th' Cigaretz Jerry Williams Links

Below are additional links for information on Jerry Williams:

The first is from Beastiemania, a site devoted to The Beastie Boys, who Jerry worked with and recorded.
http://www.beastiemania.com/whois/williams_jerry/

Next is an obit from The Punk Vault.
http://www.punkvinyl.com/2010/09/20/r-i-p-jerry-williams/

Here is Jerry's MySpace page.
http://www.myspace.com/jaydublee

This is an old article from 2004 but scroll down to the heading "Best local record hunter's captured prey:". Read for yourself to see this authors selection, as if you can't guess.
http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/music-and-clubs/Content?oid=1191951

An obit with a few external links you may find interesting from Brooklyn Vegan.
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2010/09/jerry_williams.html

Another obituary from Papermag. In the comments below the obit there are details of an upcoming memorial in New York.
http://www.papermag.com/2010/09/jerry_lee_williams_obituary.php

David Menconi wrote an article about a website that claimed Miley Cyrus ripped off th' Cigaretz "Apartmentalivin".
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/category/tags/Fly-on-the-Wall

Sad Cigaretz News

...Opened up Facebook this morning at 3:45 to some sad news posted by Terry Anderson. Jerry Williams of Raleigh's Cigaretz has died, just a few days shy of his 62nd birthday.

For many, myself included, the Cigz was their first live exposure to a real punk band. Playing countless gigs at the Free Advice th' Cigaretz certainly made a name for themselves and carved out a nice fan base. Their lone DIY LP is classic! Yet it doesn't quite capture all of the noise and intensity of seeing them live.

How important were th' Cigaretz? Read Sam Hick's 1998 article "How North Carolina Got It's Punk Attitude". Go read it now... The three paragraphs devoted to th' Cigaretz might put it in perspective. It also details a bit of Jerry's life after th' Cigaretz which had to be quite exciting at times.

I saw them a number of times during their heyday. But one show I didn't see was one where they opened for Arrogance in Chapel Hill at The Town Hall. That show is a bit Woodstock-esque in that more people remember being at that show than the place would ever hold!! I believe it was Byron that turned one of the stage monitors speaker side up, filled it with cereal and milk and ate out of it. Hopefully someone will recall that story and it's repercussions.

Rest in peace Jerry. Your fans and friends love and remember.

I'll try to play more tunes from the LP starting tomorrow on Comboland Radio.

Killer Whales - States - SCOTS - Stratocruiser - Leisure McCorkle

The revamped Skidmart at the SCOTS website is open! The new release "Kudzu Ranch" is available in LP, CD and digital download. When you buy "Kudzu Ranch" in any format you get a digital download for free which includes alternate takes of 4 tunes. (hint... the free version of "Pig Pickin'" download is an alternate take too!) The re-issued "Too Much Pork..." is also available in CD and digital download. There are new t-shirts and other swag too. Comboland Radio has been playing a couple of tracks from "Kudzu Ranch" for a few weeks now. In celebration of the new store we have changed them up and are also featuring 2 cuts from "Too Much Pork.."(I had the original release) to get you all hopped up to go buy your own copies from the Skidmart!! As usual the tunes are mixed in with the best music new and old from the Carolinas on Comboland Radio.

I have also got some new old music to add to the rotation. I finally got a copy of the very hard to find "Big Bang" from the "Killer Whales". Their website is now dead but their music lives on. Former member David Bethany has put up a couple of pieces on youtube worth checking out.

"The States" from Norfolk, VA had 2 songs featured on "Mondo Montage" that we currently play on Comboland Radio. They also had 2 LP's and at least 2 singles previous to the MM tunes. I had one of those albums but couldn't locate it... until now.

Stratocruiser is one of my faves! So I can't believe I missed the July 27th release of their latest EP (see previous posts about my crazy work schedule...). Unlike last year's "best of" release this one is available for download and immediate gratification for the usual evil download sources. It is absolutely worth getting!

Another recent discovery for me is Leisure McCorkle. The 2002 CD I have was "on sale" at Not Lame so I picked it up. It is pure Power Pop and fab as well. Produced by Jamie Hoover (who plays and sings on it as well) it is well worth getting. It seems since this CD was released Lee has finished his PhD in Ireland and has had time to work on a new release that should be out soon. He has been playing a bunch of shows this year with a few more to come.

Listen for all of these tunes, artists and much more on Comboland Radio.