I Want A Watch Children Reunion!

Hey, Hey It's The Watch Children!
These paisley frocked weirdos were legendary in the 80s/90s Jersey Shore music scene. ( I must mention that "the scene" consisted of a couple of good bands floating on a toxic broth of irate hardcore boneheads and Bruce Springsteen teat lappers, so anything that was even slightly left of center was like manna from heaven for a jaded music lover like myself.) And like most fantabulous ideas, (Vanilla Coke, for one) they were around for too short of a time and then they were gone. Poof! Just like that. Check out one of my faves from their horribly/beautifully produced cassette. I humbly offer up the super genius candy psych monster, "Coconut Lifesaver". Listen as head Head Marc Saxton channels Space Oddity era Bowie and runs the whole sugary mess through Stacey Sutherland's Echoplex. These suburban punks were hot shit! Their lone "official" release, "How Does it Feel To Be So White?" is right up there with Easter Everywhere and Psychic Powerless Another Man's Sac in my own personal Drug Punk Valhalla. The Saxton tracks are creepy and out of whack, while the Martin Splichal songs are caveman-ish and troubling. Lennon & McWhatshisname aint got nothin' on these trouble makers!
Go ahead and Google the band name and cassette title, make a few illicit clicks here and there and dive into the poison lagoon.
Up next; The Laughing Soupdish, Ripping Corpse and Cold Beer!

Enchancing Your Listening Experience

Void were the kings of scary noise/chemical huffing doom metal. Bubba Dupree made his guitar sound like a botched suicide.
Beautiful stuff. Buy the Void/Faith CD and scratch a pentagram through the Faith portion of the disc. Then listen to it while drinking straight Scots Miracle-Gro. You'll thank me later.





Seige were Boston goons. They were pissed about everything and mad all of the time. These dicks were probably the scourge of the local 7-11. Always loitering out front by the ice machine, and shoplifting anything that wasn't nailed down. What a bunch of assholes. Their records sound typical, but this live performance(and the other clips that are available on YouTube) make mincemeat outta Steely Dan's Aja when it comes to sonic perfection. Crisp and well defined highs! Clear and vibrant midrange! Thunderous lows! Its all here, jazz rock lovers. Take a lo-rez MP3 of the audio to your local hi-fi specialty shop and have em' play it on the biggest and most expensive stereo on the floor. Then take a dump on a $5,000 Austrian turntable and try to grab the security guys gun.

Kid Genius

Holy Crap! This is another prime example of a snot nosed kid performing the definitive version of a classic. Last time it was Sara beating the fuck out of Bill Bruford with her take on King Crimson's "Red". This time out its Jack and his "unique" cover of The Wiper's classic, "Return Of The Rat". And check out Dad on the drums! Special thanks to Mike Leibman for exposing me to this little gem.

Bill Bruford Can Suck It Hard

Fripp had a good riff and didn't know what to do with it. This punk kid nailed it. Then she did her homework and went to bed.
The band on this definitive version of "Red", led by some half pint 12 year old badass named Sara, stomps all over Fripp & Co. and their artsy farsty tart rock. Five sandwiches! A perfect score.

Jeff Beck Is Way Cooler Than You

Saw him a few days ago at The Masonic Hall on California St here in SF. Crowd full of burnouts, Marin County lizard types and fatsos. Beck may have dressed like a spaceman on holiday, (sunglasses, shag, and a black & white sleeveless number with matching clown boots. And oh yeah, he wore a metal arm thing on his forearm. Kinda like what Wonder Woman sported to deflect bullets and laser beams.) but that 60 something motherfucker can still deliver. Best guitar player ever. And like most Brit musicians from that time period, he was shorter than I had imagined. Mick Jagger is a shrimp too. Dio is tiny, but he is also the guy who sang in Rainbow, so fuck you if you call him short. But seriously, most 60s Brit rockers are sickly and pale. From what I've read, the Nazis cut off the food supply in England, so The Small Faces were forced to eat dirt and pine cones. Something like that.
Good show. I give Jeff Beck 4 1/2 sandwiches out of a possible 5.

My Top 5

1. Jeff Beck
2. Frizzy hair late 60s/early 70s Robert Fripp
3. Super High/Peavey Era Greg Ginn
4. Ritchie Blackmore
5. Early/Functionally Drunk Eddie Van Halen