soulRocks » punk

The Stabilisers

soulrocks — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:30:18 +0000

Fueled by the garage band sound of the ’60s and the punk attitude of the late ’70s, London foursome the Stabilisers began life as a trio.Jon Bott, Francis Braithwaite, and Simon Corbey had been gigging around London to a cult following when Allan Crockford of Billy Childish‘s band Thee Headcoats offered his services as an extra guitarist. The gigs got bigger and Crockford ended up going from hired gun to full-time member. In 2004 they released the album Last Chance Saloon on the Italian label Skipping Musez and the EP Evil Picnic on the Nicotine label, also based in Italy. The U.K. label Acid Jazz released their 2006 album, Wanna Do the Wild Plastic Brane Love Thing?, a more widely distributed effort that introduced them to many new fans, one of whom was E Street Band member andSopranos actor Little Steven. Steven signed the band to his Wicked Cool label, compiled tracks from their previous releases, and released them as an entirely different album titled Wanna Do the Wild Plastic Brane Love Thing? in 2007.

myspace.com/thestabilisers

The Minutemen

soulrocks — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:18:28 +0000

More than any other hardcore band, the Minutemen epitomized the free-thinking independent ideals that formed the core of punk/alternative music. Wildy eclectic and politically revolutionary, the Minutemen never stayed in one place too long; they moved from punk to free jazz to funk to folk at a blinding speed. And they toured and recorded at blinding speed; during the early ’80s, they were constantly on the road, turning out records whenever they had a chance. Like their peers Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, R.E.M., Sonic Youth, and the Meat Puppets, the Minutemen built a large, dedicated cult following throughout the United States through their relentless touring. Like their fellow American indie bands, the trio was poised to break into the world of major labels in 1986, and they would have if it wasn’t for the tragic death of guitarist/vocalist D. Boon in December of 1985. Even though bassist Mike Watt and drummerGeorge Hurley carried on with FIREHOSE in the late ’80s, the legacy of the Minutemen overshadowed the new band in the late ’80s and early ’90s, as the San Pedro trio influenced several generations of musicians.

www.theminutemen.com

Santigold

soulrocks — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:40:07 +0000

As a solo project with a revolving door of members, the heart and face of Santigold is vivacious frontwoman Santi White. White and John Hill, her former counterpart from ska-punk band Stiffed, use their common backgrounds as production-savvy musicians to make bombastic, bass-oriented songs that fuse punk, reggae, grime, and indie rock with electro. Tribal island rhythms merge with flavorful digital chirps and blips, culminating in an original sound that is comparable to M.I.A. but draws from too many other influences to be considered just another M.I.A. knockoff.

While showcasing her array of vocal styles at a Stiffed show, Whitewas spotted by Martin Heath, who made her an offer to record a solo record on Lizard King, the label responsible for the successful promotion of the Killers. After failed attempts with a few mainstream pop producers, White and Hill (now calling the projectSantogold) decided to pair up with a crew of likeminded musicians — including Freq Nasty, Disco D, Switch, Spank Rock‘s Naeem,Xxxchange, Steel Pulse guitarist Clifford Moonie Pusey, and none other than M.I.A. herself.

In only three weeks, the full-length Creator was completed and scheduled for release in January of 2008, though it took until April for the album (retitled to simply Santogold) to actually hit shelves. Speaking of re-titling, White decided to change the name of the project to Santigold in early 2009 for reasons possibly related to an impending lawsuit from wrestler and “personality” Santo Gold.