Episode 98 – It’s A Long Way Back To Germany

So I am about to head back to Europe for a 3 and a half week tour with Simon Chainsaw (the dates & venue information can be found here). We will be taking in France, Switzerland and Spain which is good for me as I haven’t been to Spain, I have only visited the train station of Lille in France and Switzerland I am eager to return to, so everyone wins. It seemed relevant then to dedicate this latest podcast to the wonderful world of touring. Each song played is about life on the road, or close enough to. Anyone who has toured in a band knows it’s not as glamourous as rockstars like Motley Crue or Guns N Roses make it out to be. Sometimes it can be groundhog day, other times it can be the best feeling in the world, but above all, there is a lot of fun to be had being on the road and seeing new people and places. Playing your music to a bunch of people you have never met before and watching as they have the time of their lives is something that I find to be inspiring. It makes it all worthwhile. Every tour I have ever done has been a blast, even those times where my life and / or health was threatened, I still enjoyed it. Maybe I am simply a masochist? Either way, I am doing it again and I can’t wait.

In 2002 I was asked to go on tour and document a tour of Marky Ramone and the Speedkings. I attended the last 4 shows of their European tour and I had a great time. I filmed a lot of footage, took a lot of notes, and met a ton of great people. Most of who I still am in contact with. The band were great to me and being that close to a Ramone for those 5 days was a great experience. Waking up in the morning and sitting myself down for breakfast chatting to Marky Ramone about touring in Australia and other Ramones tales was a dream come true. He also answered a bunch of questions I had about the Ramones that had baffled me for so long. I reveal one of those stories here in this episode. If you’re a diehard Ramones fan, you may not be happy with the story but alas, it came straight from the source.

So if you have ever been touring with a band then this episode is an ode to you, my friends. To the others, feel free to revel in our experiences. Some good, some bad, but we do it all for the love of rock n roll.

Enjoy touring music by:
Motorhead
Social Distortion
Ramones
Wig Wam
The Wildhearts
7 Seconds
Jawbreaker
Marvel

Listen to this episode now by simply clicking here.

Episode 97 – I’m In Love With That Song

This week the world suffered a great loss with the passing of Alex Chilton; singer and songwriter for the legendary Big Star and the Box Tops. Living in Adelaide, there was no way that you could ignore the band Big Star. The city had a small chain of great record stores named after the band and their second hand section used to sap up my paychecks week after week. It was in the Rundle St store basement, whilst scouring through second hand records, that I first discovered the music of Alex Chilton. I was recommended the album “#1 Record” by a friend on one of these visits to the store as I had just discovered The Replacements and I was already a big fan of Soul Asylum and Husker Du; 2 more bands that have quite noticeably been influenced by Chilton’s pop sensibilities. The music world has indeed lost one of its greats and my heart goes out to his family and loved ones. He will be missed greatly but his music will live on in the hearts of those who believe in real honest music written by real people who do this out of love. Thanks for the great songs Alex. R.I.P.

Also this week Devin Townsend came through Melbourne on his Australian tour and I talk about his Melbourne billboard show as the Devin Townsend Project and his intimate acoustic show in front of less than a hundred people at Allan’s music the following night. He also gave me the truth to who exactly wrote what in his song “Christeen”. Was it Ginger or Devin or both or neither?

You will also enjoy tunes by:
The Replacements
Big Star
Cheap Trick
Happy Hate Me Nots
Devin Townsend
Rachel Gordon
Soul Asylum
Paul Collins
Screamfeeder
Smudge
The Nice Boys
Simon Chainsaw

So what have you got to lose? Jump right in and download it right here.

Episode 96 – Show Me The Way To Your Heart

Even though I am feeling a little rundown and sick, I still managed to get a new episode done. Back to spinning records and random talk, this week’s topics include me missing the Nashville Pussy gigs, the unfortunate passing of Corey Haim and a bit of talk about his movies. I ponder an offer I was given to tour Europe with Simon Chainsaw and I spin the brand new single by Japan’s own punk rock legends Guitar Wolf. It doesn’t end there folks as I talk tour news and also spin some of the best tunes you’ll hear on any podcast ever. Hey, that’s fact, I don’t make the rules. But wait, there’s heaps more…

Enjoy tunes by:
The Rock N Roll Soldiers
The Fonxionaires
The Goodnight Loving
The Woggles
The Misfits
Bil McRackin
Rocket Science
Guitar Wolf

You can hear the latest installment by simply clicking here.

Episode 95 – You’re My Star And I’m Your Biggest Fan

Whatever rhymes with... BABY!

Norway. Usually when I hear a conversation about this Nordic country within my circle of friends, it’s usually about denim dressed homosexuals or dudes dressed in corpse paint burning down churches… and why not? But there was a time, probably around 2001, when a record arrived in my mailbox from a German label named Alien Snatch by a band called The Yum Yums. The name sounded familiar but the music was still unknown to me. I took the 10” record titled ‘Funzone’ out of the sleeve and span it on the turntable. Within seconds I was hooked. I had never heard such infectious pop music played this way before and I was drawn to it.

As the years went by, I managed to secure singles and LPs as they became more readily available through the internet. Trying to get a hold of every release I could find was becoming quite a hard task so when Screaming Apple records released the album ‘Singles n Stuff’, I couldn’t have been happier. It felt like I had completed the set, filled in the blanks, so to speak. I knew it was only a matter of time until they were featured in the pages of Long Gone Loser.

Vibeke Saugestad

Well they never did get to grace the pages of LGL but thankfully, through the means of technology, I still managed to secure an interview. In February I had the pleasure of speaking with the lovely Vibeke Saugestad; the band’s keyboardist, backing vocalist, tambourine player and hot little booty shaker. We spoke about the Yum Yums (of course), her solo career (she has released a Christmas album and you haven’t) and her many other projects (writing books, playing in The Twisteroos, collecting bouncing balls, etc.) and personally, I think it was a good fun interview. But wait, there’s more! Not one to ever leave you wondering, you too can listen in and hear that very same interview yourself by simply clicking here.

While that’s downloading, why not check out the new video to the Yum Yums latest single, “Too Good To Be True” off their album ‘Whatever Rhymes With Baby’ (out now on Screaming Apple Records).

Or why not check out the video to her catchy pop anthem, “He’s Peculiar”.

Thankyou and enjoy the show.

Damo

Long Gone Loser Rock Show’s interview with Vibeke Saugestad
Buy The Yum Yums music from Soundflat Records
Buy Vibeke Saugestad’s music from Soundflat Records
The Yum Yums on Myspace
Vibeke Saugestad on Myspace

THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN – “Option Paralysis” (Season of Mist/Riot! Entertainment)

The Dillinger Escape Plan

I don’t think the world was ever quite ready for the DEP’s unique style of their termed ‘Math Core’. Off time blast beats, screaming and harmonised vocals, and guitar riffs shredding somewhere in the 15 notes per second range, it wasn’t an easy band for this old rock ‘n’ roller to get his head around. I got to say though, once I did, I was drawn to their chaotic rampage of metal, punk, hardcore, whatever you choose to call it, noise.

Opening with a barrage of thrash blast beats in the song “Farewell, Mona Lisa”, it was so much so fast that it took my brain (which never did finish school and was never good at Math) a few moments to comprehend just what the hell was going on. Kinda like when you see a ghost and you look twice to make sure you weren’t seeing, well, a ghost. Moving forward from their flat out screamed noise from the early days, “Option Paralysis”, definitely continues into a more refined and controlled chaos that radios may even play. But probably not. Hearing the likes of catchy hooks in tunes like “Gold Teeth On A Bum” and “I Wouldn’t If You Didn’t”; the former I think will more than likely be the single off the album, it appears to be the most commercial of the lot, the DEP know how to take what they have, run with it and make you dig it whether you’re a fan of this mess or not. I mean, apart from the abstract noise, it’s pretty darn catchy with some sing-along moments.

The harmonies don’t last though as thrashers like “Crystal Morning” and “Room Full Of Eyes” reinstate the listener’s “I have no fucking clue what is going on here but it’s pretty cool” cluelessness. Right from the get-go, the album doesn’t show any signs of ever slowing down as each track gets more and more crazy until the break is found on the slowed down “Endless Endings” which kicks off in true ballad style played on a piano (Bret Michaels eat your heart out and give me something to believe in). But even that ends quite quickly as the album picks up again to show that they haven’t sold out with soft drivel, they’re just experimenting. One would think it would be quite a task for a band that do nothing but experiment to actually ‘experiment’ but alas, they do it. Quite well, in fact. I will be interested to hear what the diehards think of the album’s finale, “Parasitic Twins”, a mellow psychedelic inspired mix of harmonies and chilled beats as the album draws to its close.

Adding all this slow, fast, stop, start, backwards, forwards, up, down, left, right, spin, rinse, dry, nonsense, it’s like DEP have taken the confused chaos that I once thought Fugazi had and have upped it a notch making Fugazi look like a band who play 4/4 drum beats and 12-bar blues chord progressions. An interesting barrage of sonic noise blended in such a way that even after these 10 songs of audible torment, I didn’t feel like becoming a serial killer or anything. I think only Pig Destroyer have that effect on people. The DEP is really good stuff and I think this is possibly their best work yet.

Track listing:
01 – Farewell, Mona Lisa
02 – Good Neighbor
03 – Gold Teeth On A Bum
04 – Crystal Morning
05 – Endless Endings
06 – Widower
07 – Room Full Of Eyes
08 – Chinese Whispers
09 – I Wouldn’t If You Didn’t
10 – Parasitic Twins

“Option Paralysis” is available 23rd of March, 2010 on Season of Mist Records / Riot! Entertainment.

Season of Mist Records website
The Dillinger Escape Plan on Myspace
Order “Option Paralysis” from Riot! Entertainment (within Australia)
Order “Option Paralysis” from Relapse Records (rest of the world)

Episode 94 – These Prime Cuts Are Curiously Erotic

This week’s topics include a brief review of the ISIS and Baroness show at the Corner Hotel, the Off The Hip party with the Russian Roulettes, meeting John Waters on the way to the Cherry bar in AC/DC Lane, the awesomeness of the Marvelous Darlings, seeing the Turbonegro cover band Apocolypse Dudes at the Espy with support band The Meanies, taking my 9 year old nephew to see AC/DC in Adelaide, starlet Caroline Andersen and The Yum Yums, playing lots of newly discovered 7″ vinyl records including Mondo Ray and lots of soul music, dancing in your room, spinning records, seeing Dinosaur Jr at the Corner and going deaf, resigning from a crappy job, plus tons more.

Enjoy tunes by:
Roky Erickson and The Explosives
Marvelous Darlings
The Girls
Caroline Andersen
Mondo Ray
The Sweet Vandals
Ann Sexton and The Baltic Soul Orchestra
The Soul Snatchers
Martha Gee
Urban Delights

Download the podcast right here!