Tuesday, August 26, 2008

GEZA X AND THE MOMMYMEN-YOU GODDAM KIDS!, LP, 2002 (RECORDED: 1982), USA




Former Deadbeats member Geza X is perhaps best remembered as being the house producer for pretty much the entire early L.A. punk scene, having recorded everyone from The Germs to The Weirdos to Black Flag and beyond, but 'ol Geza was a man of many and varied tastes (some of them decidedly pervy, as detailed in the Darby Crash bio Lexicon Devil, but thats another story...) and his own musical pursuits extended far beyond the strictures of punk qua punk. A former hippy fanboy of Zappa, Beefheart and west coast psych who'd go on to pen The Deadbeats' classic "Kill The Hippies", Geza would form The Mommymen after the Deadbeats' demise, presumably circa roughly 1979, though the precise date's not being proffered in the liners here. It wasn't until 1982 though that this astonishing material would finally be recorded and lemme tell ya...this stuff's seriously fucking insane! The curious gaggle of L.A. notables assembled here are a decidedly motley crew, among them Pat Delaney, formerly of The Dadbeats (and, by this point, The B-People), keyboardist Paul Roessler (Screamers, 45 Grave, Nervous Gender...lots more), X's D.J. Bonebrake on marimbas and Masque Club owner Brendan Mullen on drums, with none other than Josie Cotton lending backing vocals, and the results stand as some of the finest and most warped post punk sounds to have emerged from the entire L.A. scene of the era. Geza's Beefheart fetishization having seemingly never left him, the material on "You Goddam Kids!" finds him miscegenating these disjunctive spin-on-a-dime strategies with an antically neurotic post punk spasticity (alongside bouts of delightfully grotesque cartoonish speiling on topics like butt pliers) that favorably compares with the Girls material I recently posted.


Note: link removed as this has just been reissued by Dionysus. It can be found Here

10 comments:

  1. i always wondered what Geza was wearing on his face on that cover. is that some kinda early wireless mic/headset? probably, since i heard he modified his own guitars too. definitely an underrated guitarist, one of the best soloists fer sure IMO>.

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  2. This record was semi-legendary among the crowd I ran with in college. I still have a copy to this day.

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  3. Great record, thanks a lot, it will be perfect for halloween especially The Mean Mr. Mommyman song.

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  4. Just to set the record straight, Geza did not write kill the hippies, I did, me being the singer. He did write the music for final ride if that is what you are thinking of.

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  5. To think that I had once passed this over in a record store...thanks you for posting. Bent and catchy as all hell.

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  6. that is definitely a headset mic that geza is wearing. he sported those for live performances. you can see it better on the cover of the "we need more power" single: http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/115/l_a19a49896d4c47cdae2d3a50c05b38cc.jpg

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  7. Hi there - Great review! I currently own the copyright to this album and in fact have just repressed X 500 on yellow vinyl with a digital download code - I, and Geza would appreciate if you could take the album off the net and guide people to purchase the record, Geza gets royalties from this release.

    Here is a link to purchase the LP:
    http://www.dionysusrecords.com/shop/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=2789

    and the CD
    http://www.dionysusrecords.com/shop/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=279

    You can also find it on iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, etc.

    Thanks!!
    Lee
    Dionysus Recorsd

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  8. You guys are awesome, I can't believe this. I feel understood at last. xo

    Geza X

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