THE GEEKS “Dreamland In Machineland / Hey Wreck” 45…I was introduced to the guy that put this out when I sorta knocked his band in my then-‘zine in 1998 and he wrote me a long, eloquent, well-argued letter in his defense. We traded tapes (remember those?) in the aftermath. It’s kind of fun to bust his chops from time to time, but in reviewing this one there’s no malice intended – it’s just a difference in taste, shall we say. THE GEEKS were apparently a Marin County, California act in the 1970s and early 80s with a high regard for out jazz like Ayler, Sun Ra etc. & who brought it into the era by combining it with a FLIPPER-esque noise do-whatever-the-fuck-you-want vibe & who played San Francisco’s punk clubs back in the day. There’s a lost LP “It’s Not About Notes Anymore", a 45 (“Poland / The Spark"), and now these 1982 recordings. To me it sounds like the lame early 80s Subterranean Records bands toiling in Flipper’s shadow (Wilma, Sluglords), not part of a “pre-punk movement” that includes the Electric Eels, Rocket From The Tombs, MX-80 Sound etc. (hey, I didn’t say it, but the liner notes do). No wait, I know what it sounds like – Zoogz Rift! These guys could have been plopping out jazz/rock jam bullshit on SST if they’d only waited a few years!

posted by Jay H. at 4:48 PM