R.I.P. Fred "Tonic" Smith of Television, Blondie, Fleshtones

Sadly, bassist Fred Smith – who played with Television, Blondie & The Fleshtones – has passed away at 77. He'll be greatly missed.

LINKS

Stereogum Television bassist Fred Smith dead at 77

Happy Birthday Keith Streng of The Fleshtones!

Raising a glass to Keith Streng with some Fleshtones clips, guest spots and a few tracks from his new album, King Of Queens.

LINKS

Cargo Records Keith Streng's King Of Queens (Foo Manchu) LP

Listen to The Fleshtones' Radio Party NYC live in 1980 right here.

Happy Birthday Peter Zaremba of The Fleshtones!

Here's Peter Zaremba crooning Nuggets faves "Dirty Water" by The Standells, "Little Girl" by the Syndicate Of Sound and more. 

Listen to The Fleshtones "Radio Party NYC" from 1980

Here's 34 entertaining minutes of The Fleshtones rockin' non-stop in New York City way back in 1980. 

The Fleshtones - Radio Party, NYC 1980

01. Introduction   00:00

02. American Beat   01:05

03. All Around The World   03:34

04. Critical List  06:42

05. Shadow Line   09:17

06. F-F Fascination  12:08

07. I Know a Girl From Baltimore 16:25

08. Cold Cold Shoes  19:52

09. The Theme From "The Vindicators"  22:18

10. Shake        24:35

11. I'm Back     28:04

12. Lttle Latin Lupe Lu   34:24

 

 

That time The Fleshtones appeared on MTV's The Cutting Edge in 1983

The Fleshtones introduced themselves to MTV viewers on The Cutting Edge back in 1983. See 'em at The Baby G tonight at 6 pm.  

You can pre-order a copy of The Fleshtones new album "It's Getting Late" right here. Grab tickets for their T.O. show here.

The Fleshtones' new album "It's Getting Late" due Nov 1

The Fleshtones roar back with a rockin' new record which they'll be previewing in Toronto at The Baby G on September 29th. 

Here's the scoop from Super Rock HQ...

We are excited to announce our new album, 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘎𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘦 (...𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴), is out November 1st via Yep Roc Records. Available for pre-order on Digital, CD, and LP. The Vinyl LP is pressed on Limited Edition Pink Acid Wash color vinyl and is limited to 900 copies worldwide! Pre-order your copy now right here. Check out the first track "The Consequences" below. 

The Fleshtones return to Toronto for an early show at The Baby G (1608 Dundas St. West) on Sunday, September 29th. Doors at 6 pm.  Get tickets via Dice right here.  

The Fleshtones – It's Getting Late (and More Songs About Werewolves)

In a world where there are no more heroes, the Fleshtones walk the earth like Roman gods. 

It’s Getting Late (and More Songs About Werewolves) is a smash that could have dropped at any point in The Fleshtones’ epic career — it is an outburst, and a celebration of the SUPER ROCK sound. Unlike their contemporaries, they have not dialed down the tempos to compensate for osteoporosis, they have not lost anything on their fastball, and continue to throw it for strikes. The hardest working band in garage rock has never sounded better, and now you see why they've been your favorite band's favorite band for decades. 

Since their inception in 1976 in Queens, NY, and their sweaty, boozy gestation at legendary venues such as CBGB, Max’s Kansas City, and Club 57— recently feted at the Museum of Modern Art, where their proto-video underground film “Soul City” was unspooled for art stars, glitterati, and a raft of punk rockers who managed to get past the front gate — they have perpetrated their proprietary brand of SUPER ROCK. It's a frenetic amalgam of garage punk and soul, punctuated by the big beat and unleashed with the spectacular show business majesty which has kept them on the road for over forty years, adored by audiences whose love for them borders on religious fervour. 

The Fleshtones’ SUPER ROCK sound literally defines American Beat Music, and they have delivered their message with evangelistic passion, always skirting the edges of the mainstream without pandering to any obvious fad or trend. They have appeared on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand TV show; charismatic frontman Peter Zaremba was a host on MTV’s original late-night alternative broadcast The Cutting Edge; and they were the last band to publicly perform at the World Trade Center’s Windows on the World, a society gig by any standard. Always true to their school, they have flags planted in the old world and the new — they appeared with Andy Warhol on his short-lived talk show Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes, and throughout the mid-80s they regularly played at the Pyramid Club on Avenue A in New York’s East Village, and were instrumental in helping to start Wigstock, the drag queen festival that has become an outrageously vibrant part of the New York City experience. 

Never as obviously demented nor self-consciously “psycho” as the Cramps (with whom they shared a rehearsal space in 1977), the Fleshtones could also be found after dark basking in the sick blue light of their television sets, watching late-night horror movies and basking in the weirdness of America, while simultaneously soaking up the on-stage outrages of the Rat Pack, Little Richard, and the Rolling Stones, honing their own live show into an explosive, frenzied manifesto of rock’n’roll gone right. 

They routinely tour Spain, where fans make pilgrimages to their shows, and they are equally heralded in Scandinavia, in Italy, and in France, where they have toured incessantly. All over the world — and especially in New York City, the most fickle of towns — younger bands look up to the Fleshtones for lessons in suave stagecraft and unforced enthusiasm. They bring the brio of Chuck Berry and James Brown, with whom they have shared the stage with many times, and the true spirit of CBGB. 

In fact, they are the only band who played at CBGB in 1976 to have never taken a significant break from recording or performing since, and their line-up has been remarkably stable, anchored by Zaremba — wildly swinging, funny, and confident, he is equal parts Dean Martin, Mick Jagger, and Count Dracula — and SUPER ROCK guitarist Keith Streng, who seemingly flies through the air. They are backed by one of the most solid rhythm sections in the world, the decidedly Charlie Watts less-is-more-but-do-it-with-panache drumming of Bill Milhizer, who’s held the chair for forty years, and newcomer Ken Fox on bass, who has served for a mere thirty. Previously, those spots had been filled my luminary mercenaries with pedigree, including Clem Burke from Blondie on drums, and Fred Smith (Television) and Andy Shernoff (the Dictators) on bass, testimony to the Fleshtones OG punk rock roots and authenticity in a world run over by poseurs and off-the-rack frauds. 

The Fleshtones were always oddly evolved in a plasma pool of retrograde wannabes — this is a band that promises a party of the least-juvenile sort. And that is why they have proudly worn the SUPER ROCK title since they came howling and gyrating out of the gate. They are the rare thing, like the Grand Canyon – no matter how great you have been told they are, when you finally get to see them for yourself, it is actually much better than any hype. 

Evel Knievel once told me that “American hero” is the shortest lived of all professions. The Fleshtones are here to tell everyone he was wrong. The Fleshtones stand tall as the last real thing in America. 

Check out "The Consequences" off the new Fleshtones album It's Getting Late (and More Songs About Werewolves) along with "Festa di Frankenstein," their Spanish language cover of The Swinging Phillies overlooked gem "Frankenstein Party" released as a single back in August and recent performances in France and Hamilton you may have missed. 

The Fleshtones tear up Hamilton's Corktown Pub, September 28

Good news! Lou Molinaro is bringing The Fleshtones to Hamilton for a show at the Corktown Pub on Sept. 28. Get tickets here.

That time Mitch Easter took Peter Zaremba on a studio tour

MTV's Cutting Edge host Peter Zaremba went to Winston-Salem, NC to look at Mitch Easter's famed Drive-In studio back in 1986. 

Watch the Fleshtones' doc Pardon Us For Living But The Graveyard Is Full

View Geoffray Barbier's hour-long film about The Fleshtones, "Pardon Us For Living But The Graveyard Is Full" below. 

Happy Birthday Gene Chandler!

Celebrating the birthday of Windy City soul great and entrepreneur Gene Chandler with a couple of interviews and more.

Deniz Tek tears it up in Paris with Keith Streng on drums!

Yep, that's The Fleshtones guitarist Keith Streng pounding drums behind Radio Birdman's Deniz Tek at La Dame de Canton. 

Celebrating 40 years of The Fleshtones' Hexbreaker!

It's hard to believe but The Fleshtones released their SUPER ROCK™ classic Hexbreaker! album in 1983. Have a listen below. 

Watch The Fleshtones live in Cáceres, Spain

Here's some footage of The Fleshtones getting sweaty at a packed Boogaloo Café Concierto in Cáceres, Spain back in March. 

Watch The Hoodoo Gurus tear it up in Philadelphia

Dave Faulkner flanked by bassist Rich Grossman and guitarist Brad Shepherd ripped through the Gurus classics in Philly recently.

Happy Birthday Peter Zaremba!

Raising a glass to Count Zaremba with a Fleshtones performance in Hamilton featuring Teenage Head's late great Gordie Lewis.

R.I.P. Filmmaker M. Henry Jones

Sadly, filmmaker M. Henry Jones – who shot The Fleshtones' video for "Soul City" back in 1979 – has passed away. 

One For The Weekend: The Fleshtones

Here's an early version of The Fleshtones instro swinger "Leather Kings" which they updated for "Return Of The Leather Kings"

The Split Squad – America's least famous supergroup – issue 2nd album!

The Fleshtones Keith Streng & Blondie's Clem Burke have issued a second Split Squad album, Another Cinderella. Hear "Hey DJ"

Happy Birthday Peter Zaremba!

Cheers to the hexbreakin' Peter Zaremba still getting down SuperRock™ style with The Fleshtones after 45 years on stage. 

LINKS

WNYU-FM Interview with The Fleshtones, 1980

The Fleshtones cover Cliff Richard's "We Say Yeah!" en Español

The Fleshtones' "Decimos Yeah!" is coupled with "Mi Engañaste Bien" for their new Spanish language single for Yep Roc. 

Here's the scoop... 

The kings of garage rock are celebrating 45 years in this crazy music business! The Fleshtones haven't stopped rocking since their 1976 debut at CBGBs, and mark this momentous anniversary with a brand new, limited edition Spanish-language single: Mi Engañaste Bien b/w Decimos Yeah! The A-side is a groovy Peter Zaremba original and the flip is a Spanish cover of Cliff Richard's “We Say Yeah” performed in The Fleshtones' inimitable “Super Rock” style. These 45 singles are limited to 1,000 copies worldwide.

Get a copy of The Fleshtones' new single via Bandcamp right here. Check out their video for the top-side rocker "Mi Engañaste Bien" (You Cheated Me Well) followed by Cliff Richard & The Shadows' version of "We Say Yeah!" from 1961 which seems like a perfect candidate for a Super Rock™ revision.