The Hellacopters - Maximum Supershit! (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.17)

The Hellacopters' early years are the punkier thing of the '90s, up to the release of "Suprshitty To The Max!", when the "Raw Power"-era Stooges, MC5 and Radio Birdman were the only bands that mattered to them. I still clearly remember picking up "Supershitty To The Max" based solely on the SST Records-like front cover and the band shot in the back of CD. There was a guy wearing a Motörhead cap and another wearing a Nomads t-shirt. There was also a glam-punk giovine and someone at the back who looked like Rob Zombie's Nordic cousin. As I said, I still didn't know shit about them. The Thing, the only local fanzine that could have written about them (and has written about them countless times since), hadn't even picked them up on its radar yet. As I usually did on the bus ride to my bachelor pad, I popped in to see what it was and the references to everything I loved only multiplied. There was a Coop-like sketch featuring a helicopter on a 7-inch record with Gene Simmon's KISS-style makeup, a collage of photos clearly evoking the punk aesthetic and yet another sketch of the band alongside little devils wearing Converse All Stars or leopard-print creepers. There was also a direct reference to The Stooges with the words 'Jesus Loves The Hellacopters'. I was FUCK ME, MAN! Even before I played this, the manifesto on the inner sleeve about loathing CDs and the famous Johnny Rotten quote 'Ever Got the Feeling You've Been Cheated?' as headline, left me floored...

And I wasn't wrong - always trust your sences kids, what came out of the speakers when I pushed the play button was the most fucked up thing I have ever heard! "If there's a higher power, it must have taken pity on me and sent me this band!", thought my younger atheist Marxist self. A little later, the reviews started to come in. On his website, Jack Endino wrote: "Everything is massively distorted including the drums! (And the drummer's better than Keith Moon!)" and MRR added: "I am now a believer. I have seen the light. The Hellacopters are worth all the hype. They’re so punk, they even make maracas punk." I went hunting for everything they had released, which was no easy task back then and today I have a massive collection of Hellacopters stuff. Maybe I should tell my kids about them in case something happens to me, so they can sell them at the right price. At the moment, none of them seem to like rock 'n' roll. I know I failed miserably on this but there's always hope, right?

For the next few months I was unable to switch to another band. All my best friends have always been basically metalheads. They still are. I wanted to convert them. I told them about this Swedish group that the ex-Entombed drummer had formed to play punk rock and they seemed suspicious at first. They weren't though, right after the first run and they're now also huge fans. OK, from "Grande Rock" onwards, their sound became more hard rock-friendly, so I guess that helped too. 

Echoes of the late '60s Detroit punk scene, as I said in the first lines are clearly audible in those early releases. No other group aside from Teengenerate has managed to turn the sonic liability of needle in the red oversaturation into a convincing aesthetic trademark. What set the Hellacopters apart from any other band of that era (and beyond) was their incorporation of every rock'n'roll instrument into their sound, instruments that all the other punk rock bands seemed to ignore. The distinctive language of down and dirty rock'n'roll is more widespread here. It has the elements of MC5's maximum rhythm and soul. These take the beat beyond the pogo stage. There are wailing harmonicas and crusty slides, not for show off but for the sheer enjoyment of it. Handclaps, maracas and one-note pianos... It was as if Lemmy and his bandmates were trying to play 'Shake Appeal'. Besides, he said himself that after Hawkwind he wanted his new band to sound like the Five from Detroit.

Anyway, here's another White Trash Soul Special. As you probably understand from what you've read, it contains all of their singles from the beginning up to "Supershitty". I've added the New York Dolls' only on vinyl cover of 'It's Too Late', as well as the cover of 'Bullet' that was featured on the Japanese edition (which at the time was only available elsewhere to a Scandinavian Misfits tribute that is worth tracking down). For their early singles, they chose to cover 'The Creeps' by Social Distortion, 'Low Down Shakin' Chills' by The Nomads (Hans and Nicke are featured on their debut) and 'I Got a Right' by Iggy and the Stooges. I suppose that sums up what your poor ears are going to hear. Of course, I've made the required changes to the front cover and the title while trying to stay as close as possible to the original concept. 

PS: I was fortunate enough to interview my favourite 'copters member, the drummer Robert/Robban, twice, and finally to see them live with all my buddies in July 2022. Kick Out The Jams Bastards!

New Bomb Turks - Four Times Nine (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.16)

 

In my previous post about Teengenerate, I mentioned the New Bomb Turks as one of my favored punk rock bands of the '90s. The first time I saw and heard them playing this suprecharged rock'n'roll, there was a look of obvious surprise on my face, see I was expecting guys in leather jackets with long or spiky haircuts and other such dumb clichés. I hadn't even heard of the Descendents or Milo yet (this was the pre-internet era, as I've mentioned many times already) and I also didn't know that the members of Bad Religion were college graduates. Learning through fanzines that these four guys had English degrees from Ohio State University was quite a revelation for me. I was myself, too, something in between because I wasn't a nerd definitely but I also wasn't someone who didn't like to read, especially literature and history. As you might have guessed, I felt completely at home.

The band took their name from Robert Wuhl's character in the early-'80s cult classic comedy 'The Hollywood Nights', which also marked the screen debut of Tony Danza. I remember them uploading a letter to their embryonic website from an Armenian guy complaining about the name because he believed it had something to do with Turkey and genocide. Afterwards, he told them to fuck off and sent him some patches or pins, it was hilarious!

It was the "Destroy-Oh-Boy!" album that first blew me away on Tim's Crypt. The New Bomb Turks combined the rawest '50s rock 'n' roll with the snotty '77 punk and the intense warp speed of '80s hardcore, a winning formula copied by at least two other great bands of the era, The Dirtys from Michigan and Los Ass Draggers from Spain. From that moment on, I felt that things were going downhill for me. I was hooked on like a heroin addict. I couldn't wait for their next single or LP and that continued until they decided to split. They reformed thanks to some evil rock'roll power and I got to see them on stage here in Greece about ten years back. 

The homegrown stuff I made especially for you once again was inspired by the Rolling Stones' "12X5". Somehow, I had to force myself to narrow it down to just four songs from each of their albums and three compilations of singles and other tracks. It turned out to be a real challenge. If you think the job of a serious compiler is easy, just try doing the same thing with the Ramones or Motorhead smart ass... But I think I've cracked it. The more I listen to this, the more I like it. For the cover of the comp, I used the stunning sketches of Arturo de Leon, the man behind the artwork for N.B.T.'s debut and a '90s t-shirt that I found on eBay and bought without hesitation. I believe it is his too. 

Bear in mind that these guys are from the same region as Cheetah Chrome of the Dead Boys and Mike Hudson of the Pagans. Their punk rock 'n' roll has some serious bloodline and DNA. I don't know about the Epitaph stuff but Crypt have reissued multiple times their first two albums, so do yourself a favor if you're not sitting on any of these and go fuckin' buy everything with their name on. 

Teengenerate - The Singles, 1993-1996 (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.15)

 

The other day, I finally found the time to sit my old ass down and start watching the Teengenerate documentary ("Get Action!!"). Along with the Devil Dogs, The Hellacopters of the "Supershitty to the Max"-era, The Infections, New Bomb Turks and The Humpers, these Japs were my favourite garage punk rock 'n' roll band when I was young, loud and snotty myself! 

The story goes like this: Fifi and Fink, two brothers with an addiction to all things punk rock, grew up in a rural port town located about two hours outside Tokyo. They thought capital was something of a Mecca for rock 'n' roll and figured that if they moved there and started a band, they would find other fanatics like themselves. This wasn't the case, though. They formed the American Soul Spiders in 1987. The band -of course- took its name from the Flamin' Groovies' song. They released a single on 1+2, which led to them being signed by Long Gone John's legendary now, Sympathy for the Record Industry label. Surprisingly, things went more than well and they released even more material and toured the States with punk rock icon Jeff Dahl. However, the American Soul Spiders music was heavily influenced by Detroit bands such as MC5 and The Stooges, and the two brothers wanted a more traditional rock 'n' roll sounding outfit. The opportunity arose when Dezaki, the singer of the Spiders, revealed that he was staying in New York after the tour ended and the band split up.

Impressed by the Devil Dogs' records, Fink started Teengenerate with the remaining American Soul Spiders members in 1993. This time they named themselves from a song by the Dictators. In May, a college friend of Fink's named Warabi founded Wallabies Records, with the 'Get Me Back' EP serving as the initial release. Teengenerate set off on their first American tour under their new name. They were loaded with an amazing 7inch and their first stop was the Estrus Records' Garage Shock festival. This led to offers from a large number of labels and the rest is history.

For a band that was only active for three years, their catalogue suggests they were around much much longer... They released two LPs and numerous singles on Australian, Japanese and American trademark garage punk labels such as Crypt, Dionysus, Rip Off, Estrus, Dog Meat, etc. They built a reputation in the US and beyond thanks to their rowdy live performances and supercharged punk rock 'n' roll recordings. Singing in (half?) english also helped them gain a steady and rapidly growing fanbase.

For me, Teengenerate was another important case study. It was through them and their mind-blowing cover versions that I first became intensely interested in bands like The Pagans, The Nervous Eaters, Angry Samoans and The Fun Things, to name a few. Their sloppy '50s rock 'n' roll attitude and utterly unhinged song execution, reminiscent of Jerry Lee Lewis played by the early Black Flag, made me a lifelong fan. I mean, really now, these skinny Japs made The Mummies sound like a cheap Damned imitation (and maybe they were, who knows?). Anyone and everyone who hears Teengenerate for the first time feels as though their eardrums have been blasted by a nuclear bomb or something. I remember doing this to my father's expensive, high-end stereo and him coming in, furious and yelling that he hadn't built this sound system to play that shit!

Here's another homemade compilation for your listening pleasure and your neighbour's disapproval. As the title suggests, it contains all of their 45s (except for "Bum vs. Teengenerate", I wasn't able to find it anywhere and obviously, I don't have it), including tracks shared with other bands on split single releases. While I am unable to pinpoint a particular release as the most outstanding, I must make an exception in stating that the EP "Wild Wild Teengenerate", featuring Steve Baise from the Devil Dogs/The Vikings, it's the very definition of punk rock: Lo-fi, high-octane and with unparalleled ferocity, the drums and the bass struggle and strain to keep up with the slashing guitars! They managed to improve three of the best songs that The Kids ever wrote and performed, man!!

Anyway, not all my rips, but as always, I carefully processed the audio, mostly balancing it, to make them all sound as if they were made by one person. Many thanks to everyone, who helped me create this by sharing many of these singles. 

The Dimestore Haloes (Hit List Vol. 1 No. 5, November-December 1999)

 

(Right click and select 'open link in new tab' for full scans resolution)

The Exploding Hearts - Live On KBOO, May 2003 (White Trash Soul Real R'n'R No.14)

This is a band that I was practically the same age as back then and I listened to them fanatically. Unfortunately, as (perhaps) everyone knows by now, the story of the Exploding Hearts is a tragic one: Three of its members died in a car accident while returning from a show that would have put them in the big league. These Portland powerpopers were barely in their twenties and were about to sign a major deal with the label of Green Day and The Queers, Lookout! Records, which was a big deal back then. And they had just released a modern classic, "Guitar Romantic", on Screaming Apple which received a huge amount of positive reviews that compared them to The Buzzcocks, The Chords and The Undertones. Each melody on the band's sole album feels clearly visible, yet the reverberations of Motown and Bomp! Records are so charming and infectious that it's hard to label them as pale imitators, because they weren't. 

Let's face it, the Exploding Hearts were the answer to the question of what punk rock with POP sensibilities should have sounded like in a world after "Dookie". Twenty-three years later, "Guitar Romantic" has emerged from obscurity to become a widely recognised and appreciated cornerstone of its era. I'm still proudly sporting their t-shirt (I've made a new one, the old one doesn't fit anymore, you know middle age stuff), apart from writing this post and trying to pass on their brilliance to a younger generation of punk rock and powerpop fans.

So, here's an amazing artefact by them on KBOO. The session was recorded during the station's long-running punk rock programme, 'Life During Wartime' two months before their untimely earth escape. This broadcast is one of the few high-quality, documented recordings of their live performances and the line up is featuring King Louie Bankston on keys.

PS: A page about a documentary on them used to be seen on Instagram, but the updates were suddenly halted. If the creators or producers ever stop by this site, please leave a message 'cause I need to get my hands on this.

Dedicated to the memory of Adam Cox, Jeremy Gage, Matt Fitzgerald and Louie Bankston. #StillShattered