Lists

The Meatmen's Tesco Vee Counts Down His New Props, His Least Favorite Albums, And Why You Should See His Band

By Eric Davidson Fri., Aug. 31 2012 at 9:00 AM
Categories: Eric Davidson, Lists, Tesco Vee, The Meatmen

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Joe Gall
Tesco Vee has stretched his bawdy bile over three decades now as leader of the Meatmen, the Hate Police, and a few other concerns his lawyer would rather we not talk about. Whipping up face-slapping punk rock while juggling numerous onstage props—dildos, nun outfits, bloody rubber chickens, and more dildos—his black n' blue humor is almost warmly reassuring in the post-Green Day era of radio punk with the highest goal of getting on the soundtrack of a bromance. Lest ye forget, Tesco also started the uber-influential Touch and Go fanzine way back when. And there's a bobblehead of him!

Mainly, though, he aims to consistently dis-please your more sensitive friends while you're standing there stiffling a beer spit-take during Meatmen gigs, like the one tonight at Europa. Let's let him count down some of his favorites and least favorites.

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Interviews

Q&A: Night Birds On Pizza And Bagel Snobbery, Being Fed Steak In Belgium, And Their Favorite NYC Venues

By Eric Davidson Wed., Aug. 29 2012 at 8:30 AM
Categories: Eric Davidson, Interviews, Night Birds

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Doug Black
New Jersey-via-Brooklyn-DIY-periphery act Night Birds have been hovering since about 2009, but they recently soared into a higher atmosphere, packing shows here and on the West Coast and garnering slobbering reviews for their debut LP The Other Side of Darkness (Grave Mistake) and recent singles (compiled on Fresh Kills Vol. 1 (Grave Mistake)). Their sound must've gone over well out in skate-punk land, since there is a bit of the old Posh Boy pep under their wings—bouncy bass, pissy harmonies, surf-y riffs. But in keeping with their working-class home base, Night Birds specializes in a trashy beer-braised bruising of the decidedly non-happy-go-halfpipe variety.

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Interviews

Q&A: Milk'n'Cookies' Justin Strauss On The Band's History, The Powerpop Revival, And This Weekend's Reunion Show

By Eric Davidson Thu., Aug. 23 2012 at 11:00 AM
Categories: Eric Davidson, Interviews, Milk'N'Cookies

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The collector-scum world can get disturbingly insular, curtains-drawn creepy, and far removed from, you know, fun. Which is why Jeremy Thompson's label Sing Sing Records and his brand-new book, Wired UP! Glam, Proto Punk and Bubblegum European Picture Sleeves 1970 - 1976, are a welcome blast of Pop Art pep in the world of back-room digging. As are Josh Styles's and Sophie Thunders's monthly "Le Crunch" parties at Zebulon, where they DJ fling '50s soda-shop bouncers with early-'70s glam-pop pleasers while kicking your corneas with groovy light shows. They often add a surprise band; this time, late-'70s NYC candy-coated power pop swells, Milk'n'Cookies will add the live licks to this Saturday's Wired Up! release party at Zebulon. Here's the lowdown from lead singer Justin Strauss.

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Interviews

Q&A: Sing Sing Records Honcho Jeremy Thompson On Running A Reissue Label And His Book Wired Up!

By Eric Davidson Wed., Aug. 22 2012 at 12:00 PM
Categories: Eric Davidson, Interviews, Sing Sing Records, Wired Up!

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wiredupbook.com
Two of the sleeves showcased in Wired Up!
Brooklyn-based Jeremy Thompson, impresario of the collector-clamoringly obscure punk/powerpop reissue label Sing Sing Records, has been busy with his usual hefty slate of releases. Last spring he got married to his longtime love Mary Blount, leader of the fine local garage act Babyshakes. In between deciding if it'd be better to be registered at Crate & Barrel or Academy Records Annex, the pair have, for three years, been compiling a wonderfully day-glo doorstop of a book of 1970s record sleeves, Wired UP! Glam, Proto Punk and Bubblegum European Picture Sleeves 1970-1976. And to top it all off, Thompson got one of his favorite late-'70s powerpop bands, Milk'n'Cookies, to dust off their guitars and regroup for his book release wing-ding this Saturday. Mr. Thompson, you can take a breather... in a few minutes.

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Interviews

Q&A: Daddy Long Legs On His Band's New Record, Playing Harmonica For Heroes, And "Panther Piss"

By Eric Davidson Fri., Aug. 17 2012 at 9:00 AM
Categories: Daddy Long Legs, Eric Davidson, Interviews

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Sara Gage
Daddy Long Legs—frontman for local blues-bashing, clothes horsing around trio of the same name—doesn't want me to tell you his real name. Could it be there's a spurned lady out there trying to track him down? Some traffic tickets piling up? More likely, Mr. Legs (and they are long ones, make no mistake) just wants to takes more care shaping his stomping brand of bar-trash, having come up through the sticky-floor world of Brooklyn punk and aiming toward... well, at least somewhat less sticky floors. This weekend, expect Union Pool's floor to be unkind to your dancing shoes' soles as the band unleashes its debut album, Evil Eye on You (Norton) onto the world.


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Interviews

Q&A: Family Curse's Erik Bradshaw On Getting The Band Together, Cleveland, And Why 1979 Was The Best Year For Music Ever

By Eric Davidson Fri., Aug. 10 2012 at 8:00 AM
Categories: Eric Davidson, Family Curse, Interviews

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Aside from being a go-to pundit on the eBay vs. Discogs debate and a heck of a dust-kicking commentator on punk forums, Erik Bradshaw is the expertly spazzy and spindly singer for local skronk-irkers Family Curse. Peeling paint for about a year with one single under their belts, they will hit the 285 Kent stage tonight, tooting for their brand new split single with L.A. band White Murder.

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Good Things

Cake Shop's Successful Fundraising Campaign: "For Now, That Was The Piece We Needed"

By Eric Davidson Wed., Aug. 8 2012 at 1:00 PM
Categories: Cake Shop, Eric Davidson, Good Things

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Verbunkos/Flickr
The Lower East Side venue Cake Shop has been on a desperate mission to keep its doors open. Staring into the pending end of their original 10-year lease, and owing back rent, higher-than-expected taxes, and other fines, the cafe-slash-rock club started up a fundraising drive on PlegeMusic.com in May. The drive ended on Monday, August 6, and the club successfully reached its goal, raising more than $22,000.

"We would've liked to have made 250% of that, to be able to really pay off everything and move forward," says co-owner Nick Bodor. "But for now, that was the piece we needed, some leverage to go into the negotiations with the landlord on the new lease." They still owe their landlord about $20,000 in addition to other expenses, but the fundraiser gave them the hope and incentive—not to metnion the straight-up cash—to stay open.

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Interviews

Q&A: Redd Kross's Jeff McDonald On "Familiaritus," Why 2NE1 Are The New Ronettes, And How Survivor Is Like Being In A Band

By Eric Davidson Tue., Aug. 7 2012 at 8:00 AM
Categories: Eric Davidson, Interviews, Redd Kross

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Legendary L.A. groovy punks Redd Kross are back for reals with a new album, Researching the Blues (Merge), and soldiering on with their insistence that punk is indeed groovy. They were never strictly "punk" according to the norms of the early-'80s California scene they grew up in; nor did they always sport the "Brady Bunch extras" look they cultivated later in that decade, when the founding brothers starred in the goofy cult classic Spirit of '76 and went off about Charles Manson, Cher, shag carpeting, and whatnot. But brothers and founding members Jeff and Steve McDonald have consistently crafted oddly catchy tunes via an undying love for Cheap Trick and all loopy things L.A. And judging by their new record, they're still as good as distilling those influences into songs as ever.

The band has had the same lineup for six-plus years, and when we caught lead singer/guitarist Jeff McDonald on the phone, they had recently returned from a two-week tour in Australia. Since the Brothers McDonald pop up in the occasional film and TV show, when Jeff started by saying he'd just returned home from Universal Studios I figured he was lining up a new role...

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Q&A: King Khan On His Favorite Superhero, Taking A Trip To Bethlehem, And His "Volatile Volcano Of Love"

By Eric Davidson Fri., Jul. 27 2012 at 9:00 AM
Categories: Eric Davidson, Interviews, King Khan

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King Khan—he of the Shrines, the King Khan & BBQ Show, the Black Jaspers, the... oh, you get the idea—is back, but then he never really leaves. This native Canadian, now living in Berlin between endless globe-hopping and side projects, is a busy man. He's in the Big Apple this week with his soul/garage revue, The Shrines, and it's been a few months since he graced one of our stages with his oft-bedazzled miniskirted keister. But you let two weeks pass, and this guy might have another tall tale or two to tell you if you ask. So we did.


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Interviews

Q&A: Mutant Genes On Drunken Dares And The Appeal Of Yahoo Serious

By Eric Davidson Fri., Jul. 20 2012 at 10:00 AM
Categories: Eric Davidson, Interviews, Mutant Genes

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Self-described "incompetent shitbags" Mutant Genes aren't your little brother's hardcore band. If they ever used skateboards, it was probably as a weapon or as a seat at an after-party. And they favor slightly fractured rhythms and tricky riffs to just jocky bro-core. Only about eight months old, you'll usually find them second on a four-band bill of like-minded speedy slop-thuggery—but that's only because they know not to play too late, lest they be passed out already. In advance of their show at Tommy's Tavern tonight, SOTC asked them a few questions.

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