The Apocalypse Omnibus collects the best of Adam Parfrey’s essays in a single volume.

Adam Parfrey was, before starting iconoclastic publisher Feral House, a writer. His foresight in revealing extreme trends and societal angst long before mainstream media had any inkling of the darkness bubbling just under the surface of American culture earned him praise and derision.  Apocalypse Culture (1987) was hailed by J.G. Ballard as the “terminal documents of the Twentieth Century.”

Many of the included essays are eerily prescient as Parfrey warned about right-wing militias in the early nineties and documented the rise of conspiracy-dominated thinking decades before Republican government officials loudly declared political opponents were satanically inspired drinkers of baby blood. Yet Parfrey’s interests were wide-ranging and Apocalypse Omnibus includes profiles of outré characters, artists, and, yes, some crackpots. Parfrey loved tweaking American mythology by resurrecting lost texts highlighting outlaws and outsiders. He continually sought to expose the absurdity of American culture. His collective writings have become the ur-texts of the “Dirtbag Left.”

“Parfrey was fascinated by the contrast between America portrayed as wholesome freedom-loving peacekeepers and the reality of covert military operations, mass-drug experiments, and the obscured “wizards” hidden behind the curtain pulling the levers of power. His work has been lauded as groundbreaking and criticized as dangerous. In a time when truth has been stretched to the breaking point, Parfrey’s essays remind readers that there is always more to the story.

Apocalypse Omnibus also contains material previously published in the out-of-print books, Apocalypse Culture 2 (2003) and Cult Rapture (1995), as well as new material culled from his extensive private archives. It also contains a selection of Parfrey’s essays and investigations, originally published in the San Diego Reader, Village Voice, Hustler Magazine, and on his own site, and inaccessible for years, are collected here in a single volume.

Harley Flanagan provides a fascinating memoir: a homeless child prodigy and family friend of Andy Warhol and Allen Ginsberg, at a young age he became close to many stars of the early punk rock scene such as Joe Strummer of The Clash and was taught to play bass by members of the famed black punk band Bad Brains. He went on to start the notorious hardcore band Cro-Mags.

From the memoir’s introduction by American Hardcore‘s Steven Blush: “Harley Flanagan is not like you or me. Most of us grew up in relative safety and security. Harley came up like a feral animal, fending for himself in the ’70s Lower East Side jungle of crime, drugs, abuse and poverty. By age 10 he was a downtown star at Max’s Kansas City and CBGB, drumming in his aunt’s punk band The Stimulators, and socializing with Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Cleveland’s Dead Boys. Everyone thought it was so cute, but it wasn’t.”

Harley was never shy: making friends with important figures like Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead, defending himself in street battles, and, most recently, finding media play and court battles after former band members betrayed their one-time friend and bandmate.

“Harley Flanagan’s incredible story is not just the history of New York hardcore, of which he is a founding father, but a history of New York itself.  It’s all here, an amazing series of unlikely coincidences, catastrophes, accomplishments and associations.  Chances are if it happened in New York and it was important and interesting, Harley Flanagan was somewhere in the room.  If you care anything about music history, punk rock, hardcore or just a ripping good story, this book is the punch in the face you want and need.” – Anthony Bourdain

“People think I’m stark-raving crazy, well, if that enables me to go to the bank, gentlemen, I want you to know I shall always be crazy. It’s a pleasure to be crazy.”  Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was larger than life as he emerged from a coffin with a skull on stick singing “I Put A Spell On You.”  With one song, Screamin’ Jay, who studied piano and sang opera, became the embodiment of the sexually insatiable, voodoo empowered, black man feared by 1950’s America — caught between a self-created myth and a nearly unbelievable truth, which story is better?

I Put A Spell On You brings together hundreds of interviews with Screamin’ Jay, his family, and bandmates to weave a new tale of the life of this seminal rock and roll pioneer.  Can the truth of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins really be known?

Legendary journalist, writer, and musician Eugene Robinson contributes a rivetting foreword about Jay’s influence on music and the black identity.

Author Steve Bergsman has contributed to more than 100 magazines, newspapers and wire services for the past twenty-five years.

Just Kids for the grunge era.

Seattle band, The Gits and their charismatic front person Mia Zapata were on the verge of international rock stardom but on  July 7, 1993, days before their third US tour, Mia Zapata, The Gits 27-year-old singer-songwriter, was brutally assaulted and murdered by a stranger. Zapata’s death sent chilling ripples through progressive communities throughout the United States. She became a cause-celebre for women’s rights activists outraged by the brutal killing and lack of law enforcement support. This book reclaims Zapata’s story to focus on the art she and The Gits created and not her tragic end.

Much has been written and said about her murder, yet Zapata’s life and work remain overshadowed by the circumstances of her death. Zapata’s friend and bandmate, Steve Moriarty, tells her story—and the story of their band, The Gits—from their first meeting in 1985 to their last goodbye.

Moriarity and Zapata met in 1985 as first-year students at Antioch College, where they discovered the power of punk rock and found an outlet for their progressive ideas through music. Zapata, Moriarity, and fellow students Matt Dresdner and Andy Kessler attended a show by San Francisco punk legends Dead Kennedys that inspired the friends to start a band fueled by Mia’s provocative lyrics. They quickly gained critical praise and dedicated fans.

Moriarty details their struggles as newcomers to the then-pre-tech outpost of the Seattle music scene. Interspersed are the tales Zapata told of her legendary ancestor, Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, to entertain the band as they spen’t countless hours on the road crammed into a single un-air-conditioned van touring the US and Europe. They shared stages with Beck, Nirvana, Mudhoney, Joan Jett, Bikini Kill, L7, and more—all who expected Mia and The Gits to be the next “big thing.”

The Gits’s story is more than a biography; it’s a testament to the ability of artists and musicians to challenge the status quo and the power of friendship to change the world. Moriarty reframes the sensationalist story as he shares his personal narrative and presents, with intimacy, grit, and humor, the lived experience of The Gits and his dear friend, Mia Zapata.

Included are never before seen paintings, letters, and pictures.

“Moondog is one of America’s great originals.”—Alan Rich, New York Magazine

Here is a revised edition of an award-winning biography that celebrates one of the most improbable lives of the twentieth century: a blind and homeless man who became the most famous eccentric in New York, rising to prominence in major label recordings in addition to symphonic concerts of his compositions.

Moondog will soon be seen as a feature-length documentary titled The Viking of 6th Avenue directed by Holly Elson and produced by Hard Working Movies.

Born Louis Thomas Hardin in 1916, Moondog first made an impression in the late 1940s when he became a mascot of the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. His unique, melodic compositions were released on the Prestige jazz label. In the late 1960s the Viking-garbed Moondog was a pop music sensation on Columbia Records.

Moondog’s compositional style influenced his former roommate Philip Glass, whose preface appears in the book. Moondog’s work transcends labels and redefines the distinction between popular and high culture.

A wide-ranging compilation of Moondog recordings, which includes never-before-released Madrigals played by Philip Glass, Steven Reich, Jon Gibson, and Moondog himself, are offered as free downloads for every purchaser of this biography.

Download the Music of Moondog

L.A.’s modernist Googie design met head-on with Surf, Tiki and Rock ‘n’ Roll culture in a Nautical-based theme park. Pacific Ocean Park—or as it was commonly known in Los Angeles from the ’50s through the ’70s, P.O.P.—was extraordinary in both its glamorous rise and spectacular fall. As a family-oriented attraction in the late ’50s with modernist-styled rides designed by Hollywood’s best, P.O.P.’s attendance surpassed that of Disneyland. Christopher Merritt and Domenic Priore’s spectacularly visual history includes hundreds of images, most of them unseen elsewhere, including original ride designs and illustrations, of Tiki-rich, space age, and nautical rides. P.O.P. was often widely seen in movies and television shows throughout the ’60s. Its auditorium, Cheetah, hosted important early rock shows, including those by Ritchie Valens, Sam Cooke, The Beach Boys, The Byrds,  The Doors, and Pink Floyd. P.O.P. was located at the dividing line between Santa Monica and Venice, the only spot during Prohibition-era Los Angeles were residents were allowed to dance and consort in a carnival-like atmosphere. The book also backgrounds the infamous “Dogtown” of the ‘70s in which surfers took advantage of big waves that rolled through P.O.P.’s rotting piers near homeless junkies. Buyers will be able to download audio files in all P.O.P.’s attractions. Christopher Merritt currently designs amusement parks in Asia and also co-wrote Knott’s Preserved. Domenic Priore also co-wrote the celebrated volumes Riot on Sunset Strip, Pop Surf Culture, and Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson’s Lost Masterpiece.

AUDIO DESCRIPTIONS

1. 1963 Radio Commercial #1 “There’s something fun for everyone at P.O.P.!” This radio commercial from 1963 summarizes the playful sense of sun and fun the park was trying to espouse during its short-lived run. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
2. Pacific Ocean Park – Water Fountain (Entrance) This brief live recording from 1962 gives a snippet of the “needle drop” music played at the entrance to Pacific Ocean Park, known as “Neptune’s Courtyard.” Courtesy Christopher Merritt.
3. Pacific Ocean Park – Seals Also from 1962, this live recording of the Seal Pool features a looping recording, encouraging purchase of seal food – “two bags for 25¢.” Courtesy Christopher Merritt.
4. Pacific Ocean Park – Roller Coaster, Sea Ram and Carousel This 1962 recording gives a sense of the sounds one would hear strolling through the P.O.P. Midway – known as “Ports O’ P.O.P.” Courtesy Christopher Merritt.
5. Pacific Ocean Park – Batter Up, Flying Dutchman, Shooting Gallery, Derby and Flyer More 1962 – ambiance from the Midway, including live “pure carny” patter from various operators of games of chance. The rotating mechanism for Mr. Dolphin/Mahi Mahi can be heard at the end. Courtesy Christopher Merritt.
6. Pacific Ocean Park – Boat Ride This 1962 live spiel from the drivers taking guests around Santa Monica Bay on the Polynesian Trader Boats, clearly takes a cue from the wisecracking antics of Disney’s Jungle Cruise. Courtesy Christopher Merritt.
7. 1963 Radio Commercial #2 A more “swinging,” alternate version of the 1963 radio commercial. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
8. Flight To Mars – Spaceship Starshine blast off “Welcome aboard Spaceway Rocket Liner Starshine. As we only use artificial gravity in space, you will experience acceleration in the first few moments of blast off…” The Flight to Mars attraction was a unique trip to the red planet that offered guests to blast off and walk around the surface of the red planet. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
9. Fun Forest – Haunted Tree Maze sound effects Labeled “Maze Entrance” on the master tapes, this is the sound effect loop played at the entrance to (and within) the Haunted Tree Maze found in the Fun Forest. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
10. Davy Jones Locker – mirror room sfx Featuring a poor man’s Peter Lorre, this tape loop played in the mirror room inside Davy Jones Locker. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
11. Davy Jones Locker – exit spiel Another poor imitation – this time of Boris Karloff – informs guests that they have reached the exit of Davy Jones Locker. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
12. Pirate Ship – Sea Tub Adventure interior sfx? One of the scenes inside the Sea Tub Adventure featured a miniature pier and clanging buoy off in the distance – this is most likely the sound effect for said scene. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records 
13. Sea Tub Adventure – Electric Eel sfx In addition to an attack by a giant, rubber octopus, riders were also menaced by an electric eel. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
14. Safari Dark Ride – sfx Gorillas and Elephants A dual-track recording of some of the animals found in the dark ride known as Safari. The infamous attraction gave riders guns to shoot the animals with. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
15. Mystery Island Banana Train Ride – Ticket Booth spiel The “don’t miss” attraction of Pacific Ocean Park. If guests approaching the huge A-frame hut, volcano and waterfall had any doubts about riding, this 1959 spiel likely convinced them. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
16. Mystery Island Banana Train Ride – Jungle sfx? Labeled as “Jungle Noise,” this is likely the ambient jungle sound effects guests heard while queuing up for the Banana Train Ride. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
17. Mystery Island Banana Train Ride – Goony Bird “Thank you for riding with us!” With maniacal laughter, the infamous Goony Bird bid guests adieu at the end of the Banana Train Ride. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
18. Twirly Bird sfx – Fun Forest children’s area “Twirly Bird pilot – stay out of our landing pattern! We have an emergency!!! A plane is landing on fire!!!” This almost 8-minute long, amped-up, hyper soundtrack to a simple “carnival spin” ride must have had a unsettling effect on the children that rode it. If you can listen to the entire track in one sitting, we salute you. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records
19. 1963 Radio Jingle – full song The full-length narrative version of the 1963 P.O.P. commercial. Courtesy Poo-Bah Records.
20. Pacific Ocean Park Teenage Fair broadcast part 1
21. Pacific Ocean Park Teenage Fair broadcast part 2 Broadcast on April 13, 1962, the half-hour radio program “KNX Kaleidoscope” interviews several of the participants touting the then new “Teenage Fair” at P.O.P. A rare chance to hear Jack Morehart and Teenage Fair producer Al Burton describe the scene at P.O.P. Favorite moment – hearing Burton explain how he’ll deal with unruly crowds of teens: “Well, I must say we will have awfully good supervision, it’ll be like having a chaperone about two houses down from a good party. In other words, if trouble starts to develop, we’ll be able to crush it…” Courtesy David Doherty.
22. Mary Sawrey “Those Memories of You” Beginning with seagull sound effects actually recorded in Santa Monica, Mary Sawrey’s version of this P.O.P.-inspired number (also recorded by The Bobby Fuller Four and Dick Dale & his Del-Tones) becomes a West Coast siren-song, done in a Shangri-La’s style.  Released on Mustang Records in 1966, Jim Messina plays all the guitar parts. Courtesy Domenic Priore
23. The Rendezvous “Those Memories of You” Songwriter Jim Pewter’s original demo (recorded in Columbia, South Carolina) reveals the songs’ roots as a haunting Surf ballad.  “Those Memories of You” was written in 1964 while Jim was stationed in Fort Gordon, Georgia, clearly missing all the fun he’d been having with his girlfriend Raquel Gil back in the golden days of 1962-1963 Los Angeles. Courtesy Domenic Priore

Special thanks to Poo-Bah Records in Pasadena for sharing the sound effects with us. Look for a special 12” vinyl release of their entire collection of P.O.P. sound effects in the near future. http://poobah.com

Craig Smith was a 1960s golden boy – good looking, charismatic, outgoing; a preternaturally gifted musician and songwriter whose songs were recorded by some of the biggest names in entertainment – Andy Williams, Glen Campbell, the Monkees. His future success seemed assured, until an unexpected turn of events plunged him into a terrifying darkness. Clean-cut Craig Smith became Maitreya Kali, the self-proclaimed psychedelic Messiah. He laid out his poignant, disturbing schizophrenic vision on a sprawling self-released double-album before disappearing completely. Author Mike Stax spent fifteen years piecing together the mystery of Maitreya Kali, uncovering one of the strangest and most tragic untold stories of the 1960s and ‘70s.

Swim Through the Darkness reveals author Stax’s fifteen year quest in tracking down this strange saga of American pop culture. Included in the story are Smith’s close ties to the Monkees, particularly Mike Nesmith, who produced and promoted Smith’s band, Penny Arkade. Also covered are the bizarre self-released albums he made as Maitreya Kali, which now command thousands of dollars among psychedelic music collectors.

Check out these rare and unreleased tracks by Craig Smith/Maitreya Kali, Penny Arkade, Heather MacRae, The Happeners, and Craig & Chris on our Soundcloud page!

 

Estimated Shipping July 1st 2024

She embodies the word “iconic.”

Famously private, Francoise Hardy carries the burden of desire and expectation of perfection of millions of fans. Teenage pop chanteuse Style trendsetter. Actress. Mother. Astrologer. Françoise Hardy is the consummate French artist-unknowable in her chic reserve.

Until now.

Ms. Hardy is the inspiration and animating spirit of the early 1960’s “yé-yé” pop music sensation. Her striking beauty offsets her sublime and often melancholy songs. Her early recordings (recently remastered and released by Light in the Attic Records) vaulted her to European superstardom. American tastemakers Sofia Coppola and Wes Anderson have claimed her as muse. More than a “pop singer,” Hardy is an accomplished lyricist whose collaborations with artists ranging from Serge Gainsbourg and Michel Berger to Damon Albarn and lggy Pop have kept her recordings vibrant.

In The Despair of Monkeys and Other Trifles, Françoise Hardy shares unvarnished truths of her childhood as well as the celebrity-filled anecdotes expected of an international star. Ms. Hardy is no coy narrator as she talks about her fears and triumphs, friends and lovers, and her unconventional marriage to fellow French singer Jacques Dutronc. Filled with rare photos selected by Ms. Hardy from her personal collection.

We invite you to join us in celebrating the life and art of Francoise Hardy.

“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco,
This ain’t no fooling around
This ain’t no Mudd Club, No CBGB,
I ain’t got time for that now.”
(Life During Wartime/The Talking Heads)

The legendary Mudd Club. You probably couldn’t get in. Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jeff Koons partied with David Byrne and Lydia Lunch. Uptown cognoscenti flirted with the children of the outer boroughs as they brought the Wild Style to the City.

The downtown New York scene was more than punk, it was a mad brilliant chaos of cheap rent and experimental art. The Mudd Club was its nexus, the place that birthed the Eighties. Keith Haring claimed membership while Andy Warhol was only a guest.  Debbie Harry learned to rap from Fab Five Freddy while Klaus Nomi practiced arias and served home-cooked pastries.

The decadence lasted only from 1979 to 1983 but artist Richard Boch was there for every single moment. As the doorman of the legendary Mudd Club he saw everything and remembers it all. “Standing outside, staring at the crowd, it was “out there” versus “in here” and I was on the inside. The Mudd Club was filled with the famous and soon-to-be famous, along with an eclectic core of Mudd regulars who gave the place its identity. No Wave and Post- Punk artists, musicians, filmmakers, and writers living in a nighttime world on the cusp of two decades. There was nothing else like it? I met everyone, and the job quickly defined me. I thought I could handle it, and for a while, I did. “

Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (TOPY) will be remembered for its crucial influence on youth culture throughout the ’80s and ’90s, popularizing occult investigations, tattooing, body piercing, acid house raves, and other ahead-of-the-curve cultic flirtations and investigations. Its leader was Genesis P-Orridge, co-founder of Psychick TV and Throbbing Gristle, the band that created the industrial music genre.

Thee Psychick Bible is an extraordinary collection of “occulture” texts and images from the TOPY period and today. We have to agree with Genesis when he said that this book may be “the most profund new manual on practical magick—taking from its Crowleyan level of liberation and empowermeant of the individual to a next level of realization that magick must then give back to its environment, its community…”

The limited signed cloth edition of Thee Psychick Bible quickly sold out, (reselling now on Amazon for as much as $1000 a copy). Many disappointed seekers requested that Feral House publish an affordable paperback edition, and with this release, Feral House has done so, with a high-quality paperback edition with flaps and expensive acid-free paper stock.

Thee Psychick Videos are now available separately for $23. This DVD contains otherwise difficult to find early Psychic TV and TOPY creations unearthed from the archives of Porridge with Everything.