Dear Landlord
Dream Homes
Released 2009
No Idea Records

Adam Fletcher-Bass/Vocals
Brad- Drums/Words
Brett- Guitar/Vocals
Zack- Guitar/Vocals

1. I Live in Hell
2. Rosa
3. High Fives
4. Lake Ontario
5. Landlocked
6. Doormat
7. Three to the Beach
8. Park Bench
9. Goodbye to Oakland
10. Last Time I Checked
11. Whiskey and Records
12. Lost Cause
13. Begging for Tips
14. A World that We Never Made

Back in July I wrote a story about a show I went to with my friend “New York” Chris (http://strangereaction.com/2009/07/17/7-seconds-and-more/). Chris was cool, he wasn’t a punk, but being from New York – he was a tough little bastard.

During the year or so that we hung out (1981 to 1982), everyone else that I was friends with, sort turned their back on me or just disappeared. Girls that I knew liked me, wouldn’t look at me once I cut my hair, and guys that I hung out with suddenly wanted to fight me. Chris didn’t give a shit. If you were committed to your cause, he was down with you. There were two other guys at school who dipped into punk for a moment, Barry and Brian, they cut their hair, wore Chuck Taylor’s, and had the whole look down. On two separate occasions, they were surrounded by heshers and threatened, next day they were back in Levi’s and Polo shirts. Chris didn’t care for them much.

Chris and I did a lot of damage that year, knife fights outside of 7-11 (more about that at another time), punk shows, and the time we almost destroyed the security guards at the Sherman Oaks Galleria.

One afternoon I went with Chris to The Sherman Oaks Galleria, here in the Valley. There wasn’t a lot of things to do in the Valley back then (or now, for that matter), and Chris liked going places where movies were filmed. And Fast Times At Ridgemont High had just come out the summer before, so this was a cool spot for him.

We got lunch, and afterwards Chris bought a Slurpee, and started filling the straw with the red icy crap, then dumping the contents onto passerby on the level below. He would laugh his ass off, and then start again. Finally, after emptying his drink, one guy came running up as if he was going to whip Chris’ ass. Chris jumped to his feet and yelled something along the lines of what are you going to do, then charged him. The guy ran off.

Then we went into the arcade. As we’re playing I see two security guards, peeking around the corner at us, but every time I would look at them, they’d hide. Chris loved this. He would run around the outskirts of the arcade, and come up behind them yelling crazy stuff like Incoming, the eagle has landed. They would freak out and start calling for back up.

After about twenty minutes of this, I saw some new wave looking kids talking to the security guards. After they chatted for a while they wandered over and they told me that the guards were staking me out. After all the shit Chris was doing I would’ve sworn they were here for him. The new wave kids told me that the security guards didn’t want any punks in their mall.

This made Chris laugh even harder. I’m causing no trouble, and I’m being followed.

Chris decided we should run out of the arcade, and see how long they’d chase us. We ran out, they chased us. Then we split up, and ran opposites directions, heading downstairs. They got confused, then continued the chase. A definite keystone cop moment.

We met up in the parking lot. And were planning to go home when I spotted a pair of older security guards, turns out one was a supervisor. I winked at Chris, and told him to follow me on this.

I approach the security supervisor, and tell him we are being harassed, and followed by two menacing guys in the mall, can they help us? They give us the look over, and ask if these guys are still in the mall, we nod. Then they say lead the way.

We find our two bumbling security guard friends, and we point them out. The supervisor gets a little mad, and asks is this a joke? I say no, and explain everything that happened, the guards deny everything. For a minute it looks like I’m screwed, then the new wave kids walk by, I stop them, and ask if they’ll tell the supervisor what they saw, and were told in the arcade. They happily agree, and rattle on for about fifteen minutes.

As the new wavers finish their tale the supervisor turns beat red, and grabs the security guard closest to him, and yells “God dammit, get in my office.”

Of course Chris is laughing his ass off, and we take off. As we’re getting into his car he looks over and says, “Why didn’t you just kick their ass’?” I thought for a minute, and said, “It was nice seeing security grabbing, and yelling at someone else for a change.” And we drove off.

Good times.

On to the review . . .

I picked up Razorcake issue fifty-two the other day at Headline Records over on Melrose, and I was reading the two-page spread on the staff’s top five picks. I love these things, the same way I would read Tower Records Pulse magazine to see everyone’s Desert Island Disc’s. Other people’s choices always trip me out. Anyway, about half the Razorcake staff chose Dear Landlord, Dream Homes as one of their top five picks. This alone was enough for me to be interested enough to pick it up.

I don’t know how they view themselves, but I’m inclined to call them real good pop punk. Like old Offspring, with the catchy chorus’ of Blink 182. Polished, but still a rawness to them.

Fun to listen to in the car or while working out.

If you get the chance give it a listen.
Rating: **** * four out of five stars.

Currently:
Reading: Let Them Know by The Stern Brothers
Listening: Dear Landlord – Dream Homes
Watching: Awake directed by Joby Harold

Free & legal download of the week: Dear Landlord – I Live In Hell: http://noidearecords.com/mp3s/DearLandlord-ILiveInHell.mp3