oh sweet starjob...

1997 - Star Job EP


I love this record... SO much. This is Chicago area freak cult band the Frogs, all dressed up for a hot, slick rock show.
Gone(!) are the trademark, ultra lo-fi jabs. In with the ultra-slick production and rock wild guitar heroics!!
The Frogs do not let go of their urges to make broad, infantile and intentionally wildly offensive jabs at everything in their path though, for which, I thank them.This is a crystal perfect beheading of the era of the rock star, written in the language of big ROCK.
The album is produced by Billy Corgan under the pseudonym 'Billy Goat' and certainly features some of his guitar playing. Probably a lot actually.
But wait.. isn't Billy Corgan a HUGE rock star?
yes. yes he is.
The Frogs gladly handjob him right onto the record with commendable shamelessness and even drop his name with a wink wink nudge nudge.
Did I mention I love this record?God damn. Yes I do.
It might not even be my favorite Frogs record though...
I dunno.

(A really nice thing that you could do is buy this album (plus TEN bonus tracks!) directly from the band!)


I love it so much that shortly before I left Tea For Julie, I played in a Frogs tribute band. Not just a Frogs tribute, we were a tribute to specifically this EP. We called ourselves 'Starjob'. What else?
I was playing bass and keyboards. Michael from TFJ was on guitar and vocals. Kenny Erlick was playing guitar as well, and our friend Flapjack who formerly drummed for Icanlickanysonofabitchinthehouse was behind the kit. Practice consisted of... well... mostly it was an excuse to drink retarded amounts of tequila and smash our way through a cover of the EP. We did these practices... six, maybe seven times(?) and I did all kinds of wild damage to the physical structure of my bass and found out that the two ten Ampeg cabinet I have actually lights up if you push it too far into feedback! Who knew?! When I quit TFJ I pretty much quit this band by default, but we were gonna be awesome man...
totally rad...

I found this CD on the ground

1997 - 70 Minutes Of Happy: Bulb In Bulbophonic


Yes, I literally found it on the ground. Right in the middle of the street near NE Sandy, close to a nice little townhouse apartment I used to live in with my friend Keira.
It was summer and I had had a crap day at work and it was about a millions degrees outside. I rode my skateboard all the way from the record store I worked at on NE Sandy and 20th to our apartment, which was on like 54th or something. If you are familiar with that patch of Sandy Blvd circa 2000 - 2001, you know that it IS NOT skateboard friendly. 100% uphill and riddled with vicious potholes, shitty, smashed up sidewalks and weird intersections.
Anyway, I had turned up Sacramento to the kind of back approach to the apartment complex, and stopped to sit on the sidewalk and rest before I crawled up the last couple blocks. And there it was. Sitting right in the middle of the street. I picked it up and looked at it. A cdr with a printed disc in a little plastic sleeve with what looked like a photocopied piece of bright pink paper for a cover.
(the scan above I found on the internet. It sucks I know, but I can't find the cd right now...)
I assumed it was for some local band but saw that it was on a label called Bulb, out of Osaka, Japan. I fucking LOVE Osaka! Favorite place ever! I recognized something else as well. A name. Incapacitants. I had never heard these "Incapacitants" but I had heard of them. Infamous japanese godfathers of the Osaka noise scene, and older contemporaries of Hanatarash. This I was excited to hear. I decided to just go ahead and listen to the whole thing from the beginning and I had a discman with me. In it goes. It sounded a little like...
"SSSSSSSSSSSKKKKRR
RRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Auh-
GUHH-g-g-g-g-g--g-g-G-G
-g-gkschkreeeeeeeegk... gk...
gk gkgkgk!!!! DOOM".
This stuff isn't for everyone. Hardcore NOISE. Right at that moment though, it was like a perfect reflection of my mood. I was hot, and wanted to crawl out of my body. 15 million annoying reminders of people being rotten and aggressive were wrestling each other in the front of my brain. My skateboard fighting against the jagged, toothy sidewalks and complaining audibly. Surrounded by pushy, careless automobiles with faceless automatonic drivers. Only sounds like these could push them far enough away from me that I'd be able to maybe catch my breath and assemble my thoughts reasonably. It sounded perfect.

The cover is cryptic and the track list spotty. Some tracks don't even list an artist, or just say "???" When I find the CD, I'll make sure and put up an accurate transcription of the track listing as it is listed on the cover. Til then, you can listen. :)
As far as I can tell this thing is very very uncommon and out of print. The label doesn't even seem to have a website anymore. Anyone have any more info on this thing?