Issue No. 4

MIA – Modern way…..an extraordinary band. I knew these guys and they were fun to watch perform and to be around. Mike Conley, the singer, recently passed away and I regret not being able to attend the benefit concert for his surviving family. He was a classic guy’s guy. I marveled at his natural ability to enter a crowd and have people gravitate toward him. I recall one Friday night a bunch of us went out to dinner to a restaurant and he told us to order anything on the menu. His buddy was the server and he arranged to throw away the ticket as long as we took care of him….maybe not the most honest practice…..so what, just harmless, mischievous fun…much like MIA.
JFA (Jody Foster’s Army) - Beach Blanket Bong out……I liked JFA’s irreverence and their unshakable ability to create an atmosphere of “non-tension”. They were skate board junkies that made music that typified their skater mentality…..fast, furious and without a hint of commercialism. I couldn’t skate a lick….but I had a Santa Cruz board!
Angry Samoans - Lights out…..tough to explain this band. They appeared very serious on stage…..hard and stoic and yet the lyrics to their songs were hilarious……as far from serious as you could get……and not an angry Samoan in the bunch. One of my all time favorite song titles came from their “Back from Samoa” l.p………”They saved Hitler’s cock”…..classic punk mentality.
Hüsker Dü– Celebrated summer…..A thought provoking trio that always made me feel melancholy when I listened to their music. Maybe it was because we were both from the Midwest…..who knows…..they combined the hard elements of punk with their own grizzled form of melody. I believe celebrated summer captures my lasting vision of Hüsker Dü. Incidentally, to this day whenever I need to make a u-turn in a car I refer to it as a “Hüsker Dü”…..who knows.
The Freeze – Refrigerator heaven…..Another quality Boston area band. Along with the signature East Coast hard sound, these guys mixed in some clever, humorous lyrics. Though the predominant rivalry for Boston was New York, it was rather obvious when the compilation “This is Boston, not L.A.” came out that they weren’t big fans of the Southern California scene. As bands toured however, the prejudices seemed to melt away. Nothing is ever as good or bad as you think it will be.
Symbol Six – Symbol six…..I always thought that this song was catchy. Aside from this 45rpm I really never heard much from these guys. I remember hearing them occasionally on Rodney on the Roq’s radio show, but they must have disbanded by the time I was frequenting gigs (1981-82). To me it was a poppy combination of early TSOL and Agent Orange (two great bands). Solid musicianship.
Die Kreuzen – All white/Fighting…..Another Minnesota powerhouse. All white is such a well crafted song. Simple, driving beat with an eerie almost horror movie feel……We had the pleasure of opening up for them at the 930 club in Washington D.C. and after our set I couldn’t wait to push my way up front for their set…..they were great……I threw in “Fighting” not only because I think it kicks ass but because after 4 tries I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t quick enough to pick up the needle without F-ing up the recording!
D.O.A. – The enemy…..Right off the bat I need to say that Chuck Biscuits was THE best drummer I ever saw…….period. Crazy, powerful, fluid and rock solid. His drum sticks were as thick as the legs on my Grandmothers kitchen table. Anyway, this Canadian import was a fun band to watch live. You can’t go wrong with a lead singer/guitarist that goes by the name Joey Shithead, right? True story…..my buddy and I went to see a show at “Dancing Waters” near Long Beach, CA and we got there early enough to listen to their sound check. Immediately after we struck up a conversation with Joey about nothing in particular and when the club owner was escorting everyone out so that they could begin charging admission Joey said that we were with the band and we got in for free. A simple gesture but 20 some odd years later I still acknowledge kindness.
The Dicks – Anti-Klan (part 1)…..This Texas band was not a stereotypical punk outfit. None the less, I liked their sound. It was bar bandishy southern rock with an edge. Gary’s, the singer, voice was reminiscent of Elvis’…… if he was gargling a handful of sand. Along with the “Big Boys”, the Dicks brought their own unique Texas twist to the punk movement.
Social Unrest – Rush hour…..A bay area band that featured an English front man that played emotionally charged music. Much as it is today, San Francisco was a hot bed of politically motivated activists. Maximum Rock N Roll, Alternative Tentacles Records, KPFA 94.1, the DK’s, etc. were driving forces for individualized thought in the punk movement…….passionate, intelligent, structured, highly motivated men and women of action…….oh, yet another cool name for a singer, too……..”Creetin K-OS”.
Zero Boys – High places…..The one and only time I saw this band live they actually startled me. Their opening song was so sudden and powerful it caught me off guard…..kinda like when you hear a loud bang when you’re not expecting one. A very pleasant surprise. I was impressed by their confidence so far from home (they hailed from Indiana) and on a bill with three heavyweights (Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, MDC).
Kraut – Unemployment…..Kraut was from NYC, but unlike the bands I was most familiar with (Youth of Today, Agnostic Front, Cause for Alarm etc.), their sound to me was edgy Clash-like in its presentation. I saw them once in of all places San Diego, Ca……we played together at an indoor gymnasium…. basketball court and all. Their drummer, Johnny Feedback…cool name, was sick with the flu and was puking right up until they started. It didn’t affect his playing or their show…..both exceptional. One funny thing that happened while we were playing….San Diego had a notoriously violent scene….lots of skinheads and fights. A couple of asses were throwing stuff on stage during our set and I remember our singer, Pat Dubar, getting more and more pissed off…..so he lured one of them up to the stage and cracked him in the mouth with his microphone…..about 30 seconds later I could see a projectile headed my way from the back of the audience…..my drums were situated directly beneath the basketball hoop and as I was playing I watched the object slam into the backboard above me and splatter everywhere…..it was a bean burrito! Sometimes playing in a band can be an interesting experience to say the least.
Crass – Big A Little A…..If I had a week I don’t think it would be possible to absorb all the messages in a Crass record sleeve….let alone a lyric sheet. To say that Crass is intense is like saying getting kicked in the nuts by a mule is a minor annoyance….it reeks of understatement. Big A Little A is a great song with great lyrics. Through a 17 year olds eyes Crass painted a complicated, revolutionary picture. Twenty-six years later I appreciate their energy so much more….. Passion is something to be admired no matter the source or inspiration. If there is one thing that I’ve learned it’s the simple, yet sometimes painful truth that youth may be wasted on the young….. but experience is an acceptable consolation prize!