Fuck, where to start? Rude, indignant, indifferent, smart, stupid and seemingly existing on their own planet, few bands could stir such raw energy as Fang. Underrated and obscure, yet covered by some of the world's most renown rock stars looking for street cred such as Nirvana, Metallica and Green Day. Fang began as the two-man pet project of guitarist and Boner Records owner Tom Flynn with the spacy 1980 debut single "Yukon Fang/Enjoy the View" which gave no indication whatsoever of the band that Fang would become. The first vinyl appearance by the classic Fang line-up came in the form of "Fun With Acid" on the Maximum Rockn'Roll/Alternative Tentacles 2LP compilation "Not So Quiet on the Western Front" in 1982. That same year, the release of their debut album "Landshark" immediately established Fang as royalty in the Bay Area punk scene. Tom Flynn's snarling freestyle guitar provided the anti-structure that would become the band's trademark sound, while front man Sam (aka "Slammy", aka "Sammytown") McBride's vocals completed the perfect musical train wreck that was classic Fang. "Landshark" was followed by the equally impressive "Where the Wild Things Are" LP in 1983. This, sadly, was the culmination of what I consider classic-era Fang. After "Where the Wild Things Are" Tom Flynn left the band as did the rhythm section that included bassist Chris Wilson and most recent drummer Tim Stilletto. Fang would re-appear in 1985 with Sammytown sporting an all-new backup band on the Boner Records compiation "Them Boners Be Poppin'". Their two-track appearance on "Them Boners Be Poppin" was followed by the "Spun Helga" album in 1986 on National Trust/We Bite Records, then "A Mi Sfafas?" on Boner Records in 1987. Although there was without question some great material released by the mid-late 80s line-ups, the absence of Tom Flynn's unique guitar left the band with structure; an element that I always found to be decidedly un-Fang. Try to picture Black Flag without Greg Ginn...you get the idea. 1989 saw an interesting twist when, after several months on the run, front man Sam McBride was arrested and plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter charges in the killing of his girlfiend, earning him an 11 year prison sentence (of which he served six) and a segment on the prime-time TV show "A Current Affair". I can still remember Maury Povitch's opening words; "punk rock. who could like it?". Of course I immediately liked it a whole lot more.

Sweden's finest, Ebba Gron were named after a code word used during a police rescue operation in which Sweden's minister of immigration was rescued from kidnappers. Ebba Gron began as a three piece band in Stockholm during 1977 and self-released their first single "Antirock" in 1978, limited to 500 copies. As one of the few punk bands in Sweden at the time, the band quickly made a name for themselves with their controversial anti-government and anti-police lyrics. The band struck up a deal with the Mistlur Records label in 1978 to re-issue the "Antirock" single followed by the "Prorock" single in 1978, the "Total Pop" single in 1979 and then this LP the same year before becoming a radio-friendly pop band by 1980. Yeah, I know we already featured Ebba Gron in an earlier edition of this page. What can I say, we dig early Ebba Gron. Deal with it.

A truly classic punk rock split LP from two of the best bands that early 80's Austin, Texas had to offer. As unlikely as it seems, Texas in the late 70's and early 80's was a hotbed for great raw punk rock and hardcore punk such as Bobby Soxx / Teenage Queers / Stick Men with Rayguns, Butthole Surfers, Really Red, AK47, The Stains (MDC), Hugh Beaumont Experience, Hates, The Offenders, DRI and too many others to list. Although I'm not as big a fan of the Big Boys and their funk-infused punk as I am of the Dicks, credit must be given where it's due. The Big Boys were not afraid to innovate and with one legendary KBD single ("Frat Cars"), one 12" ep, three full-length albums and this split album, the Big Boys were one of the most prolific bands from that era of Austin punk. The Dicks, in their original Texas-based incarnation, released three records. The first being the rare and expensive KBD classic "Dicks Hate The Police" single, followed by this split with the Big Boys, and then their first full-length album "Kill From The Heart". This live split album captures The Dicks at their peak; raw, ugly, obnoxious and not political to the degree of monotony. Highlights from the Dicks side include some of their best material (much of which sadly was never recorded in the studio) including the tracks "fake bands", "wheelchair epedemic", "babysit", "shit on me", "shit fool" and "love song". In 1984, lead singer Gary Floyd moved to San Francisco and re-created The Dicks with an all-new line up resulting in the release of the "Peace?" single on R Radical Records, followed by their second full-length album "These People" on Alternative Tentacles. Although this split LP may be prohibitively expensive at this point, it was re-issued as a double 7" in the early 90s which is easier to find and more affordable than the original LP.

Not a whole hell of alot to say about these guys except for the fact that they were fun, politically incorrect and really good at belting out catchy punk rock tunes. Spawn from Torrance, California in 1982, The Nip Drivers were another classic-yet-underrated South Bay Area band. At times they had a Black Flag/Bl'ast/Fang-type manic guitar feeling to them and at other times they were just plain sloppy. Regardless, the Nip Drivers were always fun to listen to. And yes, their name is exactly what it sounds like (although as a kid it took me years to figure out), a take on the age-old joke about Asian drivers. Not terribly prolific, the extent of the Nip Drivers' recorded output includes the track "Tang" on the Mystic Records "We Got Power" compilation from 1983, their first album "Destroy Whitey" and one cut on the soundtrack LP to the Dave Markey cinematic classic "Desperate Teenage Love Dolls" both in 1984, followed by the equally great "Oh Blessed Freak Show" album in 1985 from which two tracks ended up on the "When Men Were Men and Sheep Were Scared" comp LP on Bemisbrain Records the same year. The band returned sporadically, first in 1990 with the release of their self-titled 7" ep and then again in 1995 for their final release, the "Dirt My Hole" 7" on Fearless Records. Sadly, the likelihood of another Nip Drivers reunion was made unlikely when frontman Mike Webber died in November of 2006. The Nip Drivers entire 80's discography was reissued by Taang Records in 2000 and is readily available. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.

The few, the proud, the barely listenable. There is but a small, elite group of bands throughout time that whether intentionally or not, acheived noise with virtually no redeeming musical factors. Was it musical ineptitude or sheer brilliance? Can we ever really know? Should we even care? Amongst my favorites bands in this distinguished group are (in no particular order) Flipper, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, Tapeworm, The Shaggs and of course, Vomit Visions. The brain child of founding members Eric "Hysteric" Knodt and Dieter Krist in 1976, Vomit Visions began to take shape in 1978 when the two met local scenester, author and punk collector Volker Hanreich (aka Hans Wurst). In 1979, after attending a Teenage Jesus & the Jerks show in Holland which only lasted eight minutes, the trio had found their inspiration. With the addition of occasional musicians Rola Rock (aka Roland, aka Rola Supersex) on vocals, drummer D. Nervous, Leigh Kendall and Leigh "Punkette" De Rais (both providing additional guitars), Vomit Visions were off and running. Hanreich, with his connections to late 70's American scenesters such as Greg Shaw (Bomp Records) and Jello Biafra, convinced Rock O' Rama records owner Herbert Egoldt to release their debut "punks are the old farts of today" ep that same year. Not surprisingly, many simply didn't get it but those in the punk press who did showered them with praise. After a fallout with Rock O' Rama, the band self released their second single, "shove it up your ass" in 1981 featuring three different covers. The best of the three, in our humble opinion, is the fantastic specimen you see above. After a disagreement resulting in the departure of bassist Hans Wurst and singer Rola Supersex, Vomit Visons released their third and final 7" single "i hate the world / sell out" in 1982 as a two-piece band.