The Grouchy Gaijin's Thoughts on Music and Such

Live in Lafayette, Indiana

I didn't know much about these guys until I met Mass Giorgini.  Talk about foot in mouth disease, when we met we started talking music as I usually do with people.  I mentioned that a long time ago I played in a punk band.  Usually this is met with ambivalence or disdain.  Mass however had a different reaction.  He said "Oh yeah? me too. Cool."  He asked who I played with and of course he had never heard of any of my old friends - we pretty much sucked, although at the time the bar was pretty low in Salt Lake and the Rocky Mountain west so we did manage to gig a bit.  I started telling him the bands we had covered and as I went down the list he commented "I toured with those guys"  "We did a show with them."  " We played with those guys at South by South West."

We definitely played on different levels.

Over the past few years I've gotten to know Mass a bit better and from what I know the only thing better than his Bass playing is his personality.  He is truly a nice guy.

This brings me to the Live album Broadcast 02.09.08.

This live album is a fund raiser for the Latino Advocacy Division of the Domestic Violence Intervention & Prevention Program of the Greater Lafayette YWCA.

Basically the money from this LP helps abused women.  So please buy a copy. Click here to go to Interpunk.com

Squirtgun plays melodic punk rock that is full of energy and downright fun. I can here a Ramones influence  as well as a touch of Green Day. The band formed in the fall of 1993 Mass decided to form a new band out of the remnants of his old band, with members Flav Giordini (guitar) and Dan Lumley (drums) in the lineup, the group recruited vocalist/guitarist Matt Hart. In the spring of 1995, Squirtgun recorded their debut EP, Shenanigans. A song off this record, "Social," was then featured in the Kevin Smith film Mallrats. Their self-titled, full-length album was released later that year. After recruiting guitarist and vocalist Zac Damon for live shows, the band put out their second EP in 1996. Entitled Mary Ann, the record was a tribute to Mary Ann of Gilligan's Island, and the group shot a video featuring a cameo by actress Dawn Wells. Squirtgun's second album, Another Sunny Afternoon, came out in the spring of 1997. Afterwards, the band members began to focus more attention on their other projects, including Screeching Weasel, the Mopes, Common Rider, and Simian. Their third and most propulsive full-length, Fade to Bright, was released in the summer of 2003.

In a nut shell - I've listened to this album several times since I got it.  I can honestly say I like all the tracks.  These guys are really tight.  I like the drummer a lot - his blazing fast rolls bring a smile to my face.  The singer's voice fits really well with the music.  Of particular note are four songs that I found really good.

Track 2 - Allergic to you - The Ramones are all over this track.  The drumming sounds on the verge of being out of control.  The guitar line is pretty cool - rocking and melodic at the same time.  All in all a great track. (Plus the words made me laugh.)

Track 5 - a cover of the Common Rider song Classics of Love.  The smash mouth Reggae vibe is just so infectious.  This song makes me smile and when I think that the band rehearsed one time before this show, I'm impressed as well.

Track 18 - Mary Ann - The guitar on this track is just classic garage band rock and roll.  I dig it.  The video is pretty good too.

The last song is also one I like a lot.

Track 19 - Social - The killer guitar leads make the song in my opinion.  The man simply blows the roof off!

All in all this album is a must.  Not only are the tracks all good, but the proceeds help a very worthy cause.

Grouch rating:  6 scowls out of 5 - they get a bonus scowl for helping abused women.

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