awesome garage jams I've seen. The result of Khan, The Strange Boys and Joe Bradley was straight up primitive rock & roll that led to complete mayhem in the room. We're going to throw a bunch of those photos in our zine which is slowly coming together!

Portland A Go-Go.

2009-10-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Took a 6:40 am train to Portland after Vice's free beer free bands show with Demon's Claws, Dead Ghosts and Jack Of Heart last night in Vancouver. The band's killed it and our highlight was Jeff Clarke playing 30 seconds of a Gram Parsons tune 'Sweet Mental Revenge'. King Khan & BBQ are djing at East End tonight in Portland. You can get cheap PBR's and $1.50 burritos at Mary's strip club. Burnside is so fucking gnarly.

Ramblin Man.

2009-10-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Rock & Roll Adventure Kids covering Hank William's 'Ramblin Man' is probably one of my favourite garageified covers I've heard. As far as country goes, it doesn't get much better than Hank Williams who really popularized the genre. I read that he wrote the stories in his songs by ripping off old comic book story lines. 'Ramblin Man' is a dark, minor, two chord tune with eery steel guitar throughout the song. Rock & Roll Adventure Kids kill it with the desperate feel of the song, delayed distortion and yodels that would make Hank proud. Listen to 'Ramblin Man' on their MySpace.

myspace.com/woohoo

Time Copz x Jack Of Heart x Bad News Babysitters.

2009-10-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

France's Jack Of Heart is in town playing a show tonight with Time Copz and Bad News Babysitters at Pat's Pub in Vancouver tonight. This is going to be killer. Bands on at 9.

myspace.com/jackofheart (Punk/Psychedelic/Religious)

myspace.com/timecopz (Southern Rock/Samba/Punk)

myspace.com/badnewsbabysitters (Punk/Garage)

The Barreracudas Rule.

2009-10-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

New Personal & The Pizzas!

2009-10-13T10:23:00.001-07:00

New Jersey's greasy Personal & The Pizzas have two new tunes out - 'Tearjerker' and 'Ain't Gonna Find Me'. 'Tearjerker' manages to bring you back to 70s New York with about 4 chords and 4 words throughout the whole tune showing how simplicity can be a band's best friend. Give them a listen on their MySpace and why the fuck is pizza so popular in garage rock & roll?

www.myspace.com/personalandthepizzas

Comanche Killers.

2009-10-12T10:35:00.001-07:00

Here are few random photos with some Indian Wars in between. Grab a copy of Mongrel Zine 7 later this month to read an interview with Indian Wars. If you happen to be in Vancouver check out some of Indian Wars shows and there MySpace HERE.

10-29 Vancouver, BC - The Beehive w/Time Copz & Student Teacher

11-18 Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore w/Dead Ghosts & Time Copz

11-27 Vancouver, BC - Pub 340 w/Polished Rocks

Portland!

2009-10-12T10:10:00.000-07:00