Fleshies - FREE Cork show - June 7th

Jim Comic

Act: Fleshies
venue: Pine Lodge, Myrtleville, Co. Cork
Date: Mon June 7th 2004
Doors: 8pm (band onstage earlier than usual as they're legging it to the ferry afterwards)
adm: free
over 18's

- a bandicoot promotion -


"Sit down kids. Let Uncle Mark tell you a story. Way back when there used to be something called 'punk rock'. It was violent, passionate, gut n' crotch level rock n' roll that was devoid of cookie-cutter image, songs, and $1500 Paul Reed Smith guitars. The people that created it had monikers like "Darby", "DeeDee", "Sid", and **** like that. They didn't bathe much or buy their clothes at the mall. They weren't rich kids buying gear with their parents' cash or cruising to gigs in Mom's minivan. They were sinister, brutal, and REAL dirtbags. Flash forward to 2004 and "punk rock", the genuine article, is pretty tough to come by. Fleshies are one of the few bands out there that deserve this description and can wear it righteously, even amidst the term's disgrace at the hands of the Good Charlottes and Sum 41s of the world. Fleshies even come replete with some nifty monikers of their own, such as "Hammy", "Johnny No Moniker (King Dirt)", "Mattowar", and "Mr. Kavetski" [plus new 5th member "Brian Plastik"]. With a tour ethic that recalls bands of the SST years, an overwhelming sense of community (or "the scene", if you like), and most importantly, totally original, mind-blowing rock n' roll, time will show that Fleshies are one of the most influential bands ever to hail from Oakland, CA.

Continuing where 2001's Kill the Dreamer's Dream and 2002's The Game of Futbol EP left off, The Sicilian employs the production talents of Alex Newport (Fudge Tunnel, At the Drive-In, Icarus Line, The Locust) to continue Fleshies saga of drunken, brutal, anthemic violence. To these ears, the rawer production of The Sicilian compared to Fleshies' past offerings surely benefits their style. What is appealing about Fleshies is an almost reluctant undercurrent of positivity in their songs, a refreshing change to the played-out concept of white man's angst inundating most "heavy music" on the pop charts. With lyrics such as, "There will be no apocalypse./ Let's make this very clear: / You will probably be alive tomorrow. / Yes, religion is wrong. / There will be no rapture. / You will not end up in heaven OR hell, and everyone who does not rush headlong into suicide will remain in purgatory for the rest of their lives," these guys ain't writing self-help soundtracks just yet. However, you do get the feeling that even though things are ****ed, if you rock with the Fleshies, then you do indeed have some allies on this toilet earth. Monstrous hooks pervade this record, as with any Fleshies recording. Jackhammer rhythms provided by Hammy and the propulsive bass playing of Mr. Kavetski power everything along nicely, leaving plenty of room for the nail-****ting guitar work of Mattowar and King Dirt's more-diverse-than-ever vocal stylings. With the ability to jump stylistically between the Randy Newman-meets-Jesus Lizard grind of "The Last Friday" to the sugary hooks of "Rosa" to the "Reoccuring Dreams"-like grind of "This Is The City Where All The Dirty Assholes Are Safe," Fleshies demonstrate that having a wide variety of influences is indeed good for punk rock, and may be the only thing that will keep it fresh in 2004."- Mark Hoffmann, Bible Of The Devil

"Fleshies=Irrepressible. Like monkeys on a simian vandalism binge, Fleshies (no preceding "The", thanks) are too manic to see the line between polite and psychotic - Or maybe they intentionally ignore it. Either way, they are, as one lyric puts it, 'locofoco mother****ers.' What they are not is a crew of stylistically strangled retropunx. Or posturing rock gods, waiting patiently for their set to end so they can scam starry-eyed groupies. No, Fleshies are, simply, a force of Id. The audience's choice is to either ride their tide or step aside." -JG, Willamette Week

NOT-SO-VITAL STATS:

Started: Spring 1999, Oakland, California.

Played and/or toured with: The Melvins, Zeke, Drunk Horse, Queens Of The Stone Age, Pinhead Gunpowder, !!!, 9 Shocks Terror, Erase Errata, The Spits, The Feederz, Iowaska, Gravy Train!!!!, The Pattern, Tribe 8, The Dwarves, Green Jello (ha!), etc. etc. etc.

Tours: 7 times across the USA/Canada, two months in UK/Europe in 2003 followed by three months in the USA (133 shows consecutive), avg. 5 months a year on the road (mostly DIY).

Records/Comps: Kill The Dreamer's Dream LP (2001, Alternative Tentacles); The Futbol EP (2002, Adeline Records); The Sicilian LP (2003, Alternative Tentacles). Splits 7"s with Federation X (Molasses Manifesto), The Phantom Limbs (Mungaso/SPAM), Victim's Family (Alternative Tentacles), Toys That Kill (GC Records), The Jocks (Smath/SPAM), PCP Roadblock (Wet Tail). 4 Songs on "Noisy!" live DVD comp (Punkervision UK) and audio on comps from New Disorder, Life Is Abuse, AK Press Audio, Go Kart Records, etc.


Interviews: Punk Planet, Razorcake, MaximumRockNRoll, Thrasher Magazine, Skratch Magazine, Reglar Wiglar, Section M, Synthesis, OX Fanzine (Germany), Concussion Magazine, Mono Brutal (Germany), SF Bay Guardian, KDVAtions, Destroy All!, SF Weekly, OC Weekly, The Onion, Left Of The Dial, and more...

Enjoys: Early Butthole Surfers, The Dictators, Jesus Lizard, Cows, The Melvins (i.e. golden age of AmRep), Turbonegro, Sparks, Dead Moon, Wire, The Spits, Prince, Nina Hagen, Thin Lizzy, Hickey, long walks on the beach and quiet dinners by candlelight.

Helpful Adjectives for lazy journalists (courtesy of the 'Tones' section of Fleshies' artist page on www.msn.com): "Hedonistic, Messy, Gritty, Raucous, Sleazy, Humorous, Confrontational, Street-Smart, Boisterous, Nihilistic, Odd, Brash, Rowdy, Cynical/Sarcastic"