Tonight on (my) channel 62, otherwise known as the Sci-Fi Channel, there premieres a movie titled Supergator. Unlike other Sci-Fi originals, this one does not star Coolio or Sonic Youth’s first drummer, Richard Edson. It does feature Kelly McGillis in a lateral move from Top Gun, and the reliable Scientist In A Wheelchair role, covered by John Colton (I think).
Fifteen minutes in and no gore. I can’t imagine the bikini clad victims-to-be/extras as anything more than porn stars in a parallel life. Whup….a fashion photographer and a buxom model were just eaten. The CGI is so obtrusive that the blood looked like a hovering, red cloud, and the scene was a total rip of Samuel Jackson’s last moment in Deep Blue Sea (a genuine, roll-in-the-floor laff riot….the scene, not the entire film).
Let’s do a little dissecting (horrible non-pun intended). Writer/director Brian Clyde (oh, and there are three writers credited here) hasn’t, eh, done too much, but star Brad Johnson is no stranger to F-list straight-to-DVD and made-for-TV fare. You’ll be able to catch him in a future Sci-Fi original called Copperhead (it incorporates a “wild westâ€Â theme!!). Supergator is a buffet of poor-man’s actors/actresses. The poor-man’s Swayze. The poor man’s Halle Berry. The poor man’s William Peterson. The poor-man’s Treat Williams (and that’s rough).
The salty, aging scientist/zoologist/hunter (not to be confused with the paraplegic scientist) pockets a pint of bourbon at all times. I haven’t done the proper amount of research to determine which actor plays this part. Whup….another bimbo met her demise through jump cuts of bloody body parts and screams. As we’re 50 minutes in, three separate parties are traipsing through the jungles of Hawaii: The scientists, the environmentalists, and three party dudes (fat wacky guy….check!!). Barely-clothed tarts are distributed throughout all three groups. One has been running through the woods for 30 minutes. Frances Doel, a co-writer, was the script girl for Cockfighter (the ‘74 adaptation of Willeford’s novel), and her subsequent writing credits make for a what’s what of disaster/nature-strikes-back….’78’s Avalanche all the way to ’04’s Dinocroc.
Wow! This just in: Roger Corman produced it! Ok, maybe that’s a “wow.â€Â
Shall we have a one-hour mark (btw…one of the gorier scenes just happened) wager re: how Supergator will be stopped?
1. Explosives
2. Pushed into live volcano (it must be noted that a live volcano “spawnedâ€Â the Supergator)
3. Shot with something…like an anti-aircraft rocket
4. Chopped up or dismembered
5. It escapes
Yes, this is what I’m doing when there are far more important projects to work on. Television, I love you. ÂÂ
I learned about Shopsin’s last year when I visited Evergreen Video to interview owner Steve Feltes for my book about Paul Nelson. Deciding we’d eat while we talked, we walked across the street to Shopsin’s, at 54 Carmine Street in the West Village, where we were presented with a menu the length of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novella (there are supposedly over 900 dishes listed).
On the way over, Steve told me that the restaurant’s proprietor, Kenny Shopsin, was somewhat legendary for yelling at — and even tossing out — his customers. He also mentioned that someone had made a documentary about Shopsin.
Now that film from 2004, I Like Killing Flies, is out on DVD (I watched it online yesterday via Netflix). Lo and behold, Kenny Shopsin is indeed a veritable Soup Nazi (his refusal to seat parties of five or more is only one of his endearing predilections), albeit one with a fouler mouth and a more philosophical bent. Imagine a cross between a kinder, gentler Charles Bukowski and perverse, dyspeptic Mortimer J. Adler — then stick a spatula in one hand and a flyswatter in the other, and voilà! you have Kenny Shopsin.
Director Matt Mahurin’s documentary is about as bare bones as you can get, and the pace is rambling and frenetic at the same time; all of which serves his subject well. And, indeed, Shopsin likes killing flies, which functions not only as a metaphor for how he treats his customers but also for the United States’ terrorist problem and for the human condition as a whole.
The day I was there, Shopsin was on his best behavior, occasionally emerging from the kitchen to sit down and visit with a customer, and the food was great (reminding me of one of my favorite restaurants from Salt Lake City, Over the Counter). And, perhaps because it was late in the year, there were no flies.
No time to write anything about this 1982 scorcher from SACCHARINE TRUST today – I suggest you click over to this previous post I put up with another creepy-crawler one from them called “Hearts and Barbariansâ€Â. This one was ignominiously placed at the end of a compilation album called “LIFE IS UGLY SO WHY NOT KILL YOURSELF?â€Â. It’s one of my favorite things the band did outside of their excellent first two albums.
The drunken sidekick (played by Bruce Campbell!!!)….check!!!
The female spy/crew member (she’s added some wrinkles since Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead) that’s good with the gadgets…..check!!
The ghetto-less Miami….check!!!
Fires, explosions, ramble-tamble in the busy streets….check!!!
A seemingly broke and harrassed spy that manages to dress like a garden variety sushi bar/martini-sipping assbag…..check!!
I seem to have abgeficked my e-mail. If you write me on an address not the one posted here and not my Well address (if you do, you know what I mean), please have patience. The best minds in Australia and India are working on moving my e-mail from the evil GoDaddy folks, who’ve been losing my e-mails, to a decent e-mail provider that’s not trying to sell you stuff all the time and, as far as I know, does not run a NASCAR car. However, this apparently takes time, especially when the client (me) is a total idiot when it comes to things like virtual domains and aliases and stuff, so please be patient.
By Domenic Priore and Brian Chidester, Summer 2007
Los Angeles is quite often overlooked as a major center of R&B and Soul during the first rock ’n’ roll era. The Cenral Avenue Jazz and R&B scene from the ’20s through the early ’50s is well documented by the book and companion CD box set Central Avenue Sounds. That fantastic series ends as the Central Avenue scene disperses with the integration of L.A. jazz musicians into the clubs and movie soundtrack work to come in Hollywood. After that, a neighborhood Northwest of the core Central Avenue area would flourish as a new African-American nightlife center. Beginning near the corner of Pico and Western Avenues, then heading South to Santa Barbara Boulevard (now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard), with a right turn (West) to Crenshaw on MLK, a myriad of new clubs would open up and host some of the most brilliant R&B from the period.
An example of why this scene might be glossed over in history so far, is that local hit records by artists such as Richard Berry (“Louie Louieâ€Â), the Rivingtons (“Papa Oom Mow Mowâ€Â), the Olympics (“Good Lovin’â€Â) and the Vibrations (“My Girl Sloopyâ€Â) would be more successfully covered by white garage punk bands from all over the country, such as the Kingsmen (from the Pacific Northwest), the Trashmen (from Minnnesota), the Young Rascals (from New York) and the McCoys (from Ohio). Picture here is Richard Berry.
This phenomenon can be traced to the wilder, ’50s-style R&B still practiced in L.A. during the ’60s, which stemmed all the way back to the Central Avenue era, as opposed to the more unified soul recordings from Detroit or Philadelphia. The above photo is of the Rivingtons.
Los Angeles was more aligned with New Orleans, with Specialty Records (Little Richard) and Imperial Records (Fats Domino) based in L.A., and records like Chris Kennner’s “Land of a Thousand Dancesâ€Â making their way on that pipeline to places like East L.A., where Cannnibal & the Headhunters would make it a huge hit. Picture here is the Vibrations.
As black musicians became more common in Hollywood, the avant-garde and psychedelic music scene in turn gravitated to spaces in this area of South Central. The overall effect during the ‘60s led to a full-color, Mod L.A. soul scene that produced incredible, unique sounding records. This travelogue is not meant to be definitive documentation of all the artists who broke from here during that time, but will give you a good idea of the kind of action that was going on.
During the early ’60s basketball legend Wilt Chamberlin became a partner in a club housed in this building called the Basin Street West (1304 S. Western Avenue)
The Basin Street West, as pictured on a comedy album recorded at the location
Major jazz acts like Woody Herman would record inside the Basin Street West
The No War Toys Coffeehouse moved to the neighborhood in 1965, and was akin to other liberal outposts in town such as the Fifth Estate and Fred C. Dobbs on Sunset Strip, and Mother Neptunes in the Silver Lake area.
All that remains of No War Toys Coffeehouse is the picket fence, a palm tree, a crumbled sidewalk, some grass and a front entrance parking lot. (2472 W. Washington Boulevard at Arlington)
An early gig for the Doors was a benefit for the No War Toys Coffeehouse
Across the street was an old venue called the Hippodrome, which would be used for a happening. (1853 Arlington at Washington Boulevard)
Ferus Gallery and Pasadena Art Museum director Walter Hopps teamed up with Art Kunkin of the Los Angeles Free Press for this South Central event.
Ted Brinson built a studio in his garage, reputedly with some of the finest equipment in town, plus a fortress of entryway locks.
Some of the records recorded by Ted Brinson included the Wipe Out album by the Impacts (a Del-Fi Records surf group featuring Hawaiian steel guitar) and the original version of “Just Like Meâ€Â by the Wilde Knights (later covered by Paul Revere & the Raiders).
The most well-known disc to come out of Ted Brinson’s is “Earth Angel,â€Â a 1955 R&B vocal group smash by the Penguins. The Olympics also made good use of the room for many of their hits between 1958 and 1967.
The driveway from the front of Brinson’s old house led to the studio. Notice size of palm trees in the background. (2190 W. 30th Street)
With decidedly shorter palm trees, here is Ted Brinson’s studio during its prime years.
Comedian supreme Redd Foxx had his club Jazz Go-Go nearby, close to the corner of Western and Adams. Burlesque, and the top names in comedy and jazz showed up to perform all the time.
The building where all these wild times took place is still standing. (1952 W. Adams Boulevard)
Only two blocks West of Jazz Go-Go was another top-notch venue, The Rubaiyat Room, in the lounge of the Watkins Hotel. Tonight, you could see Babs Gonzalez author of I Paid My Dues, Good Times… No Bread: A Story of Jazz, who also recorded Tales of Manhattan for Jaro Records.
The Watkins Hotel as it stands today, with the Rubaiyat front entrance at ???? Adams.
The same frontage back in the day.
A Reprise Records LP from the Rubaiyat Room.
One of the top ’50s locations for R&B was the Oasis, with its Middle Eastern theme.
The Oasis Club building still stands at 3801 S. Western Avenue at 38th Street. This still sits near an old Pacific Electric Railway line, which will soon be redeveloped into part of the new L.A. subway system.
Happenings inside the Oasis Club. (Question, readers; is this L.A. Dodger shortstop Maury Wills dancing?)
The Treniers wail inside the Oasis Club underneath an amoeba-shaped Modern roof.
The desert palm tree motif was cool in soulful, sunny L.A.
The Californian Club remains one of the most legendary R&B venues of the city during this period, along with the 5-4 Ballroom and the Million Dollar Theater downtown. (1759 W. Santa Barbara Boulevard… now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard)
In crowd ’63 at the Californian club included Bob Relf of Bob & Earl (“Harlem Shuffle,â€Â second left), Sam Cooke (“You Send Me,â€Â “A Change is Gonna Come,â€Â fourth left), Bobby Day (“Rockin’ Robin,â€Â fifth left) and Johnny Taylor (“Somewhere To Lay My Head,” “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day,” far right). All artists had been based in Los Angeles since the 1950s.
The Sunset Strip scene makes it down to the Californian Club in 1967 for a purely inter-racial freak fest every week.
Brenda Holloway (“Every Little Bit Hurtsâ€Â) was an L.A. gal who was signed to Del-Fi, then Motown Records during the ’60s, and was one of the opening acts for the Beatles at Shea Stadium (along with East L.A. group Cannibal & the Headhunters). Photo courtesy The Chuck Boyd Archive, as seen in the book Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock ’n’ Roll’s Last Stand in Hollywood.
The Blossoms, featuring Darlene Love (center), perform on the ABC television show Shindig!, taped at their Prospect Avenue studios in Los Feliz. Darlene Love made great records with Phil Spector including “Today I Met The Boy I’m Going To Marryâ€Â and “Christmas Baby Please Come Home,â€Â as well as singing lead on the Crystals’ “He’s A Rebelâ€Â and “He’s Sure the Boy I Loveâ€Â.
Marty’s on the Hill was a top jazz place in L.A. during the ’60s, located at the top of Baldwin Hills on LaBrea. Bossa Nova hitmaker Walter Wanderly (“Summer Samba,â€Â 1966) makes the scene.
The location of Marty’s on the Hill, with it’s front parking lot. A view of L.A.’s South Bay and airport loomed in the distance to the West. (5005 S. La Brea Avenue at Stocker).
The Gerald Wilson Orchestra recorded a live album at Marty’s on the Hill, and from these sessions came the version of “Viva Tiradoâ€Â that was covered in 1969 for a hit by El Chicano.
Saxophonist Earl Bostic recorded a bunch of LPs for King Records and hit with “Harlem Nocturneâ€Â in 1954. He’d moved to L.A. after a stint in Lionel Hampton’s band with Teddy Edwards. Bostic opened his R&B club during the 1950s.
A change in logos took place during the animated ’60s. Earl Bostic passed away in 1965, with his family keeping the business going until 1969, when it was purchased by Jerry ???. Jerry’s father had owned Bop City in San Francisco.
The exterior of what is now Jerry’s Flying Fox at 3724 W. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
The original neon of the Flying Fox
Swervy interior bar and dance floor at Jerry’s Flying Fox (award winning Gumbo served on Fridays)
Dumb Angel editors Domenic Priore and Brian Chidester talk to Jerry underneath the club’s entrance corridor.
Jerry ???? is a real cool guy.
Billy Preston, performing here on Shindig!, was one of the many great artists that was a regular on the L.A. R&B scene during the ’50s and ’60s.
In 1966, a new kind of club opened on Crenshaw Boulevard. Thoroughly absorbing the psychedelic and Playboy Club themes prevalent on Sunset Strip, John Daniels opened Maverick’s Flat. (4225 Crenshaw Boulevard)
An early ad for Maverick’s Flat featuring the Olympics, a “Go-Go Nite,â€Â the play “For My Peopleâ€Â and a weeks upcoming engagement by bongo man Willie Bobo.
On opening night of Maverick’s Flat in January of 1966, the Temptations played. When he got a load of the interior, songwriter and producer Norman Whitfiled told Maverick’s owner John Daniels, “Man, what you’ve got here is a psychedelic shack!â€Â The Tempations later recorded a hit single by that name, with the album cover evocative of Maverick’s.
Exterior night shot of Maverick’s Flat today.
The entrance lobby of Maverick’s Flat. Cubist paintings hang behind the ticket booth.
In the Temptations’ song based on the club, they sing “you can have your fortune told, you can learn the meaning of soulâ€Â. Here is the fortune teller in the entrance of Maverick’s Flat.
Maverick’s Flat is loaded with fluffy couches, including this one in the funk-tique entrance.
African artwork graces many of the doorknob handles at Maverick’s Flat.
Owner John Daniels adapted Maverick’s Flat from what was once an old Arthur Murray dance studio, as evidenced by a logo which remains on the entryway floor.
The dance floor is braced by an observation table glazed with colored glass artwork.
A space age reclining den is adjacent to the main room.
One of several romantic getaway rooms situated inside Maverick’s Flat.
The colored glass mosaic detail in the getaway room shows a debt to the work of Simon Rodia at the Watts Towers.
The exotic flavor includes an individually decorated ceiling fan.
The main stage of Maverick’s Flat, plus mirrored surroundings.
The cavernous atmosphere of Maverick’s dance floor and stage.
One of the local acts that played Maverick’s Flat was Brenton Wood (here backed by Senor Soul, a Double Shot recording artist). Wood’s hits include “Gimme A Little Sign,â€Â “The Oogum Boogum Song,â€Â “Baby You Got Itâ€Â and “Me And Youâ€Â.
Senor Soul evolved out of a band called The Afro-Blues Quintet + 1, who recorded for Mira Records. Even earlier, members had been in the Creators on Dore Records (“Burn,â€Â 1965). The Afro-Blues Quintet + 1 also held down house band dates at Shelly’s Manne-Hole and The Living Room, a lounge upstairs behind Ciro’s Le Disc on Sunset Strip.
A promotional photo for their first LP Senor Soul Plays Funky Favorites. The band would have a further evolution and became War in 1969, backing Eric Burdon at Thee Experience and recording “Spill The Wineâ€Â with him. They had their own hits including “The World is Ghetto,â€Â “Cisco Kid,â€Â “Slippin’ Into Darknessâ€Â and “Low Riderâ€Â.
The psychedelic experience hits South Central in this Maverick’s Flat mural. This is well before the Bitches Brew album by Miles Davis.
A groovy long shot of the Maverick’s Flat exterior with neon ablaze.
Nothing better than being Est. 1966, is there?
New Nightclub photos by Larry Underhill
Just released is David Anderle’s book of art, entitled Better Late Than Never. Of note are 1966 portraits of both Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson during their psychedelic phase. These portraits, as well as a host of other paintings, are inspired by the physically elongated mythological style of Modigilani.
And now, for an out-take teaser from the newly-released book by Domenic Priore, called Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock ’n’ Roll’s Last Stand in Hollywood (foreword by Arthur Lee, Jawbone Press, London), available at bookstores and online everywhere.
The Yardbirds Building.
Currently under reconstruction on the Southeast corner of Sunset and Vine is a place I’ve been referring to for a while now as “The Yardbirds Building,â€Â which was formerly highlighted by a club with a swinging Modern motif, “Room At The Topâ€Â. The advertisement makes note of this being a cool place to hang out after a performance at Greek Theater or Hollywood Bowl.
Posing in front of Room At The Top’s ground-floor entrance fountain is the Grass Roots, who in 1966 were riding high on the local charts with “Mr. Jones,â€Â a garage punk cover of Bob Dylan’s “Ballad of a Thin Manâ€Â. The group also charted that year with “Where Were You When I Needed Youâ€Â.
Checking out the pool-like effervescence at Room At The Top, The Yadbirds, as far as I’m concerned, seem to own the building. Therefore, it is theirs, philosophically. It would be pretty difficult to imagine anyone cooler levitating this space. Left to right, Keith Relf, Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, Jeff Beck and Paul Samwell Smith, 1965.
Riot on Sunset Sunset Strip: Rock ’n’ Roll’s Last Stand in Hollywood by Domenic Priore Book Tour, Symposium Series, Film and Radio Events
The Dumb Angel Website invites you to please drop by any of these (mostly free) events that will be circling around the release of Dom’s new book this summer. He’s worked on it for nine years, and as his collaborator on past projects, I’m floored at what he was able to come up with. – Brian Chidester
Friday, July 6, Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco (guest Michael Stuart-Ware from the band Love)
Thursday, July 12, Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Strip, West Hollywood (guest Michael Stuart-Ware from the band Love)
RADIO on Wednesday, July 18, “Quiet City” on Luxuriamusic.com, 6-9 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. A Riot on Sunset Strip set will be featured w/ Domenic at the turntables
Friday, July 27, Bluestockings Radical Books, 172 Allen Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan (1966 Sunset Strip slide show and guest TBA)
RADIO on Sunday, July 29, WFMU “The Gaylord Fields Show,” 3-5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (wfmu.org)
Tuesday, July 31, Barnes & Noble, Astor Place, Manhattan (between Greenwich Village and East Village, near the corner of Broadway and Lafayette). Special guest Barry Feinstein, photographer of the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” fisheye LP cover and director of 1966 L.A. scene documentary “You Are What You Eat”
Friday, August 10, Secret Cinema @ Philedelphia Society of Free Letts (Latvian Society), 531 N. 7th Street, Philadelphia PA. Screening of “Riot on Sunset Strip” plus 1966 Sunset Strip slide show and DJ/dance after-party. Contact: Jay Schwartz (917) 446-3087 – $7 @ 7 p.m.
RADIO on Saturday, August 11, Luxuriamusic.com special New York City edition of “Riot on Sunset Strip” featuring DJs Phast Phreddie, Domenic Priore and Audrey Moorehead. 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.
Sunday, August 12, Academy LPs/CDs, 96 N. 6th Street, Williamsburg (Brooklyn) featuring an in-store performance by the Nashville Ramblers (who appear on the Children of Nuggets box set) performing tunes by the Leaves, the Bobby Fuller Four, the Dovers, the Addrissi Brothers, the Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds etc. Free show starts at 6 p.m. and goes until 8 p.m.
RADIO on Wednesday, August 15, “Quiet City” on Luxuriamusic.com, 6-9 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. A Riot on Sunset Strip set will be featured w/ Domenic at the turntables
Thursday, August 16, McNally-Robinson Booksellers Inc., 52 Prince Street, Nolita, Manhattan. (guest TBA) Seems we’ll be gathering at Lombardi’s Pizza after this one…
Saturday, August 18, East Coast Beach Boys Fan Convention, Southbury, Conneticut, Crowne Plaza Hotel. Beatnik Beach slide show (L.A. coffeehouses and jazz joints of the late ’50s and early ’60s). Noon. (cover charge, please check online)
TENATIVE GUESTS in the New York City book stores include artist Gary Panter (Screamers, Pee Wee’s Playhouse), Jim Pons (main guy in the Leaves, of “Hey Joe” fame), Artie Kornfeld (West Coast/East Coast mid-’60s record producer/songwriter who saw it all and later organized Woodstock) and Laura Kenyon (of Lyme & Cybelle… a duo in which her partner was a very young Warren Zevon).
Saturday, September 8, Vroman’s Book Store, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena (guest TBA) 4-6 p.m.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 14, 15 and 16, Riot on Sunset Strip Weekend at the American Cinematheque, Egyptian Theater, Hollywood Boulevard. Features (so far) include a Friday night show with “Riot on Sunset Strip” and “You Are What You Eat,” Saturday night it’ll be “The Trip” and “Mondo Hollywood” and we’re still setting up Sunday, possible matinees and live music, and possibly, a bazzar in the Egyptian’s entrance corridor.
The story so far… later events at the West Hollywood Book Fair, Sponto Gallery in Venice, and plans are in the works for events in Austin and Seattle. If you’re interested in booking an event, please contact Kevin Becketti (Jawbone Press) at (510) 528-1444 extension 235
JAN & DEAN BOX SET ?? Jan Berry has been dead for more than three years now. We’re getting endless Beach Boys re-issues . . . but where’s the love for Jan & Dean? We need a comprehensive box set of Jan & Dean material including the original mono versions of the singles and album cuts, as well as studio outtakes and backing tracks.
We also need an official release of CARNIVAL OF SOUND (1968) . . . the last great diamond in the rough for Jan & Dean. This is one of the last mysterious unreleased albums from the Psychedelic era. It was a major studio project (recorded at United, Western, and Goldstar) for a major label (Warner Bros.).
Also . . . stay tuned for a cool Jan & Dean interview with Mark Moore . . . on FM radio from the New York City area. We’ll post the details and air date as soon as we get them.
Man, were me and my record geek friends excited when all that DRUNKS WITH GUNS vinyl started pouring forth in the mid/late 80s. Exceptionally rare, exceptionally raw noise of a sort I’d never heard before, totally rooted in FLIPPER-fied sludge but taking the evilness and gutter-scraping depravity to a new low. It sounds pretty wack in this day & age, doesn’t it? Years ago I tentatively rendered a posthumous Juke Box Jury verdict on these guys as INNOCENT, with this commentary:
“Could be a real easy one for most to dismiss without actually listening to their late 80s output, as their shtick revolved around way-“heavyâ€Â topics like blood, guns, deviant sexual behavior etc. All well and good when you’re in the naïve, blossoming flower of youth, but it doesn’t wear so well on a 35-year-old. But St. Louis’ Drunks With Guns, who barely released anything back in the day that you could actually find without resorting to extreme ninja record collecting tactics, mitigated all of their youthful stupidity with the most flattening, bottom-heavy creepy crawl THUD that moved well beyond the benchmark set by FLIPPER into new realms of heavy ugliness. I listened the other day to some of their achievements, and tracks like “Drunks Themeâ€Â “Hellhouseâ€Â and, uh, “Dick In One Handâ€Â still have it. They also were blessed with a terrific vocalist (Mike Doskocil) who “sangâ€Â with an affected miserable, angry white trash drunkard’s voice, and actually pulled it off. Many lesser lights have tried, and for all their raw, chapped vocal cords and belligerent posturing, their bands’ records are sitting in the 99-cent bins today (Iowa Beef Experience or god forbid, TAD, anyone?). Meanwhile, Drunks With Guns vinyl changes hands for $50+ for each of those impossibly rare 45s. JUKE BOX JURY VERDICT? Never mind the rarity – for their bloodthirsty music alone, I call DWG INNOCENT.â€Â
A few years so, and I’m actually going with the 1987 “Alter Human Industrial Fetishismsâ€Â (whatever that means) 7â€ÂEP as their high-water mark. 500 copies on Dental Records. This was the last record with guitarist Stan Seitrich, who went on to form the tasteful and refined Strangulated Beatoffs (who were a lesser version of DWG by far). If pressed before a jury of my peers, I’d admit that this stuff is all pretty silly at the end of the day – but ah, the memories of more simple, less judgmental times. Here are all three songs for ya.
Pasted below is my review of Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer By Chris Salewicz
This review was to run in the print version of The Memphis Flyer’s literary supplement, but due to my belligerent disregard of the needed word count, it’s online-only. Still, it appears that a lot was cut. Online is better than no-line.
Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer By Chris Salewicz Farrar Straus and Giroux, 640 pp., $30
Introducing: Everything you’ve ever want to know about Johnny Mellor — aka Woody Mellor, aka Joe Strummer (of the Clash) — who tragically passed away in 2002 due to an undiagnosed heart condition. But talk about exhaustive biographies: Chris Salewicz’s Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer takes the cake. Most music biographies fall victim to too much pre-fame, pre-relevance, and youth coverage, and Redemption Song is no different. Occasionally in the opening pages, Salewicz does flash-forward and back through Strummer’s adolescence, the Clash era, and post-death accounts from friends and relatives. For the most part, though, Redemption Song follows in chronological order, and the highlights of the first 160 pages — some of it slow reading — are as follows:ÂÂ
Strummer’s older brother suffered from depression and committed suicide when Strummer was 18. This had a massive impact on Strummer’s life and creative drive, including Strummer’s pre-Clash concern, the 101′ers, a decent pub rock band that never released recordings while together. Salewicz also traces during this period the ongoing development of Strummer’s stoicism offstage and drama and high energy onstage, behavior that came to its fruition with the Clash. Naturally, the Clash sections of Redemption Song beat out the book’s beginning and end in terms of readability. Most interesting is the fact that the band was created by an impresario, just like the Sex Pistols, who had Malcolm McLaren. The Clash was more or less masterminded by a lesser known but equally brilliant London scenester/hustler by the name of Bernard (â€ÂBernieâ€Â) Rhodes. The political phrases pasted on Strummer’s Telecaster, for example? That was Rhodes successfully launching a trend that carries on to this day.ÂÂ
Salewicz’s writing is workmanlike, and he gets the job done. It also helps that the author was a good friend of Strummer’s. This intimacy benefits Redemption Song, peppering it with minute details that a less familiar biographer might not know. After the Clash folded, Strummer busied himself with sporadic projects, including but not limited to soundtrack work for Sid and Nancy, co-writing much of the second Big Audio Dynamite (Mick Jones’ post-Clash project) album, and recording a 1989 solo album, EarthquakeWeather, which turned out to be a flop.ÂÂ
The closing portion of Redemption Song is given over to Strummer’s final three to four years with the Mescaleros, his handpicked band, which made a respectable impact by jumping all over the musical map: reggae, roots-rock, ska, and much cover material. It was with this group that Strummer reignited the spark that burned hot during his days with the Clash. Clash fans are encouraged to check out Pat Gilbert’s Passion Is the Fashion: The Story of the Clash. For Strummer fanatics, see Redemption Song. — Andrew EarlesÂÂ
My first favorite punk songs in the early 80s were all female-throated: “The American In Meâ€Â by THE AVENGERS, “100% White Girlâ€Â by THE VKTMS and, uh, “Nuclear Warâ€Â by SIN 34 (don’t get angry, but a major SIN 34 post is coming to the ‘Twang in the near future). It was likely the incongruity of raw, ripping female vocals over raw, ripping punk rock music that hooked me in – and so I went searching for these records in my youth, primarily at Rasputin’s in Berkeley, CA. As mentioned previously, I saw a 45 called “White Girlâ€Â with a great sleeve and bought it – took it to my grandparents’, waited ‘til they’d exited the premises, and then plopped it on at full blast. What a letdown! I had bought X’s “White Girlâ€Â 45 instead of THE VKTMS’ – and I totally hated it (love it now, as I do the first two X singles).
It took a while, but I finally got my own copy of the “`100% White Girlâ€Â 45 by San Francisco’s VKTMS. It’s a straight-up screamer in the late 70s style, released in 1980. There’s a lot more information on the band located both here and here. If I’m not mistaken, I’m actually the third person to post this to the world. Now you truly have no excuse to own these ones & zeros (by the way, the B-side’s lame, as was almost the entirety of this band’s output beyond 2-3 songs).
