It's 1982. Punk rock is finally hitting the valleys and byways of small town America, including the Pioneer Valley; where 5 colleges are jammed in a valley formed by the Connecticut River, dividing the towns of Amherst and Northampton. The local indie bands are mostly Hardcore, super fast and loud. Deep Wound, The Outpatients, The Stupids, (many more).

The Pajama Slave Dancers appeared from the ruins of the Power Pop teen phenom , the Vandals; the new-wave Jr. Hostesses, and the no-wave Selected Few. They play/wreck the local Polish clubs, VFW halls, Greenfield Grange Hall, and their own practice space/club, the Secret Bear's Head Lodge, with their special form of trash/surf/punk/noise with a large dose of "Fun-core" (ala the Dickies, Dead Kennedys, The Replacements). The inside joke was to hate them and "Booo" all their songs; easy to do when they were that sloppy and goofy. Early cassette hits were "Defreeze Walt Disney", "Scoutmasters From Hell", the 45 - "Train Wreck on Prom Night", "Farm Rap", (you get the idea).

After the heckling, the funniest part was spraying them with beer. The band's idea of fun was grabbing audience members and making them be the band. Not a very musical night, but guaranteed  "As Much Fun as You Could Stand". When the Valley's Pixies and Dinosaur Junior's took off internationally- somehow someone thought that the next big thing was PSD. Lol. Their first and only real tour, down the East Coast, ended in them being kicked out off, (one with the show of a firearm) and banned from every club on the tour, except the 930 Club in DC. 

Regularly thrown out of local clubs for damage, they managed to grab a foothold in the cellar of Sheehan's bar in Northampton Massachusetts. Once a month this cave of Blues rockers and cover bands turned into a orgy of booze influenced slam dancing and general good-natured chaos. As the 1980's passed, Sheehan's became The indie-rock spot in the Valley- with early shows by the Pixies, the Flaming Lips, and Boston bands started showing up. PSD goes on it's merry way, releasing cassettes "All You Can Eat" (with a bag of plastic soldiers and matches), and "Problems with Sects", the LP's "Cheap is Real",  "Blood, Sweat and Beers" and "Pajama Beach Party", Cd's "Heavy Petty Zoo", "It Came From the Barn",  "Full Metal Underpants", and Italian release: "Surfing Sex Machine". Another album, (SoSO), is set for release in the future. 

Fiercely local, they are still pals and performing 40 years on. Scott Blood, bass; Daxe Rexford, guitar; Dirk Futon (RIP), drums; Dave Montovani, guitar/vocals; Steve Westfield, guitar/vocals.

Chris McGovern is The Gen-X Muse, and the host of that podcast

Freeform Radio represents rock n' roll in all its glorious subgenres—classic FM rock, American and British blues, glam and garage, punk and new wave, indie, folk and country—plus a heavy dose of R&B, soul and funk. Listen Saturdays 11pm & Sundays 9pm on Long Island’s only NPR station 88.3/88.7/96.9 WLIW-FM • wliw.org/radio • WLIWFM app

Sitting Next to Brian is the name given to the collective of musicians led by songwriter/drummer/sort-of-guitar player Brian Marchese. They play gigs every now and again. There are three albums out on Rub Wrongways Records and a fourth due out in 2013. It's a bit poppy a bit trippy and strives to be as ear-wormy as can be. 

Canine Bastards archive and other stuff...

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