Give me about a shotglass of rockabilly. Now I need a pound of delta blues, and add four tablespoons of jet-fueled Los Angeles punk.
Now just a pinch of voodoo, and give me a half pint of 50’s EC horror comics.
Sprinkle liberally with some jazz touches.
Place on the burner
And bring to a boil
Beat. Well.
The Gun Club took a punk attitude to roots rock, rising from the same scene as X and The Blasters. With a name that sounds like he came right out of Faulkner, leader Jeffrey Lee Pierce began as a music writer enamored with glam and reggae. He also was the President of the Blondie fan club, and with his bleached hair, damn if he didn’t look like Debby Harry.
The music pairs well with The Cramps, The Birthday Party/Bad Seeds, Flat Duo Jets, Gallon Drunk, and any other band description where I might use the words swamp, amphetamine, devil, whiskey, or howl.
JLP was always something of a fuck-up, living the Sunset Strip life despite a history of bad health. He died at 37.
Thanks for the reminder about The Gun Club. I was never totally into these guys, but I did buy and listen to the 1982 record “Miami” quite a bit as a youngster. I also had Las Vegas Story, but didn’t listen to that as much. I was into Dead Kennedys, X, and Minneapolis stuff like Urban Guerillas and Suicide Commandos, so this fit right in to my mindset at the time. I also remember some of my classic rock-inclined friends really, really hating it when I put on The Gun Club.
Brother And Sister was my favorite off Miami:
http://youtu.be/J1yNuta9uk8
They also do an intense version of Run Through The Jungle on Miami — if you like this sort of thing, it’s kind of cool to watch.
http://youtu.be/hdRjMm9-_FY
I guess they were a gateway drug into Rank & File and Jason & The Scorchers for me
(oh… and my apologies to King Curtis for my intro to the piece)
I’ve had Miami a long time, but never really looked into much else until last year when I found Lucky Jim at a little record store not too far from here. I think Miami is terrific, but Lucky Jim is pretty cool, too. Jeffrey Lee Pierce was a mess by then, but I think in it’s own way, Lucky Jim is every bit as good as Miami.
We have seen Victor Krummenacher (of Camper Van Beethoven, etc.) perform “Mother of Earth” and really liked his cover. I think he’s recorded it as part of a covers album he’s recently completed.
I don’t know what you call that “cowboy punk” beat (1,2; 1, 2; 1, 2, etc.) but it reminds me of early Throwing Muses, for example this track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX6CDMHSOEA
Haven’t had a chance to listen yet, but I love one sing from Miami, something along the lines of “Watermelon Man.” What I really like best is Pierce’s Wildweed album, which sounds like he made it after a vendetta of Television
I might be in the minority in preferring the 1st album & Las Vegas Story over Miami…I was also a big fan of the JLP solo album, Wildweed, back when it came out. Really haven’t listened to much of any of it in a long while.
Gun Club/JLP — all the effort put into the concept, very little into executing the concept. Underachievement personified.
Yeah, I like “Fire of Love” the best. It has the best Robert Johnson/Bad Seed/Cramps aesthetic.
Only song I remember or still have is “Sex Beat,” always liked it. Not enough to explore what else there is, though, I guess.
No shit. Truer words…