I just listened to a great album that was released in 1984, by a band from Sacramento called Tales Of Terror. I learned about them from this article, ..the story of one of Sacramento’s best, almost forgotten bands by Aaron Carnes. It’s a great read yet a tragic story. The magic of recorded music is that work like this can be rediscovered long after its creation, and I’m just rocking the hell out to this album here in August of 2014. It’s fun, irreverent, original, tight, adventurous and did I mention, just incredibly fun. Wish I woulda seen these guys live, but I was woefully unaware of them. I do recognize some of the songs, probably from KALX, I’m guessing they would have been all over this. Love the lyrics and vocals, great guitar and bass work throughout, and monster drumming. OK, that cues up the “small world” part: I knew the drummer! This guy Mike Hunter, an amazing player with a heavy foot and brilliant rock and punk sensibilities – he played a few gigs with Stiff Richards in the mid 90’s! I had no idea about his history with Tales Of Terror until this morning. And listening to the record, I recognize his playing immediately. I hope their friends’ goals of making a documentary and licensing the album are realized. I’m listening through a 2nd time now (youtube listen #2,146!) and just loving it. It’s downright sexy, and that’s not the 1st word we use to describe most punky records, izzit? Cramps meet Buzzcocks meet Elvis doing 80’s hardcore in a roadhouse with skateboards. What’s not to love?
