WICKED WITCH info update....+ info and reviews on DEATH a mid 70s black trio, + info on SUN also both from the mid 70s at bottom,
reviews of Pure Hell single a and b side added oct 21st '05 :)
PURE HELL publicity photo
PURE HELL 'NO RULES/THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKIN' '
Black punk band from Philly, released one SUPER Punk single in ' 78, ' NO RULES ' is real FAST like the RAMONES, with a sing-a-long approach by the band similiar to say U.K. SUBS 'STRANGELHOLD' but a HELL of a lot better !........this is a perfect punk #, hard and fast yet with a bit of melody in the vocals.......sings singer KENNY GORDON.....' NO RULES TODAY NO CLASS, TONITE YOUR GOING OUT IN MASQUERADE, THERE's SOMETHING TO..............' ( chorus ).....'NO RULES, NO RULES FOR U AND ME'.........'NO RULES FOR U LITTLE GIRL, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN' ..........guitar jams at the end.........
' THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKIN' '
this was the a side, it is campy punk with glam roots; handclaps with maniacal laughter.....'You keep saying you've got something for me, something you call love, but confess,You've been messin' where you shouldn't have been a messin', and now someone else is gettin' all your best, These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do, one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you'..........yes this is a cover of NANCY SINATRA, it's good, but 'NO RULES' is much better.......so maybe one day those demos will see the light of day ?
PURE HELL 45 released in '78
this band PURE HELL were a big band from Philly in the late 70s, even though they only had one official release they did record an lps worth of music and were said to be the real thing, old photos show SID VICIOUS and JERRY NOLAN at their shows,and they also played a bit with SID as well ! their live shows had a big attraction in Philly and in N.y. and they played at MAX's several times
Demo tracklisting ~
The first 24 track studio master which was recorded at Right Track Recording Studios on 2/27/78 contains the following songs:
1) Noise, 2) I Feel Bad, 3) Hard Action, 4) Lame Brain,
5) Future, 6) Wild One, 7) Rot In The Doghouse,
The second 24 track studio master was recorded on 9/20/78 also at Right Track Recording Studios and contains:
1) These Boots Are Made For Walking, 2) No Rules,
3) Thrillers of Oz, 4) Courageous Cat, 5) Spoil Sport
the band were discovred by CURTIS KNIGHT who had discovered JIMI HENDRIX back in the 60s, see this link for more info ~
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/11/emw177858.htm
drummer SPIDER passed away see this link here -
http://citypaper.net/articles/2002-04-25/music2.shtml
see also AFRO PUNK, and this site here -
http://www.roctober.com/roctober/blackpunk1.html
Police in Springfield, Ore., charged Pamela Ann Hemphill, 51, with theft in April after she allegedly snatched neighbor Walter Merritt's Charles Schulz-signed, original Peanuts cartoon strip, locked herself in a bathroom, removed her clothes, got under the shower, wet the cardboard thoroughly, and finally flushed the pieces down the toilet. Hemphill declined to explain; Merritt said he had no clue as to motive; and the Springfield News reporter has not yet followed up on the story. [Springfield News, 4-20-05]
(1) In April, police in Buffalo, N.Y., said Thomas L. Hunter, 55, ran off with a case of brandy from the Eastside Liquor store, but during the getaway, he dropped the case, and bottles shattered. He was arrested when he returned to the scene of the spill and started sucking up brandy with a straw. (2) At a train station in Ogori, Japan, in May, a seeing-eye dog apparently misunderstood a spoken command and led a blind couple off of a platform and tumbling onto the tracks. The couple and the dog had been headed for a workshop for assistance dogs. [Buffalo News, 4-10-05] [Mainichi Daily News, 5-9-05]
Creme de la Weird
Four former patients of clinical psychologist Letitia Libman sued Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, Ill., in March and April for malpractice, including claims that Libman's hospital treatments for neurological disorders included tarot cards, love potions, DNA-based hexes, and patient nudity and self-mutilation. Libman also allegedly bragged of her travels among space aliens. In May, the lawsuits were amended to include Libman herself as a defendant, a move that the plaintiffs initially resisted because they feared Libman's witchy retribution. [Chicago Tribune, 5-2-05]
Least Competent Criminals
Police in Hackettstown, N.J., charged Juan Vargas, 29, with public intoxication at a Dunkin Donuts shop after spotting him speaking into his wallet as if it were a cell phone (February). And in Danbury, N.H., in March, Steven Metallic, 39, was arrested after a two-hour standoff in which he filled his mother's home with propane gas and threatened to blow it up. Metallic finally fell for a police ruse when they pretended to leave; officers who remained behind captured Metallic tiptoeing out of the house. [Express- Times (Easton, Pa.), 2-9-05] [Valley News (Lebanon, N.H.), 3-31- 05]
WICKED WITCH
WICKED WITCH 'FANCY DANCER/YOU WOULD CALL IT ROCK'
rare early 80s D.C. d.i.y. from one RICHARD SIMMS, music was originally released on 7 and 12 inches, then repackaged many yrs later as a cd....music dates from '78 - '86, influences as varied as HENDRIX, PARLIAMNENT, and SUN RA, + he did modern day synth work that sometimes sounded like SUICIDE, one fan said it was a cross between SUICIDE and D.C.'s Go-Go music at the time if you can imagine........ this guy was in a category all by himself, the track 'VERA's BACK' dates from '78 and is actually his old band called ?....maybe these are the guys
Lineup: Ginger Chittenden - vocals / Kevin Landes - saxophone / Tom Paine - percussion / Steve Walker - bass / Tim Carter - guitar
tracklisting
1 Fancy Dancer 2 Erratic Behaviour, 3 X Rated, 4 Vera's Back,
5 Electric War 6 Electric War 7 Fancy Dancer
hear samples here -
http://lamaraba.blogspot.com/2009/01/wicked-witch.html
we thought this band had a black girl singing lead, and in the lp picture we thought it was a girl, but we had this lp stashed in the vault for a long time and we were wrong ? anyways turns out the singer is one NIKKI BUZZ, and this 5 minute song they did in '76 on the CBGB's Underground comp. of N.y. bands is one hell of a stomp, part STOOGES bombast, part soulful rock fury and then a third member of this piece throws in his 2 cents which makes for a pure pre-punk sound of the best song from the comp called 'ROMANCE', ...Nikki jioned a 3 piece band in the early 80s and they released an lp under the name VENDETTA in '82.... see a similiar review on the bottom of page 23 The U.s. Underground, N.y. section towards the very bottom of that page.....:)
DEATH
not the same band that released 'Depression' ( reviewed on page 23 - midwest section ), however this band also named DEATH were 3 black guys, real life brothers - Dannis, Bobby and David Hackney, who recorded a single in '74 which did not get released till '76 on a small label, it was 'Keep On Knocking/Politicians In My Eyes', came out on
.......Tryangle Records which was the band's own label, Columbia records were trying to sign them at one point, but didn't, but the good news is they now have a release out in 2009 many yrs after they broke up, it's called 'For The Whole World To See'( similiar info is also towards the bottom of our page 14 ), here is the tracklisting and reviews of 2 songs
1 Keep On Knocking, 2 Rock-N-Roll Victim, 3 Let The World Turn 4 You're A Prisoner
5 Freakin Out, 6 Where Do We Go From Here 7 Politicians In My Eyes
'POLITICIANS IN MY EYES'
begins with steady drums and a wobbly bass playing a low key groove then things pick up speed and the band plays hard and fast and assault with a pre-punk attack.......'THEY DON' T CARE WHO THEY STEP ON AS LONG AS THEY GET ALONG, POLITICIANS IN MY EYES, THEY CARE LESS ABOUT YOU, THEY CARE LESS ABOUT ME '......think musically along the lines of FUNKADELIC's 'SUPER STOOPID' track and you can get an idea of the pre-punk bombastic direction this band came from.......
'PRISONER IN MY EYES'
not as good as 'politicians' but a pretty good number nonetheless,.....'YOUR WAY, BE TALKING ABOUT BEING A BETTER MAN, YOU SO YOUNG, YOU DON'T WANNA TAKE THAT CHANCE, YOU CAN'T RUN, YOU CAN'T HIDE, YOUR A PRISONER' !
see these links for reviews and a download !
http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/4789
reviews and rare pictures -
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100333371
http://crotchbat.blogspot.com/2008/06/death-detroit-1974.html
youtube download for 'Politicians in my eyes' !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRrbUhozP9Y
