Toody Cole interview by Tim Brooks

Fred and Toody Cole are the true power couple of punk rock, the everlasting love story that spanned decades. Fred Cole, a Las Vegas native, started playing music in 1964 with his band the Lords, and continued in ’65 as Deep Soul Cole, then The Weeds,  Lollipop Shoppe, and slew of bands in the ’70s—including Zipper and King Bee. But it wasn’t until the mid ’70s when he and his wife, Kathleen “Toody” Cole, started The Rats that the real electricity happened. The Rats straddled the late ’70s and early ’80s. The couple also formed the country band the Range Rats, then found their home with Dead Moon.

Dead Moon not only toured from Portland to Texas, but around the world and back, from New Zealand to post-Soviet Yugoslavia, gathering a fan base that’s filled with rabid devotees. Once you saw Dead Moon, nothing would ever be the same again. The band brought live electricity second to none and the couple lived a DIY ethic few have matched—from building their own house in the woods and making amps and guitars, to cutting their own master records and releasing their own records on Whizeagle and Tombstone.

 “Uncompromising” is a word that could’ve been made specifically for them. After the demise of Dead Moon in 2006, the couple started Pierced Arrows with Kelly Halliburton. In typical Cole fashion, the band was harder and faster than anything they’d done before. In 2017, the world—and, more importantly, Toody—lost Fred Cole. He left a hole that could never be filled.

No one was sure if we’d see Toody on stage again, but rumors started filtering in of Toody stepping up to do a couple of songs with Jenny Don’t And The Spurs (Kelly’s new band). Then Toody was back, with Toody Cole And Her Band, featuring Kelly Halliburton and Christopher March playing a mix of songs from Toody and Fred’s back catalog.

Showing no signs of slowing down as she blasts into her seventies, the band just returned from a tour of New Zealand and Australia and are about to head out on a full European tour. Looks like there’s no slowing her down. She’s also about to release a record under the name Pink Tex, coming out on Mississippi Records. Few musicians earn the title of “legendary” or “iconic,” but Toody is both. Doing this interview was a dream come true for me, as her and Fred’s music has been a soundtrack for my family for decades. The only thing missing here is the sound of her infectious, cackling laughter.

Sweat interview by Sean Arenas and Christopher Gyorgyovich
Introduction by Sean Arenas

Southern California’s Sweat is a band you experience more than hear, due in part to singer Tuna Tardugno’s allergy to stages. She jumps off them and into the crowd as soon as the first power chord rings out, belting larynx-pulverizing vocals (no doubt enhanced by her experience as a wrestler). Guitarist Justin Smith—whose curriculum vitae includes Graf Orlock, Ghostlimb, Generación Suicida, and Death Hymn Number 9, as well as founding DIY record label Vitriol—is a sleeveless shredder seemingly from Valhalla. His heavy, James Hetfield-inspired riffs and barrel-chested backup vocals belie his day job as a history professor. Anchored by Anthony Rivera’s explosive, surgically precise drumming, the band strikes a fine balance between hardcore and rock’n’roll—Rival Mob by way of Thin Lizzy.

Yet beneath the ferocity lies a careful attention to melody and emotional depth. They write thoughtful hardcore that makes you equally want to circle pit and read the lyric sheet. Best of all, they’re not letting up anytime soon. After three LPs and a pair of 7”s, Sweat has sledgehammered the boundaries of a genre that, for them, has always been about refusing to conform or sit still.

Carmela Thompson interview by Patrick O’Neil

Carmela Thompson is an adamant San Francisco punk, playing in bands since she was a teenager. A veritable fixture on the scene, she still attends shows and supports local bands. In the late ’80s, she formed Short Dogs Grow, described by Maximum Rocknroll’s Tim Yohannan as “a Bay Area band that tirelessly supports their scene, play great shows and just ‘care’ in general.” A statement that also perfectly captures the ethos that is Carmela Thompson.

Short Dogs Grow quickly became a local club mainstay, gaining a following and releasing two albums on Rough Trade Records. Yet they were hard to categorize—punk, post-punk, alternative—citing their influences as the Rolling Stones and Minutemen. Journalist Keith Perry,in an attempt to describe their sound, wrote, “power-chord harmonies and bold time changes, reminiscent though not derivative of early Hüsker Dü.” In reality, SDG were just doing what they wanted to do, on stage and in the studio.

After years of playing local clubs, with nothing but determination and a small bit of cash pooled together by band members, Short Dogs Grow decided it was time to broaden their horizons and took on North America—“Okay, everyone in the van and let’s go”—and toured hard across the country and Canada. Playing every podunk city’s dive bars and event halls, as well major clubs like CBGBs, Satyricon, and Gilman Street (not to mention a pig farm and the backyard of a teenage kid’s family home that his aunt shut down as soon as she got wind of the show). Eventually the toll of touring and replacing bandmates caught up with them and SDG called it quits, playing their last show in 1990.

Two years ago, Carmela and fellow founding member singer/guitarist Tom Pitts reformed the band (with drummer Chewy Marzolo), releasing an EP of new material titled Quit While You’re Young. They’ve been playing the local clubs ever since, coming back as just another band. No ego or attitude. Not trying to reclaim the “good old days” or expecting to headline (they just opened for a friend’s band at a small club they hadn’t played in at least thirty years). A cool stance in this era of overly bloated reunion tours of senescent punks.

After a recent show at S.F.’s Kilowatt, I got the chance to sit down with Carmela and talk about everything that’s got her to where she is today.

Chris Estrada interview by Martin Wong and Todd Taylor.
Introduction by Martin Wong.

Being punk doesn’t mean you have to play in a band, run a record label, put on shows, or make a zine, because it’s an ethos and not just a style of music. I know a punk plumber, a punk mail carrier, and a punk running shoe designer. Too many punk teachers to count. And now I know a punk comedian who has even had his own acclaimed TV show but still jams econo while traveling the country doing stand-up.

Maybe you’ve seen Chris Estrada doing comedy in your town or spotted him on Hulu’s This Fool wearing Clash, Crudos, Channel Three, and Fucked Up T-shirts. The show’s soundtrack included bands like Cock Sparrer, D.O.A., and Generación Suicida, and he even clutched a copy of Razorcake in one episode. But Chris didn’t flaunt a mohawk or leather jacket like Spike in DeGrassi Jr. High or have studded stars on his forehead like Vyvyan in The Young Ones. He was just a regular guy in South Central L.A. who listened to punk—like how he is off-screen and offstage.

I was stoked to hang out with Chris at Razorcake HQ along with Todd and talk about how punk has informed and influenced his comedy and TV career, and, most importantly, everyday life.

Not Front Teeth Records interview by Josef Loderer

Few independent labels can claim both longevity and authenticity, but London’s No Front Teeth Records stands as a rare exception. Now celebrating twenty-five years, the label remains a testament to the enduring spirit of DIY culture still driven by the same grit and uncompromising ethos that defined its releases since day one. At the heart of it all is Marco Palumbo-Rodrigues, whose dedication and work ethic have not dimmed over time but instead burn brighter than ever, fueling the label’s continued progress without losing sight of its roots throughout Marco’s own life-evolution.

In this interview we discuss Marco’s Italian heritage, growing up in London at a time when it still had its soul with precarious and alternative playgrounds. Marco reflects on his early fascination with music, how he first discovered punk rock, and the chain of events that led to the birth of No Front Teeth. What began as a humble fanzine, and never intended to become anything more, organically grew into a record label through passion and persistence.

Over the past  twenty-five years No Front Teeth has stayed fiercely independent and continues to champion raw underground sounds. This milestone isn’t just about survival but about staying true to a vision that shows no signs of fading.

“The recognition that this data center project was condemning their friends, families, and neighbors to a slow death cut deep.” –Donna Ramone (instagram)

“No one thinks of themselves as a dumb little no-nothing from the burbs, especially when it’s true.” –Jim Ruland (instagram)

“Sexuality is like an abstract watercolor in the process of being painted.”–Lorde Destroyer“We allow our relationships to be mediated by technology and it damages our ability to be together.” –Sean Carswell (instagram)

“Capitalism loves conformity.”–Rev. Nørb (instagram)

Never have pasties been so abhorrent. Happy 250^th, United States. –Art Fuentes (instagram)

“As the world around us continues to morph into an ever-changing stew of hate, suffering, and fascist egos, there are still good folks with good intentions trying to keep joy and hope alive through creative, soul-enriching activity.” –Rhythm Chicken (instagram)

“I’m not bringing any kind of monetary exchange into my life where that’s not needed.”–Willow
And photos from the lovely and talented:

Chris Boarts Larson

Mari Tamura

Albert Licano

This issue is dedicated to memory of Henk Smit.