VA...ES CHAOS IS DIE BOTSCHAFT! ES WURSCHTLN ES!

LP, LUZIPRAK RECORDS/Vienna, LUZ 1, 1997 (lim.700 copies)

Side A

CHUZPE - Nervengas (Wien, 1977/78)

PÖBEL - Scheiss auf's Bundesheer (Wien, 1981)

RONNIE URINI - Rocket Radio (Wien - 1981/90)

SCHUND - DÖF (Deutsch-Österreichische-Freundschaft) (Wien, 1981)

SCHUND - Fasching, Ostern, Weihnachten-Mollie, der brennt immer schön (Wien, 1981)

RATS - Jugend der City (Linz, 1981/93)

KLEENEX AKTIV - Alleine sein (Wien, 1981)

EXTREM - Haus im 2.Bezirk (Wien, 1984)

Side B

CHAOS - Get Out Of My Pocket (Feldkirch, 1979)

CHUZPE - Nervengas (Wien, 1977/78)

RATS - Das Mädchen das du liebst (Linz, 1981/93)

BÖSLINGE - Scheiss Kibarei (Wien, 1979/81)

DEAD NITTELS - Bla bla (Wien, 1982)

DIRT SHIT - Discoscheisser (Wien 1978/79)

STD - Konflikt (Wien, 1984)

DEAD NITTELS - Der Papst (Wien, 1982)

WELLBLECH UNTERGRUND - Heut' Nacht (Lehen, 1983/84)

Linernotes:

 This compilation contents the worst and the best Austrian Punkbands from the first Generation, including some rare single-material, and a lot of great unreleased stuff!

When I started to collect old austrian punk records in the late 80s, I knew nothing about the punk history of my own country. Who knew? Who could I ask? There was Barny from Incognito Records in Stuttgart/Germany who said "...have you ever heared or seen the records of PÖBEL, BÖSLINGE, CHUZPE, SCHUND, DIRT SHIT, CHAOS, MORDBUBEN AG, DEAD NITTELS, RPB, ...". I was flashed, allready the names of these bands sounded fantastic for me. As a big fan of old german-sung punk rock living in Austria, I immediately started to fall in love with this lost & forgotten austrian music era.

In Vienna at this time there where a few secondhand record stores where you could get this old records, if you had luck, TON UM TON, WHY NOT, TEUCHTLER, TOM CAT, ... I can remember that DUM DUM RECORDS had boxes full of these austrian vinyl 7inches, waiting there for about decades.

In the early 90s when I had found most of the classic austrian punk records, and the BACK TO FRONT, BLOODSTAINS, KILLED BY DEATH, ...compilations where published, I thought I could do this too. A compilation full of austrian punk treasures plus unreleased stuff would hit the enthusiasts, who out there really knew that we had such great punk bands and local punk scenes?

With the help of Barny from Incognito Records, who financed a big part and sold the biggest number worldwide, and Stefan Weber, the mastermind behind (and infront of) the famous rock theater company DRAHDIWABERL, who did the fantastic cover (with the typically weber-ised "Wiener Sängerknaben"), I was able to finish my first compilation "Es Chaos is die Botschaft! Es wurschtln es!" [chaos is the message! you pantaloons!] in 1997. Nobody here in Austria was intereseted in this record, every record shop I visited (maybe less than five) took maximum 10 pieces, and I'm not shure if all of them have even payed!? There was no scene for this historical music in the 90s in my homeland, so I took the rest of the records and sent it to some german mailorders. So that's how it was, the rest of the globe bought the records, and after a little bit more than one year the complete stock has gone worldwide. (...so please don't to ask for a copy, try it at ebay! Sorry, if I only had known!)

CHUZPE [impertinence] was Austrias "first real punkband", founded in the middle of 1977 in Vienna, they played their first concert in the end of the same year. The first lineup was Robert "Räudig"[scabious] Wolf, Albert "Ali Krawalli"[riot] Griemann, Christian "Chruzifix" Brandl and Rudi "Rüpel"[yob] Barcal. Till 1979 they played punk with a not too crude viennese dialect, and had political and social lyrics, which where handed out on papers during the concerts. CHUZPE released 3 punk songs on the famous WIENER BLUTRAUSCH [viennese blood rage]-Compilation in 1979 and in the same year they also released an own 7inch which had a more mod/garage-60s sound. In the same style they had a track on the KELLERROCK-EP in 1980. Later they released a couple of interesting new wave records. The two tracks on this compilation, "Nervengas" [nerve gas] and "Kopfschüssler" [idiot] are from their never released first 4track-7inch which has been recorded in 1978.

PÖBEL [mob] was the successor of GLEITMITTEL [sex lube], a brief existing viennese punk band. PÖBEL, Hannes "Lörkas" Langer, Martin "Das Viech"[the animal] Wich, Ernst "Tschuri" Hörmann, Sven "Von Sinnen"[out of mind] Immervoll, was a really tough pogo band, that not only played in capital city, they also had a handful gigs outside of Vienna and two in Germany during their short lifetime. PÖBEL relased one illegal 7inch ES LEBE HOCH DIE PERVERSION [long live the perversion] in 1981 on the newly established recordlabel Panza Platte, where every copy had promo-labels with black marker writings on it. This limited 200 pieces vinyl belongs to the holy grail of austrian punk culture. When the band split in 1981, the drummer changed to BLÜMCHEN BLAU. "Scheiss auf's Bundesheer" [fuck the armed forces] is from their one and only 7inch.

SCHUND [trash] was a short lived viennese hc-punk band, with "Schund" Doris  on screaming vocals, a german fraeuleinwunder, that Michael "Mickey Kodak" Snoj brought from a journey to Vienna, directly into the GAGA (Gassergasse), an occupied house where some punks and libertines stayed in the early eighties. The rest of the band were "Schund" Bobby, "Schund" Stefan and Harry "Dr. Hanomag" Oftner. "Kodak" recorded a SCHUND demo in 1981 in the rehearsal room, and pressed 4 songs on a 7inch (lim.500 pieces). In 1982 when the GAGA was closed by the police, and Doris was forced back to germany by the goverment, the band became history. The two songs on this compilation, "Deutsch-Österreichische-Freundschaft" [german-austrian-friendsip] and "Fasching, Ostern, Weihnachten-Mollie, der brennt immer schön" [carneval, easter, christmas-a molotov cocktail burns always nice], are also from the 1981-demo KÄMPFE FÜR DICH [fight for yourself].

THE RATS (1981-83) was a long forgotten 3-man-band from Linz, with Harry "Hurtig"[swift] Brunner, Peter Trebo and Andreas "Mops" Breitwieser, that played a few gigs in the local scene, where once the band performed in leather and suspenders, and the audience was separated from the stage by a chain-fence. In 1983 they recorded two songs in a professional local studio, that sounded powerless and boring like (austro)pop/rock because the technician(s) had no the feeling for punk and THE RATS, which was a main problem in Austria at that time. In the same year the band split, and the drummer moved to Vienna to form FEUERLÖSCHER [extinguisher]. The two songs on this compilation, "Jugend der City" [youth of the city] and "Das Mädchen das du liebst" [the girl you love (is a bitch)], which are historic tracks, have been recorded especially for this compilation in 1993, which was ok for an authentic sound, because during the last 10 years they never played the same instruments as they did with THE RATS!

KLEENEX AKTIV was a follow-up of the legendary punk heroes DIRT SHIT from Vienna. The original bandmembers from 1981 where Roli "Rostig"[rusty] Übereuter, Michael "Billi Nutella" Stenker, Harry Müller and Ronnie "Urini" Iraschek. KLEENEX AKTIV was the best sounding pogo punk band until 1982/83 when they changed to New Wave/Pop, a result of the cooperation with a major label. The fast and faster drums of Ronnie and the massiv guitar & bass of Rolli & Harry sounded like an explosion in the heart of Vienna. Their concerts where legendary, but they never found a way to record a song in a studio that met the expectations. What a shame! In 1982 they recorded a 7inch on PANZA-PLATTE which is not really bad, but far away from what could have been! In 1985 the band broke after a lousy second 7inch. "Alleine sein" [(never again) home alone] is from an early practice session, where the lyrics where not really finished.

EXTREM is the (international) most famous early HC band from Austria. The formation began in the summer of 1979, and in 1980 the lineup was complete, Helmut "Heiland"[saviour] Hejtmanek, Dieter Hauptmann and Peter Zinner. After some gigs in Vienna and one in Munich, Daniela Delise on the bass was added in 1983. In the same year Michael "Mickey Kodak" Snoj aka. MICKEYMAN recorded with them a limited (200 pieces) split-LP, and after a contribution on an international hardcore compilation in 1985, there was no chance to find this record anymore, as the interests grew world wide. The lyrics where socio-critical, sung in a viennese slang and the sound was very rough and speed-up, a perfect DIY-HC product. In 1984 they also recorded a demo, from which the song "Haus im 2.Bezirk" [house in the second district] (a brothel) is taken. After Heiland left the band for a solo career, they recorded a 7inch in 1987 and a solo-LP in 1990, both records where much faster an more metal like, but still hardcore.

CHAOS, ex-THE G.A.Y. was formed in the end of 1977. There were Franz Bröckel, Thomas "Chy" Kessler, Hannes "Slaughter" Lampert and Peter "Galle" Galehr, who startet the first punk band in western Austria, directly in Feldkirch, a small town near the swiss boarder. The first concert was done in early 1978, and very soon they gain access in the much bigger and  better interlinked swiss punk scene. They played fast and cathy, with a polyphonic chorus which gave their english songs such power. These guys where really crazy and famous for their destructive behaviour during and beside the shows. In 1979 they recorded 3 songs with OFF COURSE RECORDS in Zurich, produced by the swiss punk legend Rudolph Dietrich, remember the NASAL BOYS, EXPO or KDF from Zurich, and pressed two of these songs on a 12inch together with THE SICK, another great swiss punk band, on the other side. In 1980, when the singer Franz formed the band, LE PASSE PARTOUT, The rest continued under the name EX-CHAOS and Galle also joined NULL KOMA NICHTS [zero coma nothing]. "Get Out Of My Pocket" is from the legendary Split-12inch.

BÖSLINGE [vicous] was an early punk band from Vienna, formed in 1979 by Erwin "Bösling" Brandlhofer, Harry "the Herbert" Rau and Peter "Der Rutschige"[the slippery] Ruzicka. In Vienna at that time it was common in the punk scene, that some guys in the audience form a band during a concert, and one week later they conquer the stage, as it was with the BÖSLINGE. From the beginning on, they could built up their fanbase with their songs about police, goverment, and shit in a rough viennese slang. There might be no other band in the world, that used the word "Scheiss" [shit] as often as this band in their lyrics. Among others they played a gig in a mental hospital, which was filmed and shown in cinemas around the country in the "Wochenschau" [weekly news]. After a personnel exchange in 1981, Harry left and Peter Lesch joined the band, they recorded 3 songs for a 7inch (lim. max.200 pieces) on O-TANNENBAUM-RECORDS(pre-PANZA-PLATTE), which is also one part of the holy grail of austrian punk vinyl! In the same year they split, and after a long period they formed a reunion under the name THE WAY. "Scheiss Kibarei" [shit cops] is taken from their rare 7inch.

DEAD NITTELS, named after the murdered Vienna city councillor Heinz Nittlel, started in 1981. The original lineup was Cristian "Hulk" Bischof, Hannes "Lörkas" Langer, Michael Neumann, and the brothers Joschi and Manfred Schäffer. After some chaotic concerts in Vienna the band recorded a 15song-demo in 1982, that conservated their original notorious pogo punk sound. They had a huge fanbase in their hometown, also because of their straight lyrics and the typical viennese slang. In 1983, with a different lineup, they produced a 4song-7inch. The DEAD NITTELS was the longes existing punk band of Austria over and above the milenium. "Bla Bla" [blah blah blah] and "Der Papst" [the pope] are taken from their 1982-demo "Anti-New Wave-Liga", named after a coalition of some viennese punk bands against the "family-frendlier" new wave sound.

DIRT SHIT stands in the first row of austrian punk bands. Born in 1978, with Robert "Räudig" of CHUZPE who left after one or two live shows, was this band maybe the most complete punk package that was (perhaps forever!?) available in the country of the lovely "Wiener Sängerknaben". At the peak of DIRT SHIT, that was Roli "Rostig" Übereuter, Berni "Bedenklich"[questionable] Tragut, Michi "Monoton" and Ronnie "Urin(i)" Iraschek, they could cause a pogo orgy whenever they charged the stage. The songs where fast, the guitars where dirty and the vocals where catchy and violent. Michi had never sung the same lyrics, and improvised at every show, which worked until he was done on stage. In 1979 they could have had an appearance in an austrian b-movie "Exit-Nur keine Panik" [Exit-Don't panic]. But they where knocked out because of a quarrel with the producer(s), althought the songs for the movie where already recorded. After a threat to sue by the band, the movie team gave them money to cut the 4 songs on 7inch vinyl (lim.500 pieces). They only played a few gigs in Vienna, and one in 1980 in Linz. Drugs and alcohol resulted in the end of this band.

STD (SOCIAL-TRANSMISSION-DECAY) was a short-lived hardcore band from Vienna that existed from 1983 to 1984. The bandmembers where "Alko", Alex Piko, "Nusch" and Peter Zinner who was also the drummer for EXTREM at the same time. They gave only six concerts in the capital city. "Konflikt" [conflict] is taken from a demo that was made in the rehearsal room in 1984.

WELLBLECH UNTERGRUND [corrugated iron sheet underground] (which makes not the same sense when you translate it!) where Tomislav Zuljevic, Max Aistleitner and the brothers Dietmar and Anton Karte. Formed in 1981, they started with punky coverversions of better known hits, and later wrote their own songs. They gave approximately 130 gigs, mostly in Linz and the surrounding region, where they were affected by bands they had played with, like EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN. In 1983 they pressed a 7inch (1000 pieces) with the vocal help of Irene Syteme of IN-SEIT, the result was a good punk/ne wave-mix. In 1984 they recorded 2 songs, "Heut' Nacht" [tonight] and "Mädchen vom Land" [girl from the country] for the compilation "2.te Linzer Rocknacht"[2nd Linz rock night]-LP that did not really succceed, and pressed only in a limited number with a gatefold sleeve that has a nice picture of a punk (Tomislav) kneeing infront of a police man in a traditional monarchistic uniform. The Band existed until 1988.

I will use this blog to tell you more about these bands and their output.

VA...ES CHAOS IS DIE BOTSCHAFT! ES WURSCHTLN ES! II

LP, LUZIPRAK RECORDS/Vienna, LUZ 6, 2010 (lim.1000copies)

Side A

SCOOTER - Crazy Police (Wr.Neustadt, 1982)

WILLI WARMA - Ich sprenge alle Ketten (Linz, 1981)

TOM PETTINGS HERTZATTACKEN - I Found Out (Lienz/Wien, 1980)

NULL KOMA NICHTS - Der Weisse Rum (Feldkirch, 1982)

RPB - Tenebrae (Wien, 1981)

HOTEL MORPHILA ORCHESTER - Sex in der Stadt (Wien, 1982)

COMMERCIALS - Mein Kampf (Wien, 1981)

KILLROY - Robert Damiens (Wien, 1984)
Side B

INTIMSPRAY - One Million Barrels (Innsbruck, 1980/81)

FRONTAL - Keine Ahnung (Wels, 1983)

EXCALIBUR - Sweet Little Girl (Wien 1982)

DIRT SHIT - Der letzte Dreck von Wien (Wien, 1978/79)

CADILLAC - Cold Love (Wien, 1976/79)

ÖMÖ - Pumperl geht... (Graz, 1982)

BLACK VEIL - Take Me As I Am (Wien, 1982)

X-BELIEBIG - Fang an (Wr.Neustadt, 1980)

Linernotes:

This second compilation contains some Austrian Proto Punk and Punk Rock from the first generation, including some rare & some unreleased Punk influenced Powerpop, Trash Rock, New Wave and No Wave stuff!

Once there was a larger quantity of my first punk compilation sold, I got mails from around the world, with compliments for the selection and some demands for old austrian punk records. I was a student, starting a self-employment business, needed the damned money, and sadly I sold or traded some of my rare austrian records.

For over 10 years the small rest of my collection was untouched and stored in the basement. About 2 or 3 years ago people her in Austria started to ask for "Es Chaos is die Botschaft...", if I have some copies left, and that it was such a good record, etc. I also heared rumours that Martin "Panza" Biro, a first generation punk from Vienna and co-founder of  the old punk record label PANZA-PLATTE, would do a compilation "De guade oide Zeit" [the good old time] with massive old punk and new wave bands from over here, which also has been released in Oct. 2010 (check http://de-guade-oide-zeit.grafikwerkstaette.at/cms/), and Harald Rau (early BÖSLINGE) was also collecting some old material for an austrian hc/punk-CD, which unfortunately hasn't seen the light of day till now (ask http://www.teenage-riot.com/). So I checked the basement and puted the needle on my few survivors. That's how I got infected again.

I started once more completing my austrian collection, and still found records, tapes and unreleased material I haven't heared before, so it was obvious to do a second part of "Es Chaos is die Botschaft!...". There where not so many austrian pogo punk bands in the early 80s, that left "acceptable" recordings, but there where a number of powerpop/trash rock/new wave/no wave bands that where also infected by the punk/DIY virus, and recorded some great stuff that meets my suggestions.

SCOOTER was formed in Wr.Neustadt, 1979 by four teenagers, Michael Raffeis, Ewald Hirsch, Michael Duchek and Herbert Dinhopl. They played a mix of garage, rock and punk, influenced by bands like the RAMONES, and convinced the audience at band contests as the Popodrom in Vienna. Michael Duchek died in a tragical accident in 1981. In 1982 the rest of the band plus the new bandmembers Oliver Prinz and Reinhard Kadlec recorded one song for the self-produced compilation "Wr.Neustaedter Szene", which contains a few tracks with a punk attitude. Their song "Crazy Police" is a mix of  rock and punk and remindes me of DEVO's "Mongoloid". In 1983, when Ewald left the band, SCOOTER became history, and the rest of the team formed a new band called THE AXE where they celebrated tight leather pants, net shirts and chest hair. Now Michael works in the austrian folk music szene and lives in Graz, Reinhard is in the local politics.

WILLI WARMA was Austrias sexiest band, that is what's been said! Linz 1976, the 16 year old class mates Kurt Holzinger and Peter Donke together with Julius Zechner and Christian Unger practiced their first songs, some cover versions of STONES and STOOGES classics. When Julius saw a "Willie Warmer" in a sex shop in London, the band had it's name. The musical inspiration came from punk and glamrock, pub rock and rhythm & blues, with a growing punk influence because of their numerous London trips and the records souvenirs brought from around the country. In 1977 they gave their first concert in the Unger-mansion infront of 30 guests. The old Urfahr (a district of Linz) dance palace CAFE LANDGRAF became the venue of the growing punk and new wave scene in Linz in 1978. And WILLI WARMA where the alpha males in this colourful szene, they even had their own "Willi Warma sandwiches". In 1980 they released their first song "Streetcorner Hero" on the DONAUSTRAND-EP by Ronnie Urini. Austrian newspapers and magazins wrote about "the only austrian rock'n'roll band that even looks like one" (Wiener). From then on they played more gigs in Vienna than in their hometown, and they where also seen in Graz, Innsbruck, Salzburg and Bad Ischl, wherever the four kajal-painted boys with a suspender dressed-guitarist where welcome. In 1980, when the wave of german punk and new wave bands hit Austria for the first time, Kurt began to translate their usually english cover versions into german. "Stahlstadtkinder" [steel town kids], named after the world-famous steel industry in Linz, became an anthem for the local scene, and was pressed in 1981 togehther with the Ricky Shane cover version "Ich sprenge alle Ketten" [I burst all chains] on a 7inch, which was financed with the winning of a band contest. The recordings were done in England under the help of James Bourke. Despite radio silence, and banishment by the biggest austrian radio station Ö3, because of some lyrics against the local police and ..., they sold remarkable 3500 copies. In the end of 1981 Christian left the band and moved to USA for his career, and after some to and fro Hardy Walenta (PATERNOSTER, CADILLAC, MORDBUBEN AG, ...) replaced him on the drums. In 1982 they recorded another rare 7inch "Dein Vater ist dagegen" [your father is against it]/"Alle wollen glücklich sein" [everybody want's to be happy], which could not live up to the earlier success. Musical differences led to Julius exit, who was later replaced by Christoph "Mad Max" Raffetseder (JAY BAND). The first WILLI WARMA gig in a foreign country occured in Nurembergs KOMM in 1983, and on the way home the band finally split. Donke and Zechner later joined the Band DYNAMO URFAHR, Zechner afterwards played also with THE PRIESTS, and Holzinger was seen with the hc/punk heroes SEVEN SIOUX.

TOM PETTINGS HERTZATTACKEN was a popular band of the austrian new wave era, whose punk roots have been mostly forgotten. Eberhard Forcher aka. TOM PETTING was born in Lienz in East-Tirol. After his study in Innsbruck he moved to Vienna to work as a journalist for EXTRABLATT and FALTER. The interrest for other cultures and countries brought him to San Francisco for about a year, where he wrote articles for austrian magazines like FALTER and RENNBAHN-EXPRESS with reviews about the american music scene. During his daily concert trips, he became a friend of Jim Caroll, known from the JIM CAROLL BAND, who showed Eberhard how to play a rock guitar. When Eberhard came back to Austria, his first ambition was to form an own band. Under the names DIE TOTEN JESCHKOS [the dead Jeschkos] (named after an austrian sport reporter who was rumoured to have been died while he had sex with an austrian sport celebrity!) and STUKA ALGEBRAS he gave his first gigs in his hometown Lienz, before he moved again to vienna to start a music revolution. The first Vienna gigs where in locations like AMERLINGHAUS or HAUS DER BEGEGNUNG (something like a culture get-together), with the band members Gerrit "Guerilla" Engelke, Peter "Pete Beat" Gruber, Walter "Verwalter" Marchart and Helmut "Tony Tom Tom" Mutschlechner under the name TOM PETTINGS HERTZATTACKEN. At the beginning there was also Christian "Chromosom" Brandl, a member of the famous punk band CHUZPE, on the bass guitar. They earned early success, and a music journalist wrote "...the HERTZATTACKEN are the hottest danceband in town...". Songs like "Radioactive", "Radio Radio", "Too much skin touch" or "Sexual addict" where catchy tunes, that appealed to punks and even good boys and girls. In 1980 they released their first song "Tonight" on the DONAUSTRAND-EP, together with WILLI WARMA, VOGUE and MISS MOLLIES FAVOURITES. Then they released "Radio Radio" from the same recordings on the WIENMUSIKK compilation in 1981 on the new established SCHALTER label, which was found by Eberhard and Rudi Nemetzek from the band MINISEX and which later became a sublabel of ARIOLA, as many other independents did. "I found out" is also taken from the recording session for the DONAUSTRAND-EP. In 1982 they recorded a LP, with german lyrics, and a more mainstream new wave oriented sound, but there is still a powerpop, punk feeling in a few songs. Afterwards they released some more records which more and more followed the commercial interrests of the austrian music industry.

NULL KOMA NICHTS (N.K.N.) [zero coma nothing] was found in Feldkirch 1981, by Peter "Galle" Galehr, one of Vorarlbergs first punks and a member of the famous punk band CHAOS, Andreas Skok "from Spock", formerly with THE MESS, Wolfgang "Doc Pille Wille" Willy and the dutchman Uwe Denis. "Galle" was known as the man with the seven lifes and as a big self-exposer, which led him to bulldoze with his weird neighing-like-a-horse vocals over most of the N.K.N. songs. The extreme alcohol consumption of "Galle" became more and more a problem for the band, and when Uwe was deported back to the Netherlands after some quarrel with the police and the law, the band broke up in 1983. "Weisser Rum" [white rum] is taken from their demo tape from 1982, and was also released on the swiss/austrian-compilation-LP ""Teufelskraut L.T.D" also known as the "Attack"-compilation.

RPB (ROCK 'N' POETRY BAND) with his mastermind Rudolf Paul Barcal was an anti product of the new wave era in Vienna. Rudi left "austrias first" punk band CHUZPE [impertinence] in fall 1979 after the "Wiener Blutrausch" [Vienna blood rage], and stayed for 3 months in the USA. When he came back to Vienna, he founded his own band, unimpressed by new wave and the upcomming bands, with the intention to combine rock and poetry. He was followed by Christian Brandl (also a CHUZPE member), Franky Frauenhofer, Günther Holtschik and jack-of-all-trades Ronnie Urini (DIRT SHIT, KLEENEX AKTIV, RUCKI ZUCKI PALMENKOMBO, ...). According to a survey only 15% of the rock music fans listen to the lyrics, the headbanging rest doesn't mind. So Rudi tried to find demanding lyrics from poets that where not so popular, to combine it with rock and to arouse the interrest for the words. In 1981 RPB produced their first 7inch, with a little bit different studio lineup, including Ernst Czettel and Michi Egger. The self composed song "Sacre Ceur" just missed the top ten of the austrian charts. The other song on their 7inch "Tenebrae" is a poem by Paul Celan, translated by Michael Hamburger, and was also released on the followed tape, next to rock versions of poems by Robert Frost, May Swenson, Emily Dickinson and another self composed song "Jean Paul".They gave concerts in Vienna (ARENA, METROPOL, ...) and from Linz to Fischamend. In 1982 the lineup changed, next Rudi there now was Roland Plotz, Ernst Czettel, Michi Egger and Stefan Pfeistlinger. They recorded a rare second 7" in 1982, a strange instrumental rock/pop record. Rudi later was seen with MORDBUBEN AG, BELLA BELLA, and SCHLECHTE VERLIERER [bad losers].

HOTEL MORPHILA ORCHESTER was a 1978 born musicproject by the university professor and multimedia artist Peter Weibel. The other core members of the project where the artist Loys Egg and the musician Paul Braunsteiner, known from the legendary 60s & 70s "proto punk band" NOVAK'S KAPELLE. Further musicians where Franz Machek and Wolfgang Steiner. "In Vienna it was an ancient practice, that every hotel or cafe had its own orchestra. Since this practice doesn't exist anymore, we are named after a hotel that doesn't exist too." (digest of a press release by Peter Weibel)

In 1981 they recorded their first 7inch "Dead in the head/Entzweit [split into two]" for EXTRAPLATTE, which is a good example for "punk meets art". Beyond the music you have the ear from Peter Weibel on the labels, so when you put the record on the turntable, the spindle stucks in the ear but you can listen to the music. And when you put it off, the ear is open but you can't hear anything. Isn't that tricky! "Sex in der Stadt" [sex in the city] is taken from their fantastic 1982 LP on SCHALLTER.

"...and even as a rock musician/poet, the alround artist pushes his ass into the face of the sensitive ethnic soul, "Sex in der Stadt" is the first song on the longplayer "Schwarze Energie" [black energy]. Peter Weibel recites to the power chords of the band the sex announcements in the daily newspapers. From snug to willing, from hard to cheap, he documents the sellout of the sexuality." (Rennbahn-Express 6/82)

The outstanding track "Sex in der Stadt" is also available on a rare 7inch from 1982. With several long interruptions the HOTEL MORPHILA ORCHESTRA exists till today.

COMMERCIALS, not to be confused with the same-named new wave band from Vorarlberg, has arisen from the rest of the viennese punk band TV-GENERATION in 1980. The bandmembers where Harald "Jaques Burn Well" Müller, Michael "Billy Nutella" Stenker and the brothers Robert & Roland Daniel aka. "Skrewhead" & "Roger Doll Tree", all of them well-known punks in the early scene of capital city. In 1981 they recorded 3 tracks for the "Die Tödliche Dosis" [the deadly dose]-compilation, "Mein Kampf" is a cover version of the same-named song by UKs legendary SPITFIRE BOYS from 1977. The COMMERCIALS split in the same year, Billy and Harry formed the band KLEENEX AKTIV, and Roli and Robert founded TERROR ALARM in 1982, another wrongfully forgotten HC-band.

KILLROY was an experimental DIY/no wave music project by Alex Janda and Jonny Griebler. The band was founded in 1983 and they recorded some songs in their rehearsal room, two songs where pressed on a limited 7inch (300 pieces), less of half the quantity was sold in the original plastic bag with a sticker on it. "Robert Damiens" is taken from this 7inch, and delivers an agressive no wave sound with a strong bass line. In 1988 the band split, and Jonny played with MANHATTAN LOVE SUICIDE, another austrian DIY-noise band that did some rare records in the late 80s.

INTIMSPRAY is better known for their appearances in Munich in the early eighties, but actually this was a band from the capital of Tirol. On the 26. April 1979 the band THE SPRAY was founded in the SAFARI CLUB in Innsbruck. Heribert Kornfeil, Walter Moriel, Hubert Nedwed, Mike Moll, and Heinz Heisel, one or another known from the rock band ABU EL MOT, planed only one gig where they would play some modern punk/ska music just for fun, but when the audience jumped on chairs and tables and went wild in the overcrowded HOTTINGER CLUB, it was clear that this couldn't be just a one-night stand. When they heared from a viennese band that was also called THE SPRAYS, they changed their name into INTIMSPRAY. After some gigs in the local scene, BÜRGER BRÄU, KOMM, SENDER in Lustenau, mentionable one as the supporting act for DAF, they conquered the Munich scene with the help of their friends the NIGHTHAWKS. In 1980 they released a rare 7inch (lim. 500 pieces), which was pressed in Switzerland and sounds like a mix of garage/punk/ska. In Munich, after Walter left and Bill Pugh (former NIGHTHAWKS roadie) joined the band, they became the house band of the RIGAN-CLUB, MARIENKÄFER, WHY NOT,...and later on the famous DOMIZILE. It was the time when new wave got more attention by the major labels, and in 1982 RCA knocked on their door with a record deal. They played some live shows in bavarian television, like "Live im Alabama" or the "Michael Schanze Show". The teenie magazine BRAVO made a foto story with INTIMSPRAY in London, where their LP was mentioned in NME. In 1984, after some more gigs in Germany and Austria, the band split. "One Million Barrels" is taken from an unreleased recording in 1981, when the band still sang in english, before their new wave stage.

FRONTAL [head-on] was formed in Wels during the riots of the new german (punk-) wave in 1981. The first band members were Franz Reischl, Dieter Esterer, Georg Jungwirt and Klaus Buttinger. Franz, Dieter & Klaus also played together with Kid "Meuchel" [murder] (later CYCLON BÄH) in the predecessor FRANZ BRANDTWEIN'S KINDA [Franz Brandweins kids] in 1980, which supposed to be the second punk band out of Wels. So which was the first? They had appearances in Wels and Linz (CAFE LANDGRAF, STATTWERKSTATT,...), and in 1982 Thomas Trauner joined the band with his sax and a casio keyboard. They recorded the song "Keine Ahnung" [no idea] for the city compilation "Traun Stadt Kinder" [traun city kids] in 1983, together with some other local new wave and rock bands, and played gigs from Vienna to Salzburg and also across the austrian boarder. They changed their lineup anually around the core musicians Reischl, Esterer, Buttinger and Trauner. In 1984 Silvia Pumberger and her bass guitar caused some hormonal disharmony in the band, which led to the exit of Thomas in 1985. The rest of the band recorded a 7inch under the name TINA4 on CACTUS RECORDS, which got airplay on austrian radio stations, and entered the austrian charts. Later on they appeared in the tv-show LIVE AUS DEM SCHLACHTHOF in the south-german television. The Band existed till the late 80s in different lineups. In 1997 the band was reactivated with all the original members from 1982.

EXCALIBUR was a rock band from Vienna, that was formed by the three 13 to 14 years old kids Nikolaus Scharinger, Christian Kobold and Thomas "Ian Patrick" Tinhof in 1980. In the end of 1980 they presented their first gig at a school event, afterwards they played in different locations around Vienna, like TILL EULENSPIEGEL, SHOWBOAT and some youth centers. The climex of their  band career was an own 7inch on ARICORD, usually a label for folk and classical music, with the help of parental connections. EXCALIBUR was intended to be a rock band, but they where able to combine melody, power and a little roughness in a song, like the one from their 7inch "Sweet Little Girl" which for austria is a more untypical powerpop pearl with some juvenile easiness. In 1983 the the band broke up, Niki moved to Amsterdam, and in the late 80s Cristian and Thomas formed the bands MINDBLOW and ST.MARX.

DIRT SHIT should be known from my first compilation, and some other international punk compialtions. Anyway afterwards it is a miracle that their RATTENLOCH [rat hole]-EP came out in 1979. DIRT SHIT was hired for the viennese underground movie EXIT-NUR KEINE PANIK. As Ronnie "Urin(i)" Iraschek arrranged the recording studio, it took a week to bring the band together. Michi "Monoton" and Roli "Rostig" Übereuter where once again on a alcohol tour through the Vienna pubs of the 10th district. When they started with the recordings, Michi had no idea what to sing, as he never had lyrics just stubled and shouted words that just came into his mind. And Bernie "Bendenklich" Tragut refused to play the bass as needed at the beginning. First they recorded "Der letzte Dreck von Wien" [the last scum of Vienna], which was easy for Michi, because this is a cover version of PETER SCHLEICHERs "Der letzte Fetzentandler von Wien" [the last scrap dealer of Vienna] where the lyrics already existed. Then they recorded "Exit" a song that still existed as "Holocaust-Rollercoast", a phrase that originated from Robert "Räudig" Wolf of CHUZPE who was also an early band member of DIRT SHIT. "Discoscheissa" [disco fucker] was texted by an unknown punk from Vienna. There was also a live scene for DIRT SHIT planned in this movie, but when the producers wanted them all to perform with "crazy" red hair, Ronnie an his friends started a discussion about homosexual cliches with the partly gay film team, and at the end the band was fired. DIRT SHIT already advanced the money for the recordings and needed some more for the 7inch pressing, so they threatend with a lawsuit, and got a compensation from the  scared fim producer to finish their record. Ronnie and Roli later played with  the local heroes KLEENEX AKTIV, and Bernie and Ronnie formed the RUCKI ZUCKI PALMENCOMBO.

CADILLAC was formed in Vienna, long before Punk became a brand for a new generation, in 1974. The core and the driving force of the band where Peter Patzl and Robert "Bobby" Sommer. The other band members where Max Kempter, Hans Vorreither and Gerhart "Hardy" Walenta, known from the progressive rock band PATERNOSTER, a busy drummer that played with many other upcomming bands like MORDBUBEN AG, NEUER FRÜHLING, WILLI WARMA. The early CADILLACs where inspired by bands like BOWIE, ROXY MUSIC, STOOGES, LED ZEPELIN, LOU REED, ..., their sound was somewhere between glam rock and pub rock, with the sacrifice of any electronic sound. When in 1976 (mainly unnoticed here in Austria) the first punk bands in USA and UK delivered their trend-setting longplayers, the unaffected band CADILLAC recorded 5  proto punk songs in a studio in Vienna, which where once not released. CADILLACs sound was to perfect for punk, and to straight for beeing something like Pop, no way to classify! In 1977, when the punk movement hit Vienna, CADILLAC was asked to do a performance on the weekly WOCHENSCHAU [weekly news], in cinemas around the country. So they collected some friends and fans and performed their song "Amphetamin" in their rehearsal room from the underworld of Vienna. At the end the narrator said "...punkrock has its roots in England, Cadillac plays it independetly and aggressive...", while the (un-)impressed audience munched some popcorn. In 1978 Bobby moved to Berlin, where he became a co-founder of the famous SO36. During the first year he was something like a program manager, and he carted bands from London to Berlin an back weekly. Finally CADILLAC gave three concerts in Berlin and Hamburg, and in 1979 some friends from Berlin released the rare (lim.200 Stk) CADILLAC 7inch with the songs "Cold Love" and "Craptown Pt.2" from the 1976 recordings. Shortly after this the band split. Bobby always found his way back to his hometown Vienna, and in 1979 he played the sax with Fredi Fenders MORDBUBEN AG [murderous-boys AG] for several months until Bobby returned to Berlin, where he joined the punk band TEMPO and later became the tour manager of IDEAL.

ÖMÖ was an underground-rock-show band from Graz, that traveled through eastern Austria and Hungaria. Their intention was, to ignore any taboos and trends and to upset and shock the audience to reconsider their attitude. ÖMÖ, what definitely means nothing, is the direct successor of The band FUT [cunt] , which was found in 1979. This provocative band name created some resitance in the "good" society, Their live shows where monitored by the state police, their concert posters where teared down by the local cops, and austrias well-known moralizer and sex hunter Martin Humer was runing after them. When the problems for the band bacame unbearable, they changed the name first into BEINHART-ROCKBANDE [bare-knuckle-rock crew], then ÖMÖ-DIE ROCKSAU [the rock hog] and finally only ÖMÖ. The band members where Seppo Gründler, Karin Spirk, Bobo Rust, Seppi Klammer and Simon Pichler. In 1982, after Karin left the band, they recorded a self-produced 7inch, from which the song "Pumperl geht..." [the chick walks (the cock rises)] is taken from. Seppo and Seppi later joined the band SFORZA.

BLACK VEIL was started in 1981 by Norbert Ivanek and Hans Nebily, and in 1982 Rick B. Miller aka. Rick Maranca completed the core of the band. The bass players turned weekly during this period. BLACK VEIL played some kind of punky (trash) rock, and had some concerts in Vienna and the urban surrounding with their show somewhere between glam and punk rock. The 7inch "Take me as I am" (Attention: Don't be scared by the pictures on the backside of the cover!) was recorded in "Blind Joe" Sladeks  NOVOTON STUDIO who also was responsible for the recordings of the first CHUZPE-LP in 1982 and the "Die Tödliche Dosis" [the deadly dose]-compilation. The bass guitar on these 7inch recordings played the little bit unchallenged musician Ferry Gamper. With this complete lineup they played some gigs in clubs and bars, like the Vienna METROPOL. They could win the audience vote at several band contests with their powerful, straight show. Norbert was later seen as a journalist in the austrian public radio station Ö3, and Rick joined Ferrys band projects until todays STURMLICHT [stormlight].

X-BELIEBIG [anyone] was formed in 1980 in Wiener Neustadt by the two 17 year old teenagers Rene Adametz and Franz Heuschneider and the 13 year old kid Bernd Bechtloff as the successor of a short lived and forgotten punk band called ZIMMERBRAND [room fire]. They were influenced by german punk rock, but none of them felt as beeing a punk. After some months of practice they had their first gig in the same year in the Wr.Neustadt SNACK BAR. From then on they cooperated with other local Bands like ZERBRECHLICH [fragile], DÄMMERATTACKE [twilight attack], ... and played concerts as far as in Vienna (AMMERLINGHAUS, METROPOL, GAGA, U4). In the End of 1980 they recorded their lo-fi demo tape, and in the summer of 1981 they released their 7inch on PANZA-PLATTE, with their little U4-hit "Leben ist Blut" [life is blood]. In the same year Franz left the band to play with DÄMMERATTACKE, and Zoltan Daroczi became his substitude. From then on they left their punk roots behind, inspired by bands like JOY DIVISION, etc., and found a new dark wave-like sound. In 1982, when they played at the ARENA opening concert, the local major label ARIOLA/SCHALLTER offered them a record deal. At this time they where in contact with FACTORY RECORDS (UK), but couldn't negotiate a deal, so ARIOLA got the promise for their now rare and outstanding great LP. They recorded at GORILLA STUDIO, by Ernie Seuberth, which was a famous studio in Vienna especially for the new wave era. After some concerts like Innsbruck and Lienz the band split in fall 1982. "Fang an" [get started] is taken from their rare (lim.80 pieces) demo tape on O-TANNENBAUM-RECORDS (pre-PANZA-PLATTE).

I will use this blog to tell you more about these bands and their output.