Punk Business Manager
http://punkbusinessmanager.com
Bio Link
The dapper Punk Business Manager (left) and his Personal Assistant
Being a Punk Business Manager is a lot of work as you could imagine! In between all of the business strategy meetings, power lunches and cocktail receptions I somehow find time to listen to the good ol' punk rock and post some music here. As you can see from my picture above, I try to keep up with the latest fashions so shopping for the latest threads also takes up A LOT of time-- gotta look good on the job, especially when you're about to lay off/downsize people every Friday. But having my trusty Personal Assistant really helps- he drives me to work every day in my plush Jaguar so I can listen to some p-rock and post to the blog. Enjoy!
Syndicate
Punk Business Manager
Factory (CA)
FACTORY (CA) "SMILE! / WORLD GONE MAD" 7" (KICK IN THE EYE- CALIFORNIA, 1982)
[I am on a roll- here's my third posting in as many days. Someone I know recently told me my posts are too wordy so here is my big experiment to keep it short and sweet. This one's dedicated to him]. There were several bands worldwide who have gone by the name of Factory- these ones were from California, and specifically Southern California according to the great Collector Scum site. What you get with this track is some good driving "chugga-chugga" punk with some nice punchy drumming and tense-sounding vocals (albeit a little annoying at times). Now this track is not "Grade A" punk like The Mad's "I Hate Music" (or anything on the early Killed By Death volumes) but I would say Factory is a nice "B Grade" rarity. The flipside, "Smile!", has grown on me a bit over the last 10 years that I have been acquainted with this disc and has some decent guitar noise but it's definitely not on the same level as "World Gone Mad". The sleeve artwork and font choice, as you can see above, is really BAD in the "yuck!" sense of the word, and I wonder if this caused many people to pass it on by in record store bins. Um, I do not know anything else about Factory so I guess that's all I have to say for now. Fill me in on any details if you have them.
World Gone Mad.mp3
[I am on a roll- here's my third posting in as many days. Someone I know recently told me my posts are too wordy so here is my big experiment to keep it short and sweet. This one's dedicated to him]. There were several bands worldwide who have gone by the name of Factory- these ones were from California, and specifically Southern California according to the great Collector Scum site. What you get with this track is some good driving "chugga-chugga" punk with some nice punchy drumming and tense-sounding vocals (albeit a little annoying at times). Now this track is not "Grade A" punk like The Mad's "I Hate Music" (or anything on the early Killed By Death volumes) but I would say Factory is a nice "B Grade" rarity. The flipside, "Smile!", has grown on me a bit over the last 10 years that I have been acquainted with this disc and has some decent guitar noise but it's definitely not on the same level as "World Gone Mad". The sleeve artwork and font choice, as you can see above, is really BAD in the "yuck!" sense of the word, and I wonder if this caused many people to pass it on by in record store bins. Um, I do not know anything else about Factory so I guess that's all I have to say for now. Fill me in on any details if you have them.
World Gone Mad.mp3
The Tapes
THE TAPES "DREAMLAND / IS IT YOU" 7" (SELF-RELEASED- SWEDEN, 1977)
Here's another very early one from Sweden, and even more obscure than my previous post of the Homo Electrica 7". In 1978, an absolute boatload of wonderful punk records were released in Sweden but ones with a date of 1977 can be pretty much be counted on one hand. Well, this Tapes 7" is not really punk per se in the "classic" sense of that word. It's more DIY-ish but it a bit early for that categorization too. Whatever you want to label it, me thinks it possesses the same energy and spirit behind a lot of punk. I have to admit, it took me a few listens to get into it but I was hooked after that on its sloppy, charming nature. "Dreamland" is the winner on the record- very catchy with some great hokey "Ooo-ooo-ooo" background singing goin on and an odd guitar. And the tambourine playing also definitely adds to the song's overall quirkiness. It's sung in English in a rather serious, flat manner- which I dig- and the singer's Swedish-accented English makes it more charming for me. And it's topped off by him spinning a great story which, as you will see, ends on a tragic note.
"The Mysterious Mr. Kugelberg" has tipped me off to countless great obscurities like this one over the years through various articles in the wonderful Ugly Things 'zine, and I thank him for that. Mr. Kugelberg's "Valhalla of Amateurism" articles turned me on to several bands like The Tokyos and Kriminella Gitarrer in my, er, more "formative" KBD years. And although I questioned some of the records he listed in it, his "Top 100 Punk Records" list in the 1999 issue of Ugly Things turned me on to some incredible stuff I had never heard of before. In the 2001 and 2002 issues of the zine, he did a two-part "Top 100 DIY Records" and more great obscurities then came to my attention. Now, The Tapes 7" was not in that Top 100 but rather featured prominently in a "whoops" post-script of 20 records he should have included on the list. I had never heard of them and was immediately intrigued- I remember thinking "How many more unturned stones ARE there in Sweden when it comes to obscurities? Will it ever end?!" (Hope not!)
I know nothing about the band and Johan did not give more more info other than hyping it by saying it is "A heartbreaking work of staggering ineptitude" that is "geographically challenged hick-punk-chug from the boondocks of Scandanavia". I wonder what region of the country they were from- does anyone know? Given the generic band name, a Google search goes absolutely nowhere. I do not have a vinyl copy of The Tapes 7", only some mp3's, so excuse the crummy scan I pulled above from the aforementioned Ugly Things article.
Dreamland.mp3
Is It You.mp3
Here's another very early one from Sweden, and even more obscure than my previous post of the Homo Electrica 7". In 1978, an absolute boatload of wonderful punk records were released in Sweden but ones with a date of 1977 can be pretty much be counted on one hand. Well, this Tapes 7" is not really punk per se in the "classic" sense of that word. It's more DIY-ish but it a bit early for that categorization too. Whatever you want to label it, me thinks it possesses the same energy and spirit behind a lot of punk. I have to admit, it took me a few listens to get into it but I was hooked after that on its sloppy, charming nature. "Dreamland" is the winner on the record- very catchy with some great hokey "Ooo-ooo-ooo" background singing goin on and an odd guitar. And the tambourine playing also definitely adds to the song's overall quirkiness. It's sung in English in a rather serious, flat manner- which I dig- and the singer's Swedish-accented English makes it more charming for me. And it's topped off by him spinning a great story which, as you will see, ends on a tragic note.
"The Mysterious Mr. Kugelberg" has tipped me off to countless great obscurities like this one over the years through various articles in the wonderful Ugly Things 'zine, and I thank him for that. Mr. Kugelberg's "Valhalla of Amateurism" articles turned me on to several bands like The Tokyos and Kriminella Gitarrer in my, er, more "formative" KBD years. And although I questioned some of the records he listed in it, his "Top 100 Punk Records" list in the 1999 issue of Ugly Things turned me on to some incredible stuff I had never heard of before. In the 2001 and 2002 issues of the zine, he did a two-part "Top 100 DIY Records" and more great obscurities then came to my attention. Now, The Tapes 7" was not in that Top 100 but rather featured prominently in a "whoops" post-script of 20 records he should have included on the list. I had never heard of them and was immediately intrigued- I remember thinking "How many more unturned stones ARE there in Sweden when it comes to obscurities? Will it ever end?!" (Hope not!)
I know nothing about the band and Johan did not give more more info other than hyping it by saying it is "A heartbreaking work of staggering ineptitude" that is "geographically challenged hick-punk-chug from the boondocks of Scandanavia". I wonder what region of the country they were from- does anyone know? Given the generic band name, a Google search goes absolutely nowhere. I do not have a vinyl copy of The Tapes 7", only some mp3's, so excuse the crummy scan I pulled above from the aforementioned Ugly Things article.
Dreamland.mp3
Is It You.mp3
Homo Electrica
I absolutely love Swedish punk. Most of my favorite punk of the late 70's and early 80's comes from the U.S. but Sweden is definitely second. I think it is really something to behold when you realize how much great punk was churned out of a country only the size of California. And, even better, a lot of it on DIY labels! There are so many "household" names from Sweden- yer Rude Kids, yer Kriminella Gitarrers, etc, etc. But what is cool is the number of "one-shot" great obscuro discs that I continue to discover from Sweden. And Homo Electrica is definitely one of them. During the days when I still bought Maximum Rock n' Roll pretty much every month, the February 2005 issue caught my eye because it contained a Swedish Scumpit article by Stuart Schrader, formerly of the Game of The Arseholes label and 'zine and currently of the wonderful Shit-Fi.com site (which you must check out on a regular basis for its great articles and equally great " virtual mixtapes"- I am particularly fond of Mixtape #3 that highlighted prime 60's crud). When I began reading the Swedish Scumpit article I was really hoping to learn of some new disc previously unknown to me. And, you guessed it, that was the Homo Electrica 7". I just had to hear it and, as luck would have it, J.R. just happened to throw it onto a CD-R for me the following month. "Beat On" is nice and sloppy and charming and unique in all the right ways. The other song, "Surviver", is OK but just does not match up.
I could go on, but Stuart's article in the February 2005 Maximum Rock n' Roll on Homo Electrica summed up the record and the band's history very nicely so here is what he had to say:
I could go on, but Stuart's article in the February 2005 Maximum Rock n' Roll on Homo Electrica summed up the record and the band's history very nicely so here is what he had to say:
"HOMO ELECTRICA released one two-song, one-sided 7" on Violent Vinyl, limited to 200 copies, with a crude sleeve. It was recorded October 10, 1977. Their name is supposed to be Latin for 'The Electric Human' but then it should have properly been Homo Electricus. The thanks list includes Lou Reed, Alvin Lee, the hippie guitarist of Ten Years After, and Ginger Baker, the drummer of Cream. My initial reaction was that this was too good to be true. Then I listened to it.The two songs are mid-tempo (meaning they end up mostly playing the tempo in between the fast and slow ones to which they accidentally waver), untalented, at times arrhythmic, and obviously enthralled with rocknroll as if they lived in the parallel universe in the which the DESPERATE BICYCLES had respectfully watched the PISTOLS bash out their floating racket during the Silver Jubilee and then torpedoed and sank their vessel (homemade torpedo, natch). 'Beat On' and 'Surviver' (yes, with an e) are basic tracks about rock music that sound like PROBLEM's younger brudders lampooning their elder siblings' love of rocknroll. But music this recklessly passionate and passionately reckless is no joke.Frederick, the singer of HOMO ELECTRICA, discovered punk rock because his school library had a subscription to New Musical Express, but he had been a fan of Lou Reed since the early 70s, even going as far as to get a short haircut like Reed's while long hair was in. (Note: HOMO ELECTRICA, like a million other bands, covered 'Waiting For My Man'). The bassist had never played before, but the drummer had previously played in another band- ironic because his drumming is some of the worst this side of Houston's Vast Majority (actually, that's unfair: no other drumming is that bad!). On October 10, 1977, HOMO ELECTRICA had a gig at their high school, and after the crowd left, they recorded the two songs for the 7" live through the mixing board. They found the cheapest pressing plant in Sweden, and decided that it'd be even cheaper to squeeze both songs on one side of the record. They cut and folded the sleeves themselves, decorated the blank labels with a marker, and then sold copies to friends at school and to stores, employees of which were surprised that these kids had made their own record. Without even knowing about the DESPERATE BICYCLES, HOMO ELECTRICA embodied their DIY principles. Or, perhaps I should say that the 'BIKES, as perfect as they are, wanted nothing more than to be like HOMO ELECTRICA, but the difference was that the intellectual Brits couldn't help being self-conscious in the process. In the end, HOMO ELECTRICA played only ten gigs and lasted a year and a half, but their admitted intention of using the band to get girls (not to enact a DIY ethic) seemed to work, because none of the boys in their school would go see them play.Sometimes I wonder what listeners want to get out of a punk record. If every band were out of tune, lo-fi, and stupid, the world of punk would be a boring one, but I think there should be a lot of room in our collections for gems like HOMO ELECTRICA, because they're vivid, unadulterated (and un-adult) examples of a punk rock aesthetic by kids who did not know or care to know any better. It's records like this, even if they're not something one wants to listen to every day, which make the search for rare old punk records worthwhile. Oh yeah, to my knowledge, this record does not appear on any compilations." [Punk Business Manager's note: no, Homo Electrica has not been on any comp and in these days, when the virtual world of mp3 blogs have kind of taken the place in SOME ways of KBD-type comps being pressed on actual vinyl, to my knowledge, no, Homo Electrica has not appeared on any other blog yet]
If you happen to understand Swedish, the good Punktjafs site has an interview with Frederick, the former lead singer of Homo Electrica. Kind and thoughtful Swedish speakers out there: please send me a translation of this interview!
www.punktjafs.com/ny/09_historik.htm
www.punktjafs.com/ny/09_historik.htm
Bollocks
BOLLOCKS "ALL ROCK STARS SHOULD BE DRAFTED" 10-SONG 7"EP (BALTIMORE, MD- FETAL, RECORDED FEBRUARY 1981/RELEASED 1982)
Here’s a real catchy, fun, unique-sounding EP! And from the early 80’s D.C.-area scene of all places, which at the time was dominated by lots of thick n' chunky traditional hardcore. This EP has energetic drumming, quirky bass plucking and great guitar noodling with some- gasp!- ska influenced strumming here and there. Now, the term "ska punk" (Operation Ivy et all) usually causes me to clench my teeth, cover my ears and run for the nearest bomb shelter. But on this cool record it totally works for me. And what makes the package complete is the DIY cut-and-paste nature of the sleeve where they cram as much text and pictures as humanly possible onto both sides (including what appears to be some Arabic text in the lower right corner- cool!). The two-sided insert is also jam packed with clip art, good ol' handwritten text as well as stuff down on a typewriter (yeah!). Nice and raw looking like packaging on a punk record should be.
Baltimore , MD
Another City.mp3
Blow Up The Bayou.mp3
R.I.P. Vicious.mp3
Never Mind The Bollocks.mp3
Peer Pressure.mp3
Business Man.mp3
Invasion of The Plastics.mp3
War On Drugs.mp3
All Rock Stars Should Be Drafted.mp3
Song For Baltimore.mp3
ENDNOTES
An MRR Scumpit article from 1989 on the old D.C.-area scene first got me interested in hearing this EP after they recommended it as a good yet more obscure one. At the time my knowledge of D.C. area stuff was limited to either Dischord-related or 1/2 Japanese. J.T. taped the EP for me a few years later and I was instantly hooked.
I then raved about it and taped it for Scott (later of the very sorely-missed Antenna Internet Radio site of which I was a contributor in the interest of full disclosure). Scott dug it and shortly thereafter unearthed a boatload of copies in a big warehouse find in the D.C. area. Being such a cool guy, he was nice enough to send my multiple copies of the EP. What is very curious is the different sleeve variations- the PS came in a variety of colors, from white to light yellow (see above) to darker yellow and even a minty-green one if I remember right. Then some of the different sleeve colors have slight text variations on the front- I'd have to check all my copies when I get a chance, but I believe some less stuff written on the shoe. But I'd love to know how many copies were pressed in total and which colors constitute a 1st pressing, 2nd pressing, etc. Their later "Mediterran" EP also came in a variety of sleeve colors, including white and green. Again, I'd have to check all my copies to see which ones I have and if there's any others.
HERE IS THE TWO-SIDED INSERT
Here’s a real catchy, fun, unique-sounding EP! And from the early 80’s D.C.-area scene of all places, which at the time was dominated by lots of thick n' chunky traditional hardcore. This EP has energetic drumming, quirky bass plucking and great guitar noodling with some- gasp!- ska influenced strumming here and there. Now, the term "ska punk" (Operation Ivy et all) usually causes me to clench my teeth, cover my ears and run for the nearest bomb shelter. But on this cool record it totally works for me. And what makes the package complete is the DIY cut-and-paste nature of the sleeve where they cram as much text and pictures as humanly possible onto both sides (including what appears to be some Arabic text in the lower right corner- cool!). The two-sided insert is also jam packed with clip art, good ol' handwritten text as well as stuff down on a typewriter (yeah!). Nice and raw looking like packaging on a punk record should be.
Another City.mp3
Blow Up The Bayou.mp3
R.I.P. Vicious.mp3
Never Mind The Bollocks.mp3
Peer Pressure.mp3
Business Man.mp3
Invasion of The Plastics.mp3
War On Drugs.mp3
All Rock Stars Should Be Drafted.mp3
Song For Baltimore.mp3
ENDNOTES
An MRR Scumpit article from 1989 on the old D.C.-area scene first got me interested in hearing this EP after they recommended it as a good yet more obscure one. At the time my knowledge of D.C. area stuff was limited to either Dischord-related or 1/2 Japanese. J.T. taped the EP for me a few years later and I was instantly hooked.
I then raved about it and taped it for Scott (later of the very sorely-missed Antenna Internet Radio site of which I was a contributor in the interest of full disclosure). Scott dug it and shortly thereafter unearthed a boatload of copies in a big warehouse find in the D.C. area. Being such a cool guy, he was nice enough to send my multiple copies of the EP. What is very curious is the different sleeve variations- the PS came in a variety of colors, from white to light yellow (see above) to darker yellow and even a minty-green one if I remember right. Then some of the different sleeve colors have slight text variations on the front- I'd have to check all my copies when I get a chance, but I believe some less stuff written on the shoe. But I'd love to know how many copies were pressed in total and which colors constitute a 1st pressing, 2nd pressing, etc. Their later "Mediterran" EP also came in a variety of sleeve colors, including white and green. Again, I'd have to check all my copies to see which ones I have and if there's any others.
HERE IS THE TWO-SIDED INSERT
Public Disturbance
PUBLIC DISTURBANCE "S&M" 3-SONG 7"EP (NEW JERSEY- MUTHA RECORDS, 1983)
[FIRST OFF, I HAVE NOT POSTED ANYTHING IN SOME TIME BUT WORK-RELATED NONSENSE AND IMPORTANT FAMILY-RELATED MATTERS HAVE TAKEN UP MOST OF MY TIME OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. I HAVE LOTS OF POSTINGS IN MY HEAD THAT I'D ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO THROW UP HERE BUT ADVANCED WARNING THAT I MAY FADE IN AND OUT AGAIN AS THE YEAR UNFOLDS...]
What a great EP, but very "out of place" if you will. First off, it came out in 1983 when speedy atonal hardcore was taking over the land and unique, out-of-the-box PUNK records like this 'un were few and far between (and probably frowned upon by the majority of muscle-headed hardcore conformists emerging at the time). Secondly, it came out on the Mutha label and sounds rather different from Mutha's other output at the time. Thirdly, they break the "KBD Rule" of "first release is the best" since Public Disturbance released a rather generic LP (Mutha 003) prior to this EP (which is Mutha 011).
"S&M" is a total instant classic, I have absolutely loved it since the very first time I heard it many years ago when someone taped the whole EP for me. The guitar noise totally rules- it's haunting and weird in all the right ways and sounds kinda psych-ish. For some, a great song is judged by just the geetar noise. For me, it's got to be "the total package" which is the case with this 'un. The drummer pounds away, the bass player plucks along and the singer wails aways in a crazy manner with the goofy lyrics and they all create a nice, tight package and get it so damn right. To top it all off the song is full of off-kilter breaks that you don't see coming, especially at the end. And fear not- this is not yer typical KBD record with one "happy accident" and a bunch of other bad songs-- it's a winner from start to finish for me. "Destroy The Fad" is a crazy one. It calmly starts off with a great out of tune guitar intro and then dives right into things-- dig how the drummer REALLY pounds away on that one. "S&M" is the best tune for me but the last one, "Do The Gilly", is the craziest- the guitar wails away and gets really outer space-y and things get pretty insane and reach a very fevered pitch throughout until it just abruptly ends. Yeah!!!
I absoutely love records with crude, crazy amateur-ish artwork and this one has it in droves from the dripping band logo to "Oh God!! I should have stayed at football practice"... completely hilarious. OK, I get that the guy on the left is the scared jock and the guy on the right is the punk (wearing what appears to be knee-high fishing boots and not biker boots as they may have intended) whose face tells me that he is about to enjoy the upcoming S&M from the angry lass. But who is the naked balding guy in the middle supposed to be? A tortured school teacher, an uptight suburban dad.. or perhaps a paying client of the Mistress? You tell me. And, oh yeah- you gotta always love the homemade Mutha Records logo which graced their releases. Almost forgot- the artwork from this EP graced the cover of 1995's superb Killed By Death #8.5 comp if you didn't already know ("S&M" led off Side 2 of said LP).
S&M.mp3
Destroy The Fad.mp3
Do The Gilly.mp3
ENDNOTES
OK, I guess I do these endnotes because I already babble too much above when people probably just want to listen to the music I posted instead of reading paragraph after paragraph just talking about the record. Perhaps you've made it this far so here goes...
In a trade about 10 years ago, I was very excited to get a vinyl copy of this Public Disturbance EP. The vinyl and sleeve were dead mint too, natch. The guy who traded it to me said that the picture sleeve appeared to be a photocopy and was not sure if it was an original. If I remember right, he said that his sleeve looked a bit different. The foldover sleeve with mine did not appear to be a photocopy, though- first off, the picture quality is very very good, almost too good to be a photocopy. Also, the paper is a thicker and glossier which is atypical of yer typical Xerox. I described my sleeve to the Yahoo! KBD Group about a year ago to get a consensus about it. Someone that bought a copy of the EP when it came out responded back and said his looked the same as mine. So I guess mine has an original sleeve- cool! Cumstains across my record collection!
There were lots of great "Welcome To The Scumpit" articles in MRR between 1988 and into the early 90's (I particularly remember that 1989 was a very productive year for the Scumpit). These one-page articles were great sources of info on lots of obscuro stuff that I had never heard of before, and I used to comb the articles for names of bands and records unknown to my ears. Some records or bands I discovered through the Scumpit articles remain favorites to this day, including the Public Disturbance EP. I was first tipped off to the EP when it was mentioned in a "guest Scumpit" written by none other than Tim Yohannon in the June 1989 issue. He did a short roll call of some of his favorite obscurities so you know it was quite a list. When he described the off-kilter nature of the Public Disturbance EP I was intrigued and had to hear it. Regarding Tim's list and very discerning taste, the article appears to have been very influential because most of the then-unknown records he listed ended up being on various early volumes of Killed By Death or other sorta comps in the early-to-mid 90's from the 1st Middle Class EP to the Public Disturbance EP to Deiter Meier's "Cry For Fame" 7" to the Village Pistols 7". A variety of enterprising collector scum must have taken note of Tim's recommendations. Although it didn't appear on a KBD volume, Tim's article also mentioned the wonderful proto-hardcore SS 12"EP from Japan and, lo and behold, there was a CD reissue of it in the early 90's on an official label too and not as a boot.
The other interesting thing about Public Disturbance to me is that they had a black member (see the back of the sleeve- turns out his name was Darryl Hell and he played bass). I have an affinity for punk bands with black members since it was and unfortunately still is an anomaly in many ways (check out the pretty cool 2003 documentary Afro Punk while you're at it since it's now out on DVD after being on the festival circuit for a while). The always great Roctober 'zine helmed by Jake Austen did us all a favor- a 2002 issue of the 'zine did a very great article called "Black Punk Time" whose purpose is to be a comprehensive list of black people in punk and sorta-punk bands. The list continues to be updated on their site (I have provided some info myself for it even on mostly KBD-type bands)- go here for the article. Darryl from Public Disturbance is mentioned in it, and someone updated his listing to say that he played in some other bands (none of which I heard of) and is currently working as a DJ- here is his MySpace page if you're interested.
FROM JUNE 1989 MAXIMUM ROCK N' ROLL
[FIRST OFF, I HAVE NOT POSTED ANYTHING IN SOME TIME BUT WORK-RELATED NONSENSE AND IMPORTANT FAMILY-RELATED MATTERS HAVE TAKEN UP MOST OF MY TIME OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. I HAVE LOTS OF POSTINGS IN MY HEAD THAT I'D ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO THROW UP HERE BUT ADVANCED WARNING THAT I MAY FADE IN AND OUT AGAIN AS THE YEAR UNFOLDS...]
What a great EP, but very "out of place" if you will. First off, it came out in 1983 when speedy atonal hardcore was taking over the land and unique, out-of-the-box PUNK records like this 'un were few and far between (and probably frowned upon by the majority of muscle-headed hardcore conformists emerging at the time). Secondly, it came out on the Mutha label and sounds rather different from Mutha's other output at the time. Thirdly, they break the "KBD Rule" of "first release is the best" since Public Disturbance released a rather generic LP (Mutha 003) prior to this EP (which is Mutha 011).
"S&M" is a total instant classic, I have absolutely loved it since the very first time I heard it many years ago when someone taped the whole EP for me. The guitar noise totally rules- it's haunting and weird in all the right ways and sounds kinda psych-ish. For some, a great song is judged by just the geetar noise. For me, it's got to be "the total package" which is the case with this 'un. The drummer pounds away, the bass player plucks along and the singer wails aways in a crazy manner with the goofy lyrics and they all create a nice, tight package and get it so damn right. To top it all off the song is full of off-kilter breaks that you don't see coming, especially at the end. And fear not- this is not yer typical KBD record with one "happy accident" and a bunch of other bad songs-- it's a winner from start to finish for me. "Destroy The Fad" is a crazy one. It calmly starts off with a great out of tune guitar intro and then dives right into things-- dig how the drummer REALLY pounds away on that one. "S&M" is the best tune for me but the last one, "Do The Gilly", is the craziest- the guitar wails away and gets really outer space-y and things get pretty insane and reach a very fevered pitch throughout until it just abruptly ends. Yeah!!!
I absoutely love records with crude, crazy amateur-ish artwork and this one has it in droves from the dripping band logo to "Oh God!! I should have stayed at football practice"... completely hilarious. OK, I get that the guy on the left is the scared jock and the guy on the right is the punk (wearing what appears to be knee-high fishing boots and not biker boots as they may have intended) whose face tells me that he is about to enjoy the upcoming S&M from the angry lass. But who is the naked balding guy in the middle supposed to be? A tortured school teacher, an uptight suburban dad.. or perhaps a paying client of the Mistress? You tell me. And, oh yeah- you gotta always love the homemade Mutha Records logo which graced their releases. Almost forgot- the artwork from this EP graced the cover of 1995's superb Killed By Death #8.5 comp if you didn't already know ("S&M" led off Side 2 of said LP).
S&M.mp3
Destroy The Fad.mp3
Do The Gilly.mp3
ENDNOTES
OK, I guess I do these endnotes because I already babble too much above when people probably just want to listen to the music I posted instead of reading paragraph after paragraph just talking about the record. Perhaps you've made it this far so here goes...
In a trade about 10 years ago, I was very excited to get a vinyl copy of this Public Disturbance EP. The vinyl and sleeve were dead mint too, natch. The guy who traded it to me said that the picture sleeve appeared to be a photocopy and was not sure if it was an original. If I remember right, he said that his sleeve looked a bit different. The foldover sleeve with mine did not appear to be a photocopy, though- first off, the picture quality is very very good, almost too good to be a photocopy. Also, the paper is a thicker and glossier which is atypical of yer typical Xerox. I described my sleeve to the Yahoo! KBD Group about a year ago to get a consensus about it. Someone that bought a copy of the EP when it came out responded back and said his looked the same as mine. So I guess mine has an original sleeve- cool! Cumstains across my record collection!
There were lots of great "Welcome To The Scumpit" articles in MRR between 1988 and into the early 90's (I particularly remember that 1989 was a very productive year for the Scumpit). These one-page articles were great sources of info on lots of obscuro stuff that I had never heard of before, and I used to comb the articles for names of bands and records unknown to my ears. Some records or bands I discovered through the Scumpit articles remain favorites to this day, including the Public Disturbance EP. I was first tipped off to the EP when it was mentioned in a "guest Scumpit" written by none other than Tim Yohannon in the June 1989 issue. He did a short roll call of some of his favorite obscurities so you know it was quite a list. When he described the off-kilter nature of the Public Disturbance EP I was intrigued and had to hear it. Regarding Tim's list and very discerning taste, the article appears to have been very influential because most of the then-unknown records he listed ended up being on various early volumes of Killed By Death or other sorta comps in the early-to-mid 90's from the 1st Middle Class EP to the Public Disturbance EP to Deiter Meier's "Cry For Fame" 7" to the Village Pistols 7". A variety of enterprising collector scum must have taken note of Tim's recommendations. Although it didn't appear on a KBD volume, Tim's article also mentioned the wonderful proto-hardcore SS 12"EP from Japan and, lo and behold, there was a CD reissue of it in the early 90's on an official label too and not as a boot.
The other interesting thing about Public Disturbance to me is that they had a black member (see the back of the sleeve- turns out his name was Darryl Hell and he played bass). I have an affinity for punk bands with black members since it was and unfortunately still is an anomaly in many ways (check out the pretty cool 2003 documentary Afro Punk while you're at it since it's now out on DVD after being on the festival circuit for a while). The always great Roctober 'zine helmed by Jake Austen did us all a favor- a 2002 issue of the 'zine did a very great article called "Black Punk Time" whose purpose is to be a comprehensive list of black people in punk and sorta-punk bands. The list continues to be updated on their site (I have provided some info myself for it even on mostly KBD-type bands)- go here for the article. Darryl from Public Disturbance is mentioned in it, and someone updated his listing to say that he played in some other bands (none of which I heard of) and is currently working as a DJ- here is his MySpace page if you're interested.
FROM JUNE 1989 MAXIMUM ROCK N' ROLL
Clockwork Criminals
CLOCKWORK CRIMINALS "YOUNG AND BOLD" 7"EP (U.K.- ACE RECORDS)
(RECORDED 1980 / RELEASED 1982)
Damn, what a barnstormer of a record! "Young and Bold" calmly starts with the singer making his declaration in the first few seconds of the song and then- wham!- total charging noise smacks you right in the head. A nice, unexpected surprise- the guitars are loud, tense and waily, kinda DIY-ish in sound (unlike "traditionally" loud guitars that tend to be chunky and thick a la Black Flag or P.F. Commando). The drummer and bass player pound away trying to keep up with the two-chord geetar player and then the singer wails away in a desperate manner- in other words, wonderful! Also impressive that this unique racket was recorded in 1980 at a time when not a lot of bands were soundin’ out there like this.
(RECORDED 1980 / RELEASED 1982)
Damn, what a barnstormer of a record! "Young and Bold" calmly starts with the singer making his declaration in the first few seconds of the song and then- wham!- total charging noise smacks you right in the head. A nice, unexpected surprise- the guitars are loud, tense and waily, kinda DIY-ish in sound (unlike "traditionally" loud guitars that tend to be chunky and thick a la Black Flag or P.F. Commando). The drummer and bass player pound away trying to keep up with the two-chord geetar player and then the singer wails away in a desperate manner- in other words, wonderful! Also impressive that this unique racket was recorded in 1980 at a time when not a lot of bands were soundin’ out there like this.
Back in '99, "No Future U.K." was comped on KBD#20 (whose cover also used this EP's artwork) but I was so leary of most comps at that time (see sidenote that follows) so I passed on that LP. Two years later, I heard "Stand Together" on the Messthetics #7 comp CD, which was part of Chuck Warner’s Hyped To Death series.
[As a sidenote- sigh, I miss all those different Hyped To Death-related comps that Mr. Warner churned out in 2000 and 2001. In the late 90's- pretty much after KBD#12 came out in late '96/early '97- KBD-type comps had really started scraping the barrel and most were big letdowns that had maybe one or two good songs and then a dozen mediocre tracks- in other words, a waste of yer hard earned money. Sure, a lot of bands on those bad comps were total obscurities but that does not justify inclusion on a comp. C’mon gimme something that SOUNDS good or I could pretty much care less than it was a sleeveless "private pressing" of 10 copies or whatever (the U.K. is the capital of these types o' rarities). But oh yeah- back to Hyped To Deaths- here came uber-collector Chuck digging up total obscurities like Screamin’ Sneakers that were rare as hell, previously uncomped AND which sounded ABSOLUTELY wonderful too. Now don’t get me wrong- not every CD was full of 100% Grade A prime chug- there were some clunkers to my ears but overall Chuck did a good job before the fun was forced to come to an end]
Young and Bold.mp3
No Future U.K.mp3
Stand Together.mp3
3 Million and 1.mp3
ENDNOTES
Clockwork Criminals have a page on MySpace on which they posted 3 unreleased songs, two of which are available for download (the fouth track is their track from the "Bullshit Detector" comp). Unfortunately, they are too drawn out and dreamy and lack the total smack-in-the-face quality of their EP. Oh well, still interesting that they have a page and posted em to begin with...
The great Detour Records site has a nice history of the band- read on:
"Hailing from the South Coast of England from a fairly large town called Hastings, the band started off life called 'Charlie and the Criminals'. They notched up a few gigs under this name before opting for the 'Clockwork Criminals'. Despite the 'Young and Bold' EP coming out in 82 it was recorded in 1980. They played along side most of the other local bands that were around on the same gig circuit like 'Smeggy and the Cheesybits', 'The Teenbeats', 'The Pirahnas' and just about all the other top South Coast bands.
Sadly the band only released one single but also had another track featured on a compilation album called 'Bullshit Detector' that was released on the 'Crass' label.
The vocalist and guitarist went on to form 'Flowers of the Past' who gigged a lot in 1982 doing the whole "State of the Nation" tour with 'Vice Squad' and releasing a single called 'The Fuhrer' / 'Medieval' on 'Memorial records'."
Here is the above writeup complete with TONS of pictures of the band, flyers, buttons, etc:
http://www.detour-records.co.uk/CLOCKWORK%20CRIMINALS.htm
[As a sidenote- sigh, I miss all those different Hyped To Death-related comps that Mr. Warner churned out in 2000 and 2001. In the late 90's- pretty much after KBD#12 came out in late '96/early '97- KBD-type comps had really started scraping the barrel and most were big letdowns that had maybe one or two good songs and then a dozen mediocre tracks- in other words, a waste of yer hard earned money. Sure, a lot of bands on those bad comps were total obscurities but that does not justify inclusion on a comp. C’mon gimme something that SOUNDS good or I could pretty much care less than it was a sleeveless "private pressing" of 10 copies or whatever (the U.K. is the capital of these types o' rarities). But oh yeah- back to Hyped To Deaths- here came uber-collector Chuck digging up total obscurities like Screamin’ Sneakers that were rare as hell, previously uncomped AND which sounded ABSOLUTELY wonderful too. Now don’t get me wrong- not every CD was full of 100% Grade A prime chug- there were some clunkers to my ears but overall Chuck did a good job before the fun was forced to come to an end]
Young and Bold.mp3
No Future U.K.mp3
Stand Together.mp3
3 Million and 1.mp3
ENDNOTES
Clockwork Criminals have a page on MySpace on which they posted 3 unreleased songs, two of which are available for download (the fouth track is their track from the "Bullshit Detector" comp). Unfortunately, they are too drawn out and dreamy and lack the total smack-in-the-face quality of their EP. Oh well, still interesting that they have a page and posted em to begin with...
The great Detour Records site has a nice history of the band- read on:
"Hailing from the South Coast of England from a fairly large town called Hastings, the band started off life called 'Charlie and the Criminals'. They notched up a few gigs under this name before opting for the 'Clockwork Criminals'. Despite the 'Young and Bold' EP coming out in 82 it was recorded in 1980. They played along side most of the other local bands that were around on the same gig circuit like 'Smeggy and the Cheesybits', 'The Teenbeats', 'The Pirahnas' and just about all the other top South Coast bands.
Sadly the band only released one single but also had another track featured on a compilation album called 'Bullshit Detector' that was released on the 'Crass' label.
The vocalist and guitarist went on to form 'Flowers of the Past' who gigged a lot in 1982 doing the whole "State of the Nation" tour with 'Vice Squad' and releasing a single called 'The Fuhrer' / 'Medieval' on 'Memorial records'."
Here is the above writeup complete with TONS of pictures of the band, flyers, buttons, etc:
http://www.detour-records.co.uk/CLOCKWORK%20CRIMINALS.htm
Stiffs, Inc.
STIFFS, INC. "CHELSEA / MARY PICKFORD MARRY ME" PROMO 7" (NEW YORK CITY- ONION, 1995)
Besides being stuck in a time warp listening predominantly to 60's and 70's stuff, punk and otherwise, I am also a big fan of 90's "KBD-type" punk (excuse the shallow term but I didn't want to use the even-more shallow term "garage revival"). So here's my first semi-modern posting (er, this one came out 12 years ago so, fuck, I think that qualifies as modern) of one of my favorite 90's punk gems. Kind of unlikely considering the band was on a- gasp! - major label (I am usually not a fan of majors or wanna-be majors), but given that Mr. Johan "Killed By Death v.1-4" Kugelberg worked (ran?) the Onion label at the time then it makes more sense. Johan also signed Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments to Onion and released their good "Bait and Switch" LP the same year. And then Onion also did a Monks reissue during the same period, another unlikely release on a major had Mr. Kugelberg not been lobbying for them all I suppose.
Both songs from this promo 7" also appeared on their much-hyped "Nix Nought Nothing" LP in '95, which now lines cut-out bins and can be found for a few bucks. Onion musta pressed a ton of them in hopes that Stiffs, Inc. would be "the next big thing" thus the total glut. I cannot listen to that whole LP, though- the singer irks me about halfway through, and I’m even not that hot on the flipside of this single but "Chelsea" is genius. A very catchy ditty from the first note, and a very layered song. Check out how the guitar goes from being strummed in the beginning to kinda growling a little later and then back again. The band changes up the overall tempo of the tune several times which is nice, especially in the last 30 seconds when they finish it off with a whole different vibe that totally works for me and is a rightful finish to a great tune. These guys could really play, and they got it so right in these 4 minutes (far longer than my preferred song length too). "Chelsea" is melodic in all the right places but then driving and punchy in all the right places too. Right on.
Chelsea.mp3
TRIVIA NOTES: Before signing to Onion, Stiffs, Inc. had two self-released 7"s in '94 as just "The Stiffs" that were pretty good- the "Destroy All Art" and "Blown Away Baby" 45's ("Blown Away Baby" also appears on "Nix Nought Nothing"). Then after their flop on Onion, they released the "Electric Chair Theatre" LP in '97 on another label. It was a disappointment to me when I listened to it about 10 years ago, but maybe I need to give it another listen all these years later. Sometimes time heals wounds when it comes to some rekkids. [Case in point- when I first heard Cocksparrer's thug-punk stomper "Runnin Riot" about 10 years ago it didn't grab me for some reason, but now is a fave of mine and I don't know what I was thinkin' a decade ago. I was in my fucking 20's, gimme a break]
COLLECTOR SCUM NOTES: In the most recent issue of the great scholarly 'zine Ugly Things Mr. Kugelberg happened to mention that he pressed up this promo 7" in a run of only 200 copies. Never knew that until now, so that’s kind of cool to find out all these years later. I found my copy for 49 cents here in Chicago in a cheapo bin full of bad 80's records- if you look closely at the above picture of the sleeve, you'll notice a few things. First, some store employee put a black mark in the upper right of the sleeve, presumably this meant the thing was getting tossed into the cut-out bin. Secondly, the sleeve has a tear in the same area from where I tried to remove the price sticker- not a good idea when a sleeve is cardboard (doh). The sleeve is a thick cardboard job with no artwork, just Spartan informational details much like the Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments promo 45 that also came in a run of 200 copies on Onion.
Besides being stuck in a time warp listening predominantly to 60's and 70's stuff, punk and otherwise, I am also a big fan of 90's "KBD-type" punk (excuse the shallow term but I didn't want to use the even-more shallow term "garage revival"). So here's my first semi-modern posting (er, this one came out 12 years ago so, fuck, I think that qualifies as modern) of one of my favorite 90's punk gems. Kind of unlikely considering the band was on a- gasp! - major label (I am usually not a fan of majors or wanna-be majors), but given that Mr. Johan "Killed By Death v.1-4" Kugelberg worked (ran?) the Onion label at the time then it makes more sense. Johan also signed Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments to Onion and released their good "Bait and Switch" LP the same year. And then Onion also did a Monks reissue during the same period, another unlikely release on a major had Mr. Kugelberg not been lobbying for them all I suppose.
Both songs from this promo 7" also appeared on their much-hyped "Nix Nought Nothing" LP in '95, which now lines cut-out bins and can be found for a few bucks. Onion musta pressed a ton of them in hopes that Stiffs, Inc. would be "the next big thing" thus the total glut. I cannot listen to that whole LP, though- the singer irks me about halfway through, and I’m even not that hot on the flipside of this single but "Chelsea" is genius. A very catchy ditty from the first note, and a very layered song. Check out how the guitar goes from being strummed in the beginning to kinda growling a little later and then back again. The band changes up the overall tempo of the tune several times which is nice, especially in the last 30 seconds when they finish it off with a whole different vibe that totally works for me and is a rightful finish to a great tune. These guys could really play, and they got it so right in these 4 minutes (far longer than my preferred song length too). "Chelsea" is melodic in all the right places but then driving and punchy in all the right places too. Right on.
Chelsea.mp3
TRIVIA NOTES: Before signing to Onion, Stiffs, Inc. had two self-released 7"s in '94 as just "The Stiffs" that were pretty good- the "Destroy All Art" and "Blown Away Baby" 45's ("Blown Away Baby" also appears on "Nix Nought Nothing"). Then after their flop on Onion, they released the "Electric Chair Theatre" LP in '97 on another label. It was a disappointment to me when I listened to it about 10 years ago, but maybe I need to give it another listen all these years later. Sometimes time heals wounds when it comes to some rekkids. [Case in point- when I first heard Cocksparrer's thug-punk stomper "Runnin Riot" about 10 years ago it didn't grab me for some reason, but now is a fave of mine and I don't know what I was thinkin' a decade ago. I was in my fucking 20's, gimme a break]
COLLECTOR SCUM NOTES: In the most recent issue of the great scholarly 'zine Ugly Things Mr. Kugelberg happened to mention that he pressed up this promo 7" in a run of only 200 copies. Never knew that until now, so that’s kind of cool to find out all these years later. I found my copy for 49 cents here in Chicago in a cheapo bin full of bad 80's records- if you look closely at the above picture of the sleeve, you'll notice a few things. First, some store employee put a black mark in the upper right of the sleeve, presumably this meant the thing was getting tossed into the cut-out bin. Secondly, the sleeve has a tear in the same area from where I tried to remove the price sticker- not a good idea when a sleeve is cardboard (doh). The sleeve is a thick cardboard job with no artwork, just Spartan informational details much like the Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments promo 45 that also came in a run of 200 copies on Onion.
From Punk To Horrid Junk, Case Study #325: The Red Rockers
The idea for this post came on Labor Day weekend while driving in a mini van in the Detroit suburbs with my brother-in-law. No, there was no p-rock blaring out of the mini van speakers nor any collector scum discussions going on- far from it since my wife and none of her family (or my family for that matter) are into punk. So any discussion of punk records around family would be a conversation I would either have with myself, an imaginary friend or my 3 month old son.
Anyway, Sirius satellite radio is on in the van and he’s flipping through the hundred or so choices for stations with different themes- comedy, R&B, hip hop, country, etc- there's too fucking many. We happen upon a station called something like "80's New Wave" and who is playing but the fucking Red Rockers and that horrid song of theirs "China". My first instinct was to quickly change the station, but I decided to listen to the whole crappy song so I could really remember how bad they became a few short years after their great "Guns of Revolution" 7"EP in '80 and "Condition Red" LP a year later.
Anyway, Sirius satellite radio is on in the van and he’s flipping through the hundred or so choices for stations with different themes- comedy, R&B, hip hop, country, etc- there's too fucking many. We happen upon a station called something like "80's New Wave" and who is playing but the fucking Red Rockers and that horrid song of theirs "China". My first instinct was to quickly change the station, but I decided to listen to the whole crappy song so I could really remember how bad they became a few short years after their great "Guns of Revolution" 7"EP in '80 and "Condition Red" LP a year later.
It had been a LONG time since I heard their crappy stuff, and it made me feel rather sad how quickly they went from blaring guitars and singing about "Guns of Revolution" in 1980 and 1981 to the ultra-wimpy "China" in early 1983 that had barely a trace of guitar. Any miniscule hint of anger and energy from two years earlier was completely gone. I know, plenty of other punk bands have wimped out over the years and "matured" as musicians or whatever the fuck they want to call it. C’mon, I’ve been listening to punk for 20 years so I’ve seen or heard too many bands fall by the wayside. But so quick like the Red Rockers? Usually the process is more gradual, like the guitars are toned down and pace slows down on the dreaded "follow-up" album that may still have some punk left into it. Usually the 3rd album several years later is a rotten piece of shit. But within the space of less than two years to go from blaring p-rock to something 100% different is quite a leap. How so quickly? So I tried to do a timeline in my head as I envision the way they went down the drain.
Mid-to-late 1981
The "Condition Red" LP drops and the Red Rockers are blazing around town doing lots of shows and playing great punk making a name for themselves in S.F. after their big move from N’Leans.
Punk cred = pretty high
The "Condition Red" LP drops and the Red Rockers are blazing around town doing lots of shows and playing great punk making a name for themselves in S.F. after their big move from N’Leans.
Punk cred = pretty high
Early-to-mid 1982
The band continues to play punk shows (see flyers below from April of ’82- even a show with the Bad Brains at the height of their power!) but starts "experimenting" and- yikes!- "branches out" by slowing down the speed of songs, turning the amps down from 11 and getting more "melodic" or whatever. Major labels start sniffing around because the band has toned things down and are more "marketable". Old fans of their blazing p-rock lost interest in them in droves.
Punk cred = waning quickly
The band continues to play punk shows (see flyers below from April of ’82- even a show with the Bad Brains at the height of their power!) but starts "experimenting" and- yikes!- "branches out" by slowing down the speed of songs, turning the amps down from 11 and getting more "melodic" or whatever. Major labels start sniffing around because the band has toned things down and are more "marketable". Old fans of their blazing p-rock lost interest in them in droves.
Punk cred = waning quickly
Late 1982
The Red Rockers sign to Columbia Records and do a group hug while saying "We’ve made it! We are on a major label! We are the next big thing and will be famous rock stars remembered for years and not a flash in the pan! Yippee!!"
Punk cred = -1,000
The Red Rockers sign to Columbia Records and do a group hug while saying "We’ve made it! We are on a major label! We are the next big thing and will be famous rock stars remembered for years and not a flash in the pan! Yippee!!"
Punk cred = -1,000
Late 1982 to early 1983
The band has a meeting and says "No more hints of loud stuff in the least bit- you know, wimpy music like Culture Club is really huge right now so let’s go that route- and PRONTO! We’ll still call ourselves a rock n’ roll band, though, and keep the Commie-related band name".
The band has a meeting and says "No more hints of loud stuff in the least bit- you know, wimpy music like Culture Club is really huge right now so let’s go that route- and PRONTO! We’ll still call ourselves a rock n’ roll band, though, and keep the Commie-related band name".
Early 1983
Band rapidly wimps out and then shortly thereafter writes and records crap like "China", puts out an album called "Good As Gold”, lumbers along for a few more years and are merely a small footnote in the annals of rock history and loathed by punk fans worldwide for their big sellout.
Band rapidly wimps out and then shortly thereafter writes and records crap like "China", puts out an album called "Good As Gold”, lumbers along for a few more years and are merely a small footnote in the annals of rock history and loathed by punk fans worldwide for their big sellout.
September 1, 2007
The Punk Business Manager- any maybe a few others- hears "China" on satellite radio and is perplexed at their rapid descent.
I was 11 years old in 1983 and not into punk when "China" came out and I vaguely remember seeing music videos of theirs on Friday Night Videos (‘member that show? It was on NBC and watched by those of us without cable). But if anyone active in the punk scene back then remembers seeing the Red Rockers in their great '80 to '81 period (or the pre-Red Rockers band the Rat Finks), please post some comments below so I can get some first-hand stories of how they wimped out so quickly. Inquiring minds want to know. Maybe they were just punk poseurs the whole time singing about guns of revolution and anti-war stuff but always keeping their "eyes on the prize" of getting a major label contract and mainstream acceptance? Help me out here.
Guns of Revolution.mp3
*This is the version on the "Condition Red" LP from 1981, which I different and I think better than the one on their 1980 7"EP
1982 Flyers
And here is a video of "China" that I found, where else, but on YouTube
When Unreleased Is The Best
MYSTERY DATES s/t 5-SONG 7"EP (SAN ANTONIO, TX- RECORDED LATE 1982 & EARLY 1983) (RELEASED 1996 ON EXISTENTIAL VACUUM)
The great Good Bad Music blog recently posted the 1st Mystery Dates EP from 1982, and although I found a few of the songs- especially the lead-off track "Mystery Date"- to be catchy and hooky, dammit, it can’t hold a finger to this whopper of an EP! Put the two records side to side and it makes one think that the 'Dates were holding back and "toning things down" on their official releases because they really speed things up and let loose on these unreleased nuggets! Maybe they let down their hair because they knew this stuff was not going to be committed to vinyl? Or maybe they released their two EP’s earlier in 1982 and then changed their style to a speedier, more HC-ish by late '82/early '83 when this unreleased stuff was recorded? I'd love to hear from an old band member so I can solve this, er, "mystery" (har har).
"Protect The Innocent" (my favorite track) is like a freight train with its charging pace, loud guitars and loose, unique warbling from lead singer Frank. It’s like they’ve got their head in two worlds- on the one hand, they’ve got the speed of hardcore but also want to maintain a punkier edge by having hooky, very catchy guitar noodling. A tricky tight rope to walk, if you ask me, but they totally pull it off.
MORE RAMBLING- MAYBE YOU'LL MAKE IT THIS FAR DOWN THE POSTING
*This EP was put out in ’96 by Ryan Richardson’s sorely-missed Existential Vacuum label. I had never heard of the Mystery Dates but in the Summer of ’96 while closely studying the record reviews section of Maximum Rock n’ Roll (as I did at the time) I was tipped off to this EP after they gave it a glowing review. I was a big fan of Ryan’s EV label so I had to get this one- and quick- since there were only 500 copies made. Looking back, Ryan kept us on our toes since about all of the EV releases were very limited, especially the scum editions with different colored vinyl, etc. It was always fun, albeit a little stressful, for me to try to track them down sometimes since you know they’d sell out in a flash. Nubees 7" in an edition of 45 copies, anyone? And I snagged two copies of the Mystery Dates EP at the also sorely-missed Dummyroom record shop here in Chicago during the Christmas of ’96, after I was sure that I wouldn’t find a copy. A nice holiday surprise.
For any very young whippernsappers who may happen to be reading this (although I bet you're in your 30's or 40's, you old man!), there was no fancy interweb to order records on in a jiffy back then- you had to do something we called "mailorder" where you hand-addressed(!) an envelope, slapped a 25 cent stamp on it and put- gasp!- actual cash in an envelope and mailed it off with your order. Said records would sometimes take weeks to get. Kid, back then PayPal only described a generous friend who funded your way into a show or otherwise fronted you cash.
A year or so later in early 1998 I found the great Texas Punk Discography online and, from that labor of love, I learned that the Mystery Dates put out two EP’s back in ’82. Cool! However, a review of both EP’s scared me off since it said that the unreleased EP on EV was by far their best stuff. So I then added both Mystery Dates EP’s to my long list of "Try to hear one of these days, but no rush" records. I learned that the Mystery Dates' singer Frank Pugliese was earlier in a band called the Vamps circa '78 to '80 who put out three EP's (and is still rocking in his 50's with the long-lived Sons of Hercules). Someone taped two Vamps EP's for me- to my ears, they had a few good moments in "Carving Knife" and "Used To Be Cool" but not really any "top shelf", A-list classics. By the way- I still need to hear "Formula X", the A-side of the "Used To Be Cool" 7"- mp3's, anyone?
So here we are about 10 years later and I’ve now heard the Mystery Dates stuff in reverse order- the unreleased stuff first and then one of their "official" EP’s. Had I heard them the other way around, maybe I would appreciate the unreleased stuff even more than I already do (?). Who knows? And who fucking cares other than me?
Dad and The Boys
DAD AND THE BOYS “KAMIKAZE PILOT / FEEL IT” 7” (NASHVILLE, TN or MICHIGAN- WAVE RECORDS, 1986)
Anyone else ever heard of these guys? Pretty good driving punk n’ roll but not even close to being a household name in KBD land. About 5 years ago I saw this record listed on one of Mike Bastarache’s great set sale lists and it stuck in my craw as a record I had never heard of. And the band name was pretty funny and memorable. I forget how much he was asking but it must have been more than $10 or else I would have taken a chance on it. Fast forward to late 2004- I get an e-mail update list from good old Dr. Strange and while casually looking through it, there’s The Dad and The Boys 7” for cheap enough to "take a chance" on it. Got it in the mail a week later and have been digging it and been intrigued by it ever since. Like I said, I think it’s pretty good, pretty driving punk n’ roll. And it has an interesting vocal style which is always a plus in my book. [As a sidenote, I have a hang up about vocals- if a record has raw guitars but bad vocals it bugs me. It kind of wrecks it for me, like part of the "whole package" is missing. On the same hand, if a record has just decent guitars but a good, heartfelt singing style then I am more apt to give it another listen].
Unfortunately, the flipside which I have not posted drags on and is too mediocre for my ears. The sleeve is a plain white inner sleeve with cut out pictures pasted on the front and back of the sleeve (a la the Defnics 7"). Dad and The Boys had another 7" a year earlier in 1985 called "Reagan In The White House" on the same label and with the same type of cut and paste sleeve. I found it on eBay for very cheap about a year ago but, unfortunately, both sides are mediocre and forgettable.
I assumed the band was from Nashville, TN since that’s where their label Wave Records was as stated on the back of the sleeve. But when I bought their other 7" on eBay the seller said in the item description that the band was from the Detroit area. But, c’mon, what are the chances that an obscure band from Michigan would release two singles on an equally obscure label in Nashville? Maybe better chances than we think- I Googled the name of the studio (Muzican), and it turns out that there is a Muzican Studios in Canton, MI which is about halfway between Ann Arbor and Detroit. Hmmmm...
Enough stamp collecter obsessing- wherever the fuck they were from, I can sum up this record by saying that they're yet another band that had only one shining moment and got it right on only one song. But is "Kamikaze Pilot" an Grade A all-time amazing classic? Um, no. But it’s at least a "Grade B" tune. But in terms of obscurity it’s Grade A. But you gotta divorce obscurity from musical quality because there’s too many records out there given attention for the wrong reasons- namely, because they’re very obscure. I think you gotta stay focused on how the music on an obscurity actually sounds. I think we’ve all seen too many eBay descriptions in ALL CAPS and with 50 exclamation points touting a record as immediately wanton because it’s "MEGA, MEGA RARE OBSCURITY!!!!"
Dad and The Boys- Kamikaze Pilot.mp3
Anyone else ever heard of these guys? Pretty good driving punk n’ roll but not even close to being a household name in KBD land. About 5 years ago I saw this record listed on one of Mike Bastarache’s great set sale lists and it stuck in my craw as a record I had never heard of. And the band name was pretty funny and memorable. I forget how much he was asking but it must have been more than $10 or else I would have taken a chance on it. Fast forward to late 2004- I get an e-mail update list from good old Dr. Strange and while casually looking through it, there’s The Dad and The Boys 7” for cheap enough to "take a chance" on it. Got it in the mail a week later and have been digging it and been intrigued by it ever since. Like I said, I think it’s pretty good, pretty driving punk n’ roll. And it has an interesting vocal style which is always a plus in my book. [As a sidenote, I have a hang up about vocals- if a record has raw guitars but bad vocals it bugs me. It kind of wrecks it for me, like part of the "whole package" is missing. On the same hand, if a record has just decent guitars but a good, heartfelt singing style then I am more apt to give it another listen].
Unfortunately, the flipside which I have not posted drags on and is too mediocre for my ears. The sleeve is a plain white inner sleeve with cut out pictures pasted on the front and back of the sleeve (a la the Defnics 7"). Dad and The Boys had another 7" a year earlier in 1985 called "Reagan In The White House" on the same label and with the same type of cut and paste sleeve. I found it on eBay for very cheap about a year ago but, unfortunately, both sides are mediocre and forgettable.
I assumed the band was from Nashville, TN since that’s where their label Wave Records was as stated on the back of the sleeve. But when I bought their other 7" on eBay the seller said in the item description that the band was from the Detroit area. But, c’mon, what are the chances that an obscure band from Michigan would release two singles on an equally obscure label in Nashville? Maybe better chances than we think- I Googled the name of the studio (Muzican), and it turns out that there is a Muzican Studios in Canton, MI which is about halfway between Ann Arbor and Detroit. Hmmmm...
Enough stamp collecter obsessing- wherever the fuck they were from, I can sum up this record by saying that they're yet another band that had only one shining moment and got it right on only one song. But is "Kamikaze Pilot" an Grade A all-time amazing classic? Um, no. But it’s at least a "Grade B" tune. But in terms of obscurity it’s Grade A. But you gotta divorce obscurity from musical quality because there’s too many records out there given attention for the wrong reasons- namely, because they’re very obscure. I think you gotta stay focused on how the music on an obscurity actually sounds. I think we’ve all seen too many eBay descriptions in ALL CAPS and with 50 exclamation points touting a record as immediately wanton because it’s "MEGA, MEGA RARE OBSCURITY!!!!"
Dad and The Boys- Kamikaze Pilot.mp3
Inanimate Objects
INANIMATE OBJECTS 7"EP (FREEWAY RECORDS- HOUSTON, TEXAS, 1982)
No raw, blazing KBD-ish "criminal guitars" or over-the-top snottiness anywhere on this record. And the production is a bit thin and muddled. But I really dig this entire EP. All facets of it really work for me- the guitar noodling combined with the energetic drumming along and the cool, kinda whiny vocal style that has a hint of Texas twang sound great together to my ears. Very catchy. And rather unique sounding with a “thinking out of the box” aspect to it, if you will (so many other punk discs from Texas fit this description too, for that matter).
No raw, blazing KBD-ish "criminal guitars" or over-the-top snottiness anywhere on this record. And the production is a bit thin and muddled. But I really dig this entire EP. All facets of it really work for me- the guitar noodling combined with the energetic drumming along and the cool, kinda whiny vocal style that has a hint of Texas twang sound great together to my ears. Very catchy. And rather unique sounding with a “thinking out of the box” aspect to it, if you will (so many other punk discs from Texas fit this description too, for that matter).
The last song on the EP, "The New One", which was on the very first Bloodstains comp back in '92 (Bloodstains Across Texas, kids) is good but probably my least favorite song on the EP. The other four songs just have more depth and character in my book, especially a slower, "artier" song like "Vacancy" or the toe-tappin' "Hot Rox". These guys were from Really Red's and The Hates' hometown of Houston so I assume they played some shows with them back in the day. Their song on Bloodstains Across Texas was good so I was curious to hear the rest of the EP but, given the far-too-prevalent KBD rule of "only one good song exists", I assumed the rest of the EP would be spotty or just plain suck. So I was pleasantly surprised 10 years ago when I first got to hear the whole thing and I've dug it ever since. And there was no "this one grew on me over the years"- no, I liked it the first time I heard it. A vinyl copy with a stain on the sleeve fetched $200 this February on eBay, so I can only imagine what one in mintier shape goes for. If you have a spare copy lying around, hook me up since I had to rip these from my cassette copy (thanks Bruce C for taping it for me way back when).
Rokker Revisited
ROKKER s/t LP (AUSTIN, TX- OWL, 1979)
Joe Stumble helped “rediscover” this LP by posting it on his great Last Days of Man on Earth blog back in April and, man, I have been digging it and listening to it so much that I had to plug it again. I’m not going to repost the whole LP or anything- go here for his post and get ready to rokk. This is one of the most unique sounding records that I’ve heard in a while. Very catchy, very fun punk n’ roll with a great wanna-be harmonizing singing style from the vocalist and sloppy, amateurish playing that sounds great. All with some “Texas twang” underlying it.
Some of you will probably think I’m really stretching here but the Rokker LP brings to mind Over The Edge-era Wipers. Now, of course in no way I am saying that Rokker were as accomplished of musicians as guitar maestro Greg Sage and his tight rhythm section- they were not. But a lot of the Rokker songs follow the same formula of a lot of tunes on the Over The Edge LP- songs are led off by guitar playing, and the repetitive drumming pattern kicks in until a little while later. I posted a track from the Wipers’ LP below so you can see the similarities in song structure... or not. Tell me if you think I'm full of fucking shit.
A weird vibe of a dysfunctional family creeps up throughout several songs on the record. Most notably on "Daddy Whatcha Doin To My Sister" which I heard was referenced by Jello Biafra in one of RE/Search’s Incredibly Strange Music books from the early 90’s. Before I even heard this song for the first time I knew exactly what it was about. Given that, I expected a tense, scary tale about a sexually abusive father like Nomeansno’s “Dad” (see below). What I got instead from Rokker- which is VERY weird- is a catchy as hell song that sounds like they were kind of having FUN playing it. I don’t sense any indication of total outrage at the father who is apparently abusing the 12 year-old sister. Huh?!? And the spoken intro of the song is like no other I’ve ever heard, especially in the creepy way the young lass says it:
"When your father gets too friendly and starts to probe around, you’ll be a better person when you learn to put him down"
Then the music kicks on and, well, it goes from there.
I have three other favorite songs on the LP- the leadoff track, "Rock Fever", sets the fun, catchy, singalong punk n’ roll vibe for the rest of the record. I really dig the somewhat anthemic "Our Time Is Coming"- very hummable, nice bass plucking on that one. The most hilarious and shocking part of the songs is when, out of nowhere, the singer breaks into falsetto near the end. Huh?!? Where the fuck did that come from?! Completely hilarious.
Probably my favorite song on the whole LP is "Who’s A Punk? Your Mother!"- I mean, C’MON, the title alone made me love it before I even heard this two-chord classic. Totally fun, probably the most fun song on the whole record for me. Check out some of the great weird lyrics:
"My Daddy pushes pencils and my Momma drives a pickup" (at least that’s what it sounds to me like the singer’s warbling about...)
"Momma kicked me out cuz I played my disco music"- Usually people got kicked out of their parents’ house for listening to loud stuff like punk, but I guess if your Mom's a punker you’d get tossed out of the house too for listening to syrup-y, safe music like disco. Funny. And gotta love the fact that he calls his Mother "Momma" throughout the song. A very Southern thing in many ways.
"Daddy likes my sister so my Momma..." - …did something to him. I can’t really understand what the singer said but here comes more references to the dysfunctional family again- fuck!
"You’ll find her hanging out at Raul's every Thursday... Daddy found out and he beat her with a hammer" - Huh?! Where the fuck did this come from? What was going on with this family? Not only was the father sexually abusive but he beat people with random heavy tools lying around the house. Damn.
I can only imagine that when this LP came out in 1979 it was largely met with either indifference or confusion. I am guessing that they were too rock for punk fans, but on the same hand maybe too punk for rock fans. And the cover art probably totally turned off the punk crowd since it’s this ugly hippie artwork of the band totally boogying, especially the lone female in the band (who is dancing with a corded, hand-held fan for some odd reason- this only adds to the mystique of Rokker again for me). The bass player on the left is wearing a sleeveless, bell-bottomed, one-piece, full-body leotard (one of the WORST of many fashion violations from the '70s). The guitar player has a Texas belt buckle on. Yikes again. And check out the poorly drawn band logo. All printed on a bright yellow background. Genius.
If anyone knows anything else about Rokker or wants to trade a copy of the LP, please get in touch.
Rokker- Rock Fever.mp3 *listen to this one, then compare to the below Wipers track
Wipers- Messenger.mp3 (1983, from “Over The Edge” LP)
Nomeansno- Dad.mp3 (1987, from the great "Sex Mad" LP) *Like I said above, here is how you would think a song about a shitty, abusive Dad would sound
And, once again, here is a link to Last Days of Man of Earth's posting of the Rokker LP
Welcome To My New Host!
Alright kids, I have taken the plunge and gotten a new host for my site so no more Blogspot to deal with. I have lots of storage room and bandwidth with this new host so all previous "issues" should now be resolved once and for all, dammit! Thanks for your patience friends and neighbors. And enjoy the music! I am in the process of moving all my previous Blogspot content over here so it should take only a few more days before all mp3 links in my old posts are up and working properly.
The Five
FIVE "NAPALM BEACH/EXCITE ME" 7" (PITTSBURGH, PA- OWN LABEL, 1981)
The great Last Days of Man on Earth blog recently posted the other Five 7”, the “Act of Contrition” EP. I had first heard of the Five back in November of 1995 when “Death Chord”, from that EP, closed out the “Bloodstains Across The Midwest” LP I had just bought (from the sadly-missed Dummyroom record store here in Chicago, sob). It was a haunting kind of psych-punk tune- great! And cool sleeve! I want to hear the whole EP! A few months later I found a copy of the Five’s LP from 1987 (also at the Dummyroom)- um, not bad but not like “Death Chord”. And then time passed- I did not hear the rest of the “Act of Contrition” 3-songer until LDOMOE posted it a few weeks ago. So, in total, I waited nearly 12 years to hear the other two songs on the EP. Maybe you see this coming but I was disappointed. The EP, aside from “Death Chord”, did not do much for me. Oh well, not the first time that happened (although I have to say that I’ve never had to wait THAT many years to hear the rest of an EP).
BUT for my ears there is one other really good Five song- better than “Death Chord”- and that is “Napalm Beach”. Good old B.C. (my source of many KBD rarities in the mid-to-late 90’s) taped this for me 10 years ago, and I still do not own a vinyl copy of this record (good luck finding one for less than $200 or $300). But I think I did a pretty good job transferring this from cassette to mp3. The Five get the haunting feeling down very well on this tune, from beginning to end- it starts off with just some bass plucking and weird noises going off in the background, then the drums and guitar kick in nicely. They build up this incredible tension with the desperate sounding vocals and drum pounding and right when the song hits it peak of tension during each chorus, it then instantly drops off into this great sharp, jabbing guitar noise- awesome! I can’t really make out much of the lyrics but I sense a reference to the classic “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” scene from the almighty movie Apocalypse Now, which came out just a few years before in 1979.
Sorry completists, but I am not posting the flipside, “Excite Me”, because it’s BAD (as in it sucks)- a throwaway ballad-type of wank job that does absolutely nothing for me. Yuck.
The great Last Days of Man on Earth blog recently posted the other Five 7”, the “Act of Contrition” EP. I had first heard of the Five back in November of 1995 when “Death Chord”, from that EP, closed out the “Bloodstains Across The Midwest” LP I had just bought (from the sadly-missed Dummyroom record store here in Chicago, sob). It was a haunting kind of psych-punk tune- great! And cool sleeve! I want to hear the whole EP! A few months later I found a copy of the Five’s LP from 1987 (also at the Dummyroom)- um, not bad but not like “Death Chord”. And then time passed- I did not hear the rest of the “Act of Contrition” 3-songer until LDOMOE posted it a few weeks ago. So, in total, I waited nearly 12 years to hear the other two songs on the EP. Maybe you see this coming but I was disappointed. The EP, aside from “Death Chord”, did not do much for me. Oh well, not the first time that happened (although I have to say that I’ve never had to wait THAT many years to hear the rest of an EP).
BUT for my ears there is one other really good Five song- better than “Death Chord”- and that is “Napalm Beach”. Good old B.C. (my source of many KBD rarities in the mid-to-late 90’s) taped this for me 10 years ago, and I still do not own a vinyl copy of this record (good luck finding one for less than $200 or $300). But I think I did a pretty good job transferring this from cassette to mp3. The Five get the haunting feeling down very well on this tune, from beginning to end- it starts off with just some bass plucking and weird noises going off in the background, then the drums and guitar kick in nicely. They build up this incredible tension with the desperate sounding vocals and drum pounding and right when the song hits it peak of tension during each chorus, it then instantly drops off into this great sharp, jabbing guitar noise- awesome! I can’t really make out much of the lyrics but I sense a reference to the classic “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” scene from the almighty movie Apocalypse Now, which came out just a few years before in 1979.
Sorry completists, but I am not posting the flipside, “Excite Me”, because it’s BAD (as in it sucks)- a throwaway ballad-type of wank job that does absolutely nothing for me. Yuck.
Platinum Blonde
PLATINUM BLONDE “HEY HEY YOU / NO REGRETS” 7" (TORONTO, CANADA- OWN LABEL, 1980)
If you remember Platinum Blonde from the 80’s, you may be asking “What the fuck are they doing here?!?” They evolved into this horrible band that got really big in Canada in the 80’s and had all the trappings of that sad era-- hair-sprayed manes of hair, embarrassing clothes, etc (see photo below). BUT this very first record of theirs, released on their own label, is a superb very catchy, kinda poppy record that is wimpy in all the right ways. I don’t enjoy much poppy stuff, but I think both sides of this 7” are wonderful, especially "Hey Hey You"- dig the bass plucking throughout the tune and the cool middle part where the drums pounds away- that's what I'm talkin about! I have been in love with this single since someone (thanks B.C.) first taped it for me about ten years ago.
I doubt that they released it on their own label so they could support any sort of DIY ethic-- I am guessing that this 7” served as Platinum Blonde’s “calling card” to major labels so they could get a big record deal and all that crap. This 7” is rare as hell (and therefore expensive as hell too)- if you have a spare copy that you want to give away, please consider me a worthy recipient. I ripped these mp3’s from my cassette copy, so these will not be “audiophile” quality and may not sound too good on your five grand stereo and/or your $1,000, noise-cancelling headphones. But, as the Screamin’ Mee Mees famously said on the back of their 1st EP, “Play loud on cheap stereo”. (Or “cheap CPU”, to kind of update it for 2007…)
Hey Hey You
No Regrets
Here is Platinum Blonde a few years later in the 80's when they sucked... (well, now that I look again at the cover of the 1st great 7", I guess they didn't look much better then either...)
If you remember Platinum Blonde from the 80’s, you may be asking “What the fuck are they doing here?!?” They evolved into this horrible band that got really big in Canada in the 80’s and had all the trappings of that sad era-- hair-sprayed manes of hair, embarrassing clothes, etc (see photo below). BUT this very first record of theirs, released on their own label, is a superb very catchy, kinda poppy record that is wimpy in all the right ways. I don’t enjoy much poppy stuff, but I think both sides of this 7” are wonderful, especially "Hey Hey You"- dig the bass plucking throughout the tune and the cool middle part where the drums pounds away- that's what I'm talkin about! I have been in love with this single since someone (thanks B.C.) first taped it for me about ten years ago.
I doubt that they released it on their own label so they could support any sort of DIY ethic-- I am guessing that this 7” served as Platinum Blonde’s “calling card” to major labels so they could get a big record deal and all that crap. This 7” is rare as hell (and therefore expensive as hell too)- if you have a spare copy that you want to give away, please consider me a worthy recipient. I ripped these mp3’s from my cassette copy, so these will not be “audiophile” quality and may not sound too good on your five grand stereo and/or your $1,000, noise-cancelling headphones. But, as the Screamin’ Mee Mees famously said on the back of their 1st EP, “Play loud on cheap stereo”. (Or “cheap CPU”, to kind of update it for 2007…)
Hey Hey You
No Regrets
Here is Platinum Blonde a few years later in the 80's when they sucked... (well, now that I look again at the cover of the 1st great 7", I guess they didn't look much better then either...)
Disorder
DISORDER "FAKE HEADS" 6-SONG 7"EP (IJSSELSTEIN, HOLLAND- OWN LABEL, 1981)
Here's another killer record from Holland! If you're lookin' for one of the Disorders from the U.K. you've come to the wrong place, Chachi. Damn, how many good Dutch punk records were there in the KBD years?! Too goddamn many! Ivy Green, Mollesters, Helmettes, Flyin' Spiderz... the list goes on and on and on. Disorder is a somewhat more obscure one that was sadly not included in 1996's great I'm Sure We're Gonna Make It comp CD (booted on vinyl as Killed By Epitaph double LP in '98, natch). This EP was listed in the Dutch punk discography in the Het Gejuich Was Massal book also from '96. This book is full of lots of nice pictures and what appear to be various stories and anecdotes from the old Dutch scene but I can't call the book "great", though, because it's all in Dutch and I can't read a lick of it (aside from the discography).
The Disorder EP is real tense record with especially great sharp guitar noodling, a singer with a cool vocal style and a touch of artiness, especially on "Glass Eye Threat" (my favorite cut). Nice paranoid lyrics add to the tension. As does the picture sleeve artwork for that matter. There's six songs on the EP- I've included the best of the lot, although all the tracks are pretty good except for one semi-clunker which of course is not included here. The above scan looks grainy because I don't have a vinyl copy of the record and I had to "borrow" a picture of the sleeve from the Het Gejuich Was Massal discography. The EP is rare enough, but sleeved copies are apparently extremely rare so if you own one with PS you definitely have a "cumstain across your record collection". Congratulations!
Johnny Concrete
JOHNNY CONCRETE "COME WITH..." 5-SONG 7"EP (DANDELION- DENMARK, 1980)
Denmark had a small but awesome scene in the late 70's and early 80's that left us with great records from the Sods(!), Gatecrashers, Lost Kids and a few others-- and this EP, which is one of my all-time favorites! A great record from start to finish, no filler at all- every song jumps out at me with sharp guitar noise, great drumming and Johnny's great vocals that just drip attitude. He was the singer for the Dream Police, and he is being backed by them on this EP so I am not quite sure why this record did not come out under the band name and is instead a "solo record" for Johnny. In '79 the band Cheap Trick released an LP called "Dream Police" so maybe Johnny and the boys were trying to distance themselves from those guys-- the liner notes on the back of the sleeve hint at this. Earlier and slightly less-powerful versions of a few of these EP songs appear on the fantastic "Paere Punk" comp LP from '79.
Denmark had a small but awesome scene in the late 70's and early 80's that left us with great records from the Sods(!), Gatecrashers, Lost Kids and a few others-- and this EP, which is one of my all-time favorites! A great record from start to finish, no filler at all- every song jumps out at me with sharp guitar noise, great drumming and Johnny's great vocals that just drip attitude. He was the singer for the Dream Police, and he is being backed by them on this EP so I am not quite sure why this record did not come out under the band name and is instead a "solo record" for Johnny. In '79 the band Cheap Trick released an LP called "Dream Police" so maybe Johnny and the boys were trying to distance themselves from those guys-- the liner notes on the back of the sleeve hint at this. Earlier and slightly less-powerful versions of a few of these EP songs appear on the fantastic "Paere Punk" comp LP from '79.
Regarding the song "Johnny Johnny", someone I know theorized that this is an openly gay song since Johnny appears to be serenading another boy. I disagree, though, since to be out and open way back in the late 70's punk scene was not cool... but maybe Denmark had a progressive scene and didn't care about such matters (?). Instead, me thinks Johnny is singing the song from the perspective of a young lass lusting after him. What the fuck do you think? Do you even fucking care? If Johnny thought he was hot, though, I have to disagree because- wow- the mullet n' moustache he was rockin' makes me kinda cringe almost 30 years later (see the back of the picture sleeve). But maybe in 1980 a big mane of hair and a 'stache was the hot look in the DK and caused people to fall at your feet in lust. The Dream Police went on to put out another EP in 1981 or 1982 that I have heard is bad metal. I kind of don't ever want to hear it so my image of the band from this whopper of an EP is not tainted, ya know.
Introductions/Welcome
Fuck! I better get something up here soon since I was linked via the great Last Days of Man of Earth blog and their posting of the wonderful Endtables 7EP.
If you want an introduction, here it is- I am in my mid 30's and have been into punk and hardcore since 1987. The first punk record I bought was the Misfits "Earth A.D." LP from the local Peaches store in Cleveland, Ohio (remember that chain?!? Yikes!) . Hardcore was my bread and butter until the first four volumes of the Killed By Death comps were reissued on colored vinyl in late 1994, and I promptly bought Volumes 1, 2 and 3 from the great Vacuum Mailorder in S.F. ('member them, too? RIP). I had bought a copy of Killed By Death #4 when it originally came out in 1989 but I was so into hardcore that it didn't quite click for me and it didn't become a "top shelf" record of mine until '94. I promptly dug out my old issues of MRR from the late 80's and early 90's that had the great "Scumpit" record collector articles and combed through them for tips and recommendations of obscurities to check out. I commenced tape trading as in cassette tapes, Chachi (also known in Latin and archaeologists as cassettus tapus)-- this was when them new-fangled CD burners were still $1,000 and nobody used em yet. I began accumulating mass amounts of old KBD stuff on tape, thanks especially to Jim, Jason and Bruce. By this point I had lived in Chicago, and local store Reckless Records was very ripe with KBD stuff so I grabbed whatever I could afford (or not afford since they accepted credit cards).
I've been into "Killed By Death"-type stuff from the late 70's and early 80's since then and am always looking to hear great obscurities from that era. Since the great Messthetics comps came out earlier this decade/century/millennium I've more "formally" gotten into DIY-type stuff. I have also picked up a liking for some 60's punk a la Back From The Grave and, to a lesser degree, some obscure (there's that word again- see a pattern?) deep funk from the 70's. And of course "new" KBD-type bands from the boom of the 90's onward have a special place on the top shelf... which I guess sounds dramatic like I have a swank wet bar in my house with certain records hoisted on high and analyzed like a bottle of good wine and played on a special $10,000 gold plated audiophile turntable. Er, in reality the top shelf is just my white, scratched up 20 gig iPod that has most of my music on it. But my main love over all these other genres is still the raw, sometimes poorly-produced, obscure, limited pressing, passionate, heartfelt KBD punk of yore.
I've been into "Killed By Death"-type stuff from the late 70's and early 80's since then and am always looking to hear great obscurities from that era. Since the great Messthetics comps came out earlier this decade/century/millennium I've more "formally" gotten into DIY-type stuff. I have also picked up a liking for some 60's punk a la Back From The Grave and, to a lesser degree, some obscure (there's that word again- see a pattern?) deep funk from the 70's. And of course "new" KBD-type bands from the boom of the 90's onward have a special place on the top shelf... which I guess sounds dramatic like I have a swank wet bar in my house with certain records hoisted on high and analyzed like a bottle of good wine and played on a special $10,000 gold plated audiophile turntable. Er, in reality the top shelf is just my white, scratched up 20 gig iPod that has most of my music on it. But my main love over all these other genres is still the raw, sometimes poorly-produced, obscure, limited pressing, passionate, heartfelt KBD punk of yore.