Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The Masses are Clamoring for More Music By the Weasels, Comrades!!!

From approximately 1974, and Endless Bummer -- the frankly heinous low-fi home-made CD by my old garage band chums The Weasels -- please enjoy (if that is even remotely possible) the winsomely nautical "Pretty Sally."

Written by keyboard guy Glenn Leeds (who also provides flute stylings and quite hideously sea dog-ish vocals on the "Barnacle Bill" section of the song). With rhythm guitar and lead vocals by Dave Hawxwell, watery bass guitar and backing vocals by Alan Weissman, less wayward than usual drums by Mike ("The Drummer") Sorrentino, and lead guitar by some asshole whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels.

As you will hear, I run out of ideas for my solos approximately five minutes before the track ends -- a source of some pride for me, as you can imagine.



I bring this up because the aforementioned Senor Weissman, despite fervid entreaties to the contrary by an otherwise uncaring world, is in the process of putting together a Weasels best(?)-of album and a website to promote it. Both of which will be called Let There Be Weasels. (And the above song may or may not be included.)

In any case, against my better judgement, I've been enabling Al in this endeavor, and here are two prospective covers I've had mocked up for the project.

Not that anybody asked me, but I've decided that the final version should be chosen by the theoretically objective readers over here at PowerPop. So - please vote for your favorite, early and often.

Should it be this one --


-- or this one?


Our phone lines are open. Our operators are standing by. This is a free call.

[h/t BG]

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Too bad "Meat the Weasels" is already taken.

I'd go with the Let It Be parody. But maybe I'm just using reverse psychology.

There was a weird punk/metal band in Los Angeles named the Weasels. They had a stupid song called "Beat Her with a Rake," circa 1977-1978. I wasn't a fan but got stuck seeing them a bunch of times as openers.

They used to play with the Dogs a lot. I dug the Dogs - super high energy and raw three piece. They had a chick bass player that had long legs and wore shorts with fishnets sometimes. They never got signed. But they had a couple of singles.

They, along with Van Halen, played at one of my parties out in the ocuntry circa 1976-7. It's a long story which I'm going to weasel out of for now.

Vickie Rock

steve simels said...

There also currently a group called The Weasels around Albany NY.

http://powerpop.blogspot.com/2012/01/great-minds-think-alike-what-explains.html

They're a riot, too. Next week I'm gonna hype their new CD "AARP Go the Weasels."

buzzbabyjesus said...

At first I thought it was an outtake from "Dark Side Of The Moon". The one about the lunatic on the grass.

Anonymous said...

Steve:

Well, yeah. That's why I said "Meat the Weasels" wasn't available.

I like the Albany Weasels in small doses. But I like 'em. Some bands are like that. Just a pinch at a time.

BTW, what was the guy in your band thinking with that Barnacle Bill stuff?:-)

There was an unsuccessful band around here in the mid Seventies called the Pointed Weasels and another called Rocky and the Squirrels. Never saw either of them, but remember the names. It sucks being photographic.:-)

Vickie Rock

steve simels said...

My favorite song by the Albany Weasels, which I really have to post one of these days, is their "Ode to feminism" entitled "Bitch is All Business."

Side-achingly funny.

Anonymous said...

There are no small doses, just small albums.

- The Albany Weasels

Dave said...

I vote for the second cover, perhaps for the opposite reason that In Touch puts photos of Angelina Jolie on its cover.

steve simels said...

I know what you mean, Dave.

The first cover exemplifies the phrase "great faces for radio."

Anonymous said...

....And then there's Johnny Pecker and the Beaver Bustin' Pickle Weasels...but they're too subtle and intelligent for me ...

Steve: You should paste "Bitch Is All Business" for the folks.

BTW, here's the Dogs. Too rock for punk. Too punk for rock. But not bad to kickstart a backyard party when you can't get Iggy or the MC5. Live from Mabuhay Gardens, S.F. Note: Repetetive nature needs to be taken in context and in the right frame of mind. I promise it's better than Pat Boone covering Tim Buckley.

Vickie Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEeTBVxp8AI

Brooklyn Girl said...

I like them both, for obvious reasons, although the first one is funnier. :-)

Anonymous said...

Love the Let it Be cover. They actually look better now than they did then. The Barnacle Bill segment was a group effort ("...snort a pound of coke")based on pharmaceutical ignorance. So good to see the Weasels in the limelight of Power Pop.

Count Bassey

Jai Guru Dave said...

Where is Mike's picture??? He WAS the Weasels!

Revisionist history!!

P.S. For the record: Now I AM the Weasels.

Who Am Us Anyway? said...

You guys look great in the Let it Be take, but let's face it, who DIDN'T look great in 1776? Why back in 1776 ... so anyway I vote for Numero Dos on account of it's witty and cool at the same time and somewhere that means something.

Anonymous said...

Eighty five years in the music biz and still going strong. Atta boyz! Ya done good. Howza bout a premier party to celebrate the Weasels' ultimate compilation of hits (on an actual computer)and your fancy-shmancy blog?
Congrats!
MH Axelrod (the H is for harmonious)
P.S. Be nice to me.I CAN contact fine Roy Fine...and you know what that means.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dave, Mike the Drummer (aka Buddy Destitute aka The Former Situation aka Mike Sorrentino) needs to be represented, he was the driving force behind the live performing Weasels. And was mostly there for the bulk of the studio sessions. Sure, he was a lot younger than the other Weasels but he was also the cutest. Bring him back!!

Mike

MikeAdamson said...

I prefer the first one.