March 28, 1980 Gusto record review: Local groups

The burst of creative energy in Buffalo bands in the late 1970s begins bubbling up on vinyl.

March 28, 1980

Local groups are putting out their own records in increasing numbers

Maybe we should start calling this The Year of the Independent Local Record. It’s not that hard to put one out, as a slew of area artists have discovered. All you need are some musicians, a studio, some tape, some money and, of course, some worthy material. Under the right circumstances, you can record and print 500 singles for less than what it would cost to buy a new stereo to play them on.

As a result, the first three months of 1980 have seen an unprecedented number of local releases. In addition to the big sellers – the Talas album and ASG’s EP – there is an abundance of singles and EPs from young bands that make the scene at McVan’s, along with a pair of notable records from Black artists.

Dandiest cover belongs to the Enemies, Buffalo’s primo punk-rockers. “Products of the Street” (Raw Records BPE-666) sports the artwork of comic cartoonist Gene Colan, who envisions Billy Piranha and the boys leading a jailbreak. Inside are six hard-hitting hunks of jailhouse style that generate the band’s appeal, including a personal favorite, “Test Tube Baby.” Lashed onward by Piranha’s classic rock guitar, the Enemies close the gap between the ‘50s and the present. With production that’s remarkably true to the band’s live sound, it hardly seems like a local record.

Biggest specialty item at the moment is the Party Nuggets single, “I Mow the Lawn” backed with “Like Mork and Mindy” (Casual Records MMX-1004). Recorded and mixed in five hours at Buffalo’s Maxwell Studio, it’s so wacky that it’s wonderful.

Led by guitarist Peter LaBonne, a cohort of Memphis New Wave guru Alex Chilton, the Nuggets combine slapdash funk (hear them turning up the knobs on Bruce Eaton’s drums) with lyrics that verge on the Dadaistic. “I mow the lawn for the New Wave/I mow the lawn over Elvis’ grave,” the A side chants. The flip side puts another funk riff behind a bizarre phone conversation.

A throwback to the past is the Good’s “Walk Around the World” backed with “Clouds” (Buffalo College of Musical Knowledge BCMK-66). Co-produced by the Good’s Bernie Kugel and Dave Meinzer of Davy and the Crocketts, its vocal simplicity and the earnestness of its Farfisa organ recall the last great era of independent recording in the mid ‘60s.

A thoroughly modern record is Mark Freeland’s Electro-Man’s “Let’s Stay Up and Party Till Six in the Morning” (Trelaine Records TR-EP-801). Freeland, best known as lead singer for progressive rockers Pegasus, has made a six-song rock dance EP that touches funk, reggae and New Wave rhythms with startling expertise. It’s an uncommonly good party record. I wish it was twice as long.

Pegasus bassist Steve Trecasse is the brain behind the group Trelaine, whose first single is “I’m With You” backed with “Ain’t It the Truth” (Trelaine TR-45802). Building on keyboards, synthesized sounds and a rhythm machine, Trelaine achieves a dreamy sound that suggests the pop side of Todd Rundgren.

Thoroughly British are the electronic pop stylings of the Trek with Quintronic single, “Heaven Tonight” backed with “All in All” (Mark Custom Records MC-5701). In depth of production and refinement of sound, guitarist Paul Wilcox and keyboardist David Kane, both of the group Masque, have succeeded in making a record that sounds more like Bowie than Buffalo. An album is due from them within a few weeks.

Chic is one reference point for Black songwriter Billy Harris Brown’s first outing as Billy Butterfly and the Butterfly Dream, “Touche, I’m OK” (Positive Magic PM-0001). The other side, “Save It for a Rainy Day,” is inspired by the lush Southern California sound and the classy pop-jazz of the Crusaders, which comes through in the rhythm guitar and the electronic drip-drops.

Closer to the streets is the 7 Miles Per Hour Band, who play with such verve you overlook the raggedy edges on the horns and the vocals. “Playing Your Game” (Music City MC-JH-9-10-79) is lounge music, bold as brass. However, the flip side, “Latin Freak,” is an extraordinary workout, blasted along by the horns. This is what good-time music is all about.

Judging by these local efforts, independent record production has entered a brave new age. Most follow the New Wave rock format of printed sleeves and informational inserts. More than mere collectors’ items, they’re generally as well-made and listenable as any indy release you’ll find, domestic or imported. Who knows? These discs could be the seeds for a lively Buffalo recording industry in the future.

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IN THE PHOTO: The cover of the Enemies EP.

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RANDOM NOTES: Billy Piranha, a/k/a Joe Bompczyk, died in 2010. His spirit lives on in Enemies reunion shows.

As it turns out, Peter LeBonne’s Alex Chilton connection began with a meet-up in Austin and led to an invitation to come up from his home base in Memphis to play a gig at McVan's. Peter went on to form a group called the Blue Reimondos.

Bernie Kugel, who published a fanzine in the 1970s called Big Star, an unmistakable shout-out to Chilton fans, was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame in 2012, where his bio brands him "the Godfather of the Buffalo punk scene in the '70s."

High point for Billy Harris Brown was his 1985 release, "Rockin' on the Rocketship," which still attracts admirers. That one is on YouTube. So are those songs by the 7 Miles Per Hour Band.

The multi-talented Mark Freeland died in 2007. I miss him.