Amps II Eleven
(Smog Veil)
by Craig Regala
American Dog, Bad Wizard, Crash and Burn, Dead Boys, Dogs, James Gang, Lamont, Quadrajets, Sister Ray, Smack, The Weirdos – these are a few of my favorite things. Murderous punk boogie, jacked-up viscous kickass, Doc Martin vs. four-inch platform stomp-a-longs; three chords and a cloud of dust – burning rivers and rubber city rebels… fuck yeah. The swingin’ density of yahoo rock and roll standing in a puddle of beer, chewing on a guitar chord, yellin’ “I want to feel the power!!!!”
For what it’s worth (and to me, it’s worth a bunch), this is rough-hewn classicist kickass without being specific, as if the punk/rocker divide never existed. Maybe in Cleveland, it never did: Granicus little bros. probably jumped to The Pagans, ya know? Hell, I wish, ask Jim Ellis… whatever… All I know is this ass-on-fire rocker grunt is birthed from the mighty Stepsister bloistered by folks from Shuteye and Southern Trespass with tonal and moral similarities to Dimbulb and The Downside Special, two of my Northcoast favorites. Gee, how many Rose Tattoo covers do these guys know?
(550 W. Plumb Ln. #B501 Reno, NV 89509)