Looking through Probe Records' reduced box, I found San Francisco band The Sermon's 2004 (and it seems so far only) LP, 'Volume'. I bought it because it was £3.00, I liked the cover, and because Alternative Tentacles is a fairly reliable label.
It's some kind of punk/blues crossover, as it turns out, and I have to say that we have been enjoying it a lot. I know they are still around, as there are gig dates at the AT site, but there's very little info about them online - they don't even seem to have a myspace yet! This is what I could find, from the AT site:
"THE SERMON deliver overamped R&B with a punk rock intensity," (Maximumrocknroll) offering devastating, frenetic songs of pure rock and roll fury. San Francisco's THE SERMON formed in late 2000 to create a high-energy sound indicative of their jagged past; the current roster includes ex-members of The Fells (Estrus Records), Mount McKinleys (Get Hip Records) and The Dukes of Hamburg (Dionysus Records). The result is a straight-ahead, 60s-inspired form of garage rock that dismisses all forms of subtlety.
Volume the full-length debut CD/LP from THE SERMON captures the spirit of THE YARDBIRDS and the mandatory Detroit bands (STOOGES, MC5), drawing upon critical elements of rock n roll's finest era and redefining these sounds in today's musical context. Volume offers 12 tracks of hard-hitting rock n roll, complete with unrelenting dual guitar attack, theremin/echoplex bursts and a fierce rhythm section. The songs tell hard-boiled tales of the destitute and downtrodden, of lives commanded by urgency, desperation and deceit. Theft, paranoia, and homocide (the guitar player works in the SF police crime lab) are themes that establish the foundation for damaged, fuzzed-out guitars, vocal wails and punishing drums.
That's from
the Alternative Tentacles site (you have to select The Sermon from the band list o the right), which also has a couple of streamable tracks. Have a listen - you may like them.
So, the questions: do any of you know any more about them? Are they good live? Do any of you know the band themselves? etc etc etc. I'd really like to know more, because we are very impressed with them.
Thanks for any info.