Steerpike
11-19-2006, 03:41 PM
Woo hoo! We’ve ended the first chapter of the second year spotlight series at last! Let’s party!
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=472033
Nekromantix – Coffinbass, Bitches
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=481990
Cryonic Temple – Brothers in Arms
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=484420
Send More Paramedics – Zombiecore Lords
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=486375
3 Inches of Blood – Balls of Metal
http://sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=488700
Human Fortress – Metal Crusaders
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=496326
The Crimson Ghosts – Zodiac Children
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=497693
The Cult – Beyond Description
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499192
The 69 Eyes - Helsinki Vampires
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=501280
Adam Ant - Play that ant music!
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499348
Halloween Special: Danzig - Dark Icon
We’ve covered a lot, and there’s no better band to have a wrap party with than the subjects of this week’s article, The Cramps.
Biography
More often than it seems, people who originate a genre maintain that they aren’t a part of it. Black Sabbath dislike being called metal, for example. And Robert Smith is loath to hear The Cure labeled as a Goth rock band. However, these innovators often end up directly influencing the genres they distances themselves from. In the case of legendary rockers The Cramps, they almost single-handedly created psychobilly, but don’t like to be called such. And yet they also directly influenced not only that genre, but also rockabilly revival, surf rock revival, the Gothabilly movement, and even the garage rock revival with bands such as The White Stripes. And like all stories, it had very humble beginnings.
It started with a guy and a dame who crossed paths in Sacramento back in ’72. As the legend goes, he picked her up hitchhiking in the desert. Kooky, huh? They both had a kick for record collecting and rock music, so they got together a band to make some sweet tunes. The guy was Erick, but he changed his name to Lux Interior on stage. Nicked it from a car ad, apparently. The lady called herself “Poison” Ivy Rorschach, but just shortened it to Poison Ivy later. They decided to call their band The Cramps.
They got their first line-up together in 1975 in New York City. Lux was the lead singer, Ivy was lead guitar, and another cat they met and his sister took up rhythm guitar and drums respectively. The going was rough at first with heavy gigging and changing drummers a few times. The debut album was Songs the Lord Taught Us and expenses were mostly covered by money that Ivy had saved up for the occasion by working as a dominatrix in the New York club scene. Kinky.
They were all set to make a second album when legal arguments with their label resulted in a snag that kept them from releasing anything else until 1983. They eventually got that and a live album out, but more line-up changes occurred and slowed things down a little.
1985 came and The Cramps were presented with an opportunity that would change their careers for the better. They contributed an original song titled Surfin’ Dead for the cult film Return of the Living Dead, now considered one of the classics of the zombie horror genre. The massive following the movie garnered also turned many new fans to The Cramps and their reputation took off like a shot.
Ivy had played bass on the song, and it sounded good enough that the band decided to add a permanent bassist to the line-up. It took a lot of searching, but they eventually settled and Candy Del Mar who arrived just after the recording finished on the 1986 album A Date with Elvis.
Candy made her official debut playing on the band’s second live album titled (and I’m not kidding you hear, gents) ROCKINNREELININAUCKLANDNEWZEALANDXXX. Say that three times fast.
The next LP The Cramps put together was 1990’s Stay Sick. The first single off the album sailed into the UK top 40. It’s name: Bikini Girls with Machine Guns. At this point in their career, The Cramps were focusing less on horror movie references, and more on general sleaziness and the seedier side of decaying Americana. The Brits thought it was hilarious, but Americans weren’t as receptive. A video was made for the single, but the great visuals of Ivy showing off her guns (so to speak) were cancelled out by MTV heavily censoring the lyrics. ****ing Puritans.
It was the closest The Cramps had ever come to mainstream success and they have yet to duplicate the feat. However, they don’t seem to mind too much.
Following Stay Sick, their long-time drummer Nick Nox decided to retire after a complex eye surgery left him blind in one eye. Candy left not long afterward, and a long line of revolving door line-up followed. As always, Lux and Ivy were the only constants.
Though the 90’s, they re-released their earliest records on CD and recorded several more LPs including Flamejob and Look Mom, No Head! They also had drawn in new fans from when they played at the A Gathering of Tribes music festival in 1990 thanks to an invite from The Cult frontman, Ian Astbury.
The last couple of years haven’t been too eventful except for two things. Lux and Ivy revived their original idea of having their own independent label, Vengeance Records. They now support themselves and several other bands who are into the scene. Also an announcement was issued last September that their bassist Chopper Franklin has departed the band to go to Thailand and get a sex-change operation. You heard that right, sports fans! S/he is planning to re-enter the psychobilly scene after the operation as Pepper Franklinstein. The Cramps don’t just sing about the stranger side of life and sex, they live it.
Now in their 50’s, The Cramps show no sign of slowing down. They’re still recording, still touring, and still partying. They work hard and play harder. Their career is the stuff of legend, and their revival of that old time rock & roll has influenced other bands all over the map. As music fans, we owe it to ourselves to support these brave sleazebags.
http://www.thecramps.com/
Official Web Site
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=472033
Nekromantix – Coffinbass, Bitches
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=481990
Cryonic Temple – Brothers in Arms
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=484420
Send More Paramedics – Zombiecore Lords
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=486375
3 Inches of Blood – Balls of Metal
http://sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=488700
Human Fortress – Metal Crusaders
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=496326
The Crimson Ghosts – Zodiac Children
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=497693
The Cult – Beyond Description
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499192
The 69 Eyes - Helsinki Vampires
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=501280
Adam Ant - Play that ant music!
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499348
Halloween Special: Danzig - Dark Icon
We’ve covered a lot, and there’s no better band to have a wrap party with than the subjects of this week’s article, The Cramps.
Biography
More often than it seems, people who originate a genre maintain that they aren’t a part of it. Black Sabbath dislike being called metal, for example. And Robert Smith is loath to hear The Cure labeled as a Goth rock band. However, these innovators often end up directly influencing the genres they distances themselves from. In the case of legendary rockers The Cramps, they almost single-handedly created psychobilly, but don’t like to be called such. And yet they also directly influenced not only that genre, but also rockabilly revival, surf rock revival, the Gothabilly movement, and even the garage rock revival with bands such as The White Stripes. And like all stories, it had very humble beginnings.
It started with a guy and a dame who crossed paths in Sacramento back in ’72. As the legend goes, he picked her up hitchhiking in the desert. Kooky, huh? They both had a kick for record collecting and rock music, so they got together a band to make some sweet tunes. The guy was Erick, but he changed his name to Lux Interior on stage. Nicked it from a car ad, apparently. The lady called herself “Poison” Ivy Rorschach, but just shortened it to Poison Ivy later. They decided to call their band The Cramps.
They got their first line-up together in 1975 in New York City. Lux was the lead singer, Ivy was lead guitar, and another cat they met and his sister took up rhythm guitar and drums respectively. The going was rough at first with heavy gigging and changing drummers a few times. The debut album was Songs the Lord Taught Us and expenses were mostly covered by money that Ivy had saved up for the occasion by working as a dominatrix in the New York club scene. Kinky.
They were all set to make a second album when legal arguments with their label resulted in a snag that kept them from releasing anything else until 1983. They eventually got that and a live album out, but more line-up changes occurred and slowed things down a little.
1985 came and The Cramps were presented with an opportunity that would change their careers for the better. They contributed an original song titled Surfin’ Dead for the cult film Return of the Living Dead, now considered one of the classics of the zombie horror genre. The massive following the movie garnered also turned many new fans to The Cramps and their reputation took off like a shot.
Ivy had played bass on the song, and it sounded good enough that the band decided to add a permanent bassist to the line-up. It took a lot of searching, but they eventually settled and Candy Del Mar who arrived just after the recording finished on the 1986 album A Date with Elvis.
Candy made her official debut playing on the band’s second live album titled (and I’m not kidding you hear, gents) ROCKINNREELININAUCKLANDNEWZEALANDXXX. Say that three times fast.
The next LP The Cramps put together was 1990’s Stay Sick. The first single off the album sailed into the UK top 40. It’s name: Bikini Girls with Machine Guns. At this point in their career, The Cramps were focusing less on horror movie references, and more on general sleaziness and the seedier side of decaying Americana. The Brits thought it was hilarious, but Americans weren’t as receptive. A video was made for the single, but the great visuals of Ivy showing off her guns (so to speak) were cancelled out by MTV heavily censoring the lyrics. ****ing Puritans.
It was the closest The Cramps had ever come to mainstream success and they have yet to duplicate the feat. However, they don’t seem to mind too much.
Following Stay Sick, their long-time drummer Nick Nox decided to retire after a complex eye surgery left him blind in one eye. Candy left not long afterward, and a long line of revolving door line-up followed. As always, Lux and Ivy were the only constants.
Though the 90’s, they re-released their earliest records on CD and recorded several more LPs including Flamejob and Look Mom, No Head! They also had drawn in new fans from when they played at the A Gathering of Tribes music festival in 1990 thanks to an invite from The Cult frontman, Ian Astbury.
The last couple of years haven’t been too eventful except for two things. Lux and Ivy revived their original idea of having their own independent label, Vengeance Records. They now support themselves and several other bands who are into the scene. Also an announcement was issued last September that their bassist Chopper Franklin has departed the band to go to Thailand and get a sex-change operation. You heard that right, sports fans! S/he is planning to re-enter the psychobilly scene after the operation as Pepper Franklinstein. The Cramps don’t just sing about the stranger side of life and sex, they live it.
Now in their 50’s, The Cramps show no sign of slowing down. They’re still recording, still touring, and still partying. They work hard and play harder. Their career is the stuff of legend, and their revival of that old time rock & roll has influenced other bands all over the map. As music fans, we owe it to ourselves to support these brave sleazebags.
http://www.thecramps.com/
Official Web Site