Thursday, December 30 News from Endino: In the latest edition of his newsletter (4.2), Jack Endino has the following to say about the Monkeywrench and Mudhoney:
My recent sessions with the reunited Monkeywrench, featuring Steve Turner (bass), Mark Arm (vox), Tom Price (gtr) from Gas Huffer, Martin Bland (drums) from Lubed Goat and Bloodloss, and Tim Kerr (gtr) from Poison 13 and Lord High Fixers, went swimmingly. Fun was had by all. In only 10 days the record was completed and delivered to John Golden for mastering. Estrus Records will release it in April. It was a somewhat low-tech affair, being recorded 1-inch 16-track analog, 15 IPS, no noise reduction, for those who care; but like I always say, "Low-tech does not equal low-fi". Please quote me on this. People need to be reminded of it.Mudhoney, now Lukin-less, have "probably" not broken up; Steve, Mark and Danny have left open the possibility of recording as a three-piece, someday, maybe. During the Monkeywrench session Steve revealed himself to be a very excellent bass player so it would be interesting to see what Mudhoney could do as a three piece. I'm sure Mark could play bass too, so maybe they could take turns... but right now they ain't sayin'. (But it just won't be the same without Matt's penetrating stage remarks.) Sub Pop, meanwhile, will be releasing (on Jan 15th [note: it's 1/18]) a double-CD, triple-vinyl Mudhoney best-of-plus-rarities with 52 (!) songs. Half of them (most of the second CD) are either unreleased or were only used on obsure comps, singles or soundtrack albums; it's a ton of stuff. Liner notes feature Mark and Steve "reminiscing" about each song to rather amusing effect.
Monday, December 20 Internet Chat: Mudhoney will do an Internet chat with fans on January 17th, the day before March to Fuzz is released at Insound. The chat begins at 6pm PST. No special software is required to participate. If you miss the chat, it will be eventually archived at the site.
Monday, November 29 March to Fuzz Release Date: Sub Pop will release March to Fuzz (SP500) on January 18th.
Monday, November 29 Monkeywrench Release Date/Name: The new Monkeywrench album, to be titled Electric Children (ES1269), will be released on April 4th by Estrus on CD and LP.
Monday, November 22 March to Fuzz: Here's the tracklisting for the two CD, three LP March to Fuzz, due in January in Sub Pop:
Disc 1 (Best Of) Disc 2 (B-Sides and Rarities) In 'N' Out Of Grace
Suck You Dry
I Have To Laugh
Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More
Who You Drivin' Now?
You Got It (LP version)
Judgement Rage Retribution And Thyme
Into The Drink
Thousand Forms Of Mind
Generation Genocide
If I Think
Here Comes Sickness
Let It Slide
Touch Me I'm Sick
This Gift
Good Enough
Blinding Sun
Into Your Shtik
Beneath The Valley Of The Underdog
When Tomorrow Hits
Make It Now Again
Hate The PoliceHey Sailor
Twenty Four
Baby Help Me Forget
Revolution
You Stupid Asshole
Who Is Who
Stab Your Back
Pump It Up
The Money Will Roll Right In
Fix Me
Dehumanized
She's Just 15
Baby O Baby
Over The top
You Give Me The Creeps
March To Fuzz
Ounce Of Deception
Paperback Life
Bush Pusherman
Fuzzbuster
Overblown
Run Shithead Run
King Sandbox
Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown
Holden
Not Goin' Down That Road Again
Brand New Face
Drinking For Two
Butterfly Stroke
Editions Of You
Monday, November 22 The Monkeywrench Record: Here's the tracklisting for the Monkeywrench album, due from Estrus in the Spring:
Side A Side B Solar Revelations (2:48)
The Empty Place (3:46)
Thirteen Nights (3:52)
Love Is A Spider (2:33 ) (Roy Loney)
In The City Tonight (3:02)
The Weasel's In The Barn (2:53)
Cherry Red (5:14) (The Groundhogs)Bring On The Judgement Day (4:32)
From Now On (2:59)
Around Again (3:08)
Day Trader Shuffle (3:40)
Sugarman (3:32) (Rodriguez)
In The Days Of The Five (6:14)Also recorded, but not mixed, are That Trip You're On, L.I.E.S. (The Saints), 6:10 Pheonix (Don Farden), and The Pusher (Hoyt Axton).
Wednesday, November 17 Show Broadcast: Next Tuesday, November 22, KJFC 89.7 in Palo alto, CA will broadcast Mudhoney's set from the Terrastock Festival in San Francisco on 4/19/98 from 6 to 7 pm PST. If you live outside of the Bay Area, you can still listen to the broadcast over the internet here. However, the broadcast requires a fairly high bandwidth connection. It will be broadcast in streaming MP3 and some sort of Java-based system.
Sunday, November 14 (Updated 11/16/99) The Monkeywrench Show: Here's the recap of Friday's show at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle, WA:
Supported By: Tall Poppies, Fireballs of Freedom
Set: The Pusher, Great Down Here, ThirteenNights, In the City Tonight, Love is a Spider, From Now On, Bottle Up and Go, Bring on the Judgement Day, The Empty Place, Solar Revelations, I'm Blown, In the Days of the Five, Cloere, One Step Closer (w/Mike Carroll)
Encore: Look Back, Cherry Red
Notes: Everyone looked amazingly happy. Before One Step Closer, Mark introduced Mike Carroll as the singer and then watched the song from the audience. Tim pulled up two guys from the crowd to sing the chorus. After they finished the song, Tim had blown his amplifier, so Steve and Tim stood at the edge of the stage trying to figure out if they could do an enore. Guy from the Tall Poppies lent them his amp, and the show was back on. During Look Back, Tim stood behind Steve, so that when Steve and Tom sang the chorus ("behind you!"), he would have something to look at. Steve noticed, and got a kick out of that.Reese's show review:
All in all it was a really good show.
Mark just handled the microphone, no guitar, harp or organ. He wore black jeans and a long-sleeved brown cowboy shirt with a sparkly white cravat. He also had big metal belt buckle that read "DICK" and crazy gray lizard skin shows with pointy toes. He didn't have much to say between songs but smiled a lot. He also closed his part in the show with a beautiful head stand at the microphone. After 30 inverted seconds he popped up and bowed graciously to the crowd before heading offstage.
Tim Kerr was decked out in a nice dressy vest and slacks. Throughout the show he sweated like a fountain but it was definitely due to his exertions on the guitar. The 3x5 card taped to his black Silvertone hollowbody read "This machine KILLS senseless bullshit." He started the show playing through a big old Orange amplifier and kept leaping up close to it and humping it with his guitar, making crazy spaced-out feedback. For at least a third of the show it seemed he was leaning out into the crowd letting fans make noise through his amp. During I'm Blown he got especially acrobatic and began slamming the guitar on the stage and finally flung it a good seven feet against the stage wall and the back of the Orange amp, which was then out of commission for the rest of the show.
Steve was looking dapper in a sport coat and snazzy gray boots. He was also sporting a jaunty little mustache. He played a very nice hollow-body bass and kept telling the crowd he was disappointed that he had nothing more to drink on stage than water. During the last song (One Step) Closer, Tim Kerr started pulling folks up on stage. Somebody (I'm not sure who) had previously been called out to sing lead on the final song, and Steve and Tom Price were belting out back-ups on the same mic. Then Kerr pulled up this Prince clone who I've seen strolling around Broadway in the past and he started yelling into the mic with them. He (Prince-boy) ended his brief performance by physically tacking Steve, who valiantly kept hold of his bass.
Martin Bland was hard to see behind the drumset but he pounded out some good stuff. He ended the show by coming out from behind his ket and amid the general melee that had erupted onstage, he picked up one of his cymbals and tossed it on top the drums.
From among the new songs, Judgement Day and Closer both stood out in my mind. Love is a Spider was also pretty cool, with quieter instrumentals and Mark rattling off a string of lyrics.
Monkeywrench came on at about 12:10 and, what with taking a few minutes to replace Kerr's amp, the show didn't end until about 1:35 or so.
Monday, November 8 Butterfly Stroke Available: Until supplies run out, copies of the Butterfly Stroke 7" will be included with all orders of $25 or more from Super Electro Sound Recordings. Additionally, very limited numbers of both the Puget Power III 7" and Blinding Sun 7" are available for $3.50.
Tuesday, October 26 Monkeywrench Show: The Monkeywrench will be playing show #5 on Friday, November 12th at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle. Opening are Fireballs of Freedom and Tall Poppies. Tickets are $8 at the door.
Wednesday, October 20 New 7" Pressed: The Butterfly Stroke/Editions of You 7", exclusive to the Sub Pop Singles Club has been pressed on brown vinyl. The four panel sleeve contains a different band member on each panel, so you can put whoever you want on the cover.
Tuesday, October 19 (Updated 10/20/99) Update: Addicted to Noise (www.addict.com) is reporting that the album will be titled March to Fuzz and will be released both on cd and lp. The lp version will contain three records.Release Dates: mtv.com, apparently running low on stories on the Backstreet Boys and N Sync to report, had the following news on the greatest hits/rarities compilation that will be released on Sub Pop: the current release date is January 18th. The album will contain 52 songs and is currently untitled. The article also made a point of stating that Mudhoney has not broken up.
In other release date information, Nebula's To The center featuring vocals by Mark on a cover of The Stooges' I Need Somebody will be released on November 2nd by Sub Pop.
Saturday, October 9 Monkeywrench Update: According to Jack Endino (www.endino.com), he will be recording the new Monkeywrench record, which will feature a Groundhogs cover. Here's the full quote:Mudhoney aren't sure what to do now that they are Lukin-less, but sessions for a new Monkeywrench album (for Estrus) are planned for November (with yrs truly), with all the same members as on the original album from 1990 [note: 1992] or so.And next month, the reunited Monkeywrench, who are going to record, among other things, a Groundhogs cover. This had particular resonance for me because I have been babbling about this band since 1978, and starting with my college roommate that year and continuing almost to the present, everyone thought I was nuts. In 1989 I gave Mark Arm a Groundhogs comp tape, since I always thought the first Mudhoney stuff sounded very Groundhoggish. I think he lost it...Finally, in 1994 I took Steve and Mark aside in the studio and said, guys, you've got to check this out, this band changed my life. (My single biggest influence as a guitarist, BTW.) They were ready and are now fans... and damned if the guy from Pavement wasn't talking about them recently! When Mark told me that Queens Of The Stone Age played a Groudhogs cover at a Seattle show last month, I felt like the axes of the universe were finally shifting.
Wednesday, September 1 The Monkeywrench to Record: According to Jack Endino (www.endino.com), The Monkeywrench have booked studio time in November to record an album that will be released by Estrus records. He also says that everyone involved is pretty excited about what's going on.
Friday, September 3 Steve Writes: Steve had the following piece published in the August 11-25 issue of The Rocket:
Break Like the Wind Seattle's legendary anarchists the Fartz proved to still be punker-than-you when guitarist Paul Solger failed to show up for the band's first show in 15 years, held July 30 at Pain in the Grass. After announcing Paul's phone number and e-mail address, Blaine and Steve Fart opted to play a couple songs sans guitar to keep the crowd of old, angry punks from tearing the place apart. Once they got going they couldn't stop, so they played an encore to "let the humiliation continue," as Blaine put it. As for Paul? Turns out he had chicken pox and didn't want to infect anyone. The big question now is, which members will show up for their Breakroom gig on August 13?
Wednesday, September 1 The Monkeywrench: According to Mark, approximately ten songs have been written for the new Monkeywrench record. Tim Kerr is going to Seattle in a few days so that they can all practice together. Current plans call for recording in October or November. They might also be doing some shows around that time. There's been some talk of touring Australia and New Zealand sometime in 2000, but that's far from definate.
Thursday, July 1 (Updated 6/29/99) Quote from Mark: In Addicted to Noise (www.addict.com), Mark had the following to say, "I'm excited [about independently released, downloadable albums] and I have reservations at the same time. I would like nothing better [than] to see some record-label people out of jobs. Well, out of dealing in music. I don't wish for anybody to be unemployed."
Monday, June 28 (Updated 6/29/99) Break-Up Rumors Dispelled...Sort Of: In a yet-to-be-published article in Addicted to Noise (www.addict.com), Mark is quoted as saying that Mudhoney might continue on, as opposed to the persistent break-up rumors. If they do, they will look for a permanent replacement, as opposed to a R.E.M. style rotation. In a comment that did not make the final article, he also said that, should Mudhoney continue on, they will undergo some changes (just as R.E.M. did musically after Bill Berry left). The full story can be read here.
Thursday, June 24 Release Dates: The Sub Pop Singles Club issue of Butterfly Stroke/Editions of You will be the November installment of the club. It will be sent out to members at the same time as the October release, featuring the Catheters. For more information on joining the Singles Club, see the next article.Sub Pop is currently setting late-January or early-February of 2000 as the tentative release date of the two disc compilation.
More Oar: A Tribute to the Alexander "Skip" Spence Album has apparently been released, since The Rocket has a review of it in it's June 23rd-July 7th issue. It features Mudhoney's cover of War in Peace which was recorded during the Tomorrow Hit Today sessions, and is available on Birdman records.
Wednesday, June 23 (Updated 6/24/99) Matt Leaves the Band (and Other News): The following is an e-mail from Mark:
I've got good news and some sad news. First the good news: We are no longer on Reprise. I'm sad that we won't be working with David Katznelson (our A&R person who stuck with us through thick & thin), or Rick Gershon (our US publicist who went beyond the call), but the rest of the company didn't seem to give a shit or have a clue. So the split with Reprise is very cool.The sad news is Matt decided to retire from playing music. He plans to move out to the sticks and hone his hermit skills (something he's been working on for awhile). He said that he hasn't enjoyed touring for the last few years and that his heart isn't into playing music anymore. The rest of us aren't sure what Mudhoney will do next except that we're going to take a break from the band.
We are still compiling a 2 CD set for Sub Pop. One CD will be a best of both the Sub Pop and Reprise eras, the other CD will feature b-sides and rarites. So I guess you might say it's an overview and underview of the Lukin years. We are also releasing a 7" for the Sub Pop singles club featuring two songs culled from the Tomorrow Hit Today sessions, Butterfly Stroke b/w Editions Of You.
The Monkeywrench played it's fourth show ever on May 28th at Garageshock in Bellingham, Washington. This event kicked the band into it's second life. Right now Steve, Mark, Martin and Tom are in Seattle working on new material and waiting for Tim to come up from Austin so we can record a new album, perhaps this summer.
Also, Dan's been playing with Mike Johnson.
Both (Blues for Stoner and Fuzzgun 2001) were recorded on 2-6-99 and mixed on 2-7-99 by Jim Collier at Wedgewood One. Those are the only songs we recorded (at the time).
We don't have any upcoming shows.
Sub Pop Singles Club releases are only available to Singles Club members, and are not available in stores. A six month subscription in the club costs $40 US in the United States. For information on joining the club, visit www.subpop.com.
Thursday, June 3 Live Songs On-Line: KNDD FM has posted three songs and the interview from the 9/20/98 performance in Real Audio 5.0 format here.
Friday, May 28 Mark to Make Guest Appearance: The latest release by Nebula, "...To the center" will feature a cover of The Stooges' I Need Somebody with vocals by Mark. The record, produced by Jack Endino, is due in August.
Thursday, May 27 Steve Reviews Records: In the May 26th issue of The Rocket, Steve wrote the following review of the latest Nebula release:
Clouds Taste Metallic Nebula are floating straight into the sun, blue-green smoke trails swirling. Bursting into the heavens brighter than all the stars put together, before raining down shards of white hot molten metal onto the bleached earth below....
Sorry. Let me start over.
Nebula are the one. I'm not so convinced by the new line circulating lately that "Rock is back." For one thing, I don't remember it going anywhere for too long, and there's always the old "been there, done that"/"seen it and heard it" school of thought. My Rock dollars have seen diminishing returns with each successive retread of a retread of etc. But not so with Nebula. They're this close to perfection (hands very close together).
This four-song Sun Creature (Man's Ruin) is the latest from Eddie Glass, Ruben Romano and Mark Abshire. All of whom spent considerable time with the once great Fu Manchu, so their Rock credentials are, excuse me, heavy. They continue to mine the same territory a la Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Stooges, etc., adding healthy doses of flange, phase, extended space jamming and what sounds like early video game noises. What sets them apart from everyone else is how perfect every piece of the puzzle fits space jamming and what sounds like early video game noises. What sets them apart from everyone else is how perfect every piece of the puzzle fits together. For one person Glass is a great two- (four- or five-) guitar team, with each track dueling with the others like the MC5 at their best. Abshire's bass wanders around almost aimlessly, but always checks back in with the main riff when necessary. Roman bashes at the drums in perfect cro-mag fashion, and when the headband comes out, you know the drum solo is just around the corner! And it's all topped with Glass' valley dude vocals as the perfect filler between solos.
This EP is a perfect place to start your Nebula experience. Smokin' Woman is an ode to a sexy, smokin' woman, and who can't relate to that? Sun Creature is pot-fueled "X-Files" paranoia. Rollin' My Way to Freedom is just plain pot-fueled, and Fly On is eight-plus minutes of flying guitars and bongo drums. Interestingly, Glass says he prefers the term "acid rock" to their recent media tag of "stoner rock." Hmmm. Sun Creature was produced in part by Jack Endino, who's just finished work on their sure-to-be-stellar upcoming LP. Again, Nebula are the one.
Thursday, May 27 The Monkeywrench: The Monkeywrench are playing their first show in seven years tomorrow in Bellingham, WA at Garageshock. Other bands playing are Man or Astroman?, Von Zippers, Zen Guerilla, Thundercrack, and Coyoteman (UK). The show will be held at the 3B Tavern and is ages 21 and over only.
Thursday, April 29 Wylde Ratttz: According to Mike Watt via Addicted to Noise (www.addict.com), The Wylde Ratttz will tour Japan in October. Additionally, the Japanese release of the album is set for September. No American release date has been set.
Thursday, April 29 Steve Reviews Records: In it's April 21st issue Seattle music magaizine The Rocket, the top 300 Northwest albums of all time were ranked. Steve was part of the selection committee and weighed in with comments on two records:
66. The Viceroys at Granny's Pad, The Viceroys (LP, Seafair/Bolo) 1963More thumping R&B instrumentals from the Wailers' Tacoma. Granny's Pad, Tiger Shark and Get Set are immortal. Outstanding lead guitarist Jim "Harpo" Valley went on to play in Don & the Goodtimes and Paul Revere & the Raiders (before settling into Jesus Freak Oblivion). The others morphed into the psychedelic Surprise Package.
90. Like, Long Hair, Paul Revere and the Raiders (45, Gardena) 1961
Pounding piano, honking sax, fat guitar riffs and a Tall Cool One. More Jerry Lee than Little Richard perhaps, but still an early child of the Wailers. The cover alone SCREAMS rock 'n' roll! I stared at it on record shop walls for years before ever hearing the damn thing.
Monday, April 12 Steve Speaks: As posted on the Super Electro web site (www.superelectro.com):After a slew of tours, Mudhoney are back at home for a while. Word is our boys are going to start writing new songs for the next record as well as putting together a 2 CD best of and rarities package for Sub Pop. And what are those rumors of The Monkeywrench getting together again?
Monday, April 12 New Release: The new issue of Gearhead magazine, number 9, comes with a Mudhoney split-45 with Davie Allan and the Arrows. Their two new instrumental tracks, exclusive to the single, are Fuzz Gun 2001 and Blues for Stoner. The magazine will be available at stores and via mail order on April 27th. It costs $7.00 in the United States and $10.00 in Europe and can be ordered from:Gearhead
P.O. Box 421219
San Francisco, CA 94142
Friday, April 9 New Release: Accorgind the the April 7th issue of The Rocket, Sub Pop has a Mudhoney anthology in the works, containing material from the band's releases on the label as well as some other miscellaneous tracks. In the same article, Steve had the following to say concerning Sub Pop:"They're really not setting any pace or trends at this point, but I think they've wisely given up trying to. They gotta go after what they think is going to sell at this point. They're in dire straits, aren't they? I don't think the label's doomed. Maybe this will be a good thing-to get some bands that people actually might like."
Saturday, March 6 Web Cast: A one-hour broadcast of the Falls Festival, featuring a Mudhoney interview and performance will be broadcast on Monday, March 8 at 8:30 PM Australian EST at www.kick-art.com.au. Other bands included are Ammonia, Nancy Vandal, Superjesus and Grinspoon.Old News: 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997