A Strange Reunion: Celebrating 35 Years Of Dr. Strange Records

  • Marcus Solomon posted
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Dr Strange Records

A Strange Reunion: Celebrating 35 Years Of Dr. Strange Records

Haven City Market, Rancho Cucamonga, CA - 21st October 2023

This show was a resounding success with every band putting on stellar performances in honor of the 35th anniversary of Dr. Strange Records, which is now firmly entrenched as the GO TO place both in person and online for all your punk rock necessities. 35 years? Wow, I remember when Bill Strange was putting records in my skateboard shop for sale on consignment before he had the retail store. This time, I knew the cops were not going to come in to bust some heads, the sound mixing was much better than the previous two shows at this venue, and the lighting was toned down so it was not as bright as an elementary school cafeteria like it had been on the two previous punk rock occasions. Something else happened that was amazingly rare…I was actually on time.

Dr Strange Records

There was already a sizeable crowd of about 300 people that continued to steadily increase while the opening band Mandingo got things rolling. This was the band’s first show in 20 years. Before the band began to play, I introduced myself to Lucas the bass player and told him I was writing a show review for The Punk Site and asked if had anything to say. He replied: “Punk is dad.” My notes say: “Driving, solid, quick, upbeat, and catchy.” Good stuff. The notes also say: “Great, non-overindulgent guitar leads.” However, I could not find anything online by this band to refresh my memory, but I did find a few bands with the same or similar names doing something entirely not of interest to me. There was no slamming at this point, but there were a lot of people up close, smiling, and nodding along as people continued to stream into the venue. If you can find anything by this particular band named Mandingo let me know, otherwise, you just had to be there.

Mandingo

Up next was a band called Whatever. It was stated on the show flyer that this was Whatever’s first show in 20 years, but during the band’s set, the vocalist said it was their 2nd show in 25 years. Close enough. I really liked what hit me as a roaring wall of buzzing guitars. I thoroughly enjoy that sort of guitar growl. Still no slam pit at this time, and I was truly amazed by the skillful flailing of the drummer. Vocalist and guitarist Ben Wrecked took a moment to say: “There’s one reason why we are here tonight. At one time or another be have been touched by Bill Plaster (Dr. Strange), often inappropriately. Reach out and touch him back tonight.” What is old is new again and Whatever is back at it and will be releasing a new album soon entitled Our Decline. The song Useless, originally released on a split with Zoinks!, was so motivating, there soon formed a slam pit of three guys. The new song, Dig our Graves, was really good too. Don’t just shrug and say “whatever.” Take the time to check these guys out if you get a chance.

Whatever

Not everyone on the bill this evening was old. Cyanide Pills came over from rainy old England to grace us with there unique but familiar-sounding version of classic punk rock made new again. When Cyanide Pills started playing, the place really came alive and the crowd started to show some energy. Think of the simplicity of Ramones, the spastic quirkiness of The Briefs, a hard-to-pin-down but definite hint of The Knack, a bit of Buzzocks, and 100% unique Cyanide Pills delivery, and there you have it. They started their set with the cheery-sounding, sing-along Hope You’re Having Fun which, despite it’s uplifting tone, is apparently about the horrors of war. Fun fact, when I looked up this song on YouTube, the site directed me to a suicide prevention hotline. Next came the hilarious I Can’t Get it Up, which is about exactly what you think it is about. Yeah, these guys are very animated, especially Alarick “The Trick” on bass with his Johnny Ramone-like posturing and his Sid Vicious-like sneer. Don’t get me wrong here. This is no ripoff band without originality. Quite to the contrary, Cyanide Pills put a new spin on all our old favorites and serves it up piping hot with solid musicianship, ample amounts of humor and their own unique delivery. Later in the evening, I told Alarick that my friend Cathy got me one of their albums for Christmas last year. “Which one?” He asked. “The one with the stupid cover” I said. He laughed and replied: “Yeah, right. Which one?” Seriously now…Cyanide Pills have become one of my favorite bands. Give ‘em a go mate.

Cyanide Pills

When Rhythm Collision took the stage, I was a surprised by the loud ovation from the crowd. Vocalist & guitarist Harlan took it all in for a few smiling moments and he said: “Keep it comin’. We’ve waited 27 years for this!”, he then mentioned that the band’s first album, Pressure, was released by Dr. Strange Records. (By the way, I have an original pressing on vinyl, so there!) The crowd moved forward and filled the area in front of the stage. The music commenced and the raging circle pit was in full, frothing form. During the song Hippie Now I was again surprised so many people knew the words and were singing along. The enthusiasm and crowd chorus continued with Happy As A Fucking Clam. Harlan took a quick moment to say: “Stoked to have my kids here! They were not even born when we last played.” The band was tight and every song was on point, and I wondered how it was possible to have not played for almost three decades and still sound that good. Toward the end of the band’s triumphant set of buzzing sing-songy punk, Harlan called Dr. Strange himself to the stage and a few female backup singers for their rousing rendition of a cover of Fine Young CannibalsShe Drives Me Crazy. It was crazy. Afterward, I asked Tony the drummer how Bill got the band to get back together after so many years. He said that Bill just hammered them with phone calls until they finally said yes. He also said it was so much fun and the band may do a few more shows in the future. Look for that.

Rhythm Collision

For some strange reason, the crowd suddenly decreased by 75%. Well, too bad for them because they missed out. Zoinks! rocked hard in a very rock ‘n’ roll, rockers that rock, punk rock kind of way. Again, this is another great band that Bill Strange somehow harassed into playing again after calling it quits in 1998. To me, this band sounds more like a versatile rock band than a punk rock one. I only caught one song title which was, I Wrote This Song For You. We all felt flattered. I noticed Bill Strange and his lovely wife Laura right up front thoroughly enjoying the moment. I know for a fact that they played Sapsucker Sluggo and marveled at my own mind for remembering it even though I had no idea it was stored in my memory archive. Those who stayed were apparently die-hard Zoinks! fans, as they seemed to know every word to every song. No slam pit. Just a bunch of aging punk rockers sweating to the oldies.

Zoinks!

I decided to stop taking notes and ran “backstage” real quick to see if I could score some food. In Zoinks! plywood cubicle that functioned as a dressing room, I found a large rectangular cake that was emblazoned: “Happy Anniversary Dr. Strange Records!” Nobody had eaten any of it, so I grabbed it, a bunch of paper plates, some plastic forks, took it to the concert area, and starting serving it to anyone who wanted some. I saw some long-haired young guy pitting it up pretty much by himself, so I put my arm around his shoulders, danced alongside him, put the cake up to his face and yelled: “Eat it! Eat it!” He went to take a bite and I smashed it into his face. He repaid the favor by smashing the cake into my face. I wore it for the rest of the evening because I felt really punk rock silly and was having a wonderful time. Oh yeah, Zoinks! was still tearing it up and people were still singing along.

Marcus Solomon

I am listening to Zoinks! right now on YouTube while I write this review and you can do the same. But you know what would be better? Get in touch with Dr. Strange Records and you can buy some Zoinks! merchandise along with something from all the bands mentioned here. In fact, Dr. Strange Records has grown from a one-page listing of records for sale that Bill did from his apartment, that grew to become the punk rock mega-store it is today. If Dr. Strange Records cannot find something for you, then it probably does not exist. Thank you Bill for 35 wonderful years of Dr. Strange Records. We love you.

Photography by Marcus Soloman & Cathy Dye