Separating the Boys from The Girls

The Girls (Mark Dagley, George Condo, Daved Hild, & Robin Amos) were a Bizarro World band from Boston that existed from 1976 until early 1980, terrorizing local clubs & loft parties with their strange sound & stage antics. At a Thayer St. party, the entire band was dressed as chefs, complete with cliche poofy chef hats (see above). The Girls were probably the best Boston band of the early punk era. They, along with Human Sexual Response were the house bands of The Punkt Data Gallery (an artist collective of crazy young mostly UMass Art students). The Girls also had connections with The Museum School, the other big Boston Art School. Their shows variously careened from rock holocaust to performance art insanity.

This high strung synth punk/art rock unit only managed to put out one single during their brief life span. Pere Ubu's Hearthan Records imprint actually put out The Girls' 45, "Jeffrey I Hear You b/w The Elephant Man", the only non-Cleveland release the label ever thought worthy of releasing.

The Girls – Jeffrey I Hear You b/w The Elephant Man, Hearthan HR106, 1979.

Side 1 –

Jeffrey I Hear You

Side 2 –

The Elephant Man

The Girls – Reunion album is purported to be the documenting of a reunion gig circa '86. This however is rock mythology. The band never reunited & the tracks on this album are material they had recorded during their short existence that had never seen the light of day. Abaton Books did release 2003s Live At The Rathskeller CD from a May 17, 1979 show The Girls did that features four of the songs from Reunion.

The Girls – Reunion, Brasch Music BR102, 1986.
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Side One –

Jeffrey I Hear You

Doggie Auto

Vietcong Women

Pedestrian Walk

Keep it Simple

Fresco Lounge

Side Two –

Methodist Church

Now’s Now

Golf

Okey Dokey

Down Syndrome

These Things

Cubist Gold

By 1980, The Girls guitarist Mark Dagley had moved to New York City & formed Hi-Sheriffs of Blue, a No Wave Blues band (Elliott Sharp was one of a changing cast of players). They recorded two 7''ers & one split 7" with John Miller in the early 80s. Feeding Tube Records released most of their known recorded material on 2013s Hi-Sheriffs of Blue – NYC 1980.

Hi-Sheriffs of Blue – Cold Chills pts. I & II 7", Tweet Records 001, 1981.

Face A –

Cold Chills part I

Face B –

Cold Chills part II

Bassist George Condo also moved to New York City. He left the music world & went on to have a high profile career in the visual arts world. He became friends with Jean Michel Basquiat & Keith Haring in the blossoming Street-art scene blossoming in New York in the early 80s. His work can be found in the permanent collections of modern art museums worldwide.

Vocalist Daved Hild (whose vocals rank among the most neurotically wound up ever) would do several collaborative LPs with Akron, Ohio-based Tin Huey's Ralph Carney & notorious crazy man & Shimmy Disc head honcho Kramer. The Carney-Hild-Kramer release Black Power is probably the most well known (?). Kramer & Hild released one called Rubber Hair, but I’m featuring Hild’s first collaboration with the two, Happiness Finally Came to Them, because of the song ''Nothing''. (I am posting the Shimmy Europe CD version as it contains the fantastic 9+ minute ''Blood Drinking Head Choppers'' that is not on the LP.)

Carney, Hild, & Kramer – Happiness Finally Came to Them,

Shimmy Disc Europe SDE9027/CD, 1990.

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Tracklist –

Hands

Telephone

Clown

Nothing

Bank

Slowly

Wanda

Larry

Name

Barometer

Treefrog

Turkeyfaced

Javalena

Disguise

Lotto

End

3-D

Blood Drinking Head Choppers

Vocalist & keyboard/synthesizer wizard Robin Amos co-founded the equally bent synth punked outfit Shut Up. I only have the following two tracks from Shut Up.

Shut Up – Hell in a Handbasket, Brasch Music BR101, 1985.

Side A –

track 2 “All Alone”

track 4 “Thalidomide”

In 1990, Amos formed the band Cul de Sac with fellow Bostonian, guitarist Glenn Jones. The two have been the bands only constant members, with assistance through their storied career by many other great musicians. They have worked extensively with guitarist John Fahey & Can vocalist Damo Suzuki. Most of their recent material is available ofrom the Strange Attractors Audio House label. SAAH re-released the bands 1991 freshman outing in 2006 with several bonus tracks.

Cul de Sac – ECIM CD, Strange Attractors Audio House SAAH043, 2006.
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Tracklist –

Death Kit Train*

The Moon Scolds the Morning Star*

Stranger at Coney Island+

Homunculus*

The Portland Cement Factory at Monolith, California*

Nico’s Dream*

The Invisible Worm*

Song to the Siren+

Electar*

Lauren’s Blues*

bonus tracks –

Cul de Sade

The Bee Who Would not Work

Negligee

* on Capella vinyl PELL0011, UK 1992.

+ on Capella CD PELL0012, UK 1991.

Cul de Sac – China Gate CD, Thirsty Ear THI57023.2, 1996.
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Tracklist –

China Gate

Sakhalin

Nepenthe

Doldrums

James Coburn

Virgin Among Cannibals

…his teeth got lost in the mattress…

Hemispheric Events Command

The Fourth Eye

The Colomber

China Gate (reprise)

Utopia Pkwy

Enjoy,

NØ