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Brian Setzer’s pre-Stray Cats new wave band
10.10.2016
09:42 am
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Brian Setzer rocketed to stardom in the early ‘80s with his band the Stray Cats, thanks to a handful of very popular MTV music videos that were in inescapably heavy rotation between 1982 and 1983. The Stray Cats were part of that decade’s rockabilly revival which also included bands like the Blasters, the Rockats, and Robert Gordon, among others.

Many are unaware of Setzer’s prior group, Bloodless Pharoahs, which bore little resemblance to the rockabilly stylings of the Stray Cats. Bloodless Pharoahs were a new wave outfit active in the late ‘70s New York and Philadelphia scenes. Though not as full-on scronk as their NY “no wave” brethren, they traveled in the same circles and certainly skirted more of the “art” side of the burgeoning new wave spectrum. Their “sound” has been described as “a cross between early Roxy Music, Modern Lovers, and Talking Heads.”

Anyone interested in obtaining some of their recorded output might first check out their two tracks on the Marty Thau Presents 2x5 compilation. There also exists a CD of mediocre-sounding live recordings titled Brian Setzer and the Bloodless Pharaohs.

But the entire reason for this post is to show off some incredibly rare live footage of the band playing live in NYC at Max’s Kansas City taken from Paul Tschinkel’s Inner Tube public access television program. Tschinkel’s documentation of the early NYC punk and alternative music scene is absolutely crucial and his YouTube channel sporadically updates with new archival footage every few months (not often enough, if you ask me!)

The first of the two tracks is the more interesting. The second is a quirky cover of the Perry Mason theme. Setzer’s guitar playing, particularly on the first track, is reminiscent of the punky-surf sound that East Bay Ray of the Dead Kennedys would become known for, though Setzer’s backing vocals may leave something to be desired.

See it after the jump…

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Posted by Christopher Bickel
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10.10.2016
09:42 am
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‘I use your eyeballs for dials on my TV set’: The Cramps destroy the airwaves
03.02.2015
08:19 am
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Paul Tschinkel’s Inner Tube may have been low rent, but it was one of the grooviest TV rock shows in the history of the medium. The show ran on Manhattan cable from 1974 to 1984. With a shoestring budget, Paul managed to capture the raw energy of what is arguably the last great era in rock and roll. He filmed seminal performances from musicians like Klaus Nomi, Lydia Lunch, DNA, The Contortions, Johnny Thunders, The Blessed, The Cramps and many many more members of New York City’s punk and no wave scene.

Here’s some very cool footage from Inner Tube of The Cramps performing “Beautiful Gardens” at the Mudd Club in 1981. Who needed the Internet when TV was this good.

Oh my, oh me
What in the world’s come over me?
I’m seeing things that I should never see!
Spiders in my eyelids and ghosts in the cheese!
What in the world’s come over me?
I’ve lost touch with reality!
Reality!
Reality!
Reality!

The video features the second best lineup of The Cramps (my personal favorite was with Bryan Gregory on guitar): Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach, Kid Congo and Nick Knox. While versions of this video have floated around the ‘net, this is by far the best looking and sounding. It’s from the source. Many thanks to Paul Tschinkel.
 

 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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03.02.2015
08:19 am
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