The Faith Injectors – Demos

The Faith Injectors
FI (“Live” Demos)
198? (no label)

1. Being a Christian
2. A Christmas Song
3. King Jesus
4. I’ve Got Better Things to Do

This is an obscure punk band from the early underground Christian punk days that probably most of us wouldn’t have heard of if it wasn’t for the efforts of Jeani Bond. So all I know here comes from her 🙂 These songs were probably mostly considered “live” because they were recorded live to tape in a living room or garage. The release date is also unknown, but it is probably before 1986. Additionally, there is no information on who was in the band, if there were other demos, or even if all of these songs came from the same demo (the first three were in one collection, and I am not sure where the fourth song came from). Really, I am putting this up here in the hopes someone from the band will stumble upon it and fill in the details. The style of punk here is typical middle ground 80s punk (not new wave or power pop, but not skate or gutter punk either), with vocals that are usually shouted or spoken. ”King Jesus” is a cover of the worship song “King Jesus is All” by Charlie Hall. I’m not really even sure if this is supposed to be called “FI (Live Demos)” – I just saw that in an old magazine once, and thought I better include that just in case someone searches for it one day 🙂 You gotta admit – it is a great name for band.

Missing Information: Release date, band members

Gramatical Enfurbulence – Nausea Hell

Gramatical Enfurbulence
Nausea Hell
1990 (no label)
Houston, Texas, USA

Oatmeal – vocals and instruments(?)

1. Nausea Hell

Even though this is one song, there is a bunch of commentary around it that sets it up as a separate project (although a joke project). This is fast and furious death metal music, with mostly growled vocals (a few shouts) and down-tuned guitars. The man behind this is Oatmeal (of Red Ink / Tone Deaf / The Bumpus Hounds fame). This song and commentary were placed on the end of a Tone Deaf cassette as bonus tracks along with some solo Oatmeal songs, DSD, The Circumsized, and other bands. The band name doesn’t mean anything – it was apparently just given a name to fit in with other grind/death bands out there. Oatmeal says that Vic his roommate wrote the lyrics, but he recorded the music and vocals. The lyrics are apparently a joke about a bulimic person that vomits too much – not really the best thing to joke about. The date of 1990 is assumed because it was on a Tone Deaf tape from 1990, but could be incorrect.

Missing Information: the actual release date, did Oatmeal play everything

Oatmeal – Demos

Oatmeal
(untitled solo tracks)
1990? (no label)
Houston, Texas, USA

Oatmeal – vocals and instruments(?)

1. [untitled]
2. [untitled]
3. [untitled]
4. [untitled 1950’s industrial song]

I might start listening to all my tapes to the end. These songs were not an actual demo per se, but someone was listening to the Tone Deaf tape and found several other demos and various songs tacked on the end. So they let me know about it, and I am featuring them here. What this mystery collection of music is was Oatmeal (Red Ink / The Bumpus Hounds / Tone Deaf) sharing songs from various bands he had also been a part of (DSD, Gramatical Enfurbulence, and The Circumsized). There were also some solo tracks that I am putting together as one “demo” because they all seem to fit together. The first three tracks were together, and the fourth track was actually elsewhere on the tape but I moved it here because it fits better. The songs were pretty quiet sounding – boosting the sound lets you hear it better, but adds a lot of tape hiss. The first track is pretty much punk rock with hard to hear vocals, with a sample from an old “prelude strummer organ” commercial tacked on at the end. The second track is alternative rock – mellow and moody and more keyboard based. The third track is still alternative rock – with some more samples at the beginning – but the music is based more on guitars than keyboards. Vocals are a bit clearer on this one – something about wind chimes and not fearing God. The fourth track had some commentary that basically referred to it as a 1950’s industrial song. But something about all four songs seems to tie them together, so I have put them together. The date of 1990 is assumed because it was on a Tone Deaf tape from 1990, but could be incorrect.

Missing Information: the actual release date, did Oatmeal play everything, and did the songs ever get titles

Wonk Dog – Wonk Dog

Wonk Dog
Wonk Dog
1995 (no label)
North Carolina, USA

Songs:

1. Blame
2. Dream
3. Send Me Truth
4. To Be Like
5. Refuge
6. [nonsense]
7. Forged
8. [stuff]

Grungy, heavy-ish alternative rock with groove metal tendencies? Not sure if that description flows off the tongue, but it kind of describes what I hear here. This demo was sent to me as a trade, so I don’t know much about this other than what is in this post. If you remember Massive Grooves Records (a music label started by Matthew Hun to put out heavy groove music), this band might fit on that label. They do have a MySpace page – but that is about all I can find on them. No info on who is in the band or if they had more recordings. Note: this is technically a six-song demo, as the 6^th “track” really is nonsense (10 seconds of studio chatter), and the last track is typical bonus track “stuff.” It sounds like someone brushing their teeth until it breaks down into some weird beat box stuff and then just noise and jokes.

Missing Information: Who was in the band, or any more information on them.

Crystavox – Wear It Out

Crystavox
Wear It Out
1989 (no label)

1. Tough Boys
2. Through the Storm
3. You are the One
4. In Your Arms

This one is a bit difficult to find info on, as the title of the demo is also the name of a song on their debut CD. This is one I got in a trade, so I don’t know much more than what little I can find online. Some sources list this as a 1989 demo, others only list a 1987 demo. I’m posting it here in the hopes someone can give some more concrete info about it 🙂 Three Two of these songs were released on their 20 Year Mix Bonus Disc, and I think the mp3s I got of those songs were taken from that disc. I missed that version of the disc, but hopefully they will put those tracks on upcoming reissues. The songs on this demo are the same driving metal that they recorded on their label albums. The vocals still sounds like Adam Lee Kemp, but I’m not sure if the other members are the same.

Missing Info: Cover scans, who played on this demo, pretty much all info.

Looking for Info: Transformatix – Transformatix

Transformatix
Transformatix
198? (no label)

Dave Newton: Lead vocals and rhythm guitar
Steve Jenks: Bass and backing vocals
Mark Tuner: Drums
Jeff Bailey: Lead guitar and backing vocals

1. Let It All Go
2. Trust In You

Hard to tell if this is a real release or not. The only information about this band is a now deleted Wikipedia entry – but no one seems to remember them. Also, see the Wikipedia deletion log for problems with the Wikipedia article (made up names, venues that never existed, etc).. Not even the bands that they say they opened for. Some have said the Wikipedia page is a fake, others are not so sure. According to the article, they were a Boston band that “played original very fast-upbeat punk/new wave music, with heavy repeating melodic hooks and strong 3-part harmonies.” The article also states that they had at least 13 original songs written that were played live. If you have their single, or any info on the band (or know that the Wikipedia page is a hoax), please let me know.

Looking for Info: New Words – 1st Waves

New Words
1st Waves
1985 Venice Records (V.nw001)

1. Aquamarine
2. The Snow Is Falling
3. The Pearls
4. Gold Sparkles
5. Invitation To A Marriage

One of the best sources to find rare tapes and music is YouTube. If I am looking for something rare, that is usually the first place I will hit up. Sometimes I find full demos and information, other times it is nothing. Often I just find one song with not much else about the band. Such is the case with minimal/syth/coldwave/darkwave band New Words. The one track below is labeled in a way to indicate it is a Christian underground album, but other than a Discogs entry I can’t find much else. If you know anything about this release, let me know!