Couldn’t help but get a little giddy at the sight of this new offering on Amazon: Hijack The Radio, credited to none other than the Nervebreakers, the one-time Police, Ramonesand Sex Pistols openers no longer late-greats in the wake of recent reunions leading up to the release of an album of new material (!) before year’s end. Hijack’s the first official best-of, filled with the hits (the title track and, for sure, the immortal “My Girlfriend is a Rock”), some that should have been (“Why Am I So Flipped?,” “I Wanna Kill You”) and some in desperate need of reevaluation (the killer “Strange Movies”).
Took a while to get the band to cough up the why-come on the best-of, which is reviewed here and isavailable in limited-ed 180-gram color vinyl. Traded Facebookmessages with three of the Nervebreakers last week: bassist Bob Childress, guitarist Barry Kooda and frontman Thom Tex Edwards. Childress said the comp was label Get Hip’s idea, following its decision to re-release the band’s classic full-lengther We Want Everything and other EPs and singles. Said Childress, “It’s been an ongoing relationship.” Kooda didn’t have much to add: “[Guitarist] Mike Haskins and Tex did all the legwork.”
And so we turn to the Edwards, always the frontman. He writes:
We have been bugging Get Hip for years after they put out the We Want Everything album… recent interest in original Texas punk among younger folks & the big Nervebreakers retrospective in UGLY THINGS magazine a while back helped convince them & here it finally is… anthology - volume one… and get hip is on board for more…
The second anthology volume will follow at a later date on get hip, after they release a newly recorded album (called FACE UP TO REALITY) this fall… FACE UP is a collection of all original songs written by the band back in the day but never documented on tape until after the 2007 reunion shows and band reformation…
Last year, Get Hip also reissued on 7” vinyl the three out of print Nervebreakers’ Wild Child Records releases from back in ‘78-‘80 with facsimiles of the original sleeves… It is nice to finally have our old stuff available again & have our sounds documented & out there for consumption soon…
So, there ya go: Old Nervebreakers, new Nervebreakers and in-between Nervebreakers. Which is just about the right amount of Nervebreakers. Need a refresher? The band’s website has a ton of digital downloads, and they don’t cost a thing. Hijack the radio indeed.
lp 2012/1975-79 new Texas 3-chord melodic punk band that started out playing dumb covers, but then heard the Ramones & decided they could follow suit. They also dug up Roky Erikson in the late 70s when he hadn’t been playing at all & briefly became his backing band even as the Aliens were being formed. Early songs, singles, & their best song: ‘My Girlfriend is a Rock’. Tracklisting: Hijack the Radio, My Girlfriend Is a Rock, Why Am I So Flipped, My Life is Ruined, I Love Your Neurosis, Everything Right, Missa Moses, So Sorry, I Wanna Kill You, It’s Too Late, Beyond the Borderline.
OK, It’s been a couple of months since our last installment, but nowit’s here. The CD comes with three extra tracks — a ‘75 slice of Syd-influenced psychedelia called “See Me Thru,” a take of the Troggs’ “Strange Movies” that predates the one recorded for We Want Everything, and the original cassette-recorded demo of “Hijack the Radio!” — but I had to spring for the limited-edition colored vinyl versh, because that’s the way we roll.
The new compilation explodes out of the gate with the title track, a fan’s anthem from the days when rockaroll radio was the medium that bound us all together (or pissed some of us off). Primary writing partners Tex Edwards and Mike Haskins got their first exposure to the esoterica that formed their aesthetic from a Dallas AM station that would play anything…once. The notion of letting some “DJ guy” program your listening experience might seem quaint in this era when every man is his own radio station, but the NBs put their point across powerfully, with a bridge that paraphrases the Kinks’ “Top of the Pops” and every rockfan’s favorite object of ridicule back in ‘79: disco.
The smiling folks at Get Hip were wise to focus their selection on ‘riginals (with the exception of the Troggs cover on the CD), for the Nervebreakers’ defining strength was their songwriting — although they played more than their share of covers, coming as they did from an era (a band since ‘73, they) when you had to play four sets a night. (The compilers saw fit to include a shaky example of their early forays into songwriting — the instrumental “Missa Moses,” which dates from ‘75, when Walter Brock was still playing Farfisa.)
Their lengthy gestation meant that by the time these sides were waxed, they really knew their way around their axes — not a prerequisite for punk rock apotheosis, but it meant that they had the means at their disposal to make their humor-infused stew of Brit Invasion, rockabilly, and psych influences sound convincing. To hear what I’m talking about, give “Why Am I So Flipped?” a spin. (Imagine if the Clash’s Sandy Pearlman-produced confluence of punk aesthetics with Big Rock sonics on Give ‘Em Enough Rope had actually gelled.)
Their best-known song was “My Girlfriend Is a Rock,” a Bay Area hit penned by drummer Carl Giesecke and subsequently covered (as “My Girlfriend’s In Iraq”) by doomed Millennial punkers Spector 45. The toon taps the same vein of early ’60s pop, overlaid with buzzsaw guitars, that the New York Dolls and Ramones mined. (Indeed, “It’s Too Late” wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Too Much Too Soon.) Haskins was a guitar-slinger in the fire-breathing, yet craftsmanlike mold of BOC’s Buck Dharma and the Dictators’ Ross the Boss. He constructed his solos with care, adding details like the little snippet of feedback that concludes his first “Girlfriend” solo, or his crazy glisses on “I Love Your Neurosis,” that injected just the right amount of chaos to the proceedings.
Tex Edwards was a charismatic frontman who absorbed C&W influences by osmosis, not inclination. He channels Ray Davies at his rockin’-est on “Everything Right” and most effete on “My Life Is Ruined,” while sounding for all the world like, um, Arnold Schwarznegger on the closing epic “Beyond the Borderline.” The band’s secret weapon was Barry Kooda, the guy with the fish in his mouth in the famous Rolling Stone pic from the Sex Pistols show, who churned up the requisite racket on low-slung Les Paul while providing quality backing voxxx and occasional tuneage (on his own or in tandem with Edwards); he sings lead on “So Sorry” here.
Hijack the Radio! nicely compliments (and isn’t at all redundant with) their ‘81 swan song LP We Want Everything! (which Get Hip reissued on sweet, sweet vinyl last year). Hopefully the kids will scarf up enough copies to make the Pittsburgh-based label release the NBs’ 2007 Face Up To Reality album — which, if heard, could give a good name to reunion albums by superannuated punkers.
Includes: Nervebreakers, “Hijack The Radio” & T. Tex Edwards, “Move It”
Just hours before the schedule time for the Live Ledge broadcast on Realpunkradio came news that Adam “MCA” Yauch of The Beastie Boys had passed away from cancer. I quickly pulled together a few Beasties tracks for a short tribute to a member of the band that truly brought rap to rocker, punkers, and metalheads in even the smallest rural community.
Besides the tribute, this episode also saw the debut by a ton of artists, including PIL, Gaslight Anthem, Die Toten Hosen, and so many more. Plus, we celebrated what would have been the 83rd birthday of legendary guitarist Link Wray.
Nab this sucka now from the usual online spots, or
One Lot Of Five Nervebreakers Silicone Glow In The Dark Wristbands “nervebreakers get hip” I ordered these for the Nervebreakers show in Austin St. Patrick’s Day 2012 but they didn’t arrive until the following Wednesday….DOH! Anyhow, I’m selling them in lots of 5 to try to make my money back so be the first on your block to own this rare piece of memorabilia. Five Green Glow-in-the-dark silicone 1/2” Adult sized bracelets for a measly ten bucks shipping included! Thanks! Barry Kooda
HIJACK THE RADIO – VINTAGE VINYL & STUDIO SESSIONS, VOLUME ONE - The Nervebreakers
HIJACK THE RADIO – VINTAGE VINYL & STUDIO SESSIONS, VOLUME ONE
An anthology of mid to late 70s studio recordings, some of which ended up on theNervebreakers‘ late-70′s 7″ vinyl releases on Wild Child Records, some on the 1979 Texas punk LP compilation Are We Too Late For The Trend? (ESR Records), some on a volume of Italian label Rave Up Records series of American Lost Punk Rock Nuggets, and others that have up-to-now never been publicly released.
Includes the original (and best) hit recording of “My Girlfriend Is A Rock”, the title anthem “Hijack The Radio”, and punk classics like ”Why Am I So Flipped?”, “I Wanna Kill You”, and “I Love Your Neurosis”. Also included are proto-punk psych-y gems like “My Life Is Ruined” and “Beyond The Borderline”.
The CD release has four additional CD-only bonus cuts including an early (different from the We Want Everything LP) take on the Troggs‘ great “Strange Movies”, an original 1977 demo version of “Hijack The Radio”, and from 1975, a moody slice of Syd Barrett-like proto-punk-psych called “See Me Thru”.
Track Listing:
1. HIJACK THE RADIO! (1979) 2. MY GIRLFRIEND IS A ROCK (1978) 3. WHY AM I SO FLIPPED? (1979) 4. MY LIFE IS RUINED (1978) 5. I LOVE YOUR NEUROSIS (1977) 6. EVERYTHING RIGHT (1977) 7. MISSA MOSES (1976) 8. SO SORRY (1979) 9. I WANNA KILL YOU (1977) 10. IT’S TOO LATE (1979) 11. BEYOND THE BORDERLINE (1977) 12. PART OF MY LOVE* (1977) 13. SEE ME THRU* (1975) 14. STRANGE MOVIES* (1979) 15. HIJACK THE RADIO!* (1977 Demo)
*CD ONLY Tracks!
New poster from Sophie Lo commemorating the release of the HIJACK THE RADIO, VINTAGE VINYL & STUDIO SESSIONS VOLUME ONE anthology soon to be released from Get Hip. See more of Sophie’s work at:http://www.sophielo.com/
NOTE: The complete version of “Baby’s Playing Games” was not on the original 7” release. The clip above was taken from the Deep In The Throat Of Texas comp, as were the other two songs since the fidelity is much better than my 7”.
DOT VAETH GROUP (Ft. Worth, TX) White Collar Worker b/w Armed Robbery/Baby’s Playing Games ESR (No. 1 ), 1978
Brothers David and Doug Townsend grew up on the same street as James Flory. They all attended school together from Elementary on. David took percussion lessons in junior high, but never quite grasped the concept and decided he wanted to play guitar instead. His brother Doug, who actually took guitar lessons, realized how inept he was at the instrument and opted for drums. After James got himself a bass and an amp and the brothers put together some crummy equipment for themselves, they all started jamming together in David’s bedroom.
It was the mid 70s and they were all bored with what was being played on the radio. Then they heard a Ramones album and things started to change. They were blown away with what they heard and immediately started working on simple three chord songs they could play. After scrounging together the money for better equipment, the next step was to rent a storage warehouse in Ft. Worth where they could get out of the house and work on riffs as loud as they pleased.
A friend of theirs named Jim Nabors would regularly come to their rehearsals, eventually joining the band as singer. The came up with the name Dot Vaeth Group as homage to an old art teacher named Dorothy Vaeth who used to drink in class. They used to tease her by calling her Dot Vaeth and thought it would be a cool name for the band. They even sent a letter to Mrs. Vaeth to let her know they named their band after her, but never did get a reply.
James and Doug became a tight rhythm section but felt they still needed a lead guitar player. So they ended up recruiting Pat Conley who practiced in the rehearsal space next door. After that, the band decided to move their rehearsals to Pat’s trailer in Azle, TX.
Pat introduced the rest of the band to an attorney named Bryce Parker. Bryce, who would later start up Electric Slum Records and be responsible for the Are We Too Late For The Trend compilation, brought out a 2-channel reel to reel and recorded their practice. With amps cranked to 11 in the small trailer, the recording sounded pretty rough. But Bryce insisted on putting out a 7” containing the band’s two original songs, “White Collar Worker” and “Armed Robery” on his newly established ESR imprint in an optimistic run of 1,000 copies.
As a teaser, the record closes with a clip of them covering a Vomit Pigs tune called “Baby’s Playing Games” that fades out within a few seconds. They were pals with Mike Brock, leader of the Vomit Pigs, and after the VP’s released their stellar Take One EP, the Dot Vaeth gang thought it’d be funny to do the 30 second anthem even faster than the VP’s did! It wasn’t until 1997 that people were able to hear DVG’s rendition in its entirety thanks to Existential Vaccum’s Deep In The Throat Of Texas compilation album that also includes the two songs from the single, giving “Armed Robbery” an extra couple second intro.
In 1978, Dot Vaeth’s set consisted of many cover songs from New York and British punk bands. There were very few groups in the area at that time playing punk besides the Nervebreakers in Dallas and Vomit Pigs in Dangerfield. Since there were no established clubs in Ft. Worth for this type of music yet, Pat would approach club owners and tell them they did Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith covers to get in the door. Then on audition night they’d get thrown off the stage by their second song, sometimes being physically removed from the building!
It got to the point where they had to start renting out warehouse spaces just to play shows and then charge people a quarter at the door to get in. Eventually they started gigging in Dallas more often, sometimes alongside the Nervebreakers where they’d have more of an audience. Still unable to move anywhere near the 1,000 records that were pressed, they would staple the covers to the wall to make wallpaper and fling the records like frisbees and shatter them. They even set up shop outside a Zeppelin concert once to put records in the hands of unsuspecting show goers.
A friend of theirs named Michael Ritchey owned a lighting company that had developed a new technology to simulate lightning. He was attempting to sell this special effect to Hollywood so he made a promo video with Dot Vaeth Group performing the Ramones “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment.” The shoot took place on a cold winter day in a rented warehouse in Irving, TX. Unfortunately they didn’t ground David properly when they shot a bolt of lightning out of his guitar and he received quite a shock. Realizing a little too late that they should have put some gym mats down, they remedied the problem after that. The video was aired at a party with a bunch of Hollywood industry buffs but ultimately nothing ever came of it.
The band played together for about 3 years until all their equipment was stolen out of a trailer, putting a damper to their progress. Since some of the members had already moved to Dallas while others remained in Ft. Worth, they decided to just throw in the towel.
The original trio of David, Doug and James ended up starting a band called the Infants, who later morphed into Superman’s Girlfriend. The brothers both hopped around from band to band for a while, eventually settling in with the Ralphs. After having kids, David stepped away from music altogether. His brother Doug passed away in 2006 after losing a battle with lung cancer. James Flory had stints with Tex and the Saddle Tramps and the late incarnation of the Nervebreakers that toured the east coast. Pat went on to play in Blindate, a band that Doug was also in.
The Nervebreakers - Longhorn Ballroom - Dallas, TX - Jan 10, 1978
burnsidedistribution: Download this trashy Cramps-style cowpunk from the wild and wooly T. Tex Edwards! Performed by Tex and the Saddletramps, this was originally released in 1983.
Tumblr for The Nervebreakers with clippings, photos, memorbilia...
See also:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Nervebreakers/38754638090
http://www.myspace.com/nervebreaking
http://twitter.com/nerve_breakers
"The Nervebreakers are a late 70s/early 80s Texas punk band considered by many to be the first of their kind in the southwest. Like many others of this genre, they started out as a high school garage band doing 60s/early 70s cover songs. What made them unique was their range of material; from the music of the English Invasion to Yummy Yummy bubble gum as well as songs from punk pioneers MC-5 to true blue country artists like George Jones..."
![(via Dallas punk pioneers the Nervebreakers subject of new compilation — with a brand-new record also due later this year | Pop Culture Blog Blog | dallasnews.com)
By
Robert Wilonsky
rwilonsky@dallasnews.com | Bio
Couldn’t help but get a little giddy at the sight of this new offering on Amazon: Hijack The Radio, credited to none other than the Nervebreakers, the one-time Police, Ramones and Sex Pistols openers no longer late-greats in the wake of recent reunions leading up to the release of an album of new material (!) before year’s end. Hijack’s the first official best-of, filled with the hits (the title track and, for sure, the immortal “My Girlfriend is a Rock”), some that should have been (“Why Am I So Flipped?,” “I Wanna Kill You”) and some in desperate need of reevaluation (the killer “Strange Movies”).
Took a while to get the band to cough up the why-come on the best-of, which is reviewed here and isavailable in limited-ed 180-gram color vinyl. Traded Facebook messages with three of the Nervebreakers last week: bassist Bob Childress, guitarist Barry Kooda and frontman Thom Tex Edwards. Childress said the comp was label Get Hip’s idea, following its decision to re-release the band’s classic full-lengther We Want Everything and other EPs and singles. Said Childress, “It’s been an ongoing relationship.” Kooda didn’t have much to add: “[Guitarist] Mike Haskins and Tex did all the legwork.”
And so we turn to the Edwards, always the frontman. He writes:
We have been bugging Get Hip for years after they put out the We Want Everything album… recent interest in original Texas punk among younger folks & the big Nervebreakers retrospective in UGLY THINGS magazine a while back helped convince them & here it finally is… anthology - volume one… and get hip is on board for more…
The second anthology volume will follow at a later date on get hip, after they release a newly recorded album (called FACE UP TO REALITY) this fall… FACE UP is a collection of all original songs written by the band back in the day but never documented on tape until after the 2007 reunion shows and band reformation…
Last year, Get Hip also reissued on 7” vinyl the three out of print Nervebreakers’ Wild Child Records releases from back in ‘78-‘80 with facsimiles of the original sleeves… It is nice to finally have our old stuff available again & have our sounds documented & out there for consumption soon…
So, there ya go: Old Nervebreakers, new Nervebreakers and in-between Nervebreakers. Which is just about the right amount of Nervebreakers. Need a refresher? The band’s website has a ton of digital downloads, and they don’t cost a thing. Hijack the radio indeed.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m41bnt8mYw1qgjyvko1_500.jpg)
Just hours before the schedule time for the Live Ledge broadcast on Realpunkradio came news that Adam “MCA” Yauch of The Beastie Boys had passed away from cancer. I quickly pulled together a few Beasties tracks for a short tribute to a member of the band that truly brought rap to rocker, punkers, and metalheads in even the smallest rural community.
“Move It”
