THE WAILING ULTIMATE! The Homestead Records Collection
Released in 1987, the Homestead Records Compilation (HMS 079) features a variety of bands from the 1980s so-called “alternative DIY underground” scene. Whatever that means to you in 2010, these bands, mostly from the Midwest and East Coast, and their music, represent some of the vestiges of an era in America’s music history that can always use some more documentation and poking with a stick. Not to make it all seem so damned serious and reverential. The liner notes reveal a well spring of humor and good-natured ribbing between bands who lived in different cities and states but released records on one label; check out the last track on side two for a good example of a diy scene band poking fun at themselves, their audience, their record labels, and other elements of "alternative-80s-underground" culture. Keep an eye out for any of these bands' old EPs, LPs, and old "7"'s, they're like Werther's Originals from the 80s, but for your ears...
Side One
Dinosaur – Repulsion
Volcano Suns – White Elephant
Phantom Tollbooth – Valley of the Gwangi
Squirrel Bait – Sun God
Breaking Circus – Song of the South
Big Black – “II Duce”
Salem 66 – The Well
Download Side Two
Death of Samantha – Blood & Shaving Cream
Antietam – In A Glass House
Live Skull – Fort Belvedere
Naked Raygun – I Remember
The Reactions – Don’t Look Back
Big Dipper – You’re Not Patsy
Great Plains – Letter To A Fanzine
DownloadDINOSAUR, (uber early Dinosaur JR, before they had to change their name) is J Mascis: vocal, guitar, big muff; Lou Barlow: bass, vocals; Murph: drums
“Their songs just explode”- Thurston Moore. Out of the ashes of the Western Mass. Hardcore ‘era’: J Mascis (ex-drummer) and Lou Barlow (ex-guitar) of Deep Wound switch instruments and team up with former All White Jury drummer Pat Murphy. J and Lou sing ‘cause they couldn’t find anybody else to do it. Famous for answers like ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in interviews. Offstagee: laconic, withdrawn, cryptic. Onstage: wreckless, rock hard and louder than Hiroshima. Yohannon’s worst nightmare, ex-hardcores that like to jam. “Forget Neil Young, this is the real spuzz”=-- Chuck Eddy
VOLCANO SUNS is Peter Prescott: drums, vocals; Jeff Weigand: bass, vocals; Jon Williams: guitar, vocals
“During a virtual haze of critic receptions, award ceremonies and political fund raisers thrown in honor of our stupendously received 2nd LP, we finally made a rare studio appearance into the recording studio to do what we do best—JAM! Fortunately, out of this maze of social gatherings came artistic genesis. While at an Arista Records party celebrating the removal of a corn from Mike Gira’s small left foot, we spotted Aristahead Clive Davis—at the time battling an evil crack habit—attempting to snort the virgin-white, elephant shaped party cake. Anyhow, we, the Volcano Suns, give to you, the public, ‘White Elephant.’ ”
PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH is Dave Rick: guitar, vocals; Gerard Smith: bass, vocals; Jon Coats: drums
“Phantom Tollbooth. The name trips off the tongue in images of blue trimmed with gold; and the chicks love it! Their “Valley of the Gwangi” simultaneously reflects who they are and encompasses a full range of human emotions. To witness PT in performance is to share life and love with the whole world. Recognizing their effect upon an audienc, they have dubbed themselves a ‘semi-positive’ band. Bass-axe man Jerry and regular-axe guy Dave hail from Long Island. Drum-god Jon, originally from Iowa, reminds them that there are other people on the planet. Phantom Tollbooth: two geeks and a troll…and rightly so!!”
SQUIRREL BAIT is Peter Searcy: vocals; David Grubbs: guitar; Brian McMahan: guitar; Clark Johnson: bass; Ben Daughtrey: drums
“Squirrel Bait was a bunch of big, criminally savage monsters with way huge teeth who beat their neighbors’ dogs and jammed their own heels into lawnmower blades when and if they felt like it. They flashed a proud marble. “Sun God” is a song about a singer with a hangover during the summer who’s too young to purchase the proverbial ‘hair of the dog’ and sweats uncontrollably.”
BREAKING CIRCUS is Steve Bjorklund: guitar, vocals; Flour: bass; Rodd Trainer: drums, vocals
Three guys who don’t think precision is a dirty word. The sound of a plugged-in radio thrown into your bath; finely-chiseled guitar shit that invokes neither goth nor glam as much as it does the sound of certain automatic weapons you can’t buy over the counter in certain states. Some of their songs have occasional moments that say ‘pop’ in big letters but we doubt you’ll lose concentration. Breaking Circus are a trio with neither a drum machine nor long beards, but with the necessary humor, determination, and voltage for us to put out their records. Nice boots, too.
BIG BLACK is Steve Albini—Throbbing muscle of love guitar, and cat-being-run over vocals. This genius has a brain the size of the solar system, and two fleshy, pavement-scraping members. Was once in Montana new wave kings ‘Just Ducky’. Santiago Durango—‘Rambo’ guitar and electrodes to the gonads vocals. Genius behind the genius, this ex-Mr. Universe is also ruggedly handsome and incredibly cultured and charming. Future law student whose past includes Silver Abuse and Naked Raygun. David Riley—Subsonic, chainsaw bass. Court stud-master and band philosopher. The genius behind the genius behind the genius. The heart throb of millions. He used to be in Savage Beliefs, he produced the End Result LP and he’s like too quick so don’t try anything.
SALEM 66 is Judy Grunwaid: guitar, vocals; Beth Kaplan: bass, vocals; Steve Smith: guitar; Susan Merriam: drums
Salem, MA. Was the home of the infamous ‘Salem Witch Trials’ and ‘666’ is like, the number of the beast, y’know? Escept they couldn’t fit the full ‘666’ on Susan’s bass drum. Judy once sang in a band called the Maps, Beth played bass for the In-Steps, Steve played guitar and sang for Expando-Brain and Susan had never played drums before. Really young people have asked them for autographs before. Really old people have asked what they think of the ‘neopsychodelic movement’ and have been laughed at. A band that covered Wire and The Band in the same night and somehow made it stick together. ‘The Well’ was one of Salem 66’s first radio tapes back in 1982-1983, and their new version of it is unavailable on any other piece of plastic.
DEATH OF SAMANTHA is Steve O: drums; David James: bass, backing vocals; Doug Gillard: lead guitar, backing vocals; John Petkovic: lead vocals, guitar
“Steve-O: This beautiful showgirl/model/actress hasn’t found a man who fits her rigorous specifications for a husband. Says the cautious Steve-O: ‘I’ve no regrets…I’d rather be lonely than sorry.’ Rudolph Vasolino: Has been very close to marriage. She had the man, admitted she was very fond of him, but couldn’t bear to sacrifice her career and sent him away. David James: Confidante of international society. David lacks only one attribute to be the perfect wife- she just doesn’t like men. Never has. Doug Gillard: The elusive Swede has been in hiding or years. A frustrating romance with John Gilbert and the tragic death of Mauritz Stiller has turned her into a recluse”.
ANTIETAM is Tim Harris: bass, vocals; Tara Key: guitar, vocals; Wolf Knapp; Sean Mullhall: drums
They’re named after the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War, pronounced “ann-tee-tum”, and we bring this up because nobody (least of all college radio dj’s) seems to know how to say it correctly. 4/5’s of the band (and everyone you hear playing on ‘Glass House’) hail from Louisville, Kentucky and their move to the northeast (Hoboken, N.J.) has left many a bearded rock critic (or balding youngster) scratching his scalp. Which is only natural, ‘cause Antietam might be the most uncategorizable group we’ve ever had the luck to be associated with. Dual-bass, ragged vocals that swoop and soar, guitars that are hypnotic one minute and totally fuzzed out the next; if there’s a more electric rock band in America today, we sure wish they’d send us a tape.
LIVE SKULL is Tom Paine: guitars, vocals; Marnie Greenholz: bass, vocals; James Lo: percussion drums
“Live Skull gives an idea of the fantastical collision of the life & death that explodes from the purging flames of this quartet of exterminating angels. Live Skull is the living dead that bears no resemblance to such B-movie clichés…and feeds off the psychosexual slime of social repression. Listen here to the noise of your warped mind tripping to the gurgling of your blood coagulating in the ROTTING FETID CORPSE OF CULTURE, to the feedback of every victim screaming at once into the amplifier of human consciousness. Turn up the volume of this graphic nightmare, put your ear to the speaker and see if your “sanity”, that little hopeless dwarf that sits jerking off in our heads all day long, doesn’t feel a bit claustrophobic and paranoid around the company up there.” Carlo McCormick, NYC October 1986
NAKED RAYGUN is Jeff Pezzati: voice; Pierre Kezdy: bass; John Haggerty: guitar; Eric Spicer: drums
“Hope you’re enjoying the show so far. Now we’re going to bore you with some useless bits of information: 1) we’re from Chicago, 2) we formed circa 1980, 3) we’ve released 2 albums on Homestead Records and 4) don’t ever bother us with these questions again. You have let your superior intellect show just by buying this record. Good. Be sure not to miss our trans-continental tour when we will liberate Europe for a second time (except France, as we wouldn’t dream of violating their air space). We really do appreciate your buying this record and all the support you have shown us. We hope to meet each and every one of you.” Hugs & Kisses, Naked Raygun.
THE REACTIONS is Dave Swanson: drums, guitar; Chuck Wagner: vocals, guitar; Brian McCafferty: bass, vocals
Cleveland with less dirt, pop with more teeth. Baited hooks without recalling any specific place and time other than the one we’re living in right now. Two classic singles (‘Tomorrow’s Time Today’ and ‘I Want You’) on the St. Valentine label, one Homestead EP and a Bangles poster on the bedroom wall.
BIG DIPPER is Jeff Oliphant: drums; Steve Michener: bass, vocals; Gary Waleik: guitar, vocals; Bill Goffrier: guitar, vocals
“Now that you know something about us, here’s the Big Dipper bio. We’d feel guilty about mentioning that Big Dipper features ex-members of Volcano Suns, Dumptruck and The Embarrassment, so we figure if we mention that our drummer was in the legendary XS you’ll still buy our record and come to see us play live and send us things in the mail. We are pleased as punch to be part of this vinyl festival. Keep a sharp ear out for “Boo-Boo”, our 6-song debut on Homestead. OK?
GREAT PLAINS is Mark Wyatt: keyboard, vocals; Dave Green: drums, vocals; Paul Nini: bass, vocals; Matt Wyatt: guitar, vocals; Ron House: king vocals, guitar
“I was in a record store recently when some guy who was buying Wendy Waidman and Brian Auger albums started talking to me about Freud. His basic point (he credited Bettelheim) was that much confusion and grief could have been avoided if only certain concepts had been translated better. For instance, ‘psychoanalysis’ should have been ‘soul analysis’. This got me to thinking. With the possible exception of the New Seekers, I don’t think there’s been any band with less soul than Great Plains. Whether you define ‘soul’ as the ‘certitude of essence’, ‘the way James Brown does moves’ or ‘the pride in your own value’, we don’t have it. When I do acid, I can’t even see colors; once I saw Egyptian symbols, but I probably stole that from somebody. If Greil Marcus ever put us in one of his books, we’d probably be in the same chapter as William Dean Howells, that great soulless writer of the late 19th century. We’re so soulless we think ‘Letter To A Fanzine’ is a major statement.” Ron House, Great Plains.
