Ska Beat tape from 12/14/97, WMUL, Marshall University

I've uploaded the tape from the 12/14/97 Ska Beat radio show on the Internet Archive so just click here for the link. Almost two hours of great ska music from the latter part of the 90s, what more can you ask for?

Ska Beat setlist 12/14/97

Let's Quit - Ennio Ska
The Kingpins - The 10 Commandments Of Ska
The Specials - Guns Of Navarone
Save Ferris - The World Is New
Reel Big Fish - Hungry Like The Wolf
Unknown - Simmer Down
Voodoo Glow Skulls - Feliz Navidad
The Mad Caddies - Distress
Skavoovie & The Epitones - Sonic Boom
The Scofflaws - Nude Beach (live)
The Pietasters - Out All Night
Los Hooligans - Swing Right Rudy
Dr Ring Ding & The Senior Allstars - Big Man
Isaac Green & The Skalars - Bloodshot Eyes
The Aquabats - Superrad
Doreen Shaffer & The Skatalites - Have A Good Time
The Slackers - Fried Chicken/Mary Mary
The Blue Meanies - It Doesn't Matter
Link 80 - Dance Floor
Madness - One Step Beyond
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Rascal King
Spring Heeled Jack - The Running Man
Pain - Fight
The Allstonians - Pleasing Malady
The Toasters - I'm Running Right Through The World
Bad Manners - Skinhead Girl
Derrick and Patsy - Housewife's Choice
Dance Hall Crashers - Nuisance
Buck-O-Nine - My Town
The Skunks - Sorry
The Ventilators - Lost For Sure

Ska Beat was a show I did in the latter part of the 90s as a community volunteer for 88.1 WMUL, Marshall University's radio station, in Huntington, WV. The show ran for almost three years, mostly in the Sunday noon to 2PM timeslot before shifting to a Thursday evening 8-10PM shift. It was a great time to see live music as many ska bands came through the Huntington area on their way to somewhere else.

Be forewarned, I have chosen to include all of the Public Service Announcements, weather updates, mistakes and whatever else was recorded along with the music. Yeah, I am that lazy. Also, these shows were taped on cassettes and as such may suffer from sitting around for all of these years. Additionally, WMUL had an ongoing issue of a loud hum that would periodically present itself when I was talking but normally it went away when the music was playing. Often I forgot to hit record or to turn the tape over at the midpoint of the show so there will be gaps in songs as well as some being omitted entirely. I have tried to annotate when that happened..

Feel free to leave a comment if my memory has failed or I completely messed thing up.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Ten For Tuesday Episode 084

The Templars - Skins And Punks
Futuro Incierto - Si Tu No Estas (Mi Corazon Se Parte En Dos)
Acid Fast - Dunno
The Skints (feat. Tippa Irie) - Tazer Beam
Sandino Rockers - Ira Contenida
Los Vespa - Citiskapastimato
Citizen Fish - Human Conditioner
The Rats - Nightline
Dot Dash - Rainclouds
Fire Next Time - I Can't Go Back

Ten For Tuesday is a podcast dedicated to playing the music I couldn't find anywhere else. The music I like varies from style to style, genre to genre and era to era. You will hear punk, ska, rock, Americana, metal, country, rockabilly and more from all over the world. It doesn't matter if it's a major label or indie as long as I like it then it gets played. The motto is Less Talk More Music which means you won't hear me waxing poetic for fifteen minutes between songs. At TFT its all about the music...and me of course.

Email: tenfortuesday@gmail.com Twitter:@notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Old Episodes can be found by going to www.archive.org and searching for Ten For Tuesday.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Exercising Demons Issue 2 Razorcake Review

Issue 2 of my zine, Exercising Demons has thankfully been reviewed by Keith Rosson for the Razorcake website that I hold so dear on my birthday. If you want to go to their site and read it then click here. Considering it was only my second issue and I'm still learning (even at my old age) I think it's pretty cool. There is room for growth as a writer and zinester but this review and the one for issue 1 make me feel that I'm doing something right, just not great, yet that is. So of course I'm going to copy and paste the review below but do me a favor and go to their site anyway. You might find something you like there. After all Razorcake isn't just a website, it's a record label, a magazine, a podcast, a book imprint (Gorsky Press) and so much more. They'll be receiving some of the sweet birthday money I just got very, very soon. Looks like it's about time to start on issue 3. And now for the review:

Personally, I don’t ever want to reach a point where I discount zines out of hand. I never want them to become rote, common things. There’s an inherent bravery in the attempt at communication that zines signify.Exercising Demons is the second effort from a fifty-something-year-old guy, which I think is super impressive and pretty courageous. It takes a lot to put yourself out there. This is a collection of anecdotal stories and a handful of poems. I personally found the stuff about his first band, his time in the military, and his experience as a reluctant participant in a frat brawl as a college kid the most compelling reads. The writing’s a little stiff and the layout could definitely use some visual sprucing up, but again, a nod to this guy for trying new stuff. –Keith Rosson

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

11/27/97 Tape WMUL 88.1 Marshall University Fill In Slot

This is a strange one. Once again I filled in for a missing dj at WMUL, this time on 11/27/97 but I didn't talk at all. More than likely I simply queued up the cd In Their Eyes: '90s Teen Bands Vs. 80s Teen Movies and put it on auto play while I did something else. Anything to keep the station on the air. So at least you don't have to listen to me blabbing on and on this time. So click on the link here and surf on over if 90s teen bands covering songs from 80s teen movies is your thing.

The Grown Ups - Pretty In Pink
The Gadjits - Don't You Forget About Me
Dyslexic Crush - A Million Miles Away
Phantom Planet - Somebody's Baby
Ben Lee and Spitoon - If You Were Here
Round House - Bring On The Dancing Horses
Crazy Glue - Oh Yeah
F.O.N. - You Might Think
The Rondelles - I Melt With You (tape switches)
Stinky Puffs - In Your Eyes
Marigold - If You Leave
English League - Weird Science
Slimer - Raised On Raydio
The Knock-Ups - Johnny Are You Queer?
Schools Out - The Donnas

This audio comes from an old cassette tape recorded at WMUL, Marshall University in Huntington and may suffer from the effects of time. I have done nothing special to enhance the sound or fix any bugs suffered by the equipment of the radio station. I have also chosen to keep everything including station i.d.s and PSAs. It is what it is.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

I Stood Waiting

I stood waiting in front of the barracks building that housed me and my classmates at Fort Benjamin Harrison. My uncle had told me to be there at a certain time and my cousin would pick me up to bring me to their house for a home cooked meal. If you’ve ever been sent to military training and been away from home you know just how big a deal that is. Of course I bragged to my classmates as I daydreamed about what wonderful food I would be served. They were jealous but in a good natured way. Glad for me but wishing it was them. Just the idea of being around people who had nothing to do with the Army had us all excited. It seemed it was a fortuitous thing to have been assigned here after all.

My uncle, aunt and cousin and I weren’t exactly close, mainly because of the distance between our homes. They lived in Indianapolis, Indiana while I lived in tiny, little Ironton, Ohio. Growing up, if we saw each other more than twice a year it was out of the ordinary. The times we saw each other my cousin and I always did hang out with each other though. Regardless, we were family and they had offered to feed me and let me get away from the post for a few hours. The thought of it all brimmed with the excited aura of what seemed like normal life from before I had joined the military and was engulfed into their way of doing things. So still, I stood waiting in front of the barracks.

After a time doubts began to slip into my brain, after all, my cousin should have been here by now. To counter those thoughts I came up with possible reasons for the delay. Perhaps traffic was excessively bad or maybe he had to work late. Maybe they really didn’t want to see me. Wait, no, I couldn’t think like that. He was now more than an half an hour overdue so I went inside and tried to call their house to see if the plans had changed. There was no answer. I walked back outside as my anxiety level slowly ratcheted higher and higher. Time went by. After more than an hour had passed since the original agreed upon time, once again I went inside to attempt to call them. Once again, no answer. I walked back outside where I stood waiting.

What a sad, pitiful sight I must have been. This lonely scarecrow waiting and waiting as his faith in family slowed slipped away. More than two hours had passed before I finally gave up my last shred of hope and dignity and I slowly shuffled back inside. I tried calling one more time. The result was the same, no answer. My classmates were asking why I hadn’t gone and all I could do was hang my head and mumble “I don’t know.” The rest of the day I spent by myself, withdrawn and disappointed. No longer standing out front waiting but waiting inside my head. That’s the day I learned that the idea of extended family was overrated and not to be trusted. I never did call them again for the rest of my time in training at Fort Ben Harrison. As a matter of fact I never spoke with them even at the funerals that came later. I guess I gave up waiting.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Ska Beat 12-7-97 88.1 WMUL Huntington, WV

The tape from the 12/7/97 Ska Beat radio show(88.1 WMUL, Marshall University, Huntington, Wv) has been uploaded to the Internet Archive. Just follow the link here and listen to all the great ska music listed below: 

              setlist

Skavoovie & The Epitones - Wildfire (in progress)
Isaac Green & The Skalars - High School
Millie Small - My Boy Lollipop
Hepcat - Bobby & Joe
The Slackers - She Wants To Be Alone
The Skunks - Swing Out Skasper
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Simmer Down
Magadog - Border Patrol
The Determinations - Housewife's Choice
Regatta 69 - I Wanna Smack You
The Skunks - Sorry
Spring Heeled Jack - Electric
The Mad Caddies - Distress
Bim Skala Bim - Not Natural
The Allstonians - The Alston Beat (tape switches)
Skankin' Pickle - It's Margaret Cho
The Pietasters - Crazy Monkey Woman (cut off)
The Toasters - Toast On The Coast
The Pietasters - Without You
Regatta 69 - Simple Simon
Reel Big Fish - Sell Out
The Voodoo Glow Skulls - Los Hombres No Lloran
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Let's Face It
The Skeletones - Dr Bones
Los Hooligans - Sonora
Five Iron Frenzy - Handbook For The Sellout
The Selector - On My Radio
Lord Tanamo - Come Down
The Aquabats - Theme Song
Less Than Jake - 9th And Pine
The Dance Hall Crashers - He Wants Me Back

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tape of WMUL 88.1 Marshall University Fill In Slot 11-26-97

The tape from my first ever fill in session for WMUL 88.1 Marshall University where I was a community volunteer has been uploaded to the Internet Archive. Often the student djs would skip their assigned slot and since I was always hanging out at the station in the afternoon before going to work I would fill in to keep the station on the air. What you hear on this tape is what was available to me that I actually wanted to play. Mostly ska and swing with some rockabilly and a few other things. Go check out the show here.

WMUL set list 11/26/97

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Go Daddy-O (in progress)
Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Zoot Suit Riot
Royal Crown Revue - Barflies On The Beach
Jump With Joey - Jump With Joey
The Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut
Rev. Horton Heat - Rock This Joint
Amazing Royal Crowns - Do The Devil
Justin Hinds - & The Dominoes - Rub Up, Push Up
Robert (Bob) Marley - Judge Not
Dr. Ring Ding & The Senior Allstars - Shame And Scandal In The Family
Los Hooligans - Swing Right Rudie
Jason & The Scorchers - Take Me Home Country Roads
Skavoovie & The Epitones - Wildfire
The Scofflaws - Nude Beach
The Paragons - The Tide Is High
Millie Small - My Boy Lollipop
The Skatalites - Can't You See
Royal Crown Revue - Hey Pachuco
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - You And Me And The Bottle Makes Three (cuts off)

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Zine Nation Has Published My Review on Cometbus And Last Supper

A while back I was on Twitter and I saw that Zine Nation was asking if anybody was interested in reviewing zines for them and I jumped at the chance. This was something that I definitely wanted to do. Since I've been getting into zines this year it only makes sense to try and review some right? After a bit of discussion about which kinds of zines I prefer (almost anything so long as the writing is good) I let it be known that Cometbus was the first zine I had read and ever since I just couldn't get enough of it.

The next question was had I read Aaron Cometbus' book of poetry, Last Supper? I had not and said it was on the list of things to be acquired. So a further question was asked about forgoing zine reviews and writing an article about Last Supper and Cometbus in general. I was immediately all in. After all, I had recently done a book review (and still owe another) for Walter Rhein and reviewing cool authors is something I'd like to do more of.

It took some time but the review is finally done and up on their website. Instead of copying it here I thought it would only make sense to just put up a link so that traffic could be directed to their site. That's kind of the point you know? So do me a favor and jump on over to Zine Nation and give it a read. While you're at it go ahead and read some other cool stuff there. If you're into the idea of reading cool stuff that is and you have to be if you're reading this, right? Stop laughing and follow the link jerk.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Ten For Tuesday Episode 083

Another day, another episode of Ten For Tuesday. In the sake of brevity and getting this thing out on an actual Tuesday all I'll say is hope you enjoy the music.



Radioactivity - Way Out
Earthmen and Strangers - Naked To The Stars
The She Riffs - The Touch I Crave
Dead Stars - Calm Punk
Stationary Nomads - Conflict Registered
X - Adult Books
Sandino Rockers - E.P.E.I.
Royal Headache - Another World
The Shame - The Plan
Tulsa - Math In The Aftermath

Ten For Tuesday is a podcast dedicated to playing the music I couldn't find anywhere else. The music I like varies from style to style, genre to genre and era to era. You will hear punk, ska, rock, Americana, metal, country, rockabilly and more from all over the world. It doesn't matter if it's a major label or indie as long as I like it then it gets played. The motto is Less Talk More Music which means you won't hear me waxing poetic for fifteen minutes between songs. At TFT its all about the music...and me of course.

Email: tenfortuesday@gmail.com Twitter:@notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Old episodes can be found by searching for Ten For Tuesday on the Internet Archive.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Something To Get Excited About

November is here, my birthmonth is finally upon us. If that's not exciting enough (and it isn't) there has to be something else. I mean last year I didn't even get a happy birthday from anyone other than my wife and son until after the day was already long gone. Thankfully I don't put a lot of stock in celebrating birthdays so my feelings weren't hurt, at least not too bad.

But there is something that I do put a lot of stock in and that's Ash. As in Ash vs The Evil Dead. It's been twenty-three years since the last film, Army Of Darkness, came out and the fans have been clamoring for something more ever since. Well not that time has come and that something else is here. Ash vs The Evil Dead is a new show on Starz and it promises to make November a much groovier month. Unfortunately when I tried to embed the trailer it gives me an error message about the code so just go watch it on Youtube here.

With that awesome new also comes the promise of something else equally as awesome, potentially that is if AMC does their job right. The almost as long awaited adaptation of the comic Preacher is coming to a television near you sometime in early to mid 2016. It promises to shake religious things up if it follows the tone of the comic book. And it has one of my favorite actors in it, Joe Gilgun from This Is England amongst other things. Same thing goes for the trailer, I don't know if it's my laptop or Youtube that has the problem so just go here to watch it.

So there it is. Two things to get excited about for now and then the near future. TV just gets better and better. Well at least if you stay away from the major networks that is. Finally with the pay channels, AMC, SciFi and Netflix some really cool shows (The Walking Dead, Comic Book Men, Z Nation, Longmire) have been introduced that would have never made it onto regular tv. That's something at least.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.