Fresh Sounds From Middle America (vol 3) was the third album released in the series of compilations featuring bands from the Midwest region of America. The mix of styles was about half punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 and half alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

. The best known of the bands included are the Micronotz

The Micronotz

The Micronotz, also known as the Mortal Micronotz, were an American punk rock/alternative rock quartet formed in 1980 in Lawrence, Kansas, that, along with bands like The Embarrassment and Get Smart!, were prominent on the local music scene in Lawrence in the early 80s.-History:The band formed in...

, the Pedal Jets and the Homestead Grays. This volume was presented by "Redline and KJHK

KJHK

KJHK 90.7 FM is a campus radio station, located in Lawrence, Kansas at the University of Kansas. On December 3, 1994, the station became one of the first radio stations to broadcast a live and continuous stream over internet radio. It currently broadcasts at 2600 watts, with a broadcast area...

".

General info

The "Fresh Sounds" series was organized by Bill Rich, of Talk Talk magazine, as a way to promote regional bands nationally.

The previous two albums in the series were cassette only releases, released in 1981. This album was the first to be released as a vinyl LP and it was a more conventional compilation, with one track per band, whereas the previous two albums had multiple tracks from each band. Bill Rich chose to release this volume of the series on vinyl because he felt that unknown bands were given more legitimacy when their music was released on vinyl.

This was the only vinyl appearance for bands such as Von Bulows, Hundreds & Thousands, Brompton's Cocktail, and Near Death Experience.

Track listing

1. Psychic Archie - Didn't Love Her
2. Von Bulows - Summer Song
3. Homestead Grays http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/homestead_grays - Rev. Cross
4. Boxes of Love - OK
5. The Yardapes http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/yardapeshttp://www.killfromtheheart.com/bands.php?id=5474 - Superstitious
6. Lions & Dogs - Be My Something
7. Thumbs - Jericho
8. Hundreds & Thousands - The Girl in Little Rock
9. The Iguanas http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/the_iguanas__usa_ks_ - Market
10. Brompton's Cocktail - Hypocritical Success
11. Bum Kon http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/bum_konhttp://www.killfromtheheart.com/bands.php?id=501 - Steam Engine #9
12. Near Death Experience - Dolphin Torture
13. The Micronotz
    The Micronotz
    The Micronotz, also known as the Mortal Micronotz, were an American punk rock/alternative rock quartet formed in 1980 in Lawrence, Kansas, that, along with bands like The Embarrassment and Get Smart!, were prominent on the local music scene in Lawrence in the early 80s.-History:The band formed in...
    
     - Gimme Some Skin
14. Short Notice - Beg for Mercy
15. Pedal Jets http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/pedaljets - Hide & Go Seek
16. Rabbit Scat - Gimme Some of that Go-Go Juice

Reception

• "A fascinating tour of a wide-open rock & roll prairie, and value for money to boot - sixteen just out-of-the-garage bandsand close to an hour of music. There's more to Lawrence, Kansas than William Burroughs." (David Fricke
  David Fricke
  David Fricke is a senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine, where he writes predominantly on rock music. In the 1990s, he was managing editor before stepping down.-Background:David Fricke is a graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
  
  , Rolling Stone
  Rolling Stone
  Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
  
  , 1987)
• "There are 15 bands that really show world that the Lawrence's "scene" is as good or better than any around. Among them are the Homestead Grays, Micronotz, Lions and Dogs, Thumbs and the PedalJets." (Doug Hitchcock, Lawrence Journal-World
  Lawrence Journal-World
  The Lawrence Journal-World is a daily newspaper published in Lawrence, Kansas by The World Company.-History:Though the Journal-World title only came into existence in 1911, according to the volume number of the current masthead of the paper, the paper dates itself back to 1858.The Simons family...
  
  , 1986)
• "This sampler resents diverse sounds from some familiar (MICRONOTZ, BUM KON, IGUANAS) and mostly relatively unknown bands. While side one is composed of adequate alternative pop tracks, the flip really lets loose with hard-edged punky tunes spanning most of the punk/HC spectrum. Interesting comp--and worth your attention." (Steve Spinali, Maximumrocknroll, 1986)
• "Sound quality varies from track to track, but performance quality is top notch. The album is roughly divided into a new wave side and a punk side. The Punks: I dug the Micronotz' fiery take on 'Gimme Some Skin' and Pedal Jets' 'Hide and Go Seek' " (Option Magazine, 1986)
• "These sounds may not be that fresh but at least there isn't anything truly rotten on this compilation either. Most of these bands, as usual, look to folk-rock and psychedelia for inspiration, but often with original results. There are too many groups and songs here to go into indivudually, and many of them blur into each other, sound-wise, but all in all this is a decent collection. Strangely, an early Talking Heads-type rhythm is utilized by most of these combo. No complaints, though." (Jordan Oakes, Jet Lag magazine, 1986)

External links

• Fresh Sounds Discography
• Radio Use Only listing
• list of reviews
• Rate Your Music entry
• Kill From The Heart listing