(Gulcher) The Gizmos album was recorded live in 1979, West Lafayette, Indiana
(home of the Boilermakers). Being the Christmas season the Hoosier punk
pioneers kick into a surf instrumental of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” then
proceed with a set of just melodic
enuff punk for the assembled punters at a house party (yes, my young friend,
you didn’t invent punk rock house parties. I went to my first a year after this
one…in diapers, of course…and I wasn’t a baby!). It’s actually recorded to
four-track, but there’s surface noise, feedback and stuff that can’t be avoided
in a real live field recording, like solitary “woo girl,” and some in yer face
rock ‘n’ roll with immediacy and Indianacy. It all gels, technical snafus notwithstanding,
by the time the band gets to the sorta rockabilly-punk furor of “Johnny’s Got a
Gun” (no relation to the Dead Moon song…which makes sense), after which they
ask for donations in the hat (that’s a
real house party!). “Jog” carries on carrying the inspiration, not the
imitation, of the Ramones, whom they’d just opened for. “Melinda is a Lesbian”
is a solid Buddy Holly by way of Bo Diddley rocker. The band had influences,
obviously, but didn’t wear them on their sleeves -- the original Gizmos were
more into the Dictators and the MC5 and probably did “You’re Gonna Miss Me”
before Radio Birdman ever took it on. This CD is about a turning point – by ’79-’81
punk was largely morphing into new wave, power pop and hardcore. The Gizmos
changed over the years, but their sharp punk attack stayed intact. They did not
become Granddaddies of pop Punk, but they did make it out of the 70s, propelled
by solid riffs, fluid bass lines, and a catchy beat to make the whole thing work,
and a snotty, reedy vocal sound that was also the order of the day. Nearly
every region had at least one band that fit this description, but the Gizmos
changed what they wanted to and kept what they had: an edgy rockin’ punk sound
that was fun before the moshpit tried
to pummel out punk rock’s fun-ness. Indiana had to be a really rough place to be in a band in the 70s and early 80s, but
the Gizmos performed an invaluable service and, sounds to me, like they got
their kicks along the way. As the show winds up, with the junk food aesthetic
of the band taking them to 7-11 with “Rockin’ for Tacos” and “Hot Burrito #2,”
it leaves the listener with the lingering taste of Beavis and Butthead living
in the 70s (but with decent taste in music…and not being so fucking dumb).
About 100 years later we get a very different live album from a Gizmo. After
his Gizmos days Tim Carroll, as we learn between songs on this ridiculously
charming album, fell under the spell of the rootsy post-punkers Rank and File
and eventually became less of a rocker and more of a bonafide songwriter. This
album has Carroll, as the opening act for a friend in an intimate venue,
playing his best rockin’ country-ish cuts from the past 30 years, just him and
his electric guitar. An earnest ode to Hank, a bouncy fishing fantasy, a tale
of seducing an anti-country gal, a salute to a pro-country punk rock gal, a
heartbreaker about a hurricane, and a funnybone tickler about a guitar slingin’
grampa are some of the highlights. While the album title is clever (because
he’s the opening act, get it?) Carroll doesn’t exactly achieve its implied
double meaning, as his relaxed, friendly banter between songs isn’t about
letting the feelings in his innards out, but rather about recounting (to a
receptive, smart audience) the hills, valleys, and small satisfactions of a
marginal, but often satisfying musical life. He recalls his history of having
one tune covered quite a bit, watching a Hollywood movie, in which he’d placed
a song on the soundtrack, all the way through without hearing a note of his
only to be relieved when it underscored the closing credits, and relates his
mantra about letting go of youth, but not rock ‘n’ roll cool. There are a
million reasons to love the Gizmos (we all should have love for the brave,
silly kids who spent the seventies saving rock n roll) but what’s great about
this recording is that it gives you a dozen reasons to genuinely like Tim Carroll.
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