Stoner Rock Playlist #61

 

My latest playlist;  Share with someone else if you like it.  

SKUNK: STRANGE VIBRATION

Smell That??

It's fresh Skunk.  

The band that recorded my favorite album of 2017 has returned only two years later with an equally worthy release.  At the end of the day, when I take inventory of what I'm grateful for in life, I now have to add the band Skunk to my list.

Using the weapons of guitar, bass, drums, vocals and songwriting with an attitude, Skunk has brought back the best years of rock music.  How a band is this good after just two albums continues to amaze me.

  So, how could you not try a tune called "Goblin Orgy" first?

And here's one that's easily among the best tunes of the year to date.  This is the album closer, "The Cobra's Kiss"

Strange Vibration makes me feel like someone's crawled around in my brain and figured out every single thing I like about rock.  I can't say enough about this one.  
Hear for yourself here.

Skunk is:

John McKelvy - Vocals
Dmitri Mavra - Guitar
Erik Pearson - Guitar, Flute
Matt Knoth - Bass
Jordan Ruyle - Drums

Another review tomorrow night, my friends.  Until then.
-ULTRA

ULTRA INTERVIEW:

Dmitri and John from SKUNK!!

 

My top three albums from 2017 were all their respective artists' first full-length albums, and at the top of my list sat Skunk's mind-blowing "Doubleblind", an old-school hard rock tour de force.  One of my favorite releases of the decade so far, never mind the year.  Needless to say, I was extremely excited to score an interview with a couple of these guys:  Dimitri (guitar) and John (vocals).  Here is how it went down:

First of all, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions.  I found your album “Doubleblind” two days after it was released, through a Bandcamp e-mail.  I was tired and planning to go to bed, and told myself I’d just click on a tune to see if I would want to check it out the next day.  As soon as I heard “Forest Nymph” I had to hear the whole album, and stayed up to post a review, knowing in my heart that Doubleblind would end up as my pick for #1 album of the year.  Every few weeks it still makes its way into my commuting playlist; I haven’t gotten tired of any of the tunes yet.  It feels like you all must have had the same favorite songs as me growing up.

Along those lines, I am curious if you remember what was the first rock album you ever bought?

Dmitri: Thanks for diggin our tunes! Yeah, I remember my first album clearly. My dad had store credit at the local record shop. He told me I could pick whatever I wanted. I looked around and saw Kiss “Destroyer” (which had just come out). I remember that I couldn’t even say anything, I just pointed at it! That was 3rd grade. I was a Kiss fanatic until I discovered Rush a few years later.

John: When I was probably 9, I bought a Beach Boys album (probably Best Of) with my own money. I listened to it constantly and fell in love with their harmonies.  A little later in life, at probably age 14, I remember buying the cassette of Ramones Mania and played it for literally years and years, until all the words faded off. They both seem like important album purchases in my life.

How about the first band you were ever in?  Assuming you started with cover tunes, what tunes did you play?

Dmitri: I was in a band that played psychedelic lounge music. I had only been playing guitar for a year or so, so I pretty much learned on the job.

John: By mid highschool I was a lover of all things rock, southern rock and metal. I remember playing AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynard and Tom Petty songs a lot early on.  But then later on, basically all bands I was ever in after high school were all original. 

What was your first concert, and how old were you?

Dmitri: Rush “Grace Under Pressure Tour” mid-80s. I didn’t see any other arena concerts because I got into punk right after that and spent high school going to run down VFW halls in Detroit to see Black Flag and such.

John: Rolling Stones, Steel Wheels Tour was my first real stadium concert. 17 years old. 

 What is the best concert you’ve ever been at?

Dmitri: Butthole Surfers, Ornette Coleman, Fela, Hermeto Pascoal, The Romantics (really!).

John: Motorhead, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Willy Nelson, Tool, Rage Against The Machine.. so many to name

If for some reason you could only listen to five albums for the next six months, which five would you pick?

Dmitri: Impossible! But “Monk’s Dream” and Captain Beefheart’s “Clear Spot” would probably be on the list.

(I love the fact that I got called out on the impossibility of this situation)

John: Ramones (First Album), Lynyrd Skynyrd (Second Helping), ACDC (Highway To Hell), Stanley Brothers (The Complete Columbia Collection), Vern Williams (Bluegrass From the Gold Country). The last two are bluegrass albums. Besides a rock and metal lover, I'm kind of a bluegrass and old country freak.

I grew up in a time when rock music was king of popular music.  If you went to a traveling carnival, a roller skating rink, or were near somebody with a radio at the beach, you would hear rock music being played, and most likely hard rock.  Times have changed in this regard, yet I feel like rock music today is the best it’s ever been if you know where to look (not on the radio).  Quite possibly due to a decrease in the profitability of playing rock, the bands that still dedicate themselves to this art today are the ones that are most sincere.  What are your thoughts on rock of today versus years past?

Dmitri: I agree that it’s a labor of love. I’m not sure if the music better now, I mean, how can you compare anyone to Sabbath, Zeppelin, Hendrix, etc? Current musicians have the luxury of looking back over six decades of rock music and learning from the masters. There are definitely a ton of cool bands and great players, but it’s all built on the foundation of the originators.

John: I think there are always really great bands out there, no matter what decade you're in. If you're lucky they stick around for a while.  Doom metal, sledge, stoner rock.. all are brimming and boiling over with great bands every where you look. It's definitely a great time for heavy music right now.

Any music you are currently listening to that you’d like to recommend to our readers?

Dmitri: I try to check the new bands I hear about, but when it comes to rock I mainly listen to the old stuff. I can never get enough Sir Lord Baltimore!  The Bay Area is blessed with a lot of cool bands that I dig; War Cloud, Zed, Blackwulf, Older Sun, Banquet. Our buddies from Chicago, Thee Arthur Layne, rock somethin’ fierce. Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell is great. The guy who runs Mothervan Records in Sweden has a cool band called Burning Saviours. Mothervan released the vinyl edition of our album, Doubleblind.

 I love the art you have on your Facebook page.  I noted in my original review of Doubleblind that you’ve got a spin-off of a black light poster of a chopper that I had on my bedroom wall growing up, and I love it.  I also love the Skunk logo with the cow bell, and of course the Doubleblind album art.  I see these are done by you Dimitri, and have to point out that your talent for art is as elite as your talent for music.  Have there been any albums you’ve ever bought, just because you were attracted to the album art?

Dmitri: Thanks! I’m a graphic designer for a living. I can definitely get hooked in by album art or book covers. I bought my first Mastodon album because of Skinner’s insane artwork. Just this week I bought a cd of heavy sludge doom just because of the cover (Dismal Planet by Coffin Torture). I usually don’t listen to that kind of thing, but the cover hooked me and it’s awesome!

What are some of your favorite album covers of all time?

Dmitri: Houses of the Holy is a favorite, Motorhead’s first album, the red Grand Funk, first album by Toad. I like the trippy ones too, Roger Dean and such. There are a lot of great designers and artists working now, and it’s nice to see these cool designs that get past the typical cliches of a succubus holding a skull. The Elder albums all been amazing artwork. Clouds Taste Satanic have great design. Adam Burke’s work is epic. Really, there are tons of great covers in the underground rock scene. Even the cliches are usually cool as hell!

Well because of your art, when the day ever comes that you play in Massachusetts, I’m buying the ticket and the t-shirt.

Thanks again for the interview.  I can’t wait to hear the next Skunk album, and wish you the all the best in 2018.

Dmitri: We’ve been putting the finishing touches on our new material and we’re planning to start laying down tracks for the next album this spring. 

Many thanks to Dmitri and John, and I can't wait to hear what comes next.  If you have not given Skunk a listen, do yourself a favor and click on any track you see here.  If you like 1970's style hard rock, you will most likely feel the need to own this gem of an album.  

PS: Dimitri, I have to thank you for the Thee Arthur Layne referral: great music!  Also, Hermeto Pascoal is fascinating.  John, Tool is on my best concerts list too;  They are truly special live.

That's all for now, catch you next weekend, if not sooner.  Until then, stay heavy

-ULTRA

Top Ten Stoner Rock Albums of 2017

Here are my top ten Stoner Rock albums of 2017, in video form.  I picked one tune from each (made sure none are tunes I've posted here in the past), starting with #10 and finishing with #1.  The result is not for the faint of heart, but classic stoner rock through and through.  Playing time is just shy of 64 minutes.  Hope you will have the time to put it on and give it a chance.  If you are short for time or impatient, you can see my #10 through #1 picks below.  In the video, track info is given for the first 20 seconds of each tune.  

#10: "(((I'm Heroin)))" by Mephistofeles            #9: "New Beginnings" by Radio Moscow

Retro and raunchy; great album                             Radio Moscow never disappoints 

   

#8: "Emperor of Sand" by Mastodon              #7: "Reflections of a Floating World" 

Tons going on here, but eventually these                  by Elder.  Elder is one of the all-time 

tunes will be stuck permanently in your head           greats of the genre                                 

#6: "Time Travel Dilemma" by Spaceslug.        #5: "Villains" by Queens of the Stone Age

This, along with "Mountains & Reminiscence",         Josh Homme never does anything 

make two classics in the same year.                            half-assed.  More aggressive than 
                                                              "..Like Clockwork"      

#4: "Force Field" by                          #3: "Spacelord" by Spacelord

                    The Atomic Bitchwax.                              This, along with the 3 tracks on "New

       Stoner rock royalty does it again                        Horrible Menace", are must-haves

#2: "Electric Mountain" by Electric      #1: "Doubleblind"  by Skunk      

Mountain.  Instantly became one                 I swear these guys loved exactly

of my all-time favorites.  Can't                the same bands from the 70's as  

say enough about this one.                   me.  I knew this would be my 

                                                                   number one of the year the first  

                                                                night I heard it.

These Deserve To Be On The List Too:  

"Blackbird" by The Riven: only 23 minutes, but every one of those minutes is classic.  Can't wait for a full-length release

"The Naked High EP" by The Naked High.  Again, can't wait for the first full-length album.  (although their "EP" is as about long as each of the last two Atomic Bitchwax albums)

"Planetary Space Child" by Ruby The Hatchet:  Quality, cover to cover

"About Time" by Horisont:  It's kind of like early eighties hard rock songwriting with a late seventies sound.  Truly unique in today's world and truly great album cover to cover

"Jake Leg Boogie" by Five Horse Johnson:  This band is back in a big way, giving us one of their best releases

"Revolution on Repeat" by Troubled Horse: their second release establishes them as masters of throwback rock

"The Tower" by Motorpsycho: truly mind-blowing material that can't be fully grasped in just a few listens 

Stay safe tonight, and make sure rock music is played really loud as you send 2017 on its way.

Happy New Year, Over and Out 

-ULTRA

TOP TEN  ROCK TUNES OF 2017

Finishes with my pick for #1 Stoner Rock tune of 2017, but otherwise the order is simply determined by nice transitions.  This and the 2015 top ten albums playlist are my two greatest playlists to date.  

Even if you don't agree with my choices for top ten, I think you have to agree that these are ten awesome tunes, that flow really nicely into each other.  Let me know what you think:

Six of the ten songs are the lead track on that album.

Working on my top ten albums playlist - more challenging, because I try to use tunes that I haven't posted on the blog yet, almost to make the point that there are so many great tunes on each album, which is why they made the top ten.  

Back soon with more

-ULTRA

I Got Your 1970's Right Here

2017: 1970's Sympathizer

Check out these 1970's-inspired tunes, released in the current calendar year.  If you've got about 14 minutes, I've got three tunes that  if you close your eyes, will have you wearing your Foghat t-shirt and your knee-high tube socks before you can say WCOZ.  I am proud of the flow of this playlist, and hope you will hear it the way I do. 

70s Today from Ultra Sounds on Vimeo.

I have reviewed each of these bands within the last couple of months.  Hope you will spread the word on these awesome bands if you have not done so already.  

Over and out;  Back next weekend with some more stoner rock; until then, check out Grownman's posts; Over and out     -ULTRA

SKUNK: DOUBLEBLIND

This Review Couldn't Wait

See self-description from the band's Facebook page; Perfect analysis:

"Mix the early eras of Zeppelin, Kiss, Black Sabbath, James Gang, and Grand Funk Railroad. Add a healthy sprinkle of resinous dust from obscure bands like Sir Lord Baltimore, Bang, Cactus, Pentagram, Leaf Hound, and Captain Beyond. Roll mixture in over-sized papers and smoke while cruising on a Friday night in a Camaro...the resulting aroma is SKUNK." 

This band clearly listens to everything I did growing up, and has put a fresh take on all of it;  Skunk's Doubleblind is the quintessential Stoner Rock album of the decade in my book, and if this is not number one on my best of 2017 list at the end of the year, then 2017 will have been a truly historic year.  It's release on 4/20 was no accident, and every single tune is worthy of your attention.  

I am going to post three here, as opposed to my usual two for a new album.  Much respect:  

Here's the opener, "Forest Nymph":

Now, "Harvest Queen":

Lastly, "Devil Weed":

To cement the connection I feel to this band, I had this blacklight poster on my bedroom wall growing up

Here's a pic I found on Skunk's Facebook page:

Skunk is from Oakland, California, and consists of:

John McKelvy - Vocals
Dmitri Mavra - Guitar
Erik Pearson - Guitar
Matt Knoth - Bass
Jordan Ruyle - Drums

Found this tonight, and was tired and pressed for time.  But I love this so much I can't in good conscience wait till next weekend to share.  Best thing I've downloaded in quite some time and I hope some of you find this release as important as I do.  

We ought to be seeing a *#@!load of May flowers pretty soon after all this rain; 

Am really leaving this time; until next weekend   -ULTRA