Los Reactors - Be A Zombie

A. Be A Zombie


B. Laboratory Baby


LOS REACTORS (Tulsa, OK)
Be A Zombie b/w Laboratory Baby
Cynykyl (CY-5-02), 1981

Roger Scott was born and raised in Tulsa. His earliest musical inspirations were rockabilly and surf music but it was after seeing the Beatles on TV that he knew he wanted to play guitar. Following the British Invasion era, Roger opened his mind to psychedelic music and then found influence in the glam sounds of T.Rex, Bowie and the Dolls.

His first group was White Dwarf. They formed in early 1978 and mostly played covers of the Ramones, Sex Pistols and Kiss. After about six months Roger left to form Fast Noise with Dale Lawton and Brian Plummer. Brian eventually left that group to join the Jacks so Darrell Smith took his place on drums and Fast Noise was renamed the Passions.

They played originals as well as covers by groups like the Stooges, Johnny Thunders and the Buzzcocks. In late 1979 or early 1980 they added Tommy Gunn and changed the name to the Reactors. Then Dale left to form the Vindicators and later joined the Bridge Climbers who were previously called the News. The Reactors remained a three piece briefly until Roger asked Joe Christ (AKA Joe Danger) to join the band since he had just parted ways with the New Mysterians.

With Joe in the mix, the Reactors went from having a guitar oriented sound to being more keyboard driven. They worked on original material while still incorporating fun covers into their set. The only place in town to play original music in 1980 was the Bleu Grotto. Prior to that they had to play shows out of town or do gigs in warehouses and garages. When the Grotto opened their doors to original bands, more and more unique Tulsa groups came out of the woodwork.

The Reactors became Los Reactors after discovering other bands were using the name. They built a loyal following locally and played road shows in Kansas City, Fayetteville, Wichita, Oklahoma City, Norman, Dallas, Ft. Worth, etc. They opened for several touring groups and plenty of great regional bands like The Jacks, The Fensics, The Ralphs, and many others.

Chris Stearman and Michael McGee of Cynykyl Records took an interest in the band and offered to record them. They spent a week working on recordings in the late night hours at the Producers Workshop in Oklahoma City. Joe and Roger went back a couple weeks later to mix. Unfortunately Cynykyl didn’t have the finances to press the records, so the band eventually scraped up enough money to do it themselves.

“Dead In The Suburbs” was released in a small run. Having a 45 out helped the band secure more gigs and even earned them some college radio play. They sold copies at independent record stores in the towns they played and some copies were sold by mail order or at shows but most were sent out or given away as promotional copies to clubs, radio stations and fanzines.

They released their second single, “Be A Zombie,” a year later in 1981. The songs were recorded during the same sessions as “Suburbs” and released in an edition of 1,000 copies on Cynykyl. The band had no distribution lined up, no management, no tour offers, and a record deal never came their way. With the music scene moving in different directions and seemingly no way to take things to a higher level, the band finally dissolved.

After Los Reactors, Joe went on to front several bands including G Spot, The Healing Faith, and Bigger Than God. He then became a producer of underground films. Tommy Gunn played with various rockabilly and blues bands. Roger formed a prototype speed metal band called Revenger for about a year and then a black metal/thrash band called Cenotaph, which lasted nine years through several personnel changes and recorded two albums. Darrell Smith joined for the final incarnation of that band.

In 2000, Rave Up Records out of Italy released an LP that included the songs from the singles as well as unreleased studio and live material. A CD version followed in 2004. Los Reactors reunited in 2005, playing a few shows including the Dot Dash Festival in New York. They were scheduled to play a tribute show for Michael Automatic in 2007 but Joe was unable to participate as he was living in Atlanta. The rest of the guys played under the name The Adaptors to avoid any misconceptions. The Adapters continue to play locally with Jim Eason in place of Tommy and with the addition of Ian Scott on keyboards. Joe Christ passed away in June 2009 of a heart attack.

The Fensics - Tornado Warning

A. Tornado Warning


B. Full Time Job


THE FENSICS (Norman, OK)
Tornado Warning b/w Full Time Job
No Sweat (NSS-001),  1979

The Fensics began with singer/guitarist Wayne Buchner and guitarist Basile Kolliopoulis. With the addition of bassist Victor Goetz and drummer Steve Crossett, the group began rehearsing in Norman, OK in 1978. Having gone to see the Sex Pistols play in Tulsa as a joke earlier that year, Basille remarks that it was the strongest and realest experience he ever went through and the Pistols made him feel like an idiot for listening to garbage all those years.

The band mostly worked on original material but with a penchant for rockabilly they also mixed reworked versions of tunes like “Somethin’ Else” and “Hound Dog” into their set. The band had a look and sound unique to the area and were able to secure gigs and build a following. The Fensics played every joint they could between Norman, Tulsa, and Dallas and earned slots opening up for the Cramps, the Police, Talking Heads, and other touring acts.

In 1979, the Fensics went in the studio with producer Clovis Roblaine and laid down 16 tracks in under a week. They chose “Tornado Warning” and “Part Time Job” to be released as their sole single on Roblaine’s No Sweat label. Soon after its release, Basile’s brother Mihos joined the band on lead guitar. Wayne was later replaced by Joe Thompson on vocals.

Come 1980, Basile, Victor, and Joe decided to move to NYC. Basile had a short stint playing with the Senders but Joe's unexpected passing soon brought everyone back to Oklahoma. Basile and Mihos then reunited to start the Fortune Tellers along with Victor and drummer Mike Newberry. The band recorded three albums and toured for over ten years before breaking up in the early 90s.

Basile, who also played in a side project called the Reverb Brothers for the better part of twenty years, passed away in January 2013 due to cancer. His brother Mihos and Victor still record and perform on occasion as The Argonauts.

Clovis Roblaine and the Cowboy Twinkies

CLOVIS ROBLAINE (Norman, OK)
The following selections taken from:
Clovis Roblaine: The Clovis Roblaine Story LP, No Sweat (00279), 1979
Cowboy Twinkies: Sweaty Betty b/w I'm In Trouble 7", No Sweat (CT-1866), 1975

Sweaty Betty


Monster Love


My Heart


Please Don't Call Me Cool Guy


Stone Cold


Cry All Over Me


Dennis Meehan was born in New Hampshire and lived around New England as a kid. He moved to Oklahoma City as a junior in high school and ended up attending the University of Oklahoma in Norman. It was there in the mid 60s that Meehan got his rock n’ roll start playing in surf bands.

By the early 1970s Meehan became the bass player in singer/songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard’s group the Cowboy Twinkies. The band was very popular and recorded an album for Reprise in 1975. During the sessions, Meehan was intrigued with the engineering aspect of things and could visualize in his mind how things should be arranged. Having taken on the persona of Clovis Roblaine, Meehan partnered up with Hubbard’s drummer Jimmy Herbst in 1978 to open a recording studio in Norman called No Sweat. Herbst was to be the engineer while Meehan, who idolized Phil Spector, would be the producer.

Tired of touring, Meehan left the Twinkies to fully concentrate on the studio. Meanwhile, Herbst’s commitment to Hubbard kept him away which forced Meehan to teach himself how to engineer. He practiced working on his own songs and in 1979 collaborated with many local musicians to make an album, The Clovis Roblaine Story. Having only 8 tracks at a time to work with, it was tricky to get everything done because there were so many elements. But in the end Meehan succeeded in piecing together a sound that was the perfect blend of Buddy Holly meets the Wall Of Sound while seamlessly incorporating aspects of power pop, doo wop, surf, country twang, and other genres into the mix.

500 copies of The Clovis Roblaine Story were pressed on Meehan’s own No Sweat imprint. He had to take out loans to finance the LP and worked three jobs to help pay off the debt. Prior to that, Meehan released the “Sweaty Betty” single on No Sweat. He had wrote and sang lead on the song during his time with the Cowboy Twinkies. They recorded it live to 4-track and spent just $100 total between the recording and manufacturing of the small pressing. Meehan also produced and released records for local groups the Fensics and the Lienke Brothers.

Meehan eventually moved out to New York with hopes of being an engineer but had no success. Later he tried his luck in LA but found nothing but closed doors. He ended up on a new career path after seeing an ad for a boom operator needed. He worked on six movies his first year and then began mixing sound and working on commercials and documentaries. Establishing himself in Austin, Meehan went back to his roots playing in a surf band called the Plungers who released four CDs before he retired and moved to Vermont. A retrospect of Clovis Roblaine material could be found at CDBaby.

 

The Tunes - Elevator

1A. Elevator


1B. Crowded Heart


2A. Too Proud


2B. She's Mad


THE TUNES (Topeka, KS)
Elevator EP
Tune's Tunes (D-1100), 1982

Mike Donoho wanted to play guitar ever since watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. He had a pocket transistor radio growing up and absorbed the AM glory of bands like Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Co, Tommy James, Lemon Pipers, and the Archies. He played in a few bands in high school and shortly after graduation hooked up with a booking agency out of Lawrence, KS called American Management Enterprises that booked show bands in the middle half of the U.S. and Canada.

Mike’s first professional gigs were with Teaser, a group that did sets of 50s, 60s, and 70s music with a girl singer. He later joined a top 40 band called Windfall but by the late 70s his entire outlook on music saw a change. After witnessing the Jam perform live he wanted to match that excitement level. Mike attempted to convert Windfall into a new wave group called the Tunes but the results were not what he hoped for. He then brought in bassist Pat Wempe and with Windfall’s drummer Adam Villialobos, the trio recorded a demo on a Teac 4-track recorder which helped the band garner some work.

Mike was the only singer and he found it difficult to survive their 3 and 4 hour gigs so he brought in Bryan Darner, an old band-mate from high school who assisted with vocals and harmonies. The new Tunes toured all over the mid-west in a 1964 school bus with Faith Baptist Church painted on the side. After about a year Bryan quit to join the Artists, a Kansas City power pop band that had some money behind them. Back to being a 3-piece, the Tunes recorded a couple more demos but after only a few gigs with that line-up Pat and Mike started looking for other players.

Much like Mike, Steve Seitz was intrigued by the Beatles on Sullivan and took to playing guitar at a young age. He also had five years of formal piano lessons so when he was working at a liquor store one day and Pat came in mentioning he was looking for a guitar player who could sing and play organ, Steve stepped up to the plate. Putting ads up in music stores and local papers they then found Mark Weolk who took over the drummer’s throne and helped with vocals.

Topeka was by and large a community that absorbed whatever was popular on the radio and the live music circuit was dominated by cover bands. The Tunes wanted to do their own material so Steve or Mike would write songs and then present their ideas at rehearsals for the rest of the band to work out. The band often had to travel to neighboring Lawrence or Kansas City where original music was more appreciated. This final version of the Tunes played about as much as a local band could play within a hundred mile radius of their home, often doing multiple sets each night. To fill the time they’d often mix their originals alongside covers of modern day bands like the Beat, Romantics, Elvis Costello, and Joe Jackson. They also played their own interpretations of the 60’s British Invasion music they grew up on.

In 1982, the band had saved up enough money from gigs to go to a professional studio in Kansas City and record four songs. A 7” EP was self-released in an edition of what they recall to be 200 copies. The sleeves were all hand constructed by the band members sitting around the kitchen table of an old Victorian home they all shared at the time. Promo packs were sent out to record labels and booking agents in hopes of scoring a deal but the call never came. Unfortunately, after a few years of building a supportive fanbase, the band was unable to sustain themselves financially and called it quits.

Cheap Rewards Records is currently working on an LP collection of the Tunes studio and demo material with a planned release this summer.

Einstein's Riceboys - Milk Of Amnesia

A1. In Your Yard


A3. The Taung Child


A4. Water Me Down


B1. Soda Jerk


B2. Elevator Ride


Black Fag (From the Civil Rice LP)


EINSTEIN'S RICEBOYS (Milwaukee, WI)

Milk Of Amnesia
Pluto (ER 1633), 1981

Steve Wahlen grew up in Beaver Dam, WI during the golden age of the British Invasion. He got his musical start in a high school cover band that jammed Savoy Brown tunes and “Smoke On The Water” before absorbing the sounds of the Stooges, Velvet Underground, Joy Division, and Throbbing Gristle. He began school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1977 when punk was first making its way to the state. He got to see the Ramones and the Jam and knew that’s what he wanted to do.

Sheldon and Todd Rusch grew up in Wauwatosa, the children of a sports coach. A neighbor turned them onto jazz at an early age. Todd would lock himself in the basement after school for hours on end practicing playing. The brothers ended up moving to Madison to attend school at UW where Todd shared a dorm with Steve Wahlen. During his second semester, Todd answered an ad placed by a funk band that was moving to Florida and needing players. He hooked up with them and relocated to the Keys where he was given a salary and housing for playing top 40 hits six nights a week.

Meanwhile, Steve introduced Sheldon to groups like the Clash and Joy Division. Before long they were writing songs of their own. They started sending tapes of the music they were creating to Todd and tried to get him to move back. After over a year of stable employment he finally returned to Wisconsin.

With Todd in the mix, Sheldon switched from guitar to keyboards and the three became known as Einstein’s Riceboys. Todd brought experience to the band and played both guitar and bass. Sheldon had a knack for lyrics and songwriting and Steve hammered the drums and sang. They spent a year endlessly rehearsing and by the time they emerged to play their first basement show they had developed their own unique sound.

The band moved to neighboring Milwaukee to join its vibrantly growing scene after Sheldon finished school. They played 6-10 gigs a month alongside bands like the Prosecutors and Oil Tasters. Todd did the legwork of designing posters and plastering them on telephone poles. They were able to save up enough money to record and self release an album, a feat that none of the other local groups had managed at that point. Even the most popular bands like the Shivvers and Haskels only released 7”s, not full length LPs.

The Riceboys spent a few hours on consecutives days in Breezeway Studios recording the nine songs that comprised Milk Of Amnesia. They were well rehearsed and able to do everything in one take, layering all the instruments and not doing too many overdubs. The 1,000 copies of the album that were pressed sold out quickly and they started seeing larger crowds at their shows.

It was decided they needed another member to help fill out their sound so they asked a high school senior named KT Rusch to join the band. KT had a wide variety of musical influences. She started playing guitar in middle school but moved over to bass to play in a punky power pop group called the Elevators with her brother. When the Riceboys gave her a copy of Milk Of Amnesia to check out, she loved what she heard and promptly joined the band.

Todd had made connections in South Florida with a couple of wealthy brothers who were looking for a band to test out a new direct-to-digital method of recording using the JVC DAS-90. The brothers expressed interest in doing the next Riceboys album so the band packed up and drove the van down to Miami to do a quick recording session with no overdubs in a practice space. They recorded three live takes of each song and then chose the best versions to assemble the Civil Rice LP. After a standard pressing was made, their record label, QL, did a special Japanese virgin vinyl pressing. They also offered it on chrome and metal cassette as well as compact disc.

The band stayed in Florida for a while to showcase their music to a new audience. Clubs wanted them to play three sets a night so they mixed a wide variety of cover material with their originals including songs by Gang Of Four, the English Beat, and Devo. They even worked up a ska version of “Get Off My Cloud” and threw in some Bowie to keep it interesting. The band made their own fanzine called Camp Six and each member had a column. They’d do reviews and advertise the band. There was a copy machine at the house they were staying at, so they stapled them together and would drop them at record stores.

Civil Rice charted on college stations in the summer of 1983, right around the time the Violent Femmes were breaking into the mainstream. Einstein's Riceboys moved back to Milwaukee to see how things were shaping up there. Soon after, Steve broke his arm in an accident and they had to get another drummer. He continued to sing but the band's progress was derailed. Soon after, the Riceboys ceased to be.