Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story

UPDATE: Third Man Records Cass Corridor is screening Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story on Thursday, December 19th at 7 PM.

Be there, or don't.
Get advance tickets here.

Greta Thunberg Pleads with Jesse James Dupree to Switch to Battery Electric Chainsaw Ahead of Performance at Ohio Bike Week 2024.

I love Jackyl, but that stinky Chainsaw has got to go, says the noted environmentalist.

Creative Commons/You Tube

Outspoken activist Greta Thunberg has taken it upon herself to spearhead the international cabal of rock music enthusiasts encouraging Jackyl front-man and self-anointed “Lumber Jack of Love” Jesse James Dupree to cast aside that stinky two-stroke and get hip with a new emissions-free, battery-powered chainsaw. 

 

Thunberg wishes to make it clear that she wishes for the summer concert party season to continue unabated, albeit with fewer noxious two-stroke emissions. “Like most young Swedish people, my life revolves around three things: Calling out hypocritical world leaders and gross corporate polluters, scarfing those meatballs at IKEA, and blasting some f#cking Jackyl from the tape deck in my Volvo EV. I mean, Jesse James Dupree is basically the Bob Dylan of Scandinavia.” 

 

Preferred over four-stroke models for their lighter weight and quick-revving nature, the two-stroke has been the choice of lumberjacks and musicians for decades. But the new wave of battery-powered chainsaws offers some excellent alternatives. Stihl, the brand most commonly associated with Dupree, makes several dandy battery-powered chainsaws, including the Stihl MSA 220 C-B; it’s got plenty of power and a 16-inch bar, so it won’t be too emasculating when Jesse suggestively positions the saw amidst his loins and “jams” along with the band. It’s a crowd favorite. 

 

Equally as troubling is that while now assembled in the U.S., the German company’s founder was apparently a bit of a Nazi back in the day and was arrested as such during WWII. But let’s not throw stones. 

 

Thunberg is on the record as preferring Husqvarna battery-electric chainsaws from her native Sweden for her personal arborist needs. 

 

Ohio Bike Week runs from Friday, May 24 through Saturday, June 1 in Downtown Sandusky Ohio, a suburb of the Cedar Point Amusement Park. Catch Jackyl on Thursday, May 30th on the Progressive / Firelands Auto Main Stage, Jackson St. Pier, Downtown Sandusky. Show starts at 6 PM. 

Legal Note: This is obviously satire. Get with it nerds.The part about Jackyl playing Bike Week, however, is 100% legit.

John Brannon Crowd Surfing at Circle Jerks Gig in Detroit 06-06-82

With the Circle Jerks officially back in the saddle and the news that Detroit's favorite Fun Boy Three tribute band, the mighty Negative Approach, will be firing up the van and strapping on the jackboots in order to accompany Morris, Hetson, Schloss, and Associates on the majority of the dates, I figured this photo would make a timely addition to the long-dormant PDGB blogroll.

Long story long, the day started in Ann Arbor, where we stole a Rick Springfield promotional standup from the dearly missed Schoolkids Records, with every intention of giving to the Circle Jerks. We did, they played, and Keith utilized the cardboard Rick as stage prop while the crowd partook in the usual sweaty shenanigans that culminated in JB getting in some epic crowd surfing runs. NA, of course, opened the show, and now the Circle Jerks are reuniting for a tour to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Group Sex, their influential first release. Concerned the punkness needed a little extra shove to send it over the edge, they invited Negative Approach and Adolescents along for the ride. Now shaping up to be the Old Punker event of the summer, the tour dates are below. Sadly, at this point it doesn't look like the fellas will be venturing East of the Mississippi, but we're confident there are more dates to come.

Punk Rock in Detroit (1976-1986) Presented by Third Man Records and Cranbrook Art Museum

C'mon down and hang for a bit and bat the fat–it could be wacky. It's free.

Where:  Third Man Records
              441 W Canfield St, Detroit, MI 48201
       
When:   Saturday, August 4, 2 p.m.

02.07.73 Raw Power Released, Life Made Tolerable.

Released 49 years ago today.

Brutal, simple, and boogie-free, Raw Power forgoes melody instead relying on the visceral power of the guitar riff to drive the songs forward. Although hardly noticed when released in 1973, the album would serve as the "how to guide" for aspiring guitarists of the nascent punk scene. Without it, players such as Cheetah Chrome, Johnny Ramone, Steve Jones, and countless others would likely have never made it out of the basement. For that we are eternally grateful.

Produced by David Bowie, the original mix was polarizing. Several attempts have since been made to "improve" it, which at this point is a bit like trying to punch up the Ten Commandments for a more casual feel. But before the masters were committed to vinyl, a few early mixes were leaked to WABX, Detroit's premier FM rock station at the time. Listen here as Mark Parenteau and Dennis Frawley discuss and play the tracks during a live broadcast.

Found! #2: Giant "I Drink Your Blood" Silk Screen and Vintage Hand Crafted Rad Boyz Longboard Protoype.

As juvenile delinquents go, we were unquestionably some of the most creative and productive.

necros, maumee, rad boyz, rad boys, skates, skateboarding, horror movies, screenprinting, screenprint

WHAM-O WHEELIE BAR: Go with the Big Ones

Anyone else remember an America where you laid your money down and took your chances with the understanding that the very real possibility of bodily harm was just part of the thrill?
Kid-wise, it really separated the wheat from the chaff at the street level.

 #whamo, #wham-o, #wheelie-bar, #stingray, #little, red, wagon,

Descent into The Maelstrom: Radio Birdman Documentary Nearing Completion

Born in Ann Arbor, Deniz Tek grew up in the wake of the region's prolific underground music scene  soaking up the inescapable sonic influence the Stooges, MC5, and the rest of the Rust Belt Guitar Army. So when he split town for Australia in 1972, it didn't take long for him to apply the sound and attitude of his formative years to a musical effort down under. Although Tek would ultimately be associated with numerous combos including TV Jones and New Race (with Ron Asheton from the Stooges and Dennis Thompson of the MC5), it's Radio Birdman where he made his bones. 

Considering glut of documentaries currently clogging up viewersphere, we're hoping this one finds a way to stand on its own legs and drops some genuine knowledge.
Deniz Tek's website
The Radio Birdman Story, #deniztek, #radiobirdman

Please Give.

BloodDrive, gore, Syfy, official, trailer, grindhouse, coming to TV, June 14,

Burger Thang Detroit, May 29 - June 25

Neue Haus Detroit presents Burger Thang, a show of recent works by Matt O’Brien, Chris Moore, and Greg Bokor. Official Release: Around 1982 a small group of kids from Mt. Clemens, Ann Arbor, Hudsonville, Bloomfield Hills, East Lansing and Maumee, Ohio all would meet at a ‘hole in the wall’ around the corner of Cass Avenue and Willis. That ‘hole in the wall’ was called the Freezer Theatre. They played in bands together and hung out at the Burger King on Cass Avenue. Out of this petri dish came the bands; Negative Approach, The Necros, The Meatmen, and Bored Youth, to name a few.

Three of that small group, Matt O’Brien, Chris Moore and Greg Bokor have since focused their talents on making art amongst other ventures. This show reunites them and the city that gave them much of their inspiration during that time.

Burger Thang runs from May 29-June 25 at Spread Art @detroit contemporary on 5141 Rosa Parks, Detroit.

Public Opening and Artist Talk,Thursday, May 29 at 7pm with Matt O’Brien, Chris Moore, and Greg Bokor. Burgers and drinks will be available.

Admission: Free Donation of $5 is suggested.

Contact neuehausdetroit@gmail.com for more information or visit the tumblr http://neuehausdetroit.tumblr.com/.
http://gregbokor.com/ 
http://mtobrien.com/ 
http://www.mooresong.com/ 

Neue Haus Detroit is a roving art, music, and artisan exhibition. Augusta Morrison is the founder and curator. NHD focuses on emerging artists and creating experiential happenings in alternative art spaces.

This Machine Kills Teenage Boredom: Where Is It Now?

Ibanez Deluxe 59'er "Lawsuit" Les Paul Copy
Featuring a low price of entry and above average playability, this guitar was the ideal weapon in the war on teenage boredom. Some two decades before these gits were considered "collectable," this example came into my life wearing Grover tuning pegs, a brass nut, and a Dimarzio X2N pickup in the bridge and a Super II in the neck. In other words, massive ass kicking capability without the financial risk associated with domestic instruments. Artistic expression frustration soon revealed it possessed the almost supernatural ability to remain in near perfect tune, even after repeated aerial maneuvers and the associated hard landings. I had Lemmy sign it in gold paint marker in '85, but that had started to fade by the time it disappeared. It may or may not of had an "ULTRA 94" sticker between the pickups.

Unfortunately, it was "lost" in Minneapolis at 7th Street Entry in 1987. On tour with the Circle Jerks, the 59'er never made it back into the Necros van that night. Although the idea of this axe being haphazardly strummed by some 15-year old in a musty basement somewhere trying to play along with the Heartbreakers' L.A.M.F. LP is appealing, I'd rather have it back. In the slim chance this missive finds it's way to someone who knows of its whereabouts, do tell. The story alone will be worth the wait.

PS: They are called "lawsuit" models because Gibson sued-and won-to force Ibanez to quit using the "mustache" or "open book" headstock shape.
When lost, this Ibanez was in a generic case.
Circle Jerks, Necros, First Avenue, 7th Street Entry, Negative Approach, Punk, Touch and Go, Gibson, Fender, stolen guitar

FOUND!

Musty old Brooks leather jacket with the lining removed and the sleeves cut off. Awesome.

Danzig screened the Crimson Ghost image on the collar. I handled the Gone In Sixty Seconds logo myself. Punk outing, people shouting; you can't hack it, without a leather jacket.

Remnants of a Misspent Youth.

Oh, right. The 80's. I'd nearly forgotten.

05.29.71 The Stooges and Bob Seger at the Toledo Sports Arena.

Power to 'em. The people, that is.

Last gig with the five piece line-up of Iggy, Ron and Scott Asheton, James Williamson, and James 'Jimmy' Recca on bass. The next two gigs scheduled for Pittsburgh and Los Angeles were cancelled because Williamson quit. They'd regroup as "Iggy and the Stooges" in 1973.

Aerosmith & Mahogany Rush, Bowling Green State University 10.12.74

Photo: Enoch Wu

Recently unearthed, up close and personal black and white photos from an Aerosmith gig at Memorial Hall on the campus of Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

photo: Enoch Wu

Just a quick reminder of how much raw, so-ugly-they're-sexy power and charm the toxic twins packed before the egos, drugs, and cheeze-ball horn charts turned them into caricatures of themselves.

photo: Enoch Wu

   

You gotta love that vintage Tri-X Pan film vibe. Dig all the scratches on the negatives. Surf on over to the digital gallery at the BGSU Library Collection to check out the entire set: Make It   

Contributor: Enoch Wu

Keith Morris, Ian Mackaye, and Henry Rollins: NIPTDWTT (Nothing In Particular To Do With Toledo Thursday) Post.

Although particular Toledoans may find it of interest.

Savalas and Borgnine look pretty much the same, but 
Mel Brooks has really let his hair down. 

Three guys who can be as wacky as they are rockin'.

NIPTDWTT* (Nuthin' In Particular To Do With Toledo Thursday) Post

Although particular Toledoeans my find it of interest.
Bad Brains Live, West Palm Beach 3.20.87

1987 was a strange time for hardcore. Scene stalwarts Black Flag and Minor Threat had disbanded due to a confluence of factors, and the DKs had become a professional punk attraction for tourists. Redd Kross -god bless 'em- had long dropped all hardcore-pretension and were busy rocking out in all the stringy-haired glory we knew they could, while the CBGB's scene in NY evolved into this metal/thrash/skin scene that appeared have more inclusive rules than prison.

Major Labels came calling, and within a few years on either side of the video above, many once raucous, respected, and groundbreaking bands such as Husker Du, Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets, Butthole Surfers and the Bad Brains all politely took their seats at the corporate dinner table. I know, I know; but at the time it seemed like a big deal.

The genius of the Bad Brains is/was they  never set out specifically to be a "hardcore" band, they simply happened to be a group of intensely talented individuals who fully understood and harnessed the passion, speed and power of  hardcore on their own terms, merging it with their existing artistic and occasionally un-PC agenda.  As such, the typical regimented artistic boundaries of the hardcore scene seemingly didn't apply, or at very least the rulebook was open for broad interpretation: Witness here, a non-ironically Cosby-sweatered Dr. Know dispensing chorus-pedal tainted Rasta-Var-Halian licks far more akin to the Sunset Strip axe-shredding sensibilities of the day than the HC pentatonic template hammered out on the stages of the Masque, 9:30 and Freezer Theater. But in their hands, it works.

The Spring Break crowd appears polite enough, but with the exception of a few enlightened individuals, it's clear the Bad Brains energy is lost on the Beach Blanket Bongo audience.

Although pieces of this video have been floating around for years, this is the first time I've ever seen it available in it's entirety.


BUT WAIT!
While we're getting all misty-eyed over post '85 Hardcore, check out Dave Markey's amazing doc of life on the road with Black Flag. The first true hardcore Cali band to put out a record and tour east, BF essentially wrote the HC guidebook in the process. Despite theses accomplishments, BF remained so unsatiated they took said book, scribbled in-between the lines, doodled in the margins, and tore off both covers plotting their future. Right fucking on.
GO HERE IF EMBED IS NOT YET LIVE 
BUMMER! It appears they've pulled the plug on this vid due to copyright restrictions.

"Reality 86'd" A film by David Markey (c) 1991 We Got Power Films. (TRT 01:01:51) A road documentary shot from the inside of the last Black Flag tour ever (the 1986 "In My Head" US tour.) Greg Ginn along with Henry Rollins, Cel Revulta, and Anthony Martinez comprise the final line up of the band. Featuring behind the scenes proceedings and live performances from Black Flag, Painted Willie, and Gone (Ginn's side project, then featuring Sim Cain and Andrew Weiss (later of the Rollins Band) . Filmmaker / musician David Markey was along for the entire trip as the drummer / singer for Painted Willie (with Phil Newman & Vic Makauskas), documenting the six month tour as it happened. Also features roadie Joe ("Planet Joe") Cole, soundmen Davo Claasen and Dave "Ratman" Levine, and the tour manager who kept it all together, Mitch Bury. A crucial turning point in American underground rock. The end of the line for a trail blazing American band.

Digging a Ditch: Tim Kerr & Brian Mank, 9/83

Click for Larger View

An otherwise bone-dry culvert overflowing with passion, soul and style. Necros tour, somewhere East(?) of Austin, Texas. 1983.

01.07.83 Misfits, Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn Michigan

photo:  Mark Wakabayashi

Doyle, romancing the .016's while sweating out his 20-piece McNugget and McRib sandwich pre-gig appetizer. Wait! Is he wearing Pajama Jeans?!

In the crowd: Foxy Greg Boker, John Gumpf, toke!, and, directly in front of the D-man's strumming hand, Anna, sister of Larissa Strickland(Stolarchuk) of L-Seven and Laughing Hyenas.

Second on the bill were one of toke!'s all time faves, Big Boys from Austin,Texas, with Toledo's own Radical Left in the opening slot. Featuring long-time Glass-City scenesters Joe Testa on nicotine-stained screams and cries of social injustice and all-around good guy Mark Podany bashing the skins, the short-lived and virtually forgotten Rad Left remained unapologetically themselves and did what they needed to do regardless of trends or criticism. And that is about as punk as you can get. Except for maybe a big honkin' semi fully-laden with reproduction punk ephemera destined for Hot Topic mall stores crashing headlong into a Broadway theater auditorium during a command  performance of Green Day's American Idiot. That would really fuck society up.
 
If only Henry1 was around to see his namesake institution of higher learning finally actualize his dreams. But history indicates he was more into the D.K.'s anyhow.

Flyer source

Free-Range Art of the Toledo Region #2

Rise Above
Click on images for a larger view

Mission statement successful. Artistic consistency and vision, not so much. New York it ain't.

opposing view:
Annihilate This Week

I've long marveled at just how succinctly suburban burnouts managed to condense the collective works of the Beat Generation and the cultural revolution of the 1960's into two catchy little words: "Do Bongs."
And who is this "Rich Wash**(type faded)**?" Does he in fact, "Do bongs?" Or is this simply a communique of encouragement to Rich from peers and well-wishers?

Each year, there's an approximately two week-window when the intimate details of Perrysburg's municipal drainage system are in full public view. Not yet obscured by the overgrown foliage of Spring, yet free of the perspective-impeding leaves, ice, and snow left behind from the previous seasonal cycle. I caught this full-frontal graffiti installation display Friday of this week, and even after a close inspection, I'm baffled as to it's date of origin.

Could this be an artifact from the golden-era of the early 80's Perrysburgian punk empire, when Messrs. Montgomery, Groch, Bella and the Brothers Gumpf (and Roger and that other kid who I can't recall the first or last name of) ruled the punkdom with clenched fists and open beverages? Or Is this Black Flag tribute simply the current product of a momentarily disenfranchised youth with a can of spray-paint, just dabbling in delinquency before heading off for a four-year academic enlistment in Columbus?
-toke

-Photo details
Where: US 20 in Perrysburg, under the southbound lane directly in front of Kroger.
When: 4/24/10
What: Sony Ericsson phone/camera