The third annual Punk Rock Picnic! CLICK FOR PHOTOS
On 4/10 at Hidden Valley Park at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, bands like Supersuckers, D.I., Franki Doll and the Broken Toys, DMF, Bastard Winos, Honkies, Dickies, Youth Brigade, Narcoleptic Youth and many, many more performed. And all for a good cause: Helping to benefit autism research. All photos by John Gilhooley.
The mini pipe was set up in perfect view of the main stage so that …Lost team manager and two time Ultimate Boarder gold medalist Chad Shetler wouldn’t miss any of the bands as he, Dave Ruel, Duane Peters, and others took turns shredding the ramp to the live soundtrack coming from bands like Youth Brigade, Naked Aggression, DMF, The Dickies, and D.I. They even had the heckler couch set up in front of it so that the boys could take second to relax and cheer on the others as the took their runs.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: "DRINK. FIGHT. FUCK. VOLUME TWO" CD
If you're over all those compilations of diverse and mostly unknown bands that were falling faster than confetti a few years ago - and you suspected many were a pyramid scheme-styled money-maker for someone, but just not the bands on 'em - here's a reason to take a fresh listen. This is absolutely top shelf and a reminder how much fun down and dirty can be. Absolute High Energy is the common ingredient across a dizzying 28 tracks. There's a litmus test that was applied while kicking this one around for a month or so. Maybe it landed at the right time or I'd just been browned-off by the parade of lesser compiles, but this is a disc where I can almost always pick a track at random, find something of worth and hang in for the rest of the ride. ADHD's "Hot Ticket" is one landing point that demands repeat spins. I have no idea who they are (Google drew a blank before law firms touting for class actions flooded the rankings) but this is like a red hot poker up the bot. Either that or your piles are acting up. A creeping bassline, molasses-thick guitars joining the fray and a frantic singer testifying against a solid backbeat that falls into a breakdown before a fiery six-string Tek-tinged solo. There's lots more to wax about. Like the wah-wah solo in Sonic Negroes' "Watch Your Back" or the crunch of Peter Phelps Ass Cobra and "Good Times" for another (an Aussie outgrowth of the late Specimens). Politically incorrect though it may be but "Emo Fag" by SoCal trio DMF is as funny as all get out. May it (and they) torment bands like Chemical Romance forever and a day. Steaknives are from Italy and will draw a smile for their Bon Scott reference and daylight robbery of one of history's best-known guitar solos. "Big Money" is nothing if not brazen. Happy Days. Did I say already that The Hitchikers sound like the Dictators and the Dead Boys in a knifefight? Leeringly good and they rock like a motherfucker. More on them soon. You might be aware by a review elsewhere her that The Nicotine Fits can do no wrong. On "Shake Me Some Action" they shake the noise out of their four minutes of disc-time like a pit bull with a baby in its mouth. Familiar turf ahead: Both the Specimens ("Head Straight") and The Last of The Bad Men ("Tail Block") are I-94 Bar regulars that are coming from similar places and these songs should inspire you to hunt down more examples of both. In the case of the former, look no further than Zodiac Killer's fab re-issue of their first two albums plus EPs. The eloquent closing spoken word track is called "Irate Fuckin' Australian Dude" and should be Tourism Australia's next campaign theme. It couldn't do worse than hitching the wagon to a lame movie or some Sheila asking where the fucking hell are you? The consistency is amazing. I could go on - but so could you if you bought a copy. Take the hint. - THE BARMAN
Sept 2008
VARIOUS ARTISTS: "DRINK FIGHT FUCK VOL. 2 -- When you pick up a compilation with a cover featuring a zombified GG Allin getting fondled by a couple drunk and tattooed punk chicks on it, you know what to expect. You know that you’re going to hear a bunch of scumpunk bands doing sloppy tunes about pooping on faces, sticking dicks into mud puddles and that sort of thing. However, when you put this disc in, your expectations will not be met. It’s filled with straightforward punk‘n’roll. You will be baffled by its uniform excellence. You will be amazed by the general lack of throwaway tunes that tend to plague compilations (There is one glaring exception—“Emo Fag” by DMF—which is made all the uglier by the fact that it follows “Watch Your Back” by the Sonic Negroes, which could be the best on the disc). You may want to play it again. - MP JOHNSON - RAZORCAKE
Paperback Writer:
May 2003 DemoListen Derby - By Wanda
A Bakersfield, California literature, music and news blog
Jan 14th, 2006
N.L. Still an Ass - For the first time I have been called out by an out of town band for not reporting in on a show they performed at... I got this message from the manager of DMF.
"I'm Kris, DMF's manager, I set up the show last Friday and asked Dead Man Walking to come along since they had never left OC before. I ran across your blog - I couldn't help but notice that you omitted that DMF played entirely, was this intentional or did you leave before DMF played? If so, you missed a great set..."
I showed up to review the 28s and mentioned the other bands I saw. I didn't even realize another band was performing that night (the headliner at that, what an ass I am). I had left when Keaton and Jake were performing. The cool part about it all? An LA band actually cares. That's way cool. Hats off to Kris, manager of DMF for writing in.
Nov 16th, 2005
DMF stands for "Dirty Motherfuckers." As the guys from the band would say, "the name says it all." These guys might not be from Bakersfield, but they definitely enjoy playing here in town. Catch DMF play as they get on the stage at Vinny's Bar's on Jan. 6, 2006 at 9 p.m. They're loud, dirty and a bunch of social misfits fueled by booze, infectious riffs, thundering bass lines and high octane drums. This trio has been blasting through venues in several southwest states leaving club-goers amped after their first DMF experience.
Dec 16th 2005
Click Here for "Rockies" Press Release
June 2005
Apr 1st, 2005
Most people eschew the lowly demo. Not me. But then, most people have no idea what eschew means. Not me. I revere the lowly demo – the creative first-born of baby bands that comes to you in an envelope, in a jewel case, in a re-used puffy envelope with bad cover art and a picture of the band, or no picture at all, titles carefully handwritten on a CD-R, slipped to you surreptitiously at a gig, usually by the singer’s girlfriend, or mailed to you with a hastily scrawled note: “review my cd.” This early fruit is sometimes unripe, sour, poorly recorded, and just plain bad. Sometimes it’s sweet – a child’s earnest drawing touching in it’s primitive state, but with all the indications of later greatness. Anyone can make a cd. Not everyone can make a great one. Here is a sampling of some of the cds you sent:
"Punk As a Dirty Motherfucker" – DMF/Punk as a Doornail
This split demo with six songs by DMF and six by Punk as a Doornail is genius in every way. DMF sounds like Black Flag circa “TV Party” – great good-time anthems about things like pentagrams and nipples. Rocker “Shitty Day” will have you singing along every time your car breaks down and you miss the bus. “To the Death” will stick in your head for the rest of your life. Also wonderful, but in a totally different way, Punk as a Doornail sounds like Suicidal Tendencies-meets-Negativeland-meets-The Beastie Boys-meets some really drunk dude doing karaoke. Six songs recorded live at KXLU, supposedly all versions of the same song. This arty-smarty self-conscious noise by college boys pushes the boundaries of instrumentation, lyrical structure and everything else. If you’re an idiot, you might not get this. The best thing about these bands is that I don’t think they have any idea how truly wonderful they are. The worst thing is that no one else does, either.