Cleveland rocks

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

We have been inundated with punk rock re-releases documenting the glory days of ’77 and ’78, with bands that called CBGB’s, the Roxy and the 100 Club home getting preferred attention. Shame, really, because some of the more interesting early punk bands were springing up in the most unlikely places, Cleveland and neighbouring Akron being prime examples.

I don’t know what they were pumping into Lake Erie at that time, but just look at the bands that were coming out of this armpit of middle America—Akron’s Devo and Cleveland’s the Dead Boys, Pere Ubu, Rocket From the Tombs, Electric Eels, X Blank X, the Mirrors, Styrenes etc. One of the best sounds belching out from the grey drab of Cleveland was the spit, piss and vinegar raunch of the Pagans.

Like their brother band the Dead Boys, these middle American miscreants loved the Stones, Sonics, Ramones, Stooges, Dolls and obscure ’60s nuggets, but actually beat out Stiv Bators and co. by being far louder and snottier, with even more chaos mixed in per beat. With their first single “Six and Change” catching the tail end of punk rock’s first wave, the Pagans were sadly robbed of the elusive label deal and fell into obscurity before the Internet sparked interest in them once again.

This week, Pagans singer Mike Hudson releases his biography Diary of a Punk: Life and Death in the Pagans (Tuscarora Books) and pulls no punches, giving a firsthand look at the early Cleveland punk scene, the ever-present drug and alcohol addictions, many near-death experiences of his own and a remembrance of those who weren’t so lucky, heartbreak and the band’s recent resurgence and many reunions (which continue today). Hudson manages to pack a lot of thrills and chills within the book’s all too brief 142 pages, but like a good Pagans song, it rips it up at a breakneck speed and ends sooner than it began. Hudson’s completely candid style does flow well, fuelling one of the best punk rock memoirs you are likely to read out of all the recent titles hogging space on the bookstore shelf.

Coinciding with the release of the book, label Smog Veil have also released a companion Pagans CD, The Blue Album, recorded live during one of the band’s first reunions in Wisconsin in 1988. Although the band sounds as lethal as ever, there is the gross oversight of leaving out the mega-blasters that were on their first single and “What’s This Shit Called Love.” This half-hour document is great, but really reserved for über-fans only, so if you are looking for the real deal, start off with the 2001 Crypt Records compilations Shit Street or Pink Album.

Also released this week on Smog Veil is a compilation of the recorded output of Akron’s Teachers Pet, from ’78 and ’79. With a very Rezillos/Dickies sound, Teachers Pet brought the bop with them, which made for perfect pogoing. There’s a large nod to covers here but it’s songs like the Farfisa-driven “Little Arthur” and “Fast Food Baby” that really makes this mandatory.

If you want to check out any of the other amazing Cleveland bands from the early punk days, go to www.clepunk.com and wig out.

O-HI-O…JONATHAN.CUMMINS@GMAIL.COM