Garage rock triple-header at Gagarin
They definitely like their garage rock at the capital’s Gagarin club, and, to highlight the appreciation further, the venue’s management has booked three acts – the Fuzztones, the Bellrays, and Nashville Pussy – for a triple-header on Saturday. For the inducted, little needs to be said of the Fuzztones, an act that played an important role in reviving the almost-forgotten garage-punk sounds of the 1960s a couple of decades later, when the style was resuscitated for a second life by scores of younger acts playing both period-inspired originals and old covers. The band’s spirited delivery of old gems by ’60s-era garage-rock bands such as the Sonics, Wailers, Music Machine, the Haunted and others, helped introduce these faded acts to newer generations. Covers by the Fuzztones of garage-rock nuggets such as «Strychnine,» «1, 2, 5,» «Cinderella,» «Out of our Tree,» and «The People in Me,» were so convincing that they went on to, often, be considered their own. The Fuzztones, who formed in New York back in 1980 and are nowadays based in LA, remain passionate about their work. Based around a core duo, singer-guitarist Rudi Protrudi and keyboardist Deb O’Nair, the group continues to draw new fans. As proven by previous shows here in the not too distant past, the Fuzztones are exciting on stage with career-spanning sets. Their partners for Saturday’s triple-event, the Bellrays and Nashville Pussy, are slightly more recent arrivals. The Bellrays, a Californian act, fuse garage punk with soul elements provided by vocalist Lisa Kekaula. They gained exposure in Europe quite recently with their «Meet The Bellrays» album, a compilation of songs culled from their first two efforts, 1999’s «Let It Blast» and 2001’s «The Grand Fury.» Formed in 1996, Nashville Pussy, who took their name from a Ted Nugent release, have won a considerable following with their relentless and dirty-minded approach.
