In The Trashcan
Records GEM034
"Estrus Records has sympathy for the record
industry and so has Sympathy For The Record Industry..."
Sympathy For The Record Industry or SFTRI for the connoisseurs, was a major in indie guitar land. Big names and one-offer-artists, and unknown bands that could deliver several records, like The Eyeliners, came and went throughout the 90s. This is Donnas-styled garage trashpunk from 1998 by three New Mexico sisters from Albuquerque, originally known as Psychodrama. This is rock 'n' roll, baby!
In 1966 Frank Sinatra sang this song, which has got nothing to do with the Charlie Rich chart topper. In 1995 these wrestling masked trashabillies from Iowa City turned into something unrecognizable for the Estrus label.
US surf outfit related to Gas Huffer. This was their second single, their only one on Estrus from 1995.
From a double-7" released in 1992 on SFTRI. Billy Childish in a bluesy mood for this classic Muddy Waters tune, originally from 1954.
One of my fave Headcoatees tunes and not an album track, although it reappeared on the Headcoatees sampler "Thee sisters of suave". Their brothers of suave were, of course, Thee Headcoats with frontman Billy Childish. This is a 1995 release on SFTRI.
The masked Go-Nuts were in fact a band around Deke Dickerson. They were famous for their giant food-fights during their messy garage trash gigs. It's definitely not to be taken seriously. That's why they picked one of the silliest novelty tunes from 1956, "Transfusion" by Nervous Norvus for their 1994 Estrus release. I'll never forget the final gig of the Wild Weekend Festival in Spain in 2003, where the whole venue was transformed into a giant heap of flour, cereals, and everything else one can shoot from a food shooting device on stage into the unsuspected audience.
Early 90s garage outfit from Oslo, Norway. This EP shows their love for The Nomads and The Cramps. A 1992 release on Estrus.
Hypnotizing swamp blues by 70-years old Robert Lee Burnside from Mississippi who was influenced by John Lee Hooker and rediscovered by Fat Possum Records. Still this 45 was released by SFTRI in 1996.
A picture sleeve featuring a smiling Betty Page always gets my attention. That's how I discovered this band. Later I found out that it included Click Mort, who played with the Cramps for a few months. SFTRI released their two 45s in 1989. Two years later all those tracks and some more added studio tracks were compiled on a New Rose album, including the magnificent "If looks could kill". After the bands' end singer T.Tex Edwards resumed his cowbillypunk solo career, which, in his early days, even led him to support The Sex Pistols' most infamous gig in 1978 in Dallas.
Produced by Billy Childish and that's why I hear a Mighty Caesars influence in this debut. Garage meets freakbeat in 1992 on this SFTRI release. See also vol 45 for more Mystreated info.
A Mummies B-side on the lo-fi side of garage punk. In 1996 Estrus Records reissued this 1990 release. So this is their second release, after the "That girl" EP, also from 1990 (see vol 20)
From 1991 on Estrus Records and reissued in 1995, this is their debut EP. Including Mike Lucas, Johnny Bartlett and Russell Quan they were like the surf avatars of The Mummies. The Catalinas were the first to record this surf instrumental almost three decades earlier.
Thee Mighty Caesars ended at the end of the 80s when Thee Headcoats started. But they briefly reformed and this was the result from a 1995 session at Toe-Rag Studios: the best sound Billy Childish ever accomplished with one of the dozens of bands he played with. Of all his projects I love this band the most. I was lucky to see the band live on stage.
Adored by Lux and Ivy, SFTRI had to get these girls, too. The only words you can understand are "c'mon baby let's bomb the twist"; the rest is unintelligible "Engrish", but we don't care. This is genuine rock 'n' roll trash from 1996.
While the flipside also appeared on the "Headcoatitude" album, this was a non-album track from 1991 released by SFTRI. Sounds like Alternative TV, Lurkers and other 1977 punk bands.
The second SFTRI from 1997 released by these Japanese punk rockers fronted by unintelligible May from Yamaguchi, Japan.
