The GutterCats - Whisky Avenue E.P.

NOTE: THIS REVIEW IS BEING REVISED. THE OVERALL OPINION OF THE E.P. WILL STAND, BUT A FEW PROBLEMS WITH THE REVIEW HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION, AND OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE BAND AND ROCKY SHADES I HAVE CHOSEN TO REVISE THE REVIEW. 

The GutterCats – Whisky Avenue EP

Line up:

Andy Guttercat – Vocals

Natt – Bass

Mitz – Drums

James Guttercat – Guitar

Let's take a moment to ponder on a question. When was the last time you heard a band and thought to yourself “Damn, that was a lot of fun”? Music that was written with a complete lack of social or political statement. Music that was written by a bunch of guys who are throwing on the guitars, picking up the sticks, and just planning to have fun. Lyrics that are all about fun, living it up. Not in a tongue in cheek way, making fun of their past (Steel Panther), but rather writing their lyrics and actually meaning to have a blast. The type of thing that is done with humor, but mainly because the guys are just like that, just having a blast. No self-mockery of self-loathing. No anger. Just fun. No, not like that stupid band that has become so popular that calls themselves “fun,” even though there is nothing fun about their music, unless you are a masochist. But fun, real fun.

Let me introduce you to The Guttercats.

The Guttercats are actually all about a tip of the hat to their favorite bands from their past and having a hell of a good time. If the listener is familiar with The Last of the Teenage Idols, The Babysitters, or Wrathchild, then the listener will be able to pick out the influence. In fact, they do this so closely that one can actually pick the songs apart as almost a song by song tribute. There are three songs here, and each one pays their tribute.

Do not misunderstand me, these are not a bunch of rip-off tunes. These are every bit as much a tip of the hat style as Hanoi Rocks did once upon a time. “Back to Mystery City” aped The Dead Boys “3rd Generation Nation,” but still managed to be its own song. They did that with Alice Cooper, The Dictators, The Ramones, and a slew of others. This is how The GutterCats do their thing. They pay tribute, but they do it in the guise of making other bands sound their own. All of the songs do sound like the same band, they all have their own style, but they also meld perfectly into what inspired them. They all work on this EP, but each of the bands mentioned could also take these tunes and play the songs, and their sounds would work perfectly with the tunes.

We kick off with a very Babysitters type of tune, “Whisky Avenue.” Straight Bluesy Punk, Rock and Roll with more attitude and fun than most bands know how to handle. Cocky, silly, and swaggering all over the dang club. Are the lyrics great? No, but they work perfect for what they are meant to do. They are simple enough to get a crowd singing along while raising their drinks as vocalist Andy pours beer over their heads during the breakdown, and ends it with spraying beer, or champaign, all over the place.

“Who's She Killing” may as well be a long lost LOTTI track with Andy channeling Buttz (LOTTI vocalist) almost to perfection. He steps into Buttz shoes so closely that I would almost swear Buttz was in on giving Andy tips. If you are familiar with LOTTI then you know what this tune sounds like. If you are unfamiliar, this will be a tough one to describe. Nobody sounds like LOTTI. They are Rock and Roll, they are Glam, they are Punk, they are . . . British . . . they are unlike anything that ever existed, and nothing has been like them since. If this was the only song The Guttercats ever recorded I would still rate them as a great band. The fact that somebody else was able to figure out what made LOTTI the brilliant band they were, and then wrote a song in the style of LOTTI instantly makes that band a wonder to behold. This is as much a statement of love for The Guttercats from me, as it is a statement of love for Last of the Teenage Idols.

Who's following along here? First song is a Babysitters type of tune. Second song was a LOTTI style tune. Anybody wish to guess what the last one might possibly be? Yes, “Mile High” is all Wrathchild. The vocal delivery is close to Rocky Shades, lyrics are similar sex style lyrics one would expect from Rocky, and the whole thing just fits that early 80s Wrathchild did.

One thing I do find funny about these songs also comes down to the comparison to the earlier bands. In all three of those bands the best vocalist was Buttz during his LOTTI days. That was when he seemed to have the most control of his voice, the most confidence, and the best swagger, sneer, and Hell bent humor. Rocky was always a bit of an acquired taste, and when people usually have a problem with Wrathchild, it is his voice that throws them for a loop. Give him a few listens, and one will fall in line and understand where he is coming from. On these songs, oddly enough, the best vocals come on the song that is the most LOTTI like. Andy does himself a heck of a fine job here, a moment to be proud of.

Good Lord people, I have rambled on and on about a three song fucking EP! Take a hint, get the damn thing. Solid songwriting, solid guitar playing, solid bass playing, solid drumming, an all around damn fine release for those of you who like Glam, Trash, Punk, Rock and Roll, and just a whole shitload of fun. Drop the band a line, get hold of it, and rock the fuck out of your neighborhood!

 GutterCats on Facebook - GET THEIR SHIT!!! 

Bobby Durango - RIP

So I was supposed to be working on homework this morning, but when I was bouncing around here this morning I found out that Bobby Durango passed away last year. Bobby was the vocalist for Rock City Angels, a band that showed up in the late 80s and should have been huge. Problem is that they showed up at the Hairband time, and got labeled a Hairband, but they were far from it. They played straight up Blues infused RnR.

Back in 2009 RCA showed up again, new line up fronted by Bobby. I had Sonic Ruin going at the time, so I decided to try and get something done with the band. Bobby and I started to go back and forth through emails and we hit it off, possibly better than I ever hit it off with any of the other bands I was interviewing. We spent a long time working on the interviews, and he went out of his way to make sure I got all that I needed. 

During that time I was going through Hell with my job. I knew the poop was hitting the fan, and my mood was going downhill fast. I lost interest in almost everything, and Sonic was one of those things. Sadly, the Durango RCA interview never saw the light of day. I lost touch with Bobby, except we were Facebook friends. Every now and then I would pop him a line, or he would pop me a line, just to say "hi." He told me on numerous occasions that he understood how things fell apart, and he had no bad feelings. I still felt terrible about it, and have gone back numerous times to look over what I had started, and thought about finishing it up.

Now today I see he passed away. It was last June. A long time ago. On his page there are a few "miss ya buddy" type of posts. Only one hidden in another message about how he passed (liver failure). I saw no mention on Yahoo news, nothing on any other sites. No mention anywhere on here. He may not have been an Axl Rose size success during that time, but he was supposed to be the guy that knocked Axl of his throne. Anybody from back then will remember that hype. 

So, instead of homework right now I am digging through that interview we did, finding the emails we exchanged, planning out how to make the issue that was originally intended for him to now being a great tribute to him. If anybody has any old pictures, ads, anything RCA related and is willing to donate it, please send it along. Thanks. Peter Banks is gone, Clive Burr is also gone. This one, though, is the one that really is the punch to the gut. Bobby was one of my guys, from my world.

RIP Bobby.

Yes, by the way, this work will have as little info in it as possible about the former member who went on to massive stardom. That guy gets enough publicity. This is about Bobby.

Suicide Bombers – Criminal Record:

Anybody who is familiar with Chris Damien Doll and his former band Trashcan Darlings should have an idea of what to expect out of Chris's new offering, Suicide Bombers. This is not to say that this act sounds exactly like Trashcan, but there are similarities, for obvious reasons. The main songwriter in Trashcan was Chris and this band has a similar style. While this is a separate band, there is no doubt this is a Chris Damien Doll product, and if this review gets somebody to pick this album up, I would kind of like to think that it might also cause them to seek out the previous band also. There is a lot of Chris Damien Doll goodness out there for people to spend some time with.

Let us first explore what is the same in these songs with those from previous days. The main thing one should notice is that Chris continues to show his care of song construction. Chris doesn't just write a song. Chris seems to like to pull apart his songs, find ways of fleshing them out, and actually building a song. His material might sound like “just rock and roll,” and one could easily take it for such. But if one was to really listen to the songs, the layering, the transitions, every aspect, one can find that there is a lot going on. Everything flows and everything fits.

It would seem that the big difference between the two bands is that while Trashcan had that Punk edge, Suicide Bombers live up to their name. They deliver bombastic Rock, the kind of stuff arenas were built for (sorry, sporting events were just time killers until somebody invented the electric guitar). The kind of stuff that was made to shake the earth. This is R-O-C-K that finds the right groove, the right hook, and then goes for the jugular. Hooks in the verses, and hooks for every chorus.

Songs such as “High On Explosives” and “Princess Socialite” push forward with such an urgency that in a live situation I would have to expect the club would be bursting. “Princess Socialite” in particular has such a high energy, and carries such a wonderful chorus, that when the song calms down in the middle one is almost thankful for the small break.

The only time the Bombers seem to not be so interested in rocking the living Hell out of your world is when they slow down ever so slightly for “Teenage Breakdown.” Don't get me wrong, this is nowhere near an “Every Rose Has Its Thorns” slow down, but just enough to probably give the boys a chance to stop running around the stage. Think mid-tempo Dogs D'Amour from either Dynamite Jet Saloon or Errol Flynn. I could almost hear Tyla singing this one. A duet between Tyla and Chris would be absolute Heaven for this tune.

“Bombers En Vogue” might not have the same high energy drive as other songs, and might move at a slower pace, but the tune is all about strutting. The song works as a theme song, and it gives the listener an idea of the cocky swagger that the band must have. It gives us an idea of what their stance and position on a stage must be like. These guys own the land that stand on, and the stage is always theirs to conquer, no matter the locale or situation.

Chris does sound quite a bit like Trashcan vocalist Strange? Gentle, which surprised me quite a bit when I first heard the album. It probably should not have been too much of a surprise, as Trashcan ended due to Strange? feeling he had run the course, so Chris might not have been ready to put that band to bed yet. Chris might be a little bit better than the man who guided his previous band, but it will ultimately come down to a personal taste. If one liked Strange's voice, then one should be cool with Mr. Damien Doll.

This is not a perfect album, but it is extremely good. If there is a spot that might cause one to pause, it would be that Chris might have an acquired taste voice. It is not bad, but it is a voice perfectly suited to Trash and Punk. One won't find Chris throwing down against a Sebastian Bach, which for some is a grand thing. A voice like that would work against the attitude and power that hides within these songs. In all honesty, however, I am growing more and more fond of this album as time passes by.

Interview with Flashfalcon

Just before Sonic Ruin vanished into hibernation I was sent a CD from a band named Flashfalcon. I was about to put the 'zine to bed, but I liked the CD enough that I was hopeful that doing an interview with them would be enough to spark my desire to keep Sonic going. One thing lead to another and the interview was misplaced and eventually forgotten about. 

Until tonight.

Hiding on a hard drive I have here are a few pieces of that I had started work on, and ones that were all but finished. This is the Flashfalcon interview. At the bottom of the interview I am attaching a few You Tube links to some of their stuff, one of which is a great cover of The Wildhearts "Suckerpunch." I apologize to the band for this interview not seeing light of day sooner.

Sonic Ruin interview with Flashfalcon:

Sonic Ruin: Give us a little quick background on how you formed:

Nick Valiant : FLASHFALCON was formed 5 years ago with a reunion of very good friends who love the same kinds of music, listen to the same shit, and all have differents band experiences before!

We are five over-powered guys from Lyon, France : Paco Billy (Vocals), Riff Raffson (Guitar & back vocals), Nick Valiant (Bass & Back Vocals), Gus Van Snake (Drums) and our latest addition Rick Thunder

(Guitar & Back Vocals), who just arrived after the departure of Matt Gonzalez, -creator of the band with Riff and myself-, to Montreal, Canada. 

We play some hard, loud & powerful rock with various influences like punk rock (Dead Boys, New Bomb Turks, The Wildhearts), the scandinavian high energy scene (like The Hellacopters, Gluecifer etc...), hard rock (AC/DC, Judas Priest) , metal (Metallica, Entombed) and a bit of speedrock (Zeke, Peter Pan Speedrock)... It's a mighty mixture of all of us, that we really love to throw in your face!

We just released our first album, titled "Voracious Appetite, Venomous Bite" on the label Nicotine Records. It has been recorded & mixed by Johnny Cat at Rock'On Studios (Annecy, France) who use to work with Backstreet Girls, The Boys, Honest John Plain etc; and mastered by the famous Glen Robinson at Studios DOC (NY, Montreal) who own an impressive CV (AC/DC, Nashville Pussy, Probot, Voivod, etc...).

SR: What are your individual influences? An influence that might not be instantly noticeable:

Nick Valiant : I'm really fan of the scandinavian scene with bands like Gluecifer, The Hellacopters, Wonderfools etc... I'm also the ultimate speedrock fan in the band with bands such as Zeke, Peter Pan Speedrock, Puffball, Black Radio, etc...

Paco Billy : For my part my influences are more from punk bands such as The Dead Boys, Ramones, Dictators, The Undertones, X, Social Distortion…to heavy metal like Motley Crue, Iron Maiden (Di Anno’s days), Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy, Accept, Steel Panther… til 90’s punk indie bands like Hot Water Music, Samiam, The Posies, At the Drive In, etc…

Riff Raffson : My influences result essentially from heavy metal and hard rock : Mötley Crüe, Guns and Roses, Accept, Aerosmith, Twisted Sister… And some of them are also from trash metal: Metallica, Exodus, Slayer, Anthrax…

I’m an old punk rock fan too, I love bands like The offspring, The Ramones, The Descendents, RKL, The Dead Boys … even bands like NOFX, Rancid …

Like Nick said, I also listen a lot of Scandinavian bands like Hardcore Superstar, Backyard Babies, Gluecifer… I love some English bands too, I’m totally fan of The Wildhearts, The Rolling Stones…This is not an exhaustive list, I’m sure I forgot some of my favorite bands like in every interview!

SR: Recording method and writing style? Certain songs seem to have guitar bits added in, such as song 3.

Riff Raffson : At first, we start to put Bass and Drum’s structures together, then we record guitars and solos and finally, Paco can put the shit out of him and start shouting on songs… It works for us, so we stick to this way of working. Perhaps we’ll change our ways for the next album, I don’t know… It depends of what kind of song’s style you’re dealing with. Sometimes, we add one or two layers of power chord’s guitars on the basic structure to make it sounds heavier, but I’m not sure we did that for One after the Other… I think there is more stuff added in Breakout Killer.

SR: There are some instances of very cool guitar work in the songs, are you guys holding back at all?

Riff Raffson: Sure, because we love guitars stuffs and we also like to arrange songs, but it’s really difficult to find the good measure. Sometimes, you want to put riffs and solos everywhere, you see? Haha… So we worked a lot before the recording, especially with Matt for guitars, because we wanted to know exactly what we’ll going to do in studio and have balanced songs. But it can arrive that we find good guitar’s rearrangements during studio’s sessions as well.

SR: Same question to you Paco, songs such as “Eternal Lonesome Boy” show a vocal ability in the chorus that you don’t use most of the time, will you ever unleash your full vocal range and ability?

Paco Billy : Yes that’s definitely true ! I don’t think I use my full vocal range and ability in this album because I was still looking for my own style of singing and I wanted to show how angry and hungry I was at that time ! When we wrote this album we were all in a mood of taking revenge, proving to everyone that we are a good band, full of rage. And it maybe had influenced, unconsciously, the writing and recording process. We did it 5 days in a row. And as we were in a big rush we didn’t take time for the melodious parts. The most important at that time was to get a straight heavy and punk rock record with no frills.

For the next album I think I will go for something more melodious and I’m working on it! I think it takes time to find out the vocals you’re comfortable with.

SR: On the surface, at face value, you guys come across as a Punk style outfit: loud, fast, in your face, but when listening closer, there is so much more going on. Using a band like Riverboat Gamblers as an example of a band who started one way, and kind of morphed into a different direction. What direction do you see yourself going in the future?

Nick Valiant : As I already said before, Rick just arrived after the departure of Matt, -our former guitarist, who used to write the songs with Riff-, to Canada. I really think that Rick will work very well with Riff to write dozens of terrific songs. We already had written a few new songs with Rick, and necessarily, he has his influences, his way of playing guitar, and his style of writing. He brings lots of new ideas and slicing riffs. The next songs to come are going to change a bit, but it still remains FLASHFALCON!

Paco Billy : We will still keep Flashfalcon’s background like Scandinavian, Punk rock and Heavy metal scenes but with a few changes as we’re all listening to new different stuff and the coming of Rick Thunder as our new guitar player.

Riff Raffson: I think it’s going to be heavier and more melodic at the same time. It’s a good melt isn’t it?

SR: Are there trailer parks in Europe, or are you basing your knowledge of such things on North America?

Paco Billy : I don’t have a great knowledge about how life goes in such places. In wrting Trailer Park Queen’s lyrics I wanted to let my imagination figure it out what could be a woman’s life in a mobile home. As you could noticed in TPQ it ain’t that good. It’s just the way I perceive things from where I am and I’m certainly 100% wrong. But anyway I don’t care, I just wrote it for fun. 

Flashfalcon - Suckerpunch (cover)

Flashfalcon - Moody Weather

Flashfalcon on Facebook

The Godfathers - “I Can't Sleep Tonight” single (plus the other singles from the past few years)

I can still remember my old friend Gordon going on and on about this up and coming band from the UK. He told me that they were starting to get a bunch of buzz in the music press, and even on MTV. “Trust me, though, they are actually good!” he said, knowing that in my mind MTV praise was a damnable thing. This was the 80s, and MTV during the day didn't know crap about good music. 120 Minutes did, though, and that was where this band began to show their face.

By now I am sure that the smart reader has been able to figure out that I am talking about The Godfathers. Hopefully the fact that this review is about their new single, and that their name is up top there, was enough to clue everybody in. I know all of you are a smart group of people.

So here we sit, a lot of years after I first heard these guys. A lot of years after I first fell in love with them. A lot of years after Birth, School, Work, Death first blew me away. A lot of years after More Songs About Love and Hate gave me mixed emotions, and a lot of years after Unreal World gave me even more mixed emotions. In the years that have passed I have gone long stretches of time not listening to the band, listening to them again and wondering why I hadn't listened to them again sooner, and then long periods of time not listening to them again. They also did a bunch of reunion shows a few years ago, I got excited about them, then I forgot about them. Hell, I even proposed an interview with them for an issue of Sonic, they agreed, then I have no idea what happened.

Now we are graced with a new single. How is it? Well, it is easy enough to click the link below and find out for oneself. The band describes the tune as their tribute to the Ramones. Eh, O.K. I am not a huge Ramones fan (no, I will not apologize), so this didn't get me too excited. The song is fairly straight forward, in the style of the Ramones. The voice is typical Peter Coyne, but it isn't clicking with me quite like the older stuff. That could quite easily change in my mind with a few listens.

A quick search shows me that I have actually missed two other new singles! Foolish me. Those two tunes are “Back Into The Future” and “The Outsider.” On those two songs Peter Coyne actually sounds like he has been influenced even further by the UK Punk scene. His voice has completely lost any charm, and is now pure Punk venom. The band is almost running closer to an Oi sound, or UK '82 sound than they are the Punk meets Pop crossover creature that they were in the 80s. This is not progression, but total regression. I am a little confused on how I feel about these songs. In some regards I like them, but in others I miss the killer melody and beauty they were able to mix with the angst. This is all angst.

This all might sound negative, but I am really not meaning it to sound so. I will no doubt buy this as soon as released. I am sure that it will take me a few times to fully fall in love with, and that is coming from the fact that I will probably be hoping for the slight commercial side that I fell in love with. Yes, I said I loved the commercial side of it all. I liked the fact that they snuck into the radio, and still spit in the face of the general public. The new material will more than likely not be able to connect with the folk who would never listen to a Punk band. Granted, this might be exactly why they have gone this route. They know that they will never break the top 10 now days, so why the hell should they try a commercialized approach to their music? May as well go for broke and put out as much of the piss and vinegar as they can. They got nothing to lose, so they may as well keep their integrity.

http://soundcloud.com/godfathers-1/08-i-cant-sleep-tonight