One Man Running live at Arcata Brewery May 1991

Of all the bands in Humboldt in the late 80s / early 90s, One Man Running was a local favorite that had the most potential to break out of the Redwood Curtain and perhaps could have made it big in the greater North America punk scene. I first saw them when Garden Weasel played our very first house show with them and Grimace in Westhaven at the Yowling Zygotes house. Chuck on bass and vocals I already knew from him being the lead singer in Grimace; Morgan on drums and vocals and Moshe on guitar rounded out the trio. Killer pop-punk delievered in that rough, doper style of Humboldt County that was unmistakeable. There was no mic stand at that first show and I remember holding the mic up so Chuck could sing as the band ripped through their set in the kitchen of the party house ... I digress - the recordings posted here come from 6 months later at the place that became known as Humboldt Brews (?) I think, formerly Tsunamis, formerly Toppers, formerly a bowling alley in downtown Arcata. I don't have the flier on hand - maybe Justin has an image of it. I know Garden Weasel was on this bill but damned if I can rememebr who else was. Please scrape your bowl and enjoy the heartfelt doper pop punk of One Man Running! Live at Arcata Brewery.

Ed Cole Tapes · One Man Running live in Arcata May 1991

Jess Hilliard

 

I was going to post this at my Reliquias de Mostaza blog, but sadly had to put that place out of it's misery before I had a chance to hype this book. What follows is from the press release.

Hi Friend, by Jess Hilliard @jesshilliard with artwork throughout the book by Chris Johanson @chrisjohansonart has been reissued by @somepeoplepress and is available for purchase (a link can be found in the SPP profile).

An excerpt of the book was first released as a zine in the early 90s (images 7 and 8) and then as a full length limited edition in 2000 (image 9), but was not available widely until now.

The book is made up of scenes from Jess’ life and mind during various travels he took in his early twenties. The stories manage to be both introspective and hilarious. Chris’ drawings are an amazing accompaniment.

Hi Friend was in many ways the inspiration for the creation of Some People Press and its pursuit of publishing incredible life stories that otherwise might never be made available to the public.

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The reissue was designed by @smithstuart

Copy edited by Tom Leimkuhler

Additional design by @helloprettycity

Thanks to everyone who has made this book possible and look for it and all of the other SPP publications at the LA Printed Matter Book Fair @printedmatter_artbookfairs in May. 

Chances are, if you lived anywhere near Humboldt State University (sadly, now known as  Cal Poly Humboldt) in the late 80s through the early 90s, you probably knew who Jess Hilliard was. One of those 15 minutes of fame moments found Jess on David Letterman.

My dear friend, Jess Hilliard on bass, and Mr. Al Sobrante on drums, in The Shatners!

Jess (The Bass Man), the heart and soul of the Ne'er Do Wells, playing at the Gilman in 94...wish it was a vid, cuz these dudes had a mountain of stage presence.

This was a Judy and the Loadies tune I posted on YT 13 years ago from a recording they did at KHSU that a bunch of us were involved in and did recordings of our own (the Garden Weasel recording that night was no boeno and muy malo. Anyway, gonna finish this post about my pal Jess with my favorite tune by J&tl, a cover of "Germany" by the Ramones, below...

Shudders live at Le Sous Sol 2003

 Back in the early 2000s, Eugene, Oregon was hopping with underground rock and roll. One of my favorites was the Shudders - an all-star garage rawk cover band featuring Samantha Pritchard on vocals (the first band I ever saw with Sam; many more followed), Peter Weinberger on guitar (ex Surf Trio, a well known guitar hero in Eugene), Tim Kinney "secret Hippie" on bass and Raenie Kane (Runtemeyer, the Naysayers) on drums and backing vocals. 

Les Sous Sol was a basement venue, also known as the River Ruin House, a gathering place for many underground events and shows over the years. I have recollections of setting up a few microphones and recording this but don't remember much else - enjoy the Shudders:

Ed Cole Tapes · the Shudders live at Le Sous Sol 2003

Iron Lung - live @ KEXP January 28, 2026

With this blog and my half of the input/output, I am going to try and stay away from nostalgia, sticking with the now of music, whats going on right fucking now! Imagine my surprise to find my past in the present. I've been listening to these guys since about 2004, when the above album was released. That album is one of those that you can't listen to  individual tunes, you must commit yourself to the entire, almost 18 minute onslaught, in one sitting! Epic in a way that rarely comes along, so rare that, like an endangered species, we must do everything we ca to keep it alive.

I have been enjoying KEXP for several years now, so imagine my surprise when Iron Lung pops up on their Youtube feed! As much as I have enjoyed and respected KEXP for the live music they feature, it is doubled now. What a way to celebrate the eclectic world of music. This is a huge video and Iron Lung does not disappoint in the least. after 20 something years, they are still all that and more. If you don't like Violencia de poder, or as some call the genre, Power Violence, then fuck off! Just kidding of course but in all seriousness you probably lack the sophistication and refinement of a band like this!  Seriously though, in this set Iron Lung do not disappoint and with phasers on stun, I am teleported to a land that only a few understand or care to visit. Kudos to KEXP and rock on Iron Lung!!! 

The Radios

 

Trip out man, you ever groove to some psychobilly? These guys in particular are something else to behold with their stage personas...an eye opening introduction to the genre. This was a YT algorithm score and was a good rabbit hole to spend time in. The studio stuff is high energy stuff but that stage presence is like one of those high energy magnets they pull shit out of lakes with. A gang of live shit of various qualities, thankfully some of that seems to be pro-shot with some fantastic sound. Well worth getting your groove on. They have a Facebook that I found on their Discogs page. You can also find them on Viberate where they give quite a bit of information about who they are and what they're about. If you like the the Cramps on 45 rpm then you will definitely dig!

Introductions are in order...

Edhead (g) and Mustard (v), or 1/2 of Garden Weasel are doing this here thang, pictured here with none other than Steve (d) and Brian (b) of Garden Weasel. Gonna be reviewing music, because that's what the world needs, another music blog, right? It's all about aural pleasure!

Back in 1991 (photo by Karen Shriver), this was our hobby, you might say. To be honest these were some the best times I ever had! Ed gives you the lowdown on those days in his Garden Weasel Diaries, which are an epic read if you want to know what it was like back in the days when it was a mostly organic, DIY process to create music. It takes some balls to get some like minded folks together to create original music and put it out there to be loved and/or hated. I am especially keen on the live experience, because it's one thing to slave away in the studio (an experience I was never keen on) and completely another to stand up in front of an audience who are either going to throw underwear or vegetables at you...hahah! It doesn't matter if I like an artist, I still respect that they have the moxie to put themselves out there to be applauded or ridiculed.

A couple years ago, Garden Weasel had a Blues Brothers moment, and got the band together for a reunion show. I had a blast getting together with three dudes I have loved for 30+ years, and it was my honor to play music with folks that I respect, not only as musicians but as human beings. So here we are. I do not have any credentials to review music other than to say I have been a fan of music in it's most general sense, since I was in the womb when my Mom was frequenting clubs like The Intersection on Temple St. in the Rampart District of LA. In the blogging sense I have been at it now for close to 20 years with the Mustard Relics blog and then the Reliquias de Mostaza blog doing numerous review, interviews and general nonsense. Ed on the other hand is an accomplished musician with a lifetimes worth of creating music under his belt. He's been blogging for longer than I have, in fact an inspiration for me to start blogging in the first place. With that said, we shall commence with the reviews and request that folks comment and share their thoughts. 

Addendum:

Hey! Ed chiming in here – Justin’s introduction pretty much sums it up. It’s pretty wild to still have a good friend I stay in touch with after 35 years and still have so much in common regarding music, philosophy and life.  When we met, he was an LA guy and I was a rural NorCal kid, both living in Arcata, California, immersed in our local music scene, partying with friends and seeing every show that came through our area. MDC, DOA, the Vandals, NoMeansNo, Meat Puppets, Crimpshrine, Tragic Mulatto, Jawbreaker, many other bands all came through sleepy, hippie Arcata and formed our connection with the outside world and the greater music scene. Local bands like Grimace, One Man Running, Brent’s TV, Dieselhed, Dukes of Burl, Jane Maxwell band, the Leftovers, SFM were our friends and it seemed like several nights a week we were all in the same place at the same time. Zines, stickers, fliers, bands, pranks, record stores, cheap beer, weed, drugs, house shows and late-night donut shops was our world for a few years, before folks started either graduating from college, moving away for work or starting families and jobs – the scene was there for us until it wasn’t. Looking back – it was a short transition time in life between high school and true adulthood. Every town, every region had a scene and the Arcata/Eureka scene was ours. Many folks are still there – the true locals – but the rest of us moved outward in a punk diaspora away from Humboldt County and into the rest of the country and world. I now call Vancouver, Washington home and see a variety of music in Portland, Oregon several times a month. Look for some videos and show reports from me starting soon!