Both weekends of DEBAUCH-a-ReNO are set in stone and nearly sold out as of this announcement. Here’s a summary of expectations, and scroll down to see the official schedule.
The first weekend kicks off on the night of June 16th over at Cypress with four powerhouse local groups demonstrating there’s still a burgeoning DIY scene happening throughout the Biggest Little City In The World. The bands scheduled to grace the stage that evening include the contemporary post-punk neanderthal-ism of Clarko, the jangling garage beat-meets-jugular slash punk attack and sarcasm of The Juvinals, the trashcan glam n’ roll of Pussy Velour, and the urgent, mudslide sound of Rotary Club.
The following day’s event begins in the afternoon at Wingfield Park Amphitheatre. It culminates with a co-headlining bill with notorious Belgium punks, The Kids, playing their first US show in seven years alongside San Bruno’s anchormen of the trash rock netherworld, The Mummies, and Sacramento garage rock titans, The Troublemakers, who mark three decades together this year. Playing in support is Tucson’s own Farfisa a-go-go power quartet, The Okmoniks, making a return to DEBAUCH-a-ReNO, and local quartet Thee Saturday Knights opening the afternoon. However, the budget rock n’ roll onslaught doesn’t end upon the final chord ring out from Kids frontman Ludo Meriman’s guitar; the after-party returns to Cypress, where Holland blues-punk trio, Lo-Lite makes their long-awaited US return alongside the unhinged antagonism of Jamie Paul Lamb’s sardonic alter ego, Puppy and The Hand Jobs, and the Bay Area’s own Just Head, in addition to A SPECIAL SURPRISE GUEST!!!!
Closing out the weekend is another pair of co-headliners hailing from San Diego county as revered Chula Vista punks The Zeroes will make a return to Reno to headline June 18th’s performance at Wingfield Park alongside the twang guitar and power tools action of fellow San Diegans, Deadbolt. Support will be provided by a band that L7 helped push into the masses with their “American Society” cover on Smell The Magic as Eddie & The Subtitles will perform alongside Reno psych-punks, Spitting Image, and Los Angeles rockers, Tube Alloys.
The second weekend’s one-night stand soiree will occur south of Reno in the time-stamped silver mining town of Virginia City on July 14th and anchored by a man whose work crosses music, publishing, and painting AND whom Kurt Cobain, Jack White, Graham Coxon, and Kylie Minogue have paid tribute to in their own right with Wild Billy Childish & CTMF, making their exclusive US performance for 2023 at Piper’s Opera House (est. 1863) alongside Sacramento’s garage-mod screamers, Th’ Losin Streaks. A goodclosing lineup, right? Well, those two weren’t enough because we’ve got one of America’s more criminally underrated bands flying in from one sweatbox to another, with the gutter minimalist bump n’ grind of Subsonics making a rare and special appearance from Atlanta.
DEBAUCH-a-ReNo 2023 June Weekend Schedule *Headliners Non-Headliner schedule subject to change DJs include Jello Biafra, Vivi Martian, Tony The Tyger, Bazooka Joe, and Slovenly Pete Friday, June 16th (8:00 p.m. – 4:00 a,m.) – OPENING PARTY with bands / DJs** Venue: Cypress Reno (directions + info here). Lineup: The Juvinals, Clarko, Pussy Velour, Rotary Club
Saturday, June 17th (2:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m.) – MAIN EVENT with bands, DJs, and record fair Venue: Wingfield Park Amphitheater (directions + info here). Lineup: The Kids*, The Mummies*, The Troublemakers*, Okmoniks, Thee Saturday Knights
Saturday, June 17th (10:00 p.m. – 4:00 a.m.) – AFTERPARTY with bands / DJs Venue: Cypress Reno Lineup: Lo-Life, Puppy and The Hand Jobs, Just Head + SURPRISE SPECIAL GUEST!
Sunday, June 18th (2:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m.) – MAIN EVENT with bands & DJs** Venue: Wingfield Park Amphitheater Lineup: The Zeros*, Deadbolt*, Eddie & The Subtitles, Spitting Image, Tube Alloys
DEBAUCH-a-ReNO 2023 July One-Nighter Schedule Friday, July 14th (7:00 p.m – Midnight) – MAIN EVENT with bands & DJ Bazooka Joe Venue: Piper’s Opera House (directions + info here) Lineup: Wild Billy Childish & CTMF*, Subsonics, Th’ Losin Streaks
CLICK HERE TO HEAR THE DEBAUCH-a-ReNO MIXTAPE FOR KWNK RADIO!
Tickets Full passes (access to both Wingfield & Cypress shows), Park (Wingfield only), and Virginia City tickets are available through Eventsmart. That’s a good thing; they’re the kind of company who don’t blindside customers with the insane hidden fees the larger ticket companies are notorious for.
GET YOUR DEBAUCH-a-ReNO PASSES HERE Room Deals Hotel deals for DEBAUCH-a-ReNO are available through RENO SUITES in Downtown Reno (a 10-minute walk from Wingfield Park) for $109/nightly (that price includes taxes and fees). The reviews at this place are solid, and to get this rate, you’ll need to book through the link below.
The Courettes (lead guitarist/singer Flavia Couri and drummer Martin Couri) are an explosive (husband and wife) rock duo from Denmark and Brazil who have been touring nonstop throughout Europe since 2015, bringing their perfect blend of garage rock, 60s Girl Groups, Wall of Sound, surf music and doo wop to the delight of any audience even remotely interested in rock ‘n’ roll. Now, the “hardest working band in showbiz” are thrilled to tour the USA for the first time. Expect excitement, danger, sweat, explosive performances, and most importantly, GREAT tunes!
To coincide with their first US shows, and as an introduction to the band, a special US/Canada-only compilation, Boom! Dynamite (An Introduction To The Fabulous Courettes), will be released May 12th.The duo has released four fantastic albums on the legendary label Damaged Goods Records, each one praised by magazines such as MOJO and Shindig!, most notably the Back In Mono album in 2021, a true milestone in their career and featured in countless Best Albums of 2021 lists.
This new compilation, released exclusively for the US, guides you through their albums from the very beginning, from the early raw power garage rock onto their present Spector/Levine Wall of Sound Gold Star sound, made using complex recording techniques at StarrSound Studios in Denmark with top producer Søren Christensen and mixing genius Seiki Sato from Japan.
From Here Are The Courettes, their debut album from 2015, you ́ll find ‘I’ve Been Walking’, ‘Push It Too Hard’ (a duet with Kim Kix of Powersolo), both raw and rocking, along with a 2021 re-recording of ‘The Boy I Love’, which heads deep down the ‘60s Girl Group alley. On We Are The Courettes, their second album, the duo began using overdubs in the studio. You can hear Flavia singing harmonies and playing piano and organ on the swinging tracks ‘Time is Ticking’ and ‘Strawberry Boy’. The album also contained the garage nerve of ‘Hoodoo Hop’ and ‘Voodoo Doll’, featuring legendary Brazilian Horror icon Coffin Joe on spells.
The brilliant Back in Mono album found the duo on top songwriting form andis represented on the compilation by ‘Hop The Twig’, ‘Want You! Like a Cigarette’, ‘Night Time (The Boy of Mine)’, ‘R.I.N.G.O’ and ‘Misfits & Freaks’. ‘Only Happy When You’re Gone’ is a hidden gem from Back in Mono (B-Sides & Outtakes), and the fantastic single ‘Christmas (I Can Hardly Wait)’ is included for the first time on an album.
The first pressing is on sunny orange vinyl and is limited to 1000 copies. The band hit the West Coast in May for select dates, as well as Gonerfest in the fall and will be announcing more US shows in the near future. The Courettes are pure dynamite! Turn up the volume and fuzz out! BOOM!
US DATES
May 8 The Sardine – San Pedro, CA *
May 9 Transplants Brewing Company – Lancaster, CA *
For the twenty years, Slovenly Recordings has released brain dissolving garage punk n’roll noise from all pockets on Earth; The Anomalys have been in on the hell ride for seventeen of those years. They’re one of the first bands the Slovenly crew scooped up from Amsterdam and have backed the hard-hitting surf garage trio since releasing their furious n’ assertive “Black Hole Blues/Nat Approved” single in 2005, all the way to their latest offering in 2022 with Glitch.
Glitch is twelve years in the making, with the band pumping out a slew of singles leading up to this release since launching their no-frills raw n’ raucous Slovenly epoch S/T LP in 2010. In the time frame since then and Glitch, The Anomalys kept their style of high octane garage punk n’ roll in the mind of the masses through a slew of single releases coinciding with sporadic touring throughout Europe and into the United States and down to South America with festival appearances at SXSW, Burning Man, Gonerfest, We’re Loud!, Funtastic Dracula, Cosmic Trip, Hipsville, Psycho Carnival, Curitiba Rock, and many others.
In 2019, The Anomalys kicked it into high gear once again with their ringleader, Bone, recruiting his Aquitaine-based brothers-in-arms Looch Vibrato (Magnetix, Louder Than Death, Avenue Z) and Remi Pablo (Weird Omen, Escobar) to round out the new lineup and reconvene in Toulouse at Swampland Studios to begin the Glitchsessions with studio maestro Lo-Spider at the production helm. Three years later, and a different world since Glitch sees the light, this track rock n’roll propaganda machine debuts their frantic surf-groove single, “Panic,” to showcase the session’s sweat soaked effort.
Glitch will be available on all digital platforms February 18th and in black and highly limited transparent red vinyl (100 copies pressed) exclusively through the Slovenly Recordings mail order on March 25th.
With a tour throughout Spain just concluded this past weekend, The Anomalys are planning more dates in late Spring/Early Summer around Europe, including an appearance at Cosmic Trip Festival in Bourges, FR in late May.
Spanning several years in a little over two hours, the First Lady of Rockabilly collection of Wanda Jackson‘s material is a great compilation of her work and further cements her place in rock and music history as one of the premier voices to ever play the game.
Jackson’s influence on rock and country is massive, counting Jack White, The Cramps, and two Elvises – Presley and Costello – among her many devotees. Presley was also her paramour until he split to make movies in 1957.
The collection contains so many hits that I don’t envy whomever had to choose what to put in and what to leave out. “Let’s Have a Party,” her first big hit, was a no-brainer for inclusion, of course. “Fujiyama Mama” is a wild one about how much of a bad ass she is. “Funnel of Love” is another one of her biggest hits, and includes wild elements of exotica and monster surf rock. “Riot in Cell Block Number 9” is, if you ask me, a better tune than “Jailhouse Rock.”
“You Can’t Have My Love” is the first straight-up country track on the compilation (and her first single, which cracked the country charts Top 10 list in 1954), with Jackson strutting her stuff and shooting down a potential suitor who offers her silk and satin, but is soon frustrated by her ignoring him. “I Gotta Know” keeps up the country swing flair. “In the Middle of a Heartache,” a song she co-wrote, proves she had the vocal chops to compete with Patsy Cline when she wasn’t belting out risqué rockers.
“Right or Wrong (I’ll Be with You)” is another Jackson-penned country ballad. Jackson’s voice is so strong and fun that it’s sometimes easy to overlook how good of a songwriter she is. The compilation is loaded with songs she wrote or co-wrote, such as the not-so-subtly naughty “Savin’ My Love,” the sexy growler “Mean, Mean Man,” the swinging, floor-filler “Baby Loves Him,” the witty “Who Shot Sam?”, the solid hit “Rocky Your Baby,” and the slick as Bryl-Creem “Cool Love.”
“Hard-Headed Woman” includes a solo from legendary country performer / guitarist Roy Clark that will make your head spin. Her cover of Billy Crudup / Elvis Presley’s “My Baby Left Me” has extra bite to it considering Jackson’s relationship with the King of Rock and Roll. The drum beats on “Sticks and Stones” are hot as a griddle. Her covers of Neil Sedaka‘s “Fallin'” and “Stupid Cupid” are fun, hip-swaying rockers.
“There’s a Party Goin’ On” starts off the second half of the set with a great, rollicking floor stomper. “Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad” is a groovy story about Jackson having dalliances with other lovers to make her man appreciate him more – a story about FemDom when such a topic was taboo. Jackson’s vocals on “Cryin’ Thru the Night” would give Hank Williams a run for his money.
“It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” and “I’d Rather Have You” are lovely country ballads, and “Tears at the Grand Ole Opry” is a barely disguised tale of sexism at the iconic music venue. “Long Tall Sally” brings everyone to the dance floor and the collection closes with the appropriately titled “Man, We Had a Party.”
The whole collection is fun, and it works well as an introduction to Jackson’s work or as an addition to anyone’s collection of her records.
#20 – Reverend Horton Heat – House of Blues – Chicago, IL – November 28th
I hadn’t seen Reverend Horton Heat in years. He had a new drummer and added a pianist since I’d last seen him. This was a fun “Holiday Hayride” show that included Christmas tunes as well as plenty of his hits and a guest set by Dave Alvin.
#19 – Chromatics – Park West – Chicago, IL – May 31th
I knew this show was going to be a sell-out as soon as it was announced, but I still managed to score tickets. Despite me almost having to drag a drunk jerk out of the crowd after he punched someone, this turned out to be well worth the trip and ticket price because Chromatics delivered a beautiful set of shoegaze and synth wave that had everyone fawning over them.
#18 – Dave Alvin – House of Blues – Chicago, IL – November 28th
A set within a set, Dave Alvin played a half-hour set with the Reverend Horton Heat as his backing band during the “Holiday Hayride” show. Mr. Alvin put on a clinic in outlaw country and country-punk, absolutely shredding multiple guitar solos that even had Jim Heath grinning in amazement.
#17 – Acid King – Levitation Austin – November 09th
Stoner rock veterans / icons Acid King closed the outdoor stage during the RidingEasy Records showcase at Levitation Austin this year. It was a great, heavy set that showed they hadn’t lost anything and could still wallop you like a force of nature.
#16 – Here Lies Man – Levitation Austin – November 09th
Playing that same showcase earlier in the day wasHere Lies Man, who brought a solid groove throughout the entire set that was as funky and heavy as I’d hoped it would be.
Who cracks the top 15? Come back later today to find out!
It had been well over a decade since I’d seen Reverend Horton Heat, New Bomb Turks, or Voodoo Glow Skulls live, so buying a ticket to their show at Chicago’s House of Blues was a no-brainer. New Bomb Turks are one of my favorite punk bands of all time, and Reverend Horton Heat is an unstoppable touring machine. VGS are bonkers ska punks whose blood is probably the formula for Red Bull. The icing on the cake was learning that punk / psychobilly legend Dave Alvin was going to be playing a half-hour set with Reverend Horton Heat during the show (which was called the “Holiday Hayride”).
Voodoo Glow Skulls opened the show, getting the crowd jumping and moshing and bouncing. They played new and older tracks, including a fun cover of “Charlie Brown” and their blistering new song, “Generation Genocide.”
New Bomb Turks were up next and threw down a fiery, raucous set that left a lot of people dumbfounded. Lead singer Eric Davidson did his best to keep the crowd fired up, including trying to pull people onstage. Only four people, me included, took him up on the offer (Me during their classic “Dress Up the Naked Truth,” which resulted in Mr. Davidson violating my mouth with his microphone while I knelt before him). The set was so quick and furious that the crowd seemed stunned into silence by the time they were done.
Reverend Horton Heat opened with an instrumental version of “We Three Kings” and then switched back and forth between fan-favorites like “400 Bucks” and “Bales of Cocaine” and Christmas tunes like “Silver and Gold” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The whole band are top-notch musicians. A nice addition for the home crowd was the pianist, a Texan by birth, but a Chicago theatre veteran who played Jerry Lee Lewis in the local production of Million Dollar Quartet.
The whipped cream on the holiday pumpkin pie was a half-hour set by Dave Alvin (singer-songwriter, founding member of The Blasters and The Flesh Eaters) with the Reverend Horton Heat band backing him. Alvin commanded the stage as soon as he set foot on it and put on a guitar clinic, often leaving Jim Heath (AKA Rev. Heat) grinning and saying, “Well, I guess we have to follow that.” after Alvin exited stage left.
Dave Alvin takes center stage.
It’s a fun tour and was a jolly way to start the holiday season. It might be the last show I see in 2019, and it’s a good way to end my year of live music if that’s the case.
Garage rockers Jonathan Kahler and Gamble Scrantom make up the duo Fat Hot, and their self-titled album (currently only available on cassette or as a download, no less) is a fun, snarky, fuzzy treat.
Opening with “Boatman Love Song,” the album gets a rough surf rock sound going before unleashing reverbed vocals about found and lost love. “Ghost Drugs” is a fun little tune that seems to be about a spirit hoping to get some spirits from a young woman. The catchy “Bad Drink” continues the theme of substances that alter one’s state of mind as they sing about searching for a bad drink while lamenting the loss of a shoe.
“Krakken Me Up” returns to the earlier nautical theme and continues the Flat Duo Jets-like wall of blues rock Fat Hot seems to have mastered early in their career. “Sweet” is a slow burn about a one-night stand that might end up in danger, disaster, or both. It unloads around the 2:15 mark with a surprising fury before going back to a simmer for a little while. “Sour” is the longest track on the album, coming it at nearly six minutes, and it’s full of scorching guitar and drum fills that mix stoner metal with psychedelia.
“Harpy Woman” is the second reference to a mythological monster, and the seventh time Fat Hot unleashes blistering riffs and beats. “Shudder” brings up a common theme in blues-garage-psych-psychobilly tracks – the Devil. It’s a toe-tapper of a tune about impending death. The album ends with another salute to being a sad drunk – “Rye Smile.” The guitar work on it is deceptively tricky and the drum work switches on a dime at any given moment.
This is a fun record, and a pleasant discovery for me. It will be for you, too.
As the story goes, Dion Lunadon, known to many as the bass player and co-mastermind of A Place to Bury Strangers, was feeling restless during a break in APTBS’ tour schedule. So, he poured that restless energy into his first solo album and gave the world a frantic, wild piece of noise-punk that has some fun surprises in it.
The album’s opener is a raging piece against something we all have to deal with – “Insurance, Rent, and Taxes.” The song flattens you with squelching sound and Robi Gonzalez (who used to play for APTBS). Lundaon sings, “Much too young to get any older.” on the swinging “Reduction Agent.” Lunadon reveals his love of dirty juke joint blues in the track in both the rhythm and lyrics (“I’ve got the mark of death. It won’t leave me alone.”). The organ and bass on “Fire” burns as hot as its namesake, building to a crazy blender-like frenzy. “Com / Broke” is your new favorite song for trying to beat rush hour traffic. Just be careful, as Lunadon’s lyrics do involve car crashes, fires, and self-destruction.
“Hanging By a Thread” is a post-punk (and nearly instrumental) surprise with guitars that sound like industrial saws. The industrial grind continues on “Move,” and Lunadon’s vocals sounds like the Borg has assimilated him. The drums blast the doors off the song around the 1:30 mark and you’re holding on for dear life by that point.
“Eliminator” is fierce noise-punk, and “Howl” is about Lunadon’s joy in expressing himself in the spotlight. It’s like something Lou Reed blasted out of his speakers when getting ideas for Metal Machine Music.
Believe it or not, “Ripper” is a psychobilly cut and Lunadon and crew have a blast on it. I couldn’t help but grin through the whole track. “White Fence,” on the other hand, is more fine post-punk with weirdly angled guitars and desperate vocal stylings. The closer, “No Control,” brings Lunadon’s album back into weird psychedelia before a quick, distorted fade out leaves you gasping for breath.
This debut solo record is quite a statement. It’s powerful, brash, and even fun. More debuts need to be this self-assured.
Keep your mind open.
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I got an e-mail from a band called Bad Luck Gamblers who wanted to know if I’d like to hear and review their latest record – Casino Maldito. They’re a psychobilly band from Brazil. How could I resist?
It turned out to be a good decision, because these three cats are putting down some serious grooves. The title track (about a cursed casino) opens the record and travels by at approximately 80mph. “Like a Bat” has some jaw-dropping slap bass as they sing about the long-term effects of late night partying. “8%” has a fun country twang to it, but the rock guitars and auto factory assembly line precision drumming aren’t far behind.
I hope the horror film of the same name starring Jamie Lee Curtis inspired “Terror Train”. They mention that it’s loaded with zombies and surrounded by bats, and the number on the engine is 666. The guitar solo rips through it like a runaway locomotive, and is that a Theremin I hear in the background? That’s a win. You can’t have a psychobilly album without a song about a car, and “Rusty T-Bucket” certainly qualifies. I like the way it starts off slow, like an engine having a bit of trouble turning over, and then roars to life.
A sure sign of a good psychobilly record is an instrumental track in which the band cuts loose. “Thylacinus Attack” is that track on Casino Maldito. All three Gamblers shred for about two glorious minutes. “Somebody Stole My Pet Possum” is goofy fun, but the guitar solo on it is serious business.
Another must-have on any psychobilly record worth its salt is a song about Ole Scratch, and “Drinking with the Devil” has a cool swing vibe at the bridge that’s about as slick as Satan’s Brylcreem. “Shoulder Mount” blasts by as quickly as a Stinger missile. The closer, “No Chips No Chicks,” grows in velocity until its at mosh pit-level speed, even though I think it’s a song about a party being lame because there isn’t a girl or even a bag of chips there.
I don’t know how Bad Luck Gamblers found me, but I’m glad they did. There’s no gamble on Casino Maldito. It’s a sure thing.
Keep your mind open.
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