Garage punks L.A Witch finally arrived with their long-awaited, self-titled debut album last month. It’s been a long old journey, and to celebrate the release, the trio have put together a playlist of tracks and albums that have influenced them along the way.
The Wipers – I’ll Be Around
We learned how to play this song together about three years ago. I feel like it had an influence on us in the sense that it’s one of the few songs we worked on to cover.
Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love
This song gets played in the van a lot. It’s one of my favourites. It’s also one of the first songs I learned on the drums as a kid.
Fela Kuti/Ginger Baker – the “Live!” Album Ginger Bakers drum solo
This is honestly one of my favourite albums. I remember buying it at a yard sale when I was in high school. The guy having the sale told me that as a drummer I’d probably love this album, and he was right. I listened to it every day on my way to school for like six months.
Naomi Punk – The Buzz
I heard a live version of this song, and it’s super heavy. I like the slow, heavy vibes.
My Bloody Valentine – Soon
I like the drumming on this song; it’s simple and perfect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4-5gHR3_Kg
The Gun Club – Mother of Earth
We were listening to a lot of Gun Club around the time we started the band. Their cover of ‘Run Through The Jungle’ is so good, better than the CCR version. I still love CCR.
Brian Jonestown Massacre – Anemone
We were also listening to a lot of BJM at the time. My favourite scene in DiG! is when Anton kicks that guy in the face. Probably not funny at the time, but I hope they can laugh about that stuff now. Like when a sound guy asked me how badly I was getting shocked on his stage, “on a scale of 1 to 10”. I can laugh about that now.
Dead Moon – Dead Moon Night
This song came into heavy rotation when our original drummer was in the band. We got to see the original lineup of Dead Moon when we played with them at Levitation Vancouver; it felt really special. RIP Andrew Loomis. On a lighter note to finish this off, I watched the “Unknown Passage” documentary, and it turns out none of Fred and Toody’s kids ever became musicians. They found their own way (insert terrible Fleetwood Mac impression), and I respect that.
Spacemen 3 – Lord Can You Hear Me
This is the only Spacemen 3 song currently on Spotify, which is a damn shame. Coincidentally, I love this song, so I guess it’s not so bad after all. There are some moments in your life that you remember so distinctly because it was a time you really got into a certain band, whether it was because of someone you were hanging out with, or you got stoned for the first time in a long time, or you took LSD and made out with this guy while it was playing in the background on repeat for hours. Or whatever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOCOAUFWXX4