Fallout Shelter Ran Out Of Beer

  

A new album should be coming shortly.  I was going to call it Having Fun In The Former USA like a bizarre modernday Beach Boys album or something, but having done the last album with a title track (one of the songs on it is "Having Fun In The Former USA"), I decided to give the album its own unique title, so it's Fallout Shelter Ran Out Of Beer.  It should make for good listening while you're drinking in the fallout shelter before the beer runs out as well.  I opted not to add "The" at the beginning of the album title for easier alphabetizing.  I like the ring of the title without the article also.  You can hear some of the tracks at https://www.soundcloud.com/wredfright, but I'll list the track listing and cover and liner notes here in subsequent weeks, as well as let you know when it's out on Soundcloud, Spotify, Bandcamp, and the rest of the streaming services.  I have no plans for a cd or lp release, but you could probably sweettalk me into burning you a cd if you wanted to, and some record label would have to pony up for the vinyl because I'm still scarred from having leftover 1990s singles for decades after (if you need one, get in touch, as I think I still have a couple, but they cost more than they did in the 1990s due to inflation and higher shipping costs, maybe also due to inflation, these days).  The first four albums are already out and available for listening (see the aforementioned little blurb below for links).

For more Wred Fright music, give his other albums a listen or download at your favorite digital music site such as Spotify or Bandcamp!

Autographed Blog Love Omega Glee Books Available!

  

I have autographed copies of Blog Love Omega Glee available now.  This novel's a bit longer than the others, so the books cost a bit more.  They're $30 with domestic shipping including (i.e., in the USA) and $40 with international shipping included (i.e., anywhere that's not the USA).  If you want a dedication or anything, then please just put it in the notes field and I will try to oblige (no guarantees).  Of course, the PDF and EPUB versions are available for free from me (pay what you want if you have the dough to spare) and from the usual ebook retailers if you want to pay a third party for some reason.  The printed book is available sans autograph from Amazon, but if you can get it for the same price autographed, why wouldn't you do that?  If, for some reason, you want to order multiple copies at once for your book club or something, then just do the math and PayPal me at wredfright AT yahoo DOTT com with the appropriate note about what you're ordering.  You don't have to do separate clicks on the Buy Now link.  That's the last of the additions to the online bookstore.  All the novels are available autographed now.  Get 'em while supplies last (actually, if they all sell within a decade or so, I'd probably just reorder some more, but that gets rid of the sales urgency to action, so get 'em while supplies last!).  

New Hoof & Antler Article!

  

I wrote an article on the vision of the future offered at the 1939 New York World's Fair for the new Hoof & Antler.  You can pick up a free copy of the newspaper with its swell other features at Mickey Mart.

If you don't live near a Mickey Mart, then you'll have to settle for reading my latest novel, The Front Yard War.

New Single!: Crossing Guards Often Have A Thing For Me

wredfright · Crossing Guards Often Have A Thing For Me

This is probably the final single for a while since there's a new album coming out this summer.  I experimented with fading this song out, both by playing quietly and then by actually fading out on the recording.  Musically, it has the usual vocals, guitar, fake bass, and drums, but I think I couldn't find a good hi-hat sound I liked on any percussion, so I just used vocals for that.  I'd buy an actual hi-hat, but I probably have too many musical instruments as it is.  Maybe someday.  Lyrics are below:

Crossing guards often have a thing for me.
I prefer to jaywalk, but they like to cross me safely.
When I was a boy she just held my hand.
She holds something else now that I'm a man.

She helped me across the street of love.

Make the traffic stop.  Make my heart go.
She whips her stop sign up from below.
If she were at the ocean, she could hold back the tide,
but she can't hold me back when I'm inside.

If we stay in the lines, we could do it in the street,
but a crosswalk romance can get trampled under people's feet.
The light may change and people may shout,
but she still puts more than just her arms out. 

For more Wred Fright music, give his latest album a listen or download at your favorite digital music site such as Soundcloud, Spotify, or Bandcamp!

New Pop Lit On Frighty #2!

  

Thanks to New Pop Lit for their shoutout about Frighty #2!  You can read the second issue of Frighty here:    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mxtKjKFYzM7k3ujI4S43G1ZcCop15i69/view.  Remember, it's designed to be printed doublesided flip on short edge, then you can fold and even staple/bind if you're feeling really inspired.  It's not really designed to be read online.  I'll probably do a third issue of the zine in the fall since some folks already sent material for it.

Today's Bloomsday, so that means summer is upon us, and I will be taking a short break from the blog.  See you in July with a new single, a new album, perhaps another autographed novel to add to the others now available, some music videos, and whatever else the rest of 2025 brings!

In the meantime, why not do some summer reading, starting with my latest novel, The Front Yard War?! 

Autographed Frequently Asked Questions About Being Dead Books Available!

I have autographed copies of Frequently Asked Questions About Being Dead available now.  They are each $15 domestic postpaid (USA) or $20 international postpaid (anywhere else).  If you want a dedication or anything then please just put it in the notes field and I will try to oblige (no guarantees).  Of course, the PDF and EPUB versions are available for $5 still, and the novel is available at most ebook retailers as well as in printed form from Amazon should you not want an autographed copy (of course, I can provide that as well, just write in the notes field that you don't want your copy autographed--that would be weird but OK).  If, for some reason, you want to order multiple copies at once for your book club or something, then just do the math and PayPal me at wredfright AT yahoo DOTT com with the appropriate note about what you're ordering.  You don't have to do separate clicks on the Buy Now link.

Luftkanone On Soundcloud!

Luftkanone · The Violation Of Gina Ryder

Dave Bell had a noise project named Luftkanone around 2000 or so.  It was definitely some crazy extreme music.  I saw him play it live a couple of times.  He was loosely part of the Cleveland, Ohio USA noise scene for a time but drifted away due to lack of proximity (he moved back to Western Pennsylvania) and some of his fellow noise musicians' antics (I remember him telling me one story about how after a noise show or something they went to an inner city strip club and one of the musicians started yelling racial epithets--as you can guess that didn't go over well and guns were pulled).  Vicki, Dave's widow, found some of the Luftkanone cds among his stuff.  I couldn't find the music (though some might not consider noise music music, it is music, just an extreme version of it) online, so I posted it on Soundcloud for those of you into not so easy listening.  You can find seven tracks here:  https://soundcloud.com/luftkanone.  I found the names of four of the tracks (from the split with Baal), but the tracks from the first ep I have no idea what they are actually called (if anyone does know, then please let me know as I had to make up some names just to avoid the bland track 1, track 2 approach).  It looks like he did record some more Luftkanone tracks, but we didn't find a copy of those (if anybody has more Luftkanone, then please post it and let me know).  You can find a description of what Luftkanone was like live in this review:  https://vareverta.wordpress.com/2013/11/26/das-waren-noch-zeiten-2000-too-loud-for-the-crowd/.

You can also find more Dave Bell music on Soundcloud:

Anal Spikemobile (I also added 3 tracks here though they aren't new since you can hear them at the end of In Through The Out Hole (Full Cavity Search Edition) album--you can hear them separately now.)

The Angry Housewives

Yeast? (Dave plays drums on most of the tracks and provides vocals on "Bloomsday" and "Duster" among others)

All of these aren't quite as extreme as Luftkanone, but they're probably all for adventuresome listeners.  I'd love to hear more Dave music, so if anyone has any Black Squirrel & Freaky, Sacred Hearts Auto Club, or other Dave projects, then please post them and let me know!

After Luftkanone, my albums probably sound like Frank Sinatra, but you can find them on Soundcloud, Spotify, Bandcamp, and other music services/sites!

Frighty #2!

Had enough fun doing the first issue of the zine Frighty that I made a second.  You can read it here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mxtKjKFYzM7k3ujI4S43G1ZcCop15i69/view?usp=sharing Once again, it's designed to be downloaded and then printed out and read.  Print it doublesided, flip on short edge, then you can fold it and staple it or bind it however you want and you'll have a nice little zine to read.  Reading it online isn't going to be ideal because it's formatted for printing and folding.  This issue, King Karl Wenclas and Markell R. West join in the fun.  The Midnight Rider sent in three contributions, so there will be at least one more issue, probably in the fall, given the quarterly schedule.  This is the summer issue.  Feel free to print out and distribute if you know anyone else that needs a new zine in their life.  

And if you need more to read, then read my latest novel, The Front Yard War!  

New Single!: The President Shit His Pants

wredfright · The President Shit His Pants

If you haven't shit your pants at some point post-infancy, then consider yourself lucky.  This song consoles anyone who has suffered such a misfortune.  Musically, it has the usual vocals, guitar, fake bass, and drums, but I added some fun noise and keyboards as well.  Lyrics are below:

The president shit his pants.
Now he's doing a squirmy dance.
It happened on live tv.
It could happen to you or me.
Maybe it was something he ate,
or he just overdosed on hate.
Maybe it was a voodoo curse,
or a pill his wife hid in her purse.

It could happen to anyone.

The richest man in the world fell on his ass.
He wasn't watching where he was walking in the grass.
He fired the employee who laughed,
and then brushed the grass from his calves.
Maybe his expensive shoes were too shiny,
so he slipped and fell on his heinie.
Maybe he forgot gravity still applies to him,
or maybe the lighting was just too dim.

The valedictorian ended up on the street.
Now she needs something to eat.
She had some bad bad luck,
and nobody seems to give a fuck.
Won't somebody lend her a helping hand?
She just needs a safe place to land.
At the very least buy her a beer,
so she can forget, for a time, the fear.

For more Wred Fright music, give his latest album a listen or download at your favorite digital music site such as Soundcloud, Spotify, or Bandcamp!