30 Jan 2012

Vomit Launch

Vomit Launch were a rock band from Chico, California from 1985 to 1992. They released four proper albums and toured, mostly playing the West Coast with one East Coast jaunt. Some people liked them.

Vomit Launch, 1987
In January 1985, in the college town of Chico, California, Gene Story decided he wanted to start a band, with the idea that they could sound like 4AD groups such as the Cocteau Twins or This Mortal Coil. He asked Lindsey Thrasher and Patricia Rowland to join. Being friends with all involved, Larry Crane offered to play bass (borrowed from roommate, Steve Valin) and the use of his house to practice. Lindsey owned a guitar and it wasn't yet determined what Patricia would be doing. Basically Gene never made it to practice, but somehow friends Tim Smyth and Toni Smith dropped by for the first rehearsal with guitars, amps and percussion equipment. Patricia was conned into buying a drum machine, persuaded to set aside her viola and became the vocalist.

Vomit Launch: Larry Crane, Lindsey Thrasher, Patricia Rowland, Steve Bragg
Rehearsing a couple of times, the group was asked to play a house party and needed a name. Some time before this group had assembled, Lindsey and Doug Roberts drank a bunch of wine and created a list of possible band names for future use. Unfortunately among these names were Truckload of Fuckers, Fuckload of Truckers and Vomit Launch. Needing a name with a 'gig' fast approaching, the band decided Vomit Launch would be a fantastic choice! The party was quite a success, according to those who remembered anything the next day.

Vomit Launch Exiled Sandwich LP (Rat Box Records, 1988)

Vomit Launch – Wane
Get it here.


Vomit Launch – What Cross (from Devil in the Woods #2 cassette, 1986)
Get it here.

Vomit Launch – Switch (Michael Bahr, 1990)

For a detailed history, tons of pics and songs, please visit Vomit Launch's official site.

29 Jan 2012

How minimal can you get? #38

Jr. Chemists
I met Dawn in Art Studio Class at Arizona State University in 1979. Ron Gasowski taught the class and he had a big influence on us. Dawn was a very ambitious girl with a lot of energy. I met Mike through Dawn and we were all hanging out and discovering the Punk Rock scene of Phoenix together. I had already started a band, Thuh Advo-cats, with my friend Bruce. Dawn wanted to get in on some of that band action. So Dawn, Mike and I started up the Jr. CHemists. Bruce and I had a dirt floor basement in our house off of 16th Street and a meger amount of equipment and that is where we rehearsed. Mike was a real musician compared to anyone I ever played with. He actually tuned the guitars! Radical. We practiced and got a bunch of songs together and started playing at Hate House. Dawn was a great schmoozer and were were soon playing in clubs as they would appear to present this Punk Rock muisic. We had a lot of fun, which was our objective. Michael went on to form JFA, skate boarding his way into punk rock musical history. Dawn clicked her heels and returned to Kansas. Brendan deVallance

Jr. Chemists: Brendan deVallance, Dawn Kelly and Michael Cornelius
Mix equal parts Talking Heads, B-52s and Beat Happening and add the sense of humor only found in the Valley Of The Sun, and you get a pterry good on-paper approximation of the Chemists’ sound. Their songs – Cool Reef, Spooky Cooties, I Don’t Want To Have Fun, Voodoo In My Pants – packed epic party anthem into a light touch. The Meat Puppets even used to play the Chemists’ 90 Miles in rehearsal. I don’t think we ever performed it in front of an audience though.Derrick Bostrom (Meat Puppets)

VA Arizona Disease 7" (Subterranean Records, 1981)

Jr. Chemists – Building a Fort
Get it here.

More info, pics (and songs!) here.