SOUR JAZZ LIVE ON A STREET CALLED ROCK & ROLL​​

Scraped loose from the furthest reaches of the vaults and dusted off for downloading, this live recording captures Sour Jazz in raw, savage and unholy form. Recorded live at the Continental in NYC on 8 March 2001, this previously unreleased set is guaranteed to wilt your houseplants and send the neighbours next door running fast for the far side of town. This is the sound of Sour Jazz laughing in the face of public humiliation – a curious yet effective melange of suave and slop. Noel Ford manned the board. ​

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PILLBOX FIVE SONG TEN INCH E.P.​

Released in 1995 on Feralette Records and produced by Godfrey Diamond (producer of Lou Reed’s “Coney Island Baby” album), this vinyl-only 10” ep found Pillbox with a new lineup, in the shape of Mark Phelan on vocals and Barry Hughes on bass. As Trouser Press pointed out, “As Pillbox's sonic architect, Mr Ratboy reveals himself capable of writing and playing more complicated and subtle music.” Many thanks to the Beer For Breakfast blog for the vinyl rip and scanned artwork. Click, behold, marvel.

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KEVIN K & SOUR JAZZ ARBEIT MACHT FREI

Culled from shows at the Continental on St Mark's Place in September and December 2000, “Arbeit Macht Frei” is a live work-out with Kevin K’s NY band - the rhythm section of Sour Jazz (Cowboy Mark on bass and Splat Action on drums) plus producer Patrick K on extra guitar. A mix of solo material and Road Vultures tunes, it motors along nicely. Girls, drugs, misadventures and the biggest Thunders cop you ever did hear in “Hook Me Up.” Released on 13th Street Records (US) and Vicious Kitten Records (Australia).

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PILLBOX JIMBO’S CLOWN ROOM

Between Mr Ratboy leaving Motorcycle Boy and joining Marky Ramone’s Intruders, there was the mighty Pillbox. Together with vocalist Chris Barry (ex- 222s & 39 Steps), bassist Johnny Baum, and Screamin’ Joe Rizzo on drums, Pillbox repeatedly proved to be an antidotal neighbourhood threat to D-Generation. Their first album “Jimbo’s Clown Room” was released in 1993 on the Circumstantial label and became an instant classic amongst those who regarded it as an instant classic. Download and dig... you deserve it.

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​​SOUR JAZZ NATIONAL SPANISH RADIO SHOW

Whilst spreading joy, mirth and tinnitus amongst the youth of Spain in the summer of 2010, Sour Jazz took time to appear on the El Sótano show on Radio 3 for National Spanish Radio, presented by Diego RJ. This hour-long live-to-air program featured music and interviews, and saw Sour Jazz joined by legendary producer Daniel Rey, who accompanied Sour Jazz on guitar for the tour. You download, you listen, and you learn... hacerlo ahora, hijo de puta!

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​DIRT SEARCH HEADLIGHT UNRELEASED TRACKS​​

Taking their name, as you do, from an old Hoover vacuum model, Dirt Search Headlight was formed circa 1992 following the demise of Philly’s Red Herring and Carnival of Shame. The band featured future Sour Jazz singer Mr. Popular (Lou Paris) and drummer Splat Action (Pat Fitzgerald), alongside guitarist Mark Telling and bass player Spencer Lloyd. These tracks were recorded circa 1994 by Kramer at Noise New Jersey. The band fell apart before anything was released, but the song “Australia” did end up as the theme of the very first X Games TV special on ESPN. Click HERE for live footage from 1993.

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THE MYSTERY GIRLS ROCK N’ ROLL WITH THE MYSTERY GIRLS

Back in 1983, Mr. Ratboy was Brian Blade – the guitarist for The Mystery Girls, a Shangri-Las/Dolls/Modern Lovers-influenced combo whose only recorded legacy is a very rare acetate 33 RPM single, limited to only 5 copies with a xeroxed cover. The four tracks featured here are the far-superior demos recorded in Switzerland with a full band that included not only the future World Famous Mr Ratboy, but also the enigmatic Zmotron, who went on to play in an early incarnation of The Dogs D’Amour under the name Mark Draxx. Download now, and be the first on your continent to hear these historical recordings.​

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MR RATBOY A GIFT FROM MR RATBOY​

“The debut solo effort from Mr. Ratboy (Sour Jazz, Pillbox, Motorcycle Boy, Marky Ramone...) is about as perfect a Rock n’ Roll record as you are likely to find in such a mess of a decade. As Pillbox’s sonic architect, Mr. Ratboy reveals himself capable of writing and playing more complicated and subtle music, delicate piano, feedback and acres of space to strange melodic choruses.”  —Trouser Press

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SOUR JAZZ DIG IT UP/DIG IT DOWN & MR POPULAR (PT 2) ​​

These two fine stitches in rock’s rich tapestry were originally recorded during the “Lost For Life” album sessions, with the admirable (if slightly misguided) intention of eventually using them as b-sides of proposed singles which never happened. Instead, they were later made available on the now-out-of-print compact disc, “Dressed To The Left,” via Munster Records out of Madrid. To this day, both tracks remain exclusive to that particular cd, and have never been made available as digital downloads. Sometimes “rare” also means “not well done.” Not in this case, it don’t.