The indiepop detective seems to have been on a long vacation. Someone told me that he had been sunbathing on some idyllic Caribbean island. Another friend told me he was skiing in Norway. But I needed him to solve a case for me, the mystery of  The Hermit Crabs. So I sent him an email yesterday asking where he was, if he could help me with something. He answered:

“Hi Roque,

I could take the case, but I don’t have access to my indiepop archive, I can answer you from the top of my head. Tell me what it is about and I’ll get back to you.

Life is good now, I’m in Vietnam and I plan staying until December. I came to rest and to surf.  You should join! I know you have the beaches very close to you, but you can’t compare the exoticism of this place to South Beach. Look, I’ve traveled a lot, and I can say that the most beautiful and uncrowded beach in all of Southeast Asia stretches from Da Nang’s Son Tra Pennisula to the tourist town of Hoi An. This 30 kilometer long white sandy beach was the site of the famous China Beach R&R spot for GIs during the American War, as well as an international surfing competition in 1992. Despite the fact that Five Star resorts are popping up like mushrooms along the Da Nang/Hoi An corridor, surfers and other beach-lovers are few and far between.

This section of the coast is beach break. We have pretty consistently surfable waves beginning sometime in September and trailing off in May. During the summer months of June, July and August, the seas tend to be quite calm. Off-shore storms can be a source of wave action, stirring up the usually calm seas of August to yield a couple of days of good surfing or making the usually surfable November seas so rough that you might think twice about even walking on the beach!

looking forward to hear from you!”

What a coincidence I thought. These Hermit Crabs loved to surf, and actually they had a song “Surfin’ Vietnam”! Go figure! They also had a song called “Surfing Mice”.  So I wrote him again, and told him to tell me everything he knew about The Hermit Crabs, the 80s band, not the contemporary one from Glasgow that I had the chance to see in New York Popfest 2008.

“Roque, first thing you have to know is that the word hermit comes from the Greek ‘eremites’, “person of the desert”. Second, you have to learn about this little animal that many people like having as pets. In general, and despite their moniker, hermit crabs are social animals that do best in groups. They also require a temperature and humidity-controlled environment, and adequate substrate to allow them to bury themselves while moulting.

Most frequently hermit crabs use the shells of sea snails; the tip of the hermit crab’s abdomen is adapted to clasp strongly onto the columella of the snail shell. As the hermit crab grows in size, it has to find a larger shell and abandon the previous one. This habit of living in a second hand shell gives rise to the popular name “hermit crab”, by analogy to a hermit who lives alone. Several hermit crab species, both terrestrial and marine, use “vacancy chains” to find new shells: when a new, bigger shell becomes available, hermit crabs gather around it and form a kind of queue from largest to smallest. When the largest crab moves into the new shell, the second biggest crab moves into the newly vacated shell, thereby making its previous shell available to the third crab, and so on.”

This was clearly not much help, but quite interesting. Especially the Greek part.

“About the band I don’t know much to be honest, they seem to like to surf like me. And probably they came to surf to Vietnam, you know they have that song and I see a lot of British tourists around here. There was that 12” EP on Thunderball that I have never got the chance to get it. I don’t even know the tracklist. Last time I saw it on eBay was like two years ago. Then of course, the iconic song, “Surfin’ Vietnam” that appeared on the “Lets Try Another Ideal Guest House” the compilation that was released by Backs Records where all profits were donated to Shelter on a National Campaign for The Homeless. Right? Some ace bands on that compilation, Talulah Gosh, TVPs, Close Lobsters. Their other known song, “Surfing Mice”, appeared on a split flexi shared with 14 Iced Bears on Frank Records. This one is a live version. A shame, because the song is GREAT! and I’m sure that properly recorded it could have been a smash hit. On the sleeve it says:

THE HERMITCRABS
greg waverly – vocals, malibumo – bass, tam tam tareago – drums, marky – guitars & vocals, recorded dec’86 by Juliet.

But checking on the flexi itself, the song “Surfing Mice” is credited to J. Martin and M. Hellings. I assume it is Marky Hellings. But what about J. Martin?

That’s all i have, hope it helps! I’m off to put on my wetsuit, the waves are calling me!”

And so, that’s all? What a disappointment.

Clearly, the mystery is still not solved. So many loose ends, and not that many clues to figure out about these Hermit Crabs. Whatever happened to them? Anyone wants to give it a shot at being detective and telling me anything else about this lost band from the golden days of indiepop?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen 
The Hermit Crabs – Surfin’ Vietnam

Snog six what? For the means of this article, let’s just say snog 6 girls. Three blondes and three brunettes. That would be good, right? Maybe at Indietracks. Maybe at the camping site. Makes sense, snog is a British word anyways… and a friend of mine already had a dream of a making out orgy at the Derbyshire grass field… some dreams do come true, you know? It’s time for the popkids to get a bit dirty, there’s too much holding hands already!

Snog 6 was a British band too. Don’t know if they snogged a lot, don’t know if they were six members, I don’t know anything at all about them. I only know one song which is called “Misery”. Perhaps the snogging between them was terrible and well, they felt miserable? But it did make them very good at making this one song. It’s just a fantastic slice of girly indiepop, in the vein of Cowboy and Spin Girl, The Bedflowers or a sweeter version of the Rosehips.

The song was released on a 7″ compilation called “Does Your Dog Moult? EP” on the Happy Dog Rekordz label in 1993. This is number 1 in their catalog and I assume it was the only release by this label. The record also includes old favourites as The Keatons and Kennedy. The other two songs on the record, the ones by Paste and Refrigerator, I recommend skipping.

But I’m not the first to pay attention to this tune. Who else could adore an obscure indiepop song? Of course, the Japanese! The band Citrus, the legendary band Citrus, who released records on Vinyl Japan and more, covered this song! Isn’t it great? I have yet to hear it though. There is this fantastic compilation were the cover is included. It’s called “Pits Are The Pits (25 GOLD=RARE=DEBRIS 1992-2000)” and was released last year on Felicity Records. I still have to get my hands on it. Still don’t know how and where to buy it. Felicity Records doesn’t answer my emails and feels criminal to pay 40 dollars for it on Discogs. I know Japanese CDs are expensive, but this is a bit too much. Maybe when I snog a Japanese girl she’ll buy it for me.

Like me, Citrus has had a hard time to find or figure out who Snog 6 were. The master Takeaki Emori has not been able to demonstrate any detective skills, and their label much less. On the booklet of this CD it reads:“The original record is used as a master without autholization on Track 11Snog 6 “Misery” because of the difficulty of contacting the band. Should the band member or any concerned parties find this release, please contact “www.1fct.net” We pay appropriate royalties to whom may it concern”.”

Hey you Snog 6, want to be rich? Why don’t you drop them a line? And while you do so, drop me a line too! I would like to snog with you.

Well, maybe. But for sure I would like to listen to any more other songs you had! I can’t believe you only recorded one song, there must have been some demo tapes or some bootleg from some gig, or something! “Misery” is already a great taster and I want more!

If anyone knows anything else about this band, who were they, where were they from, if they ever appeared on any fanzine, anything really, share. We are trying to re-write indiepop history!

For those who are interested, you can still pick up this record at Norman Records.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Snog 6 – Misery

People change. And they do it too often. People change like the weather. People change because of the weather. This is called Seasonal Affective Disorder. I’m assuming many people I know are swept by it every winter. When it’s bleak and dreary, when rain and gray skies wake you up with a gloomy face. But then, what do I know living in a sunny and bright, all year long, place.

Seasonal affective disorder, SAD first referenced in print back in 1985 just when indiepop was starting to brew, and is known to bring depressive symptoms as the days grow shorter in the fall and winter, with symptom improvement as spring returns. At higher latitudes more people are diagnosed with as they are exposed to less sunlight and colder and harsher winters. Women are more often diagnosed with this form of depression than men. Earlier research has shown a strong link between SAD and other lingering forms of depression.

Turn to Flowers penned this wonderful jangly song called “People Change Like the Weather” in 1987 and released it on Imaginary Records (home of The Mock Turtles and Cud). It was a 12″ that included on the B side the songs “Listen to the Dead Man” and “On Her Own”. I’ve never heard these other songs. I wonder if there is some cryptic message, saying the girl is on her own against SAD? I wouldn’t be surprised.

Another calm Sunday passes by and while remembering lost friends, friends that became silent out of the blue, that suddenly vanished from the face of Earth and the world wide web. Music reminds me of them. This song flashes back memories of laughs and conversations driven by complicity. Whatever happened to them who were looking for the perfect song, for finding the elusive record. Did the weather, did depression, devour them? Where are they now?

Perhaps, if they heard this song, if they turn to flowers, they’ll be alright? Have you ever heard of the Bach flower therapy? Bach flower remedies are dilutions of flower material developed by Edward Bach, an English physician and homeopath, in the 1930s.The remedies are intended primarily for emotional and spiritual conditions, including but not limited to depression, anxiety, insomnia and stress. Perhaps that’s what this is all about? Is this the solution? To put it bluntly, Edward Bach thought that dew collected from the flowers was more potent on those grown under the sun.

Coincidences or not, imaginary or not, people do change like the weather. If the horoscope tells us that people are affected by planets, why can’t they be affected by the sun or the light it emanates? Clearly sunlight help us to produce melatonin and vitamin D. Why can’t it affect the brain? Don’t know if Turn to Flowers, this great long lost guitar pop band had any chemists or researchers in their ranks to unlock the secrets of this mystery. All we know is the first names of them. Matt on vocals and guitar, Steve on bass and vocals, Dave on keyboard and vocals and Paul on drums.

But, if in any case, this can’t be ever be solved, and long lost friends from higher latitudes are to be forgotten, can the mystery behind Turn to Flowers be unleashed? Who were they? Did they record more songs? Whatever happened to them? And if anyone out there has a spare copy of this 12″ for me?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Turn to Flowers – People Change Like the Weather

“I used to have some friends called Geoff and Dawn who were in a band in Leicester called The Moving Fingers (Geoff was also previously in the almost famous legendary Leicester prog metal band Black Widow) and relocated to Norwich and opened a recording studio in about 1983 – The Deep Freeze Mice recorded one of our albums there. The Kamikaze Sex Pilots also recorded there and I met the main guy, who’s name I’ve forgotten, when were up there once. If “Sharon’s Been Deflowered…” is the one I’m thinking of Geoff made a guest appearance on it as Sharon’s boyfriend in a Jilted John sort of way. I think they changed their name to The Kamikaze Pilots later” – Alan Jenkins (Deep Freeze Mice, Cordelia Records)

An indiepop mystery to solve? Let’s start from the beginning…

The Kamikaze were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible.

The Japanese word Kamikaze is usually translated as “divine wind” (kami is the word for “god”, “spirit”, or “divinity”, and kaze for “wind”). The word kamikaze originated as the name of major typhoons in 1274 and 1281, which dispersed Mongolian invasion fleets.

In Japanese, the formal term used for units carrying out suicide attacks during 1944-45 is tokubetsu kōgeki tai (特別攻撃隊), which literally means “special attack unit”. This is usually abbreviated to tokkōtai (特攻隊). More specifically, air suicide attack units from the Imperial Japanese Navy were officially called shinpū tokubetsu kōgeki tai (神風特別攻撃隊, “divine wind special attack units”). Shinpū is the on-reading (on’yomi or Chinese-derived pronunciation) of the same characters that form the word kamikaze in Japanese. During World War II, the pronunciation kamikaze was used in Japan only informally in relation to suicide attacks, but after the war this usage gained acceptance worldwide and was re-imported into Japan. As a result, the special attack units are sometimes known in Japan as kamikaze tokubetsu kōgeki tai.

Let’s fast forward 38 years. 1983. This is when The Kamikaze Sex Pilots release their first 7″ on Lowther International (same label as Vital Disorders). A great two track round bit of plastic that included on the A-side the song “Dark Night of the Soul” and on the flipside we had “Red Indian Song”. Both of them really brilliant songs. Sadly I still haven’t found a copy of this record for myself. Shame! The catalog number of this record was HCN 002 and was released on an edition of 1000. Though, all the records seem to say on the matrix number on the vninyl: “This Is No. 666 In A Limited Edition of 1000″. And here comes the first hint: it was recorded at Spaceward Studios. Is this the studio Alan Jenkins was talking about?

But it wouldn’t be until 1985 that Cordelia Records would work with the band. On the compilation LP “Obscure Independent Classics: Volume 1 “Magnificent March Of The Dead Monkeys”” the fab song “Sharon’s Been Deflowered and Defoliated” was included. What a song! Should have been a one-hit wonder. Everytime I listen this track I feel like it was The Parallelograms grandparents who wrote it! Bouncy, funny, catchy, as poppy and punky as it can be! Should DJ it more often!

Surprisingly the internet throws in some answers. At a “Norwich bands” facebook group someone tells a bit about the main guy whose name Alan had forgotten:

“Kamikaze Sex Pilots”, Jon Ward was a very underrated guitarist if a little bonkers and sadly he was another one who didn’t go the distance (r.i.p) Remember when he stood for the local elections in the early 80s? He got me and Mick Smith parlimentary passes to oversee the counting of the votes in St Andrews Hall but he got so bladdered in the Festival House he never even showed up pmsl!!

So Jon Ward it was. We can track him back to a previous band called “Carl Gustav and the 84s”. The Messthetics site has a bit more about them as they put the song “Through Birds, Through Fire, But Not Through Glass” (name taken from an Yves Tanguy painting of course) on a compilation.

Carl Gustav and the 84’s certainly had fun with their lyrics. After quoting Cicero, Baudelaire and Clausewitz (long before the Reaganauts and Bushies revived his legend) on their hand-folded sleeve, you’d think they’d be trying to tell us something rather important in “Through Birds, Through Fire, But Not Through Glass,” but we’re not so sure. Still, the images are arresting: “I disemboweled myself to please her / She keeps the pieces in the freezer.”

And I can even track him even further back, to a band called The Painkillers.

And there and back again. 1983. The Peaceful Green Fair. The Kamikaze Sex Pilots played a show there. There is a live recording of it here. But it sounds very different to the songs on the 7″ or the one on the compilation. I wonder why. On this same festival Nick Nation played. What’s the connection? Well, at one pointit seems Sian from the Kamikaze Sex Pilots played with him according to Nick Nation’s myspace.

It also seems that there was a promo video for “Sharon’s Been Deflowered and Defoliated” made by Digby Rumsey. Sadly the streaming of it seems not to work. If only someone could upload it to Youtube. How I wish I could see this video!

Mystery solved?

Quite close I’d say. I have many more questions, starting with why they change the names from The Kamikaze Sex Pilots to just The Kamikaze Pilots, and more importantly, are there any more songs on tapes lying around somewhere. I really enjoy what I’ve heard so far and would love to hear more from them. If someone has a spare copy of the 7″, if anyone has more stories to tell, or more questions to ask, or just more mysteries to solve. The indiepop detective is ready for another job.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Kamikaze Sex Pilots – Sharon’s Been Deflowered and Defoliated

People say that the world is getting smaller and smaller everyday. That a virus like H1N1 can travel from Mexico to Australia in hours, traveling first class on a pressurized airplane cabin. That the internet connects us all in intertwining social networks. That we are closer than ever. And if that wasn’t enough for me to understand this phenomenon called globalization, I could find Kentucky Fried Chicken all over London.

But does that prove anything?

The world is still GIGANTIC. And I don’t mean it in any geographic, geological or geometric way. My friend Jennifer woke me up today with a Divine Comedy song: “Absent Friends”. While she was enjoying the music of Mr. Wright in London, I ended up at a second-floor hipster discotheque in Miami Beach. Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” welcomed me. What would I have given to be at the Buffalo Bar singing along to “Love and Death in Metroland”. So yes. Absent Friends. I’m the absent friend. Not her. Not Daniel who was throwing the party. Not Christos who, I bet, was dancing to Blueboy at the El Records special. No. They don’t belong to Miami. It seems it’s clear I don’t either. I’m the one that is absent there.

The distance to London, the price of a transatlantic flight, the wasted hours thousands of miles above sea level, are a fact. The immigration regulations to move and establish myself as a London star are heartless and also a fact. Being an absent friend just makes the world utterly GIGANTIC.

I guess our indiepop scene has made us all get closer, better, friends. But at the same time, we are spread all over the world that being together is such a rare commodity. Which could be something not too terrible as there is always something to look forward to. When we make the world collapse, when we make it the size of the palm of our hands, when we travel to a Popfest, or next stop Indietracks.

Last October while I was in Berlin, at the Firestation headquarters, we discussed about the much needed The Jeremiahs’ retrospective CD. Aside from the great 7″ they released on the Abstract label, and a couple of compilation tracks, Uwe has some fabulous demo tapes by them. After having a listen to them, Uwe pulled out from his shelves a 12″. A white and light blue sleeve, with black typography all over it. The band’s name was “This Gigantic World” (I bet you didn’t see that coming?). It was a 12″ single, on the A side a track called “Raft”, on the B side “Hoover Bag”. Now you ask me what’s so special about it? Well, listen carefully. After The Jeremiah’s split, Simon Ashby, the singer, went to form This Gigantic World.

The band was conformed by Simon on vocals and guitars, Matt Vessey on bass, Jason Brown on guitars and Trevor Rising on drums. The record must have been released on 1991 as it was recorded on December 1990. It was produced by Ciaran McLaughlin from That Petrol Emotion. It is catalog number TAKE 6.

That’s all information available. The mighty Google suddenly becomes terribly small in results. I wonder what happened to them. I think “Raft” is such a great song, with fantastic basslines and breezy vocals, not that far away from c86-cult favourites The Jeremiahs. I wonder if they had more songs. If there are any demo tapes lying around some attic. If they are still based in UK, or if they set sail on a raft somewhere else in this gigantic world. If they become absent friends.

As always, any further information about them please share!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
This Gigantic World – Raft

I don’t know how common the expression”Great Scott” is. I just learned about it yesterday night while I was doing some research for this post. It does take time to pick up catch phrases in another language than yours. But this one? I’ve never heard!

So, Great Scott! is an exclamation of surprise or amazement. I could have said that the first time I heard a song by a UK band by the same name. I could have said it again when I googled them and I couldn’t find any information. And perhaps one more time after reading about the origin of this phrase according to Wikipedia?

The expression is of uncertain origin. It is believed to date back at least as far as the American Civil War, and may refer to the commander‑in‑chief of the U.S. Army, General Winfield Scott. The general, known to his troops as Old Fuss and Feathers, weighed 300 pounds (21 stone or 136 kg) in his later years and was too fat to ride a horse. A May 1861 edition of the New York Times carried the sentence:

These gathering hosts of loyal freemen, under the command of the great SCOTT.

In an 1871 issue of Galaxy magazine, there is:

“Great—Scott!” he gasped in his stupefaction, using the name of the then commander-in-chief for an oath, as officers sometimes did in those days.

The phrase also appears in the 3 May 1864 diary entry by Private Robert Knox Sneden (later published as Eye of the Storm: a Civil War Odyssey):

‘Great Scott,’ who would have thought that this would be the destiny of the Union Volunteer in 1861–2 while marching down Broadway to the tune of ‘John Brown’s Body’.

Another possible origin is people seeking to emulate the German Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha altered and anglicized “Grüß Gott!”, or “God bless!” into “Great Scott!”. The etymologist and author John Ciardi once believed this, but later recanted in a radio broadcast in 1985. Despite that recantation, the expression is likely to be a minced oath: a mild substitute for invoking the name of God; very possibly derived from the phrase “[by the] grace of God”.

Not very interesting right? Why would a fantastic guitar pop band choose this phrase as their name? Who knows. But then we’ve have heard and seen worst names in indiepop history. But what can be answered is that I know two songs by them, and they are among the most beautiful songs I know from that golden era of guitar pop. Both were released on tape compilations. One of these tapes was later re-released on vinyl, do you have a clue which tape is this? It was the brilliant Hoopla (which I also just learned that means: sensational publicity; ballyhoo; bustling excitement or activity; commotion; hullabaloo) compilation which was once released by La-Di-Da on tape and then later re-released by Accident Records (whatever happened to them?!). The song included here was “You’re Off Again”, a blissful and sweet song with perhaps the nicest trumpets in indiepop ever!

But the song that is on constant repeat today is “The Very Best Part”. You know when songs come to you when you need them? I randomly find songs, especially when moody, and they become like a best friend. They talk to me, they care for me, they even dare to advice me. That’s what has happened to me with this song. I better not talk to much about it, maybe the lyrics explain it better.

Anyways, as this is a serious blog, let’s continue dissecting Great Scott! This heartwarming song appeared on the Kite tape, released on 1989. If you are not familiar with it, I think you should definitely check it out, there are some other gems there, like The Jerks’ “Waterskin”, another favourite of mine. And that’s all I know about the jangle and trumpet masters that are Great Scott. I wonder if anyone out there can let me know anything else about Great Scott? Or get me in touch with them? I just want to thank them for writing these songs, for giving me such a cozy company.

Oh! It seems that Great Scott! was the name of a now-defunct supermarket chain in the Detroit, Michigan area, and is also the name of an indie club in Allston, Massachusetts.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Great Scott – The Very Best Part

Whatever happened to the all-female indiepop combo The Maulies? Back in 2000 they released their one and only 7″ “On Holiday with The Maulies” on Maryland’s Hub City Records and it was such a promising record!!

Last year when I was in Stockholm I had the chance to DJ at Debaser with Tommy Gunnarsson, who ran the Heavenly Pop Hits Records and was part of the brilliant The Gentle Smiles. I remember the first song he played was Dolly Mixture’s “Everything and More”. Then he played a song I had never heard before. It sounded a bit like Bunnygrunt. It sounded a bit like Cub. But it wasn’t them. “Who are they? They are really good!” – I asked. “The Maulies” -Tommy answered. “Who???”. “They only released one record, and this song is really good isn’t it?”. He was playing “Rude Limey”, the A-side.

I met Tommy two days after, on a cold Stockholm Monday, for a record shopping day. The first couple of stores we visited didn’t have anything that was worth our attention or our wallets. The famous Record Hunter was such a letdown. Tommy rang Nicke from Delicious Goldfish Records to see if he would open the store for us that Monday. No luck. He couldn’t: “come back Wednesday”. “Sadly I can’t, I leave tomorrow”. Where else to go? There’s one last stop: Nostalgia Palaset.

My expectations were quite low at that time. I got some money from the DJ gig and I wanted to burn it on records. What else would I do with krönor? I needed to get rid of them! We asked the clerk to show us the “indiepop” 7″ boxes they had behind the counter. We started browsing. First record that caught our attention was one marked “Norway C86″. It was by a band called Naive. Later I will learn that it was marked wrong, this band is Danish. Anyways. Let’s keep browsing.

Something really useful about this store is that you can listen to the records. There is a nice turntable with a pair of headphones. We started putting records on a side, and then listening to them, enjoying them, and then figuring out if they would still be on a side or back into the 7″ box. The Painted Word, The Pastels, Young Marble Giants, and more. The selection of Nostalgia Palaset is really good! Never seen so many nice indiepop records in a store! And if you are up for coincidences, you know what I found? Yeah, The Maulies 7″! I couldn’t believe it. Two days later I was talking about this band with Tommy. We were listening to it. Two days later we find it in a store in Stockholm. And this band is from Austin, Texas. What are the chances?

I paid 80 kr for it. I don’t know how much is that in dollars, and maybe it’s better not to know. I also got 7″s by My Favorite, Gits, Lucksmiths (not for me, it’s clear I always fall asleep to them, but a gift) a Benno Presents Various Artists (including Nixon and the underrated Cat Skills), and a Feverfew flexi. You can imagine the huge smile I had after leaving the store.

Fast forward many months. Today. I’m playing the record a couple of times. I wonder where are these girls? I always wonder where the girls are. Clearly not in Miami. But where did The Maulies go? I read the lovely insert written by Tina and Jeff from Hub City Records. They compare some turtle to Totoro, from the movie “My Neighbor Totoro”. Oh! I like that movie a lot! Also on the insert there’s a little press release about The Maulies:

There comes a time in every girl’s life when she has to decide: should I continue to allow the boys to get all the glory, or should I form my own all-female indiepop combo and kick ass? June 2000 sees the release of The Maulies debut single. Hailing from Austin, TX, the Maulies write punka pop tunes in the vein of such legendary all-girl bands as Thee Headcoatees and Tiger Trap with a touch of the British Invasion thrown in for good measure. The single’s A-side features “Rude Limey”, a savage rebuke of an arrogant Brit and his eveil ways, as well as “Gotta Take the First Plane Home”, a Kinks cover that’s been given the full Maulies treatment.

I think they are closer to Cub or Bunnygrunt, but sure, Tiger Trap is a good comparison! The first lines reminds me of a friend in Sweden that, tired of being the girl in the back in every band, decided to start her own all-female indiepop band just some months ago. Hopefully more news on that later this year, could fit nicely in the Cloudberry catalogue. But back to the Maulies.

It’s funny that on the press release they don’t mention the B-Side. They do mention both A-Sides, by no B-side. The B-Side is called “Tofu π” (smart? Tofu pie). This one is an instrumental track, and well honestly, I’m not a big fan of them. Nothing personal Maulies!

Among other interesting facts are that this record was produced and recorded at Sweatbox Studios, Austin. A place where tons of independent bands have recorded. And yes, the band lineup, that was Amy on bass, Carole on guitar and vocals, Jennifer K on the SK-1, tambourine and vocals, and last, but not least, Jennifer L on drums and vocals. No last names on the sleeve, so, impossible to google them.

Would you ever wish someone that their green card gets revoked? Tough! I think that’s the nastiest thing to wish! But that’s what Rude Limey is about. They sing to a Brit: “He’s always playing cruel jokes/I wish he’d get his green card revoked,” and “We use to call him our favorite British import/But now we call him Satan’s cohort.” Tough girls, right? Now have a listen yourself.

And of course, if anyone else knows or wants to share anything else about The Maulies, please do so! Would be great to know whatever happened to these girls!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Maulies – Rude Limey

Photo: sitting on the gate from left to right are Michael Green, Tim Slater, Dave Wick, John Lindsell and the Dave Fletcher.

A couple of days ago Michael Green, The Nightjars guitarist, got in touch with me. I had written a blog piece about his band many months ago asking for some more information about it and somehow he stumbled upon it. How thrilling! And he has been so nice to tell me the whole story of the band with me, and of course, I want to share with you all. Also he scanned a promo photo of The Nightjars, plus an interview on a Cambridgeshire zine called “Scene and Heard” (part 1, part 2, part 3). Also he asked me to upload the B side “Hang Me Out Dry” which he said: “was only of my favourite things we did. I remember writing the original chugging (C F Am F I think….) riff, sat on my amp,playing it to the others and then Tim Slater improvising the slide guitar bit over the top straight off the top of his head, it was all pretty instant really which are usually the best ones.” And I can only agree, it’s fantastic tune!

And here is the whole story:

The Nightjars were formed from an amalgamation of twobands – The Giant Polar Bears and Red Over White. Original band members were Johnny Lindsell (vocals) Dave Wick (bass) Brendan Costello (guitar) and Dave “Fletch” Fletcher (drums). The name was Johnny’s idea – he is a bit of an ornithologist on the side and came across it in a bird book, thought the nocturnal animal / mesmerizing call bit was cool. Personally, I much preferred The Giant Polar Bears but wasn’t in the group then so didn’t have a say! The thinking at the time was it was too close to The Mighty Lemon Drops (well done on your referencing of influences in the article by the way – spot on)- turns out there’s another band now from Manchester callTheNightjars (part of me feels like contacting them to suggest calling themselves The Giant Polar Bears….much better name but there we are!) Brendan eventually emigrated to Australia to manage a mine somewhere and on-board came Tim Slater, who at the time worked in a guitar shop in Cambridge.

Somewhere around 1988 the band decided they wanted to fill the sound out by adding another guitarist. I lived in the same village as Johnny (Wistow, Cambs) and he’d heard I played guitar. The band at this point were in their mid to late 20’s, I was 15. So I get a knock on my door one day asking if I’d like to audition for the band – one of the most nerve-wracking decisions I’d had in my life! Half of me was “YEAH!”, the other half was “but I only know half a dozen chords and how to play a power chord…..” Anyway – I agreed and that afternoon had an audition in a pig barn (yep…) where the band practiced every Sunday afternoon. I passed the test, was thrown a bunch of tapes to learn the songs and told I’d be playing my first gig that Thursday Night in a snooker hall in Ramsey. Spent next 3 days furiously learning the songs and it went like clockwork – one of the best nights of my life, I was officially a rock star….!

Over the next 3 years we gigged extensively and made a handful of demos, culminating in putting Acid In Your Face to vinyl. We were by far and away the best followed band in the Cambridge area and supported the likes of Teenage Fanclub (to be eternal regret I broke my hand the night before and had to sit the gig out), Throwing Muses (remember being horrified that they got paid £1500 for the gig and had a rider that included white towels, whilewe did the whole thing for a case of Red Stripe)and many others. This was our forte – playing live – and we knew it, Johnny wasn’t the best vocalist of all time though he was an outstanding front man and we weren’t the best of musicians (bar Tim Slater) though we could certainly hold our own.Live we hadsome kind of X-Factor that seemed to draw the local youth to us more than any other band, I cant really explain it but it was like we were all part of the same club.Tim went on to be features editor for Guitarist magazine but I have no idea what he, or the others, are doing now – ironically it was by putting his name into google that I found you last night. I’ve also found another guy who I think replaced me in ‘92 and claims to have played on “Acid in your Face – NME Single of the week”. I’m very tempted to email him to say a) no you didnt and b) it was never NME Single of the Week! I see you have this in your article, I’m sure we didn’t but aforementioned band above have done, it may be that you are confusing the two? Would be very interested to know where you got info from though, would make my day if we had and I’d forgotten!From memory I think we may have made the John Peel show though…?

So – this was a big big part of my life from 15-18 but in ‘91 I finished school and passed exams to go to University in Manchester. At the time there was some interest from Rough Trade records, which turned my head a bit but in my heart of hearts I knew we’d never make it so left the band and went to University, where I met my now wife etc etc and the rest is history. I joined a band up there called Dream Baby Dream (now if you want to talk horrendous band names….) but it just wasn’t the same and have just plucked along on my own since, writing the odd thing here and there for my own amusement. Ironically, when I moved to Manchester – the other end of the country – I found the single in a record shop in the bargain bucket! Each week it went down 10p in price until the last time I saw it it was going for something like 5p and disappeared – whether someone bought it or it was chucked away who knows.

Out of interest, I nearly fell off my chair last night when I saw the single cover on your site, the cover is one of my mates (Paddy Hulson) holding Johnny’s baby daughter Poppy. Poppy must be 20/21 now – unbelievable.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Nightjars – Hold Me Out To Dry

So who doesn’t love badges? I have tons. Talulah Gosh started out thanks to the love of Pastels badges. Flipper’s Guitar were also crazy about their Pastels badge. So why Emma Gibbs can’t be dreaming for a huge collection of badges, the biggest ever seen, a mount Everest of badges. Why not?

Alright. Let’s stop for a moment. Here I come, private eyes. I know a couple of Emmas, my favourite being Dalarna’s Emma (by far!). But I’ve never heard of Emma Gibbs! Who’s Emma Gibbs?!

No clue. If you do a google search, first result is Penthouse pet of the year 2009. I guess that’s not the one we are looking for. I mean, a Penthouse pet doesn’t have anywhere to attach her beloved badges, does her? On to the next result. There seems to be an Emma Gibbs Band. But their music is not something that sounds interesting to me, and I doubt it will interest you. Let’s turn the page, the internet won’t solve this mystery, not yet. Let’s give it another shot. Let’s search name, last name, and profession: “Emma Gibbs Loves Badges”.

First and only stop is the fantastic Tamworth Bands website that has lots of Emma Gibbs Loves Badges’ bobs and pieces from the local Tamworth newspaper, the Tamworth Herald.

Attention: I’ve picked up the most interesting and important pieces and put them together here. But still visit the site as there is a player where you can stream many of the songs from this lost band!

1. The band was formed in 1987 and the lineup included:

• Lee Revelle – Vocals
• Spencer Ireland – Bass Guitar
• Andrew Hyde – Guitar
• Nichola Musgrove – Guitar
• Paul Byrne – Drums

2. Some background information / how they sounded.

Tamworth Herald – 29/05/87
so unique that even their name comes from a ‘Scooper heading!’ Emma Gibbs play modern acoustic pop which owes much to the heritage of Aztec Camera and more modern bands like the Bodines, their sounds is full of curiously, unfolding melodies and very strong lyrics, and if they create the sort of impact they did at their …show, ANYTHING can and probably will happen.

3. Gigs

Among the bands they’ve played one of them is well known to indiepop fans, The Rosehips. Yup! They had a gig together in 1987 at a place called The Rathole. On the same bill were Creation protegés Blow Up as well. On 1990 they would open for a bigger act: Teenage Fanclub. But there are other names I can find on this website that catch my attention, and hopefully cover them sometime soon on the blog: Fetch Eddie, Flowers in the Attic, Catch 23 and more.

4. Releases

From what I could gather, there were 2 releases, one 7″, and one 12″. The 7″ had as an A-Side the track “Patience”, and as a B-Side it had “Assured”. It was released on Utopia Records and was catalog PANTS001. The 12″ had four songs: “Unobtainable”, “What Do You Get When You Fall In Love”, “Garry Bushnell” and “Spin” and was released on the same label but this time the catalog was 1201. I think, but can’t confirm, that there was another 7″, this one including “Second City” as an A-side and “Worship” as the B-Side. If you ever see two copies of any of these releases, keep one for yourself, the other one please send to me. I’ve been looking for them with no luck so far. But let’s continue.

There was also a demo that got reviewed on the same newspaper, the Tamworth Herald:

Emma Gibbs Loves Badges – Circles
Sensitive, almost shy offering which is highly personal and highly impressive. Taken away from the arrogant stage posturings it shows Lee Revelle at his warmest and most musically intelligent and is a perfect if somewhat unexpected accompaniment to the act of verbal love-making. ‘You’ll Enjoy It When you Get There’ is cute and classy but ‘In Circles’ is even better and is dramatically effective in the three forms it is here presented. A major surprise of major standing.

Do you know anything else? Do you have any more information about this great guitar pop band? Do you have any great story to tell? If so, you know what to do: SHARE!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Emma Gibbs Loves Badges – Absorb Me

Have you ever had pop dreams?

I barely remember my dreams. I would have to jump out of bed after waking up, run, find a pen, find a sheet of paper, and write whatever I remember down, that if I don’t trip with my clumsy self. I wish it was easier. Easier as it is for anyone else. After a minute or so after I’m awake I can’t remember anything. I try and try to remember while having my glass of diet coke for breakfast and going through emails, but no luck. Not that I believe they have a meaning but they are always great stories to tell. On the bright side I never have nightmares, so I shouldn’t complain much, right?

Have you ever had pop dreams?

The Sparklers once wrote a song called Pop Dreams, which is the B-side of their Secret Snow 7″ on Fantastic Records. A beautiful song, a cross between The Softies and The Magnetic Fields. Sadly there’s not much information about this band, but as a good private eye that I am, I did some research today to find out:

– The band was formed by Risa Buburniak (keyboards, vocals), Brooke Rossi (vocals, farfisa organ), Ian (violin), and Jonathan (keyboards, beats). Oddly enough, on the record insert the band photo only shows three people, 2 girls, 1 boy. Who was left out? Ian or Jonathan?

– Risa and Rossi helped with vocals on the first eponymous album by Saturday Looks Good to Me. That’s in 2000.

– There was a song called “Paintings” included on the compilation CD that came together with the Japanese magazine Beikoku Ongaku.

– There are at least 2 more songs recorded: “Little Prince” and “Cyclical”. Both are demos and were once played at the University of Michigan radio.

Any more information about this fantastic band would be greatly appreciated! And I would die to listen to those demo songs or to Paintings! Please dream of me this time and give me a hand

Have you ever had pop dreams?

Close your eyes say goodnight
When you sleep… do you dream?
When you dream… do you think of me?

Be the Peter to my Wendy
Grab my hand we’ll fly away
Think good thoughts… it will be so easy

Take my hand, we’ll kiss this place goodbye
You said I won’t even follow
I’ll chase you through to the clouds
I said I won’t even follow

Close your eyes say goodnight
Do you dream in colors bright?
Do you dream in black and white?

Be the Truman to my Andy
Go on now, go to the city
Write a book, we’ll make a movie

Come on now, let’s go, we’ll glamourize
go go glamourize
(I will wait for you my love
Say you’ll say for me sweetheart)

Have you ever had pop dreams?

Why don’t we do this, tell me about a pop dream you’ve had? Maybe you once dreamed about having a huge banquet with the likes of Amelia or Dugly? Or maybe you dreamed about throwing Aggi from the bridge? Or giving back a Pastels’ badge to Cornelius? Don’t be shy! Should be fun!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Sparklers – Pop Dreams