Just last night I was diggin' the heck outta Sympathy's re-issue of the Oblivians' 'Live In Atlanta' disc. I mean, jeez, I have owned an original for ages, and fully signed at that, even have a picture somewhere of me proudly holdin' up the disc standin' next to Eric O, I only picked up the re-ish to keep the collection in shape.
So you get the idea I guess; I'm a "fan"...
Imagine my surprise when just now I noted that these guys are gonna do a reunion show in Memphis on halloween (wtf?). Damn, w/ so many copycats around, it 'd sure be nice to see the original band in action once again. Even if I've seen 'em several times in their prime.
Hey, did I ever tell you about that one time they played in town here on my b-day and instead of throwin' a party I bought a bunch o' tickets for the show, 'n handed 'em out to friends 'n family?. It was one of the most amazing shows I ever saw, w/ Greg totally freakin' out at the end. Some guy video taped it but ran out of tape before things got really exciting... Alice 'n me even went up all the way up north to Grunnen the next day (hotel 'n all, hungover like hell) hopin' for an equally hot show, but sadly it was not to be.
Hey Eric, if this thing works out, why not come over to Europe again?, I'll bet Robert 'll be happy to drive you around, and by the time you hit Utrecht I'll make sure the entire Vedder clan 'll be in the front row....

"It's the I-94 Bar's latest issue and our cover story is a heartfelt tribute to the late Tim Hemensley by Sydney punk rock scum nosebleed Ashley Thomson. You can leave your feedback too.
Live, we feature reviews with a country flavour, as John McPharlin checks out the Lowdorados, the Chucky Monroes, Richie &the Creeps, The Meek and The Re-Mains. Clark Paull and the missus dump the kids and catch Roxy Music in Detroit.
There's a free Meek MP3 in the Sound Lounge.
In our Disc Reviews, we cock an ear to the Lowdorados, the Riverboat Gamblers, Sheek the Shayk, the fab Antipodean Screams Aussie compile, the Dee Rangers, The Moodists, Get Lost!, The Drones , Timid Joe, The Travoltas, Trigger, Supersuckers, Hugh Cornwell, Jason Walker, The Bamboos and Maurice Frawley & the Working Class Ringos".

Don't know about you, but I love compilations, esp w/ radio dead 'n gone they are a vital source of entertainment 'round here. There are labels like Ace, Norton and Soul Jazz who put out amazing, and expertly documented, comps, but you also get on/offs where some fanatic lines up a batch of his fave 45s and has 'em pressed into a limited run footlong. Both kinds offer their own particular brand of gratification, but tryin' to make sense out of 'em can be a bit of a task. I mean, have you ever played a comp and heard a great tune by some long lost band and wondered "did these guys put out more records, and if so, where can I find 'em?". And if you've got a decent amount of discs, chances are you might even have more songs by that particular band. Trouble is, how you gonna find it....
The wonder that is the www has thrown up at least three on-line databases that can help you in your quest.
compHELLation (70s punk), Rockin' Country Style (Rockabilly) and the Garage Compilation Database (60s garage) all hold stacks o' information, cross-referenced 'n all. The rockabilly site is esp stunning in it's sheer overwhelming amount of details. I love these sites and have long lost count on how oft I refered to 'em tryin' to find some info and actually found it !.
If any of you is aware of similar sites on soul, reggae or blues, please drop us a line !.