My Tribute to Stinkweed

This is a few years late obviously, but i've been without a computer for quite a while now (as you can probably tell by how stagnant the blog has become), and now that i have a computer again i'd like to kick things off by paying tribute to one of my heroes, Kindred McCune aka Stinkweed aka a dozen other aliases. As far back as 1994 up to present day, he's had a great impact on my life. Bands like No Less, Plutocracy, Agents of Satan etc, had a much different vibe than anything else in the scene. And not just the West Bay fastcore scene, i mean hardcore/metal in general, And of course the common factor in those bands was Stinkweed. Right off the bat i knew this guy wasn't your average musician by any stretch. This guy was special. The way he fused his influences (grindcore, hip hop, metal, classic rock/psychedelia, hardcore...), he created something fresh, something unprecedented, and most importantly something incredible. The underground music scene will never produce such a talent again, of that i'm certain. He'll always be an inspiration to me.

I was really sad to hear about his passing, but he was much too unique for this shit planet anyway. RIP Kindred McCune.

I didn't know the man personally and don't have stories to tell, like in the tributes already written over the past years by the likes of Dan Lactose (for MRR), Lord Balsak (for Decibel), Max Ward and various band members of Stinkweed's countless bands, so i've put together an audio tribute. His music was the real story anyway, Enjoy!

A Tribute to Stinkweed

Twenty tracks (really closer to 30 if you count the intros and outros by his hip hop outfits Shed Dwellaz and Shadow People) spanning roughly a dozen bands.  Of course this is just skimming the surface. There are numerous Stinkweed related bands i've yet to hear (Paranoid Freak Out, Apeshit, United Sicko Foundation...), but i plan to remedy that soon. I've only recently heard Bullshit Excuse, great stuff as usual.

As a bonus i've added some collections of my favorite Stinkweed projects. All have been ripped at 320 from the best possible sources available. Also, i've tried to add as much extra material as possible to existing albums and anthologies. The No Le$$ "Lessons 1993-1998" has 4 extra tracks taken from the "Boxed In" 7" (Slap A Ham 1997). The Agents of Satan "The Old Testament" CD has 25 extra tracks taken from various releases. The Elephantman / Bastard Squad split CD has 10 extra tracks (all Elephantman tracks), Stinkweed only plays on the Bastard Squad stuff. And on the Plutocracy "Sniping Pigz" LP, i added the "Off The Pigs" 12" and 3 tracks recorded live at CBGB in 2000.

Some of the stuff i mentioned, and lots more, can be found on the West Bay Koalition bandcamp. Check out the Altamira "Point of Impact" album. Members of No Less, Agents and Bastard Squad ripping it up Doomryder style. Killer. You can also grab some of Stinkweed's hip hop projects at the Stinkweed bandcamp. Lots of great stuff there, some of which hasn't been released (in many years in some cases) until now. Shed Dwellaz' "Children of the Woods" is my personal fave.

So here's the music. Enjoy. If any bands want their music removed please contact me or leave a comment and i'll delete it immediately.

Agents of Satan discography

Satanic bass-driven madness from Redwood City, CA. They started out as Radioactive Lunch (with a slightly different lineup) in 1991, recorded a demo and an EP and then changed their name to Agents of Satan in '95. Between 1996 and 1998 they released splits with No Less, Noothgrush and Burn the Priest (containing the Agents' 1995 demo). They also released a 7" in '96 on 625 Thrashcore. A song from that record, "Goat-Core" perfectly describes their sound. They were also on various compilations during the '90s, and even reformed to contribute 4 songs for the "This Comp Kills Fascists" comp CD released in 2008 on Relapse Records. This collection contains all the tracks from the "Old Testament" CD plus the tracks from the Relapse comp, various tracks recorded live on KFJC and a few other odds and ends.

Plutocracy 1991-1995

This is the essential collection put out out on 625 (and Convoy) in 2001. It contains the amazing Dankstahz LP from 1994 (one of the best albums of the '90s) as well as various other recordings. Plutocracy blended grindcore, Black Panther politics, hip hop, and samples galore to create something wholly unique. Dankstahz, and the split with DA are some of the crowning achievements of the West Bay Koalition output.

Notes taken from the CD:
Tracks 1 to 6 were originally released as the Split EP with Discordance Axis on Slap A Ham. 
Tracks 7 to 16 were recorded live on KZSU in 1993 and are previously unreleased.
Tracks 17 to 3 released as the Dankstahz LP on Slap A Ham. 
Track 33 was originally released on the Freedom Denied EP. 
Track 34 is previously unreleased.
Tracks 35 to 40 were originally released as the Plutocracy - Progress? demo.

All tracks recorded at House of Faith except the live KZSU set.

Plutocracy 2000-2010

When Plutocracy returned nearly 5 years later, they came back as strong as ever. The "Sniping Pigz" LP recorded at House Of Faith in 1999 and released in 2000 on Six Weeks Records picks up right where the band left off. The hip hop intro, the sick riffs, the political samples and the extreme hatred for the police are all in full force here. An instant classic. After another hiatus, TEN years this time, Pluto releases the "Off the Pigs" 12" in 2010 on Forest Moon Special Projects. Time certainly hasn't slowed the band down, and they're as creative as ever. Also included here are 3 tracks recorded live when the band played CBGB in 2000. Excellent sound quality and an amazing performance.

No Le$$ - Lessons 1993-1998

The first time i heard No Less i was floored, as i am every time i listen to them. They were like no band before or since. Taking what Plutocracy did to the furthest extremes. Hardcore, psychedelic rock, blast beats, hip hop, samples (especially '70s exploitation films) and a heavy Black Sabbath vibe (all sometimes in the same song). They just did their own thing. Between 1994 and 1998 they released splits with Evolved to Obliteration, Agents of Satan, Laughing Dog, and Potato Justice. They also released the "Boxed In" 7" on Slap A Ham in 1997 as well as contributing tracks for nearly 10 compilations. This collection has all the tracks from the "Lessons 93-98" CD as well as 4 tracks (not on the Lessons CD) taken from the "Boxed In" 7". "Ruff and Tumble" and "Decapitated Pigz" being 2 of my faves from the band. No Less have a great exclusive track on the "Hymns For the Hearing Impaired" comp CD (1999) called "Frank Ripples Sick Ass Little Propane Stove That We Used To Cook Carne Asade And Sausage On Some Vegans Front Lawn". I'll be posting that comp soon as part of a compilation megapost.

Elephantman / Bastard Squad extended CD

From the Doomryderz blog:
Elephantman features Mike from Capitalist Casualties, and Frank from Agents of Satan, mixing up grind, punk and Sabbath riffs, with screaming in Japanese! ....not unlike that of Sleep, Iron Monkey, old Napalm Death and Capitalist Casualties....

Bastard Squad features the legendary Stinkweed from Plutocracy, No Le$$, and Go Like This, and Mike from West Bay psychos Apeshit, ripping up sickening riffage and fucked up samples....

These recordings are from 2004 and have not been released until now.
Better late than dead.

Elephantman: Recorded 4/3 at The Kompound.
All the songs have titles, but they are impossible to read, except #5. Lyrics in japanese.

Bastard Squad: Recorded 9/28/04 at House Of Faith, Oakland.

Both sides on the split are sick. Elephantman being more on the heavier side. Sabbath dirge mixed with frantic hardcore. Bastard Squad are a bit more on the metallic side. Demented in the usual Doomryders fashion. Such a crushing split that seems to have gone under the radar. Everyone into extreme music should know about this. Along with the split CD, i've also added the Elephantman 7" released in 2002 on Impatience Or Indifference Records. Seven tracks including a cover of Black Flag's "Thirsty and Miserable". I also threw in the track from the California Thrash Demolition comp CD released on 625 in 2005, as well as a Fearless Iranians From Hell cover called "Blow Up the Embassy" recorded during the split CD sessions. Ending the fun is an unknown track. 

Shed Dwellaz - 4-track Archives / Children of the Woods

This download contains 2 releases. The "4-Track Archives Vol. 1 (1996-1999)" and the "Children of the Woods" album. Both excellent.

"4-Track Archives Vol. 1 (1996-1999)"
From the Stinkweed bandcamp:

Recorded from the original 4 track tapes, mixed down to a 2 track digital master by DJ Eons One, Stinkweed Malone and Tizoe DaVinci in 2009.

This collection of Shed Dwellaz songs was mixed down from the original 4 track tapes in order to preserve songs we had recorded with our fallen comrade, Zodiak Iller aka Big Boy aka Dan Hogan. We sat on these mixes for years and with untimely passing of Stinkweed it is time that they finally see the light of day.

RIP Stinkweed

Released October 13, 2012

"Children of the Woods"

From the Stinkweed bandcamp:

Originally released in 2000

Released April 3, 2013

Beats and music arranged by Eons, Tizoe "Da Vinci", Grand Master Cylinder Stinkweed
Lyrics: Stnko, Tizoe, Lobiano, Zak1, Geno, Stretch, Shanky Tooth
Mixed by Bart "The Hit Man" Thurber
Green Stones.......... 

Also check out Shadow People.

Torture Unit - Demos and Live

West Bay Hardcore with members of Plutocracy, Spazz and others. This is total early '80s HC worship. We're talkin' raw ugly shit like Mecht Mensch, The Fix, No Labels etc. But this doesn't play out like a modern band emulating the '80s sound. This sound more like some long lost demo from 1984. The 2010 demo kills, and "Fuck War" is an instant classic. The track "Blinders" was included on the "Short, Fast & Loud" comp 10" put out by Six Weeks in 2011. Not sure if it's the same version as i haven't heard the comp yet. As a bonus i've included the complete set live at Hazmat, Oakland, CA from May 20, 2011. If anyone knows the names of the unknown tracks in the live set please get in touch or leave a comment.


I'm pretty sure my introduction to some of Stinkweed's bands was first hearing the El Guapo compilation LP released on 625 in 1994. Tracks by Agents of Satan, No Less and Deadbodieseverywhere blew me away. It was like discovering a whole new sound within the hardcore/powerviolence scene (still in it's infancy). El Guapo is still one of my fave comps of the '90s, and at one point i owned at least 3 copies (with different covers). Aside from a few bands i was already into, like Spazz and Benumb and I also discovered a shitload of great (mostly West Bay) bands on that comp, some of which would become faves. My 2 all-time favorite Benumb tracks are on there, and it's a shame those songs were never re-released on any of the band's albums. And what ever happened to S.B.C.? I loved that stuff, and as far as i know they never released anything since. The next Kindred related records i bought was the 976 / Plutocracy split 7" in 1991 and the Evolved to Obliteration / No Le$$ split 7" in '94. From there i just started picking up any and all records by Agents, No Less, Plutocracy and Deadbodieseverywhere (not sure how many tracks Stinkweed played on with this band, but i don't think it was many). I even got into some Meat Shits for a while. I've never been one for 45 second porn samples followed by 5 seconds of repetitious grind, but between roughly 1991 and 1993, when the members of Plutocracy were basically the "backing band" for Robert Deathrage, they had their moments for sure. Their best material (to me) is the second half of the "For Those About to Shit" CD comp (the first half is recordings with different incarnations of the band). But with the Pluto boys they had some pretty decent (even hardcore style) songs. Death Machine, Baptized in Shit, Sodomized (do i hear a MITB influence in there?) and my fave, Wanilla Ice Warriors (originally titled Crack Slave). I also like some of the early split 7"s with bands like AxCx and 7MON. Still, outside of a handful of tracks it's not really my thing, and that has nothing to do with the annoying PC Police. If a band wants to sing about porn, who gives a fuck. Although after 1993 the Shits did get pretty ugly, by anyone's standards. I only recently discovered Bastard Squad sometime in the past few years, and their split CD with Elephantman is one of the best splits of the past 5 years easily. Both bands are massive. Plus Go Like This, Kalmex and the Riffmerchants, Torture Unit, Barely Legal... and that's just the metal/HC side of it all. Stinkweed's hip hop projects are pretty fucking far from just some white kid rapping over beats on a laptop. Shed Dwellaz and Shadow People were the real deal. Tracks like Not Rilla, Tortured in the Temple, Night Trippers, Red Alert, Get Back Step Back, Whippersnapperz, , Casket Born Sonz, Disciples of Cyrus etc are as legit as it gets. Seems the guy could do no wrong musically. 

It would be hard to pick a fave Stinkweed release, but i'd either have to go with Plutocracy "Dankstahz" LP or the No Le$$ collection.What's your fave? Please eave a comment.

Ten Easter Eggs in this post. Happy hunting.