Scratch Acid
Yeah, yeah, yeah - most of talk surrounding the big T&G 25th anniversary show that I’ve read has been about the Negative Approach reunion, (guilty) - but if I were attending the show (which I’m not because I suck) I’d be amped to see legendary Texas noise freaks Scratch Acid. What with the big block party and a couple of additional shows (Seattle and Austin), what better time to reach back into the vault and rehash some “previously enjoyed” ramblings?:
something odd must have been in the south Texas water in the 80’s that caused the young ‘uns to turnout so god forsaken wrong. Case in point Scratch Acid. Featuring David Yow and David Wm Sims ( later Jesus Lizard ) Scratch Acid was responsible for putting forth some seriously twisted songcraft. Yow howls about dark things while Brett Bradford lays down sun damaged riffs. The band managed to release a self titled 12 ” in 1984, a full length (1986’s Just Keep Eating) and a final 12″ ( Beserker ) in 1987 before disbanding. Touch and Go Records had the good sense to package them all up on one CD entitled The Greatest Gift
I still hold up Scratch Acid’s debut 12″ as one of the more twisted and vital remnants of Texas punk greatness. Just Keep Eating may be a slight step down, but it’s still a monster. And while Berserker aint that hot, The Greatest Gift discog CD is a must have:
Scratch Acid - Greatest Gift.mp3
Scratch Acid - Monsters.mp3
Scratch Acid - Mess.mp3
Scratch Acid - Eyeball.mp3
Scratch Acid - Amicus.mp3
Scratch Acid - Mary Had A Little Drug Problem
Notes:
>> Interesting Scratch Acid reading at Agony Shorthand and Mark Prindle’s Reviews
>> Buy The Greatest Gift
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being too lazy to copy from my vinyl, and way too lazy to find the worn out cassette, i just went and bought this. one of the greatest bands ever! and listening to it now, i think bezerker blows the other two records away! it’s much denser, the production is a bit heavier, very different… a lot more solid. i think it’s one of the best records ever on touch and go.
been lookin’ forward to seeing these gents,fer a long ass time,plan to take advantage of the new digital camera while there,yes,of course i’ll send you copies!!!
real nice of them to do TeXaS 1st!!!can’t wait!!!!
i wouldnt worry about not jumping on the revisionary bandwagon to see (whats left of) Negative Approach…its whats left of John Brannon(not much,actually) & maybee Opie’s gonna show up. at least thats what ive been told. last time they tried to pull off some sort of “reunion”, it fell apart & it was pretty much just JB fronting what eventually became the 1st lineup of Easy Action as they limped thru a bunch of NA songs.
further proof that if you werent THERE, you WERENT THERE; myself included.
at least i got to see Scratch Acid blow away about 12 people live in Cleveland on their 1st tour…still got the poster & the memories;albiet quite alcoholically blurred over 20 years later.MEGA thanks to the memory of Kevin Ries (RIP) for taking me to that gig…
I traded the first EP. One of my greatest regrets. But I think Just Keep Eating had more interesting stuff on it. I especially liked the instrumental (Albino Slug or something?).
I always loved this band more than Jesus Lizard. I still have my copy of JKE but this EP is still one of their best. Thanks for the reminder
Definitely my pick for the 25th Anniversary show - these guys were amazing. JKE was good, and I found Berserker less interesting, but the first EP absolutely killed - lysergic/peyote-drenched madness, with a singer who sounded like he was singing through his own streaming vomit. Alright, I’ve never tried to portray myself as normal, but this EP just spoke to me.
WELL THE SHOW IN AUSTIN,WELL WORTH THE $$$,
THE BOYS WERE IN FINE FORM,FOR THOSE OF YOU PLANNING ON ATTENDDING THE OTHER APPEARANCES,
BE SURE TO DRINK PLENTY OF WATER,AS I MYSELF
MANAGED TO LOSE 10+lbs. WHILE THRASHING ABOUT IN THE PITT,UNFORTUNALY,GOT TO AUSTIN,
THEN RELIZED I’D FORGOTTEN DIGITAL CAMERA,SO TO ANY OF YOU THAT WERE LOOKIN FORWARD TO GETTING COPIES OF THE PICS I’D PLANNED ON TAKING NO DICE,SORRY!!!
I saw ‘em at DC Space (in DC) right around when “Just Keep Eating” came out. They were incredible. I enjoyed The Jesus Lizard the one time I saw them but never really got into their recordings.
was standing there behind the stage at tng reunion show and couldnt believe just how great they sounded, had to climb up on stage behind guitar amp and dig the swing.
all other bands and drama aside, that was one of the bestest rock sets I’ve ever seen. I was just blown away with that band and hadnt heard their stuff since I played it over the pa on a fishing boat I was working on in the gulf of mexico. the cubans on board thought it was devil music and they was right!
outstanding and yes you missed out.
NO I DIDN’T,
SAW’EM AT EMO’S.
FORGOT TO TAKE MY CD IN FER THE AUTOGRAPH THING SO I HAD BRETT BRADFORD SIGN HIS JOHN HANCOCK TO A 1 DOLLAR BIL,WHAT THE FUCK IT WAS THE FIRST THING TO COME OUTTA MY POCKET!
berserker ain’t that hot? are you kidding? i urge you to give it another try.
my old bands manager ralf was friends with those guys and they helped us out on out tour (kilslug)
what was the connection with jesus lizard/scratch acid
and the bobbysoxers?
i think that was the name of them
always liked thats texas stuff
circle kaos
and the party owls
i heard T&G had reissued a lot of there material(found locust abortion technician again by those other crazy Texans)but had not heard a tour to follow. scratch acid’s first lp way powerfull played on my radio program frequently in mid -latter 80’s, but berserker is an ass kick all in it own. grabed it as soon as it was issued.
In the top ten favorite bands from the old days, for sure. In the period of time where I had listened exclusively to hardcore punk, these guys were a cool warped direction to go in after (after I was saved by the saviours of The Minutemen). Played a show with Jesus Lizard once in Seattle around 1990…Eh…would have preferred to see Scratch Acid instead, never did, I am jealous of youse all who did! Thought they (JL) were good, though. Rey Washam, the drummer (also in Rape Man)played drums in TAD for a stint, Tad was/is an old friend from the Boise days. This site gets the nostalia flowin’, I tell ya.
last august, a girl sent me an email and said i went to see scratch acid. she didn’t even know who they were, but she’s a fan now. after i heard abuot that seattle show, i looked up the schedule and it was over, dammit!
why do i always find out about this stuff after the fact? and who only does a three show reunion tour?
i am not sure i would waste my time getting into any debate about scratch acid being better than the jesus lizard, but they are both pretty much the best band ever. well, second to the big boys.
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