Was anyone from the Hideout around during the 1st wave garage revival?

[James Demby]

I was digging through some old vinyl and reminiscing on the 80's garage revival.  Voxx records put out some great stuff during that time.  Some of my favorites are:

Gravedigger V - All Black and Hairy

Pandoras - It's About Time

Dwarves - Horror Stories

Miracle Workers - Inside Out

Stomachmouths - Wild Trip

Anyway, any old timers up here?  What were you digging on?

[John Battles]

I guess , by that , we'd be more like middle aged. I was around then , but , did'nt have the income to be buying a lot of untested product. I loved The Fleshtones from the word "Go". My Brother had their first album . I was hearing some of the Voxx stuff on George Gimarc's radio show in Dallas , like The Crawdaddys , Chesterfield Kings , and I was reading about those bands , as well as The Tell Tale Hearts  and others in some of the bigger rock mags , and maybe the exceptional New York Rocker , too. But , it seemes like that stuff peaked around '84 , but , it was'nt until '86 that I was getting caught up with more of it.....

But , in Punk Rock TERMS , TWO YEARS WAS'NT A BIG DEAL. I MEAN , AGAIN , YOU HAD THE INNATE HIPNESS AND THE DISPOSABLE INCOME TO BUY 76 -77 PUNK ROCK RECORDS , OR YOU LISTENED TO IT WHEN YOU COULD , AND BOUGHT IT , LATER. SAME WITH GARAGE REVIVAL RECORDS......I LOVED THE PANDORAS' FIRST TWO RECORDS (THO , I FEEL THE BROOD LATER BEAT THEM AT WHAT USED TO BE THEIR OWN GAME.). For all the hatin' The Fuzztones get , they presented their thing in such a way that fans of just straight ahead Rock'n'Roll could get into it. That said , I think "Salt For Zombies" is their best release , and that was only , what ? 6 or 7 years ago?

Plan 9 had something unique , especially in Eric Stumpo's exceptional vocals and lead guitar. They did'nt care if they were accepted into the clubhouse or not. I only saw them once, when live Garage shows were VERY rare , and they were great.     A little later , or about the same time , I liked The Nomads , Stems , Stomachmouths , Thee Fourgiven , Royal Nonesuch , Cynics , and English Garage /Trash bands (Pron. "Gare - edge") like The Stingrays , Vibes , Huns (American , based in England) , Milkshakes (Billy Childish , before someone named him God.), Prisoners , Tall Boys, X-Men , etc.          Now , some of this stuff I still like , but , some of these bands that tried too hard to sound like The Pebbles Reissues , not so much. If you look around , The Fuzztones were'nt the only band preoccupied with their image.

[melissa scott]

Some of us were hanging out in the garage in the early '80's. And some of us never left ;) Check out this interview from Boston with the Prime Movers.

[whatwave dave]

Cool vid Mel, haven't seen that one before!

And i still haven't left the garage since entering in the early 80's....saw as many of those bands as was possible back then, and bought as many records as i could afford. Still digging most of that stuff to this day as well as most of the new garagepunk stuff. We did a zine in the 80's/90's that covered the garage zine from a Canadian perspective...ie Gruesomes, 10 Commandments, UIC, Deja Voodoo etc. Even releasing some records and many compilation cassettes that came with the zine.

Like John says about Plan 9, they were just amazing live, and each time you'd see them they would be different. First time we saw them they were straight 60's punk, next time some psych influences, then some jazz influences and last time more rock'n'roll. One of the best live bands from that era, but overlooked by many as they weren't straight 60's clones.

Some of my fave bands from that era include; Miracle Workers, Crawdaddys, Gruesomes, Tell-Tale Hearts, Fuzztones, Fleshtones, Morlocks, Hypstrz, Barracudas, Plasticland, Brood and so many more....gotta go spin some vinyl now that i've whet may appetite!

melissa scott said:

Some of us were hanging out in the garage in the early '80's. And some of us never left ;) Check out this interview from Boston with the Prime Movers.

[James Demby]

I hear you all on the disposable income issue.  I had the advantage of being near a good college radio station and lots of used record stores where I knew the owners real good.  A lot of the Voxx bands were pretty formulaic and tried too hard to recreate the 60's garage movement.  Funny thing is, as with the Cramps, the original songs these bands covers where a lot move interesting and better than their cover versions. You just can't recreate the energy that horny, adolescent teens at the dawn of the sexual revolution had.  It was all new, fresh and original in the pre-summer of love 60's.  I will say that the 80's garage revival was a welcome diversion for me from the overly political and cynical hardcore punk movement of the time.  The garage scene was a lot more fun, plus that audience had a lot more women with it, which was OK by me.  lol

[John Battles]

The Gruesomes , how could I forget.....I saw the reformed band a few years back , sounded great. Deja Voodoo were hilarious. Their first LP was like a Cramps bootleg (The Cramps are plenty hot'n'horny with me, bt , it's cool.). Bloodshot Bill played drums at a "Reunion" show a while back. We were all just watching the sexual revolution slip right out of our hands , and listening to our older friends BRAG about it. Nothing revolutionary about that . Yeah , Hardcore alienated people that were'nt into the violence, the asexual stance, and the refusal to be influenced by anything pre- 1980.  Now, I liked some of it , to a point , but , it had a short shelf like with me , and there was so much more going on , IF you were willing to look......    Someone else got the memo , because , when The Butthole Surfers started to become popular , the press and the patrons alike mistook them for a Hardcore band ,all because of their name.   They were slow as HELL I when I first saw'em , in 1982.  But , they found their thing , and it was very Psychedelic .Evenif it had a short shelf life , too.  

Next thing you knew , more bands were moving away from Hardcore and more toward Psych.  In Dallas , where I lived , we had two key Psych bands ,The Peyote Cowboys and Lithium Xmas , but there was no Garage scene at all , except the Shitty Beatles (The originals. accept no substitute.) , but ,they were'nt widely accepted at  the time , as they were in their mid 30's , looked nerdy , wore glasses and , well , some of 'em were a bit on the  heavy side , and did'nt have that "Underground" look , you know , Led Zeppelin locks , but that made them more human. Of course , to look like that , NOW , and maybe throw in a baseball cap or some sweatpants , the ladies would have to take a number , you'd be booked solid !      I've mentioned those bands before.....Burning Rain , Hash Palace , and a revamped Other Side (Who were previously more Hendrix/Cream HARD ROCK) formed in my absence , AND TRIED TO KEEP THE PSYCH GAME GOING , But  , without stealing the still - active Lithium Xmas' thunder. ....... SO , WHEN i FINALLY GOT TO WHAT Garage  fans called "The Promised Land" , L.A. , IN 1987 , IMAGINE MY SURPRISE , Cruisin ' The  Sunset Strip , seeing none of the "Bogus Sky Saxons" promised me in "KICKS " MAGAZINE, but , instead a lot of Bogus ROBERT PLANTS. BAD METAL WAS KICKING PUNK , ROCKABILLY , AND GARAGE OUT TO THE CURB.  Some of those bands could gig on occasion , but , it was METAL UBER ALLES.

THIS was rebellion?!!! Oh , well. Sorry to get so longwinded. yeah , I have one of your magazines , Dave. Very cool.

whatwave dave said:

Cool vid Mel, haven't seen that one before!

And i still haven't left the garage since entering in the early 80's....saw as many of those bands as was possible back then, and bought as many records as i could afford. Still digging most of that stuff to this day as well as most of the new garagepunk stuff. We did a zine in the 80's/90's that covered the garage zine from a Canadian perspective...ie Gruesomes, 10 Commandments, UIC, Deja Voodoo etc. Even releasing some records and many compilation cassettes that came with the zine.

Like John says about Plan 9, they were just amazing live, and each time you'd see them they would be different. First time we saw them they were straight 60's punk, next time some psych influences, then some jazz influences and last time more rock'n'roll. One of the best live bands from that era, but overlooked by many as they weren't straight 60's clones.

Some of my fave bands from that era include; Miracle Workers, Crawdaddys, Gruesomes, Tell-Tale Hearts, Fuzztones, Fleshtones, Morlocks, Hypstrz, Barracudas, Plasticland, Brood and so many more....gotta go spin some vinyl now that i've whet may appetite!

melissa scott said:

Some of us were hanging out in the garage in the early '80's. And some of us never left ;) Check out this interview from Boston with the Prime Movers.

[melissa scott]

Hey w. dave: Yup, that's a gem. Anyone remember Rods and Cones (they were labelled New Wave! :( ) Yeah, well, in Boston, you had the added advantage of some of the best uni radio stations in the country. One station (I'm told is now RIP) played top 20 of local indies every week, including local garage trash :). But, we have right here Ms. Joanie Lindstrom, still going strong on the Late Risers Club, as well as others keeping the garage and punk fires burning in Boston.

We also had several colleges, like Emerson, and others whose students made it their business to video stuff, myself included. Alas, I no longer am in possession of the video I did of Reign of Death (complete with trippy video feedback). Don't worry, I've castigated myself enough for the loss).

Feeling sad about the PM's as Boston just lost Jeff Sugarman - http://themusicsover.com/2012/06/21/jeff-sugarman/.

Of course, my eccentric scrapbook includes local nites of Chesterfield Kings, Scruffy the Cat, Dogmatics, Prime Movers, and of course, the H/O's (didn't play I'm Love with Mo Tucker for nuthin' ya know). But it's hard to explain to people how strange the PM's looked when the local scene was moving into the Boston Hardcore days and they we're still bashing tambourines and growing their hair over their foreheads...

And yeah, a lot of those bands were known as 'punk' but of course we know their roots were still firmly planted in the garage.

Keep the garage door open and turn up your amps; the neighbours will thank you for it, Mel

whatwave dave said:

Cool vid Mel, haven't seen that one before!

And i still haven't left the garage since entering in the early 80's....saw as many of those bands as was possible back then, and bought as many records as i could afford. Still digging most of that stuff to this day as well as most of the new garagepunk stuff. We did a zine in the 80's/90's that covered the garage zine from a Canadian perspective...ie Gruesomes, 10 Commandments, UIC, Deja Voodoo etc. Even releasing some records and many compilation cassettes that came with the zine.

Like John says about Plan 9, they were just amazing live, and each time you'd see them they would be different. First time we saw them they were straight 60's punk, next time some psych influences, then some jazz influences and last time more rock'n'roll. One of the best live bands from that era, but overlooked by many as they weren't straight 60's clones.

Some of my fave bands from that era include; Miracle Workers, Crawdaddys, Gruesomes, Tell-Tale Hearts, Fuzztones, Fleshtones, Morlocks, Hypstrz, Barracudas, Plasticland, Brood and so many more....gotta go spin some vinyl now that i've whet may appetite!

melissa scott said:

Some of us were hanging out in the garage in the early '80's. And some of us never left ;) Check out this interview from Boston with the Prime Movers.

[whatwave dave]

 Thanx for the kind words John! Much appreciated...

We actually had Gerard (singer/guitarist) in town last summer at a University convention (he's a linguistics Prof now) and we were able to do a mini-Deja Voodoo reunion (only half the band, as drummer Tony is on the opposite coast of Canada)...but man was that ever fun seeing Gerard up on stage with a guitar belting out Deja Voodoo songs!!! We had a Mist R. Eeee drummer who did an excellent job...there's pictures posted somewhere on this site. And that's about as close as we'll get to a Deja Voodoo reunion...

My wife caught the Toronto Deja Voodoo reunion with Bloodshot Bill on the tubs and said it was a TON of fun!!

Keep pumping out your work on those Roctobers John! We're diggin' it!!

John Battles said:

The Gruesomes , how could I forget.....I saw the reformed band a few years back , sounded great. Deja Voodoo were hilarious. Their first LP was like a Cramps bootleg (The Cramps are plenty hot'n'horny with me, bt , it's cool.). Bloodshot Bill played drums at a "Reunion" show a while back.

THIS was rebellion?!!! Oh , well. Sorry to get so longwinded. yeah , I have one of your magazines , Dave. Very cool.

[John Carlucci]

Yup. I was around then. Played bass in The Fuzztones from 86-90. Did gigs with a lot of the bands that were mentioned above. My faves from back then? Miracle Workers & Pandoras

[Time For Tiffin]

Agree wholeheartedly with John C. bout The Miracle Workers and The Pandoras.They were my faves too.

One question that always came up in our little clique was "The Chesterfield Kings or The Tell Tale Hearts?"

[Gringo Starr]

Just gonna chime in quick here. I grew up in Greg Shaw's 'Cavern Club' in L.A. in the '80s. I saw all the bands playing in those days like the Unclaimed, Pandoras (Paula taught me how to drive!), Gravedigger V, Untold Fables, Thee Fourgiven, The Miracle Workers (who I lived with), Primates, Tell Tale Hearts, etc. Here's a pic of John Carlucci and I (plus some others) at the Cavern in 1986:

[John Carlucci]

I Love that photo! lol!!! BTW, I dig the Jackets lp. Hope to see you play one of these days!

Oh... and speaking of the old days... let's not forget how hard it was to find some of

the records that are now readily available on CD or the internet these days. I recall hanging out with you & you gave me a cassette of some Screaming Lord Sutch material I had been looking for for ages. I brought down the cassette to Fuzztones rehearsal and suggested we cover Jack The Ripper & All Black & Hairy,

 and we did & they became some of my favorite covers we did with the band. both eventually making it on to record. I have since found a vinyl copy of that Lord Sutch record. 
 
Gringo Starr said:

Just gonna chime in quick here. I grew up in Greg Shaw's 'Cavern Club' in L.A. in the '80s. I saw all the bands playing in those days like the Unclaimed, Pandoras (Paula taught me how to drive!), Gravedigger V, Untold Fables, Thee Fourgiven, The Miracle Workers (who I lived with), Primates, Tell Tale Hearts, etc. Here's a pic of John Carlucci and I (plus some others) at the Cavern in 1986:

[Gringo Starr]

Thanks John! I thought I made that Screamin' Lord Such cassette for Shari! But I do remember that story and I still have that very record to this day.

Records were incredibly hard to find in those days! Especially old ones. Reissues were just starting but they were mostly European so it was hard to find in California. I remember how legendary 'Easter Everywhere' was back then. There were sightings from time to time. I remember that there was a record shop in Orange County in 1983 that had a copy of 'Easter Everywhere' behind the cash register on display with a price tag proudly of 100 dollars. Now, that was a fortune for a record back then! Today I can probably go down to the local shitty record store (CD store??!!) in the train station in my town and find a CD copy for ten bucks!!

John Carlucci said:

I Love that photo! lol!!! BTW, I dig the Jackets lp. Hope to see you play one of these days!

Oh... and speaking of the old days... let's not forget how hard it was to find some of

the records that are now readily available on CD or the internet these days. I recall hanging out with you & you gave me a cassette of some Screaming Lord Sutch material I had been looking for for ages. I brought down the cassette to Fuzztones rehearsal and suggested we cover Jack The Ripper & All Black & Hairy,

 and we did & they became some of my favorite covers we did with the band. both eventually making it on to record. I have since found a vinyl copy of that Lord Sutch record. 
 
Gringo Starr said:

Just gonna chime in quick here. I grew up in Greg Shaw's 'Cavern Club' in L.A. in the '80s. I saw all the bands playing in those days like the Unclaimed, Pandoras (Paula taught me how to drive!), Gravedigger V, Untold Fables, Thee Fourgiven, The Miracle Workers (who I lived with), Primates, Tell Tale Hearts, etc. Here's a pic of John Carlucci and I (plus some others) at the Cavern in 1986: