Chicago born performer Wazmo Nariz did have his eyes on the city's early punk days. In 1978 he released his first 7" on the local independent label 'Fiction'.
Check out the two neckties. Apparently this was his trademark.
I picked up this record a few years back for two reasons.
This flex review:
"Fast synth/wave punk on the A side, no guitars but “real” drums. Quite entertaining, reminds me of early Devo or the manic Geza X sound. B side is more in the pop punk vein, with guitars and good melodies. Good single."
And because it was dirt cheap.
The A-side really is a little hit if only for the weirdness but as you might already know I like that.
This 7" was rereleased in the UK by Stiff Records with a different B-side track: 'Wacker Drive"
I might have to check out that song to see if it's worth picking up but then again I'll probably just add it to an order I'm placing anyway or pick up a copy at a store if I come across one as it's not going to demand deep pockets either.
In 1979 Wazmo and the Wazband released the following LP which I recently picked up
Wazmo Nariz - things aren't right - I.R.S. Records - 1979
I like the layout of the sleeve and the way it is in sync with the titel but unfortunately that's about it for this record. Definitely the most boring release I picked up since I bought the latest Blondie LP last summer. Well, the Blondie record is really bad. I cannot listen to it. This slab of vinyl here is just boring. It has lost most of the weirdness and borders on uninspired 80s pop even though it was not released in the 80s. Even 'Checking Out The Checkout Girl' which was released as a 7" with another track off of the LP, 'Who Does It Hurt?', on the flipside cannot hold a candle to 'Tele-tele-telephone'.
One side of the innersleeve. The other's blank.
Beautiful rainbow labels round out a visually pretty good release. Too bad the sonic part doesn't match.
Before they were picked up by I.R.S. they released a 2nd 7" on Fiction maybe that one holds another hit.
To be continued...
