Beachkrieg || From Some Other Time || Hidden Rock'n'Roll p.6

Who is Baron Von Krieg?  Let me tell you my opinion.  It reminds me of watching the director's narration of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and what Amy Heckerling said about Sean Penn, "...he was Spicoli.  He showed up and teased the women, got high, and played the part perfectly on and off the set."  Some say that the Baron is really just the alter ego of one, Andrew Pejack, however I beg to differ.  I think that the Baron is his own individual that has somehow intermittently stolen the soul of Mr. Pejack and appears time to time with Sgt. Pfeffer (Guitar/Uberboard) & Peter Dresden (Drums) in the wonderfully creative outfit, Beachkrieg.  In this day and age it is hard to get people to go out and see live music.  One needs a shtick.  A show.   Just like the name implies, Beachkrieg delivers on all fronts. 

If you are/were fortunate enough to pick up their first album, Surf! you would understand the tales of Beachkrieg.  It's a fable of a submarine crew from World War I, stranded on a deserted island.  With all this idle time they discover a love for surf music.  I cannot think of a more beautiful sequeway into the liner notes of Beachkrieg's debut.

But it is not the album that I want to talk about here.  It is the live performance of these guys that will really get you definitely not  kicking yourself about about missing that re-run of Entourage on the WB.  They dress the part; spiked helmets, medals and Farfisa organs.  They do not speak much, expect to ask for more beer in their german pewtered steins and to tell an occassional French Joke or three.

What to expect?  Great music, no singing but there definitely is some chanting.  French Trivia contests, plastic army-men being flung from a homemade catapult into the audience, a tuba and many a moment of people going "what the hell was that?"

They are secretive.  They don't play out a lot, but they sure are a hell of a lot of fun.  So when you do see their name on a bill, I'd advise you to go see what all the hubbub is about...

NOTE: Don't watch the videos if you are not hip to the schtick. These guys are badass. Pre-admit that fact to yourself before watching these videos; you will enjoy them a lot more!





Here they are on Creepy Kofy Movie Time KOFY TV 20:

This is such a bad ass video. And here I thought The Pinks were all original and what not having it sung in Korean....


Another Gem...

Touch My Rash || More Than Just a Name || Hidden Rock'n'Roll p.5

I first met frontman, Colin Kutch, of the legendary Touch My Rash shoved in back of an old Toyota Corolla hatchback on the way up to San Francisco to see Red Planet open up for Sylvain Sylvain at the Pound.  I don't know if I ever thanked him for the ride, but it sure was worth it (great show!).  Years later, I heard that Colin got himself together a tight little punk band, called (snicker, snicker) Touch My Rash.  I knew that they were going to be my speed due to the long conversation, that I can barely recall, about music we had while driving up to that show in SF.  I knew he was a big fan of The Ramones, a lot of Lookout Records artists as well as a semi-groupie of The Donna's (see him in one of their videos).  So I knew that it would be loud, snotty and in your face.  Throw on a name like Touch My Rash and you will never be forgotten in the San Jose Music scene.

TMR came about when Colin, Olga Safronova and Dave Sokh were all in College at San Jose State.  Bored and looking for an outlet they decided to start a band.  Hey, if the Ramones could do it with three chords, why not three kids from San Jose.  Colin had fooled around with a guitar, with 4th grade do-re-me classes and what not, but Olga and Dave had not played a lick.  They all started getting together in 2002 to "practice".  Turns out that the initial practices consisted mainly of watching T.V. and goofing around.  "Very little playing was involved with our practices for the first three years."  Move ahead to 2005 and they decided to actually try to finish a song, which they did.  This led to a 4 song E.P., that eventually led to them to record, mix and master their full length debut, "Doomed From the Start". It is a fantastic debut with fast, punchy tunes all in the 2 minute range, the way a good song should be!

Looking for work led Dave off to Reno before the recording of their debut album.  However, in came Hong Lam to hold down the low end of the trio.  When  "Doomed From the Start" came available to the public in 2008, this trio played all over & around the bay area clocking over 50 shows in a short time-span.  Playing live this much will make you a better musician, however when prompted to see how Colin feels about his own playing ability the answer I received was, "I still just mainly stick to three chords.  If the Ramones could make a career out of it, I am fine with following that."

So what is on tap for TMR?  Personally, I haven't seen them on many bills as of late.  Turns out that they are deep in the confines of their studio working on their sophomore effort.  Hopefully to be recorded in the fall and ready for public consumption sometime in the beginning of 2012.

Why write about TMR?  Well, first off they are a totally cool bunch that wants to keep with the tradition of DIY maximum rock'n'roll and they aren't caught up in a lot of bullshit that comes with the music scene.  They are real people playing real music.  One of the greatest scenes that I have ever witnessed at the Caravan (of a long list of cool memories) was seeing Colin's Mom sporting a Touch My Rash T-shirt and helping him load out his gear by carrying his Fender amp out to the car.  I loved it.  Everyone has to have a little support.  Why not one's own Mom?  Anyhow, Touch My Rash should be setting up to play a lot of shows coming up this next year.  Be on the lookout and go get entertained.

Here is their video for "Single by Choice"


This song kicks ass live. Beautifully entitled, "Slit our Wrists"

Them Slack Jawed Sons of Bitches || Drinkin' Music || Hidden Rock'n'Roll p.4

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5710639953502504758&postID=112605790674058941

Who would of ever thought that Them Slack Jawed Sons of Bitches original nucleus was formed out of a short-lived band project called Fart-Pod Five?  Imagine that?  When prompted where the original band name came from the only answer I received was, "just put it this way, you wouldn't of wanted to be in the practice studio with us."  I think I got the message.

The formation of this icon of the San Jose drinking scene started between Jeff Okubo (formerly of Platinum Head, Two Headed Turtle & Denial) and Steve "aka Stevil, aka Pickle, aka Sweet Pickle" Laflen (The X-Old Ladies, The Booty Chesterfield Trio & Tropical Leather).  These two men met through a mutual friend who was a friend of both these lads ex-girlfriend (yes, they dated the same woman, allegedly at different times).  They were not sure of what the exact vein of music they wanted to tap into, but their roots kept pulling toward a country sound.  See, Jeff's father grew up on a farm in the southbay area and the family car was always dialed into KEEN, the southbay's country station.  Through transfusion of trips to the corner market, 70s country was infused into the young mans psyche.  Now, Sweet Pickle is from Tuscon, Arizona.  The state where guns laws are loose and outlaws are still hiding.  Country was the way he came out of the womb.


With the addition of Eric "Magnum" Burchfield on bass the 3 played out and about as a trio for sometime.  They still felt that something was missing.  They auditioned banjo players, harmonica players, female vocalists, you name it....but it wasn't until the seasoned pedal steel player, Mr. John Vaughan (former guitarist for The Mind Garage who was famously known as the band who put on the First Christian Rock Service on March 10, 1968 and infamously declined to play Woodstock the following year), came into the mix that the SJSOBs became a complete unit.

From there they just about became the house band at the Caravan Lounge in 2009 and '10.  They played there just about every other week.  Rachel, the main bartender booking bands, took a liking to their raw, upbeat country sound.  With all that playing underneath their belts a pretty tight little quartet formed and started getting local gigs elsewhere and up in the city.  When and nice array of original songs, they went into the studio in 2009 and recorded their debut album "Whiskey and Waffles", which became a local favorite.  When I asked a local fan what draws them toward them SJSOBs he replied, "it is just good toe-tapping music."

This band is definitely a sum of the parts.  There is no doubt that Stevil takes the leads on the musical attributes as well as the amazingly precise and rocking guitar picking.  Still, with out Jeff's steady beat and backing vocals (as well as in-between songs antics), the songs would not be the same.  Then you have Magnum keeping the low end, steady and minimalistic.  I'll never forget the bass-player of Huntinanny saying, "God, I love the way you play.  How do you avoid so many notes?  I feel like I noodle way too much when I see you play."  And last, but not least is the pedal playing on John.  He does a wonderful job of throwing in a layer of tone into the songs that makes them really have a life. 

They are a fun band to go and see on a weekend at your local watering hole.  My advice go grab a cold beer, maybe a shot of whiskey and check them out at a dive by near you.

Here are some videos to further let you know what Them Slack Jawed Sons of Bitches is all about:

Classic Caravan footage:

This is from the now defunct Checkered Flag:

Here they are opening up for Wayne "The Train" Hancock at The Blank Club:

The Demonics || Has the Drag Race Stalled? || Hidden Rock'n'Roll p.3

The Demonics: Best Band Ever!  That is probably not the case, still for some weird reason deep in my brain that phrase harkens life every time I think about this band.  Why?  Because they kick ass, or is it kicked?  This is another classic Jeff discovery.  Back when he was in between jobs he worked for a short while at Zero magazine.  They would get piles and piles of CDs and Jeff said obviously there was great music always playing out of the the company stereo (now that is rock 'n' roll.  I wouldn't get shit done in that environment!)  One of the band of discovery was The Demonics.  He burnt me a copy of Demons on Wheels.  It was a short album on a great label, Man's Ruin Records, but most importantly it kicked ass from soup to nuts.  They just landed on my "gotta see live before I die" list...and the wait was on.

Several years into the wait they showed up on a bill at Thee Parkside is SF along with Gashuffer.  I had seen this early stage Seattle scene band at a dive bar in Chico back in the day and I was impressed.  I was even more impressed when the Demonics no-showed.  Fuck!  Still had Gashuffer tho'


Then probably not a year after that experience they showed up on a bill at the Blank Club. I bought tickets ahead of time.  I had to, they made my list...  I don't know what to say except that they delivered.  They burned through their setlist firing off one sweet rocking gem after another.  I went right over to the swag table and picked me up a T-shirt designed by none other than Dirty Donny.  A lot of the times if a show is good enough I go right over and support the band by acquiring merchandise.  It's the quickest way to put money in a bands pocket along with a hardy "thumbs up" seal of approval.  During the acquisition from the drummer I called her out on Thee Parkside "no show" and she said something like there was this psycho dude that was threatening to kill Russ or somethin'.  I said, "If you wouldn't have rocked so hard tonight I would've been pissed."  They fulfilled my quota of a kick ass show indeed.  And I was double stoked because Pickle for some reason bought me their latest, Hot Rod Pussy.  The model for the album was at the show....oh the memories.

A couple of years ago I asked them to play a show with my band because "why not?"  They declined.  Bummer for all.  If this group decides to put the machine back together I am sure that they would have a heavy following on street cred alone.  My vote: Let the people here the machine.



Here is some stuff I have gathered from online about The Demonics:


Jeff of SJSOBs enjoying the show...


Setlist from the show...









And now some videos....



Here is a pretty badass homegrown skate video to a The Demonics tune...


I cannot find any live footage besides some recent footage put up on their Facebook account.  If anyone else has any live footage, please post!

Here is also a good article on Russ' true love, his 1969 Super Bee.

Meat Hammer || Who the Fuck are These Guys? || Hidden Rock'nRoll pt.2

One Friday night back in the fall of 2007 Jeff and I decided to task the risk and just head down to The Caravan to see who was playing.  Our reservoir of live music needed to be filled.  To our luck this group Meat Hammer was about to go on.  Simply put, we were stoked before one amp was turned on due to the psychotic look they had on their faces.  It had nothing to do with the fact that they were all wearing butcher outfits and were cover in fake blood.  Then they plugged in.  Fucking classic speed metal.  It was awesome.  The crowd was loving it.  I was loving it along with them.  They were in total character the whole time even when were packing up their things and heading for the door.

Not much is online with these guys.  They have a myspace page but haven't checked it in 6 months.  I haven't heard about them playing.  Several years ago I thought that I had heard that they had broken up.  I hope it is not true.  The only other tidbit of info I have on them is a dude who was working for Century Stereo told me (I think...memory is sometimes foggy and I like to take the liberty that a free writer gets to take) that he used to work with one of them at Best Buy.  Either way, check 'em out if you can.  They are a great show.

Here is the best of what I could find online.  Enjoy!







This is a happy crowd. 
























I couldn't find any videos of them.  If anybody has some, please let me know. I would love to post them.

oh yes, One final thing.....Jeff loved these dudes performance so much he dressed up for work as one of them that year for Halloween!

The Gillbillies || San Jose's best kept Secret || Hidden Rock'n'Roll

Who knows what a Gillbillie is?  It is a fish from the back country that likes surf music.  And that sentence alone describes this band from the 408.  How did I first come about hearing The Gillbillies?  Rachel (booker/bartender) at The Caravan put in a call saying that we should come on down and check out this band that was playing at her bar that night.  It was a typical Caravan scene, but I had the feeling Steve, Jeff & myself weren't the only ones who got the call.  We walked in grabbed a beverage than posted up close to the well lit stage (x-mas lights on the drumset with lit cow skull if my memory serves me correctly).  Then in classic Stevil fashion he lets out, "God, I hope we see some good music tonight".  You see, the beauty of the Caravan is that it is a mixed bag of nuts.  You never really know what you are going to get.  And we had been on a "miss streak" lately seeing some really weak shows, but this all changed that night.  The Gillbillies blew the doors off the Caravan.  A wonderful tone of hard edged surf, punk country music played through Gibson guitars.  See the typical surf music is played through single coil pick ups (usually Fenders of Mosrites) over saturated with reverb dripping out of the speakers.  They played a fatter, harsher sound humbucking through classic 6L6 tube tone.

We were literally blown away by their sound, look and performance.  It was the best band that I had seen at the Caravan in a very long time.  And we only caught one of their two sets that evening.  All three of us walked away from that show saying the same thing, "Did we just see that?"

So who are The Gillbillies? First there is the axe-wielding Jimbo.  This dude knows his way around the guitar.  His array of Gibsons all include a bigsby vibrato for that much needed twang.  He has several Les Pauls, a few Flying Vs, and I have seen pics of him playing a LP Special too.  My favorites are easily the Flying Vs.  I mean who doesn't want to see surf songs coming out of a Flying V with a Bigsby on it.  He inspired me to live out my own dreams and pick up an '84 Designer Series V on Craigslist.  Thanks Jimbo!  He is a really precise guitar player that has a gentle touch on the whammy giving the tone that subtle dark mood.  Perfect for a packed house at The Caravan!

Next is Bass Player, Nick.  The man has a dead stare and a badass beard.  But besides that his minimalist playing (the hardest type of playing to do!) sets a perfect stage for Jimbo's reverb soaked guitar tone.  The first time I saw The Gillbillies, Nick was playing the heavy-weight classic tone of his '76 Ampeg SVT through an 8x10 Cabinet.  Oh the glory of that in your face at the Caravan.  It is a heavy, heavy rig, so Nick doesn't play it all the time.  If you see him encourage him to play it and offer him a hand on loading it in.  Also, I hear the rumors that Nick is the main man for working on all the Amps and Guitars.  Steve from SJSOBs said he has used him several times for amps and guitars and stated,  "the guy knows what he is doing."  From the sound of The Gillbillies live, that is easily the case.

Rounding up the Power Trio is Brad on Drums.  While the man doesn't sport the long beard like the others he definitely is an integral part to The Gillbillies sound.  Him and Nick work perfectly together to hold down a steady rhythm that allows Jimbo to freely go where he wants to on the neck of the Guitar.  Other than that I don't know too much about Brad, he seems like he is the quieter one in the group however all members are very modest for their abilities as well as very approachable.


In regards to history of the Band, not too much is known.  Their banner states that they have been rocking it since 2004,  however it has just been in the last several years that these boys have been playing heavily through out the South Bay Area.  There was a rumor floating around that Jimbo & Nick toured with the Reggae legends, The Itals for years.  I don't know if there is any validity to it but it does add to their mystique.  Either way, the three of them now make up The Gillbillies.  They play around San Jose quite a bit lately and I would give a strong recommendation for their live performance.  Go out and see live music today!


Here are a couple of videos to give you a taste of what the Gillbillies are all about.  (Disclaimer: However good you think these videos are, it doesn't does do their live shows justice!)

Bye For Now!!

UPDATED: August 22, 2011
Here is some more live footage from these dudes that I took last weekend.  The crowd was loving them.  They played with this band called Mons Pubis, that I need to go check out.  We walked down to catch a little Beerjuana at the Blank and only made it back for half of their last song.

Here is The Gillbillies taken care of business...


This is when things took off, Gillbillies doing some Sabbath...

They Always Say When You Write Make it Something You Know and Love

For me that is easy; I love music and I love San Jose.  I also live in San Jose and play music.  Hence, the love.  A while back, just like thousands of young music fans in the Silicon Valley, I would complain about a "lack of scene" in San Jose.  Years later I find that statement is absolute bullshit.  And I want to set the record straight.  See, there is lack of a big "well known" scene here.  By the time it takes for something like that to incubate it has already become passe.  Why? It has gone from a trend to a fad.

The process is always the funnest part anyways.  San Jose has seen its share of good bands.  And that count continues to grow.  Are kids caring more?  Or are they just getting better.  Partly both.  I used to think that in the future there would always be an epic music & arts scene here due to that amount of collective intelligence that makes this community.  I was dead wrong.  Through very little research there is/was and has always been a ton of artistic endeavors in this valley.  One does not have to look far (check out the San Jose Museum of Art and the exhibits they get rolling through that joint for starters).  Music too, however not nearly as much as other forms of art.

The objective of this blog is to highlight some shows that have occurred in the last 15 years or so (if anyone wants to tackle any other era drop me a line) that I attended in Silicon Valley and that have made enough of an impact on me that I willed myself to write about them.  So here goes nothing...