Category Archives: Vinyl

by Salvi C. | November 27, 2015 · 4:34 pm

The ‘Next Big Thing EP’ Is an Instant Party!

Dictators Next Big Thing EP label

Christmas arrived early this year with Black Friday’s release of the Dictators’ ‘Next Big Thing EP.’

Andrew W.K. did a fantastic job with his three remixes. I’m hearing details and flourishes that were previously buried, and he compliments each tune with organ or piano parts. The rhythm section gets a lot of love here–Stu now plays lead drums on NBT, and Andy’s bass is much higher in the mix of “Weekend.”

The three outtakes are a complete head rush. This version of “Backseat Boogie” is a monster and blows the familiar demo version out of the water! The early take of NBT has Andy singing, “They didn’t know we were DUDES!” Finally, the instrumental version of “Weekend” is rifftastic and will undoubtably serve as a karaoke bed for upcoming holiday parties.

I can’t overstate how much fun this EP is. For diehard fans of the band, this release is akin to a religious zealot being given a newly found Dead Sea Scroll.

— Salvi C.

Andrew W.K. and Andy Shernoff Discuss the ‘Go Girl Crazy!’ Remixes

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Filed under Cool covers, Music Review, Video, Vinyl

Tagged as Record Store Day, Record Store Day Black Friday

by Salvi C. | October 8, 2015 · 4:01 pm

Fall Preview, Dictators Style

It’s always either feast or famine with these guys. After a year of not much of anything to report, we have 4 major happenings on the immediate horizon.

In order of appearance, and in no order of importance:

November 8th is the street date for Ugly Things #40, which features an epic interview with Stu Boy King, conducted by yours truly. Stu was extremely gracious and patient with my incessant questions, and had a ton of great stories from the GGC days. He also proved to have an amazing memory — I can’t remember where I parked my car this morning, and he can remember stuff from 40 years ago.

The Dictators NYC depart on another swing through Europe on November 10th, a tour that will feature the debut tune from the tag team of Manitoba and Friedman. The new song is called “Supply and Demand,” and we’re thrilled to report that it sounds like a Dictators song!! It will be available as a 45(!!!), first at the foreign dates, and then at the annual New Year’s Eve gig at the Bowery Electric. The B side is a live take of “Kick Out the Jams.”

2015 is the 40th anny of “The Dictators Go Girl Crazy,” and Sony is commemorating it in true style by releasing a limited edition (2500 copies) of a 10 inch featuring remixes and outtakes from the album. Andrew W.K. is doing the mega-mixes and promises everything to be louder and prouder than ever before. The 10 inch will be released on Record Store Day, which is Black Friday, November 27th.

Finally, early December will see the release of a 2-LP/double-length CD of the same album, featuring outtakes of every tune from the LP, plus “Backseat Boogie,” and 2 more Andrew W.K. mega-mixes. There won’t be any overlap between the 10 inch and the extended release, so you’ll need both to complete your collection.

— Salvi C.

400 Saturdays

We all get misty when we tell the “back in the day” stories about music. Maybe it’s a generational thing, or maybe it’s a natural reflection on how music is packaged and purchased now as opposed to 25 years ago, but it does seem like the whole buying experience was a lot more FUN back when it was a tactile event, as opposed to today’s purchases always being one click away. “400 Saturdays” is a new book, wonderfully compiled by Kim Johnson-Bair, that chronicles the lifelong quests and obsessions of 58 music fanatics.

While those interviewed come from various backgrounds, there are many common threads that repeat when reading their stories. Music was an active part of their growing up years, so the passion was as much inbred as it was genetically passed on. More importantly, almost everyone interviewed makes mention of how the search was almost as import as the find, how buying and interacting with other musicaholics was just as cool as the actual listening to the records was.

The Dictators get many mentions as influences, which shouldn’t be a huge surprise, considering that two of this site’s regular contributors are amongst the interviewees. The whole thing is a fun read, and has assumed a position of honor in my reading room. It’s available at 400saturdays.com.

— Salvi C.

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Filed under Dictators Assembled, Vinyl

by Salvi C. | September 9, 2011 · 12:29 pm

Yard Sale Score of the Week!!

I found this on Saturday, maybe a half-mile from my house, along with a copy of the Ohio Express lp, and an Eagles of Death Metal 10 inch. That’s some eclectic tastes right there. I would not have believed that there was someone in my town in possession of a Dictators record, who had not been given said record by me, had I not seen it with my own eyes.

Give credit where credit is due – the previous owners played this thing to death, as it’s completely hacked to sh*t!

— Salvi C.