Bal Stingray & His Goo Goo Mucks| Los Coyote Men | The Hangmen
The Green Room, Stockton-On-Tees
12th February 2026
Bal Stingray is back on stage with two more original Stingrays – upright bassist Keith Cockburn and guitar supremo Mark Hosking – joined by garage legend and former Headcoat Johnny Johnson on guitar, ex-X-men Tim Hosking on electric bass and one time Headcoatee Debbie Bongo on drums. The truly manic Los Coyote Men and The Hangmen complete the bill at the Green Room in Stockton on Tees – an unassuming intimate venue hidden away behind the Georgian Theatre.
First up, The Hangmen knocked out a swift set of punky psychobilly cloaked in dark themes and menace. Frontman Loz Firewalker bestowed some fine fretwork carving out a dark mix of frenetic rough ‘n’ ready soundscapes over Mad Mav’s thumping slap bass and Blaxxi Graves’ relentless work behind the kit. The set was loaded with tortured tunes culled from their nine (yes nine, I’ve counted ‘em) album back catalogue, leaving no-one in doubt of their commitment to the fearsome nature of their handiwork.
It’s fair to say their take on punkabilly was quite a way from the two acts following them, but they proved to be original enough and certainly made turning up early well worthwhile, even though they had to curtail the proceedings when Loz broke a string near the end of the set.
Fifteen minutes later and it was the turn of Los Coyote Men, one hell of a crazed demented garage act. This was the first time I’d had the good fortune to see them and I doubt it’ll be the last. Clad in Mexploitation wrestler masks, they launched into 45 minutes of non-stop solid gold, sixties style, garage punk – imagine the most raucous Pebbles nuggets mixed with a dash of ’76 punk, and a slice of wild r ‘n’ b, delivered as if their very lives depended on it, and you’ll get close to their monster sound.
Frontman Helmut ‘The Bruiser’ Vön Schoen invaded the audience several times with his six-string companion, Randy ‘Captain Dynamite’ Hornrocker, in tow, while bassist Danielle Gee Gee and drummer Manny ‘No Nose’ Gagliano shaped their shamelessly supercharged tidal rhythms behind them. Song titles escaped me, but the frenzied non-stop delivery left no space to do anything but enjoy the sound and the visual spectacle. At times it was wondrously chaotic; even when the Captain shredded a string they ploughed on relentlessly, letting us know that “5 strings are as good as 6, or maybe better”, while The Bruiser tied the offending string around his neck – don’t try this at home kids…
Taking a breather after the Coyote Men left the stage, it was hard to see how Bal Stingray was going to follow this kind of wild performance but, true to form, he didn’t disappoint.
From the off Bal Stingray & His Goo Goo Mucks hit the target, storming through a set of Stingrays classics from the early ’80s. Bal’s voice was as dynamic and powerful as the times I’d seen him with original Stingrays in venues like Nottingham Rock City and the, sadly long gone, Clarendon Hotel Basement Bar in Hammersmith back in the day. The Goo Goo Mucks side of the performance was a solid enough interpretation of the recorded works, but with added power and panache, giving the songs that extra winning knockout punch.
Highpoints were I Want My Woman, Escalator, Blue Girl and Come On Kid, although it was impossible to even notice a low point with their 1986 single, Behind The Beyond, surfacing as a sublime gem. If raw reverb-laden primative rock ‘n’ roll was what we were looking for, we’d come the right place at the right time. A few new covers were sprinkled into the energy-fuelled mix; notably a high octane take of Bunker Hill’s The Girl Can’t Dance and a roaring rendition of the Isley’s Do You Love Me?, before the band exited stage right. Two encores followed, including a stunning version of You’re Gonna Miss Me, before the lights finally went up.
Basically, this really was what everyone there had come for – an electrifying, exciting, high energy rockin’ show from Bal Stingray & His Goo Goo Mucks. It was, quite simply, a tremendous performance topped off with Bal’s inimitable style. Yep, the quiff might not be as high as it used to be but the quality was still there in abundance.
You can’t find Bal Stingray & His Goo Goo Mucks online
You can find The Coyote Men on Facebook
You can find The Hangmen online here : They’re also on Facebook
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All words by Steve ‘Spike’ Sommer. This is his first review for Louder Than War.
Thanks to Owen Tudor and Mark Cartwright for supplying photos.
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