Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Andy Shernoff on the Yazoo Squelch Audio Society


Got this email in about a new single from one of The Dictator's founders Andy Shernoff on Yazoo Squelch Audio Society Records. He's been playing music since before I was freaking born, and not just in a local garage band either dummy, all kinds of big time projects, even getting into producing. For all the Last Days Here stories out there, you never hear about the guys like Andy who have turned this punk rock fad into a serious career. Plus Andy started out as a rock journalist with his own Teenage Wasteland Gazette, printed on real paper, and even knew Lester Bangs. Basically it's intimidating to be covering a guy like this on my silly blog about tiny records. But everybody's got to start somewhere, and like Last Laugh or Sing Sing proves time and time again, there's always a reason to revist the past, you have to be checking out the scenes that came before...or you'll sound like a dumbass.

A-Sides, "Are you Ready To Rapture" starts out with a quiet contemplative acoustic guitar line, and the choir of angels quietly ah-ing in the background. Wait...I think he's calling Jesus a zombie jew? Yes he is.
Jesus is pretty pissed that people keep doing bad stuff, here's this book with all the rules laid out and still it's too hard I guess.
Yikes, the Twin Towers are a sign of this crazy rapture? I'm going to assume this is all from the crazy right winger point of view...and it's not pulling any punches. The unbelievers must burn?
Witty rhymes about the antichrist, this wouldn't be complete without a horn section. Huge production on this one, but that's what you would expect, this is the last party, you have to lay it all out, take the grandiose approach with as many tracks and tricks as humanly possible. That sun is shining and it's pretty peaceful before all this shit goes down.
"Butthole invaders" is probably also groundbreaking lyric-wise. Lots of descriptions of judgement day through the eyes of religious nuts, probably pissing them and the zombie jew off even more.
Preaching to the choir, Andy.

B-Side's, "Make me Tremble" is another light acoustic number featuring Joey Ramone on vocals, talking about sitting on a mushroom, just like this psych back cover, the minimal acoustic really highlighting his vocal, nobody could say "baby" like Joey. As awkward as that scene is in Rock and Roll High School, he was pulling it off as always vocally. I mean that's just more evidence how freaking good he was, to be that camera awkward, and still be as huge as they were...determination. I only caught them once in college and like everyone else assumed they would be touring forever. They couldn't write a bad song really, and that goes for this one. This is his Johnathan Richman impression, lots of la, la's and deep vibrato from the grandfather of punk. God damn good to hear. Video over here.

Two tracks from the Yazoo squelch audio society, and they are out of these over at dusty groove. Try checking out Andy's site and shooting him an email.

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