A lifetime ago, I was in a few bands. I have an Ernie and the Berts sticker on my “punk rock venue” door in the garage, but my AiXeLsyD & Gasoline Dion sticker supply has long since been exhausted. I figured why not clean up the old logos and upload them to my TeePublic & RedBubble shops? I may get myself some stickers, pins, & a hoodie or something. I didn’t draw the Ernie and the Berts logos, so I don’t want to upload & sell those.
Everything at TeePublic seems to be on sale as of this posting for up to 35% for the next 2 days. The new stuff is in my AIXeLsyD13 album there, but everything is on sale. It’s in the AiXeLsyD13 collection at RedBubble too. They both have rotating sales often, and I have been pleased with the stickers & clothing I bought from each. I wear my amp maze collage hoodie all the damn time. The designs & merch differ slightly across the two platforms, so I encourage you to poke around at both.
Anyone remember punk rock compilation CD’s, & their ‘zine/catalogs? I remember lots of ‘zines out there, and still love all the great punk rock that I found through Fat Wreck, Epitaph, Lookout!, Asian Man, Honest Don’s, Drive-Thru, No Idea, Hell Cat & more.
It was fun to be included in stuff like this! (I got some art in the 90’s FIEND CLUB Bleeder’s Die-Gest too!)
I’m building a Bass Case playlist on Amazon Music. I’m looking for songs with a killer bass-only or at least bass-heavy intro. Mostly punk, metal, rock, etc. but open to just about anything. Bass guitar or a bass VI, not electronic bass or keys.
This is the start of it (but not all of it) so far:
Metallica – “(Anesthesia)—Pulling Teeth”
Black Sabbath – “N.I.B.”
Misfits – “London Dungeon”
Type O Negative – “Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)”
Rancid – “Journey to the End of the East Bay”
Alice In Chains – “Would?”
Beastie Boys – “Gratitude”
Queen – “Under Pressure [feat. David Bowie]”
Green Day – “Longview”
Ozzy Osbourne – “No More Tears”
Motörhead – “Ace of Spades”
AFI – “Miss Murder”
Primus – “My Name Is Mud”
The White Stripes – “Seven Nation Army”
Metallica – “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
Beastie Boys – “Sabotage [Explicit]”
Queen – “Another One Bites The Dust”
The Cure – “Just like Heaven”
Guns N’ Roses – “Rocket Queen”
Megadeth – “Peace Sells”
Anthrax – “Got The Time”
The Cure – “Burn”
Operation Ivy – “Sound System”
Jimi Hendrix – “Born Under a Bad Sign”
Black Flag – “Six Pack”
Primus – “Jerry Was A Race Car Driver”
Fugazi – “Waiting Room”
Faith No More – “We Care a Lot”
Guns N’ Roses – “You Could Be Mine”
TOOL – “Schism”
The Dead Milkmen – “Bitchin’ Camaro”
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Higher Ground”
Black Flag – “TV Party”
Violent Femmes – “Blister In The Sun”
Metallica – “Crash Course In Brain Surgery”
NOFX – “The Idiots Are Taking Over”
Faith No More – “Falling to Pieces”
The Breeders – “Cannonball”
Rick James – “Super Freak”
Duran Duran – “Rio”
Jane’s Addiction – “Mountain Song”
The B-52’s – “Rock Lobster”
Rage Against The Machine – “Bombtrack”
A Flock Of Seagulls – “What Am I Supposed To Do”
Weezer – “Only In Dreams”
The Commodores – “Brick House”
Death Cab For Cutie – “I Will Possess Your Heart”
Iron Maiden – “Killers”
Nirvana – “Lounge Act”
Jane’s Addiction – “Three Days”
Van Halen – “Runnin’ with the Devil”
The Cure – “Fascination Street”
The Smithereens – “Blood And Roses”
The Stone Roses – “I Wanna Be Adored”
Metallica – “King Nothing”
The Byrds – “Eight Miles High”
The Stone Roses – “She Bangs the Drums”
The Clash – “The Magnificent Seven”
Lou Reed – “Walk On the Wild Side”
Joe Jackson – “Got The Time”
Stevie Wonder – “I Wish”
War – “Low Rider”
The Jam – “Pretty Green”
The Temptations – “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”
Sonic Youth – “My Friend Goo”
Pennywise – “Ace of Spades”
The Beatles – “Come Together”
AFI – “Death Of Seasons”
NOFX – “Hobophobic (Scared of Bums)”
Thin Lizzy – “Dancing In The Moonlight (It’s Caught Me In It’s Spotlight)”
The Monkees – “You Just May Be The One”
Metallica – “The God That Failed”
Bad Brains – “The Regulator”
Rancid – “Maxwell Murder”
Deee-Lite – “Groove Is in the Heart”
Talking Heads – “Psycho Killer”
Dead Kennedys – “Viva Las Vegas”
Song name/artist would be more helpful than a Spotify link because I can’t copy/paste from there into Amazon Music.
…and this is subject to change pretty quickly & often.
I have a playlist problem. So, I have a lot of Halloween and Halloween-adjacent playlists. Some I have that are just massive & I listen to them on random. Some are a little more compact. What are your favorite Halloween songs? Anything I’m missing, songs or themes?
It took me forever to get into podcasts. Some I have been enjoying lately are Chris DeMakes a Podcast, One Hit Thunder, & more recently A Band Called Punchline. (The former two break-down & deep-dive into songs in totally different yet incredible ways… I highly recommend them to musicians and fans!)
You can listen to all of these anywhere you find podcasts, but I do mostly all of my listening on Amazon Music.
I have absolutely no idea why I didn’t get big into Punchline in the very late 90’s or early 00’s. We all frequented the same places. I had to have seen them. I was active in AiXeLsyD then Gasoline Dion at the time. Their music is in my wheelhouse. I have heard a lot of Chris Fafalios because he produces on Chris DeMakes a Podcast & co-hosts One Hit Thunder. Chis is a great co-host with Matt Kelly & producer with involvement in 2 quality shows. This came up, and I was like… I have no excuse to not check this out as I love music, music documentaries, stories about songs, stories about playing & touring. It’s a no-brainer, right?
Well, I’m 3½ episodes in and the name-dropping alone is mind-blowing. Laga, Logic, AMC, Berlin Project, Mr. Smalls, Soundscape Studios, Garfield Artworks, Josh Bakaitus, Drusky, Joker Productions, mp3.com, practicing in McKees Rocks, and more I am surely forgetting. It puts me back into the days when I worked on the assembly line at Sony with Alf from Circle of Dead Children, or when me & An-Die ran into the Zao guitarist at Westmoreland Mall. Everyone was in a band. Ha ha. I remember Dirtbag Rob saying he had an AiXeLsyD T-shirt or patch before he was in the band.
I was at so many shows at Laga. That’s where I got to see Doyle play the Misfits intro in their green room one time. I remember Logic from that killer Take Me To Your Leader compilation CD. Man I miss punk comps. AiXeLsyD was practically the house band at AMC for a bit. We played every open stage we could. Berlin Project always worked the crowd well. I remember playing Mr. Small’s at least once with Gasoline Dion, not sure if Ernie and the Berts ever played there or not. I also remember being in the back for some reason. Maybe hanging out with Dethlehem? Me & Jason were hanging out with Next Stop Detox when they recorded at Soundscape in McKeesport. I was in Detox for like 30 seconds and recorded a single at Studiophonix in Mt. Pleasant. I think Gasoline Dion played Garfield Artworks… Maybe EaTB too? I know I saw a bunch of shows there. Ernie and the Berts recorded drums there once, I think? (It’s oddly not on my places I have played map.) We practiced at the shady ABC Storage in McKees Rocks and up in Allentown for a bit.
It makes me think of all the cool bands & all the fun times we had back then!
But, the cool part is hearing Berlin Project’s story, from the guys themselves. They seem like genuine nice people who set out to make some music, make a living doing it, and accomplished that! It’s presented documentary style and sort of gives me NPR vibes.
I am rooting for them every step of the way while I listen, When they talk about literally losing a tire off their van, using calling cards & pay phones, running up cell phone bills in the Nokia brick & flip phone days, purposely putting music on Napster just to get it out there, paying way too much for recording, sleeping on floors & booking tours, meeting other great and not-so-great bands… it all just hits. I am not and never was a pro touring musician, but I get it. I respect the hustle, and I appreciate the insight & shared experiences.
If you were around the southwestern PA scene in the late 90’s or early 00’s, ever picked up a guitar (or bass or drums or keys or horns), or are a fan of punk, indie, & DIY… you gotta check this out.
It’s on a bunch of platforms, so find it how you find yours… or start here:
I’m starting to dive into their stuff. I really dig the old stuff on their bandcamp that they sort of don’t recognize as much any more. Check out their website. I also want to see their music special on Amazon Prime. Punchline fans, what are your favorites? Can you make me a top 20 playlist in the comments? What are your memories of seeing them play or hearing their songs for the first time? What about if you played your own shows in & around that time?
These go around all the time on social media. Saw one on Bluesky. Thought I’d make a playlist. This, like all of my musical tastes, could change if I were to do it again in 5 minutes. Here we are though. I made a playlist & put it on Amazon Music, Spotify, & YouTube.
It was tough to pick. I could do this list probably 5 deep with entirely different yet valid answers right now. I mean, I have whole playlists for color, numbers, dates, names, & more. I also thought of another ask that I wonder if anyone would participate in?
I guess I never did update, lots of the listings are down or read as “Temporarily Unavailable.” I would like them to read as “⚠ 404 Page Not Found.“
I did get two short emails from the offender. Thank you to Jakob Mewes for reaching out! I never did hear back from Jakob after reaching out for further details. Did you Google AiXeLsyD and/or Gasoline Dion and find me here? I’d love to know!
I did get two emails from Mr. Heppke.
From: Kurt Heppke <mail@kurtheppke.com>
Date: Mon, Jun 30, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Subject: Re: Unauthorized Use of My Artwork in Your Book – DMCA & Cease-and-Desist
To: Eric Carroll <red@acted.yo>
Dear Mr. Carrol,
I'm sorry for using your trademarked images and I really want to apologize for that. I took the images from Pinterest and did not check the license. I made a mistake.
I have requested today that the book be stopped selling immediately and will send you confirmation as soon as I have it.
I hereby give you written confirmation that I will no longer use your work.
I also confirm the immediate cessation of any further use or reproduction of your work in any form.
I am truly sorry for the trouble I have caused you.
I would like to make one more point about your WordPress post " Stolen Mazes! (Someone took my art.)". It gives the impression that I have flooded half the world with my books. No. I've sold the book 8 times in the last 3 years. So I think the damage is limited.
That's not an excuse!
Anyway, thank you for your patience and kindness and I will definitely change my behavior when it comes to checking licenses.
Best regards
Kurt Heppke
---
Kurt Heppke
Tel: +## ### ########
Mail: mail@kurtheppke.com
Homepage: www.kurtheppke.com
And, then this, referencing the photo below:
From: Kurt Heppke <mail@kurtheppke.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 1, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Subject: Re: Unauthorized Use of My Artwork in Your Book – DMCA & Cease-and-Desist
To: Eric Carroll <red@cted.yo>
Dear Mr. Carroll,
I have withdrawn my book "Labyrinthe" from sale and would like to inform you of this, as promised:
Labyrinthe
Leichte Schwere und ganz ganz Schwere
ISBN-13: 9783756233120
Verlag: Books on Demand
Erscheinungsdatum: 30.06.2022
the German sentence:
"Wir haben Ihr Buch wunschgemäss für Bestellungen aus dem Buchhandel gesperrt. Auch die Listung für den internationalen Vertrieb und der E-Book-Vertrieb wurden damit automatisch ausgesetzt."
means:
"We have blocked your book from bookstore orders as requested. The listing for international distribution and e-book distribution have also been automatically suspended."
I would like to apologize once again and thank you for your patience and kindness.
Best regards
---
Kurt Heppke
Tel: +## ### ########
Mail: mail@kurtheppke.com
Homepage: www.kurtheppke.com
And this was in there:
✍️
I did not reply, as I am still salty about it. A little theft is still theft. I know Joe Wos sent something over to the effect of a Cease & Desist or DMCA, and Brian Hilbert commented on my last post. I never did get a comment from Sean C. Jackson. Not sure how many other maze artists were robbed. I never did track any others down.
I’m sadly still morbidly curious to get my hands on a copy of this outrage. Share your stories of art theft in the comments, or comment here if your stuff was also uncredited in this book!
I try to not plug my books or T-shirts too often. You know the art (one guy even tried to steal the art). You know the links to Amazon, RedBubble, & TeePublic & the links up top here. There’s even the Linktree. It’s a fun creative outlet for me, and I would appreciate a few more sales, just like I appreciate all that you have purchased!
TeePublic is having a sale, you can get these shirts & more for $16 thos weekend! Should I upload some more Halloween themed mazes? May be time to draw some new ones! You can get stickers, hats, pins, & other cool stuff there too. #TeePubic @TeePublic #TShitts#Mazes#Guitar#Food 🤘🏻 https://tee.pub/lic/AiXeLsyD13
This is another punk-rock leaning short one. “Bloodbath at Burger King” is an absolute gem, as are many others here. This is what I have so far:
Screeching Weasel – “I Saw The Devil At McDonalds (Demo)”
Teenage Bottlerocket – “Blood Bath At Burger King”
The Berlin Project – “Taco Bell World”
Gas Station Boner Pills – “Fist Fight at the Waffle House”
Richies – “Le Big Mac”
Indigo Girls – “Dairy Queen”
The Knuckleheadz – “Fuck McDz”
Teenage Bottlerocket – “Too Much La Collina”
Wesley Willis – “Rock ‘N Roll McDonald’s”
The Smithereens – “White Castle Blues”
Boris the Sprinkler – “Don’t Really Want To Walk To Taco Bell Without You”
Silly Stu – “McDonald’s in the Pentagon”
Motorpsychos – “Fries With That”
The Aquabats! – “Burger Rain!”
Parry Gripp – “Raining Tacos”
What am I missing? Are there punk-leaning songs about Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, KFC, Raising Cane’s, or Chick-fil-A? Panera? Jersey Mike’s, Jimmy John’s, Subway, Quizno’s, Vocelli Pizza, Papa John’s, or Domino’s? What about Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr., Checker’s, Rally’s, Five Guy’s, In & Out, Krystal, Jack-in-the-Box, Rax, Arby’s, or Auntie Anne’s? I’ll even take Eat’n Park or Denny’s.
Holy cow, reddit’s r/punk and Facebook’s Oddly Specific Playlists stepped up with some killer suggestions! The list is currently at 85 tracks. Some fit more loosely than others… but close enough counts in horse shoes, hand grenades, and punk rock.
Also, I need to figure out the right plugin to let me embed Amazon playlists here.
World (and Lunar) Domination 
