Some FEATURED ARTISTS on this week’s Stronger Than Dirt (Saturday, November 25, 8-10pm) include John’s Children, Yankee Dollar, Merrell Fankhauser, Masterswitch, Martha and the Muffins, Allen Chaney, Bongwater, Ladytron, lots of new music as well as the weekly Dusty Diamond.
COVER ART OF THE WEEK: Bongwater were an NYC based alt rock band founded by actress and performance artist Ann Magnuson and Mark Kramer, founder of the Shimmy Disc record label. They formed in 1987 and dissolved in 1992. Their 1988 double LP album “Double Bummer,” released on Shimmy Disc, featured on the front and back covers photos by NYC photographer Michael Macioce. Besides being the in-house cover photographer for Shimmy Disc, Macioce also did extensive work for other indie labels including Rough Trade. (Click on image to enlarge)
DUSTY DIAMOND OF THE WEEK (a forgotten gem from the STD vaults): Gorilla, a garage rock band from Seattle, makes their second appearance as a Dusty Diamond band. They were active from the early to mid 90s and released two albums and several singles. “Vein Popper” is a high energy, catchy ripper from start to finish with excellent keyboards and a blistering guitar break. Love this song! It appeared in 1991 as a co-release of the Regal Select and Bag of Hammers record labels. Listen to it here:
Promo art from Public Image Ltd.’s 1979 “Second Edition” album on Island Records. Photo by Tony McGee,