Scratch Acid formed in Austin, Texas in the summer of 1982, following the demise of two local bands, Jerryskids and Toxic Shock. The lineup at outset was: Steve Anderson (Later of the Crybabies, the Atheist Broadcast Network and the bar at the Texas Showdown Saloon) vocals, David Lambeth Yow (son of fighter pilot Lt. Col. Frank Lambeth and the beautiful Doris Yow, previously of England, Libya and local plaid pants heroes Toxic Shock) bass, David Wm. Sims (fresh-faced Toxic Shock groupie and guest list entrepreneur) guitar, Brett Bradford (avid trout fisherman and member of Jerryskids) guitar, and Reynolds Washam (also a Jerryskid, distant relative of Warner Brother's animator Ben Washam and latex gore-effect hobbyist) drums.
After existing as a "poster band" for a while (the "poster band," a curious Austin phenomenon, is a band that exists in name and membership only as an excuse for somebody to cover the light poles of the drag with flyers proclaiming its existance. Toxic Shock had been a notorious poster band before there were even any members). Scratch Acid ventured into actual performance by playing three instruments as warmup for a Butthole Surfers show. This was the band's measly, low-class way of letting Steve Anderson (who was on the street outside) know that he wasn't the singer anymore.
After that, the band took shape of its fame, with David Wm. Sims on bass and David Lambeth Yow as vocalist. By March of 1983, the band was prepared to play, and made its debut opening for the Butthole Surfers, the Big Boys and T.S.O.L. Since the band had distributed 80 hits of acid throughout the crowd, several other figmentary bands probably played as well, and probably got encores. Giving things away became something of a tradition at Scratch Acid's shows, with notable "prizes" being huge amounts of beer and cash money American.
Other gig highlights included playing in formal dress or costume - the band was once the cast of The Wizard of Oz, with Yow as Dorothy, with a stuffed dog and later a dead chicken as Toto. Yow was Jesus Christ one week, Hitler the next. Yow would often charge at the audience brandishing a handful of steaming fresh dung pulled from his trou. David Sim's matronly mother Ellen even introduced the band one night, pocketbook in hand.
The Big Boys, a fat and popular Austin punk rock party band, asked Rey Washam to be their drummer, and he left Scratch Acid. He made several records and toured extensively with the Big Boys, helping to establish them nationally. Left-handed, handsomely Jewish Rich Malley (from Kamikaze Refrigerators) replaced Washam for a spell, until the Big Boys called it quits and Rey was free to rejoin. This version of the band was to be permanent, and began its recording career with a terrible version of "Greatest Gift" for Matako Mazuri's Metal Moo Cow sampler album.
About here Stacy Cloud of Rabid Cats records asked if the band would like to record an actual record, an opportunity that was not wasted on the spry Texans. In July of 84 they recorded Scratch Acid, their landmark first EP with Kerry Crafton, a talented recording engineer who would become a close friend and useful accessory. They did not, however, sign Rabid Cat's preposterous contract (which provided, among other ridiculous bullshit, that Rabid Cat could unilaterally decide to withhold royalties for any reason, and that each band member would receive only two copies of the finished product), assuming in their charming naivete that the details could be sorted out later.
The band did a little bit of limited touring and agonized over songwriting. Scratch Acid was so slow to proceed with new material that each new song took months (no shit) to be written. In January of 86, they finally had enough songs to record an album, so they did. It was recorded with Fred Remmert, at a different studio, and the sessions were plagued with bummers. The resultant album, Just Keep Eating (named after a lysergic fantasy about a popcorn machine gone mad), while sonically kinda shabby, still reflects a varied and intricate style of songwriting and playing. The band and Rabid Cat still could not come to terms about a contract, so they did without.
On their tours, they had met many fine midwesterners, including Killdozer, who were to later tour with the band and became fast friends, and Corey and Lisa Rusk, the operators of Touch and Go Records. After discussing the pending contract bummer, Touch and Go supplied Scratch Acid with details of its standard agreement with bands on Touch and Go, so that the band might be able to suggest similar terms to Rabid Cat.
The band, armed with this information, approached Rabid Cat and presented the terms. Laura Croteau of Rabid Cat responded with an indignant string of absurd assertions: the requests were totally unreasonable and no label would possibly provide a band with what they were asking for. Further, Scratch Acid was accused of becoming too big for its britches. "You want to be treated like the Butthole Surfers," (who by now were being treated quite well indeed), "but unlike them, you haven't paid your dues," said the responding missive.
With that, our heroes concluded it might be better to look elsewhere, and asked if Touch and Go might be interested. In the autumn of 1986, the band completed Berserker, it's final and most Hi-Fi recording, with the help of Kerry Crafton ("Y'all better take an' make your record this weekend, 'cuz the bank's gonna liquidate the gear real soon now") and Touch and Go released it.
That winter Scratch Acid went to Europe, touring to support the european release of its catalog on southern gentleman Richard Jordan's Fundamental label, a questionable move since the band never got a black cent from said gentleman.
On their return, and after a most-impolite denunding and examination by the US Customs officials, Yow, Sims, Bradford and Washam toured the US, finally reaching the long ignored west coast, and spending too much time in each other's company. Personal and musical tensions escalated and everybody ceased having fun. Scratch Acid played its last show May 5, 1987 at the Cave Club in Austin, with two of the original members later going on to form the band, The Jesus Lizard. The band members are all still currently active in the music business.
At press time, Scratch Acid has yet to receive anything like accounting for its original releases on Rabid Cat and Fundamental, and many promises of payment and ciphering have been fruitless. This collection should redress those errors, and make the music of the third or fourth most influential band of the 80's available to an audience that otherwise might only be cognizant of its imitators.
