BAND: The Mummies
GENRE: Garage Punk
YEARS ACTIVE: 1988-92, off and on ever since
DISCOGRAPHY:
The Mummies: Play their own records LP (1992), Estrus Records, Never Been Caught LP (1992), Telstar - issued in the UK as Fuck C.D.s! It's The Mummies, on Hangman Records, and on CD in 2002 by Telstar, Party At Steve's House LP (1994), Pinup, Runnin' On Empty Vol. 1 LP (1996), Estrus, Runnin' On Empty Vol. 2 LP (1997), Estrus, Death By Unga Bunga!! CD (2003), Estrus Records - Rerelease of many earlier tracks, only Mummies album released exclusively on CD
First band I had to talk about and bring the spotlight on is THE MUMMIES. The mummies are one of mny favorite They just capture that live raw sound that describes what's best about Garage Punk. All the tracks sound real lo-fi done in one take kinda songs. Some of their hits are "STRONGER THAN DIRT", YOU MUST FIGHT TO LIVE(ON THE PLANET OF THE APES), THE FLY, and there are more. If i had to descibe Garage Punk I do believe The Mummies would be the first band out of my mouth. You will hear riffs that pay tribute to older bands like The Kinks. They also fuse garage with a nice surf tone that just sounds like it was meant to be like peanut butter and jelly. the only down fall with the Mummies is that their albums are hard to come by and all but two was vinyl only so if you don't have a record player you are really missing out. So I suggest cruising ebay for a record player and a Mummies record, otherwise you are greatly MISSING OUT!!!!. Another thing you can do is go on www.youtube.com or www.thepiratebay.se and download em which I don't encourage because vinyl is more rewarding when you hear it. So if your new to the Garage Punk scene or some one who knows about The Mummies. Do yourself a favor put on a Mummies record and give your ears a treat.
WIKIPEDIA ON THE MUMMIES
Originally hailing from San Mateo, California, the band was formed by Trent Ruane (organ, vocals), Maz Kattuah (bass), Larry Winther (guitar) and Russell Quan (drums). They became a key part of San Francisco's burgeoning garage punk scene, along with The Phantom Surfers. With influences of surf rock, 1950s and 1960s garage rock bands such as The Sonics and more contemporary garage punk bands like Thee Mighty Caesars the Mummies eschewed the contemporary rock music of their time. Their first show was at the Chi Chi Club in San Francisco in December 1988. The Mummies are especially known for their matching, tattered mummy costumes they wore on stage and their impertinent and insulting attitude that they brought with them. They created and promoted the concept of 'Budget Rock', which rejected professionalism and star status in favor of a simplified do-it-yourself (DIY) aesthetic As part of this concept they performed and recorded only on outdated and often damaged equipment. For a tour vehicle they used a garishly painted 1963 Pontiac ambulance. As part of their lo-fi manifesto, they released their music only on vinyl for many years, allowing 'official' CD format releases only in the 2000s. Billy Childish would later say that The Mummies were the only garage group he really loved.
references: Wikipedia, Google, and my brain
