We've got a special twofer going with today's post, but the intentions are the same; to alert all you waveriding fans of classic, vox organ-tinged, maximally fuzzed out 60's garage rock and roll of the hottest thing going on in the genre you love.If the descriptions in that last sentence appeal to you at all, or if names like The Sonics, The Standells, The Electric Prunes, The Kinks, The Seeds, or the Animals get your blood going, and you've been dying to learn more about what's happening these days in the Garage Rock scene, then I've got just the thing for you.
Coming from the garage rock captial of . . . Greece . . . Lost in Tyme is a mini-media empire in the budding that you need to acquaint yourselves with. What originally started out as a garage rock fanzine in 2004, rightly became much more with the introduction of Lost In Tyme Records, a vehicle for LIT mainmen, Peris and John Alexopoulos (leader of the Greek garage band Sound Explosion) to bring to vinyl all the classic garage rock that bleeds through his veins. Previously, we'd written about the classic 7" platter served up by LIT's Garage Gods; today we're going to take a little deeper look into the musty garage that Lost in Tyme calls home.
The Royal Hangmen - Mary Jane b/w You Better Tell That GirlHailing from Zurich, Switzerland, The Royal Hangmen make their LIT debut in a raging fury of swirling vox organ and helter-skelter screaming vocals. And let me tell you, these cats got it down right. From the mod-sixties styling on their 7" cover to the insane garage-rock blow-up that lingers inside, these guys are the real deal. Pulse-pounding riffing starts "Mary Jane" on the right foot, complimented by some pulverizing bass playing and floating organ chords that will get your head spinning faster than a 7-11 hotdog on the rotissarie. Add in some seriously enthusiastic Sonics-styled vocals and we got ourselves a burner.
Flipside, "You Better Tell That Girl," does nothing to slow down the proceedings. Adding a slightly more pop-friendly sheen of jangly 12-string guitars and some real radio-friendly melodies, this song torches all the way through the damn fine sing-along chorus. A real treat for all fans of 60's inspired garage rock, and not one to be missed. Pressed in limited editions, you might want to pop on over to the LIT myspace page right away to claim yours before they're all gone.
Lost In Tyme Fanzine - #3 with 30 Track CD CompilationLike I said at the beginning of this article, the Lost In Tyme empire started with one man's love of garage rock, an undying, single-minded determination to find the best of it, and a relentless desire to make sure it never dies. All of this love and passion originally manifested in the Lost In Tyme Fanzine and CD that started in 2004 and continues to this day. So far four issues have been published, of which I've read two, and let me tell you as clearly as I can; if garage rock is your genre, you don't want to miss this.
For the sake of shortness (so I can get back to listening to some pounding LIT singles) we're only going to talk about issue #3, the first issue I read, and my portal into the low-fi world of Peris and John's minds. The love this guys puts into his project is mindboggling and more contagious than the swine flu. This cat lives, breathes, eats, sleeps (and probably lots of things we can't mention in a family website) garage rock. He searches the world, digging through the earth of places I'd never think of, to unearth anything garage and good. And damn, can he find em! Besides new updates on old classics, this one issue alone introduced me to a boatload of new garage rock bands that I'd never even heard of, but now can't stop listening to.
Lost In Tyme fanzine+cd Issue #3 contains exclusive interviews with: Question Mark & The Mysterians, Sick Rose, Bo-Weevils, Purple Merkins Vipers, Mod Fun, Waistcoats, Rookies, Glads, Movements, Evil Thingies VS The Way-Outs, Teddy Boys From The Crypt, Fabio (Hunchmen), B-Back, and the Fleshtones. Articles introducing you to new bands like: Cheaters, Ravens, Brain Drain, Mojomatics, Riots, Phantom Keys, Rockdoras, Spinns, and Higher State. Add in some articles about Peruvian Rock of 60’s, Ping Pong Records and a great article about the 60’s Underground Press in USA. There's also news about the genre you love and more than 70 reviews (Lp, 7”, Cd, Fanzines and Dvd). And the whole shebang is dressed up with a great cartoon cover by Darren Merinuk!
And that's not all. When I say the fanzine comes with a 30 track compilation CD, I don't mean it's a random assortment of crap, collected together and dumped on you to steal your dime. Jesus, I have no idea where they find all these bands, but the CD is a truly amazing collection, absolutely alone worth the price of fanzine. As I'm writing, Riots are blasting a rough-and-tumble mash-up "Tell Me Tonight," through my stereo speakers and it sounds fucking phenomenal. And this already followed rave-ups by Sick Rose, Mod Fun, Waistcoats, Rookies, B-Back, Movements, and so many more. The Ravens hit me with a jangly, bluesy "Lonely Eyes." The Purple Merkins explode in a gas-and-smoke puff of fuzz for "She's Coming Home," meanwhile the Phantom Keys get the party started with the jumping "In the Summer Time." We've got garage rock from just about every country imaginable; from Sweden, Canada, Germany, USA, Italy. . . they even got garage rock from Peru!
To make this package even more irresistible, these aren't old retreads of songs floating around the interweb. Each of the 30 tracks is either an exclusive, previously unreleased, or unheard demo material. All brought together in one package guaranteed to make the intense collector melt into a bubbling puddle of drool.
Seriously, if you're a fan of the Nuggets series, you gotta check this out. The fuzzed out, psych-inflected garage rock you love isn't dead, it's alive and well and living in Greece.
www.myspace.com/lostintymercords
www.myspace.com/lostintymefanzine
Comments