I walked in to a local record store here in DC ( in Adam’s Morgan to be exact) to see if I could find any jazz or blues albums. I took a look at the rock section just for Kicks. I never expect to find anything even remotely good in the rock LP sections. Not that there isn’t any good rock LPs, it is just that these record stores are really small and are not likely to have any Screaming Trees or Beat Happening, but younever know, so I always check. I have yet to find any though. I did find something today though.
I was flipping through the L’s, I guess I was looking for Love Battery, but I found the Lonely Trojans. The cover caught my eye because the guy on the cover was wearing a Nirvana shirt. Normally, I wouldn’t care because just wearing a Nirvana shirt doesn’t automatically make one cool. All it means is that you were either alive in 1992 or had parents that were alive in 1992. This was different though. I looked at the back cover and the record was made in 1991, so they recorded the record and took that picture before Nirvana got big. Upon closer examination of the shirt, I realized that it had Chad Channing on it. I figured these guys must be cool so I picked up the EP.
They came from Chicago (home to Touch and Go Records, Steve Albini, RAPEMAN, Veruca Salt, and the Jesus Lizard; to name a few) and recorded on Limited Potential Records. The Lonely Trojans are Mike Meadows (Drums), Chris Morrison (Vocals and Guitar), and Gerard Schumacher (Bass and Vocals). Morrison is the songwriter of the group. They come out hard and fast. Very Mudhoney-esque in their songs, but have their own identity as well. The EP is 6 songs and it is titiled “Three Guys, Six Songs”. Can’t get anymore grunge than that.
While they never made it “big” (or anywhere close) they are still part of the movement and, I think, worth checking out. You can buy the EP for $5 buy clicking on the picture from Chris Morrison himself. They are as indy as they come. Perhaps even more indy then Albini if such a thing is possible. Go ahead and take a chance. You will not regret it. I am sure glad I did.
Todd
October 22, 2008 at 2:42 pm |
Nice find, on a grunge exploitation level. But what do the songs actually sound like?
December 3, 2008 at 8:54 pm |
I was around when these songs were being written. “Grunge” hadn’t even been coined yet. These guys were influenced by everything from The Jam to Fugazi, Naked Raygun, Husker Du, etc. It’s a fun record but nothing compared to the songs they recorded a while later with Pegboy’s drummer, Joe Haggerty, replacing Mike Meadows. They never were part of the Grunge scene… more of a DIY mentality (that we need more of). Nice page. Thanks for mentioning them!
December 5, 2008 at 3:03 pm |
Hahahaha! Very cool reading more about their legitimacy. I only dubbed them “grunge exploitation” because of the Nirvana t-shirt on the cover. Sort of like, if Chubby Checker was holding a surfboard on a 1963 album jacket. Chubby had been doing R&B dance music before the Surfer’s Stomp hit big in ’62, but after the sneering rock ‘n’ roll of surf music hit big in the summer of 1963, even R&B cats were titling their LPs with surf/summer references. And, yes, Chubby DID have a “surf” album.
February 28, 2010 at 5:07 pm |
[...] band called The Manics. I didn’t know what to expect from it. I had never heard of them, but I love trying out new bands and getting pleasantly surprised. The EP is not out yet, but will be soon. It is called [...]
April 9, 2010 at 7:20 pm |
Wow… I was just chasing memories to see if anyone else remembered them and stumbled upon this. My first punk rock show (sorry, they’re punk not grunge) was The Lonely Trojans followed by Screeching Weasel followed by Naked Raygun at Riv in Chicago. That show officially kicked off my “punk rock” youth.