The Pengwins - Life After High School

A. Life After High School


B1. Look Around


B2. It's A Dream


THE PENGWINS (Kennedale, TX)
Life After High School EP
Fabb (001), 1978

Lannie Flowers grew up with equal affinity for the sun shiny pop sounds of the Beatles and the dark mystique of the Velvet Underground. Other early influences included British Invasion groups such as the Rolling Stones, the Who, and the Kinks, as well as the early glam efforts by David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, and T.Rex. His fondness of the heavy Detroit sound of the MC5 and Stooges predicated his appreciation for the punk rock era that was coming right around the corner. It was the DIY aspect that he loved most about it and he latched onto it like a duck to water.

Lannie was about eight when he got his first guitar, although he was still into baseball and didn’t put much effort into the instrument until the age of 12. It was then in the sixth grade that he started what eventually became the Pengwins. That’s when a friend of his from up the street named David Hamrick brought an electric guitar to show and tell for Christmas. All the girls were gushing over him so Lannie figured he needed to get in on the action. After school he went up to David and told him he also played guitar and they should start a band. They then asked their friend James Laxon who played drums to join and they were on their way.

Somehow they talked the organizers of the high school beauty pageant into letting them play during intermission. When they were jamming on stage girls started screaming and afterward high school girls talked to Lannie, the ones that otherwise wouldn’t have given him the time of day. So in his 12 year old mind, he knew he was headed on the right path. The band began playing dances and parties wherever they could secure gigs with an ever evolving cast of members until Lannie was about 16. At that time the Pengwins consisted of Lannie on guitar, David Bryan on drums, and Delbert Raines on bass. In 1977 Alan Petsche joined them on guitar.

At first they wanted to be Mott the Hoople crossed with Badfinger, playing melodic music with an attitude. Then punk came along and there was plenty of attitude to go around. They didn’t want to be just like the rest of the bands in the area. When Cheap Trick’s first album came out Lannie realized that’s what he has been trying to do. They replaced the jangle with more of an edge.

In 1978, the Pengwins did their first recording session on a Teac 4-track recorder in the room where they practiced with no outside producers or influence. Five original songs were laid to tape but just three of them surfaced on the “Life After High School” EP. They paid for the meager pressing of 500 copies by playing a couple of gigs. They had to do sets full of covers in order to get paid in the small town of Kennedale, which is just outside of Dallas, where no one wanted to hear music that wasn’t on the radio. Unsurprisingly, the Pengwins record didn’t sell very well there. They ended up giving most of the copies away at gigs. They did receive a favorable review in the local Buddy magazine but didn’t get positive reinforcement from any other media outlets.

Their problem at the time was that they were too different for the average Joe but not unique enough for the hard core punks to fit in with the DFW scene. They realized they had to travel to find their audience. They kept busy playing frat parties and high school functions throughout the state. Eventually they were traveling so much that the band became their full time job and in 1981 they were only home about 90 days out of the whole year. The early 80s had them opening for Thin Lizzy and Cheap Trick amongst many others. They even shared the stage with Badfinger and the Guess Who, who were still grasping for life.

The second Pengwins record came out in 1980, a self-released single featuring “Don’t Be A Girl About It” and “Small Vacation.” 500 copies of the single were pressed and it fared slightly better than their debut. Not only did they have more experience recording by that time, but they used an actual 24-track studio, Buffalo Sound in Fort Worth. Danny Wilkerson who took David Bryan’s spot on drums in late 1978 played on the record and contributed to the writing of the songs. Danny and Lannie would become the band’s primary songwriters for the next several years.

The Pengwins continued to record between 1981-1984 but none of it ever saw the light of day. 1981 saw them touring England for a month, mostly playing around the London area where they met a lot of interesting people. They were excited to find their new single was in the jukebox of a pub they went to. They returned home after running out of money but continued to stay on the road for the next several years, even making their way out to Alaska. In 1985 Danny stopped touring with the band but took on a managerial role.

It wasn’t until 1988 that the Pengwins released their next record, a six song EP that had great distribution and achieved moderate success. The next year Danny was able to arrange a demo session at Bearsville studios in NY with Rick Derringer producing. Then in 1991 they went to Memphis and laid down four more tracks with producer Jim Dickinson who had just done the Replacements Please To Meet Me album. A couple of those songs made it to compilation CD’s but for the most part all their work was for naught. With the grunge era fast approaching, there was no longer an audience for the Pengwins music.

They had come close to a record deal a few times but something always fell through at the last minute. Eventually they decided enough was enough and the band ended following a very long run with countless line-up changes and endless recording sessions. They played their final show in Fort Worth and called upon all former members to show up and play. The event made the front page news of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

Lannie built a recording studio in his garage and has continued making music, refusing to succumb to the corporate world. He’s released several acclaimed solo records in recent years and remains an active performer. Alan and Delbert started the Aaron Avenue Records label in 1994 and have released work by Lannie and other Texas artists. Danny’s continued to play drums in other groups including a cover band called The Waltons with Lannie. He’s also a commercial real estate broker and was Mayor of Annetta North. The Pengwins play reunion shows on occasion.

The song “What You Gonna Do” which was recorded during the Pengwins first recording session but never released was recently featured on the Texas power pop compilation album, Radio Ready on Cheap Rewards Records.

U.S. Mods - I'm Gone

A. I'm Gone


B. Government


U.S. MODS (Mesquite, TX)
I'm Gone b/w Government
Treblephone (TREB-52), 1980

Pat McKanna’s musical foundation started building at an early age as he was exposed to everything from the Beatles and Rolling Stones to Little Richard and Hank Williams through the jukebox at his grandfather’s pool hall. By the time he reached his teens in the late 70s, it was the Who, Jam, Clash and Sex Pistols that most influenced him.

Formed in 1978, the US Mods was Pat’s first band that did original material. He played lead guitar and sang while Jimmy Holcomb, who Pat knew from their junior high days, added rhythm guitar and vocals. On bass and backing vocals was Adrian Brooke, who was a couple years older than Jimmy but attended the same high school in Mesquite, TX. The three of them would be the core of the band.

Jimmy Holcomb grew up in a household full of Bob Wills, Buck Owens, and Jerry Lee Lewis records. Being an only child, listening to music was one of his favorite pastimes. As an early teen he got the idea that he could make music too. He and the two other boys would get together as often as possible and play along to the Stones and three chord punk songs. They didn’t have a steady drummer in the early days. They often recorded their rehearsals with Pat playing drums and then laying his guitar parts over that.

All three began writing their own songs and they would bring the finished compositions to practices for everyone else to learn. Being teenagers, the Mods were unable to play typical club gigs. Instead they had to resort to doing talent shows or Kmart battle of the bands competitions. They even played the Traveling Gong Show auditions and a McDonald’s anniversary celebration. Crippled due to their age and geographic constraints, they often conjured up fantasies of the band existing on a higher level.

In early 1980, they borrowed Quad Pi’s drummer Reagan Eskridge who was in the WW Samuell High School band drum corps with Pat. The four of them laid down the basic tracks for “I’m Gone” and “Government” on a 4-track recorder in a mini-warehouse. They added vocals, handclaps and tape echo in Jimmy’s bedroom using an Akai reel to reel. The songs were then mixed down to glorious mono. They succeeded in giving the tracks a lo-fi, yet very charming 60’s feel. With help from their parents, 200 copies of a single were pressed up on their own Treblephone Records with an accompanied foldover sleeve.

The records were sold at Metamorphosis and VVV Records in Dallas. Jimmy brought copies to North Mesquite High to sell and Pat would bring them to his school in Pleasant Grove. They sent a copy to Bomp Records in California which led to Greg Shaw ordering 30 copies for their mail order catalog. In recent years it was revealed that Shaw was a bigger fan of the band than they imagined as a review of the single was finally published in Bomp’s Saving The World One Record At A Time book which included the long lost unpublished final issue of Bomp magazine.

After the single was released, they saw an ad in a local music rag called Buddy for a drummer looking to play with people with similar musical taste, which was not commonplace in Mesquite. They were even more surprised when they called and it was a girl on the other end. Tracye O’Neal’s upbringing was full of music. She fell in love with the Beatles at the age of five during their performance on the Ed Sullivan show. She even refused to go out for dinner on her seventh birthday as to not miss a Dave Clark Five appearance on television.

Tracye wanted to be a drummer as long as she could remember. She would spend hours “playing” along to the Partridge Family albums using wooden horseshoe stakes for sticks and her sister’s bed for drums. Finally in 1978, to her delight she won a real drum kit. By then she had broadened her musical spectrum to include the Faces, the Stones, Bowie, Cheap Trick, the Kinks, and above all… the Who.

Tracye auditioned for the Mods and got the gig. With Jimmy and Pat being 17, they still weren’t able to secure gigs. They went to the Hot Klub to try and arrange an opening slot for The Doo, but that never materialized. They couldn’t build a fan base without playing shows and once Jimmy graduated a year later and went off to college at Baylor in Waco, that marked the end of the Mods’ nearly unrecognized reign.

Adrian, Pat and Tracye carried on as The Tickets for a short while with a guitarist named Lee. He was a bit older and more experienced and they played some gigs together but Pat was ready to change direction musically. He left to start the Trees, who went on to be one of the most popular groups in the 80's Deep Ellum scene. Adrian and Tracye continued on with Lee briefly until Tracye left for England in September 1981.

“Government” received some recognition on Hyped2Death’s Teen Line series several years ago and just recently, “I’m Gone” earned a notch on 2013's Texas power pop compilation album, Radio Ready that was released on Cheap Rewards Records.

The Cyberphonics - Losers

A. Losers


B. All The Time


THE CYBERPHONICS (Irving, TX)
Losers b/w All The Time
Cyberecords (CYB 1001/1002), 1981

1979 saw the birth of a new Dallas-area band called The Cyberphonics. Drummer Paul Cox and guitar/keyboardist Mike Pierce began collaborating and then recruited their friend Steve Mentzer on guitar and Paul’s brother Glenn on bass. All self-taught musicians, they focused on writing original material.

Their first gig was part of a multiple band bill on March 14, 1980 called “Stars Over Texas,” which included The Telefones, The Doo, Quad Pi, Teenage Queers, and others. Glenn worked as a delivery driver for a local company and struck up a conversation about music with a dock worker named Scott Light. After mentioning the band, Scott asked if he could try out and soon landed the job as lead singer. The five-piece Cyberphonics began playing at punk and new wave spots like the Hot Klub and Metamorphosis.

In 1981, they went to Crystal Clear Studios in Dallas and self financed a quick session that produced two songs, “Losers” and “All The Time.” It took them several more months to come up with the funds to get records pressed. Paul worked in an office supply store so he was able to print the foldover covers and lyric inserts there. He also cut over-sized manila envelopes to house the sleeves and records in a promo package with rubber stamps on the front. Most of the promo packs were sent to labels or radio stations while the rest of the copies were given away to fans.

The band rehearsed five nights a week for hours on end. Tensions began to grow within the band and it was decided to move forward without Mike Pierce. They replaced him with guitarist/songwriter John Churchill who Scott knew from Jr. High. Scott moved over to keyboards and did some guitar parts while he and John shared lead vocals. They changed the name of the band to The Look but that only lasted for a single gig and then they played a couple more shows as The Nu-5. Ultimately, it was decided they could only be known as The Cyberphonics and they changed the name back again.

They acquired talent and business manager Bruce Stover & Associates and he took the band into the studio to record a four-song demo to shop to record companies. BSA told the band not to worry about gigs and concentrate on writing songs. Management eventually took the band to Los Angeles to play Madame Wongs in China Town, Gazzari’s on the Sunset strip, and the legendary Troubadour. On two separate occasions, the band opened for the Romantics. They even got their music to a rep at Geffen, but still, they never got their big break.

The band continued to practice but rarely played in public. BSA took the band into the studio three other times to record more demos, but no other records were released and no major labels came knocking. In 1984, BSA told the band the drumming was the reason they didn’t have a record contract so Paul was fired and replaced by David Lee. The chemistry was lost. John went back to school and before long the band had fully run its course.

Von Beat - Nuke Wave Music

A. Synthetic Environment


B. Of Course I Care


VON BEAT (Fort Worth, TX)
Synthetic Environment b/w Of Course I Care
VVV (008), 1981

Vaughan Bean joined Ralph Williams, Ray Kalvitz and Mike Winter at the start of 1980 to form the Ralphs. The band played many shows, did some recordings and even made it out to the west coast where they were able to get their demo played on the “new music” program on KROQ. But before the band released their sole single, Vaughan and Ray left and formed the Gigolos with Michael Gilbertson and Pat Conley, who had both been playing in a band called the Untouchables. Prior to that, Michael was in Blindate, a band that was featured on the Are We Too Late For The Trend compilation, and Pat had played in both Dot Vaeth Group and Blindate.

Vaughan was the original drummer for the Ralphs and wrote a couple of their songs. Being a multi-instrumentalist, he wished to do a solo project and release a couple of his new songs, “Synthetic Environment” and “Of Course I Care.” Enlisting the help of John Siebman and David Daniels from the Ft Worth Cats, the single was released under the pseudonym, Von Beat. Vaughan played guitar, bass, drums, synthesizers and did backing vocals on the session while John, who used the stage name Monte Cyclops, handled lead vocals and Farfisa organ. David contributed backing vocals and was credited as Kid on the sleeve.

The Fort Worth Cats and Ralphs had releases on VVV Records, a cooperative label formed by NCM’s Neal Caldwell. Vaughan’s association with them assured the Von Beat single a VVV release. The 7”, entitled Nuke Wave Music, was pressed in small numbers in 1981 and housed in a foldover sleeve. The session was recorded quickly at a 24 track studio in Dallas called TRAX and engineered by Bob Hickey, who had toured with many nationally known acts and later worked with Pink Floyd. Vaughan produced the record.

The single made its way into the jukeboxes of local clubs and saw airplay on KZEW, but never saw wide distribution. Vaughan never intended for that project to be an active unit or play shows. Instead, he focused his attention on the Gigolos who built a following around the Dallas and Fort Worth area for the next couple years. By 1984, he started going in a more blues direction. Today he is a member of the Nostradamus Society of America and has three books published under the name Victor Baines.

The Ralphs - Teddy Boy

A. Teddy Boy


Z. Mutating Man


THE RALPHS (Ft Worth, TX)
Teddy Boy b/w Mutating Man
VVV (011), 1982

When the Dallas/Ft Worth punk scene began taking shape, Ralph Williams would often go see his friend Michael Neal’s band the Fort Worth Cats play. They would sometimes call Ralph on stage to sing a David Byrne or Elvis Costello song with them. Michael knew Ralph wanted to get his own band started, so he introduced him to a guitar player named Ray Kalvitz and then bassist Mike Winter who had moved down from Ohio to go to music school at North Texas State. With a drummer named Vaughan Bean added to the mix from an ad he posted in the paper looking to form an all original band, the Ralphs had their first practice on New Years day, 1980.

Ralph had grown up on blues music which is what got him started playing guitar. But for this, his first band, Ralph transitioned into learning synth and only played guitar on some of the songs. He wrote the majority of the bands original material, though Ray and Vaughan also contributed some compositions. The band worked a couple covers like “Jail Guitar Doors” by the Clash or “You Drive Me Ape” from the Dickies into their set as well.

The Ralphs became an active live unit, regularly playing local spots like the Hot Klub, Zeros and DJs, while occasionally venturing down to Raul’s and other clubs in Austin. They even made it out to Los Angeles once where they played the Hong Kong Cafe. While in LA, they got Rodney Bingenheimer to play their demo tape on the air during his Rodney on the Roq show.

The owners of a venue in Ft Worth called the Speakeasy caught wind of the Ralphs and approached them about doing a regular Wednesday punk rock night. They came up with a scheme and instead of being billed as the Ralphs, they'd play in disguise as the Hoods. The band went on stage wearing fabric hoods with holes for eyes and did their bit. Vaughan thought it was a crazy idea, refused to continue the act, and quit. Ray lasted two weeks as a Hood and then quit as well. The two of them then formed a new group called the Gigolos. Meanwhile, the Townsend brothers, David and Doug, who had previously played in the Dot Vaeth Group and Superman's Girlfriend came in to fill the vacant spots so the Ralphs could continue.

Ralph had a little recording experience. Following an accident on his construction job in the seventies where he broke his ankle, he wanted to pick up a new trade and went to recording school. He never pursued it as a career, but after sharing a couple gigs with a fresh young group called the Ejectors, he offered to produce a record for them which they readily accepted. The resulting “Hydro-Head” single was released on VVV Records.

The small independent label, which was an offshoot of the VVV record store, was owned by Neal Caldwell of NCM. Ralph shopped at the store from its inception in 1979, so when it was time to do a Ralphs single at the end of '81, he naturally asked Neal if it could be released on his label. 500 copies of the record were pressed on VVV but it got a lukewarm reception. Two more songs were recorded during the same session and were slated to be released as a follow-up single, but the finances weren’t there and it never made it past a few test press copies in September '82.

Ralph took on a job as an employee in a vintage clothing boutique. He started focusing more of his attention into that and eventually the band dissolved. By 1984 he had relocated to England and opened up his own clothing store, achieving much success over there for the better part of a decade. Ralph is now living back in Texas and is still operating his own store, Hollywood 5 & Dime.

David had a stint in the Barry Kooda Combo before focusing on his family life. His brother Doug passed away in 2006. Vaughan took on the identity of Von Beat and released a solo single on VVV in '81. He's still playing music but mostly in blues bands.

The Ralphs have played a couple reunion gigs over the years. Their other vinyl offerings include “Drug Induced State” on the Live At The Hot Klub LP and then “Neurotic” on 2006’s Staring Down The Barrel compilation. The same year, Existential Vacuum released an entire album of Ralphs material entitled Zeros - No Ones which has early recordings from the original line-up.

It's interesting to note that despite the Teddy Boy single having a 1980 date on the label, test pressings for the record are dated 12/1/81. Also, the proposed second Neurotic single, which is dated 9/3/82 on the test pressing was given the same catalog number as Teddy Boy: VVV-011.








 

The Ejectors - Hydro-Head

A. Hydro-Head


B. Little Johnny


THE EJECTORS (Ft Worth, TX)
Hydro-Head b/w Little Johnny
VVV (VVV-005), 1981

By 1980, the Dallas/Fort Worth area punk scene was in full swing. Early pioneers the Nervebreakers, Dot Vaeth Group, and Vomit Pigs helped paved the way for the next wave of bands that included the Telefones, Ralphs, Teenage Queers, NCM, and the Fort Worth Cats. A new group called the Ejectors sprung into action after its core members spent their teenage nights sneaking into clubs like Zeros and the Hot Klub to see these bands perform.

The Ejectors began rehearsing at guitar player Scott Pausel’s house. Ashley Parrish took on lead guitar, while Richard Dotson played bass and Lance Fuller attempted to play the drums. It was quickly apparent that Lance wasn’t suited for drums, so he stepped down as musician. However, he did remain close to the band thereafter, taking on duties such as roadie.

The boys knew Scott Tuomey from growing up in the same neighborhood and after hearing him sing along to music at a house party, they invited him to join the band. Completing the line-up was Fred West who was one year older than the others. He responded to a flyer his girlfriend had picked up at a record shop stating a punk band was looking for a drummer. Figuring it would be a fun experience, Fred tried out and immediately hit it off with the other guys.

The songwriting process was pretty lax. Sometimes Richard would come up with a bass line, then Fred would play a rockin’ beat and the rest of the band would contribute ideas. Other times someone would come to the table with a more refined idea for a song and the others would help with the finishing touches. The one thing that remained a constant was the use of humorous lyrics.

The Ejectors played on a regular basis for a two year period at the Speakeasy, Hot Klub, Metamorphosis and other clubs that catered to punk around Dallas and Fort Worth. Realizing they could earn much more money playing cover tunes at dances, they spent many nights working that market as well. The band came up with a repertoire of around 70 cover songs that they’d showcase at private parties, school functions and even country clubs. Keeping things up tempo and with a lot of angst and distortion, the musical style ran the gamut of Stones and Kinks classics to the punk stylings of the Clash and Sex Pistols. They even had three female guest vocalists sing on B-52s songs with them.

When playing regular club gigs they’d often share the stage with the Ralphs and Fort Worth Cats, two bands that were a little older and more established, but treated them as equals. In fact, when Cats drummer Johnny Willett was unavailable for gigs, they’d often ask Fred to fill in. After the Ejectors built a solid local following and decided it was time to record a single, it was Ralph Williams of the Ralphs who produced their record.

“Hydro-Head” and “Little Johnny” were recorded quickly in a studio called Rainbow Sound that was primarily used for Christian music. When finished, they presented the songs to Neal Caldwell for possible inclusion on his VVV imprint. The VVV record label was originally created by Neal in order to release singles for his own bands, the Schematics and later NCM, though he did allow other bands to use the namesake to help give the scene solidarity. Neal agreed to let the Ejectors use the VVV seal of approval and ultimately the name recognition gave the band opportunities to play with other more established groups.

The guys had to vote to decide which track to call the A-side of the single and “Hydro-Head” came out the winner. They initially pressed 1,200 copies of the record and it sold out immediately. So another larger batch of 1,300 was printed up and moved quickly as well. Besides giving a ton away to friends, the single sold extremely well at parties, private functions and through the dozen or so shops like VVV and Peaches that they dropped them off at.

Shortly after the release of the single, Scott Pausel left the band and they continued on as a four piece. They recorded an album’s worth of material but never got around to releasing it. By 1982 the scene was headed in a different direction and the boys agreed they had fun while it lasted but it was time to call it quits and concentrate on school.

They all earned degrees in their chosen fields with Scott Tuomey becoming a high school teacher and Ashley becoming an attorney. Richard works in IT, while Scott Pausel is a regional sales manager and Fred works in the travel industry and is an investor.

Although the band only released the one single, the Ejectors could be heard on several other records. The Live At The Hot Klub LP features the song “Fade With The Summer.” “Hydro-Head” was later featured on the 1992 compilation album, Bloodstains Across Texas. The same year, George Gimarc’s Tales From The Edge, Vol 6 CD included an unreleased Ejectors song called “George Jetson.” A year after that, EV Records released the Sacred Cattle EP with yet another unreleased track, “Slam Dance.” Things were quiet for a while until 2006 when Italian label Rave-Up Records had the band dig up the original master tapes of their unreleased album. After nearly 25 years of sitting in a closet, those songs finally saw the light of day.