BONEMAGIC

 

Been wondering what do do with this and what to say about this for (quite) a (long) time, and even though I'm not sure if today is the right day to talk about BONEMAGIC.....here we are. Classic, brilliant '80s industrial worship of the highest order - CLOCK DVA, NITZER EBB and mid-decade Wax Trax! punctuated with complicated dirges like "Unified Violence" and dark ambient missives like "Welcome To Sinew" or the vaguely SKINNY PUPPY-esque "Tales Of Hate & Separation." There is a lot more BONEMAGIC where this came from - more than a dozen releases under this moniker alone (there are other monikers) - but Meat Concrete is a gloriously dark place to start.

MEAT CONCRETE

LUNCH BUNCH

 

I remember when FUCKFACE and HICKEY rolled up to our show in Edmond, Oklahoma in 1996 and immediately noted the kid with the hand painted GRIMPLE logo on his crisp leather jacket. It just seemed out of place - awesome, but out of place. Later, my buddy Ross would tell me that the OKC/Edmond scene in the '90s was pretty fixated on Bay Area punk and hardcore (and that's before we start talking about Tulsa's relationship with HICKEY), and has since pelted me with more than a few unsung examples of that fascination. Enter: LUNCH BUNCH. High energy, kinda snotty pop punk trio that would have done just fukkn fine playing an afternoon show in El Sobrante back in 1992...perhaps this is just the kind of nostalgia you need as the world crumbles.

LUNCH BUNCH

GREEN AYGS & HAMM

 

There was a DIY punk explosion in 1990s Oklahoma. I was around for a piece of it but I admittedly only caught a glimpse of what was coming and was gone before the effects were really recognized. The '80s stuff is well documented (like most micro and/or region specific '80s scenes) but people still think the '90s are a forgotten punk decade. Which people think that...? Dummies, obviously. I don't think this GREEN AYGS & HAMM recording every actually dropped, but Ross was kind enough to resurrect it a few years back and share with the real heads. Ross isn't a dummy, see....? And these five songs are brilliantly adolescent hyper snotty middle America DIY punk. Does "Fart" ages very well? No, it doesn't. Is the vocal creak in "Aliterate" endearing beyond words? Absolutely. Never will I argue that these recordings are essential, but I am so happy that they exist in this present, and I'm more than happy to keep scooping this shit up as long as people keep feeding it to me.  Now, listen to "I Want A Girl" and enjoy your day. 

ANIMAL FUN GANG

SHAKA

 

Fierce and frantic Oklahoma hardcore punk duplicated onto garbage tapes and laden with samples that somehow mark the band as outsiders. Well..the fukkn music marks them as outsiders (check "Mean Mug" as a perfect example) but this shit is clearly by and for misfits and the samples just give it that little chef's kiss. Maybe that doesn't make sense.....maybe you haven't listened yet. When you do? You'll understand. 

'S' IS FOR SHAKA

INFERNA

 

Fierce doesn't even begin to describe INFERNA. Their raw, bombastic hardcore is the embodiment of sonic desperation and this is how punk is supposed to fukkn feel. I don't feel dirty when I listen to INFERNA - I feel heard. 

FACING A FUTURE OF TERROR

REAL ONES

 

Rapid fire un-appreciated Oklahoma DIY punk from some time in the mid-1990s. Real nice and snotty - young idealistic punks raised on a diet of early decade East Bay punks, SCREECHING WEASEL and all the shit that permeated the '90s...and I swear if you know the decade then you know exactly what the fukk I mean. REAL ONES are fast as shit, the drums are air tight and the bass is doing things that should never be okay but sound essential on this recording. So here are the REAL ONES. To sum them up.....they sound like REAL ONES. 

REAL ONES

DICED

 

Fierce ass srart-your-week stomps from the Tulsa's DICED. "Cut Your Teeth" has enough mosh and riff to last you through the weekend on its own, and every track here is pack with GAG-esque 'core fronted by commanding femme vocals....get ready.  

DEMO?

BLEAK AGE

 

I wouldn't love this is you described it to me but fortunately I listened first and now I'm describing it to you. Picture LOS CANADIANS playing raw '77 punk with an early Rough Trade swagger...see? You aren't sold are you? Trust...trust. 

BLEAK AGE

EDMOND SHIT SPLIT

 

Three cheers for fukkn Ross, because this motherfucker has unearthed and/or preserved a treasure trove of essential Oklahoma punk blasts, many of which might have been lost forever if he weren't such a nerd. This one is two suburban Oklahoma City bands who clearly worshipped at the altar of fiery (and drunk) East Bay DIY punk - THE BI-PRODUCTS have a serious GRIMPLE obsession while INDOLENCE bleed BLATZ on their six songs. This one was never released because the bands stiffed the recording engineer back in 1998 and never got more than a rough mix...which Ross rescued and booted for folks who know what's up. Because Oklahoma hardcore is what's up.  

EDMOND SHIT SPLIT

CRUSH CRUSHER

 

While it's sad that CRUSH CRUSHER left us with with just two tapes, we should take the time to celebrate those two tapes, and celebrate one of Oklahoma City's truest freak offerings. I Wish Punk Was Dead just sounds like a mess. I Wish Punk Was Dead sounds like wishing punk was dead but knowing you don't want to live in a world without punk. Absolute outsiders of the highest order - even (or especially) is this passed you by the first time, I'm giving you a second chance. This is what it sounds like when you try to fill up emptiness. 

I WISH PUNK WAS DEAD

SLAG

 

There's a lot of SLAG in your life (or there should be) and it can be hard to keep all of the SLAG straight sometimes. There was the Chicago SLAG. There's the Arizona SLAG (their Fetus Records EP is likely in your local $1 bin right now, just waiting for you).There's the San Jose SLAG. Pretty sure there's a crossover SLAG from Brasil and I swear there was an English straight ege SLAG but I might be making that up in my brain. I'm sure you could do some research and find more SLAG, or you could just get into this recording from the Oklahoma City SLAG, captured wild and raw late in the last decade - their set was recorded, duplicated and distributed all on the same night, which is pretty sick. This tape is all you get, so savor your SLAG. 

SLAGAGAGAGKH

 

XEN

 

XEN were a truly bizarre DIY experimental prog duo from Tulsa, Oklahoma in the early 1990s. Even after several listens I'm at a loss for other ways to describe or contextualize the group and 1992's Unresolved Games so I'll repeat: XEN were a truly bizarre space/art prog duo from Tulsa, Oklahoma. This shit is coming from (and headed towards) another realm - true heads only. 

UNRESOLVED GAMES

FUCKED UP FUCKIN SYSTEM

 

Three motherfukkrs from OKlahoma City hooked up with a fierce motherfukkr form Chicago sometime in the mid-teens. They thought it was going to be a one off because they were all friends and it was a good excuse to hang out....next thing you know they went on your and made a couple of demos. You like LEMONADE? You like JUDY & THE JERKS? Then I'm thinking you're going to like FUFS, because these motherfukkrs.....

FUFD UP // TO BE A FUF

BLUEROOM

 

I can easily imagine going all in on BLUEROOM had I found them when Love & Fear was released in 1989 and and they probably ventured up to Norman, Oklahoma (where I moved in 1990) with some frequency because that's where the cool college/alt bands played. And BLUEROOM play cool college/alt music. You picture them with candles and shit, maybe some tapestries, flowing shirts and effects pedals...that's their sound. That sound wasn't heavy or punk enough to be grunge and they lean on blues rock as much as (or more than) the brooding goth persona they portray so they were perhaps outdated before they started, but they were also from Pauls Valley in south central Oklahoma where time and/or trends may have been somewhat skewed - though that town with a scant 6,000 residents that also gave us CARNAGE and SUBSANITY, so there's that. There's a place for BLUEROOM (or there was a place for BLUEROOM in 1989) in a far away world of guitar based dark alternative rock, and Wayne Hussey aficionados will surely find some comfort in Love & Fear...which is so say that this writer found some comfort in Love & Fear...

LOVE & FEAR

URANIUM DEATH CROW // HUMANICIDE

 

A life surrounded by hate and hopelessness sometimes leads to submission. And sometimes it leads to fight. The split from Oklahoma is absolutely the latter - a manic and desperate crust assault divided into two movements. The HUMANICIDE tracks from 2000 seem like they are almost trying for the melodic tinged that would dominate the DIY crust of the early decade, but instead they sound like LOGICAL NONSENSE and STATE OF FEAR grinding the shit out each other. And ten years later, URANIUM DEATH CROW are still grinding on - the melodic tinge traded for Swedish metal influences creeping into what is an absolutely brutal collection of sounds. Eleven songs and almost a full half hour from each band - just listening to it is exhausting. Imagine living it. 

URANIUM DEATH CROW // HUMANICIDE

EBOLA FUCK

Looks closely before you hit that link, because EBOLA FUCK kinda sounds like it looks. Late '90s suburban Oklahoma punk weaned on GRIMPLE, DIE KREUZEN, and FYP, throw in a little misbehavior and record the shit in a tin garbage can. Not really sure how much more motivation you need. 

I WILL FUCK YOU TILL YOU DIE

 

SEX SNOB

 

What the fukk - why not keep it regional and weird for another day? When SEX SNOBS still lived in Oklahoma and needed a drummer, they passed copies of this tape around. No idea how I ended up with it - I can't play drums for shit. I'm pretty sure they got it covered, so no need to call the number. You should probably start your own band. 

SEX SNOBS

PRIMAL BRAIN

 

This little blaster slid into my mailbox last week and....what a fukkn smash. Gnarly modern USHC stomps amped up real fucking high so you can feel the room explode when they launch into mandatory killers like "Eat The Street" and "Smiles In The Service Industry" (lyrics kids....read the lyrics). Tape is kinda wrecked (because punk) so it sounds like you're listening to a crucial mix your cousin from Georgia made you back in 1987. Freak City hardcore rules, OK?

IT'S STILL A GAME

Physical copies and direct to digital sounds from the source: HERE. 

PULPIT RED

 

Sometime in the 1990s, PULPIT RED started kicking around the dark bars of Oklahoma and denizens emerged from the shadows, thirsty from a taste of that sweet elixir brewed from a mash made of classics. NYC '77 (Hell, Thunders, etc), a heavy helping of STOOGES, maybe a dash of M.O.T.O. all fermenting in a sea of Middle America humidity....it goes down like a punk rock 'n roll racket. Lurk clocks in well over an hour, with several tracks taking the time they need to fully develop. It's a fucking rock record made by some dudes in leather jackets, a record with ballads, bangers and attitude for days. Filler? Oh year, some of that too, but if you're going to give me "Zero Night" and "Hard City" then I'll take your "Baby's In Hiding" all day.  

LURK
Former MULTIPLE CHOICE bassist Ben "The Wild Man" Liman (who preceded me in MULTIPLE CHOICE) passed through their ranks, as did ANCIENT CHIESE PENIS drummer Dan Francis (aka Del Langham and/or Phil McCrevis). I would pay $25 to see this band at Kelly's on Main with TALL TALES, but that will never happen....

BLOOD MANIACS

 

Three minutes of noisecore/PV from the sun soaked plains of the United States spread out over five raw cuts. Just guitar and drums here, a duo who added reinforcements and wreaked havoc under the flag of NO MAN'S SLAVE. This session is not pretty, but ugly is OK. 

POWER VIOLENCE