The Chewers

Here's a reader submission for ya...don't usually get these, but I'm always open to them...hit me up at whimperwarrior@gmail.com

This duo, out of West Virginia, is called The Chewers, and from what I've heard reminds me of stuff like Caroliner, but more structured and easier on the ears (to an extent).

They've got a video out that's kinda like some Residents shit. Just as weird, too.




Here's a little bio they sent along:

"The Chewers are Travis Caffrey and Michael Sadler, two

freaks from the woods of West Virginia (by way of Nashville), USA.
We each play various instruments, in order to create layered arrangements

in the vein of avant-roots-rock (or something like that).

The songs feature characters immersed in psychological hells, grappling

with deep disconnect from the society around them. These subjects are

generally presented with a deadpan and crooked sense of humor."

The album they're currently pushing, 'Chuckle Change and Also' is their second, and can be found here.

They've also got a Soundcloud page with some more tunes.

Dig it, yall.

Obscuro! Mixtape #15...'Garbage can full of funk 2'

Yup...another one of these, since yall seemed to like the last one.

This time around, it's pretty exclusively creepy Memphis underground shit. Tried to pull out the scariest-sounding shit I got, so enjoy.

Obscuro! Mixtape #15 - 'Garbage can full of funk 2' by Bizarrojerry on Mixcloud

Botfly - S/T (rare Lansing funk/metal/weirdo shit)

Sometimes I buy cassettes from thrift stores. Often, as you can imagine, they are garbage. But, at like 50 cents, how are you going to pass it up? Mostly, I just collect weird ambient shit and easy listening jazz, because they're great to grab samples from, but today's find is a little different.

This is a group apparently out of Lansing, Michigan in the early 90's...all I can find on the internet is a description that says something like 'Primus meets Blues Traveler' which sounds pretty terrible. I'm guessing someone just wrote that because they have a ripping harmonica player. Whatever the case, this is a strange brew....they're definitely metal, but there's a LOT of funk and goofiness, that makes me think of the Deli Creeps. But then there's that harmonica....makes the whole thing seem like the 'Rosanne' theme song gone to a murky hell or something. I dunno. But, considering my recent post on funk metal, it's a pretty fitting thing to put up here. Plus, it's ripped directly from cassette by ME, so that's kinda cool, right?

Botfly - S/T (1995)

Tracklist:

1. Turns
2. Texas Toast
3. Wha-Hurd
4. Barney
5. Acquisition
6. Life
7. Program Callous Indifference
8. Trailer Park Shuffle
9. Feces Stew
10. Can Cega

DOWNLOAD

Obscuro! Mixtape #14...'fucked.'

That title should clue you in....this is a trip to the weirdo side. Fans of the Trash Radio and Obscuro programs will definitely want to check this one out. Basically, I went digging in the Obscuro! archives and came up with the strangest shit I could find, that I hadn't yet played to death on the radio. Some of this stuff never even made it into radio programs because I just forgot about it or whatever...ran out of time...y'know. So, it was kind of surprising to find so much bizarre stuff.

You'll hear oddball religious nonsense, vanity recordings made by reality TV stars, private press stoner sludge, and lots of mind-fuck ambient stuff. Anyhow. See for yourself. It's pretty cool.

Obscuro! Mixtape #14 - 'fucked.' by Bizarrojerry on Mixcloud

Society's Fault 4-12-13

More a'dat punk rock for ya. This is last week's show. We were training a DJ so it's kind of awkward at parts. That's okay, though. We're totally getting in fights with people on the air right now, so next week's podcast should be pretty enjoyable.

Society's Fault 4-12-13 by Bizarrojerry on Mixcloud

Obscuro! Mixtape #13...'Bright colors, white brothers'

I've always been fascinated by funk-metal (the genre focus of this week's mixtape)....most of it is so completely un-funky that the name doesn't even make sense. But, the basic concept is white metal dudes (usually thrashers) playing poor man's Parliament rhythms and kind of half-assing some rap over the top. Doesn't sound too great, right?

Usually, I'd say that's the case, but considering Mr. Bungle is often lumped in this genre, it can't be all bad. So, as usual, I wade through all the bullshit to bring you about 60 minutes of 'good' funk-metal. Now, I might be a little biased since I grew up with Faith No More and Snot and things of that ilk, but whatever, some good tunez here for springtime, and not a 311 song among 'em.

Some highlights include a cut by Tom Morello's (Rage Against The Machine) first band which isn't really that bad, and has some fancy guitar work of course, and a cut by the pre-KoRn band L.A.P.D. (which apparently stands for 'Love and Peace, Dude'--how stupid is that??) Also, some classix like Fishbone and Sugar Ray (yes, they used to be a funk-metal band) thrown in for good measure. ALSO a demo cut by Red Hot Chili Peppers...possibly their oldest song?

Obscuro! Mixtape #13 - 'Bright colors, white brothers' by Bizarrojerry on Mixcloud

Society's Fault 4-5-13 - ZOLO edition...

Another episode of the proto-punk, punk and post-punk radio program I do. No Jake this week, so it's slightly less offensive than usual. The music is a little different than usual, however.

Here is the RateYourMusic description of Zolo:

The term "zolo" was first coined by Terry Sharkie via his "Zany Zolo Muzik Hour" radio show to describe a cross-section of bands and artists with similar approaches to music. Zolo is characterized by hyper, jerky rhythms, synthesized bleeps and boings, polka-dot percussion, chipper falsettos, zany imagery, and a Zappa-esque sense of humor. While Zolo contains elements associated with Progressive Rock or New Wave, Zolo itself is a creative thread that runs independently of both of these genres. 

The article goes on to say that, while the term came about in the late 80's, it was applied back to a lot of 70's stuff like Gentle Giant and Todd Rundgren (at least a few albums of his). Soooo, that meant I could make a whole show out of it, still doing the proto-punk thing. Anyhow. I think we covered the genre pretty well. You decide, though.

Tracklist is on Mixcloud.

Society's Fault 4-5-13 ZOLO by Bizarrojerry on Mixcloud