12 July 2008

F*#% F! How about A to Z?


UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded
08/30/2013. Enjoy, NØ.



My normally short attention span has been stretched beyond the breaking point with this continuing F thing. What about the other letters? What about A to Z?


Just where the Alley Cats / Zarkons come into the mix.













Anyone who's been around this place before knows that my musickal tastes are, well, mine alone & mighty damn strange, so you probably won't be too surprised when I proffer The Alley Cats as one of the great overlooked bands.








I saw them in a beat-up supper club on the nastier side of Hollywood Boulevard around '79 or '80 for $3. Randy Stodola could burn on the guitar, blasting the sharpest, smoothest riffs from his Fender Twin-Reverb amp.




Dianne Chai looked like a Chinese-American B-girl with a huge bouffant hair-do & sounded like Hell's angel.










Imagine a more heroin induced X with druggy lyrics that wallow in the excesses of the lowliest of street life. Michigan emigre Randy Stodola was the songwriter/guitarist & driving force, with a penchant for surreal narrative in his lyrics. His wife, Dianne Chai, on bass, & John McCarthy on drums made for one of the tightest outfits around.

Their earliest release, a single "Nothing Means Nothing Anymore" b/w "Give Me a Little Pain" was released on Dangerhouse Records (the independent that once boasted such legendary acts as the Avengers, the Bags, & X) in 1978. (Of course I'd dug this one, nothin' means nothin' anymore was my motto 'til I outgrew a bit of my nihilism & meant somethin' sometimes.) The Alley Cats from LA's South Bay (Lomita, actually) put out this fantastic single on Dangerhouse. Live, the songs killed. Everything this band did was just top notch, they were loved by all - the Hollywood punk rockers, the South Bay kids, the Orange County kids... what was there not to like about band founders Randy & Dianne? They were the nicest people, played the greatest music, fit in on any bill, always gave it their all.




The Alley Cats appear in Urgh! A Music War doing "Nothing Means Nothing Anymore".
(see it on YouTube)







Dangerhouse LOM-22,1978.
all decryption codes in comments



This rip is from the "live shot" 7". I added as a bonus track "Too Much Junk" from Dangerhouse 2 to this re-uploiaded file.



(The original releases were on black vinyl only, 2500 pressed in two batches January 1978 - April 1978. Two picture sleeves issued: a black & white "live shot" foldover and a color "lounge" cover which is simply a double-sided 7" x 7" square.)




















They then jumped ship to Time Coast, which released their follow-up single "Too Much Junk"
b/w Night Along The Blvd." in 1980, (Time Coast TC#22, 1980) as well as their first album, Nightmare City, in 1981.


The Alley Cats - Nightmare City LP, Time Coast/Faulty TC2201, 1981.

Side 1 -

Nightmare City
Night Along the Blvd.
One More Chance to Survive
King of the Street Fight
Today
Side 2 -

Nothing Means Nothing Anymore (album version)
Too Much Junk
Give Me a Little Pain (album version)
Black Haired Girl
When the World was Old

Their final album (on major label MCA), Escape from the Planet Earth, hit in 1982. This is by far the best over-all record by the Alley Cats. If you're not sure about this band, try starting with "Waiting for the Buzz", one great, great song. IMHO.

There is some rare footage from this iconic band doing "It Only Hurts the First Time" from Escape from the Planet Earth, taped at the bands rehearsal studio, filmed by director Dennis Dragon. A real Gem!
(see it on YouTube)



Side 1 -

Escape from the Planet Earth
It Only Hurts the First Time
Breath of the Barfly
Bitter Fruit
Waiting for the Buzz

Side 2 -

Night of the Living Dead
Naked Souls
The Hotel
After the Funeral
Just an Alley Cat

After this release, the band broke up. In 1985 they emerged again as the Zarkons, but some of the greatness had been lost during the shift to the ass end of the alphabet. What went wrong? Well, they signed with Ratt’s manager, Diane moved in with him, & they changed their name to The Zarkons. Drugs got bigger & bigger in their lives until they stepped into the darkness & just kinda disappeared.



Side 1 -

Screams in the Night
Live Free or Die
I'm Lovesick of the World
Queen of the Jungle

Side 2 -

White Rabbit
Darkness Synkopation
I Got a Hole in Me
Schizo-Phrenia




















Enjoy,

20 comments:

  1. THANKS FOR THE GREAT ALLEY CATS BLOG. THEY WERE ONE OF MY FAVORITES TOO. I ESPECIALLY LIKE THE 7" VERSION OF NOTHING MEANS NOTHING ANYMORE.ROCK ON! PAT

    ReplyDelete
  2. yes a great blog indeed, i had been looking for the original "nothing means" song for a while. I had it on a compilation cd "were desperate". Well actually from what i remember that version sounded different not sure but glad to find this one.
    What a great inclusion they were into the film "Urgh! a Music War"

    nice work.

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  3. Love that first Alleycats album but always thought "King of the Street Fights" was a terrible song. Great post!

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  4. Have you heard the River City Tanlines' version of "Nothing Means Nothing Anymore"? Good cover of a great song.

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  5. jon,

    had nearly forgotten about RCTs.
    got their "All 7 inches plus 2 more" a few years back (on Dirtnap, yeah!). thanks for the reminder. I don't think Alicja Trout's voice has quite that, well, L.A. pissed-offness that Dianne Chai has but still a great song & the RCTs always rip it up. I think I just don't like their covers ("I'm a Damn Dog", etc.) as well as their other material ("Devil Made Me Do It"?).

    thanks again for the heads-up & anyone reading these comments, check out River City Tanlines...real Tastee!

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  6. thanks so fucking much for posting these. i have looking to find digital versions of these records for a while, since sadly it looks like nobody's going to reissue a complete discography...a truly great lost band who mainly only gets mention for the dangerhouse single.

    i agree that the second alley cats lp is by far the best; never understood the negative reviews of it. i'd also never seen the video for "it only hurts the first time," which is my favorite song they ever did next to "give me a little pain." i though the only video i'd find was a pirated dvd of urgh! a music war...

    no mention of the second zarkons lp? i vaguely recall the second side having one or two listenable songs...

    ReplyDelete
  7. The album you mentioned is - Between the Idea & the Reality...Falls the Shadow. I do not have this record but am always on the look-out for it. Although it is not their greatest, it is a worthy addition to their pantheon of musick. If I find it, you can rest assured I'll post it here.

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  8. Hi i'm looking for The Zarkons "Between The Idea And The Reality...Falls The Shadow" LP!i you know where i can find it mail me!
    Rioter@mail.gr

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  9. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  10. Hello people,

    What online zines do you read and would recommend?

    For all you punk people out there I recommend The Enough Fanzine. It is one of the first emo ezines on the www.

    They have throusands of reviews from the most popular bands all over the world. Check them out online: [url=http://www.enoughfanzine.com]Enough Fanzine[/url]. Best of it all, they are 100% non-profit and just helping the scene!

    Looking forward to your recommendations.

    Regards!

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  11. Good stuff, I couldn't agree more about the Alley Cats!

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  12. Dianne Chai circa 1980 was one of the sexiest women on earth.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nathan, is there a way that I can contact you privately...?
    Thank you,
    Brooke
    earlessdog at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey there Any chance you still have this file/ vinyl/ etc? Gosh The Zarkons are impossible to find for downloads and stuff (By the way thanks for uploading their other album and the D.C. 3 ones too I've been listening to them all week)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks Angie for the comment & interest. I have been trying to re-up anything that anyone is checking out that went the way of the megaupload/mediafire fiasco. Glad you are enjoying the other files. I am working on getting these all together. I'll try to do it Saturday at the latest. If there are other things, just let me know. I have been doing this Musick around the World project & have hardly had time to do anything else. But I'm getting on it slowly but surely (or is that gettin' on Shirley??? I don't know right now).

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  16. Thanks! I really like the whole Musick around the World idea too so take your time dude (also I think that first message sent twice due to confusion on my part last time which probably made me sound a little annoying sorry about that)

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  17. Please re up nightmare city, ok pretty please

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    Replies
    1. I don't know what happened to the links to this post, but I re-upped all of them to box.com. Let me know if there are any more problems.

      Delete
    2. Please can you reupload the albums of this post, imposible stuff, hard to find dowloads, new links please, please!!!
      So many thanks

      Delete
    3. As of March 8, 2017 these have all been re-up'd. Get'em while ya can, & if you can't, let me know (again).

      Delete