The Untold Fables – Live at Safari Sam’s, Huntington Beach, CA (1985)

With commentary by Gringo Starr from the Sonic Nightmares podcast.

The Untold Fables were Paul Carey on voice, Jon Niederbrach on guitar, Robert Butler (later of The Miracle Workers) on bass and Paul Sakry on drums. Although The Fables were mainly associated with the mid-’80s L.A. psychedelic/garage revival scene that grew out of a club called the Rave Up and later moved to Greg Shaw’s Cavern Club, their music also included strong influences from ’70s punk and ’50s rhythm & blues. Their first release, a remake of “I Try” by the Young Tyrants, was for Voxx Records‘ Battle of the Garages, Volume 3 (which is now available on the Battle of the Garages Part Two CD). In the spring of 1985 they recorded their first LP, Every Mother’s Nightmare, for Lee Joseph’s Dionysus Records at West Beach Studios in Los Angeles. Lee Joseph produced it with a lot of input from Robert Butler and sound engineering by Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion). The album was finally released about a year later. In the summer of 1986 and spring of 1987 the Fables had two more recording sessions, this time at South Coast Studios in Santa Ana with David Carey producing. Eleven songs from these session were later compiled for their second LP, Aesop’s Apocalypse, released in early 1989, about a year after the band split up.

Releases:

• LPs: Every Mother’s Nightmare (Dionysus ID8603/1985), Aesop’s Apocalypse (Dionysus ID123312/1989)
• 7″s: Wendylyn EP (Dionysus ID073301/1987), Spit the Winkle EP (Mystery Scene MS 006/1987)
• Comps: “I Try” – Battle of the Garages Vol. III LP (Voxx VXS 200.029/1984), “Watch Your Step Woman” – Dimensions of Sound LP (Mystery Scene MS 1001/1987), “Pressure” – Sounds of Now! LP (Dionysus ID123305/1987), “Happy Motoring”/”Nobody Spoils My Fun” – What Stuff LP (Iloki IL1011/1990)

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The Flat Duo Jets – Live at Cicero’s Basement Bar, St. Louis, MO (11/12/95)

Enjoy this hot rockin’ set from the Flat Duo Jets from Chapel Hill, NC, featuring Dex Romweber and Crow, presented by yours truly of the Savage Kick podcast. Thanks again to Jim Utz for providing this one!

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The Penetrators – Live at Louie’s in Kalamazoo, MI (9/20/08)

This one hasn’t been in the “vaults” too long, obviously. It’s just a few months old… recorded at the UFO Dictator Fest in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on September 20, 2008. The band features Jack and Spike, the two original members who have kept the band going all of these years, plus a couple members of MESA and the Throbbin Urges (both have records out on UFO Dictator Records).

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Triple Thick – Live in Somerville, MA (September 24, 2004)

This one comes courtesy of Alex Piandes of The Desperate Hour podcast! Boston’s legendary TRiPLE THiCK is captured live at the Abbey Lounge in Somerville, Massachusetts, on 9/24/04 as part of the third annual Coffee ‘n’ Smokes Benefit for WMFO.

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The Humpers – Live in St. Louis (February 25, 1996)

Thanks to Jim Utz for this soundboard recording of The Humpers live at Cicero’s basement bar, Feb. 25, 1996… The band had just been to town about seven months earlier, but on their second trip through they packed a lot more punch, played a lot tighter, had a more energetic set, and the crowd definitely responded better, so all-in-all considered, I thought this was the better of the two sets, and is presented here as part of the Out of the Vaults series (the first new episode in over four months). Enjoy!

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The Lyres – Live in Paris (December 5, 1984)

This is the second of three live Lyres shows that we’re posting in this Out of the Vaults series. The first was from 1980 and was featured in episode 9. Enjoy!

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The Cramps – Live at CBGB’s – June 10, 1977

Two sets by The Cramps at CBGB in New York City, from a period not long before Miriam Linna parted ways with the group. This is from a boot that’s gone around a few times. Those in the know will notice that I’ve cut “Surfin’ Bird” from the end. This was done because my copy is one that someone made off their record and it just sounds… wrong at the end. Of course, I don’t have the original boot, so what do I know?

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The Immortal Primitives – Live at CBGB, 1983 (On Their Home Turf)

One of the band’s fans wrote this for us:

The Immortal Primitives formed in Long Island, NY in December 1981.

Based in the Stony Brook area, they started as a garage/punk band and through their original music, they evolved into a surf punk band that lived by The Dictators mantra “faster and louder.”

They were founded and fronted by a singer named Birdman who was a charismatic and legendary performer, and their stage setup consisted of drums draped in leopard skin and two surfboards named Betty and Veronica. They used vintage Mosrite guitars – made famous by The Ventures in the sixties.

Depending on the theme of their set (they played numerous sets – sometimes four), to set the mood, they either dressed in Hawaiian shirts, (beachwear) leather jackets (punk/garage), or in animal skin togas (primitive). Some of their original songs were: “All I Wanna Do Is Surf,” Six Foot Wave,” “Murf The Surf,” “Wave Tool,” “Destructo,” “Too Radical,” “Beach, Beach, Beach,” “Locals Only,” “Johnny Snotty,” “Big Drag,” and “Teenage Caveman.” They covered such classics/rarities as “Nobody But Me,” “Rockaway Beach,” “Pappa Oom Mow Mow,” “Surf City,” “Louie, Louie,” “96 Tears,” “Hey Little Girl,” “I’m Gonna Make You Mine,” “Pipeline,” and “The Theme from Hawaii Five-O.”

The Immortal Primitives developed a large cult following in clubs such as the University of Stony Brook’s End of the Bridge, The Mad Hatter (Stony Brook, NY), Sparks (Huntington, NY), and Chelsea’s (Huntington, NY). They were widely known on the University of Stony Brook campus.

In 1983, The Immortal Primitives became a fixture in the surging Huntington music scene that included such bands as The Mosquitos (who led the way), The Dogmatics, The House Pets, and The Plastic Device. As they were all close friends, these and many more bands often played together in what were remembered as “historic” performances. It was said that the early eighties Huntington music scene had a similar energy and momentum as that of the CBGB/Max’s Kansas City era of the mid-seventies. The early eighties Sparks became the “home base” for these bands – similar to how CBGB was the home base for the Ramones, Blondie, and Talking Heads.

Over the years, there were many different Immortal Primitives line-ups, Including a keyboard player named Flavio Madrid, a bass player named Chief, power bass player Dave Rick (later of King Missile), and bass player Richie Brooks (later of The Scofflaws). The most notable line-up was in 1983:

- Birdman: Vocals
- Adam Greiss: Guitar
- Bill Bennett: Guitar/Background Vocals
- Richie Brooks: Bass/Background Vocals
- Beat Savage (Dana Penny): Drums/Background Vocals

For the second part of 1983, the Immortal Primitives became a foursome as Bill Bennett left the group for a short time. It was at this time that they (Birdman, Adam, Richie, and Dana) recorded in the Studio, and gained more notoriety with radio airplay in the summer of 1983. They also played numerous high-profile shows – including multiple shows with the Ramones. After Richie Brooks’ departure in late 1983 (to pursue the formation of The Scofflaws), Bill Bennett returned in January 1984 and played bass in the 1/14/84 show with the Ramones – the last show consisting of this line-up.

Airplay in the Summer of 1983:
The Immortal Primitives “All I Wanna Do Is Surf” was played on WLIR-FM, WBAB-FM, WUSB-FM (Stony Brook University), and WNYU-FM (New York University)

Major shows included:
- Stony Brook University’s Fall Fest 1982 (opening for The Good Rats)
- SuperBad SuperBall – Sparks (Huntington, NY) – a two-day festival taking place Memorial Day Weekend 1983 (The Mosquitos headlining one night, and the Immortal Primitives headlining the other)
- ICF Benefit – Sparks (Huntington, NY) on 7/24/83
- My Father’s Place (Roslyn, NY) – opening for the RAMONES on 7/28/83
- Suspenders (Hampton Bays, NY) – opening for the RAMONES on 8/4/83
- Stony Brook University Fall Fest 1983 (Opening for Red Rockers) – broadcast live over WUSB-FM
- CBGB (New York, NY) on 12/10/83
- My Father’s Place (Roslyn, NY) – opening for the RAMONES on 1/14/84

The Studio Recordings:
- Birdman: Vocals
- Adam Greiss: Guitar/Background Vocals
- Richie Brooks: Bass/Background Vocals
- Beat Savage (Dana Penny): Drums/Background Vocals

Adam has a unique perspective on the group having been a fan before being asked to sign on. He loved the band as much as anyone in their fan base.

Richie Brooks would go on to lead The Scofflaws (after Geffen handed over some long green so Edie Brickell’s band could use Richie’s group’s original monicker, The New Bohemians).

Dave Rick would go on to Phantom Tollbooth, Bongwater, King Missile, and (these days) Wide Right and The Martinets.

Back in ’83, Adam also did a side project – The Adam Greiss Group – with three of The Mosquitos.

Bill Bennett died of complications resulting from a car crash a few years ago, but only after spending the final decade or so of his life running the Off Wall Street Jam.

This time out, we’re changing things up a little bit. In addition to the CBGB’s show that is the main thrust of this podcast, we’re including a few bonus tracks from a show they did a few months earlier. The CB’s set is mostly Primitives’ originals. The bonus tracks give a look at some of the covers they’d throw in for longer shows.

CBGB’s – December 5, 1983
—————————–
Suzy Creamcheese
Beach, Beach, Beach
Murf the Surf
Wave Tool
Surf City
Six Foot Wave
Hey Big Drag
Destructo
All I Wanna Do Is Surf
Too Radical
Johnny Snotty

Bonus Tracks:
Live on WUSB at SUNY Stony Brook’s Fall Fest, 1983
—————————–
Papa Oom Mow Mow
Teenage Caveman
Louie Louie
Nobody But Me

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The Mummies – Live at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ (12/31/91) and The Chameleon in SF, CA (9/5/91)

Yeah, yeah, yeah… Nothing really rare here. You Mummies fanatics no doubt have both albums that this shit was released on (the “Fuck the Mummies” a.k.a. “Mermis” boot and “Runnin’ on Empty Vol. 1″ on Estrus), but we thought it’d make for a good podcast. I mean, why the hell not? It’s THE MUMMIES, fer cryin’ out loud. Maybe we can dig up some more rare live Mummies crud for a future episode (if you’ve got something, by all means get in touch!), but, for now, this will have to do. The Mummies are always a great band to listen to in order to help ya get loosened up for the weekend, so crank it. It’s Friday!

Tracklist:
Rosie
F.U.C.K.
Your Ass (Is Next in Line)
The Ballad of Iron Eyes Cody
Ventura Highway
That’s Mighty Childish
Dirty Robber
The Fly
Red Cobra #9
Food, Sickles and Girls
Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Old Oak Tree
Mariconda’s a Friend of Mine
Come on Up
What a Way to Die
The Fly
Uncontrollable Urge
Justine!
(My Love Is) Stronger Than Dirt
Skinny Minnie
One Potato, Two Potato

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DaWillys – Live at McGovern’s in NYC – June 18, 1990

DaWillys were one of the coolest bands on the NY scene in the late ’80s and early ’90s. They weren’t garage; they weren’t punk, at least not in the traditional sense. Some lumped them in with the nascent “Scum Rock” scene, but to this day, I’m not sure that’s accurate.

The “Philippe Marcade” they bring up to play harmonica on “Kitchen Action” is the singer of The Senders.

The intro was done by the band’s manager, Chet.

Lynne Von Schlicting – vocals
Leon Ross – guitar
Peter Landau – drums

As to bass… I can’t remember if Willy was still there or if he’d handed the tennis ball – yes, really – to Jenna McGrath.

Leon died in the early ’90s. Willy moved to Pennsylvania. Pete Landau now lives in California. Jenna’s been in Texas, NY, and – from what I hear – is now somewhere out west. Lynne kept going, first w/the Trick Babys and then The Carvels. These days she has a band called The Vondells.

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The Mosquitos – The Ritz – Winter, 1985

As the story goes, this Huntington/Northport, Long Island band formed when a band called Quisp broke up. Leader Vance Brescia had some songs he wanted people to hear, so he got a few friends together to perform them. Those friends included ex-Fabians’ Steve Prisco (guitar) and Iain Morrison (bass), as well as Pat Bishow (drums). Soon Tony Millions would join on organ (and occasional lead vocals) and the lineup was complete.

The Mosquitos took off quickly. The band got excellent press and built up quite a local following. Soon, they gained a ton of fans on NYC’s burgeoning garage scene, despite the fact that their roots were more Mersey/60s pop.

Sometime early in ’84, Bishow left and Pete Bross filled in on drums until the band found permanent replacement Mitch Towse. (Bross would come back for the last couple months of the band’s existence a couple years further on.)

This is hardly the place for a full Mosquitos’ history. At some point, perhaps, I’ll write one. I’d prefer that happen as part of a Mosquitos’ CD retrospective, but one doesn’t appear to be forthcoming. (Note: Yours truly and an old friend would love to help change that.)

This show features The Mosquitos at what some fans consider their peak. Others would argue that once they started doing “That Was Then, This Is Now” – the song that The Monkees covered for a Top 20 hit a year later – the band had already turned away from their most exciting material. Regardless of which opinion you subscribe to, I think this recording shows The Mosquitos really had it together as a live band. Yes, they wrote great pop songs. Sure, they were good musicians. However, the thing that always blows my mind is the vocals. Listen to “Changed My Mind” and you’ll hear a fine example.

This particular show comes to us in a couple parts. I’d originally wanted to present my copy of this show. Unfortunately, the cassette was mangled sometime in the past 21 years. A week or so ago, however, I lucked into another copy when Eamonn Bowles (now of the Martinets) sent me a copy of his old band, The Martinets, live at Max’s Kansas City. That band included both Steve Prisco and Iain Morrison, who’d get going with The Mosquitos not long after The Fabians folded. The disc Eamonn sent included The Mosquitos at The Ritz in addition to The Fabians’ material. And suddenly I knew I was in business.

One problem: Since Eamonn wanted to also include some other cool stuff on the CD, his copy only included the regular set. I wanted the whole thing, so I asked my pal Bill Jones for the encore tracks. You’ll notice there’s a difference in sound quality. Hey, such is life. You’re getting the whole show.

You’ve probably also noticed that there are breaks between the songs. That’s the way they came to me on CD. If my old tape had worked, you’d've heard all the in-between chatter, too. On the positive side, you’ll probably hear other Mosquitos’ live shows over time, as Bill and I have a bunch of other cassettes.

Thanks to the following people for making this possible: Eamonn Bowles, Bill Jones, and Steve Prisco.

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The Fabians – Max’s Kansas City – New York, NY – June 25, 1981

Formed out on the North Shore of Long Island, NY in the late ’70s, the band’s core included Steve Prisco (guitar) and Iain Morrison (bass), along with Jon Arm on drums and Eamonn Bowles on vocals. Later, Roger Murdock would take over the drum stool.

Punk fans will note that there’s a cover of (SF punk band) The Maids’ “Back To Bataan” in this set. Well, as some may know, John McCormick of The Maids moved to NYC as The Maids’ tale came to an end. At one point in his time in New York, McCormick played with The Fabians.

Although The Fabians never put out a record, they did plan to put out “Affairs of the Heart” and “Take A Vacation” as a single. Eamonn is digging through the old boxes of cassette tapes to try and find them. With luck, those tracks will appear in either the Long Island episode of Highs in the Mid-80s or on a future episode of The Speed Of Sound.

Soon after the dissolution of The Fabians, Steve and Iain helped found The Mosquitos, a band rooted in Merseybeat. Over time, that band would become one of the most popular on the NYC scene. In 1986, The Monkees covered their song, “That Was Then, This Is Now” and rode it into the Top 20. These days, Steve plays with The Blaggards. Eamonn and Roger play with The Martinets.

You can read a little bit about the Fabians in one of Steve’s blog postings.

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The Lyres – Live in Boston (September 24, 1980)

One of the greatest garage rock bands of the ’80s will knock you out with an hour of rare live material recorded around the same time they went into the studio to knock out their classic 4-song debut EP. This is actually the first of three live Lyres shows that we’ll be posting. The others will come later, so stay tuned. They’re all knockouts!

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The Insiders – Live, Pt. 2 (The California Brewhaus – Rochester, NY – May 12, 1984)

This was the second set from the final show by The Insiders, a Rochester, NY band that formed at Athena High School in Greece, NY in 1978. Members would go on to form The Swing Set, The Hidden Charms, The Pawns, and many others. Walt O’Brien would even join The Chesterfield Kings – a band The Insiders beat in a Battle of the Bands at the Parliament Lounge in 1981 – when Ori Guran left the group in 1986.

Nearly 20 years later, a couple of the guys were reunited in The Riviera Playboys.

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The Insiders – Live (5/12/84)

In the mid-’60s, most of the bands played the hits of the day. A few, of course, wrote a couple songs and maybe pressed up a couple hundred copies to sell at dances. However, if you talk to members now, you’ll find their sets were all about the covers. Heck, even talk to The Remains and you’ll find that most of their live shows weren’t about their originals. When they played Cavestomp in the late ’90s, they were stunned at the appreciation for their original material. They even remarked that they’d never played some of those songs for an audience.

Fast-forward now to 1978 and jump to Rochester, NY. Four high school friends form a band called The Insiders. They begin playing a mix of their favorite ’60s sounds from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, and The Kinks, among others. Perhaps more interesting, they’d begin to play regularly, often performing a few sets per night. Along the way, they’d put out a single and be featured on a comp put together by the biggest commercial rock station in Rochester.

After six years, they decided to call it a day so they could explore other projects. You can find out more information here.

Yes, this one’s all about the covers, but it’s an interesting document. Who knows… If you’re polite, maybe we’ll offer up the second set.

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The Splash Four – Live on WUSB-FM, Stony Brook, New York – June 27, 1998

The heading just about says it all. The band was in town and Michael from Dead End Radio (now known as The Tuesday Night Rock’n'Roll Dance Party) invited them to come record a set for his show. He invited a group of people to come down and be the studio audience as the band bashed it out in a nearby classroom. WOW!!! Sure wish my college classes could’ve had some of this kinda action!

Lili Zeller and her husband, Jacques “Jack” Amsellem, of the Splash 4 are currently making some great noise in the band Volt (check out their 12″ EP that came out last year on In the Red Records).

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The Rip Offs – Live on KALX, Berkeley, CA – January 6, 1995

Claiming members from such early West Coast garage punkers as The Fingers and Supercharger, not to mention a healthy dose of pop punk from former Mr. T Experiencer Jon Von, the Rip Offs were success and MTV bound from the start. Fortunately that’s not how it worked out. The first band incarnation of Greg Lowery and the White Bros., the Rip Offs rocked yer filthy balls like nobody else. With a lone LP and a handful of singles, these boys called it quits way too early for my liking.

-From Lumpy’s Garage

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The Real Kids – Live at Maxwells in Hoboken, NJ – September 26, 1992

In July, 1991, the original lineup of The Real Kids reunited at The Rat in Boston for what most assumed was one night.

Less than one year later, they were back at The Rat for another one. A few months after that, they came down to Hoboken, NJ for a show at Maxwell’s.

This show was recorded by at least three different people. This comes from one of those tapes.

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The Voodoo Dolls – Live at Maxwell’s (Hoboken, NJ) 1/11/92

Had The Voodoo Dolls formed in, say, 1997, rather than 1987, they likely would’ve been riding the modern garage-rock popularity wave with the likes of The Hives, The Mooney Suzuki, etc. They had great songs (mostly thanks to guitarist Evan Shore, now of Muck & the Mires, then formerly of The Pets, The House Pets, and The Queers), dueling guitars (courtesy of Shore and Dave “Hollywood” Harrison), and a great lead vocalist in the form of ex-Prime Mover Cam Ackland. Rhythm section? Well, they were always great, but the rhythm section changed rather often in this band.

One night in Bethlehem, PA, Original Sins’ leader JT said of them, “This must be what it was like to see the MC5.” These guys were a POWERFUL rock’n'roll band. This recording is OK, but it doesn’t do them justice. Of course, it’s my contention that live recordings will never give you a real feel for having been there… But at least it’s something.

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The Gories – Live on CJAM (Windsor, Ontario)

Presented for podcast by Blair B.

I wish I could tell you when this was recorded, but… Well, I have no idea. For that matter, I have no idea when I got this tape, but it was sometime after they’d played the Knitting Factory in NYC opening for Alex Chilton and prior to the release of their first album. That’d put it somewhere in mid-1989, I guess.

Anyway, while most of this is The Gories live on the air, we’re also treated to part of Dan’s record collection. (In fact, the show starts with a James Brown track.) AND, some interview segments. You find out that while Dan and Mick are from Detroit, Peg is from “fashionable Ferndale.” They also recount one of my favorite pieces of Gories’ lore: Alex Chilton’s consoling of the band after the Knitting Factory crowd was indifferent. Alex said something like, “Don’t worry… Nobody’s told them you’re cool yet.”

About 30 minutes in, they go to commercial. That’s been edited out, only because my computer started having problems then, anyway.

The sound quality could probably be better – sometimes it seems to be fading in and out – but, hey, ya gets what ya pays for, OK?

Seriously… It’s good listening to this again.

Permission to redistribute this program via podcast granted from CJAM.

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