Saturday, December 09, 2006
The Countbackwurds - Play Rip It Up
The Countbackwurds Play Rip It Up 7" (Sumppi Werthimer, 1994)
I think people kind of take the Rip Offs for granted these days, just another early 90s garage band with lots of canned 'attitude'. "They were good but not as good as 'fill in Band X here' was." It's all a reactionary pose, the Rip Offs were probably better than 95% of the competition on any given night, and in their 1993 prime they were rocking a righteous mixture of 60s and 70s punk influences that was, oh wait for it...fun. I couldn't listen to 'em afterwards for a long time due to burnout, but a recent relisten still nets a solid 'two dicks up' review, to paraphrase Shane White.
Live, the Count Backwurds were better than the Rip Offs, and listening to this EP reminded me of that fact. They had a great front man in Peeping John and a lunatic named R. Quan on the kit, so the fix was in. They played 90% covers (hell, it was probably 100% and I just didn't recognize the rest) and if fun is what you want from a live band they delivered in aces and spades. Just brainless, hyperactive, gorilla-time hilarity. For me, they were/are the definitive Purple Onion band. They didn't release a whole hell of alot when they were around, and this is their only proper stand alone 7". That other one you 'see around', the 'Double Decker Bus' one? That's actually the Trashwomen with Russell bouncing around in the background. They've got some cuts on one of the Repent-label comps as well, just buy them both to make sure, and you're set. This sole EP came out on Russell's, uh, short-lived Sumppi Werthimer label, whose only other release was a Teenie Cheetahs 45 that's also SP-worthy.
The Backwurds sort of evolved over the years (and intervening bands) into the Flakes, who trod the boards of several continents today. If you can picture them all in pirate outfits and push their influences back about five years, you can recreate the CB experience for yourself. Except for the elusive Tom Guido Factor. -Ryan W.
// posted by W/S @ 2:41 PM 
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there's actually one more 7" -- sorry charlie / alligator on telstar records. should be easy to find, telstar still had copies at the wfmu record fair in october.
# posted by 
: 9:29 PM
: 9:29 PM 
Oh, you said that already. I should have read the entire post...please excuse.
You were at the Halloween show at the Kilowatt, rite? The Count Backwurds dressed in sheets and their little Johnny Kidd & the Pirates hats? "It's not easy being a ghost..." Comedy gold.
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You were at the Halloween show at the Kilowatt, rite? The Count Backwurds dressed in sheets and their little Johnny Kidd & the Pirates hats? "It's not easy being a ghost..." Comedy gold.
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