Slovenly/Sticker Guy will celebrate their 15th anniversary this weekend at Club Underground in Reno, Nevada. Sticker Guy is of course, the company responsible for just about every band sticker you've ever seen stuck to guitar cases, street signs, public toilettes, girls' asses, and just about everywhere else that counts. Offering a service to bands, through advertisements in various zines, the company fulfilled an intricate part of punk music. Stickers, just as buttons, have become, over the past 30 years of underground music, the earmarks of our endorsements, and the adhesive that bonds our common interest.
Slovenly had it's humble beginning in the glorious dawn of the early 90s, then under the brand 702 Records. Under that moniker they released albums and seven-inch singles by The Loudmouths, Scared of Chaka and most notably, a single by the reemerged Seattle punk gods, The Lewd.
As times changed, and area code redistricting went down in Nevada, the entire state adopted the 702 phone prefix, and the label decided to take it in a different direction and rename themselves "Slovenly." Whether their name was a homage to 80s San Francisco act by the same name, or the actual definition to the word, it seemed to be a perfect fit. Since the label changed their name in 2002, they picked up momentum and released albums by the excellent Hipshakes, Subsonics, and the legendary second album by The Spits, who have the headlining slot on tonight's bill.
With the release of The Spits' anxiously awaited fourth studio album still on the horizon, it seems that when it's finally released, the aftermath will surely be devastating. The Spits have carved such a deep trench in the collective punk picnic table that the impression they've left will never be covered, reminding us all how punk should be: cleverly stupid, dangerous and costumed.
NoBunny will also perform his downy mix of a bubbly pop sound with a flat beer buzz on Friday's bill, and the festivities will go through Saturday. Check out our Reno calendar to the right for the rest of the line-up.
