Zeroville
(Popover Corps)
The record label (operated by singer/songwriter John Wesley Harding, no less) bills this hi-octane quartet as a "legendary first-wave NY punk band," and while we've heard that kind of hype plenty of times over the years - if you really think about it, EVERY first-wave NY punk band is "legendary" practically by default - in the case of Zeroville, the sobriquet applies. In spades.
The backstory: Zeroville operated some three decades ago, prowling the Bowery in their leather jackets and rubbing shoulders with the likes of the Ramones, Suicide, Talking Heads et al. Musically, as evidenced on their lone 45 "Sharpen Knives" b/w "I Know Batman," they were influenced by the usual suspects (Stooges, Damned, Sex Pistols, Dictators - in concert they even performed a version of the Dics' mighty "Science Gone Too Far"), although most observers agree that singer Frankie Maul, with his four-octave pipes, could've been the American Freddie Mercury had he put his mind to it. As it was, though, Maul's vocal gymnastics, combined with his mic-swinging flamboyance and his bandmates' buzzsaw-fueled finesse, made the group a much-admired fixture on the downtown NYC scene. Sadly, their business acumen was a few notches below their musical smarts, and under the sway of a manager who apparently felt restricting their public appearances would help build a mystique around the band (the strategy backfired and resulted in clubs like CBGB and the Peppermint Lounge refusing to book the band), Zeroville essentially withered on the vine and died. One single, a demo session with the Fugs' Tuli Kupferberg for a mooted album, and Zeroville were outta there.
Couldn't Get a Gig at the Pep - note the self-referential nature of the title - collects the aforementioned 45 and the six demos cut with Kupferberg. "Sharpen Knives" has truly stood the test of time, two minutes and 48 seconds' worth of punk vitriol and one of the meatiest intro riffs since the Flamin' Groovies' "Teenage Head"; when Maul shrieks the tagline "... and poke them in YOUUUUUU!" it's the aural equivalent of seeing Iggy smear peanut butter on his chest then manically scrape glass shards across himself. The demos, curiously, fail to muster that same level of energy, although most of the blame can probably be laid at the feet of Kupferberg, whose production style was decidedly of the "hey, sounds good enough to me, have a bong hit" hippie old-school. That said, the divebomb panache of "Carmel" and the skittering, ska-laced vibe of "Belly Up" have their moments, proof that Zeroville had at least a second 45 in them. (Popover, are you listening?)
Additionally fleshing out this archival set is a live concert recorded at the Mudd Club in 1979. Miraculously, the band's manager had loosened the reins long enough to land them an opening slot for headliners Pearl Harbor and the Explosions, and the ensuing brief (20 minutes) performance unquestionably contributed to the group's eventual "legendary" status. Scott Jarvis, currently of guitar/drum duo Workdogs and a veteran of notorious North Carolina shock-punks Th' Cigaretz, was living in the city at the time and working at the studio operated by the Bad Brains, and he attended the Mudd Club show; later, during an interview I conducted with him for fanzine The Bob, when asked about some of his most memorable NYC experiences, he singled out the Zeroville gig, calling the band "hands-down, the only group who could approach the Brains for sheer visceral oomph." High praise, but the evidence is in the grooves here. Though extremely lo-fi (the high end has been completely sheared off, unfortunately, rendering the cymbals inaudible and Maul's vocals less operatic), the audience recording still sizzles with a kind of bodily-fluids-in-an-electrical-socket manner, and what's remarkable is that those 20 minutes are one, long, extended ramalamawhapbamboomthankyouMA'AM - nary a break between songs, not even a Ramones-style "one-two-three-four!" count-off. I was exhausted and sweating just listening to this in the relative sanctity of my own den; to have been front-and-center at the Mudd Club that evening, well... call the paramedics.
Stop press: Buoyed by the belated interest in Zeroville that's been drummed up by this CD, word from Popover Corps is that the band has gotten back together and is planning a new album. Reunions.... Feh, I say, most of the time. This one though... just maybe... you have been warned.
Standout Tracks: "Sharpen Knives," "Belly Up," "Science Gone Too Far (live)" FRED MILLS
