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  • From: grady AT ibiblio.org
  • To: ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Ugly Americans reunion at Kings tonight
  • Date: Thu, 08 Apr 2004 16:03:58 -0400

Hey, sorry, hope nobody was relying on my "stuff to do" emails as their sole source of rock info, as I've been slowly & quite painfully moving house over the past couple of weeks, and both time and internet access have been limited-to-non-existent.

I don't even know what shows we all missed, and I'm not gonna bother to go back & check, lest I get sad or something.

I suppose I'll try to get trianglerock.com updated tonight & send out an email, but the rest of you might want to head to Raleigh tonight & see the Ugly Americans, who were one of that mid-80s class of dirty/weird post-hardcore hardcore local bands. I never saw them, and it has been years since I listened to their 2nd full-length on Metal Blade (was intending to pull it out, but it's in a box somewhere, as is my turntable, and every other fucking thing I own, pretty much).

But so here's a quick lowdown from the definitive guide to the 80s NC punk scene, "How North Carolina Got Its Punk Attitude," from Perfect Sound Forever zine:

"Hey, let's not forget about that Simon Bob guy I mentioned earlier. Upon moving to Durham, he started the Ugly Americans with Danny Hooligan, Chris Eubank and Jon McClain (not to be confused with the Austin Texas band of the same name). These guys were a great combo and the good word soon spread. When they began to frequently play out, the between city gig trading quickly grew to include Durham. Of course, the only place to play in Durham was St. John's Cultural Center, which was "a church basement in the ghetto," but Simon Bob was quite the scene builder and organized several popular Hardcore shows featuring tons of up-and-coming talent. Graphic artists and musicians had worked in these scenes together since Joy Cook made th' Cigaretz cover and Erroll Englebrecht did C.O.C.'s Eye For An Eye cover. Simon Bob also made a name for himself by doing artwork for his own band, as well as Subculture, C.O.C. and even the Dead Kennedys. The Ugly Americans released their first LP The Dream Turns Sour on their own Discipline Records label ('84) to much scene acclaim. They played all over and soon found they were the second crossover band (C.O.C. was first) to be signed to Metal Blade Records with their Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed (Death-004/72082-1) LP, released in 1985. The Ugly Americans are a highly regarded group who've separated and gotten back together for 'reunion' shows on and off throughout the subsequent years."

http://www.furious.com/perfect/nc-punk2.html

Danny Hooligan = Danny Hooley, who writes for the N&O
Chris Eubank = Chris Eubank (see, I *told* you he's been in every band in town)
Jon McClain = ex-drummer for Picasso Trigger & was also in Leadfoot for a while, I think
Simon Bob sang for C.O.C. for a while after the Ugly Americans, circa '86 or so, and then at some point moved to the west coast, which is why this reunion is fairly special.

If you missed the blackgirls reunion at the Bickett Gallery last fall, then this is your next big chance to see all the elder statespeople of the Raleigh scene emerge from their old-folks homes &/or packing crates. They don't make it out much anymore, so if there's anybody you haven't seen since '90 or so, now's yr chance to catch up.

Or if you just want to get some idea of what kinda noise was being made around here 20 (!) years ago (oh fuck, I never saw the Ugly Americans, but I remember seeing COC on tour in SC for the first time in like '85-'86 or so--where has half my life gone?). My prediction, especially given that powerhouse rhythm section, is that it'll still kinda pin yr face to the wall.

xo

Ross

p.s. The Ghost of Rock opens.




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