Ok, the Hafenklang is the clear winner this years, after loosing out against the Monkeys last year. It’s proximity, i guess, paired with rooster. And it’s more than in 2017! More shows! More bands!
That is actually less books (-2) but more pages (+1.106) read in 2018 and i made an effort to buy more books that are related to music. Best read there was Alice Bags Bio!
Meine Lieblingsserie ist inzwischen die vom Polar Verlag, da kommen wirklich tolle Bücher raus. Aber auch Pulp Master hat einige Highlights, vor allem Tom Franklin und Rick DeMarinis. Größte Überraschung: Lisa Sandlin und James Carlos Blake.
Save 2019 my friends, if you like what i spit out here please leave a comment of appreciation or hate.
nb: Fun fact on the side – in 2018 i put all my records to Discogs and now can start to report the size of the collection: 4.732 releases are in there!
Chris Walter – Personality Crisis: Warm Beer & Wild Times (GFY Press, 2008)
Gelesen: 23.12.2018 – 04.01.2019, netto 215 Seiten (In Englisch, gibt es nicht auf Deutsch)
Personality Crisis sind eine frühe kanadische Punk Band, genau aus der Zweit des Übergangs von Punk Rock zu Hardcore. Ihr Nachlass ist klein: 5 Jahre, eine Single und eine LP. Dazu ein paar Beiträge auf Samplern.
Zu ihrer Zeit waren sie eine Band von wenigen, heute sind sie Legenden. Das liegt sicher auch daran das sie zum einen Vollblutmusiker waren, die durchaus ihre Instrumente beherrschten, und zum anderen daran das sie was von Spinal Tab hatten.
Das Buch nimmt uns mit auf eine Reise die sich im Grunde mehrfach wiederholt. Personality Crisis kamen aus Winnipeg, CA und das liegt sprichwörtlich in der Mitte von Nichts:
Selbst für kanadische Verhältnisse ist das am Arsch der Welt. Und die meiste Zeit im Jahr ehr kalt und voller Schnee und Eis. Und wenig Jobs. In dieser Welt entsteht Personality Crisis aus der Asche einer der ersten Punk Bands und dank ihres Arbeitseifers (10 Stunden am Tag proben), ihrer Lautstärke (Marshalls, immer auf 12) und ihres rücksichtslosem Bier- und Drogengebrauches werden sie die lokalen Helden.
Doch das lokale Heldentum ist ihnen zu wenig, sie wollen auf Tour. Davon haben sie leider keine Ahnung und die nächsten Auftrittsmöglichkeiten sind eh mehr als 1.000 KM entfernt. Sie machen sich trotzdem auf den Weg, ohne Geld, ohne Ahnung und mit schrottreifen Vans, die sie am Ende das letzte Geld kosten. Der Traum in Kalifornien zu landen bringt sie dann letztendlich nach San Franzisco, lächerliche 3.800 KM per Auto …
Dort ist es warm und die passionierten Biervernichter können das billige Bier in Strömen trinken. Und Drogen gibt es auch – alles was im Angebot ist wird genommen. Aber sie waren hungrig, letztendlich nach allem.
(c) GFY Press 2008
Was nicht auf die Reihe bekamen war Management – von sich selbst, von ihren Tourträumen und von ihren Plattenträumen. Letztendlich spielten sie überall wo sie sich auf die Bühne laber konnten, vor allem mit dem Ziel lauter als alle anderen zu sein (und Bier und Essen im Backstagebereich zu vernichten). Und dazu kam dann irgendwann das Gerät das schon so viele Bands vernichtet hat: Die Nadel!
(c) GFY Press 2008
Und das war dann letztendlich das Ende von Personality Crisis. Einer konnte noch im Schlepptau von Duff McKagan (der ja eine Punk Historie hat) ein wenig am Rockstar Traum riechen, aber letztendlich landeten alle wieder auf dem harten Boden der Realität. Und sperren sich beharrlich gegen eine (sowieso sinnlose) Reunion.
Das Buch ist sicherlich spannend und extrem realitätsnah aber auch sehr zäh zu lesen, nicht wirklich flüssig geschrieben. Es fehlt auch irgendwie der Hook. Der Schluss dagegen ist flott, je ein Kapitel ist den Überlebenden und ihrem “hier & jetzt” gegönnt.
Eine große Band, ohne Bier und Drogen und mit Management wäre da sicher mehr drin gewesen. DOA. SNFU und andere aus CA haben es ja auch halbwegs geschafft. Wer sich die LP und die retrospektive Doppel-CD anhört ahnt was für eine Perle da im Nirgendwo das Licht der Welt erblickt hat. Poision Idea zum Beispiel klangen erst in den 90ern so wie Pesonbality Crisis schon 1983!
Mehr zu Personality Crisis hier. Und wie waren die Live? So:
PS: Ich habe das Buch von meinem Kumpel Frosch bekommen, der es im Vancouver Urlaub aufgelesen hat. Der Rest muss versuchen es über www.punkbooks.com zu bekommen…
Against all odds two years in a row we stayed in Hamburg over Christmas and New Year and as such the traditional Burn down The Baum showcase of the Razors was the best possible occasion to finish off the mu-sick-al year early and with friends from near and far. And far this year stretched from Calgary to Perth, so basically the Razors where able to lure the globe to Hamburg – perfect!
Kick off was by the Fro-Tee Slips up from the grim north, from the place all you yobs with driver licenses keep yer points: Flensburg, as far north as you can get without bliver dansk (though exiled danish lads where in attendance too).
They have been around since 1989 and for a reason i have avoided them all these years. Still, here and now, i was to give them a chance.
The Fro-Tee Slips play fast paced Deutschpunk with some Oh-Oh-Choruses and loads of talking between the songs. Actually the north Germans most like call the singer a Labertasche. But they are funny and they had a number of fans and a number of folks being able to sing along in the audience, so there must be some form of attraction (next to the cheap trick of free booze for the audience).
Did i like them? No, there won’t grow love. Do i appreciate what they do? Yes i do, as with any band going up there and play. Just not my niche. They get an extra bonus though for stage attire, as i prefer bands that wear uniform stage uniforms.
Having surveyed the grim north the lot faced some crazy nutters from down South. Switzerland that was, the country that invented punk (“Wer hat’s erfunden? Die Schweizer!“) for the German speaking territories.
And with them we not only got stage attire but also stage personas. And a proper intro song based on the name of the band. And i can only assume that the name of band comes thanks to Peter:
You know those kids they get at school,
they've got a motorbike they think they're cool.
They've got a moped for their sixteenth birthday,
now you can hear them coming from half a mile away.
It's the moped lads, they like to think they're bad,
it's the moped lads, if you hit 'em they'll tell their dads.
They follow the school bus 'cos they think they're next,
they try to impress the girls on the back seat.
They go up the Youth Club and stand outside,
and talk about the bikes they can only just ride.
They're about as hard as a lump of shit,
but they've got two wheels so they think they're it.
They always show off and try to act flash,
but the best thing about 'em is
when they crash.
(Peter & The Test Tube Babies - Moped Lads)
A reference that today will only ever throw a blank face into any 14 year old – for us in our mid-50s it actually means a lot (and a youth reality).
And here they are – from funny Luzern – the Möped Lads!
Great stuff. And great stage personas indeed: On the far left one of the lads who played in Crazy (for me one of the most definite punk bands from CH) sporting a Johnny Moped Commando overall, a nutty singer in the center, another guitar with punk’n’roll outfit and a bass with a heads off to The Clash. And a drummer who got out of his seat for every final chord of a song. Lovely!
How did it sound? It sounded like this:
Maximum energy punk’n’roll with loads of power bulldozing the Knust. For some too simple as a mu-sick-al recipe, for me actually fitting very well the setup of the night.
And they just did not stop or held back, song after song they only ever plowed forward. They also recognized the language barrier and made and effort to explain some of the Swizz words used in the songs. Thanks mates!
Best moment for sure was their adaption of Crazy’s long lost hit “Weisst du noch?“. Just perfect!
Great stuff by some great people (who keep a great scene afloat at the Stedel in Luzern). They got some appreciation from the audience but i have to admit that they deserved even more. I liked them, for many reasons!
That gave way to the Razors, still with Christiane for the off sick Old Erwin (best recovery wishes to him, stay strong!) and in best shape.
They tailored the setlist down a bit and for the occasion, old classics like “Tommys Gang” needed to make space for some new references like “Razors in the night“.
Razors – Setlist (Knust, Hamburg, 30.12.2018)
From the first chord they had the attention of the packed Knust and had the audience enjoying it. Song after song they got the people singing and dancing. Within that they also had some perfect memories all the way back to 1978 – it’s has been a while. It has been 40 fucking years actually!
I watched out for this rather new song – a fully fitting ode to our youth:
And now sing-a-long:
It was in 1977
when some school friends came together
No ideas - searching for beers
No more school - acting like fools
There was a new sound called Punk Rock
Driven by guitars - loud´n ready to shock
That give us the kick to build a band
Hey ho - we were in wonderland
We played for us - it was cool
We had so much fun
Rotten clothes - colored hair
Fuck the rules - we don´t care
1977 - punks entered the scene
1977 - smashed up systems dream
1977 - leather studs and booze
1977 - nothing else to loose
No rules - just beer and dope - we cried out loud
No Future - No Hope
And sing-a-long it was for the encore, the lot was up there on the stage and gave the best they had: Their looks, their voices and their energy.
The best perfect end for the show: There ain’t no boundary between those up there and those down there. Actually more often this years i saw those up there seeing other bands with me from down here. In footie it would be UNITED ON THE TERRACES, i’d say here it is UNITY.
Given my hangover from Friday i kept intake limited and headed off before the raunchy party with DJ Schaub was in full swing (and booze would be added to beer).
