Bonus Cuts
Unfortunately, due to the constraints of the antiquated print medium (in other words, we ran out of space), we weren't able to publish all of our selections for Knoxville's greatest records. The 1980s and '90s saw an explosion of DIY recording that simply wasn't possible in previous eras, creating a huge array of deserving records in many different musical genres. Thus, when it came to cutting the article down to size, we had little choice but to reduce the two largest sections. But, through the magic of technology, here are our extended play selections:
1980s
STD
STD
Never really understood and vastly under-appreciated, STD was kind of a mix of Johnny Cash, hardcore punk and Smoky Mountain Championship Wrestling. It was one of the first bands to actually have wrestling matches onstage.
The band outlived the rest of the "hardcore four," going on to a couple of national tours. The country influence became more prevalent in the final days of the band, as well as the humorous onstage theatrics. I'll never forget watching the veins bulge on singer Jon Wallace's neck as he'd writhe on the floor, night after beer-fueled night.
Wallace went on to become a member of Whitey and a few other short-lived Knoxville combos. He was also a copy editor here at Metro Pulse for quite a while, and now lives in North Carolina, where he is in UNC Chapel Hill's Russian language program.
Guitarist Camp Childers went on to graduate from NYU, and is now a big wheel in the television industry. He is a long-standing member of the production staff of NBC's Today Show. I wonder if Willard Scott knows of Childers' dubious punk past? What would Katie Couric think?
(J.S.)
The Clintons
Rockin' Boy
(Diesel Only Records)
Brainchild of the legendary Clint Clinton (AKA Shannon Stanfield), The Clintons began as a New York outfit, releasing their first single on then-hot indie Twin Tone Records. Their roots rock and rockabilly sound was quite a sensation in New York, where they even got a good review from The Village Voice's hardass critic Robert Christgau! As fate would have it, the usual excesses killed the band until Stanfield returned to his hometown of Knoxville.
The Clinton's second release, Rockin' Boy found the band with a harder sound and a classic Knoxville lineup including veteran rhythm section Mike Knott (bass) and Rodney Cash, both later of 30 Amp Fuse. Rockin' Boy is a hard edged take on country rock seen through punk colored glasses. The same formula was later used to great success by bands like The Georgia Satellites and Drivin' & Cryin'. The Clintons still exist as a band today, though their sound has mellowed with age and Clint Clinton is the only permanent member. He also writes the News Sentinel's "Town Hound" column under his real name.
(J.S.)
1990s
The Immortal Chorus
The Immortal Chorus
While their goth-pop act (moaning as pin-up boy Steve Britton did about dragons, dark nights and death) was certainly nothing new—in fact, it was an act shamelessly lifted from Bauhaus and Peter Murphy—Immortal Chorus updated their gloom and doom with bottom-heavy swamp bass and powerful guitars that could've informed bands like Tool. Later efforts, like "Picking the Bones," had their moments (especially the soaringly gorgeous stereotype-breaker "What It's Like to Die"), but the band's eponymous cassette is the classic text for why and how, for a couple of years, IC drew some of Knoxville's largest local-band crowds ever: "Novocaine Smile," "Immortality," "The Horror Show." But this was no Marilyn Manson precursor; while it all sounded so sinister, Immortal Chorus was actually a Christian band in Lestat's clothing. "I know the secret: eternal life, with the name of immortality/ The blood was shed, the price paid, the gift is mine of immortality" has nothing to do with vampires. "I'm so twisted," indeed.
(S.R.)
The Used
Shameless Self Promotion
(1872 Records)
"Ugly music for ugly people" was their credo, a message spread via crude stickers plastered all over town in the early-'90s. And there was certainly nothing pretty about the Used's brand of sneering, attitudinal, nihilistic punk rock, schooled as it was in the gutter-bred glam rock and metal of Hanoi Rocks, the New York Dolls and even Guns 'n' Roses. But it sure was liberating in an age of woe-is-me grunge. Recorded for $99, 1992's Shameless Self Promotion is as fierce now as it was then, with frontman Tom Pappas caterwauling about bad girls and good drugs and guitarist Brandon Fisher delivering flash 'n' trash guitar riffs worthy of Johnny Thunders, on songs like "Everystinkingthing" and "Said It Was Me." (Believe it or not, a first draft of "Bloody Hell" by Superdrag—Pappas and Fisher's next band—shows up here in the form of an instrumental written by drummer Johnny Flame, AKA Superdrag frontman John Davis.)
While Pappas would return to his roots with the similar-sounding Flesh Vehicle, there is no topping the gloriously ugly rock 'n' roll entertainment provided by the Used.
(S.R.)
Peg Climber (AKA The 1-900s)
Authority Figure
(Big Nothing Records)
Peg Climber was the only Knoxville band good enough to approximate the mid-'80s SST sound of bands like The Minutemen, Husker Du and Saccharine Trust. The band could really blast out some odd time signatures with enough precision to make it seem like regular old rock—hard rock that is. A key figure of the band was guitarist Stewart Pack, who has remained in the local spotlight with his new band, Glow Plug.
(J.S.)
Terry Hill and the Semi-Conductors
Beauty
(SS-Single Sound Records)
A great art-rock-pop recording from the man who helped get the ball rolling on the Knoxville underground music scene. This l993 recording is full of superb writing, playing and arrangement.
(T.S.)
Jazz Liberation Quartet
Jazz Liberation Quartet
JLQ refused to play jazz by the numbers, which always made their live shows a lot of fun and full or rich musical ideas. Their secret— Great soloists? Sure. Lots of energy and fun? You bet. But the number one selling point is Dave Nichol's compositions. The boy can write jazz tunes that honor the past but are full of enough twists and turns to keep it fresh, new and sometimes funky. This l993 recording still holds up and can often be heard playing in local bars and fine eating holes. The former bass player of Smokin' Dave, Nichols now plays in the circus and can be seen sitting in with the JLQ on his infrequent visits to town.
(T.S.)
Hector Qirko
The Blues is a Living Thing
(Blind Guru Recordings)
Qirko was the other brain in seminal punk thinkers, Balboa. But before that he was playing blues in Chicago with Lonnie Brooks and meeting and studying his idols. The Blues is a Living Thing was the best of several releases that show what happened when Hector returned to his roots, or at least one set of them. This was recorded live to analog two track tape and captures all the various quirks of the Qirko band. Clever, greasy and great fun. Not to mention a boatload of great solos, more than a showdog could jump over. And one thing Hector can do that a lot of blues cats can't: write new and original blues songs that sound as good as many of the classics. Add in various Latin twists and funky lyrics—not to mention great cover art by Todd Schott and Stan Johnson—you got yerself his best CD. This l994 treat features the backing of Dirk Weddington, Jim Williams, and Steve Brown, some of Knoxville's best players.
(T.S.)
Hypertribe
Souped Up
(Old Yeller Records)
Hypertribe mixed metal licks, hair swinging glam antics, white boy funk and punk attitude to make a fierce sound that appealed to skinheads and the big hair/spandex set at the same time. The band relocated to Los Angeles, changed their name to Movement, and is currently MIA. The 'Tribe was young, good looking, and composed of great players. When they came on the scene around 1989, they absolutely scared the old school bands to death. Youth and evolution kills old dinosaurs every time.
Hypertribe bassist Nick Raskulinecz is, in truth, probably the most successful Knoxville expatriate in the music business. He has become quite the hot commodity as a studio engineer, working with bigtime artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Gillian Welch, The Foo Fighters and many others. Raskulinecz's first step into bigtime production was his engineering of Superdrag's first major label album, Regretfully Yours.
(J.S.)
Atom Bomb Pocketknife
Atom Bomb Pocketknife
While the late-model Chicago version of Atom Bomb Pocketknife is flourishing with a well-received EP on Southern Records, the Knoxville-conceived prototype in 1996 was a slightly different monster—more drone that deconstructivist, more Built to Spill than Unwound, more post-rock than the Unrock they claim to play now. Whatever you call it, we loved songs like "Crawling Back to You" and "Trouble Starts," which introduced Knoxville to the future of indie rock.
(S.R.)
30 Amp Fuse
Saturday Night At The Atomic Speedway
(Dedicated)
30 Amp Fuse first came to the fore because of the obvious Superdrag affiliation. Their first album (with Superdrag's John Davis and Don Coffee, jr.) is AOK, but 30 Amp didn't really find its voice until the release of Saturday Night At The Atomic Speedway. Speedway features the powerhouse rhythm section of Rodney Cash and Mike Knott, who offered precision perfect accompaniment to Mike Smithers' excellent songwriting.
Mixing punk and pop, 30 Amp Fuse's ace in the hole is Smithers, a master of crunch guitar and vocal melodies. People usually compare the band to The Descendents (because of production by Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton), but the real influence is probably Husker Du. This band would be perfect for the current pop radio sound, if they could only get lucky and get some airplay. Once again, the commercial music monster has probably crippled another formidable band.
(J.S.)
Satellite Pumps
Rock 'n' Roll Kissin'
At a time when alt.country was the buzz word of the moment, the Satellite Pumps two-stepped in and left ironic pretenders in their own Bakersfield-wannabe dust. While this foursome mined classic country roots, they also understood the way in which country influenced rock 'n' roll; their sound is a charmingly rusty mix of Hank Sr., Paul Westerberg, the Darlin Family, Buddy Holly, and even Motown guitar. Rock 'n' Roll Kissin' from 1997 reeks of the last honky tonk nights at Gryphon's, when the Knoxville hip kids dressed up in their Sunday best to actually cut a rug and shed a tear in their PBR while crooner Adam Hill hiccuped heartache—"Drinking alone, I guess you're gone with your drunk punk boyfriend again/ I don't hear his band on Nashville radio," he sings in "WSM 650"—and pined for crushes he could reveal only in songs like "Goodbye": "The jukebox in my heart might just play you a song/ If you come around and kick it on." And when Hill and bassist/chanteuse Joy O'Shell trade heavy-breathing sighs on the slinky stray cat strut that is "Hands Are For"... well, you'll need a cigarette by the time it's over.
(S.R.)
Thumbnail
Red! Dead!
After a couple years spent trading in nerve-grating noise, Thumbnail evolved into a sleeker, leaner, meaner beast—white boy rage was replaced by a thrilling menace that evoked the sexy danger of early Girls Against Boys, guitar-as-weapon now meant electric shock rather than relentless bludgeoning, cold stares turned into chilling snarls, and the whole vibe leaked an attitude far more mature and sophisticated than your average study in emo-itis. (And not a hum of velocity was spared.) This 1997 album is punk rock for grown-up kids who had graduated beyond all-ages shows; punk rock meant for hip-swiveling, not slam-dancing. "Insect Sex Trap" is the slinky seduction soundtrack to Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho; "I Know It Spills" an overwhelming soul-punk fever that could teach dance revivalists Delta 72 a thing or two; "X-Ray Eyes" a low-key, low-slung surprise that comes on like the tremulous bastard of Fugazi and Built to Spill. All in all, a record that paints a sonic portrait of Knoxville's little seen underbelly, post-punk thriving in a pop tart world.
(S.R.)
Snack Crapple Pox
Jimbo
(Shady Troll Records)
John Sewell has been the mastermind of several bands—even when he wasn't always the leader. After many years of working on countless variations of powerpunkpop (insert your favorite term instead), he's finally perfected it. The SCP (newly renamed Kid Snack) is the best of his bands and this brand-new EP is the best of his tunes ("Job Corps Girl" and "Teen Idol" non-withstanding). The band is 100 percent there, the production is perfect (that is to say, the producer gets out of the way most of the time) and Sober John proves he could kick young Swifty's ass blindfolded and with one hand tied behind his bass. And does. Hooks galore, too.
(T.S.)
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