SKiN GRAFT News for You's

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

updated September 2nd, 2003

CHEER-ACCIDENT "Introducing Lemon"

ITEM! Hottt on the high heels of the release of the CHEER-ACCIDENT "Gumballhead The Cat" CD & Comic Book Set (scroll down to the previous update for the scoop), comes none other than the NEXT ONE you've all been baiting your breath for - CHEER-ACCIDENT's latest & altogether greatest, "Introducing Lemon"!!!!! Recorded to 24-track tape (and no Pro Tools, Brainiac!) in Studio A at Electrical Audio with engineer Steve Albini, Lemon is sonically outstanding, sports expert prog musicianship and delivers clear, strong, avant-garde song architecture - with integrity!!!!

Whattaya say we just skip the hype and see what the man on the street sez?:

"If there are two types of music, CHEER-ACCIDENT adeptly defies them both. Informed by King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Gentle Giant, Charles Ives, Miles Davis, The Beatles, Steely Dan, Martin Mull, machines, insanity, people... CHEER-ACCIDENT effortlessly make transitions from hypnotic minimalist drone to dissonant jazz improvisation to deconstructed progressive rock, often during the course of a single song.

Introducing Lemon features the broadest range of styles, influences and instrumentation ever to appear on a CHEER-ACCIDENT record.

Blazing riffs and rock guitar.
Moog, vibes and violin.
Baritone sax leads to an infectious horn-infested funk section.
Riding, maniacal drum grooves and anti-grooves share sonic space with down-home acoustic slide guitars.
Trumpets, melodicas, tack piano, flutes, tape collages.
Bold upfront vocals.

Love it or hate it, even love-to-hate it, this is an unforgettable series of moments, a challenging and rewarding encounter for anyone enticed by music that demands to be experienced." (Charlie Nite, publicist).

"(Introducing Lemon's) "The Autumn Wind is A Pirate" has more innovative ideas and pursuits than most bands have in their entire career." (Bobby Conn, musician).

"Yes! CHEER-ACCIDENT!" (Tatsuya Yoshida, Progressive Rock Authority / Ruins vocalist & drummer).

"From straight rock sets to clownish buffoonery, CHEER-ACCIDENT are never unremarkable or dull." (Steve Albini, Lemon engineer / Shellac guitarist).

"CHEER-ACCIDENT is the best rock band on the planet." (Jim O'Rourke, engineer / Sonic Youth guitarist).

"I like CHEER-ACCIDENT." (Oops Wilson, French Toast enthusiast).

Introducing Lemon will be released on September 16th, available as a jam-packed extra-length CD - AND - for you discriminating collector-types - as a Gatefold Sleeved DOUBLE album, with the CD format included! Each vinyl LP is pressed on hefty 140 gram vinyl, and the CD will rest in a nifty pocket attached to the inner gatefold sleeve.

Two FREE MP3's are now up at the AUDIO page. For more details, check the entry at our CATALOG page. Advance orders are being taken now and copies will ship as soon as they arrive. Paypals can go HERE.

CHEER-ACCIDENT will be performing a DUAL record release show in honor of Introducing Lemon and Gumballhead The Cat on September 2Oth at the Abbey Pub in Chicago. Advance tickets are available HERE. The band will embark on a three legged cross country tour beginning this Fall (booked by Brian Peterson at MP Shows) and carrying over into 2004. Shows and details will be posted at the TOURS page as they become available.

EUROPEAN TOUR

ITEM! Now that THE CHINESE STARS debut shaped CD "Turbo Mattress" is starting to hit the shops (and let me tell you, the early injury reports are staggering!), the band is gearing up to take the show to Europe! Beginning On September 11th The Chinese Stars will rattle the United Kingdom for 7 dates (accompanied by the Microwaves - Those who saw Arab On Radar on their last go-round of Europe may remember the Microwave's own John Roman in his starring role as "merch guy"). Once England's sufficiently sunk, TCStars will proceed to tour continental Europe with a kick off of September 22nd in Brussels!

THE CHINESE STARS TOUR DATES are listed HERE!!!!

u.s. maple
"long hair in three stages"
CD back in stock!

ITEM! What more can be said about U.S. MAPLE's debut long player "Long Hair In Three Stages" that hasn't already been slung? Well.., plenty, but Jazzy ain't here to do the work for you. See, after a temporary outage, SKiN GRAFT brought the originals back to press yet again for all those who have yet to have their say. Yes, this is the one that "rocks", before the band fell all apart on "Sang Phat Editor". Here are the disjointed machinations, poppy locksteps and jarring sideways excursions (all leading down a path to nowhere's-ville) that has had other bands writing under the influence for 8 years. Engineered by Jim O'Rourke with a cold, U.S. MAPLE "Long Hair In Three Stages" sports artwork by Table Of The Elements' Jon Malic and is printed with three pantone metallic inks on 100# Corniche Gloss white text. An MP3 is up now at the AUDIO page to tempt your tastes, bud. Yep, another class act, available now.

ITEM!For as long as the Jazzy One's been taking up space around these parts, folks from far and wide have beseeched the Skin Graft citadel for original drawings of the endearing & enduring Skin Graft cartoon characters to hang in their hut, tattoo on their anatomy, or hide under their bed. And now, we're making it easy, systematic and less of a pain in the ass for all parties involved! For a limited time, Rob Syers will be taking commissions for original Gumballhead The Cat drawings! These will be rendered in pen, brush and ink on hefty 2 ply bristol board - in striking black and white - just like the comics themselves! Each drawing will be drawn especially for you - and your suggestions are welcome. You can steal Rob's time from more profitable pursuits for just $38 a pop (!!!) - Mail in your $$$ or order via paypal to id: mark@skingraftrecords.com. Take my word for it, your bleak, bummer of an asylum will be transformed into a chateau of wonder and delight. Friends will shower you with adoration and the reverence you deserve - jealous types will struggle to hide their contempt and disdain - and members of your preferred sex will be putty in your hands. Take Jazzy Joe's word for it, chum - nobody gives a hoot about coming up to see your etchings - but Authentic, Genuine Skin Graft Cartoon Art - well, compatriot, that's another animal altogether!

THE JAPANESE
NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL
also featuring:
Zubi Zuva X, Akaten, Zoffy & Acid Mothers Temple (mode HHH)

ITEM! The Chinese Stars aren't the only band plowing through Europe this Fall! Tokyo's dynamic drum(s) and bass duo, RUINS have organized yet another version of The Japanese New Music Festival! The first festival took place in 1997 when three musicians, Yoshida Tatsuya, Sasaki Hisashi and Tsuyama Atsushi, joined forces to organize and perform an entire festival of Japanese New Music ALL BY THEMSELVES -!!! This time out, all three original players are back and joined by Kawabata Makoto (Acid Mothers Temple) to comprise no less than 5 bands from 4 musicians - Zubi Zuva X, Akaten, Zoffy, Acid Mothers Temple (mode HHH) and (of course) Ruins! Acappella, cosmic free form, progressive core, troubadour, cosmic psychedelic rock... it's all here! Dates are listed at the TOURS page. If the festival hits anywhere near your neighborhood, don't miss it!

MORE NEW NEWS!

updated: August 1st, 2003

TWO NEW MIND-BOGGLING
RELEASES AVAILABLE NOW!!

ITEM! Towering up top you'll spy a dy-no-mite duo of discs due to disengage from the Den Of Dazzle this July, indubitably destined to daze, delight and dumbfound diggers of dissonance & discord wherever they dwell -(!) - YES, it's new stuff from THE CHINESE STARS and CHEER-ACCIDENT!!!!!

ITEM! First up, from the charred remains of Arab On Radar and Six Finger Satellite come THE CHINESE STARS. Christened after the "Chinese Star Epidemic" of the early 80's, which found legions of American grade school kids armed with "shuriken" throwing stars, the band pledge to follow in that same tradition: terrorizing parents, authority figures and the psyche of the free world! The Chinese Stars include Craig Kureck and Eric Paul formerly of Arab on Radar, Richard Ivan Pelletier of Six Finger Satellite, and Paul Vieira, who at this time, remains shrouded in mystery.

Together The Chinese Stars vow to reinvent what they have already invented. This goal will be achieved via the manufacture and distribution of audio artifacts and furthered by untamed live demonstrations of their resolve. The band's first release "Turbo Mattress" is a mini LP presented on a weaponized digital CD. Forged in the shape of a Chinese Star, and designed by SKiN GRAFT's Mark Fischer, the CD collects five songs that will leave the listener questioning his identity, while simultaneously arming him with the band's namesake for individual acts of lawlessness and delight. Play the CD, then hurl it at your adversaries.

ITEM! And - In a masterful multimedia mishmash of formats, SG cartoonist "Rootin" Rob Syers has drawn up a full length Gumballhead The Cat adventure "The Mystery Treasure Of The San Miguel Apartments", a mind-boggling foray into the sublimely ridiculous; filled with suspense, balls-out action, playstation addicted rave kids, hard rocking bikers and deals gone bad! Accompanying this all new comic book is an exclusive CD soundtrack by Chicago's No Wave / Prog Rock maestros, CHEER-ACCIDENT, sporting a perplexing palette of opulent musical textures, and lightning in a bottle aural episodes custom composed to bring the broad ink strokes of Gumballhead The Cat into the fifth dimension!!!!! We're talking OVER 60 MINUTES of adroitly extrapolated audio intrigue and jaw dropping dynamic group interplay - bordering on the telepathic!!! The CHEER-ACCIDENT "Gumballhead The Cat" CD and comic set comes packaged in a format unique to this edition- the big 7" x 7" comic book is packed in a resealable plastic sleeve that allows easy storage among your 7" singles - and being encased in plastic, it's protected against stray spray in the litter box! Get it or get bit!

A PREVIEW of the COMIC BOOK is available for viewing HERE and 100% FREE MP3's from THE CHINESE STARS and CHEER-ACCIDENT are standing by at the AUDIO page awaiting your downloads! For more details on each, check the entries at our CATALOG page. Orders are being taken now. Both are due late-July and will ship as soon as they arrive. Paypals can go HERE.

ITEM! The CHINESE STARS and CHEER-ACCIDENT band pages are open and ready for visits. Those with the PRESS are invited to visit the PRESSBOT pages to help you wade through the bologna and find what you need. Cub reporters are also permitted.

ITEM! Get this - In a confounding, masterful stroke of cross-marketing, Chicago's prestigious THREE FLOYDS Brewery is pleased introduce "GUMBALLHEAD BEER" for your day long drinking binges! Yes, that's right, Gumballhead Beer, sporting the noggin' of SKiN Graft's popular bad pussy himself, is now on tap and will soon be available in BIG 22 OUNCE BOTTLES!!! Currently, Three Floyds beers are available in 16 states; Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, so if you don't live in the vicinity, looks like it's time to move! And speaking of moving, the Three Floyds Brewery recently relocated to new digs in marvelous Munster, Indiana and is now offering hour long tours, so why not strike up a posse and score a taste of Gumballhead straight from the source? Admission is a measly $5.00, which includes "comprehensive" sampling! Details can be found at their website.

Yes, the added exposure of Gumballhead's lovable mug on this tasty, flavorful wheat beer, in conjunction with the aforementioned CD and comic set, is guaranteed to send heads spinning as SKiN GRAFT Entertainment reaches new plateaus of absurdity! Taste for yourself why discerning drinkers & drop-down drunks everywhere (well at least in those 16 states) are saying "GUMBALLHEAD BEER: It goes down easy... like an art student"!

ITEM! Now stand straight salivaters, while your learned and literate lip-service layer-onner (that's right, the jazzy one here himself) waxes a wad of wisdom. Perhaps you've never noticed, but wherever you go your peers pass judgment based on what you choose to hang on that fastidious form of yours. Now I ask you, my erudite and comely compatriot, what better garment can be had than a precious piece of T pimped by SKiN Graft itself?! So, as your personal pontiff of propensity, I advise that you sneak into mom's purse, borrow a stack of c-notes and send them our way ASAP to secure yourself one of the newer than new CHINESE STARS T-shirts! Upon it's arrival you'll not only have another garment to wear, but you'll be able to show the sad slubs out on the streets that you are cut of an entirely different cloth! Yes, dad may shake his head as you make your way through this world with a sea of sperm splattered across your chest, but you and I, we know that your making an important statement of some sort - probably something about shaking up the system and the status quo and stuff like that, right? Right!

The shirts are due to hit when the CD's arrive (mid July), and we'll have 'em ready to roll out in a smattering of smart sizes - Youth Large, Small, Medium, Large and Extra-Large! So send $12.00 our way so you too can be a walking billboard for this, the SKiN GRAFT Age of Music! Better act fast, cuz Biff at the Pool Hall is threatening to break the jazzy ones' legs if he doesn't make good on that last loss at the tracks! And before I forget, just in case THE CHINESE STARS haven't hit your hideout yet, you'll find three LIVE video clips at the band's website! Check 'em out HERE!

ITEM! Why, it was just a few years ago that the world was set on it's ear (ouch!) by the breakthrough album from the kings of cacophony, ARAB ON RADAR. That's right I'm talking about "Soak The Saddle"! Well, those wise old wizards running the show upstairs realized that the time had come to run off another batch of CD's to keep pace with the piles of purchases pushing their way into the P.O. Box! And this time out the digital format of Soak has been retro-ly repackaged to approximate the charming chipboard and searing silk-screened sight of the original vinyl pressing, originally whipped up by buds Brinkman and Burke! So if you don't have this one in your collection already, take heed of those prophetic words once spoken by our old pal William Bennett, "Now's The Time!"

ARAB ON RADAR / U.S. MAPLE / MELT-BANANA
ALL AVAILABLE AGAIN !!!

ITEM! And speaking of comebacks, nary a day goes by when some exceedingly suicidal SG extremist emails Jazzy Joe pleading for a tip to get his mitts on one of the many platters of perfection missed on the first go round! Well, put away THAT .45 friend and reach for THESE 45's- the eager to please SG board of directors have resurrected a pair of platters legions feared long lost- the U.S. Maple "Stuck" CLEAR VINYL 7" and the MELT-BANANA "It's In The Pillcase" 7" & COMIC BOOK set!!! Both are now available (again) and will set you back just six bones each! Rumor has it that come August, U.S. MAPLE's debut long-player "Long Hair In Three Stages" is getting a long overdue CD rerun too! Who sez this isn't the SKiN Graft age of full-scale sell through?

U.S. MAPLE "Stuck" QUICKTIME VIDEO
from U.S. Maple's debut 7" single

ITEM! Oops! Tell me readers, how could I, your astute and acute keeper of the SG flame fail to mention in the item above that in honor of the re-release of U.S. MAPLE's debut 7", the SG vault-keeper has exhumed the seldom-seen VIDEO from that very single!? Must be riverboat wagering on the brain again! And to give you the full, way-back 1995 feel, this video retains it's ancient slow speed Quicktime encoding (!) - prepare to wait a good long time for this sucker to appear! It's a whopping 16 MB and the image is barely the size of a postage stamp! Gets ta clicking sailor and I'll see you at the SGTV page!!!

WOLF EYES /
PANICSVILLE
SPLIT LP on
UP JUMPS THE DEVIL

ITEM!How about some new wax from UP JUMPS THE DEVIL? You got it!!! The long-awaited WOLF EYES / PANICSVILLE "Stabbed In The Face" split LP has arrived!!! This one's got a full fist and opposable thumb in the pie, we're talking a SIX way co-release between UJTD, Muet, SNSE, Vegalia, Ignivomous and Nihilist Records - and - it's available to mailorder-ers only! Goddamn, this one's a bleeder - Panicsville shapes otherworldly beings and unsettling atmospheres for a massive, face puncturing listening experience! Meanwhile Wolf Eyes lay waste to all things living, heaping mounds of electronic dirt all over your turntable! Limited to just 666 copies on 140 gram marbled vinyl. Your cost? $15 smackers! Ouch, that hurts! First come, first stabbed!

ITEM! I can hear you now, discriminating ones, "Alrighty Joe, you affable, arrogant ass, we're on deck with these wondrous works you've been hard-sell huckstering, but we wanna know - what comes next?" To which I resoundingly reply - "What's next?! Why, NONE OTHER than ANOTHER NEW ONE from CHEER-ACCIDENT!!!!" Chum, somebody better rent you an oxygen tent come September cuz when your ears take in this year's second pile on from Chicago's Prog Prime Ministers, "Introducing Lemon", you're audio inputs will be so overwhelmed that you're sure to neglect all those other intake orifices! Word has it that SG has considered slapping a warning sticker on this one - "Don't forget to Breathe!" Sure shootin', you'll be gasping for breath at the surprises C-A has in store for Graftdom Assembled as they come out to bat for the second time this year! Nuff said 'til next time!

ITEM! After that? Well pal, then we're looking toward the extremely long awaited SKiN Graft debut from GORGE TRIO (that's John Dieterich, Chad Popple and Ed Rodriguez, of the late, great COLOSSAMITE!). How much longer can we drag this one out, you wonder? Well, we'll keep draggin 'til it's done. Allow me to make this proclamation, when this baby is finally ready to be born, it will be unforgettable, legendary, expensive. Count on it. In the meantime, you can stop by the band's new PHOTOGALLERY, now up and running!

ITEM! God bless America, where the price of petrol is paltry compared to other points on the planet. Thank your government and those well placed smart bombs for keeping the pumps primed so that SKiN GRAFT's finest can keep the van tanks full - and show off their weapons of mass destruction all summer long!!!!! Yes, there's plenty to be excited about - RUINS in a limited U.S. Engagement! The CHINESE STARS touring with The Locust! And thats far from all! Howzabout surfing over to the TOURS Page where you'll find all those shows, plus gigs from CHEER-ACCIDENT, U.S. MAPLE, QUINTRON, FLOSSIE AND THE UNICORNS and MELT-BANANA! Check it out HERE!

ITEM! Blazing Bullfrogs! The SKiN GRAFT FAN ART GALLERY has finally opened it's doors! Hanging in these hollowed halls you'll find veritable shitload of submissions winged our way by swarms of SG supporters! Some of them are even pretty good! Inside, you'll marvel at the epic length (all of four pages!) "Kebab Dreams", starring Serious Brown by "Jumping" Jacques Masson, a new animated take on the SKiN Graft logo by "Magnifico" Mike Henry, a classic rendering of Gumballhead The Cat by "Spiffy" Spencer Yeh and a tribute to U.S. Maple's Al Johnson by somebody who's name was misplaced by the slacking SG staff! And yes, because space on the world wide web is considerably cheaper than actually renting a gallery, the penny-pinchers at Camp SG are ready and able to take in more submissions from the likes of you and yours! So- if so inclined - put that pencil to paper and scribble out your own masterpiece! Go check out the Gallery by running through the CAMPGROUNDS!

ITEM! Seems that our old buddy Mr. QUINTRON has stirred up a bit of controversy out in San Francisco. At his recent gig opening for the Cramps, Q had no choice but to set his Drum Buddy aflame near the end of his set and, as a result, has been banned from the the club for life! As if that weren't enough, said club is making an extensive effort to have the Amazing Spellcaster permanently exiled from performing in the city ever again. uhhh... Fat chance.

ITEM! Let's turn our attention to a recent e-mail from Goat6661369:
"hey. im a local street punk from south jersey and i am willing to hand out fliers, stickers, pins, or whatever for your label. i wanna help out the scene."
Believe it or not, we receive selfless offers like this all of the time. Now the smut peddlers here at SKiN Graft can barely manage to reply to their e-mail, so they're a long ways off from having it well enuff together to manage any kind of a "Street Team". But we realize there are multitudes aching to spread the word about SKiN GRAFT to their fellow man, woman and house pet. Our answer to this, friends, is the brand new SKiN GRAFT STREAK TEAM! Yes! Now you can do your part by dropping trou & sprinting around in your birthday suit at large, high profile public events - make sure you have SKiN GRAFT STOLE MY HEART (& MY PANTS) clearly written on your chest / back / ass, document it well (10:00 news coverage preferred) and send it to the P.O. Box in Chicago (North America) or the addy in Vienna (everywhere else, see the contact page). Pull it off and we'll take no responsibility (and sure as hell won't pay your bail), but we will give you plenty of stickers - at least one for each cheek!

And now, please join in a SG four armed salute to the two most recent outbursts pictured above! Up top, Julie (only her arm pictured), Rick, Anna, The Mommy Mummy (last seen at Oops indoors '96!) , Mike, Sinthia and Dora bare it all in SG's honor at an undisclosed location in New York City! And below that, Jungle" John Roman shows his true colors at a recent Golf tournament in Atlanta, Georgia! - !!!!-Heroes All-!!!!

ITEM! Inhuman Interest Dept: SG's Mark Fischer sent smoke signals my way indicating that none other than "Jovial" Jeff Bentle, Classic SKiN GRAFT cartoonist supreme, recently treked to Vienna, Austria to hang at the Euro SGHQ!!! Jeff lugged along the pages he's been working on for the previously announced, eventually to be finished and ultimately released Giant-Sized SKiN GRAFT Comic Book and word is that they look HOTT!!!! Now, Jeff's back stateside where he belongs, but never before has Vienna experienced more in-depth discussions of Man-Bat, Brother Voodoo & Krypto, the Super Dog than on this whirlwind reuniting! The SG Electronic Comics page has been updated with all new, all nutty comic strips by Jeff, so howzabout heading over THERE and checking out the latest from the Swami and Teen Mummy!!? Enjoy now, thank me later.

ITEM! Update: In addition to the Star-Shaped CD face, we are also offering a hyper-limited run of THE CHINESE STARS "Turbo Mattress" CD specifically whipped up for the Locust tour. The Pre-Ejaculation Limited Edition will be pressed on circle CD's, with a compleletly different CD face than the star-edition. Each will have an individually numbered (1-500) sperm on the artwork. All other packaging and music will be identical to the star-shaped edition. These will not be available in stores, only at shows,while they last. The copies previously available via SKiN GRAFT mailorder are now sold out.

ITEM! In the interest of killing space, HERE's a pic of this summers full page SKiN GRAFT ad.

ITEM! Before I hit the strip joints and spend the pittance of pennies those tightwads at SKiN GRAFT let slip to yours truly, let me point you in the direction of the latest issue of NEURO, the esteemed music magazine produced by a few forward-thinking fiends in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Issue # 4 has what surely must be the most comprehensive retrospective of this little outfit ever produced! We're talking a run down of the label's history, critical analysis of many key SG releases and in-depth interviews with the hot-aired heavies of SG: Mark Fischer, Rob Syers and the recently retired Brian Peterson. All in all it runs over 30 pages on SKiN GRAFT alone! And get this - NO PAYOLA involved! If your interested in adding a copy to your collection, contact the publishers directly at electric_dandruff@hotmail.com to reserve a copy.

OKAY- time to hang that head and heavy those hearts heroes, the moment has come once again for the Jazzy One to hit the highway and wrap up his latest spellbinding sermon on the esteemed establishment we call Skin Graft Records (and Comics). I hope you've enjoyed my little fireside chattering as much as I have. Before you chew your arm off and cut yourselves loose, let me leave you with these immortal words first uttered by Norse poet Modoku Del Gippy: "LaQuitoe nootrac kimpchee!", which, when translated, comes out something like...

Excel-sore!

"JAZZY" JOE ROMITA

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