Meet The Little Richards!

Pop-punk as a musical genre tends to be hit-or-miss. When it's not good, it sucks something awful. But when it is good, it's pretty much the best music ever. The Little Richards, out of the Massachusetts North Shore, seem to fall in the latter category. They do pop-punk right, owing a stylistic debt to The Ramones that they make no attempt whatsoever to hide. Their latest demo is up on their Bandcamp page, and it's freaking awesome! Having specialized in writing about this type of music for much of my "career", I'm always pumped to hear a band that reminds me why I got into pop-punk in the first place. The Little Richards make me feel like I'm 25 again! They are not doing anything remotely original. But that's the whole point! They realize that with this kind of music, the goal isn't to break new ground. The goal is to make the listener not care that you're not breaking new ground! These songs are just so fun and catchy, and the minimalist production really suits the rougher edge this band brings to the pop-punk style. And you have to give them bonus points for the band name! If you can't get enough of the Ramones/Queers/Riverdales thing, here's your next favorite band. 



-L.R. 

http://www.facebook.com/TheLittleRichards
http://thelittlerichards.bandcamp.com/album/down-the-nht-demo

My ten favorite current...

Bands:
1. Something Fierce
2. Sugar Stems
3. Missing Monuments
4. Midnite Snaxxx
5. Night Birds
6. The Cry!
7. The Keefs
8. Cold Warps 
9. Youthbitch
10. The Dahlmanns

Sandwiches:
1. Pastrami on rye
2. Philly cheesesteak with Whiz and onions
3. Cleveland Polish boy
4. Cuban sandwich
5. Classic Italian hoagie (with salami & cappicola)
6. Meatball sub
7. Chicago roast beef sandwich
8. Roast pork sandwich
9. Reuben (with kraut, not slaw)
10. Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich

Beers:
1. Victory Baltic Thunder
2. Founders Dirty Bastard
3. Bell's Porter
4. Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel
5. DuClaw Old Flame
6. Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA
7. Lagunitas Pils
8. Green Bay Brewing/Hinterland Maple Bock
9. Tröegs Troegenator
10. Founders Breakfast Stout

Athletes:
1. Wayne Simmonds
2. Brent Celek
3. Carlos Ruiz
4. Zac Rinaldo
5. Ryan Howard
6. Brayden Schenn
7. DaMeco Ryans
8. Thaddeus Young
9. Kimmo Timonen
10. Jason Peters

Reality TV Programs:
1. Duck Dynasty
2. Bizarre Foods America
3. Deadliest Catch
4. United States of Bacon
5. Storage Wars 
6. Ghost Adventures
7. Finding Bigfoot
8. Hell's Kitchen
9. Property Wars
10. River Monsters

It's The Shirks!

Score another one for Greg Mongroll! He recently turned me on to Thee Mighty Fevers, and now he's got me hooked on the new 12" from Washington, D.C.' s The Shirks. It's actually their fifth release, and I've got to say I feel like a real dolt for being unaware of this band's existence until a couple weeks ago. And to make matters worse, I didn't know that the group's singer/guitarist is Alec Budd of the legendary Problematics! Double demerit! Have I been living in a cave or something? Well, yeah, kinda.

The Shirks' label (the esteemed Grave Mistake Records) offers up the description of "trashy, fuzzed out punk rock n' roll". Oh man. Doesn't that just sound like something I'd be into?! "Trashy" rock n' roll is like "malty" beer and "curvy" women: pretty much guaranteed to be great. And, indeed, the record straight-up smokes! If you combined the early Saints with the top bands from the heyday of Rip Off Records and pushed the tempos to the brink of hardcore, it would sound something like this. Songs like "Bad Area", "I Don't Want To Work It" and "9:30 Dicks" gloriously blur the lines between raw, primitive garage-punk and '77 punk rock n' roll. And 99 percent of the "lo-fi" bands out there would kill for that filthy guitar tone! You get eight songs spinning at 45 RPM, and they're all rippers! Definitely a must-hear. The check's in the mail, Greg!



-L.R.

http://www.facebook.com/gravemistakerecords
http://gravemistakerecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-shirks

Youthbitch strikes again!

One of last year's nicest surprises was Youthbitch's extraordinary sophomore LP. It made me an instant fan and ultimately cracked my year-end top ten. Given the band's punky powerpop style and Portland home base, I think a lot of people must have been wondering, "How in the hell is this band not on Dirtnap Records?!" Well, guess what? Now Youthbitch is on Dirtnap! A co-release with Jonnycat Records, new 7" "I'm In Love With Girls" is a textbook specimen of the Dirtnap brand. The moderately paced title cut is pleasingly reminiscent of the Exploding Hearts yet still displays the qualities that make this band unique. These Midwestern transplants bring a puerile silliness to their craft that I hope they never outgrow. And even though they're very talented, they still approach their music as if they just learned to play last week. You see a title like "I'm In Love With Girls" and expect a certain kind of song. And that's exactly what you'll get! The lead guitar parts are so catchy - I guarantee that they'll be stuck in your head for days! I just caught myself whistling the melody while standing over a urinal. I think the band would be proud.

While Youthbitch still refuse to take themselves seriously, this record does show some real growth in the songwriting department. There are no "joke" songs this time, and two of the three tracks run longer than three minutes. These lads may come off like a bunch of degenerate goofs, but their pop sensibility is surprisingly refined. Closing track "Everyone's Mellow But Me" is indicative of how far they've come. It's an ironic title since the song is kind of, uh, mellow. Again, the guitar hooks are pretty damn stupendous. Think Buzzcocks meet Mean Jeans, or something like that.

I was expecting big things from this single in the wake of the awesomeness that was Don't Fuck This Up. And Youthbitch was not about to let me down. These guys have entered my top ten list of current bands - and they're rising fast!



-L.R.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Youthbitch/15037782174
http://dirtnaprecords.bandcamp.com/album/youthbitch-im-in-love-with-girls-7

The F & L Hall of Fame: Tina Lucchesi

Tina Lucchesi is the first individual performer to be featured in my hall of fame series. All four previous inductees have been bands. Clearly Tina was destined for this honor. She may be the coolest rock n' roller of my generation. As a drummer, singer, songwriter, and record label owner, she's had a vital role in a great many of my favorite records of the past two decades. She covered Holly and the Italians not once but twice - and lived to tell the tale. If I could erect a Mount Rushmore of modern day garage/powerpop/rock n' roll, she'd be up there with Travis Ramin and Louie Bankston.

Rather than attempt to list every band she's ever been in (an impossible task!) or expound on her abundant talents (been there, done that), I will instead list my top ten Tina band releases. These titles span all my years in the zine/blog game, from the mid-'90s through the 2000s to present day. I raved about most of these when they came out and love them just as much now. It should also be noted that on her label Lipstick Records, Tina released classic singles by such artists as The Fevers, Riff Randells, Candygirl, and Bitchschool. I often talk about what a golden period the late '90s and early 2000s were for punk rock, and truly it would not have been the same without Tina Lucchesi. And she's still going strong today!

Here we go!

10. Cyclops - "Eye Can't Take It" 7" (2012)
Tina + Jonnycat = Cyclops, a triumphant return to Tina's trashy garage roots. King Louie guests on guitar!

9. Top Ten- "Easily Unkind" 7" (2006)
Top Ten was probably Tina's most overlooked band. But as a huge fan of rockin' '70s punk, I was on board from the jump. This was their second single, with an excellent lead track penned by bad-ass guitarist Erin McDermott. Teenage Head and DMZ covers on the flip tell you exactly where this band was coming from.

8. Bobbyteens- Fast Livin' & Rock N Roll LP (1998)
Classic full-length debut from one of my favorite bands of the glorious '90s/2000s. Gonna get down!

7. Deadly Weapons- "You're So Selfish" 7" (2003)
Everyone thinks of Tina as the power pop/garage queen, but with Deadly Weapons she indulged her love for fast and furious angry punk. This was the band's second offering of nasty bad attitude punk fucking rock. And a cover of G.G.'s "Don't Talk To Me" iced the cake!

6. Top Ten - "Never Get Enough" 7" (2005)
Top Ten's first and best single. Check out the clip below!

5. Midnite Snaxxx- "Like Lightning" 7" (2010)
Killer debut 45 from Tina's current band, co-starring the illustrious Dulcinea Gonzalez. Still hoping the band's LP from last year will eventually get a digital release!

4. Bobbyteens - Not So Sweet LP (2000)
This album added a big dose of power pop to the Bobbyteens' budget rock meets '60s girl group sound. I'll have to check the books, but I think this was my album of the year for 2000.

3. The Trashwomen- Spend the Night With The Trashwomen LP (1993)
We all know how legendary the '90s Bay area lo-fi garage scene was, and this was one of its most classic LPs. Tina's on drums!

2. Tina and the Total Babes - She's So Tuff LP (2001)
When I first heard that Tina was collaborating with the great Travis Ramin, I'm pretty sure I busted a nut. Conservatively, I'd put this in my top five list of all-time best power pop LPs.

1. Bobbyteens- "Firecracker" 7" (1996)
Being a perpetual list maker, I have for many years kept a running list of the ten greatest rock n' roll songs ever made. One song that's always in the top ten: "Firecracker". Right now it's at #5. Not too shabby!

Yeah, I know: that's the mere tip of the iceberg! There are five more Bobbyteens singles plus the Cruisin' for a Bruisin' LP, a couple more Midnite Snaxxx singles, another Deadly Weapons 7" and full-length, a third Top Ten EP, and an additional Cyclops single that I easily could have mentioned. If a Time Life Tina Lucchesi box set ever gets released, the infomercial will have to be two hours long. But enough talk. How about some rock?! Click play and enjoy. It's Tina time!






-L.R.

More Cold Warps goodness!

There are probably only a handful of legitimate contenders for the prestigious title of Best Band in the World. And I'm pretty sure that Cold Warps have got to be one of them. The Halifax/Ottawa foursome seems to raise the bar with every new release. The band's latest tape is its best yet - consisting of five demos for an upcoming LP. It's pretty much the same old Cold Warps, but different. Does that make any sense? While still very much in the lo-fi pop style, the group's sound has been beefed up quite a bit. It's a little louder, a little punkier. If I had had a tiny criticism of the previous recordings, it might have been that the songs could have used just a little more punch. Well, I certainly can't say that anymore! Surely the final versions of these songs will be very different. But knowing these guys, they'll somehow find a way to make them even better!

Recorded "in a parking garage and bedrooms", Tour Demos demonstrates that you don't need big budgets or state of the art studios to make well-crafted pop music with great-sounding harmonies. Cold Warps are just one of those bands that seem perfectly suited to a lo-fi recording approach. When you can write songs this good, you don't need all the bells and whistles. Of course I love the bouncy jolt of high-energy numbers like "Take Your Time" and "Mess Around". Fans of the band's distinct AM radio power pop meets surf rock meets garage-punk sound will absolutely love these tracks. What a rush! But there are some nice surprises as well. Opener "Dip Tripper" puts the power in power pop, and the acoustic track "Worry Worms" is totally weird yet completely brilliant. These guys can truly do it all: love songs, creepy songs, creepy love songs...

Seriously, man: if these are just the "demos", how great is the album going to be?!



-L.R.

http://coldwarps.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/coldwarps

Hooray for Radio Days!

I've been waiting a long time for the chance to write about Radio Days. By the time I started this blog, the band's most recent album was already a year old. So I figured I'd just wait for them to put out another album. And yay, here it is! Issued last month, Get Some Action is the Milan power pop foursome's third full-length release. And as expected, I absolutely love the thing! I cannot stop listening to it!

What I love about Radio Days is the perfect simplicity of their craft. Purely and completely, this is a pop band. They're not trying to be revolutionary or modern or even particularly original. I wouldn't call them "retro" as much as I'd call them throwbacks to a time when perfect pop songs ruled the airwaves (hence the name of the band!). Remarkably, Radio Days pull off this sort of guitar pop classicism without sounding like clones of the artists they revere (Rubinoos, Big Star, Elvis Costello). Perhaps it's just the Italian accent, but I don't get a "Yeah, I've heard this so many times before!" feeling from Get Some Action. Or maybe it all feels so fresh because these guys are just so very good at what they do. Dario and company just have a knack (or should I say Knack?) for crafting simple melodies that take me straight to my happy place. And even as their artistry has matured, they have not lost sight of essential basics like melody and harmonies.

Get Some Action sets a tone off the bat with the impossibly upbeat "Burning Together". This would be a great song to kick off a live show, and it's a great song to kick off an album as well. Right off, you know you're in for a good time full of infectious melodies. Songs like "Girl Girl Girl" and "I'll Be Your Man" are flawless nods to the British Invasion, and the title track is catchier than the clap on a college campus. But what makes this album truly great is the balance between the sunny feelgood numbers and the slower, prettier songs. The tremendous talent of this band really comes shining through in pristine gems like "One Thousand Miles Away" and "Goodbye My Lover". They're just so beautiful and well-crafted, yet no less "hummable" than the lighter cuts. And while it's often a throwaway when a band breaks out the acoustic guitar, superb album closer "My Dreams On the Ground" is one of the record's high points - replete with a string arrangement that genuinely fits the song.

Is it too early to start talking about album of the year frontrunners? Get Some Action is going to be hard to top in 2013. It's chock full of indelible melodies, and it brightens my day no matter what kind of mood I'm in. While hardly the first (and definitely not the last!) band to draw inspiration from the '64-'65 Beatles, Radio Days demonstrate how timeless this kind of music can be when it's carried off with such skill and enthusiasm. Most critically, this LP is not a mere "genre exercise" like a lot of power pop records tend to be. As they say, great songwriting never goes out of style.



-L.R.

https://www.facebook.com/RadioDaysPowerpop
http://radiodays.bandcamp.com/