DIZLY GILPLEXY: Charming lo-fi for the emotionally unstable...
by A. Prizant
Home recording is all the rage these days; bored stoners need not leave the comfort of their bedroom to document their musical wanderings. The artist known as Dizly Gilplexy has capitalized on this convenience by assembling 14 tunes on a CD and handing them out to deserving friends. I was lucky enough to receive one of these CD's as a novelty Christmas present and now that I've had ample time to digest it I can present to you my reactions.
As with all good art, Dizly Gilplexy is proudly eclectic. The opening track, "Pick Flowers", is a lilting lullaby of love lost and hopes shattered. The deceptively simple arrangement and double-tracked vocals provide the listener
with images of lonely nights in cheap, low-rent apartments, with nothing but a six-pack and a few bonghits to dull the pain. "Can't get you out of my mind" is warped psychedelia at its best, complete with fuzz guitar and cheery falsettos. "Marvel at the Splendor" is a whimsical delight that includes references to ponies and nitroglycerin, among other things. I could easily fill 10 pages with ranting about this CD, however, in an effort to be succinct, I'll cut this short. First, though, I must mention the final track, a pummeling sludge-rock tune aptly titled "Heibuhds." It is here that Mr. Gilplexy returns to his metal roots, for good or ill. With this track the circle is complete - we arrive at the zenith of eclectic, post-modern noise. It's an engaging, joyous ride. This CD is proof that all it takes is a good idea, the motivation to act on it and the balls to see it through.

The Steve Love and Jensen Rufe Quartet Present…
Rock and Roll Enema! (Part One in the Space Needle Excavator Series)
by Ben Allen
For some reason, supposedly I'm one of a very small group of individuals that actually likes this CD. I've heard more than one person refer to it as "funny, but real cheesy." Well, I guess I'm the type that likes my Beefaroni with extra cheese, because I think this CED is just dandy. In regards to people finding this CD cheesy, Jensen said, I think we put more of the non-serious, funny songs at the beginning, which may have stopped people from listening to the whole album." Jensen continued by saying, "About half of the songs are meant to be somewhat serious, and the other half are funny songs, I also think a lot of people didn't like the fact that the tracks aren't separated." Apparently Jensen and Steve didn't exactly know how to use the CD burning program on the computer, so the CD came out as one long continuous song. Unfortunately, you can't skip tracks, so it's impossible on my shitty stereo to skip to fine moments on the CD such as Steve's rendition of Lionel Richie's "hello," performed live at karaoke at The Alibi. Jensen also performs a well-sung version of "Back Door Man" by the Doors. Of all the tracks on the CD, I have a particular fondness for "hannibal gutierrezz (human burrito)" which is about a fine tasting senorita. Jensen exclaims his love of Rita's Taqueria in this song (see the article in this issue). The song Angela's Angels is another gem on this album. It features the incredibly beautiful voice of Angela from The Cutters. I don't think you'll be seeing this album in stores, but you can obtain a copy from Jensen or Steve. Look for them at a Foster Kid's show, Rita's Taqueria, or wherever karaoke is performed.

The White Stripes: De Stijl... by Ben Allen
Joel seems to be a reoccurring subject in these reviews, so I'll begin by saying that you know a band is good when Joel is caught singing their song around the house. Like the White Stripes song, Joel is pretty good looking, and he normally has good taste in music. I really like Jack's songwriting on this CD, it has a 70's rock and roll sound to it. I've seen a lot of bands recently that play straightforward rock and roll. Unlike most of them, The White Stripes don't sound like they're ripping off riffs and lyrics from a particular period in rock and roll history. Jack plays the guitar and sings in this band. There are other people on this album, but I think the only other permanent member of the band is Jack's sister Meg, who plays the drums. She is definitely not the most technical drummer, but from what I can tell she is consistent with timing, which is important. I like the slower, blues-inspired songs on the album such as "Sister, Do You Know My Name?" Jack is an excellent guitar player and singer. I'm really kicking myself for missing their show at The Vista a while back.

Manifest: 707:The Redwood Curtain (Wreck Loose Records)
by Peter Agoston
If anyone knows how Chino XL is, this isn't him. Just to straighten that out, because these cats physically look exactly alike, but I doubt anyone reading this even knows who he (Chino) is. The Oakland Raiders should put this fool on da payroll! His anthem "Tha Raid Iz On!!! (Silver & Black Anthem)" should make people that like The Raiders really happy. I used to love em back when Bo was on the team, but I kinda lost interest after he fell off. Manifest does all the beats and raps on this 20 minute mini-escapade, you definitely need to smoke a couple blunts before you start pumping this shit. He's got flows, breath control, an alright voice, some times its hard to decipher everything he spits and his choruses can be a little tiresome but Manifest has potential. People should definitely support him on the strength. "Humboldt weed is what I need" professes Manifest on "Smokin' On Da Bomb" (by the way, whose he dissing in the mid-song phone convo??), true dat. Get high as fuck and pump this was you drive around mad doggin' fools from Trinidad to Fortuna and all points in between. Yo, if I ever meet you and I got trees on me I'll blaze you up man. peace.

HIDEOUS: Somnabulistic Excursions.... by Joel
Well shit! I've seen these young gentlemen a few times live and enjoyed myself. Now thanks to the CD I can enjoy it at home. This is some scary shit, it made me feel kind of uncomfortable. Just like the guy who used to live in our garage that had pentagrams and devil goats tattooed on his hands. He was cool though, and so is this. Some people have told me that they like the music but not the vocals, but fuck them! I dig the vocals, I would take it no other way.

Candy Muscle: "The Headache Trilogy"... by Ben Allen
For those who haven't heard Robb Rierdan's guitar playing, you need to. Michelle once told me that Robb got Carpal Tunnel from playing so much guitar and listening to the Candy Muscle CD make that very easy to believe. The composition and complexity of the songs on the CD are incredible. When I asked Joel if he had any comments on this CD, he said, "I'm an American Logger", referring to a pair of gloves on display in my lovely place of employment, the Arcata Petro Mart. I told him that didn't have anything to do with this CD or its review but I don't think he cared. Dennis is the drummer in this band and has very good musical chemistry with Robb. Dennis is a very talented drummer who complements Robb's guitar playing excellently. For being only a two piece, Candy Muscle has a full, thick sound. Robb and Dennis' vocals go well with the music. I believe there is a Candy Muscle recording set to be released on vinyl somewhere in the near future. I would highly recommend purchasing their record as well as checking out one of their shows.

Koonda Holla and The Beet Chees: Cocky Cuties... by Ben Allen
Cocky Cuties First off, the cover artwork of this CD features two dicks. I mean literally dicks, like the male genitalia, not like the beef necks that beat up Joel at the MXPX show at Club West, but that's a different story. This CD definitely wins the "CD Michelle has me review so she could be mildly amused by my comments" award. Last issue was the Iron Rain CD, which resulted in some letters being sent to Panache in regards to my review. Fortunately. I think I was informed that Koonda Holla and The Beet Chees live no where near this area, meaning they probably won't see the magazine and this review. Not that I wouldn't want them to read it, because I feel it's healthy to receive criticism, even if it's in a "humorous" tone, but like the dicks at MXPX, that's another story. I've listened to a lot of music both recorded and live, but the circumstances I put myself in to tolerate this CD were completely new and unique for listening. First, I spent a whole night of snorting and shooting various drugs in preparation for the listening. By 7:00A.M., I had found the perfect combination. The speed I had been snorting had a yellowish/brown color to it, which got me wired enough that I felt I could handle listening to the most monotonous, slow music. Fortunately, I was able to make the rational decision to shoot some fine Eureka herion. This combined with approximately 17 cans of Natural Ice put me into the perfect state of mind to listen to Koonda Holla.