The Hair Up There

Dizzy Bitch - America's Got Pink Talent

2011-06-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

This one is for Fifi LaRue in honor of his recent audition for America's Got Talent. No review, no sarcastic comments though. Cuz he's probably gonna read this. And he scares the shit outta me.

Download the Dizzy Bitch ep "In The Pink" here, then go buy something from him.

Track List:
Dizzy Bitch
Insane By Mother
Goin' Down
Double Time
Don't Push the Children
Rock with Me

Rock Pretty - The Comp that Launched Zero Careers - 1984

2010-05-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

The Rock Pretty compilation. Very simple concept really. Four UK bands, two songs each, hopefully some of 'em rock, and hopefully some of 'em are pretty. Big shots on the record at the time were Marionette, because of Ray Zell, Kerrang, etc...then you've got The Babysitters, who were pretty much Marionette with a better sense of humor...and The Grip and the excellently-named Napalm Hearts were competent enough....but it's Aunt May who steal this record. And to this day I still have no idea who the fuck Aunt May were or are. This is the only record I've ever seen 'em on, and internet searches of the band or members return nothing. Yet their two songs on Rock Pretty are gloriously terrible and unbelievably addicting at the same time. I mean, I know these songs are terrible, but if they're so terrible how come the adult me remembered every word of both songs the teenage me listened to 20 years earlier? Aunt May, you've tortured me for decades now. I don't know where the band members - Aunt May, Marcus Sparticus, Lee Van Starz and Lance the Creature - are now, but hopefully they're somewhere in the UK living the good life off the massive royalties they made from Rock Pretty. More likely they're dead or driving a bus. Rock pretty glam fiends.

Track Listing:
The Grip "Two Hearts"
The Babysitters "Rock en Roll Chicken"
Marionette "Gettin' Sticky"
Aunt May "Flesh of the Devil"
Napalm Hearts "Little Miss Teazer"
Marionette "You Better Believe It"
Babysitters "The Beard Song"
Napalm Hearts "Suzy (was a Live Wire)"
Aunt May "Respect the Dead"
The Grip "Tension"

Download the record here

Winter Kills - Further then Beachwood Sparks

2010-03-05T16:48:00.000-08:00

1989 Demo Cover

1990 Demo Cover

Found these old demo tapes the other day at a friend's house and was immediately reminded how much I loved this band when they were around. Back in 1989 and '90, when the majority of bands in Hollywood were still trying to be the next Motley Crue, Poison, etc...Winter Kills were looking to bands like Lions & Ghosts for inspiration. The guitar player, Josh Schwartz, I believe went on to be in both Further and Beachwood Sparks. Unless its a different Josh Schwartz. The bigger question, looking back at the band photos now is, is singer Tom Sanford in some way related to Legs Diamond singer Rick Sanford ? You can't deny there is a resemblance. But who really cares about that other than me? I know, no one. On to the music...

Winter Kills 1989 Demo
Radio Suicide
Flowers in Hell
Rain's Curtain Call
Humor Me
Painting Pictures
Soul Mirror

Winter Kills 1990 Demo
Hate To Hate
Whisper Darling Blue
Cheerleader Sickness

Smack - Live in LA 1990 - 2 Shows

2010-01-10T16:17:00.000-08:00

That's right, actual recordings of Smack's last stand in Hollywood - March 2nd, 1990 at the Green Door and March 30th, 1990 at the Meadowlark Country Club in Huntington Beach (?). I wasn't at either of these shows, I did see them around the same time at the Scream club in downtown LA, or whatever it was called by that time. I can't remember who gave me these either...I think a female friend of friend recorded them, and was nice enough to give me copies because something had happened to my recorder at the Scream show and I didn't get the recording. These tapes have just been digitized for the first time, and to my knowledge they may be the only recordings of the Smack LA shows. Audience recordings they may be, but I think you'll be pleasantly shocked and surprised at how good they sound. Then again, if you're reading this, you're just happy they exist and want me to stop rambling so you can download them, right? Fine. Smack ruled. RIP Claude. Long Live Smack.

Smack Live @ the Green Door

Smack Live @ the Meadowlark Country Club

Demolition Gore Galore - Bulimia Babes in Endorphin Pain

2009-10-12T14:48:00.000-07:00

Demolition Gore Galore were the brainchild of one Walter (aka Walta) Adams, the original bass player for Faster Pussycat. In addition to Adams, DGG consisted of (at one time or another) Mick Cripps of LA Guns, the one and only Kery Doll, Bobby Bones and Kayle. It's clear from the first listen that Adams and his Faster Pussycat bandmates had a love for Johnny Thunders in common, but that's where the similar influences end. DGG, even with their ridiculous over-the-top name, were closer to the Velvet Underground and Nikki Sudden than G&R and Aerosmith. Anyways, they didn't leave us much to remember them by...just a couple privately pressed records including 1986's "Bulimia Babe" EP and 1987's far more scarce 1-sided "Endorphin Pain" 7" limited to just 100 copies. And luckily for you I have both. And now you can too.

Track Listing:
Bulimia Babe
Bulimia Break
Long Blonde Bomb
Girls Just Care About Gore
Endorphin Pain

Download it all with artwork right here

Axtion - "Look Out for the Night" (and all those hard rock cliches)

2009-09-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

It starts the way hundreds of hard rock records started in the 80's...take three power chords, Animal-esque (from Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem of course) drum fills, followed by a falsetto scream, and we're off "Road Runnin" with Axtion. By the way, do you think there was a band argument over whether to use an "X" or a proper "C" in the name? And which one of the guys really wanted to use triple X's, call the band aXXXtion, and pull some porn stars? Cuz you know one of 'em wanted to. My bet is either the drummer or bass player. But I digress. If anyone was wondering what the majority of indie or private hard rock releases coming out of the hair mecca that was Los Angeles in 1985 were like, look no further than Axtion's "Look Out for the Night". Besides the aforementioned intro, we 're gonna need a song with our band name in it..."Spread the Axtion"....check! We're gonna need something to try to get the more metal crowd, something fast and metal sounding...."Fury of the Tempest"...check! What about a song with extended acoustic intro so I can show these people that I'm not just "widdly-widdly solo" guy but that I really listen to Andres Segovia records?..."Look Out for the Night"....check! And finally, we gotta leave these kids with a positive message so they too know its okay for a grown man to use hairspray and wear makeup..."Stand Up! (for What You Believe In)"...check and mate! No matter how much I make fun of it, I won't deny that its an enjoyable listen from a particular moment in rock time. Thanks to Vince at The Music's Over for letting me borrow the wax to digitize so all of you could enjoy it.

Get yourself a piece of the Axtion here

Hell Razer - "Shout Hey!" (aka "the very first terrible demo I bought from an ad in the back of a magazine")

2009-09-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

Hell Razer, I'll never forgive you for starting my teenage obsession with finding demos and live tapes from glam bands who had yet to get a record deal or release a proper record. Where once this tape thrilled a teenage me, who'd ordered it from the back pages of either Kerrang or Metal Forces magazine, it now serves as evidence as to why not every band gets a record deal or release a record. Because they're terrible. The UK had their fair share of great glam, Pet Hate and Wrathchild, even Tiger Tailz come to mind. But Hell Razer, I'm afraid you belong at the other end of the stackheeled spectrum. I know "Shout Hey!" sounds like a great glam anthem, but it's really just poor grammar. But what about "Space Girl (Intergalactic Love)"? That's gotta be filled with glammy goodness, right? Not a chance in the hands of these hacks. But for some reason, its still fun as hell to listen to and puts a smile on the face, even if its a sardonic one.

Shout Hey! here

Brooklyn Brats - They Lived to Rock

2009-08-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

At least back in the mid-80's they did, when this five song picture disc was released. "No One Tells Me No" and "Wrong End of the Rainbow" still hold up after all these years. "We Live to Rock" not so much. "Can't Stand Your Love" and "Guess I Don't Mind" were filler back then and time hasn't done anything to change that fact. Still an important document of the time and place that was the Sunset Strip back in the 80's. Best part of the whole thing...their drummer's name was Dane Rage. I wonder if he went into gay porn after the band broke up, he already had the name for it.

Track List:
We Live to Rock
No One Tells Me No
Wrong End of the Rainbow
Can't Stand Your Love
Guess I Don't Mind

You too can live to rock, right here

Damn Yankees - Sadly Not Bigger Than Life

2009-07-29T19:39:00.001-07:00

Its not the best quality, but believe it or not its from a first gen demo tape I've had since the 80's. Maybe that's why they never got a record deal, because their demos sounded like shit and no one could hear how good the songs actually were. The original Damn Yankees featured Sten on vocals, who later left to form the Love Razors. This demo comes from the second lineup, with the bass player (Michael? Anyone?) moving over to lead vocals. Unfortunately there's next to no information on Damn Yankees on the web (except the Nuge's version), and time and medication has blurred my memory too much to remember the other member's names. I think Josh was the drummer. Maybe Jason Nesmith on guitar or bass. How about a little help out there? I know there were other people at those shows at Madame Wong's and the Troubadour, I saw you there. So here it is, without further useless information, the 4 song Damn Yankees demo tape.

Track Listing:
Bigger Than Life
Caroline
Die Laughing
Racing with the Moon

Download it here

Premonition - Santa Clarita Knows How to Rock - 1980

2009-07-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

Premonition were a local Santa Clarita Valley band of the late 70's/early 80's who self-released one single on their own label in 1980 featuring the songs "Glitter Girl" and "So What". Honestly, this thing is so obscure that the only reason I even have it is that the guitar player, Paul Hirschmann, was my guitar teacher from the ages of 10 to 12. I still remember the day he came over for my lesson and excitedly gave me two copies of this single, hot off the presses, and told me they pressed 100 of them. The A-side, their most famous song from their local gigs, was a classic-rock-cum-glam-rocker called "Glitter Girl" while the B-side was Hirschmann's moment to shine on the instrumental jazz-rock-psych riff-a-thon called "So What". This is the true sound of Los Angeles' north valley area circa 1980.

Download the single here

SIN - On the Run and No One Cared

2009-06-24T16:49:00.001-07:00

As far as I'm concerned, SIN don't get nearly the respect they deserve. Among all the terrible Hollywood bands who couldn't play, SIN were our version of Angel. I hear you screaming "What about White Sister?", to which I reply...they were Giuffria, not Angel. Big Difference. Anyways, SIN released one single in 1983, this beautiful shaped picture disc which should be worth a ton considering the 80's rock crap which passes for "rare" on Ebay these days. But sadly no one cares. Even though SIN had Rik Fox of Steeler fame and looked cool as hell, no one cared then either. It doesn't matter, as one day this record will have its due. After SIN burned out I'm pretty sure they morphed into the horribly-named Jag Wire. And guess what? No one cared.

Tracks:
"On the Run"
"Captured in Time"

Download the single here and decide for yourself.

Razzle's "New Vibe Revolution" - The Fuse is LIT

2009-06-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

Years before LIT tripped the light fantastic and became their own worst enemy, they were just a gang of long-haired southern california teens known as Razzle looking for a piece of the action. In 1993 they found it when they self-released a five song CD called "New Vibe Revolution" which I've no doubt got them laid a ton back then. All four members of LIT are present and accounted for here, from brothers A.J. and Jeremy "Allen" to rhythm section Kevin Baldes and "Big" Al Shellen. Then there is fifth member Chadd Anthony, who obviously quit before they became LIT. You think Chadd regrets that decision now? Maybe not now, but in the late 90's when "My Own Worst Enemy" played on MTV like it was on a loop? Yeah, I'm sure he put a gun in his mouth a few times, I just hope he didn't pull the trigger. Anyways, what we have here is a prime example of Hollywood's Sunset Strip scene, even though it came late in the day and grunge had already started to hammer the nails into hair metal's coffin. But "New Vibe Revolution" proves that as late as 1993, the party was still happening in Hollywood.

Track Listing:
I Ain't Your Pal
All American Boy
Summer Job
Jenny's Room
Close My Eyes

Get Lit here

Shire - Hobbit Rockin' Produced by Don Dokken - 1984

2009-05-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, so there really is no "Hobbit Rock" here so to speak, but what the fuck did they expect me to put for a title? They're the band from LA that called their band Shire, which makes no sense. And they're the ones who had Don Dokken produce it. Seriously though, I had this record back in 1984 and remember liking it, but I don't think I full appreciated it at the time. Not that its some kind of lost hair metal masterpiece or anything like that. Far from it. But it is a nice little EP with some catchy tracks including "Do You Know What Its Like?", which probably would've been a hit had Dokken himself recorded it. Plus they look like Girl meets The Babys, which I'll never have a problem with.

Track Listing:
Do You Know What Its Like?
All Alone
By My Side No More
Thinking of You
Hold On

Find out what its like, right here

Rozzi Lane - The Original Big Bang Babiez

2009-04-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

What can be said about Rozzi Lane that hasn't been said a hundred times over? Oh, that's right, nothing's been said about them since 1988 when they released the "Big Bang Babiez" single on their own cleverly-named Big Bang Records. I kid them, but only because I've always loved this record, which at the time was more "pop" than "metal", unlike many of their Sunset Strip contemporaries. And I can only imagine the shit they must've gotten looking like they did in their actual hometown of Upland, California. What else? Let's see. Guitarist Mikey Marquee later went on to play in a great LA band called Extra Fancy, featuring one Brian Grillo on vocals. Before Extra Fancy Grillo fronted Lock Up, who also featured a pre-RATM Tom Morello on guitar. Okay, now I'm just boring myself. Here's the single, "Betty Angel"/"Beauty's Only Skin Deep":

Big Bang yourself here

Candy Live at Wong's West - April 5th, 1987

2009-03-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

The last days of Candy, with Gilby on lead vocals and Ryan Roxie on lead guitar, captured live at Madame Wong's West in Los Angeles on April 5th, 1987. You know the rest of the story, that's why you're here in the first place. Enjoy my teenage years as much as I did.

Set List
Intro ("I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow, played over the PA, and only kept in to preserve the experience of seeing Candy live)
You Can't Always Get What You Want/Dance America
Everyday is Saturday Night
Red, White & Blue
Turn It Up Loud
Goodbye Goodtimes
You Only Go Around Once
M.O.N.E.Y.
Sound of a Broken Heart (cuts out at very end, my tape ran out and I had to turn it over, which is why...)
Thunder (beginning is cut, see above)
American Kix
Cat Scratch Fever/Whatever Happened to Fun
Fox on the Run

You want Candy? Get it here

Whatever happened to the second Candy record..? Part 2

2009-02-22T13:02:00.000-08:00

Three more demos from the never-realized second Candy record, transferred from an original demo tape.

Track Listing:
Dance America
M.O.N.E.Y. (Spells Love)
The Sound of a Broken Heart

Treat yourself to some Candy here

Candy Meets Run DMC - September 29th, 1985

2009-02-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

If you were fortunate enough to grow up in or around Los Angeles in the 80's, you probably remember the LA Street Scene. Once a year, downtown LA would transform into a giant street fair, with about 30 stages set up and bands playing all day long and into the night. I was lucky enough to go to the last few years of it, until the final year when my friend and I got caught in the "Great White" Riot (but that's another story) that essentially put an end to what was a great tradition. I remember watching Jane's addiction and Gene Loves Jezebel play under the afternoon sun, making Jane's seem much less dangerous and Gene much less mysterious. I remember being sixteen and sitting on the grass watching Mary Poppinz try to be Motley Crue, with Kery Doll and his band sitting next to me doing hilarious commentary throughout the set. But mostly I remember the first time I went to Street Scene and saw Candy for the first time "Whatever Happened to Fun" had recently come out, the late afternoon crowd was relatively hostile, and it had just been announced that special guests Run DMC would perform after Candy. Now this was 1985 mind you, and the mainstream Street Scene crowd were far more familiar with the Kings of Rock then they were with Kids in the City. Cue the hostility. Luckily for you, I was a little bootlegging asshole back then and took my tiny tape recorder to many of the shows I went to. But it really wasn't about bootlegging at all, it was because most of the local bands didn't have records out and wouldn't sell their demos to you, so the only way I could listen to the songs whenever I wanted was to tape the shows. So here's the scene...a sixteen year old kid who loves glam rock and power-pop is standing in the middle of a street in downtown LA, afternoon is fading to dusk as Candy step on stage about 30 feet from me. I hit "record" and over two decades later you get to experience something you never thought you'd get to hear....Candy live in LA, literally right in the middle of the 80's. This is for the ten of us out there who loved the band. As for the quality, its far from perfect, and if you have a problem with it....well, fuck you. You're just damn lucky this document exists in the first place and that I took my own valuable time to give it to you.

Candy Live @ Los Angeles Street Scene - 09/29/1985
Set List:
Soundcheck
Weekend Boy
Kids in the City
Turn It Up Loud
Electric Nights
American Kix
First Time
Whatever Happened to Fun

Download it here

Whatever Happened to Candy...?

2009-02-14T14:38:00.000-08:00

Somewhere between Candy and Electric Angels & Kill for Thrills lie the great lost Candy months. After Kyle Vincent, but before the split, Candy gave it one more go with Gilby Clarke moving to lead vocals and Ryan Roxie coming in on guitar. But the next record deal never came and all we were left with were some rough home demos of what would've been the second Candy record.
As with the Candy record, the Gilby demos featured classic Jonathan Daniel lyrics wrapped around some of the catchiest melodies put to tape. And there are even a few Gilby originals in there as well, which show how good a songwriter he is in his own right. The real jewel here for Candy fans is the early version of "True Love & Other Fairy Tales", which ended up on the Electric Angels record as a wonderful, string-laden ballad, but here it gets the power-pop treatment. Also, hidden in the lyrics of one of the songs is the future band name for some of the guys...can you find it? Leave me a comment if you did! Now, for possibly the first time on the internet, taken from an original first generation demo tape, here are one set of Candy demos for the second record....

Track Listing:
True Love & Other Fairy Tales
Johnny Was an Angel
Thunder
Red, White & Blue
My Favorite Star
You Only Go Around Once
Goodbye Goodtimes
Everyday is Saturday Night

Download 'em here

Pet Hate "The Bride Wore Red" - 1984

2009-01-31T18:02:00.000-08:00

Good, not great, debut LP from Pet Hate. To their credit, these dudes really did know their way around a melody and always found the chorus, so its confusing to me why they never made a dent in the states. The timing was right, their tunes where catchy, and their hair was tall enough, so if anyone has a theory as to why they remain so overshadowed when talking about this brand of 80's rock, please leave a comment and let me know.

Track Listing:
The Bride Wore Red
Moya's Comin' Out
How Can (I Carry On)
Love Me Madly
Wanting You
Caught (Red Handed)
The Party's Over
Roll Away the Stone
First Kiss
Real Good Time

Get it here

Pet Hate's "Bad Publicity" - 1984

2009-01-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

Here's a record I never seem to find online, although I'm not sure anyone cares other than me, the band, and maybe three other people. Still to this day one of my favorite glam/power-pop records to come out of the UK in the 80's, I'm talking about Pet Hate's "Bad Publicity". Formed from the ashes of Silverwing, Pet Hate's first record "The Bride Wore Red" was followed up by this rarely talked about gem. Not only did they borrow the title of the record from white-clad US rockers Angel, they went one step further and hired the same guy who produced Angel's "Bad Publicity" record. And if you're an Angel fan, you know their record company made them change the original cover of the band strewn about with liquor and chicks....so Pet Hate took that too and made it their cover. I could go on and on about nothing here, but all you need to know is this record is a classic (cover of the Stones' "Street Fighting Man" can be forgiven). But the one track that still gets me to this day is "Girls Grow Up Too Fast", which sounds like it would fit perfectly on Candy's "Whatever Happened to Fun...?" LP. But you really don't care what I think, do you? If you're reading this at all its because you've been searching forever and you just want this damn record. So here it is...

Track Listing:
I'm Not the One
Girls Grow Up Too Fast
Cry of the Wild
Street Fighting Man
She's Got the Action
Stale Lipstick
One Step Ahead
For Sex Sake
Wreck the Radio
Dancing On My Heart
Teenage Party

Download it here

The Rise of Kery Doll

2009-01-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

Before Kery Doll, there was Rise. And Kery played drums for 'em before moving to vocals. At least I think that's what happened. They were before my time and I never got to see 'em live, but thankfully at least one person held on to their indie single and gave it to me many years ago. And now I'm sharing it with you. But if you're actually reading this and plan on downloading the single, you're even more damaged than I am, and in your quest to find the most obscure glam rock records, may you not fly too close to the sun like Icarus. But I digress. Mainly because I have no real info on Rise and I'm just stalling. Fine, here's their Mystic Records 7"....yes, the same Mystic Records that released the early Mentors records.

Track List:
"Future Love" b/w "Rock and Roll Heart"

Download it here

And a Doll Shall Lead Them....

2009-01-02T12:38:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you about the first time I saw Guns & Roses...it was 1985 and the only reason I was lucky enough to catch them so early on was because they were opening for one of my favorite bands on the scene, the one and only Kery Doll. Coming on like Alice Cooper from Cudahy Street in Maywood, CA., Kery Doll were the first local band who showed me that you didn't have to be playing a 20,000 seat arena to act like you were. Shows routinely opened with Kery rising from a coffin and shooting a sawed-off shotgun over the crowd, while dangerous homemade pyro clipped the roofs of clubs like Raging Waters, already death traps in their own right without the pyro. After numerous line-up changes, Kery shortened the band's name to DOLL and the image went from black lace goth/glam to florescent pink latex and leather glam, and DOLL were the prototype for Pretty Boy Floyd who came years later. And when I say "prototype", I really mean PROTOTYPE. Not only was PBF's image nicked from DOLL, but early DOLL shows even included the songs "Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz" and "Wild Angels", both which would end up on PBF's debut on MCA. To be fair, guitarist Ariel Stiles of DOLL would go on to be in an early incarnation of Pretty Boy Floyd, but it was Kery Doll himself who created the blueprint as far as I'm concerned. Kery Doll only released one 5-song picture disc, "Til Death Do Us Part", and DOLL officially released nothing but some demos, but their stamp on the early 80's LA glam scene is unmistakeable. After DOLL Kery did time in the LA "supergroup" Demolition Gore Galore and his one-man pre-NIN industrial project Trust Jesus. And before Kery Doll there was the even more obscure glam/prog of Rise (which you'll be seeing and hearing on this page soon). But for now, its time to treat yourself to what those of us lucky enough to be in Hollywood in 1985 got to experience. It isn't a great record by any means, but when you're sixteen and looking up to the local glam stars, believe me, its a great record.

Track List:
Too Good for Heaven
After the Fire
Til Death Do Us Part
A Child Shall Lead
Baby Boy

Download it here

Max Havoc are the Show - 1983

2008-12-26T13:35:00.000-08:00

One record I always loved in the 80's, but never seemed to hear mentioned anywhere, was the little known gem by Max Havoc. Released in 1983 on non-self-fulfulling prophecy of a label Triple Platinum Records, the record was produced by lead sword carrier Pat McKeon and "Associate Produced" by Black Sabbath's Bill Ward, who allegedly also did some time behind the kit for Havoc. Also credited as an "additional musician" was Carlos Cavazo of Quiet Riot, although its unclear as to what track he played on. Let's see, what other useless information can I share with you about this record? Well, drummer Khurt Maier and guitarist Scott Lane went on to start Salty Dog, owner's of possibly the worst lyric to open a record with "Sweet little baby, she's my hot dog bun". Lane also did time in Stryper, but don't hold that against him. Now on to the record, which to me always sounded like a cross between the party rock of Van Halen and the shirtless sorcery metal of Saxon. Record opener "I'm the Show" could've fit easily on Van Halen's first record, and the rest is more macho party metal which still brings a smile to this sullen face. I don't know how many of these were pressed, and I feel pretty safe in assuming this baby will never see the light of day on CD, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have it in your collection. Get the record here....

Download

Track List:
I'm the Show
Bound for Hell
Angel of Passion
Midnight Machine
Won't Be the Fool
Bad Influence
Certain Woman
My Babe (Homicidal)
True Blue
Dalilah's Fire

Sharks with Claus - 1983

2008-12-22T18:23:00.001-08:00

Continuing and concluding Shark Island week here on the Hair Up There, our initial week on the world wide wad I'll point out, and just in time for the holidays, this is my gift to you. In 1983, Sharks released the quintessential heavy metal Christmas song. Yes, more important than Spinal Tap's "Christmas with the Devil" I'll profess, among cries of blasphemy I'm sure. One side of the self-released record had Sharks rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", done to the music of Judas Priest's "Heading Out to the Highway". Pure fucking genius. So good it'll make you angry you didn't think of it first. And the flip side, a Sharks original that never appeared on any of their LP's, "I'm Electric", the best song Gene Simmon's didn't write for the last 20 years, but wished he'd did had he ever heard it.

"Santa Claus..." here

"I'm Electric" here

Don't say I never got ya nothin'. And to all a good night.
Happy @#$%^% Holidays.

Shark Island get on the S'cool Bus - 1986

2008-12-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

Fast forward to 1986 and Sharks are still without a major label deal, like most of their contemporaries have snagged. Throw in some legal issues with previous bands called Sharks and a name change and another indie release were on the horizon. According to their Wikipedia entry, things went something like this...

"In 1985, they changed their name to Shark Island and released another independent album titled, S'cool Buss the next year. Not much is remembered about this album as there were only 1,200 copies ever made (200 in a red cover and 1,000 in a turquoise color). One song that might have been the single from this album is "Palace Of Pleasure". It is impossible to verify this since this album is not available anywhere and was only available at that time from the band members themselves."

And now its available to you, right here

Track List:
Deja Vu
Sex Drive
Excess Marks the Spot
Here Comes Trouble
Puss 'n' Boots
Read My Lips
Automatic Girls
New York, New York
Palace of Pleasure

Into the Wheel with Shark Island -1982

2008-12-21T16:07:00.000-08:00

Before they were Shark Island, they were known simply as Sharks and were ahead of their time. They didn't sound like any other band in LA at the time, and were often cited as "The Cars meets Aerosmith" if you can wrap your head around that. Singer Richard Black, aka Rick Czerny, was the quintessential rock frontman, and many claim a young man new to LA named Bill Bailey, aka W. Axl Rose, stole his stage moves from the Sharks singer. Not available on CD and tough to find on vinyl these days, Sharks debut LP "Altar Ego" still sounds fresh and urgent today, and is tragically overshadowed by so many other hard rock records of the time, and place.

Explore your Altar Ego here