reeves@ucla-cs.UUCP (09/18/85)
The last time I made a recommendation, I got it up and down for not knowing
of the existence of a Souxie & the Banshees singles compilation. This time
I've checked with the record collection before posting, but there still may
be omissions, outright lies, etc. Any corrections or extensions would be
appreciated.
History: The Cramps got together during the New York punk scene of 1975-
76. Lineup #1 was Lux Interior, vocals, Ivy Rosarch, guitar, Brain
Gregory, guitar, and Nick Knox, drums. Predating both the (American)
rockabilly revival and death/ghoul rock genres, the Cramps were most
frequently characterized as 'punkabilly'; Rosarch cranked up the reverb to
cover both the rhythm and bass (like Link Wray or the surf guitarists),
while Gregory did the leads: mostly white noise and punctuation. Visually,
this was one tough outfit. Candles burned on top of the amps (Congo Powers
once lit his hair on fire leaning over to screw with the knobs), Knox
hammers on one of the smallest drum kits ever put on stage, Gregory spit
butts through his white forlock, and Interior rolls on the audience in his
lowriding leather pants, chewing on whatever kind of garbage was passed up.
Gregory split to form a performace art-type band in San Francisco
sometime in 1979, amid rumors of his increasing interest in the occult. He
was replaced by a female guitarist (from the NYC-based Mad, reportedly a
Sonic Youth style noise/anarchy band), whose only vinyl apperance is on the
_Urgh! A Music War_ soundtrack (lineup #2). She was replaced by Kid Congo
Powers (ex-Gun Club) (lineup #3) when the band relocated to Los Angeles in
1981. Powers left in 1984, supposedly to rejoin the Gun Club (which has
since broken up). I don't know if Powers appears on Jeffery Lee Pierce's
solo record.
Interior and Rosarch are avid record collectors, explaining the number
of obscure, 'Pebbles'ish cover versions on their records, and recently
appeared on Stella's Friday night radio show on KXLU to play weird old jazz
records. They haven't done any live shows in quite a while, but one can
hope that they've been woodshedding and plotting for the future.
LP's and EP's:
_Gravest Hits_ (Illegal/A&M) Five song EP produced by Alex Chilton
(Boxtops, Big Star) in Memphis, 1977. Human Fly / Surfin Bird / The Way I
Walk / Domino / Lonesome Town. (Lineup #1)
_Songs The Lord Taught Us_ (Illegal/IRS) LP produced by Alex Chilton.
(Lineup #1)
_Psychedelic Jungle_ (IRS) LP self produced in January, 1981. (Lineup #3).
_Smell of Female_ (Enigma) Six song EP recorded live at the Peppermint
Lounge, NYC Feburary 1983. (Lineup #3).
_Off the Bone_ (Illegal U.K. Import) Singles compilation, contains all of
_Gravest Hits_ .
Singles:
Human Fly b/w Domino (Vengeance) a DIY single from the sessions that
produced _Gravest Hits_. (I think that Surfin Bird b/w The Way I Walk was
also released as a single). (Lineup #1).
Fever b/w Garbageman (Illegal U.K.) from _Songs..._ (Lineup #1).
Garbageman b/w Drug Train (Illegal/IRS) A-side is from' _Songs..._ , B-side
appears on _Off the Bone_. (Lineup #1).
Drug Train b/w Love Me / I Can't Hardly Stand It (Illegal U.K.) appears on
_Off the Bone_. (Lineup #1).
The Crusher b/w New Kind of Kick / Save It (IRS) 12" single from
_Psychedelic Jungle_. (Lineup #3).
Other Appearances:
'Tear it Up' on the _Urgh! A Music War_ soundtrack (IRS) (lineup #2).
(Could also appear in the movie, I haven't seen it).
An Ep or 12" single with a yellow cover, featuring a Savage Pencil-like
caricature. I don't know what's on it.
One unreleased track on an IRS compilation. I've forgotton the name of both
the compilation and the song.
'Surfin Dead' on the _Return of the Living Dead_ soundtrack (Enigma). I
haven't seen this record so I don't know who plays on it. The record also
features the killer Michael Wagner (X, Dokken, Accept) production of 45
Grave's 'Party-time'.
Recommendation:
One of the best American punk bands, the Cramps are unique, original, and
any other superlative for great stuff. Not for the musically timid or
audiophiles. _Off the Bone_ gives the best coverage (if you can find it),
but I'm partial to _Songs the Lord Taught Us_.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND???".
John Reeves
Computer Science Department UUCP: ...!{ihnp4,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!reeves
A.I. Lab, 3531 Boelter Hall ARPA: reeves@LOCUS.UCLA.EDUchrisb@haddock.UUCP (09/23/85)
Speaking of the Cramps, I happened to be in a bar that was showing wierd underground videos last night. One of them was about twenty minutes of the Cramps playing at a free concert for the California State Mental Hospital in Napa, CA. It was from 1978, so real vintage stuff. Lux Interior was jerking and writhing around as usual, but the fact that there were all these mental patients hopping around and grabbing at him made it even wilder than usual. At one point he was passing the microphone around for various people to sceach into. I remember one thing he said: "We drove over 3,000 miles to play for you people. Yeah, they tell me you all are crazy, but you look allright to me!" Too much! Another anecdote: when they were playing in Boston about two years ago (they usually do a show here on Halloween), some guy up front was trying to start a fight with Lux Interior, so Lux takes his microphone and starts beating the guy on the head with it, which of course was greatly amplified creating a BOOM BOOM BOOM in the place. Then he says, "let that be a lesson. Rock and Roll is about f*cking, not fighting!" Also at this bar were shown two flicks from the southern CA punk scene, "Suburbia" and "Desperate Teenage Lovedolls". The latter falls into the "so bad, it's good" category. Anyone heard of either of these? -Zachary Daiquiri Cock