Last Train to Tokyo - New Michael Monroe video

The second single of the upcoming Michael Monroe Album One Man Gang was just released. Last Train to Tokyo is accompanied with a cool video with footage shot on their recent Japanese tour. 

One Man Gang will be released Oct 18.

Pre Order here.

The Sweet Things

If ever there was a Rolling Stones and New York Dolls love child, it would be The Sweet Things.

This is one of those rare instances that I found a new place at the right time. Right around when they started teasing the recording of their first album. With about 5 songs released on Spotify, I played the shit out of them for months, hungry for more. 

First thing I listened to was the Slather/Dustianne release. From the guitars to the handclaps to the organs by Rob Clores to the awesome guest vocals by Liza Colby, the boogie in the drum & bass and the instantly recognizable vocals of Dave Tierney, I couldn’t believe how complete these songs sounded! This is rock n’ roll at its best.

But what did I know? I hadn’t heard first single Love to Leave yet! Again I was blown away by the sheer brilliance of the Sweet Things. You can actually hear the smoke and whiskey on this song, like the classic 70’s bands before they either started to suck or got old. There’s pure joy dripping of this record. If whiskey and smoke wasn’t enough, there’s cocaine to be found on footstompin’ b-side Cocaine Asslicker Blues. 

Then in May this year debut album In Borrowed Shoes, On Borrowed Time was released. As far as debut albums go, this is one of the best ever in my opinion. There’s not one weak song or moment to be found here. 

When opening track Liquor Lighting starts you know you’re in for a good time, baby. The clinging of bottles and Chuck Berry-esque guitars sits you down and prepares you for the ride of a lifetime. Dead or Worse has a lot of things going on and it’s perfectly arranged. The harmonica, slide guitar and organs make for an instant classic rock n’ roll song that wouldn’t feel misplaced on Exile on Main Street.

Title track In Borrowed Shoes, On Borrowed Time slows things down for a bit. A melancholy blues ballad to listen to while you cry into your Jack Daniel’s at your local watering hole. The beautiful horns here and on other songs are provided by legendary The Uptown Horns (The Rolling Stones & Robert Plant are among the names on their resumé).

The party pick up again with Almost Faded, a dirty rocker 

Dr. Crazy Girl takes you to a whole new world of cool, if you thought only the Dolls could pull this off, you thought wrong. Heavy use of wah pedals over a tight as fuck backbeat and a 60’s doowhop backing choir added for extra flavor, and speaking of the Dolls, the spirit of Johnny Thunders is alive and well on the guitar solo here.

They keep up the booze-fueled rock n’ roll goodness with Drained, Coke’n (featured on my first Mixtape) the epic Through the Cracks of the City and the cocksure snotty Fix to Kick. 

The record closes with the melancholy masterpiece that is Feed My Dog. Not only does Feed My Dog feature guest vocals by Alejandro Escovedo, the arrangements here are spot on, harps, slide guitars and organs are all perfectly placed. This song will make a Hell’s Angel cry.

Long story short, The Sweet Things is one of the best band around these days and everyone should keep a close eye on them as they will soar to unprecedented heights in the coming years and records. 

Buy their records here.

Listen to In Borrowed Shoes, On Borrowed Time on Spotify:

Open up and let The Tip in.

There’s a party going on and everyone’s invited, and once again I’m late to the party, but this time not too late. These guys from Nashville fucking rawk! They look and sound the part, walk the walk and talk the talk.

Formed in the summer of 2014. releasing first album and going on tour the next year, and second album the year after that, The Tip isn’t fucking around. 

Singer Benny Carl sounds like he’s put on this planet to be a rockstar, his raw roaring voice is astounding. In fact this entire band sounds like they were born for this purpose, each and every song is played with so much pizzazz and wild abandon, it’s hard to comprehend this band is from this decade. 

“Rock N’ Roll Man” from their S/T debut record pretty much says it all. From the Hey Ho gang chants and Benny screaming his heart out claiming he’s “Just a Rock n’ Roll man in a Rock n’ Roll band”. Nothing wrong with that. “Outta Control” is pretty self-explanatory, a stompin’ rocker to lose your shit on.  Beautifully juvenile lyrics about sex, drugs, rock n’ roll and fast cars. Nothing wrong with that either. As opening track welcomes us to the night, I can’t help but think about another band that welcomed us to the jungle on their opening track on their debut album. Like GN’R before them, the Tip invites us to come party and never look back, and I don’t think I ever wanna look back on my existence before I found The Tip.

2016’s sophomore album “Sailor’s Grave” is another great rock n’ roll record. Opener “Struttin’” has a great groove to it and just hearing it makes you cooler than you actually are. After taking you to “Rock N’ Roll Heaven” the band assures us, rather unnecessarily that they “Ain’t Fakin’ It”. The band gets down and dirty on blues stomper “Corner Bag Blues”, the riff, piano tinkerin’ and harmonica gel together perfectly resulting in a thick, thick wall of sound that’d blow the roof off of any sleazy honky tonk they play in.

“Whiskey and Coke” starts with an intro reminiscent of Motörhead’s “Rock ’N’ Roll”, I wasn’t checking the track-listing while listening and first thought it was a cover. Seeing the title, maybe it’s a tribute to Lemmy, I don’t have a physical copy yet so maybe it’s in the liner notes or something. If it is, it’s a fitting one, if it isn’t, it’s still a cool song.

Closing the album is title-track “Sailor’s Grave” a lament for all who died at sea. The sing-along chorus sounds like an actual 1700’s pirate song. The beautiful guitar arrangements and haunting outro make this the perfect album closer. 

There’s one thing that bothers me about this record, it’s too short. But then again, maybe they made the right choice by not putting 2 or 3 filler tracks in there.

Can’t wait too hear what they’re gonna put out next.

The Tip is: Benny Carl - Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica. Myles Baker - Guitar. Robby Bote - Bass. Dixie Carl - Drums.

Buy their records here.
Sailor's Grave on Spotify:

ShouldaWouldaCoulda #2 - Crystal Pistol

Whatever the fuck happened to Crystal Pistol?

Their self-titled album is one of the best debuts I’ve ever come across and I remember thinking they were the best thing since sliced bread when 16 y.o. me first heard it in ’06. My opinion hasn’t changed much 13 years down the line.

Founded in Vancouver in 2000, Crystal Pistol is/was one of those sleaze bands that was actually good. Sure they had the guy-liner and dyed black hair like many glam punk bands in the 2000’s, but this band went beyond the looks and image. CP had a rare sense of honesty in their music.

Mik Ireland’s raw and snotty singing and primal screams are the perfect fit with the fast and blasting guitar riffs and solos being thrown at you like a blitzkrieg of squealing notes while the bass and drums drive you forward like a locomotive. 

From opening track “Watch You Bleed” until the final notes of “No Fun City”, Crystal Pistol takes you on a drug fueled joyride that appropriately ends with Mik Ireland screaming he wants to burn the city down. In between there are the delightfully arrogant proclamations of being a rockstar in, well, “Rockstar”. Of course there’s a song about everybody’s favorite Colombian brand of powdered sugar, if you don’t know what kind I’m talking about they spell it out in the intro of “Line It Up”.

The only point the band slows down is on “Salt of the Earth”. Once again Crystal Pistol differentiated themselves from their peers here. Though the song is something of a ballad, it’s not the clichéd obligatory copy-paste attempt at Poison’s “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” for extra radio play. They kept their integrity here and recorded something that doesn’t feel forced.

 “XXIII” is my favorite Crystal Pistol track. The perfect anthem for someone like me, growing up in the economic crisis of the last decade, working shit jobs for shit pay, “XXIII” was and still is often necessary kick in the ass for me. “You sit around and you always complain / That life is boring and it’s always the same” always hit home & inspired me to get off my ass and stop waiting around for someone to solve my shit for me.

Songs like “Locomotive”, “Shake”, “All The Freaks” and “Live Fast” are Crystal Pistol at their best. Straight up balls-to-the-walls rockers about sex, drugs and rock n’ roll”

In 2007 the band released a 3 track E.P. called “Serpentine River”, another collection of loud n’ fast glam punk and a taste of more to come. 

Then things get a bit quiet, I’ve been searching around on the web for a while now and can’t figure out whether they broke up or not. They do seem to do some shows every once in a while though. I’m still holding out hope for more releases, I stumbled upon Mik Ireland’s Soundcloud the other day and it features 3 awesome Crystal Pistol demos and I would love to hear them finished along with more new songs on a long awaited follow up to their classic debut album.

When, by some miracle, Crystal Pistol comes through your town make sure you cancel any plans you might have the next day because one thing’s for sure, the party ain’t over until they say so.

Crystal Pistol is: Mik Ireland - Vocals, Brian Bresset - Guitar, Pinto - Guitar, Dave Troutman - Drums, Greg Laikin - Bass

Buy their record here.

Listen on Spotify:

The Cruel Intentions

Vains of Jenna fans around the world breathed a sigh of relief and excitement in 2015 when original singer Lizzy Devine announced something big was-a-coming in the form of a new band called The Cruel Intentions. Soon after that, first single “Borderline Crazy” was released and I was hooked.

The riff is infectiously exciting and has you bopping your head instantly. Lizzy Devine has the Midas Touch in his vocal chords, his unique voice is what drew me to VoJ and what set them apart from a lot of the other Scandinavian sleaze bands of the 2000’s for me way back when and it’s awesome to hear him fronting a sleazy glam punk band again.

The next 2 years the band released video’s and singles for a couple more cool songs culminating in last year’s release of debut album “No Sign of Relief”. It’s hard not to compare The Cruel Intentions to Vains of Jenna but this release proves Devine’s new band is not a case of copy/pasting, of-course there’s still the big hooks and choruses in “Sick Adrenaline” and “Genie’s Got a Problem” but songs like “Jawbreaker”, “Reckoning” and “Chaos in a Bombshell” shows VoJ’s big brother has a bit more balls and edge to it.

Their I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude shines and the fast and loose early GN’R style playing makes this record feel unpredictable and exciting. Devine shows growth in his songwriting without the dull pitfall of trying to be deep.

This is music made to party to, loads and loads of riffs and solo’s, lyrics about getting wasted and going crazy and going crazy because of getting wasted too much. Who cares about self righteous douche bags singing about stopping world hunger or ending wars while cashing in on it when you can listen to a crazy Swede singing about a girl throwing up in the shower?

“No Sign of Relief” is an awesome first offering and it fills a void I didn’t notice I’ve been carrying with me since 2010. I’m sure The Cruel Intentions will be around to kick our asses for a long time and I can’t wait to hear more stuff.

The Cruel Intentions are: Lizzy Devine - Lead Vocals and guitar. Kristian Solhaug - Lead Guitar. Mats Wernerson - Bass. Robin Nilsson - Drums

Buy No Sign of Relief here.

Listen on Spotify:

Blistering new Michael Monroe single "One Man Gang" + Press release about album.

Finally! 

We get a snippet of new Michael Monroe album "One Man Gang" in new title track single. With breakneck speed riffs and verses and a gang vocal chorus that will piss off neighbours around the world. Punk rock guitar hero Captain Sensible of The Damned beautifully guest stars on lead guitar. The lyrics "Well..  I know that I ain't no Elvis or Jesus but I got a pretty face" are among the best I've heard in a while.

This is just a taste of what's to come, 11 more songs will be released on "One Man Gang" October 19th, available for pre-order August 9th.

There's also a press release in the video's description:

Michael Monroe's dirty and dangerous new album "One Man Gang" is set for release on October 18th 2019.  The title track is the 1st single to be released.

A genuine rock star since birth, Michael Monroe innately knows exactly how to sing, swagger and walk the most glamorous and colourful of walks. One Man Gang, the former Hanoi Rocks man’s brand new offering on Silver Lining Music, is all about the fun of Friday nights, seven days a week, letting your hair down (or up!) for a dirty, dangerous, damn good time, and embracing a total escape into the rock ‘n’ roll dream.

Recorded and mixed by Petri Majuri at E-Studio in Sipoo, Finland over three weeks in March 2018, the 12-song record was mixed that following Autumn with Monroe and band-mates Rich Jones and Steve Conte on production duties. 

With stunning presence, Monroe’s vocals blaze their unique trail across catchy, low-slung guitars mixing with saxophones, harmonicas and trumpets, plus a smorgasbord of exciting hooks and melodies. One Man Gang is old-skool strut with rudely fresh vigour. 

The title-track’s bombastic bar-room blitz (featuring a guest appearance by Captain Sensible of The Damned) is a valuable reminder that even if born in the gutter, you must always look to the stars.

“It sometimes seems like everybody’s pissing on their own parade,” says Monroe, “whether that’s voting stupid people into power and then complaining about them or whatever, but I’m all about living with a P.M.A. – positive mental attitude – and I’ll never allow myself to be forced away from that.”

Then there’s “Last Train To Tokyo”, with the sort of sticky-yet-crispy riff that was designed to take over radios from Japan to Jamaica.

“In the ‘80s, Hanoi Rocks had a very special relationship with Japan,” explains Monroe, “and it will always be one of my favourite countries.  Plus, they still live for rock ‘n’ roll as it should be celebrated, they still have physical product, they still make it crazy, exhausting and really exciting every time you go there, which I am really grateful for.”

With the further electric likes of “Junk Planet”, “Hollywood Paranoia” and “Wasted Years” on board, One Man Gang is going to smash down doors and give the rock ‘n’ roll scene a swift, and necessary, kick up the ass. 

Michael Monroe will soon be striding back towards the arenas he was born to be in, and everything you see is everything you get.

“I do what I do and I’ll never change,” says Monroe, “I don’t dress any different on or off stage because this is who I am… this is the real me.”

ONE MAN GANG TRACK LISTING:

1.      One Man Gang

2.      Last Train To Tokyo

3.      Junk Planet

4.      Midsummer Nights

5.      The Pitfalls Of Being An Outsider

6.      Wasted Years

7.      In The Tall Grass

8.      Black Ties And Red Tape

9.      Hollywood Paranoia

10.    Heaven Is A Free State

11.    Helsinki Shakedown

12.    Low Life In High Places

Available on CD, Coloured Vinyl, Digital formats and as special D2C editions, pre-orders available from Aug 9th 

RECORDED AND MIXED AT: E-Studio in Sipoo, Finland 

PRODUCED BY: Michael Monroe, Rich Jones and Steve Conte. 

RECORDED, MIXED AND ENGINEERED BY: Petri Majuri 

BAND LINE-UP: 

Michael Monroe - vocals, sax and harmonica

Rich Jones - guitar and vocals 

Steve Conte - guitar and vocals 

Sami Yaffa - bass 

Karl Rockfist - drums

Guest appearances from Captain Sensible (lead guitar on “One Man Gang”), Nasty Suicide (lead guitar on “Wasted Years”), Eicca Toppinen (cello on “Low Life In High Places”) and Tero Saarti (trumpet on “Heaven Is A Free State”).

ShouldaWouldaCoulda #1 - Dr. Boogie

Photo: Jeremy White

To kick things off I want to write about one of the previously mentioned bands that quit before I had ever heard about them. 

The first song I heard hit me like a freight train and I instantly fell head over heels for this band. Fast & loose guitar riffs with a rhythm section tight and full of swagger, raspy vocals delivered with attitude & conviction. Hand claps, horns & honky tonk piano added for extra flavor, these guys played pure rock n’ roll.

Dr. Boogie was founded in L.A. in 2014 & released their first E.P. the same year. The self titled release consist of 3 sizzling hot tracks that wouldn’t seem misplaced on a Faces record. 

The next year saw the release of their first, and sadly only, full length record “Gotta Get Back to New York City” through Dead Beat Records. Opening with the title track, a blast of guitar violence & a chorus so infectious you can’t help wanting to yell along until your vocal-chords bleed. There’s not a dull moment on this record, every single song delivers down n’ dirty rock n’ roll in the vein of the Faces & New York Dolls.

Dr. Boogie released a couple more great singles after the album, “She’s So Tuff”, “Peanut Butter Blues” through Spaghetty Town Records, and most recently “Bad Situation/I Need a Gun” in 2018. Three months later they announced the band had quit.

This is one of those bands that would’ve been huge if only they were around a couple of decades ago. Dr. Boogie delivered quality devil-may-care rawk. I hope to find out when these guys have new bands going.

Get their records: https://shop.dead-beat-records.com/collections/dr-boogie

Gotta Get Back to New York City on Spotify: 

 

Why This Blog?

Recently I was searching the internet and Spotify for some cool new bands to listen to and found I was having a hard time finding songs to add to my playlists. Once again I was getting frustrated by inaccurate similar-to’s & horrible recommended-for-you’s.

Not giving up and jonesing to be blown away by something I hadn’t heard before, after some time I finally struck gold! My patience was rewarded and I found a couple of bands I really dug, my appetite was now being satiated by awesome singles, E.P.’s and albums. 

While listening I started doing my usual research about the artists, where are they from? How long have they been playing? What bands did they play in before this? Have they released more stuff than there’s on Spotify (the answer to that is usually yes, and I often find people’s best work isn’t on the platform) etc.

And of course the million dollar question, any new music being written or recorded? Shows or tours coming up? Sadly I found out that more than half of the bands I just discovered had already called it quits.

This was not the first time this has happened to me and it always really bums me out. And what pisses me off even more is that so little is being written about their music. This while bands & records that have been around forever keep on being praised, reviewed and played to death on the radio.

So I decided to take it upon myself to help spread the word about new bands & records and lament the ones that aren’t around anymore who I believe should’ve gotten more recognition.