The Klitz! aka (No-Bro)

So back in the day when bands were full of hippie dudes that did drugs and wore dresses, there were two ladies who decided to change that. LO AND BEHOLD THE KLITZ!!! Memphis's first all-female punk band. Founding members Lesa Alldrige and Gail Clifton have asked Ten High & the Trashed Romeos to back them up for their opening set at FRIDAY nights Bulletproof Vests show. !!




BE THERE OR WHATEV BRO,
The Bulletproof Vests

Tub Talk with Terry Ronslaw! Season 1, Episode 1

Hey Dum Dums...

Mr. Terry Ronslaw (of Terry Ronslaw & The Porksleeve) would like you to preview our new single. His review will be up soon!

Tracko Marx

Shhhhhh.... Ever so carefully click the play button... Yes... That's it.... It feels familiar, but it's completely different. Here for you we have an interesting acoustic version of our live staple (have been dying to type that) "Tracko Marx." Recorded by musicmen extraordinaire J.D. Reager in a house with a dog, we hope you enjoy. Oh and you can download it for free and share with your imaginary friends.


gottastoplisteningtocoasttocoastsolateatnight,
The Bulletproof Vests

Jake Vest on Alex Chilton

“We’re too good. People go too crazy when we play.”

My name is Jake Vest. I live two blocks from Ardent Studios, and Alex Chilton is one of my two biggest influences. Jim Dickinson is the other. And last night, when I put my copy of Big Star’s “Third” on the turntable, that statement really hit me hard. That album is by far one of the scariest, weirdest, and most gut-wrenching albums of all time. Of course, It’s also joyous, sarcastic, tender, and (in the case of “Nature Boy” from the Rhino reissue) very funny. I feel so much pride that this brilliant record (along with a giant truckload of others) was recorded two blocks down Madison by people who lived only a short drive away.

Since the day Dirk Kitterlin handed me the CD version of “Third” with its awful artwork (ugliest artwork I’d ever seen, aside from the #1 Record/Radio City 2fer), I’ve been obsessed with it. So obsessed that I dug even further (with the help of my personal bible: “It Came From Memphis” by Robert Gordon) into territory that freaked me out even more.

“Like Flies On Sherbert” shook me to my core. I had trouble finding it, just like I did the Moloch record. But eventually I got it (with ugly 2fer artwork again…), and it took a long time before I listened to anything else. The fuck-it-who-cares guitar tones, the pounding drums on “Hey, Little Child,” Chilton’s madman yelp on the title track, Lee Baker tearing it up on “My Rival” and pretty much everything else (and I mean TEARING IT UP), Dickinson’s effortless piano parts and his vocals (and guitar?) on “I’ve Had It,” the weird synthesizers, the bad timing, the popping of microphones, the laughing, the Carter Family… And to add to the overall greatness is the fact that no one could tell me who really played what on the album. Jim Dickinson himself once said to me, “Shit, come to think of it that might’ve been Baker on the drums…” I was in love. The absolute everything-that-came-before-
this-doesnt-matter-anymore kind of love.

I dedicated tons of time to finding everything he recorded during the mid to late 70’s. Lucky for me the internet was ripe. Thanks to Japanese mail order sites and illegal downloading (sorry, Ardent), I was able to hear what I favor as his best work. Singles like “Bangkok” the “Singer Not The song” EP along with bootlegs like “Dusted In Memphis” and “One Day In New York” offered a glimpse into an otherwise unreleased, invisible world. A definite highlight is a live show at CBGB’s in 1977 by Alex Chilton & The Cossacks. This may be my favorite recording of his. The versions of “Take Me Home And Make Me Like It” and “Little Fishy” are unparalleled by him or anyone else. It’s pure rock n roll madness. And it is exactly the kind of music I want to make, through and through. If you havent heard it, e-mail me and I’ll get you a copy.

I tried to put a band together to cover “Sherbert” (enlisting the Hi-Tone’s Dan Holloway in the process!), and eventually that idea turned into The Bulletproof Vests (sorry, Dan). For anyone who’s seen us play, you know the highlight of our set is always Chilton’s “Take Me Home And Make Me Like It.” Always. I mean it NEVER FAILS. And I’m in no way surprised.

Wednesday night was shocking. I’m uncomfortable discussing my personal emotions as a result of his passing, because I am not an Alex Chilton friend or an Alex Chilton family member. I am simply an Alex Chilton fan. And I will continue to keep his music (along with other Memphis music) alive by performing and recording it for anyone who will listen.

“Play it for me, guitarist.”

Live in Studio A!

So we're really happy to announce our next show, which will be happening this Thursday at The Stax Museum of American Soul Music. I know you're thinking that the BPV ain't exactly soul, but this is Memphis like just about every other kid who's grown up in this area, we know a thing or two about it.

We're excited to be playing on the footprint of the Studio that housed legendary sessions from greats like Booker T. & The MGs, The Bar-Kays, Mar-Keys, and of course Otis Redding, to whom every vocalist performing rock&roll in the modern age owes an enormous debt. Studio A has chill bumps built in when you walk in.

It's also an opportunity to support a great organization, The Soulsville Foundation. It's a non-profit that runs both the Stax Museum and adjacent Stax Music Academy. If you're not familiar with those entities please check out their websites. So if you want to come out and check out a world class museum, a hard-working band, and support a good cause then we'll see you Thursday. Admission is $12 for adults and free for members. Doors open at 7:30. Beer and popcorn will be complementary.

Two more Thursday at the Buccaneer this month!!!!

ok i dont know if you were there last time, but it was some kind of wild screamin banshee party clay stumbling beer spilling rafter climbing babies crying kind of victorious rebel yell! tonight we promise to kick it up a notch. richard james is opening. the cover is 3 because the buc said we have to charge a cover or go to hell. i dont know about you... but yeah. so! see you tonight and then join us again next week with the burning sands!!!!