RealityStudio.org

MURDER BY GUITAR
Riding the Crime Wave with San Francisco’s First and Only Rock & Roll Band
By Fred Beldin -- from Resonance 49

While America celebrated the bicentennial and punk primped for its big media moment as the latest youth scare, a baleful force gathered on the streets of San Francisco. A quartet of leather-clad misanthropes, gaunt from pharmaceutical exploration and buzzing with sickly energy, assembled a band so uncompromising even the underground would turn away offended. Their recklessly confrontational music and message rendered them outcasts among outcasts, the memory of their deeds repressed by witnesses as soon as the band safely imploded. This was Crime.

Self-taught guitarists/vocalists Johnny Strike and Frankie Fix formed the nucleus of Crime, and their stark vision dominated the band through its lifespan. In the summer of 1976, with bassist Ron Ripper and drummer Ricky Tractor on board and a few hasty rehearsals under their belts, Crime recorded and self-released their debut single, “Hot Wire My Heart” b/w “Baby You’re So Repulsive.” The record is a damaged masterpiece of atonal riffs, agitated rhythm and the lowest fidelity allowed by law, but within the murk of black static and needle dust lays a seductive ectomorphic power, an intellectual aggression shot through with delinquent spirit and antisocial urges. Defiantly chaotic, their buzzsaw sound drips with the grease of hard R&B, like a stumbling drunk Chuck Berry fronting the Velvet Underground after an all-night binge.

Crime’s first public appearance (a Halloween fundraising party for gay activists) lasted only five songs before the plug was pulled, but bigger outrages were yet to come. “We pretty much sealed our fate early on and became the most offensive band in town when we put Hitler on a flyer,” said Strike, now a Bay Area novelist. “Of course, we knew that the flyer would cause a stir, but we had no idea how much of one. Our records were yanked from the one store in town that sold punk, given no airplay, crossed off lists all over town. Crime was really born then.”

Like all great rock & roll bands, Crime meticulously cultivated their image and photo shoots came long before live shows. Four cold, cadaverous men clad in regulation police uniforms wearing dead, drugged sneers on their faces, or perhaps dressed as gangsters, posed around sacks of money and guns. Publicity materials featured images of police brutality, sadomasochism and war criminals. Every dark fantasy conjured by Lou Reed, William Burroughs and film noir, every secret desire for bondage and fascism was reflected there in the mirrored shades of these vampires in cop costumes. Punk by any definition, but Crime shunned the label with open hostility, and their rejection of countercultural groupthink was possibly their most grievous offense.

Tractor’s rhythmic (and personal) inconsistencies led to a succession of drummers. Brittley Black took over next, playing on the band’s second single, “Frustration” b/w “Murder by Guitar,” followed by Hank Rank, who had never hit the skins before but learned on the job and became the band’s manager as well. Self-billed as “San Francisco’s First and Only Rock & Roll Band,” Crime’s sonic assault drew unruly crowds who loved the raunchy, revved-up sound, fetishistic police uniforms and brittle arrogance. But Crime’s insistence on headlining every show and undisguised disdain for the bands they gigged with earned them more enemies than fans.

“At first it was with the people who were running things,” said Strike, “a close-knit group left over from the hippie days that included club bookers, journalists, record shop owners, deejays, etc. They definitely weren't up for us. When we saw how things were, instead of playing nice with them like most bands, we drew our swords and made the gap as wide as it would go.” Despite the band’s bad reputation among San Francisco’s rock elite, Crime secured regular appearances at the Mabuhay Gardens and even booked a notorious gig at nearby San Quentin Penitentiary, which they played in full police regalia to the puzzled inmates. Aside from rare shows in Seattle and Los Angeles, Crime remained a local phenomenon, stubbornly staying in the face of a scene that considered them rude and primitive even by punk standards.

Of course, the enmity Crime courted wasn’t good for business. Bookings became difficult, audiences shrank, an attempt at a more streamlined, funk-based sound confused their remaining fans and a combination of drugs, apathy and artistic differences ultimately closed the coffin lid on Crime. The band fell apart in 1982 when Strike quit Crime and focused his efforts on writing (his novel *Ports of Hell was published in 2004 by Headpress).

Fix made an abortive attempt to resurrect Crime in the early 90s, recruiting Ripper and Black for the gig, but Strike didn’t participate. "Hank and I went to the first show and it was pretty dreadful,” he said. “I heard they played a couple more before dissolving. It was all druggy posturing." Fix’s years following the ersatz reunion were troubled. “I used to run into him on the street now and again and we'd chat a bit,” said Strike. “I had finally found my way out of the dope scene but he never had, so it was a little awkward, but we'd known each other since high school so we still had a bond no matter what.” In 1996, Fix died during surgery, his body weakened by abuse.

Crime’s limited-press singles became impossible to find after the breakup, their music available only on expensive bootlegs. Sonic Youth cut a suitably shambolic cover of “Hot Wire My Heart” for their *Sister LP, but it was a weak substitute. Crime was so mysterious and unobtainable that their legend proved irresistible to second and third generation punks with only speculation, rumor and some outrageous promo photos to go by. But conduits opened. In 1995, primitive rock fanzine *Ugly Things printed the first in-depth oral history of Crime, telling the story in the band’s own words. Official pressings of frequently-bootlegged live shows got wider release on LPs like *Cadillac Faggot and *Hate Us or Love Us, We Don’t Give a Fuck. Swami Records released the excellent *San Francisco’s Still Doomed in 2004, a collection of studio demos previously available only as a rare import, and a long-discussed deluxe set of Crime recordings and on stage video footage is still in development.

The biggest news is that Strike and Rank are taking a second stab at reforming Crime. With shows in Frisco and a punk festival in Italy under their belt, the band currently works on an album with bassist Michael Lucas (Phantom Surfers). Whether or not this version of Crime has legs, the vintage noise of the 1976 model retains its revolting energy.

It was good to read all about Crime, Johnny.

I just had a look at Neon Highway again, and I could see no sign of your story, or anyone elses for that matter...

You can still find it here:
http://www.geocities.com/poetshideout/JohnnyStrike.html

Rudos and Rubes Publishing will also be adding two more works of fiction, and one other book of nonfiction for their launch in the fall of 07. Although it's a ways off, I'm pleased to be onboard with my collection.

http://www.rudosandrubes.com

Congrats, Johnny. Be sure to let us all know when the book actually hits the stands.

Yes, congratulations Johnny. You must be thrilled! The cover looks really good!

You and Mr Reality Studio are an inspiration to me to keep at my own writing.

NOTE: This was originally posted by Johnny but I restored the forum database today to recapture the original Burroughsian thread. Consequently I'm reposting what Johnny wrote.

Recently I completed a through revision of my Ballardian pastiche. It's up now for anyone interested.

http://www.ballardian.com/jimmy-ballard ... al-review/

btw Supervert I completed Necrophilia Variations over the holidays and loved it. Look forward to the next one.

Remember O'Brien and "The Cock Sucking Blues"? He continues to write prolifically and I continue to edit his books. Out of all the writers I edit, he is just pushing the most buttons. He was writing for his campus magazine: The Journal and meeting a lot of barriers. Especially with regards to his Legal Ways to Get High series. Which faced a lot of flak from half the staff who wanted him to ridicule users and the other concerned that this was advocating usage, rather than explaining. Anyhow he burned some bridges after the last installment was rejected. Because of the positive feedback that we got off of this website, he would like me to post this rejected installment of the series. Feedback is always welcome and he can be reached through nothingpress@hotmail.com[/url] . "It is with mixed feelings to note that we have sold out of "Blues", thanks to all those who supported me through our endeavour"-James O'Brien

LEGAL WAYS TO GET HIGH
Episode 6: Constipation and the Fecal-based Opiate
by James C. O'Brien

A little known method to achieve a mild drunken state is through prolonged constipation. That is, going without a bowel movement for up to 5 days. The science being that fecal matter which would normally have exited the colon remains stagnant, blocking passage as more feces is past down from the stomach. Like a traffic jam, the line simply gets longer as the sigmoid colon congests. The feces is absorbed into the membranes of the splenic flexure which carries into the bloodstream as a mild poison. The poison itself produces intense waves of euphoria and hallucinations likened to opium. A constipation high lasts up to 4 hours, in which it is advised that you line your floors with plastic and not wear your "Sunday Best"
In the Western world, constipation highs are relegated to a fringe minority, considering the ordeal that one must go through to achieve said effect, it has somehow never caught on. Yet National Medical Reports have noted an uprise in usage in various "sub-slum regions". Attributed to substance addicts who are unable to get their fix.
The United States congress has declared constipation highs or ‘fecal-based opiates' as an official illegal substance in 1943, one of a handful of countries to recognize the narcotic potentiality of the process. In Canada, a fringe group of doctors and drug councillors are fighting for similar legislation to ban "fecal based opiates". Some schools have even taught rehab counsellors and nurses how to spot someone trying to reach a constipation high, tell tale signs include crossed legs and a strange smile on a flushed face.
Doctors caution against intentional constipation, pointing out how traumatic it proves to the lower intestines and could lead to fatal hemorrhaging, blood disease and with prolonged usage, colonic cancers.
However impoverished substance addicts and substance users have developed an alternate, more direct route to a constipation high. The process involves transplanting excrement into a basin of water. Let the feces dissolve into the water for approximately two hours. It is critical that you don't let the feces dissolve anymore than two hours because the concentration will be higher and could cause an overdose. Draw up some of the water into a syringe and inject into bloodstream.
Since the ‘science' of fecal based opiates is relatively unknown, it is unsure what concentration of the substance could cause potential over dosage, making it necessary to emphasize caution when allowing it to dissolve within the basin. The only user I was able to meet recommended two hours but even she was unsure about the percentage rates "or any other specifics". Sub techniques have developed around shooting up fecal based opiates. One such involves boiling down the basin water (or "broth") in a spoon with some lint and taking it into the needle, to concentrate the dosage. The user has informed me that this method creates identical results to the "constipation method".
A more common form of fecal based opiate usage is in lacing other, more popular drugs with the substance. Marijuana and cocaine are known to be up to 30% (per gramme) fecal based. The reason for lacing these drugs is to dilute the product. Diluting the product allows the dealer to stretch out his inventory. For example, it is more cost effective to dilute a pound of cocaine by lacing it with other, cheaper substances, so that the product is 50%* cocaine, 50% filler. This would mean that one pound of cocaine can be sold as two pounds. The mark up with the dilution or ‘lacing' of product equals higer profits to said dealer. Similar practices are achieved via hot dogs and left-over or reject meats from slaughterhouse beasts.
Given the low cost, lacing with fecal based opiates is widely practised, yet seldom preached. Dealers have found that clients would be put off knowing that what they are buying and consuming has a percentage of feces contained therein. Dealers usually find the subject of lacing to be taboo in the first place, given the hostile relationship between dealer and buyer, bringing up lacing is inadvisable due to potential arguments about product pricing.

*these are arbitrary figures, the author is unaware of the actual average percentage of the cocaine sold locally. Further more, the author must stress that even though injecting your veins with excremate is legal, consumption of cocaine, opium and/or marijuana is still illegal and subject to national narcotics law.
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For those of you that may be interested I have my little blog picking up some speed once again now I'm on the road.

Check it out at: notesfromsamsara.blogspot.com

There is no 'www'.

Comments most welcome.

It's hard to find the right mode in which to blog though sometimes... It's somewhere in-between the personal and professional, and I don't want to either bore or upset anyone. Nevertheless, I shall endevour to keep at it this time with the aim of keeping a few people interested in perhaps having a little peek every once in a while. Also, I want to get my art out there and develop a sort of small-time columnist-of-sorts style that I can turn on if I want to. Nevertheless I've just emailed a friend as I want to publish a sort of extending character sketch of his antics at a recent party, and I hope he doesn’t mind if the world knows about it! The guy is a 21st century Dean Moriarty in the making! Let's hope he gives me the green light, as when he's not on fire he's actually rather timid...

Once I get to London mid-year one of my first projects will be to get a proper web-site for my artwork, so stay tuned for that folks.

What have the rest of the creative folk about these parts been up to? Would love to know.

Write on, Mr. Foot. I enjoyed your blog. I liked the comment about the planet where you'd be 120 lbs. vs. homeless people. I am interested to see your paintings as the work you photograph is very interesting.... --Hate to use that most meaningless of adjectives but it's early in the AM and I'm not too . . . well . . . interesting....

The yellow head with the two cherubs holding it up is probably the ugliest piece of artwork I've ever seen. Hi-larious.

Hope that doesn't offend anyone, -- but it is....

Ps. Crime's not rock n' roll, -- Rock n' Roll is CRIME.

Mr Lightfoot -- I just checked out your blog. Nice pics.

Johnny -- Is there any Crime audio online anywhere? I know the SY cover of "Hot Wire My Heart" but honestly I haven't heard anything else from the band. I'd love to check it out, as I'm sure others would too.

I'm a nosy sort that should take out a lesson from the principles of M.O.B.
However, just in case Johnny takes a vacation, I didn't want any potential punk rock converts-to-be to have to wait....

http://www.somethingilearned.com/2006/04/crime

It's got all three singles there. The posts below are very funny. They're all positive except for one schmuck who says "I've always WANTED to like Crime. I mean they look cool the name is awesome but the music doesn't move AT ALL. Boring rock n roll." --Incidentally his name is "Cry Baby".

Most people diss the 3rd single but I like it alright. As one post says it, "How can you not love a song that starts out by namechecking James Brown, Iggy Pop, Jesus Christ and Redd Foxx?"

This ain't flattery Johnny . . . but Crime was the business boyo.

there's this which is news to me:
http://www.rhapsody.com/crime/sanfranciscosstilldoomed

I like the 3rd single too. "Gangster Funk" mentions Burroughs, so that tune's right on. "Maserati" sounds a little gay, but I think that's intentional, no? It's satirical.

The first two singles are best, though. The guitar sound is great. And I think I'm going to be singing "Hot Wire My Heart" in the shower for the next week. For a punk tune, it's so damn catchy...

it was meant to be a nod to our glam roots, and funk a nod to our rhythm and blues roots, but I consider the single something of a misfire. To my surprise, recently, funk was picked up by the K Swiss sneaker people and used for their commercials in EU and Japan, so that unexpected windfall will allow be to take another long trip.