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Before The Jack Saints, Mike and Nick were in Solarfeast, a desert rock band that blended stoner rock, spacerock and noise rock into a heavy, psychedelic, unified whole.
"We recorded it and mixed it in 2 days and our singer hadn't finished writing lyrics... We did some cool shows though, played a lot on acid and in front of 16mm projections of space and Egypt educational films (I was on my Hawkwind kick obviously!).
'Rats' and 'Puppy Has Ludes' were my songs (not the lyrics), and 'Exode' was Nick's song. My favorite song though is the C.O.C. cover/hidden track," Mike told me in an email.
I found my copy of the CD in the dollar bin at Aron's Records in Hollywood!
The music and images were uploaded with Mike Desert's full consent. Thank you, Mike!
SolarfeastGossamer CD(El Camino)1995
Sample tracks:
My Cradle, My Grave
Helping Hands
Well, it's Thanksgiving time again, and I don't know about you, but I'm really struggling. There hasn't been a whole lot of work and things look pretty bleak from where I'm sitting. I keep telling myself to get through the end of the year and maybe things will look up come January, but I'm finding it harder and harder to listen to myself.
And so, I present my first mixzip, a compilation I assembled of songs dealing with the struggles I'm living every day. I actually made this back around May/June, but it's even more pertinent to my daily life now than it was then.
I recommend turning this up with some cheap beer for company and rocking to blues away.
A detailed track list with explanations for my song choices can be found here. The whole thing will fit on a CD if you want to burn it.
None of the songs were cleared for use here, but I hope you discover some new bands and rediscover some old favorites. Make sure you buy stuff from the artists you like (provided you can afford it, that is...).
MPAE presents...Hard Times MZ(MPAE)2009
And here is what I believe to be the second ILLB release. Here, Holly Prindle's tortured/angelic vocals come to the forefront, delivering dreamy, psychedelic lyrics over Marc Mozga's trippy electronic dub. As to be expected, it's highly original and genuinely unique, and an interesting step forward from their previous tape, Mysteries of Magnetism.
Play loud and turn up the bass!
The images and music were uploaded with Marc Mozga's consent. Thank you, Marc!
I Luv Luv BirdsI Know Why the Caged Bird Gun Slings CDR(ILLB)2006
Sample tracks:
One Watt
Icicles (Of Gasoline)
Before World War IX, Justin Melkmann swung his left-handed axe in his first band, Jerk Alert.
In his excellent punk rock comic book, Slap in the Face: My Obsession with GG Allin, Justin wrote:
"A comment from a friend of mine, who I was trying to turn on to [The Donnas' debut, Rock and Roll Machine] kinda turned me on my head. He said that the music was good, but nothing special. And if I liked this simple stuff so much, then why don't I just start my own group. I couldn't wrap my mind around this ludicrous concept, but I knew he was right."
He continued:
"About a year later, I was at my friend Julie's karaoke birthday party and it hit me, hard. I'd had no idea she possessed such a great voice--very Joan Jett. She sang Madonna's 'Like a Virgin,' but it sounded nice and rough."
"I knew how to play a handful of chords on the guitar and it was then and there that I got the wacky idea to go ahead and try to start my very own band! Alcohol and karaoke can make for an inspiring combination indeed."
Though much less "hardcore" than WWIX, the songs on this CD stand out for their catchy, almost early '60s pop, melodies (that Frankie Valli influence perhaps?) and strong female vocals.
In various emails, Justin told me, "It's sooooooo innocent...I like it, but man is it...uh....old. sounds really muddy, and we didn't bother to record a second guitar. And that's not good. We were on a Jabbers only tribute cd outta sweden though, and that was freaking great...We were in such a bubble at the time. We didn't know hardly any other bands. Music seemed dead. Now? Christ, there's a great band playing every night of the week."
Hey, it's punk rock!
The images and music were uploaded with Justin Melkmann's consent. Thank you, Justin!
Jerk AlertJerk Alert CD(Jerk Alert)2000
Sample Tracks:
What I Want
Bag Boy
Before The Jack Saints, Mike and Nick were in Solarfeast, a desert rock band that blended stoner rock, spacerock and noise rock into a heavy, psychedelic, unified whole.
"We recorded it and mixed it in 2 days and our singer hadn't finished writing lyrics... We did some cool shows though, played a lot on acid and in front of 16mm projections of space and Egypt educational films (I was on my Hawkwind kick obviously!). 'Rats' and 'Puppy Has Ludes' were my songs (not the lyrics), and 'Exode' was Nick's song. My favorite song though is the C.O.C. cover/hidden track," Mike told me in an email.
I found my copy of the CD in the dollar bin at Aron's Records in Hollywood!
Solarfeast
