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The next level seems forever

​These days, most gamer socializing happens through headsets and an internet connection. Back in the day, though, there were spots called arcades where peeps would hang out together, in the real world, and play videogames. 

Lately, there has been a resurgence of interest in the old, pixelated classics. South Florida got on that bandwagon with the newish monthly event that caters to the strained-eyed enthusiasts. 

Friday night, Steve Kleisath, of Further Seems Forever fame, cohosted the third Retro Arcade Night at Arcade Game Sales in Fort Lauderdale. 

For this gathering of gamers, the shop, which typically repairs and sells machines, takes on an arcade-like form. Players pay just ten bucks at the door and have unlimited access to the treasury of retro arcade games, from Ms. Pac-Man to Dig Dug, as well as pinball machines, foosball, and more. 

January's game night was a huge success with folks of all ages swept up in the captivating magic of the electronics and one another's company.

County Grind was on the scene to interrupt potential record-breaking plays for the sake of getting some silly questions answered. 

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The Beltones
Cheap Trinkets
(TKO Records)
beltones.com

Last year in September, we had the opportunity to revisit one of my favorite local platters from the '90s, the Beltones' Lock and Load seven-inch on the sorely missed Far Out Records. It was, as it usually is within these pages, a great time to sit, listen to music, and reminisce about those wild times in South Florida punkdom. But as often happens with these BFTP columns, I was saddened over the possibility that I would never see these guys play live again.

Well, thanks to the wonderful efforts by Ms. Nayra Serrano and this weekend's upcoming Mondo Fest, I (we) will get to see South Florida's smoothest lyricist, Mr. Bill McFadden, and his fantastic Beltones! But before we get into the meat of the Cheap Trinkets disc, we had a chance to catch up with McFadden, and here's what he had to say:

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99 Problems

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​Against All Authority
S/T (Far Out)
myspace.com/againstallauthority

Back in the mid-'90s, as the third wave of ska was cresting, local yokels Against All Authority, or just AAA, shot up quickly through the local scene. The band's spin on the genre was one of improvised tropical anarchy, fueled by skate culture, punk-rock snottiness, one dude from their school's marching band, and songs of suburban oppression.

Their ska-punk racket was a welcome sound to many a teenager's ear, and their inclusion of a younger audience would endear them to many fringe South Floridians. Yes, while South Florida has had many notable musical acts over the years, it was those bastardized and anarchynized American Automobile Association logo patches around town that let us know AAA would be a force with which to be reckoned.

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Que conjunto mas lindo!

​South Florida had some of the funkiest and baddest mothers the planet has seen! And it is high time we pay respect (or rather, pay our dues) to all the dudes and gals who paved the way for our current multicultural leanings! Ladies and germs, enjoy the funky disco sounds of Los Sobrinos del Juez -- which means the Judge's Nephews for all of you who are in serious need of of some global sensitivity training.

But before we get caught up in pre-Mariel histrionics, let's get one thing straight: When we refer to South Florida "disco" within these Blast From the Past pages, we mean straight-up, danceable funk with nuances of Latin pegadito si no lo ve la chaperona rock 'n' roll.

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​While we might not necessarily make the connection between "rare funk" and Hialeah for whatever reason, many people across the globe have, and one of the most-sought-after platters to emerge from the South Florida music scene is Pearly Queen's "Quit Jivin'" single from 1974.

Closely associated with another outfit from the era, Wild Wind (either through shared membership or becoming it, I don't know; any pointers, as always, are appreciated in the comments section below), we'll be examining their recorded legacies within these digital pages in the coming weeks. In the meantime, enjoy a stream of the aforementioned single after the jump!
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​Los Canadians
The Kids Are Alroot
(Starcrunch Records)
myspace.com/loscanadians

Leave it to a bunch of snotty South Florida punk rockers to devise for themselves polite Canadian identities. Born out of the ashes of Chickenhead and the Tri-Rails, Los Canadians forged a pretty path of destruction in South Florida that revolved around train-hopping, Berkeley, broken bicycles, and free bagels. They were also famous squatters of Coconut Grove's the Mutiny Hotel during its decrepit, abandoned years.

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​I am often guilty of sticking to punk rock and hardcore acts in my Blast From the Past column, so this is a refreshing change. Today, this isn't a full BFTP but a warmup with a couple of YouTube tracks from one of South Florida's most criminally unknown disco/Latin/funk acts from the '70s, Ray & His Court.

There's plenty of good Afro-Cuban jazz percussion in this band's work, but the best part of them is how juicily they translated the obvious influences of Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire and turned them into something positively tropical and Floridian. I'll eventually visit their recorded work via the BFTP column, but in the meantime, you can pick up a vinyl copy of this gem here. Enjoy a pair of vids after the jump.
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Limited edition

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Cavity
Crawling/Perseverance seven inch
(Bacteria Sour)
bacteriasour.com

While the two songs on this delicious seven-inch can be found on the incredibly awesome full-length CD release Drowning, there is something special about this little record that commands its own entry to these Blast From the Past columns.

There are two versions, of which we'll discuss the other soon, but this version of the seven-inch marked the importance of Cavity in the national and international spectrum of underground music.

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