I've been in contact with KK Barrett, the drummer for the Screamers, through email correspondence. KK has shed some valuable light on the source of the demo tapes, demystifying their rarity to a degree, but his information satisfyingly closes the chapter on the origin of the recordings. The Eva Braun tape is from a video made at UCLA and retained in their archives. The versions of Peer Pressure and Punish or Be Damned are from the '77 recording sessions with Pat Garrett (see July 9, 2007). Chronologically, this would explain how the demos could have ended up in the CEAC collection in Toronto, since Crash & Burn operated in the art centre's basement from May to August 1977 before being shut down. The Screamers did not perform at Crash & Burn during its brief existence.
However, according to KK, the band eventually made it to Toronto for a gig in 1978. (Anybody out there remember seeing this?) KK remembers "playing at a club in the basement of the George Nelson Hotel" and "going to the FILE magazine offices and also spilling [his] college French to a drunken fan outside." I double-checked this with AA Bronson (KK->AA!) who wrote that the Toronto venue was the King Eddy (King Edward Hotel) not the George Nelson. (AA Bronson published FILE magazine with Jorge Zontal and Felix Partz under their collective name General Idea.)
KK recalls that tapes of that show circulated, which he's never heard. Rarities for sure! AA Bronson says he isn't aware of these tapes, but pointed me in the direction of FILE's punk issue, which may have information on the Screamers' stint in Toronto.
KK Barrett is now a successful production designer and art director. He has worked on I Heart Huckabees (2004), Lost in Translation (2003), Adaptation (2002), Human Nature (2001), Being John Malkovich (1999), Crack House (1989) and Cheerleader Camp (1987).
Showing posts with label demos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label demos. Show all posts
Monday, August 6, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Rubber & Plastic
The liquid plastic is curing in the rubber molds. The finished records will be a translucent white. It was difficult to judge the exact amount of plastic needed to fill the mold without spillover. When the plastic hardens and is able to be removed from the mold I'll have to cut off and sand any excess around the edges. (The grooves, of course, are on the bottom side.)
To create the mold I poured the liquid rubber compound over a dub plate I had manufactured from the original demos (see June 25, 2007).
To create the mold I poured the liquid rubber compound over a dub plate I had manufactured from the original demos (see June 25, 2007).
Monday, July 9, 2007
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
Monday, June 25, 2007
Crash & Burn Demos
Today I remastered the Screamers' Crash & Burn demos (Peer Pressure, Punish or Be Damned, and Eva Braun) then had a dub plate made of the recordings. The final result is mind-blowing. I'll be using the dub plate to make a mold in order to create my own vinyl. More on this process soon....
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