Crime (band): Difference between revisions
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The current members of Crime have also performed in San Francisco under the band name "Remote Viewers".<ref name="tube1">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7diu7pojJhg Remote Viewers performance in San Francisco.] ''retrieved 1/16/2010''</ref> |
The current members of Crime have also performed in San Francisco under the band name "Remote Viewers".<ref name="tube1">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7diu7pojJhg Remote Viewers performance in San Francisco.] ''retrieved 1/16/2010''</ref> |
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Strike has [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Johnny%20Strike published] two works of fiction in recent years: ''[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1147399 Ports of Hell]'', |
Strike has [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Johnny%20Strike published] two works of fiction in recent years: ''[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1147399 Ports of Hell]'', [http://catalog.rockhall.com/catalog/53962938 which is listed] in the [[Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame#Library_and_archives|Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library]], and [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?999281 ''A Loud Humming Sound Came from Above'']. Rank has produced numerous films (under his real name, Henry Rosenthal) including the hit ''[[The Devil and Daniel Johnston]]''. D'Kaye (under his real name, Joey Swails) continued to work as a Bay Area recording engineer and producer.<ref name="joey">Producer/engineer credits for Joey Swails at [https://music.msn.com/music/artist-credits/joey-swails/?ipp=10 music.msn.com] ''retrieved January 10, 2010''</ref> |
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== Discography == |
== Discography == |
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Revision as of 06:32, 1 October 2014
Crime | |
|---|---|
 L-R: Fix, Ripper, Rank, Strike
Photo by Michael Goldberg, 1978 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Punk rock Garage Punk |
| Years active | 1976–1982 2006–present (reformed) |
| Labels | B-Square Solar Lodge Swami |
| Members | Johnny Strike Hank Rank Mickey Tractor Count Fink |
| Past members | Frankie Fix Ron "The Ripper" Greco Ricky Tractor Brittley Black Joey D'Kaye Pat 'Mosignor' Ryan |
Crime was an early American punk band from San Francisco. The band was formed in 1976 by Johnny Strike (vocals, guitar), Frankie Fix (vocals, guitar), Ron "The Ripper" Greco (bass; ex-Flamin' Groovies), and Ricky Tractor (Ricky Williams) (drums). Their debut, the self-financed double A-side, "Hot Wire My Heart" and "Baby You're So Repulsive", appeared at the end of 1976, and is the first single released by a U.S. punk act from the West Coast.[1]
The band's sound was characterized by simple rock-and-roll arrangements played at intensely high volumes. Michael Goldberg, critic for New York Rocker magazine, wrote in 1978: "Crime play loud. So loud that the plate glass window at the opposite end of the club shakes, tables tremble and people hang onto their drinks. Loudness may be Crime's only musical raison d'etre. This band is a literal translation of the concept 'minimal.' Drummer Hank Rank thumps out a simple Bo Diddley beat that is only adequate in the context of the rest of the band. Bassist Ron the Ripper coaxes a thick rumble from his amp that reminds one of the thunder of a bulldozer rolling over rugged terrain. And the guitar playing of [Johnny] Strike and Frankie Fix make you feel like you've been forcefully held underwater for the full 25 minutes of the set."[1]
Line-ups
In the following years Crime changed their line-up several times.
Ricky Tractor was fired (later appearing in groups such as Flipper, Toiling Midgets and The Sleepers) and was succeeded by Brittley Black (Larry Black) in 1977. After releasing one single, another double A-side, "Frustration" and "Murder by Guitar", Black was replaced by Hank Rank (Henry Rosenthal) that same year.
In 1979, Greco left the band and was replaced by Joey D'Kaye (Joey Swails) on bass, who had been the band's sound engineer.[2][3]
Greco and Black both returned for Crime's last release, the single "Maserati/Gangster Funk" in 1981, while D'Kaye moved to synthesizers and produced the recording.[3][4]
The band split up the following year. Strike and D'Kaye briefly formed a synthpunk duo called Vector Command, while Fix attempted to start a solo career. Neither produced any record releases.[3]
Ricky Tractor died in 1992, Frankie Fix in 1996, and Brittley Black in 2004. Ron "The Ripper" Greco is active in San Francisco and released his new album 'Greco's Back with The Dark Gyspies' September 2014.[citation needed]
Recordings and media
Over the course of their career in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Crime officially only released three 7" vinyl records. But many bootleg recordings of the band's live performances and demo tapes were sporadically produced throughout the 1980s.
San Francisco's Doomed, a collection of studio recordings and rehearsal tapes, was released with the approval of the band members by Solar Lodge in the United Kingdom in 1991 on vinyl and CD. Fix, Strike and Rank played on all the songs, with Greco playing bass on side one of the LP, and D'Kaye on side two.[5] The album was re-released as San Francisco's Still Doomed (with added tracks and remastering) in 2004 by Swami Records.
In 1979 San Francisco video company Target Video produced Crime: Live in San Quentin Prison, a documentary of a live performance by the band at San Quentin State Penitentiary in California, where they played for the prisoners wearing exact copies of the uniforms worn by the prison guards.[6]
Sonic Youth featured a cover of "Hot Wire My Heart" on their 1987 release Sister.
Electric Frankenstein featured a cover of "Frustration" on their 1993 release "Action High / Sick Songs".
In January 2010, a book of Crime's early photographs and posters, The Band Crime: Punk '77 Revisited by James Stark, was published by Last Gasp Books.[7]
In July 2013, a compilation album of unreleased studio recordings, Murder by Guitar: 1976 to 1980, was released on the Kitten Charmer label, remastered under the direction of Strike, Rank and D'Kaye and released on CD and iTunes.[8] After distribution problems with the release, the album was re-released in August 2014 by the Superior Viaduct label, on iTunes and a limited release on clear red vinyl.[9][10] The album has garnered mostly positive reviews [11][12][13][14][15], including "four-stars" by UK music magazine MOJO, which wrote: "This important release restates CRIME's place in the punk pantheon and fills in the history of a lost pop moment. It also celebrates the diversity of the proto-punk groups: that fascinating moment when change was at hand but the rules were not yet set. Murder By Guitar is a testament to that sense of discovery.".[16]
Reformation
In 2001, Strike formed a new band, The Johnsons, with Jimmy Crucifix (bass/vocals) and Biff O'Hara (drums).[17] They changed their name later that year to The Venus Hunters and eventually shortened it to TVH. In 2002 they released the album Night Raid on Lisbon Street on Flapping Jet Records.[18] The unofficial Crime fan site, San Francisco's FIRST and ONLY Rock & Roll Band, reported that Hank Rank had joined TVH in late 2002, replacing O'Hara on drums.[19]
Crime was re-formed in 2005 to headline the Road to Ruins punk festival in Rome. Original members Strike and Rank were joined by: Mickey Tractor on bass, and Pat 'Monsignor' Ryan (formerly of The Nuns) on guitar. In 2008, Crime recorded a new album of rare, older material entitled Exalted Masters, available on LP only, after Ryan was replaced by Count Fink (Brett Stillo of The Flakes) on guitar. They played a half dozen shows in 2008 to support their new album, and recently collaborated with the Moroccan group the Gnawa Express.[20]
In an interview Johnny Strike claimed a boxed set of Crime recordings would possibly be released in 2009.[21] A new EP is due out in Jan-Feb 2010 from F.Y.B.S. Records, featuring two new songs along with a featured collaboration with Gnawa Express.[22]
The current members of Crime have also performed in San Francisco under the band name "Remote Viewers".[23]
Strike has published two works of fiction in recent years: Ports of Hell, which is listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library, and A Loud Humming Sound Came from Above. Rank has produced numerous films (under his real name, Henry Rosenthal) including the hit The Devil and Daniel Johnston. D'Kaye (under his real name, Joey Swails) continued to work as a Bay Area recording engineer and producer.[24]
Discography
- 1976 (7") "Hot Wire My Heart" / "Baby You're So Repulsive"
- 1977 (7") "Murder by Guitar" / "Frustration"
- 1980 (7") "Maserati" / "Gangster Funk"
- 1991 (CD/LP) San Francisco's Doomed
- 1993 (LP) Terminal Boredom (live bootleg)
- 1994 (LP) Hate Us or Love Us, We Don't Give a Fuck (legitimate reissue of live bootleg)
- 2003 (CDR) Cadillac Faggot (legtimate release of live bootleg) 100 numbered copies
- 2004 (CD/LP) San Francisco's Still Doomed (reissue with bonus, alternate takes of both songs from the 1976 single)
- 2007 (LP) Exalted Masters
- 2010 (7") "Extortion" / "Crazy Beat"
- 2013 (LP)Murder by Guitar (album)
References
- ^ a b New York Rocker magazine (1978) Issue No. 30
- ^ Damage magazine, (1980) Issue No. 8
- ^ a b c Ugly Things Magazine, (1999) Issue No. 14
- ^ "Maserati/Gangster Funk" single, liner notes.
- ^ "San Francisco's STILL Doomed", LP and CD, liner notes
- ^ L.A. Record magazine. April 30, 2009 issue.
- ^ The Band Crime: Punk '77 Revisited, Last Gasp, (2010) ISBN 978-0-86719-715-0
- ^ Kitten Charmer Records Home Page, retrieved July 2013
- ^ Superior Viaduct Homepage, retrieved August 2014
- ^ Murder by Guitar LP release, retrieved October 2014
- ^ Norman Records retrieved October 2014
- ^ Volcanic Tongue retrieved October 2014
- ^ Stereo Sanctity Blog retrieved October 2014
- ^ The Los Angeles Beat magazine
- ^ Big Takeover Review retrieved October 2014
- ^ Superior Viaduct Blog, retrieved October 2014
- ^ Ugly Things Magazine, Issue No. 22 (June 2002)
- ^ TVH at CD Baby
- ^ Crime fan site, retrieved January 2010
- ^ hardcoremusic.com
- ^ Resonance Magazine, Issue No. 49
- ^ FYBS Records website
- ^ Remote Viewers performance in San Francisco. retrieved 1/16/2010
- ^ Producer/engineer credits for Joey Swails at music.msn.com retrieved January 10, 2010