Selections from The Punk Vault [The Undead]

The Undead - 9 Toes Later (1982 Stiff Records)

I think at this point everyone on planet earth has heard of The Misfits. I guess you can thank Metallica for that. They became so popular that former band member would sue each other just so they can reform a "new" version of the band and tour and put out records in an effort to milk that cow for every last drop.

But let's set the Wabac machine for 1981 when The Misfits were a real band and not Jerry Only's exploitation machine. They put out a couple of very good 7"s and were playing shows regularly and starting to get known and they were preparing to record an album. The lineup at the time was Glenn Danzig, Arthur Googy, Jerry Only, and Bobby Steele. Bobby was their guitar player and was quite a talented one at that. The problem was that the band never got along and they eventually kicked Bobby out of the band and hired Jerry's brother, Doyle, in his place.

Bobby didn't waste any time upon receiving his walking papers, he was already playing in a band on the side called The Scabs with Natz (who years later would form CopShootCop). They changed the name to The Undead (not taking into account there was a band from San Francisco of the same name) and starting playing gigs around new York City. It didn't take long before they got noticed and released this 7" on Stiff Records (who is most famous for putting out records from The Damned among others). They pressed 2000 of them and then Bobby decided to reissue it on his own label that he started called Post Mortem Records. There was 1000 pressed on his label, and they had thicker covers and a different shade of green on the front.

The band put out a couple more singles, then all three of them were compiled into a mini-LP, titled Never Say Die, on an overseas label. A couple years later a full-length LP was released on a plethora of vinyl colors, titled Act Your Rage. It was a little more polished and a bit more metal/rock than the 70s punk stylings of the 7"s but it still was a solid effort.

A few years ago, there was another full length album released on a Canadian label that had to be one of the shortest runs ever for a band. Bobby got upset with them and terminated his contract with the label. As of this writing, nearly everything is out of print including the CDs that compiled their early material.

The Undead had a pretty solid fan-base but never seemed to capture the audience The Misfits had, or a lot of their peers despite the music being quite good. Over the years, Bobby has blamed this on Glenn Danzig holding him back, club owners screwing him over, labels ripping him off, etc. I can't tell you how many times they were supposed to play in Chicago but never did for one reason or another. There has also been a ton of different lineups of the band throughout the years, including one where it was just Bobby and a drum machine! I don't know how much of Bobby's allegations is true and how much is paranoia, but I do know that the man is responsible for some quality punk rock.

These days Bobby Steele still resides in New Jersey/New York and still has some version of The Undead kicking around the area. There has been a couple of recent 7" releases but since they were on a foreign label and had rather lousy US distribution, I haven't heard them and didn't feel like paying 10 bucks to order them from the label overseas. There is an Undead website as well.

As always if you have any additional information please get in touch.

Click here to hear "A Life of Our Own" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Selections from The Punk Vault [Four Bands That Could Change the World]

Various Artists - Four Bands That Could Change the World (1987 Gasatanka Records)

This here was a collection of four pretty well known punk bands from different parts of the US who were all still very active in the mid to late 1980s. While all the band's respective labels had their stamp on this record, it was Gasatanka (White Flag lead man Bill Bartell's label) who did all the work and actually released it (through their blood pact at the time with Dutch East India.

The compilation featured 7 Seconds (Reno, NV), White Flag (Hollywood, CA), Adrenalin OD (New Jersey) and F (Florida). Most of the songs on here were unreleased at the time, and to this day a good portion of the material found in these grooves is still exclusive to this slab of wax. Each and had half of one side of the record, about 5 songs each.

The record was also licensed to Weird System Records in Germany and they added the band, FOD to the lineup and dubbed it Five Bands that Changed the World. They removed tracks from each of the Four bands to make room for the 5th.

All the bands on this compilation with the exception of AOD are still around today. There is some version of F still playing and they have a website. I emailed them and asked if they had any affiliation to the punk band F and they claim that they do. When I responded and asked for any further information however, my email went unanswered. Some members of AOD are in various bands, 7 Seconds still tours and puts out records and White Flag are a big hit in Spain and overseas and still put out records. All the bands will eventually get their own features here with their own records.

As always, if you have any additional information or were in one of the bands on this record, please get in touch.

Click here to hear "Hanging Up My Youth" by White Flag from the record (right click and "save target as...")

It is a damn shame they broke up

I am listening to the band Mule (the one that was on Touch and Go), having not played their records in quite some time and I had forgotten just how fucking excellent they were. I wish they were still around. I am glad I got to see them a couple times when they were a band, one time was opening for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, who sucked and I promptly left while they were playing. PW Long of Mule did a couple solo things after Mule's demise, but it just wasn't the same, or nearly as good.

I was beginning to think I'd never make it home

We are finally back home, one day later than planned. We were supposed to fly back home last nite but that bitch, Mother Nature, had other plans. There was a huge snow storm, and we were sitting on the plane, on the runway, for well over two hours before they decided that they were closing the airport, canceling all flights, and thus fucking us out of not only going home, but in the wallet as we had to shell out $ to stay at a hotel. It was a royal pain in the ass, and all we wanted to do was go home. I also ended up missing a day of work because of this (I was to return to work today).

We arrived thursday afternoon and my sister had us pick up her car from her work so we could take it and go shopping around Boston/Cambridge. I never drove around there before, I was always driven around by my family on my last few visits. In Boston, they have the shittiest drivers, and roads on earth. They have few signs anywhere telling you what road you are on, they just expect you to somehow know where those twisty roads that go in all directions are supposed to take you or what they are named. Everyone drives like an asshole there and were were cut off constantly and some dipshit even backed into us on a highway on ramp!

To put icing on the shitcake, three of my favorite record stores out there have gone out of business since last xmas! Mars Records, Second Coming Records, and one other store which the name escapes me, are all gone and other businesses now. It was a huge letdown. The two stores that were left had nothing for me.

It was nice to spend some time with my sister, daveinlaw, and his family, don't get me wrong, but the trip seemed a lot longer than it was, not including the extra day we got stuck there. It was really nice to be able to have Lady Combustion come on the trip and be part of the family though.

Look for a new Vault entry tomorrow or so, I have to sit down and write one. My sister had archaic dialup and a virus-infected computer so I was barely able to check my email when I was gone.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday.

Selections from The Punk Vault [Xmas edition]

I figure for xmas I'd change it up for once and not only give you a double entry, but give you a double entry of xmas themed songs!

Fear - Fuck Christmas 7" (1982 Slash Records)

Fear formed in 1977 and a year later put out their first 7" (which I still need a copy of by the way). A few years later they'd finally release an album and this 7" on Slash Records. Fear would insult their audience, they were great at playing the heels and getting a rise out of the crowd, as evidenced by their performance in the movie The Decline of Western Civilization. They also once played on Saturday Night Live which caused quite a ruckus and for years they refused to rerun that episode, though now that punk has become accepted, I notice it will be on every now and then. They got that gig because John Belushi, who was a cast member on the show at the time was a huge Fear fan and somehow conned Lorne Michaels into booking the band as the musical guest. The late Donald Pleasence was the host of that particular episode.

This 7" features two versions of the song, both clean and dirty. It was never issued in a picture sleeve, though many copies had a rubber stamped image on the paper sleeve.

In the mid to late 1980s Fear put out a second album on Enigma titled More Beer though it wasn't nearly as good. Members came and went and eventually the band called it quits. Their retirement wasn't permanent though, well at least not for Lee Ving. On top of a fairly respectable acting career, Lee resurrected the Fear name and enlisted a new crop of youngsters as his backup band and still plays shows from time to time. To the best of my knowledge, it has been years since any original members other than himself played/toured with him as Fear.

Click here to hear "Fuck Christmas" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Saccharine Trust - A Christmas Cry 7" (1981 SST Records)

Saccharine Trust was founded in 1980 by Joe Baiza and Jack Brewer. They put out one really good and original record called Pagan Icons on SST Records. After that, they got way into the avant-garde experimental side of things and started putting out records that bared little resemblance to that first record. The band hung it up in the late 80s for awhile but in 1996 the original co-founders got back together and reformed Saccharine Trust with a couple new members. They are still around in some form and have a website up with tons of information.

This single was some sort of promo-only thing that SST made. The track was also available on the Chunks Compilation on New Alliance Records (later reissued by SST). It was not issued in a picture sleeve.

As always if you have any additional information or were in the above bands, please get in touch.

Click here to hear "A Christmas Cry" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Merry Xmas everyone.

Selections from The Punk Vault [Bad Religion]

For this xmas eve, I thought I'd give everyone a special treat!

Bad Religion - Into The Unknown LP (1983 Epitaph Records)

I think everyone is familiar with Bad Religion, they are still alive and kicking as I type this, and put out an album every couple years and still tour constantly. At one point they were even on a major label for awhile.

But this story is of a once great hardcore band, who after one album, decided that a change was in order. Not wanting to play the simple hardcore tunes that garnered them a good sized fan base even back then, they felt it necessary to add some keyboards and make a prog-rock album.

Yes, you read that right, they put out what can be best described as a prog-rock album. Aside from the vocals sounding similar to their first album, this record bared little resemblance to the Bad Religion who gave us a great 7" and a great first album. The songs were cheesy and often long and it reeked of wanting to be 80s radio hits. I don't know if they were all doing acid or what but it has to stand as one of the worst decisions a band ever made. They'd eventually realize it too as if you may have noticed, not only is this record out of print, but it is seldom ever mentioned by the band, and completely ignored in their retrospective collections.

They pressed around 10,000 of these but shelved a good portion of the pressing when they probably realized what a bad idea it was. Rumor has it that the records were being stored at Bomp's warehouse and someone there decided to slowly keep selling them until they were almost all gone. The thing fetches a hefty sum these days and it is pretty certain that a reissue will never see the light of day ever. Really to curb bootleggers they ought to include it on something but I guess they are so ashamed of it that it isn't even worth it to them.

Every now and then I'll play this record to someone who likes the band these days but never heard of it and their reactions are always shock and disbelief. That alone is reason to always have this record in one's collection.

Click here to hear "It's Only Over When" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Selections from The Punk Vault [The Extremes]

Extremes - 7" EP (1979 Test Tube Records)

People likely have heard of the CA Youth Brigade featuring the 3 Stern Brothers (originally from Canada), but most probably don't know that before Youth Brigade, before Godzilla's and certainly before the BYO, that two of them were in another band.

The Extremes were formed in the late 70s by Mark and Shawn Stern along with two others whose names escape me. They started off as Raw Option but then changed their name to The Extremes. Their sole musical output was this 7" that I'm pretty sure they self-released. After that they called it quits and the Stern brothers would discover hardcore, run their own punk club and start a record label. This single would go overlooked and forgotten ever since while Youth Brigade still play shows and BYO is a fairly successful record label.

As always if your last name is Stern or you were one of the other members of this band, or have any additional information, please get in touch.

Click here to hear "Ephemeral Living" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

New version of MT released

There is anew version of Movable Type out now that fixes some server issues in regards to comments and comment spam. In case you are a user and didn't know, you may want to go and download the update.

Just when I thought I was done

So in my sister's infinite obsessing over what I got her and her husband for xmas, she figured it out, and didn't want it! So now I have to scramble to return it and go get replacement gifts. I have very little time to accomplish this tomorrow as I have to get prepared for the trip East. It is like 10 degrees outside this week, and the lines are going to be insane. Just what I needed.

The upside is now I won't have to check a bag on the plane, so I should get through the airport in half the time it normally takes. This is also the first trip that Lady Combustion and I take together. Provided she can continue to put up with me until next year, we'll probably go visit her family next xmas.

Selections from The Punk Vault [Authorities]

Authorities - Soundtrack for Trouble 7" (1982 Selecta Records)

I first heard this band on one of the best hardcore compilations of all time, We Got Power: Party or Go Home. Nearly every song on that compilation ruled and it started off with this song. I wouldn't even know for years after getting that compilation that they had put out a record as it didn't seem to get very good distribution in the Midwest and its doubtful that they made many of them, especially judging by how often I see it on people's want lists these days.

The Authorities were from Stockton, CA and during their time together they released only one record, this 7" EP. They were also on a few compilations. The band broke up shortly after that. They had recorded some additional material that didn't see the light of day for over a decade when a record collector named Ryan Richardson from Texas would release it on an LP along with the 7" tracks on one of his two record labels. Of course that record too is now out of print so these recordings are once again not easily available to the masses.

As to where they are now, I have no clue. I never saw much information about them throughout the years of reading fanzines, etc. As always if you have any additional information or were a member of the band, please get in touch.

Click here to hear "I Hate Cops" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

future test

This is a test post to see if this future posting/cron job business works. Thor will be proud of me for RTFM and not pestering him about it.

Selections from The Punk Vault [Chuck Wagon]

Chuck Wagon - Rock and Roll Won't Go Away 7" (1979 A&M Records)

Every punk fan has heard of The Dickies and likely own at least one of their albums and/or their multi-colored vinyl 7"s. They were the first Los Angeles punk band to get signed to a major label and they lasted longer than any of the other bands from their time. In fact, they are still at it today with 2 of the original members (Stan Lee and Leonard Graves).

One of the other founding members was keyboardist/saxophonist/guitarist Chuck Wagon (real name Bob Davis). He released this solo record, his only record done outside of The Dickies, while he was still in the band. On the cover it has a sticker stating that "Chuck Wagon is a Dickie" in an effort I'm sure to help sell the single. Musically it was a lot more mellow and more new-wavey than the material The Dickies were known for. The record came on both purple and black vinyl. For completion sake, I actually need a copy on black vinyl if anyone can point me in the direction of anyone selling one.

In 1981, a volatile and unhappy Chuck Wagon shot and killed himself. This shocked the other band members and the band came to a screeching halt for some time afterwords. Later on, Stan and Leonard resurrected the band adding 3 new members and carrying on. They've been at it off and on ever since despite battles with "inner demons" (read: drugs), labels ripping them off, etc. They are currently signed to Fat Wreckchords and have put out a couple records on that label.

As always if you have any additional or are a member of The Dickies, please get in touch.

Click here to hear "Rock and Roll Won't Go Away" from the record (right click and "save target as..."

Selections from The Punk Vault [Bonemen of Barumba]

Bonemen of Barumba - Driving the Bats Through Jerusalem 12" EP (1982 Fever Records)

The Bonemen of Barumba were another great Chicago area band you probably never heard of. They originally were from the suburbs (Lisle or Lombard to be exact) but then relocated to Chicago proper later on. The band was founded by Tom Jonusaitis and Mark Panick, a couple of guys into super8 film, around 1980 or 1981. They put out a self-titled/self released 10" that had four songs on it. Musically they were a gothic punk band. Back then, the umbrella of punk covered a lot more varieties of musical styles than it would later on.

The band even made a float and participated in some Villa Park, IL parade with it. How/why this came to be I have no idea. They also made a video which I never got to see but saw a few stills from it on the web. I'd love to see it if anyone has a copy. This record was their second release and also featured 4 songs. It was released on the Fever Records label who would also co-release a Big Black record as well as some other artist. I guess Fever had high hopes that this band would hit it big but it never happened for them.

Their third and final release was a full-length album titled Icons that was a joint release on Fever/Enigma. The album didn't sell well despite it being a good and diverse record and the band called it quits. I have no idea what happened to the members after that. Years ago I had a friend who worked at a record store that said he would see one of the members around sometimes and that he'd get contact info for me but that never happened. I'd love to know more about them seeing as they are from my area and I seem to be one of their only longtime fans, let alone someone who actually has heard of them.

As always if you have any additional information or you were a member of Bonemen of Barumba, please get in touch.

Click here to hear "Pity it Ain't" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Selections from The Punk Vault [Rik L Rik]

Rik L Rik - Meathouse 7" (1979 Posh Boy Records)

Rik L Rik (real name Richard Brian Elerick) was around in the beginning of the Los Angeles punk scene and was in a band called F-Word. He was mentioned quite a bit in The Germs biography that came out a couple years ago. After F-Word called it quits in late 1978 Rik would leave for San Francisco and join Negative Trend. That band's sole recorded output would be one 7" and a couple tracks on the Tooth and Nail compilation (which will be featured here one of these days).

After he quit Negative Trend, he went solo and put out a this really great 7" on Posh Boy Records, and was also on the Beach Blvd compilation. It was at the recording session for this single that those Negative Trend tracks were recorded for the Tooth and Nail compilation and were remixed by Chris D (of Flesheaters fame, who released the comp on his label, Upsetter Records).

I asked Posh Boy himself for a little recollection of this and here is what he said:

Owing to shortage of funds I had to choose between printing the picture sleeve for Rik single and that of Simpletones. In fact, when the artwork for the Rik single was done, it was a Negative Trend single. Rik left the band between the recording and the record's release. So that played a big factor. The Tooth and Nail tracks are from the same session as the Posh Boy single... the only difference being that Chris Desjardins wanted to remix. He, of course, used the band name "Negative Trend" whereas I wanted to promote Rik and the remaining members of Negative Trend wanted to disassociate themselves from him. So we pressed 1000 of the PBS 4, the Rik L Rik single and it just did not sell. That's why I offered them free to anyone guessing what the letters TSOL stood for. It would have been a beautiful black and red pic sleeve, we adapted the artwork for the 1990 re-issue. Artwork by Ginger Canzoneri

Years later, Posh Boy would release The Lost Album by Rik L Rik which was a collection of songs he recorded in the early 1980s. Sadly, Rik passed away of cancer in June of 2000. He was in the process of recording a record with The Celestials before he died but it never got finished before his untimely passing. There is a tribute page for Rik up on the Posh Boy Records website.

Click here to hear "Meathouse" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

A couple things you may have noticed

You may have noticed I added some google ads and a paypal donate button to this site. If any of you are feeling generous and want to click them please do, the money will go toward helping the punk vault grow, myself to eat, and to keep doing what I'm doing here on the site. I hope I don't sound pathetic here holding my hand out or anything, I'm not one to usually do such things.

The best review ever!

This is easily the best and funniest review of a game I have ever read!

Selections from The Punk Vault [Mighty Sphincter]

Mighty Sphincter - In the Kingdom of Heaven 12" EP (1987 Placebo Records)

Is it any surprise that after the last two selections that I'd follow it up with this band?

Mighty Sphincter are, in my eyes, one of the most under-appreciated bands to come out of the Phoenix sands. Formed in 1981 by Greg Hynes (Teds) and Doug Clark (The Brainz), they'd release a handful of records, none of which would sound like the one that came before it, but all of which were quite good. The band's releases all have the distinction of practically having no to singers the same!

Their first singer was a man named Ron Reckless who dressed up like Satan in drag. He had a penchant for consuming large quantities of narcotics and that would be his undoing. This fellow was the singer on their first single, Heathouse. They eventually kicked him out, then told stories about how he died. These stories were told in the advertisements for their records. Before ousting him, they recorded an EP with him that became half of the Ghost Walking album. Guitarist/songwriter Doug Clark (or Dominic Royale as he sometimes referred to himself as) would take over the vocal duties for the second side of Ghost Walking and also sing on most of their first "real" full-length titled The New Manson Family. Ghost Walking was billed as a double EP because the plan was to actually have released those as their own records.

The album had the distinction of being "produced by Alice Cooper". It was Sphincter most angry sounding album but it con a few real gems. This would also mark the end of the sheer demented sound of the band as they were evolving into a more serious act by this point.

This leads us to this record. In the ads they were running, they made up a story that said that Doug Clark had died of AIDS and now they had a new singer! Bill Yanok would be the singer on this one and musically the band was going in a more gothic direction. Bill sang 4 of the 6 songs on here, with Greg Hynes singing the other two (the featured track being one of them). After this record, the band played a handful of shows and then called it quits for a bit. Bill ended up starting a new band but I can't recall the name, nor have I heard them. This was easily my favorite Sphincter record and I still listen to it all the time.

They resurrected in the early 90s and put out a self-released 7" and then vanished again until a few years ago when they'd reform yet again and self-release a CD titled The Holy Unholy. These days they kept the goth feel but mixed it with a more metal like sound that is really quite good. Greg handles all the vocals now for the most part, with Doug handing them here and there. They are still at it as I type this and I believe are planning a new recording soon.

There is a somewhat dated small interview with Greg Hynes on the Spontaneous Combustion site and you can check it out here.

As always if you have any information or were in the band, please get in touch.

Click here to hear "Secret Ceremony" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Crunch time

Things at work are crazy busy now that we are nearing the end of this project. I've been putting in long hours these past two weeks, which means I have zero time for anything else. I get home and I go to sleep. I have missed going to the gym a few times and I still have to find time to finish up most of my xmas shopping.

It looks like I will be doing another pressing of the Government Issue 7" after the holidays are finished. I've had a couple people and a couple of distributors ask for them. The distributors are some people I haven't worked with before. Doug Moody put them in touch with me and told them about my label.

The Lady Combustion gave my my xmas gifts early this year. She got me a bunch of really good things that I needed and it was really nice and thoughtful to get me the things she did. She even broke the budget we set for each other! Fear not though, for I had every intention of breaking the budget on her as well, even though I'm low on money lately. I plan to post some stuff on ebay this weekend to make some extra cash to recoup the spending I've done lately and help offset the cost of xmas gifts.

I am also contemplating pressing up a small number of SCR - 003: JFA 7"s and also a limited double 7" of the JFA/Faction single where I would paint/silkscreen the blank sides. I'll probably do 100 of each after the holidays. I don't have time to tackle anything before then between work and the two remaining projects I have for Mystic Records.

Lastly, thanks to everyone for all the nice comments and for the info they've been emailing or posting in the comments for all the Punk Vault selections. It has been a lot of fun doing those and it keeps me inspired to keep at it.

Selections from The Punk Vault [The Brainz]

The Brainz - Elementary Monster/Terra 7" (1979 self-released)

Even before Teds, The Brainz would be the first band in what spawned that whole Placebo Records Phoenix punk scene. 3/5 of this band would eventually be in Mighty Sphincter and be a contributing force of that scene at the time.

The Brainz sole musical output, to the best of my knowledge, is this 7". They released it themselves but Placebo Records would end up selling it through their catalog well into the mid-80s. The band consisted of Wayne Frost, Doug Clark, Clark Stokes, Joe Albanese, and John Stewart. Wayne, Doug and Joe would all end up in Mighty Sphincter at some point, with Doug being the founding memeber of Mighty Sphincter along with Greg Hynes of Teds.

Where are they now? Doug Clark is sill in Mighty Sphincter and they still play occasional shows and are recording a new record soon. He is actually clinically insane or something to that effect, and the state pays him to stay home! He is quite a talented musician though. I beleive Wayne and Joe are still around and one of them might still be playing music, if not both of them. I am not sure about the other fellows who were in the band.

As always if you have any information or were a member of the band, please get in touch.

Click here to hear "Elementary Monster" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Selections from The Punk Vault [Teds]

Teds - The Eighties Are Over... 7" (1981 Placebo Records)

This has got to be one of the most obscure 7"s to come from the deserts of Phoenix, AZ. My first exposure to this band was on the This is Phoenix Not the Circle Jerks compilation and this band was one of the standouts. I was always a fan of Placebo Records and I had never seen or heard of this single before until I was reading the insert to said compilation and they made a reference to it. In fact, throughout all the 80s, not once was this ever listed in any Placebo catalogs.

Teds were a 3-piece band consisting of Bob Peterson on Guitar/Vocals, Greg Hynes on Drums/Vocals, and Mark Bycroft on Bass/Vocals. Greg Hynes was half-owner of Placebo Records and is most known for later being in Mighty Sphincter. Teds put out this one single and were on that compilation mentioned above and that was it, then they called it a day.

My quest for this single would come to an end a few years ago thanks to a band member having a spare copy and being generous enough to pass it along to me. For that, I'm forever grateful. There was a mere 500 of these pressed. As to where they are now, Greg Hynes still resides in Phoenix and is still in Mighty Sphincter who play the occasional show and have some plans on recording some new material soon. Bob Peterson unfortunately passed away and I'm not sure what happened to Mark.

As always if you have any information about the band or were in it, please get in touch.

Click here to hear "It's My Crisis" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

I'm officially a reference

Today I had someone call me to ask me questions about a person I know who is trying to get a job. I've been put down as a reference on people's applications and resumes before but this was the first time that someone contacted me and asked me about the person who is applying. It was a weird feeling, it made me nervous because I didn't want to say something that would make the person they are asking about be less desirable. Luckily in this case it was easy to just be honest because the person in question is a pretty upstanding guy and a hell of a hard worker. Hopefully it was helpful and he gets the job.

Anyone have The Defoliants 7"?

I am in need of The Defoliants 7". It came out in the late 1980s, perhaps on Pravda Records, but I can't remember for sure. I owned it years and years ago but when I was broke and needed money back then, it was in a pile of records that ended up getting sold/traded in. I never got around to replacing it and now I realize I still need it. It isn't super rare and expensive so it isn't like there aren't any out there. If anyone can hook me up please let me know.

Selections from The Punk Vault [Lost Cause (CA)]

Lost Cause (CA) - 7" (1981 High Velocity Records)

Before there ever was a Lost Cause from Chicago, there was one from California who formed in the early 1980s. They put out one 7" and one LP before they disbanded. Quite awhile back, original guitarist Steve Young contacted me and ended up sending me a history of the band. I fell out of touch with him since though, and never got the rest of the story. Here is what he sent me.

Feb. 1981. Orange, California. The Big O skatepark.
Five young punks, two age 14 two age 16 one age 18, decide to form a punk band. Upon hearing this, local skate pro Duane Peters, now of U.S. Bombs fame, says "You should call yourselves Lost Cause", obviously meaning it as a jab or put-down. They love the name and a band is born.

May 19 1981. Costa Mesa, California. The Cuckoos Nest.
Lost Cause play their first show, a mere three months after forming. The band is well-received by audience and club management. They are asked to return on the 29th of May to open for TSOL. The show is a tremendous success and Lost Cause is booked every other Saturday night at the Cuckoos Nest playing with such names as FEAR, The Circle Jerks, Agent Orange, etc.

July 1981. Anaheim, California. Chateau East Recording
Lost Cause record six songs on 8-track. Four of these songs, Born Dead, No Justice, American Hero, and Senior Citizen are released on a 7" EP by High Velocity Records. The band goes the extra mile and pays twice the cost to have ALL pressings done in RED VINYL. The records sell quickly, prompting interest from numerous industry snakes.

New Year's Eve 1981. Santa Ana, CA. Broadway Theater
Verbal Abuse, Lost Cause, China White, Social Distortion, TSOL. The fury of the event peaks during Social Distortion's set and the riot police storm the building. Violence and Anarchy. The venue is destroyed.

March 1982. San Francisco, CA
Lost Cause singer Johnny Ernst is replaced by Ron McCamey (a story in itself). Lost Cause and Social Distortion combine forces and tour to San Francisco. They play the Broadway Theater with The Lewd. Upon returning home to Orange, Lost Cause immediately enters the studio and records the album Forgotten Corners.

Next time......
the Return of Johnny Ernst
More Violence and Mayhem
Drugs, Booze, Gray Bar Hotel

Unfortunately, the email address I have for him is no longer valid as I recently tried to contact him to get the rest of the story.

As always, if you have any information to add or you were in the band please get in touch.

Click here to hear "No Justice" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

The Ism story

When I checked my email today, I received one from a gentleman named Al Lestell who attmpted to post a comment to the Big Apple Rotten to the Core entry but was denied because of my MT-Blacklist. Some word in his comment must have matched a blacklist regex or something. Anyway he had written up a pretty comprehensive history of the band that simply has to be shared. Having actually interviewed Jism, he never told me his real name back then so now that I know it, maybe I can track him down easier, though it doesn't sound like it will be a very easy task.

The Ism & Bob Sallese Story
I spent years trying to write a book about the punk rock group Ism but came to a dead end when I was unable to find lead singer Jism and former manager and co-creator Bob Sallese.

This is what I did find out and the following info was gathered over the years after much painstaking research and interviews.

Josef Ismach aka Jism and Bob Sallese were childhood buddies. Both were attending Queens College in the late 70s during the punk explosion. They used to hang out at Max's Kansas City, CBGBs and A7. Sallese was a huge Dead Boys and Ramones fanatic. Jism was some kind of musical genius who was classicly trained and Sallese was a some kind of marketing genius.

There was a period in the early 80s when punk rock was dying because corporate radio was totally in the dark ages as they still are.
Jism and Sallese wanted to keep the movement alive and began booking local bands like "The Mob" and "Butch Lust and the Hypocrites". They managed to promote a huge show at a local Queens club with "the Mob". The club was a mainstream "new wave" club in Bayside Queens where Jism and Sallese resided. It was at this time that Sallese coined the term "Hardcore Punk" during the promotion of "The Mob". It was a term he released to the press and it stuck and spread like wildfire. Others later would try to take credit but this is how it went down.

At the same time, Jism and Sallese decided to start a record lable. It was just something for them to do in a time when things were getting very boring. The first realease was an Ism single "Queen J.A.P./Attack" on S.I.N. Reocrds.

"Queen J.A.P" was a clever spoof on Steve Martin's "King Tut" which poked fun of the Jewish American Princesses and Guidos in New York.("born in Brooklyn NY, moved to Great Neck L.I." ... "she's a Jew and He's an Italiano...a marriage made in Leonards") It became a cult classic with the likes of Dr. Demento whose superiors banned him from playing the song. A DJ from WLIR radio said that when they played it, the phones lit up and was one of the most requested songs ever but management quickly stepped in and banned the song. It was all tongue and cheek and not meant to offend anyone. Afterall, Jism was a Jew and Sallese was Italian. The flip side was "Attack" in which Jism played all the instruments. It went on to become a popular favorite in England and on BBC radio.

Jism quickly put together a band and teamed up with Sallese to write the songs on "The Big Apple Rotten To The Core" The album went on to become a hardcore and punk classic. "John Hinckley Jr., What Has Jodie Done To You" by Ism started getting commercial airplay and was probably the first "hardcore" song to get commercial airplay in NY. It opened the door for groups like "Black Flag" (who were long established on the West Coast) into getting commercial airplay in NY as well. Amy Carter, daughter of former President Carter, became a big Ism fan after the release of "Rotten To The Core".

WLIR nominated "John Hinckley Jr." as "screamer of the week" for two weeks straight but then DJ, John Debello, who hosted the show refused to let it officially win despite receiving 3 times the vote of the pop tune "MICKEY". He was quoted as saying, "I will never let that song win on my show" to other employees.

While the song was getting critical acclaim and much airplay, Jism and Sallese could not get the records to fill the demand by distributors because the record pressing plant was printing them up illegally and selling them themselves and keeping the masters out of the hands of Jism and Sallese. The owner eventually got busted by the FBI for bootlegging Beatles records.

The rest of the "Rotten to the Core" album quickly became a favorite among the punk community. "The Beastie Boys" and Cheetah Chrome of the "Dead Boys" were slated to be on it but couldn't come up with a tape in time.

Ism was now on a roll but the band from "Rotten To The Core" had moved to Georgia and were playing venues where groups like REM were playing. Sallese told Jism to get his ass back to NYC and get ready to record an album. Sallese gathered up the best local musicians from Queens who they knew from the neighborhood.

They pounded out the "I Think I Love You/A7" single with a wild cover photo of two apes doing it doggy style with David Cassidy's head on one and Shirley Jones on the other. David Cassidy went nuts and was publicly saying he was going to sue them because of the cover photo so only a limited number were printed but enough to top all the college charts. The song was another cult classic. Once again, WLIR in NY had entered it in their "screamer of the week" contest after being nominated by veteren DJ Ben Manilla and Steve Jones. Once again Ism was a winner which should have landed them a contract with a major lable but once again, DJ John Debello refused to let it win on his show.

"A7" became a favorite on the NYC punk scene. A7 was a dingy illegal after hours club that was trying to keep the punk scene alive. Jism and Sallese used to hang out there into the "wee hours of the morning".

Faulty records approached Sallese and wanted to sign Ism but before a deal was cut, Faulty filed for bankruptcy and screwed over Jism and Sallese for a chunk of distribution money.

Jism and Sallese brainstormed and swiftly followed up the "I Think I Love You" single with the now very rare album "A Diet For The Worms" LP which many consider to be the best hardcore/punk record to come out of NYC in the early 80s.

Ism was on a roll. They were doing gigs with groups like the Ramones, Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, The Smithereens. Sylvester Stallone even popped in to see them one night at CBGBs.

"A Diet For the Worms" became an instant hit on college radio and topped the CMJ radio charts. Everything was going great but Jism and Sallese had different opinions about the direction of the band. Sallese was also upset that the records came back from the plant without crediting him with the majority of the songs which he co-wrote the lyrics or penned the theme. From what I understand, Jism's girlfriend at the time and Sallese had different ideas about the band's next move so Jism and Sallese parted ways.

Jism then released the "Constantinople" EP on Broken Records which did well on the CMJ radio charts. In 1987, Bob Sallese started a new record label. Jism had already recorded some punk/psychedelic tunes in the studio and Sallese released some of these tunes on a "Nightmare At Noon" EP on yellow vinyl on "Raw Power Records". Sallese began managing the band again and they started doing more shows. Raw Power Records then released "The Big Apple Rotten To The Core Vol 2" which featured many of the bands from the first album plus Omer Travers known for breaking into Yoko Ono's apartment and leaving love notes. Jism and Sallese got him in the studio and co-produced the now infamous "New York Cat" by the UFOmer Band which Howard Stern would eventually play on his show. Jism and Travers appeared on the Stern show to promote the album. It turned out that Stern was an Ism fan from their earlier releases.

The "Big Apple Rotten To The Core Vol 2" became another rare punk rock cult classic sort by record collectors. While the music industry was becoming more and more corporate again and there was becoming less and less independent record outlets, clubs and radio, Sallese became disgruntled with the industry. Then in 1989 Scott Eisner, who was a close friend of Sallese and Jism, jumped off the Throgs Neck Bridge which links Queens to the Bronx. Eisner had done the cover photos for "Rotten To The Core" and also did some publicity work for Ism. Sallese needed to get the hell out of New York City and out of the music industry. He took off for the West Coast a few months later and joined the Screen Actors Guild. This time Jism and Sallese parted on friendly terms.

Jism went on to independently release "The Hits That Missed" CD which featured many of the band's songs from the Jism/Sallese era and thereafter. After that he released a limited edition album called "Journey Down Your Drain" CD which included a controversial song called "Love Yer President" and a fantastic punk remake of "Tip Toe Through The Tulips" which Tiny Tim did with Jism shortly before Tiny Tim's death. Tiny Tim and Jism also made a music video together. "The Hits That Missed", "Journey Down Your Drain" and "Tip Toe Through The Tulips" video were released in limited editions mostly for promotional use.

Jism was keeping the band together in 2000 while also playing drums with Dee Dee Ramone on and off. In 2000, Bob Sallese, became worth multi-millions of dollars in other investments and was planning the launch of an all new record lable. However, after stumbling upon certain truths that he shouldn't have stumbled upon, he lost every penny and was having his life threatened from some very powerful forces. He has since been impossible to track down. Jism shortly thereafter was sentenced to 5-10 years in prison for unknown reasons. He now resides in an upstate NY prison and it is believed that he was set up because of the release of "Love Yer President".

The rest is history. Ism records are very rare and a must have for any true collector of rare punk rock.
"A Diet For The Worms" LP recently went for $240 on an internet auction. "I Think I Love You/A7" & the two "Rotten To The Core" Albums run up to $100 and the "Queen J.A.P./Attack" single is almost impossible to find and very sought after (especially in Europe). Every now and then, you can find an Ism release at a great price on the net. Some people come across these releases and do not realize what they are worth.

Good luck in your record hunt for Ism recordings.

Al Lestell
President
Rare Record Investor Club

Selections from The Punk Vault [JFA]

JFA - Mad Garden 12" EP (1984 Placebo Records)

JFA (short for Jody Fosters Army) formed in the deserts of Phoenix Arizona in 1981. Four skateboarders got together and decided they wanted to form a band after being inspired by seeing DOA play a show that same year. The band's goal was to play fast and skate, and that is what they did. They didn't even bother releasing a demo, the first thing they went and recorded was their now legendary Blatant Localism 7" on Placebo Records.

They were very active back then always playing shows, touring and releasing records. They followed up the 7" with the amazing Valley of the Yakes LP that saw them become more polished and mixed hardcore with surf sounds. Another self-titled LP followed up a year or so later and that leads us to this EP.

Mad Garden is an homage to Madison Square Garden. Not the one in New York where they have huge events, this one was in Phoenix, and much like its larger cousin, they would hold wrestling events at the venue regularly. Someone started booking hardcore shows there on the off-nights (it may have been Tony Victor but I'm not quite sure) and a legendary Phoenix punk venue was born. The bands would actually play inside the wresting ring! There is a great picture of Mighty Sphincter playing at Mad Garden on the cover of the This is Phoenix Not the Circle Jerks compilation. Eventually the place was shut down and sold. It became a flower warehouse and if I had to fathom a guess, today it is likely a strip mall or a Home Depot.

After this EP, JFA put out another full-length album that showed a drastic change in sound. Brian and Don moved to CA and the band halted for awhile as they had only half a band, and the record label they were on since their inception had ceased operations (Placebo). In 1991 they got a new bass player and drummer and self-released the Lightning Storm 7". A couple years and a couple drummers later, they released another 7" on my label. A couple more years and drummers would pass and they'd do an album on a label started by someone from around here who used to work for Rotz. The band took another hiatus after that until I released a split 7" with them and The Faction. This year, with another new bass player and drummer on board, they have resumed playing shows again. I hope they'll record some new stuff and if they do, I'm always open to do another 7" of theirs.

Alternative Tentacles last year reissued their earliest stuff on a collection called We Know You Suck and yours truly contributed to the liner notes of that CD. A full vinyl discography for the band can be found on the Spontaneous Combustion site.

Click hear to hear "Mad Garden" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Selections from The Punk Vault [Defnics]

Defnics - 51% 7" (1981 Terminal Records)
My first exposure to this band was on the Cleveland Confidential LP. All it took for me to buy a compilation back when compilations were good and not the watered down worthless things they are today, was for there to be either one band I liked on there, be on a label I owned a record on, or at least contain a band or two I've heard of. I discovered a lot of great bands this way, and this is further proof.

I don't know much about them, other than that compilation, and this single was all they did in their two years together. This single was released on Mike Hudson's label, Terminal Records. Mike Hudson is in The Pagans, who were the most famous band from the old Cleveland punk days, and perhaps also the best. Later upon Defnics breaking up, one member would join The Pagans in their later years. The best place for Defnics info is the story about the band written by one of its members found here on the excellent Cleveland Punk Site.

The "picture sleeve" for this record is pretty crude and low budget. They printed up the picture and glued it onto plain white record sleeves. Now that if that isn't DIY then I don't know what is!

Where are they now? A year or two ago they reformed and put out a new 7" and it was a pretty good record. I believe it was on Smog Veil Records. I think they still do the occasional show around the Cleveland area too.

Click here to hear "51%" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Store busted for modding game consoles

Here's an interesting story about some arrests for modding video game consoles. They don't mention what system but by the description it was obvioulsy the Xbox they were referring to.

Dimebag Darrel shot

This article tells the story of some shitbag who went to an OH nightclub and opened fire. One of the people to be shot and, it sounds like killed, was Dimebag Darrel who was in Pantera, while he was on stage playing with the band Damageplan. The gunman was gunned down by police and subsequently died.

Just how fucked up in the head do you have to be to walk into a show with a gun and open fire on the band playing?! Now 5 people are dead and for what?!

Update: ROTA/Political Justice? or you never know who will find you

After the Rights of the Accused entry, I received an email from Wes who was in later versions of the band, and who was also in Political Justice?, which is what prompted me to discover I had forgotten to post the below entry. Wes is alive and well and lives in New Jersey now and has a family. It was good to hear from my old skateboarding friend again and I was glad to hear he is doing well.

Selections from The Punk Vault [Political Justice?]

Political Justice? - Stating the Truths and Healing the Wounds 7" (1985 Landmind Records)

I wrote this one up on 11/14/04 but set it to "draft" and never realized that I never published it! I correct that mistake now and the intent was to have this come out at the same time as all the other local punk. Not that there won't be more local punk in the future, but the opening sentence below makes a lot more sense if you keep this in mind.

I figure I may as well blast through some other selections from the local punk scene from back in the day since I seem to have that theme going this past handful of entries.

At the same time as bands like Dead Fink and Happy Toons, over in Glen Ellyn, a batch of fellow punks put together a band of their own and were in theme, a lot more serious. Political Justice were a four piece, and featured a young Brian St. Clair on drums, and Wesley Kidd on guitar. Brian would later go on to play in the Thrill Kill Kult for a short time and he and Wes would also play in a later lineup of Rights of the Accused, and later were in some band called Triple Fast Action that garnered some success. I think one of those guys might have been in a lineup of really lousy but popular band, Local H.

They'd gig around the city, record a demo that didn't get much circulation, then they put out this single and called it quits. The demo is on my "things to burn to cd" list, and they were also featured on the Immense Decay compilation that I released in 1987. After Political Justice called it a day, Wes quickly joined Rights of the Accused, at a time that they were still good and had put out their 7" (to be an upcoming selection very soon). As you could guess by their name, the band was a political hardcore band. Had they stuck together longer and done a couple more records, they probably would have had a pretty good following, but alas they didn't and are sadly mostly unknown in the world of punk.

Click here to hear "One Moment of Empathy" from the 7" (right click and "save target as...")

They attack once more

Here I was recently thinking that I haven't been bothered by comment spammers lately. Well not bothered in the sense that MT Blacklist was catching them all, but lo and behold some new assholes are at it. Its nothing major, just a few here and there but it is still irritating. Someone really needs to pass some sort of law about these things and have the people responsible be sent to a place where big men will re-enact the prison shower scene in American History X on them.

On the upside, people seem to really be enjoying the Selections from The Punk Vault features which makes me quite happy. It is good to know all the time it takes to do those is time well spent.

Selections from The Punk Vault [The Young and the Useless]

The Young and the Useless - Real Men Don't Floss 7" (1982 Ratcage Records)

The Young and the Useless were a very short lived band from New York City circa 1982. The stayed together long enough to put out this lone 7" and then fell apart and called it quits in 1984. The band consisted of Adam Horovitz, Adam Trese, Arthur Africano, and David Scilken. You will likely recognize that first person's name as being a member of Beastie Boys. Adam didn't join the Beasties until 1983 when their original guitarist, John Berry, quit the band.

Until recently, this was the only recorded works available, however in the past couple years Ratcage Records was resurrected and they released a Live at CBGB CD featuring recordings of a bunch of old punk bands from that era. I am not sure if it is still available as I recall reading that the Ratcage Records person had died last year I believe. This record still remains out of print. You'd think the Beastie Boys would have reissued it themselves but I guess it isn't that important to them. Aside from knowing what Adam is doing (still kicking with the Beasties), I don't know what became of the other members.

A funny story about acquiring this record. It was easily more than 12 years ago when I was at a local record store shopping and I saw a guy holding this record in his hand and showing it to his girlfriend trying to explain it to her. She didn't seem too impressed and seemed to also scoff at the 10 dollar price tag. I was witnessing this getting sick to my stomach that had I shown up a few minutes earlier, the record would be in my hands. I started mentally willing the guy to change his mind and put it back, like trying to do the jedi mind trick. I had almost given up hope when the guy walks back, and puts the record back on the shelf! He didn't even finish turning back around to walk away again when I grabbed the thing and sat there shocked that Yoda's tricks actually worked! Whoever you are, thanks for not buying it. The record has had a happy home in The Punk Vault ever since.

As always, if you have further information or was in the band, please get in touch.

Click here to hear "Young and Useless" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Selections from The Punk Vault [Mentors]

Mentors - Get Up and Die 12" EP (1982 Mystic Records)

I'd be surprised if any fan of punk rock has not heard of the infamous Mentors. They were the kings of what they called "rape rock" which translated means goofy songs with misogynist lyrics and cheap shock value. Anyone who took the band seriously was a complete and utter fool. The Mentors loved to shock, and they found a gimmick that gained them quite a reputation, and got their name out there.

The band was formed in the very early 80s by El Duce (Eldon Wayne Hoek) whose trade was working at a porno shop. He played drums and used giant dildos as drumsticks and had drunken howl vocals and would sing about peeping on woman, screwing woman, drugs, and all things debauchery. He was joined by Sickie Wifebeater and Dr Heathen Scum on guitar and bass. The three men wore executioner hoods on stage and El Duce would never fail to get a rise out of the crowd.

Musically they were one of the first bands of the era to cross punk and metal. Well, not metal so much as rock. It was later that they'd go more metal, and of course that meant they also stopped being as good as they were in the early days. This was their first record, and the first pressing of it came packaged in a clear bag with just a single double sided printed 12"x12" insert. They referred to this as the "trash bag". The same packaging was also used in the De De Troit 12". It was later issued as seen above, in a real sleeve and contained a bonus live 7".

In the later 1980s the band signed to Metal Blade Records and put out a couple albums then they'd later resort to (probably by having no other choice) putting out their own records (usually only on cassette). They once did a tour with Revolting Cocks, which was my one and only time I got to see the band play live. I was the only one in the audience who clapped for the band and liked them. All those Wax Trax kids just wanted to see Revco play and couldn't be bothered by anything else.

El Duce even made it on a couple of those daytime talk shows like Geraldo where he'd stay in character the entire time, never breaking Kayfabe for even a second to let anyone in on the joke, and it got quite a rise out of the toothless audience, let me tell you! Sure El Duce was a drunken pervert, but from the stories I have heard from Doug Moody, he was a genuinely nice guy in real life once you got through the shield of his gimmick.

Sadly, El Duce died in 1997 when he allegedly stumbled onto some train tracks and was killed by a train. Rumors were abound of him being killed by someone hired by Courtney Love as further conspiracy in the death of her husband Kurt Cobain. Apparently El Duce was going around shortly before his death telling anyone who would listen that Courtney tried to hire him to kill Kurt. Nothing was ever proven though and the stories remain speculation and rumor.

Sadder yet, the remaining members of the band still tour as The Mentors, even though the guy who created the band and the gimmick is dead. Here I thought nothing would be more pathetic than Jerry Only's version of "The Misfits" but those two remaining band members went and proved me wrong. I'd provide a URL for a website they put together, but that might be viewed as condoning what they are doing, and I don't want some naive sucker to wander over there and buy something from them, thus legitimizing their exploiting and soiling of The Mentors name (if soiling it is even possible).

Click here to hear "Get Up and Die" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

A new addition to The Vault from the most unlikely place

Over the years I've gone to some odd places and way out of my way to buy records, but this is the one that is proof positive of just how much times have changed.

While perusing erape (ebay) for punk records to see if there is anything that I need and can afford, I noticed that people were selling a picture disc of Social Distortion's Mommy's Little Monster LP. I at first scoffed at it thinking it was another bootleg, just like those Misfits picture discs I've seen around. I thought about it some more and decided to check out Social D's website to see if it was something they were selling themselves. It turns out it was legitimate, and it was an exclusive being sold only at Hot Topic stores.

Yes, re-read that last sentence, one of my three favorite punk rock albums was now available in the inferior picture disc format, and being sold in a shopping mall store that caters to a bunch of humps who think Good Charlotte is a punk band. As a general rule, I don't like picture discs and tend to avoid them, but unfortunately for me, my need for completion, especially when it comes to one of my top three albums, won out and I had to have one.

My friend Jeff happened to be over so we took the trek up to the local mall that had the store and went to find one. They actually have a small selection of vinyl records there but nothing much of interest. I found that they had a few copies so I grabbed mine and proceeded to head to the checkout. Some kid who works there saw what I was holding and told us that "we have Social Distortion pillow cases on sale right now too". I just say "what?" and he repeated it. I told him I wasn't interested but thanks anyway. I paid for my item and we left the mall as quickly as we came. Jeff and I were trading our opinions on how much times have changed. I felt like I was in an episode of The Twilight Zone. I originally bought this album almost 20 years ago and I never thought in my wildest imagination that not only would the music, and that record, be pretty much totally accepted by mainstream society, but that I would be offered the chance to buy Social Distortion pillow cases too! Back when I was in high school, the only way one was going to have Social D pillow cases was if you spray painted some old sheets yourself with a stencil.

Times certainly have changed. The kids don't need a turntable, you can buy one of my favorite records from a shopping mall store along with pillow cases, and my beloved punk records in many cases are being bought and sold like stocks and are becoming the same thing as comic books and baseball cards. People buy them as an investment and care little of the historical significance.

Selections from The Punk Vault [Christ on Parade]

Christ On Parade - Sounds of Nature LP (1985 Pusmort Records)

I was in high school when a girl I was friends with told me about this band called Christ on Parade who played at a show she saw at Metro. They opened for a bigger punk band, but I forget which. I remember not going because I didn't have a ride to the city. Anyway, she bought their record and told me she thought I'd really like it so she loaned it to me. I took it home and played it and was blown away. I was an instant fan and thus started kicking myself for not having gone to that show. I somehow talked the girl into letting me keep the record and I played it to death.

Christ on Parade were from San Francisco, CA and formed in the mid 1980s. To the best of my knowledge, they toured the US once opening for some bigger band like 7 Seconds or someone like that. This was their first record and it was released on Pushead's label. After this record, they would part ways with their original singer and Noah, who played guitar, would handle the lead vocal duties. I do not know why the original guy left. The band put out a pair of 7"s and one more LP before disbanding.

After they broke up, Noah started a band called Blister who put out a 7" and a LP and then broke up. He now plays in Neurosis, who were friends of Christ on Parade and played a a bunch of shows together with them. He joined sometime before their Through Silver in Blood album, which was easily the best thing they ever did. I don't know what happened to the other guys who were in the band. A few years ago, everything except this record was reissued on a CD titled Insanity is a Sane Reaction on the now defunct F.O.A.D. Records, and unfortunately that means the CD is out of print (is also came out as a double green vinyl LP). This first album has never been reissued. There was a rumor years ago that Pushead was going to reissue it again but that never happened I'm afraid and thus a lot of people are missing out on a great record that deserves to be heard.

As always, if you were in the band or have any additional information to share please get in touch.

Click here to hear "No Truth" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Selections from The Punk Vault [Group of Individuals]

Group of Individuals - Destroyer of Fun 7" (1984 Single Records)

In all my participation in the older punk scene, I don't think I ever ran into anyone nicer, or more active than Mike Lazuka of Group of Individuals. He was always supporting some thing, partaking of putting on shows, handing out flyers, and of course, playing in his band. To prove just what a nice guy he was, once after seeing them play Mike gave me a handfull of Group of Individuals singles for my mailorder, and when I asked what he wanted for them he told me he didn't want anything for them, it was to help me out. This was totally unsolicited and stood out to me as a really nice gesture from one member of the punk scene to another.

The band started in the early 80s and lasted until somewhere around 1990. They put out three 7" singles in that time, and also gave me a track for the Immense Decay compilation. I'm sure they were on a couple other cassette comps during that time too. The first two singles were on their own label and the third was on the now defunct Underdog Records. All the copies of this record had had written generic sleeves. With all the time Mike must have taken to hand write them all, and to use two colored markers to boot, he probably would have been better off making real picture sleeves but oh well.

A few years later, in the early 1990s, Mike put together a CD retrospective of all the recorded works of Group of Individuals and sent me a copy. What was odd, was that one or two of the songs were different versions than that of the vinyl. After that, the band, and him, seemed to have vanished, at least off my radar as its been years since I have heard from him. I'd like to know what he's up to these days.

As always, if you were in the band or have further information, please get in touch.

Click here to hear "Destroyer of Fun" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Things to do this weekend

1. Finish NOFX CD booklet for Mystic
2. Catch up on reviews for the Spontaneous site
3. Begin Xmas shopping
4. Try and make a dent in the backlog of DVDs I haven't watched
5. Go to the gym

Chances are I get sidetracked and maybe finish half the above list. There is just not enough days in a weekend to finish everything I want to do. When I become president of earth, I am making weekends 3 days long and the work week 4 days long.

This coming Thursday looks to be the last show I'll be attending this year, and who better to spend some time with then the Klowns?! Destroy Everything is playing, check the upcoming shows list on the left for the info. Unfortunately since it is a late show and Lady Combustion works really early, she won't be attending.

Selections from The Punk Vault [S.N.O.T.]

S.N.O.T. - Slaughterhouse 7" (1986 KML Records)

Back when I was doing my fanzine (Spontaneous Combustion) there was a little label called KML Records that started sending me records to review. The label was run by one of the guy in Maggot Sandwich, and of course I was sent their records to review, along with this one.

S.N.O.T. stands for Slime from the Nose Of Texas. They were from Texas yet were on this Florida label. I imagine the guys in Maggot Sandwich must have played a show with them and became friends with them or something. S.N.O.T. only put out this one single, which was a pretty good hardcore record that came out at a time that a lot of hardcore bands were starting down the path of metal (which in most cases was the same road as the path of suck). After this single, they vanished, never to release another record again. This single came on both blue and black vinyl. I think somewhere I still have a sticker with the sleeve art on it too.

I have no idea what happened to them or what they are doing now. As always if you were in the band, or have any information, please get in touch. Unfortunately I lost touch with the KML fellow a million years ago so I can't get in touch for any stories.

Click here to hear "Safe Gray Lights" from the record (right click and "save target as...")

Neon Christ full reunion!

Just got an early warning from Randy of Neon Christ that a full reunion is scheduled for 12/24. Now that is a good xmas present for the people! I'l have more details when they are made available.

Selections from The Punk Vault [Eddie and the Subtitles]

Eddie and the Subtitles - Fuck You Eddie 7" (1980 No Label Records)

Eddie and the Subtitles were a band that got their start in the late 70s in Southern California. They would last a few years and play lots of shows around CA but as far as I know, never ventured out past there. I first heard of them by seeing their name on show flyers playing with bands like Black Flag and I'd eventually come across their records, but that in itself was not an easy thing to do since they didn't seem to make a whole lot of them.

There is very little information available about the band, doing Google searches only provided me with people either looking for, or trading, their records. Aside from that I only found a show review that was a reprint from an old Flipside fanzine. Even the book I bought at the Forming exhibit years ago only briefly mentions when their single was released and nothign else, not even a picture. The band recorded this one single, then they did two albums. The first album is about half good punk tunes and half band rock songs. The second album, which is a lot easier to find and was released on the 13th Story Records label, was actually not very good at all but had some nice cover art.

Sadly not every one of these Vault entries are going to be as chock full of good stories as I'd like, but at least you'll get to check out some cool bands.

As to where they are now, I have no clue. I beleive lead singer Eddie died a number of years ago. As always if you were in the band or have any additional information, please get in touch. Maybe someone will collect all 3 records onto a CD someday.

Click here to hear "American Society" from the record (right click and "save target as...")