The group quickly became the favored flavor, the teen tarts who would open for anyone...any band that is. They played gigs at the Palladium, Max's, CBGB, Hurrah, TR3, Maxwell's, The Hot Club, The Rat and countless others opening for Iggy Pop, Blondie, The Cramps, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, The Ramones, The Dead Boys, Wayne (now Jayne) County, The Idols, The Stimulators, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, The Blessed, The Shirts, The Troggs, The Know (with Gary Valentine)...almost every band on the scene. Within two short years they were headlining Saturday nights at CBs with opening bands like the Speedies, the Colors, the Bloodless Pharaohs etc.
Jimmy Destri of Blondie fame began producing tracks with them within their first year. Releases include a single on ORK Records - "Christmas Weather" b/w "Channel 13", 2 tracks on the legendary Red Star Records compilation "2x5" ("What I Can't Feel" and the much covered "Looks") and, after ending their stint with Destri, they self produced an EP of four songs ("Invitation To...", "Samantha", "Christina" and "Past Tense") called "Easter'78-Halloween'80". It came out shortly after they broke up. "Past Tense" was later licensed to be a part of the "NY Singles" collection which featured seminal first singles from Patti Smith, Television, Richard Hell etc.
The combined studio tracks, 4 with Destri producing, 4 self produced, a 1980 live set and the short film called "Being Polite for Kicks" made about the group by punk princess Eileen Polk are being assembled into a new release which covers the group's full career.
CBGB's 1978
Photo by Eugene Merinov
www.eugenemerinov.com
"Can't Place the Face"
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