12 FT 6

It has been a hell of a long time since I have updated this blog. I figure what better way to kick off an update than to post this seven inch. Taking their name from an overpass 12 FT 6 was along with 5-0, G, Chino Horde to name a few were a great band. I still have memories of them playing with Hell No at Riverfront Park by the stairs under the blue tent in 30-40 degree weather and freezing my ass off because I had not dressed correctly for the cold. I'm not really sure who was all in this band but They recorded this seven inch (maybe a demo) and contributed some tracks to the Towncraft compilation. This seven inch was recorded in December of '92. Whenever I listen to this record it doesn't feel like it's been 20 years but more like yesterday (as cliche' as it may be.) Every time you heard Robert yell "12 Fuckin foot Fuckin 6." You knew it was on. The attitude on this record is still there and it still lives on. Other members eventually would be in a band called Revolver Red. I know I may be leaving some details out but hey...I'm unprofessional.

12 FT 6--7 inch

Lucky Old Sun

Lucky Old Sun basically picked up where Red 40 left off. There are a lot of movie samples from the outsiders and another movie sample which I don't know the name of. (perhaps someone out there knows). I listened to this demo a lot and I'm happy to finally put this up here so please check it out. Like a lot of stuff on here I did clean up the noise of the recording as this came off of a cassette.
I actually got a copy of this demo from a person I went to college with (thanks nick s RIP .) Lucky Old Sun was formed after Red 40 had broken up in 1996. Lucky Old Sun consisted of Ben Nichols Bass/Vocals,Blair Pearce Guitar, and Charles Levingston on drums. The band only released this demo and played only a hand full of shows before disbanding. When I moved to Memphis for school (and to live) Ben was playing bass for Pezz for awhile. After Ben's stint in Pezz, Lucero formed.
Lucky Old Sun--demo

Faust

Now on with the music. Tonight's treat is a band called Faust. I don't know a great deal about this band, but it does have Melanie (Kelly) Isaksen from Unemployed and Carcrash in it as well as Jason Sims. Really good stuff with female/male vocals. I am guessing this was recorded in the late 80s or 90s. I know this is sort of short, however if anyone in the band or associated with Faust has any additional information any will be helpful.

Faust--Demo

Antenna Documentary

Sorry for the lack of updates but things have been pretty busy. Chris McCoy has been working on the documentary on the Antenna Club in Memphis. The trailers for this film look amazing and I like a lot of people out there cannot wait to see the finished product. Chris has also been raising money for this film to come out in the fall. It is up to people like yourselves to help Chris out. I know many people like myself have waited for years for something like this to happen. A film like this needs your support because it is all about you guys out there. The reason I created this page is because there are a lot of forgotten chapters in music--especially that of Memphis. Right now (or at least at the time of this post) $5,303 has been raised, but the goal for this documentary is $6000.00. A minimum of five bucks will get you a pin, if you pledge twenty dollars or more you get a Sobering Consequences 7inch and if you can afford it 200 bucks gets you the complete Truant discography (those are records that have been out of print for 20 years and have come out of Uncle Roy's personal stash). The trailer and further details on the rewards can be viewed here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/435757221/antenna-documentary


Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Recoil

Yeah it's been a busy week, but I thought I would post this band Recoil. They will be playing at the Antenna reunion this weekend so be sure to catch them and all the other bands that will be playing because most of them will be playing for the first and last time. Anyway a little history on Recoil: Recoil along with Raid came out of the Memphis Straight Edge scene and they released 2 demos--Salvation in 1991 and Second Season in 1992. The band played the Antenna club a lot between 1990 and 1993. There were also a few line-up changes. The original line up consisted of Graham Burks drums, David Bell bass, David Lawless guitar, John Horrell guitar, and Jesse Robertson on vocals. By the time Second Season was recorded the Memphis Straight edge scene started shifting into a more militant hard line scene, eventually dissolving (along with the hardline scene) as members of the band and the scene walked away from those beliefs. The second and final line up of Recoil consisted of: Graham and David, along with Blair Pearce guitar, Ben Brents guitar, and Alex Westphal vocals. At the Antenna reunion last year, the original line up reformed and have also added another member JB Horrell who played with the band in the early days before playing guitar. JB went on to play with the Noise Choir. I will be posting the second demo in the future. Enjoy this one in the mean time.

Recoil--Salvation

Substance

If you are going to pay homage to Little Rock punk you would have to include this band....Substance was actually from North Little Rock (Sherwood to be exact) the reason I mention this is because I actually grew up in NLR. I came across these guys through drummer Colin Brooks' brother Justin. He played this demo that I have posted tonight and it was a life changing experience. I had not had my radar set to the punk rock for very long and didn't even know that it even existed in Arkansas. The fact that there were local bands putting on their own shows, booking tours and releasing records (especially at 15-18) was amazing to me. I hung out with Justin a lot through skateboarding, went to many shows together. As I mentioned before Substance was actually my first punk rock show. I bought this demo from Colin for about 3 bucks and have had it ever since. This band formed out of the ashes of the Numbskulz and Step By Step. I used to watch these guys practice sometimes and play shows (all the guys had a lot of energy especially Shoban and Colin) and it was always amazing. The memories of walking in to the Brooks house and hearing Colin practicing is still fresh in my mind. Substance released a second demo which had this demo plus some new songs on it. I'm not sure why they put the first demo on with the new songs rather than releasing a second demo, I'm guessing it was a money thing. But this is the original demo with the train tracks on the cover.  After the first two demos Substance recorded some other stuff some of which hasn't been released (although there is a song on the towncraft movie soundtrack that was released). The band recorded a song for the 1992 towncraft compilation and a CD before breaking up in 1994. Members would later go on to be in The Big Cats, Red 40, and Daniel Zanes (Del Fuegos fame) and Friends. I have managed to clean up some of the noise (hiss and slight buzzing) from the tape, but keep in mind this was ripped from a tape that is 20 years old.

Substance--1990 Demo

Distemper

I have waited for a long time to post this, but it has been well worth the wait. I will admit that Distemper had not been on my radar but I really wish had been before, but thanks to Roy it has been made possible. This band has also has Mike Schiffer from Metro Waste. Distemper came together in 1985 but actually recorded and played shows in 1986. Mike McCarthy (Guitar/Vocals) has written up a really  comprehensive bio on the band that you should also check out. There is also a picture gallery.  I believe they will also be playing the upcoming Antenna reunion so be sure to check that out. In the meantime here is the demo.

More on Distemper:

http://www.guerrillamonster.com/music/distemper/2-Distory/distory-read-more.html
http://www.guerrillamonster.com/music/distemper/index.html


Distemper--Destory Memphis