Mixtape Muse: IN THE GARAGE, VOL. 2: The Mummies

The first time I saw video of The Mummies, I thought I had stumbled upon some great, overlooked '60s band that was somewhat ahead of its time. It turns out The Mummies are a garage rock band from San Mateo, California that originally existed between 1988 and 1992. They reunited in 1993 and 1994, but now only play shows every so often (they're playing in Portland on August 20th). They are credited with starting and promoting "budget rock," strictly adhering to a D.I.Y. aesthetic and forgoing any kind of professionalism. In accordance with the concept of budget rock, The Mummies are said to have recorded with outdated and damaged equipment -- no doubt adding to the vintage sound of their music. They toured in a '63 Pontiac ambulance and performed (and still do perform) with a "middle finger"-attitude -- you'd be cranky, too, if you were dead and came back to life. For all intents and purposes, The Mummies might as well be the resurrected souls of some garage rock heroes from the '60s.

They only released their music on vinyl for the longest time. It wasn't until the early 2000s that they allowed their music to be released on CD. Their most recent album, 2003's Death By Unga Bunga!!, was a CD only release (!). After the jump is a song called "Shot Down" from the band's album Fuck C.D.s! It's The Mummies (See? Big fans of digital music). You can also watch some live footage when you pass on to the other side.

Finding good quality video footage of the band online is like trying to get them to record in Abbey Road Studios. It seems fitting enough considering their approach to music. Okay, so there are a few good quality ones out there, you just have to do a bit of digging. Check out a few live videos below.

The Mummies - "What A Way To Die"