Gizmos

Gizmos

Love Songs 1975 - 1981

Gulcher

***It has finally come to pass, almost a half-century on—all 17 Gizmos together on a single album!! That's right—17 (cool prime number!) Gizmos, count 'em: (1) Ken, (2) Ted, (3) Eddie, (4) Rich, (5) Rick, (6) Dave, (7) Davey, (8) Jm D, (9) Don, (10) Jim C, (11) Dale, (12) Billy, (13) Shadow, (14) Steve, (15) Phil, (16) Tim, and (17) Robbie. What an amazing assemblage of songwriters and musicians!! And now—just in time for Valentine's Day 2024—Gulcher presents 23 (another cool prime—look it up!) Gizmos Love Songs!! You've got 54 minutes of music spanning the years 1975 to 1981, all original compositions. Let her know she's your favorite gal, get her Gizmos Love Songs and be real swell. The Gizmos Love You!!

Gizmos

The Gizmos Eps 1976-1978

Gulcher

***"THE LEGEND OF THE GIZMOS 1976-1978 - Are we legendary yet? Infamous? An embarrassment? One version of the myth begins in 1974 when I met Ken Highland and Bob Richert in Bloomington, Indiana. A couple years later, just as Ken was about to enter the Marine Corps, Bob convinced him to make a record. Ken brought together various friends to become his instant band the Gizmos. No gigs, almost no rehearsals--ust some songs and a day in a 'studio' (a guy’s spare bedroom). And voila! The Gizmos became the first Indiana punk-rock band, even though we were barely a band, and neither Ken nor I were in Indiana for very long. Somehow we came together again in 1977 to record enough for two more EPs, played two live shows at the Bloomington library, and disappeared again (until our 2014 return). Ted Niemiec was the one original Gizmo who remained in Bloomington, and producer/manager Bob formed another band around him. Most importantly, guitarist/songwriter Dale Lawrence joined the new group. This lineup acted like a real band--played lots of shows. They even did a short tour that resulted in three songs from the fourth Gizmos EP being recorded at Max’s Kansas City in NYC. But eventually Ted also quit, leaving Dale to regroup a third time for a Gizmos lineup that included zero original members. But that story happens after this story (Dale’s Gizmos did a split LP and recorded lots of archival stuff that has been released since then). So, y’know,...

Gizmos

The Gizmos: Raw '76 / '77

Gulcher

***"Hey music fans, it’s the first ever cassette release by the original 1976/77 Gizmos! Side 1 features material originally released on CDR as Raw First Takes by Slippy Town in 2004. That barely circulated disc contained the previously unreleased first takes of six 1977 Gizmos songs: 'Kiss Of The Rat,' 'Human Garbage Disposal,' 'Cave Woman,' 'Hey Beat Mon!,' 'Gizmos World Tour,' and 'Amerika First.' There’s also a short outtake of a spoken intro from Ted Niemiec. Plus 'Muff Divin’ (In Willkie South)' and 'Mean Screen' recorded at a drunken teenage party a year before in 1976. Brand new to this Gulcher tape are six songs recorded in 1976. Listen as northern Indiana hard-rock teen band Cerberus meets Ken Highland and Eddie Flowers in Bob Richert’s Bloomington kitchen for the very first Gizmos rehearsal/jam. They stumble through covers of 'Ramblin’ Rose' (MC5), 'Raw Power' (Stooges), 'Deuce' (Kiss), 'Little Queenie' (Chuck Berry), and a weird medley of Black Sabbath and Wilson Pickett’s 'In The Midnight Hour.' Plus an unreleased, barely remembered original called 'Screw The Screw.' It was nearly forgotten because as Krazee Ken explains: 'The Cerberus guys were trying to screw in maybe a fuzzbox; made up the song on the spot.'"—Eddie Flowers, Heavy Mother (2022)

Gizmos

The Gizmos In New York 1980-81

Gulcher

In the spring of 1980, three-fourths of the Gizmos moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, from their native Bloomington, Indiana. Within a few years, Dale Lawrence would co-front the Vulgar Boatmen, Billy Nightshade would play in Boston's Unattached, and Tim Carroll would form the Blue Chieftains, before establishing a formidable solo career in Nashville. But in 1980, they had their sites set on infiltrating New York's post-punk scene. Hooking up with Long Island drummer Robbie Wise, they soon began getting gigs in the city. But getting anyone to notice proved a tougher nut. "We thought we'd been operating in a void in Indiana," remembers Lawrence. "In New York we found out what a void really was! At least back home, people cared enough to dislike us." The Gizmos would finally call it quits the following summer. But in that one year of east-coast residency, they would tighten up their rhythm section, expand their songwriting, and make the best recordings of their career, at Zeami Studios with fellow Hoosiers Mark Bingham and Mark Hood producing. "The Midwest Can Be Allright," released at the time on the Red Snerts compilation of Indiana bands, is often cited as the group's finest song. The rest of that session is presented here, along with live recordings and living-room demos. Several songs make their official debut: "Now I Wanna Go Fast," "Pignose," "Tricky Rhythms," "Shoplifting," "Nervous Man In A $4 Room," and a cover of Jerry Lee Lewis's "Little Green Valley." A superior-sounding version of the Billy...

Gizmos

21st Century Gizmos Fans Can't Be Wrong

Gulcher

***The original GIZMOS release their first new EP since 1978, and the first Gulcher vinyl release since 1981. The new EP was recorded in July at Magnetic South in the Gizmos' original home base of Bloomington, Indiana. KENNE HIGHLAND, EDDIE FLOWERS, TED NIEMIEC, and RICH COFFEE were joined by new members CRAIG BELL (ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS), KELSEY SIMPSON and SAM MURPHY. Kenne and Eddie have two new originals: "Red-Headed Stepchild" and "Disaster In Dayton." They both have a kinda Stones/Dolls vibe, with "Stepchild" also steeped in Detroit aggression. "Disaster In Dayton" adds some Skynyrd/Faces honky tonk to a bit of Bowie/Ronson riffage, and tells a true-life story in the Gizmos tradition. Ted brings two new slices of Giz-pop. "Around" has a kinda folk-rock/60s vibe, but the band is rockin' hard. "Open" leans towards a more psych vibe, with Ted's vocal adding a bit of Bauhaus to the mix and the guitars soundin' like a very concise 1967 Quicksilver Messenger Service. The title track, "21st Century Gizmos Fans," comes from Rich Coffee, with Eddie and Ted each adding a verse as well. It has a kinda wham-bam-glam sound, and the lyrics are in the self-referential Gizmos mode. There's some Chuck Berry in there too. Five new songs! Four original Gizmos! Three new Gizmos! Wacky cover art! Old-fashioned vinyl! New-fangled hype! Rock on!

Gizmos

World Tour 2014

Gulcher

***"Now we're here for sure! Gizmos World Tour!" Thirty-seven years after the GIZMOS recorded their theme song and played exactly two live shows, the core of the original group reunited in 2014 for performances in Bloomington, Indianapolis, Dayton, Memphis, New York City, Boston, Columbus, Cleveland, and Chicago. Plus a WFMU radio session in New Jersey and various in-store appearances. Whew! On this Gizmos World Tour 2014 disc, original members KENNE HIGHLAND, EDDIE FLOWERS, TED NIEMIEC and RICH COFFEE are joined by their current comrades CRAIG BELL (ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS), SAM MURPHY and KELSEY SIMPSON for a wild ride at Gonerfest 11 in Memphis (with a guest appearance by BIM "OBNOX" THOMAS). At their Bloomington reunion show, the core quartet is augmented by an all-star lineup including IAN BREWER (THE PANICS), JOHN TERRILL (THE DANCING CIGARETTES), MAX DEMATA (SONIC DAZE), and DAVEY MEDLOCK (original Gizmos background singer). For the East Coast shows, they're supported by KENNY KAISER (AFRIKA CORPS), MJ QUIRK, MATT BURNS and JOHN KEEGAN.

Gizmos

Go To Purdue Live 1979

Gulcher

***“The live set on this CD represents several firsts and/or onlys for THE GIZMOS. It was the only time the band ever played in West Lafayette, home of the Purdue Boilermakers. It was the first of four times we shared a bill with our friends Dow Jones & The Industrials (and one of only a couple house parties we ever played). It was the only time one of our shows was recorded on anything but a cassette deck, in this case the Zounds Studio four-track machine the Industrials used for their recordings. And it was the only time we ever played ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.’ As with every time we played with DJI, the bands alternated sets, two apiece. If our second set that night was also recorded, it's long ago been lost or taped over. The surviving 45-minute performance is reproduced here in its entirety, boring stretches and blemishes intact. The PA cuts out in the middle of our third song (not an especially rare occurrence back then), and ample proof is provided of the group's very limited command of guitar tuning. Five lesser-known and heretofore unreleased Gizmo numbers turn up: ‘Great Expectations,’ ‘Moonies,’ ‘Mommy's In The Kitchen With A Sales Pitch,’ the world premiere of ‘Rockin' For Tacos,’ and a pretty dreary tune called ‘Stutter Gunner’ (I wouldn't have minded had it stayed unknown). All in all, it's a pretty accurate record of what a typical Gizmos show was like. It was probably either our first or...

Gizmos

1976 - 1977: Studio Recordings

Gulcher

***BACK IN PRINT!!! A wild-and-woolly collection of tracks from Indiana's legendary he-men heroes of huh. Twenty-six tracks of punk rock pioneering from KEN HIGHLAND, EDDIE FLOWERS, TED NIEMIEC, RICH COFFEE, RICK CZAJKA, DAVEY MEDLOCK, DAVE SULAK, and JIM DeVRIES, including their self-titled EP from '76, the Amerika First and Gizmos World Tour EPs from '77, and shit-load of hot outtake tear-up. Includes loads of rare pics and extensive notes by Flowers.

Gizmos

Never Mind The Gizmos, Here's The Gizmos

Gulcher

***BACK IN PRINT!!! A collection of tracks originally released on vinyl by the post-KEN HIGHLAND and EDDIE FLOWERS GIZMOS. Recorded between 1978 and 1981, Never Mind The Gizmos features fourteen tracks, including the standouts "Cry Real Tears" (Vulgar Boatmen), "The American Dream" (Walking Ruins), "Did You No Wrong" (Sex Pistols), "Dead Astronauts," "Rock & Roll Don't Come From New York," "Take Me To The River" (Al Green), and "The Midwest Can Be Alright" (produced by MX-80's MARK BINGHAM and MARK HOOD).

Gizmos

1975 - 1977: Demos & Rehearsals

Gulcher

***Hot on the heels of their recent collection of early EPs comes this crazed collection of demos and rehearsal tapes from Indiana's legendary he-men heroes of huh—KEN HIGHLAND, EDDIE FLOWERS, TED NIEMIEC, RICH COFFEE, RICK CZAJKA, DAVEY MEDLOCK, DAVE SULAK, and JIM DeVRIES. A fifty-four-track time-bomb of previously unreleased classic early punk including some of Highland's Marine-core era recordings, cuts done with Coffee's stoner-rock group CERBERUS, and Niemec's demos for the '77 GIZMOS sessions. Double-CD packaged with a 20-page booklet.