New Wave / Punk forebears...

[Spectrum]

A recent concert from this summer: Flock of Seagulls open for The Fixx.

FoS is only one original member, as far as I can tell (and he's bald, no more seagull hair ). Their songs are pretty good, but the singer is a bit off on some of them. Anyone know what kind of bass that guy is using? Looks like some sort of cool Gibson design.

Then around the 1 hour mark, after the little girl sings the national anthem, The Fixx come on stage and proceed to give a clinic in how to rock like a professional band. This is the classic lineup, with Dan K. Brown on bass. They sound great and still look pretty good and their sound is very polished and well-engineered, and Cy's vocals are still right on the money. They play one of their new songs halfway through the set and I like it a lot.

 

[blindrabbit]

A recent concert from this summer: Flock of Seagulls open for The Fixx.

FoS is only one original member, as far as I can tell (and he's bald, no more seagull hair ). Their songs are pretty good, but the singer is a bit off on some of them. Anyone know what kind of bass that guy is using? Looks like some sort of cool Gibson design.

Then around the 1 hour mark, after the little girl sings the national anthem, The Fixx come on stage and proceed to give a clinic in how to rock like a professional band. This is the classic lineup, with Dan K. Brown on bass. They sound great and still look pretty good and their sound is very polished and well-engineered, and Cy's vocals are still right on the money. They play one of their new songs halfway through the set and I like it a lot.

Wow what a brilliant performance. They definitely still have it.

 

[Tooned]

Anyone know what kind of bass that guy is using? Looks like some sort of cool Gibson design.

It's a Schecter Simon Gallup bass.

 

[DirkP]

Not sure exactly what qualifies as "post punk" but this is cool either way. Plus who knew you could actually rock a xylophone? Really brings back memories:

A great great band and an incredible gifted singer and writer. In Hamburg, where I still live, about 1984 the singer filled an entire arena with his voice without a microphone. They started their concert this way.
The acoustic bass was one of the many things that made them so special.

 

[shoegazebass]

I *love* this thread! So much good stuff.

A few favorites that haven't been mentioned yet:

 

[BigBobbyBass]

Bruce Moreland-Wall of Voodoo

 

[Muddslide]

Bruce Moreland-Wall of Voodoo

Aw man, good call! Those first two Wall of Voodoo records are just part of me...part of the soundtrack of my younger days. very unique albums, and Moreland is indeed a fine player.

 

[BigBobbyBass]

Aw man, good call! Those first two Wall of Voodoo records are just part of me...part of the soundtrack of my younger days. very unique albums, and Moreland is indeed a fine player.

A lot of people think "Mexican Radio" is all they did. Couldn't be more wrong, their whole catalog is fantastic!

 

[Muddslide]

A lot of people think "Mexican Radio" is all they did. Couldn't be more wrong, their whole catalog is fantastic!

Totally agree. I even like a good bit of the post-Ridgway material (though I think of it as a different band in a way by that time...) But I often try to turn people on to other work by WoV. There has never been another band anything like them.

And this brings to mind the whole "One Hit Wonder" issue. I think a LOT of new wavey bands ended up with this tag...perhaps even more than some in other genres.

A few that come to mind (and please forgive me if I've already ranted about this previously on this thread...) :

THE VAPORS. Everybody knows The Vapors from the hit "Turning Japanese." What many don't know is that this band also released two of the finest power pop / pop punk albums of all time (IMO) along with a slew of great singles. Just excellent slices of tunefulness, chock full of hooks and cool lyrics. Great band.

TENPOLE TUDOR. They had one minor hit with "Swords of 1000 Men" along with a pretty silly video that was in pretty solid rotation in the early days of MTV. I think they were a little better-known in the UK, and had at least one other minor single there, but this is one of my favorite bands of the 80s. Wonderful blend of punk, pop, rockabilly, good ol' pub-rock singalongs and even shades of funk, reggae and country & western. They are perhaps the most FUN band I can think of. Love 'em. Many killer tunes.

TRIO (of "Da Da Da" fame)...their minimalist new wave hit was great (to my ears) but it is sad this is probably all they'll be remembered for because they have a lot of very cool songs..."Anna (Letmeinletmeout)"..."Out In The Streets"..."Broken Hearts For You And Me"..."Hearts Are Trump"..."Sunday You Need Love, Monday Be Alone"...

DEVO. I include them here because many more casual music listeners may associate them primarily with their one major hit "Whip It" and not realize that DEVO were one of the most forward-thinking bands of the 1970s AND 1980s. If you listen to the "Hardcore DEVO" collections which have material dating back to 1974 on them, you'll realize that DEVO were so very far ahead of their time. Some of their earliest work could be released today and still sound fresh and futuristic. IMO, while they went on to get pretty watered down, their first two albums are absolutely essential and the following two albums are pretty darn close.

 

[mpdd]

just played my art history class pablo picasso by the modern lovers
i don't think they will ever forget guernica now

 

[BigBobbyBass]

just played my art history class pablo picasso by the modern lovers
i don't think they will ever forget guernica now

Nice! I just checked them out. Love finding new/old bands..

 

[Muddslide]

Nice! I just checked them out. Love finding new/old bands..

Oh yeah man...Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers...great stuff. Quite ahead of their time...killer songs. Dignified and Old, She Cracked, Hospital, Girlfriend, Pablo Picasso, I'm Straight, Roadrunner...

 

[Son of Wobble]

Bruce Moreland-Wall of Voodoo

I loved Bruce! One of the first punk double bills I saw was Mentors and Wall of Voodoo at Hong Kong Cafe (!).
Bruce was one handsome stud muffin in his leather pants and wife beater, and watching him play that opening bass riff to
"back in flesh" was uber cool.

Bruce's brother Marc, RIP, was a sweet, sweet guy and he played with such conviction -- I swear to you, I think of him for inspiration whenever I am trying to play six string to my meager best.

Both Bruce and Marc worked at Santa Anita Racetrack on and off over the years, I think their mom worked in the kitchen and got them jobs. I'd talk to Marc about the day's card on occasion. Lovely guys, great band. (RIP Joe Nanini, too - another sweetheart).*

*Marc's name-spelling corrected per Muddslide

 

[BigBobbyBass]

Oh yeah man...Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers...great stuff. Quite ahead of their time...killer songs. Dignified and Old, She Cracked, Hospital, Girlfriend, Pablo Picasso, I'm Straight, Roadrunner...

I'm rocking them right now!

 

[Muddslide]

I loved Bruce! One of the first punk double bills I saw was Mentors and Wall of Voodoo at Hong Kong Cafe (!).
Bruce was one handsome stud muffin in his leather pants and wife beater, and watching him play that opening bass riff to
"back in flesh" was uber cool.

Bruce's brother Mark, RIP, was a sweet, sweet guy and he played with such conviction -- I swear, I think of him whenever I am trying to
play six string to my meager best.

Both Bruce and Mark worked at Santa Anita Racetrack on and off over the years, I think their mom worked in the kitchen and got them jobs.
I'd talk to Mark about the day's card on occasion. Lovely guys, great band. (RIP Joe Nanini, too - another sweetheart).

Envy you for getting to see them and talk with those guys some. Real sad about Marc and Joe...

The way they blended old and new, electronics with traditional instruments...Nanini's "pots and pans" percussion, coupled with Stan's vocals and lyrics. Just incredible. And as much as I dig their more rocking stuff, they could do moody and atmospheric with equal skill, as on "Lost Weekend"...

 

[BigBobbyBass]

Envy you for getting to see them and talk with those guys some. Real sad about Marc and Joe...

The way they blended old and new, electronics with traditional instruments...Nanini's "pots and pans" percussion, coupled with Stan's vocals and lyrics. Just incredible. And as much as I dig their more rocking stuff, they could do moody and atmospheric with equal skill, as on "Lost Weekend"...

Oh man... Lost Weekend.. Sooo good

 

[Son of Wobble]

Envy you for getting to see them and talk with those guys some. Real sad about Marc and Joe...

The way they blended old and new, electronics with traditional instruments...Nanini's "pots and pans" percussion, coupled with Stan's vocals and lyrics. Just incredible. And as much as I dig their more rocking stuff, they could do moody and atmospheric with equal skill, as on "Lost Weekend"...

I agree about Joe's contribution, and wish Stan had stuck it out longer -- but the fact was that even before the second album, Stan would roll his eyes at my uber-fan friend every time Joe started a new song -- Stan tired of that sound as a gimmick very quickly, and from what he said to us privately at the time, it was one of the main reasons for his jumping ship.

I have a great cassette of a WOV gig from the Beyond Baroque Poetry center in Venice, CA - Spring 1980 (Beyond Baroque was a left-over alternative spot from the 70's, but had some influence on punk to the extent that it was there, in a poetry workshop, that X's John Doe and Exene first met). Early '80 was an interesting period in LA punk because it was a new decade and no one new where the genre was headed -- everyone was still stuck in the old cliches as it were, and thus at the WOV gig fans were still gobbing and throwing bottles -- you can hear glass shattering on the tape. Stan of course mocked the crowd with cool aplomb throughout.

 

[Son of Wobble]

Envy you for getting to see them and talk with those guys some. Real sad about Marc and Joe...

The way they blended old and new, electronics with traditional instruments...Nanini's "pots and pans" percussion, coupled with Stan's vocals and lyrics. Just incredible. And as much as I dig their more rocking stuff, they could do moody and atmospheric with equal skill, as on "Lost Weekend"...

MARC with a C, thank you, Mudd!

Again, just the most approachable guy. I seem to remember early on he had a guitar with toys and charms glued to it... Anyone to confirm this?

And when it came time for his solos such as the one on "Ring of Fire," he would close his eyes and really reach to feel it. That was the thing that moved and impressed me that I never forgot - -that palpable sense of him reaching for the emotion.

 

[Muddslide]

I have friends who would skewer me for saying this, but just as I like US punk more than UK punk (in general) I also prefer LA punk to NYC punk (in general, Ramones aside.)

Now I surely dig a lot of early East Coast stuff...Ramones, Heads, Dolls, Television, etc...the whole CBGBs scene, to me the West was best...Chrome from SF...X, Germs, Flesh Eaters, Screamers, Gun Club, Flag, DKs...

Given the choice (and a time machine) I'd probably be hanging at The Masque over Max's Kansas City.

PS...Ridgway has a lot of great solo work. Wonderful songwriter.

 

[blindrabbit]

I can't believe I haven't posted these guys in this thread yet. Talk about punk fore bearers...these guys were incredible ahead of their time, so much so that their record label wouldn't even let this album and songs get released until years later. Such a great album though.