La Machine- Carny 99 CDr (2000) + Fade Out 2001 CDr (2001)

 

Another of the bands/releases that inspired me to start this blog, LA MACHINE was a super stoned dub-rock Six Finger Satellite-orbit project with the core of Rick Pelletier (Six Finger Satellite, Chinese Stars) and Jon Loper (Made In Mexico, latter Six Finger Satellite), with a revolving membership including Shawn Greenlee (Landed, Pleasurehorse, 6FS also) and Dare Matheson (Made in Mexico, Laurels) among others. I saw these guys as a 3 piece in the early 00s with Greenlee playing basslines on the teensy tiny keyboard of a Roland MC-303 "Groovebox", which blew me away.
These guys didn't put out any "official" recordings under the name until 2013's "Phases & Repetitions" on John Dwyer's Castle Face Records, but self-released a series of CDr "LP"s in the early 00s, each with two long tracks of multiple strung-together songs in the format of the A and B sides of a record. Deeply baked dub-punk jams, saturated in echo and sqawking filters, glowing with the unmistakable sound of warehouse reverb.  Throbbing bass and synth over big-room drums, occasional vocals buried in effects, the odd harmonica disruption. Pretty much exactly what you'd expect of a dub-centric project from the parties involved, which I mean in the mostly highly complimentary way.
Amazing stuff that has pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth. No discogs listings, no Youtube tracks. This is why we're here. Download both, get ripped, fade out.

 

DOWNLOAD "CARNY 99"

DOWNLOAD "FADE OUT 2001"

Japanese Karaoke Afterlife Experiment MEGA POST (2003-2005)

Japanese Karaoke Afterlife Experiment. One of the top handful of bands I had in mind when I started this blog, and yet have dicked around and procrastinated about giving JKAE the proper treatment. Top-shelf drums+electronics/guitar masked electrofied spazz noisepunk in the classic early-00s style. Would fit perfectly on Load circa 2002-04 alongside bands like Neon Hunk, Fat Worm of Error, Total Shutdown, etc. Featuring Ren Schofield (Container/God Willing/Form A Log/etc) on drums n stuff, and Charles Lavendier on electronics, keys and guitar, who went on to play mousetronics in the last few tours and album with the White Mice (as well as a ton of other awesome projects).    Fucking fantastic stuff made by old friends during an extremely fertile period in space and time. This post was far too long in coming.

Included in the file are:
-my own rips of their first self-titled CDR (pictured at the top)
as well as the plain no-cover CDR labeled "1st Demo" (pictured at the bottom)
 -a 192kbps rip of their seond self-titled 3" CDR on the incredible Audiobot label, which is the same as the first self-titled CDR above, but minus the into and live tracks and including two additional tracks
-a 256kbps rip of the "Alive in the Electric Kingdom" CDR which features a lot of the same songs but with often vastly different recordings and versions

This is as much a complete discography as I've been able to piece together. There was also a collaborative CDR recorded with Unicorn Hardon and Knifestorm (which I will also be posting up soon), but this seems to be about it otherwise.
Enjoy a classic slice of early-00s Olneyville freak rock genius.

Check out "Laser Express Zone" from the self-titled 2004 CDr!

DOWNLOAD EVERYTHING HERE!!!!!!!! 

And yeah, it's a zip file with 4 other zip files in it. Cry me a river.

2016: I'M BACK.

Oh heeeeeeeeeeeeey.
Sorry for the year+ lapse in posts but I'm back with a vengeance and a ton of amazing rotting obscurities to share. This year has sucked on high gear, so it's time for some spreading of joy. I'm going to do some rebranding and remodeling here, and I think is going to go official with the Providence-centric theme, even if simply because it's what I know best and have the largest resource of.
Expect posts on the regular, starting momentarily with one of the prime bands that inspired me to start this blog. I've got a ton sparkling gems on deck guaranteed to either make or ruin your day.

Various- "Real Slow Radio no.2 - FAST" (2001)

 

Yet another installment of Mat Brinkman's Mish Mash Mush compilations, this time in the themed Real Slow Radio sub-series. The theme of this edition is FAST, so chew some Adderall and strap in for some off-the-wall hyperspeed freak noise hysteria in a mix of styles, from the usual MMMMMM mess of bands you knows and love, bands you've never heard of and bands that barely (if ever) existed. Plenty of exclusive tracks from familiar names on this one, like Lightning Bolt, Kites, Pleasurehorse, Olneyville Sound System, Mudboy, Libythth and Meerk Puffy. Lots of great stuff from more obscure locals (at least in 2001) like Curmudgeon Clique, Bug Sized Mind, Butcherings, and personal favorite Ninja Vs Wrestler.

As you can see, it also came in a sick silkscreened sewn-felt/ultrasuede sleeve. It was much less dirty looking 14 years ago.

MEDIAFIRE DOWNLOAD HEEEREE

Bug Sized Mind- "The Spider and the Fly" CDr (2001)

After two months of silence WE'RE BACK! Swinging back into action with an obscure Providence gem. Bug Sized Mind was (is?) Rich Porter, who went on to form Wizardzz with Brian Gibson of Lightning Bolt (on drums no less), and who has done time in Barkley's Barnyard Critters and Freak Zone (with Mat Brinkman and Leif Goldberg, who were responsible for some of the most chaotic and violent performances I've ever witnessed).
Bug Sized Mind was Rich's most consistent solo project, exploring the deep end of meticulously programmed digital electronics.  Sharp, jerky synthetic rhythms build up into kaleidoscopic masses of interlocking bleeps and squelches, violently jumping back and forth across the stereo field. The harsh panning make this something of a headphone nightmare, unless you're the sort of sick fuck who actually enjoys the sensation of insects buzzing in a mass around your head. The name Bug Sized Mind is especially fitting because this music is among the most overtly insectoid this listener has ever heard. Entomophobes steer clear, because listening to BSM is not unlike being swarmed by thousands of tiny laser-powered robot mosquitoes who've been rudely baseball-batted from their nest.
The only music I've ever played in the house that truly freaked out my dogs.

MEDIAFIRE DOWNLOAD LINK HERE

MORE COMING SOON!!!

I've fallen pretty behind in my updates here. Much more on the way soon, and at a less plodding rate.
Stay tuned!

Various- "5/02 aka Mish Mash Mush Maximum Mega Mix no7" (2002)

Now that the first 3 MMMMMM comps are up I can say fuck-all to proper sequencing and lay down a personal favorite in the series. This one is a straight banger. Exclusive tracks from Lightning Bolt, Pleasurehorse, Munch, Sinking Body, Ninja vs Wrestler, Noise Nomads, Kites, Hs Dom, and the funkiest Meerk Puffy track you've ever goddamn heard. Plenty of other great stuff such as Patootie Lobe from Forcefield, a rare sighting of Brian Chippendale's pre-Black Pus solo jam Lord Sun Son, Stereo Discount Center representatives Stuart Powers and Ferox Head, and plenty more I can't (or won't) identify.
As with most of these, there's no discogs.com entry for this, which I may have to buckle down and fix at some point. Until then you're going to have to settle for the barely-legible tracklisting photo below for an idea of what to expect.

DOWNLOAD THAT SHIT HERE HERE HERE

Various Artists- Mish Mash Mush Maximum Mega Mix Vol. 3 (2000)

After almost a month of silence we're back, completing the initial 3-volume cycle of the Mat Brinkman-curated Mish Mash Maximum Mega Mix.  A bunch more volumes would follow later (and are on their way to CDRchive eventually) but the first three were released together with the same ultra-basic jewel case packaging, rubber-banded or scotch-taped together as a bundle.
This third volume comes packing some solid star power, featuring future noise heavyweights Wolf Eyes (doing a live cover of "Wild Thing"!), Lightning Bolt, Forcefield and Magas, as well as Sinking Body (Neil from Men's Recovery Project), Morph Brinkles (Mr Brinkman himself), {Barkley's} Barnyard Critters (Brian Gibson's ultraviolent cartoon animal band) and a ton more. Bright-eyed synthpop, filthy tape noise, grimy dirge rock and lo-fi folk all intermingle in a gloriously unmastered mess of awesome. And as with the first two volumes, there's plenty of unidentifiably mysterious one-off weirdness to keep you on your toes.

History here, friends. Harken back to a time when any combination of these freaks could have shared a bill together, before underground niche-ism took over and fucked up everybody's good time.

Much more to come, sooner than later this time.

 

MEDIAFIRE DOWNLOAD WHATEVER SOMEWHERE DO IT

various artists- "Mish Mash Mush Maximum Mega Mix vol 2" (2000)

Second volume of Fort Thunder-related compilation curated by Mat Brinkman. Same simple, effective packaging as the first. Same mix of real projects and mysterious one-offs and jokes. Appearances from Landed, Pink and Brown, La Machine, Burmese, buncha Forcefield members, and the classic "Providence Place Mall" by Mr. Pipes.
Come feel the feeling.

MEDIAFIRE DOWNLOAD RIGHT HERE, BABY

Third Death- Thrash Out!!! cdr (2006)

Third fucking Death.
If you lived through this period in Providence history you probably still have two or three of these demos still lurking in your belongings somewhere. No one who attended punk, hardcore or metal shows around this time managed to escape leaving at least one show with a copy of this in their hand. These dudes were unbelievably prolific free-demo distributors, just walking through punk shows with backpacks full of these "Thrash Out!!!" CDRs handing them to anyone willing to take one. I was offered copies multiple times at a single show on at least one occasion. Which, in the end, was great because this shit is gold. Blazing fast, short n sweet blasts about skateboarding and eating pizza.
They released one amazing 7" on Pvd's Culture Void imprint as well as a three-way split with Hulk Out and All Those Opposed on Tor Johnson Records. And then kind of disappeared. I haven't done my research, and don't personally know any of them so I can't say what any of these kids went on to do after. Culture Void maintains Third Death's internet presence with this lil info page here:
http://www.culturevoid.com/ri/thirddeath.html

Seventeen songs in just over ten minutes of tight, fast-as-fuck skate thrash in the classic tradition. Super fucking awesome. GO!!!!

MEDIAFIRE DOWNLOAD HERE

Badman- demo CDR (2005-6?)

 

I'm happy to present something a little different from the noisier stuff I've previously posted. Badman was based out of Providence but members appear to have split time between Pvd, NYC, Boston and Denver. A few years back they were playing out frequently and getting great local press in anticipation of their debut full length slated for release on Providence's Corleone Records. Unfortunately the release date came and went with no album, and the band seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth, though at least one member went on to explore similar-minded ground (albiet instrumental) in the excellent Volcano Kings.
Badman took up in the fine lineage of the Gun Club, later Tom Waits, and most strongly the Bad Seeds and the bluesier moments of the Birthday Party. The vocals have a distinctly Cave-ian croon (in the best possible way) augmented by twanging slide-heavy guitar and a second percussionist banging on trash cans and scrap metal, recorded open and reverb-thick. Excellent songwriting chops, great production (especially for a demo, god damn!) and style for miles. I'm a sucker for a band that wears suits.

This was a 5-song demo CDR they were giving away at shows at the time. Absolutely amazing stuff, far exceeding what one would expect from such modest packaging.

MEDIAFIRE DOWNLOAD ---HERE---

ADDENDUM:

Just found out that they went and deposited a cleaned up version of this demo and what I imagine was supposed to have been their debut album on Bandcamp for all to enjoy. I'm still going ahead and uploading my rip of the CDR, so do whatcha feel. The bandcamp site also states that the group officially disbanded in 2009, so I guess that's the end of that mystery.

https://badmanmusic.bandcamp.com/

Tinsel Teeth- demo CDR (2010)

Some more recent history here with Tinsel Teeth's untitled/self-titled demo CDR from 2010. If you got to see them in their prime you know the deal, and if not you missed out HARD. They recently did an Original Lineup reunion show at Aurora in Providence that brought them right back to their half-naked blood-splattered glory.
I won't go on much about the band itself as there's plenty of readily available press online:

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2010/11/tinsel_teeth_pl.html
http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5822

This was their first demo. Six tracks listed, plus a "hidden" cover of "Negative Creep" by Nirvana. Handwritten track listing on the back and original art by Will from White Mice on the front.
Nasty, filthy shit.

 

MEDIAFIRE DOWNLOAD HERE

Mix Ape- Found In the Street Tape Vol 1 CDR (2004)

The first of many such posts of Mat Brinkman's multi-pseudonymous "Mix Ape" series. This first one was spliced together from "approximately 88 1 ft lengths spliced in no particular order" from "tapes/tape pieces found in Olneyville/Providence streets 199?-2004. 100+ tapes."
There ya go. 13 untitled tracks of precisely that. Heavy on the latin dance, hip hop and children screaming.

MEDIAFIRE DOWNLOAD HERE