From CBGB to the Oregon Coast: The Something Ain’t Rights Deliver Debut EP Rotten In The Brain
Astoria, Oregon’s The Something Ain’t Rights make a striking debut with Rotten In The Brain, a nine-track EP via Hovercraft Records. Blending punk, post-punk, country twang, and high-energy rock and roll, the band draws inspiration from underground icons like X, The Minutemen, Pere Ubu, The Gun Club, and Wire while crafting a sound that feels anything but nostalgic. Instead, Rotten In The Brain channels the restless energy of classic punk into a sharp, modern reflection on America, balancing barroom grit, social commentary, and adventurous songwriting.
The band is led by Mike Vasquez, longtime owner and engineer of Austin’s legendary Sweatbox Studio, where he worked with artists including Mark Arm, Paul Leary, Alejandro Escovedo, Tim Kerr, Mooney Suzuki, Toys That Kill, and Lungfish. After relocating to Astoria, Vasquez joined drummer Carrie Beveridge, bassist Alpha Rasmussen, and guitarist Dan McClure to form The Something Ain’t Rights alongside their work as Beta Voids. Together, they embrace a broader range of influences, creating songs where hardcore urgency collides with roots rock, country, and post-punk to deliver a debut that feels both deeply rooted in punk history and confidently forward-looking.
Rotten In The Brain thrives on contrast, pairing the wiry punk energy of tracks like “Rotten In The Brain” and “Plymouth of Fury” with the rootsier, road-worn storytelling of songs such as “Gas Station Angel” and “Rainbow Alley.” Drawing from punk, post-punk, country, and garage rock, the EP reflects the band’s diverse musical backgrounds, with Mike Vasquez, Dan McClure, Alpha Rasmussen, and Carrie Beveridge blending decades of underground influences into a sound that’s dynamic, unpredictable, and unmistakably their own.
Recorded and mixed by Vasquez at Cannon Deck Recording in Astoria, the project was originally conceived as a 29-song LP before a serious highway accident forced the band to scale back its ambitions. The result is a lean, focused debut that captures the immediacy of the moment while remaining deeply rooted in punk’s DIY spirit. That connection is reinforced by the EP’s cover photo, taken by Vasquez outside CBGB during his first hardcore show in 1983, underscoring a record that looks forward rather than backward as The Something Ain’t Rights channel decades of experience into a sharp, timely statement.
Make sure you check out Rotten in the Brain EP over on Bandcamp!
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The Something Ain’t Rights
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