R.I.P. Stiff

DougyB7 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:19:27 +0000

The Stiffpole family and the world of music has been dealt a shitty hand. The founder and driving force of Stiffpole Records, Big Stiff, unexpectedly passed away Sunday evening. There is no good way to make this type ofannouncement and it would be a disservice to Big Stiff to turn it into some big pompous, bloated passage, so I won’t. The truth is simple. Stiff was a great friend, a great person and influenced many people and musicians both past and present. He was outspoken, sarcastic, opinionated, cranky at times but had a very big heart. Stiff flew the Punk Rock flag proudly and supported the local music scene for a very long time. Having taken a break from running Stiffpole Records for so many years it was very exciting to see the label off and running again and Stiff was charged and ready to get back in the ring. Although he won’t be with us in body, he will always be with us in spirit and Stiffpole Records will carry on in his name. It’s funny, reading this back I can hear Stiff with a “Jesus Christ” or making some comment about how ridiculous and unnecessary it is to talk about him like this. But that is exactly what you do when you lose someone who meant that much to so many. We will always remember you Stiff and everything we do for the label moving forward is in honor of you. The Stiffpole family will miss you.

Interview with DougyB7

Joe — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:48:35 +0000

To let everyone know what is up with Last Great Hope we have decided to do an interview with someone who knows the right questions to ask, Dougyb7 of Last Great Hope. Interviewing one’s self is a dangerous thing to attempt and not for the faint of heart. Read on to learn about the mysterious return of Last Great Hope and the new record, Like A Revolution.

Dougyb7- So, where has Last Great Hope been?
Dougyb7- When we are not trying to save the world we keep busy by working on music and other forms of artful expression.

Dougyb7- Why the long time off?
Dougyb7 – It was a mutual decision to stop for a while. The industry was imploding, the local scene was a lifeless lump of crap, and we wanted to work on other projects, and our tans.

Dougyb7- So, tell me about the new record, Like a Revolution.
Dougyb7 – It’s 10 songs of pure energy. Big guitars, big vocals, catchy melodies, one Guns n Roses cover and a ballad.

Dougyb7 – Why GnR?
Dougyb7 – We all love that band and “It’s So Easy” is about as punk as they come for a rock band.

Dougyb7 – Why a ballad, I didn’t think punks do ballads?
Dougyb7 – First off, fuck you! Being punk rock means doing what you want and not asking for anyone’s opinion. Music is music and I wanted a challenge. Writing a ballad did not come easy but the song is great. It has a big string section and really punches you in the gut emotionally. Did I mention fuck you?

Dougyb7 – Will LGH be playing out soon?
Dougyb7 – Yes. We are hoping for stadiums and arenas but will settle for smelly clubs and house parties if necessary.

Dougyb7 – You released your new record on Stiffpole Records, why?
Dougyb7 – Because they are the real deal. They know the industry and are like family to us. Every band should be so lucky.

Dougyb7 – So, lastly, what do you see in the future for Last Great Hope?
Dougyb7 – Big fat checks, limos, hookers, designer drugs…Actually, we just want to have a lot of fun, see the record do really well and play a bunch of killer shows. Making music is the best and we can’t wait to get back at it!

A Detached Causal Observer

Joe — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 04:36:12 +0000

I have never claimed to be an expert on anything; a detached causal observer yes, but no expert. But in the case of the god-damned Afghanistan War, I gotta say the “plan” appears like insanity times ten. First off, before you do any-mother-fucking-thing you must have clear cut goals as to what you want to achieve and at what cost. (Maybe one of you enlightened “Teabaggers” that like to send me threatening e-mails while hiding behind your computers jerking off to Sarah Palin pictures could provide me with the answer). What is said goal in this Afghanistan War? The last person to conquer that shit-hole was Genghis Khan and that was waaaaay back in 1218.

So maybe a better question is why are we letting our soldiers get killed and maimed there? Is it to keep the opium flowing freely? Is it the natural gas pipeline fantasy? Or is it all the lithium (for batteries) that the Pentagon claims is there. Our old pals in Moscow (allegedly) discovered the lithium 30 years ago, you know; when they tried their version of an Afghanistan War. We all know how that one worked out. The Russians thought they were hot shit until we hooked up the Taliban with surface to air missiles and other high-powered-state-of-the-art weaponry. You know, the same shit they are firing at us now. Thanks (little) Dick Cheney, it is good to see that you are still a low-rent cocksucker after all these years.

I could be wrong on this but here is my theory: The national unemployment rate is 20%; don’t believe the government bullshit of 10%, period. If we brought all the military people home, took away the sweet-heart deals the Pentagon cuts with their preferred contractors (FUCK YOU HALLIBURTON) it would make the unemployment rate sky rocket and there wouldn’t be enough tax-payer money to bail out the Wall Street “Too Big To Fail” shit-sucking leeches this time around.

So folks, you better get used to “This Years WarTM” and working in the fast food industry. I picked a wonderful time to restart a record label.

And if you read this far down the page, hey “Teabaggers”, go ass-fuck yourselves!

Big Thanks to Some Good People:

Drebski, Hubbard, Big Walt, Mike @ Archer Pressing, Joe in Cali for the new website (we owe you big time!), James & Family @ Fingerprints, Stacey & The Doll Parts, Mitch, and of course my boys Bubbles and Corey & Trevor.

Stiff

Stiff Pole Records is back!

Joe — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 06:15:14 +0000

Yep Stiff Pole Records is back after a 10 year hiatus, figured when Little Bush & Small Dick were installed in office it might be a good time to get the fuck out of business. But with sell-out Obama it can’t be as bad, as far as I know anyway.

So this is Stiff Pole Records (abc) the (abc) meaning (after bush cheney). We are gonna specialize in vinyl just like when we started. Interestingly there is still a pretty decent back-catalog of CD/Records and we will be selling “Top Shelf” merch like stickers, t-shirts, shot glasses, coolie cups, and a whole host of first rate drinking products. We will strive not to be like other web-sites that just sell something and then say fuck you we have your money, that’s not what we are about. We are about you, the customer, always have been always will be. Bottom line your happy we’re happy. At any rate this is a record label, so this would likely be a good time to let the world know about our first two new records (abc). Doll Parts are a band I saw about a year and a half ago. After seeing them I thought if I still had a label I would put a record out by these girls in a fucking heartbeat. So now the label is up again and the Doll Parts debut 12 song LP will be out soon. It’s good stuff, these Ladies rock. The other release, is by one of my favorite bands around Last Great Hope. This is also 12 songs of some of the tightest punk your gonna hear. Oh yeah both will be on multi colored wax and will come with some cool freebies. Check this site often for promo’s, free stuff and a occasional rant by yours truly or one of our shit-workers/contributors. Cheers Fer Beers, Stiff

Punk is Dead!

Joe — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:58:37 +0000

Punk is Dead! I got to thinking about Punk Rock when I read a comment somewhere from a purist stating that Green Day was not Punk. The first thing that came to mind was that this person probably loved them at some point but now professes to hate them because of their immense popularity.

I think a lot of people have bands they love but have lost interest in after they got too big, it happens. It sucks when you go from seeing a band at a club or pub, up front and usually for less than ten dollars to having to stand in line with the frat boys and cheerleaders (well, I don’t mind the cheerleaders so much) that have recently discovered your band. Then you have to sit in some crappy, over-priced seat only to watch the band on the jumbo-tron, for fucks sake! But you can’t fault a band for finding fame. Hell, the Clash opened for The Who for crying out loud. I mean, I wish my band played to sold-out stadiums every night. So, “don’t hate the player” as they say.

Of course Green Day is Punk. Face it Punk comes in many forms. Green day are just running with the ball that was handed off to them by bands like Ramones, Screeching Weasel, and the like. Just by its very nature Punk doesn’t have to be one thing or the other. It has a certain freedom. It can be filthy and lude like G.G Allin. Thoughtful like 7 Seconds and Bad Religion or make you want to party until you pass out like Gang Green. It doesn’t always have to be fast or even melodic for that matter. It can even have keyboards (think Cough Cool or Howling at the Moon). See, no rules. However, Blink 182 is no longer punk. Their membership has been revoked.

So lets turn it into a metaphor. Green Day are the date that you can actually bring home to meet your folks. A little dangerous but you know they’ll have you home by curfew. GG Allin is the one you have to meet somewhere and will never be allowed in your house. You love them both but they are very different versions of the same thing. In my opinion, I would love to have been able to catch GG Allin live; in the same way you should probably see one Tijuana donkey show before you die. But I would rather sit down and bullshit with Billy Joe over a dozen or so pints. Given the opportunity, I would have probably passed on partying with GG because I would have been scared to pass out with him around.

That’s what I know

That’s just the way she goes sometimes

Joe — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:56:49 +0000

I’m really getting pissed about this oil gusher that all the experts in private industry can’t seem to stop. Now these supposed free market/enterprise fucks are screaming for the government to fix the spill. News flash: the government didn’t cause the gusher, Halliburton and British Petroleum did. Rush Limbaugh weighed in on the spill (quite heavily), with his unique brand of wisdom by stating that it will keep people off “his beachfront” property. I’m almost certain that when oil drenched beached whales start washing up on “his beachfront” that he could strip down and the causal onlooker would have a pretty hard time discerning between said whale and Rush.

Bottom line is nobody has a clue how to stop this cluster fuck. The good news is my partner Hubbard and I have come up with a simple solution, put the “Dick In The Hole”. Consider who is most responsible for this problem. I’ll give you a clue (Bush/Cheney and their hands off approach to big oil). Now who is the biggest Dick on this rock we call Earth? Answer: Dick Cheney. Let’s shove Big Dick in the hole, followed by the Little Bush. It might not work but it would rid humanity of a couple of shit stains which is a good start.

END NOTES: We have a couple of new contributors/writers here at Stiff Pole – Jason “Mutt” Hubbard (the youngest of the Hubbard Litter), and Doug from Last Great Hope (and more notably from Venice, Florida). So enjoy their musings. I thank them from the bottom of my baboon heart.

Issues & questions I have

Joe — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:54:14 +0000

Where’s “Little Dick Cheney” after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (that I’ll guarantee his cash cow Halliburton caused)? It seemed o.k. for him and his wretched offspring Liz to go do the big pro-torture tour, but now that the Bush energy policy fucked up a huge eco system, Dick seems to have slithered back under his rock in Wyoming.

Arizona……What the fuck is wrong with you people? Ever hear of the Constitution? Here is a piece of free advice; don’t listen to Lard Ass Limbaugh or that crazy Glenn Beck. You know what semi-sane people call people who listen to Glenn Beck? Beckerheads. That is almost as derogatory as being called a “Teabagger”.

Florida politics. Yeah it’s a joke both figuratively and literally. The Repulickin gubernatorial candidate Bill “The Weasel Fuck” (I stole that from Creative Loafing) McCollum, who is currently the Attorney General of my fair state, paid some closet queer named Rekker $120,000 to be a expert witness in a child custody case in Miami concerning weather a gay couple should be allowed to adopted a couple of HIV positive kids they had been fostering for years. Of course Rekker was an expert on why gays shouldn’t be able to adopt, he should hold a mirror up to his face and ask himself why perverts shouldn’t be able to adopt. At any rate “Weasel Fuck” seems to have a problem with any one who isn’t bloated, white, and rich. He certainly doesn’t have a problem hiring an expert who just happens to use Rentboy.com for male companionship on European trips. Weasel Fuck is just a waste of oxygen; he should move to Wyoming and share a rock with Cheney.

Religious Fanatics. Why in fuck would you kill yourself and other innocent humans in the name of whatever Deity you genuflect too? There is a better way. It’s called ATHEISM and it has worked remarkable well for yours truly.

Doll Parts

Joe — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 22:39:59 +0000

Doll Parts was formed in 2006 when four girls sitting at a party looked at each other and said, “hey, let’s start a band.” The easy part was done but now they had to decide who was going to play what and since none of them had any experience playing in bands, or even playing instruments for that matter, they went with their gut and chose their role in the band.

Although they thought that their lack of experience would stand in the way of their new dream they practiced hard and quickly mastered the Ramones punk rock classic, Blitzkrieg Bop. The girls now realized that they could do it and all doubt quickly melted away. They were officially hooked and determined to make it happen.

Doll Parts developed as musicians while also making their mark on the local scene. They began writing songs that would quickly become local favorites and showcased their recently discovered talents. As true musicians do, they relied on their own experiences and interests writing pop punk songs about one of the things that they know best, boys.

Doll Parts influences include punk rock legends, such as the Ramones but they also have a love for Florida 80′s hardcore as well including such bands as Hated Youth, Rat Cafeteria, Roach Motel and Morbid Opera – You can hear this loud and clear in their cover of “Shut Up” by Roach Motel.

Although Doll Parts were just barely getting started by December of the same year they were already opening for The Circle Jerks with the Lower Class Brats. In true punk rock form, the night included stage diving, broken fingers, a trip to the emergency room, and drinks with the bands after the show.

By now Doll Parts had proven themselves not only to the fans but also to one of the greatest punk rock bands of all time. As Doll Parts began their second year as a band the opportunities continued to appear. Thanks to community support and local radio D.J. Michael Bagley they played the high profile event “Tropical Heatwave” at the Orpheum in Tampa, FL. Seeing their name on the roster was surreal enough but as they took the stage that night and played to a full house they realized that they had arrived. The shows continued to get bigger (so did the crowds) and the girls pushed forward, continuing to evolve. They rounded out the year opening for bands such as the Loved Ones, Sufra Jet, The Dolly Rots, The Pink Lincolns, No Fraud and Unknown Hinson.

Charging into 2010 Doll Parts officially became a national band by hitting the road and playing New York City the heart of American punk rock. Today the band consists of Stacey Guitar / Vocals, Mandy Guitar, and Molly on Drums. With the forthcoming release of their first full-length album Doll Parts stand ready to take on the world and all bets are on them to win!

Last Great Hope

Joe — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 22:34:07 +0000

It’s nothing but fun when you do what you love. That’s the motto and mission that fuels Last Great Hope. Since coming together in 2004 the goal has always been to make great music, put on killer shows and bring their own brand of Power Punk and fun to as many people as possible.

Following the release of the bands debut album Creatures of Beauty in July of 2004, Last Great Hope hit the road and haven’t slowed since. The bands “big deals” include playing the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Vans Warped Tour, touring Florida with punk legends Dead Kennedys, playing shows with multiple headline acts, and more. Thanks to hard work, the support of good friends, and street smarts Last Great Hope have done some amazing things in their short time together.

So, fast forward to 2010 and things just keep getting better. Last Great Hope is ready to release their second album titled “Like a Revolution” and it is considered to be some of the best and most ambitious music they have made to date. The core LGH sound can still be heard in the foundation of the music and while there are a lot of new things happening and some surprises, this record is pure Last Great Hope.

What does the band sound like? Last Great Hope have always held true to their influences which include Ramones, Bad Religion, Green Day and Social Distortion, to name a few, but beyond that they put their own brand and style into the music they make and that is what makes Last Great Hope stand out from the pack.

So the journey continues and where will it LGH? Well, if the past is any indication of the future then things look bright as hell. Last Great Hope are sticking with the same formula which is to make fresh exciting music, have fun, and play as many shows as they can. So, join the revolution!