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Punkbands

Ghetto Blaster Magazine

Broken Dial

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Another day, another tragic passing.


Charlotte Lesher(1927-2007)
Mother of Joey Ramone and all around awesome lady

Charlotte Lesher(Ramone)was a fantastic human being. Besides the obvious reverence she is due for being Mrs. Lesher, she should also recieve credit for her amazing charity work. She created The Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research and also create several charity events like the successful Joey Ramone Birthday Bashes as a way to drum up support and cash. Not that anybody reads this but if they would like to donate to this awesome cause they can contact the center here:

Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research
P.O. Box 1107
Cooper Station, NY, NY 10276

She made us a smile, so lets return the favor.

I am taking requests for the next show. Let me know what you want to hear.

Postcard From Hell Radio Show #1

Download it now!

Here it is everybody the first edition of the Postcard From Hell radio show. I really busted my ass to make sure it got done on time. I set myself a goal to have a show by friday and I managed to pull it off, so way to go me. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy the show. I had a lot of fun putting it together. Here is how it is going to work out. I split the show into five parts to make downloading it easier. Just click the link I have provided and it will take you to a website where you can start your download. The actual download thing can be kinda hard to spot, but it is below the ads with that arrow pointing at it.

Here is the tracklisting broken up into parts:
Part One
http://www.sendspace.com/file/azb8b4
---Me Talking(Intro: New York Dolls--Jet Boy)
1. Drive Like Jehu--Golden Brown
2. Allen Clapp--Strange Things Happen
3. Colossal--Table Settings(For George)
----Me talking some more
1. Neutral Milk Hotel--Song Against Sex(for Matt Marx)
2. The Minutemen--Bob Dylan wrote Propganda songs
3. Modern Lovers--Modern World


Part two:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/651u9q
--Me talking
1. Bauhaus--Of Lilies and remains(For Daniella)
2. Flipper--hahaha
3. Brainiac--Nothing Ever Changes
---Me talking
1. The Band--It Makes No Difference(live from the Last Waltz)
2. Arthur Russell--A Little Lost
3. Ween - What The Deaner was talking about

Part 3:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/1xp9ov
--Me talking
Flying Burrito Brothers--My Uncle
Frank Black--Black Rider 1(Tom Waits cover)
Dan Bern--New American Language(Live)
---Me talking
1. Delroy Wilson--Rain from the skies
2. Prince Buster--Madness
3. Toots and the maytals--Pressure Drop

Part 4:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/vc0i2a
--Me talking
Big Dipper--When men were trains
The Weirdos--Life Of Crime
The Ruts--West One
---Me talking
Elysian Fields--Queen of meadow
Calexico--Minas De Cobre
Destroyer--Your Blues(for Mike)

Part 5:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/jn52nl
--Me talking
1. Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan--Girl from the north country(For Mike)
2. David Byrne and Brian Eno--Mea Culpa(For Mike)
3. Frank Sinatra--In the wee small hours of the morning(for Gillian)
--Me talking
The Pogues--Fiesta!

If you have any comments please drop me a line. Also, let me know what you think about my show. I apperciate every comment and listener I can get.

Enjoy!
--Dan

Fallen Angel

Sadly I have another passing to report.


"Sneaky" Pete Kleinow(1934-2007)
Steel Guitarist for The Flying Burrito Brothers

I don't know why there was not national mourning about this. "Sneaky" Pete is most famous for his tenure in the amazing Flying Burrito Brothers. The group was founded in 1968 by Gram Parsons(The Byrds, International Submarine Band), Chris Hillman(of The Byrds), bassist Chris Ethridge(International Submarine Band) and an animator turned steel guitarist Pete Kleinow. The band's debut album, "The Gilded Palaces Of Sin", provided the blue print for every alt-country band that was to follow. Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, Old 97's and many more would not exist without this record. After recording the third Burrito Brothers album in 1971, without Gram Parsons who had bailed to start a solo career in 1970, the band split up. "Sneaky" Pete than devoted himself to session work in which he worked with some of the most successful musical acts of the 70's including: Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Jackson Browne, Stevie Wonder, John Lennon, and many more. After a four year hiatus the Flying Burrito Brothers were reformed with Klienow as the only original member. This new line up of the band would record four more albums before splitting up in 1981.

Before becoming a professional musician Kleinow worked as a special effects artist and animator for programs like Gumby and Outer Limits. After the Burrito Brothers final break up Kleinow went back to work in special effects and stop motion animation. He worked on several big budget projects like: Terminator 1 and 2, Robocop 2, Empire Strikes Back and cult classic Army Of Darkness. He also won an Emmy for his work on the mini series, Winds Of War in 1983.

Kleinow finally lost his long battle with Alzheimer's disease at his home in California at the age of 73.

Love You Till Friday

It has been decided the debut of the Postcard From Hell radio show will be on Friday. The show will be posted here in segements for you to download and enjoy at your lesiure. The format, especially in the downloading of the show, will be based upon the awesome blog, Rollins-archive.com

The website, which is run by the lovely Angela, provides us with access to Henry Rollins' amazing radio show which airs on Indie 101 which is called Harmony In My Head. Due yourself and your ears a favor and check out his killer radio show.

I am going to be playing a mixture of punk, folk, country, indie rock, rock and roll, classic r and b and pretty much everything under the sun so there should be something in there for everyone. Also, to save time I will post the track listing broken up into different parts, so you know exactly what songs you will be hearing. Although, I perfer you listen to the whole thing, I leave it kind of open for you to pick and choose.

Later!

The Color Of Money

My friend Mike and I were discussing the prospect of checking out Eddie Money when he comes to New York to play at BB Kings. Now, before you start to worry about my sanity, we were considering checking him out in only the most ironic of senses. I think it would be really funny to see a guy who was at one point making several million dollars a year, packing arenas and had a couple of hit singles being reduced to playing BB Kings. Also, I think the highlight of the show would be seeing the kind of people that would come out to see Eddie Money now.

If you want to see the kind of rock and roll Mike and I would be in store for check out this "classic" money track


Try not to rock out too hard.

"Hour Of Darkness"

During this year I am going to be listing the valuable musicians we have lost. Here is sadly the first one to be mentioned


Brent Liles(1963-2007)
Bassist for Social Distortion/Agent Orange

Brent is most famous for being the bass player for California punk legends Social Disotrtion. During his tenure in Social D, he appeared on some of the band's most hearlded moments including their debut, Mommy's Little Monster, and the killer documentary film "Another State Of Mind". He stepped into the band right after the Agnew brothers(Rikk and Frank) and Casey Royer split on singer Mike Ness to start my favorite Fulerton hardcore band, The Adolescents. Brent left Social D on New Year's Eve of 1984. Right after Brent's departure Social D's leader Mike Ness went head long into a heroin addiction which would split up the band for two years. He would later step in and take over the bass in Agent Orange with former Social D member and friend Derek O'Brein on drums.

Brent was sadly killed when he was struck by a car while he was riding his motorcycle. He was 43 years old.

Jealous A Ginn

You would be really shocked at the amount of classic punk rock footage you can find on youtube, especially from the 1980's. Everything from old promos(Ex: checkout Mike Watt promoting SST Records release), rare live performances(Ex: Rollins debut concert as the singer for Black Flag), interviews, clips from films which were never released or have since been lost. It made me think about the foresight of some of the people who recorded this material, especially the live performances. Think about it, a bulk of this awesome footage of bands like Fear, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, etc, were shot by young punk rockers with very little cash in a time when cameras were still a rarity. Also, when you think about it many of these bands were just local acts made up of their friends. There was no thought that they were filming the next Hendrix or anything that would be more than a fun memory a couple of years down the line. So cheers to those brave people who brought their super 8 cameras to shows at the risk of having their stuff stolen.

In the spirit of this sharing of classic pieces of punk rock's past allow me to direct you to some of my favorite youtube rare moments.

Black Flag Live on the Damaged Tour in Philly
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6T-1TXc1nxc

Rollins' First LA Show With Flag. For more information on this gig give Rollins Grammy(as if that really meant shit) award winning book "Get In The Van" a read. To sum it up Rollins was surrounded by kids before the show and told that him that he had better be good or he would be beaten up.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ju4DBK_71JQ

Total Request Punk. Live from some kid's basement in the 80's is a brief clip in which they speak about The Misfits and play a live performance of "Skulls"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PefNnWJ6K8w


Fear on SNL. Several legendary punk rockers were at this show including members of Minor Threat and Negative Approach. In fact if you listen close enough you can hear them in the crowd. At the end of "New York's Alright If you Like Saxophones" you can hear Ian MacKaye scream "New York Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks!" in his piercing and unmistakable voice. During the same tune John Brannon of Negative Approach gets up on stage and yells "Negative Approach is going to fuck you up" Classic hardcore.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=h75Db2K4NWc

Husker Du on the Joan Rivers Show?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mJ53M7zj9_M

Husker Du + The Minutemen + The Meat Puppets + Live + Early 80's = Genius
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QH-slhl-9NE

LA's first punk rock band, The Weirdos, perform live in 1978 and fucking slay
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e3fuqO1cTEI

Fear from The Decline Of Western Civilization playing the ultimate punk rock heels. The only band brave enough to step up and take a true Andy Kaufman like stand and make the audience and their reactions the true entertainment
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0s2pFo2TA-o


Fugazi destroying at an early live gig, maybe in 1987 or so because Guy wasn't playing guitar yet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGJFWirQ3ks


There will surely be more to come. I hope you enjoy the clips.

"No Elvis, Beatles or Rolling Stones in 1977"

Did Punk Rock Really Start in 1977?

If you ever go to any punk rock show, especially if you are 16 or under, you will either see or hear loads of references to '77. People often talk about that legendary summer in 1977 when punk rock was seemingly invented out of nowhere. When asked many people will tell you that it was better back then. Well this little rant is to prove that not only was 1977 not start of the 1st wave of punk but more like the end. The style was said to be created by a bunch of young kids from all over New York City playing at a dingy former bluegrass and blues bar named CBGB's(Country Blue Grass Blues). The bands that are considered integral to that movement were Blondie, Talking Heads, The Ramones and The Dead Boys.

I think that if you had to argue for a beginning point for punk rock I would say 1975 would be more apt. Many of the bands that get lumped in with the initial "CBGB" movement of punk, although many bands didn't know what the hell punk was or hated the term, all formed well before 1977. The Ramones formed in 1974 and really got going in 1975. The same can be said about The Talking Heads, Blondie, The Dead Boys and many others. Television started all the way back in 1973. 1977 often gets the credit as the year punk exploded out of nowhere due the mostunpunk of reasons, all the bands signed to major labels and dropped their debut albums. The Dead Boys released "Young, Loud and Snotty" in 1977 on Sire Records. The Ramones dropped their classic trilogy of albums(Self Titled, Leave Home and Rocket To Russia) before or right after the legendary summer of 77. Blondie had their debut out in the middle of 1976.

In fact according to several scenesters 1977 was the death rattle of the original CBGB's scene. Legs McNeil, founder of Punk Magazine, said "There was no real scene at CBGB's all of the bands were signed to major labels and touring outside of the city" It seemed everyone had been signed by Seymour Stein's Sire Records and was out on the road. Even the mighty Television was off in England where their classic debut, Marquee Moon, hit top 30 in the UK.

Also, another important note in 1977 proto punk bands split like The New York Dolls, although only Sly Slyvain and David Johansen remained with the band. Many of the former Dolls formed the Heartbreakers with Richard Hell and went off to England. The Stooges had been done since at least 1973 or 74 after they got dropped from Columbia records. So where was the punk rock in really in 1977? Over in England that's where.

The only way that you could argue for 1977's importance is due to the music being released in the UK. Many of the UK's leading punk bands had also formed before 1977: Sex Pistols(1975), The Clash(1976), The Damned(1976), The Adverts(1976), Generation X(1976), Sham 69(1976) Buzzcocks(1976). There is a reason that you see so many of these bands formed in 1976-The Ramones. The Ramones toured through England in late '76 with all girl punk's The Runaways(featuring a very young Joan Jett and Lita Ford). Their most legendary show was at The Roundhouse. Everyone was said to have been there, although there were only a couple of hundred tickets sold. This was the debut of punk or loud fast rock and roll on British shores and they fell for it instantly. Some groups formed their bands directly after the show or were so inspired by the perfromance that they now had the guts to take the stage for the first time. Legend has it Paul Siminon spoke to Johnny Ramone about what it was like to be in a touring band. They had a conversation about it which ultimately led Siminon to mention that he had a band(The Clash) but were not good enough yet to be live. Johnny shot back, "It doesn't matter if you are good. Look at us, we stink". The Clash would latter turn into one of the biggest alternative rock bands on the planet with several hit songs and albums and influence that is still being felt today. In fact Johnny Ramone said later on, "We all knew that The Ramones were the best live band around. The only band we were really scared of was The Clash. They were great"

Many of key bands released their debut albums in '77: The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Damned . Punk really received a push due to the outrageous fashion choices of fans, which were being guided by the evil ring master and Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLauren. Punk rock looked different in England, although the basic punk rock look was ripped off ex-Television/Heartbreakers Bassist and New Yorker Richard Hell. Hell was seen by McLauren during his short tenure as The New York Dolls manager. He saw Hell's get up which was ripped clothing complete with safety pins to keep them together and brought it back to England with him. Now with some aggressive clothing punk rockers seemed less like the bunch of drunks, stoners and bored kids they were in New York and more like a gang. Many of the kids dressed in bizarre clothing including masks, ripped up pants and jackets and swastika patches (which later on led The Clash to never play with The Pistols again after Jewish member Mick Jones saw Johnny Rotten wear one). Note that many punk rockers wore the patches as a way to be aggressive and stand out and not as an affiliation with the Nazi party, although that would show it's ugly head a little bit down the line. Now it's important to note that many of the bands at the time did not encourage or dress like their fans. Many legendary punk musicians came out against the established "punk rock" look. Clash Bassist Paul Siminon said, "Kids would show up with bin liner(trash bags to us Americans) for clothing, chains and what they thought was the punk rock look. Well, if you take a look at the groups none of them dressed like that" Sex Pistols frontman Johnny(Lydon) Rotten said, "The fans killed punk rock. They took something that was supposed to be about being an individual and twisted it into a uniform"

The only place that punk rock could really be played in London, especially in the early days, was at the legendary Roxy. The Roxy opened up in July of 1976 and closed a meer 100 days later. So really british punk or the first wave of at it least died out around 1977. By 1977 some of the biggest bands in the scene were signed to labels and were on tour and really couldn't contribute much to the scene around them anymore very much like their American counterparts.

Also, helping the British punks receive press on both sides of the Atlantic, were the legendary "Blank number ones". The British press was so afraid by punk rock that when The Sex Pistols record, "Nevermind The Bullocks, Here is The Sex Pistols" went number one it was not listed on the billboard charts. The same went for bands like The Clash who despite playing outsider music sold rather well. The reason for all of this fear of punk dealt with more than just fashion. The Sex Pistols had made an explosive and legendary appearance on Bill Grundy's show, which my UK friends tell me was on the scale of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, in which they cursed him and gave him the finger. Depending on who you ask The Sex Pistols were not entirely to blame for their rowdy performance. For one the green room was filled with booze which most of the entourage(includingSiouxsie Sioux) and band downed with zeal. Also, it seems that the Pistols were goaded into saying something vulgar. When asked a question Rotten cursed, albeit quietly, under his breath and when asked what he had just said, Rotten responded with "nothing just something rude" And that was that. Steve Jones also cursed under his breath when asked what had happened to the money they had just gotten by signing a record deal. Jones said "Wefuckin spent it" Later on in the interview Jones was asked by Grundy to say "something outrageous " and Jones did calling Grundy several names. Damned Bassist/Guitarist Captain Sensible has said, "Anyone could have gotten on there and cursed of Grundy. JoeStrummer could have done it and I could have to" The reaction right after the interview was instant. Legend has it many people broke theirtelevisions because of it. The following day the press ran an article calling the pistols performance "The Filith and The Fury" and "Filthy Lucre" which has it's roots in a bible passage and basically means dirty money. This was used to refer to the deal they had just signed withEMI. The bad press almost completely killed the Anarchy Tour, which had The Sex Pistols, The Heartbreakers and The Clash. The tour was schedule for 35 dates but with the press backlash several venues canceled the dates until they only played a total of 5.

With no dates in England the Pistols headed to America. The press in the states was all over them before they even touched down. Their fame hadpreceded them and several of their concerts were canceled. The ended up playing some well received shows all before breaking up after a show at The Winterland in January of 1978.


The amount of press raised the level of awareness from the general public from very little to high profile all taking place in 1977. That was many people get the idea that punk started in 1977 because that's when the world learned about it. You, the true fans, know that this isn't true. Hopefully you were there. Hopefully you bought the records or saw the shows. I know I didn't but I would have loved to. Sure, there was punk music after 1977 and it would thrive again but the point I am trying to make is that 1977 was a year that punk rock was merely discovered by the public and not invented. Looking back at the history people should look on the year or two before a little more longingly. All of the band's tied to the first wave of punk rock especially in New York, were pretty much gone starting in that year. There was no scene at CBGB's anymore. These bands went on tour spreading the message and changing lives outside of New York at around that time. So that is why so many people have fond members of 77. That was the first time they saw The Talking Heads, The Ramones, Dead Boys and listen to their records for the first time. So it is all as if it seemingly came out of nowhere. Anyways, I hoped that rant proved informative. This is simply myopinion. If you disagree that's just fine. Post a message and we will have it out. If you have anymore questions about this topic feel free to ask or consult some of my favorite works on the subject.

DVD: Punk: Attitude
The Filth and The Fury
End Of The Century

Books: We've Got The Neutron Bomb


All of which you can grab from Amazon.com

The title as listed "No Elvis, Beatles or Rolling Stones in 1977" is a line from The Clash song, "1977". The Clash were right on in this statement. The Beatles had broken up in 1970, so no threat there. Elvis had actually died that very year, so 2 for 2. And lastly, although The Rolling Stones were together, the band would not issue a studio album for the year of 1977, a feat they had accomplished for over a deacde(1964-1976). Also, for what it's worth, "1977" was the b-side to the first Clash single, "White Riot".

Welcome

Hey Everyone,

Welcome to Postcard From Hell. This blog is going to be the future home of my Internet radio show and will also serve as a rant space for top 5/10 lists, band profiles, news and history. If anyone is wondering where the name Postcard From Hell comes from let me tell you. In the classic Uncle Tupelo song "Postcard" the following lines are sung:

"Can't find the phone, can't hear to listen
Can't take along what we're missing
Just as well to write this Postcard from Hell
And the bar clock says three a.m.
Fallout shelter sign above the door
In other words, don't come here anymore"

On my upcoming radio show, which will more than likely go under the same name, I am going to play a variety of music from all genres without one in particular being the focus. This isn't going to be punk rock hour or any alt-country hootnany. The idea is to play music under the header of cool music and that's all that should matter. As the saying goes, "Good music is good music and that's all that matters"

I myself am a student of music history and culture which will worm it's way into my radio show. Inbetween playing some awesome tunes I'll be sharing little tidbits of information about meanings of songs, associated bands, myths and other assorted stuff that makes all of your favorite songs a little bit cooler.

I can't tell you exactly what I will play, because that list is simply too long. But allow me to give you some sembalance of the kind of music I like and will speak about.

Modern Lovers
The Band
Black Flag
The Clash
The Weirdos
Flying Burrito Brothers
Phil Ochs
Dylan
Fugazi
Dan Bern
Billie Holiday
Brainiac
Bad Manners
Cornelius
Pavement
Thin Lizzy
Drive Like Jehu
Exploding Hearts
The Swans
Howlin Wolf
Buddy Guy
Husker Du
Wutang Clan
Rufus Wainwright
Prince Buster
Squeeze
Talking Heads
Gomez
Hank Williams
Janis Joplin
James Chance
The Ramones
Tom Waits
Ween
Bauhaus
Tones On Tail
Lords Of The New Church
Explosions In The Sky
Hendrix
Eno
Bonnie Prince Billy
Buzzcocks
Thin Lizzy
Black Star
The Coup

Also, during programs we will receive inspirational messages from the godhead of our little show, Bill Hicks. In short it should be tons of fun and I hope you enjoy everything you are going to see, read and hear at Postcard From Hell.