Bad Sports w/ the Wax Museums

two awesome shows in one night......this thursday AUGUST 4th.......

BAD SPORTS ( garage punk......DOUCHEMASTER / DIRTNAP records)
   and
WAX MUSEUMS (lo-fi pop punk......TROUBLE IN MIND records)


6pm @ PERMANENT RECORDS......free and BYOB
    and
10pm @ CAL'S..... five dollar cover

both these bands are amazing.....
fun loud catchy punk rock...


and both are from the crazy texas scene that gave us the high tension wires, riverboat gamblers and the mind spiders....


highly recommended....


click here to grab/listen to 'TEENAGE GIRLS' off the new BAD SPORTS lp "KINGS OF THE WEEKEND" out mid-august on dirtnap records.........

and watch below......

BAD SPORTS


WAX MUSEUMS

CASTLEFACE RECORDS - GROUP FLEX

CASTLEFACE RECORDS presents GROUP FLEX vol. 1.......a five flexi disc 7 inch compilation of the some of best psych garage rock bands out there......

FRESH AND ONLYS, BARE WIRES, BLASTED CANYONS, TY SEGALL with MICHAEL CRONIN and THE OH SEES.........

very limited and kind of expensive, this is one of the most unique and highly recommended releases of the year......  all these tracks are exclusive to this comp and every single track is awesome.......

i suggest you go buy it now.....before its gone......

but you can also click here to GRAB GROUP FLEX.   

cola freaks- s/t lp

THE COLA FREAKS are most famous as JAY REATARD's backing band shortly before his untimely death.

However their brand of spastic lo-fi punk rock ought to be more than a footnote......

these DANISH guys fuckin kill it....

i had the chance to see them live twice and not many bands play punk with such energy and precision.....

and not many american bands play such raw 70s era punk rock...... especially ones that definitely love those KILLED BY DEATH comps.........


here's the write-up from DOUCHEMASTER RECORDS, who just unleashed the lp in late may.....

    "After a very impressive series of singles, we are pleased to announce the release of the debut LP from Denmark’s Cola Freaks. Cola Freaks sound like a scheduled and perfectly executed panic attack. 

    The songs these guys produce are as scrupulous as they are frenzied and eerie, however. Rare is it that a band can employ frequent direction change and herky jerky song structure and still command total attention. 

    Cola Freaks singles have habitually drawn comparisons to European KBD bands and Mr. Jay Reatard, and the LP does not stray much in that regard. Quick, clean and nervous is sort of the Cola Freaks MO, and that’s precisely what you’ll get with this record."

click here to download the new COLA FREAKS lp.......

and watch below:

heavy times - "skull hair" off the their new hozac lp

Heavy Times - Skull Hair by HOZAC RECORDS>

hey you…this is yer first chance to check out the track “Skull Hair” off the upcoming HEAVY TIMES LP.......coming out this fall on Hozac Records.......  this is an album you need to own.'


also listen below to heavy times live at the empty bottle.

ty segall - live at the empty bottle

ty segall's mix of garage, punk, psychedelic surf and fuzzed out rock n roll is a favorite at tiny grooves............ so i thought i'd share his set from the empty bottle earlier this year.......


listen below and pretend you were there.......

and go buy his new lp GOODBYE BREAD out on drag city records.......  
highly recommended!   one of the best albums of the year........

drunk pixels- THE OH SEES (part 3)

not sure which of the two THE OH SEES shows this past weekend was more fun:

                          saturday night at the empty bottle was sold out drunken madness.....
.........but sunday afternoon at the logan square monument was equally riotous.......

the early evening park show was so awesome, 
i want you to see it in its entirety.......


rock n roll below......









and one last song for the kids.......

drunk pixels- THE OH SEES (part 2)

here's part two of THE OH SEES weekend in chicago.......

               these photos are from the sunday show at the logan square monument.........

 the second show seemed just as crazy as the first....... rock n roll in the park.....

scion a/v club GARAGE/PUNK SEVEN INCH SERIES

scion may or may not be encroaching on our beloved garage rock scene, but free music from our favorite bands is never a terrible thing.  


so i guess we owe a thanks to scion for this singles series.......

as far a i can tell this is every release 
in the scion a/v club garage/punk 7 inch collection......
              (they have also released a few other rock, metal and hiphop singles, but that's less interesting....)



so click here to grab the first ELEVEN singles in the series......
     (all grouped as one easy to download .zip file)


black lips / pierced arrows
cola freaks / digital leather

king tuff / hex dispensers

human eye / sex beet

jack oblivian / mannequin men

oblivians / andre ethier

reigning sound / last year's men

dirtbombs / davila 666

the strange boys / natural child

kid congo & the pink monkey birds / 
            hunx & his punx

nobunny / jacuzzi boys

and  here to grab THE SPITS two 7 inches

(grouped as another .zip
    so the spits fans can just grab these two releases.....)
      
the spits "haunted fang castle" ep 
(which is quite weird)  & the spits / dan melchior split

and   
click here to grab the 
CHEAP TIME / BAD SPORTS
7 INCH......

some of these singles are no longer available 
for download at scion....... 


      
so this might be the only place to grab these 7 inches.....

drunk pixels- THE OH SEES (part 1)

i fell into a drunken psychedelic garage rock haze last night during THE OH SEES set, so i didn't document any of the show....i couldn't have held a camera steady with all the dancing around.........but lucky for us, a couple of other kids did.......

(go see the oh sees live.....you won't be disappointed..... and the oh sees are even better now with the addition of lars from THE INTELLIGENCE.......)

watch below.....

drunk pixels- RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS

here's my go at iphone filmmaking.....the riverboat gamblers are amazing live and so we can all pretend these two videos are representative of their set this afternoon at Wicker Park Fest in Chicago....

enjoy......

thee mighty caesars- english punk rock explosion!

thee mighty caesars were the garage/punk vehicle for BILLY CHILDISH before thee headcoats and after the milkshakes......

all three of bands which pretty much resurrected garage rock from the dead.......by mixing it with stripped down fun punk rock attitude......

if you don't know any of billy childish's many many albums, you need to do some listening right now......

the gories, the oblivians, the white stripes, the mummies, the makers and almost every other garage/punk band owes BILLY CHILDISH a huge debt, his influence cannot be understated...
....... and thee mighty caesars broke a lot of musical ground that bands are still exploring today..........

so click here to grab the lp, 
  THUSLY, THEE MIGHTY CAESARS (ENGLISH PUNK ROCK EXPLOSION!)
from 1988 on crypt records.......

rock n roll below.....

lost sounds - memphis is dead / black wave / misc.

so i know fat possum is doing us all a favor by releasing a best of the lost sounds lp, BLAC STATIC, seeing as all their albums are out of print and not nearly enough people know about jay reatard's former band.......

but its a shame that each lp isn't going to be individually reissued.   i love each and every lost sounds album........ noise, punk, synth and good ol' rock n roll all mashed into one chaotic mess.........

although some jay reatard fans weren't super into the LOST SOUNDS and they were barely noticed during their five album run, some of his best songs were written for the synth punk group.

and even though i own too many records, i often throw the lost sounds lps on the turntable.........so many more people need to give 'em a listen......

the lost sounds, at any rate, are better than the buzz bands getting hyped in the blogosphere.......

i don't want you to miss out on some of the more obscure jay reatard tracks, so here are the first two lost sounds lps and two rarities comps (that are by the way, insanely rare).......

click below to add them to yr collection..........

MEMPHIS IS DEAD (debut lost sounds lp from 2000)

BLACK WAVE (second lp from 2001)

OUT TAKES AND DEMOS VOL 1.

OUT TAKES AND DEMOS VOL 2.


and rest in peace, jay.


watch a lost sounds live set from 2005 below........

the men- leave home

THE MEN are a brooklyn noise punk quartet that defy categorization.

one might say they do it to disrupt the sub-sub-sub genre scenesterism of the music scene, or maybe cause they have so many good records in their collection they just gotta try some things out.

i can imagine THE MEN playing a noise rock loft show in nyc, and yet at the same time also imagine them opening up for sonic youth in the mid 80s.

pitchfork seems to think every band in the book "THIS BAND COULD BE YOUR LIFE" is an influence, and yeah the sst and touch & go reference points make sense.... (husker du "land speed record" or "metal circus" era, jesus lizard, big black)

but THE MEN also meld together noise, psych, punk, post-hardcore, shoegaze and garage rock into hazy loud feedback-riddled mess of an lp.......

LEAVE HOME, just released on sacred bones, is a bit more cohesive and straight forward then their previous lp IMMACULADA....it reminds me of a punked out version of boris' pink lp quite a bit......

anyway you have to check the men out for yerself.

i promise you its worth the time, many listens in and i'm still hooked even if i can't quite describe it.......










.......if you like what you hear, click here for the LEAVE HOME lp.  and here for their previous lp IMMACULADA.

and go see THE MEN for free 
at PERMANENT RECORDS CHICAGO 
August 12 at 6pm.......

up and comers- tyler jon tyler

tyler jon tyler is catchy jangle pop from chicago.  

they remind me of sleater-kinney and the vaselines, but less pacific northwest indie and more chicago garage rock.......(members from the ponys and the daily void, fill out the rhythm section.)

with one single on TROUBLE IN MIND records and an lp out on SLOW FIZZ records......tyler jon tyler is just getting started, but i don't think anything will stop the spread of their infectious pop shambles......

usually pop songs have so much gloss and production, it makes you sick.......but the loose fun bouncy songs of tyler jon tyler get stuck in yer head just like a radio hit, but with all the energy thats lacking on the airwaves........

these kids just might be chicago's best kept musical secret......so check em out.....

click here to grab their self titled debut lp......

and watch their awesome RECORD STORE DAY performance from 2010.......

brain idea- cosmos factory ep

after releasing a stellar lp on permanent records, BRAIN IDEA is back with a short teaser ep on mexican summer.  noise pop with plenty krautrock and mid 80s indie vibe to spare.  one of the best chicago bands sneaking around the scene right now.

go buy SURVIVAL SCROLLS from permanent before its gone.....

.....and click here to download the very limited COSMOS FACTORY ep out on MEXICAN SUMMER.    and if you want to add it to yer collection, dont waste anytime.  mexican summer releases are out of print before you blink......


and check out brain idea tonight at the empty bottle with the FRESH & ONLYS and the PAPERHEAD.........


.........watch the video from the new ep COSMOS FACTORY below:


Brain Idea - "Oh I'm Free (Earn Your Card)" from Mexican Summer on Vimeo.

wooden shjips - west

WOODEN SHJIPS are my favorite psych / noise/ drone rockers.

hands down.

so a new lp out this fall is good news.

especially with the stamp of approval by thrill jockey who insisted on releasing it.

WEST is quite the hypnotic lp.  i might just never stop listening to it.......

click here to sneak the lp into yr life, 

but you gotta promise you'll purchase it in september when it comes out.  the wooden shjips don't write such good songs for free..........


listen below to a couple songs of the "west" lp below via youtube.........

the blind shake - seriousness

the BLIND SHAKE play killer surf / noise / garage inspired post punk.... with all the angles of math rock and the in yer face attitude of punk.....

maybe you could say sonic youth, don caballero or the intelligence are reference points but all you need to know is its loud fast and precise rock n roll from minneapolis/st paul.......

the blind shake have been around for quite some time releasing little noticed record after little noticed record.....which is quite a shame, cause few bands meld so many great underground rock influences into such glorious noise.......

....and their side project is backing up legendary noisemaker michael yonkers, so you know these guys know what they're doing.......

the blind shake just released an lp entitled SERIOUSNESS on learning curve records, which after you listen below, you'll run out to buy immediately.......

definitely one of tiny grooves top albums of 2011........


check it out now, and go grab yrself a copy.....




and if you need more convincing....watch the blind shake live below:

buzz- the fungi girls

the FUNGI GIRLS are noisy garage punks from texas who just released a killer new lp "some easy magic" on my favorite, hozac records.....

.....psychedelic garage influenced punk with lots of hazy feedback, trippy angular guitars and summer vibes.......

if you're into the xray eyeballs, crystal stilts, dum dum girls, male bonding or the smith westerns, the fungi girls are yr new favorite band........

here's what HOZAC RECORDS has to say about their newest noisy hitmakers.......

As the hypnotically serene breeze of summer finally locks into place across the land, the sophomore LP from the three hyper-talented Cleburne, TX teenagers known as Fungi Girls, sprouts up from the earth like an other-worldly fern-like vessel emerging from the desert, ready to seduce the innocent and beguile the non-believers with its powerfully delicate and cavernous sound. Wise beyond their years, both in song construction, and in their depth of influences, Fungi Girls have been carving out a reverberating and resilient groove that sucks you into their hazy world of lacing crystalline guitar line over thunderous bass rhythms, all wrapped in their inimitable vocal style, which clearly drives this band into their own realm of psychedelic pop mastery. Needless to say, these small-town kids are doing something incredible with the wealth of music lying effortlessly at their fingertips, and forging their own unique sound and certain tension has become second nature on this new LP, which embraces a simple formula that works perfectly to distill the nuances of yesterday’s overlooked visionaries into the perpetual sound of today.

Not many bands can muster this type of atmospheric allure in these modern times of flash-in-the-pan hype and redundant indie rock drivel, yet Fungi Girls have found their voice on Some Easy Magic. What we get is a clearly refined, yet, major step forward from their noise-pop saturated debut 12″ that got the fire burning outside of their local confines last year. The subdued textures they create can be staggering, proving this LP has straddled both the maturity and the purity of early 80s DIY pop, aligning jaggedly with early 90s underground influences from the darker side of Slumberland catalog, all connecting into a tightly-bound collection of songs that kill the pain, and slow the drain.

click below to grab the FUNGI GIRLS previous releases......

seafaring pyramids (debut 8 song lp)
             turquoise hotel b/w doldrums (sold out hozac 7 inch)


and listen to two tracks off SOME EASY MAGIC.......and then go buy the LP.....tiny grooves highly recommends it.....

.........check out the video for velvet days below.......



and watch out, they may or may not be playing a town near you this summer.......the fungi girls like to tour........

up and comers- LAST YEAR's MEN

LAST YEAR"S MEN is catchy garage rock from chapel hill, north carolina......  

for fans of ty segall, spider bags, strange boys and/or the reigning sound..... whom they opened up for this spring in chicago at the empty bottle.......

rowdy drunken southern tinged rock n roll, the kind that always catches my ear....

so you need to buy their debut lp, SUNNY DOWN SNUFF, on churchkey records if you can find it.....  

and watch out, these kids have enough talent to keep our turntables happy for many more albums to come......

watcb some of their chaos live below.......

and watch their mini-documentary via noisey.com and vice......

in the garage: news and releases

*fat possum records just released a best of from jay reatard's synth punk band, the LOST SOUNDS.  entitled BLAC STATIC, the lp is comprised on songs hand picked by the rest of the band, alicja (also of black sunday and river city tanlines) and rich (from lover!).....

make sure you grab this album, cause like all things jay reatard, especially his lost sounds-era, are hard to come by......  though goner records may eventually reissue all the REATARDS lps...which if you havent bought the recent TEENAGE HATE reissue, go get now it........

*in the red records is set to rerelease some black lips titles in august.   larry must of acquired the rights from vice, who didn't seem to interested in keeping the black lips titles in stock, for some undisclosed reason.

in the red will rerelease GOOD BAD NOT EVIL on lp, as well as issuing 200 MILLION THOUSAND and LOS VALIENTES DEL MONDO NEUVO (their live lp from TIJUANA) on vinyl for the first time.  finally.

i hate it when you have to go buy a goddamn cd to get the album.  (personally not a fan of buying music in the CLOUD.....but thats just me.....)

*also in the red is planning to release two new mark sultan lps this fall/winter.  "whenever i want" and shortly there after "whatever i want"....   a cd version will include both lps.......

mark sultan (aka bbq) is also rereleasing his $ lp on in the red, after acquiring the rights from last gang.......$ is a difficult lp to find, but it is out there and worth the money.........

*and the good tunes just keep coming.......hozac records is about to release lps by HEAVY TIMES and RADAR EYES, two of my fav chicago garage noisemakers......   and hozac is also planning a split 7 inch with the black lips and mark sultan.....probably later on this year...

*KING KHAN just played two shows with GRIS GRIS in chicago this weekend.  we can only hope they stopped in a studio somewhere to record some jams.....

their sets were some spastic garage psych...with as many gris gris songs as king khan tunes....

much like the almighty defenders side project where the black lips were joined with king khan and bbq in the studio.....  who doesn't like garage punk supergroups..........

and yeah do yerself a favor and pick up a GRIS GRIS lp.....

anyway these shows were fucking great.........if you missed them,  watch the second show at the empty bottle below......

up and comers- midwest beat

so its no surprise that i'm a fan of jangly garage pop.  and i'm always a sucker for more of it.....and i'm pleasantly surprised when i run across a band that does it so well, that i can't believe i haven't heard of them yet........

MIDWEST BEAT is a power popped mix of the zombies, the kinks, the byrds and of course big star....... catchy hooks and analog production.......  put them next to the peoples temple and the night beats in the wave of jangle psych garage bands that actually write good songs instead of hiding behind reverb, feedback and the much loved label of lo-fi........   dusty medical records has done a good job forcing MIDWEST BEAT upon the world......


so click here to grab MIDWEST BEAT's s/t 2x7 inch from 2008......and go buy their new lp "gone not lost" out this summer on dusty medical (which is a label you all should check out)..........  

midwest beat is my sunny sunday afternoon jam........

watch/listen below.......

kid congo on tour! with the jim jones revue

kid congo and the pink monkey birds are playing a few select dates this september to promote the new lp, gorilla rose, out earlier in year on IN THE RED records........


kid congo is not to be missed live, i promise, i mean he learned his chops playing with the gun club and the cramps, so he knows how to entertain....unlike some indie bands that bore you to death live....                             i wont mention names.......


along with his backing band the pink monkey birds, kid congo is bringing the JIM JONES REVUE along for the ride.....which if you don't know them, play some soulful rockin' garage... the kind which you could just slip on to a nuggets mix and no one would be any the wiser........  click here to check out their 2010 lp, burning your house down....  


and be sure to not to miss any of the dates below if yr anywhere close to these cities.....kid congo and jim jones revue will kill it every night......    


and if yr in chicago, i'll see you at schubas......




9/10/2011, Brooklyn, NY, Music Hall of Williamsburg
9/11/2011, Allston, MA, Brighton Music Hall
9/12/2011, Montreal, QC, Casa del Popolo
9/13/2011, Toronto, ON, Horseshoe Tavern
9/14/2011, Chicago, IL, Schuba’s Tavern
9/16/2011, Philadelphia, PA, The Blockley
9/17/2011, Washington, DC, Black Cat
9/18/2011, Hoboken, NJ, Maxwell’s




and here's the latest video from the gorilla rose lp, for the song catsuit fruit.....  


KID CONGO & THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS: catsuit fruit from SKOTE on Vimeo.