Deprogrammer
DEPROGRAMMER s/t LP (LOS ANGELES, CA- MYSTIC RECORDS, 1982)
The inspiration for this posting came after KBD Records posted the 2nd of two Deprogrammer 7"s, the semi-good "Instant Passion" 7".
I saw "semi-good" because I cannot get into the slower, rockier, moodier flipside on that record, "80-81". This points to a bigger fact that, overall, Deprogrammer is a mixed bag for me quality-wise. I have never heard their first record, the very rare "Discipline" 3-song EP, so I cannot vouch for the quality of that one. But for what I have heard I say "mixed bag" 'cuz Deprogrammer leans too much towards the rock part of "punk rock" for me. I cannot call them a "punk n’ roll" band- a style I usually get into- because, to me, that term means that you lean more towards the punk side than the rock side of the fence and I do not think Deprogrammer accomplishes that specific mixture. Not that they strived to in the first place.
Anyway, on this, their only LP (and their last of 3 records), which was released on the (in)famous Mystic Records label, they churn out 3 good songs for my ears. The rest of the tunes plod along and during those, I lose my interest and my mind begins to wander so I am not posting the whole LP. Plus the style of the singer is not really my cup of tea and kind of annoys me after a while, to be honest. The great Texas Punk Discography had me intrigued for the last 10 years since someone on that site called the LP "great guitarpunk chugs, nicely influenced by the Avengers and Flesheaters". Ummmmm, I guess we all hear different things in records, ya know, cuz the best Avengers or Flesheaters songs I know sound a lot better than what this LP has to offer. But maybe that's just ME.
I will get on a more positive vibe here and tell you why I like the 3 songs that I do on this here record. The leadoff track, "Heroine", is a fine choice to start the record- it's a slow grinder with the 'ol double entendre that is a thinly veiled homage to smack, dope, Lady Junk, whatever you want to call it. With such a lovingly sang ballad were these dudes really junkies or just singing wanna-be "junk rock"? Someone who was around back then post some comments and let me know. The next song I posted, "Denmark", is a catchy ditty that is rather hummable. But my favorite song on the LP is the last one I posted, "No Way", which leads off Side 2. It’s a rather tense affair with some great guitar work, nice punchy drumming and some neat tempo changes, especially at the 1:52 mark- great! "Denmark" has the "punk-friendly" length of 2 minutes- the other two are- gasp!- about 4 minutes long each which is way longer than I usually tolerate but I like em both for some reason.
If you want to hear the whole LP, search eBay- I found my copy on eBay for just under $15 last Fall so it won’t dent your pocketbook too much. I mean, the sleeve on my copy is a little beat up (as you can see in the above photos) but the vinyl was extremely clean. The sleeve is rather thick cardboard and the artwork is just plain and Spartan and kinda blah. The budget-minded vibe continues on the back of the sleeve where the lyrics to all songs are printed so no separate insert had to be pressed up. And the labels are in the "classic" Mystic style- flat-looking black and white with just the band logo and, of course, the Mystic logo we all know and love. Perhaps the plainness of the sleeve caused it to be overlooked by the record buying public and caused it to fade into obscurity. I mean, damn, with a better looking sleeve more people mighta picked this thing up in 1982. There were a lotta records out that year, a lot of which had much cooler sleeves that jumped out at ya.
Like I mentioned before, Deprogrammer was listed in the Texas Punk Discography but they were really Texas folks who transplanted to California- I think the only record they released while based in Texas was their 1st EP from 1980 (which, again, I have yet to hear) on the band’s At Last label. Their 2nd release, the "Instant Passion" 7" from 1981, was on the same label but the address is in Los Angeles. The story is that all band members were- except for San Diegoan and singer Richard Scott (aka Scott Shannon)- from Garland, TX which is just outside of Dallas, home of many great late 70's punk bands. Deprogrammer moved to L.A. after the "big" record deal with Mystic and sometime after the "Instant Passion" 7" they went from a 4 piece to a 5 piece with the addition of rhythm guitarist Jim Littleton. Er, considering that this LP was the band’s last release we can only guess that things did not work out so well with old Doug Moody’s Mystic label. I am curious to know more, so maybe someone from the band will post some comments and tell more firsthand stories of what led to the demise of the band- was frustration? Was it smack? Was it your Mom? Inquiring minds would like to know this (and an estimate of how many copies of the LP were pressed).
SIDE 1
Heroine.mp3
Subject Object
Letting Go
Take Th’ Blame
Nightmares
Denmark.mp3
SIDE 2
No Way.mp3
Forever
Propaganda
Complex
I saw "semi-good" because I cannot get into the slower, rockier, moodier flipside on that record, "80-81". This points to a bigger fact that, overall, Deprogrammer is a mixed bag for me quality-wise. I have never heard their first record, the very rare "Discipline" 3-song EP, so I cannot vouch for the quality of that one. But for what I have heard I say "mixed bag" 'cuz Deprogrammer leans too much towards the rock part of "punk rock" for me. I cannot call them a "punk n’ roll" band- a style I usually get into- because, to me, that term means that you lean more towards the punk side than the rock side of the fence and I do not think Deprogrammer accomplishes that specific mixture. Not that they strived to in the first place.
Anyway, on this, their only LP (and their last of 3 records), which was released on the (in)famous Mystic Records label, they churn out 3 good songs for my ears. The rest of the tunes plod along and during those, I lose my interest and my mind begins to wander so I am not posting the whole LP. Plus the style of the singer is not really my cup of tea and kind of annoys me after a while, to be honest. The great Texas Punk Discography had me intrigued for the last 10 years since someone on that site called the LP "great guitarpunk chugs, nicely influenced by the Avengers and Flesheaters". Ummmmm, I guess we all hear different things in records, ya know, cuz the best Avengers or Flesheaters songs I know sound a lot better than what this LP has to offer. But maybe that's just ME.
I will get on a more positive vibe here and tell you why I like the 3 songs that I do on this here record. The leadoff track, "Heroine", is a fine choice to start the record- it's a slow grinder with the 'ol double entendre that is a thinly veiled homage to smack, dope, Lady Junk, whatever you want to call it. With such a lovingly sang ballad were these dudes really junkies or just singing wanna-be "junk rock"? Someone who was around back then post some comments and let me know. The next song I posted, "Denmark", is a catchy ditty that is rather hummable. But my favorite song on the LP is the last one I posted, "No Way", which leads off Side 2. It’s a rather tense affair with some great guitar work, nice punchy drumming and some neat tempo changes, especially at the 1:52 mark- great! "Denmark" has the "punk-friendly" length of 2 minutes- the other two are- gasp!- about 4 minutes long each which is way longer than I usually tolerate but I like em both for some reason.
If you want to hear the whole LP, search eBay- I found my copy on eBay for just under $15 last Fall so it won’t dent your pocketbook too much. I mean, the sleeve on my copy is a little beat up (as you can see in the above photos) but the vinyl was extremely clean. The sleeve is rather thick cardboard and the artwork is just plain and Spartan and kinda blah. The budget-minded vibe continues on the back of the sleeve where the lyrics to all songs are printed so no separate insert had to be pressed up. And the labels are in the "classic" Mystic style- flat-looking black and white with just the band logo and, of course, the Mystic logo we all know and love. Perhaps the plainness of the sleeve caused it to be overlooked by the record buying public and caused it to fade into obscurity. I mean, damn, with a better looking sleeve more people mighta picked this thing up in 1982. There were a lotta records out that year, a lot of which had much cooler sleeves that jumped out at ya.
Like I mentioned before, Deprogrammer was listed in the Texas Punk Discography but they were really Texas folks who transplanted to California- I think the only record they released while based in Texas was their 1st EP from 1980 (which, again, I have yet to hear) on the band’s At Last label. Their 2nd release, the "Instant Passion" 7" from 1981, was on the same label but the address is in Los Angeles. The story is that all band members were- except for San Diegoan and singer Richard Scott (aka Scott Shannon)- from Garland, TX which is just outside of Dallas, home of many great late 70's punk bands. Deprogrammer moved to L.A. after the "big" record deal with Mystic and sometime after the "Instant Passion" 7" they went from a 4 piece to a 5 piece with the addition of rhythm guitarist Jim Littleton. Er, considering that this LP was the band’s last release we can only guess that things did not work out so well with old Doug Moody’s Mystic label. I am curious to know more, so maybe someone from the band will post some comments and tell more firsthand stories of what led to the demise of the band- was frustration? Was it smack? Was it your Mom? Inquiring minds would like to know this (and an estimate of how many copies of the LP were pressed).
SIDE 1
Heroine.mp3
Subject Object
Letting Go
Take Th’ Blame
Nightmares
Denmark.mp3
SIDE 2
No Way.mp3
Forever
Propaganda
Complex
DEPROGRAMMER ..THE TRUTH.I'AM PHILIP RIBIERRE DRUMMER SONGWRITER FOR DEPROGRAMMER 80-83. TRUTH THE 1st SINGLE DISCIPLINE/DAMNATION WAS RECORDED IN HOLLYWOOD RELEASED ON AT LAST RECORDS. TRUTH WE WHERE PLAYING SHOWS WITH BLACK FLAG,SOCIAL DISTORTION,DKs,ect.TRUTH THE LINE UP WAS JEFF PORTER BASS from LA RICHARD SCOTT SHANNON VOCALS/GUITAR from SAN DIEGO PHILIP PRINCE LEAD GUITAR AND MYSELF BOTH LIVING IN HOLLYWOOD FOR TWO YRS. I WAS BORN IN FRANCE LIVING IN ENGLAND AT PRESENT.TRUTH DURING THE S.WESTSUMMER TOUR OF 81 WE REPLACED JEFF FOR PAUL ORR from DALLAS.TRUTH WE RECORDED THE 2nd SINGLE IN DALLAS WHILE ON TOUR AND RELEASED IT IN LA. AFTER GETTING A DISTRIBUTION DEAL WITH BOMP! RECORDS.THE SCENE IN LA. WAS SPLINTERING A HYBRID PUNK/GOTH SOUND WAS STARTING. WE WHERE CHANGING DOING SHOWS WITH GUN CLUB, TSOL, WALL OF VOODOO,45 GRAVE ect> ALSO SHOWS WITH POP/ NEW WAVE ACTS LIKE BERLIN,GARY MYRICK & THE FIGURES.OUR NEW MATERIAL WAS LESS HARD CORE,EVEN THOUGH WE STILL DID SHOWS PLAYING OUR OLDER SONGS WE ADDED JIM LITTLETON AND ARE SOUND EVOLVED. WE DID A WINTER TOUR IN81/82 SAN FRANCISCO TO NEW ORLEANS WITH 17 DATES IN BETWEEN. IN THE LATE SUMMER OF 82 WE WENT BACK INTO THE STUDIO AT CITY RECORDERS IN HOLLYWOOD TO BEGIN WHAT WOULD BECOME OUR FIRST LP.. AFTER RECORDING THE A-SIDE A DEAL WAS STRUCK WITH MYSTIC RECORDS WE WHERE SIGNED AND WENT TO MYSTIC SOUND TO FINISH WHAT IS THE B-SIDE.SCOTT AND I SPLIT THE LYRICS 50/50 ON THE LP. THE MUSIC EXCEPT DENMARK AND FOREVER that are mine ARE GROUP COMPOSITIONS. WE WENT ON THE ROAD IN THE FALL TO PROMOTE THE LP.DOING SHOWS WITH MISSING PERSONS, THE BIG BOYS,THE MISFITS JUST TO NAME A FEW.TRUTH THE LP. WAS RUSHED INTO PRODUCTION THE MASTERING WAS CRAP TOO MUCH COMPRESSION ON EVERYTHING ANYONE WHO SAW DEPROGRAMMER LIVE THOUGHT THE RECORD SOUNDED LIKE ANOTHER BAND .ALL THE EDGE AND POWER WHERE LOST.THE STRESS OF TOURING TOOK ITS TOLE. WE RE-GROUPED IN THE SPRING OF 83 IN SAN DIEGO AT A RANCH IN AN ORANGE ORCHARD.RECORDED THE BASIC TRACKS TO WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN OUR 3rd.SINGLE NOBODY/HOT N COLD PLAYED OUR FINAL 6 SHOWS IN HOLLYWOOD AND BROKE UP FOR MORE REASONS THAN I WANT TO REMEMBER MOSTLY CONTRACTS,MONEY,PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES.PHILIP PRINCE PAUL ORR AND I WOULD GET BACK TOGETHER IN 84 WITH A BAND CALLED SEX N MONEY AFTER 7 SHOWS IT ENDED. TOO MANY MEMORIES OF THE PAST.
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Philip, I am a big fan of Deprogrammer from way back. I never did see the band live but love the singles and LP that I have. I agree that the production on the LP is not up to snuff, and in a perfect world could be remastered. But I am curious about the third single or any other tracks not released... is there any way a real fan can hear those songs?
Thanks!
Danny
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Just came across your fine blog. I have the vinyl of this and really love the whole thing. While I can't argue with your personal likes/dislikes, I must say that not offering the entire album up for download, you are doing a disservice to the numbskulls like me who would really like all of it in digital form. Therefore, I humbly request you reconsider and re-post the whole album. Thanks.
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I'll kick Richard Scott's punk ass if I ever see him.
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Found this doing a search on the band. It is from CREEM magazine from June 1981 and was written by Chris Stein (from BLONDIE) about things he experienced in Los Angeles:
One day Orson Welles is in another room recording his voice for something (wildfire wine). Perry Como is recording his Christmas In Israel special with what sounds like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir when some kid backs up about 200 feet into the parking lot across the way from the building and then floors it driving right smack into the wall of the studio making a big hole, a mess, and pretty much totalling what turns out to be his girlfriend's Audi. So the kid's name is Jeffrey, his girlfriend's name is Suzy. They have a fight on the way to get blood tests for their marriage license so Jeffrey got pissed and the rest is history. That's the official excuse anyway - we wonder 'cause it happens Suzy and Jeffrey are in a black leather rock band called Deprogrammer and Jeff happens to have copies of his new single "Slammed In The Door" in the back seat of the former Audi. Luckily no one is hurt at all and the police are merciful and don't drag Jeffrey off to the slammer. That's what the song is about.
That's pretty much it.
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Greg,
Thanks for sharing this and leaving a comment- I would have never found this Deprogrammer-related info otherwise!
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