While rooting around in the York University archives I came across material from the Centre for Experimental Art and Communication (Toronto 1973-78). In summer 1977, CEAC housed the first punk club in Toronto (hosted by the Diodes) under the banner "Crash & Burn". Documents from the Crash & Burn events include show posters, photos and a small collection of audio recordings. One of these recordings is a "lost" demo tape from the legendary Los Angeles punk band the Screamers. During their active years (1977-81) the Screamers played several electrifying live shows but never released an official record. While in Los Angeles for an artist residency at Raid Projects, my aim was to find the former members of the Screamers (Tommy Gear, KK Barrett, Paul Roessler, David Braun, and Jeff McGregor; lead singer Tomata du Plenty passed away in 2000) and give them exclusive copies of the "Crash & Burn Demos" in the form of handmade vinyl records. The blog entries below chronicle the project's development.
Showing posts with label Paul Roessler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Roessler. Show all posts
Monday, September 29, 2008
Project History
While rooting around in the York University archives I came across material from the Centre for Experimental Art and Communication (Toronto 1973-78). In summer 1977, CEAC housed the first punk club in Toronto (hosted by the Diodes) under the banner "Crash & Burn". Documents from the Crash & Burn events include show posters, photos and a small collection of audio recordings. One of these recordings is a "lost" demo tape from the legendary Los Angeles punk band the Screamers. During their active years (1977-81) the Screamers played several electrifying live shows but never released an official record. While in Los Angeles for an artist residency at Raid Projects, my aim was to find the former members of the Screamers (Tommy Gear, KK Barrett, Paul Roessler, David Braun, and Jeff McGregor; lead singer Tomata du Plenty passed away in 2000) and give them exclusive copies of the "Crash & Burn Demos" in the form of handmade vinyl records. The blog entries below chronicle the project's development.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Still Searching For Screamers
I'm still searching for Tommy Gear, David Braun, and Jeff McGregor. I've now connected with KK Barrett and Paul Roessler. (Paul actually showed up at the opening reception.) I'll have to redouble my efforts to find the others since I'm only in LA for another three weeks.
Regarding the gift exchange, the agreement is that the records be kept on display until August 25th then given to the band members before I return to Halifax at month's end.
Regarding the gift exchange, the agreement is that the records be kept on display until August 25th then given to the band members before I return to Halifax at month's end.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Opening Reception @ Raid Projects
Photos by Jennifer Leonard. More photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenlen/sets/72157601238510969
Paul Roessler pictured in bottom right-hand photo.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Finding Paul Roessler
I was honoured last night with a visit to Raid by former Screamer Paul Roessler. He was extremely gracious about the project and found it to be an overwhelming tribute to the Screamers. Paul shared details about the history of the band and gave his perspective on some of the pervasive mysteries surrounding the band's breakup.
Tommy and Tomata were the conceptual forces behind the Screamers (see July 9, 2007) . Besides the unquestionable intensity of the band's music, live shows were exhausting theatrical affairs that were constantly changing in order to keep the performances unpredictable. The band had always been concerned with progress and towards the end emphasized its performance over its musical content. In this direction, the involvement of filmmaker Rene Daalder sealed the band's demise.
Daalder provided the resources to construct a film studio that would indulge the Screamers' interest in its theatrical evolution. Daalder's "unwatchable" film Population One featured Tomata as the last living human after a nuclear blast. The film was constructed around flashbacks and music videos. Somewhere during the filming, creative differences rose to the surface and the core band members felt the need to part ways.
As Geza X states, "When Rene became involved, the artistic vision of the band got derailed...Rene had them playing to loops, run off a tape recorder--an extremely interesting idea, granted, kind of an early industrial techno twist to that--but it really wasn't the Screamers anymore. The Screamers' magic when they rocked out with those Tinkertoy synths slowly turned into this low-budget multimedia nonextravaganza which wasn't really that good, and the band started withering behind it" (We Got the Neutron Bomb, p. 215).
Paul has never stopped making music. Since the Screamers, on top of his solo work, he's played with Dc3, Nina Hagen, 45 Grave, Twisted Roots, Nervous Gender, Prick, Abby Travis, Leah Andreone, Geza X and the Mommymen, Mark Curry, The Joykiller, The Controllers, The Mourning Glorys, Crimony, Mike Watt and the Secondmen, Pat Smear, Saboteur, and Josie Cotton.
Tommy and Tomata were the conceptual forces behind the Screamers (see July 9, 2007) . Besides the unquestionable intensity of the band's music, live shows were exhausting theatrical affairs that were constantly changing in order to keep the performances unpredictable. The band had always been concerned with progress and towards the end emphasized its performance over its musical content. In this direction, the involvement of filmmaker Rene Daalder sealed the band's demise.
Daalder provided the resources to construct a film studio that would indulge the Screamers' interest in its theatrical evolution. Daalder's "unwatchable" film Population One featured Tomata as the last living human after a nuclear blast. The film was constructed around flashbacks and music videos. Somewhere during the filming, creative differences rose to the surface and the core band members felt the need to part ways.
As Geza X states, "When Rene became involved, the artistic vision of the band got derailed...Rene had them playing to loops, run off a tape recorder--an extremely interesting idea, granted, kind of an early industrial techno twist to that--but it really wasn't the Screamers anymore. The Screamers' magic when they rocked out with those Tinkertoy synths slowly turned into this low-budget multimedia nonextravaganza which wasn't really that good, and the band started withering behind it" (We Got the Neutron Bomb, p. 215).
Paul has never stopped making music. Since the Screamers, on top of his solo work, he's played with Dc3, Nina Hagen, 45 Grave, Twisted Roots, Nervous Gender, Prick, Abby Travis, Leah Andreone, Geza X and the Mommymen, Mark Curry, The Joykiller, The Controllers, The Mourning Glorys, Crimony, Mike Watt and the Secondmen, Pat Smear, Saboteur, and Josie Cotton.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Members of the Screamers
The core members of the Screamers were Tomata du Plenty (lead vocals, d. 2000), Tommy Gear (Arp synth, vocals), KK Barrett (drums), and Paul Roessler (Fender Rhodes synth). In 1978, Paul replaced Jeff McGregor who briefly replaced the band's original Fender Rhodes keyboardist David Braun. As the band's live shows became more and more theatrical, Sheila Edwards was added to the group as Tomata's foil briefly before its disbanding in summer 1981.
I made contact today with Paul Roessler through his website (www.myspace.com/paulroessler) and KK Barrett through the website of his wife. Tommy Gear still remains elusive. A memorial website for Tomata du Plenty can be found at www.myspace.com/tomataduplenty.
Thanks to Cake Nunez and Not For Hire magazine writer/publisher Kim Buresh (via Bill Lopez) for the leads.
I made contact today with Paul Roessler through his website (www.myspace.com/paulroessler) and KK Barrett through the website of his wife. Tommy Gear still remains elusive. A memorial website for Tomata du Plenty can be found at www.myspace.com/tomataduplenty.
Thanks to Cake Nunez and Not For Hire magazine writer/publisher Kim Buresh (via Bill Lopez) for the leads.
Cake Nunez
I was contacted by Carlos "Cake" Nunez (www.myspace.com/cakeflip), the friend of Bill Lopez (see June 22, 2007) who used to write for Flipside. We exchanged some emails about the Screamers and the demo tapes:
Which Screamers demo tape did you find there? The 1977/1978 demos, by any chance? I know that it's out on both LP and CD (bootleg) already. I know KK Barrett and Paul Roessler and met Tomata before he passed (hung out with him at Mr. T's Bowl when Nudist Priest played some years back).
- Cake
The demos I found in Toronto may be the same as those already floating around: Peer Pressure, Punish or Be Damned and Eva Braun.
Peer Pressure and Punish or Be Damned may very well be from the First Screamers demo session (7-7-77 on a TEAC 2340 4-Track) produced by Pat Garrett (which appeared on the Scuzzy the Death Cone Clown vinyl AND the Trying To Be Like Jesus bootleg CD), but I can't say for sure since I haven't heard either to compare. They're definitely not live recordings, which in the case of Punish or Be Damned rules out the Target Video soundtrack.
I'm pretty sure they're not the 1978 demos produced by Geza X because there's no presence of an "audible whine" , which these demos reportedly have.
The third song is Eva Braun and this may be the Geza X version that shows up on Trying To Be Like Jesus bootleg OR it may be the soundtrack extracted from the (unknown?) video for the song. The version I found doesn't have the "whine" present in the Geza X recordings, so I'm guessing it's from another source. I haven't heard the video soundtrack, so on that I can't say.
It would be great to compare the demos found in Toronto -- let's call them the Crash & Burn Demos after the punk venue where they were submitted in '78-- to those produced by Garret ('77) and Geza X ('78). Do you have a copy of either of these recordings or know someone who might?
- Craig
I went through my collection of Screamers stuff and couldn't locate those three tracks, so you most certainly have some rarities on you there! I would love to hear those tracks someday!
- Cake
Which Screamers demo tape did you find there? The 1977/1978 demos, by any chance? I know that it's out on both LP and CD (bootleg) already. I know KK Barrett and Paul Roessler and met Tomata before he passed (hung out with him at Mr. T's Bowl when Nudist Priest played some years back).
- Cake
The demos I found in Toronto may be the same as those already floating around: Peer Pressure, Punish or Be Damned and Eva Braun.
Peer Pressure and Punish or Be Damned may very well be from the First Screamers demo session (7-7-77 on a TEAC 2340 4-Track) produced by Pat Garrett (which appeared on the Scuzzy the Death Cone Clown vinyl AND the Trying To Be Like Jesus bootleg CD), but I can't say for sure since I haven't heard either to compare. They're definitely not live recordings, which in the case of Punish or Be Damned rules out the Target Video soundtrack.
I'm pretty sure they're not the 1978 demos produced by Geza X because there's no presence of an "audible whine" , which these demos reportedly have.
The third song is Eva Braun and this may be the Geza X version that shows up on Trying To Be Like Jesus bootleg OR it may be the soundtrack extracted from the (unknown?) video for the song. The version I found doesn't have the "whine" present in the Geza X recordings, so I'm guessing it's from another source. I haven't heard the video soundtrack, so on that I can't say.
It would be great to compare the demos found in Toronto -- let's call them the Crash & Burn Demos after the punk venue where they were submitted in '78-- to those produced by Garret ('77) and Geza X ('78). Do you have a copy of either of these recordings or know someone who might?
- Craig
I went through my collection of Screamers stuff and couldn't locate those three tracks, so you most certainly have some rarities on you there! I would love to hear those tracks someday!
- Cake
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Mike Watt & Letter To The Screamers
I contacted bassist Mike Watt through his website (www.hootpage.com) after discovering that he is the former brother-in-law of Paul Roessler, keyboardist on the Fender Rhodes for the Screamers (1978-81), through past marriage to Kira Roessler, bassist in Black Flag (1984-86) and in the duo Dos with Watt since 1986.
• • •
This is a copy of the letter I am forwarding whenever possible to people who might have contact with former members of the Screamers:
Dear Screamers,
While rooting around in some archives in Toronto, I came across materials from the Center for Experimental Art and Communication (Toronto, 1973-78). CEAC, you might recall, hosted some of the first punk concerts in Canada under the banner "Crash & Burn". Documents from the Crash & Burn events include show posters, photos and a small collection of audio recordings. One of these recordings is a Screamers demo tape. Apparently someone associated with the band or in the band itself submitted the demo to possibly play Crash & Burn in '77 or '78 (?).
I was able to get a copy of the recording and I've brought it with me to L.A. It consists of "Peer Pressure", "Eva Braun" and "Punish or Be Damned". All great versions, though a little muddy. To improve this, I've remastered the audio to hopefully capture the energy and intensity of your music. These are rare demos, I believe, as they're not on the Xeroid Records Screamers compilation, which seems to hold claim to being authoritative.
My reason for being in L.A. (I live in Halifax, NS, Canada) is to hopefully find all the former members of the Screamers in order to give you copies of this recording.
As strange as it sounds, giving "gifts" like this is the core of my art practice. For me, the application of a gift economy counteracts the state of hyper-commodification the art world is currently in. Although this is an "art" project, it isn't "candid camera" or "punk'd" or any crap like that. In no way do I want to visually document my personally giving you the recording: that would be a double-edged gift, wouldn't you say? The condensed version of my ethos and approach is the following:
"Two activities are central to my art practice: research and gift-giving. Through loose research within archives, private collections, libraries and other sites, I am interested in recovering lost histories found in the form of overlooked objects or information. My primary objective is to return this material to the individuals and communities that have direct interest in the subject matter. The material I exhibit in art spaces is the documentation and residue from the processes of research and gift preparation."
I hope this is clear but if you have any questions, please ask! I would be grateful if you could let me know your whereabouts so I can bring you the recording. I am in L.A. until the end of August.
Looking forward to meeting you soon,
Craig Leonard
• • •
This is a copy of the letter I am forwarding whenever possible to people who might have contact with former members of the Screamers:
Dear Screamers,
While rooting around in some archives in Toronto, I came across materials from the Center for Experimental Art and Communication (Toronto, 1973-78). CEAC, you might recall, hosted some of the first punk concerts in Canada under the banner "Crash & Burn". Documents from the Crash & Burn events include show posters, photos and a small collection of audio recordings. One of these recordings is a Screamers demo tape. Apparently someone associated with the band or in the band itself submitted the demo to possibly play Crash & Burn in '77 or '78 (?).
I was able to get a copy of the recording and I've brought it with me to L.A. It consists of "Peer Pressure", "Eva Braun" and "Punish or Be Damned". All great versions, though a little muddy. To improve this, I've remastered the audio to hopefully capture the energy and intensity of your music. These are rare demos, I believe, as they're not on the Xeroid Records Screamers compilation, which seems to hold claim to being authoritative.
My reason for being in L.A. (I live in Halifax, NS, Canada) is to hopefully find all the former members of the Screamers in order to give you copies of this recording.
As strange as it sounds, giving "gifts" like this is the core of my art practice. For me, the application of a gift economy counteracts the state of hyper-commodification the art world is currently in. Although this is an "art" project, it isn't "candid camera" or "punk'd" or any crap like that. In no way do I want to visually document my personally giving you the recording: that would be a double-edged gift, wouldn't you say? The condensed version of my ethos and approach is the following:
"Two activities are central to my art practice: research and gift-giving. Through loose research within archives, private collections, libraries and other sites, I am interested in recovering lost histories found in the form of overlooked objects or information. My primary objective is to return this material to the individuals and communities that have direct interest in the subject matter. The material I exhibit in art spaces is the documentation and residue from the processes of research and gift preparation."
I hope this is clear but if you have any questions, please ask! I would be grateful if you could let me know your whereabouts so I can bring you the recording. I am in L.A. until the end of August.
Looking forward to meeting you soon,
Craig Leonard
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