You Better Shut Up and Listen!!

If you talk to anyone who was actually on the Sunset Strip during the brief days of L.A. punk the names that will appear the most are always the Germs, X, the Weirdos, and the Screamers. Unfortunately, one of those bands didn't leave us behind with any classic records.

...And it's a shame, because the Screamers, known for their tall hair styles, may have been the best. They did have one of the most innovative sounds and performance styles of any punk band, regardless of location. Relying on synthesizer and Fender Rhodes rather than guitar and bass the band did not even broach on New Wave/Postpunk/Synth Pop and really had much more in common with the Germs than any artist of those styles. That coupled with Tomata du Plenty and Tommy Gear's drag past in SF and Seattle (where the roots of the band began as the Tupperwears) which heavily shows in the du Plenty's emphasis on performance and costume. The Screamers reflect just how all-inclusive the Los Angeles Punk scene was and, as a result, how it was one of the most important music scenes of the 1970s. To appreciate the Screamers, one must see them:


As you can see, it's pretty incredible - especially those dance moves! The big problem with the L.A. punk scene, was the despite it's proximity to the labels, it was completely ignored by the labels. The Screamers sound, in particular, was believed to not be able to translate well to recording. The music of the proceeding ten years, I believe, proved that entirely wrong. All that is left in that was are these very rough demos which are really not particularly listenable, but are the best we can do. I would just recommend watching them over and over again.

I believe both Gear and du Plenty died of AIDS, but the other two members went on to pretty significant careers. Paul Roessler played keys for the death-rock pseudo-supergroup 45 Grave (with the Germs Don Bolles and future Dream Syndicate guitarist Paul B. Cutler), while drummer K.K. Barrett works as a Production designer and has worked on all of Spike Jonze's films.


The Screamers - Demos 1977-78

More to Seattle Than You Think

I'd been wanting to put up the Fastbacks for a while. They came to mind again last night as I was consulting an old book of mine last night and noticed a top 10 records from the group's leader/songwriter Kurt Bloch that included The Three O'Clock's Sixteen Tambourines - one of the few mentions of that group in the book. Another interesting fact about the Fastbacks, perhaps the one that finally got me to hear them, is that Duff McKagan of Guns 'N' Roses was one of the many to pass through the group's revolving door of drummers.

It is some fast-paced punky pop, perhaps "pop-punk," as maligned as that style has become. Bloch as a great songwriter and really allows the female vocals to shine through, watching his own creation succeed. He rocks out as well and has just as many connections to the world of metal (well beyond the McKagan association) as to indie pop (including producing Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 in his home studio). Most tracks are quite short and very infectious, particularly opener "Under The Old Lightbulb" and "Bill Challenger," but longer tracks like the opener "Believe Me Never" do not get boring either.

This is a prime example of the pre-grunge Seattle music scene, despite it's post-explosion release date, this was one of the bands that really got that city ready for the prolific (though only arguably great) scene that grew in Washington's fertile ground.


The Fastbacks - Zücker (1993)

It's Like Nearly I Puked In My Face!

grunge.

Mundhoney has been a big part of my life since 8th grade. Maybe even earlier as their appearance in the Chris Farley-David Spade vehicle Black Sheep made a pretty big impact on me as far back as 1997. Regardless, they are the best "grunge" band I know of. This album is a whole lot of fun for lovers of any rock 'n' roll. Like Paisley Underground, it needs to be remembered that most music scenes are likened by geography and attitude than sound really, and grunge was no exception. Mudhoney, unlike many of their peers like nirvana or Soundgarden come from the MC5/Stooges side of rock. Their sound relies most on distortion (as seen in the title) and energy than anything else.

Image was also a big part of grunge, whether they liked it or not and Mudhoney, via Sub Pop heads Jonaythan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt was the prototype. The band, consisting of college-euducated middle-class suburban kids was marketed to the famously frantic UK press as rural lumberjacks along with the rest of the label's roster. This, best chronicled in Our Band Could Be Your Life, presented the PNW groups as an oddity to the "sophisticated" European indie scene. When you pick up a legit copy of this the pictures inside will make this even more clear with the sometime shirtless band chugging cheap beer and dogpiling. This strategy in fact worked quite well and had much to do with the rise of grunge in the home country.

Perhaps in assumption that the proto-punk influence was apparent fromt he very beginning (or perhaps the MC5-like image ont he front cover), Mudhoney pays tribute to their more contemporary influences by covering Sonic Youth and Texas hardcore group the Dicks. These songs are pretty great, and as in most cases, Mudhoney outdoes Sonic Youth at their own game. Some of the best original cuts include "Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More," "Need," the epic masterpiece "In 'n' Out of Grace," and closer "Mudride." The band is pretty talented, especially drummer Danny Peters, who briefly was a member of Nirvan during a Mudhoney hiatus, and the guitar dynamic of Mark Arm and Steve Turner is one of the best of the 1980s. This is one to rock out to like you were still fourteen, which is exactly what my friends (particularly former bandmates) I do every time we hear this - especially with some watery domestic in the system. It jsut doesn't get much better than this.


Mudhoney - Superfuzz Bigmuff plus Early Singles (1988)

*It should be noted the early singles are the first half and the EP is second.