The Chinese Love Beads - 7" (1997 Discos Yucky Bus)

The Chinese Love Beads - 7" (1997 Discos Yucky Bus)

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Here we have another 7" by ABQ's legendary The Chinese Love Beads.

Southwestern lo-fi garage ROCK at it's finest.

The Chinese Love Beads - iElectrico! 7" (1998 Discos Yucky Bus)

The Chinese Love Beads - iElectrico! 7" (1998 Discos Yucky Bus)

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When I relocated from Wisconsin to Albuquerque New Mexico back in 1995, I was introduced to both great new music and awesome new friends. This particular band encapsulated both.

The Chinese Love Beads were a straight-up, balls-out lo-fi garage Rock (capital "R" emphasized) band. The best thing? They were really cool guys and I struck up a friendship with them almost immediately.

The band was made up of Ernie “Guido” Ybarra on bass and vox, Pauli B. (Pablo Novelas of Dirty Novels fame) on guitar and drummer Mike Morales (who went on to drum in the band Siva).

While local Albuquerque bands like The Drags, Scared of Chaka and The Eyeliners were getting national attention, the Love Beads were flying under the radar but working, and more importantly ROCKING, just as hard.

Give 'em a digital spin.

Man... or Astroman - The Sounds Of Tomorrow 7" (1996 Estrus Records)

Man... or Astroman - The Sounds Of Tomorrow 7" (1996 Estrus Records)

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Here we have a Man... or Astroman 7" record which was released on Estrus Records back in 1996. I own several other LP's and singles by MOAM, but this one is still my favorites. It includes four blazing tracks of their mostly instrumental retro space themed surf rock.

Gary Floyd - More Than A Lifetime 7" (1994 Tres Hombres Musica)

Gary Floyd - More Than A Lifetime 7" (1994 Tres Hombres Musica)

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Some straight up old school classic country music from Gary Floyd (Dicks, Sister Double Happiness) with producer Jonathan Burnside (Melvins, Steel Pole Bathtub, Clutch, Jawbreaker) on guitar and Ed Ivey (The Rhythm Pigs) on bass. And when I say straight up country music, I mean straight up "crying in your beer down at the local honky-tonk" country music. Released on sky blue vinyl.

Estrus Sampler: 26 Excellent Spicy Sizzlers (1999 Estrus Records)

Estrus Sampler: 26 Excellent Spicy Sizzlers (1999 Estrus Records)

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For a few years in the mid to late 90's I was REALLY big into the whole "Garage Rock" punk revival thing (I still am today, just not AS big). Bands like Oblivians, The Motards and The Drags dominated my turntable. Those bands turned me on to other bands through their respective labels and Estrus Records was one of those labels. When I went down to the local record store and perused through the latest vinyl releases, I knew when I came across a new Estrus release it was bound to be good. This particular CD was a freebie. It came free with any purchase at one of the local record stores in Albuquerque at the time (Bow Wow? Mind Over Matter? Tulane Exchange? I don't recall exactly). And thanks to this sampler, I picked up even more great Estrus releases. Great label, great sampler. Check it out...

Track listing:

1. All Action Man - The Coyote Men
2. All Night Burner - The Crown Royals
3. Explosives - The Drags
4. You're Making Me Sick - The Fells
5. Turbo Wave - Gasoline
6. Cigarette - The Gimmicks
7. The Track - Girl Trouble
8. Cozy Corner - Impala
9. Don't Turn Away - The Insomniacs
10. It's Your Curse - Lord High Fixers
11. Love For Free - Madame X
12. (Are You On The Inside Or The Outside Of Your) Pants - The Makers
13. Escape Velocity - Man or Astroman?
14. Hate Your Way - Mono Men
15. Turn Away - The Mortals
16. Too Much Evil - The Quadrajets
17. Pack Of Lies - The Nomads
18. To Japan From Texas - The 1-4-5's
19. Ghoulash - Satan's Pilgrims
20. Know It All Doll - The Splash 4
21. Five Weeks Ahead Of My Time - Sugar Shack
22. Psychodestruct - The Switch Trout
23. 99 - Thundercrack
24. Fire Breathing '32 - The Untamed Youth
25. Deora - The Volcanos
26. Kill That Guy - The Von Zippers

Nine Pound Hammer - Hayseed Timebomb (1995 Crypt Records)

Nine Pound Hammer - Hayseed Timebomb (1995 Crypt Records)

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Pure balls out redneck rock fury.

I was first introduced to Nine Pound Hammer with this album back in 1995 and this particular release still stands the test of time as one of the greatest “cow-punk” records ever in my opinion. Whether being tongue-in-cheek hillbilly or dead serious southern boys, these Kentucky bred country punkers deliver the goods. They have several more releases which are all great in their own respect, but this one is the perfect primer to their hardcore honky-tonk catalog. This shit is the real deal and is not for the faint of heart.

Black Flag - The Complete 1982 Demos (Bootleg)

Black Flag - The Complete 1982 Demos (Bootleg)

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If you are a fan of the band, I am sure you have heard many of these songs before, but the versions on this recording differ in a couple ways. First and foremost (and not surprisingly), the quality is not as good as any of the official releases (as most bootlegs are), but it is still very listenable. Secondly, this lineup not only features Henry Rollins and Greg Ginn, it also includes Dez Cadena and Chuck Dukowski (no Kira Roessler). But my favorite member of this lineup is the only one who does not appear on any other release and that would be the legendary Chuck Biscuits (DOA, Danzig, etc...) on drums. This was recorded at the midway point of the band's existence as they were transitioning into a slower more metallic sound. If you're a fan and have not heard this, check it out.

Oblivians - Six of the Best 10" (1995 Sympathy FTRI)

Oblivians - Six of the Best 10" (1995 Sympathy FTRI)

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Oblivians. Jack, Greg and Eric. Memphis Creep is the cream of this seven song crop of tunes, but all in all this is a great record...and a 10" vinyl pressing to boot. Classic mid-90's noisy garage rock.

Cosmic Psychos - Blokes You Can Trust CD (1991 Amphetamine Reptile Records)

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Happy New Year and cheers!!!

As requested by my good friend Joe...some Psychos. Happy Birthday Man.

My second favorite Australian band, The Cosmic Psychos. Rock and fuckin' Roll. This was Robbie "Rocket" Watts (RIP) first release with the band as their guitarist and in my opinion their best release. They have a few more full lengths after this one which I love, but this one kicks some serious ass. Saw 'em live in 1996 in ABQ at the Golden West Saloon...they wanted to come over to the pad to party after the show and maybe catch some Zzz, but the wife (who was my young girlfriend at the time) was having none of it. Fun times nonetheless. Enjoy.