Reviews

Gino and the Goons – Shake It! LP (Black Gladiator/Slovenly Recordings/Total Punk)

These Floridians know how to get up and get down with the best of ‘em! As soon as you push play, the barn doors fly open and the wild animals come running out like the place is on fire!  From the first song, that sets the bar pretty high, there is just no let up. Sleazed up, messed up, but done up right rock n’ roll like DMZ, and Real Kids. I know those are some pretty big names to drop, but Gino and the Goons hold their own right next to them with their heads held high.  They chip away at their influences but never copy.  You can just tell these are all kindred rock n’ roll spirits looking for a good time.  ~ J Castro

Sick Thoughts – Fat Kid with a 10 Inch 10” LP (Slovenly Recordings)

The Baltimore battering ram is on the loose again and this time it’s added a few inches for more destructive power! This is some pretty trashy, lo-fi, barely controlled blow torch blasts of punk rock that still manages to keep itself on the road with some loose and catchy rock n’ roll strut.  It’s wild, unpredictable and the deeper you go into this record the more you realize you like each song more than the last. Loud music made by troubled young men that is sure to invite thoughts of paranoia, violence and sexual deviancy in anyone that’s smart enough to listen.  All of your wildest adolescent dreams are about to come true!   ~ J Castro

The Monsieurs – S/T LP (Black Gladiator/Slovenly Recordings)

Starting off kind of slow with the dark and lurking “Kari Ann,” the record quickly becomes a celebration of blues kissed rock n’ roll fury I was hoping it would be with the song “The Rat.”  With vocals that sound like they were captured in a snowstorm with the recording device 50 feet away, guitars firing away so relentlessly the notes are indistinguishable and drums hit so loud your puny inner ears can barely process the volume. With former Tunnel of Love mastermind Andy Macbain at the helm; you kind of kind of know what you’re in for. The Monsieurs however have more Gories strut and style though. I want me some more!  ~ J Castro

Ausmuteants – Fed Through a Tube 7” (Total Punk)

Melbourne, Australia’s answer to the X-Men, well maybe the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is more like it. This record has sealed in itself two audio concussion charges that are sure to jerk your neck out of place as soon as you drop the needle on it. The A side and title track is a straight on full frontal Angry Samoans style punk attack. The B Side is a song called “Arguments” and it employs some keys in the background giving it a more Screamers/The Units vibe. Just like the record label name boasts this is Total Punk: nothing more, nothing less!  ~ J Castro

Buck Biloxi and the Fucks – Culture Demanufacturer LP (Total Punk)

First of all I want to say that this is one of my favorite album covers of the year!  Just like the album title says, BBF are here to do just that. They’re here to question your elitist morals and tear down your materialistic lifestyle with a stripped down minimalistic approach to the whole punk rock thing.  Buck Biloxi and the Fucks don’t want to follow you down that path to a utopian society because they know it’s not real. Disgust, apathy and doubt will always be a part of human nature and they know it. Someone once said that the opposite of love is not hate but indifference; I say the opposite of love is Buck Biloxi and the Fucks!   ~ J Castro

Cuello – Modo Eterno Cassette (Shake! Records)

From the town of Valencia, Spain comes Cuello. They describe themselves as a mixture of Husker Du, Sonic Youth and Weezer. I can certainly see that but there is a more melodic hard hitting element in there as well. I can hear some 90’s style punk in there like Rhythm Collision, Snuff and Face to Face. Good, loud music with plenty of guitar riffs and melody to make it easy on the old ear canal. Sometimes trying to pigeonhole bands through comparisons does them a huge disservice. What I try to do is give you a mere glimpse of the same feelings I get then I hear these bands as well. Cuello are all of the above bands and more. Well, except for maybe the Sonic Youth part, I am still a bit confused on that one!   ~ J Castro

Napalmpom – The Unconditional Love of Napalmpop Cassette (Shake! Records)

This record is so fun and massive I am surprised any kind of plastic record format can contain it for very long. If you lived in the mid 1970’s suburbs when all there was to really worry about on a Saturday night was where the beer and girls were, then this album would be your 1^st choice to play loud as you pull out of your driveway and head out of your to pick up your buddies for the evening. Napalmpom take tiny piranha bites of The Who, Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick, AC/DC and mix them in a cauldron bubbling over with exhilaration and irreverence. I know this is a tall order of comparisons, but Napalmpom don’t impersonate, they use all of the above elements to concoct their own unique mixture of explosive 70’s style R-O-C-K!   ~ J Castro

Hansmole – Whitest Whiteness Cassette (Shake! Records)

A bit of a different kind of release among all the trashed out rock n’ roll chaos we’ve been getting here at the Audio Ammunition remote castle stronghold. Enter Victoria, British Colombia’s Hansmole slowly gliding 6 inches above the ground like an apparition in the foggy darkness. The music is a mixture of dim, swirling, atmospherics like Dead Can Dance mixed with The Velvet Underground. Some of the songs vary from an electronic droning background to more earthy textures woven throughout. Either way the album feels brilliantly pieced together and has a definite disposition of twilight ambiance that haunts your consciousness for quite sometime after listening.   ~ J Castro

The Vicious Cycles MC – Bad News Travels Fast Cassette (Shake! Records)

These Vancouver bruisers play tough, hard hitting melodic punk rock similar to Boston’s Dropkick Murphy’s and Street Dogs. Imagine being lost somewhere cold and it’s getting late, really late. The only light on you see is in a small run down pub on the corner. You go in to ask for directions, (because you’re not THAT alpha) and there’s a band playing to a bunch of drunken, barrel chested blokes in plaid shirts and combat boots. All arm in arm singing along to every word of the song loudly and off key. This is what I see when I close my eyes while listening to this album. Well made punk rock that straddles the fences between Oi!/Street Punk and good ol’ fashioned leather clad rock n’ roll.   ~ J Castro

The Lad Mags – S/T Cassette (Shake! Records)

Killer 1960’s style dark and moody mod/soul from these girls (and guy!) band slinking around the darkened corners of Edmonton, Alberta. Think early Dusty Springfield or Shangri-La’s mixed with Brian Jonestown Massacre with a pinch of Siouxsie and The Banshees macabre and mystique. This here is a bonafied compilation of all the 3 EP’s the band has released this year plus a couple of bonus tunes! Perfect place to start if you like this sort of thing, and if you don’t you had better reevaluate some of the key decisions you’ve made in your life and figure out what went wrong and when!  ~ J Castro

Catholic Girls – Sheila Joined a Cult Cassette (Shake! Records)

The title of the record may give off the impression that this is going to be some kind of silly band that’s not taking itself too seriously, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Calgary, Alberta’s Catholic Girls discharge a thrilling blend of guitars riding a tsunami of keyboards that produce pulsating blasts of shadowy sound encircled by chaos, darkness and urgency that has slivers of new wave, post punk, and lo-fi madness lodged throughout. I get a similar feel when I hear bands like Lost Sounds or The Faint. This is Catholic Girls debut release, can’t wait to see how much further into the abyss this band goes on their next records.   ~ J Castro

Zen Mystery Fogg – S/T Cassette (Shake! Records)

Let it be known that Vancouver, British Colombia is not to be left behind on the Neo-Psychedelic party train. The good city has purchased a ticket and secured their seats on the movement that is sure to leave a permanent mark on underground music for years to come. The fine folks at Shake! Records bring us evidence of this with this band spinning mid tempo, slightly twee, blurred garage rock n’ roll. Production is echo-y and slightly hollowed out just the way you like it, it’s the perfect combination for making this tape echo in the halls of your head throughout a summer afternoon.  ~ J Castro

The Repossessors – 20 Angry Months Cassette (Shake! Records)

Vancouver’s Repossessors immediately and with both hands shove three songs in your clean innocent face that are full of mean, dark and ominous rock n’ roll with loud thick guitars hanging on some undeniably catchy hooks. Three songs is all you’ll need before you wake up covered in sweat, yours? Who knows! Who cares! You’ll be dehydrated, head pounding, and ready to turn the tape over and do it all over again! Minimalistic production with a similar savage approach to punk rock like the Dead Boys meets Rip Off Records makes for one monumentally great tape!  ~ J Castro

The Connection – A Christmas Gift for LP (Collector’s Club Records)

This record compiles the Christmas singles the band has been putting out for the last couple of years plus adds a few new ones. This album isn’t one of those that craps in Santa’s toy bag either, oh no! It stays true to the spirit of the season with songs like “I Feel Fine (It’s Christmas Time)” and “Rock n’ Roll Christmas.” The band take a similar approach to Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run” mixed with The Connection’s usual brand of mod rock n’ roll similar to early Who and Small Faces. The album winds down with a cover of the Ramones’ “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight).”  Yes boys and girls this year is shaping up to be the best Christmas ever!  ~ J Castro

Jennie Vee – Die Alone EP (Self Released)

The amount of terrific self released records out there never ceases to amaze me.  Here is one prime example, Brooklyn NY’s Jennie Vee. She answers the question: what would it sound like if Debbie Harry got in the middle of those perpetually feuding Reid brothers in the Jesus and Mary Chain and the three of them formed a band? The answer is a dream pop/shoegaze extravaganza. Die Alone slowly ripples with reverb drenched guitars that shimmer against Jennie’s warm vocals that abduct you and leave you in a twilight state of consciousness atop a skyscraper at night. As you get up and gaze at the urban landscape below, you think of all the beauty, sadness and danger that lie beneath you, all of this and more envelopes the songs on this wonderful new EP.  ~ J Castro             

Tacocat – NVM LP (Hardly Art)

A lot of the press I’ve read mentions candy and fast food to try and describe Tacocat’s sound and all around persona as a band. This sort of thing kind of paints a picture that adolescent silliness is what this band is all about, well it is partially I suppose but that’s a good thing. Tacocat is a lot more than that though. This what I visualize when I hear NVM: Imagine Suzi Quatro, Belinda Carlisle, Kathleen Hanna, and Ronnie Spector arm in arm skipping around the State Fair. They all decide to go on the Ferris wheel and while they’re all up there at the very tip top they all simultaneously receive an epiphany and decide to verbally share it: “Hey, let’s all form a band!”  They all shout while throwing their hands up in the air. Their result would be very similar to Tacocat’s NVM.   ~ J Castro

S - Cool Choices LP (Hardly Art)

S aka Jenn Ghetto was a founding member of the late band Carissa’s Weird that started in Tucson, AZ and ended in Seattle, WA. Carissa’s Weird never really took off and the band called it a day in 2003. Some of the residual members trotted off and formed a little group called Band of Horses, perhaps you’ve heard of them. Either way the point is Jenn Ghetto has cut her teeth in the music world. This time around, she enlisted the help of pal Chris Walla (of Death Cab for Cutie fame) to serve as engineer and producer on this, her 4^th solo outing. Cool Choices’ introspective folk kissed collection of songs displays an array of sensitivity and delicate harmonies that are carefully and cleverly mended together into something passionate and cohesive. ~ J Castro

Protomartyr – Under Color of Official Right LP (Hardly Art)

This is a pretty unusual record coming out of The Motor City. Right out of the gate, hearing the Glen Danzig meets David Byrne by way of Ian Curtis vocals conjured up the dark hollowness of some post-punk bands. The rest of the band however doesn’t follow down that path. The guitars are far more bombast and the rhythm section is much louder than any of those “rainy day in the city for the closet intellectual” type bands. Although I wouldn’t call Protomartyr a straight up Post Punk band, however I do think it would take a fan of bands like Husker Du, Mission of Burma or even The Minutemen to really appreciate what these guys are doing.   ~ J Castro

La Sera – Hour of the Dawn LP (Hardly Art)

This is Kickball Katy of Vivian Girls side project. It doesn’t stray too far from The Viv’s latest material (2011’s Share the Joy), minus a lot of the fuzz. Being middle aged and having a fairly large record collection, I realized after hearing this that I own La Sera’s last record that came out a couple of years ago called Sees the Light, I also remembered how much I liked it. A bit toned down are the lush Camera Obscura/Belle and Sebastian lush and melodic songs that Share the Joy revolved around. The songs on Hour of Dawn have a more natural, stripped down production that gives off an urgent feel to the album. Still the La Sera you’ve grown to love, only leaning a bit more towards the Vivian-esque side.  ~ J Castro  

Gem Club – In Roses LP (Hardly Art)

Gem Club produce music that makes you feel like you’re floating around untethered in space.  It’s beautiful, fragile, and vast like nature itself. The Massachusetts trio continues to paint exquisite landscapes of sonic beauty on In Roses their 2^nd LP following 2011’s Breakers and a self released EP in 2010 called Acid and Everything. In the 5 years of their existence, vocalist/pianist Christopher Barnes, cellist Kristen Drymala, and vocalist Ivea Berberian have hardly strayed from their unique formula of Dream Pop. If artists such as Perfume Genius and Antony and the Johnsons capture your interest then prepare your soul for the next level because it has arrived in In Roses.  ~ J Castro 

Golden Pelicans – S/T LP (Total Punk)            

These four Floridians make you violently flail all four limbs as soon as you hear the first 10 seconds of the opening track “Two Feathers.” This is ultra tight, veins bursting from your neck, blue collar, “you can’t fire me ‘cause I quit’” rock n’ roll that reminds me of something that would have come out of Australia in the late 1970’s like X or Radio Birdman mixed with New York’s Testors. Yes it’s wild, yes it’s sweaty, and if you spend enough time with this record it will probably take a swing at you. Consider my ass kicked!  ~ J Castro

Lumpy and The Dumpsters – Bat EP (Total Punk)

This St. Louis band, despite the name is actually a breath of fresh air and apparently I’m not the only one that thinks so; their records are said to sell out in just a few days from their record labels! Lumpy and his drunken band of malcontents don’t care about GMO’s or capitalism running unchecked.  Why can’t one just be pissed off now days? I don’t know why I’m pissed sometimes, I just am and Lumpy and the Dumpsters provide the perfect soundtrack for those moments. They remind me of bands like Quincy Punx or Submachine from back in the mid 1990’s: loud, drunk, sloppy and ornery. Who needs anger management when you got music like this to help dispel all your daily frustrations!  ~ J Castro

Ausmuteants – Order of Operation LP (Goner)

As the name suggests, these lads hail from Australia, well I suppose you could guess Austria but you’d be wrong. Ausmuteants have never sounded more refined and focused than on this record.  This band does the post apocalypse synth-punk cha-cha that seems to be gaining in popularity these days but unlike some of their peers they don’t have that frenzied and chaotic sound like Stalins of Sound or Miscalulations. This album has the band leaning more towards early Killing Joke. The dark fog of synthesizers now carry the band willingly into the darkness instead of grabbing them by the foot as they violently kick and scream as they get dragged back into the shadowy realm from which they came.    ~ J Castro  

The Blind Shake - Breakfast of Failures (Goner)

A few words came immediately to mind when I started listening to this long running Minneapolis trio’s new LP: massive, ominous, destructive and glorious. I imagine a similar cycle of emotions would run through your head if you saw a squadron of B-29 Superfortress Bombers roar overhead and then suddenly began laying waste to your hometown. Blind Shake’s music isn’t disjointed beats or unintelligible noise though. There is a hard driving rhythm section present, a singer that growls and belts out the ripping vocals when called for, but all of this rides on bulky and melodic guitar riffs that seem to steer this enormous beast into something deceptively unified.    ~ J Castro  

Nots – We Are Nots LP (Goner)

A fiery frenzy of punk rock is unleashed as Nots bestow upon the world their debut LP. Their scrappy sounds of disenchantment combined with fierce female prowess sounds like it could have been on a Kill Rock Stars comp 20 years ago right in between Jack Acid and Bratmobile. But these girls aren’t from anywhere near the Pacific Northwest, they’re from the great city of Memphis, Tennessee. With the kind of records Goner had been putting out lately, this record fits right in there. 11 short sharp stabs of punk rock, like little prison shivs stuck in and broken off in the kidney!  ~ J Castro     

Various Artists – Shake! Sampler II Cassette (Shake! Records)

If anyone out there is still unfamiliar with this label, rectify that situation immediately. Victoria, British Colombia’s Shake! Records have been putting out quality new and reissues of cassettes and vinyl now since 2010. The thing that really impresses me about this label is how diverse their releases are yet still appeal to the rock n’ roll heart: from snotty ‘77 punk, gloriously sloppy trash rock, indie rock atmospherics, and 60’s Girls in the Garage style bands. A lot of these bands we’re already given full reviews. Some newly discovered gems for me though were Monster Treasure, Lab Coast and the almighty Jolt covering Bowie’s “Diamond Dogs” (available only on the download version). This tape is a perfect jumping off point into the wonderfully eclectic world of Shake! Records!    ~ J Castro    

The Electric Dates – Eels Hips Cassette (Shake! Records)

Five songs, some original and some covers including The Sonics “Strychnine” and the Wailers classic “Out of Our Tree.” All this and more brought to you by these nutty Canadians that include members of Mascara Nites, Durban Poison and Electric Empress. The production of these garage rock stompers sounds as if the band was playing on a small boat in the middle of the ocean on a particularly windy day and the device that was recording them fell off the boat is was floating around near the ocean floor in a sharks belly. Good, solid rocking party starters here but be aware, if you’re ear isn’t a tuned to such lo-fi lunacy, you may not fully absorb all the benefits this tape has to offer. In that case all I can do is pity you.   ~ J Castro  

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The Connection

     The Connection is a rock ‘n’ roll band with one foot karate kicking into the future and the other one has a black Beatle boot heel caught on the corner of the Wayback Machine.  These New Hampshire boys write songs with monster 1970’s style power-pop hooks, soaring harmonies like those mid-1960’s British Invasion bands had, and then all this is encapsulated into a Ramones rocket ship tempo. This unique sound fires down your ear canal and explodes at just the right time to produce dazzling fireworks in your brain.  You’ll be moved, you’ll be swayed, and you’ll be urged to get up and do the twist by a mysterious, unexplainable force. That’s where the name “The Connection” comes in.  Once you lay a needle on one of their records, this band makes an unbreakable bond with your soul and to quote The Borg “resistance is futile.”

Interview by J Castro

Ok Geoff, let’s start with who’s all in the band now and how everyone earns their keep:  

GEOFF: The Connection is Brad Marino - vocals / guitar, Geoff Palmer - guitar /vocals, Bobby Davis – Bass, Zack Sprague – Drums, with Kris “Fingers” Rodgers Keys/Vocals and Lil Zach Uncles - Pedal Steel 

What is the origin story of The Connection?  How did you guys all meet and decide to play this particular type of music together?

GEOFF: Brad and I had both played in bands around New England. Brad had a band called The Rydells and I had The Guts. Both of our bands started drifting apart as punk bands do. Brad had gone to school with my girlfriend, so even though our bands had played shows together it was really after that we started hanging out. We would go fishing or playing golf and talking music the whole time. We both love Dave Edmunds, The Chesterfield Kings, The Real Kids, The Byrds, and all of that stuff man! We wanted to start a band that was not pigeonholed into one sound. We can do a pop song and follow it up with a country song then into a Ramones tune, its all rock ‘n’ roll really. One day we said let’s start a band so we sat down and wrote our first song called “Stop Talking”. Two weeks later we recorded it along with two other original songs. We released it as a digital single. The single and video was a hit with the power pop blogs and podcasts. We later recorded five more songs and released all eight songs on a self released, one-sided 12” LP as our first album called New England’s Newest Hit Makers. We pressed 100 copies and they sold out in a few weeks. Later SP Records in Japan repressed it on CD and vinyl. 

As square as this may sound, I’m a big fan of Christmas music and I was delighted that you released a couple of great Christmas singles in the last couple of years (“Rock N Roll Christmas” and “Christmas Time Again”) both on Collector’s Club Records. What led to the decision to write and record Christmas music?

GEOFF: I LOVE Christmas music too man!! Our first album New England’s Newest Hit Makers was out and doing really well but it’s always good to keep the band alive and working, so I said “let’s do a Christmas song guys!” Everybody was into the idea so we wrote “Rock n Roll Christmas” and hit the studio. It did really well too, lots of good press. Little Steven’s Underground Garage still spins it a few times every December. Now it’s just a thing we do every year. Brad and I have been working on a few new holiday songs and plan to releases all the previous singles along with a few new ones on a limited 12” LP in November of this year. 

Tell us a bit about Collector’s Club Records?

GEOFF: Collectors Club Records started as a name I came up with so we would have a “label” name attached to self released albums or singles. My good buddy Kurt Baker and I have since released a few other 45’s on the label. We have released 45’s by Wyatt Funderburk, Wimpy and The Medallions, Kurt Baker Band and The Connection. I would like to someday work more on the label and release some records for bands I like. Right now, I just don’t have the time to do it right. All my attention is on The Connection or any project that I’m playing on. The next Collectors Club release will be this year’s Connection Christmas LP. 

You guys recently wrapped up another European tour (your second I believe), how did it go?

GEOFF: Yes, we LOVE going to Europe. We have done two European tours as The Connection and they are a blast. We have two different labels in Europe who release our records. Rumble Records and Ghost Highway Records. We hope to do our 3rd European tour after we release our next album in early 2015. We also like playing and touring in the USA too but Europe is a little different and a great once a year rock ‘n’ roll holiday for all of us! 

And speaking of playing live, you guys did a show for The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame/Museum earlier this year, can you tell me a little bit about that?

GEOFF: The Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame / Museum does a show every year called “It’s Only Rock N Roll” to raise money for music education. They hold the event at the Cleveland public hall. It’s the same room and stage that The Beatles and The Stones played on in the ‘60’s! It’s really amazing playing in that room. They always have a band that’s in the Rock Hall and then other big name acts. This year they wanted to have a “fresh face” of Rock N’ Roll play too. Somebody high up at the museum is a fan of The Connection and asked us to play. It was a great night. It was The Connection and Hall & Oates only for live music. It was a highlight of 2014 for us for sure! 

I read that you guys met and wrote some songs with John Felice (The Real Kids), tell me about how it went and is there any chance of a collaboration record coming soon?

GEOFF: Yes! We are big Real Kids fans. We even cover a Real Kids tune on our second release Connection Collection Vol.1. We got to meet John Felice through his old drummer. It turns out that John is a fan of The Connection. He invited Brad and me over to his house in Boston to hang and we just started playing guitars. We had this old riff that we had always thought sounded like a Real Kids tune. John liked it a lot and started writing from it. The three of us finished it up right on the spot in John’s music room on all the Real Kids gear. It was pretty amazing. It’s a killer tune. We have gone down to his house a few times now and have two other songs that are half done with John. He has been really busy getting the new Real Kids album together. He’s also been pretty sick so his time is limited right now. We hope to get the other songs finished up this winter. No real plans for a release yet but we will be recording the songs someday, hopefully with John playing on them with us. Time will tell. 

Speaking of collaborations you guys did an EP with Kurt Baker under the name The New Trocaderos that was brilliant! Can you tell me how that partnership came about and is there any chance we will hear more of that soon?

GEOFF: The New Trocaderos! I’m happy you like that EP. That was very fun to record. The two songs were written by Michael Chaney. Michael is a lawyer out in LA and a BIG rock ‘n’ roll fan. We became friends with him after he started writing to The Connection and Kurt Baker. He was a fan of both bands and had all of our records. 

He had been sending us some demos of songs he had written over the years. We all thought the songs were great and told him that. He later asked if Brad, Kurt and I would ever work together and record a few of his songs. We all love being in the studio and really like Mike so we said YES let’s do this! It was a very fun and easy session. Kurt came down and stayed at my house in Portsmouth for a few days. The studio is just down the street from Brad’s house and a few blocks from my place. I love doing little side bands with friends. Little Steven’s Underground Garage put both songs in rotation and we even got a “Coolest Song in the World” for the song “The Kids.” Ghost Highway Records in Spain just released it on a 45 RPM red vinyl single. Mike was thrilled and we all feel very good about the whole thing. As far as doing another New Trocaderos recording: that is 100% in Mike’s hands. It’s his baby. We just bring the songs to life. I would totally get back in the studio and do more if/when he ever wants us to. The Connection plays “Money Talks” live at most of our shows. People really dig that tune!  

This is the lightening round portion of the interview that I like to call “The Fantastic Four” or “Four questions that I liked and stole from other interviewers.”  Here we go:

What was the first rock ‘n’ roll show you attended?

GEOFF: The Beach Boys: Mike, Carl, Al, Bruce and John Stamos! AMAZING! 

What was the first band t-shirt you owned? 

GEOFF: Ummmm, I think it was a hand me down Replacements shirt I got from John Clark of Sinkhole/The A.G’s fame! Followed closely by a homemade Dee Dee King shirt!  

What was the first album you purchased with your own money?

GEOFF: Guns and Roses and Ramones Loco Live, both on Cassette. 

What was the first picture/poster of a rock band/musician on your bedroom wall? 

GEOFF: The Beatles 

Where can people go to buy or hear The Connection’s music?

GEOFF: www.facebook.com/theconnectionrnr ,

http://the-connection.bandcamp.com  or Spotify, Itunes, Amazon, Youtube… 

What’s happening with The Connection in the near future?

GEOFF:  Brad and I are about done writing the next Connection album. We are starting rehearsals and setting up studio time, looks like early 2015 for the release and the new Christmas recording for a November 2014.  

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Kurt Baker

      In 2010, Kurt Baker released an EP called Got It Covered where he introduced the world to his greatest influences by covering their music.  This didn’t feel like a covers album though.  Kurt turned the volume to 11 and cranked out tunes by power pop titans The Nerves, Joe Jackson, The Vapors and many more.  He played those songs with such gusto and gumption I had to hear more of his songs.  That same energy continues to electrify piece of music he puts out.  I often ask the people I interview if there’s a certain song or album they put on to help them get out of a bad mood.  For me, Kurt’s LP Brand New Beat has been permanently added to that list.    

Interviewed by Jay Castro

You were born in Portland, Maine, where you still live today.  What was it like growing up there? I live in Arizona and Maine is a place I really want to visit before I croak.  I imagine rocky shorelines, foggy cold breeze, and lighthouses, just what I see in pictures, movies and such.

Hey there! Maine is great, it’s pretty much like the pictures. They don’t call it VACATIONLAND for nothin’! We’ve got scenic shorelines, big moose and awesome fishin’. I actually went way up to the north wood this summer and went fishing with some buddies. We caught some HUGE fuckin’ fish, lots of Coors Heavies were had and even got into a confrontation with a beaver. Maine really has it all. People think that we are Canada and we almost might as well be. In terms of music, it’s kinda off the map. I was really surprised when Bad Religion came to town because usually all we get is String Cheese Incident hippie fest hacky sack bullshit. There is a lot of that thanks to PHISH and their big festivals they throw up here. I tend to ignore that kinda stuff and it’s fairly easy to find great music in my hometown. Portland is the biggest city in Maine and it’s where I’ve spent my whole life up until now. Musically, we’ve got a very very rich scene. There is something for everybody from Stoner Rock to Hip Hop to free form polka. Lot’s of good venues throughout. They come and go, but we’ve still got Geno’s Rock Club. Portland used to be a much more gritty town. The Old Port was not unlike Hamburg, Germany, where the Beatles got their start. Along the cobblestone streets you had rowdy sailors, junkies, whorehouses and GREAT rock clubs. Those days are kinda gone and replaced with resort hotels and high end restaurants. This town is looking more and more like some gentrified suburb in Brooklyn by the day, I can’t stand it! However, that’s just me being a grumpy old local. Maine is nice. Come check it out sometime, we will eat lobsters!!!

What or whom inspired you as a kid to want pick up a guitar and write songs?

When I first heard the Beatles album “Rubber Soul” when I was around the age of 5, it be came extremely clear in my mind that my whole reason for being alive was to play songs. It seems kinda tacky, but we all have those moments when everything makes sense. You’re like “Holy shit, this is totally new, but I totally know it and this is what I’m going to do no matter what”. My five-year-old self had these thoughts rolling through my head when I first heard songs like “The Word” and “You Won’t See Me”. I mean I was so friggin’ adamant about doing music and performing on stage that I convinced a few of my 1st grade buddies to perform “Can’t Buy Me Love” at the school talent show. We dressed up like the Beatles and had mini guitars. “Ringo’s” dad made a fake drum set out of a home beer brewing kit. We did the performance and people really dug it. I can remember it really well. My memory is already totally screwed up and foggy, but I can still remember the feeling of being on stage and having people react to the performance. We were just lip syncing the song, but man I got the itch! After that there was a long time where I just couldn’t find people that were into the idea of starting a band. I guess everybody was just too young to take it as seriously as I wanted to. I jammed around with my cousins; we had a little group for a while. We never played shows, and I couldn’t really play guitar but I had ideas in my head of songs. I must have been 8 or 9 and me and my cousins out in Wisconsin would sit around a piano and come up with songs.  It was kinda like the Partridge Family, except we didn’t have a rad fuckin’ psychedelic bus, just a couple cases of soda pop and an out of tune piano. One tune was called “Missing You”, it was a real simple tune, but I can still remember the melody. I don’t have any brothers or sisters but my cousins are kinda the closest family I have. We would always listen to the Beatles, and then newer acts at the time, like the Cardigans and Green Day’s “Dookie”. By the time I got to middle school, I was starting to get into punk rock and, yes I will admit it, Ska music. Not that real deal rocksteady shit, but the dumb stuff like Reel Big Fish. I have a special place in my heart for those bands like Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger, but oh man those were different times when I was younger! Great memories. I pretty much picked up the bass because it was the only thing near me at the time. My mom’s best friend had a son that was a real troublemaker. He was always out getting chased by the cops, calling in bomb threats to the high school, smoking dope. While he was out doing that, I would go over to their house and play his bass for hours. He had tons of Victory Records hardcore CD’s, but also I guess he must have been a closet Ska fan, because he had those albums too. I would pop a Reel Big Fish or Bosstones CD into the player and play bass along to it. Ha ha, oh man.

Your music has timeless power pop themes coursing through and through.  I hear a lot of 1980’s Power Pop influence in it.  The new 7” Girls Got Money B/W Yeah? Yeah!  sounds to me like it has a touch of 1970’s Glam thrown into the mix.  Am I totally off the mark here, are you a fan of say T-Rex, Sweet, or New York Dolls?

You are spot on. I’m a big Glam Rock fan. Those records sound incredible. The drums are huge; the guitar is sounds like tons of chainsaws and lawnmowers exploding! Its dirty rock n’ roll music with a sort of bubblegum glean. I love the appeal. Groups like The Sweet and Slade are at the top of my list of favorite groups. New York Dolls are a groundbreaking group. Hell, even that old pervert Gary Glitter really has some incredible recordings. Joan Jett covered like 4 or 5 Glitter tunes on her first couple records. I kinda went back and did my homework and realized that those songs I was lovin’ on Joan’s records were originally singles by the Gary Glitter the Child Diddler himself. If you can get over the fact that some of those Glam singers and celebs, i.e Jimmy Savile, were the absolute worst kind of sex offenders, those tunes just rip. Take a song like Barry Blue’s “Hot Shot,” that’s like some kinda fucked up Octoberfest anthem. The movie “Beer Fest” should have used it. When I got a LP last year by the Italian band Giuda, I was blown away. The thing was recorded a couple years ago and it sounds like 1974. Those guys GET the sound of Glam and how it’s directly related to rock n’ roll music. A song like “Girl’s Got Money” was originally written as a Rockpile sounding song, but when I got that Giuda record, the decision was made to make it more Glam sounding. Even the early recordings by the Oi band Cock Sparrer are totally Glam influenced. Their cover of the Small Faces “Whatcha Gonna Do About It” was a big influence on “Girl’s Got Money”.

You started up your own recording label Collector’s Club Records a couple years ago, what led you to that decision?

Collector’s Club came out all the frustrations my bandmate and label co-owner Geoff Palmer and I were having with other labels putting out our records. My old group the Leftovers did not have a great relationship with our label, which I would also release some albums on as a solo guy, and we still continue to have issues. This label was no way a major label, but they also weren’t a bedroom label, who the Guts and the Leftovers had been working with prior. They had a nice office and stuff. The Leftovers had some high hopes, but it didn’t pan out. We didn’t have control over our music after it was released. Geoff and I were talking and we realized, hell, we really appreciate smaller one-man labels wanting to release our records, but let’s be honest, this is not THEIR music. They might care about it a lot, but nobody is going to give as much of a shit as we do about our own products, so why not just release em’ ourselves. We were both sick of not knowing how many records we were selling, you know. I could go on and on and on, but starting Collector’s Club Records was the right decision. We are a small label, and we really don’t have the capability to do much more except release records by our close friends and ourselves. The most important and also gratifying thing about having CCR is that we see where we are shipping records, who’s buying what and where. It’s an amazing feeling to know and see the outcome of all that hard work we put into the making of the music and releasing of the albums. The best thing to is that we know that we aren’t going to fuck ourselves over. “Brand New Beat” was originally released on CCR on digital and CD, but then we were able to license out the record to 4 other labels internationally. I can’t talk about labels without mentioned my friend Ryan at Jolly Ronnie Records. He really runs a kick ass label, and he’s probably one of the best guys I’ve ever dealt with when working with a small indie label, so I always ask him for advice and we’ve worked together on releases. I wish more label owners were like Ryan!

Your famous motto “Have a good time all the time” seems to be a theme with your music, that’s for sure.  Is this a personal motto as well? 

Oh hell ya. I mean, it’s pretty much impossible to have a good time ALL the time or is it? I think the best thing you can do is be positive. Our world is pretty screwed up, and who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow? We all get bummed out every now and then, but if you catch yourself and turn it around you can honestly have a better outlook on life. We are all here for some reason. I think mine is to promote positivity through Rock N’ Roll, gummy bears, and twelve-day coke binges! Ha, I’m not being entirely serious, but you catch my drift. Rock N’ Roll music is about feeling alive, being in the moment. If you’re gonna be a Deb Downs, it’s gonna get you nowhere. Nobody is going to want to be around you. Well, that’s what I think. So many people get off on negativity they don’t even realize it either. Sure, it’s real easy to be bummed out all the time and make others around you feel just as bad, but how is that making any progress in humanity? It’s not! Have a good time all the time, and put out the good vibes towards others, you’ll get it back too. I’m a big believer in Karma. Treat others the way you wanna be treated. All that “Life Is Good” t-shirt stuff, yadda yadda yadda, pass me a beer and put on that Motley Crue record dude! 

Speaking of good time music, I was recently reading an article in a magazine that said that out of all the forms of art music has the potential to change a person’s mood the fastest.  Do you agree with this and if so, what music do you put on when you need a good time booster?

I definitely agree with that. Take a good painting or something; you really need to look at it. Digest what makes it artistically so awesome. If it’s not some nude painting of a bunch of girls eating fruit, I can see how it might take a bit longer for it to change your mood. Once the music enters your ears it goes straight to your brain. It’s got a weird effect on people. I’m not sure how much we, or just me, really know about what music does to us, but it seriously has a strong effect on the way we act as people, our emotions and how our day can be completely flipped around if we hear a certain song. I was dating a girl that used to listen to Joy Division NON-STOP and all she would do would be bummed out and eat chocolate. I often thought about mentioning to her that maybe if she wasn’t listening to such depressing music all the time, she’d be a lot happier. I can’t pinpoint or describe accurately what exactly this feeling is, but when you first discover a record that truly blows your mind, it’s better than any other high, natural or artificial, on the planet. You become consumed with these types of albums. You wanna live in them. It doesn’t happen all the time but every now and then you discover a record so goddamn awesome it can have the power to totally change your entire year. That’s some crazy shit! Music is the best. Oh, I still gotta answer the last part of your question. Usually I put on the Andrew W.K “I Get Wet” album.

What music do you listen to that you feel would really surprise Kurt Baker fans?

I’m pretty vocal about all the weird shit I listen to. Whether it be ABBA or the best 80’s hair metal band on the planet, KIX. Ace of Base “The Sign” is really a super great electro-reggae record. I dig Claudine Longet, she was a smokin’ hot french chick but was bat shit crazy. Made some really spooky pop records. I don’t think it helps that she murdered her husband, a famous skier. She got off scott free! There is a great radio station that broadcasts from an island nearby Portland. They play pop music from the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Old sounds taken directly from 78 records. I love that music, and the lyrics are so far out. I’ve got a pretty open mind when it comes to music and I’m a firm believer that a good song is a good song. If Mumford and Sons actually wrote a good song I’d probably be a fan, but I’m still waiting for them to do that. Not to get off topic and rant some more, but this whole Folk Americana Indie music movement really grinds my gears. As a rock n’ roll and pop music guy, obviously the last thing I care to see is a bunch of dudes in suspenders playing mandolins. It’ s just not appealing to me, and I’m trying to understand why the majority of music listening folks eat this bung up. Maybe it’s a popular genre now because it’s kinda like a direct response to the Emo/Punk/Pop stuff that was pretty big in the 2000’s. Even that was a response to Rap/Rock of the late 90’s. My buddy Dan James and I wear talking and it seems that every musical movement and genre is a direct response to the past. The best example being Punk Rock and New Wave. Grunge was a response to Hair Metal. But what do we have now? A bunch of assholes looking like they are camping out at Gettysburg for vacation.

Following you on Facebook, I notice you are a pretty hard working dude.  It seems you play shows a lot and you regularly release records that never skimp on quality.  I was watching that Jay Reatard documentary Better Than Something and he was talking about putting out releases and writing and recording so much music because he felt he only had a limited amount of time before the well of creativity ran dry so to speak.  Do you follow a similar philosophy regarding your music?

I’ve yet to see that documentary, though I’d love to check it out. I don’t think I agree with Jay on that though. One of the most important things as an artist is to at the very least entertain the thought of changing what you do. Change is inevitable, and part of the fun of creating music is trying new things. If you feel like you aren’t creative anymore, expose yourself to new things maybe travel someplace new, read some different books, hang with people you normally don’t hang out with. As a musician I’m constantly trying to expose myself to different ways and walks of life, to see what turns me on and turns me off. I can kind of understand that when you are younger, your eager to create and make as much music as you can. I often catch myself thinking, “Oh snap, I just pretty much re-wrote an old song” and getting a little frustrated. Writers block happens all the time, and when you get older more things come into play that can take away from your output as an artist, but ones ability to be influenced and harness creativity to create should never run dry. It’s only if you want it to. A guy like Nick Lowe pretty much reinvented himself from a class A roots rock power popper to a shamaltzy smaltzer, but the guy still writes and releases quality music. He just had to change it up a little. I’ve been playing in a lot of groups recently and it’s opened me up to new ways to thinking about how I approach music. The last couple years I’ve been working with an old Portland, ME rock n’ roller named Kip Brown. He’s 100% no bullshit rock n’ roll through and through. I’ve learned a lot from him. Just playing in his group has made me want to try new styles, simplify a lot of things, get to the core of what the music is all about. You can learn a lot from your peers and mentors!

You played in the Pop Punk band The Leftovers from 2002 to 2010 (roughly) and have been doing the solo Power Pop records pretty much since that.  You have been carrying the Power Pop banner into battle pretty high for a while.  Do you ever feel like you may have painted yourself in a corner musically?  Like if one day you said “I wanna work with those dudes in the Mars Volta” but can’t because you’re the prince of power pop and what would people think?

The Leftovers always kinda had an idea that what we were doing wasn’t very popular at the time outside of the pop/punk circuit, at least here in the States. We always would say, “We’re to punk for pop, to pop for punk!!”  We saw a lot of bands around us change with the times and get modest success because they started a Screamo band or something close to that. That wasn’t our style though, we wanted to write music that we absolutely loved, and no matter how “hip” it was. I’m very proud of the records the Leftovers made and at its core it’s really “power pop” music played by a teenage punk band. Once I went solo, the songs came out as straight up Power Pop. I like wearing skinny ties and love the genre to death, especially the late 70’s and early 80’s golden era stuff. Unfortunately, it ain’t ’79 anymore and the reality is that Power Pop is the most accessible not accepted music in the pop music realm. If I wanna make music for my entire life, which I intend on doing, I’m going to eventually have to ring up, for example, a guy like Blag Dahlia and say “Let’s do a Blast Beat Surf album.” You just gotta grow and try new things and try to expose yourself to new listeners. I have no problem carrying the Power Pop banner because I love it, and always have though. I also don’t think it would make much sense for me to try and make another straightforward power pop record like “Brand New Beat.” My music at it’s core will always have the elements of what makes Power Pop what it is, but I also feel like I have the freedom to try something new. Maybe my next record will be more influenced by 60’s garage, or maybe I’ll do a 70’s disco record, or maybe I’ll do a NWOBH album. I could also do an album with all those genres mixed on to one. I probably won’t, but I don’t feel any pressure by anybody to stick to one genre and continue to fly the power pop flag forever, and I’m not cornered musically. Whatever music I do make I will love and stand behind 100%, no matter what kind of genre it is. You gotta be sincere and love what you do. Right now for me it’s Power Pop, so into battle we go!

If you could assemble the ultimate Kurt Baker Band, the Avengers of the Kurt Baker Bands if you will, consisting of any musicians living or not, who would you include in this group?

Well, I really gotta give some props to the guys that play in my group right now. I’ve been very very lucky to get to work with such great and talented dudes. We always have a blast no matter what. BUT, if I had to make the ultimate band... i’d definitely want Dan Vapid in the group. I’ve always been a huge fan of him, and over the last few years we’ve become good friends and worked on a song here and there. His vocals are incredible, and he’s one of the best songwriters alive right now. I’d want Ace Frehley on lead guitar, Flo and Eddie from the Turtles singing and hitting percussion, Clem Burke from Blondie on drums. I would ask Paul McCartney to play bass, but he quit using pot recently so I don’t think he’d have a very good time at rehearsal! Sorry, Paul.

What does the Kurt Baker Band have in store for us in the near or not so near future?

Things are looking good for us! Always staying fairly active. We’re probably going to play a few shows in New England and then in December we’ll be over in Spain and possibly France for a tour. After the tour my plan is to stay in Madrid! I’ve wanted to move for a long time, and Boston and New York City just doesn’t do it for me. I love Spain a lot and have some wonderful friends over there, so I decided I might as well have a little adventure over there. It could last 3 months; it could be longer. Spain is a Rock N’ Roll country, so I’ll be playing lots of shows and writing and recording a new album. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’ll most likely have a good time all the time! Adios!