garage Archive
04 Sep 2013
Fuzzy Memories: A Conversation with The Fuzztones’ Rudi Protrudi, Part Two
Continued from Part One… Bill Kopp: Throughout The Fuzztones‘ history, you’ve again and again managed the tricky feat of writing new, original songs that fit the aesthetic of stuff from 1965-66. Is it a conscious effort to do that, or by now are you so immersed in the style that it just happens that way?
03 Sep 2013
Fuzzy Memories: A Conversation with The Fuzztones’ Rudi Protrudi, Part One
Since 1980, The Fuzztones have been leaders in keeping the garage rock flame alive. Originally based in New York City, the group – led by singer-guitarist Rudi Protrudi – eventually emigrated to Germany, where they believe they’ve found a more receptive audience. There’s been a fair amount of Fuzztones-related activity in recent years; among the
11 Jul 2013
Album Review: Various Artists — Los Nuggetz: ’60s Garage & Psych from Latin America
During the first four or five years of this new century, there existed online a thriving collector/trading community, dedicated to sharing and disseminating obscure, forgotten and occasionally never-known-about-in-the-first place music from the 1960s. Operating right on the edge of copyright law (well, on the wrong side of it, if truth be told), these collectors shared
10 Jul 2013
EP Review: Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ — Songs from the Psychedelic Time Clock
In terms of delivering new music, Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ is employing a strategy not unlike that of Marshall Crenshaw. Instead of releasing an album after a couple years’ wait, both acts are meting out new music in smaller, EP-sized bites. From a marketing (or fan relations) standpoint, this is a solid approach; it keeps the
26 Jun 2013
Album Review: Pulp and Pop Culture Box Vol. 1
You know what’s cool? When the compiler of a collection of music makes no outsized claims of cultural import about the music. Sometimes it’s art, for sure, but sometime, it’s just…fun. That’s certainly the case with Rock Beat’s new Pulp & Pop Culture Box Vol. 1. One hundred-plus tracks filling four CDs, it’s jam packed
29 Apr 2013
Concert Review: Black Angels, Allah-Las and Elephant Stone — Asheville NC April 5 2013
I started attending arena-scale rock concerts back in the late 1970s. My first show was in October 1978, seeing Electric Light Orchestra with their hamburger bun/spaceship setup at Atlanta’s Omni. (In the words of Rob Reiner‘s Marty DiBergi character in This is Spinal Tap, “Don’t look for it; it’s not there anymore.) One of the
25 Mar 2013
Album Review: Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective
Seven CDs represents quite a lot of music. And all of the music on Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective was recorded in the space of six and half year years. The earliest tracks date from spring 1965, and the latest cuts were recorded in fall 1971. But the 129 tracks span an impressively wide stylistic
10 Dec 2012
Album Review: The Moving Sidewalks – The Complete Collection
When The Moving Sidewalks are mentioned at all, it’s general in the context of them being a forerunner of ZZ Top (guitarist Billy Gibbons fronted The Moving Sidewalks). But the Texas quartet deserves more than a footnote in some ZZ Top essay; the group’s music is of a piece with other sixties Texas bands of
21 Apr 2009
Album Review: Illegitimate Spawn: The Fuzztones Tribute Album
The concept of Illegitimate Spawn chases its own tail: an international compilation of unknown groups playing cover versions in tribute to The Fuzztones, a group who are themselves essentially a tribute to Nuggets-style 60s music; it’s certainly not for everyone. As an incurable addict of the melodic end of sixties fuzz-drenched garagepunk, I’m not sure
14 Mar 2009
Album Review: The Fuzztones – Horny as Hell
Now there’s a concept: take classic garage-punk songs from the 1960s (plus a fistful of Fuzztones originals) and put together new arrangements that add…wait for it…a horn section. No kidding. The Fuzztones have been at it for a long time, keeping the flames of 60s punk going. The hallmarks of that genre — snotty vocals,