midwest can be alright

rock'n'roll don't come from new york! just ask the gizmos. to start the new year off right, I will be DJing the #1 new year's eve event tonight according to our local newspaper. its not because of me, though. I (White Light White Heath), and my DJ partner in crime Jonny Yuma, will be teaming up with Wolfgang (of John Wilkes Booze). and better yet, the bands playing are great, too. the Gizmos were probably the first punk band in Indiana. this will be their latest reunion- and they are always a fantastic time. also playing is local powerhouse The Coke Dares, who have got to have one of the most energetic and catchy live acts of all time. are they a modern day Minutemen? maybe. shall I quote some blurbs? I shall.

Back in March 1976, when the Ramones were still a local New York band and the Sex Pistols weren't even a rumor in the U.S., a group of teenage fanzine writers, rock cultists, and heavy-metal dudes got together in Bloomington, Indiana, and recorded the first Gizmos EP. The strong influences of the Dictators, the MC5, the Stooges, the Velvet Underground, 60s garage bands, and 50s rockabilly crashed head-on with musicians self-trained on Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Santana, and Hendrix. These godfathers of Hoosier punk - possibly the first punk band in Indiana - opened for the Ramones in Nov. 1979.

The Coke Dares don't have time to drink their beer between songs, even when they play twenty five of them in a set. In fact, most people don't have time to buy another drink during their set, because even with twenty five songs, their set is usually done in that many minutes or less. But The Coke Dares aren't just blazing speed and screaming -- imagine twenty five of your favorite classic rock songs with all of the crap cut out of them, leaving you thirty seconds of the best parts of, say, "Walk Away" or "Radar Love." Born out of the idea that most bands play too long and don't really let themselves go enough to rock, and out of the members of the Panapoly Academy Legionnaires/Corps of Engineers, The Impossible Shapes, and Songs: Ohia/Magnolia Electric Co., The Coke Dares cram all they can in the shortest space possible and waste no time in hooking you and making you want more.

None of you reading this are probably anywhere near me, so it matters not if I tell you where it is. you have new year's plans already anyhow. but here are some tracks to whet your appetite, regardless. also, please consider donating to the red cross to help the tsunami victims.

The Gizmos - The Midwest Can Be Alright