Tag Archives: Mabuhay Gardens

Crime

Crime was an early American punk band from San Francisco. The band was formed in 1976 by Johnny Strike (vocals, guitar), Frankie Fix (vocals, guitar), Ron “The Ripper” Greco (bass; ex-Flamin’ Groovies), and Ricky Tractor (Ricky Williams) (drums). Their debut, the self-financed double A-side, “Hot Wire My Heart” and “Baby You’re So Repulsive”, appeared at the end of 1976, and is the first single released by a U.S. punk act from the West Coast.

The band’s sound was characterized by simple rock-and-roll arrangements played at intensely high volumes. Michael Goldberg, critic for New York Rocker magazine, wrote in 1978: “Crime play loud. So loud that the plate glass window at the opposite end of the club shakes, tables tremble and people hang onto their drinks. Loudness may be Crime’s only musical raison d’etre. This band is a literal translation of the concept ‘minimal.’ Drummer Hank Rank thumps out a simple Bo Diddley beat that is only adequate in the context of the rest of the band. Bassist Ron the Ripper coaxes a thick rumble from his amp that reminds one of the thunder of a bulldozer rolling over rugged terrain. And the guitar playing of [Johnny] Strike and Frankie Fix make you feel like you’ve been forcefully held underwater for the full 25 minutes of the set.”

In Issue #13 of Ugly Things Magazine, critic Mike Stax wrote: “CRIME’s music didn’t conform to the norm either. They didn’t use the standard-issue highspeed buzzsaw guitar approach. Instead their noisy attacks were an unpredictable stew of clanging, howling guitars and shuddering rhythms – more of an intense sonic RUMBLE than anything else.”


Show List and Key Dates – This index features show dates, venues, and flyers


Releases – This index features only vinyl and includes official releases

Unofficial Releases – This index features only vinyl and includes unofficial recordings


Line-ups
In the following years Crime changed their line-up several times.

Ricky Tractor was fired (later appearing in groups such as Flipper, Toiling Midgets and The Sleepers) and was succeeded by Brittley Black (Larry Black) in 1977. After releasing one single, another double A-side, “Frustration” and “Murder by Guitar”, Black was replaced by Hank Rank (Henry Rosenthal) that same year.

In 1979, Greco left the band and was replaced by Joey D’Kaye (Joey Swails) on bass, who had been the band’s sound engineer.

Greco and Black both returned for Crime’s last release, the single “Maserati/Gangster Funk” in 1981, while D’Kaye moved to synthesizers and produced the recording.

The band split up the following year. Strike and D’Kaye briefly formed a electropunk duo called Vector Command, while Fix attempted to start a solo career, with a back-up band called The Rockabilly Rebels. Neither produced any record releases at the time.

Ricky Tractor died in 1992, Frankie Fix in 1996, Brittley Black in 2004 and Johnny Strike in 2018.

Recordings and media
Over the course of their career in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Crime officially only released three 7″ vinyl records. But many bootleg recordings of the band’s live performances and demo tapes were sporadically produced throughout the 1980s.

San Francisco’s Doomed, a collection of studio recordings and rehearsal tapes, was released with the approval of the band members by Solar Lodge in the United Kingdom in 1991 on vinyl and CD. Fix, Strike and Rank played on all the songs, with Greco playing bass on side one of the LP, and D’Kaye on side two.[9] The album was re-released as San Francisco’s Still Doomed (with added tracks and remastering) in 2004 by Swami Records.

In 1979 San Francisco video company Target Video produced Crime: Live in San Quentin Prison, a documentary of a live performance by the band at San Quentin State Penitentiary in California, where they played for the prisoners wearing exact copies of the uniforms worn by the prison guards.

Sonic Youth featured a cover of “Hot Wire My Heart” on their 1987 release Sister.

Electric Frankenstein featured a cover of “Frustration” on their 1993 release “Action High / Sick Songs”.

In January 2010, a book of Crime’s early photographs and posters, The Band Crime: Punk ’77 Revisited by James Stark, was
published by Last Gasp Books.

In July 2013, a compilation album of unreleased studio recordings, Murder by Guitar: 1976 to 1980, was released on the Kitten Charmer label, remastered under the direction of Strike, Rank and D’Kaye and released on CD and iTunes. After distribution problems with the LP record release, the album was re-released in August 2014 by the Superior Viaduct label, with a limited release of the first 500 on clear red vinyl. The album has garnered mostly positive reviews, including “four-stars” by UK music magazine MOJO, which wrote: “This important release restates CRIME’s place in the punk pantheon and fills in the history of a lost pop moment. It also celebrates the diversity of the proto-punk groups: that fascinating moment when change was at hand but the rules were not yet set. Murder By Guitar is a testament to that sense of discovery.” MOJO also rated the album as one of the “10 Best Reissues of 2014”.

In a 2007 interview with Resonance Magazine, Johnny Strike stated a boxed set of Crime recordings was to be released by a Spanish label. In March 2015, Munster Records released the box set, Crime – 7×7 with seven 45 RPM singles replicating those that had been released by the band and including several unreleased tracks.

The Screamers

Gary Panter. SHRIEKING HEAD. The Screamers’ logo, original drawing c. 1975.

The Screamers were an American electropunk group founded in 1975. They were among the first wave of the L.A. punk rock scene. The Los Angeles Times applied the label “techno-punk” to the band in 1978. In the documentary Punk: Attitude (2005), the Dead Kennedys cite the Screamers as a key influence on their group and as one of the great unrecorded groups in rock history. (further reading…)

The Nuns – Unofficial Releases

>> return to The Nuns page >>

This index features only vinyl and includes recordings of the original band


1. The Nuns ‎– Gimme Danger
Label: Out Of Darkness Records
Catalog Number: OTD 004
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 1/3 RPM LP
Released: 1992

Notes: Recorded live at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco in 1977.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– Media Control
A2 ‎– Fat Girls
A3 ‎– Savage
A4 ‎– Gettin’ Vicious
A5 ‎– 14 Year Old Baby
A6 ‎– Gimme Danger
A7 ‎– Suicide Child
B1 ‎– Monotonous
B2 ‎– Cock In My Pocket
B3 ‎– Human Being
B4 ‎– Confused
B5 ‎– Gettin’ Straight
B6 ‎– Decadent Jew
B7 ‎– No Solution
B8 ‎– Seduction Destruction
B9 ‎– Child Molester
B10 ‎– You Bother Me

2. The Nuns ‎– CBS Demo 1977
Label: Mabuhay Records
Catalog Number: MB77b
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 1/3 RPM, LP
Released: 2017

Notes: Recorded live in studio for CBS album deal in San Francisco in 1977. Limited to 100 handnumbered copies in silkscreen cover on red vinyl including limited poster.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– World War 3
A2 ‎– Gettin Straight
A3 ‎– Savage
A4 ‎– 21 Century
A5 ‎– Going Down
A6 ‎– Media Control
A7 ‎– Talk Talk
B1 ‎– Decadent Jew
B2 ‎– Poor Little Rich Thing
B3 ‎– Chicks
B4 ‎– Child Molester
B5 ‎– Like All The Rest
B6 ‎– Suicide Child

The Nuns – Releases

>> return to The Nuns page >>

This index features only vinyl and includes official releases by the original band between 1978 and 1980


1. The Nuns ‎– The Nuns
Label: 415 Records
Catalog Number: SUB 01
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, EP
Released: 1978

Notes: “Savage” is a different (rougher) version than the one on the self-titled LP. All tracks recorded live at Keystone in Palo Alto in early March 1977.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– Decadent Jew
A2 ‎– Savage
B ‎– Suicide Child

2. Los Nuns ‎– The Beat / Media Control
Label: Rosco Records
Catalog Number: SS-7901
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Released: 1979

Notes: Rosco Records production; Jennifer Miro does not appear on this single.

Tracklist
A ‎– Media Control
B ‎– The Beat

3. The Nuns ‎– World War III / Cock In My Pocket
Label: Rosco Records
Catalog Number: 4166
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Released: 1980

Notes: Comes in a rubber-stamped (the band’s name) plain white sleeve with printed insert; some copies have the vinyl labels transposed.

Tracklist
A ‎– World War III
B ‎– Cock In My Pocket

4. The Nuns ‎– The Nuns
Label: BOMP!
Catalog Number: BLP 4010
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 1/3 RPM, LP
Released: 1980

Notes: Recorded in May 1980 at Brian Elliot Recording in North Hollywood. Issued jointly by BOMP! and Posh Boy and with different simultaneous releases with center labels from both record labels.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– Savage
A2 ‎– Media Control
A3 ‎– Wold War III
A4 ‎– You Think You’re The Best
A5 ‎– Walkin’ The Beat
B1 ‎– Wild
B2 ‎– Getting Straight
B3 ‎– Confused
B4 ‎– Child Molester
B5 ‎– Suicide Child
B6 ‎– Lazy

The Nuns – Show List and Key Dates

>> return to The Nuns page >>

This index will attempt to gather show dates and flyers for all appearances


1976

Date: December 1976
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

1977

Date: February 22, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: February 23, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: March 01, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: March 06, 1977
Venue: Stop Sign
Location: Berkeley

Date: March 07, 1977
Venue: Keystone
Location: Palo Alto

Date: March 16, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: March 31, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: April 06, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: April 12, 1977
Venue: Boarding House
Location: San Francisco

Date: April 13, 1977
Venue: Boarding House
Location: San Francisco

Date: April 28, 1977
Venue: Keystone
Location: Berkeley

Date: May 13, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: May 20, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: June 11, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: June 11, 1977
Venue: Winterland
Location: San Francisco

Date: June 12, 1977
Venue: Rio Theatre
Location: Rodeo, CA

Date: June 18, 1977
Venue: Rio Theatre
Location: Rodeo, CA

Date: July 08, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: July 09, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: July 25, 1977
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: July 26, 1977
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: July 27, 1977
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: July 28, 1977
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: July 30, 1977
Venue: Winterland
Location: San Francisco

Date: July 31, 1977
Venue: Keystone
Location: Berkeley

Date: August 01, 1977
Venue: Keystone
Location: Berkeley

Date: August 19, 1977
Venue: Old Waldorf
Location: San Francisco

Date: August 20, 1977
Venue: Old Waldorf
Location: San Francisco

Date: August 28, 1977
Venue: California Hall
Location: San Francisco

Date: September 02, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: September 03, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: September 08, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: September 09, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: September 20, 1977
Venue: Old Waldorf
Location: San Francisco

Date: September 21, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: September 21, 1977
Venue: Old Waldorf
Location: San Francisco (?)

Date: October 31, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: November 24, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: November 26, 1977
Venue: Keystone
Location: Berkeley

Date: December 03, 1977
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: December 21, 1977
Venue: Masque
Location: Hollywood

Date: December 22, 1977
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: December 23, 1977
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: December 24, 1977
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

1978

Date: January 14, 1978
Venue: Winterland
Location: San Francisco

Date: February 24, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: March 21, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: March 31, 1978
Venue: Keystone
Location: Berkeley

Date: April 22, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: May 26, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: May 27, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: June 04, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: June 22, 1978
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: June 23, 1978
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: June 24, 1978
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: June 26, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: July 01, 1978
Venue: Keystone
Location: Berkeley

Date: July 03, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: July 18, 1978
Venue: CBGB’s
Location: New York

Date: July 19, 1978
Venue: CBGB’s
Location: New York

Date: July 31, 1978
Venue: Hurrah’s
Location: New York

Date: August 01, 1978
Venue: Hurrah’s
Location: New York

Date: August 02, 1978
Venue: Hurrah’s
Location: New York

Date: August 09, 1978
Venue: Max’s Kansas City
Location: New York

Date: August 10, 1978
Venue: Max’s Kansas City
Location: New York

Date: August 24, 1978
Venue: CBGB’s
Location: New York

Date: August 25, 1978
Venue: CBGB’s
Location: New York

Date: August 26, 1978
Venue: CBGB’s
Location: New York

Date: August 30, 1978
Venue: Max’s Kansas City
Location: New York

Date: August 31, 1978
Venue: Max’s Kansas City
Location: New York

Date: September 22, 1978
Venue: Club 57
Location: Irving Plaza, New York

Date: October 20, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: October 21, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: November 03, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: November 04, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: December 01, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

The Nuns

The band formed in 1975 in Marin County, California when Alejandro Escovedo and Jeff Olener, who were film students at College of Marin, wanted to make a low-budget film about a strung-out rock singer and a band that could not play its instruments, and decided to play the part themselves. This project evolved into The Nuns. While the band was in its formative phase, they practiced in a warehouse in Terra Linda.

The Nuns backstage at the Mabuhay Gardens in 1977. Photo © by Chester Simpson.

Jennifer Miro, who was in a Mill Valley-based band that covered Doobie Brothers songs, practiced at the same warehouse. Olener soon invited Miro to join his band; Miro, who was unhappy with the band she was in, jumped at the opportunity. The Nuns began performing around various venues in the San Francisco area in January 1976. They were the among the first punk bands in California and had difficulty finding regular venues. They played the first punk show at the Mabuhay Gardens in December 1976, and quickly became regulars. At their peak of popularity, they were playing two sold-out shows on consecutive weekend nights at the Mabuhay.

In January 1978, together with The Avengers they opened for the Sex Pistols at their final concert at San Francisco’s Winterland. Even though The Nuns were the bigger draw in San Francisco at this time, they were the first band to go on, ahead of The Avengers. A third band, Negative Trend, had been directly recruited by the Sex Pistols but were tricked by Bill Graham into accepting the slot after the Sex Pistols, the house now emptied of fans. The Nuns split in 1979 soon after the band was on tour in New York City.


Show List and Key Dates – This index features show dates, venues, and flyers


Releases – This index features only vinyl and includes official releases by the original band between 1978 and 1980

Unofficial Releases – This index features only vinyl and includes recordings of the original band


 

The Screamers – Show List and Key Dates

>> return to The Screamers page >>

This index will attempt to gather show dates and flyers for all appearances


1977

Date: Saturday, May 28, 1977
Venue: Slash store front party on Pico Boulevard
Location: Hollywood
Notes: Photo from the June 1977 issue of Slash Magazine.



Date: Tuesday, June 21, 1977
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood (cancelled)
Notes: with Germs, Zippers, Screamers



Date: Monday, July 4, 1977
Venue: Starwood Club
Location: West Hollywood
Notes: with Shock, Backstage Pass







Date: Thursday-Friday, July 28-29, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco
Notes: with Avengers (?)



Date: Friday, August 5, 1977
Venue: Larchmont Hall
Location: Hollywood
Notes: with Dils, the Germs





Date: Sunday, August 7, 1977
Venue: “private party”
Location: Malibu
Notes: Screamers perform for Iggy Pop at a private party at his home in Malibu; Iggy calls them “Tomorrow’s Leaders”

Date: Monday-Thursday, August 8-11, 1977
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood




Date: Tuesday-Wednesday, August 16-17, 1977
Venue: Larchmont Hall
Location: Hollywood
Notes: Second Slash Benefit with Dils, The Germs

Date: Friday, December 16, 1977
Venue: Masque
Location: Hollywood
Notes: with The Weirdos, The Skulls







Date: Saturday, December 17, 1977
Venue: Masque
Location: Hollywood
Notes: with The Weirdos, Deadbeats, Bags, The Plugz







Date: Sunday-Monday, December 18-19, 1977
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco
Notes: with Deadbeats





Date: Friday, December 23, 1977
Venue: Masque
Location: Hollywood
Notes: with Eyes, Flesheaters; cancelled






1978

Date: Thursday-Saturday, January 5-7, 1978
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood






Date: Thursday-Sunday, February 16-19, 1978
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood
Notes: with Deadbeats, F-Word







Date: Tuesday, February 21, 1978
Venue: CBGB’s
Location: New York










Date: Friday, February 24, 1978
Venue: Elk’s Building
Location: Los Angeles
Notes: with Zeros, Dils, Germs, Controllers, Bags, Deadbeats






Date: Wednesday, March 15, 1978
Venue: Marquee West
Location: Arcadia
Notes: with X, Alley Cats, Flesheaters






Date: Thursday, March 23, 1978
Venue: State Mental Hospital
Location: Camarillo
Notes: Easter dance for patients of the hospital

Date: Saturday, March 25, 1978
Venue: Straight Ahead Ballroom
Location: San Diego
Notes: with Pop!, Zippers, Gary & The Blind Dates





Date: Saturday, April 8, 1978
Venue: Elks Lodge
Location: Los Angeles
Notes: The annual Artists and Lawyers Ball at the Elks Lodge

Date: Thursday-Saturday, April 13-15, 1978
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood
Notes: with Zeros, F-Word





Date: Sunday, April 30, 1978
Venue: Japanese Hall
Location: Vancouver

Date: Saturday-Sunday, May 13-14, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco
Notes: Saturday with The Zeros, The Mutants;
Sunday with Screamers, Zippers, Space Trash





Date: Thursday, May 18, 1978
Venue: Beaver Hall
Location: Portland





Date: Friday, May 19, 1978
Venue: Bird (Carpenters Hall)
Location: Seattle
Notes: with Enemy, Telepaths





Date: Saturday, May 20, 1978
Venue: KRAB FM
Location: Seattle
Notes: Live on the radio

Date: Sunday, May 21, 1978
Venue: Dreamland
Location: Seattle
Notes: Live in front window of clothing store

Date: Tuesday, May 23, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco
Notes: with UXA, The Offs, Sharp



Date: Thursday, June 15, 1978
Venue: Beverly Hills Highschool
Location: Los Angeles
Notes: cancelled





Date: Thursday, June 22, 1978
Venue: Rock Corporation
Location: Van Nuys









Date: Monday, June 26, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco
Notes: with The Mutants, The Offs, DV8, Avant Guarde

Date: Saturday, July 1, 1978
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: Monday, July 3, 1978
Venue: Stardust Ballroom
Location: Los Angeles
Notes: with the Weirdos, Crime, the Controllers







Date: Monday, July 10, 1978
Venue: Abbey Road
Location: San Diego
Notes: with The Zeros





Date: Saturday-Sunday, July 15-16, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco
Notes: Saturday with Snot Puppies, The Twitch; Sunday with Snot Puppies, Middle Class





Date: Thursday-Saturday, July 20-22, 1978
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood






Date: Friday, July 28, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco

Date: Saturday, September 2, 1978
Venue: Mabuhay Gardens
Location: San Francisco
Notes: with Mutants, Dead Kennedys








Date: Thursday-Saturday, September 7-9, 1978
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood
Notes: Saturday with X

Date: Thursday, September 14, 1978
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: Saturday, September 16, 1978
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood

Date: Friday, October 13, 1978
Venue: Nunzio’s
Location: Lincoln Park
Notes: with Boners, Bored Youth








Date: Tuesday-Wednesday, October 17-18, 1978
Venue: CBGB
Location: New York
Notes: with Terrorists





Date: Tuesday, October 31, 1978
Venue: Horseshoe Tavern
Location: Toronto
Notes: with Drastic Measures, Card Board Brains





Date: Thursday, November 2, 1978
Venue: Hurrah
Location: New York
Notes: Cancelled

Date: Friday, November 3, 1978
Venue: Hurrah
Location: New York







Date: Wednesday, November 8, 1978
Venue: Rat
Location: Boston
Notes: with Marc Thor and The Destroyers

Date: Saturday-Sunday, November 11-12, 1978
Venue: Hotel Nelson
Location: Montreal

Date: Thursday, November 23, 1978
Venue: Hurrah
Location: New York


1979

Date: Thursday-Friday, May 17-19, 1979
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood






Date: Friday, May 25, 1979
Venue: California Hall
Location: San Francisco
Notes: with Units, Tuxedomoon





Date: Thursday-Sunday, July 5-8, 1979
Venue: Hurrah
Location: New York
Notes: with Lounge Lizards on the first and last night






Date: Thursday-Saturday, July 19-21, 1979
Venue: The Roxy Theatre
Location: West Hollywood
Notes: with The Original Biblical Gospel Singers. This three day engagement was the first concert by an unsigned band in the history of the Roxy club.



1981

Date: Thursday-Saturday, July 9-11, 1981
Venue: Whisky-a-Go-Go
Location: West Hollywood
Notes: “Palace of Variety” was the last Screamers concert. It was a multimedia theater piece performed by Tomata and KK

The Screamers – Recordings

>> return to The Screamers page >>

This index includes unofficial recordings (no official releases exist)


A. Recordings

1. Screamers ‎– Punish Or Be Damned
Label: not on label
Catalog Number: none
Format: Vinyl, 2×7″, 45 RPM, double-Single
Released: 1989

Notes: Recorded live in December 1978 at The Masque in Hollywood.

Tracklist
A ‎– Punish Or Be Damned
B ‎– Vertigo (Let’s Go)
C ‎– Magazine Love
D ‎– Peer Pressure

2. The Screamers ‎– Scuzzy The Death Cone Clown Demos 1978
Label: Death Cone Records
Catalog Number: DC-1
Format: Vinyl, 2×7″, 45 RPM, double-EP
Released: circa 1994

Notes: Collection of demos, alternating between the Screamer’s first demo session in the summer of 1977 and perhaps their last (late 1978): Tracks A, B1, C2: recorded late 1978; Track C2: recorded for film “Population One”; Tracks B2, C1, D: first Screamers demo session, July 7, 1977 recorded on a TEAC 2340 4-Track.

Tracklist
A ‎– And The Beat Goes On [s/b I’m A Mensch]
B1 ‎– The Scream
B2 ‎– Magazine Love
C1 ‎– Peer Pressure
C2 ‎– Need A Head-On [s/b Why The World]
D ‎– Punish Or Be Damned
[Tracks A and C2 are incorrectly listed on the record sleeve; correct titles noted above.]

3. Screamers ‎– Demos 1977 Volume One
Label: Stomach Ache Records
Catalog Number: none
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 33 1/3 RPM, EP
Released: 1996

Notes: Sleeve is 2 separate pieces of paper with full-sized artwork on the back. There is another design with a half-sized back, printed on either white paper or pale yellow paper. Product of first Screamers demo session, recorded July 7, 1977 on a TEAC 2340 4-Track.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– I Don’t Want Anything
A2 ‎– Mater Dolores
B ‎– Punish Or Be Damned

4. Screamers ‎– Magazine Love / Cholo Jump
Label: Meeuw Muzak
Catalog Number: mm024
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Released: 2003

Notes: Tracks recorded live at the Whiskey a Go Go on September 14, 1978. Limited edition of 400 copies.

Tracklist
A ‎– Magazine Love
B ‎– Cholo Jump

5. Screamers ‎– Demos 1977-78
Label: not on label
Catalog Number: SOB 01
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 1/3 RPM, LP
Released: 2008

Notes: A demo from summer 1978, recorded “live in the studio” by Geza X. Track A1 originally performed by Sonny & Cher; Track A3 originally performed by Germs.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– The Beat Goes On
A2 ‎– Thru The Flames
A3 ‎– Sex Boy
A4 ‎– If I Can’t Have What I Want (I Don’t Want Anything)
A5 ‎– She’s The Girl
A6 ‎– I Wanna Hurt
A7 ‎– 122 Hours Of Fear (Part 1)
B1 ‎– …122 Hours Of Fear (Part 2)
B2 ‎– Punished Or Be Damned
B3 ‎– Government Love Affair
B4 ‎– Peer Pressure
B5 ‎– In A Better World
B6 ‎– Vertigo
B7 ‎– Magazine Love
B8 ‎– It’s A Violent World

6. Screamers ‎– Pat Garrett Demos 7-7-77
Label: not on label
Catalog Number: none
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 1/3 RPM, single-sided LP
Released: 2009

Notes: First pressing limited to 300 numbered copies; second pressing, limited to 500 copies.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– Punish Or Be Damned
A2 ‎– Mater Dolores
A3 ‎– Peer Pressure
A4 ‎– Magazine Love
A5 ‎– Anything

7. Screamers ‎– Assault!
Label: Scream! Rekords
Catalog Number: SCREAM01
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 1/3 RPM, LP
Released: 2009

Notes: Tracks A1 to A6 and B8 recorded live at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco on September 2, 1978; tracks B1 and B2 are from the Pat Garrett Demos recorded on July 7, 1977; tracks B3 and B4 are from 1978 Demos; tracks B5 to B7 are from Rene Daalder / David Campbell Demos recorded in late 1978. Includes a folded insert reproducing lyrics and a 1979 interview.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– Vertigo
A2 ‎– Last 4 Digits
A3 ‎– Magazine Love
A4 ‎– The Beat Goes On
A5 ‎– Punish Or Be Damned
A6 ‎– In A Better World
B1 ‎– If I Can’t Have What I Want (I Don’t Want Anything)
B2 ‎– Mater Dolores
B3 ‎– Why The World
B4 ‎– The Scream
B5 ‎– I’m A Mensch
B6 ‎– The Scream
B7 ‎– Why The World
B8 ‎– 122 Hours Of Fear

8. Screamers ‎– Strength Through Intimidation
Label: not on label
Catalog Number: none
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 1/3 RPM, LP
Released: 2014

Notes: Recorded and engineered by Geza X during the summer of 1978, live to a 4-track cassette tape in one session in Paul Roessler’s garage.

Tracklist
A1 ‎– 122 Hours Of Fear I
A2 ‎– 122 Hours Of Fear II
A3 ‎– Through The Flames
A4 ‎– Sex Boy
A5 ‎– If I Can’t Have What I Want, I Don’t Want Anything
A6 ‎– The Girl In The Car With The Glasses And The Gun
A7 ‎– Magazine Love
A8 ‎– Punish Or Be Damned
B1 ‎– The Beat Goes On
B2 ‎– Peer Pressure
B3 ‎– I Wanna Hurt
B4 ‎– Vertigo
B5 ‎– It’s A Violent World
B6 ‎– In A Better World
B7 ‎– Don’t Pay The Whore

Screamers

The Screamers were an American electropunk group founded in 1975. They were among the first wave of the L.A. punk rock scene. The Los Angeles Times applied the label “techno-punk” to the band in 1978. In the documentary Punk: Attitude (2005), the Dead Kennedys cite the Screamers as a key influence on their group and as one of the great unrecorded groups in rock history.

The Screamers were noted for unusual instrumentation, featuring synthesizer (ARP Odyssey) and electric piano (Fender Rhodes). Additional musicians, including violinists and a female vocalist, were occasionally incorporated into their performances. The group featured a theatrical presentation that centered on manic lead vocalist, Tomata du Plenty. DuPlenty and Tommy Gear, a keyboard player and vocalist, were the band’s principal songwriters.


Show List and Key Dates – This index features show dates, venues, and flyers


Recordings – This index includes unofficial recordings (no official releases exist)


History
The Screamers’ founders Tomata du Plenty (born David Xavier Harrigan) and Tommy Gear first collaborated in Seattle in 1975, where they formed The Tupperwares. The original lineup of the Tupperwares included Tommy Gear (at the time, using the name “Melba Toast”), Tomata du Plenty, and Rio de Janeiro on vocals, backed by Pam Lillig and Ben witz (later of Girls), as well as Bill Rieflin (later of The Blackouts and Ministry) and a teenage Eldon Hoke (later known as “El Duce” of The Mentors).

In late 1976, after legal threats from Tupperware trademark owners, the band’s name was changed to the Screamers. The trio Tomata, Tommy, Rio migrated to Los Angeles, leaving the other band members behind. Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro left the band due to creative differences and they added David Brown and drummer K. K. Barrett. Brown soon left to found the seminal punk label Dangerhouse Records; he was replaced by Paul Roessler.

The Screamers created a visual presence in the press before they ever played live. Studio photos of the band began to appear in magazines even before a full band had been assembled. Artist Gary Panter’s logo for the band, a stylized cartoon of a screaming head with spiked hair, became one of the most recognizable images to emerge from punk rock.

From 1977 through 1979, the Screamers became a sensation in Los Angeles rock clubs, selling out multiple-night engagements at the Whisky a Go Go. They were the first band without a recording contract to headline the prestigious Roxy on Sunset Boulevard. They also did several short tours during this period, playing in New York, at CBGB and Hurrah, in 1978 and 1979.

Describing a July 1979 performance, music critic Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times focused on “Tomata’s extraordinary power on stage”. According to Hilburn, “Tomata’s hair was greased to stand straight up, giving him the look of a man who had just stuck his finger into an electric socket. His performance reflected the nervous, relentless anxiety of someone whose troubles are even deeper… by the end of the 40-minute set, du Plenty has gone through the same disintegration of the human will that we associate with such books as “1984”. Eventually, the tuxedo jacket, shirt and tie are ripped off, leaving him symbolically naked in his attempt to maintain some dignity and individuality. As if suddenly put in another man’s body, he asks in horror: “Who am I?”

The Screamers never released a single official recording of any kind, although several bootleg recordings have appeared, composed of rehearsals or live tapes. At one point, the group determined they would release their debut album only in video form (a highly unusual approach before MTV existed or VCRs were common), and they devoted time and resources to constructing a small movie studio. Despite some fitful efforts in the early 1980s, the band had effectively dissolved before their video plans were realized. Roessler joined L.A.’s other “synthpunk” band, Nervous Gender. The other band members pursued non-musical careers, though K.K. Barrett reunited with Roessler to perform several Screamers songs live in late 2000, in tribute to Tomata du Plenty, who had recently died in San Francisco in August 2000.


Online Resources

Synthpunk.org – Screamers biography and discography