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The Obelisk Presents: HEAVY MASH FEST 2021, Oct. 2 in Arlington, TX

Posted in The Obelisk Presents on August 5th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

heavy mash

Been a while, right? I can’t even remember what the last ‘The Obelisk Presents’ gig might’ve been, and to be honest I’d rather not make myself sad by looking it up. And let’s be clear: No, I’m not 100 percent certain that Heavy Mash Fest 2021 will happen on Oct. 2. I’m not 100 percent certain of the state that Texas, the entire United States, or the world at large will be in by the time October, or September, or a week from now comes around. And further, I’m not advocating you go if you’re uncomfortable entering a public setting. I’m not about to punk-rock-guilt anyone into leaving the house when they don’t want to do so. You need to decide where you stand on all that stuff, and any position you might take, for whatever reason, is valid. Unless you’ve refused a Covid vaccine. Then you’re dumb.

That said, I’ve supported Heavy Mash for years now, and Mark Kitchens (also of Stone Machine Electric and Slow Draw) has put together an awesome lineup with Rainbows are Free coming down from Oklahoma, Hippie Death Cult slated to travel all the way from Portland, Oregon, as well as Texas natives Monte LunaWarlungHoly Death TrioTemptress and Summit. It’s a good show. I wish I could be there for it. I wish a lot of things. One way or the other, I’m happy to continue my association with the event by getting behind it in this admittedly small way. If you can make it — emphasis on “can” — I do not think you’ll come out the other end regretting it.

Full lineup announcement follows. Go with my best wishes, and probably a mask:

Heavy-Mash-2021-Poster

Heavy Mash – October 2nd, 2021

We are pleased to announce this year’s Heavy Mash! After a long year of no live show and not having Heavy Mash in 2020, our great friend Wade hosts this event at Division Brewing/Growl Records in Arlington, TX on October 2nd, 2021. Nothing but heavy music and great beer! Here is this year’s line-up:

Rainbows Are Free
Warlung
Temptress
Monte Luna
Hippie Death Cult
Holy Death Trio
Summit

Division Brewing, Growl Records, The Obelisk, Tokemage, and Fistful of Doom podcast sponsor this event. Big thanks to these folks for helping this event to flourish!

Follow Heavy Mash here to stay up to date: https://www.facebook.com/heavymash/

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Rainbows are Free, Head Pains (2019)

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Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip Set for Halloween Release

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 7th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

It’s kind of hard to keep up with RidingEasy Records and Permanent Records‘ ongoing Brown Acid series, and it’s damn near impossible to write about it without having the kind of scholarship behind you to actually, you know, put it together — you’ll note below they have a catalog of dates and figures; to review it would require rewriting half the press release — but the truth is I find the project deeply admirable. Digging up old albums for reissue is one thing, and that’s great so long as you’ve got the rights to do it, but these guys are not only putting out the most obscure of the obscure heavy ’70s singles, but they’ve actually gone as far to chase down the people who actually made the music way back when and get their okay for it. Imagine you’re like a 65-year-old dude and someone drops you an email or gives you a call to talk about some track you cut almost 50 years earlier? That’s gotta just about be the best feeling in the universe.

Anyway, Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip is out on Halloween, and you can stream a track from it at the bottom of this post. Copious PR wire background follows:

va brown acid the seventh trip

Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip compilation out on Halloween

Rare 60s-70s pre-metal, hard rock singles series curated by L.A.’s Permanent Records & RidingEasy Records

The forthcoming seventh edition of the popular compilation series featuring long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip is set for release on Halloween 2018. Hear and share the first single, “Peace of Mind” by Blizzard from 1973 via Loudwire HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

The Brown Acid series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records.

About Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip:

Everybody’s favorite source for the hard stuff is back in business, with ten more lethal doses of rare hard rock, heavy psych and proto-metal! These obscure tracks have all been licensed, the bands have been paid, and the sources are all analog. The quality of tracks seems to increase along with the number of Trips and this cohesive collection comes outta the gate with both guns blazing!

Pegasus recorded one single in Baltimore in 1972 and they made it count. “The Sorcerer” is a throbbing ripper that prior to this was basically unknown. However, it doesn’t seem too far fetched to speculate that Black Flag lifted the riff for “No Values” from this track eight years later. Unlikely, but possible, especially considering how big a Black Sabbath fan Greg Ginn is. Pegasus was lauded back in the day for “how much they delivered that Black Sabbath feel.”

You may not already be familiar with Schizo, but you should know at least one of the French freaks behind this short-lived group. Richard Pinhas was the co-writer and uncredited, wah-wah abusing guitarist in Schizo after his stint in Blues Convention. Schizo recorded just two singles, the first being the heavier of the two, before Pinhas went on to record with Heldon and then going solo. The band had a unique vibe that didn’t sound unlike Lemmy fronting a gang of stoned Martians.

Youngstown, Ohio is the most commonly referred to city of the entire Brown Acid series. This town of just under 150,000 people may’ve had the highest (literally and figuratively) per capita output of heavy 45s. Blue Amber recorded this in 1971 at Gary Rhamy’s analog Mecca, Peppermint Recording Studios. This two-riff boneheaded banger sounds like a caveman protest song with an extraordinary amount of delay on the vocals. No wonder this 45 fetches three-figures on the rare occasion it comes up for sale.

Batting clean-up, we have Negative Space, the only LP sourced track on this album. This crunchy jam comes off the band’s 1970 record entitled Hard, Heavy, Mean, & Evil. At over six and a half minutes, “The Calm After the Storm” is the longest track included on this volume, but it never gets dull. Fun fact: before changing the name to Negative Space, Rob Russen called his band Snow and released the “Sunflower” 45 in 1969 – you might recall that groover from the First Trip.

We generally stick with American artists for this series, but every now and again something foreign grabs us and shakes us to the core. One example is the Schizo record from France, another is this Swedish 45 by Zane. These crazy Swedes did one incredibly damaged (hence the title) record on the MM label in 1976. These proto-punkers relied heavily on synth for this tune and mixed the drums so obnoxiously loud, you might think the kit is in the room with you. This is a weird one that somehow sounds like Zolar X covering Wicked Lady. Brown Acid material all the way!

B must be short for Bangers, ‘cuz this side is full of ’em! The flip of this Trip begins with a virtually unknown Oklahoma record from 1973. Blizzard was Rod McClure’s high school band, but you couldn’t possibly guess that teenagers recorded this heavy slab on the Token (should’ve been Toking) label. It’s one of the best we’ve comped and it sounds like a hypothetical MC5/Hendrix collaboration. The “Under the Ice” level drum fills will knock your socks off if the heavy shred doesn’t first.

OOOOk-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain and apparently where the fuzz goes seepin’ in your brain! Third World is the second Okie inclusion on this Trip and we couldn’t be more stOOOOOked to be sharing this very obscure single with y’all. If the heavily distorted two-note riff doesn’t grab ya, the apocalyptic Grand Funk vibes will. Once they get their mitts on ya, Third World will take you back to 1971 and leave ya there. Can we hitch a ride too?

Ever heard of Virginia, Minnesota? We hadn’t either until we got in touch with Calvin Haluptzok and got the back story on his band Sweet Wine. This bitchin’ one-off 45 must’ve melted the snow off the roofs of the households brave enough to play it when it came out in 1970 and it’s still red hot nearly 50 years later. This vino may be sugary, but it packs an incendiary punch! Sadly, Calvin passed before we could get his music re-released, but it was nice to have reached him before it was too late. The Sweet Wine legacy lives on thanks to the Brown Acid archivists.

C.T. Pilferhogg wins the award for most puzzling band name in our series. What’s not puzzling is how righteous both sides of their self-released 1973 single are! Featured here is the A-side “You Haul” which is one of the best examples of a poor man’s Deep Heep (Deep Purple meets Uriah Heep) we’ve ever heard and the demonic Echoplex-laden laughs mixed into this track are out of control. The band was touted as “Southwest Virginia’s Finest Boogie Band”, but don’t let that fool ya.vThey could bang heads with the best of ’em.

The closer on the Seventh Trip is one we hold very near and dear. Not only is this record the one that’s taken us the longest to secure the rights to, it’s also one of the very best examples of heavy psych you’ll ever hear. The track rings your bell (literally) straight out of the gate and the dank psychedelic vibes kick in immediately. Summit’s “The Darkness” was recorded in a basement studio in Kansas City in 1969 when the lead guitarist was only 16. The band was from a rural Missouri town, played only one impromptu gig in Clinton, and pressed only 125 copies of this, their only single. It should come as no surprise that it sells for hundreds of dollars when it’s offered. That’s a small price to pay for such greatness.

Artist: Various Artists
Album: Brown Acid: The Seventh Trip
Label: RidingEasy Records
Release Date: October 31, 2018

01. Pegasus “The Sorcerer”
02. Nobody’s Children “Good Times”
03. Blue Amber “We Got Love”
04. Negative Space “The Calm After The Storm”
05. Zane “Damage”
06. Blizzard “Peace of Mind”
07. Third World “End of Time”
08. Sweet Wine “Things You Told Me”
09. C.T. Pilferhogg “You Haul”
10. Summit “The Darkness”

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Blizzard, “Peace of Mind”

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