DRONGOS FOR EUROPE - Cage The Rage 2010

Well, yesterday's match wasn't really high class, but dramatic and exciting, and with a happy ending for Italy. Let's see what the two teams show today, both have the quality and deserve the final (small advantage, the Wembley Stadium). Further qualifiers from the island are Drongos For Europe, Birmingham based punx founded in 1979 and playing early gigs with mated G.B.H (with whom they're still touring today), Dead Wretched and the Varukers. Before I reveal a little more, I recommend to get their two previous singles which I post years ago and to find under Death's Eternity Career. In January 2010, to mark the 30th year celebrations, DFE Records released their second album Cage The Rage, which has been well received both at home and abroad. The band have been through many hard times, losing some good friends on the way, R.I.P Trogg, and Ivan, having their own personal losses and close encounters with death, but the Drongos are a gang, who together will always find a way and it will be no surprise that '77 Punk can be expected at the speed of '81 hardcore. No wonder that the guys are pretty pissed off and with most of the seventeen songs they process their many downfalls since the last album, but one thing is for sure: Drongos For Europe are what they always have been: a Punkrock band "Play Loud - Die Hard!". Fazit: Uplifting songs which gets blasted out amongst a whole bunch of other equally joyous tunes which make you feel good and definitely not for do-gooders. And now I wish us a spectacular match! 

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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ZEB & THE FAST ONES - Raggare Beware + 1 EP 1983

One more highlight from Sweden today with Zeb & The Fast Ones from Linköping and they released two incredible 7Inches in the early Eighties on Eugen Records. And Ola tells you a bit about the band that is captured on B-Sound which I of course reproduce here for you lazy bitches: "This is the story about Zeb & The Fast Ones as I can remember it. All I will tell has hopefully happened and it is in fairly right order as I remember it. You should remember that it was over seventeen years since Zeb and the fast ones were active, so to you who think you can the history better I hope you will overlook. Spring 1983, Zeb were established by Ola (vocals), Lärm (guitars), Martin (bass) and Ove (drums). All members had known each other since nine-year compulsory school. With just a pocketful of own songs and some cover we made our live entrance the summer 83 on an outdoor event in Valla. With about the same number of tunes the band did enter Bosses studio the fall 83 to record what became our first single Raggare Beware. After this a number of plays at home ground. Especially was a play at Kvinnebygården when we entered the stage without guitarist, not the worlds most successful concert but it was appreciated by all who at this time liked experimental music. Zeb & The Fast Ones did also manage the trick to go outside Linköping.

Sometime the winter 83/84 the way was to Stockholm and the famous stage Tre Backar. We were the last band on stage this evening and the arranger cut the power just after a pair of tunes, not exactly what we had expected. A play same winter in Jönköping resulted that we got the opportunity to be warm-up band to Peter and the test tube babies. 6. June 1984 we entered the stage in Jönköping’s cultural art center accordingly for the biggest audience we ever should meet. If we had been some older and more experienced we should certainly solve this mission better, but as I remembered the play (or the little I remember) we mangle as possessed by a devil and then the result was accordingly. Well, 1984 was a delicious time and to Jönköping many of that times celebrities as Black Flag, G.B.H, Adicts and Johnny Thunders. It was also at that time the second Zeb single was recorded. If it was at the spring or the autumn I cannot say. Worth to be mentioned about the second recording was that Bosse had become tired of our huge consumption of medium-strong beer and gave us the advice to drink strong spirits then it should result in a lower amount of empty bottles.

On autumn 1984 also a second guitarist was recruited named Finken and the time with him was however very short. The tune writing accelerated autumn 84 but the writing of lyrics didn’t. At a concert on Arbis with its fine old traditions (as warm-up for the Vibrators) certainly 3-4 tunes lacked a real text. This caused me and also Martin change our roles. Thus I started to play bass and Martin began to sing. It showed to not work either and the consequence was that Martin left the band in spring '85. Myself I throw in the towel after an outdoor concert in Trädgårdsföreningen the summer 1985.

Some time a wise man said probably: "If you want to quarrel with your mates you should establish a punk band". Exactly this happened Zeb & The Fast Ones. The personal chemistry might not have been the best from the beginning and the fact that all members had different opinion on how seriously you should look at things did not make the situation better. Anyway we were a Punk band in the crowd, not better than or worse than anybody else and the memory still lives as a batch of wear singles as from time to time change owner on some vinyl fair. We had our moments and I still remember this period with happiness."

So folks, many thx to Ola for his authentic impressions and now: ENJOY!

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THE SIX GUNS - 7'' Collection 1989

And now a further post of 7inches, all released on Kaos & Skrål records, the Strebers own label. In detail: 'Silver Sex & Six Guns', 'Buenas Noches From Hell!' and 'Back From The Dead', all released in 1989. Info I found in the net so here we go: "Six Guns is Strebers when they started to sing in english instead of swedish and with Ztikkan as new bass player. They released three singles at the same time. The music sounded like Strebers but with a touch of western and heavy metal-influences instead of folkmusic. Bad english and other reasons made it necessary to change the name back to Strebers after only one and a half concert. A few years later when drummer Johnny (R.I.P) died in a tragic car accident they founded a new combo called Dia Psalma." Well, let me say the sound is a bit U.K. aligned like G.B.H etc... and a big throw is this not really - I know better stuff from Wasaland - but fresh ironed and polished. Decide for yourself on what hour you put the Six Guns in.

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GENERICS - Societal Hemhorrage EP 1985

Posthumous release of a three-song demo tape from 1983 with an extra track by the Generics from Ontario and the following liner notes come from the great CitizenFreak site: Formed September '80 by Marc (vocals), Chris & Marylou (guitars), Kevin (bass), Billy (drums), first live gig a month later. Total lack of musical ability and young ages of members (average age 15) resulted in being initially ostracized by some of the more elitist members of the local punk "scene". Achieved instant local notoriety by being banned from the only remaining punk bar in the city (The Cedar Lounge) by the end of '80, after only six gigs. Threatened with legal action and blacklisted in attempts to organize all-ages shows, spent the better part of '81 writing new songs, becoming reasonably semi-proficient musicians, recruiting new band member (Billy, ex-Crash 80's drummer). Snuck onto the bill of an NFG gig at the Cedar Lounge in March, promptly banned again, managed to organize one all-ages show in May, otherwise unable to play locally for seven months, so concentrated on out of town gigs until August, when another local bar (Embassy Hotel) opened it's doors to punk/hardcore. Generics were welcomed at the Embassy and became regular headliners!

Attracted increasingly large crowds, resulting in an invitation to open for The Professionals in October, which in turn resulted in an invitation to open for the Forgotten Rebels at the Cedar Lounge. The unbanning lasted only one night as Marc Sahrmann, goaded by the bar owner's son, dove off the stage and attacked him. However, the ban was finally permanently lifted by the beginning of '82. Generics split up in disgust on February 27, 1982 after a particularly discouraging gig in Toronto that involved pretentious, more-hardcore-than-thou bands, neo-nazis, & knife wielding mohicans.

Generics briefly reformed in the summer of '83 (with new bassist John Ondrasek), planned as a one-off opening for D.O.A., but extended to another show with GBH, then a headliner, and finally to a cross country tour playing shows in Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver. While in Vancouver, four songs were recorded at Profile Studio. Booked dirt cheap into the studio early one afternoon at the last minute as a favour by the studio owner to D.O.A., recorded sober and hungover, the session is not a very accurate representation of the band's sound since it was only ever intended as a demo tape to send to clubs in the U.S. who were hesitant to book bands unless they had some they sounded like. One song, "Outcasts Of Society", was only chosen at the last minute because it was going to be dropped from the setlist and it seemed a good idea to get a decent studio recording before tossing it. Needless to say, a planned released record would have been done quite a bit differently.

While on tour, the Generics' van rolled and was totalled. Marc Sahrmann was critically injured and died from his injuries after nine months on life support. He is greatly missed. Marc's last request regarding the Generics was that the Vancouver session be released as a 7" document that we existed, so it was, including even the song that was supposed to be dropped.

Represented on some compilations, but mostly tapes or unofficial ones.

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THE OUTCASTS - Magnum Force 7'' 1981

Bad boys of the Ulster punk scene The Outcasts were formed in Belfast in June 1977 by the Cowan brothers: Greg (bass/vocals), Colin (drums) and Martin (guitar). They were joined by Colin Getgood (better known as Getty) on guitar. They played their debut gig in August of that year at Paddy Lambs pub on Belfasts' Upper Newtownards Road. The gig ended in a mini riot when the local 'Spides' took exception to a number of "strange looking punks" who turned up to watch the band. Their 2nd gig at The Pound Club in Belfast was a lot quieter as they played to a mainly punk audience. This is their fifth 7Inch on GBH Records and sadly this was the last record to feature Colin, who was killed in a car accident, shortly before the single was released. The A-side is a nice slow stomper while the flip's a decent rockin' killer. Three albums are released to date, plus some compilations with rare tracks from the early days.

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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PICTURE FRAME SEDUCTION - Hand Of The Rider 1985

Quarter-finals and today draw, let's see who is swept away next. Weekend is there and we start with the rare debut by Picture Frame Seduction, formed 1978 in Hardfordwest as The Frames, split up in 1987, reformed in 2003 and is still going. Band name taken from something Sid Vicious muttered before he died. Turned down offers from both No Future and Riot City Records so Rot Records was ready to release the album after one year of the I'm Good Enough (For Me) EP on SoSo. All in all, the sixteen lanterns kick well and I would say the typical UK punk sound we love all still moves my tired limbs, partly reminds me of G.B.H. Also featured on many cool compilations, A Kick Up The Arse, for example, is one of them. Enough blah blah, enjoy the break from the daily routine and till next week.

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