US roughnecks - Twenty bucks and two black eyes (2004)

Tracklist:
01. Weekend
02. 5-29
03. Saturday
04. Serve and protect
05. No justice
06. Roughneck noise
07. Summer of 96
08. Midtown nights
09. Lost paradise
10. Outcast
11. Sactos alright
12. Short haired rock'n'roll
13. Skinhead blues
14. Dirty river

Released by Hellcat records in 2004.

Band from Sacramento, California that claims to be the last authentic American hardcore band left in existence?!?!?!?!
That starting statement is enough to get a bullet in the back of your head and add to the fact that the bass player is one of the big wannabees in Lars fredericksen and The bastards and you can just see where this review is going.
"We're all about bringing the toughness back to punk" says their bassplayer "Big Jay". Where the hell has he been the last years? Listening to their labelmates playing "streetrock" probably cause in my reality there has always been tough punk its just a matter of what bands you choose to listen to.
Living in Sweden i dont want to seem like some "internet toughguy" trashtalking bands that i will never meet on the streets. Thats a cowards move but this band really ask for it.
First of all they are friends of Rancid and choose to release an "Oi album" through Hellcat records. Thats all ok since music is whats important. But this band sounds like shit and dont stand out in any way and slaggin off all other bands as wankers and then releasing this generic streetHC crap just fuels to my hate.
Anyway all hate aside this is an atempt to make some sort of an bandintroduction.

The band started under the bandname Knuckleheads back in 1997 with Mike Hennessey on vocals (and other loose members that i dont have the time or feel like searching up) but changed their name in late 97' when Big Jay joined the band on bass (he also plays in Lars fredericksen and the bastards).
Changing members back and fourth they finally got Mike G & Kemal on guitar and Gabe Van Dyke on drums for this release. Lyricaly they say themselfs that "the songs are about street fighting and getting arrested" (WTF!?!?!?!) lets just hope that they where the givers and not the recivers when they went to jail. They base these lyrics on the fact that Big Mike was harrased by the cops a lot when he grew up (WTF!?!?!?!) and unlike the rest of the worlds population that makes him a badass toughguy.
Basing their lyrical content completly on a fat fuck bragging about his "tough childhood" and blending it with your typical runofthemill HCpunk and you basicly have this band in a nutshell.

First time i heard this band was on the Give em the boot Vol 4 compilation with their Motörhead influenced song Lost paradise and i was really psyched on hearing more by the band. This is their only release and thank good for that cause the good songs can be counted on one hand on a retired lathe operator.
Dont really want to spend much time reviewing this shit and i know that these guys are highly respected among other bands around Cali and all but the base fact is the members act like a bunch of ignorant creeps, their music is bland and boring and when there is all these great Oi! groups around a major label like Hellcat decides to release this shit! Yet again shame on you Lars.
Give tracks 9 and 12 a chance but for your own sake leave the rest of the songs.

3/10

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If you by any chance might like this stuff then its still availible at Interpunk.