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.

For Tomata du Plenty

A record left for Tomata at his memorial site in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, California.

Tomata du Plenty (1948-2000)

Artipedia

L.A. art blogger Fette led me to this unexpected posting on Artipedia by Philippe Mogane regarding my Screamers project. (Philippe started the record label Siamese Records in 1977 with guitar-demigod James Williamson of The Stooges, which devotees know is the label that released the rawest of Raw Power before David Bowie's weakened remix for Columbia Records.) Because of my own typo in the email address for Raid Projects, Philippe's email messages were bouncing back. Philippe wrote:

I just wanted to tell M. Leonard that, as the founder of the first LA punk label Siamese Records and the Editor of the I Wanna Be Your Dog fanzine, I befriended Tommy and Tomata of The Screamers. Our paths did cross many times. The LA music scene was quite small in the early 70’s. Specifically in the punk world.

I have some candid shots of both of them and some on stage as I was one of their biggest fans.

I understood as soon as I met them that they had plenty of talent.

I do hope this project will bring them to the light. They do deserve recognition and fame.

Thank you,
Philippe Mogane

Siamese Dogs Records
Home of The Godfathers of Punk and out of control Rock & Roll!

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.

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.