The Blondes: "Summer Strut" MCP CD/LP 025
Listen to "I Just Wanna Stay At Home" (Real Audio File) 

It's been barely a half year since their debut release, and, in that short time, The Blondes have been back to the studio. This time, Brian Kehew (sometimes keyboardist for Air ad full-time member of legendary Moog Cookbook) sat behind the mixing board, and, as a fellow musician, pitched in by playing-that's right!-the keyboards on the new recordings. To be quite honest, the songs aren't that new. Some of the tracks were laid down almost a year ago. When Billy Dusha and Adam Siegel were told by Middle Class Pig that they would be coming to Europe on tour and that a new release on the market wouldn't be such a bad idea, they returned to the studio to finish it all up. The result is 12 Pop/Rock classics, entitled "Summer Strut". Summertime is the season of The Blondes, a time to hang out, a time to make out. It doesn't get much colder in L.A. in the winter, but the days get shorter. So what! It's still summertime in L.A.-24/7, 365 days a year. Send mean Mr. Mustard back to his gray, dingy office so he can suffocate on 30-year-old bureaucratic dust because, when The Blondes come to town, it's time to get down. It's all about havin' fun, and, if you're going to be a dick, go join the ranks of all the nasty old men that have kept us down our whole lives.

"Summer Strut" is a sequel. Can it top the first record? That's not worth arguing about. That's like trying to determine if chocolate is better than bubble gum, if blondes are better than brunettes. Both records are solid, simple feel-good Rock 'n' Roll, and the parallels can be draw to the likes of The Beach Boys, Cheap Trick, The Cars, The Who, The Beatles, Big Star, The Sweet, The Modern Lovers and Urge Overkill. There's something in the music for everybody, and it's impossible to pigeon-hole The Blondes to one category. Every song is different in its own right, and you almost think you're listening to a different band when you flip the record over. Like its predecessor, "Summer Strut" kicks ass from start to finish. There's no need to cue the CD to a certain track because they're all good. The vinyl won't be scratched up because you won't always be dropping the needle on your favorite song. When was the last time a really good record came out? The average crap release out nowadays has two good songs on it. People would rather download a song from Napster or burn the CD from a friend. If there's no quality in the product, no one's willing to pay for it.

The Blondes are timeless, and the melodies never grow old. You can listen to a Blondes release over and over again, and it's just as good as the first time. That's the sign of true Rock 'n' Roll record-more than just a cheap-ass product off the desk of a fat record company executive. A real Rock 'n' Roll record becomes a chapter in history, a chapter that never loses its relevance.

On Van Nuys Boulevard, nothing much has changed. Trends have come and gone, residents have relocated, new people have moved in and claimed it as their own, but the place still looks the same. For some reason, the real estate agents kept Van Nuys intact. Probably due to a lack of commerce. No new shopping malls or gallerias. A drive through the L.A. suburb is a trip through the heydays of the late 20th century. Movie theaters and fast food joints that were built in the mid-Sixties are still standing, their structures never renovated, their signs and logos never updated. Back in the early Seventies, the architecture in a Van Nuys neighborhood was considered modern. The air smells like beef, onions and grease. Some people call Van Nuys the armpit of the nation. The Blondes call it home.

In addition to all the great records and CDs we have on sale for you, we are now going out on a limb to offer the coolest-looking (and fitting) t-shirt there ever was. The t-shirt is a must for all Glam and Power-Pop fans (and all Rock 'n' Roll fans in general). It glitters and shimmers in the light, the back is really cool, too (the head from the first Blondes record with the tourdates from the 2002 tour on top of it-with glitter), and they're made out of the best matieral the market has to offer--not too thin, not too thick--just right.

If you're interested, they cost 13 Euro/$13 plus shipping. Since they're light, the shipping costs will be very low. We have everything from girl sizes (small and "large"), small, medium, large and extra-large. If you want the Joneses to keep up with you, get one while supplies last!

T-shirt Design: Jeff Stuart (jestuart@debitel.net)

The Current Line-Up of the Blondes

Billy Dusha: Vocals, guitar (formerly of the Sacred Hearts, a band with
Adam Siegel: Vocals, guitar
Victor Penalosa: bass
Ward Dotson: Keyboards
Byron Maiden: Drums (Aaron Sperske played drums on the record)

In fact, The Blondes don't sound anything like the other Middle Class Pig bands. It's not "Garage" or "Punk" or "Noise". There's no feedback, you won't see TVs flying through the air, and you won't find dried vomit on their equipment. You could almost go as far to describe the Blondes as "Pop" or "Rock". If you have a problem with that, don't worry, The Blondes won't hurt ya. But, Cretin 66 might just have to pay ya a visit. . .

When The Blondes formed back in 1998, they weren't called the Blondes. They were called "Eagle", and they released a 7-song CD with an L.A. label called Shipwrecords (all of which are available on their first full-length, which is the subject matter of this liner note). Don Henley of the EagleS wasn't too happy with this, because, well, although the names of the bands are DIFFERENT and he's a BILLIONAIRE and the members of this band are either DIRT POOR and/or struggling to get by, he thought it was necessary to do want most Americans do and threaten to sue other people with the flick of a gold pen. Eagle---or, pardon me, The Blondes received a cease and desist letter, and they had to take all the CDs out of all the stores in L.A. (it was released locally, for the most part), they weren't allowed to perform as "Eagle" anymore, and they had to sack their website. The story is so common that it's a sick and tiresome cliché---the small fish gets eaten by the big fish and the big fish poops it all out of his ass.

Well, The Blondes are creative people. They came up with a new name and re-released the old material with two other songs with us folks here at Middle Class Pig.

"The Blondes" (MCP CD/LP 020) is available on CD with a regular jewel case and on 180 gram black vinyl (insert included).

Listen to "Teenage Foxes" (Real Audio File) 

This text pretty much sums up how you feel when you listen to The Blondes:

There's nothing worse than two consecutive weeks of gray skies--or even longer.
That can happen in Europe, and it happens most of time almost everywhere--except California. Okay, California is overpopulated, and the power goes out frequently. But, there's nothing like sunshine and constant good weather that makes life seem like it ain't so bad after all.

"California sunshine's better"--that's what the Blondes say. Shit, it ain't bad when the sun shines in Norway either. But, what can do you to cheer yourself up when skies are gray? It doesn't even have to be gray, maybe you're just down. Jimmy James, bassist for The Blondes, would recommend putting on "Pet Sounds" from The Beach Boys. Some people listen to Motown. Maybe Billy Dusha and Adam Siegel, the songwriters and guitarists for the band, would say, "Fuck it", and head to the next In 'n' Out Burger.

Modern society, despite all the conveniences, has a way of making you feel like shit. Things don't always work out the way you want. You're broke. Your boss is an asshole. Maybe you just got dumped. That's where Rock 'n' Roll, Pop, and Soul came into the picture. . .

The Blondes are melodic Rock 'n' Roll, powerful Pop, songs about "Teenage Foxes", eating pizza, California sunshine, Los Angeles, and enjoying life. Jonathan Richman once sang, "The modern world is not so bad, not like the students say. . .come and join the modern world with me." So, you're in a bad mood. Put on a Modern Lovers record. The Big Star's Third seems to be collecting dust.
Or, put on the new Blondes record.

The best thing about The Blondes is that it's not only the guitars that stand out. Autumn De Wilde's Moog synthesizer hints at a New Wave influence from the late '70s--The Cars? And, to tie it all together with a proper beat, is Aaron Sperske, who's past and present includes drumming for The Lilys and Beachwood Sparks. Each song from The Blondes is an anthem--an anthem of youth, good times and Rock 'n' Roll. Cheap Trick set the precedent almost 25 years ago:
"Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird. . .
Surrender." Things aren't as bad as they seem, Brother. Join the club. Turn on the radio, put in a tape, an 8-track, or even a CD. That's what a band like the Blondes is all about. Not the solution to your problems, but a good way out of a long bad mood rut. And, if you don't have any California sunshine--or any sunshine at all, maybe you got the Blondes to refresh your memory.

The Blondes, the newest band on Middle Class Pig Records, is a band that combines the lyrical innocence of The Beach Boys, the New Wave/Punk sounds of The Cars and Cheap Trick with the Pop sensibility of bands like Big Star, Urge Overkill and The Beatles. Not typical for a Garage label. Who ever said Middle Class Pig was a Garage label? Enjoy!

So, what about them beans? Middle Class Pig is a Rock 'n' Roll label, and we (who's we, anyway, me and my tapeworm?) deviate from the norm, even our own "norm" (not to be confused with the Norm on Cheers). Music, which is art form, knows no boundaries. We don't know any boundaries, either, and that's what makes it all worth while. Fashions and trends may come and go, but personal freedom is eternal---and sacred. Rock 'n' Roll IS freedom, Dammit---that's why people still try to ban it, destroy it and suppress it. But, no chance. The human will is stronger than any silly man-made law.

If you like what you hear and you'd like to purchase this release, please contact us at the following e-mail address: sales@middleclasspig.com

All CDs cost 13 Euro, all LPs 11 Euro and all 7-inches 3 Euro. That includes sales tax/value-added tax. That does not include shipping costs. Within Germany, shipping costs APPROXIMATELY 2 Euro per CD or LP. Add another Euro on top of that for additional items. For orders outside of Germany, we'll contact the local post office and let you know the exact shipping costs (we'll do that for order within Germany as well). So, in the end, you'll get an invoice from us with the price of the merchandise plus the shipping cost. Please send us your address, and we'll get your order out ASAP. You can transfer the money to our account (info is on the invoice), send us a check or concealed cash (a definite risk). Sorry, we're not sophisticated enough to accept credit cards. Returned items must be on our desk within 10 days in order to guarantee a refund. However, we guarantee that'll you like the products we make.