That's Just Awful Nice

Here's another band recorded on the Cutec 4-Track of Death (TM) circa 1986.

Stephen played guitar with me in The Home Boys, where his natural tendency for guitar flair was somewhat repressed by the necessities of the 3 minute pop/rock/punk song. Scott and Chuck played in Clock on the Wall, for whom The Home Boys opened in our first ever gig at Vic n Bills (Rock and Roll Deli). Scott impressed me by having matching bass amps flanking either side of the stage (Peavey TNT, if I remember correctly).

These tracks were recorded live in the living room of one of the band member's house in Ft. Sanders. Chuck suggests that it may have been a house that "Scott and I lived in, with a few other people, on Forrest Ave. We called it Pig Haven." Scott played '84 Kramer Duke (aluminum neck and reverse tuning) through a Peavey TNT 100 amp. Steve played a 1985 Tokai Strat through a Roland Supercube. Chuck had Ludwig drums (black oyster pearl finish) and Zildjian cymbals. I think these might have been the live scratch vocals that we never came back and re-recorded.

The band had a sound considerably different from the "Ft. Sanders sound" of that era Knoxville - sort of a prog/jazz/funk/punk thing. Noted musician and scenester Camp Childers remarked that they reminded him of a cross between the Minutemen and Van Halen. As a three piece, each member got a chance to open up and fill out the sound. Their official slogan was the "plainest looking band in town" and they were proud of that fact, according to Wicks. Scott notes that "I still can't put my finger on what 'style' I'd call this stuff. It was the 80s, and only that is clear. We were doing different time signatures and tempos within songs, which made us happy, but probably did nothing for us in terms of endearing us to college girls."

Stephen notes that their "[m]ost memorable gadget [was] Scott's Tube-O-Sound, where he sang into an 8 ft black corrugated landscape drainage tube and it made him sound like he was trapped at the bottom of a well." Unfortunately that device does not make an appearance on these tracks.

Within a year of this recording Chuck moved to PA to attend Penn State. He was replaced by Blair Easter.

One of their last shows (and one that I was fortunate enough to attend) was at the Cityside Cafe where they hung a huge white sheet over the front window with each song titled spray painted on it, passed out numbers to everyone who came into the club, and then called the numbers in order and let the audience pick which song they'd play; Scott would then spray paint over the song title on the sheet until all had been crossed out.

Awfully Anglo:
Scott Davis - bass, vocal
Stephen Wicks - guitar
Chuck White - drums
Blair Easter - drums (not represented on these tracks)

Awfully Anglo - Four Track Demos (zipped file folder)

1 Over and Over
2 Beady DeeDee and the Four Bomps
3 Beady DeeDee and the Four Bomps (take 2)
4 Boodle Boodle
5 Backbone
6 Place or Show
7 Backbone reprise (just f'n off at 2x speed)
8 Rat Race
9 This Town's So Dry
10 Rat Race (take 2)
11 Rat Race (take 3)
12 Terrible Thang