I don’t often put up stuff that I get in press releases.  I get a ton of them, some of them I pass along to you the reader but most I just keep in my folder for later and for information when I’m writing reviews and stuff (which I really need to pick up at).  Today is an exception to the rule.  I can’t remember what age it was, but I think I became extremely aware of a band called Suicidal Tendencies in my junior or senior year of high school.  They looked like gangsters who played punk metal music.  On a whim I picked up Lights…Camera…Revolution and it changed my life forever.  I still love that record today.

Suicidal has been pretty quiet the last few years but they’ve been making a less than quiet come back.  This tour was a kick off to some major things, but unfortunately tragedy has stricken the Cyco’s again.  From the press release:

In a collective statement from crossover kings SUICIDAL TENDENCIES: “Sunday Night ST played NYC to 2000 old and newschool Cycos! It’s always great to hit the East Coast and catch up with a lot of our friends, bands and family. Unfortunately the NYC show will be the last show of this tour. Sadly, one of the band members had a parent pass away suddenly and needed to fly home to be with his family in this difficult time and handle all the funeral arrangements, etc. With heavy hearts, the band decided it would be best to postpone the remaining ST shows and make them up sometime next year. We appreciate your understanding, your thoughts and your prayers. Please give us a few days and we will try and let those who already have tickets how how to get refunds, etc. Again, we are so sorry to have to postpone these shows, but hope that everyone will be able to understand, and we’ll do our best to make the dates up.”
 
The postponed dates include:
11/17/2010 Metro – Chicago, IL
11/18/2010 Cabooze – Minneapolis, MN
11/20/2010 Summit – Denver, CO
11/21/2010 Sunshine Theatre – Albuquerque, NM

!  My heart goes out to all of you guys.Cyco.  Take care and stay period to the band and their family at this time.  It’s terrible to be half way across the country doing what you love to do and have something like this happen.  Family is everything.  Peace be with you guys during this difficult condolencesI’d like to take a moment to extend my

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I’m not one of those people that hates remakes.  The movie industry has been doing if for decades.  We have great examples of remakes working (The Thing, Dawn of the Dead 2004) throughout the history of cinema and we have more examples of them not working as well (take your pick), but every now and again a piece of news comes crashing onto my desk that I sit and think, “Wow, really WTF are they thinking?”  That said news came across my desk this morning that the pitched remake of The Toxic Avenger has found it’s director who will also be co-writing the script and a few things popped into my head right away.

But first a bit of back story on my relationship with The Toxic Avenger.  I think I was maybe 13 or 14 when I saw The Toxic Avenger for the first time.  I barely made it through the whole film and it had a lasting impact on me.  The film was filled with pop culture references, tons and tons of gore and lots of nudity.  I have no idea how I got my hands on this movie at such an early age but I remember my parents were going out for the night and this was what I rented to entertain myself while they were away.  Boy howdy did it entertain me.  I can remember being sick to my stomach and thinking on more than one occasion I should turn this off.  I just couldn’t take my eyes of what was being presented in front of me.

It was another one of those “game changer movies” where I realized there was more to life than what the latest movie being advertised on television (and this is in the mid 80′s that I first saw this).  It also fueled my obsession for seeing extreme things in film.  The Toxic Avenger is one of those movies that just couldn’t have been filmed in Hollywood.  Decidedly non-politically correct filed with jokes and gore that most audiences today would rally against to get banned.  What a movie man, what a movie.

A few years back I tripped over to Chicago to the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors and got to meet the man behind The Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman.  He is also the man behind Troma Studios and one of those guys that has made a name for himself working outside the system and creating an empire built on bad taste and cult stardom.  Lloyd is an interesting cat and the few minutes I hung out with him while he signed my 25th Anniversary of The Toxic Avenger was some of the weirdest and most memorable moments of my life.  I also got to see him speak that weekend about independent film and premier the trailer for his latest opus of bad taste Poultrygiest: Night of the Chicken Dead (which you should see at least once in your life).

So today when I read the news that the remake has it’s director and writers I was a bit worried that this may be a completely watered down version of the original (which I’m guaranteeing it will be no matter what) but I had a slight light of hope when I saw the name attached to it.  Steve Pink.  What’s that?  You don’t recognize that name?  Well I didn’t at first either but next to his name was Hot Tub Time Machine and well that pretty much sold me.  Pink did a GREAT job with something that could have been so easy to just screw up.  He didn’t though.  He got it.  He got the era of the 80′s down and he got so much right with his actors and his direction in that movie.  I really thought that film was going to be a wasted 1.5 hours of my life and it wasn’t.  It was a lot of fun and something I could watch again and again.  You see first and foremost, The Toxic Avenger is a comedy about a nerd getting his revenge and trying to do the right thing, despite being a deformed hideous monster (who happens to find love with the super beautiful female protagonist).  The Toxic Avengeris a film about a nerd coming of age, finding his place and finally getting a win in his column (can you tell I overly identify with Toxie in his human form?).

So while there will definitely be some real hate for this remake, I’m going to welcome it with open arms.  This could be another remake in the Win category with Pink’s name attached to direct.

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So awhile back I got to go check out 16Volt/Chemlab/Left Spine Down in LaCrosse Wisconsin on the Midi Ghetto Tour.  I hung out with old friends and made some new ones from all the bands.  It was a great time and a lot of fun.  During that night Jason of SMP (who was also drumming for 16Volt and Chemlab that night) and Chris DeMarcus of Stiff Valentine kept talking about the new SMP record.  I’ve been a big fan of SMP since the mid 90′s when I first heard some of Jason’s work on various compilations and remix albums.  I’ve been a fan ever since and we got on the subject of his new album “Coda”.  “Coda” is finally out now and ready for you to consume, I think the press release says it best:

SMP releases new album, “Coda.”

Seattle, Wash. – Seattle industrial-rock band Sounds of Mass Production releases its sixth original album, “Coda.”

The short and not-so-sweet “Coda” clocks in at just under 36 minutes. It features eight tracks of unapologetic industrial-rock that draw influences from old-school punk, hip-hop, and Wax Trax!-era industrial music.

“Coda” was produced by Wade Alin (Christ Analogue, iScintilla) and features guest appearances by Ned Kirby (Stromkern), Dee Madden (Penal Colony), Mike Ostrander (64K) and Chris DeMarcus (Stiff Valentine), as well as guitar and drum work by Dan Miura (The Crills) and Juan Gomez, respectively.

“Coda” follows the 2007 SMP release, “The Treatment,” and is the result of the meltdown and rebirth of the band. Band leader Jason Bazinet announced that the band was finished shortly after the release of “The Treatment,” and released the digital remix album “Pissing on the Legacy” to punctuate the end of an era.

During this hiatus, Bazinet resurfaced as a drummer for legendary industrial acts Chemlab (Invisible), 16Volt (Metropolis) and Front Line Assembly (Metropolis/ Dependant), playing multiple American and European tours and performing on 16Volt’s last two releases “FullBlackHabit” and “AmericanPornSongs.”

“While touring and working with these bands, I just got the bug to write music again. It’s something I have to do,” Jason admits.

“The few hardcore fans I have pushed me to do this as well. It started with writing a song for the ‘Electronic Saviors’ compilation box set (Metropolis) and then we did a small Southwest tour with SMP and Stiff Valentine. After that I was rejuvenated and there was no turning back.”

“Coda” is released on SMP’s own imprint, Music Ration Entertainment. SMP has been using MRE as its outlet for releases ever since its split with Invisible Records in the early 2000s. “Coda” is MRE’s fourth physical CD release and will be available for purchase at CDbaby.com and most legitimate download sites.

I’ve got my copy of the record in coming to me in the mail, but since I know Jason and I know SMP’s output from the past, I suggest you just pick up your own copy today.  Click HERE to order it!

Just do it, you know you want to, I wouldn’t steer ya in the wrong direction…

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