Sadville... R.I.P. Billy Miller, Fuck You 2016...

This one has hit me REALLY hard... Billy Miller was along with wife Miriam Linna a tireless pair of rock n'roll champions of the higher quality that exposed me to the WILDEST sounds ever recorded! Without Kicks Magazine and Norton Records I would have been a totally different person, for sure less interesting even to myself... I'm FUCKIN' saddened and devastated by the sad news. Fuck off 2016. R.I.P. BillyMiller and hang on Miriam. My sincere condolences... Sadville...

Billy, Link Wray & Crypt Records' Tim Warren
NYC, 1985, pic taken from Turn It Down blog

Great Esquerita and Mighty Hannibal comic strips by Avi Spivak! Dig Kicksville Confidential #1, NOW!!!!

Heeeeeyyyyyyy, found these strips (quite late, I know shame on me - missed also BLOG TO COMM's review, strange things...) on the net and with no second thoughts took the credit card outta ma wallet and placed the order! I'm sure you'll have to do the same, cause trust me YOU NEED this one! And if the rest of this comic book is as cool as the following Esquerita and Hannibal strips, then can't wait for the second rumored issue... Avi Spivak of HUMAN BEING LAWNMOWER fame does the pencil and Billy Miller the storytelling! This is rock & roll history lads...

Pic taken from http://avispivak.blogspot.com

Norton Records Needs Your Help!

Damn! Sometimes I’m thinking ‘bout this old Greek proverb my grandma used to say to me and I shit my pants from the horror: “When man doing plans, God’s laughing my child…” and you know, I declare my self an atheist… 
The good thing’s that I’m not talking about a person’s health this time, so from my point of view at least if you’re OK in this, FUCK all the rest! But after seeing this morning Miriam’s post about  hurricane Sandy's maniacal appetite on Norton records warehouse, my mind instantly rolled to the silly thought if this ‘upper force’ has something against real rock & roll..? I mean, about a decade back the fire destroyed Estrus stuff too and I’m starting to think if all these lunatic preachers/evangelists are true eventually… Of course I’m kidding, but I still like the ancient devil related mythology on rock & roll, hehe! And I’m doing black humor cause I can’t really do something more at the moment…The pics and the videos are sawing a knee deep situation to the label I owe the most of my R&R education, and If I was a New Yorker I would have been a volunteer/helper from day one. So you know what you have to do after reading this, right?
There are MANY ways to help the label with the able stable get up on his knees again. A donation button has been set on the official website for all the international/overseas Nortonians. HELP THE LOUD SOUND REBOUND!

Norton Warehouse...

Kicks Books Hip-pocket Paperbacks!

Hip-pocket paperbacks are (so!) COOL the same way are 45rpm records! It's the same (sub)culture. When i was younger, many eyebrows raised by fellow "rock & rollers" when i was confessing my praise for books and reading in general. For them, books were for nerds... I gladly found with the passing of time that many admirers of Gene Vincent liked the same way (for example) James Elroy. Through fanzines and especially via Miriam Linna's "Bad Seed", i entered the world of vintage sleazy paperbacks. There was no return till then. I'm sure you all know already that the hip couple of Billy & Miriam entered the world of publishing again, only this time picked up on books and not fanzines. First came Andre Williams "Sweets", then Sun Ra's "This Planet Is Doomed" and now's time for the GREAT Nick Tosches to receive the baton with its "Save the Last Dance for Satan". At the moment I only have (and read) Andre's essay, but those other two mentioned above are on the way to my possession. I'm sure i'm gonna dig 'em and i strongly believe that you'll have to do the same. For many years now rely blindly on Miriam's & Billy's choices, whether that is recorded material whether it is written and i tell you never felt disappointed, not once.
BREAKING NEWS on Kicks Books:  More cool things are in the slips such as Harlan Ellison's classic "Sex Gang" re-print, Kim Fowley's "Tall Cool One" and a book Billy prepares in a long time for his (our) obsession about Fortune label! I just can't wait.
Check & order!

Norton turns 25! Vintage Billy Miller Interview (What Wave #19 - 199?)

Everybody's got a favorite label, right? Well, more than one actually but everyone's got some small record industry to support with a passion similar to his fave football/basketball/whatever anyway team! Of the "modern" labels White Trash Soul's darling is Norton! I know you know it but i need sometimes (OK, most times) to repeat myself. And Norton just marked 25! That's right, A quarter of century full of rock & roll. And rhythm & blues. And soul. And gospel. And surf... I have picked last week my latest copy of Ugly Things fanzine. Actually a magazine now (or a pocket tome). I'm sure you all know Mike Stax's brainchild but as i said, i have to repeat myself. Ugly Thing's the last great fanzine til some other (hopefully) of the currents, start to characterize his self just like KICKS did, or Bomp! or Ugly Things... And i tell you guys & gals, it's a winner for one more time! And it has a 21 page tribute to the mighty Norton/Kicks empire! And i read this piece three times in a row before go further. So, i guess you all understand what should do next huh?
Anyway, i found a Norton tribute/interview on a cool zine of the late 80s/early 90s scene. What Wave hailed from Canada (Miriam's homeland) and it was a very cool read. On issue 19 (came out probably in 1990 - but i didn't found anywhere a date to confirm this), Billy Miller gave an interview to the guys and i thought to scan those pages, as a good coincidence to celebrate the label that had/has in its arms "A six and a half foot Cyclops drag queen, a pair of singing Siamese twins, an Indian with a lung, at least three murderers, the nation's number one art thief, the world's first wheelchair confined bad guy wrestling manager, a hillbilly who sings about the joys of chicken, cheese and decapitation, at least three pimps, an elephant thief, a convicted pornographer, about a dozen guys that wears turbans for no apparent reason, one guy who claims to be from Saturn and another who claims to be from Mars, and we even gotten to Kim Fowley"!
Happy Birthday and thanks a lot for changin' my life (in a way)!

-Click pics to enlarge-