Too bad all the young punk bands on MTV didn't listen to the Didjits. Few things suck worse than watered down punk. When you've got a generation of bands that think Green Day and The Offspring started it all, you're in for bad times indeed. Sum 41- I'm talking about you. The world needs more people like Rick Sims. This guy knows how to write a catchy punk song with panache and punch. He tore things up with Chicago's Didjits for seven years before joining the Supersuckers in 1995. A brief and inexplicable stint with Fred Schneider's band (no comment) precipitated Sims' desire to form the Gaza Strippers, who have just released their second album (ironically on Green Day's original label).

While the Gaza Strippers bring nothing new to the table, they do remember how bands rocked in the 1970's (Cheap Trick, New York Dolls). 1000 Watt Confessions is full of power pop (“Outasight”), sleazy punk (“Catfight”), bluesy bar rock (“Newburgh Housewives”), and hooks galore (“Mommy Shot Daddy”). Sims' Grover-like warble is not as wild as it was in the Didjits, perhaps, as a ploy to keep the two bands separated in people's minds. The Gaza Strippers' fiery brand of old school punk is led by dueling lead guitars that aren't afraid of old-fashioned, cheesy solos. Sims keeps the emphasis on melody, which unfortunately runs against the grain of dirty bar rock's ethos, but we'll forgive him. The songs are meaningless but fun. As tiring as the formula can be, it beats the hell out of any of these johnny-come-lately punk wanna be's.