Monday Photo Blog: mixed bag edition

Took a little break last week, as I was out wandering around the Mojave Desert and Death Valley. But we’re back in business this week with a little selection from a number of different photographers…

Seasick @ The Charleston, Brooklyn, NY December 2009 (photo by Justina Villanueva)

Cro Mags, Rancho Relaxo, Toronto, 31 October 2009 (photo by Rob Ferraz)

This Moment in Black History @ Mango's, Houston, TX 17 March 2010 (photo by David Ensminger)

Rape Revenge @ The Dollhouse, Calgary, AB. Feb. 26th, 2010 (photo by Trista Croft)

Wanna submit a photo for the MRR Photo Blog?

If you shoot shows and have photos you want to submit for the MRR Blog, send them to: markmurrmann {at} gmail(.)com. Be sure to put “MRR Photo Blog” in the subject. Include your name, the band, where and when it was shot. Just send your best photos – edit tightly. Three to five photos is plenty. We will be exercising a little quality control here…not everything sent in will be posted. Please size your photos so they are 500 pixels (72 dpi) at the longest side.

There are a lot of awesome photographers out there shooting shows…and there are a lot of unseen archives of old shows. Show us what you’ve got!

We’d love to mix it up with some old photos. Dig into your archives and send some of those lost gems.

Punx for Haiti — this Sunday!

New Band Spotlight: Mothercountry Motherfuckers

(photo by Karoline Collins)

Sometimes living in The Bay just rules, and you find yourself in a basement in West Oakland with 20 other people and you’re eating pizza and then these four dudes walk in wearing masks and blood-spattered clothes and they just blow you away with insanely catchy songs played at a deafening volume. MOTHERCOUNTRY MOTHERFUCKERS take the good things about ’90s melodic hardcore and make them better…and then throw in a video show and between song samples that are as much a part of the live show as the band itself. Total mystery act, but if you keep your eyes peeled, you might get lucky (like at Submission for the MRR Presents gig on May 20, for instance).

Blog of the Week: DIY Irish Punk Archive

We’ve got a few kick-ass “Blog of the Week” posts in the works for you all, but while waiting for those to ripen I had to find something good to offer you this week… It’s nearly impossible to just google search for good punk shit these days, since a million lame poser piece of shit websites likes to call themselves “DIY”, “underground”, etc. So it was pretty lucky, I think, that a search for “punk out of print diy” popped this bad puppy to the top of the list.

It’s the DIY Irish Hardcore Punk Archive, and the name says it all. It’s an excellent, growing selection of great Irish punk from past to present. Unlike many other music download sites, this one actually makes a point not to post currently in-print music, so you can surf and download with a clean conscience. I was stoked to find music available from some of my old favorites like CIUNAS and NOT OUR WORLD. And I discovered an awesome new favorite in a 2009 demo by FAG ENABLERZ (I know, I couldn’t resist clicking that name to see what it was)…

Always a country for hilarious band names, why not check out DR. SHITFACE or PINK TURDS IN SPACE? Yes, they’re both great! And there’s even a zine section, which yours truly can hardly wait to dive into. Excellent site!

Motley Crue Dead of Winter Tour!! Check it!!

Nikki discusses Sixx Sense with Entertainment Weekly's website.CLICK HERE to go directly to the interview

[Bonus] New Band Spotlight/Video of the Week: Bog People

Killer bands from Portland shouldn’t really be much or a newsflash these days, as the ratio of productive punks to normal humans seems to be rather skewed up there, but sometimes even when you are ready for it, you get your face melted. PDX’s BOG PEOPLE just scurried their way down (and up) the West Coast with VIVID SEKT, and the SF show was at the Li Po Lounge in Chinatown (great spot, by the way…all the atmosphere of a Midwest basement show but with $4 beers and an unfortunate 21+ entry policy). New band MERDOSO played their first show (folks from PELIGRO SOCIAL and Eye-Man playing a wall of mid-paced D-beat), then DOPECHARGE did what they do, fast and chaotic with extra guitar leads.  VIVID SEKT set the mood, then came the fog machine, and then came 14 minutes of UK82 worship and flanged guitars and chains and studs and awkward off-kilter songs that made me want to pogo my life away in that shitty basement. See the video, and you’ll start the pogo pit right in front of your computer. Seriously…I dare you.  The show in LA was even more epic (or so I have been told), with venue owners calling off the gig, The Ponx (yes, with an ‘O’) grabbing a generator and relocating to a freeway underpass and the show blazing sans PA into the night before the cops came and the kids scattered…too bad there ain’t a video of that.

Editor’s note: Sorry the first video is not the right one (my fault, not Robert’s), but it felt a shame to take it down because it’s reallyawesome too Anyway, here it is, from the Li Po Lounge, green lighting, fog and all… Apologies to Roseman…

roseman (kevin) | MySpace Video

Check out the GREATEST HITS, 11/17!

MEDIAALERT....MOTLEY CRUE ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR A NEW GREATEST HITS ALBUM – TO BERELEASED NOVEMBER 17........New York, NY (October2009) --- Mötley Crüe have announced plans for an updat...

New Band Spotlight: Speed Kills

From this month’s MRR magazine (#324 • May 2010)…

(photo by Wander Willian)

SPEED KILLS – demo
What we have here are five killer songs from this Brazilian band that sounds like a deliciously fast baby spawned by LIMP WRIST and some modern Italian hardcore lover that really isn’t around too much, but has left a genetic mark — whoa… The vocals are gruff, screamy and in Portuguese. The lyrics are about human waste, struggling again the odds and looking ahead, among other things, with references to Mad Max mixed in. This music is tight and fierce. Their track “A Cura” has some killer female vocals that made me stop what I was doing. The recording quality is great and it came with a cool DIY screened back patch that will probably be on my next vest. Try to get your hands on this, or at least watch out for this bands official release, cuz this is gooood! (Mariam) (5-song CD-R, lyrics included, myspace.com/speedkillsparanoia)

Get on the MOTLEY TEAM!!!

...

Tuesday Photo Blog?

One the treats of my day job as a photo editor is running into current and former punks in unexpected circumstances. Not too long ago, Jerry Redfern and his partner Karen J. Coates came in to show some amazing work they’re doing in Southeast Asia. Towards the end of the meeting, Jerry mentioned having been an old MRR reader. Small world.

Then, last week, Jerry sent me an email with the photo below.

…while in the bush, there was this kid standing by the side of the road with an Exploited/UKSubs shirt on. He had no idea what it said, but was happy I wanted to take his photo. The Barmy Army is everywhere. Thought you would appreciate it.

Best,
Jerry

Laotian local with Exploited/UK Subs shirt. (photo ©2010/Jerry Redfern)

UPDATE: Shitworker Rob Coons also spent a little time in Laos and he ran across a similar shirt on his travels. The Barmy Army is everywhere…in Laos anyway.

(photo by Rob Coons)

Rob sez: I tried talking to her but she didn’t understand me at all. I also saw a dress shirt the next day with a patch of the Pushead drawing of the skull that is on the cover of Let’s Start A War. Sadly I did not get a picture of that one.

$10 Lawn and $15 Reserved Crue Fest 2 Tickets!

For one day only this Wednesday August 12th, Live Nation is offering $10 Lawn and $15 Reserved tickets to Crue Fest 2.      

Beefeater!

This month’s issue of MRR features an interview with Freak (formerly Fred) of Beefeater. A fascinating look back at his time in the harDCore scene, which touches on his experiences as a black punk. We were sent a few of these flyers and they somehow disappeared, missing publication, so I thought I would post ‘em here…

(click images to enlarge)

Message from Tommy!

US Crue Fans - Call (818) 748-9075 for a new message from Tommy and a chance to win an HD Radio Receiver.

Website of the Week: Operation Phoenix

Straight outta Brookings, South Dakota — that punk rock mecca — comes a modestly presented yet invaluable treasure trove of punk history. It’s called Operation Phoenix Records and what you’ll find there is an amazing selection of classic zines available as PDF downloads in their entirety. These include most issues of Flipside from #1(!) thru #58, every issue of 10 Things Jesus Wants You To Know, almost every HeartattaCk, Suburban Relapse, Suburban Punk, Suburban Voice… the list goes on. Oh, and did we mention you can download everything from the first few years of Maximumrocknroll??

Operation Phoenix archives: the hard copies

Operation Phoenix is run by Adam Miller, an aficionado of early punk who writes, “I first got into punk when I was a teenager during the 90’s, but it was older stuff like the Stooges, Ramones, Black Flag, Germs, Circle Jerks — all of the usual suspects.

“The inspiration for the zine part of the site was due to the difficulty I had finding old zines to read. During the late 90’s, I contacted one of the zine libraries in the US to see if they would mail me zines if I’d cover postage and send them a deposit until I returned the zines. They said no. I understood the reason, but I thought an online site would fix that problem for a lot of people.”

Originally conceived as an online store (hence the name including the word “Records”), the site soon found its niche as a zine and flyer archive, with an online punk discography that Adam hopes to further develop. The zine archive is definitely the star of of show here though. I’ve been downloading zines from this site months and still don’t have everything I want. And Adam says there are around 250 more zines he is still preparing to upload to the site.

Does this sound like a lot of work for one dude?

“The site absolutely takes a lot of work, but when I think of all the time that went into publishing all of these zines, it puts everything in perspective.”

Don’t miss the decades of perspective to be found at Operation Phoenix. Adam can be contacted thru the site. As a bonus, here are his recommendations for more punk archives.

Break My Face
Flex!
Kill From The Heart
45 Revolutions
Collector Scum

Happy treasure hunting!

Greatest Hits Out Today!

Click here at bestbuy.com to get the special Motley Crue Greatest Hits edition with a bonus DVD from Crue Fest 2! To preview the record, click here at AOL music to hear all the tracks!

Monday Photo Blog: Down Under Thunder

The Scavengers @ AK-79 Reunion, Auckland, New Zealand, 22 Nov 2008 (photo by Sarah Crews)

Decline of the Reptiles, Empire Hotel, Annandale, Sydney, 7 March 2009 (photo by Sarah Crews)

X, Empire Hotel, Annandale, Sydney, 7 March 2009 (photo by Sarah Crews)

Eddy Current Suppression Ring at Mojos, Fremantle, WA, 31 January 2009 (photo by Sarah Crews)

Wanna submit a photo for the MRR Photo Blog?

If you shoot shows and have photos you want to submit for the MRR Blog, send them to: markmurrmann {at} gmail(.)com. Be sure to put “MRR Photo Blog” in the subject. Include your name, the band, where and when it was shot. Just send your best photos – edit tightly. Three to five photos is plenty. We will be exercising a little quality control here…not everything sent in will be posted. Please size your photos so they are 500 pixels (72 dpi) at the longest side.

There are a lot of awesome photographers out there shooting shows…and there are a lot of unseen archives of old shows. Show us what you’ve got!

We’d love to mix it up with some old photos. Dig into your archives and send some of those lost gems.

New Interview With Nikki Sixx on EW.com

Nikki discusses Sixx Sense with Entertainment Weekly's website.CLICK HERE to go directly to the interview

“Killer Review on Crue Fest 2 on Jam Base!”

http://www.jambase.com/Articles/19233/Crüe-Fest-2-07.30-Mountain-ViewBy: Dennis CookCrüe Fest 2 :: 07.30.09 :: Shoreline Amphitheatre :: Mountain View, CAMötley CrüeWhile scoring supplies at 7-11 on m...

Greatest Hits Full Album Stream!!!

Hey all - click the link below to stream the entire Greatest Hits Album!Do it you rock pigs!!! http://www.thestreetdate.com/motley-crue-greatest-hits/

The Animal in Me REMIX

Check out the remix of The Animal in Me on MySpace now, and don't forget to get your copy of The Greatest Hits in stores November 17th!