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Rather Be Birding

Plenty of beatings and bashings, more than a few close calls and near death experiences in past decades, yet here we are ... Punk perseveres! 50(something) and as strong as ever. Born of necessity and it's never not been necessary since. More so now, than perhaps ever. Beit in the name of protest, awareness, community or catharsis, punk provides a place for us all. To quote my dear departed friend Todd, "It's my one true love and favorite place to go". I can recall doing similar such projects to this for Punk's 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th and 40th anniversaries. Those first few were done on cassette no less, long before it was hip or kitschy. Whilst most lovingly compile their fav's from the years prior to these milestone markers, I really like to examine more current sounds. Not to say entirely new bands, in fact this collection features artists and outfits from all five generations of the genre. Rather Be Birding is largely street punk and oi!, though there'...

Shadows Of Love

I'm gonna do my best not to gush like a little school girl here but it won't be easy. I don't make a habit of keeping score but I'd be full of shit if I didn't acknowledge SNUFF as one of my favorite bands of all time. Few bands -- let alone punk ones -- are as multi-faceted and diverse as this one. Drawing just as much influence from punk luminaries No Means No and contemporaries Leatherface as they do from The Bangles, Marvin Gaye, Slayer, European folk music, British telly adverts, and nearly everything else under the sun. Which also makes them one of the coolest cover bands in the business, hands down. They started out in 1986, releasing their first of more than fifteen full-lengths in 1989 and though they broke up twice, chief arranger, songwriter, singer, and drummer, Duncan Redmonds, gifted us with well received similar side projects in the interim. Guns N Wankers filled the void for their short split in 1993-95, then after the split in 2004 he formed Billy ...

All Night Long

Quite possibly the greatest gunk band you've never heard of!!?? On one hand, in the PNW garage punk bands are a dime a dozen, on the other hand however, The Spitfires ' live show quickly became a thing of legend. For a decade or so these seasoned road warriors laid waste to countless stages up and down the west coast -- and beyond -- becoming hometown heroes in the process, and inspiring a number of bands who have obtained greater notoriety. They recorded several albums and singles, mostly self produced. Like most punk rock of this pedigree and era, The Spitfires sound lands firmly somewhere between AC/DC and New Bomb Turks. Their gigs (beit a big stage or in small smelly basements) always had an air of volatility about them, like it could all just go right off the rails at any moment. Yet somehow on the cusp of chaos, they'd capture lightening in a bottle, snort it back with a couple whiskey shots, and well.... spit fire! every. damn. time. I really miss this band! The Spi...

No More Waves

Fairly sure the first few times I heard Smogtown was late 90s / early 00s via Duane Peters' Disaster CD compilations, definitely sure that I didn't like it ... at least not those selections, or at that time I guess. It wasn't until they'd announced their split in 04/05 that I really became acquainted with them. My bud Barry was a big fan and lent me their modest stack of records after ripping them one afternoon. So very glad I got a second chance with these lads. It was refreshing to hear an Orange County outfit channeling the local sounds of yesteryear (early TSOL / Vandals vibes) but with enough of their own bravado and brandished edge to distinguish themselves in a scene swamped with pretenders. I was gassed when they reformed a couple years later, releasing an EP on TKO Records with announcements of an album soon to come but sadly by "soon", they meant nearly 5 years, at which point many fans had already written them off. However, during that stretch and ...

Templars Take On The World

Keep your cold punk, I want me some Orwellian Oi! Templars out of Long Island, New York are one of very few third generation outfits to be revered with the same regard as their pioneering predecessors, and rightfully so. Carl and Phil pay homage while crafting an authentically original sound. Often imitated, never duplicated ~ TEMPLARS f'n rule OK! Templars - Take On The World [Anthology 1992-2025] (PukeGreenPinto 3X-PGPR-004) 101 - Templars - 2015 - Living On The Outside (Randale 7" RAN-204) (Templecombe 7" TC-689) 102 - Templars - 1997 - Make Your Mark (Dim CD DIM-051) (GMM CD GMM-190) 103 - Templars - 1999 - Enemies (GMM CD GMM-175) (Templecombe CD 670) 104 - Templars - 1994 - Computerized Workforce (Vulture Rock LP VOLT-6) (Acre LP ACRE-1) 105 - Templars - 1994 - Hopeless (Step-1 Music CD STEP-052) 106 - Templars - 1993 - Who's The Real Threat Now (Sonic Aggression 7" SA-003-07) 107 - Templars - 1996 - Skins And Punks (Do A Runner! CD JOG-001) (Go-Kart C...

Never Made It

It now seems only appropriate to kick off this little endeavor with the aforementioned Peter & The Test Tube Babies . Still gigging in 2026 and led by the same core pair that started the group back in Peacehaven, East Sussex circa 1978. Most people categorize the Test Tube Babies as punk pathetique and in all fairness, they have a great deal of material (including more recent recordings) to support that classification. However, they really are just a multi-faceted band with a strong sense of self, a wild sense of humor and see no sense in limiting, labeling or censoring themselves. I think they're just punk AF ~ always have been, always will be! I've been a fan almost 40 years to the day and I still can't make it through a week without a dose. Peter & The Test Tube Babies - Never Made It [Anthology 1979-2025] (PukeGreenPinto 2X-PGPR-002) 101 - Peter & The Test Tube Babies - 1991 - The Gardener 102 - Peter & The Test Tube Babies - 2011 - Youth Of Today 103 - ...