Drive Like Jehu
The middle act in the John Reis - Rick Froberg trilogy, Drive Like Jehu was a giant in the “post-hardcore” scene. Without a doubt Jehu were my favorite of the their collaborations. The band’s brief tenure was marked by two albums and this lone single. The albums are both great, but the 1992 7″ release by the Merge label is over the top. Reis’ explosive guitar shards meld with Froberg’s manic vocals to create two near perfect aural stabs (especially on “Bullet Train..”). Swami (run by Reis) has included these tracks on the 2002 reissue of the band’s second LP Yank Crime. Check it out:
Drive Like Jehu - Hand Over Fist.mp3
Drive Like Jehu - Bullet Train To Vegas.mp3
Notes:
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Absolutely. I’d even go so far as to say that Jehu never topped Bullet Train and much as I liked Hot Snakes here and there, they didn’t touch the b-side of this 7″ either. In a word it’s “primo.”
Another one of those singles that makes me wonder, “Did I own this, or was it my roommate? What happened to it?”. I never really got into these bands but I used to listen to this 7″ a lot. This was the early 90s San Diego stuff, right? I did really dig Fishwife though.
Gnnnngggww!! Totally with you (and I guess everyone else) on this. This single is genre summation for me where this stuff is concerned. “Hand Over Fist” received more airplay on WPRB (Princeton) the year it came out than just about anything else. Crossed all boundaries of taste, etc. Indie poseurs, punky dweebs, even the guy who did the Greek music show was diggin’ this. Too bad Jehu’s appearance at Maxwell’s that summer (in support of “Yank Crime”) was so snoozy.
Funny that you posted this, I was doing some searching last weekend for their first album, which is my personal favorite. I forgot I owned a copy of this 7″! Having lived in SD during this time period, I was fortunate enough to have access to a lot of this music and see these bands play in tiny venues. One that is often overlooked is a band called Inch. Mark Trombino (drummer for DLJ) produced their 3rd (?) album. Similar vein of music, though not quite as spastic.
Anyway, their first album, Stresser, was way ahead of its time. If you can find a copy, pick it up. Oddly I never got into their other albums, probably because they just dropped off my radar. Here’s a link to a few of their songs (link only good for 7 days). These are AAC files, so you’ll need iTunes to play em. Track 4, the title track, might as well be a Fugazi song.
i actually bought this single by mistake in 1995. it was lumped in with the rocket from the crypt singles in a portsmouth record shop. i didn’t even notice until i flew home the next week. one of my favorite mistakes. also, when hot snakes toured in 2002, “bullet train to vegas” was included in the encore. people were losing their minds. it was really incredible to hear live.
I love the Reis/Froberg trilogy… Last summer in NYC the Hot Snakes played not only Bullet Train to Vegas but closed their encore with Luau off Yank Crime. For someone who never got to see DLJ, it was pretty amazing.