www.tonyslug.com

Stupid me, totally forgot I still had this domain registered but never used it.
This is the place where I will be hosting/pimping/archiving my stuff for direct download soon.

Hang in there and thanks for stopping by.

for our turkish fans

Some nitwitz information in Turkish language.
here

Well,,

Disk crash. Hold on for tunes. Meanwhile, just in case..

Slug life

If I had gotten a (Euro)buck every time someone told me "Sluggy, you should write a book, man." I'd be, well, not RICH rich or anything, but I could probably pay the rent for um, a month or two. Yes as all starving and misunderstood (f)artistes, I am struggling to get by, and should get another 20 scene points that alone.

Usually I respond "What the fuck for ? Who is gonna give two shits ?" and shrug off the wack idea of becoming one of those pompous "I was there in 1983, man" P-rock writers. I mean there's quite a bit of self-serving bullshit being published in the "punk books" department lately.

Well, then over a few months my girlfriend persuaded me and I got off my lazy ass and got to reminiscing and scribbling down bits and pieces describing some of the more comical and absurd adventures and situations on the road with B.G.K., the Nitwitz, Loveslug and Sonny Vincent. In at least 12 different countries. With theoretically makes for a better read than "I was a mohawked dumbass in Buttfuck Montana in the 80's".

While at a distinctive disadvantage (writing in a language that is not my mothertongue), not to mention my drug addled brain (alcohol damages the brain) and putting the bar pretty high, I hope to eventually turning raw words and incoherent brainfarts into something I can be proud of.

"Will it be as cynical and bitter as your grumpy self, Sluggy ?" you may ask.
Aw, hell yes. Expect many well-deserved ass kickings delivered to the behinds of those in the music industry I've been unfortunate to have delt with !
What I write will be 100 % true. OK, maybe 95 %, with 5 % added for comical value.

But it will also be funny.
No Pullitzer Prize or Oprah's book pick of the month type stuff, but I hope to document things that have been completely ignored by the mainstream press in this country, and maybe capture the early-mid 80's zeitgeist in Continental Europe and the US.

I realize that no matter WHAT I do, some people who shall remain unnamed here will criticize me for this narcissistic self-glorification, lack of continuity, no plot and aww my pussy hurts... but fuck them. I will expose the whole bunch of them for what they are. Katharsis, baby.

But my main objective is to provide an enjoyable read for anyone who is interested in "old school" punk rock/hardcore/rocknroll.

Things are still in embryonic stage so just wait.

Scott Morgan interview

The following interview with Scott Morgan was first published in glossy Spanish rockmagazine RUTA 66 and snagged from the I-94 bar in translated form for inclusion in the pages of SLUGTRAILS for it's archiving/educational/trivia nerd value. Plus the fact that I get a stiffy from seeing my own name in print somewhere on the interwebs.

The Hydromatics hardly need an introduction for patrons of the I-94 Bar. If you haven't tracked down their latest album "Powerglide" through some European mail order shop, you're not trying. Fronted by Scott Morgan, formerly of the Rationals and Sonic's Rendezvous Band as well as a solo performer in his own right, and crewed by Europeans Theo Brouwer (bass) and Tony Slug (guitar), their numbers included moonlighting Hellacopters frontman Nicke Royale on drums, before he gave up the stool to Michigan's Andy Frost. Imbued with the spirit of Sonic's Rendezvous band (whose songs pepper their set list) and an equal part of Detroit R 'n' B, they're one of rock and roll's best kept secrets. With two albums under their belt and a live release in the pipeline, our Italian correspondent ROBERTO CALABRO caught up with Scott in 2002. Here's the result.

How and when did The Hydromatics start?

In 1998 I met Nicke Royale when the Hellacopters first came to New York. I became friends with him and the rest of the band and travelled with them on their U.S. tour. After we played Chicago he called Tony "Slug" Leewenburgh of the Nitwitz in Amsterdam and suggested we all record together. Tony enlisted Theo Brouwer on bass and a recording session was scheduled with Evert Kaatee at Yland Studio in early 1999. We each contributed two new songs and also recorded songs by Sonic’s Rendezvous Band, MC5 and Ricky Carter & the Weathervanes. Tony christened the album "Parts Unknown" and it was released by White Jazz Records later that year.

What have you done between your first and your second album?

After the recording in Amsterdam, I went to Los Angeles and played with my friends the Jones Brothers. We played at Spaceland with Wayne Kramer and did a recording session at the Beach Boys' old studio called Fourth Street now. It was Brothers studio when they owned it. We recorded Al Green’s "Full Of Fire" and my "Endless Summer". "Full Of Fire" is included in the Real-O-Mind release "Medium Rare". The vinyl version to be released on Munster has "Endless Summer" as a bonus track.'

In October '99 the Hydromatics toured Europe with the Hellacopters and Zen Guerrilla. Other than jamming with the Hellacopters in New York and Detroit, and playing a bit around Detroit, I didn't do much more than write new material in 2000. In 2001, I started by touring France and Italy with Deniz Tek and Sonic Assassin. Then I flew from Rome to Amsterdam to record "Powerglide". We did a Hydromatics European tour just before the release of "Powerglide" on Freakshow Records.

Why did Nick Royale leave the band?

Nick is pretty busy with the Hellacopters. He suggested we find someone else. I had been jamming with Andy Frost in Ann Arbor for about six months and now he was perfect for the job. I actually told him he was hired just before I left for the tour with Deniz.

Let’s talk about "Powerglide". It’s a great album perfectly balanced between a hard-rock side and a soul-oriented one. How did this kind of album come out?

I’ve always been a big soul music fan and I’ve been trying to blend it with the rock and roll. This time I decided to put in a heavier dose of soul and I think it worked out well. We even added a psychedelic soul bonus track "Starvin' ". That one reminds me of "Calling Lwa" on "Parts Unknown". It's a vodoo song to call up your patron spirit.

What are the main differences between "Parts Unknown" and "Powerglide" for you?

I think the extra soul influence is one difference. I wrote more of the material this time also. We added the background singers on this one too, and I think that added a lot.

Why on the new album did you decide again to play a bunch of Sonic’s Rendezvous Bands’ numbers?

On "Parts Unknown" Nick and Tony wanted to get studio versions of Sonic’s Rendezvous Bands songs that had only been recorded live. "Powerglide" continues in that tradition. This time we added two Fred "Sonic" Smith songs that we had done on "Getting’ There Is Half The Fun", the Rendezvous Band live in Detroit with Deniz Tek on Real-O-Mind Records.

Apart from the old SRB songs, are the other tracks new or do they come from different periods of inspiration and composition?

I wrote "Ready To Ball", "R.I.P. R & R", "Soulbone", "Tumblin Down", and "Green Eyed Soul" in the time I had off in 2000. Tony and I wrote "Powerglide" together.

What are your fave songs on the new album?

I’m very happy with the album as a whole. All the songs have their own merits. I think live and on record "Ready To Ball", "R.I.P. R & R", and "Soulbone" are naturals. As an album track "Tumblin’ Down" with the singers and horns arranged by Thijs Willemsen is undeniable.

Last year you released a great album titled "Medium Rare" that covers your career from 1970 to 2000. Can you tell me something about that release?

My friend Geoff Ginsberg at Real-O-Mind Records came up with the idea. He took all my unreleased tapes home with him and came up with a track listing that we edited slightly. It includes the last song the Rationals recorded in 1970 plus three songs from our reunion in 1991. It also included three of the recordings from the L.A. sessions. The rest are demos recorded over the years.

And what about the "Sonic Way Live", the last year European tour with Deniz Tek and (three members of) Sonic Assassin?

Deniz and I arrived at De Gaulle airport last March. We took a bus to the train station and had to run with all our gear to make the train. We arrived in Montpellier where we met Rauky (singer for Sonic Assassin, nda) who drove us to Sete. Then we went straight to rehearsal with the Pasquini brothers Romano (bass) and Pippo (drums) and Stefano Costantini (guitar and driver extraordinaire).

In France we played Toulouse, Theirs with the TV Men from Brittany and Puffball from Sweden and Niort where we recorded the gig. Then we head back to our base in Sete for one day of much needed rest before the overnight drive to Italy. In Italy we played Foligno with the Loose. Then we drive way down south to Calabria. When we finally arrived at Marzi, a small village near Cosenza, we entered town in the evening and the police pulled us over. It turns out they wanted to give us an escort into town. When we arrive at the outdoor concert site, we are greeted by the mayor.

The gig was great and it was also recorded for future release. Then we played Pescara and Rome where we recorded again but unfortunately the tape was stolen. All was not lost as Sonic Assassin knew a guy with a studio in the country where we transferred everything from Niort and Marzi to disc. We did some work on the tapes in Capena outside of Rome and Deniz did some more in Montana later. [ED: It will be issued in 2003 on Career Records.

After that, we hung out a few days with Romano and Pippo from Sonic Assassin, then I said goodbye to my friends and was off to Amsterdam to record "Powerglide" with the Hydromatics. I enjoyed my stay in Italy as I did France. I hope to return again with the Hydromatics.

www.answers.com on Scott | Scott on last FM

Travelling Dingleberries

Stay tuned for more Slugrock shortly, folks.

Hydromatics rarities

Previously unreleased Hydro stuff. Some of these songs were recorded during rehearsals for the "Powerglide" album (2002) while some of the other material was recorded live. Don't ask me where or when, though.

• »Asteroid B612


• Dangerous


• Earthy


• RIP RnR


• You're So Great


• Tumblin' Down
>

ROCK ME
password : slugtrails

Nitwitz Videos

Some Nitwitz-as-a-threepiece vids from 2006, with Mikey Offender on bass and the Gadge playing drums as per usual.

Holy Sheep - Someday's Too Late CD (2003)

Holy Sheep were a fun band from Leon, Spain. They asked me to produce them, when I was there. Which means this release is worthy of inclusion in the shit-stained pages of these vaults of woe known as Slugtrails

.

Having the weakest links in the line-up (bassplayer and drummer) lay down the basic tracks by themselves in a room the size of a shoebox wasn't my idea, I like it LIVE, and things became a ramshackle affair more than once, but oh well. Despite the somewhat limited vocabulary/command of the English language ("Spanglish") of guitar tandem Natalio and Jorge, I immediately recognized these young dudes charisma and knack for writing a killer hook. In addition I wanted to let their keyboard player, Irish ex-pat (and future Nitwitz driver!) Eugene McCarthy shine through on a few of the songs, which not everybody in the band agreed with. He is an amazing musician and really adds to the overall sound though.

So, anyone who'd like to familiarize themselves with Spanish rocknroll music would probably be well advised to check out this album by the Holy Sheep. Then move on to Torazinas, Senor No, N.C.C., etc ! Lots of cool stuff going on down there folks.
This thing came out both in LP and CD format.

GET IT | Holy Sheep Myspace | Holy sheep Video

Big Paulus - the big ripoff CD (1999)

lookee here, another record I play on.
Cross fertilisation continues as Theo Brouwer (Hydromatics, Nitwitz, the Kliek) and Frank Sloos (Loveslug /Treble Spankers) punk up tacky/(un)funny/cool etc soul/disco/pop/glam covers in Big Paulus, calling it "tune recycling". Pretty silly but kinda fun for the occasional party I guess. Especially after smoking many a blunt, like those two Cheech and Chong looking stoner knuckleheads.
They picked a few tasteful covers though ! When they asked me to play a lead or two and do some backup singing just for fun, I was like, yeah, whatever, why not. It ended up on this CD which came out on Bask records in 1999. So make of this shit what you will.

pass:slugtrails
GET IT

01) My pledge of love
02) Theme from S.W.A.T.
03) My Coo Ca Choo
04) Hooked on a feeling
05) Theme from MEdical Center
06) What good am I without you
07) Portobello MArket
08) Across 110th street
09) Gonna fly now (theme from rocky)
10) Mr. Blue Sky
11) (Intro and Countdown) Are you man enough
12) Action
13) The Girl with the sun in her hair

Buy some Big Paulus shit

Nitwitz first EP 1980

Just in case : This thing has been bootlegged a ton of times and from what I understand, there's all kinds of constipated "collector" nerds / knuckleheads out there paying 4-500 bucks and up on Ebay.
OK so only 750 copies were pressed but it's still ironic,
a) given the prominent "maximum price" message on the sleeve, roughly the equivalent of 2 US dollars.
b) that the recording budget for making this release was about $ 250
c)let's face it, IT'S JUST A PIECE OF PLASTIC.

But hey it's a free country.
Anyways, this was recorded early 1980. We were 16 years old and I'll go on record here saying we wanted to play fast LONG before it was cool.
And the proof is in the pudding.

 The Nitwitz, 1980 : Tony, Eric, Marcel, Steven

GET IT

live Loveslug 1989 (Unreleased)

Here's 3 Loveslug tunes recorded live in Germany in 1989. Previously unreleased. Taken from cassette tape.

- Charlie
- I want you right now
- Killing for company

pass:slugtrails
GET IT

live B.G.K. 1985 (unreleased)

 B.G.K. live in Berlin, 1985

3 B.G.K. tunes recorded live in Venlo, 1985. Previously unreleased, taken from cassette tape source and, ahem 'mastered' by myself for oomph. No overdubs. The real deal. And this, people, is fucking BAD ASS. It rocks.

- Arms Race
- Bite the hand (that feeds you shit)
- Crime pays

pass : slugtrails
GET IT

Sluggy interviews "Terrible" Bob Schreiber for CARBON14

Not music, but interesting ! This interview with MMA legend Bob Schreiber was published in the great CARBON14 mag out of Philadelphia.

"No place for a streetfighting man" – the Rolling Stones
"Free fight, that's pussy stuff. Cage fights are where it's at.No rules only, of course,"

No one in their right mind would take such a bold statement seriously. Unless, of course, it comes from Bob Schreiber. A.k.a. Dirty Bob, Bob Schreiber of the Netherlands is a total hard-ass with a never surrender attitude. Boasting an incredibly succesful career in international M.M.A. (Mixed Martial Arts), his favorite style is fighting in a Russian cage without any rules, where head butts and other unorthodox techniques are allowed. This is clearly a man on a mission, and that mission is : KICKING THE WILLY DILLY TURTLE SHIT out of the opposition. Charging at his opponents with the fury of an enraged rhino, administering series of lowkicks powerful enough to fell an oak, the 233 lb. athlete's bone shattering punches have roughly the same effect as a wrecking ball dropped on your ass from high altitude. When that hammer comes down, dude, it's hard to stop. And I'll bet you half my record collection that your toughest buddies will drop a pound of patty in their pants at the sheer sight of this man. Although Bob is a TRUE legend among Martial Arts fans, it is a little known fact that the Multiple World Champion Free Fight was, in his younger (and I DO mean younger!) days, back in the late seventies, guitarist for Dutch uber-punks JESUS AND THE GOSPELFUCKERS.
This group did not only have the best bandname around, they also out-heavied all their peers, including yours truly (it pains me to say) . Think : the first DISCHARGE releases but 2 years earlier. The criminally underdocumented outfit from Amsterdam featured Bob's older 8 foot something brother Fred, and later Tos Nieuwenhuizen from the WHITE LINES, who went on to join FUNERAL ORATION, GOD., and is now in SUNNO))) Eventually, JESUS AND THE GOSPELFUCKERS morphed into AGENT ORANGE, (not to be confused with the Californian band of the same name) and their only legacy is the mercifully re-issued 1982 demo on Kangaroo Records.
It hardly captures the ferocity of the GOSPELFUCKERS early days, but it's better than nothing, and still castrates the opposition (despite the crummy graphics). After Bob had left the band, the group went nowhere, exploding like an off-course spaceshuttle , in a haze of enough drugs to make MOTLEY CRUE look like a straight edge group.
Well, Bob and me go back a long, long way.
No more guitarplaying for him, as he's broken just about every joint in both hands too often, on too many jaws. What makes this man tick ? And what will be left of me after the interview ? It's time for talkies ! Also present is Bob's wife, reigning world champion muay thai boxing, Irma "the Gladiatrix" Verhoeff.

Bob, the first time I saw you must have been mid 1978..

BOB : Christ, you remember that, really ?

remember it well. You were playing guitar for JESUS AND THE GOSPELFUCKERS.. At that time, the singer wore a priests outfit, and on stage he carried this stage prop around, an enormous cross with It had a life-sized, three-penis having crucified Jesus Christ effigie dangling from it. And in the middle, where the beams of the cross connect there was a round hole, big enough for the singer to put his head through. It was a real funny sight !

BOB : Really ? That so ? Jesus Christ man, you're right ! I can't fucking
believe you remember all of this, Tony ! What was that singer guy's
name again ?

Peter Paranoid or something. It was, like, a punk guys name.

BOB : Oh yes, shit..that's right !! Hahahaha ! Oh, man.

TONY : Now I don't mean to sound like, Sigmund Freud, but how did it all start ? How did you, as a young kid end up in a heavy punk rock band
back in in 1978, at the tender age of 12 maybe 13 years of age ?

BOB : Stoned as hell ! Well..OK, now you're gonna get a real sad divorce story...! See our parents divorced and the judge decided that my brother should live
with my dad, while I had to live with my mother. And my brother and me, we're like two peas in a pod. To this very day I never understood how the judge could decide anything to tear two very close brothers apart from one another during such difficult times when he should have kept things together. For our sake. Both of our parents where too much involved in their own trip to care, so my brother and me, we went our own ways. Back then I was doing really bad in school, you know what it's like..Smoking in the boys room, drinking beer when I was ten or eleven years old. Stuff like that. But in the weekends, me and Fred would hang out together, and we thought it would be a great idea to start a band. There was a little bit of punk stuff on the radio, we had heard a few records, the Sex Pistols, Stranglers.
In hindsight that was all fake punk, but what did we know ? My brother is musically gifted, I'm not, he plays the piano, and everything.

I remember Fred was known as someone who "could play", he could play leads ! A virtuoso ! But in retrospect, all he really did was pull up the G-string !

BOB : Haha..Yeah ! And we all thought it sounded great, right ? Then we worked for a while to generate funds to buy equipment with and started the band. Every weekend we would practise. And our first gig, god, when was that ? We called that place...the "ice palace".

TONY : It used to be a punk rock club called "no name", right by the royal palace..

BOB : Yeeeeeah. At the time the venue was still downstairs. So we did our
first show there...That's how we met...Christ, what were those guys
called again..? There was one Amsterdam band called INFEXION, and the
other one was called..?

TONY : The Bugs ?

BOB : (laughs) yes, that was them ! You're very well informed ! So the Bugs
said, why don't you guys use our rehearsal space. Down on Sarphatistraat. What was the name of that squat house again ? the Chaos House..?

Yeah.

BOB : So we moved our equipment there, and in the weekends we'd stay over.
And eventually my brother and me decided, fuck it, we're not going
home anymore, might as well just camp out here. I must have been maybe
12 years old back then. And our parents didnt care, anyways. It was
easier for them that I guess. So we never really saw them anymore. Me
and my brother talked about this later, how could they not even bother
about what we were doing and how we were doing ? Well, maybe they
did..I don't know.
TONY : Now you have children yourself I can imagine that would make
you wonder...
BOB : Yeah ! I don't want my kids end up doing the same jacked up shit that
I did !! (laughs)..
TONY : Dude, whereas the first wave of homegrown Dutch punk bands, The Speed
Twins, Panic, etc. may have been great in their own right, and some actually made great albums, basically they were semi-established musicians who cut their hair and tried to make a buck with punk rock. Then the generation after that, from 1978 on, the second generation, which was us, was punk kids who started playing music with no musical knowledge, experience or background whatsoever. Now a lot of the stuff
at the time, such as the EX, was all, ploink ploink, about being innovative and experimental.. But the GOSPELFUCKERS rocked really hard. What I'd like to know is why did JESUS AND THE GOSPELFUCKERS were so much heavier and faster than the other local bands of the time ?
BOB : We never thought of it that way. We didn't think we were heavier than
the others...But my brother and me have always been competitive and
really into fighting. Nowadays I can channel that in a more positive
way, that's why I have my own gym now and stuff...I turned my hobby
into my profession, hehe. We come from Haarlem (town 10 minutes west
of amsterdam) and we hung out with these guys..Man, these were
maniacs, total nutcases, who used tons of drugs, and were drunk all
the time. So these guys were a pretty dodgy. This may have been one
the reasons we were a bit rougher and maybe more streetwise than other
bands.
TONY : My band did a benefit for the Gospelfuckers in 1979 or so, because
their equipment had allegedly been stolen or something... And rumor
had it that Fred had simply sold the equipment, Raked in the insurance
money, and then organised a benefit gig !
BOB : Nonono, that is not the way it went. Look, this is the truth : There
was this three day punk rock festival for which we provided the
backline for all the other bands to play on. And the first day was
cool, but the second day, shit got totally out of hand. All these
local farmer yokels had come down from villages far and wide to beat
on these "punk rock freaks". And people from both sides ended up in
the hospital, trashed pretty severely. Then was riot police involved,
all kinds of stuff like that. So the next morning we discovered those
guys, the ones who had fought the punks, had broken into the venue,
and those motherfuckers completely destroyed our drumkit, amps etc.
Cut up every damn speaker in our cabinets. And then the local
authorities cancelled the rest of the festival.
TONY : I remember that. Law abiding citizens must have thought some biblical locust plague had descended upon them. Crazy haired freaks in leather jackets just everywhere, having sex in the open right in old people's rose gardens, oceans of puke, piss and beer everywhere. It was like, hello ! Armageddon just moved into your quiet rural town...
BOB : Hahahaha ! Yeah, Because punks had come from all over. From every part
of the country. By train ! And of course by the end of the night
everybody was too drunk to find their way home. they missed the last
train so the village was flooded with drunken punks. I remember having
about 30 people stay over at my mother's house which she did not like
one bit.
TONY : Say goodbye to those family jewels eh...? There was a lot of aggression directed towards punks back then. I can remember one time once you and me walked around Amsterdam and suddenly we find ourselves getting chased by 20 guys who wanted to kick our asses. Then we ran a few blocks down to the nearby squat house. I thought, "whew, sanctuary, we made it !" but all you wanted to do was get your
nunchakus !
BOB : To fight !!! HAHAHA ! Yeah !!! I always had them with me but maybe not
that particular day.
TONY : Hahaha that's right. Oh, man those very good times...
IRMA : he still knows how to use them !
TONY : Here's a picture of you and Fred, ca. 1982 from the Paradiso Stills book by Max Natkiel, where you have your nunchakus..The look on your face. You look possessed, man !
BOB : Hahaha, yeah !
TONY : (leafing through the pages of the book) Look how messed up everybody
is, ..All.. so whacked out.
BOB : Me and my brother did every damn thing God forbade... Heroin, speed, LSD, you name it, we done it. But we always managed to keep our drug habits in check somehow. Seriously, we could control it. After we had been on heroin for 2 or 3 days, we could just not touch it, leave it alone for another two or 3 weeks. But the people around us couldn't do that and most of them became addicts. Some lost their minds. Then it was just awful. I think everybody from our house was a junkie at some
point. But me and my brother just wanted to see how far we could take it, but we never became junkies. And when I was about 16, everything fell apart. I was in trouble with the police, you know ? Because I stabbed someone and made a shish kebab out of that guy. So they put me in prison. For quite a while actually. And when I got out, I got a job in a factory, melting copper. So the judge had told me to do something with my life, and channel my aggression. So I figured maybe I should
join a gym to practise judo and karate. But back then I was still smoking, drinking and doing a lot of drugs.. Dude, I snorted everything people put in front of me. And suddenly I noticed I wasn't quite as in shape physically as the other guys at the gym. Then one day I decided to quit all drugs. And I never touched any dope after that, ever. From that moment on I was completely focused on the sport.
TONY : Is there truth to the story you were kicked out of the band because
you were always too stoned ?
BOB : One hundred percent TRUE !!! (laughs)
TONY : That's ironic, and a paradox, even, given the Gospelfuckers later, let's say, preference for chemical inebriation. Some years down the line they had quite a few songs about drugs, and they certainly weren't "straight edge" anthems.
BOB: I was the first one in the band who starting using dope. This is back in the early days of the gospelfuckers, Fred began doing dope years later. He had envisioned himself to become a rockstar, of sorts. He thought there would be this "great musical career" for him somewhere down the line.
IRMA : And he's still trying !
BOB : But I discovered, very early on, that music was not my calling (laughs) . I always thought the band was a big joke. Just something fun to do for a while. So when they kicked me out, it didn't matter much to me, I didn't give a shit really, hehe
TONY : Do you remember that one time we played together somewhere in the rural south..Early 1979 maybe. And we all got arrested ?
BOB : Haha, that one I sure remember. Yeah, a motor cop pulled us over and found a bag of speed...So we had to get out of the truck, and there's like 30 people piled in the back, sardine style. "get out !" and More and more punks kept stepping out of the van, and the guy is like WHAAAT ? Another one ? ANOTHER one ? So when he called in reinforcements and they searched the truck, there's drugs, just EVERYWHERE, tons of it ! Weapons.. blackjacks, brass knuckles, knives... "Who does this belong to ? whose is this ?" etc. Nobody said a thing, naturally. (laughs)
TONY : Fun times ! The cops let us go, eventually. I suppose it was too much
hassle for them to deal with 35 drug crazed punkers from hell.
BOB : All they wanted was to get back the equipment from the club that we had stolen. I think we took a record player, maybe an amp and some speakers. Nothing big. No big deal.
TONY : Apparently the christians in the city council strongly opposed a
concert in their town by a band named "Jesus and the Gospelfuckers". It became political, and that was a pretty big deal.
BOB : Hahaha, for reals ?
TONY : Oh yeah. So, another anecdote., several years later, you came down to see
BGK, and we ended up in a local bar having a few beers, which ended up in bloodshed as well.
BOB : Hehehe, I can't remember that.
TONY : Everytime you finished your beer you threw your glass against the wall, shattering it. So at one point the bar owner, who was enormous, stepped up to you and went "Hey ! Stop that".
BOB : The man was right. Sure I can understand that.
TONY : You just said "stop what ?" while shattering another beerglass on the
wall. I cant remember how it ended up, but I'm pretty sure you stomped his ass and that there was an ambulance.
BOB : Hahaha, maybe I did. I can't remember.
TONY : You have to admit you were quite a bar brawler in those days.
BOB : Aww, fuck yeah. Sure. Always fighting…Man, ALWAYS ! I was fighting and fighting, whereever and whoever I could. My whole life has been about getting into fights anyways. Also in my later career as professional fighter ! Let me tell you, I don't go looking for trouble anymore, but I sure as hell ain't gonna step away from it either. No way. (laughs)
TONY : Like Elvis said "if you're looking for trouble, you came to the right place".
BOB : Fuckin A, that's right. For instance just last week Irma and me went to a movie theatre to watch a picture. We're the only people in the theatre except for a couple of guys, one of which was really, really big. And of course they're gonna sit right smack in front of us. Irma asked, politely, if they'd mind finding other seats, because, you know, the dude is so damn tall she can't see the screen. Then he goes "My ticket has this row and chair number on it. forget it, I ain't moving nowhere, and I'll stay put, bla bla." I say, "What's your deal, guy ? There's 200 empty seats to choose from." Next thing this fucking, giraffe looking asshole tells her to "shut the hell up" and flips her the bird. So there we go again ! Right in the cinema. (laughs)
TONY : (laughing) So you two whupped those guys asses ?
BOB : Of course we did ! Punched them all over the place..
TONY (still laughs)...Oh man, hilarious...
IRMA : Well, we gotta watch each other's back, you know ? heh heh
TONY : hehehe, those guys were messing with the reigning world champion muay thai and multiple world champion free fight.. Okay...Sounds like they got their 8 bucks admission worth..
BOB : We don't mind doing a little stomping here and there, hehe
IRMA : It's actually kinda fun to beat the crap out of some numbnuts when they ask for it.
TONY : Are you still interested in music at all ?
BOB : Yeah, a bit.
IRMA : When we hang out with Fred and he puts on this old punk it's like "yeah, this is cool" !
BOB : he's got wall to wall CD's, classic, rocknroll, punk rock. When he plays a punk rock record, I can't recall the bandname but I recognize the music right away, from the UK Subs to, what have you ..But at home I play different types of stuff these days. I like quiet and mellow stuff, lounge music. Because it relaxes me, I don't need loud fast music to get all worked up and aggro, like I used to. But
I'll still rock to old Iron Maiden or a good dose of old fashioned punk rock once in a while.

TONY : How's Fred doing ?

BOB : He's good.
TONY : Nice. So if we leave the musical part , and fastforward 15 years...Suddenly
you're top of the bill in the international fighting scene. And I'm like, WHOA ! And now for a, ahem, real stupid qeustion, can you explain in a nutshell how all that
happened ?
BOB : Same as my whole life story ! It's simply a gigantic, endless laugh ! All tied together by stupid coincedences and chance meetings. I went to this gym, did a little more of that, started teaching martial arts, so eventually I ended up at a renowned dojo in Amsterdam (Mejiro Gym). This led to tournaments and competitve fighting. And I'm liking it. It kinda went by itself, in a way. So I got really into the free fight thing, M.M.A, (Mixed Martial arts), and began fighting in Japan, which
went really well. Besides, I've always been an entertainer in some way. I want to give the audience a good show. I just love to be the centre of attention (laughs). When I enter a room, people will know I am there. People say I'm cocky, but..
TONY : You're just an outgoing kind of guy. You have been called flamboyant even ! Your routine before you step in the cage and all...
BOB : I took me a long while to prepare that, you know ? The audiences do appreciate it. Thing is, as soon as you're one cut above the rest, half the crowd will love you while the other half will hate you. But here's the catch : the people who hate you will also still come see the fight, because they want to see you lose ! And once people are talking about you, the whole thing grows, and it gets bigger and bigger. Also, because I have never ever EVER walked away from a fight. I'd take on anyone anywhere.
TONY : Bob, you are a maniac ! (laughs)
BOB : Haha, sure enough !! Dude, I have fought MONSTERS. And after those fights my damn head would be fuckin… pulp ! But for some reason I high threshold of pain, and can withstand a great deal of punishment, both physically and mentally. Plus I never give up. I'm used to fight ever since kindergarten. It's a natural thing for me. Then fighting back in the punk rock days, and I'm in the ring, or a cage, with a referee who'll stop the fight when it gets outa hand, hey, what's better than
that ? (laughs) And I have fought eight or ten dudes at a time when I was younger, four of them would be armed. So even though I'd get stabbed, I'd put a couple of those fuckos in the hospital. And afterwards it was like "hey let's go party, have a few drinks."
TONY : Uh-huh, that's how I remember you …
BOB : See, it's all just a big laugh to me. I don't give a damn. So next, people go "who is this lunatic ?" and talk about it. So then promotors want you to fight at their events. It came to a point where I was fighting every single free fight event there was, at least in Holland
IRMA : And getting paid for it
BOB : that's right. Getting paid for doing what you like !
TONY : You can't beat that ! So you're known as a bit flamboyant, I mean, everyone knows you're a tough, but not a particularly stylistic type of fighter. You just..get the job done. The other guy goes down. That's all.
BOB : That's right.
TONY : So how did you get your nickname "Dirty" Bob ?
BOB : I'm known as Bob The Terrible in Europe, while in Japan and the US they call me Dirty Bob. Because I'll do anything to win the fight. So, if during a match I
find myself thinking "this is not really going where I want it to", I'll stick a finger in a guys' eye. If that what it takes..(laughs out loud). So that may explain the nickname. Because I've sure as hell done that more than a few times, hahaha !
TONY : haha, I read you've also clobbered opponents after the bell rang...Stuff like that.
BOB : Yeah, heheh. I'll do whatever it takes. An little extra bonus after the bell, hahaha.
TONY : This one's on the house, eh ?..Do you mind having these, negative nicknames ?
BOB : I don't care what they call me. They can call me whatever they want.
TONY : How do you prepare for a fight ? You must train a lot of course, but do you
have a special diet maybe ?
BOB : Never. No diet. I train a lot, of course, but I never passed up a beer. Nothing like that. I like my beer. An I'd eat junk food too ! This of this has just been one endless joke. See how far I could take it.
TONY : So you don't analyze your opponent, by watching videos of their fights or
anything ?
BOB : Nothing like that. Once, I had to do a fight for some American promotor, he goes, your opponent is, you know, just some karate guy, wanna fight him ? It was just one week's notice so I'm like sure thing, I'll take him on. No problem. And I've always liked to drink my beer. So I get there and this guy, he's is a fucking MONSTER. He was HUGE, very strong, fast, so when they announced him it's "in the red
corner, world champion this, world champion that , fought here, there, this guy fought that guy, black belt bla bla." I'm scratching my head, going hmm that information is kinda new to me. (laughs) So that made for a REAL MESSY, very bloody fight. Simply becuase I don't give up. I keep on fighting guys like that. I never surrender. Never, ever.
TONY : Wow. And in such a profession as yours, how does it all work with medical insurance papers and things like that ? I mean, this is dangerous shit...
BOB : I never had anything like that. At one point I was working as a doorman, for a very, very dangerous joint. Together with my pal from the Antilles who is a total psycho too. Money was good, but you just spend it. I always lived from day to day. Kinda stupid actually. Even when we got children . People would go , are you ready for a child ? Are you sure ? I say, there's only two things that are certain in life
: that you pay taxes and that you'll end up in a box. And I still live like that hahah.
TONY : So you're fighting for the world title free fight and you get a really,
terrible terrible injury.
BOB : I've had all kinds of injuries..
TONY : I meant your ankle injury ?
BOB : I just kept on trucking and even did a few matches, with a shattered ankle, yeah.
TONY : Jesus, that's not normal, Bob.
BOB (laughs). I know it's not normal, but I have this laissez faire attitude. Everything is all a big joke to me.
TONY : No way you didn't feel that ankle, man.
BOB : Of course I did. But pain dosn't really bother me. I mean I can feel it, but I can somehow push it aside. If I don't feel like having pain, or don't have to time for pain, I simply don't feel the pain. But it came to a point I needed surgery badly, else the whole damn thing would have been pulverized. It still bothers me a bit to this day, actually.
TONY : God damn. You had to adapt your training schedule I would imagine.
BOB : That too. Same with my back injury, I've had a very serious operation in my backbone.But I kept on fihting for three years with a severely fucked up back.Most anyone else would stopwhatever they were doing and say "I can't go on with this pain"
TONY : There seems to be this pattern, you want more and more, expanding
your boundaries, see how far you can go. From Judo, karate, kick boxing, muay thai, then free style,cage fights, all this...You keep raising the bar. That has to stop at one point. Physically, for one, because you're not getting any younger...
BOB : I've reached my limits. I have now retired from professional fighting.
My last fight was a year ago. All kinds of people organised this farewell party for me but I don't give a fuck about any of that shit. As long as I get paid. I was 40 years old when I ended my career. And 40 which is not all that old in a human life, but in ahletics and sports it's very, very old. Now you see these hungry lions about 20-22 years of age...Like my wife fought her last match 2 weeks ago, defending her world title, and she is 40 years old. And this Croatian girl she fought is 22. Someone who is 22 years old recovers MUCH more easily from punishment than someone who is 40. Is in beter physical shape. This girl was very tough.
IRMA : But she didn't beat mama !
TONY : ..Hehehe..
BOB : Nope. She didn't beat mama.
TONY : Congratiulations again Irma. Awesome ! So Bob, What's your favorite discipline or style ?
BOB : Hm, that would be punching. I like to administer a good pummeling. Punching is good (smiles).
TONY : So you're not too fond of, say, groundwork ?
BOB: Nah, Cuddling on the floor stuff ! That's not my thing. Sure I can do it, and reasonably well. If an opponent is stupid enough to give me an arm to play with, I'll put a lock on it and twist it right out of the socket. Sure. But a good pounding to the melon is my favorite technique.
TONY : You go for basic raw power..
BOB : Yeah, sock it on their noggin. Boom !
TONY : Okay, so I Saw footage where you fight this Russian giant, and even though you did win the match, right before he went down this thunderous left elbow slipped past your defenses and hit you right in the kisser..
BOB : Yeah , and ?
TONY : Well, I was baffled to see such devastating blow didn't even phaze you at all. An ordinary person would at least go down KO at such punishment.
BOB : Maybe he was the guy who broke my jawbone. I saw it coming, and could heard my face break, like CRUNCH ! I could feel how this side of my face just caved in, right here. My skull was all shattered to hell.
TONY : Holy shit dude.. that's brutal.
BOB : A lot of people ask me how I do it. I don't know. It's not like I don't feel the the pain, because, only afterwards. To me, pain is just another an emotion. for example, when you have itch, or when you cry, laugh, those are emotions. And you can suppress them. Tell yourtself : Don't scratch that itch...Come to think of it, surpressing laughter is much more difficult than suppressing pain..(laughs).. It's just... I have some kind of ability to flip a mental switch, so that physical
pain doesn't bother me much.
TONY : If you only could market that ability..
BOB : But I couldn't explain to you how I do it, I just know I just block out the pain.Once you're older you make up for it in experience.
TONY : Irma, you won just about everything there is to win...
IRMA : Yeah, Dutch championship, European title, world title, three times.
TONY : Impressive. And now you've retired.
Irma : yes
TONY : Congratulations once again ! What better way to end a career than on the summit. So I understand you guys go to Russia a lot...How did that start ? Does it have to do with the fact cage fights are illegal here ?
BOB : First time I went there was to do a bare knuckle cage fight tournament. That means, anything goes, and contestants don't wear boxing gloves or anything .So, I ended up winning that tournament. Irma had to duke it out with some enormous Russian what was she ? She looked like a big horse. Irma kicked the living SHIT out of that bitch. So Irma ended up also winning the tournament , too. Then one thing just led to another.
TONY : WOW.
Irma : Next month we're going to Novosibrsk in Siberia with a couple of our fighters, our pupils.

Nitwitz Video 2004-2005

This is on a mondaynite on tour somewhere in Germany.

Paul Smith - vox, guitar
Laurent van Bouvelen - bass
Tony Slug - guitar
The Gadge - Drums

Nitwitz Tour Diary 2004 (?)

I made this for VPRO Dutch radio ca. 2004. Sorry it's in clogspeak but some Dutch readers might get a chuckle or two out of this. Translation follows here on Slugtrails.
LINK

V/A 100 % Dutch punk and hardcore bootleg CD

What we got here is a couple of multi-bootlegged already 45's taken from the "Feel Lucky Skunk" bootleg and both "Als je haar maar goed zit" compilation LP's which were released on our own Vögelspin label in 1980 and 1981. A collection of liquorice allsorts.
Strangely some Dutch classics like Speed Twins, Helmettes and Panic are painfully absent ! You're better off getting the "I'm sure we're gonna make it" comp. (for instance here)

The thieving bastards who put this out "are doing it all for the scene maaaan" took the trouble to manually erase the pressing plant ID with an engraving pen on every copy to cover up their tracks. They however did NOT go through any trouble to enhance the sound quality. So the sound isn't too hot here. In addition, the cover art sucks a fat cock.

Guys : Yo if you're gonna bootleg my shit, at least make an effort.

I'm putting this up for grabs here because I'd rather have the music trickle down to
the people who want to listen to it than have some anonymous scumbags make money off it. Yeah, fuck you punk guys and your goddamn "hardcore distro", assholes.

PART 1
01) Ivy Green - another subculture going down
02) Nitwitz - He was OK
03) Rakketax - Van Agt
04) Tits - We're so glad Elvis is dead
05) Amsterdamned - Ballroom Dancing
06) Pistache BV - Blind en Doof
07) Nitwitz - Artificial Smile
08) Outlawz - Dummy
09) Rakketax - Desert
10) Frites Modern - Deo Volente
11) Rakketax - Vacuum
12) Amsterdamned - Traditie amme ballen
13) Pistache BV - Philips
14) Outlawz - General
GET IT

V/A deathrattle and roll (re-up)

Very cool compilation with tracks by both the Hydromatics and the Nitwitz. Released 2004 on Wondertaker Records.

Part 1
Part 2

320 kbps
pass:slugtrails

Consultants - practise 8/2009

First Consultants rehearsal in 10 months. The song is called "Loaded". Apologies for the crummy sound quality.

Paul Smith - bass, vocals
Marky Vim - guitar
Burn Harper - Drums
Tony Slug - Guitar


Spy Satellite


PICK UP THE DEMO
Consultants Myspace

V/A live at the subsonic vol. 3 (2003)

Third installment of the "Live at the Subsonic" series with a Nitwitz track, recorded at the (Doh) Subsonic, Montpellier France ca 2002. I can't remember the band line-up, which changed every single year. Alcohol damages the brain. Another Nitwitz tune recorded at Subsonic ended up on "Deathrattle and roll" from the great Wondertaker Records label out of San Francisco.

01) American heartbreak - superstar
02) Los Bastardos - Rocknroll asshole
03) Church of Confidence - (Whatever happened to) west berlin
04) Cowboys from outer space - waiting for your love
05) Darlington - Gisele and me
06) Dumbell - suicide bullets
07) Lost Disciples - Strange kind of magic
08) Neurotic Swingers - speed drinker
09) The Nitwitz - Landmine Heart
10) Polyplush cats - Rain
11) Sonic Assassin - Set My Brain on Fire
12) Starshit - Midway Motel
13) Streetwalking Cheetahs - Freakout Man
14) The 1's - I like drugs
15) The Apers - It's OK to hate me
16) Les Jakes - Do you wanna be a jake
17) The Undead - Slave to the fashion
18) Weak - Denim demon

320 kbs
pass : slugtrails
ROCK ME

BUY from LolaProduct in France and tell Sylvie I sent ya for a croissant.

Vim - Give Sleaze a Chance (demo, 1991 ?)

Vim (the band) started ca. 1990 as a side project from Loveslug's notorious guitar weirdo Oekel, who decided he wanted to "play lead solo's" and it dawned upon him that was definitely not going to happen in Loveslug. Hence, Vim was another sprig on the family tree.
On vocals : Alex Vimski, true pioneer of shock rock. owner of a permanently sweaty bulbous snout, a belly the size of a sea turtle, always sporting leopard print suits and silver platform boots and "holdin'".
On guitar : Marc Vim whom I briefly played with in the ill-fated Freeloaders and as an acoustic duo the Calcium Brothers. Marky is currently also in Reputation, the Amsterdam Mofo's and the the Consultants). Owner of the Vim and owner of an incredibly amazing social calendar.
On Drums : Mikey Louder, self-admitted former nazi skinhead, and owner of two blossoming cauliflower ears.

A cast bound to be a glorious little freak show.

 Marky Vim, Scott Morgan, Nicke Hellacopter and Me ca. 2002

So when Marky Vim asked me to join them on bass for a show, I said "sure, why not".(Oekel, who requires mucho attention, was against it initially, but reluctantly agreed).

POWDER TO THE PEOPLE !

Some of Alex's quaint hobbies included reading the works of ancient Greek philosophers (in ancient Greek that is) by candlelight, hosting cocaine-and-booze-soaked basement freak sex orgies (don't ask), and whipping up some serious bad ass potions like Papa Smurf. This psychedelic punkaroo treasured his "bottle of death", a flask of doom filled with an undescribably vile and evil concoction, containing no less than 8 or 10 hallucinogenics, various opiates, stimulants, and other mind altering substances.
In his never-ending quest for "the perfect high", he carefully mixed the precious ingredients in ever-changing combinations, but always in sufficient quantities to zonk out rhino populations across the Serengeti Desert.

Seeing that chunky assed mega freak on LSD, teetering around in suede platforms, rolling around in broken glass screaming about eating out menstruating women (an activity which he, even when sober, claimed to sincerely enjoy), well, OK. Maybe you had to be there to think it was funny.
Use our imagination !

It was what I'd call


Our crowds weren't punk rockers by the way but bikers, housewives, stoned tourists and illegal immigrants. Nobody knew WHAT THE HELL was going on.

Vim did only a handful of shows to my recollection. We recorded one demo by bribing the engineer into free recording time with drugs (hey, it wasn't me), to the point the poor bastard got so paranoid and terrified he actually left town in fear of his life. I am not making this up !

Of said demos, the master tapes have, of course long disappeared.
But this demo is made of pure awesome.
For starters I'm pulling some serious John Entwistle shit on this motherfucker. Then there's the ouchy lyrics : If you can't handle Parental advisory" type lyrics, palsyfolks : Now is the time to walk away and get yourself a Dr. Pepper. But anywhoo, this comes from a (second generation ?) cassette tape that had the words "second unfinished mix" scribbled on it in sharpie.

Enough of my silly shit, let's get to the free shit. For your Saturday pleasure, I give you : VIM - GIVE SLEAZE A CHANCE demo (1990 ? 1991 ? 1992)

ROCK ME ! (pass : slugtrails)

- MUFFDIVE
"Lost in in a loveclench 69, smelling urine, brine wine divine. Dirty minds and dirty sheets, I'll show you where the Hershey highway leads"
- TRASH COMPACTOR
"Lice on her butthairs, pus ran from her cooze"
- RIVER
"You'll get your breakfast from my ass"
- BANNED (IN AMSTERDAM)
"I pissed in your beer and I fucked your wife"

And remember, folks :

some old Nitwitz flyers

B.G.K. video

This is in Venlo, Netherlands, ca. 1985. I will uploads more from this show soon(ish).

B.G.K. videos

There will be NO B.G.K. reunion so I guess you're gonna have to make do with this scarce and crummy video footage. This is from a 1986 in San Francsco.

B.G.K. computer control

Somebody put this on Youtube. The track was recorded at Oktopus studio's in Amsterdam for the Maximum rocknRoll "Welcome to 1984" compilation which you can pick up nearabout here. This album which was re-released on CD format a decade later (Could I get a copy, pleeez ?)

Loveslug video 1990

Loveslug perform "Slap Your Slug" in Utrecht, Netherlands 1990.
I think we opened for L7 that night.

site update

Hello people,
Sorry about the time lapse and lack of posts here. I've been travelling all over the US the past weeks (from Olympia to Cleveland) and am currently back in Amsterdam where I am trying to get my shit together. Or fuck some shit up. Either one.

Coming soon (as soon as the dust is settled) :

• Loveslug Live + demos + radio stuff


• B.G.K. the 3d unreleased album


• Nitwitz "Sex Lies and Duct Tape" Raw mixes


• Loveslug "Beef Jerky" Raw Mixes


• B.G.K. live 1982-1987


• VIM "give sleaze a chance" demo (Loveslug shoot-off, ca. 1988)


• Hydromatics TONS live

All rare/unreleased/exclusive material and as always, for FREE ! Hope you'll enjoy listening to it. In addition I should also be scribbling stuff for a, ahem, book (no shit freaks) and for what it's worth, shall share miscellaneous brain farts and anecdotes with anyone who gives two shits.

So, thanks for stopping by, your patience and rock the fuck on.

Your pal,
- Sluggy

WTF ?

Somebody stole my domain name. He only has 2658 other domains
http://whois.domaintools.com/slugrock.com

Nitwitz 'videos' 1981

I don't know who uploaded this but it's definitely me playing bass on "I'm so lazy" (taken from "wielingen walgt!", re-released on "I'm Sure we're gonna make it" and bootlegged on "Killed By Epitaph"



"Security Service" taken from "Als je Haar Maar Goed Zit (vol.)" released in 1981, the fastest 4/4/ drumbeat evahhh to my knowledge.


Another song from the same compilation.

B.G.K. - video

 B.G.K. live at the farm in San Francisco, 1986.

The above clip appeared (be it in far better quality) as part of a VHS video release titled "Farmcore" or something, documenting "the Farm" venue in San Francisco.
Btw this footage is from 1986, NOT from 1987 !(We didn't tour the USA in 1987.)

Hydromatics bio

Taken from the Suburban.nl website :

The Motor City of Detroit and Europe's own Murder Capital, Amsterdam, collide in the lethal combination that is the Hydromatics, a trans-Atlantic rock 'n' roll outfit that brings together members of the Rationals, Sonics Rendezvous Band, Nitwitz, Loveslug and B.G.K. Hellacopters frontman Nick Royale and Tony Slug from Amsterdam's punk veterans BGK had planned to do a side-project since 1996, with the intention to record a demo with their cover versions of songs by their favourite group, the criminally under-documented Sonic's Rendezvous Band.

Still unnamed at the time, the recording project was put on hold for several years because of the Hellacopters' relentless and time-consuming touring schedule. BGK guitarist Tony Slug got Sonic's Rendezvous Band founder Scott Morgan in touch with the 'Copters, and after they met each other, the only logical next step would be a cooperation between them. And so it happened. Ever since, Scott has performed vocal duties on stage, recorded with, and written material for the band.

During the Hellacopters second visit to Detroit, Scott was glad to accept Nick Royale's offer to participate in his side-project, and it was him who came up with the band's name. With the addition of ex-Nitwitz bass-player Theo Brouwer, the Hydromatics were born. In February 1999, Scott and Nicke flew to Amsterdam where the band rehearsed for a mere six days, working on a live set as well as material for a full album. With only three gigs in small Dutch venues under their belt to try out, the Hydromatics managed to gel together as a tight and solid international riffing unit, as demonstrated by the band's debut album "Parts Unknown.

With Scott's soulful vocals sounding as fresh as ever. Nicke's 'School-Of-Keith-Moon' style drumming provides high-octane Rock Action thunder with Theo Brouwer's rock solid bass playing, and Tony Slug ripping the place to bleeding shreds with chainsaw guitar, the right chemistry was there for Sweden's renowned White Jazz label (Hellacopters, Nomads, Turpentines, Gluecifer) to put out "Parts Unknown".

Receiving rave reviews both from the mainstream press as well as from underground rock publications worldwide, the Hydromatics succeeded in documenting the legacy of the Sonic's Rendezvous Band as accurately and true-to-the-original as it gets, at last, and 20 years to date, the material proved to have passed the test of time, royally.

But the Hydromatics do not aspire to merely be another reunion/cover band that needs to rely on nostalgic sentiments. Besides the four Sonic's Rendezvous Band covers, Scott, Nick and Tony each penned two originals for the album to make for welcome variety. From the haunting sounds of "Calling LWA" to blitzkrieg riff-o-rama of "Valentine Frankenstein" or "No Justice (In Rock'n' Roll)", it's all high-energy rock'n'roll the way it was meant to be played and sound.

Then there is a (previously unreleased) cover by an obscure Detroit group called The Weathervanes and concludes with a wild rendering of "Baby Won't Ya" by the legendary MC5. The latter band of course featured guitarist Fred 'Sonic' Smith, who would later form Sonic's Rendezvous Band with Scott. Although the Hydromatics made a good solid studio album after practising for six days, after six weeks on the road with the Hellacopters and Zen Guerilla they had turned into a lethal rocking monster. What the band was capable of on stage can be heard on the upcoming live release "Fluid Drive", which is to be released in 2004. The six-song mini live album, accidentally recorded off the board in Freiburg, Switzerland, is the real deal, with no overdubs or fancy producer tricks. It's a pure adrenalin rush from the very first second to the last feedback-drenched note of the glorious Sonic's Rendezvous Band anthem "City Slang".

After the tour, Nicke Royale decided to part company with the band, as his career with the Hellacopters no longer allowed for double tasking with other bands, (much less bands of which all members live in three different countries). Needless to say, finding a suitable replacement for Nicke was a hard task to accomplish, but a young talent from Ann Arbor named Andy Frost (right), who had only recently had started playing with Scott in Powertrane, turned out to be a godsend, and capable of just that.

In May 2001, the Hydromatics got together in Amsterdam once again to record their second full length offering in Amsterdam for Italian label Freakshow. Well over one hour long, "Powerglide" features seven Sonic's Rendezvous Band songs, as well as seven new ones. Augmented by horns and female back-up vocals. "Powerglide" is a rare mix of soul and rock energy.

Unfortunately, the demise of the Freakshow label means it's difficult to find, but the Hydromatics plan to put a third studio album down whenever their schedules allow.

Also imminent is a month-long 2003 European tour which will include dates with Wayne Kramer and the legendary Radio Birdman. Early 2007, after a three year break, Tony Slug and Scott Morgan started planning a new Hydromatics record. Within a few weeks, Australia’s Kent Steedman from the Celibate Rifles and Dutch powerdrummer Ries Doms were recruited for the recording sessions. The Record is scheduled to be released through Suburban Records in September. A full European tour is scheduled from September 19th till October 14th 2007

B.G.K. - a Dutch feast

The Alternative Tentacles website blurts :

Dutch punk; the glory years! Their entire discography collected, the double LP is finally back in print! These Dutch punks offered one of the most furious and intense displays of hardcore the world has ever seen!

Damn straight. I wrote all those furious and intense songs because I'm a furious and intense guy. See, that's me pictured on the cover. OK, I was still a handsome young lad in 1984, sporting stylish European headwear. Even though I did not posses all my Super Slug Powers yet, I still got more pussy than Joan Jett backstage, while you and your friends were getting clowned by the doorman.

I'm not too wild about the title the folks at Alternative Tentacles conjured up for
this project, but nobody asked me, so what can ya do. What the hell is a "Dutch Feast" anyways ?

Released in the year 2000 as double album and in CD format, it is, as the title suggests, a retrospective, and contains the third official re-release of Jonestown Aloha" (1982), "Nothing Can go Wrong" (1986), the multi-bootlegged "White Male Dumbinance" EP from 1984, all in one handy package, with a few tracks taken from compilations like the (also multi-released) "Welcome to 1984", and "P.E.A.C.E" record thrown in.

All this seems to imply that people do want to listen to this stuff, and that we were doing somehing right back then.

 In pre-photoshop/computer grafix times, flyers looked like this.

 Some B.G.K. flyers on my wall. Click to make them big.

If anyone wonders why the sound differs slightly from the original vinyl : the original master tapes had been gathering dust under a beat-up couch in various
freezing cold squathouses for 15 years or so before being shipped to California on
orders of Jello Biafra himself (pictured below, yelling along at our 1984 San Francisco gig). Apparently Mr. B. was able to take time off from his relentless "spoken word" tour schedule to personally re-master all this shit proper in a studio.
ROCK ME, AMADEUS
Alternative location

---

WHO WANTS TO BUY A BRIDGE ?
Amazon
Artistdirect
CDuniverse
Rhapsody
Emusic
Whoa damn, this thing is for sale all over the interwebs !
Excuse me while I whine but goddammit, IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL BITCH IF I WANT TO.

See, when the author, performer and rightowner of the songs, who has busted his ass year after year after year playing them on tour, namely ME, gets nothing, Nada, zilch, niente, ZERO, once again, it does not make him, the starving (f)artiste
feel like a happy camper, but embittered like a dog, who never gets his day !

In all honesty, Alternative Tentacles were much fairer in their dealings with us
than other record labels, but then again that doesn't say all that much.
The band did get some funds eventually. Nothing like the amount we
should have gotten, as far as I can tell, but it's the thought that counts.

And seeing as how we already donated the entire proceeds, i.e. our share from the "Nothing Can Go Wrong" album sales on A.T. back into Jello B.'s "No More Censorship Fund" in 1986 for some reason, it was about time I got a little bit of
dough at last without the band deciding it should be donated to a "good cause".

If you must know, it was enough to take the other guys to a nice restaurant and pick up the tab for everyone.