Going OFF! / Cat Rose Unseen Photos

Since most of 2020 has been a bust for shows, we've dug into some of Cat Rose's unseen photos of the mighty OFF! These were taken at three different gigs in Seattle over the last six years. Fucking raging!!

#wemissshows

From the vault: Die Kreuzen at Roadburn (NL) in 2013 / Cat Rose photos

Why not make it a Die Kreuzen hat trick, eh?

Milwaukee's paint-peeling, brain-rattling rippers recently got some ink in Decibel magazine and had their early demos from 1981-82 given new life by mkepunk.com, so we'll jump into the ring with some mostly unseen Cat Rose photos from the band's blistering set at the Roadburn Festival's Afterburner gig on April 21, 2013 in Tilburg, Netherlands.

On the demos, you've got singer Dan Kubinski, drummer Erik Tunison, bassist Keith Brammer and guitarist Brian Egeness. In the live pics, there's Jay Tiller on guitar in Egeness' spot.

Check out the demos at https://www.songpreserve.com/index.php/component/muscol/D/71-die-kreuzen/204-demos

Fu Manchu honors Peart with its version of 'Working Man'

Fu Manchu released its version of Rush's classic "Working Man" today in tribute to the late drummer Neil Peart, "The Professor," who passed away on Jan. 7, 2020.

The San Clemente, CA rockers recorded the tune in January 2020 and all proceeds will benefit Brain Tumor Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Peart's memory.

According to a Fu Manchu social-media announcement today: "Members of our band and our manager were in the audience on August 1, 2015 when this was the final song played by Neil, Geddy and Alex. We are forever grateful for all of the music and memories. Thanks to Carl Saff for donating his mastering services and to David Medel for donating his art services. Thanks to Jim Monroe for the studio time, engineering & mixing hook up. Thanks to Meg and everyone in the Rush family. Thanks to John Raso for going the extra mile to help us get this out."

The digital only release (for now) can be purchased at https://fanlink.to/fumanchuworkingman

Fu Manchu in action in Seattle, 2017. (Cat Rose photo)

'Brace Yourself' for Seized Up's forthcoming album / Interview

(Photo courtesy of Keith Wells)

By Andy

I can envision Clifford Dinsmore smashing that blue plastic milk crate to bits all over again.

But this time it involves 10 times more anger than before, with his roaring vocals threatening to level anything in his way.

The former raucous scenario occurred in the summer of 1986 when Bl'ast! raged through its set at some club in New Haven, CT, during a gig with Corrosion of Conformity, DRI and locals Evil Dead. At that wild moment, I rushed forward to unleash a long-winded scream into the microphone.

Fast-forward to today and Dinsmore is still pummeling away as the singer of Seized Up, which formed in Santa Cruz, CA, last year and also features a formidable cast of Fast Asleep guitarist Danny B., Good Riddance bassist Chuck Platt and The Distillers drummer Andy Granelli.

A trio of shows rattled some heads when bands could still plug in. Come Oct. 9, Seized Up's debut record "Brace Yourself" will bust through the doors on Pirates Press Records.

Here's an email interview with Dinsmore about what's brewing in the Seized Up camp.

(Photo courtesy of  Rob Coons)

** How did you guys all get together? Was it something on the wish list for a while or did it just happen organically?

I was really into Fast Asleep, and when I went to see them, they broke the news to me that the band was done. Chuck and Danny said they were forming a new project and wanted me to sing. Shortly after, they recruited Andy and the chemistry really gelled and mutated into Seized Up.


**The sound is obviously ultra-fierce. What's it like when you strap on the instruments and let loose? A pretty cathartic experience?

Like I said, the chemistry is really there, so when we unleash these songs, there's definitely no holding back. It's balls to the wall all the way!


**What are you dealing with lyrics-wise? What needs to be addressed with an apocalyptic backdrop of noise these days?

With the release date being so close, I don't want to take away from the impact by disclosing anything. However, I will say that the lyrics definitely reflect this fucked-up time period in a very appropriate way.


**How did the shows go when they were around? Wild stuff? How did the crowds react? 

Well... we've only played 3, great time to start a band, right?!!?  The shows we did get to play were complete mayhem and totally off the hook and we're really looking forward to getting back out there.


**We've heard the unhinged, glorious "Manic Decompression," what's your reaction when that song blasts back at you? 

Well, it is what it is... complete "no holds barred," out-of-control hardcore in its purest form. If you like that song, the full length is definitely gonna knock you on your ass.


**Do you feel you captured your sound well in the recording studio? What are people in for when they hit the play button?

For sure! Paul Miner did a great job and really captured our sound. We were really well rehearsed and went in there ready to throw down! We did the whole thing in 3 days. Andy was on tour with The Distillers and only had one day to do all his drum tracks...11 fucking songs in one day and he nailed it. I think people are going to enjoy this record... kind of a beam of light in an otherwise dark and dismal time period.

RIP, Justin Townes Earle

Justin Townes Earle. (Bloodshot Records publicity photo)

RIP, Justin Townes Earle. Here's a story Andy wrote about him in 2009. He was a cool guy when Cat and I met him in person after a small show at Tower Records in Seattle. He was 38 when he passed.


============================


Earle’s on a roll, ready for local gig

The times they have a-changed for Justin Townes Earle.

Monday, May 11, 2009 -- Bothell/Kenmore Reporter


The times they have a-changed for Justin Townes Earle.

As a teenager, he dabbled in punk rock and drugs. As a 27-year-old adult, he’s an acoustic-guitar-slinging sober guy who’s digging life.

“I’m definitely a different man than when I was young — I was a strung out (stupid) little kid for 10 years. I’d done quite a lot of growing up when I got clean,” he said over the phone from a tour stop last Wednesday in Dallas, Texas.

Yes, Earle, who’s still a punk rocker at heart with a gruff attitude to offset his soothing singing voice, is on the road again and will hit the Northshore Performing Arts Center stage at 7 p.m. May 17. Although he won’t have a backing band this time out, the son of country rocker Steve Earle says he can impress crowds alone with one guitar, one mic and his arsenal of insightful folk tunes. No problem.

“I’m always ready to roll — we’re booked solid through December right now, last year I did 250-plus shows,” he said. “I’ve been doing this since I was 15. I love traveling, I love the wheels spinnin’ beneath me.”

Like punk bands, Earle jams a ton of songs into his set — although his are longer and softer, the hard edge still lies within. He’s a modern-day Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly, an artist he discovered through Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain on the band’s final — and tamest — record. But it wasn’t after he soaked up the Seattle outfit’s earlier raucous catalogue.

“I can guarantee you I was the first kid in Nashville to have a copy of ‘Bleach,’ because it was an advance copy. On their ‘Unplugged’ album, when Kurt said, ‘This is ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night?’ by Lead Belly,’ it changed my life. It was the first time I’d heard his name and I put away the punk-rock records and went head first into (legendary folk artists). I went back and discovered artists from the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s,” said Earle, who considers himself fortunate to hail from Nashville, Tenn.

“I was born at ground zero, I know where the bodies are buried. I’ve done so much research.”

Earle penned his first tune, “Halfway to Jackson,” at age 15 and it finally surfaced on his sophomore record, “Midnight at the Movies,” which was released on Bloodshot Records in March and features a spot-on version of the Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait.” And while he appreciated his mom’s love for folksters Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez and gigs from the Grand Ole Opry, the upstart wanted to perform acoustic music with some swagger, and so the Earle persona was born.

He last played Seattle about a month ago at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard to what he described as a “wide-eyed, enjoyable crowd.” But folks all over have taken hold of his brand of music, which he tags as Southern American — “I can’t think of anything else to describe it … I’ve never understood labels.”

Give him a guitar and a crowd, and nothing else matters.

“I love playing live and seeing and meeting new people everywhere,” he said. “I think this was the way I was supposed to live.”

Thee Deception, Tacos!, Death Eyes and Cages/ Unseen Photos part 5

Thee Deception (above and below) in Seattle, 2017. (All Cat Rose photos)

Since most of 2020 has been a bust for shows, we've dug into some of Cat Rose's unseen photos from this time three years ago, so you can visually rock out until the amps are plugged in again on stage.

Here's Thee Deception, Tacos!, Death Eyes and Cages from Aug. 5, 2017 at Victory in Seattle, WA.

RIP, Alberto, Death Eyes' mesmerizing vocalist.

#wemissshows



TACOS!

DEATH EYES

CAGES

FEAR, CH3 and The Lucky Boys/ Unseen Photos part 4

FEAR in Seattle, 2018. (All Cat Rose photos)

Since most of 2020 has been a bust for shows, we've dug into some of Cat Rose's unseen photos from this time two years ago, so you can visually rock out until the amps are plugged in again on stage.

Here's FEAR, CH3 and The Lucky Boys from Aug. 25, 2018 at the Showbox Market in Seattle, WA.

#wemissshows



FEAR

CH3

THE LUCKY BOYS