Local Anesthetic

I like what Smooch Records is doing, re-releasing hard-to-find and obscure music on compact discs (as Ceji previously pointed out with Soul Merchant). Most of the songs on their latest release, Local Anesthetic (available February 25th, but I'm sure you can buy it now on their website), compiles old 7" singles from the defunct Local Anesthetic record label (founded by Wax Trax Records's Duane Davis).

There are over thirty tracks on the album, and while thirty may initially sound like a lot of songs - you have to realize that these are old DIY punk songs.

I'll break down on some of the Colorado bands here:

FRANTIX
This would've been considered grunge music, if only they existed during the early 90s. Instead, I think these guys long broke up in the 80s and their song "My Dad's a F***ing Alcoholic" remains the biggest hit single from Local Anesthetic label.

Interesting enough, since they have that grunge sound, this band eventually became Fluid who went on to sign with "grunge-label" Sub Pop.

YOUR FUNERAL

Putting the 'fun' back into funeral should be their motto.

I really dig this New Wave/Post-Punk band. One listen to this and you start seeing influences from Siouxsie And The Banshees or The Cure. The two songs compiled here ("I Wanna Be You" and "The Abyss") left me wanting more.

I tried digging up any information, but unfortunately with such a common moniker and relatively obscureness, there's absolutely nothing on them.

What I can tell you is that this 7" was released in 1982 and the band consists of three women: Jeri Rossi (vocals/guitars), Karen Sheridan (bass) and Celo Tilde (percussion).

THE DEFEX
This was a Sex Pistols/The Ramones-inspired band from the late 70s.  At first, I thought their name is a play off Fedex, but it just occurred to me that it's off of defects.

Although there aren't much on them on the internet, I did manage to track down singer Steve Kulpa's website, which contains a pretty comprehensive information on The Defex.

What's interesting to note is that, according to Smooch's press release, only 100 copies of the Defex single exists and fetches over $400 on ebay if you can find them.

JERI ROSSI
I guess after Your Funeral broke up, she went solo.

Her solo stuff sounds more angry and even a little experimental. You can hear it in her song, "I Left My Heart But I Don't Know Where". The B-side to that single is "It's a Man's Man's Man's World", which I believe is a James Brown song. But her version seems slightly more depressed and not so much the funk :)

THE GLUONS
...is one of the few bands that's actually still together. You can find more details about them on myspace, where you'll notice that they're actually playing a few live concerts around the Dayton, Ohio, area.

I definitely wanted to mention this band because Birdbrain was the first single released by Wax Trax and features Allen Ginsberg reciting poetry!

Today's punk and DIY music fans should definitely check out this compilation. These are only a few bands that I've decided to spotlight, and if you like what you hear, you'll love the rest of the album.

 02/19/2008 19:44:48  vu my♥posts smoochrecords.com