The Von Zippers
Estrus Records
The Von Zippers specialize in making mincemeat out of your eardrums. You might not expect a band from the northerly sonic wastelands of a country which has produced such musical luminaries as Celine Dion and Brian Adams to sound quite so fierce and balls-out rockin', but perhaps the experience of growing up in Canada has toughened The Von Zippers. Wherever their explosive energy and manic power comes from, it certainly gets you on your feet. The sound? A super-dirty mix of loutish U.K. punk rock (they cover songs by both The Damned and The Anti-Nowhere League), testimonial U.S. garage rock (i.e. label mates The Gimmicks or The Makers), and a touch of sleazy Sunset Boulevard hair metal. The distorted snarling vocals could be the work of Iggy Stooge's long lost cousin, the slashing guitar riffs are capable of causing serious injury, and the backbeat is more tempestuous than a storm in the South Pacific. The Von Zippers don't try to be innovators or musical visionaries; they just try to rock your block off. And they succeed.
If you ever see them live, you'll be treated to the added bonus of their hilarious stage antics and the surreal sight of seeing four guys dressed as World War I era German field marshals playing vicious garage-punk. The song featured here, "Brokedown," comes from The Von Zippers' 2000 full-length, Blitzhacker. Prior to that, the group released Bad Generation (1999) and the Wow 'Em Down at Franzl's EP (1997). "Brokedown" also appears on the second installment of Estrus's 100% Apeshit Rock Sampler.
Jesse Ashlock
last updated:
08/10/01
Similar Artists:
The Gimmicks, The Makers, The Drags
Other Suggestions:
Mono Men,
The Gories,
Billy Childish,
Gas Huffer,
'68 Comeback,
Zen Guerrilla,
The Birthday Party,
Electric Frankenstein,
Rocket from the Crypt,
Macgillicuddys,
The X-Impossibles,
Inside Five Minutes,
Sugar Shack,
The Mooney Suzuki,
Billy Childish and Dan Melchior,
The Nomads
