SLUGGISHA #1000 - THE 1000TH BLOG POST!!!!!

This is the 1000th post on this blog! Sluggisha Tapes started as an afterthought ,in 1990. There were local Ft. Myers ,FL bands in the mid to late 80's ,that started the Sluggisha asthetic.When Cat Machine ,and before them ,Myopia ,began their reign of underground terror ,the decision was made to start a mail order cassette label. We ("we" being myself,Joel and Tony Rizzo,Billy Drake,Shane Carwile ,Chipmonk,and others from our contingent) ,were recording so much ,and had so many spin-off bands going on all the time ,that we knew people had to hear it!The orders slowly trickled in (I met Food Fortunata around this point(a friend to this day) ,(who was doing the same thing as us),thru mail ordering cassettes from his vast catalog,and then I realized there were others like us,many,many,others!) ,I ran ads in Maximum Rock 'N Roll and Flipside ,and we flyered the town ,each time we had a gig.Cat Machine only played out live twice ,neither time were we recorded.Myopia played a whole mess of gigs ,and later One Fell Swoop had a residency as the house band (we broke open downtown ,for all the bands that followed) ,at The Draft House ,on Dean St. Even further down the road ,Sexboy took up residence there,and brought lots of out of town bands in to play with them.We had Salad Days (later to become reborn as The Indigo Room) ,and The Main St. Coffee House ,and Samskull moved his store ,Offbeat Records ,to the Patio DeLeon! We had local zines ,Rodent Cake ,Psychotic Episode ,Mad Asshole Digest ,and tons more ,many of which are ,or will eventually be ,posted at my other blog , Mediachrist.blogspot.com .We were young ,and drunk ,and having fun.Eventually in the late 90's ,I had to move away ,and the scene crumbled away.A few years ago ,I started the blog ,because I knew all my bandmates would wanna hear the old stuff ,and I was the only one who had the tapes ,so I began to chronicle our days as the kings of the underground scene ,in our small ,shitty ,town.This compilation has many unreleased tracks,live tracks,demos,unreleased ,and soon to be released ,and/or posted. There are 122 bands/songs ,almost 6 hours of fun! I unfortunately could not include every single band or artist on the label ,but I did a good job I think ,along with suggestions from friends and followers. This goes out to Gary and Rick at the Draft House , Cindy at The Coffee House ,Ralph at the Record Trader ,and all the fans and friends and bands ,and all the people we lost to death,jail,marriage,and long distance moves. We started out in the old days ,now everything is on the web ,these kids today got it easy ! Three zips in one file ,spans rock n roll ,punk , diy,alt-rock,indie,tardcore ,noise ,and just good 'ol music .The first pic above was the original logo ,as drawn by Steve Reed (I added the Sluggisha Presents ,and #1000). The one below it is the latest ,and it's on a t-shirt! Get yours today for $10 postage paid!!


CLICK HERE:
http://www.mediafire.com/?f3td3iswo3ik9

WHORESHACK - Whoreshack 2 , But Not Too Whoreshack

This is the second recording from the instrumental trio. Although on this round ,from tracks 5 onwards , has special guest guitarist ,Steve Reed ! Kinda like the Ventures , if they were raised on punk and metal music. The only vocals here are imitations of Arnold Horshack , plus 3 covers of , Flipper , The Stooges , and Fear ! And a bunch of idle chit-chat at the last track. And an acapella rendering of the theme song from the Welcome Back Kotter TV show. Recorded live at the Bakery , 3/16/1993. The next post of this band ,will be their first album ,since we worked backwards in succesion. Then after that ,there will be a special posting of their appearance at the coffee house ,with Big Bong Theory ,and Conveyor.
CLICK HERE:
http://www.mediafire.com/?xcc46y4p4ya16oy

KELTON THE COP / CRISWELL

This spooky single, from stars of Ed Wood movies,was put together by Dionysus Records,in 1995.The Kelton side is a story song,and the Criswell side is weirdsville,daddy-o!More stuff for that Halloween mix tape!
CLICK HERE: https://archive.org/download/KeltonTheCopCriswell/502KeltonTheCop-Criswell.zip 

CAT MACHINE-Kroonchy Stars All-Loser Jam (We Suck, We Know It,And We Don't Care !)

The third tape from the "mighty" Cat Machine,is the core group of Tony & Joel Rizzo,Ed Wood (me) and special guests for the full duration of this outing are Chuck Connell,Billy Drake, and Vance Burdge.A lot of noise is kicked up,some real speaker shredding tunes,these are.There are a few early versions of songs that show up a few tapes later,sounding more song-like,specifically,"Plastic Jesus","Shit On A Stick","I'll Brain Ya !",and,"Whiskey For Lunch". Then a few more tapes after that,you have different versions of these songs : "Gov. Bob","Who The Hell Is Me Again?","Shit Lipstick", "36 Cents","Her Husband Was There",and "Lon Chaney Jr.'s Dead". Another few songs from this release appear on later tapes,in tweaked forms.Chuck holds down a lot of the jams,with his bass expertise,and Billy tears off a few good riffs.I noticed i did most of the vocals,but i think some of the other guys do some too.This is a great live document,recorded as most of the "Machine's" tapes were,direct to boombox.We did a lot of 4 -track recording,as well,but more sporadically than the live tapes,which averaged 1-2 ,90 minute tapes a week !Some of this may be harmful to pets and other living things,beware!!!
This was recorded on October 8th,1990.
There are two files cause it was so big,Make sure to get both parts for the full effect!!

CLICK HERE FOR PART ONE:http://www.mediafire.com/?4eu8dam5qb4yl3q

CLICK HERE FOR PART TWO: http://www.mediafire.com/?touodhh1441w78m

CAT MACHINE - 2-eaten alive by wild dogs

On this second tape,Oct. 2nd,1990, we kinda jam like the first tape,there is the original version of "Queen Turd Of Shit Hill",which sounds nothing like what it ended up to be.There is also a second version of Queen Turd here,which does sound like an embroyonic version of what became a live staple.We cover the Stooges,then I went to pick up our special guest for this tape,Chuck Connell.While I was gone,Joel & Tony tore off a really cool,spooky little refrain titled,"One Creepy Little Town",about life in the FTM.It is the mellowest song here,as well as the quietest.Yes there is much feedback noise,of the grunge variety,like Jesus Lizard,or somethin'.When Chuck joined in on this tape,(he's here for half the tape),things,suddenly picked up,into an almost different band.We all take turns singing,even Chuck.Some highlights are,"The Mighty Cat Machine" , You're So Contrary,Chees'd Psychic Ya" , and one of our many shining moments,"Come Hang With Me".Chuck plays the bass,like a son-of-a-gun,he is the bassmaster!The next 4 tapes in this year long series,are not dated,but in exact position in the masters vault,as the day they were recorded,so they are in order.I'll post one per each Friday in October,which is probably about right, as the next dated tape is 11/10/90 .Anyway,get this,give Chuck praise in the comments(he plays bass on tracks 12 thru 22),and don't forget,the Cat Machine tribute comp,which I think I may wait till next year,when this series runs out,and all the tapes are posted,and you'll be able to learn any one of our hundreds of songs,and send it in for the tribute post!! Enjoy this. Chuck is moving back to the FLA !!! living just 30-40 minutes from me,we will be working on lots of music together!

CLICK HERE:

http://www.mediafire.com/?z259qtbo7ur5yxz

CAT MACHINE-live at the hair ball/3 dead mice e.p.

Today is the 20th anniversary of Cat Machine.The first tape,presented here in it's entirety,for the first time ever,was recorded on 9/25/1990,in the living room of what later became known as,"Cat Machine" house,it belonged to Gramps,Tony and Joel Rizzo's grandfather.The first eight songs comprise the "live" part of this tape,and consist mostly of instrumental jams,but there are some vocals on several songs.We were mainly just getting to know each others styles on this one,and it started as it remained for the complete tenure of the "Machine",a 1-2-3-go! style,where one guy would come up with a riff,and everyone else would follow.All the songs on the live segment,were spontaneous,and improvisational,with no overdubs or edits.There's a song on here,to try and cash in on the dance craze (of the early 60's),"Do The Scab".It never really caught on.The last track,"3 Dead Mice",is Tony,Joel,and I,all reading from different books,out loud,at the same time.

The e.p. titled,"3 Dead Mice",has 4-track recordings,done on the same day."Throw It To The Dogs",starts out with a mean dog growling,evilly,till the music and Tony's vocals kick in.One of our biggest hits,and a staple of our live sets,the second track,"Crazy Mary",is about this old cat lady that lived in one of the rooms in Cat Machine house.She had tons of cats,and was indeed,crazy.Kind of a weird,surrealistic view,of what she probably was thinking.Some of the lines,are things she actually said."86 Tony",is a take-off on one of the boy's earlier bands who did a tune called,"86 Whitey".And the final track is the one from whence we got our name."Cat Machine",is what the title says.We took a bunch of Crazy Mary's cats,put several in each of three pillow cases,and put the microphone by the sacks full of kitties.No harm was done,the cats sound angry,cuz they were all together in a pillowcase,like humans crammed into an elevator.Later,when we were thinking of a name for the band,I suggested it,because before we put the cats in the bags,I said,"Hey let's build a cat machine"!.Ifigured we could record it for the e.p.,didn't think it would end up being our name.The art above is the earliest logo and poster(dated 10-3-90) available,and was later used on a flyer for a live show.The tapes never really had art,so i will be adding some kind of picture to each release.This is the beginning of a year long series ,where i will post each tape on the date it was recorded,20 years ago.The second tape will be posted on ,October 2nd,2010.For more info,check out the lengthy post"Cat Machine-The Mystery,The History,and Shit",with a career-spanning 10 disc cross-section of their work.Also see our greatest hits compilation,wherein songs that were on our set list,are compiled,"Litterbox".Pleas leave comments,and wish Cat Machine ,a happy anniversary.!!!

Also for anyone out there in a band,or working solo,I am currently working on a tribute to Cat Machine,and would like you or your band's renditions of our songs.Contact me thru the comments box below!!Thanks, G O D

CLICK HERE:

http://www.mediafire.com/?0dm423cykuxmb23

FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEOS!!!!!!!!!!!

2 more from the cat machine reunion jam,sexboy at the county fair,and ed wood waxes prophetic!

LATE NITE VIDEO!-EPHEDRINE SYMPHONY AND ED WOOD!

the kings of late nite gigging,ephedrine symphony here with a reading of a tesco vee piece.ed wood reads a one fell swoop lyric

ED WOOD ---- SPOKEN WORD MASSACRE

more solo projects,as i,under the guise of "ed wood",so as to avoid persecution under the law for free speech,do some spoken word.not to be boasting or anything ,but ask anyone from the old scene,and they will agree,i hope,that i was the catalyst that got downtown going,to what it is today(sorry).i got rick,owner of the draft house at the time,to let our band,one fell swoop play there,when no one was playing downtown,and then by reading poetry between or after bands(when gary had the draft house),i got the whole poetry slam thing going and then the coffee house opened(thanks to cindy bruce),and everyone tried to follow suit.most poets were reading lame love poems,and celebrating the most boring poetry of all time.me, i was more confrontational,mostly reading lyrics to songs by bands i was in,some of which are hilarious,some serious,and some got peoples blood rushing.i would say what everyone else was too scared or embarrased to say,but wish they could.this is not all of my spoken work ,but about 10 choice picks of gigs from the coffee house,the draft house,pathfinders(thanks linda),and a studio piece.you'll also hear a few moments from sean mcardle,and red head nikki.vance plays guitar on session 10,i did all backround music for track 11,and i accompany myself on several acoustic numbers scattered throughout.no track lists,but i usually say the title before each piece,also each track is a whole dated session.a couple of times the people running thangs tried to censor or stifle me,and wait till you hear the results!folks in an uproar over the pictures i paint in their brains,get 'em thinkin',then they get mad!no one can top me.this one strange character would show up unannounced,and take the mic from time to time.he wore a cape and some sort of bird mask with a beak,anyone know this man's identity?i never solved that mystery.but anyway here i am in some of my finest moments,i cover lydia lunch,nick cave,henry rollins,emilio cuberio,and other famed poets.i always listened to william s. burroughs,ginsberg and other beat poets,and said,i can do this,this is cool.i never went for people telling me what i could and could'nt say,and always went against the grain.i still hold these truths today.

PART ONE CLICK HERE:http://www.mediafire.com/file/ti42jjktu1m/ED WOOD 1.zip

PART TWO:http://www.mediafire.com/file/ijizenozi1t/ED WOOD 2.zip

PART THREE:http://www.mediafire.com/file/nn1nyvhgn1y/ED WOOD 3.zip

BURDGE DRAKEWOOD ORCHESTRA- first movements

i sometimes used the alias "ed wood",which explains part of the name,also with billy and vance,we had control of a full 65 piece orchestra,with which to do our bidding,and conduct these tunes,recorded in a massive 20,000 sq. foot concert hall. soundtrack music ,used in several films,which we wont name here,simply cause i don't agree with the directors of said movies,about their points of view,so fuck 'em!.also see our second movement"anal vacation",elsewhere on this blog.very unsettling pictures are painted in these pieces,check it out:
 https://sluggishatapes.bandcamp.com/album/burdge-drakewood-orchestra-first-movements 

APOCALYPTIC CENTURIONS-the 1st coming

1 song in 3 movements "diseases of astonishment"a)spit fire kitten,b)shit from china,c)godbotherer,which gets cut off on this recording but i'm sure it's all on video.

live at the draft house 2/8/92 billy,ed,joel,vance ,tony,chipmunk on guitars.tony(warm up beats),shane,and sean on percussion.a good time was had by all.all shows are on video i need to find out how to put them up on here.don't try this at home.more musical than later outings which just turn into sheer noise.still mind-blowing tho.the guitar orchestra lives.G O D click here:http://www.mediafire.com/file/cmznqfmiymy/apocalyptic centurions-1st coming-diseases of astonishment.zip

LOS HYMEES-the whole enchilada

yes,more tardcore this time by way of the mexican/jewish pipeline,lots of songs about food,Ed, Billy, Vance,acoustic guitars and instruments,a geat band for Billy to show off his spanish/flamenco guitar stylings,cover art by Food Fortunata of sockeye,the great comic strip above illustrating the lyrics to one of our songs (Hillary's Hole) ,by Steve Reed(it appeared in issue 2 of Rodent Cake magazine)great fun and hee-larious enjoy! G O D 3/1/09 added new unearthed lost track"questions for billy:CLICK FOR LINK AND A BURRITO        https://sluggishatapes.bandcamp.com/album/los-hymees-the-whole-enchilada 

ASSEATER-black in swamp scum

this is the 3rd release from ASSEATER,after billy left the fold.just me and vance kicking up some black/death/grindcore for this e.p. true metal that has a blackened soul.the first two albums are not as technically proficient as this,but rockin'just the same.cover art by steve reed.CLICK HERE:  https://sluggishatapes.bandcamp.com/album/black-in-swamp-scum  

THE JACKIE EARLE HALEYS

okay,i wrote all the lyrics and the songs are all true stories.total 70's rock god worship lotsa t.rex,sweet,kiss,refrences.lotsa hookers,drugs,sneakin out at night,skippin' school,gettin' in trouble,smokin,drinkin,drivin,hot rods, hot chicks,love,love lost,power ballads,good hard rock before metal came about,still kinda has that punky(meadows)edge.if you lived thru the 70's,watched that 70's show,have a passing interest in any thing teenage related,smoke herb,went to high school(why do you think they call it "high"school?),or just are a culture fan,you will surely enjoy this.ed on vocals,vance on bass,billy on guitar,and we all played drums and switched around instruments.i started myself in 92,wrote the first 2 e.p.s,vance joined part way thru 2nd e.p.then by 94vance and i wrote abunch more tunes ,at which time somewhere into this era,billy joined.by the end of the year we had a full lineup including also tony and mike smith.only 3 rehearsals 2 tapes exist and that was it,never played live but coulda opened for the donnas or the runaways if given the chance.i'll tell more when i put more haleys up.kelly leek as he was known in the bad news bears,the bad news bears in breaking training,and the bad news bears go to japan,jackie earle haley was a bad kid.perfect name to relate these tunes of teen angst and joy.CLICK HERE: https://sluggishatapes.bandcamp.com/album/the-jackie-earle-haleys 

CAT MACHINE--the last newest one

I believe this is the last time we recorded as CAT MACHINE.It's in Cape Coral,at Vance's,in Mumsy's dining/living rooms,all improv live,only vocals added later,Ed ,Tony,Joel,Vance,sometime in 1995 I think.Tony sang on the first track and I had to sing the rest cuz everyone left me alone,then I mixed down.It's kind of a reunion of sorts since we hadn't played as The Machine for a few years at this point.Right up to par with the classics.Real drumkit ,(courtesy of Mike Smith).Don't miss the final session of the catalyst of Sluggisha Tapes,THE MIGHTY CAT MACHINE. G O D
https://archive.org/download/CatMachine--theLastNewestOne/028CatMachine-TheLastNewestOne.zip 

CAT MACHINE--litterbox

Some of the best of CAT MACHINE,but by no means a definitive collection.This cassette was most people's first introduction to the band,compiled after the band had broken up,and is the first tape listed in the original Sluggisha Tapes mailorder catalog..A good cross section ,not in chronological order,so as to get different eras sounds blended into one essence.These recordings were made between 1990 and 1991,and include some tracks in the transition period to becoming ONE FELL SWOOP!.Ed ,Joel,and Tony.were the core,then Chipmunk joined.Vance,Billy and Shane were on a lot of sessions,as were other local luminaries.Dave Roth guests on,"Tore My Hair Out Today",and Dave"antelope leaps",guest vocals on"Count The Hours" on this comp.We started out for fun making a tape,which soon turned into at least 2 - 90 minute tapes a week.Lots of improv,on the spot stuff,some 4-track,some live.We used to record mostly on a suburb blaster which accounts for the sound quality.It's all classic stuff that deserves many repeated listenings.Lots more in the vault.Enjoy this for now!Caution:will not fit on a cd ,make it a 2 parter .thanks G O D
https://sluggishatapes.bandcamp.com/album/cat-machine-litterbox 

BURDGE DRAKEWOOD ORCHESTRA - Anal Vacation

Well, once upon a time at mumsy's house we had this really cool keyboard so we made a tape.a movement in one piece,about 30 minutes in length.bombastic,satanic,orchestral,touching,weird,atonal,beautiful,mind melting,ear splitting/soothing,eye binding,colorful,astounding,mournful,joyous,scary,spooky,transcendent,are all words which describe what you will hear.then you'll have your own adjectives to describe the sounds.There is a traditional bass/guitar/drum jam ,a breakdown,really,in the center of this soundtrack-like musical piece.Come take an Anal Vacation with the BURDGE DRAKEWOOD ORCHESTRA.Then when we got done with the master tape and mixed down we put the master on top of the t.v.and it got erased.so this is the only copy existing.Starring Vance Burdge,Billy Drake,and Ed Wood,hence the name ...recorded 5/7/94.Listen now, this is not classical music or maybe it is to us. GOD                        https://sluggishatapes.bandcamp.com/album/burdge-drakewood-orchestra-anal-vacation 

the BILLY DRAKE band

That's right,you heard it here first,I said the BILLY DRAKE BAND.Actually one night at 5455 we,the 6th Street Muntus were recording.after the first song,Billy stumbled in and started singing,yes Billy started singing,I mean being known as a virtuoso guitarist (mainly known for his work in Myopia and FUCK) and he sings ,man..he rules.he shoulda sung on more stuff cause he's just got that somethin'.You know what I'm sayin'?Anyways check this cool rockin' set from 4/20-21/96.dig it. GOD.
CLICK FOR DISORIENTATION:    https://sluggishatapes.bandcamp.com/album/the-billy-drake-band 

EPHEDRINE SYMPHONY or "The Fall"jr.-WE PLAY AT MIDNITE!!

One of the greatest American "The Fall" cover bands,they existed for only a few months,and even then,only in a live context.These recordings were done at the world famous "Draft House"and included such local luminaries in it's ranks as, Joel Rizzo,( as Mark Smith),Ed Wood (me),Vance Burdge,Philbert Ze Chocolat Clown,Hippie Sean,Billy Drake,Mike Brophy,Eric Triglet, and more.

Since Joel is the biggest Fall fan in the U.S ,forming this band was a natural.All                              
 members practiced alone at home and then performed as a group on the evenings of our shows.dude we had people goin off in the draft house.we ruled for a few months and then faded out to obscurity.

thanks to gary,the owner of said bar,and the great and receptive audience.we once again make our mark (smith),ha ha. see ya soon, GOD.
https://archive.org/download/EphedrineSymphonyOrtheFalljr.-wePlayAtMidnite/017EphedrineSymphony.zip