Drinking is Great

[Jim Hofmann <hofmann@AMSAA.ARPA>]

Not really sure if this is "appropriate to this newsgroup"
but I had this review sitting on my disk for awhile with
nothing to do with it (after I sent it to my local friendly
zine) ... tell me if you don't like this ...

Various Artist, Drinking is Great (Fatal  Erection,
1985)  This  comp  was mostly brought about through
the efforts of Portland scenesters and Tom  Pig  of
Poison  Idea  who  basically  chipped  in to form a
their own label called, ahem, Fatal Erection.  This
45  RPM  disc  just  reeks of hell-bent leather and
hardcore gospel that absolutely shreds.  The  title
comes  as  reaction  to  the Oregon liquor control
piggies who have banned all  underage  people  from
clubs  even  if  a  separate drinking area existed.
This has killed a  large  portion  of  these  bands
audience  and  until  they  can get a hall or a bar
willing to have non-alcoholic shows  (fat  chance),
it don't look too good.  Well, score up another one
for right wing piggies  at  least  for  the  moment
'cause  judging  from  the urgency of this music, I
doubt if this scene will die.

Side one starts off with Poison Idea, who  you  may
be  familiar with through that killer Pushead compi-
lation, Cleanse the Bacteria.  This  band  features
two  heavies  (and I mean that literally these guys
are BIG!) of the Portland scene,  Tom  Pig  (who  I
mentioned  before) and Jerry A. who also have their
own wrecking company (!).  I wonder if  this  means
they  practice  in  condemned  buildings.   Anyway,
based on first hand knowledge, a Poison  Idea  show
is  an  exercise  in gross and offending excesses.
In short, fun.  They throw boogers  at  each  other
and  Jerry A. has been known to spit on the ceiling
and let the slime drip back into his mouth.  Under-
neath  this  hard  shell lies guys who write lyrics
like "when you laugh at those  with  less,  where's
the  humor  at"  (Laughing  Boy),  so there must be
something here, huh?  The other song on  this  side
is by Etherteen (E-13) and is about discovering you
have  Pancreatis  disease  by   noticing   "yellow
floaters"  in  your toilet.  I feel the bile rising
just thinking about it. Anyway, you might notice
the chorus is metered at 7/4 - thereby implying t
there might be more to these guys than first imagined.

Second Side starts of with Lockjaw, hate band  from
Seattle, that enjoys popularity among the skinheads
in the area.  It's called "You Dick".  Final  Warn-
ing  ends  up  the  7" with "I quit" a protest song
protesting, gee, against just about  anything  they
could  think  of.   Since this recording, Final
Warning has quit and broke up. Either  way, you can't go wrong
with the price (2.25 through Systematic mail order)
and  it's great to hear another side of the country
that isn't L.A. or San Francisco.