The Reactions - “Somewhere Anywhere”

The Reactions were a four-piece band who formed in ‘78 or ‘79 and became part of the punk scene in Florida that birthed other classic bands like the Eat and the Essentials. As the Reactions’ guitarist Isaac Baruch puts it:

There weren’t too many places to play back then but there was a really passionate and burgeoning punk rock scene being created by a few visionaries for South Florida. Guys like Robert Mascaro who managed the Cichlids and David Parsons with his Mouth of the Rat Fanzine, and bands like the Cichlids, the Eat, Charlie Pickett and the Eggs, the Girls, and Screaming Sneakers, who were all playing a new sound. *

With a classic melody-driven punk rock sound, the group’s output isn’t exactly prolific, but they had a handful of great, hooky tracks. In their short-lived existence, they self-released two EPs: 1980’s Official Release and 1981’s Love You).

Cheap Rewards recently issued a compilation, titled Saturday’s Gone Wild, of lost recordings and live tracks from the Reactions. Listen to it here.

-k.

Goldie and the Gingerbreads - “Think About the Good Times”

Goldie and the Gingerbreads, a trailblazing band formed in 1963, made history when they became the first all-female band to crack the male-dominated music industry enough to be signed to a major label. They were on Decca in 1963 and Atlantic by the time 1964 came around and the Beatles invaded the American radio waves. Genya (who also went by the name Goldie and was part of a mostly unknown act called the Escorts) and Ginger (who inspired the band’s “gingerbread” namesake) spent the first few years of the band’s existence trying to hunt down talented women to form an all-female pop/rock band. By 1964, their lineup solidified around organist Margo Lewis, guitarist/vocalist Carol MacDonald, vocalist Genya Ravan, and drummer Ginger Bianco.

After Atlantic signed them, the Gingerbreads toured Europe with the likes of the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Beatles, the Yardbirds, the Kinks, and numerous others. Though the relative novelty of seeing an all-female group during this time who sang and played instruments initially attracted peoples’ interest, many of the bands they played with were impressed more so by their musical talent. Genya definitely didn’t sound afraid of the mic in the least and Margo could play the Hammond B3 like nobody’s business. The Animals’ manager, Mike Jeffries, praised them and went on to manage them. Their single, “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat?”, produced by Animals keyboardist Alan Price, became a chart-topping success in the UK in 1965. (Sadly, Herman’s Hermits’ version would become more well-known in the US shortly thereafter.)

Eventually, frustrated by their lack of commercial success (and perhaps Genya’s strong personality and forceful leadership) and, as with many artists in the time period, big issues with not seeing much in terms of royalties from their record label, the Gingerbreads called it quits by 1968. They’re regarded as trailblazers, and their enthusiastic music and musicianship have been influential to numerous subsequent musicians, particularly women. I discovered them via their song “Walking In Different Circles”, which was included on the extensive, must-hear girl group sounds compilation, One Kiss Can Lead to Another.

Carol, Ginger, and later Margo went on to form eclectic jazz fusion group Isis in 1973. Genya Ravan, who would later front psych/blues rock/fusion band Ten Wheel Drive in the late 60s, would go on to became a solo artists in her own right and, notably, produce the Dead Boys’ Young, Loud, and Snotty and Ronnie Spector’s comeback album, Siren, in 1980.

More tunes: “Chew Chew Fee Fi Fum”, “Sailor Boy”, the sweet key-driven instrumental jam known as “The Skip”, and more tracks “from the vaults” here.

-k.

Daylight Robbery - “Victim of the Late World”

There are several bands that go by the name Daylight Robbery. This post regards Chicago’s Daylight Robbery, a trio comprised of bassist/vocalist Christine Wolf, guitarist/vocalist David Wolf, and drummer Jeff Rice. They combine a gritty, generally mid-tempo Midwestern punk sound with emotive vocals from Christine and David, who bring to mind X’s Exene Cervenka and John Doe.

Formed in 2005, the band recorded two EPs a couple years later (Washtenaw and the Red Tape EP) after solidifying their lineup. Their debut LP Through the Confusion, from 2010, is definitely one of the most consistent records I’ve heard as of late. The band pound through ten tracks of the vocalists playing off each other over a dark, Wipers-like undertone. The bass bounces along, the lyrics are thoughtful, and the guitar riffs are catchy—check out “White Sheets in the Street”, for example. “Ignominious Defeat” is another favorite. In September of 2011, they did a three-way split with Portland’s Defect Defect and Boston’s Foreign Objects, which included “Flat City” and “Patience Loser”. They’ve done a lot of touring throughout the U.S., covering the east and west coasts, and various shows in between. No idea what plans are in the works, but another record would really be nice.

Here’s a clip of the band playing at Ladyfest Boston 2012. All of their music is available for free on Bandcamp. You can buy physical copies of their two EPs and LP from Residue Records.

-k.

Pink Section - “Wine World”

Pink Section were a short-lived San Francisco band. Existing from ‘79 to ‘80, they released a single (featuring “Tour of China” and “Shopping”) and a self-titled EP of quirky/spastic new wave and angular post-punk. Oddball lyrics, synthesizers galore, and even a tribute to Yoko Ono with “Midsummer New York”. Members Carol, Judy, Matt, and Stephen were members of various other area bands, which may serve to explain the short lifespan of Pink Section. (Carol and Judy were also half of Inflatable Boy Clams.) I can’t really tell you much else about them other than they specialized in dance music for weirdos, sounding in line with a number of DIY post-punk bands coming out of the UK and those scattered around the States (think the whole “no wave” thing or a rougher version of Pylon).

WFMU has most of the output from them that seems to currently exist available for your listening pleasure. Included are a couple of live tracks from Can You Hear Me? Music From the Deaf Club—”Jane Blank” and “Been in the Basement 30 Years”, the latter of which is probably them at their most whacked-out.

-k.

Royal Headache - “Surprise”

I’ve been listening to Royal Headache’s infectious debut LP seemingly nonstop since it came out earlier this year. With a rough garage/punk edge and catchy pop melodies streaming out their ears, this Sydney quartet sure ain’t shy. Australia appears to have become a hotbed of punk and garage rock activity within the past few years; the list of bands with good releases seems endless (Kitchen’s Floor, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Total Control, Golden Staph, the UV Race, Dead Farmers, the Twerps, etc…)

Royal Headache were formed in 2008 and their first release was a 7” in 2010 that included the standout “Eloise”, which was more than enough to whet the appetite of rock ‘n’ roll enthusiasts. Alternate mixes of a few of those tracks are on the LP (“Girls” and “Surprise”), which was released on R.I.P. Society in Australia and is available through Goner Records in the U.S. So, let’s talk about those twelve earworms, which immediately sell me with Law’s ringing Rickenbacker guitar (hooks up thee ass!) and Shogun’s soulful, belt-it-like-you-mean-it vocals. Let’s just say they put the “power” in power pop. The first song, “Never Again”, hits you in the face with a sampling of the blast of loud, sped-up poppy rock ‘n’ roll jams that are to come. The songwriting isn’t complex, but who said it needed to be? They occasionally cool down the mood a bit (“Distant and Vague”) and the rhythm section really shines on a couple great instrumental tracks (“Two Kinds of Love” and “Wilson Street”).

They’ve recently been pretty busy, having spent fall of 2011 touring the U.S. of A. and all. Gigs, gigs, and more gigs, it seems. Anyway, they’ve gotten me interested enough to see what the future holds for ‘em. Oh, and I’ll tell ya what’s definitely gonna make my list of the best records of 2011…

More tunes: “Psychotic Episode” ; “Down the Lane”

Also, check out an interview with them on Hearplugs from earlier this year.

-k.