B A L L P E E N ( ! ) B U L L E T I N S

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updated: December 31st, 2021

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Hi Everyone -
This is Mark writing with one last surprise to help you shake off the old year.  It's pretty unlikely Saul Bass would have ever been brought aboard to provide the fireworks display at a socially-distanced Hillbilly Trance Festival - but if he had, it might look something like the new music video John Vernon Forbes has put together for Tijuana Hercules "Let's Make Our Own Action" at our YOU TUBE channel .  The song is the opening salvo on the band's seven shooter MOD CD / Digital release "Evening Dressings" - which can be heard over at our Bandcamp shop through Tuesday.

We've also got special deals on our two SKIN GRAFT compilations - CAMP SKiN GRAFT "Now Wave" is a wild ride through our 1990s with rare and exclusive tracks from the likes of U.S. MAPLE, ZENI GEVA, BRISE-GLACEand F'STEIN, while the Post Now: Round One "CHICAGO vs NEW YORK"compilation dishes deep with two tracks apiece from the likes of CHEER-ACCIDENT, THE FLYING LUTTENBACHERS, CHILD ABUSE and LOVELY LITTLE GIRLS. Both are pandemically priced with the former coming in at "Pay What You Want" and the latter at "$5.00 or more".  The CD versions can be had for $12.85 minus 20% (!).  Details are below.  

Thanks - and see you in 2022!

Mark 

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> SKiN GRAFT Christmas Money Drain <
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Take 20% off of EVERYTHING (Digital and Physical)
at the SKiN GRAFT Records Bandcamp Store

Use the code SANTACLAWS
The SALE IS LIVE HERE: http://skingraftrecords.bandcamp.com
Sale Ends Tuesday, January 4th at 11:59PM UTC

PLUS:
> PAY WHAT YOU WANT <
Camp SKiN GRAFT - Now Wave compilation
> FIVE Bucks or MORE <
Post Now: Round One - CHICAGO VS NEW YORK compilation
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NEWS UPDATE: December 3rd, 2021

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> SKiN GRAFT Records BLACK FRIDAY SALE <
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Take 20% off of EVERYTHING (Digital and Physical)
at the SKiN GRAFT Records Bandcamp Store

Use the code XXXXX (Sale is over! - Thanks!)
The SALE IS LIVE HERE: http://skingraftrecords.bandcamp.com
The Black Friday Sale has ended.


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NEWS UPDATE: November 5th, 2021

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> HIGH ON FIRE / RUINS<
"Brother In The Wind and Gwodhunqa"
Digital Single & Comic Book Set - up now at Bandcamp
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> CUNTROACHES <
Berlin's opprobrious invertebrates bring the black magic
Album coming in 2022 - 360° VR video up now

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.... also newly added ...
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AIDS WOLF
"The Lovvers" Digital Album / Vinyl LP (LTD QTY)
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FRUITCAKE
"Patty Lane" Digital Single & Comic Book Set
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ZENI GEVA
"Autofuck" Digital Single & Comic Book Set
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TIJUANA HERCULES
"Mudslod and the Singles" LP / CD / Ult-Ed / Digital
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SIDES 7-10
MOUNT SHASTA / DENISON KIMBALL TRIO
TAR / KILLDOZER
Digital Double Single & Comic Book Set
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Originally released in conjunction with Relapse Records as a 7" vinyl record and comic book set in 2005, the HIGH ON FiRE / RUINS split single is now available in a revamped digital edition.

Joe Preston joins High On Fire for the Steve Albini produced "Brother In The Wind", while Tatsuya Yoshida delivers "Gwodhunqa" - newly remixed and remastered for this Bandcamp exclusive release. The package comes complete with an expanded, illustrated 12-page PDF booklet that reproduces the physical comic book packaging (including the original double page spread) - plus newly added band photos. NOTE: You must download the files to receive the PDF comic book. Order HERE.

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ORIGINAL SOLICITATION:
For catalog number GR75, SKiN GRAFT Records is pleased to present a new split 7" and comic set (in the grand old style pioneered way back at catalog number GR01) featuring Japan's RUINS and Oakland's HIGH ON FIRE - and wrapped up in a full-color comic book sleeve written & drawn by Rob Syers (Gumballhead The Cat) with paints & special effects by Mark Fischer (Skin Graft Records).

Released in conjunction with Relapse Records, HIGH ON FIRE present "Brother In The Wind", recorded by Steve Albini, and featuring Matt Pike (ex-Sleep), Des Kensel, and Joe Preston (Ex-Melvins). The band throw down the hypnotic, droning waves of powerful riffs and low-end thunder that garnered them the prestigious spot on the Alternative Press 25 Most Important Metal bands list.

RUINS - Tatsuya Yoshida (drums, vocals) and Sasaki Hisashi (six string bass / effects / vocals) deliver "Gwodhunqa" a raging new composition that is surprisingly introspective & melodic, tempering their complexicore tendencies before delivering their patented mind-boggling drum / bass shredding.

UNSOLVED HISTORIES, the comic, chronicles a contemporary civil war, with a side of sci-fi and ultra-violence.

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HIGH ON FIRE:
Matt Pike: guitar vocals
Des Kensel: drums
Joe Preston: bass

Music by Matt Pike and Des Kensel
Published by Relapse Publishing (ASCAP). Recorded by Steve Albini

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RUINS:
Tatsuya Yoshida: drums, vocals
Sasaki Hisashi: bass / effects / vocals

Music by Tatsuya Yoshida and Sasaki Hisashi. Recorded at Magaibutsu Studio. Remixed and remastered by Tatsuya Yoshida in 2021

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UNSOLVED HISTORIES (comic)
Rob Syers: script / line art
Mark Fischer: paints / fx

FUN FACT(S):
* SKiN GRAFT's 75th release harkens back to its very first comic book and record set - which was also a split single (featuring DAZZLING KILLMEN and MOTHERS DAY) and was released in conjunction with a another label - Sluggo Records.

* Matt Pike's band SLEEP toured with DAZZLING KILLMEN (and NEUROSIS) back in 1993.

* This is the first all-color SKIN GRAFT comic book

A RELAPSE Records / SKiN GRAFT Records Co-Release.
Assembled by Rennie Jaffe and Mark Fischer.
Thanks to Gordon Conrad and John Mincemoyer.

HiGH ON FIRE / RUINS "Brother In The Wind & Gwodhunqa" is now ready and able to be picked up at our BANDCAMP Page.

ITEM(!) It's been another weird year filled with bottlenecked shipping docks and congested pressing plants as shuttered venues keep inching towards socially distanced shows. Despite Adele's best efforts to push her way to the front of the line, we have a couple of as yet unannounced LPs making their way through the particularly arduous manufacturing process. You'll be hearing more about them early next year - - - and there is even more in the works further down the line...

" - Cuntroaches - a name inexplicably unused throughout the history of bands, orchestras... any grouping of people really ... As it is, the mantle’s (finally) been taken up by two women and a bloke making ferociously warped hardcore-flecked no wave. Mutating waves of feedback intoxicate and induce hangovers all at once, while David Hantelius gets a frankly obscene sound out of his bass - and the vocals - reverbed to an absurd degree - approach black metal levels of demonic witchery.  As with New York’s no wave OGs, what it is definitely not is inept pissing around, ‘noise for noise’s sake’ - no matter how blown-out and violent Cuntroaches get, their interplay is lithe, their arrangements measured." - The Quietus

"I don’t think you’ll need your earplugs after their devastating ultra sonic assault. The damage is already done." - Maximum Rock N Roll

So - everyone - slap those tarsi together and join us in giving a warm welcome to the latest addition to the SKiN GRAFT Hall of Hotshots - none other than Berlin's beloved beacons of bedlam... CUNTROACHES!

CUNTROACHES 360° VR LIVE SET at CTM FESTIVAL 2021

After 22 years of shining a spotlight on music’s ever-evolving role in electronic and digital culture, the 2021 edition of Germany's prestigious live music CTM Festival chose to meet the pandemic head-on by taking the festival online.

Shot live in Festsaal Kreuzberg using high-definition 360° cameras to deliver an unprecedented range of angles, close-ups, and points of view - a select group artists were invited to provide a Corona-compliant, no-audience VR performance for streaming worldwide. Artists included multi-instrumentalist Mentrix, techno collective Spandau20 - and Cuntroaches.

Cuntroaches 360° concert puts you right in the middle of the action - YOU ARE THERE. :-) The show has been archived HERE and can be viewed in virtual reality right now, so grab your VR headset of choice (HTC Vive, Playstation VR, Valve Index, Google Cardboard, Oculus Rift / Quest, etc) and get ready to get wet.

For a first earful of what lies ahead - their 24 minute set opens with a BRAND NEW as yet untitled song that will be featured on Cuntroaches upcoming SKiN GRAFT debut LP. You can take it all in from 00:00 to 04:50.

Confused? Go here: How to Watch a 360-Degree Video

Photographer Camille Blake snapped some behind the scenes shots from the 360° concert. We've shared a few of them above and you can view the full photo album HERE.

About Cuntroaches:
In addition to playing guitar and handling the vocals, Martina Schöne-Radunski is an actress & filmmaker. Her most recent films include "Love and 50 Megatons" and "Kim hat einen Penis". Drummer Claire Panthère also performs in Catarat and is a visual artist. You can see her work (in collaboration with Tipula Confusa) on the cover art for the Cuntroaches 2020 split LP with Guttersnipe. Bass player David Hantelius was formerly in the band Batalj (as was Martina). He just wrapped up a tour with Urin and is currently in post-production on a Cuntroaches music video which will debut alongside the album.

Cuntroaches are hard at work on the LP, so we do not have a release date set just quite yet. We will keep you posted. - Thanks!

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PREVIOUS UPDATE:

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updated: October 1st, 2021

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AIDS WOLF
"The Lovvers" Digital Album / Vinyl LP (LTD QTY)
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AIDS WOLF "The Lovvers"
This is AIDS Wolf's first album and this is its digital Bandcamp debut

"...absolutely overwhelming and beautiful; a palette-cleansing barf mitzvah of the highest disorder. This crowning achievement comes from being one of the hardest working groups in Canada with a strict discipline and philosophy, allowing them to form a Druin's-esque bridge between experimental academia and the weird punk crowd" - Weird Canada

PLEASE NOTE: Vinyl LPs are from the first pressing and only a limited quantity are available. They are nothing less than a certified work of A-R-T. Each 25" x 25" poster sleeve has been individually printed by Seripop with four colors on each side - A total of EIGHT passes per sleeve!!!!! LPs will ship from Austria, not the USA . Go HERE to order.

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JAZZY JOE ROMITA'S ORIGINAL LP SOLICITATION
- - - - February 6th, 2006:

Greetings Graft-O-Philes! Another New Year is a'dawning in this, the third Golden Age of SKiN GRAFT Records Over Mid-America. Now, in the year previous, your omnipotent anchor was accused of being a bit too haughty - a tad too supercilious - a trifle too overbearing in his reports of the happenings here at the outhouse of ideas.

Yes, accusations flew that Jazzy Joe was drunk with power, his magnificence shining too bright for the more sensitive readers of his wondrous writings. Those naysayers will be relieved to read that your Jazzy One is still hung over from the glory of the previous year and has every intention of getting through this news update lickety-split. Nevertheless, future generations shall surely recognize the wonders your magnificent maestro shall impart on this go-round as nothing short of monumental, - and to pull the reveal sans hyperbole is an injustice that Jazzy Joe simply will not allow. So, with alka seltzer at my side, let the dilly-dallying cease - ! Grab hold of your partner - eyes ahead - and - cue astonishment!

ITEM (!): AIDS Wolf's full length debut is upon us! SG's press magnet Charlie Nite has enlisted vivacious Vikki Warner for a seriously sultry solicitation this time out, so lets all join together and give it a read:

Freedom Summer is not a fleeting season.
It is a state of being, and it doesn't end when the weather gets cold. Freedom Summer is being on the road. It's being part of nature, snuggling with wild animals and howling naked, in the woods. It's the AIDS Wolf way of life: live pure, live hard, play music accordingly. It's not entirely voluntary.

The four members of AIDS Wolf, part band, part life-force warriors, are a harmoniously grating blare. They aim to play tight, but they're not always structured. They transform pure chaos into something you can convulse to, an indoctrination to their Freedom. The sound is agitated, driving, and filled with twitchy energy. AIDS Wolf have released a split 7-inch with The Fugue, and make improvisational music released "cassette-only", on a very limited basis. They have written a million songs.

AIDS Wolf's first full-length album, The Lovvers LP, has arrived. Presented by SKiN GRAFT Records in a deluxe vinyl edition, wrapped in a fold-out 25" x 25" DOUBLE-SIDED four-color silk-screened poster sleeve. Printed by Canada's critically acclaimed screen-printing outfit Seripop, "The Lovvers LP" is filled to the brim with mind-liberating graphic nourishment, the centerpiece of which is a revealing band centerfold.

AIDS Wolf recorded with Arlen Thompson of Wolf Parade at the 100-Sided Die, an art and music creation mecca they helped to build in their home city of Montreal. They are citizens of the world - and they tour it - stopping their Ford Econoline van frequently to gather wild berries and roll around in the grass.

Voted "10th most pretentious band" by the Montreal Mirror's readers' poll, AIDS Wolf are already known far and wide for terrifying, ear splitting performances that include improvisation, audience participation, freedom, truth, and biting. With no commercially available recordings available, the band has received an unprecedented amount of attention from the likes of the New York Times, Pitchfork, CMJ and the Associated Press, their output to date limited to demos and cassettes.

Start here.

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PRESS:
"We have a bridge to sell you - because, by the end of this disc, you'll want one to jump off of". - SPIN

LINE UP:
Special Deluxe : howling at the moon
Hiroshima Thunder : banging and clanging
Barbarian Destroyer : unleashing the beasts
Him, the Maji : piercing and cutting
Mark Mclean : spiritual advisor

Recorded by Arlen Thomson
and AIDS Wolf at the 100 Sided Die
Mastered by Harris Newman
Art by Seripop
Band photo by Yannick Grandmont

AIDS WOLF "The Lovvers" can be picked up at our BANDCAMP Page.

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PREVIOUS UPDATE:

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updated: September 3rd, 2021

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FRUITCAKE
"Patty Lane" Digital Single & Comic Book Set
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First released as a 7" vinyl record and comic book set in 1993, FRUITCAKE's one and only SKiN GRAFT single is now available digitally for the first time - newly remastered for this release! - Includes an expanded, illustrated 17-page PDF booklet that reproduces the original comic book set packaging, plus additional bonus pages.

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION:
Lo-fi pop-noise psychedelia as only Mike Deleon (bassist of Drunks With Guns and occasionally Strangulated Beatoffs) can deliver. Two A-Side anthems broadcast from deep within the heartland of the beast.

PRESS:
"Just as their name suggests, St. Louis, Missouri's Drunks With Guns were a noisy and confrontational rock group that lasted for a short time, but they are still remembered long after their break-up, partly due to their unruly behavior and partly due to music. When DWG broke up in the late 80s, its members went on to form a number of bands (and they also joined some), including Strangulated Beatoffs, Ultraman and Bootbeast. Probably the strangest case involves Drunks' guitarist Stan Seitrich and bassist Mike Deleon continuing Drunks With Guns with a 12-year old vocalist named Melissa, apparently to spite Drunks' original vocalist Mike Doskocil - who had assembled a new Drunks With Guns of his own.

But Fruitcake was all Mike DeLeon's band, and along with the SKiN GRAFT single, they put out three other 7"s on various labels throughout the 90s, including their debut - the "Creeping and Peeping" b/w "Night Cook" single on Artichoke Records and “Garden Of Earthly Delights" b/w "Stan” on Electric Records. Fruitcake also contributed a compilation track to a volume of the “Fuck That Weak Shit” series on Pitsbull Records and another song (“Ike”) to the “Hey Drag City” comp." - I Heart Noise

The PDF booklet includes cover art by drummer John Coker and comics by Rob Syers, Mark Fischer, Sonny Rosenberg and a one-two sucker punch to the nether-regions delivered by John Forbes and Matt Taylor!


LINE UP:
Mike Deleon: vocals, bass, guitar
John Coker: drums
Howard Hemingway: guitar
Perry Rohr: drums

Produced by Fruitcake
Cover art by John Coker

COMICS:
Fruitcake Cook Book - by Mark Fischer
Brain bomb - by Sonny Rosenberg
Butcher Femme - by John Forbes & Matt Taylor
Really Stupid - by Rob Syers
Fruitcake Funnies - by Marsden

FUN FACT(S):
Ajax mailorder named Fruitcake's first self-released single as one of the year's best releases. Though a very reclusive band, Fruitcake played a handful of shows around the St. Louis area, including a record release show with Dazzling Killmen to celebrate the two bands' respective SKiN GRAFT singles. Shortly thereafter, Mike joined the navy and the band split up. Drag City would later release an unreleased cut on the "Hey Drag City" compilation.

FRUITCAKE "Patty Lane" b/w "Story Of Life" can be picked up at our BANDCAMP Page.

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PREVIOUS UPDATE:

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updated: August 6th, 2021

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ZENI GEVA
"Autofuck" Digital Single & Comic Book Set
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.... and still hot off the presses ...
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TIJUANA HERCULES
"Mudslod and the Singles" LP / CD / Ult-Ed / Digital
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SIDES 7-10
MOUNT SHASTA / DENISON KIMBALL TRIO
TAR / KILLDOZER
( - AC/DC Tribute - )
Digital Double Single & Comic Book Set
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Originally released as a 7" vinyl record and comic book set in 1993, ZENI GEVA's storied SKiN GRAFT single is now available digitally for the first time! Includes an expanded, illustrated 20-page PDF booklet that reproduces the original comic book set packaging, plus newly added band photos and bonus features. NOTE: The comic reads book from right to left, just like traditional Japanese manga.

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION:
K.K. Null's monstrous trio of terror take man's relationship with four wheels to a whole new level! Japan's heaviest heavys turn all amplifier knobs to "pulverize" for the A-Side, and then pull the most shocking rabbit out of their hat yet for the flip!

PRESS:
"K.K. Null is a living legend. (His band) Zeni Geva has been active since 1987 from Tokyo and is Null’s answer to grindcore and the eternally heavy. Although a pessimistic, intensely dark mood pervades just about all the band's music, they balance it with super-rock along the lines of mid-70s King Crimson and a love of extremities. The music isn’t less complex than like-minded American bands like Don Caballero or Boud Deun, but it’s infinitely more monstrous - mostly due to Null’s overdrive guitar and Steve Albini’s ever-raucous mix." - Pitchfork

"Autofuck” is typical Zeni Geva: heavy, grinding, low-registed guitars; pounding drums and K.K. Null screaming in an angry, gravelly voice. Very satisfying. "When I was on Horseback" is a traditional British tune that Zeni Geva rearranges. About 4/5 of the way into the song, the band breaks from the ballad’s cycle and into a crushing, searching pounding on guitars and drums. The comics that come with this single are just as disturbing as ZG’s music. Overall, a package very worth having." - Indie List Digest

The downloadable PDF booklet includes cover art and comics by SKiN GRAFT's Mark Fischer, back cover and comics by Rob Syers, plus a double page spread by Dazzling Killmen artist Paul Nitsche, artwork from Harvey Stafford and Dan Grzeca - and additional bonus features! Recorded by Steve Albini in Chicago.

LINE UP:
Kazuyuki K. Null: guitar, vocals
Tabata: guitar
Eito: drums

Produced by Steve Albini
Cover art by Mark Fischer and Rob Syers

COMICS:
"Give The Dog A Bone" by Mark Fischer
"Lucky! Lucky! Lucky!" by Dan Grzeca
"Pieces" by Paul Nitsche
"Blood, Sweat And Cum" by Rob Syers
"Seizures" by Harvey Stafford

NOTE: The comic reads from right to left, just like traditional Japanese manga!

FUN FACT(S):
"When I Was On Horseback" had been previously performed by Null's old outfit YBO2!

Zeni Geva met the the Skin Graft crew when Dazzling Killmen played a walloping gig with ZG in Madison, Wisconsin. Null later inquired about releasing Dazzling Killmen material on his label Nux Organization, but since all of the bands material was spoken for, arrangements were made for ZG to record a single for SKiN GRAFT!

SKiN GRAFT Editor-In -Chief Mark Fischer painted the cover for Zeni Geva's Alternative Tentacles LP "Desire For Agony". The artwork ties into the cover and comic found in SKiN Graft's "Autofuck".

The single's songs were recorded in Chicago during the "Desire For Agony" sessions.

ZENI GEVA "Autofuck" b/w "When I Was On Horseback" can be picked up at our BANDCAMP Page.

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