There are a couple of records that just came left field and took me by surprise or just made a huge impression on my humble self. For me it was Upstarts, Rejects and SLF (all say 1979) followed by Cock Sparrer, Neurotics and Toy Dolls (all say 1983) plus Descendents, Meat Puppets, Zero Boys (all say 1982) – and in 1996 it was Schleprock with their LP on Warner. I did follow Schleprock since their initial 7″ output, loved “Darkest Days” from their 1994 effort on Dr. Strange and little did i know that in the wake of all that Major signing of decent punk bands in the 90s they where also signed by a Major.
And then came “(America’s) Dirty Little Secret” and it was a perfect album. From “We need an Anthem” as a kick off it turned out to be one hell of a versatile record with a lot of nods to old UK punk incl. a cover of “Runnin’ Riot” from Cock Sparrer. Stunning. Just Stunning. And – from where i sit – without a bad song at all, loads of sing-a-long and not pop punk (which was what the Major labels in the US where actually trying to ca$h in on) but a Ruts/Members/Specials type of brew. Wow!
The verdict:
1977 – 1979 rather but just puurrrfect!
published by a cool label – no, Warner. Trying to ca$sh in. Little did they know…
found in a cool shop – Drugstore i believe – mmhhh – no, Konneckschen. Or? Memories, fading!
catching sound – Members. Ruts. Do i need to say more?
the lyrics – Take any song – nothing bad out there.
My loveliest song is “Can’t hold me down” but that is just by inches:
Somebody wants to put my brakes on Better sit down and hear my song Sell out, not here, get out My passions burning like the Devil's night out My integrity's packing a punch The bleeding truth doesn't call no bluff This goes out to all the cheerleaders Who talk too much You won't hold me down You can't slow me down You won't hold me down You can't slow me down Displace me, erase me It won't go away And I don't want a part Of your fashion parade I don't wanna play in your So called brown nosing games We're making up our own rules Doing things our own way You won't hold me down You can't slow me down You won't hold me down You can't slow me down Somebody wants to put my brakes on Better sit down and hear my song Sell out, not here, get out My passions burning like the Devil's night out My integrity's packing a punch The bleeding truth doesn't call no bluff This goes out to all the cheerleaders Who talk too much You won't hold me down You can't slow me down You won't hold me down You can't slow me down (c) 1996 Warner Bros Rec./Schleprock
Now listen to the alternate version from the 2005 retrospective:
And what happened next? They broke due to the major pressure, the drugs and other issues from being together since 1989. This is actually the version from “Learning to Fail” (2005 retrospective) and represents part of the demo tape that go them signed to Warner. The liner notes says it all:
This original recording was on the demo that got us signed and it set the tempo for the attitude of "(America's) Dirty Little Secret"; nearly a year later we would record this again, but this time for Warner Brothers Records. In the end we wound up scamming the big boys for nearly a million dollars, but we also found ourselves self-destructing.
Some parts of Schleprock formed The Generators and are going strong until today but that is a different story!
nb: Some friends of mine are making the long haul to Punk Rock Bowling 2015 in Vegas this year, in there is also a show by … Schleprock. Have the bucks been spent or is it for the fun? We’ll see, we’ll see!
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