YOURS IF YOU WANT IT!

Like I have said at least a million previous times, I am a freelancing illustrator and I am also not very sentimental about a lot of the art I have done that has ended up in my MANCHILD books, so If there is anything that catches your eye and you would like to own a page or two, it is up for grabs. And if you have any illustrating needs for your band, club, cd cover or whatever, I am your man. Plus I still have those Jer Warren/Brian Walsby silk screened posters featuring my renderings of: Greg Ginn, Kira Roessler, Milo Aukerman, Dinosaur Jr and D. Boon. Fifteen dollars each plus postage.
Please contact me at: reluctantking@hotmail.com
In the works for the future:
MANCHILD 5 (probably next year at the earliest), DOUBLE NEGATIVE’s second album called “Daydream Nation”, another road experience working for the MELVINS late this summer, and a couple of new t-shirt designs.

VOIVOD STILL LIVES!!!!

TORNADO....or at least half of it. I wish I was there.

In a wonderful case of victory overcoming tragedy, VOIVOD still lives. The second batch of tunes that Piggy left behind for the band just came out. Called INFINI, at first I wasn't sure what to think. It is hard to dismiss anything by these guys since they are one of my favorite bands ever, and I found myself almost doing that with these tunes. Jason Newsted i.e. "Jasonic" is a really cool guy and must be thanked for helping these guys as much as he has but the fact remains for me that the Jason version of Voivod (Mark 3) is still with retrospect the least satisfying of all of the bands lineups..doesn't mean that it is bad stuff. Far from it, a handful of tunes on each of the previous three records are quite good, but "Negatron" and "Phobos" the records from the band's trio phase with Eric Forrest on bass and vocals are waaay better and I think more people will come to that conclusion as time passes. I just discovered how good "Bio TV" from "Negatron" is while coming to this conclusion.

Anyways, INFINI is probably the best of the last three records. Jason Newsted gets a chance to flex some creative muscle a bit more with his oddball interludes between Piggy's songs, Snake sounds a lot more confident on these tunes, Away plays admirably as usual and of course Piggy's weird atonal guitar shines through. The record is for sure a grower, and if this is the last VOIVOD release, it is not a bad way to go out.

Or is it really the end? More exciting to me then the release of INFINI is the fact that Snake and Away are still continuing VOIVOD as a live band with the addition of original bassist Blacky and "living around the corner all of this time" guitarist Dan Mongrain. Oddly enough, Dan loved VOIVOD and Piggy before he ever learned how to play himself, and based on watching videos of the band he is the perfect addition to the band. He just needs a Morgoth type nickname..maybe "Curly"? Anyways, these guys should carry on..why not? No one wants them to go away and they are finally FINALLY getting the respect that they deserve. They should write a record with Dan. They have
already talked about it. Piggy would have been proud.

NEW STUFF.

DINOSAUR JR. VS THE JESUS LIZARD. THIS IS GOING TO BE THE COVER OF A FRENCH MUSIC MAGAZINE.



I AM A RARE BREED.



FOR THE GHOSTS OF FLIPSIDE FANZINE.

NO WAY FEST NUMBER THREE.

Just got back from spending another hot weekend on the third NO WAY FEST in Richmond Virginia where the band I drum in played and where I set up camp and sold my wares. I would like to thank everyone for buying my stuff and especially thanks to No Way Records Brandon and Lauren for letting me get away with this again and for giving me a vehicle to put a little bit of money in my pocket. I hope that in ten years or whatever when they look back on what they have both done that they are as impressed as I am, especially since they don’t get much sleep I reckon.
As usual, I can’t sit here and pretend that I watched too many of the bands but as usual WASTED TIME were the standouts, having pretty much perfected a sound that is a cross between Negative Approach and (especially) Poison Idea. I can’t claim to be someone that listens to a lot of current hardcore but if you are going to listen to it it should probably be these guys.
The ZERO BOYS played too. I have always enjoyed their 1982 album “Vicious Circle” which is a timeless punk rock recording. They did a okay job recreating said record and the audience ate it up. Two things real quick though:
1. The drummer, who looked like a cross between Brian Baker and Jerry Nolan clearly was the current Peter Criss of the band. He barely hit the drums and did the much hated “cheat beat”. Maybe it is cause I am a drummer also, but I couldn’t help but notice this. Man!
2. The band could barely hide their contempt for the young kids that they were playing to and at one point singer Paul Mahern went on for ten minutes about it. Strangely enough the audience ate this up too. It was funny at first and then got old really quick. I know that I am myself pretty cynical as fuck, and I hear about it all of the time but holy moley I don't do stuff like that. No one is there because they want to hear the second album or that third Toxic Reasons album.
DOUBLE NEGATIVE played another weird set at No Way Fest complete with technical problems and once again plagued with a soundman who was retarded at best. I have no idea what it sounded like.
Near the end of the second day after Double Negative played, Justin was tired and since he was me and Sean’s ride, we packed up and left. My ears were ringing with two days of hardcore punk, my own personal threshold for that type of thing. We talked on the way home about how probable it was that we were never going to see a kid get up there with a guitar style like Denis D’ Amour or a band get a creepy sound a la Saccharine Trust on their “Pagan Icons” e.p. and once again I remembered more non cynical earlier days, which I battle all of the time. Such is life I suppose. Nontheless, a cool weekend despite the hot weather.

BLACK FLAG SABBATH.

MIGHT BE A T-SHIRT SOON....