Axemen One-Sheet -- Album Out Next Week

The Axemen -- Sac Tap Nut Jam

Spacecase Records is pleased to release Sac Tap Nut Jam—the first new Axemen full length in twenty-one years.

            Originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, The Axemen formed in 1983. Shortly afterwards the band solidified around the core of Steve McCabe, Stu Kawowski and Bob Brannigan. (More than two dozen musicians have played in the Axemen, notably Johnny Segovia, George D. Henderson, Mick Elborado and Peter Gutteridge). Initial Axemen releases came out on Steve McCabe's cassette label, Sleek Bott. The Axemen signed to Flying Nun in the mid '80s, releasing the label's first double album, Three Virgins (1986). Like The Swell Maps, The Axemen sound is hard to define—Three Virgins runs the gamut, from country to punk to avant-garde. The Axemen released their second Flying Nun record Derry Legend in 1987. The band put out further cassettes on Sleek Bott, notably Scary (Part III) and Three Rooms (An Elton John Tribute Album), before going on hiatus in the early '90s.

           In 2009, The Axemen caught their second wind thanks to Tom Lax at Siltbreeze who reissued the band's cassette-only releases Big Cheap Motel and Scary (Part III). The Axemen toured the United States with Times New Viking the same year. In 2011 The Axemen visited Australia and put out a tour 7"— a label split between McCabe's Sleek Bott and the late Brendon Annesley's Negative Guest List Records. Siltbreeze came through again that year, reissuing Three Virgins on vinyl (original pressings were going for well over fifty dollars).

            Sac Tap Nut Jam finds Steve McCabe and Stu Kawowski reuniting with Dragan Stojanovic (who played on 1987's Derry Legend); rounding out the lineup is William Daymond. Recorded in early 2013 in Wellington and Taita, Lower Hutt, Sac Tap Nut Jam—like all Axemen releases—defies easy categorization. There's The Beatles/Dylan pop of Stojanovic's "These Days"; McCabe's post punk-influenced "Doctor's on Speed Dial"; Steve McCabe's inimitable voice and stream-of-consciousness lyric writing comes to the forefront on "Google That Girl".

            500 vinyl copies of Sac Tap Nut Jam were pressed up—400 on black, 100 on gold. The Axemen are currently planning a tour of New Zealand in support of Sac Tap Nut Jam.  

            Sac Tap Nut Jam is the sixth release from Camarillo, California-based Spacecase Records.

Bored Out: Our New Webzine

We're proud to announce our new webzine, Bored Out!  We started it for new interviews, reviews and photos that are independent of our label. Check out Ryan's interview with Talbot Adams, an unreleased shot of UV Race, and a review of the new Oblivians record, Desperation.  

Much more to come, so keep checking back! 

Axemen's "Sac Tap Nut Jam" LP on it's way via Spacecase Records

We've been working like madmen over at Spacecase HQ getting ready for our upcoming release: Axemen's Sac Tap Nut Jam LP. The band put together is short interview about the record for their blog. Visit http://theaxemen.org/2013/06/07/up-front-with-the-yub-nubz/ and check it out!

Image courtesy of Stu Kawowski

New Records for Sale from Goodbye Boozy!

Two new 7"s just listed in our mail order for your listening pleasure! We have five copies of the Charlie and the Moonhearts 7" and one is on orange vinyl. First person to pick the record up gets it! Click on the pictures below to buy.

UV Race at Los Globos

UV Race plays Los Globos in Silverlake, Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, May 4th, 2013. They killed it. We were happy to be in attendance.​

​All photos by Mor Fleisher-Leach

TALBOT ADAMS | "Red Diamonds" b/w "Not Even Europe" 7" Out Now on Spacecase Records!

TALBOT ADAMS | "Red Diamonds" b/w "Not Even Europe" 7"

Spacecase Records
$5.50

Recognized as one of the nicest guys in show business, Talbot Adams has played in some of the finest bands out of New Orleans, Memphis and Oxford, Mississippi in his nearly fifteen-years in music. Talbot started his career in New Orleans, playing bass for scene mainstays THE ROYAL PENDLETONS (2000-2002). In 2001 he played bass and sang lead and backup for THE DARKEST HOURS (lineup included Peg O'Neill from The Gories and Jason Craft of The Persuaders). Talbot teamed up with Eric Oblivian in THE DUTCH MASTERS and had the incredible honor of playing bass for the late Paul Wine Jones for two shows.

            Talbot fronted the fine JENNY JEANS from 2002 to 2006. The band played GonerFest 2 and appears on the accompanying CD/DVD. Talbot's last band THE BLACK AND WHITES wound down last year. The group was incredibly productive, releasing singles on Jay Reatard's Shattered Records as well as Douchemaster, FDH and P. Trash. Recently Talbot Adams has released material under his own name where he records himself and plays all of the instruments. An amazing singer-songwriter/power-pop EP was released by Douchemaster in 2010 entitled Jack and Jesse. "Red Diamonds" b/w "Not Even Europe" is the second solo release from Talbot. It's the fifth release from Camarillo, California-based Spacecase Records.  

Limited to 300 copies on black vinyl.

Ryan Rousseau Interview

A small excerpt from an interview I did recently with Ryan Rousseau for a Lost Sounds article I'm working on. This is about Ryan's early days in Yuma and meeting the late Jay Reatard. On an unrelated note, the new Destruction Unit video is amazing.

Interview by Ryan Leach

Ryan Leach: Have you always lived in Phoenix?

Ryan Rousseau: No. I grew up in Yuma, Arizona.

Leach: How did you end up in Memphis?

Rousseau: I lived in Memphis when I was young from about '84 to '88. I didn't know anybody there then. I was just a little kid. My family moved to Yuma because my dad was in the military. He also flies for FedEx. He would fly fighter jets in Yuma. After that he flew for FedEx.

Leach: You're a little older than Jay (Reatard), correct?

Rousseau: Yeah.

Leach: How did you and Jay end up crossing paths?

Rousseau: I had The Wongs in Yuma. We played in Phoenix with The Oblivians in '97. We also played a few months earlier in Phoenix. It was our first show there. It was for the premiere of the film Sore Losers. Have you seen the movie?

Leach: It's the film with D'lana (Tunnell) and Jack Oblivian in it.  

Rousseau: Guitar Wolf is in it too. We played that premiere and I talked with (Sore Losers director) Mike McCarthy for a while. He was a cool guy. I told him we were playing with the Oblivians in a couple of months. At the show (with The Oblivians), I talked with Jack Oblivian. I told him my family was moving back to Memphis and that I was thinking of moving back too, just to get a job. I asked him, "Is Memphis cool these days?" Jack said, "Yeah. Things are picking up. And if you do go you should call this kid Jay. He's has this 7" out on Goner." I said, "Fuck, that's cool. I'll call him." I wasn't too into The Oblivians or Crypt records. Eventually I learned to love that stuff. I was a Killed By Death kind of kid.

Leach: The Wongs were more Killed By Death.

Rousseau: Yeah. I was going to move to Phoenix but I partied too much and couldn't find a job so I moved to Memphis to work for FedEx. They'll hire anybody. Memphis was the hub of FedEx. There are a lot of jobs there because they have a lot of turnover. It's hard work. I started going to Shangri-Las records. I did call Jay with the number Jack gave me but the phone was disconnected. I recorded a bunch of demos on a 4-track recorder before I left Yuma. A lot of them ended up being Wongs songs. Some of them became Reatard songs. I put up a flyer at Shangri-Las Records. It read, "I want to start a band. If you're into Dead Boys, Teengenerate, New York Dolls and the Pagans, give me a call." I had never done that before in my life but I didn't know anybody in Memphis. I got a call on my answering machine from some college kid. He said, "Oh, I see you like The New York Dolls. I also like Phish." I thought, "Oh, now way." I didn't call that dude back. He sounded like a dork. A couple of days later a kid called me. He said, "Let's start a band." I asked him, "Hey, what's your name?" He said, "Jay." "Reatard?" "Yeah, dude." He was in Mississippi at the time. He was recording with a band he was in called The Eunuchs. They were recording their LP. Jay said, "When I get back to Memphis we'll practice; see what we can do." I knew nothing about Jay. When he got back into town, he told me he didn't have a car. I had a '78 Datsun pickup truck with a camper on it (laughs). It was sick. I went to this shitty neighborhood and picked up this scruffy longhaired kid up. I thought, "Oh, fuck, what did I get myself into?" But he had a leather jacket on so he looked pretty cool. The first thing he tells me is he has to go to this girl's house to get his 4-track. Next thing I know we're driving twenty miles to Millington (Tennessee). Some far ass drive to nowhere. I didn't have the gas for this. We got his 4-track. I played some of his songs; he played some of my songs. He played drums on my shit; I played drums on his shit. We recorded a demo called TV Eye.

Leach: You guys recorded Teenage Hate not long afterwards, huh?   

Rousseau: Yeah. We recorded the stuff on Bedroom Disasters first. Then Jay said, "I've got to record this album for Goner. Let's record it. You play drums." I was good at drums and Jay wasn't. He was a lot better at guitar than I was. Although I could play drums well I had trouble with the caveman style of drumming he wanted. I eventually got the hang of it. I thought Teenage Hate (1998) sounded sick. We did Reatards for a while. I'd fly to Phoenix for a weekend and do a Wongs show. Then I'd fly back to Memphis and do a Reatards show.

Leach: Were you living in Memphis still?

Rousseau: I was living in Memphis. I moved back to Phoenix shortly afterwards. I didn't like living in Memphis. There weren't enough girls there and I like Mexican food. I grew up in Yuma. I hung out in Mexico half the time. I like the desert. Memphis is cool but I belong in Arizona. Whenever I could I'd fly back to Memphis for Reatards shows.

C.C. Riders Review in Termbo

Terminal Boredom just put up their March record reviews and gave C.C. Riders a nice one:

CC Riders s/t LP
Memphis super-jam group led by Monsieur Jeffrey Evans, with a backing band made up of Jay Reatard (guitar) and Alicja Trout (drums) right around the genesis of Lost Sounds and James Arthur (who was also playing in the Legs at the time, post-Necessary Evils) on guitar as well. Now, before you get thinking about the wild and crazy guitar antics this band could get up to with those players, just cool your jets (although this thing will get hairy, don't worry...). You need to think of this as a Jeff Evans record first and foremost and then you won't let yourself down. If you read the liners or any interviews regarding the band, this was basically a vehicle for Jeff with Jay, James and Alicja happy to be along for the ride and play in a band with a legendary guy they all admired very much. It's a mix of Mr. Evan's usual menu: some standards, some garagey versions of punk tunes and a few of his story-tellin' originals. "The Long Long Ballad of the Red-headed Girl" is literally long, but a great Evans honky-tonk spiel-type thing. My favorite moment on this is a real Memphis-style rave-up version of "I Gotta Right" that quite honestly slays. They also do a pretty fucking killer "Train Kepta Rollin'" with plenty of guitar shred. "King Riders Boogie" is righteous Memphis garage and "This Pussy's Gotta Give" is a good reminder that Jeff is punk as fuck and not afraid to work blue. The record closes with three "blues" variations, with Merle Haggard's "Workin Man Blues" particulary motivated and rockin'. A record that's a lot of fun to listen to, particularly if you're a Jeff Evans fanatic, but Reatards fans will dig on it too. I'm happy to add this to my Memphis collection. Scum stats: 500 copies. (RK)
​

​See more of TermBo's tasteful reviews here: http://terminal-boredom.com/reviews/201303/

JOHN WESLEY COLEMAN "Whisper Mountain" b/w "Everything's Gone Grey" 7-inch. Our fourth and newest release!

"Whisper Mountain" b/w "Everything's Gone Grey" is the latest release from self-proclaimed trash poet, novelist and songwriter John Wesley Coleman.

John Wesley Coleman is a member of Austin's The Golden Boys. Coleman gained underground recognition for his incredible solo debut LP, Steal My Mind (2009). The record was a lo-fi gem—reminiscent of Lou Reed's solo albums, The Television Personalities' catalog and Alex Chilton's late '70s releases. When not playing with The Golden Boys, Coleman continued to release solo material, for both Permanent Records (Bad Lady Goes to Jail) and seminal Memphis label Goner (The Last Donkey Show). Coleman's toured multiple times under his own name—with or without the support of a band. "Whisper Mountain" b/w "Everything's Gone Grey" finds Coleman continuing in his lo-fi ways (the B side was recorded in a kitchen), this time backed up by his new group: bassist Geena Spigareli and drummer Yamal Said.  

The "Whisper Mountain" b/w "Everything's Gone Grey" 7-inch is the fourth release from Camarillo, California-based Spacecase Records.

The Spits Photos

While we get ready to bring you some exciting new releases, enjoy these fine photos of The Spits. Taken on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at Billy O's in Ventura, CA.