LAURICE IS GONNA SMASH YOUR FACE IN! (PART UNO)

Introduction by Tony Rettman

Interview by Dale Nixon and Tony Rettman

Many knuckleheads were hipped to the talents of the British born Laurice via Robin Willis’ excellent Pure Pop blog a few years back when he posted the simply brain bursting pre-punk/trash glam single Laurice co-wrote/performed with Simon Godd in 1973 under the band name of Grudge*. Further thread pulling from the nerd crowd unearthed other unknown gems he was involved in from that era, including the druggy groove bomb of a 45 recorded under the name Paul St. John as well as the crunching and highly-sought after one-off single from Glam stompers Spiv. Some were all him, some saw him in the production seat, but every single one of them bits of plastic showcased someone with a singular vision who was very adept at making Champagne outta Carlsberg.

The later part of the seventies saw Laurice fly the coop of the U.K for the U.S and eventually Canada to become a disco diva of the ‘highest’ order. Check the cover of his Disco Spaceship 12” and try to tell us this guy wasn’t doing something of his own in the days of feathered hair and earrings. He had a brief foray into New Age and Smooth Jazz in the past few years, but is now mining his seventies archives due to the interest in that era of his career being shown by various turkeys of various stripes. Check out The Best of Laurice Volume One (Mighty Mouth) to see what he’s done dug up and sit tight for Volume Two.

For now, read the interview ya simp…

*= No relation to the late eighties SoCal Straight Edge parody group of the same name. We apologize for any confusion.

200LBU: Let’s start at the beginning. Where exactly do you hail from?

LAURICE: North Wales. I graduated from Leeds in northern England, an old redbrick university. At the time, it was very unusual for a guy with a degree to go into the music business. My career councilors were very puzzled. They wanted to know why I came to university. I told them it was because I wanted to prove I could do it. Degrees were very tough to get in those days. It’s much easier now.

200LBU: So what happened after that?

LAURICE: London. I worked for a music publishing company and became a talent scout for Pye Records, the home of Petula Clark of Downtown fame. I was also a resident songwriter, session singer and producer. I composed a lot of pop and rock music at the time. All sorts.

200LBU: Who were some of the artists you brought to Pye?

LAURICE:  I brought a great glam rock band to the label, Spiv. I loved their energy and vitality. I immediately decided to write a commercial song for them. We made a demo – and it was steamy hot. But the record label guy was a dope. He insisted on going back into the studio to remake it. I did that, and even though it came out well, it never recaptured the energy and vitality of that demo.

I recorded Odyssey – A Greek band, because they were so different. I adapted an old Persian folk song into the track that became She Brings Me Love and they were very professional and cooperative. But the most professional artist I ever worked with was the little ten year old girl I worked with. Weeny Bopper and I wrote and produced David, Donny and Michael for her. No temperament, no fuss. She just was all business and a real pleasure to work with. There were others, but those three really stood out. Of course there was Paul St. John – FlyingSaucers Have Landed/Spaceship Lover - a great psychedelic space opus - both songs slated for Best Of Laurice Volume 2.

200LBU: What is the full story on that Spiv single? 

LAURICE: It’s heartbreaking, really. As I told you before, I liked their energy and vitality when I saw them perform and heard a rough demo. They nixed the demo and then I remade it and released it. Unfortunately the BBC, which was the ONLY outlet for playing music at the time, had a real grudge against British artists. They only wanted to play American artists. Go figure. The supposed promotion teams from the record companies were virtually dumping promotional copies of records on the BBC’s doorstep. I was so angry about this practice that I literarily made a sandwich board and paraded up and down outside the BBC building in London saying that the BBC was unfair to British artists! But how do you break it to a band that their record, which was great, wound up on the BBC doorstep garbage heap? That is why so many artists left Britain during this period.

200LBU: What would you say were your biggest successes in the UK?

LAURICE: When Christine Comes Around/I’m Gonna Smash Your Face In by Grudge. As I have always said, they were punk rock before punk rock was even thought of! You shoulda heard the original demo of Christine. Friggin’ awesome, man. Almost a Beach Boys surfing 60’s feel to it. I had an acetate of it and it’s slated for Best Of Laurice Volume 2 – so look out for it, it’s really hot!

200LBU: I know you've probably told this story a million times, but give the back story on When Christine Comes Around. 

LAURICE: My college mate Simon Potter was the co-writer of When Christine Comes Around. He became the head of the English Department at famous Wimbledon College, the Jesuit school for boys in London. When he started, he lived in a ground floor flat. Simon had a lovely girlfriend. But there was this girl who had an apartment above him and every time he had a visitor there would be a knock at the door and there she would be. She was a very homely girl and she could suck the oxygen out of a room in two minutes. And guess what her name was? Christine! We were driving over London Bridge one day after a friggin’ awful evening visit by this woman and Simon was talking about what he wanted to do to her. I said why don’t we write a song about it? It took us about 20 minutes and it was done.

200LBU: Who’d you have to convince to get that on vinyl?

LAURICE: I had hooked up with this guy Cyril Black. Cyril was a real character. At that time there was a very famous band leader called Stanley Black. He was very well regarded and very prestigious and then there was his brother Cyril - who was a walking embarrassment to Stanley, apparently! Cyril was really hungry for success. He had this tiny little room in Denmark Street, London’s Soho – Tin Pan Alley – the music row of that time.. He was such a stereotype, this little Jewish guy in Tin Pan Alley with glasses. You could trust him as far as you could throw him – which wouldn’t be very far. We went to see him and sung When Christine Comes Around to him and he thought that it was wonderful. Somehow he happened to know this rich heiress called Prudence. We went to see her and sang the song to her. Prudence thought it was wonderful and we were in the studio before we knew it with my band and it just took off. She loved I’m Gonna Smash Your Face In as well.

200LBU: And you spent some time at Abbey Road studios around that time as well, correct?

LAURICE: I met the Hollies and attended a few of their recording sessions. And I also attended some of the Pink Floyd Atom Heart Mother Sessions.

200LBU: That must have been quite a thrill.

LAURICE:  Well quite honestly it was rather a shock. The whole image of Pink Floyd was supposed to be anti-establishment at the time. But all I heard from the band there was "Will it be a hit?" and "Is it commercial enough?" It was really quite sobering.

200LBU: Did it sour you on the band?

LAURICE:    Oh, not at all. I knew exactly where they were coming from. It was a relief to know that they were actually human, like the rest of us.

200LBU: What was your take on the Progressive Rock scene going on in England at the time you were producing?  

LAURICE: After attending the Pink Floyd sessions, I realized that all these bands wanted commercial hits. After all, it was their bread and butter and their way to the big time. The progressive rock scene went in all different directions, and it was very exciting, with The Beatles leading the way. I was fortunate enough to attend a Moody Blues audition practice session before they really hit the jackpot, and they were just great, particularly Justin Hayward. He had a terrific presence. They did Nights in White Satin and I just loved it. I finally liked The Cream, mainly because I just loved Eric Clapton’s voice and his use of lead guitar. But there were so many good progressive British rock bands that just came out of the woodwork. Some sparkled for a moment and vanished, never fully receiving their due, while others are classics to this day: Eric Burdon and The Animals, The Searchers, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Procul Harum, Genesis, Jethro Tull – I could go on and on. But to fully answer your question, I basically dug their progressive creativity. The 1960s and 1970s were the most progressive and influential periods of contemporary music up until now.

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR PART TWO OF THE LAURICE INTERVIEW AND PURCHASE ALL THE RE-ISSUES DONE BY MIGHTY MOUTH HERE. 

 OH DUH...CHECK OUT LAURICE'S WEBSITE AS WELL

LET'S NOT FORGET WHO RUNS THIS SHIT SHOW...

For your foggy Sunday morning state of mind, may I suggest this mix I created Friday for the Vice conglomerate ;  you know, the people responsible for everything from global warming to Scion sponsored rock music . What ever happened to all that Scion hoopla anyways? Huh...anywhos, be sure to check out this hodgepodge of tracks which includes 90's downer roque, Krautrock hit parade obviousness, early 80's dreariness,  present day coo coo birds and a song Jimmy Pursey probably wants to forget.

In the upcoming weeks, expects more reviews, and interview or two and the proverbial 'much, much more'. Remember to like us on the Facebook and blast your copy of the first Montrose LP to mourn the loss of good ole Ronnie.

FURTHER PONTIFICATIONS ON HORSE PUCKY

REVIEWERS: Max Milgram (MM) Tom DeAngelo (TD) Tony Rettman (TR)

CONDOMINIUM - Warm Home (Self Released, LP)

Here's a record many - myself certainly included - seemed to be getting pretty clammy over;  the debut 12" by Minneapolis/St. Paul kings of punk Condominium. And who wouldn't be? Considering that since 2008 Condominium have been consistently growing by leaps and bounds, every subsequent release building a little more unease to their tightly wound brand of singular Hardcore pummel. After a stellar run of four 7"s, highlighted by last year's fantastic Gag E.P., I had unreasonably high expectations for this one. I really wanted these three Midwestern men to blow my head clean off with some obtuse, NWW take on burly modern 'core, and though I certainly am not disappointed by what they ended up delivering, they didn't necessarily skew it as far as I would’ve liked them to. In talking with some other fine folk (a couple of 'em in person even!) this seems to be somewhat of a consensus, though by no means am I trying to indicate that this record is anything other than essential, especially by today's bankrupt Hardcore standards. What we seem to have here is an adept pastiche of all Condominium's previous work. Opener Life is Amazing hits the AmRep tag that seems to get dropped on ‘em often (drummer sounds especially massive on this ‘un), Teeth is decidedly Midwestern, like Hammerhead copulating with the Crucifucks and a set of Tar Babies being the result, and Why be Something that You’re Not has gotta rank as the most ‘out’ Negative Approach cover I’ve ever heard. And we’re still on the first side! B-side’s got some more convincingly non-self-conscious attempts to step outside of a traditional Hardcore template, and recalls any band on Xpressway Pile-Up as much as it does the Fix or the Repos or what have you. In keeping with previous releases, artwork remains top notch as well. It's pretty telling that, even when constructing a record that was perhaps not on par with what I feel are their nearly peerless abilities, Condo still managed to make perhaps the best Hardcore release of the year. - TD

CRITICAL MASS - Silver Screen b/w No One Left to Blame (Last Laugh, 7”)

Nicely crafted exact-repro of the mythical, semi-legendary, and at one time completely overlooked 45 by Florida’s Critical Mass. The story behind Critical Mass is one that’s all too common among the late 70’s regional retroactive Punk pantheon; according to the nice write up I’d recommend checking out over at Break My Face, a couple teenagers in the sweltering Florida sun had been practicing their own material for a while when they heard Never Mind the Bollocks and finally got the kick in the arse they needed, only to record two songs and immediately break up due to local indifference. The two tracks they did manage to engrain in wax forever are straight up first wave scorchers of the highest order though, particularly for a locale like 70’s Florida, which isn’t exactly the most celebrated site for early Punk Rock. A-side is definitely the keeper, as vocalist Mick Fazz lays on the Rotten-styled scuzz so thick you’ll be running back to your copy of Spunk to make sure it’s not missing a cut. You’d expect some kind of perverted angle to the story-telling lyrics too, but nah, pretty sure it’s just about a sour TV producer who’s pissed at an actress who used him to gain stardom so now he’s gonna slag her in the press in hopes of ruining her career. Well then! Flip’s pretty cool too; indebted as much to 70’s Hard Rock acts like Deep Purple, Cheap Trick, even early Motorhead, as it is the Pistols or Dolls. The band could play, but it was ’76; Prog was for queers, and they were there to get the job done with the least amount of flash as possible. As usual, the mastering job presented by Mr. Laff has the sides sounding mean and loud as fuck. I originally tried writing this review at midnight but had to wait ‘til morning because one can’t properly take in this record at anything but full volume. No pic-sleeve, just like the 1976 release. Doesn’t look like any of the original 200 copies’ll be cropping up anytime soon, so chances are this is the way to go for most of us. - TD

BILL DIRREN/BILDERS - Six Impossible Things (Unwhuct, 12”EP)

Inaugural entry to Unwhuct’s all-things-Direen-related reissue campaign, this one being the “Six Impossible Things” E.P., initially a 7” released in 1980 in a scant addition of 100, making OG’s tougher to find than a frowning face at your local wishy-washy. I’d never heard these tunes before personally, but recent critical reevaluations of Direen’s late 70’s/early 80’s work made this an easy trigger to pull, and I’ve been flipping it over endlessly since it touched down on my doorstep. Opens up with Moderation, which has an almost British music hall/Something Else-era Kinks feel, though stripped of a good deal of ambition and placed inside an early DIY Kiwi framework. Curious way to start off this particular record, but I’ve warmed up to it significantly on repeat listens. Next up is Alien, which sounds conspicuously similar to all those Wipers songs were Sage yaps about aliens as well, though that’s probably pure coincidence, and an agreeable one at that. Flip begins with the succinct jangle of Summer on the Nullarbor,  a perfect post-Velvets/Fugs/Nuggets hybrid that coulda stayed around for double its playing time and still wouldn’t have come close to wearing out its welcome. And it ends with Dirty and Disgusting which is probably my pick of the whole goddamn litter, sounding akin to the most revered material any better known Kiwi/Flying Nun act would be kicking up a year or so down the line. This shit sounds flawless on a deep groove 12” at 45 RPM, the artwork’s stellar (even though the label was apparently unhappy with the printing quality on initial batches of the cover and will be offering early subscribers a corrected jacket with the shipment of the next record in the series) and the additional inserts is a classy touch for sure. Bill seems to finally be getting his proper due stateside due to the work of the fine Krauts over at Unwucht, and if this one’s any indication than the next installment can’t come soon enough. -TD

FNU RONNIES - Saddle Up (Load)

After what feels like endless nights tossing and turning with my mattress soaked in bodily fluids and peanut oil, the release of the Ronnies debut album (or, at 45 RPM, a “mini-LP” as the Europeans would say), is finally here to remind everyone how unnecessary other music bands who release records on a regular basis really are. The departure of the ‘Ronnies from the Philadelphia musical landscape is still a tough one to accept, but to be honest they weren’t the type meant to stick around for long anyway. Live shows were a kind of sick-Kabuki theatre piece, perceived “success” of each set mainly reliant on the delicate balance between too much/not enough drugs flowing through drummer Street Kyle’s veins at the time of night they played. If you were lucky enough to ever see ‘em, you might recognize a lot of these songs from that ensuing train wreck. Starts off with live staple You Don’t Look So Good, a Feederz styled romp that, along with B-side opener No Difference, is the closest they ever got to a recognizably Hardcore/Punk tempo and sound. But both still stand out as works completely their own in terms of sheer idiotic intensity. Compared to the unfortunately scant back catalog they’ve amassed thus far, this record lies pretty squarely between the sleek and ugly punk of the Meat E.P. and the sprawling dirge of the one sided 12” from a few years back. Its song based and pithy, but the excursions into low-brow Chrome locales remain; they’re just trimmed of excess dressings this time around. A couple tracks, particularly the bass heavy plod of Ant People recall the jagged art rock take on Prog popularized by This Heat. It’s kind of amazing how ambitious the record sounds, and how much they accomplish among its all too brief playing time. Fans of Factoryman, liquid pain killers and not-queer-music in general take note; I’d predict this is one of the few mandatory purchases you’ll need to make all year. – TD

 LOOSE GRIP - Cereal (Bedroom Suck, 7”)

This very fine seven incher finds members of Aussie hot shot units such as Per Purpose and Kitchen’s Floor plowing through what sounds like an audition to get signed to either Buy Our or Gravelvoice (pre- Sun City Girls association, obviously) and it makes me beam like sunlight through a nicotine stained window. Where many go through the motions, these fellas seem purely locked into that precious speck in time where Hardcore was purely a suburban goon ball entity; somewhere between where IQ32 came out and Harley got his dragon chest piece. For those who file Whacky Hi – Jinks right next to their copy of Psychedelic Underground. –TR

MAD NANNA – I Hit a Wall (Quemeda, 7”)

That last Mad Nanna 7” on Wormwood Grasshopper really blew me a new one; so I was all too ‘cited to see this surprise in my mailbox a few weeks back.  Laying an ear to this recent 45 has made me realize these young gents are a rare breed. They seem like the types who can wear many hats and still have you admiring just the shape of their head. Case in pernt: The above mentioned 7” seemed to be a single minded reach for the sun in an almost hippy fashion. Now on this un, both sides seem propelled by tiny, potent riffs that both tingle and chug. Sorta like a Lost Cause informed take on 3rd LP Velvets or Fowley produced Modern Lovers. And although it sounds absolutely nothing like the single before it or the single before that one (on Little Big Chief here in the U.S) they still got me on the line. I’m guessing an LP by these would be a smorgasbord of different stabs at greatness…so let’s fuckin’ hear it. – TR

SATELLITES OF LOVE – (Milk, 7”)

Somewhere in a dream I guess I heard this U.K. band had some sorta connection to that land’s dearly departed Shitty Limits, so I threw it in on a Sorry State order. And I’m very glad I did, even though Mister Sandman was completely off the mark in this having any members from the Limits in it*. That fucking guy…I’ll punch him in the dick next time I see him. I can’t believe I’m about to write this, but the four songs on here remind me most of seeing The V.S.S. down in Jon Hiltz’s basement back in the summer of ’95 or so. I thought they sounded great; like some twisted raised-on-Hardcore version of Bauhaus or something. But then I heard their 7” and it didn’t transfer at all. And don’t get me started on seeing them a year later and thinking they were this horribly cornball pastiche of 80’s synth garbage.  But if they sounded like this on that initial 7” I heard back then, maybe I wouldn’t have retired my tight stripped shirt and pegged high waters for a gigantic beard and beat-to-shit Traffic records. Oh, to dream… - TR

(* = At virtual press time, we learned some dudes from S.O.L do in fact jam with guys from the Shitty Limits. They gotta a band named No that’s gotta 12” coming out soon on the Static Shock label. Huzah!)

TERRIBLE TRUTHS – (Small Town City Living, 7”)

Since Terrible Truths shared a member with the absolutely exquisite Bitch Prefect, I was awfully intrigued about this one, but after giving this more than a few listens, I’m…uh…um… not so sure about it.  Thirty years ago, demo tapes of post-punk regurgitation such as this probably spilled outta the mailboxes of limey labels and never warranted a listen. But if a band sounds like this these days, it’s praised to the hilt. And I can only imagine what kinda squirting session would be going on if this shit was some recently uncovered all girl unit from nowheresville circa ‘82. Much like Shoppers, reality TV and dying of testicular cancer, I don’t understand the allure. At best, this sounds like one of the more forgettable musical guests that appeared on ‘The Young Ones’. – TR

TWELVE MINUTES AT THE HOT CLUB MURPHY - (Messthetics, 7”)

Yeah, I don't know.  This is a cool little 7" for sure, don't get me wrong.  It hits near the orbits of both Canterbury cleverness and God Bless the Red Krayola quirk. Sparse, unaggressive deconstructed pop that’s heavy on the piano and light on guitar.  And it's not that I don't like it, but it just seems kinda marginal or something.  Maybe it would be more impressive if it was from Bombay or Omaha or really any place other than the incredibly fertile Homosexuals axis, with countless side-projects of varying degrees of quality.  Because within that context I like it more than, say, Narki Brillans, but not as much as Sir Alick.  There's just something a little too smug and laid back for it to grab me, thus befitting such a nondescript and unexciting review. – MM

VIRGIL CAINE  - (Time Lag, LP)

A few years ago I was chatting tunes with a freak folk luminary. It was an amiable sort of dick comparison and everything was on equal footing until he dropped the name of Virgil Caine. What? Who're they? He didn't have much to say about it other than it was "killer". How do I hear such a thing? He told me a guy named Nemo might burn me a copy. Why the fuck would a stranger (especially one with so colorful a name) burn and mail me a CD-R? I gave up on hearing it and became outwardly sullen and inwardly filled with rage (fairly common occurrence). Now what do you know? The very same Nemo has pressed it up handsomely and accessibly.  What a guy! And look at the fellas on the cover. Have they ever met before? There’s a long tall youngster dressed like a member of forgotten early 90's Hardcore unit Lincoln, a rumpled bespectacled old man who could be either an academic or a serial killer, and a good ol' ball cap wearin' salt of the earth type. And the music? It's great! Use Virgin Insanity playing The Basement Tapes as a jumping off point. In the liner notes the main guy boasts of his early musical abilities giving him a leg up on his peers but I feel that they're not evident in the way he would have liked. Weird warbly voice, ultra-low key percussion, and occasional awesome clumsy fluttering leads laying down this incredible atmospheric folk-rock. Sometimes it seems so distant and other times everything is comically loud and in-your-face. One jaunty litle number called Swamp Witch has a good timey southern Hackamore Brick vibe but with lyrics about actual monsters. There's an X in the Middle of Nixon has constant nervous leads (Martin Stone need not be fear unemployment) while an odd, odd voice sings about neighbors enjoying the new bedroom and the hospitable narrator willing to sleep in the den. Honey Don't Believe is an eerie and haunting ballad. These are but three examples of a record filled with greatness. – MM

MOST OF THE ITEMS REVIEWED ABOVE CAN BE FOUND THROUGH FUSETRON, LITTLE BIG CHIEF, EASTER BILBY, SORRY STATE AND GRAVE MISTAKE.