Tom Waits, Chocolate Jesus.

Performed live on the David Letterman Show in 1999.

Frank Zappa, acrylic on vinyl by Daniel Edlen.

Vinyl Killers started showcasing works of vinyl art back in 2003. Vinyl Killers 7 opens on October 29th at The Goodfoot in Portland, Oregon. Among the contributing artist to the show is prolific vinyl artist Daniel Edlen. The show poster for VK 7 features Edlen’s amazing portrait of Tom Waits.

More on Edlen here.

The Ramones on The Old Grey Whistle Test. BBC TV, 1978. For LP.

The Old Grey Whistle Test began it’s 16 year run on BBC TV in 1971. Three volumes of DVD’s capturing performances from David Bowie (1972), Tom Waits (1977) and The Jam (1978), and  are out there and well worth owning. If you can find one.

More on The Old Grey Whistle Test, here.

Barney Hoskyns, Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits. Out on May 19th. For Freddy Pants.

London author Barney Hoskyns will be in LA on Friday, May 15th at the Mr. Music Head Gallery. Hoskyns will  signing copies of his book, Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits. On display will be 12 images by six different photographers chronicling Waits’ career. The signing starts at 7:00. The exhibit runs through May 31st.

Hoskyns has been a rock critic for several decades and has written four other books including, Glam! Bowie, Bolan and The Glitter Rock Revolution. He also co-wrote the page-turner, The Mullet: Hairstyle of the Gods, which sits on a shelf in my library.

For more on Hoskyns, click here.

Record Store Day is April 18th!

April 18th will mark the second annual Record Store Day. Across the country, Indie record stores will release exclusive material from a wide range of artist. This year, Slayer will release their first new single  since 2006, Psychopathy Red on 7′ red vinyl exclusively through independent retailers.

To truly be considered an independent music resource, 70% of the record store ownership must reside within the state the shop is located. The store can’t be a publicly traded entity and must have a product line consisting of at least 50% music (CD’s, vinyl, etc). Over 700 stores will be taking part in Record Store Day this year. Over 100 artists will participating in Record Store Day promotions. Here are a few of my personal highlights:

Tom Waits “Live from the Glitterdome” 7″ – Featuring a duet with Lucinda Williams as well as live tracks from Wait’s Glitter & Doom tour stops in Atlanta & Edinburgh

Sonic Youth/Jay Reatard split 7“

MC 5 7″ “Kick Out The Jams”/”Motor City Is Burning”

Queen EP Queen’s First EP Hollywood Junketboy/MMN 1500 Limited Edition, Numbered CD for the first time in the US

Various Light In The Attic distributed artists 7″ series with Daptone, Numero Group and LITA artists including Sharon Jones, Rodriguez, Serge Gainsbourg, Wheedle’s Groove Light in the Attic Junketboy, Light in the Attic

In Washtington State alone 22 different record stores (including Easy Street and Sonic Boom) will participate in Record Store Day. To find stores in your state, click here.

Scarlet Johanssen covers Jeff Buckley’s Last Goodbye. For Freddy Pants.

NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!

Seriously Ms. Johanssen, with all due disrespect, please stick to what you do well. Such as acting, displaying your gravity defying cleavage on the red carpet and screwing your hot husband. My ears, and the ears of countless other Jeff Buckley fans thank you in advance for not taunting them with your tone-deaf musings anymore.

Fuck you very much,

Cherrybomb

The Plasmatics, Goin’ Wild. Which is exactly what you should be doing this weekend…

After a short hiatus freak-out, GTFO it back. And that’s good because this month is full of much GTFO worthy stuff that you should know about. Anyway, I know first hand how tough things are right now. And that means getting out to a club to see a band or a show might be more of a financial challenge than it used to be. Just try to remember that local businesses like, your favorite watering hole, need you more than ever these days. The same goes for your favorite local bands and artists. Supporting them especially during tough times, is the only way to ensure that they will still be there tomorrow. Sadly, just as I was getting ready to publish this entry, I was told that The Cops are calling it quits after their show on December 19th at The Sunset. So get together with your rock-minded friends, maybe share a ride or drink a little less (your liver will thank you) and put that cash toward a CD or other band merch. Anyway, I’ll get off my burning pulpit now so you can get on with Getting The Fuck Out…

Friday, December 5th:

Lyrics Born, I like it, I love it. Maybe the wackiest video ever.

Lyrics Born, Panda Conspiracy
Neumo’s

The Staxx Brothers. Live from The Zombie Prom, 2008. Dang that Cop can blow…

The Staxx Brothers
The Arts Club (Vancouver, B.C.)
Can’t make it to B.C.? Catch the sweet, funky soul of The Staxx Brothers at The Jet Bar in Mill Creek on Saturday, December 6th.

Mexican UFO

Mexican UFO
El Corazon

Black Eyes and Neckties, Helms Alee
The Comet
Helms Alee did an in-studio earlier this week on KEXP. It was completely amazing. I can’t recommend this bill enough. Don’t forget to bring earplugs.

Tesla, Edison’s Medicine, 1991. For Surly and LP.

Tesla
The Joint (The Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas)
Last month, Tesla, Queensryche and a Sebastian Bachless Skid Row all took to the high seas to rock out with their fans. Some  as paid as much as $2,100 for a VIP room with a balcony. It seems that the current recession has had absolutely no affect on the Metal community. Phew.

Saturday, December 6th:

Kowloon
Bit Saloon
A young Sleazegrinder and I used to get dragged to the Kowloon in Saugus, Massachusetts (due to a technical issue with Flash V10 I can’t post a photo of the Kow but you can click the link above to see it in all it’s satanic majesty) more often than we would have liked. True story.

Wild Orchid Children
The Sunset Tavern

Scarlett Johanson covers Tom Waits. There will be none of this tone-deaf fuckery at Connor Byrne tonight.

Tom Waits Tribute Night
Connor Byrne
Loads of great locals are on this bill including the awesome, North Twin.

Space Cretins, Guantanamo Bay.

1234! (Ramones Tribute), Space Cretins
The Funhouse
Space Cretins new record, Direct from the Superfreak Highway, is out now. It’s 100% gutter-glam, so of course, I love it.

Looking Ahead:

The Supersuckers, Creepy Jackalope Eye.

On January 5th, Cherrybomb’s birthday, The Supersuckers will play Motor and I didn’t even ask them. I love it when that happens.

Now Get The Fuck Out. Thanks to Surly for his help with this entry.

Tom Waits, forever in vinyl. Daniel Edlen, acrylic on vinyl.

The Good Foot Gallery in Portland, Oregon opened a massive exhibit of painted vinyl records on October 30th.  Vinyl Killers runs through November 30th. The exhibit features an extensive array of international vinyl artists. Among them is a Cherrybomb favorite, Daniel Edlen. Edlen has eight amazing pieces in the exhibit, including the one of Tom Waits, above.

For more on Edlen and photos of his most recent work, check out his blog. For more on vinyl art, get to The Good Foot Gallery.

Since Halloween is this FRIDAY, I’ve naturally been thinking about chocolate. But since I’m also on election overload, the two thoughts collided. What I ended up with was asking myself what kind of candy gets handed out by our ultra-conservative, God is my Copilot, neighbors. Luckily, I didn’t have think about this for too long…

Chocolate Jesus.

Who knew Chocolate Jesus wasn’t just a Tom Waits song. Life is crazy like that sometimes.

Chocolate Crucifix Candy.

Of course, instead of those cool chocolate gold coins, our bible thumping friends to the right would be handing out these chocolate crucifix candies. Honestly, as much as I love chocolate, I’m pretty sure my mouth would burst into flames if I ate one of these things. And that’s both sad and unfair.

John McCain Suckers.

I love how these suckers make John McCain look like a baby. How ironic is that? Well, the Obama suckers kind of make Barack Obama look like Curious George. Anyway, I’m sure the McCain suckers will be in every Conservative’s Halloween candy bowl this year. As well as the Obama ones.

Jesus Lollypop.

Now you can enjoy the delicious taste of Jesus right from the comfort of your own home. If licking Jesus’ face doesn’t send me on a one way trip to hell, I don’t know what will. Which is perfect since it’s Halloween and all.

Chocolate Gun.
Bang Bang! Your dead! Happy Halloween!

The Last Supper Chocolate bar.

You won’t find this Last Supper Chocolate Bar at most of the houses you will visit on Halloween. In fact, I’m pretty sure that the only person handing this incredible piece of chocolate Christy goodness is Sarah Palin. And don’t be surprised when she doesn’t answer the door either, she’s pretty busy these days talking to people about killing animals, saving babies and “the gay” and, uh, well that’s it really. But back to Halloween. When you’re out Trick or Treating on Friday, remember what your  Mom always says. Don’t go to any houses where there is a McCain/Palin sign.

It’s just not safe.

Peter Mihaichuk, Self-Portrait, photography and digital illusion, 2006.

For some reason, that last post about Tom Waits got me thinking about Canadian artist, Peter Mihaichuk. Maybe it’s the hat Mihaichuk is wearing in his self-portrait (above) from 2006.

Peter Mihaichuk, Poison, digital photography, 2006.

In Poison (above), Mihaichuk said he experimented with “new techniques.” Cherrybomb thinks Mihaichuk’s new technique involved real blood. Whatever Mihaichuk’s medium was, it’s awesomely creepy. I also can’t tell if Poison girl is looking at me. And that’s because I can’t tell if she has an eye or not.

Peter Mihaichuk, Spooky Dan, photography and digital illustration, 2007.

The Circus Liquor sign in the upper-right corner in Mihaichuk’s Spooky Dan is a nice, albeit demented, touch. If you live in Hollyweird, you know all about Circus Liquor already. And if you do live in Hollywood, you also probably know someone who looks exactly like Spooky Dan.

Like what you see? Mihaichuk also works on commission. For about $300 bucks, Mihaichuk will trick out a undead portrait of you from a photo. Check out Mihaichuck at Aim for the Headshot for more info.

Peter Mihaichuk, Scream of the Dead, photography and digital illustration, 2007.

Peter Mihaichuk is currently developing a kids show he’s adapted from a series of books written by his wife. He’s also working on a documentary on who else? Peter Mihaichuk. Look for a traveling show of Micaichuk’s work to hit New York and LA sometime in 2009.

Peter Mihaichuk lives and works in Ontario, Canada.

Even Tom Waits listens to Tom Waits…

The set-list of nearly 30 songs from this stellar show will make your head spin. Wait’s graced Atlanta’s Fox Theater earlier this month along with guitar god Omar Torrez and his son Casey Waits, on percussion. As of today, you can listen to the entire performance on NPR’s music website.

Thank to the head-spinning greatness of the Mad Irishman for the linkage…

Tom Waits, Eggs and Sausage & a Side of Toast Art Show. Are you in it?

…but Tom Waits wants none of your toast. Unless of course, his god-like image is on it. Or maybe you like to digitally manipulate images of Tom Waits. Phone Booth Gallery is asking Waits’ fans to submit art of any medium (as long as it’s Waits related) to them. If you’re selected, you might get to show your creation online at The Phone Booth Gallery. You also might get invited to the non-virtual opening party in Long Beach, California. This is a privilege, not a request. So get busy!

Tom Waits Tattoo. Only a Waits Tattooed Love Boy or Girl would do that.

Is your Tom Waits art on your skin? Tom Waits on skin (above) is totally art. Whatever your Tom Waits artistic preference might be, submit your Waits type art thing to Phone Booth.com by June 28th for consideration. Now get busy. The 2:19 ain’t gonna wait forever…

Thanks to ReubenMiller and Juxtapoz for the links.

Tom Waits. Never lowdown on a Saturday Night…

…but only because Seattle is is not included in your Summer plans. Tom Waits, the man with a heart as big as Saturday Night, will kick off his Glitter and Doom tour on Monday, June 16th, in Phoenix. The tour includes dates in Europe and the U.S. Lucky you for once, if you live in Phoenix, where Waits will play the only two-night stint of his summer outing in the US. Stops in Europe include Spain, Milan and the RatCellar in Dublin, Ireland. Although this time, unless you already have your Dublin tickets, your Irish luck just ran out. All three shows sold out in less than an hour as of May 27th.

The special word for the tour is, PEHDTSCKJMBA. You might find it in the night sky and maybe score tickets somehow. If you’re really lazy, just watch this Youtube vid to see the real-gone, mad madness that is Tom Waits.