The Vipers -Outta' The Nest!

During the mid to late seventies, “progressive”, “classic”, “fusion”, “hard”, “heavy”, “light”, “Glam”, “new wave” and every other kind of commercial rock was being peddled on the airwaves - in short, there was nothin’ on but the radio. About this time a renewed interest in obscure sixties music started to heat up as a direct backlash to the sacchrine synthetic mess on the radio. And right outside NYC, near the runways of JFK International in Queens, Jon Weiss, a dissatisfied musician who had no idea he was part of a budding movement, was listening regularly to WCBS, the mother of all oldies stations - the only station where DJ’s still put reverb on their voices. It was the standard Top 100 Hits Of Yesterday programming, such as Neil Sedaka (even that was a welcome change) and Chuck Berry, but every now and then the jock’s would slip something a little more PRIMITIVE into rotation. It might be The Castaway’s “Liar Liar,” The Knickerbockers “Lies”, (We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet by The Blues Magoos, The Seeds “ Pushin’ To Hard,” or occassionally even “Psychotic Reaction” by The Count V. In these songs was a large and very believable hunk of guitar driven teen angst that no song of the day cared or dared try and convey. It was easy for Weiss to identify with the frustration and alienation these snotty one shot wonders whined about - he was a snotty, whiney, alienated kid himself.Meanwhile, down on NYC's Bowery… the biggest punk bands were only to hinting at this sound. The Dead Boys’ were doing “Hey Little Girl”, originally by The Syndicate of Sound, Jayne County covered The Strangelove’s “I Want Candy”, Suicide twisted the already twisted ? & The Mysterians “96 Tears”, Television’s version of “Fire Engine” by The 13th Floor Elevators, and Patty Smith's cover of Them’s “Gloria.”But it was Lenny Kaye’s 1972 “Nuggets” double LP compilation of original garage/psych rarities along with the embryonic “Boulders”, “Pebbles”, “ and “Psychedelic Unknowns” collections, that helped educate a whole new musical generation to these older treasures. And by the end of the decade it seemed as if a new breed of “neo-garage/psych” band was everywhere. LA’s Droogs were among the first (having released five singles during the seventies). Early West Coasters included The Crawdaddies, The Unknowns, and The Miracle Workers. Other notable early pioneers from around the country were Plasticland, DMZ/Lyres, and in NYC there were The Cramps, and of course, (tribal drum beat on the floor tom, please)…The Fleshtones - with Jon Weiss, having found his soulmates in sound, playing tenor sax.But a different role was in store for Weiss. For reasons that remain vague, he found himself unceremoniously booted out of The Fleshtones. (Weiss bears no grudges… he maintains that Peter Zaremba is one of his very few living heroes and that the Fleshtones are responsible for some of the best “real rock-n-roll shows” he’s ever seen.)So it was that Jon Weiss (lead vox/sax) was free to hook up with the rest of the group that would become so important to obscure record collectors and garage fiends at large a full 20 years down the road. David Mann (guitar/organ) had previously played bass with Television’s Richard Lloyd. Patrick Brown (drums) was a rockabilly/roots/country aficionado who had done hard time with Levi Dexter (of The Rockats) in Levi & The Ripchords. Paul Martin (guitar) was a friend of Weiss’ and heavily influenced by The Beatles and Frank Zappa. The new quintet was rounded out by Graham May (bass/vox), who would very quickly prove to be a strong singer, songwriter, and performer in his own right.Dubbing themselves The Vipers, a slang name coined by jazz musicians in the 1930’s inspired by the hissing sound made while inhaling pot, the band immediately began writing songs. With no interest in teetering on silver lame platforms or wallowing in a pool of their own junkie sick (amphetamines and alcohol, always the preferred drugs of choice), the group’s guidelines were simple: The year of heaven was 1967 and Sgt. Pepper’s had ruined rock-n-roll. And so it was from this cultural and chemical stew, The Vipers slithered out.Steeped in the traditions and style of classic 60’s garage, the five rapidly developed a natural chemistry. By early summer of 1981 they were playing well-received shows. Their originals were hookish, melodic, short songs - everything the mid-sixties gems they revered were. Vipers’ live sets from the beginning were a carefully mixed blend of covers, originals, and speed but their own compositions were of such quality that they were often indistinguishable from the hopelessly obscure covers they played. Old set lists included such classics as The Remains’ “Why Do I Cry?”, The Standells’ “Medication” (a song which would be a staple throughout their career), and The Robbs’ “Bittersweet”.Their first waxing was a homemade 4 track recording called “We’re Outta’ Here!” for Ron Rimsite’s ‘99th Floor’ fanzine recorded in their rehearsal studio, ‘The Nest’. Then, what would ultimately be considered their anthem, the trippy rave up “Nothing’s From Today” which was easily a highlight on one of Greg Shaw’s early Bomp/Voxx comps, “Battle Of The Garages”. Getting them more notoriety, it opened the doors for their first single release, a cover of The Five Canadians- “Never Alone” b/w an original called “You Left Your Hold On Me”, on the (then) new Midnight label. The single, in turn, received regional airplay, which further increased their East Coast penetration.A crucial connection was made at this time. Enter Bob Chich, local fan and record store owner. Bob stepped aboard to manage them. Chemically fortified, completely dedicated, well connected and totally enthusiastic, Bob was able to put together a deal with PVC/Jem Records. They cut their first album, “Outta’ The Nest!” during the summer of 1984. Recorded on sixteen-track/two inch at the now legendary Sear Sound (homeof Lothar and The Hand People, a recording studio by day and a gore/porn production company by night). “Outta’ The Nest!” proved to be one of the best releases of the ‘80’s garage genre. “Medication” by The Standells and “Surprise, Surprise” by The Loved Ones (complete with DC5/Raiders inspired foot stomps!) were the only covers. A call to arms set side one in motion with a reworked “Nothing’s From Today”, followed quickly by the explosive and psychedelic “Now I Remember”. “Cheated & Lied”, and “Tellin’ Those Lies” were obvious highlights. Apparently most critics agreed that with it’s odd percussion, sitars, drones, harpsichords, ringing harmonies, angry fuzz guitar, and tight performances, “Outta’ The Nest!” was a classic sixties garage/psych album. (Disregarding of course, the fact that it was recorded fifteen to twenty years too late.) “Outta’ The Nest!”, thanks to crack worldwide distribution, opened up many more markets for The Vipers and would go on to move over 20,000 copies. An unprecedented amount for any indie, underground self-proclaimed garage band to sell. Overseas tours were planned and the groundwork was laid for a second album to be recorded quickly.Then in true rock-n-roll fashion, Disaster struck with a capital D. Bob Chich, their beloved and Svengali like manager died from natural causes…the natural causes of a drug overdose. The harsh realities of the record business, from which Bob with his superior management skills and maternal instincts had so successfully insulated the band, now came crashing down around them. Professionally, they would never truly recover from the loss.In the end, it’s the music that matters. The band continued to come up with more high quality originals. Another single, “You’re Doin’ It Well” b/w a cover of The Pretty Things “You Don’t Believe Me” was released on Midnight Records in 1987 followed by The Midnight full length release, “How About Somemore?” The song writing was there, but the fatigue was audible. A palpable tension on “How About Somemore?” made for an edgy listening experience. The band was intact for the recording of the album, but shortly thereafter everyone but Weiss and Mann were gone. The Viper’s last appearance: sharing a bill with Richie Havens and Iron Butterfly at the old Philmore East. Their last recording: the very raga-esque and snarling, “You Give Me Problems”. Their last release: “Not So Pretty, Not So New”, a fans only, forty song grab bag of early recordings, demos, and out takes. Considered by some to be their best effort, it was released only on cassette by Midnight Records. And on the artwork, a new Midnight Records motto coined by Weiss declared, “If it doesn’t see the light of day… it’s a Midnight Record!” Yes, the band had broken up, but to their credit, their sense of humor remained intact.Still, The Vipers were in demand. With a revised lineup of musicians, The Vipers toured Europe in 1989. They met Sky Saxon of The Seeds in a bar on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg Germany and did a series of shows together. But for the new Vipers, the chemistry wasn’t there. All were good musicians, but they weren’t the students of the magic sixties music that May, Martin, and Brown were. When they returned to the states, Weiss and Mann shed their skin for the last time. The Vipers were no more.So what has become of the members of The Vipers at the turn of the century? All have remained active in music, Weiss the most visible as the creator of “CAVESTOMP! - The Garage Rock Festacular!” live music series and CAVESTOMP! Records. Jon's put many of his heroes, among them The Standells, The Monks, The Chocolate Watchband, The Creation, Downliner Sect, Sky Saxon, Barry & The Remains, The Pretty Things, Mark Lindsay, The Litter, and Question Mark & The Mysterians (to name a few) back in front of grateful audiences and onto tape for posterity. CAVESTOMP! Records has released, Question Mark & The Mysterians- "More Action!", The Monks- "Let's Start A Beat!", The Standells- "Ban THIS!", The Chocolate Watchband- "At The Love In Live!", and the compilation "CAVESTOMP! Vol.1" all live from the CAVESTOMP! with more releases in the works and CAVESTOMP! 2007 is being planned. Sadly, The CAVESTOMP! Records re-release of The Vipers own "Outta' The Nest!" was illegally sold and distributed on CD and downloads right from the very beginning but a new release is being planned of that is in the works. Until then The Vipers kindly ask anyone interested in purchasing it kindly do so only as downloads here. At the end of the day who knows? These guys still love to write and record so much that it's still possibile that another studio album may slither outta' the nest long thought abandoned...