They eventually faded out, lost their singer, and went sorta metal, but for a while back in the mid-80's, Starvation Army were punk as fuck. They actually started out as a hardcore band (see Erich's Good Bad Music blog for that, or here), but then slowed things down a bit and recorded a couple of rock-solid 7"-ers and a 12" before things went haywire again. Whatever the case, "City As A Ghost" (off "New Way To Burn") and "Deep Sea Diver" (off "In The Red") are two of my favorite CLE punk tracks ever-- just some really tough, Radio Birdman-style punk rock.
I actually interviewed Fraser Sims once; it could've been '88, but I think it was '87. I remember the accelerator cable on the old VW I was driving then (as opposed to the old VW I'm driving now) fell off right as I was leaving to go to the show, and I ended up having to fix it by hand and speed the whole way just to get the Anthrax on time. The interview never saw the light of day, unfortunately, but I remember Fraser being annoyed by the town we were in ("What's the problem with this place, anyway?") because there were no stores or gas stations near the club that were open late, making it impossible to find a pack of cigarettes after about 9 o'clock-- which was true. It might seem weird now, when pretty much everything's open 24 hours, but if you were in need of a pack back then, best you'd be getting that shit done early.
Starvation Army -
"City As A Ghost"
"Drinkin' Dog"
(these files are now listen-only)
4 comments:
"It might seem weird now, when pretty much everything's open 24 hours, but if you were in need of a pack back then, best you'd be getting that shit done early."
I had a similar incident occur in Green Bay, which is the only reason I went to to that gay bar with Rev. Norb...I swear.
I've heard that Norb will go to a gay bar for lunch if a certain Taco Bell remains the only other option.
Got to see Starvation Army w/Railroad Jerk in Baltimore in '91. Great band. So sorely overlooked.
The mp3 files on this post are now listen-only (non-downloadable) files. TOUGH SHIT, HIPPIE! No, actually, for those of you who missed the boat, I will do my best to respond to any e-mailed requests for the original files.
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