Iowahawk published a most touching tribute to Sandy West, the former drummer from the Runaways.
He also posted a great video featuring the classic lineup of the Runaways (including a brunette Lita and a young Joan Jett-prior to her Germs production credit) doing "Cherry Bomb." There is another youtube video where Sandy's 80s band does a loud pubrock-styled "Wild Thing."
Sandy hit em hard.
Sandy will be remembered. RIP Sandy.
So I learned some of the inner workings of the estate sale scene here in the Chicago suburbs.
First of all, read the listings carefully.
When the sale sounds worthy, get there a half hour earlier than you think you should (1.5 hours before the opening time.)
Get the entry ticket at that time.
So instead of getting in on the first 15 people, I was reduced to entering said sale in the second group. Fans of numerology will revel in the fact that my number was 23.
I did find out that the records were in the basement before entry, so at least I knew to head in that direction. Now some backstory. The site of the sale was a 1940s house that had been occupied by the original owners until the husband recently passed away. Everything was up for sale.
60 years of accumulation!
I went to the basement, and immediately my eyes rested on a matching Sherwood tube integrated stereo amp and tuner. As I reached for the white plastic early 60s gear, some old goat faced woman told me that she was buying it. I think the set went for $12! Faithful reader, I would say to keep your eyes on the ePay for that set.
Feeling defeated, I looked towards the 1000s of cataloged 78s and lps of easy listening and Bennny Goodman records.
Behind a pile of basement detrius, I found the lp case pictured above. It has no key for the brass lock, but other than being dusty, the wood paneled, vinyl covered box is in mint condition. Can you say $2? Two minutes of dusting and now it is filled with 60s lps. Yes.
The moral is pick the best sale and get there early with a big bag!
My fave car of the 800 plus cars was definitely the original deuce roadster pictured above. It had some old timing tags from both Muroc and Rosetta from the late 1940s. The interior consisted of a series of stainless steel plates and a 39 top loader shifter. The seats looked like they were from a WWII bomber. It was a way sweet ride.
My other favorite car was the way cool 31 Willys roadster pictured below. I loved the original looking finish with the full fenders and hood. Something that I cant say I have seen up close and personal before.
Well, OK, I made it to the Big Car Show today as I have for every year of its existence, excepting last year when Johnny Law had some other ideas related to my personal hot rodding endeavors.
According to Iowahawk, the big show had 895 cars last year. So enough of that and on with the show...
I became familiar with this most crushing track through the excellent Pass The Caviar comp from the GaragePunk site. This forum comp was compiled by Mark Taylor.
That said, the guitar tone is absolutely searing. The moaning vocals were effective in their plantiveness. "I walk the streets alone every night."
The fuzz starts at the beginning of this acetate from Philadelphia, probably from sometime in the mid to late 60s.
The guitar break busts a fuzz capped crescendo through my old tweeters. Strong, build into the back up vocal, "Ah Ah Ah Ah, Please come back to me!" The back up vox lend a haunting tone to the song, while the punk posture of the sneer "Come Back!" brings my ears back to earth.
The coda blasts into oblivian. All fans of 60s killers, take note.
Clickin through some links led me to the helpful and informational Garage Hanover site.
http://www.garagehangover.com/
Chas Kit has posted some very cool info and some streaming mp3 files as well. Check out his write up and listen to the Sloths' excellent version of "Makin' Love."
Since the Crate Digger reference system is back in action, it has been time to get back to the vaults. I did a bit of digging in one of the record rooms and came up with the Swamp Rats reissue from 2003.
The fidelity is quite speaker shattering as well as neighbor awakening. The chosen time to blast this cd was about 5:30 PM. It was somewat entertaining to see the neighbors go inside once the dbs hit a certain level. Cranking last year's Funhouse reissue, before this might have had something to do with it.
If you are not familiar with the Swamp Rats' version of "Louie Louie," now is the time to get acquainted. Really, The Rats evoke quite a pre Stooge and MC5 feeling with the heaviness of the 66 and 67 sides included on this collection. Anyone that can cover the Sparkles should also be held in high regard.
The bass is quite deep and filled the house with the low end. The treble and the screech should peel your paint as well. Pour yourself a lager and let er rip.
| A Norsk lite version of Einsruzende Neubauten? Obviously minus the Blixa Bargeld X factor. A bit on the long side. | |
The Pas 2 Pre Amp is back in effect. The issues that I was having were related to the power supply which Mike Del Valle at DelTronics rectified.
All was well until, I put some garage tunes on this past Saturday. The unit failed to get power. Needless to say, my Saturday listening session was crushed.
Tonight after a couple of beers (Delerium Tremens and Triple Carmelite) at the HopLeaf, we paid another visit to Mike. He looked at the unit (not at me) and asked, "whatsamatter?"
To which I answered, "The unit is not getting any power."
Mike shuffled off and in 10 minutes came back and said, "You're all set. I replaced the power cord."
I am having a cup of tea and cranking the most excellent Noreaster 2 comp. All is well chez Cratedigger.
