Controversial Trousers

Precision Bearings - Roller Funk-Roller Bliss-Don't Fall Down 7" (1981)

2008-10-11T22:30:00.013-05:00

If you haven't yet already, scroll down and read Menlo's excellent post on the Good Samaritans. It will provide some background information about the people involved with Precision Bearings and prevent me from having to reiterate a lot of the things he's already written.

As a follow-up to the Good Samaritans record, I have for you the one-and-only 7" by San Francisco's Precision Bearings, released on Fowl Records in 1981. This is Fowl Records first release and probably the label's hardest record to pin-down musically.

As with most things on this blog, the information I have is skeletal, at best. Most of the information I do have about this record comes from an interview of Precision Bearings/Black Humor member George Miller from the fanzine Z Gun, issue #1. (The interview was originally posted on the now-defunct Dragnet Records website for those of you who may have read it there and didn't know it was available again.) You can order Z Gun from S-S Records.

From what I understand, like Black Humor, Precision Bearings was more of a loose art collective than an actual band. Besides George Miller, members included: Dan Houser - co-founder of Fowl Records, member of Black Humor and Good Samaritans; Mark Brendt - another BH contributor and GS member; Patty Costa - same as above; and Quentin Llorente - also same as above. Tom Mallon, who produced the GS record, is credited as recording and mixing the PB record (with the exception of Don't Fall Down which was mixed by Mike Fox at Subterranean) and designing the graphics. Not to editorialize too much but it seems they really 'kept it in the family,' so to speak.

As eluded to above, this record is one bizarre musical exploration. The record starts out with the aptly titled Roller Funk-a funky, progressive, upbeat, harp-laden instrumental number. Although I can't tell if the music meant to be taken as ironic, I know the inspiration for the music is not. According to the interview, Dan Houser was a huge Roller Derby fan. In fact, at least the way George Miller describes it, Dan's primary mode of transportation around San Francisco was his roller skates. As a side note, the Black Humor song To Stupid To Die is about Dan's parrot who he would sometimes let ride around on his shoulder when he'd go out skating. On one unfortunate day, the parrot was blown off of Dan's shoulder and into the street where it got run over by a car. In the end, the parrot lived. I wonder if the parrot was the inspiration for the name Fowl Records. I digress...

The next track entitled Roller Bliss shifts gears into industrial/ambient territory. According to the sleeve this is essentially a solo effort by George, with him playing both keyboard and guitar in... well... blissful, shimmering, flange-washed repetition. Very pleasing and-clocking in at only about 1:15-very to the point.

The final track entitled Don't Fall Down is the most like you'd expect from this collective: creepy vocals by Patty Costa chanting the track's title over spooky, sci-fi sounds and what could loosely be considered a beat(?). Very much in a similar vein to the material on the b-side of the BH LP or to IXNA's Ixna Portal Exo track (see other post). Probably my favorite out of the bunch.

George Miller currently lives in Berlin and performs/records under the name Das Verkannte Modul. Check out his myspace page for more information.

According to his discogs.com entry, Dan Houser wrote some music featured in the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video game. When I poked around on the web to try and confirm this, I found contradicting information. It seems that whoever added that piece of information to the discogs entry got this Dan Houser confused with the British video game producer and Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser.

As far as other relevant information goes, I found this Black Humor page, and their myspace page both which appear to be run by George.

As always, if you can shed some more light on this record, the people involved or have any other relevant information, please share.

Zip includes 320kbs rip from the original vinyl and high quality scans of the packaging.

Enjoy.

Good Samaritans-Dotted Line 7" (1980)

2008-09-24T09:38:00.008-05:00

I’ve only been to San Francisco a couple times. The first time was for a business trip that only allowed very minimal time to visit any record stores. I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of amazing used records I found at Amoeba. I barely managed to struggle through the airport with an additional 40-50lbs of vinyl weight. A couple years later, I was able to get back there with my wife on our own vacation time. On that trip, we ventured into one smaller store on Haight that looked promising, but after some browsing; we had come up empty handed. (I think it was on the way to get some lunch, so hunger and the thought of cheap burritos probably stifled the record search a little!) Pretty much everything in the “Punk” section was either laughably over priced or common/unwanted titles that had obviously been sitting there for years. I was excited to find a very clean copy of Algebra Suicide’s Alpha Cue LP; which had been on my want list for a couple years at that point, but nothing else of interest reared its head. On the way to checkout, I stopped to flip through a small pile of 7”s on the counter. Dusty price tags and curled sleeve tops had me assume there was nothing to be found. I decided to buy the copy of Leather Nun’s Subterranean Records single for 50 cents and to take a chance on one by a local band called The Good Samaritans. That half dollar chance leads us to my second post on Controversial Trousers…

I had previously only found a couple of online mentions of the band or record, but I pieced that together to figure out where the Good Samaritans fit into the scheme of things. The first one was found was on a list of recording credits for Tom Mallon-McCorgray/Grifter. (Tom's website) He is/was a long time San Francisco recording studio owner/engineer who also performed in The American Music Club and a later line up of The Toiling Midgets. His website has a discography of records that he recorded or produced. Some of the credits have other names by them. I took this to mean other people who have recorded in his studio, but he did not personally engineer and/or produce. The Good Samaritans record notes: Engineered - Produced by Quentin Llorente (Direct Link) A search on Discogs shows Quentin as being a member of Precision Bearings who had a 7” released by San Francisco’s Fowl Records in 1981. He is credited with guitar/vocals on the infamous Black Humor LP ; also released by Fowl. This info had me do a quick search on the other members and I discovered that Good Samaritans band members Patty Costa, Mark Berndt and Dan Houser were all involved with both Precision Bearings and Black Humor. Dan Houser; their guitarist, produced the Urban Assault EP and two of the Good Samaritans folks are credited as producing the The Fuck Ups-FU82 EP. I looked a little closer and noticed Tom Mallon engineered or produced all of the Fowl releases. So, it seems that the Good Samaritans were the step before Fowl Records, and the members seem to link all of those bands and releases together.

Needless to say, this chance record for half a buck not only turned out to fill in an interesting history blank, but the single is really good, too. Their sound most certainly fits into the SF art-punk/wave bands of the day. It avoids the “commercial ambition” pit falls many bands and over zealous managers fell into time and time again in those days. Two songs and one’s an instrumental. The A side is a swirling blast with some great falsetto vocals and well handled sax. The B side is a fine instrumental that chugs along at a good pace, but I still think vocals would have worked well on it.

If you know of any compilation appearances or other related info, please don’t forget to comment! Now if only someone would do something about that Precision Bearings 7"...

Good Samaritans-7"
1980-self released

Side A: Dotted Line
Side B: Nightmares Theme

Ripped at 320kps with scans of the sleeve

Dotted Link

IXNA - s/t 7" EP (1981)

2008-09-13T23:07:00.019-05:00

Up next we have the fabulously obscure and underrated EP by San Francisco's IXNA, released in 1981 on Dumb Records, cat.# DUMB #PJ101. IXNA was a duo of performer and vocalist Marina LaPalma and multi-instrumentalist Jay Cloidt.

I knew nothing about this record when I purchased it besides the fact it was on Dumb, home of Novak, The Survivors and Bob. That alone was enough for me to take a chance on the purchase. I was sufficiently rewarded.

Sound-wise, it's a great mix of minimal electronics and and DIY-strangeness with plenty of tape loops, bizarro sounds and even some scissors thrown in on Ixna Portal Exo for good measure. Also, I believe this is the only record I've ever heard with a song sung in Esperanto. Any comparisons I attempt to make will be extremely loose at best. I would think that if you like Sis Q Lint (which I'll hopefully cover in a future post), Blah Blah Blah, The Stupid Set or possibly even Crawling With Tarts, you'll find plenty of things to like in this record. I will say, the rhythm of Mi Ne Parolas reminds me a little of Buy MCCB by Geoff Leigh's Black Sheep...but that might be a bit of a stretch. Anyway, listen for yourself and think up your own terrible, off-base comparisons.

I did a little poking around on the web and found some additional information. (1) In a 1987 issue of How(ever) Magazine, Marina LaPalma wrote about the background of IXNA, the group's inspiration and her other projects. Read the web-archive version here. (2) She recorded a track for Bad Alchemy Nr 5, a German zine and tape compilation released in 1986. Additional information can be found about this at discogs and at a discography page of Guy Klucevsek, LaPalma's collaborator on the track. (3) Jay Cloidt is currently a composer, musician and recording engineer and still works out of the San Francisco area. More information about him can be found at discogs, of course, and at his website.

If anyone has any additional info on this record, the members or anything remotely related, please don't hesitate to share.

Zip includes 320kbs rip from the original vinyl and high quality scans of ALL the packaging, including the 7"x7" decal.

Enjoy.

Billy Synth Post Updated...Finally

2008-08-03T23:55:00.004-05:00

After you read Menlo's wonderful debut post on Morris and the Minors, please scroll down and check out the newly updated Billy Synth post.

Thanks.

Morris and the Minors-State The Obvious 7"ep (1979)

2008-07-22T14:47:00.012-05:00

So, here’s my debut post on Controversial Trousers. I had a hard time deciding what to start with, so I just chose one of the newest additions to the piles since it was fresh in my mind. I came across this EP by a UK D.I.Y. band named after the Morris Minor automobile a short while ago at a record show. It was buried deep in the boxes of a dealer of mainly 70’s rock. Lotso’ import singles had me double check for something just like this. It was the only thing that turned up, but it was certainly worth the effort.

Morris and the Minors-State the Obvious 7”ep

1979-Square Records

According to the first edition of the Volume guide, Morris and the Minors turned into Madness. If you’ve ever paged through the first book Volume published, you’ll know it’s riddled with mistakes. I’m guessing Madness used the same name or similar in an early incarnation or something along those lines. Mario Panciera’s 45 Revolutions book lists this as their only vinyl release and quotes a few period reviews that range from brilliant to crud. I think it’s brilliant, personally.

It’s definitely more on the same brain wave as the Television Personalities then the art pop noise of The Digital Dinosaurs or Instant Automatons. It also has its goofy charms like the use of kazoo on two of the songs. A drum machine is a great addition to “Can’t Smoke A Fag in the Rain”. Little factual information to clue us in on the identities of the members is standard for D.I.Y. records and this one’s no exception. The inside of the sleeve has five pictures of everyday looking street shots with a few of them showing three guys in non descript dark trousers and jackets. The two pictures where you can see all or part of a face or two have the eyes scribbled out with a pen. The line up is: Guitar-Morris, Singing-Morris, Drum-Morris. Contact address is Charlton, England….and that’s about it.

Side A:

Emily

Falling Asleep

Side B:

Scared

Can’t Smoke A Fag in the Rain

Ripped at 320kps with scans of both sides of the sleeve.

Get minor with Morris

Billy Synth - Hartzdale Drive Destruction/Indigestion/4200 7" (1980)

2008-07-11T00:33:00.013-05:00

I finally had some time to catch my breath and update this post. I don't know what took me so long, I don't have that much information to share with you anyway. Sorry for the delay.

Next up we have the Billy Synth 7" on the French experimental/industrial label Sordide Sentimental. This is a fantastic collaboration between Jad and David Fair of Half Japanese, Bernie of (Billy Synth and) the Janitors and the somewhat legendary, outsider musician Billy Synth. Three fantastic, noisy, blistering songs with Bernie spewing almost stream of conscience lyrics over a bizarre backdrop of drunken, sci-fi synth and early-Half Japanese guitar and drums calamity. On the song Indigestion, Bernie even belches loudly over the music for appropriate effect. From what I understand, all the music was completely improvised and recorded in a single take.

Released in 1980 in an edition of 1537 (mine is # 917), this record is packaged beautifully with a 3 panel fold-out booklet with writing by Sordide Sentimental co-founder Yves Von Bontee, pictures, lyrics with dates and writing credits and a separate insert with German and English translations all contained in a plastic bag emblazoned with a two color SS logo.

This is strictly conjecture, but the cover art looks to be by underground/comic artist and frequent ESDS (Elles Sont De Sortie) contributor Bruno Richard. There is some kind of signature on the back cover, but it's partially scratched out and hard to make out the letters.

For more information on Sordide Sentimental and its releases, please refer to the label's website and discogs listing.

Please also take the time to check out the Billy Synth post from the Cake and Polka Parade and to read the Legend Of The Punk Rock Janitors thread on :30 Under DC. The latter sheds light on the insert photo of Bernie wearing tights.

Other than the general information about the label and a list of other Billy Synth projects, I don't really have any background information about how this specific record came to be. I am very curious as to how two blue collar, garage-punk dudes from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania got matched up with the cerebral chaos of DC's Half Japanese.

If anyone has any further information on this record, Billy Synth, or a Billy Synth discography (which does not currently exist online), please share. I look forward to your comments.

Now on to the music...

Zip includes 320kbs rip from the original vinyl and high quality scans of ALL the packaging.

Enjoy.

The Scientific Americans - Beyond Rational Thought EP (1979)

2008-05-06T19:37:00.021-05:00

First up is the Beyond Rational Thought 7" EP by the Scientific Americans, released on their Tekno Tunes label in 1979.

Formed in the late 1970's in Northampton, Massachusetts, the Sci Ams existed in numerous incarnations up until their dissolution in early 1983. Over the course of their existence, in addition to this 7", they released a 10" flexi EP entitled Beyond Fiscal Distress (also on Tekno) in 1980; the Some Dumb Fucks cassette in 1981, each featuring a handmade cover by member Sean "Alias" Elias; the Load and Go cassette on ROIR; and contributed to compilations on both Ladd-Frith (Psyclones, Blackhouse) and Ding Dong Tapes (Bene Gesserit, The Legendary Pink Dots, Van Kaye & Ignit) from Holland.

This is the band's first release, recorded as a five-piece. The record sleeve credits members as Ricky Ritardando, Luthor, Mr. Big, Crank, and Al Capella and features a giant "Sci Ams Man" boldly in black on the front - a logo that would grace all of their releases and merchandise in some form.

Beyond Rational Thought differs in sound from their later more stripped-down, drum machine/synth-driven material the band became better known for. Generally, it's quirky punk-wave with synth flourishes and a few odd touches. Also, on this record is the first appearance of their cover of Epp Opp Ork from the Jetson's television show - a song that was later remixed for the Ding Dong comp. and even remixed into a dub version for an OP Magazine flexi.

Beyond that, I can't claim to know very much else. In fact, the small amount of information I have about the Sci Ams comes from a web page done by former member (and now avid sailor) Craig O'Donnell. Rather than just reiterate more of its content, I'll just post the link below.

http://www.friend.ly.net/users/dadadata/n_the/sci/sciams.html

Tekno Tunes also released a 7" by the Higher Primates which was recently shared on the 7" From The Underground blog. You can get a copy of it here.

If anyone has any additional information about the Scientific Americans, the former members, related projects and/or general information about bands in the smaller towns/scene outside of Boston, please share.

Zip includes 256kbs rip from original vinyl and scans of the liner notes, sleeve and labels.

Enjoy

First Things First

2008-04-09T21:41:00.000-05:00

Well... Looks like I'm going to try and commit to yet another project. I wanted to start a blog for sometime and have been sitting on this URL for almost 2 years now. Pretty pathetic, if I say so myself. During all this time, I've continued collecting records, toys, junk and ephemera with no other purpose then to keep myself amused.

I want this blog to not only serve as a way to share rare records with readers, but also as a general dumping ground for some of the other interesting things I've come across. I mapped most of it out today and I should have plenty of garbage to keep both myself and you readers occupied for months to come.

As far as the vinyl ripping goes, I'm still fine tuning/working the bugs out of the process. Hopefully, in the coming days/weeks, I'll have it all dialed and be able to quickly get things digitized and up for you to enjoy. If it were just a matter of ripping it for the sole purpose of this blog and I didn't care about the quality, I would have been ready months ago. Have confidence in the fact that I strive for quality and patience as I work to achieve said quality.

All I ask from you is that you share any relevant information you have on the records/stuff I post about.

Thank you.