Splunge Communications, Inc.

Haskels, The

Taking The City By Storm

Splunge Communications, Inc.

***Rising like the phoenix from the ashes of the first version of the band; The Haskels served up heavy doses of three minute, adrenaline-fueled hard punk pop, as evidenced on the highly sought after, Killed by Death bootlegged, “Taking the City by Storm” EP released in 1981 on their own Milwaukee Hits label. Now the full story of the band can be heard, seen, and told. As the decade turned from the rust belt 70’s to the Reagan-era 80’s, the original Haskels (see their self-titled LP released last year on Splunge) split into two factions, with the local punk/new wave/post-punk scene moving to the gritty Starship club in downtown Milwaukee. The Haskels were instrumental in getting bands to play the venue, including the Oil Tasters, Plasticland, Ama-Dots, Shivvers, Die Kreuzen and a burgeoning Violent Femmes. The version of the Haskels represented here initially included Presley Haskel and Gerard LaValliere, fresh from the first line up of the band; joined by the crack rhythm section of Bobby Mitchell and Vodie Rhinehardt. Later tracks, including the EP were recorded by the Presley/Bobby/Vodie trio. In either case, the material is a match made in punk pop heaven; coupling Presley’s knife-sharp songwriting sensibilities with a tight unit of A-Team musicians driving the music forward. “Taking the City by Storm” includes 14 tracks of rare and never before released material from the Splunge Archives. The release is comprised of demos, live tracks and the entire, highly coveted “Taking the City by Storm” EP, remastered for...

Haskels, The

S/t

Splunge Communications, Inc.

***BACK IN STOCK!!! THE HASKELS—Unsung heroes of Milwaukee's original punk era. Hearing this artifact of the original Midwest first-wave punk era is akin to finding a treasure buried amongst shards of glass in the sands of time. Meticulously restored from the original, never-before mixed master tapes, The Haskels lost studio album, recorded on one cold October day in 1979 at Milwaukee's soon-to-close Solar Studios, should set the record straight on perhaps the most important lost gem of the era birthed from the Midwest, US, or otherwise worldwide. Milwaukee's Haskels were kings of the late ;70s punk scene, centered at Zak's North Avenue nightclub, sharing the stage with bands like the Lubricants, Blackholes, Orbits, Plasticland and others that have found their way onto bootlegs and posthumous releases of their own. Their sound was a combination melded from the roots / glam / Detroit-inspired, naive retro pop sound of godfather / scenester PRESLEY HASKEL, and RICHARD LAVALLIERE's surreal dream-based narrative genius compositions, fleshed out by GERARD LAVALLIERE's precise guitar attack and GUY HOFFMAN's unorthodox but dance-inducing beats. The band's chops as well as their charisma carried the day, as they filled clubs and held court at the Haskel Hotel, their headquarters in the run-down Brady Street area of Milwaukee's lower East side. The Haskels, evolved out of another popular pre-punk band of the time, IN A HOT COMA, burned brightly from 1977 to 1979, supernova-ing after their last show together on New Year's Eve 1979. Presley and Gerard continued on to form...