Outstanding, brain-numbing club set from Pentagram (nee Death Row) in 1983.

Happy Birthday, Dion ... one year old as of this month, we see him here pensively staring out from his crib, wondering where his youth has gone and trying to figure out what the hell to do next.

There is no sleep for us in this house. The transition from family bed to private quarters has not been welcomed, in fact has been deemed betrayal itself ... we are all a bit hazy and on edge, as so it shall remain until the advantages and satisfactions of a room of one's own dawn upon our son and he accepts this important first step toward independence.

In other developments, I've been studying up on Satan's influence on rock and pop music, particularly the deceitful nature of the CCM industry and so-called "Christian Rock" ...

Available now, after yet another lifetime of wait. As with BSH-003, a combination of production mishaps and personal disruptions delayed the release of this record by at least a year. The real-life travails were sweeter this time, the birth of my son rather than the death of my mother, but equally demanding on my attentions. Hopefully the next record can meet light with more expediency ... we've begun recording new songs at the usual joints (Backseat and Ghetto) for what will either be a vinyl LP or another succession of 7" singles, depending on how the results hang together. So far only one review, but it's one I'm happy with -- Brett Callwood of the Metro Times describes "Days Of Plenty" as a cross between The Mamas & The Papas and the original Wicker Man soundtrack. I'll buy that for a dollar, and now you can too.

Lori and I have been circumspect about exposing too many photos of Dion to the dark ether of the internet, despite our desire to show off his bright eyes and drooling smile, but since she recently posted a few to her Facebook page (which are undoubtedly the property of some vast sinister stock photo company by now) I'll take a chance on one as well ...

This is actually a month or so ago, he's already bigger and toothier by now. I will continue to post out-of-date photos of my baby boy at irregular intervals in the future, so don't go anywhere. In the meantime, for no particular reason other than I recently found it and consider it charming, here is a photo of my late grandfather and namesake, Fred Storz, as a boy ...

He's the kid on the right, circa sometime in the 1920s perhaps? As there were no talent scouts prowling Erie PA back then, he and his pal never took their rightful places in the cast of The Little Rascals, and were doomed to live normal, healthy and productive lives.

Haven't posted for some time ... I spend my days these days tending to my son Dion, watching him grow and trying to make him laugh (so far, a pushover). He's in the 8-month range, bright and wild and greedy for everything, so most of my waking moments are occupied with his hi-jinks. I haven't much energy for any other kind of action lately, but just recently a handful of projects I've been involved with over the past few years have come to fruition that are worth crowing over ...

Last spring, during the weeks leading up to Dion's arrival, I got the chance to pen liners for a newly remastered set of vintage recordings from CRIME, the amazing late-70s era punk band from San Francisco. The deal with Kitten Charmer Records was brokered by a mutual pal (thanks, Deming!) and I got the nod from the band thanks to an article I wrote about CRIME  some years ago for Resonance Magazine in Seattle. CRIME is a long time favorite of mine, a crucial influence on bands I formed in my early 20s, so I was as excited about the long-overdue resurrection of this material as I was to write about it.

I supplied several drafts for the LP/CD, but as I was pretty preoccupied by all the imminent baby business, I fell out of contact with Kitten Charmer and assumed they had just gone a different way. Well, as it turns out they did indeed use my notes (along with a brief essay by Thurston Moore) for the recent CD release ... a vinyl LP edition was supposed to appear as well, but apparently hasn't surfaced yet. Regardless, MURDER BY GUITAR 1976-1980 on CD sounds great, there are numerous rare tracks along with raw, primal classics like "Hot Wire My Heart" ...

... and I'm proud to be a part. You can buy it from places like Amazon and such, but why not just get it from Goner Records?

I also just got the new vinyl LP from SCORPION VS. TARANTULA, old friends from way back who settled in Phoenix AZ and have been tearing the place up over there for some time. They came to Ghetto Recorders in Detroit last summer, mere days after Dion's birth, so I visited for a bleary, sleep-starved afternoon and added a decidedly off-the-cuff guitar solo to the track "Hurt and Dangerous." The whole thing is balls-out, as ferocious as the cover art suggests, so check it out for a full shot of AC/DC vs. Pagans-style riff action.

The SEGER LIBERATION ARMY appeared on a split 7" with Standing 8 Counts as part of Mere Noise Records' 2013 singles club and I got a copy a few weeks back. The song is "Innervenus Eyes," recorded a few years back with five other musty old Seger relics, so it's good to see one of these tracks creep out into the real world (rumors of a comprehensive vinyl collection of all the SLA material remain unsubstantiated). The Mere Noise single is sold out already, but you can hear it below via Diamond's Soundcloud ... that's Jim surfing the outer limits during the coda -- we were all surprised when that happened, but luckily the take was taped.



Lastly, the long-simmering BSH-004 release comes closer to reality, as test pressings arrived yesterday and upon routine inspection appear satisfactory. This pressing plant is the second -- I went through a protracted trial run with another company that led to the delivery and rejection of 500 damaged singles, but I'm safely in the arms of Archer now, where I should have started in the first place. Lesson learned, always buy Michigan. We also recently began rehearsals for a new End Times LP with the core ensemble ... songs have been chosen, but adjunct players are still being sought, so breaking ground in the studio won't occur for some months. Contact the official End Times email (thesearetheendtimes via google) with any comments or concerns ...

OK, time to go back to my fatherly duties. The prince sleeps for now, but there is laundry to burn.