The Cramps roots can be traced back to 1976 when, according to legend, Erick Purkhiser picked up hitchiker Kristy Wallace in Ohio. They discovered a mutual love of old-time rock'n'roll and classic SciFi B-movie matinee fare... The rest, as they say, is history.
They soon decided to form a band. Akron Ohio was not the place for a band like The Cramps to "happen" so the couple packed on up and moved to New York City, drawn by the lure of what they read and heard was happening at a club called CBGBs... Erick took the stage name "Lux Interior" from an ad he saw describing an automobile ("Lux" as in the advertising abbrv for "Deluxe") and Kristy took the name "Poison Ivy Rorschach", from a dream she had (of course, everyone knows that a Rorschach Test is the ink blot quiz a shrink gives folks). Lux would be the singer, Ivy the guitarist. The band was soon rounded out by Bryan Gregory on guitar and Bryan's sister Pam "Balam" on drums. Pam quickly dropped out and was replaced by Miriam Linna. After recording one demo and playing a few gigs, Miriam left to join Nervous Rex. Her replacement was Electric Eels drummer Nick Knox (Nicholas Stephanoff).
Their "minimalist sound" may take some getting used to, but this is pure raw rock'n'roll. Two guitars (they only recently submitted to having a bassist) and a basic trap drum set (Bass drum, Snare and cymbal) were the only instruments. Ivy played lead guitar while Bryan (and his subsequent replacements) played highly fuzzed and distorted guitar riffs, more than making up for the lack of a bass. In New York they became cult favorites and, with Alex Chilton (of Panther Burns fame) they recorded a couple independent singles which caught the ear of Miles Copeland, who signed them to his fledgling I.R.S. Records. Those first singles and a fifth song, were released as GRAVEST HITS. The Cramps toured briefly then headed back to the studio with Alex Chilton to begin work on their first full-length LP, SONGS THE LORD TAUGHT US
Shortly after the LP SONGS THE LORD TAUGHT US was released, Bryan Gregory left the band, taking their van and most of their equipment with him. It's rumored he didn't like the direction the band was going and wanted a more modern sound and thought the lyrics should be meaningful, like The Clash. Obviously Bryan had no idea what it meant to be "Cramped." He surfaced a while later in a band called Beast, releasing three singles. They soon Dumped Gregory, moved to the UK and became Veil, vanishing after a one shot gothic LP. Gregory later worked as either a satanic minister or a porn shop vendor, depending on who you believe. (Bryan Gregory died of heart failure in January, 2001. See the IRS Memorial Page for more details). Gregory was replaced by Julien Greinsnatch, whose time with The Cramps, while limited, was forever recorded on film in URGH! A MUSIC WAR.
Gun Club's Kid Congo Powers, a longtime fan, picked up the guitar duties and the band went into the studio to
record PSYCHEDELIC JUNGLE. It was during this time that The Cramps started having problems with Miles
Copeland and I.R.S. Records. Royalties, unapproved cover art, and lack of promised support on tour were the reputed
sources of the dispute. Ultimately the case was settled out of court, but not without having a severe impact on the
band. During the period of litigation they could not record (technically they were still contracted with I.R.S.)
so touring became their only source of income. Because desperate fans hungered for new material, fear of bootlegging
kept The Cramps from doing new material at these concerts.
Once the case was settled, The Cramps recorded a live set at New York's Peppermint Lounge which was released (on the late great Enigma Records) as the "tastefully entitled" SMELL OF FEMALE. Kid Congo then left the band (amicably) to return to Gun Club. I.R.S., either to fulfill a term of the settlement or as a final kiss-off released the psuedo-greatest hits collection BAD MUSIC FOR BAD PEOPLE.
Then a period of rotating second guitarist/bassist and rotating labels began. Guitarists/bassists who came and went included Click Mort, Ike Knox (Nick's brother), Mike Metoff (formerly of The Pagans and Nick's cousin), Fur and finally Candy Del Mar who stuck around for a while. After she left a fellow named Slim Chance assumed duties on the bass.
Nick Knox, stalwart drummer, had long suffered from vision troubles and after eye surgery left him blind in one eye, decided to leave the band and retire. He was replaced by Jim Sclavunos, and soon followed by Nicky Beat and then Harry Drumdini, arriving at the current line up of Lux, Ivy, Slim and Harry.
In 1989 The Cramps seemed to have smoothed over some of their problems with Miles and I.R.S., as they assisted in the preparation of their I.R.S. catalog for CD release. This apparent reconciliation may have only been for the sake of making sure "it was done right" for The Cramps continued to work independent of any "major label" influence. The Cramps continue to record and perform and have released many albums since leaving IRS. While this site is devoted to IRS Records exclusively, all of The Cramps recordings are worthwhile and, in humble webmaster Mr. Bill's opinion, worth seeking out and owning... Look for the aforementiond SMELL OF FEMALE, A DATE WITH ELVIS, STAY SICK, LOOK MOM NO HEAD, ROCKINNREELININAUKLANDNEWZEALND (a live concert recording), and FLAMEJOB.
In 2001, Lux and Ivy revived their Vengeance Records label and regained most of their non-I.R.S. catalog for reissue. And not only on CD -- they're also available on cool colored vinyl (which makes Mr. Bill have flashbacks to the glorious 80s)! These are readily available, provided you're in a hip location, at your local music shop. Or just use the handy Amazon links here!
Musicians
Lux Interior Vocals
Poison Ivy Guitar
Bryan Gregory Guitar
Nick Knox Drums
Track Listing:
The tongue-in-cheek liner notes more or less say it all: "In The Spring of 1976, The Cramps began to fester in a NYC apartment... The Cramps dove into the deepest recesses of the Rock'n'Roll Psyche for the most primal of all rhythmic impulses -- Rockabilly -- the sound of Southern Culture falling apart in a blaze of shudders and hiccups... (they) also picked and chose amongst the psychotic debris of previous rock eras -- instrumental rock, surf, psychedelia and sixties punk. And then they added the junkiest element of all -- themselves. Nick Knox , stoic drummer with the history of the big beat written in his left hand. Ivy Rorschach, voodoo guitarist with the rhythm method down as pat as her blonde beauty. Bryan Gregory, flipping cigs and fractured guitar runs at the incredulous mob. And Lux Interior, the band's frontal lobe, wherein Elvis gets crossed with Vincent Price and decent folks ask, 'What hath God wrought?'... The Cramps don't pummel and you won't pogo. They ooze, you'll throb."
The EP was released with at least two different colored covers. At first black was the most common, but over time, red became the common cover. Green and lavender covers have been reported, but Mr Bill believes these reports to be erroneous at best and wishful thinking at worst. The EP was supported by a US tour in which The Cramps opened for Buzzcocks. . Soon after that it was back to Memphis and Alex Chilton to begin working on their first full-length LP...
Musicians:
Lux Interior Vocals
Poison Ivy Guitar
Bryan Gregory Guitar
Nick Knox Drums
Additional Musicians:
Booker C Organ on "Fever"
Track Listing:
The fine print on the spine reads: "File Under Sacred Music," a sentiment shared by devoted fans the world over. This was The Cramps second record and first full length LP. Originally slated for release in 1979, there was a printing error on the cover and it was reprinted before too many erroneous covers escaped. The 1979 "error" cover is shown at the right, above. The error lies in the incorret sequencing and the inclusion of the LP's single B-side, although the record enclosed contained the correct sequencing as reflected on the correct sleeve (which carries the copyright date of 1980)... if you manage to find one of the 1979 covers, hang on to it! Your humble webmaster has been offered a staggering sum for his copy!
Stand out tracks on this offering are "TV Set", the single cut (and rarely seen music video) "Garbageman", "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" (with its terrific lyric, "I was a teenage werewolf, braces on my fangs..."), "Sunglasses After Dark","Tear It Up"and the rock love ballad, "Fever." "Mad Daddy" is a tribute to a legendary 50's rock DJ from their native Ohio.
The 1989 CD reissue is interesting not just because SONGS THE LORD TAUGHT US finally appered on CD, but because of the slightly different versions of four of the tracks and a previously unreleased song ("Twist and Shout" which is NOT The Beatles' tune, but a Cramps original) presented as "bonus tracks." The "false start" version of "...Werewolf" alone is worth the price of the disc! You get to witness "art in action" as Lux chews out someone in the studio who has ruined a take for the last time (and cost the band valuable studio time)!
Produced by The Cramps
Engineered by Paul McKenna
Recorded at A&M Studios, January, 1981
Photography (front) Donna Santisi
Photography (back) Anton Corbijn
Musicians:
Lux Interior Vocals
Poison Ivy Guitar
Kid Congo Powers Guitar
Nick Knox Drums
Track Listing:
It was shortly after this release that The Cramps' legal posturing with Miles Copeland and IRS came to a head, and there are hints on the LP of what was about to happen. In the "back-masking" of "Beautiful Gardens" Lux can be heard saying (if you take the time and have the means to play it in reverse), "If I said this in English, this record company would turn into a parking lot." Indeed. IRS is no more and parent label (at the time) A&M is merely a memory and an imprint of a bigger (and more evil) musical conglomeration... The suit was settled out of court, the terms of which have never been made public. The Cramps were not heard from for several years while the lawsuit meandered through our legal system. Fans had to depend on live venues to hear new material. And what a treasure trove of material it was!
PSYCHEDELIC JUNGLE showed Lux and Ivy's continuing penchant for finding forgotten musical gems from rock's roots. While there are many "originals" here, the covers range from the obscure and forgotten ("Green Fuz", "Rockin' Bones") to the famous and infamous ("Green Door", and wrestling ballad, "The Crusher"). Excellent originals here are the "sanity-doubting" "Can't Find My Mind" and "Beautiful Gardens", the obscene phone call ditty "Under The Wires" and the "almost-a-public-service-announcement" "Don't Eat Stuff Off The Sidewalk". In 1989 PSYCHEDELIC JUNGLE and GRAVEST HITS were combined for CD release (See below)...
Produced by The Cramps (except * produced by Alex Chilton)
Project Coordinator John Guarnieri
Art & Design Carl Grasso
Cover Art by Stephen Blickenstaff
Layout by Ron Scarselli
Mastered by Eddie Schreyer at Capitol
Musicians:
Lux Interior Vocals
Poison Ivy Guitar
Kid Congo Powers Guitar on +
Bryan Gregory Guitar on *
Nick Knox Drums
Track Listing:
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1: OFF THE BONE (note 3D cover -- glasses included! 2: the "Drug Train" single with double B-side, and 3: "The Crusher" 12" single also with double B-side... |
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Though all the material is available elsewhere, this is worth owning just to have all the odds and ends on one disc...
Produced by The Cramps (except * produced by Alex Chilton)
Engineered by Paul McKenna (except * engineered by John Hampton)
Photographs by Stephanie Chernikowski (on CD erroneously credited to David Arnoff), Donna Santini and Anton Corbijn
Prepared for CD Release by John Guarnieri
Digitally Remastered by Mike Reese at A&M Studios, Hollywood
Musicians:
Lux Interior Vocals
Poison Ivy Guitar
Kid Congo Powers Guitar (except *)
Bryan Gregory Guitar on *
Nick Knox Drums
Track Listing:
"Garbage Man"/"Drug Train"
Produced by Alex Chilton
Musicians
Lux Interior Vocals
Poison Ivy Guitar
Bryan Gregory Guitar
Nick Knox Drums
"Garbageman" was the first IRS single from The Cramps and there was an accompanying video (directed by Derek Burbridge) which received NO airplay on MTV (which we in the IRS Corner affectionately call "eMpTy Vee"). "TV Set" was a better tune, but, given the subject matter, would have had less opportunity for airplay at the time!
The B-side ("Drug Train") was a UK A-side and, depending on how you interpret the lyrics, made either a pro- or anti-drug statement: "(...how to get on board the Drug Train) You pick one leg up. You pick the other leg up. And you pick the other leg up, and you're on board the Drug Train!" Another lyric: "I saw Elvis with your mother (on the Drug Train)."
The sleeve notes on one side read, "Stay Sick, Turn Blue" and on the other, "Too Bad Your Gonna Die" (yes, with the misspelled "You're")...
"Goo Goo Muck"/"She Said"
Produced by The Cramps
Musicians:
Lux Interior Vocals
Poison Ivy Guitar
Kid Congo Powers Guitar
Nick Knox Drums
"Goo Goo Muck" deserved airplay and should've been a hit. The B-side is The Cramps' longtime concert favorite, "She Said", a cover of a Hasil Adkins tune. Before The Cramps recorded this hardly anyone knew who Hasil was. Hasil's career got a boost and the "semi-reclusive country almost-could've-been" toured and recorded again, thanks to The Cramps.
In concert, Lux never sings this the same way twice and keeps the band guessing as to how many times he's gonna say "She said..." before he rips into the chorus. A lot of fun to watch and hear live!
IRS GREATEST HITS, VOLS 2 & 3 (IRS SP70800) includes
"Uranium Rock"
KILL YOUR RADIO (29696) includes
"Human Fly"
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (IRS 6184) includes
"Goo Goo Muck"
THESE PEOPLE ARE NUTS (IRS 82010) includes "Goo Goo Muck"
URGH! A MUSIC WAR A&M SP6019 contains a live performance of "Tear It Up"
There are a phenominal amount of websites out there devoted to The Cramps. Unfortunately since the IRS CORNER was launched, most of the links that were featured here have gone by the wayside (including a slick, almost complete "official" Cramps page)...