Barse were from Stanley which is in County Durham, England. They formed in 1997 (their original name was Barse 77) and were together until guitarist/vocalist Gary "Gash" Brown's tragic death in December 2006.
Despite numerous line up changes, they still managed 3 albums; Negative Reaction (2000), They Said It Couldn't Happen Here... And It Didn't (2002) and If You Can't Fuck 'Em, Cut 'Em Up! (2007). The final album coming out posthumously. There was also the Singles And Rarities compilation and several singles & eps (one of which you'll hear below).
Released in 2002 on Rapid Pulse Records, this is a tale of having no money, no job, no prospects and no chance of getting away from the crappy environment you find yourself living in. '77 style punk at it's best, this is Council Estate.....
Tower Blocks are (were?) a street punk/oi band from Berlin who formed in 2000. I've no idea if they're still a going concern, their last update on Facebook was a couple of years ago and it was 2010 when they released their last album, Berlin Habits. Shortly after this frontman Holgi left the band and joined up with former guitarist Schneider in a band called The Suburbs. I'm sure some of you know if they've split up so maybe someone could make a comment.
For today's update I'm posting a song from their 2002 debut album, Praise Your Ghetto (it also appeared on a split ep with Runnin' Riot the same year), which came out on Knock Out Records.
So not much info today but a decent song, this is General Boredom.....
The Grady Coffee Five, or GC5 for short, formed in Cleveland, Ohio, back in 1996. They were made up of Doug McKean (bass/vocals), Pete Kyrou (guitar/vocals), Chris Yohn (guitar) and Dave McKean (drums). Writers of socially concious, working class anthems they were compared with the likes of Rancid, Swingin' Utters and The Clash.
1997 saw the release, on Guttersnipe Records, of the cd, A More Agressive Approach Towards Peacekeeping and this was followed by a trio of 7"'s (Buy American, Takin' It To The Streets and The Price Of Security) before the 2000 album Kisses From Hanoi.
It was around this time that Paul Weaver replaced Chris Yohn on guitar but this didn't stop their upwards momentum. The Horseshoes And Handgrenades ep and a split album with kindred spirits Hudson Falcons (67,104 Miles Later...) was followed by what many people consider to be their best release. Never Bet The Devil Your Head came out in 2002 on Thick Records and saw punknews.org saying "This is a great cd, every song on here just is what punk should be, you should get this if you like any sort of street/Oi/hardcore/punk. This is one of my favorite albums of this year, and will probably be near the top of my top ten albums of this year. If you consider yourself a punk you should be listening to this right now, and until you do I will continue to be more punk than you."
Thick also released a cd containing Kisses From Hanoi/Horseshoes And Handgrenades whilst The Singles Collection (1997-2000) surfaced on Cosa Nostra. 2003 saw them split, Doug and Dave McKean went on to form the short lived Motel Blonde with former Dropkick Murphy Ryan Foltz, the man who produced Never Bet The Devil Your Head. From that album, this is The Long Goodbye.....
Another time, a different page, when ignorance was all the rage, I used to count my blessings to know you. It's mouths like yours that spread disease, and everyone in your sight is weak at the knees, waiting for your true intentions to show through.
Call in the exterminator, this place is full of bugs. Rats show their faces later, when you've already pulled the plug.
Boys like you don't wear no crowns, and girls like you don't wear no frowns, they're only jesters in someone else's court. Discontented but entertained, dangerous but easily contained, looking to someone to hold their fort.
Call in the exterminator, this place is full of bugs. Rats show their faces later, when you've already pulled the plug.
Nowhere to run, nowhere to turn, after all your bridges burn, got no shoulders you can cry on, and no one you can rely on. Apologies, the most that you'll admit
Another time, a different page, when ignorance was all the rage, I used to count my blessings to know you. It's mouths like yours that spread disease, and everyone in your sight is weak at the knees, waiting for your true intentions to show through.
Call in the exterminator, this place is full of bugs. Rats show their faces later, when you've already pulled the plug.
You and I can meet where the avenues hit the streets, and we'll settle our score of problems once and for all. I'll meet you in the park, an hour after dark, and I'll try to talk but you'd rather see a brawl. When your heroes and villains converge, another picture will emerge. Did we ever think that this would end with such a long goodbye?
The Busy Signals got together in Chicago in 2004 when former Carbonas bassist Jeremy Thompson joined forces with Frankie Jensen (drums), Kevin Goggin (guitar), Eric Cecil (guitar) and Ana McGorty (vocals). They released their debut ep, Love And Dust, in 2005 and followed in up a year later with the Can't Feel A Thing 7". Their only album came out in 2007 on Dirtnap Records, a self titled upbeat pop punk masterpiece full of catchy tunes which Pitchfork mentions as being worthy of comparison with The Exploding Hearts and The Buzzcocks. From that album comes this song, it's called Stereo.....
One of the best frontman I've seen perform live is Duane Peters, I was lucky enough to catch him a couple of times when he was singing with U.S. Bombs and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that most of the front row ended up covered in his sweat. He's been a stalwart of the punk rock circuit for many years but before that he was better known as a professional skateboarder. Aside from U.S. Bombs he's fronted a number of other bands, including The Hunns, Exploding Fuckdolls, Duane Peters Gunfight, Political Crap and The Great Unwashed. Unfortunately he's suffered health problems in recent years, hopefully he can put these behind him and get back to producing more great music, like the song I've posted below which comes from an album called Wayward Bantams and is called Dogbowl Love......
More top notch Euro punk rock today, this time by a band based in Koln/Aachen, Germany. Formed in 1994, The Gee Strings feature the distinctive vocals of Ingenius Pop, a frontwoman often compared to Joan Jett, as well as Bernadette on guitar, Mad Macst on bass and drummer Amazing Buanax. Between 1996 and 2006 they released 4 albums (The Gee Strings, Alternative Losers, Arrest Me and A Bunch Of Bugs). There was also the 16 Tracks Of Non-Stop PunkRock compilation in 2004 and they recorded new material earlier this year but as far as I'm aware it's not yet been released. Veterans of many a sweaty gig, they've shared a stage with the likes of The Buzzcocks, The Lurkers, The Stitches, Turbonegro and many more. A good example of their brand of scuzzy '77 influenced punk n roll, this is Arrest Me Baby......
Back in the early years of the new millennium one of Britain's top punk bands were Cheltenham's 4Ft Fingers. I caught them live on several occasions (they seemed to be forever touring) and was never less than impressed. Noticeable was their ability to pull in the 14 year old new generation of punk rockers as well as the older "seen it all before" crowd such as myself (it could be quite weird for the then mid 30 years old myself pogoing in the pit with kids less than half my age but it was good to see that punk certainly wasn't dead). Originally forming in the mid 90's but not settling on their unusual name or getting properly off the ground until the end of the century the four piece released their debut album, At Your Convenience, in 2001. Mixing pop punk that had bite with occasional ska beats it brought them to the attention of Golf Records (home at the time to the likes of Snuff and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones) who released albums number 2 & 3 (From Hero To Zero, A Cause For Concern). They also seemed to be forever on rotation on satellite channel P-ROCK TV (I remember my daughter spent much of her 3rd year dancing round the living room with me to Last Man Standing). Line up changes seemed to slow the momentum a little but they managed a 4th album, 2008's New Beginnings Of Old Stories before more departures seemed to spell the end. Rather reassuringly though, they're still out on the road, probably at a town near you, "older, wiser and still rocking out." The song I've chosen was from 2002 and is here largely for the heartfelt line of "You Meant The World To Me...." This is Emergency Manoeuvre..... Tuck your head between your knees
I love you and we'll always be together
There's not much left to say
And words can't help us now
But squeeze my hand my dear
And we'll pray together
Your heart is slowing down take me instead
Just rest your heavy eyes and head
You're fading away
Like a camp fire burning out
Don't leave me here by myself
I'll never forget you
You meant the world to me
Thanks for the memories
It was true love for me
You brought me to my knees
You meant the world to me
Remorse of course is what I wish for
And now I'm slowing down
If I knew this day was coming
I would of told you how I felt
Impact is immanent
Being with you is permanent
I couldn't keep control
The car began to roll
The end is here my dear
Hello can you hear me
Or have you just gone to sleep
I'll join you soon
And until I do
I miss you
I'll never forget you
You meant the world to me
Over to Spain today for a song by a pop punk band called Juniper Moon. Forming in 1996, they gained a reputation as one of the Spanish independent scene's best bands, certainly they were probably the only band from that country i heard on the radio over here in England. This song, Volveras, was a dayglo delight of fizzy effervescence and came from their 2002 album El Resto De Mi Vida....
Kevin Mcgovern is lead singer with Long Beach California punk band The Prostitutes, he was also a member of short lived Ohio based The Inversions. This track, Hung by the phone, was a single release by The Inversions and also appears on The Prostitutes' Kill Them Before They Eat album which is available (name your price) here http://theprostitutes1.bandcamp.com/album/kill-them-before-they-eat If you like snotty yet ever so catchy punk rock you need to give it a listen.
