recommended gigs

                    

Friday 10-31-25 - the Subhumans with the Minges at Grey Witch

Friday 10-31-25 - The Meteors, Los Carajos and Lean 13 at Backstage Bar and Billiards 

Saturday 11-1-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 11-2-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 11-3-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 11-7-25 - the snares, the violet minefield, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Friday 11-7-25 - Bogtrotters Union, Hard Pipe Hitters, Desert Island Boys at Red Dwarf

Saturday 11-8-25 - Suburban Resistance, Femalians, at Hola Habibi

Saturday 11-8-25 - My Body, My Choice or My Foot Up Your Ass benefit for Wild West Access Fund at the Double Down with Tippy Elvis, Womb Raiders, movies, burlesque and much more!

Saturday 11-8-25 - Iron Vermin at the Dive Bar

Saturday 11-8-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 11-10-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 11-15-25 - Pulp Fiction Tribute with Thee Swank Bastards at Jive Turkey

Saturday 11-15-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 11-16-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 11-17-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 11-19-25 - Unoriginal Unfits at the Double Down

Saturday - 11-22-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 11-23-25 - Generic Surf Band at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 11-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 11-26-25 - Basstravaganza featuring Thee Swank Bastards and a plethora of bassists at the Double Down

Saturday 11-29-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 12-1-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 12-5-25 - Frank Meyer, the Strains, Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age and the Shakewells at Red Dwarf

Saturday 12-6-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 12-8-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 12-13-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 12-15-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 12-19-25 - Mr Dark's Pandemonium at the Double Down

Saturday 12-20-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 12-21-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 12-22-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 12-27-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 12-29-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

The Implosions, Bad Motivator and King Flamingo at Red Dwarf, Saturday Oct 25, 2025

 

Of course, I've ranted'n'raved about our pals, the Implosions, numerous times before and we haven't made it out for too much lately (including missing the Tarentino Tribute the night before) but we rallied and headed across town for this evening's fun.

We got there a bit late due to the ridiculous amount of construction going on everywhere in Las Vegas but especially on Charleston and the entire length of Maryland Parkway, so we only caught part of King Flamingo's set. Normally a guitar/drum duo, the drummer didn't make it for some reason that we missed but the guitarist persevered by playing a bass drum for the downbeat and filled out the sound with a looper (used to great effect - much harder than it looks!) and some cool fuzz. Definitely influenced by the likes of the Cramps, early blues, noise and whatever else, he was also charismatic and engaged the audience in conversation while changing a broken guitar string or deciding what song to do next. Did a Crampsian take on Strychnine for the Halloween season and overall was plenty of fun. I would certainly check him out again if he comes back to town, and he got a good response, so ya never know!

Bad Motivator is an LA punk'n'roll combo with keys - certainly giving them a slightly different sound - but still firmly based in garage and punk. Nattily dressed in all black, they gave off a bit of a Hives vibe (to me anyway) with short, upbeat songs and a strong rhythm section. They cultivated a dark-ish image with at least a couple of songs with "dead" in the title, along with a cover of the Fuzztones' "She's Wicked"! 

Our favorite local co-ed garage/punk combo is certainly the Implosions, with their Las Vegas-themed songs and a variety of sounds, from fast-driving garage to moody, Crampsian sounds. Also dressed all in black this eve, they always put on a fun show with a rockin' backing for the antics of singer Adrienne. Always a good time and always recommended!

We're still not getting out quite as often as we might care to, but glad we made it out this night for a fun, varied show! Thanks Red Dwarf for this array of r'n'r!

Jimi Hendrix - Electric Gypsy - Harry Shapiro and Caesar Glebbeek

 

I originally read this massive tome on one of the Tommyknockers longer tours of Europe, but it was such a good read that I finished it early on and nearly everyone else on the tour (TK's and Embryonics) read it before the tour finished. I seem to remember that everyone dug it and we had tons of conversations about it - I mean, who doesn't dig Jimi? Of course, that was quite a while ago now so I thought I'd give it another go and see if I still dug it as much.

Jimi's early life was erratic with his dad drafted into the army before he was born and his mother was a 16 year old hellion who just wanted to party and fraternize'n'travel with various men. This meant that Jimi also went from home to home before his father, Al, was discharged. Even then, there was a lot of moving around for various reasons and not a lot of money to be found but eventually Al was settled enough that he was convinced to buy a guitar for Jimi and after that, nothing was the same for the youngster.

Jimi played whenever he could, including in several local bands before he ended up joining the army, but he was injured jumping out of a plane and ended up in Nashville, where he stayed for no major reason. He had met Billy Cox in the army and played with him in Nashville, where he also met Larry Lee (who would much later play with Jimi at Woodstock), and hooked up with various tours of the "chittlin' circuit" before getting an offer to go to New York to "become a star". He jumped at the chance, as he had been stagnating, and it turned out to be the right thing to do, although it took a while, and not with the person who convinced him to move.

Women and the Isley Brothers sustained him for a while, as well as Little Richard and a few other short-lived stints with other stars. Eventually he put together something of his own (often with Randy California, later of Spirit), and, of course, Chas Chandler of the Animals "discovered" him, thanks to a mutual female friend. Chas took Jimi to England and things moved pretty quickly, especially considering that he was an unknown, but the Experience came together, followed by a hit single ("Hey Joe") and he was on his way.

A good portion of the books describes various escapades while touring, interviews, jams and recording sessions. I find it simultaneously funny and disturbing that a lot of the press regarding Jimi describes him as "ugly" - incredibly racist as pretty much any woman - and most men - would tell you that he was a very good looking guy, as evidenced by the plethora of photos included - lots of black'n'white (including the worst picture I have ever seen of Jimi making a horrific guitar face on stage) and a handful of color.

Of course, as everyone knows, Jimi got tired of the roller coaster and went through numerous changes in personnel and even some experimenting in different styles, took some time off, played some magical and some so-so shows, had plenty of personal turmoil, drug busts, drug problems (although most say that he was not very heavily into hard drugs) and lots more. But, towards the end, he was working on a new album with lots of terrific material, and although he was stressed and had some simple health issues (due mostly to exhaustion), most people say that he was reasonably upbeat and looking to the future, which, of course, never came.

Re-reading this now, at my cynical old age, I believe that a lot of the fellow musicians' quotes have a bit of revisionistic history and exaggeration, but that's to be expected, especially when someone becomes as legendary as Jimi did. The authors even take Jimi's quotes, which to me often seem to be his over-the-top hip jive talk, a bit more seriously than the probably were intended. But, writing - and quotes - are to be interpreted by the reader, aren't they?

There are some fine descriptions of the songs with technical details combined with musical and lyrical influences. Sone of these are speculative but many are based on Jimi’s quotes and all are logical. There's also massive appendixes with discographies (which has only grown exponentially since the book was published, of course), bibliographies, and listings of all of his known guitars and effects. Pretty darn comprehensive, especially at a time well before computers, emails and instantaneous communication.

These days, everyone who cares knows the basic story, but this tale has lots of anecdotes and tons of interviews, including with his brother Leon, who recently wrote his own book. 

So, certainly any fan. should give it a go, and get lots of behind-the-scenes stories - just take everything with a grain of salt, as with anyone's bio, I suppose. 

recommended gigs

                   

Friday 10-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards and many more at Red Dwarf for Le Royale With Cheese - a Tribute to Tarentino

Saturday 10-25-25 - The Implosions, Bad Motivator, King Flamingo at Red Dwarf

Saturday 10-25-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 10-26-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 10-27-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 10-31-25 - the Subhumans at Grey Witch

Friday 10-31-25 - The Meteors, Los Carajos and Lean 13 at Backstage Bar and Billiards 

Saturday 11-1-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Friday 11-7-25 - the snares, the violet minefield, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Friday 11-7-25 - Bogtrotters Union, Hard Pipe Hitters, Desert Island Boys at Red Dwarf

Saturday 11-8-25 - Suburban Resistance, Femalians, at Hola Habibi

Saturday 11-8-25 - My Body, My Choice or My Foot Up Your Ass benefit for Wild West Access Fund at the Double Down with Tippy Elvis, Womb Raiders, movies, burlesque and much more!

Saturday 11-8-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 11-10-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 11-23-25 - Generic Surf Band at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Friday 12-5-25 - Frank Meyer, the Strains, Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age and the Shakewells at Red Dwarf

Friday 12-19-25 - Mr Dark's Pandemonium at the Double Down

recommended gigs

                  

Friday 10-17-25 - Mr. Dark's Pandemonium at the Double Down

Saturday 10-18-25 - the return of the Psyatics to the Double Down! With Three Rounds, Velvet Void and Pitch After Dark

Sunday 10-19-25 - Generic Surf Band at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 10-20-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 10-22-25 - Gwar at Brooklyn Bowl

Friday 10-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf

Saturday 10-25-25 - The Implosions, Bad Motivator, King Flamingo at Red Dwarf

Saturday 10-25-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 10-26-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 10-27-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 11-7-25 - the snares, the violet minefield, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Saturday 11-8-25 - Suburban Resistance, Femalians, at Hola Habibi

Friday 12-5-25 - Frank Meyer, the Strains, Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age and the Shakewells at Red Dwarf

recommended gigs

                 

Saturday 10-11-25 - Punk'n'Country, Los Carajos at the Double Down

Saturday 10-11-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 10-13-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 10-15-25 - Femaliens, Grimlock and Chemical Tribe at Red Dwarf

Friday 10-17-25 - Mr. Dark's Pandemonium at the Double Down

Saturday 10-18-25 - the return of the Psyatics to the Double Down! With Three Rounds and Pitch After Dark

Sunday 10-19-25 - Generic Surf Band at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 10-20-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 10-22-25 - Gwar at Brooklyn Bowl

Friday 10-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf

Saturday 10-25-25 - The Implosions, Bad Motivator, King Flamingo at Red Dwarf

Saturday 10-25-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 10-26-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 10-27-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 11-7-25 - the snares, the violet minefield, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Saturday 11-8-25 - Suburban Resistance, Femalians, at Hola Habibi

Friday 12-5-25 - Frank Meyer, the Strains, Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age and the Shakewells at Red Dwarf

RIP Chris Dreja

Yardbirds Co-Founder and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chris Dreja Dies at 79 

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The Yardbirds influenced pretty much anyone growing up in the '60's. Sad to hear of this pioneer's passing.

RIP Soo Catwoman

 

Sad to hear of the passing of Soo Catwoman - fashion icon of the early British punk rock scene. Susan Lucas was never in any band (that I know of) but her personality and style made her bigger than life. Sorry to hear of her passing.

recommended gigs

                  

Saturday 10-4-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 10-5-25 - Generics Surf Band at Red Dwarf’s Sunday Brunch for Nikki's Birthday!

Monday 10-6-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-11-25 - Punk'n'Country, Los Carajos at the Double Down

Saturday 10-11-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 10-13-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 10-15-25 - Femaliens, Grimlock and Chemical Tribe at Red Dwarf

Friday 10-17-25 - Mr. Dark's Pandemonium at the Double Down

Saturday 10-18-25 - the return of the Psyatics to the Double Down! With Three Rounds and Pitch After Dark

Sunday 10-19-25 - Generic Surf Band at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 10-20-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 10-22-25 - Gwar at Brooklyn Bowl

Friday 10-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf

Saturday 10-25-25 - The Implosions, Bad Motivator, King Flamingo at Red Dwarf

Saturday 10-25-25 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 10-26-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Monday 10-27-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 11-7-25 - the snares, the violet minefield, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Saturday 11-8-25 - Suburban Resistance, Femalians, at Hola Habibi

Friday 12-5-25 - Frank Meyer, the Strains, Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age and the Shakewells at Red Dwarf