” Loud Fast Rules ” 1980

|May 28, 2009 | Found Sounds

Here’s a very, very rare 45 on loan to me by my kind friend Michelle Skoorka. The Stimulators were a short-lived punk band from New York City who are perhaps best known now as Harley Flanagan’s ( who went on to form the Cro-Mags ) first group. There are some photos of him with The Stimulators, including the fairly famous shot by Pennie Smith backstage with The Clash, here and also here.

This record sounds CRAZY. If I had the equipment I’m guessing they were using I don’t know if I would have been able to do any better, although I definitely would’ve taken that annoying ride cymbal away from young Harley. Still, this is a perfect snapshot from that dead time between the original punk era of 1977-78 and the American hardcore era, 1981-82-83 : tuneful rock n’ roll with big, slashing Sex Pistols guitars, but, you know, louder and faster.

The Stimulators ” ” Loud Fast Rules “

The Stimulators : ” Loud Fast Rules ”

The Stimulators : ” Run Run Run “

The Stimulators : ” Run Run Run ”

Trash & Heat

|May 2, 2009 | Gear

What’s that? Using a microphone you found in the trash to record guitars? Well, why not? Back when Sean and I ran The Saint, I found an Electro-Voice 635A in the giant ( I mean giant, all the way up to the ceiling ) mound of trash we cleared out of the back room. It turns out that this mic was considered a kind of secret weapon on guitar amps in the 70s and 80s. This particular one sounds sort of okay, but it doesn’t really do anything that standard mic choices don’t do. Who knows how much liquor has been spilled on it through the ages, though.