Some FEATURED ARTISTS on this week’s Stronger Than Dirt (Saturday, 8-10pm) include the Litter, France Gall, Skafish, the Beat (US), Prisoners, Judy’s, Pataphysics (Austin), the Like, new music by La Femme (France), Living Pins (Austin), Smirk (LA), Waste man (NOLA), Germ House (RI) and Spread Joy (Chicago), as well as the weekly Dusty Diamond.
PICTURE SLEEVE OF THE WEEK: Skafish were a punk/new wave band fronted by vocalist and keyboardist Jim Skafish. They were active from the late 70s through the early 80s, and had several releases, mostly on I.R.S. Records. Their first release, a 1979 single (see image) on Illegal Records, has a simple but striking design, featuring the quasi iconic profile photograph of Skafish. The photo was taken by Bill Sosin. Listen to Skafish here:
LAST WEEK’S DUSTY DIAMOND (a forgotten gem from the STD vaults): The Chinese Millionaires were a garage punk band from East Lansing, MI. They were active from 1995-1999, and had several releases, including an album on Rip Off Records. “Juvenile Justice” is a smoldering mid-tempo rocker with a heavy bassline and effective roughhewn production. And like a lot of garage punkers, the singer is super pissed at his (former) chick, and is working through some anger issues. “Juvenile Justice” was released on a 1996 EP on Flying Bomb Records. Listen to it here:
Promo art from a reissue of the Litter’s 1967 “Action Woman” single on Sundazed Records. Photo courtesy of Tom “Zippy” Caplan.