Wendy-O-Matik On Her Spoken Word on "A Darker Shade of Grey"

 At the end of  The Grimple / Logical Nonsense split “ A Darker Shade of  Grey” There’s a spoken word piece by Wendy-O-Matik with sound collage by Noah Landis. Wendy-O-Matik was well known for her spoken word performances at Gilman Street and punk shows throughout the Bay Area, and also the vocalist of Gag Order,  a Bay Area band with Raina from the original line up of Grimple, Noah and Keith from 23 More Minutes. We Asked her about her spoken word and how she was invited to appear on the record. 

Prank:  How did you start doing spoken word? What inspired you to start doing it?

Wendy-O-Matik: In the late-80s, while I was listening to my local radio station KPFA 94.1, Lydia Lunch’s spoken word was played. I was mesmerized and captivated by her words, rage, and passion. I hadn’t really heard much spoken word by women up to that point, and it was mostly by men. Lydia’s spoken word ignited and inspired me to find my own voice and to take my writing more seriously, and that’s how I initially found my courage to do spoken word. I found open mic nights where they had spoken word sign-up lists and I started showing up. I also had strong support and encouragement from my partner and my friends, as well as other bands in the punk scene to keep doing spoken word. Gilman Street was also a long-time supporter of my spoken word, inviting me to read between bands. 

Prank: The piece you have on the Split LP is a great part of the album, underlining the meaning of the entire record, do you remember how you ended up doing the recording for the record?

Wendy-O-Matik: Ugh, my mind is a sieve at this age! The finite details of the recordings that I did have sadly faded from my memory. I had the privilege of doing all of my recordings with an ultra-skilled, brilliantly creative, and well respected sound engineer, Noah Landis, so that was a true gift. The members of Grimple and Logical Nonsense were good friends of mine, so we connected frequently through shows, parties, and friendship. I rarely missed a Logical or Grimple show at Gilman. I even saw them play in Santa Fe. All I can say is that I was so honored and privilege to be invited to contribute to their album. That split is still epic and timeless.

 Prank: You mentioned before that the time when this record was originally recorded was a really inspiring time of activism, community and music for you. The 90's bay area punk scene and it's extensions of family from all over the US and beyond was pretty special time and place, what inspiration do you carry from it?

Wendy-O-Matik: Great question! The bay area punk scene in the early 90s was definitely a strong, well-connected and active community. For many of us, it was more than just shows and parties. We gathered and organized for political demonstrations against war, inequality, reproductive rights, the climate crisis, and more. We gathered, organized and spoke out against skinheads, violence against women, and we even held fundraising shows to help out friends with medical health issues that might have left them homeless or financially destitute, as well as for nonprofit organizations that represented the issues that we cared about. To this day, I am still driven to play an active role in local activism circles in the fight for social justice and radical change.

Prank: What have you been up to ? 

Wendy-O-Matik: When I’m not writing poetry or love letters or racial awareness blogs, you can find my other books on meditation Here:  or you can find my other spoken word pieces here (all recordings by unforgettable Noah Landis):

·      Birth of Our Extinction 

·      It Will Come to Pass 

·      Theory of Mutation 

·      Westbound 

GRIMPLE / LOGICAL NONSENSE " A DARKER SHADE OF GREY" LP/CD UP FOR PRE-ORDER

 

GRIMPLE / LOGICAL NONSENSE " A DARKER SHADE OF GREY" LP  was Originally released in 1994 by Photographer Murray Bowles and Filth Bassist Lenny Johnson’s collaborative East Bay Menace label, this split combined two of New Mexico’s fiercest hardcore bands on one split LP. East Bay Transplants from Santa Fe, New Mexico GRIMPLE’s sound had become more harsh, caustic and acidic, retaining strong songwriting of their debut LP  but shedding some of their pop sensibilities for quick metallic riffing. Their brother band, Santa Fe’s Logical Nonsense had also begun to leans heavier, creatively arranged songs which front harsh guttural vocals and brutal crushing riffs pointing to the sound of their raging follow up LP’s on Tee Pee and Alternative Tentacles, and their influences of EXTREME NOISE TERROR, NAPALM DEATH and NEUROSIS.

This album has not been repressed since it’s original pressing in 1994.  Prank orignally approached Re-pressing it in 2002 when "GUYA" was re-pressed, but it wasn't until 2013 that the original tapes were baked and Noah Landis from Neurosis / Christ On Parade began remixing the record. There were several re-mioxes and tweaks until  completion in 2020 and  last year it was re-mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service.  The packaging is true to the original but has been painstakingly recreated with slight upgrades, including a new 11x22” insert with band photos and lyrics. The CD version features a 16-page booklet. These are available from pre-order now at Our Big Cartel

We also created limited edition for mailorder  limited to 400 pieces and comes in a completely different 24 PT jacket, Different printed insert, Experimental Grey-Clear haze vinyl ( Looks grey on the turntable, unsual  when held to Light), two band posters,  A vinyl Sticker and a Pin. For initial mailorder copies We'll also send the regular edition insert as well. You can find this edition HERE

KEVIN ARMY on Recording Grimple " GUYA"

We interviewed Legendary East Bay Punk Recording Engineer Kevin Army about Recording GUYA on 11/10/21:

How did you get contacted to record Grimple?

Kevin: That I can't remember, Maybe the people doing their business, Murray or Eric Yee. Maybe Billie Joe.

 

How was Billie Joe involved with this?

Kevin: We worked on a few sessions together back then, He helped co-produce. He disappeared from the credits, I’ve never seen him on the credits for it have you?  He was there the whole session, we met with the band and I recorded them. One of my favorite Billie stories is visiting Grimple in their bedroom with him.

 

What happened?

Kevin: They all lived in a single bedroom, there’s like four mattresses on the floor in a room and then there's like pet mice running around everywhere, I'm a little freaked out by the mice and Billie just jumped right in and was totally at home. Total punk cred there. This was just before Dookie and so long ago. Maybe I'm dreaming all up, but it was super punk.

 

Where did you record this record?  

Kevin: Sound and Vision in San Francisco on Indiana Street, I believe that building is a bunch of condos now.  It was a nice small tight room with 16 tracks. This was the same place I recorded the Operation Ivy LP, Fifteen, Blatz, Filth. Tons of stuff. The go-to plan was: record at Sound and Vision, and then mix at Dancing Dog in Emeryville. Sound and vision was $18 an hour.

 

Dancing Dog in Emeryville had a better-equipped control room for mixing and was owned by Lydia Holly and Dave Bryson from Counting Crows. Dancing dog was one of the first victims of the first waves of dotcom gentrification. It was in a cool Giant warehouse complex in Emeryville with artists and bands. For what it was, it had nice equipment with good monitors and a nice neutral environment. Everyone left us alone at both studios.

 

 
 Most of the other Lookout and East Bay records I did were mixed at Dancing Dog.  I ended up working there because I realized after I sold my own studio, I could make the same amount of money just doing recording with no overhead. The studio was sliding scale, I could choose to have the band play $12 or $15 an hour for the studio and never charged us if we had to cancel last minute. It was the Go to thing for all those years until it shut down.

 

When I first brought bands there, Dave Bryson was really scared I was bringing punk rockers there. He thought they would trash the place. The first record I recorded there was the Stikky album for Lookout.  After the session was over, Stikky cleaned up everything they had left there and Dave was like " This is the cleanest any band has ever left the studio". They had learned from Gilman Street. The noisier, more aggressive bands were always nice people. The Grimple Guys were just nice too.

 

So you mastered this at K-Disc?

Kevin: Yeah, The other thing was I’d just get people to pay my gas to go master with John golden (Sr.) at K-Disc. He would teach you so much about engineering and mastering.  We’d stay up to 2-3 in the morning with him telling stories and giving advice.  John mentored. He sat me down and said “ you’re doing these things wrong, and you're doing these things right”. He was super supportive.

 

Where was K-disc?

Kevin: K-disc was right in the heart of everything in Hollywood.  They did all this huge stuff, but then treated everyone the same, You’d see all the tapes of famous stuff. The guy who worked on the rhino reissues would often do sessions right before John, so there would be tapes of all these major records there.

 

 Anything else about the record?

Kevin: It’s a shame Eric and Murray didn’t become one of the more successful labels but maybe they were too nice.  I guess I should've charged more back then..... But then I wouldn't have gotten all the work!

 

Kevin still mixes the occasional project and recently mixed an album for Kyushu, Japan's Born Shit Stirrers. He sells Vinyl and shit on EBay and dances with his cats to a combination of Harry Partch, Captain and Tennille and Blatz. 

GRIMPLE " UP YOUR ASS" has been Re-pressed and is available Now at http://prankrecords.bigcartel.com

 GRIMPLE " Get Me Out of my Van I have No Key, Phil" 

Prank has a brand new two color offset cover printed at Econopress of it's repress of the debut GRIMPLE 7" "Get Me Out of the Van I have no Key Phil"  . These are limited to 80  numbered copies for sale and come in two different colors of vinyl, and also are packaged with two original Grimple stickers from the late 1990's. This Ep was originally released in 1992 on Owen Peery's label, Homemade Records. You can buy one HERE

Despite Issuing the record and having met Phil Brito, the story behind the single always escaped me so I asked Pat from Grimple about it. Who was Phil? Why was he stuck in the van?

PAT GRIMPLE:

“Phil” Phil Brito is from New Mexico. He moved to the Bay Area in the very late 80’s/early 90’s. He then became the guitar player for a band called Paxton Quiggly. Phil’s older brother Johnny Brito had moved to the Bay Area prior to Phil. Johnny Brito was in a band called 23 more minutes that formed in Santa Fe New Mexico and eventually toured and set their roots in the Bay Area. Johnny designed the circular Grimple image and the Grimple logo on the cover of the GUYA LP, as well as booking GRIMPLE’s first US tour. He was and remains a dear friend to Grimple.

Before Phil moved to the Bay Area, he was an immense contributor to the punk, metal and hardcore scene in New Mexico. Mostly in and around Santa Fe. He booked volumes of shows and brought touring bands from all over the country to our small local scene. Here are a few that come to mind...Corrupted morals, Dissent, Neurosis, Political Asylum, Dead Silence, Blister, Plaid Retina, NOFX, Anti Schism and the list literally goes on and on"

Pat asked Phil if he could write an explanation of what led up to us eventually using his note and face on our record cover. This is what he provided. 

PHIL BRITO:

"Grimple

Get me out of my van,

I have no key.

Phil

I had never expected to be on the cover of a Grimple record and the title to be a note I wrote alerting my mates to rescue me from my van. But that's how it turned out and it's a honor to have my mug plastered on a EP by the legendary Grimple! So here's the story behind it. I was living at California street house (later to become Grimple house) and came back home that evening only to find I had not taken my house key with me and had no way to let myself in. Well no one was home and I frankly didn't know when anyone would show up, so I thought to myself let me leave a note on the front door. Cool, paper and pen now the note, "Get me out of my van I have no key. Phil". So there I was all set, might as well get some sleep in my van until someone comes home sees my note and lets me in the house. I thought to myself, "well done and well thought out". Don't know how much time passed however Pat eventually came to my rescue laughing hysterically at me... I said what the hell is so funny and well he can give his take on how he interpreted my unfortunate/fortunate situation. 

I have even been told, "Are you the guy on the Grimple cover"? Well yes I am...

Sincerely, Phil"

So there you have it direct from Phil. 

PAT GRIMPLE:

" Anyway, as I recall I came home that night from doing that thing that punks do, and apparently not thinking perfectly straight. I saw this note stuck on the front door of the house. I read it “ get me out of my van I have no key, Phil”

I thought about it for a second, looking at Phils van. I thought to myself “ I know Phil parties but how the hell did he manage to lock himself in his own van. Can’t he just grab the door handle and let himself out?”

So I approached the van and opened the door laughing, thinking my friend Phil is not all there. I questioned him about it and he explained it was his house key he did not have. I told him what I thought and we both had a good laugh at my altered punk theory on what the situation was.  I saved the note. Shortly there after we recorded this 7”. 

4 songs on a record, a xerox machine, whatever was in Ira’s pockets at the time and a glue stick later... This record was released. 

On behalf of our entire band, Thank you to Phil and everyone involved in making this record happen. And a huge thank you to Prank Records and each and every person that has listened and supported our music over the years. Sincerely, we are eternally grateful.  -Pat Vigil"

GRIMPLE “ UP YOUR ASS” AND “A DARKER SHADE OF GREY”. will be reissued in early 2021 by Prank records.

GRIMPLE OFFICIAL MERCH STORE open now at https://baymerch.com/collections/grimple

GRIMPLE BANDCAMP  now at https://grimple.bandcamp.com

CLASSIC GRIMPLE LIVE VIDEO DISCOVERED AT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mEDzU4bLEc&feature=youtu.be (Kill that Cat Channel)

TOTALITÄR "SIN EGEN MOTSTANDARE" LP / CD Re-issue

 

Sweden’s TOTALITÄR  originated from small town Hudiksvall in the mid-80’s silver age of Swedish Hardcore punk, releasing a few EP’s and touring the UK before disbanding in 1990. In 1994 the band reunited with new drummer, Jallo from NO SECURITY, to record what is arguably one of the best Swedish hardcore punk albums ever made, Sin Egen Motstandare “One’s own enemy” . Like any great punk record,  it’s a stark reaction to the world around them  with poignant, relevant lyrics but served as marker for the elevation to what would become TOTALITÄR’s trademark sound -  quick, raging blasts of riveting d-beat hardcore drawing influence from Classic DISCHARGE and early Swedish hardcore, but distilled to remarkable, catchy simplicity that masked incredible ingenuity within it’s straight forward template. Their prolific recording saw them record another  2 LP's, 2 split LP’s , 10 7””s EP’s and split EP’s with TRAGEDY, DROPDEAD and more, until a final live performance in 2003 at Pointless fest in Philadelphia saw the members dispersed to play in too many bands to count: MEANWHILE, DISSEKERAD, KRIG I HUDIK, INSTITUTION, KRIGSHOT, MAKABERT FYND, KATASTROF, KRIGSHOT, KVOTERINGEN, HUMANT BLOD and more.

Originally released as a CD-only release on the Finn Record label, “Sin Egen Motståndare”  was originally released on vinyl by Prank in 1997 and again in a remastered version in 2003. This edition is from the original 2003 metal work but pressed at RTI and presented in a stoughton tip-on sleeve with insert. Both the music and the message of TOTALITAR remain a vital inspiration, who’s influence has only grown with time, and we are proud to present this again. CD version is a straight repress from the 2003 remaster done at John Golden.

These will be available for Pre-order Monday August 17th at 12PM at http://prankrecords.bigcartel.com.  Mailorder copies come with 2 free TOTALITÄR  oversize "Bumper" stickers. A shirt design is also available. 

The LP/ CD will be available from distros worldwide.

Contact Prank directly or Ebullition records for wholesale information.

CROW "Last Chaos" LP / CS re-issue

Osaka's CROW formed in the early 1980’s explosion of Japanese hardcore, but have always been a distinctive, unique band even within that astonishing pantheon. Much of Early Japanese hardcore sought, refined and creatively interpreted primary and immediate influence from noisy UK imports by DISORDER and CHAOS UK, but CROW took its unique and deepest impression from DISCHARGE , with powerful vocals fronting distortion laden guitar driven charges. Unafraid to careen the high energy pace into complete musical destruction or ensnare you completely in a fist-pumping chorus driven anthem like the classic “Give Up All Hope” and “Anarchy. Chaos. Destruction”, The Osaka-era CROW existed for a few more years, appearing on the legendary “Eye Of The Thrash Guerrilla” compilation before the band disbanded. A new iteration of the band began in the late 1990’s in Tokyo with prolific discography , toured US several times and continues to this day.

CROW “Last Chaos” Was originally released by the band in an ultra limited edition of 200 in 1987 and re-issued for equally scarce limited edition on Overthrow records in 1994. Both have long since become insanely rare collector’s items. This edition replicates the 14 song original with a high Gloss UV heavy weight 24pt sleeve, four inserts, a silkscreened patch, hand-stamped inner sleeves, sealed into a resealable bag with a crow logo sticker. Remastered by George Horn Mastering from original mix, the prank edition is pressed on three colors of Vinyl : 219 Blood Red Japan-only band color, 220 Clear splatter with two color red for US mailorder and 660 black vinyl. The cassette Version replicates the original record in it’s entirety in an extensive 7-Panel J-Card. 400 pressed with 300 black shell cassettes and 100 Mailorder copies with red shell cassettes.

These will be available for Pre-order Monday August 17th at 12PM at http://prankrecords.bigcartel.com. These will be available from distros worldwide. The numbers for Crow Vinyl are limited, and a second press is already in production. Contact Prank directly or Ebullition records for wholesale information.

They will be available in Japan via distributon from Mangrove / Record shop base.

DEAD AND GONE, BLACK FORK , ANINOKO @ 924 GILMAN AUGUST 16th 2019

DEAD AND GONE are playing a reunion show August 16th at 924 Gilman with BLACK FORK, ANINOKO, FLEXING, ACTION BEAT and OPENING BELL. $13 + $2 Gilman Membership. Advance tickets are on sale now HERE