The Flesh Eaters - No Questions Asked
Flesh Eaters
"No Questions Asked"
Genre: OG LA PUNK
Rating: 3.5
Highlights
Jesus, Don’t Come Through the Cotton
Police Gun Jitters
No Questions Asked
Ok Flesh Eaters.
Legends of the LA Punk Scene.
This is “No Questions Asked.”
A burst of energy!
14 songs, 24 minutes.
Opening guitar riff ripped straight from Devo, Uncontrollable Urge
Or maybe The Banana Bunch?
Chris D. is the Flesh Eaters: singer, writer and poet
The critic with his own band
It’s not a common sight but guessing many of us have been there.
I definitely have
1980 and D’s an inveterate scene setter, hustler,
LA show goer
Cranking out the legendary Slash Magazine with a small crew.
‘zine writer, A&R scout, has the cojones to name his label after
Lee “Scratch” Perry’s “Upsetter”
Chris D. is punk singer for the cognoscenti
Present at the creation of the legendary scene
He’s got the writerly skills
Grokking out short bursts of song,
words fly stream of consciousness
“Blabbermouth lockjaw of the soul”
(according to RIchard Melzer)
Like the band name Flesh Eaters songs are full of horror
Eg, “Jesus don’t come through the cotton”
Hey, it's 53 seconds of punk beat poetry all about shooting up!
Let’s dance!
Police Gun Jitters, Dynamite Hemorrhage, Ten Inch Razor
Suicide Saddle, Impossible Crime … and on it goes.
There’s a German word to describe the vocal style common to all:
Sprechstimme!
And, a totally incongruous and appropriate
Bong load interlude 4 minute dub-reggae “Crybaby Killer”
Mebbe homage to Lee Scratch the original Upsetter
(Every other song 2 minutes or less)
And perhaps ironic “nyah nyah” cry-baby motif
Go on, give it a listen and see what you think.
If you are like me, it will take you back and situate you
In the LA punk scene of 1980
Here’s my final word:
Flesh Eaters “No Questions Asked” is
a faint signal from the big bang of LA Punk
It tells you something new about that scene
Not the definitive document, just a slice of what it was.
Chris D. is without a doubt an LA punk original.
Flesh Eaters were there, present at the bang creation
with X, Go Go’s, Los Lobos, Gun Club, Germs, The Bags
All the big names
Its the band fronted by the journo who started a label and got the legends in his band
John Doe. Exene. DJ Bonebrake. Stan Ridgeway.
All of them part of "No Questions."
Chris D. himself wrote a chapter in Doe’s recent book
“Under The Big Black Sun”
He said “No Questions Asked” was fairly eclipsed by
X’s “Los Angeles ” which came out around the same time.
As much of anything would have been.
Respect to Chris D. for realizing his poetic vision.
For starting his own band.
For then getting the legends to be in his band.
Here’s to the writer who is able to break through
And make music that weaves threads
into the fabric of our history
https://open.spotify.com/album/1nuRGugqBAhZgfZdoBZuDT?si=lHIS-5vJRBu6oIGRIjok4A
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