What's the first thing you think of when you hear the phrase "guitar riff"? Big, stadium filling, wall-rattling riffs like "Smoke On The Water", "Whole Lotta Love", "Iron Man" or "Brown Sugar"? Well, even if they're not as instantly recognizable as their classic rock brethren, we've got plenty of amazing displays of riffery (yeah, we realize that's not a real word, Webster's) going on in the classic alternative world too.

 

Our Third Lad this week is not only someone who has heard a heck of a lot of loud guitar riffs in his life, but has made a career of capturing iconic moments of some of the biggest artists in the world (The Who, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, Tina Turner), alternative legends (The Clash, Nirvana, REM, The Replacements, The Jam), and the lesser known heroes of the underground (Compulsive Gamblers, The Pudz, Tupelo Chain Sex). Now photographer Marty Perez has compiled some of his greatest portraits into a new compendium on Hozac Books called Kill A Punk For Rock & Roll: Photographs by Marty Perez 1976-2019. It's a veritable who's-who of rock & roll over the past 40+ years, and is an essential time capsule for any music fan. Marty was a blast, with terrific stories, insights and some unusual picks (hey, that's usually Brett's job).

 

We turn our first O3L Spotlight of Season 4 onto a power pop/punk band out of the Isle of Wight, Reminders. A failing transatlantic relationship and a timeless riff are all it took for Reminders to produce their most authentic power pop track to date.  “International Dial Tones” feels like summer, reads like infatuation, and sounds like (a Gen Z) Undertones/Ramones supergroup. They are a true punk rock power trio firing on all cylinders, straight from the garage, rough around the edges, and yet the most refined we’ve heard the band yet. The beach punk boys of 2022 enter 2023 having graduated into bonafide songsmiths, and there is no further proof necessary than “International Dial Tones.”

 

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