Jerry Tries to Remember Shows: Shlong, Part 1

I was driving a Plymouth Sundance. The show was somewhere in Fresno, but I can't remember where or when.  It was  not in a traditional venue.  In my memory, it was a high school cafeteria, but it was  more likely a community center of some sort. It had to be 1995 or 1996, since Punk Side Story had already come out. They didn't play anything from it, much to my disappointment, as it remains one of my favorite albums of the 90's. Stinkaholic, Fresno's (well, technically Oakhurst) closest thing to a popular pop-punk band at the time, opened. A bunch of their friends must have come to see them, because I remember there were more people at their set than Schlong's. A travesty. I remember Schlong was awesome, obviously. I don't remember anything else.

Schleprock - Do It All EP (1991 Nemesis Records)

I didn't hear Schleprock until the Propeller album, when I was buying pretty anything put out by Dr. Strange. I only found out later that  Chubby from Hickey was in the band. While I like Schleprock, but I never loved them, so it was a definite "what? them? why" moment when they signed to a major label. 

This is their first 7", and has a much more Dr. Dream than Dr. Strange feel, if that makes sense.

1. Long Time Ago
2. Do It All

DL

VA - It's A Punk Thing, You Wouldn't Understand (1993 Shakefork Records)

Early 90's comp of Chicago punk and emo bands. You may be familiar with a lot of these songs from  the bands collects CD's (A History Of The Bollweevils, Kill The Musicians, etc), but this is the source material.

I have a healthy respect for 90's midwest emo, but I'm not gonna pretend to be any sort of uberfan or expert, so I can't really speak for that stuff. But this does have some of my favorite Screeching Weasel and Smoking Popes songs. It also features Angerhouse, with pre-D4 Paddy and Erik Fink, but don't expect anything remotely D4ish. 

1. Gauge- Blank
2. The Bollweevils - Talk
3. Smoking Popes - Let's Hear It For Love
4. Cap'n Jazz - Scary Kids Scaring Kids
5. Friction - Milt
6. Screeching Weasel - Celena
7. Heel - Blu Zone
8. Angerhouse - Complex 

DL
Buy

Slow Burn

This blog did not start as an mp3 blog, but it mostly evolved to that. Why? Well, lots of reasons. Got married, had a kid, got a job where I kind of became more careful about my public social media presence (Sellout! I hear  you say, not incorrectly). But in these times, I need an outlet, and I don't want to bug my friends and family on other social media sites with every thought I have, so I'll bug you. Yes, there will still be music. But the price you must pay is to again have to wade through my other bullshit.

Gonna start with a recommendation on how to pass some time.  Slate's podcast, Slow Burn (Season 1) is a great look at Watergate. If you think you know everything about it, think again. A cast of wily characters I'd never heard of, first hand accounts, and all sorts of media from the time.  It has a lot of eerie parallels to today (including Roger Stone). This information has always been there, but I don't know that it's ever been compiled this well. Leon Neyfakh did a great job, and I don't know how else to say it, he's got a great voice. And even better, it's become a docu-series on Epix, so know you can see, not just hear, all this footage. And the cherry on top is that if you are a YoutubeTV subscriber (another recommendation, free for two weeks), Epix is free until April 25th. So you can binge for free.

Slingshot - This Machine Kills Fascists (2001 Sub-D Recurdz)

Another thrift store pickup. Nothing known about who they are or where they are from. I assume the "West Coast"?

A mix of some pretty solid punk rock ("Stand Up"), some generic stuff, and some cringe-inducing lame shit ("West Coast Violence"). 

1. Trephination
2. West Coast Violence
3. Stand Up
4. KGB
5. Don't Tread On Me
6. Alicia
7. Gods Ass
8. Nazi Punks
9. No Title
10. American Psycho
11. Killing Spree
12. Detention

DL