Just as Canada offered political asylum to Wallflowers artifacts over the past quarter-century, Croatia emerges as the sanctuary for sounds of the original Morlocks.
Drummer Mark Mullen last week received this track fresh from the former Yugoslavia — the first in a completely preserved 13-song show at San Francisco’s Swedish American Hall that was originally broadcast live on KALX. (Could it be this show from Sept. 28, 1985?)
Freshly arrived in town, Jerry Cornelius outdoes himself as MC. “That’s me,” Jerry writes. “Doing the intro in imitation of the Dutch band, Q65 — which the Morlocks worshipped.”
Leighton Koizumi (vocals, harmonica); Tommy Clarke (lead guitar); Ted Friedman (rhythm guitar); Jeff Lucas (bass); Mark Mullen (drums).
I was at the 9/28/05 show, and had that flyer on my wall for years. This takes me back, bathed in the light of the Brotherhood, to one of the most kickass shows I’ve ever seen….
The Dalmatian connection, it is great that this got preserved. Those were classic shows. I don’t know if that could ever be duplicated today. Closest I’ve come to it were some of the underground rave scenes, but not really the same without live rock. I was thinking Damn I wish I still had that guitar, but, I think that was Tommy’s Harmony Rocket hmmm? Don’t know why I smashed so many instruments … maybe wasn’t too bright … DUH.
I have to say too that Jerry C was the shit. He used to start off the sets with “your politics will soon be your prison, the only liberty is between your ears, ladies and gentlemen … the morlocks!” Also he penned “wild dogs in the cellar,” which is pretty cool. Although now he doesn’t answer my emails but oh well … I digress.
I have to admit that at times I would just crank the treble, tremelo and reverb in an attempt to determine just how much the human ear and mind could withstand. MUUUU HAAA HAAA HAAAA
We always did 13 songs and it seemed the last was designed to pretty much be a lengthy psych death swirl. Evil Hoodoo was my fave. When The Night Falls is another. It’s amazing these songs, some of them were just a couple of chords but I would still forget them … ummmm.
Anyway, I’m commenting to myself again, but, I remember Jeff suggesting that I not bang on my guitar quite so hard while Leighton was singing, you know back off a bit. It was like a foreign concept, the thought had never crossed my mind.
Hey, Ted & Co.: We had a thread a while back called “San Francisco exodus” that would benefit from your insights. I kicked it off whinging about how I never felt like the “scene” in San Francisco matched the cohesiveness of what I experienced in San Diego — and I wondered whether it was the town, my stage of life or some other secret ingredient.
Now I’m thinking that my timing was off in terms of connecting with the best of the SD-SF fusion. I moved to town in August ’87, right when the Morlocks were coming unraveled. I think everyone was a little burnt-out right then, so my first, lasting impression was of this kind of … torpor. There was Parsons House, Central House, Jeff’s pad on Mission St. — little jam sessions, not a lot of forward motion. I think now that everybody was kind of sleeping it off just when I arrived at the party!
I went on to spend many marvelous years in San Francisco, but never of the musical intensity I experienced in San Diego. But if I’d arrived when you guys were putting on these shows … Maybe my take on San Francisco as rock mecca might be different.
What do you think of SF ’85-’86 vs. late ’87-’88?
This might take me hours. SF was never much of a rock mecca. Very arty, ecclectic type of scene. So you are right there, or at least I had the same perception. May be that is one factor in why the morlocks just took the scene by storm, everyone ws too busy trying to make art or something, and, we just rocked. We were pretty tight.
Ummmm … After The Morlocks basically fizzled and I don’t want to rehash the inherent lameness. I started another band, and, Paul started this underground scene called Night Gallery. It was an underground club that was after hours. So I was involved in much madness. This was the precursor to the underground rave scene. After Paul started a club called Mr Floppy’s Flop House and is pretty much credited for bringing House Music to the Bay Area. Me and my girlfriend lived together, and, it got very strange and debauched. She got a big chunk of money and a great deal of it went into illicit substances. I left SF in 87 or 88, got cleaned up a bit and went to college in New Mexico. I never really talked to any of The Morlocks again. They were off to be big rock stars. What happened? You would need to ask them. I talked to them once I think when they had moved back and heard some stories about Jeff becoming known as “Alice” in LA … So I dunno, mostly hearsay. Jerry was still around and going strong. I was good friends with Peter Moody, and, of course Paul Renna. The party basically never stopped. I was most likely more involved in the local scene post Morlocks due to my involvement with my new band. My Weekends ended on Wednesday and started on Thursday night.
Jeff and I went on to play together in San Francisco in the mid-’90s and stayed in pretty steady touch both before and after — from the time I arrived in town in ’87 until I left in 2001 … He was the Morlock I knew best from back in the day/back at the Che; we’d done some abortive attempts at music-making before y’all moved to SF; and it was a thrill finally to get on stage with him, even if the lack of traction at local venues became frustrating after a couple of years.
We had a good time: No shortage of psychodynamics, but definitely not too much of a freak show, and I never heard him called Alice! 🙂
I never heard of me being called “Alice” either. That’s pretty cool though.
“Baby, you really wouldn’t understand…”
RE: Morlocks’ dissolution… Once we started going bare-chested, wearing make-up, and covering Black Sabbath songs, it just wasn’t the same. More importantly, when we started jettisoning our friends and cohorts in our quest to become something we weren’t (and were never supposed to be) we became poisoned. And, of course, there was the subtext of drug abuse. We became a parody of ourselves.
The REAL Morlocks were and will always be Leighton, Tommy, Ted, Mark, and myself. A few of us made some serious mistakes, erred in judgement, abused trust and friendship, abused our bodies and minds, were selfish, egotistical, the list goes on… and no one more so than me (so politely referred to on here as the San Francisco Exodus)… Well, hindsight is 20/20 yadda yadda… and we can always play the youth card. I believe we were idealistic… and we were immature, incorrigible, inebriated, and insane.
I quit in late ’86 because I just couldn’t handle it anymore. I couldn’t handle myself… and it literally took me years after that to begin to be able to.
All that being said, we still have the music.
And now we have this blog and all that comes with it… thank you, Matthew.
Wow Jeff it is nice to hear you say that. You don’t know what it is like having all your friends treat you like you are crazy. Or maybe you do … Yeah thanks Matt.
It has taken me years too Jeff. And, this has been a strange year. I became friends with Lisa again after 15 years of silence.
This really does mean a great deal to me. I was pretty hard to deal with, strung out, really uptight, just a bit high strung. Thanks man, it really is a gift.
First: I hope everyone enjoys the rare find in that Intro song. I do have the 12 other songs from that show now. We will figure out a way to get everyone access to it.
Ted- 13th song is a wild version of The Train.
The guy in Croatia says he has other tapes as well. We are having trouble sharing files in the program he uses so he says he is going to put them on CD and mail them to me. I have no idea what they are yet.
San Diego was a scene, San Francisco was survival.
Don’t get me wrong, we had so good times but totally different.
At least I can say that I have no regrets..maybe a couple.. other than not having a real studio recording and not getting to tour. Both of which were very easily achieveable if it were not for…………..What Jeff said. It was hard on me because it’s my nature to get into the business side and be more serious, I was able to make enough money to have a place and function for the most part. Other than beer and cigs I was functionable. Except for one night very early in The Morlocks where we went to LA and drugs bit me and then I was out of the band. Worst day of my then life………Ted -- don’t forget I got the boot too.
Hard to say what this whole crazy Morlock thing would of been if it was a different drummer and I never got back in the band?
Anyways…………..I hope everyone enjoys the Intro Song. I really would like to hear what people think of it. I don’t remember playing that song or the introduction. Ted / Jeff -- did we play that song many times? I could still play all of our stuff today no problem, I just don’t remeber that tune?
I did e-mail the KALX radio station to see if they actually have tapes and the GM said she did not think so but will look. She then said: By the way you guys are great. Thats pretty cool seeing as we broke up 20 years ago.
Yeah quite a few of the songs have the echo thing going on the volcals. Not all or not most of them I don’t think. I will have to listen to them again.
Funny though, the only full show video I have the video guy played with his new effects toy and most of the show has moons and crap flying around. The show is killer to bad the effects are there.
Hey Mark,
The tapes are probably the ones I gave Ron Rimsite that I had taped on my boombox. I’m not sure where the stuff on side one of “Wake Me When I’m Dead” came from.
Jeff,
I would have to agree with your “REAL Morlocks” statement, and took no offense. We did have a blast with the second incarnation, tho’. The band was really coming together once we got Robbie Naefke on rhythm guitar, but by then I felt that Leighton had “lost the plot” (Topper Headon quote from the Clash “Westway to the World” flick). One of our last shows featured one of Leighton’s prematurely balding, well-to-do, “friends”, Tony, on rhythm. We had to (literally) dress him up, and he played the whole show with his guitar unplugged, totally, unaware. I vaguely remember taking a stand against this foolishness. Paul, anything to add? No regrets, tho’, that’s what got me back into school (last resort, use the brain). That and a job at the Bottle Hatch. I have to give it up to Leighton for his persistence in carrying the Morlocks torch. I miss that guy.
P.S. Not looking to make anything from it, but I would like to get the few songs we recorded in S.F. out on C.D. or something. Still have the tapes, as I mentioned before. I wanted to start a record label for this very purpose some years ago, but was broke and lost steam….
P.S. Among those tapes that guy in Croatia has should be the complete Emerald Ballroom show, that I taped on my boombox. Mark Mullen, let me know if you get that stuff, or just put it on here. I’m pretty sure all the best stuff made it onto “Wake Me When Im Dead.”
Ted
I did not go to LA with the band, I quit before that even happened.
I do have Uglier than you’ll ever be. It’s great. I actually called Voxx and asked them to send me a few when I heard it was out.
The Swedish Show- We were such bad ass rock stars that my brother reminded me that he had to drive me home with my drums sticking out of his little rental car. He had come up from SD to see the show and when he was heading back to his hotel -- there I was with no way to get home……Too Funny
I always liked Paul and spent a ton of time with him before everyone else even started to pay attention to him. I need to catch upwith him.
Has Mr. Renna been by to visit? I don’t know that I ever met him in San Francisco … God only knows how many flaming bridges I walked by, oblivious, after my arrival in August ’87!
I keep sending the address and he says he checked it out. Paul is involved with http://www.beatlesradio.com and I have his email if anyone wants it, just email me, or message me off my myspace page. I mentioned this before but he went through a bad breakup recently and would most likely love to hear from old friends. I remember you lived at his place around the corner from the VIS Markie, with him and Mo. Me and Paul were very tight, also Peter Moody who did the take the skinheads bowling video for Camper Van Beethoven. Peter still works in video as a location scout or something. He says he has an Italian wife who loves to cook.
I have clinical supervision meeting right now and have to bail. Once a Month they actually supervise us????
I have a confession to make, and, an apology I owe to Jeff, but don;t have time right now.
Paul and Ron Rimsite did a great job for us when we went up there. Between the two of them, they booked us a couple/few shows (the Farm (with the Brotherhood of Light ding their thing) and umm, …The Vis? Anyone?), got us onto KALX for an interview, and booked a rehearsal space, and studio time. We were broke and under various influences. Thanks, Pat, for letting us crash at your pad (was it on Geary? Mike Sherman was living there, too). I think I stayed with Jill in Berkeley, too.
Joop from Q65 is on myspace …
http://www.myspace.com/jooproelofs
>>Peter Moody who did the take the skinheads bowling video for Camper Van Beethoven.
Ted: I always loved that CvB video! … I still have a T-shirt that I would literally have to lose 100 pounds to wear (it was tight at my skinniest) that reads “Skinhead Bowling League” with a picture of a skankin’ skinhead.
The girl in the video is Mo Stanton, Paul Renna’s GF at the time, and, dear friend of mine. We all used to get out of the clubs, and then go bowling at Japan Center it was open all night, and, then wait until Colombo’s opened up in North Beach and walk up there.
Funny story, Peter worked for a video company at the time, and, his boss lived on Lombard Street. It was late at night, early hours of the morning and they were filming the bowling ball on Lombard Street. Paul tells Peter to drive the van up the street the wrong way. Peter’s boss sees the van out his window with the company name on it going the wrong the up Lombard at three am, and, next day Peter got fired.
Hey Bobby: Yes the Outsiders! When the Tell Tale Hearts we’re going through some of our covers I was amazed at how many of their songs we did, way more than any other Dutch band, or any band for that matter. This song was our intro for a while with Jerry, and it was always a blast to play. I had heard that the Morlocks started playing it but never knew for sure. I don’t think there’s a recording of it with the TTH’s, so it’s great to hear (besides the misplaced Space Echo). I still love the Outsiders and listen to a tape Mike Stax made for me many moons ago!
I’m curious,did you like the CQ record?It’s definitely not the same thing,but is a very interesting record.
Bobby: I just looked up the track listing for CQ and nothing looked familiar. I just have a tape of all the singles (off Mike’s amazing picture sleeve collection, the bastard), the first album, and the live album with Story 16. I think it’s in chronological order; and it is without a doubt one of the greatest tapes in the history of the universe. I still love compilation cassette tapes with all of my heart…
i love CQ it’s a rockin album that’s for sure
I could make you a CD or two…I thought the first album was live on the first few tracks,not the case?
Bobby: Maybe, I never had the LP’s so I’m not sure. I’d love to hear whatever you have and catch up with you, how can we hook up?