Gizmos

Go To Purdue Live 1979

Gulcher

CD $13.50

08/27/2013

GULCHER 436 CD

MP3 $9.90

08/27/2013 616892110545

GULCHER 436 CD

***“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 second gig after opening for the Ramones, so we were feeling our oats: confident, relatively tight, and happy to be playing with our friends and outside Bloomington”—Dale Lawrence