HUMPERS
by Wez Lundry
The Humpers are not your typical LA bar
band. Taking a cue from 70s guitar-heavy
rock bands such as Radio Birdman and the
Dead Boys, the full-sounding five piece
delivers the goods without being afraid to
toss in up-front guitar work or solos. Don't
jump to any conclusions, however, 'cause the
Humpers don't play radio-friendly pop drivel,
but balls out boss punk rock.
An earlier LP, Positively Sick on 4th
Street, is a perfect example of the Humpers'
ethic. Twelve songs that fuckin' wail, and on
the back of the albu
the album it lets you know what
they're all about when it
it says, "This disc
was recorded by Mark Dutton and Dan
Koenig for a measly 350 bucks and is a Mean
Dog Production. Your album cost 20 grand
and it still don't rock." A solid foundation
was laid for the work to follow...
With their recent move to big player
Epitaph, more cash wind
more cash went into their latest LP,
Live
Forever or Die Trying. But don't worry
about them losing the rock. It's seventeen,
testosterone-fueled kicks to the neck with
unanimous thumbs up from the ministry of
rock. They
cor. They even went to the trouble of rere-
cording some of their earlier shit for those
unfamiliar and uniniated. Also included is a
cover of the Clash's condom crusade, "Protex
Blue." Mark Lee acknowledged the higher
cost of making this record but added that
there are costs that they have no control
over such as "the assistant to the guy who
brought in the keg.
Another thing about Epitaph is the promo-
tion and distribution
aspect. Imagine having
a gig in a town where people actually
it. Imagine going to the
know
about it.
supposedly cool record store in
town and people have actually
seen your records. These are new
and welcome additions to the
Humpers routine, say the band,
and much deserved.
Their hard-
-to-find earlier
singles and some other stuff have
also been released on an
Sympathy for the Reco
called.
LP P on
the Record Industry
to the Center of
Journey to the
rea
Your Wallet, and some earlier stuff
have been released on a 10" on
Dionysus, ,fittingly called The
Dionysus Years. This stuff is the
Humpers at their rawest, and I
highly recommend the 10" for its
utter Birdmanishness.
Their live show is blast. Scott
"Deluxe" Drake's vocals combined
with the appearance of big, black-
clad Billy Burke (guitar), Mitch
Cartwright (bass), Jimi Silveroli
(drums) and Lee shake the fuckin'
shack. Don't show up in yer
Sunday best, 'cause you're gonna
be greeted with rowdy behavior,
smoke in yer eyes, and beer spilled
on yer shoes.
Do be ready to rock.
METALLICA
88 THRASHER
LOAD
78:59
PRODUCED BY BOB ROCK WITH HETFIELD & ULRICH
cassettes and records. http://www.elektra.com
1996 E/M Ventures
On Elektra compact discs,