Phranc – Lifelover (Surf Punks, 1981 TV documentary by Frans Bromet)
“‘Lifelover’ is a song that I wrote a very long time ago. It was one of the very first songs that I wrote, around the time of ‘Take Off Your Swastika’. I wrote the song in a suicidal state. I wrote the song because I was so depressed that I wanted to die and I thought, if I
write this song and I kill myself, I'll look really stupid. It was self-preservation that I wrote that song out of. And I tell you it has completely turned around and become my anthem. And… well that's where that song came from. It came from a very dark place, and my life has become very bright, because of it.” Phranc
Animal Things “Animal Things was part [of] the early San Francisco Bay Area Punk
Rock/Underground/Experimental music scene. They existed from late
1970's through mid to late 1980's. They now exist in cyberspace.” Official website
“They were the first
official P.E.T Rock band; other notable P.E.T. Rock bands are Flipper
and Church Police. P=Potentially E=Entertaining T=Torture.” Dominique Leslie
P.E.T. Rock flyer
“The ‘Red Spot’ compilation is from 1981, and it also happens to be the
best representation of the great mixing of ‘art’ and ‘punk’ from this
time. You get the Fried Abortions doing one-take proto-hardcore with ‘Joel Selvin’ (‘you're such a lively fart’, a brutal takedown of the
ossified hippie culture still dominating local media) along with some of
the early kings of artpunk in Minimal Man, the Wounds and the menacing
Animal Things, who really should have produced their own full-length.
Their track ‘Wanna Buy Some?’ is a simultaneously scathing and hilarious
attack on the looming hard drugs scene and the over-worshipped New York
no wave posse: ‘Wanna buy some fucking heroin, wanna buy some fucking
dust… get the funk outta punk!’” Sgt. Slaughter
Brain Damage “In 1985, after the deaths of Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor Moscone and the infamous ‘Twinkie-defense’ trial of their assailant, Brain Damage rush-released their ‘Kill Dan White’ EP, which showcased a dizzying range of musical stylings. The spectacularly wheezy, garagey loopiness of ‘You're Not the One’ is our favorite…”Chuck Warner
Brain Damage
“I believe this was recorded in 1979. 4 tracks of male/female vocal sloppy artpunk, title track is great.” Chris Renna
Brain Damage Kill Dan White Party 7" EP (More To Come Productions, 1985)
Brain Damage – You're Not The One
One more song here.
Any info related to Brain Damage would be greatly appreciated.
Originally posted December 5, 2009
“Experimental punk, No Trend meet Blight at a Nuclear Crayons gig… some traces of the NY no wave sound, too. Interesting but a bit too artsy for my taste. B side has same music but vocals in dub reggae style (taped-delayed voice fragments).” Burkhard Järisch
“As the harDCore promoter, I ‘discovered’ the noise band No Trend and ran their label — releasing their first four discs (7", 12" and two LPs), and a single by John Gibson’s fucked-funk band, Mission For Christ.” Steven Blush
“Centered around bassist John Gibson (aka JC Agnatha), MFC featured a
rotating cast that was equally well-versed in full-throttle punk, go-go
funk, and art-damaged junk. Active when DC was too often portrayed as
an urban wasteland split by racial and geographical divides, this
loose-knit project flaunted an absurd, topical, and gleefully bizarre
mesh of styles that recklessly disregarded subcultures, colors, and easy
definitions. Its personnel casually bridged the disparate scenes that
boiled over in their backyards, using dissonance, dub, and Dadaist
nonsense to aesthetically fit in with the varied likes of Bad Brains,
Scream, Void, 9353, Half Japanese, Outrage, the Psychotics, Trouble
Funk, Rare Essence, and anonymous street-corner percussion ensembles.” Jordan N. Mamone
“The
personnel in MFC were a diverse lot with diverse tastes. The band was
kind of a mash-up of all those influences shoehorned into a punk format.” John Gibson
“Mission for Christ might not have been as confrontational as No Trend,
but its mix of sounds certainly challenges notions of hardcore’s
orthodoxy: It excitedly combines elements of dub, dance, noise, art
rock, and, most interestingly, unmistakable go-go beats. Perhaps that
stylistic line-crossing was a political statement, but the band seems
less interested in any radical message than a radically open musical
sensibility. That’s evident by its name, which was neither a spiritual
call to arms nor a sarcastic dig at religion, but simply a tribute to a
musical inspiration: the in-house band at a church called Mission for
Christ.” Marc Masters
Noise-A-Thon '83" @ Lansburgh's, October 30, 1983. Mission
For Christ as the opening band
“The original version of the band was a side-project of my band the
Psychotics a funk-reggae-rock band and the Static Disruptors, later to
become Outrage, a Go-Go-Rock band. We figured let’s do a punk band, and
that’s what came out. The second version of the band was some college
buddies of mine and I having a good time. But in both cases, the
aesthetic was ecclectic and indeed not tied to any punk orthodoxy. A good example is the time we played a gig in Stamford Ct., and pulled
up to the venue blasting Miles Davis on the car stereo. The punks looked
on with WTF expressions on their faces.” John Gibson
“In the annals of East Coast hardcore, Mission for Christ is a largely
forgotten footnote consigned to the memories of erudite collectors and
No Trend obsessives. Frantic Google searches yield scant revelations
save for an impressive array of Lutheran churches. This is a pity
because the group's unselfconscious style-smelting and
boundary-breaching still stounds necessary in the balkanized, tidily
categorized tonal landscape of the present, where factions, cliques, and
fashions abide despite the alleged democratization of music afforded by
technology. But such is human nature. As a result of this CD retrospective, one can only hope that a disenfranchised punk or an
enterprising DJ might concot a freaky cover or remix of ‘Pennies from
Hell’. Perhaps they may feel compelled to join forces for the occasion,
then utlimately opt to make their own glorious mess together instead.” Jordan N. Mamone
Mission for Christ – Pennies from Hell
Great news! Ektro Records has released Mission for Christ: The Complete Sessions, a CD that reprises MFC's nine-song 1983 demo cassette and adds six previously unheard
compositions dating from 1984.
You can also listen to their song “Nancy Reagan” from the 2 Jews, a Black, a Woman and a Cripple 1983 demo cassette here.
“It was more performance art than rock and roll. But it gave me a healthy disregard for musicianship. It's ideas that are important, not proficiency.” Ian Broudie
“Elegant Doormats were the trio of long time ST 37 bassist / vocalist Scott Telles, Leigh Newsom on guitar and original ST 37 drummer John Foxworth, plus guests on synths, guitar and electric cello. A lot of this reminds me of Elliott Sharp’s mid-80s band Mofungo, with it’s avant punky song style, quirky ever-shifting rhythms and always interesting guitar work. Though of course as this was released in 1986 it’s entirely possible that Sharp heard Elegant Doormats and then formed Mofungo. Ya never know! In any event, the band produced some really good songs that were accessible, often humorous, and backed by thoughtfully arranged and well played music. ‘Ninety-Two’ is one of my favorites and definitely a track with the synth, cello and extra guitar guests. The style is similar to the previous tracks but it’s got a much better and fuller sound, with lots of cool freaky guitar bits and efx embellishments. In fact, the subsequent tracks all seem to have the better recorded sound. I could actually come up with a load of 1980s analogies that Elegant Doormats sound like, though the Doormat have most of them beat in terms of having played more imaginative instrumental arrangements. The closing track, ‘Cryph (Last Pale Mammoth)’ is a bit different from the rest, sounding like a 7 minute heavy psych, no-wave instrumental. It rocks hard and freaks out! Diehard ST 37 who want some history should check this out, as should anyone into the 1980s avant-rock underground. Crazy songs for silly souls.” Jerry Kranitz
“[Scott] Telles formed the Elegant Doormats in spring 1982 with original
ST 37 drummer John Foxworth (who later joined Tulum). The group endured
for five years, playing with bands like the Butthole Surfers and the
Reivers, and recording with legendary God of Hellfire Arthur Brown.” ST 37
“ST 37 was formed in January 1987 as a merger of sorts between Austin cult
bands Tulum and the Elegant Doormats. Bassist SL Telles has been
active in the Texas music underground since singing with Houston teen
punkers Vast Majority in 1979–80, releasing a single on Wild Dog Records
that has since been reissued several times, including outtakes.” ST 37
ST 37 flyer, late 80s
“After
recruiting Jon Torn (son of Rip; from the band Thanatopsis Throne) on
keyboards, ST 37 began playing out in April of 1987 at the Cave Club
with the Def MFs (still called Def MCs at that point). The stage was set
right away when Telles informed the crowd that if they didn’t like it
they could leave.
The band released the cassette EP Billygoat Nothinghead late in the
year, and thus began a string of cassette only releases.
ST 37 made their vinyl debut in 1990 on the Noiseville Records sampler, From Twisted Minds Come…, and the 7" single, Look at yr Chair,
followed soon afterward. Lance Farley replaced Foxworth on the drum
throne at this point and Shane Shelton took over from Torn on the
keyboard duties.
Live shows continued unabated, with ST 37 organizing the Noisefests at
Waterloo Park featuring bands like Ed Hall, Seemen, Crust, Liquid Mice,
Pocket FishRmen, Coz the Shroom, Squat Thrust, etc.” ST 37
Not the Elegant Doormats but ST 37, in 1987. Scott Telles in the far right.
Almost a decade ago, I was lucky (and happy!) to keep up correspondance with Scott Telles a few times. Having been a huge fan of Vast Majority, got really interested in any project Scott had done afterwards. So this is how he introduced me not only to the sounds of Elegant Doormats and ST 37 – but also to the ones by the Grinning Souls, the Critics, Men In Coats and a long etcetera. Always interesting and challenging music!
Elegant Doormats Yesterday Box Cassette (SPASMS, 1986)
[Remastered by Scott Telles & Bryan Nelson at Sweatbox Studios, 2002]
Elegant Doormats – Grey Area
Elegant Doormats – Rusty Purple Boogaloo
Elegant Doormats – Pain (from the What Do You Want to Be CD)
ST 37 Billygoat Nothinghead Cassette EP (SPASMS, 1987)
[from ST 37 Vicarious Billygoat CD]
ST 37 – Funky Gumby
ST 37 Feature Silica Vicarious Cassette LP (SPASMS, 1988)
[from ST 37 Vicarious Billygoat CD]
“The name El Sob is short for El Sobrante, a California city, which is Spanish for ‘leftovers’ (as noted on the band’s web site). If this band is leftovers, I’d eat this music every night instead of warmed-up spaghetti (which everyone knows tastes better the next night anyway). With echoes of the Bunnymen, El Sob revives all that was cool about the 80s into a garagey, folksy, post-punky sound all their own. Comprised of Earl Grinstead, Bruce Rayburn (formerly of the band Yo), and Sally Englefried (also formerly of Yo), the band takes its listeners through hard life lyrical lessons using laughter as its catalyst. These serious musicians know how to make listeners keep the CD on repeat. No sad, sappy whiners in this bunch. No way. With electrified sound, and vocals with an edge of Michael Stipe-ness, this band has both attitude and talent. This is an album that says, in the words of the humble Jeff Spicoli, ‘Hey, Bud, let’s party.’ I’m so totally there.” Erin West
El Sob: Earl Grinstead, Sally Engelfried, Bruce Rayburn. Pic by Michael Miro
Few years ago I was lucky to get in touch with Bruce Rayburn (formerly of the great bands Xmas Eve / Yo), and could not resist to ask him about his latest music project, El Sob. He was very kind and sent me the two albums they had recorded in the past years – as usual, they sounded terrific.
El Sob Life in Antarctica CD (Abominable Records, 1996)
El Sob – Cold
El Sob Welcome to El Sob CD (Abominable Records, 2003)
Originally posted March 17, 2010
“Looking back, it's easy to see what made The Nixe such an attractive
proposition at the time. First and foremost they personified the 'anyone
can do it' spirit of punk rock without a hint of pretence or career
mindedness. Plus they also attracted a diverse crowd because they were
never as aggressive and unapproachable as the male punk bands.” Jeroen Vedder
The Nixe – Live at Tivoli & Interview (Utreg, 1981)
“Because our boys were in the Lullabies from the end of 1978 and we got bored when they were away rehearsing we decided to start our own band. We asked Bunny [Nikki's best friend] but she didn’t want to. So Ilva asked Marian who was her best friend since they were babies. Marian could play 'Smoke on the water' and 'The House of the Rising Sun' on guitar which made her a guitar virtuoso in our opinion. I decided to play bass cause I thought it was easy and Ilva, being even more lazy than I was, decided to sing.” Nikki Meijerink
The Nixe, 1979. Pic by Jeroen “Buffel” Meijerink
“Nice detail: I never tuned my bass myself, cause I was bad at that. So one of my male friends always did that for me. For this gig [The Pink Saturday in Den Bosch] I had to do it myself. I was in tune but just one octave too high which made the top of my fingers bleed and my strings almost bend the neck of my guitar… so far feminism…” Nikki Meijerink
Nikki and her bass, ca 1979. Pic by Jeroen “Buffel” Meijerink
“Marian said yes immediately… Now we only had a drummer problem. Being with three girls we really wanted a girl and there we hadn’t met other punk girls yet in Utreg so when Ilva and I were walking through town one day we saw a gorgeous little punk girl (just 15 years old) waiting at a bus stop. We attacked her screaming and yelling and asked her if she wanted to be a drummer in our band. Though she never even touched a drumstick she said yes and we told her to come to our rehearsal place soon because we had our first gig two weeks later. And so it happened. We rehearsed two times and did our gig in De Baas. It was a complete mess but great even though I don’t remember much of it being too drunk…” Nikki Meijerink
The Nixe playing live, ca 1979. From left to right: Nikki, Marian and Ilva. Pic by Jeroen “Buffel” Meijerink
“The Nixe had the most gigs outside Utreg. I don’t know why. We really didn’t make the best music but we were girls of course and that was special and besides that we were funny… The first year we had a Ford Transit Van to go to our gigs. We usually played with 2 or 3 bands at a time. That means that we had the whole equipment and about 10 to 15 people in the backside of the van. Can you believe that!!! We were really on top of each other… fighting for air… Later when there were too many people wanted to come with us we hired trucks. The kind that was meant to transport cattle… they were the cheapest. It’s amazing we never had accidents with it. There was no door at the back, just a sailcloth, and if one of the guys needed to piss they just did it out of the back… on the highway… while they were drunk as hell… Miracle we never lost one… I think…” Nikki Meijerink
Simone sitting in the back of the cattle van, ca 1980. Pic by Jeroen “Buffel” Meijerink
“The Nixe EP we recorded in some small studio in Zwolle I think but we have also been to some studio nearer to Utreg maybe for the LP we made with the Lullabies, the Bizon Kids, ZeroZero and the Rapers. In both cases Gert van Veen helped us to produce the thing. Gert van Veen was singer and keyboard player in a couple of bands from Utreg like the Hi Jinx and the Secret Sounds. He is now in Quazar, a houseact. He studied musicology and worked as a music reviewer for de Volkskrant. He liked the Utreg Punx scene a lot and did everything he could to help us.
I don’t remember how much it costed us but not much I’m sure. And I think we made a 1000 copies but it could also be 500. We didn’t have money to buy the covers. Ilva and Marian were at that point both working as kindergarten teachers. They first let all the toddlers make nice drawings on folding sheets. Yes I admit… Childlabor… quilty as charged… And when these poor little toddlers were tired of it we started to do the rest ourselves. It took a whole night but some bottles of wodka, pizza, amphetamines and music made us go through it… I don’t have any one but on the My Space Nixe page there are some people that do have them. Really funny. On the most we just wrote 'The Nixe' but as it got later we just wrote or draw on it what came up to us so some of it just say 'I want pizza' or 'wodka' or 'I want to go home'…” Nikki Meijerink
One of the many handmade Nixe EP covers.
“We disbanded the Nixe in March 1984. No fights or musical disagreements or anything. Just because we got bored with it, I guess. We were no musicians and our music making didn’t make much progress through these 4,5 years. It was OK for that time but now it was time to move on…” Nikki Meijerink
More info here and here. Also, if you happen to visit Utreg in the following months, please don't hesitate to visit this exhibition.
* * *
Excerpts taken from an interview with Nikki Meijerink in October 2011. It will be published in its full-length in the second issue of Making Waves – to be released soon.
