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!
The music posted on this site is for educational purposes only. If you were in one of the old bands fanboy'd here and want your music removed, let me know and I will do so.
Spring Housecleaning, Part 1: Blogroll Updated
Next up on my Spring housecleaning is to update my Want List by adding some new discs to it. Over the past year I have had lots of help in obtaining a lot of old items off of it, so a big thanks again to everyone who has helped with that!
Also, I have obtained either better audio files or nicer sleeve scans for some of my old postings so that's in the works too, time permitting.
And of course I need to get some new postings up here too and that will happen soon but, as usual, don't expect new postings every other day ya hear. That just ain't my style...
Identity Crisis
CHICAGO AREA SERIES, PART 2
Singer John Ross drew this moody, DIY-art cover. That guy looks
really forelorn.
Guitarist Kim Thayil (recognize that name?!) did the back cover.
Check out the paragraph with the band message about how they feel.
Here is a record with several parallels with my previous posting of the 3rd Epicycle EP. First, a few obvious similarities- both are on the same label; both came out in 1980; both bands were from suburbs outside Chicago; and both have three songs. After digging around the information superhighway, I found out that the band members were of high school age, also like Epicycle who were youngins when their records came out too. The other coincidental similarity I find is that both EP's have one good song; one boring, sappy song; and one "punked out" tune.
On the Identity Crisis EP that song would of course be Born To Be A Bozo which is less than :30 seconds long and is over before you know it. A piss take to fill up some space on the record, I think. This song was included on the wonderful 2001 comp No One Left To Blame but I am kind of confused why 'cuz it’s so short and its teen punk vibe doesn't stand as tall against some of the powerful cuts on that comp like Strychnine's Jack The Ripper. Maybe said comper(s) just wanted to show off that they had the record or somethin (?), because in 2001 not many people knew of or remembered Identity Crisis. I did not really know of them until their comp appearance and I wonder if, due to the boring looking black and white cover, I passed it over during my heyday of finding KBD-ish records for $2 or $3 in the mid 90's. Perhaps...
Nowadays, thanks to their comp appearance, most people know the band because the guitar player was none other than Kim Thayil, who went on to fame and fortune as the noodler (and hair farmer extraordinaire) for Soundgarden. Also of note- and related- is that the band's bass player was John Pavitt, brother of Bruce Pavitt who did Sub Pop zine that started at the tail end of the 70's and of course became Sub Pop the label by the mid 80's. Hmmm, wonder how Soundgarden ended up doing their first few records on there...
This is not a favorite record of mine or somethin but I haven't seen it posted elsewhere, plus I was kind of thinking about the band after posting the 3rd Epicycle EP, so here it is. Pretty Feet has some strong pounding drumming that catches your attention, and some good guitar strumming too. But the somewhat nasally, teen punk singing style of John Ross is not really my thing. Especially on the second track which kind of meanders along musically while the singer tries to croon out a ballad or somethin. Yawn. But the last track saves the record as we all know.
Pretty Feet.mp3
Overtime.mp3
Born To Be A Bozo.mp3
ENDNOTES
Music aside, something of note for me in Identity Crisis is that they had a black member in drummer Joe Zake and for years I have always been interested in hearing punk-ish bands with black members. I could go into an essay-length rant so more on that at another time. The completely awesome print ‘zine Roctober- which I have read for years and am still excited to see a new issue of each time it comes out!- ran an article back in 2002 called "Black Punk Time" which set out to document all members of punk/new wave bands since the late 70's who were black. Of course the article was right up my alley and fed into my trainspotter / history buff side. The original article continued to evolve and the online version has had various updates / clarifications added over the years (including by me). Many KBD-ish bands and HC bands with black members are mentioned like the Haskels, Controllers, Cult Heroes, Pure Hell, Dead Kennedys, YDI, Major Conflict, etc. But the article purposely casts a broad net to include "new wave" and more mainstream stuff like Haircut 100(!?), Bus Boys (and even mentions The Village People's cartoonish, fake punk song Food Fight! Nice!). A great read, and Identity Crisis are even mentioned in Part 2 of the online article.
Identity Crisis was from the Chicago 'burb Park Forest which is about 30 miles due South of the city limits (and is so far South that it's only about 10 miles West of the Indiana border). I consider it one of them far-out 'burbs from where I live and I never really make it out that way. Park Forest is an example of how Chicago burbs LOVE to include "Park" in their names- you've got Park Forest, Forest Park, Park Ridge, Franklin Park, Oak Park, Orland Park, Highland Park, and on and on. The area burbs also are very fond of including "Forest" in their name, which adds some dramatic nature-related imagery that doesn't always pan out in reality, but that's another topic. And it gets confusing sometimes if you're not familiar with these parts- case in point: Park Forest is a far Southern suburb while Forest Park is a Western suburb and on an opposite grid about 40 miles away from Park Forest. LOL!
Epicycle
CHICAGO-AREA SERIES, PART 1
There are some Chicago-area records, mostly made by bands from the 'burbs, that I have a honkering to put up here after another viewing of the great You Weren’t There documentary so this is first in a series of upcoming posts.
Dig that homemade, spray-painted banner for the band in the background
of the sleeve. Is that a torn-up bedsheet or somethin? And what
exactly is the guitar playing trying to untangle from his instrument?
Christmas lights?
Bits and pieces of this 3-songer have been posted here and there but never the entire EP so, because I am such a charitable person, here is the entire record. Of course KBD fans all know Epicycle since You're Not Gonna Get It was included on 1995’s astounding KBD #9 comp LP. But most fans of the raw and over-the-top stuff- including me- were probably disappointed when we heard all of their early records in their entirety 'cuz You’re Not Gonna Get It was definitely their punkest song and nothing else they did even came close in terms of punkitude. If you are a powerpop fan, then you will enjoy all three of the original 7"s and the one LP they released during their first incarnation between 1979 and 1981. [I came across a later incarnation of the band in 1998 when I saw a flyer with the band looking like big time paisley hippies on it but that's another story. I dug that thing out of the basement and scanned it in- see below]. But anyway, I am kind of wondering how they decided to veer off the pop course for this one punked-out moment. I mean, don't get me wrong, You're Not Gonna Get It is NOT an over-the-top, frothing mad track. But is very solid and driving, highlighted by rapid-fire, machine gun drumming, non-stop guitar strumming and catchy lyrics. They even get it right with a quick "in and out" guitar solo that doesn't overstay its welcome at all. And there's some dramatic breaking glass right at the end of the song to show you how punk they were, LOL. The last tune, Hardcore Punk, is also pretty good and is kinda punk in the same vein as You're Not Gonna Get It with more solid drumming work. I kind of gnash my teeth at the leadoff track, "Colleen", though- I think it's a sappy, wimpy ballad that has even some annoying piano playing in it. Just play "You're Not Gonna Get It” over and over, though, and you'll be good to go.
Colleen.mp3
Youre Not Gonna Get It.mp3
Hardcore Punk.mp3
ENDNOTES
This EP, their third record, has become their most sought-after. I'd run across copies of the first two, earlier 7"s at shops here in Chicago during the mid-to-late 90's (including some that only cost me $4 each, natch). The 1981 LP had cool packaging, complete with a comic book insert, a thick cardboard sleeve and a nice printed inner sleeve, but the powerpop in its grooves did nothing for me and I sold away my copy some years ago.
Epicycle were from the wealthy, "old money" suburb of Winnetka which is only about 20 miles North of Chicago but worlds away. Residents include very successful professionals like financial executives, prominent lawyers and others with big incomes. During the peak years of the band, Epicycle were students at the elite New Trier High School that's in that ‘burb. But- according to this article- were NOT yer typical Winnetka rich kids and their family had to work hard to keep living there. To give you a general sense of the general wealth in the North Shore of Chicago, though, Winnetka and some surrounging burgs like Hubbard Woods, are some of the highest income neighborhoods in America. Everyone kind of got to know how Winnetka looks after a home there was the centerpiece in the 1990 movie Home Alone.
Go South of Winnetka a little and you have the less wealthy (and more liberal) suburb of Evanston, home of Northwestern University, the orginal home base for the Effigies (!) and others. The sorely-missed and short-lived Raw Records store used to be in Evanston between 1999 and 2000, as were a few other record shops. Go a little farther North of Winnetka and you have Highland Park, not the most "elite" suburb, but former home of Michael Jordan. Go North of there and the wealth picks up more when you hit another big-time old money suburb, Lake Forest, which rivals the Winnetka area for opulence. If you ever want to get a flavor of the North Shore, get on the Union Pacific North line of the Metra commuter train downtown and it'll take you through the whole area, all the way up to the outlet malls just across the Illinois border in Kenosha, Wisconsin. But that area's kind of another story too...
Here's that flyer for a June 1998 Epicycle show at an old Border's Book Store in Chicago- yikes!
The paisley shirt/pant combo (pajamas?!) threw me off but the bubble blowing and balloons in the background made me gasp in horror when I spotted this thing all those years ago...
Scarecrows
This record came without a picture sleeve, but a kind man shared this scan of his unique
picture sleeve with me (thanks again!). His copy has a white label attached to the inner
sleeve, handwritten with band member D.E. McKenzie's name, contact address and phone number
on it. Mr. McKenzie is given songwriting and copywriting credit on the labels so I assume
he was the lead singer too. Amateur detectives: don't go writin' to this address of 5005
Richmond in Houston lookin' for spare stock copies of the disc, though! 'Cuz a search of
Google Maps that I did shows that that address is now a Chick-Fil-A restaurant - LOL! [As
a sidenote, the first Chicago-area Chick-Fil-A location opened here last Summer and I do have
to say that, for fast food, they do make a damn tasty chicken sandwich. The place is usually packed but the lines do move fast]. Also, don't call the (713) 623-6635 number listed on this sleeve neither, unless you're lookin' to book an appointment at Miles of Smiles Dentistry,
which is less than a mile from the Richmond address, on Sage Road- double LOL!!
Here is an interesting, unique "out of the box" EP from Texas, the state has been spawning interesting, unique records for years. I can't say "decades" because all those awe-inspiring 60's garage punk records from Texas (Green Fuz, Bad Girl, 1523 Blair et al et al) were churned out almost 50 years ago so I guess "a half century" would be more fitting when describing Texas' unique contributions to rock n' roll. And that's not even counting the 50's. And where do we even start when talking about all the memorable Texas records from the late 70's and early 80s?!
I had never heard of the Scarecrows until 2005 when the third track on this EP, Joe's Problem, was included on the last-great-vinyl-comp-before-blogs-took-over, 2005's Staring Down The Barrel LP. Thanks to said compilers of that record for piquing my curiosity in this band (and many other then-unknowns for that matter). This EP is rather rare- I have no idea on pressing size but the handful of copies that have sold have gone for between $222 and $385 in the past year and a half. And thanks again to The Nooch for hooking me up with this entire EP last Summer!
Now if having rock in your punk is not your thing then I don't know if you’re going to dig the Scarecrows EP. 'Cuz most of it is not by-the-numbers, KBD-ish punk. 'Specially that second track, the instrumental song that I think the record could have down without. But I think 3 out of the 4 songs on the EP are great, unique ditties. They might not be cookie-cutter punk and the band plays at a slower, mid-tempo-ish pace instead of the full-throttle pace we all pound our fists for but the songs have a sense of depression and desperation that is definitely punk. And the amateur playing definitely shares a kinship with punk bands too.
The
most memorable thing about the Scarecrows EP for me is the lead
singer's voice and the lyrics- I usually dig singers with a thick Texas
twang/drawl and this one's got it in spades. And he really sets a dreary mood, me thinks. The leadoff track, (I Don't Wanna Be No) Dust In The Corner, sets the tone for the rest of the record. It's
a great one about not wanting to be like everyone else, which must have
been kind of hard in Texas, Houston no less which was a corporate,
conformist, jock-ish place in the early 80's especially. I love when the singer talks about the radio and says: "What's all that garbage on the radio? They'd like to announce they've got nothing to announce". Very memorable line. And the chorus is rather anthemic too. An even more unique tune is the last one, "Bellboy", which is the only "I hate my hotel job" song in punkdom that I know of. Unique delivery with the lyrics on this one when he pretends to be a demanding hotel patron ordering around the poor bellboy. And
some fine sloppy playing- just check that awesome no-talent guitar
break (solo?!?) at the 1:11 mark that comes out of nowhere and is rather
cringe-inducing. Nice! Make sure you're not
driving when the guitar break comes on or you might lose control of the
steering wheel and get in an accident. I'd love to hear the backstory that inspired this song.
Or ANY back stories related to the Scarecrows- D.E. McKenzie, or any other old members, where are you now in 2012?? Please leave some comments if you're reading this or if you knew or remember the band. Did the band play out much? If so, was it with any Houston-area punk bands? Any flyers or other gig listings exist? Or were The Scarecrows a studio-only project? Or maybe even a one-man-band type of thing??? I am full of speculations 'cuz I am turning up nothing on the interwebs.
The third track, and the one with the "punkiest guitar" on the record, Joe's Problem, is a great hypnotic tune and the catchiest one on the disc. Great
lyrics and vocals again, and I laugh when they reference Pet Rocks in
the song- middle-aged people like myself totally remember that silly
"toy" that was disturbingly huge for a while (no, I did NOT have one as a
kid). The sloppy musicianship on this tune is awesome,
especially those teeth-gnashing, shit rock-ish guitar breaks, the first
one of which is at the :40 second mark. Yikes. Some awesome stumbling drums (a la Texas compatriots Vast Majority) nicely complement the guitar breaks. Classic.
I Dont Wanna Be No Dust In The Corner.mp3
Too Late Blues.mp3
Joes Problem.mp3
Bellboy.mp3
Media
FEBRUARY 8th UPDATE
Two kind men answered my request and provided me with the 2nd Media 7" (thanks again!)- see the bottom of this posting. Mr. My Life Is A Jigsaw also passed along a scan of the rare version of the Media EP that has "uncorrected" labels- see below again.
The band hailed from an area that's about 70 or 80 miles Southwest
of London. The label name, Tearaway, is kinda ironic- the white picture
sleeve appears to be a tearaway of sorts since most copies I've seen of it
have ringwear and rumpling. White picture sleeves have long been the bane
of collectors who strive for "NM" across the board in their libraries.
I love homemade artwork and here you get it in spades, both on the front
which I think spoofs those cheesy 70's ads with couples in them and 'specially
on the back which is all cool and handwritten.
Posting this record makes me realize that I don't feature many discs from the UK for some reason. But here is a great one. Three of the four songs from this Media EP has been posted in bits and pieces on other sites over the years but never all four so here you go. Thanks to the kind man who hooked me up with a rip of all four tracks this past summer, which I know see as my summer of acquisition since I was lucky enough to get a lot of discs checked off of my want list.
This Media EP has grown on me over the years and is great combination of melody and power and, most importantly, ENERGY. That is a tough fence to ride many times, as I've found too many bands trying to combine these things end up being too melodic for my tastes. All 4 songs on this EP are catchy as hell and there are no clunkers for my ears. Every song has that singalong quality to it, the kind where you throw your arms around your friend's shoulders and yell some of the lyrics out loud. Even the second track that starts off scaring me that it might be a- yikes!- white boy reggae track with that initial guitar strumming that I hear. But even though it's my least favorite track on the record, I think they still pull it off OK 'cuz their energy level is SO HIGH.
My two favorite tracks are the first one, "TV Kids", and the third one, "Getting High". They just nail it on these two songs and everything just gels perfectly with this four piece outfit- enthusiastic drumming, great vocals and some good bass playing, especially some nice chunky plucking on "TV Kids". And some awesome guitar noise- I am a big fan of "chugga chugga" playing and there's plenty of that during "Getting High". As well as some high-pitched noise that grabs you right at the beginning of it. And let's not forget about the last track, "Rose n Crown", which is slower paced but still very catchy especially when the guitar kicks in at various parts. And it makes good use of some whistling even. Lyrically, this song is the most sophisticated on the EP and I assume refers to the 1974 bombing of the Rose & Crown bar in Belfast in which six people died.
Media released a single a year later, in 1980, the "South Coast Rockers / Back on The Beach Again" 7" on the Brain Boosters label (great name!).
TV Kids.mp3
Dont Sit Back.mp3
Getting High.mp3
Rose n Crown.mp3
COLLECTOR SCUM DISCUSSION PARAGRAPH ALERT: There appears to be some dispute over how many copies were pressed- the GREAT Media page on the great Bored Teenagers site ( that has info from former bass player Michael Wichello, by the way) says 500 copies while the equally great Low Down Kids site says 1,500 copies released in July of 1979. However many copies were pressed, I'll probably never own a copy since they have sold for upwards of $100 on eBay and I don't like spending that much on records. The other noteworthy stamp collector stat is that the third track (aka Side 2, Track 1) is sometimes referred to as "Getting High (Just For You)"- this is because "Just For You" was originally written on the labels but this was apparently a mistake so most (read: not all) copies have "Just For You" crossed off with a line. If your copy has no cross-out line then Cumstains Over Your Record Collection, mate!
The labels with "Just For You" crossed out
2.8 UPDATE: Thanks to Mr. My Life Is A Jigsaw, here are the
labels WITHOUT the crossout line
Which, to segue, was the name of the 1998 comp that "re-discovered" Media when it included "TV Kids"- "Getting High" was comped later in 1998 on Bloodstains Across The UK #3 which is where I first heard Media since, for some reason, I skipped buying a copy of "Cumstains..." earlier in the year. I bought so many comps back then I guess I was trying to prioritize, if you will, but I think my priorities were wrong since Cumstains had a very cool silkscreened sleeve and was a good un. Oh well, can't win em all. Like the old store Final Vinyl in NYC used to say:
"You will...
Never know everything
Never hear everything
Never own everything
Never remember everything"
-----------------------------------------------------
2.8.2012 UPDATE
MEDIA "SOUTH COAST CITY ROCKERS / BACK ON THE BEACH AGAIN" 7"
(BRAIN BOOSTERS, 1980)
South Coast City Rockers.mp3
Back On The Beach Again.mp3
Ask and you shall receive! Thanks again to the two great blog commenters who provided this 2nd Media 7" and all related scans of the sleeve and labels. This follow up to their stupendous EP came out a year later, in 1980. Um, it's much better than I was expecting it to be. I think the A-side has a great catchy bass line but it has a definite Mod vibe, especially with the guitar strumming (I added that "but" in the above sentence because I am not that much into Mod). The only thing that I really didn't like in the A-side is the weird electric piano solo in the middle (am I calling that right? It doesn't sound like an organ to me).
The B-side, "Back On The Beach Again", is my favorite of the two tracks. It's got a much punkier vibe and even has some nice "chugga chugga" guitar parts in it, which is always a plus for me. The guitar in general on this tune is much louder and pronounced and had me reaching for the volume button to crank it up. Much closer to something that would have been on their first EP. The only part of the song that confused me is the weird slower break in the middle that has some Mod strumming. It seems a bit out of the place since the rest of the song has louder, meatier guitar playing. But the Mod part in the middle is short and things pick up again after that interlude. And the song is over by the 2:42 mark, just a tad over the "no songs over 2:36 rule" that a wise man came up with about 6(!) years ago on his blog. And the A-side is not oppressively long either- only 3:22!
Smart Alex
This record is further proof that something was in the water (or the
big snowbanks) in late 70's and early 80's Minnesota, 'cuz that area
churned out some awesome and memorable stuff that has definitely stood
the test of time 30+ years later- go Midwest! And go ahead with those
plaid, polyester Caddyshack-ish golf pants with white shore on the cover
of your single!
It has been far too long between postings but the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's were extremely busy both on the home front and work front. Being busy on the home front was fine since my kids had a blast at Christmas so all that hard work to bring it all together was totally worth it.
New Year, and I determined to get more postings up here in a shorter amount of time! I have a long queue of postings so I am not hurting for ideas of stuff to post- that's not the problem! The issue is that I'm a research nut so that's where the disconnect/log jam happens with postings since I want to make each post a novel-length dissection of each record. So fuck all that sometimes 'cuz it slows shit down! Plus, who reads my long postings anyways?! Most people probably want to get to the point and hear the music without all of my chitter chat.
Speaking of chitter chat, I have been addicted to the Smart Alex's amazing song "Chitter Chat" since blog commenter Nesho hooked me up with rips of it last Summer (thanks again!). The guitar hooks in it are totally addictive and are so perfect. The band fucking nailed it on this song, and I can listen to this tune over and over and not tire of it. I guess it kinda sorta qualifies as a power pop song but that's more than just that going on here. A review on Collector Scum said: "Great stuff that blurs power pop and art pop and poppy punk". However you want to categorize it, it's great and it's very sad to me that it is still so obscure instead of being a household classic that everyone knows. Some other more well-known songs are much less deserving, me thinks. Since I gravitate towards raw, frothing, over-the-top stuff I am usually not much into stuff in the poppy realm (maybe I am mellowing out in middle age?) so the song ALMOST loses me during the "Oooooo" parts in the chorus BUT the hooky guitar kicks in afterwards and draws me back in. Great lyrics with a leisurely theme that you can singalong to as well. The B-side is more straight ahead pop and I am not that much into it but it is not unlistenable or anything. If you're a powerpop fan you'll probably dig it.
I have learned a lot about the history of the band, which apparently existed between 1977 and 1981, and the backstory of the record (done in one take!) thanks to the great posting I found from last April on the Go Johnny Go site. Read the whole thing, and dig the streams of unreleased demos and photos of rare flyers and photos that they have posted as well!
Chitter Chat.mp3
Tonight.mp3
P.S. However obscure this disc is to most poeple, please don't think that it goes for an obscure price. A search of Popsike shows that copies have gone for hundreds, including one copy in July 2007 for $763 (!). Ouch!
X-Patriots
X-PATRIOTS "HARDCORE / MYTH OF YOUTH" ACETATE (NEW JERSEY? 1982)
Here is a picture from the November 2010 eBay auction for this ultra-rarity,
the winning bid for which was over $400. Thank god someone scribbled something
on these handwritten labels, or we wouldn't have known anything about this one!
Seller: let's talk aesthetics, though- if it were me, I would not have posed
this on top of some ugly gray carpeting.
Hearing an unknown KBD-ish obscurity in 2011 is a rare occurrence but here is one. A rare occurrence because most stones have been overturned when it comes to KBD-ish sounds. KBD collectors were good at "the hunt" long before the whole internet thing took off in the mid-to-late 90's. Between the late 90's and 2005, volumes of info about rare records were available online for discovery and the whole learning process became much faster. But then when music blogs came around 6 years ago- fuggedaboutit!! That hyper-speeded the whole process ten fold: after a few clicks that rare record or unreleased demo you always wanted to hear is yours, virtually.
With the X-Patriots I believe we have a unknown obscurity (at least to those of us who are not "elite collectors" or whatever). I never knew about the existence of this acetate until some kind gentleman surprised me with some mp3's of it 3 months ago. Thanks again! A copy of this acetate was sold in November of 2010 on eBay for the tidy sum of $428. As you can see, the handwritten labels only give the band name, song name and year. Then you have a plain white sleeve with no band member names, nothin. I am guessing the band may be from New Jersey, though, since at the :20 second mark of "Hardcore" I swear I hear the singer say "Driving hard on the Jersey Shore".
Musically, "Hardcore" has strong female vocals and is good driving punk for the most part (and does not refer to the musical type of hardcore, ya hear). I say "for the most part" because there is this long, weird break in the middle where they almost lose their momentum and slow things down a bit too much. But it picks back up again towards the end. And let's not forget that the song possesses the punk-friendly length of 2 minutes. The B-side is another story- I find it too introspective and slow and I get bored listening to it. There's some traces of the dreaded (no pun intended) white boy reggae on it which always makes me grit my teeth in a bad way. [Which is different of course than gritting my teeth in a good way which happens when I when listen to a prime cut like Snails Love Theme or something of that caliber but that's another posting].
Do you know anything about the X-Patriots? Were you in the band? Leave some comments and let me know, thanks.
Hardcore.mp3
Myth of Youth.mp3
Mystery Songs- Please Help!
MYSTERY SONG #1 SOLVED!
NO TREND "TEEN LOVE"
Is Mystery Song #1 by the Crap Detectors? You tell me
About 15 years ago, before the BTX reissue of it came out, someone taped me the then-super rare Crap Detectors Victims of The Media LP. But on that cassette, just before that LP started, was the below unlabeled song and I have never known- or taken the time to figure out- what the heck the name of this song was or who did it. It's a pretty good, post-punky, depressing track with some hypnotic guitar noise. The long tale told during the song climaxes with a car crash. Most of the lyrics lot are voiced-over and are not even sung at all. It's about 6:30 in length, which is well past the attention span of those of us who are used to and prefer songs under 2:36, but it moves along nicely. It could well be a mid-to-late 80's song by the Crap Detectors but I have not taken the time to listen to anything past their first LP from 1980 so I am not familiar with most things they did. It is "Teen Love" by No Trend- thanks for solving this mystery, Bruce!So I thought, why not post it to the blog and see if any of you sleuths out there can tell me who this is and any other details about the song (what record it's from, year, etc). The people who regularly visit the site are an intelligent and well-rounded lot of folks with a deep knowledge of KBD-ish obscurities based on the fact that you all have helped eliminate very rare stuff off of my want list over the years (and especially this past Summer- thanks again!).
Give it a listen, and post a comment and help me out if you can with any info. Thanks in advance.
Mystery Song #1 No Trend- Teen Love
MYSTERY SONG #2
This great comp is the home of Mystery Song #2
While we're on the subject of mystery tracks, in very late 2001 Chuck Warner put out a great CD-R comp called Stragglers #1 that gathered together tracks that were added on to revised editions of his H2D-related comp series (H2D, Homework, Messthetics and Teenline). As a bonus, though, were some tracks NOT on any of his other great alphabetically-arranged volumes from various series. One of these tracks was the Ducky Boys ' supremely thuggy "Mercenary"- blown away was me! It was supposed to be on a planned "Letter D" volume of HypedToDeath (#71, perhaps?) but the big lawsuit happened a year later in 2003 and that kinda put an end to the initital incarnation of Chuck's label. The Stragglers #1 comp also introduced me to Nick Pagan, as "You Are Nothing" was included, and it was another standout track. I digress; to my point- Stragglers had a mystery track from an unlabeled cassette that he unearthed in a trash can at Boston’s legendary Rat club in the early 80's. It's a great catchy, melodic-yet-driving song, and I wonder if 10 years later, now that a large amount of musical knowledge has been shared over the information superhighway, if anyone now knows who the hell it is. Again, any info would be appreciated on this song too- thanks.
Mystery Song2 ("Keep Thinking of You"??) (From Stragglers #1 comp CD-R)
And here's Chuck Warner's original liner notes about this song:
Nick Pagan
If you happen to notice problems with any other old postings, post some comments and let me know.
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MAY 31, 2011
NICK PAGAN "THIS IS NOT A TEST" 4-SONG 7"EP (COLUMBIA, SC- OUTRAGE, 1979)
Here is a very cool record from a state which is kind of a "KBD desert", if you will: South Carolina. Other Southern states like Louisiana and Florida produced many great, well-known records in the KBD era but the states which lie between and around Louisiana and Florida- namely Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and both Carolinas South and North- did not produce a lot of similar ripping sounds. Of course Atlanta had the great Kris Methe and The Mistakes EP and North Carolina had the barnstorming Village Pistols single. But beyond that, I have to refer to the Collector Scum discography to even REMEMBER what other discs came out from those Southern states in the late 70's and early 80's pre-hardcore days. Same for South Carolina- um, beyond the Nick Pagan EP I can only name a few discs, which I only know by name and have never even heard. I know some people in the state's other major city, Charleston, and I have travelled there in the past and I know of no, nadda, not ONE KBD disc from that city at all.
Nick Pagan's hometown of Columbia, South Carolina is a college town, with the most well-known school there being the University of South Carolina. College towns were/are sometimes known for producing great bands with members either being college students or the kids who live in town (aka "the townies"), who loathe condescending college kids and then channel that hate- many times with great result- into their music. Er, not Columbia in the late 70's. Or, maybe there were more great bands, but they never sat foot in the studio and committed their best stuff to vinyl (?). You tell me.
Good thing Nick Pagan DID commit his best stuff to vinyl! This is not a four-song EP with one highlight, all four songs are great! Nick and his backing band Nervous Tension (more on them later) churned out a energetic, out-of-the-box, unique-sounding mix of organ-driven punk that I really like. Nick has a great, kinda gruff singing style and pounds the keys in just the right amount. The organ is not overwhelming and doesn’t drown out the great guitar noodling (as I've found happens with a lot of other organ-infused punk!). Very catchy and very hummable (even whistle-able at times!) ditties- the first track, "Madison Avenue", is the fastest-paced tune and might be my favorite track. "You Are Nothing" is great and I have been digging it ever since it was on the Stragglers #1 comp CD about 10 years ago on the Hyped To Death label (thanks, Chuck Warner, or I may have not have otherwise ever been clued off to Nick Pagan!). Side 2 starts with "I'll Never Tell" which is a nice head-bobber and kinda funky yet still driving. They slow things down a bit for the closer and get a bit more introspective on "This Is Not A Test"- me likes the nice guitar growl and organ interplay. And Nick's voice gets a little gruffer on this track which is a perfect touch. It’s funny, for all these years I have usually never been into punk with organs but on this nifty EP I am all over it.
According to a comment Mr. Pagan left on the Collector Scum site, the EP was "recorded, mixed and mastered in 6 hours with a gospel music engineer that I picked at random from the phone book. I sold them at a record store near the University I attended and a few at shows of The Fanatics (the band I formed with different guys early in 1980.)" This reaffirms again to me that the best records are almost always done in a similar quick "let's get it done!" manner. No multiple recording sessions, no retakes, no overthinking- a few tries in the space of a few hours and it's a wrap! Let's mix it and then get it to the pressing plant!
After this EP, Nick Pagan formed a new band called the Fanatics who, in 1981, released a split EP with- oddly enough- his old backing band, Nervous Tension. I am now dying to hear this record, someone please help me out here! It is quite rare and I can't spare the $100+ this thing has sold for in the past. [As an update Nick Pagan himself provided me some rips of the 3 Fanatics songs from that record (thanks!), as well as another treat, which I will get up here soon. But I still need the Nervous Tension tracks from that split EP.]
Madison Avenue.mp3
You Are Nothing.mp3
I Will Never Tell.mp3
This Is Not A Test.mp3
ENDNOTES
In putting this post together, I found out some interesting info and some funny stuff too. On the funny side, when you throw Nick Pagan into Google, most of the search results are for this self-help named Nick Pagan who believes in- get ready- "Fundamental Insights Into Better Living". LOL! Other Google results are mostly horseshit that have nothing to do with Nick Pagan from South Carolina. But I did come across a MySpace page for the Nick Pagan from South Carolina. According to his MySpace bio, he currently lives in Vienna, Austria and between 1995 and 2002 played in The Changelings, a self-described "ethereal/neo-classical/electronica/ world music quintet". And Discogs has an artist page for Nick Pagan that lists all of his stuff since the early 90’s and has a cute little picture of him.
And there is a YouTube clip with Nick Pagan and The Fanatics circa 1980. The clip originated with local Columbia station Channel 10 doing a news report on the local "New Wave" scene (of course they didn't dare utter the dreaded, scary "P" word when referring to things). A reporter travelled to a club called Von Henmon's and we see Nick on stage with The Fanatics. He totally plays up to the camera crew while pounding away on the keys and looks to be quite a showman. At the :29 mark in the video, the band plays a song called "Dream The Impossible Dream" which, incidentally, is not on the Fanatics / Nervous Tension split EP. Then at the 2:07 mark they play a cover of the theme song from the old 1960's Spider Man cartoon. Maybe not the band's best stuff that night but TV stations usually don't. Um, my favorite part of this video though is the stiff dancing at the :30 second mark- yikes! Then at the :47 second mark we have a Nick Nolte lookalike with the classic late 70’s bushy moustache. Classic!
Johnny's
JOHNNY'S "SPY FOR YOUR LOVE" 3-SONG 7"EP (LOS ANGELES, CA- OWN LABEL, 1979)
Sorry, no image available! I could not find any
archived listings on Popsike either- has a copy
never sold on eBay??
This record totally was unknown to me until about a month ago when a kind gentleman provided some mp3's (thanks again!), and I have listened to it a lot of times since then. Well, at least the first two songs- although kinda raw, the record has an underlying pop structure but I find the last song too poppy. I am usually not a big fan of poppy stuff but the leadoff track, "Spy For Your Love", is so-damn-catchy. It's also rather quirky with the prominent DIY-ish organ playing that has me hooked and has a nice driving pace. While listening to it makes me think of the great Nick Pagan EP in some ways (but let me say I think the Nick Pagan disc is better). The second track, "Happiness Is High Speed", is just that- a less than 2 minute, in-your-face song played at a fast "race-to-the-finish line" pace for the most part- very nice! The song slows down a bit during the semi-wimpy chorus parts but then the chunky bass kicks in and puts it back on the fast track. Nice quick guitar solo too.
I couldn’t find out much about the band (you try Google-ing "Johnny’s"!) but this record is listed in the Collector Scum SoCal discography. And please know that the band name is not a typo- it is a possessive noun and not plural as you would assume. The Johnny's listing on Collector Scum reveals a scan amount about the band- apparently the disc came in a stamped sleeve that, according to reviewer Marty Rips, has a "ridiculous hype message". Anyone have a scan of it so I can see what it looks like and says? Mr. Rips also thinks it is "almost completely a pop record, with only a slight punk edge". My ears hear something different because, while I do think the record is based around pop, it has WAY more of a punk edge especially on a track like "Happiness Is High Speed". To each his own, eh. Collector Scum also briefly mentions that one of the Johnny's went on to form some 80's band called Wire Train. In quickly scanning through sites about Wire Train it looks like that dude was Kevin Hunter. When I dug a little deeper, it turns out that Mr. Turner was, before The Johnny's, in the awesome Snotpuppies whose two tracks on 1993's KBD #13 were highlights to a great comp. Er, by the way, anyone got the complete Snotpuppies demo circa 1978? It's been on my want list on this site for quite a while now.
Spy For Your Love.mp3
Happiness Is High Speed.mp3
Stuck On Her.mp3
