Pylon Sounds

So I was doing a guest spot on Scene of The Crime a few months back and as I was wrapping it up, who the fuck walks in but none other than Tim Mize, the lead singer of my all-time favorite St Louis hardcore band Laffinstock. Now if you have paid attention on any of my other St Louis hardcore related-posts, you know that the Laffinstock demo represents the friggin hardcore Holy Grail for me. I seriously never thought I would hear it again and then last week, what arrives in my mailbox? A package from Tim Mize containing the Laffinstock demo and some unreleased stuff


So does the demo stand up to the test of time? Hell fuckin' yeah it does. Now, I am fully aware that it is difficult for me to be unbiased about this stuff as it was basically the soundtrack to juvenille delinquency for me as a teenager, so lets study it objectively and scientifically. Let's take a look at the first track, played endlessly by me and my delinquent buddies back in the day. "Fucked Up For Days" was at face value, very similar to the prevalent NYHC style of its time (1987). But take a listen again...

The song moshes along after a Dennis Hopper Blue Velvet quote more in the Drunks With Guns tradition than any NYHC band. Then the break and it speeds up wicked fast and the lyrics kick in. But is it about "scene unity" or some fuckin' bullshit? No! It's about being fucked up for days. Then Tim asks you for a beer and it goes back into the mosh which you now realize has a lot more in common with Wonderful Subdivision than it does with Break Down The Walls. I have now concluded after my scientific analysis that this track kicks ass.

What was great about Laffinstock was that they took everything that made St Louis unique during the hardcore era (which lasted longer here than in most places) and wrapped it up into one big powerhouse of a band. They took the heaviness of Drunks and combined it with the speed of White Suburban Youth and added the humor of Ultraman. Look at the banner from one of thier Bernards shows with Tim in the wig. It looks like a fuckin' sign outside a pizza joint. Might as well say St Louis' own Gooey Butter or something.

They were the last great hardcore band for me. The fact that they were local was irrelivent. By this time the scene had really degenerated into posi-core and neo-naziisms. I moved away to Tulsa between the demo and these extra tracks and did not return for many years. In Tulsa I discovered Am Rep and Sub Pop and the game was pretty much over for me as far as hardcore was concerned. Looking back, what started in 82-83 for me with the Dead Kennedys and The Circle Jerks, ended for me in 87-88 with Laffinstock and Ultraman.

So, listen to the songs. They are a perfect combination of black humor, misanthropy, brute force and adrenalin, which at its best is what the St Louis sound was all about. They took these local traits and combined them with obvious outside influences like Fang and The FU's to great effect.

It'll sneak up on ya. This stuff fuckin' rules.

Laffinstock Demo

Fucked Up For Days
What Now?
Empty Threats
Laffinstock

Unreleased Tracks recorded at Webster University

Empty Threats / Fucked Up For Days
What Now?
Untitled

Oh Yeah....Don't complain about the sound quality. These are 20 year old demo tapes. What do you expect? I dunno why they recorded the same songs twice. I know they had more songs. Who cares. They are great songs. Tim now has a radio show on KDHX. Rumor has it he plays hour long sets of The FU's on occasion.

Another summer hit for you, this is the first LP by The Raybeats. Prior to this, they released an EP which is available here.

I initially bought this LP about 15 years ago because it featured some pretty big No Wave luminaries. Both Don Cristensen and Jody Harris had been in one of my all-time favorite bands, The Contortions. Pat Irwin had been in 8 Eyed Spy, an early Lydia Lunch outfit. Danny Harris had been involved in an early Minneapolis surf combo called The Overtones which was one of the first releases on Twin Tone Records as well as an early member of Beat Rodeo.

I know by the way, that the concept of surf music from Minneapolis sounds ludicrous, but that is part of the appeal. Any fan of The Trashmen can explain this to you.


When I first got Guitar Beat I was not prepared for it. I dug the kitschy cover but I thought it would be a little more harder-edged due to it's "No New York" pedigree and all. Over the years I have gone back to this album repeatedly and it has slowly become one of my all time faves. It, along with the first Romans LP, define new wave instrumental rock for me.

Pat Irwin is currently part of the backup band for The B-52's. More interestingly, he also composes music for childrens television much like Mark Mothersbaugh from DEVO. I wonder what the deal is with ex-new wavers and kids TV? It's kinda cool really because the aesthetic of bands like DEVO and The Raybeats can be seen on channels like Nickelodeon today.

Danny Amis went on to front the ultimate surf rock / mexican wrestling band Los Straightjackets. He is now currently on tour as Daddy-O-Grande. Make sure to see him when he hits your town.

The record is currently out of print and fetchin' some big prices on Amazon. If you can feel summer right around the corner like I do, then this is a good time to wax up the board and listen to the space age sounds of The Raybeats!

Track Listing:

1. Tight Turn
2. Big Black Sneakers
3. Tone Zone
4. International Operator
5. Calhoun Surf
6. Guitar Beat
7. Searching
8. Piranha Salad
9. Holiday Inn Spain
10. Andy's + 1
11. The Backstroke
12. B-Gas-Rickshaw
13. Cocktails

For a good sample, check out B-Gas Rickashaw

Download Guitar Beat!

That's right...I have a favor to ask of you.

See, there is an annual "Best of St Louis Poll" in St Louis' local alternative paper. In said paper there is a "Best Garage Rock Band" category. My band LEFT ARM would really like to win in this category.

So whatimaskin' will only take a minute of your time. Just go to THIS LINK and click VOTE and fill out the info and vote for LEFT ARM for BEST GARAGE ROCK BAND in St Louis. I don't care if you leave everything else blank. Ballot closes Sunday, June 3, 2007 so it would be best to do this ASAP. The three bands with the most votes in all categories get to play The Pageant which would be ridiculously insane.


You will also notice that when you go to this form, there are a bunch of bands listed and LEFT ARM is not one of them. Despite my attempts to get put on this list, I was unsuccessful. So you will have to write in LEFT ARM. Which is kinda cool cuz if we win, we will be the first band in the history of these fuckin' polls to win as a write-in.

If you have ever downloaded anything off of Last Days and thought, "Gee....it sure is nice of Joe to hook me up with this great, obscure music...and ad-free no less!". Well....this is your chance to pay me back! If you have ethical dilemmas voting for us without hearing us, check us out. Your help is greatly appreciated.


This is also your chance to help make the unpopular kids the King and Queen of the proverbial prom. Shit...we weren't even asked to the prom. If we win, we get to crash it and we promise it will be just like the finale of Carrie except with wicked guitar solos.

Liliput - Like It Or Lump It Great post-punk from Zurich in the late 1970's early 1980's. Thier entire recorded output both as Liliput and Kleenex was recently re-released on Kill Rock Stars and is available here. I agree with Erich about Liliput when he says that if you dont like this you have no heart and no brains. Thanks to Erich for reminding me what a great band this is and for the photo above which I think is just great.

Johnny Moped: Incendiary Device - A crazy bastard from the early days of UK Punk. A cohort with the guys in the Damned if that tells ya anything. I wonder what ever happened to Johnny? Great retrospective recently released and available here.

Feederz: Destruction Unit - Ever Feel Like Killing your Boss is still in print and available here. It even comes with the sandpaper sleever althought the effects on your other CDs wont be as drastic as intended upon original design.. Classic LP.

Wall of Voodoo: The Passenger - Index Masters has been re-released with a bunch of added tracks. Tom asked for this EP on my recent Wall of Voodoo post and although I can't post the thing...I can point ya here.

Secret Hate: Deception - On Hell Comes To your House, an amazing early 'goth" comp that really isn't goth at all. This is straight-up punk comp with horror themes. Some of the best of the early LA punk bands are on here including my all time favorite LA (Long Beach actually) HC group, Secret Hate who also have thier album available here.

A Certain Ratio - Great 2 CD compilation of early tracks by this amazing post-punk English band available here on the always amazingSoul Jazz Label. If you think the combination of Joy Division and party funk seems like an impossible mash-up, check out Do The Du and watch the impossible become reality!

The Gore Gore Girls / Left Arm show was a smashing success. Amy Gore, Hammer and company are an amazing live act. In fact, I would say that they are one of the top 3 or 4 live acts around today. Thier new album is great as well. Favorite song at this point is Pleasure Unit. Definitely buy it.

The Atomic Cowboy was OK. Good atmosphere, super shitty small stage and no smoking. The turnout was smaller than expected but the crowd loved the show and was very enthusiastic. Definitely a goood time. Read a review of the show here.

Left Arm Shows coming up:

FRIDAY / MAY 11, 2007@ PK's w/ Nu Standards and Like No Other
308 S. Illinois Ave. - Carbondale, IL 62901 - (618) 529-1124 21+

FRIDAY / MAY 18, 2007@ Czech National Hall w/ TBA
209 E. Vandalia St. - Edwardsville, IL 62025 All ages $7 Show: 7:00

FRIDAY / JUNE 15, 2007@ Way Out Club w/ The Rockford Mules (MN) and Kentucky Knife Fight 2525 South Jefferson Ave. - St. Louis, MO 63104 - (314) 664-7638 21+ $5 Doors: 9:00 Show: 9:30

SATURDAY / JULY 14, 2007@ Lemmons w/ Dear Calamity and B&E
5800 Gravois - St. Louis, MO 63116-2237 - (314) 371-4201 21+ $5 Doors: 9:00 Show: 9:30