ACME Instruments

More Ignition content, clearly revealing the depths of the band’s skullduggerous and evil nature. As Alec MacKaye recently reminded me, one or more members of the group engaged in a high-speed penny-throwing attack on the Vile Cherubs, very clearly an ill-conceived and downright DANGEROUS pasttime. Why? Obviously, seeing as the penny has since been discontinued, those coppers would be worth a near-fortune today! As Alec himself put it: “A penny not thrown at the Vile Cherubs is a penny earned!” Love always, Seth . . . . . #ignitionband #dischord #dischordrecords #dchardcore #vilecherubs

DID IT EVEN HAPPEN? Every musician’s first out-of-towner looms large for them: The sense of exploration and expansion, the nervousness and thrill of facing an unfamiliar, indifferent—even hostile—crowd. My first such show was in 1988, long enough ago that the passage of time has rounded all the edges off memory, making me wonder if it really happened at all. That’s one reason I was so thrilled to get this little time capsule of a gift from @gregorywebb1969 . It’s a shot I’d never seen from the Vile Cherubs’ show in Norfolk, a super-weird Sunday matinee in the back of a hair salon. The place was odd. No stage to speak of; the toilet was unspeakable. Outside was a Dumpster filled with discarded hair-care products and, troublingly, old p0rno mags. The lineup, though? Unforgettable. Besides us there were (in order of the photos): Swiz (shot by Alexis Fleisig, different show) Ignition (in Chris Thomson’s family car, shot by one of us on the highway, Chris Bald threatening us with a cane) Honor Role (shot by Joey Odette, different show) Moments: Swiz seared. As Ignition started their set, Alec MacKaye casually took off his boots and chucked them into a hole in the drop ceiling for safekeeping. Later, during Honor Role, I watched transfixed as Seth Harris’ right foot hit triplets on the kick drum. Astonishing band. Our ride—Tim’s mom’s station wagon—blew up outside Norfolk. We limped home at 40mph, arriving very VERY late—Norfolk is a LOT further from D.C. than any of us thought. But we’d done it. Love always, Seth . . . . . #ignitionband #swiz #honorroleband #dchardcore #vilecherubs

Hope y’all are enjoying all the Fall colors(of Fuzz), happy autumn friends! It’s been a few years since the Fuzzbug has bitten, here’s a new twist on a fave, the enigmatic ‘Amplified Superfuzz’ entry in the forgotten tome ‘99 Electronics Projects.’

Nerd Alert!🚨 I have been obsessing with and collecting vintage knobs since I was a kid. And in all my decades of digging thru mountainous untold buckets of old radio/stove/military/industrial knobs, buttons, and thingies in surplus spots, hamfests, and urban reclamation stores, I have never seen these colors of Dakaware. The ‘tele’ barrel switch tips are OG, but what the heck did they come off??? Thickening the plot, one in this pile was painted over white(can you spot it?) apparently to match two other lavender ones. Maybe someone crafted it to replace a missing one on whatever fabulous device these were made for. @vintageampspodcast #dakaware #hamfestscore

Our baby is two and a half! Jules cracks us up and keeps us on our toes every day, with the vocabulary and wit of an adult, psychic abilities and so much silliness. If there was ever a mold: they broke it with Jules. ❤️🔮

VILE CHERUBS WEDNESDAY I love everything about this photo—courtesy of the wonderful @elliemoran23 and taken at our lone Back Alley show, 1987. Tim, the solidbody Silvertone, the candy-stripe guitar case, the duct-taped distortion pedal, the thrift-store shoes and the Camel clock we set up on stage (why?). Just everything. Sadly not visible in the photo: @acmeverb in drag. Love always, Seth . . . . . #dischord #dischordrecords #dcpunk #dchardcorepunk #dchardcore #punkwriting #punkrecording #punkmemoir #vilecherubs #vilecherubsband #thevilecherubs

It’s been a little more than a week since the one and only Steve Melkisethian shuffled off this mortal coil. The photo here is a framed collage of sorts that has adorned my shop wall in various locations. There is an ‘Off the Wall’ article from an 80’s issue of Guitar Player show Steve deep in a hustle at an early NYC Vintage Guitar Show. Below that is some legal tender that was a holiday gift to Angela Instruments employees. I’ve struggled to come up with the words for an adequate tribute. He was a titan in a game he helped pioneer, a devoted family man, a gifted storyteller(and photographer!), and loyal friend. He also kept the gear of the DC punk scene in better than working condition. Last but not least he cajoled me into building my first tube amp, and inspired me to just start doing the stuff I dreamed of. Steve was a DIY Johnny Appleseed, and showed me you didn’t need extensive technical schooling or experience to be creative and even innovative. Thanks for everything Steve! @vintageampspodcast @jefs_guitar_amp_service_ @je2a3

VILE CHERUBS IN THE WASHINGTON POST Hey, how cool is this? WaPo’s King of Pop (sorry, Michael) @chris___richards penned a beautiful feature on L.G.Records and their incredible series of D.C. reissues. And extra-chuffed a chunk of my liner notes made it into the piece: “It’s hard to explain just how different it was back then. Downtown Washington, D.C. was roached. After the torrential rain storms that broke like water balloons over your head, you could literally smell the decay wafting up from the abandoned buildings. The city was falling apart in real time, but it was also our playground: Chinese takeouts; wig shops; pay phones; liquor stores that sold to anyone. And d.c. space.” If you’re interested in D.C. music history or the forgotten corners of the punk scene, check out the L.G. catalog (available through @dischordrecords ). You won’t be sorry! Super-extra thanks to @designcordero for taking one of my fave photos of Tim and Ben at the old 9:30…. Love always, Seth . . . . . #dchardcorepunk #dchardcore #punkwriting #punkmemoir #dischord #dischordrecords #innerearstudios #dcpunk #930club #old930club #punkwriting #punkrecording #circuslupus #nationofulysses #vilecherubs #vilecherubsband #plasticland #dcscene #8ts6tsscenes #dcscene

Spotted on the MV Chimacum ferry, my questions have a few questions of their own… Any broom nerds out there who can answer them?

Tasting these fine Japanese Fazer Sonix brings to mind sake. Cloudy white bottle Swirl evaporated Spring Mysteries deepen

For someone out there picking up the soldering iron was a bold act of defiance. I appreciate their works’ sculptural qualities #vintageamppodcast

WHAT IS WRONG WITH MODERN YOUTH? Did we get in a wee bit of trouble for this one? It’s possible. Ironically, we didn’t even make the flyer; I certainly wouldn’t have had the guts to. It was Gordon (Gordon) Ornelas, noted D.C. scene antihero (W.D.C. Period et al) who made the original. I’m not sure if it was the image of swimsuit-clad Natalie Woods that was the issue, or the cheeky reference to her then-recent death by drowning (“Bobby, let’s go swimming”). In retrospect, posting the flyers at post NW D.C. high schools was asking for trouble, and minor trouble in fact ensued. But getting scolded by high school admins was all part of the game, and for a while there we ran a pretty good one. I remember little about the show itself, which is too bad: It was our first time opening for a “real” out of town band, and I could feel us changing as we came into our own. Rick Didjit was, true to form, sneering and unimpressed. But after loadout at the very end of the night, as the Didjits sauntered back to their tour van and we to our collection of battered passenger cars, Doug Evans turned out. “Hey!” he said. “You guys were cool!” Thank you, Doug. That’s one I’ll take to the bank. Love always, Seth . . . . . #dchardcorepunk #dchardcore #punkwriting #punkmemoir #dischord #dischordrecords #innerearstudios #dcpunk #930club #old930club #punkwriting #punkrecording #circuslupus #nationofulysses #vilecherubs #vilecherubsband #dcscene #8ts6tsscenes #dcscene #dcspace #thedidjits #didjits