The Bonniwell Music Machine

I’m not sure how I haven’t posted this yet. This guy. Shit. Sean Bonniwell was Jesus. A mad genius psych Jesus never given his due. Sure, there are quite a few of those in the world, but few as truly mad genius psych Jesus as Bonniwell. Just listen to the man: “She was telling me to miss her, something like an older sister…”….”Vaguely reminiscent in the presence of my mind…is the trap, the trap…” It only gets better. On a serious note: this album – which is a compilation of most of their original material – is full to the brim with some of the fuzziest, scuzziest, trippiest, dippiest, nuttiest jams I have ever heard. Get on it.

DWNLD: The Bonniwell Music Machine – Beyond The Garage

HISTORY VIA DORKIPEDIA:

The group came together as The Ragamuffins in 1965, but became The Music Machine in 1966. The single “Talk Talk” was recorded at RCA studios on July 30, 1966.

Their debut album, (Turn On) The Music Machine, was released in 1966 on the Original Sound label. Seven of the twelve tracks were originals, written by Bonniwell. One of these, “Talk Talk,” became a Top 20 hit in the U.S. The follow-up single, “The People In Me,” peaked at #66. Bonniwell blamed the weak showing of this single on a supposed feud between the band’s manager and a top record executive. Four cover songs were included on this release, due to record company pressure.

After a promotional tour of the U.S., the rest of the original line-up, which included Ron Edgar (drums), Mark Landon (guitar), Keith Olsen (bass) and Doug Rhodes (organ), left Bonniwell, due to internal conflicts. In 1967, Music Machine (essentially only Bonniwell at this point) were signed to Warner Bros. and re-named The Bonniwell Music Machine. The name was changed to give more prominence to the band’s core member, songwriter and vocalist Sean Bonniwell. A self-titled LP was released that year, made up mostly of previously recorded singles with the original line-up. The recording spawned no big hits, despite the inclusion of a few more pop-oriented songs.

A third album was recorded but never released. In 2000, a Bonniwell Music Machine album called Ignition was released on Sundazed Records. This is a collection of songs from the unreleased 1969 album, as well as demo tracks from the band’s Raggamuffin days in 1965.

In 2000, Bonniwell wrote about his life and The Music Machine in a biography called “Beyond The Garage,” published by the small press publisher Christian Vision.

Esham – “Boomin’ Word From Hell”

Esham (East Side Hoes And Money). Born Rashaam Smith. Detroit. I was in high school when a dude gave me this tape outside of some grocery store in Harper Woods. I should also mention that Esham was 13 when he did this album. He did the rhymes, the beats and released it himself. And still all these years later I think it’s the best hip hop/rap album I’ve ever heard out of Detroit. Word After Word is especially amazing. Here are some tracks.

DWNLD: Word After Word
DWNLD: My 9 Rhymes
DWNLD: Dream Girl
DWNLD: Red Rum
DWNLD: Knock ‘Em Dead

INTERVIEW: HERE

STREAM THE FULL ALBUM: HERE

If anyone has the full album floating around let me know. Having trouble finding the tracks and my tape is long gone.

SXSW 2009

First off, fuck Texarkana. I drove for hours and hours trying to get home and all I wanted was some fucking booze when we got to Texarkana as I had a shit ton of work to do. No such luck. It seems TexCuntKana closes at 9pm. The whole fucking city. I ended up with some Jack Daniels Watermelon Coolers from the gas station. Not happy. Other than this minor setback, the trip was fantastic. Let me get to the point of this post. I saw one band at SXSW that really blew me away. The Magic Lantern. I played at the Moose Lodge in Austin with a million other bands and these dudes played on the deck outside and killed it. Thankfully for you I’m giving you their new album High Beams. I feel fine about giving it to you as I bought the vinyl for $10. Dig into this while you puff away at that Jesus oregano.

DWNLD: The Magic Lantern, High Beams

Beard Of Bees – Motor City Brew

SLUMDOG MILLIOINAIRE SOUNDTRACK

First off, have you seen this film? If not get the fuck to it. Slumdog is like the Sega Virtual Boy; it just might give you a fucking seizure for fucking with it. The cine work, the acting, the story….brilliant. Seriously, this is easily the BEST film of the year. I loved The Wrestler, Gran Torino, Milk and a few others, but Slumdog takes the cake. As if the film wasn’t enough, the soundtrack is amazing. I’m not normally a big ooomph, ooomph, ooomph fan, but throw in some Indian spice and I’m all for it. So I give it to you to make wet on. Enjoy.

DWNLD: Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack

Hamtramck Blowout 2009 Schedule

Here it is! Exact set times will be available soon!

BLOWOUT PRE-PARTY (03/04/09)

Garden Bowl

Music provided by: Mustache in Your Face

Magic Stick

1.Silverghost (headline)

2.The Octopus

3.Child Bite

4.Electric Fire Babies

Full schedule after the jump….

CHRISSY ZEBBY TEMBO & NGOZI FAMILY

Holy shit. Talk about some dirty fucking jams. If this record proves anything, it’s that a great album only need the bare essentials: good tunes and good players. This is bare-fucking-bones fuzz at it’s best. Recorded in 1974 by Zambian guitarist, Chrissy Zebby Tembo, this record kills. Get it and stop reading my bullshit.

DWNLD: CHRISSY ZEBBY TEMBO & NGOZI FAMILY – My Ancestors

The Index – Ultra Rare Late 60’s Detroit Psych

First off let me start by saying that the band was technically from Grosse Point, but fuck that. The Index started around 1966 when guitarist Jim Valice, drummer John B. Ford and bassist Gary Francis collectively decided it was time to smoke down and turn up. After getting the Hendrix bug like so many around that time, Jim Valice and the boys took to creating The Index. The album was printed by a Detroit record plant (not sure who. Anyone know?) and the DC Records label on the cover is nothing more than a fulfilled requirement by the record plant to have a label logo. It seems these cats hung with the likes of A. Cooper, S. Quatro and the rest of the early Detroit psych/freakout/punk scene. The record is fucking great if you ask me, but I’ll let you judge for yourself rather than blabber on about it.

DWNLD: The Index – Self Titled LP

Here is a link to a great story/interview about the band.

Lords Of Chaos / Coven / Black Widow

I recently picked up a copy of Lords Of Chaos, The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground and like all those who recommended it to me, my mind is melting. I just wish I had a part in it all, at least the spikes and hammers and fake blood-demon-riffage part. Maybe raise a demon or two. I conjure thee! I conjure thee! I conjure thee! I conjure thee! Appear! … Listen to the Black Widow track provided below and you’ll be singing that all fucking day.

So anyway, Lords Of Chaos is not only well written but a rare study of this wicked genre of music, and it’s well worth reading even if you don’t like Satan-which would make you a pussy. The book starts with a lot of focus on the bands that gave bloody-demon-birth to the genre we know as Black Metal. It was there that I saw two of my favorite fake Satanic bands cited! Coven and Black Widow. I’m not going to go into all the history as you should really get the book, but let me just say that Coven and Black Widow were smoking Satan weed long before the dudes in Venom got their spikes. All Hail Satan! Get them below. In Hell.

DWNLD: Coven, Choke, Thirst, Die from the LP Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls

DWNLD: Black Widow, In Ancient Days from the LP Sacrifice <—- Wicked Fucking Satan Jam

Model Citizens, Shift The Blame

I recently discovered this frantic sextet from NY via the interwebs and I just can’t fight the feeling. Even though Zappa was a big fan, their entire output consists of this lone EP on John Cale’s early Spy label. They were a regular on the CBGB’s circuit in NY for a while, but faded away like a dropped Etch-A-Sketch.

This is the fucking jam:

DWNLD: Model Citizens, Shift The Blame

Live Video. Gotta love this internet:

Model Citizens – “Shift the Blame“