Out of the Vaults, Into Your Ears #22 - The Morlocks!

[Gringo Starr]

The Morlocks Live @ The Anti Club 1986

With commentary by Gringo Starr from the Sonic Nightmares podcast.

The Morlocks began performing together in late August 1984 when Jeff Lucas, Tom Clarke, and Mark Mullen were able to entice former Gravedigger Five members Leighton Koizumi and Ted Friedman into joining their band. The newly formed Morlocks' first performance came in September 1984 at the Rave-Up in Los Angeles; that same night, following their performance, the band received two separate recording offers, eventually opting to sign a deal with Midnight Records of New York City. When the Gravedigger V's first LP came out, the Morlocks were recording their first mini-LP, Emerge with a set of smashed instruments destroyed at a show in San Francisco two days earlier by the band the Tell-Tale Hearts, who agreed to lend the band the instruments for the recording session.

Around 1986, the band relocated from San Diego to San Francisco. Ted Friedman left the group and Jordan Tarlow replaced him. They released a second LP, this time for Epitaph Records. Submerged Alive featured a performance the band had recorded in Berkeley in 1986. While the album was apparently recorded live, the LP contained clear studio-manipulations of audience noise, prompting some to label it a "fake" live album. In the summer of 1987 the band began to fall apart. Just prior to a show at the Fillmore in support of the Cult, bassist Jeff Lucas quit the band. The rest of the band held out long enough to record a handful of tracks under the production of Ron Rimsite before the entire group disbanded. The tracks recorded with Rimsite were eventually released posthumously. Four years after the band's breakup a live LP from Croatia called Wake Me when I'm Dead was released. This was followed in 1997 by an officially released live CD provided by guitarist Ted Friedman called Uglier than You'll Ever Be, the band's final release.

The newly formed Morlocks include Koizumi on vocals, Lenny Pops on guitar, Nick the Canadian on bass, and Marky on drums. In addition to reuniting, the band has gone on to release two records; Easy Listening for the Underachiever and the brand new,The Morlocks Play Chess.

Singles

* "She's My Fix"/"You Must Not Be Seen As I Am" 7" (Earache, 1989, EAR010)
* "Under The Wheel"/"Hurricane A' Coming" 7" (Iloki, 1991, ITR001)
* "I Don't Do Funerals Anymore"/"Nightmares" 7" (Dirty Water, 2008, DWC1018)

Albums

* Emerge LP (Midnight, 1985, MIR LP 111)
* Submerged Alive LP (Epitaph, 1988, EPI/MLP1)
* Wake Me When I'm Dead LP (Listen Loudest, 1991, SNLP 7, Croatia)
* Uglier Than You'll Ever Be! CD (Voxx, 1997, VCD2071)
* Easy Listening For The Underachiever CD, LP (Go Down Records, 2008, GODLP027)
* The Morlocks Play Chess CD (Popantipop 2010)


DOWNLOAD | SUBSCRIBE TO SONIC NIGHTMARES | SUBSCRIBE TO ALL

[aaron sid79]

the best garage band from 80s.thanks Gringo

[Brother Panti-Christ]

Well, good job Gringo. As usual, your research was riddled with rumors, myths and lies, but I still give you an A+ for effort.

[Gringo Starr]

Rumors, myths and lies - the three things you are guaranteed to find in any bio of a rock and roll band!