Dead Boys + The Briefs @ HI-FI Annex

DEAD BOYS W/ THE BRIEFS, SUZI MOON, L.I.B.  @ HI-FI ANNEX INDIANAPOLIS 

DOORS: 5:00 PM, SHOW: 6:00 PM

GENERAL ADMISSION, LIMITED SEATING.

AGE RESTRICTIONS: ALL AGES

ALL TICKETS ARE NON TRANSFERABLE AND NON REFUNDABLE. SUPPORT ACTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

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About Dead Boys:

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The Dead Boys were one of the first punk bands to escalate the level of violence, nihilism, and pure ugliness of punk rock to extreme new levels. Although considered part of New York's mid-'70s CBGB's scene, all of its bandmembers originally hailed from Cleveland, OH. The group's roots lay in the early-'70s Cleveland cult band Rocket from the Tombs, which included future Dead Boys Cheetah Chrome (aka Gene O'Connor) on guitar, and Johnny Blitz (aka John Madansky) on drums, along with future Pere Ubu members David Thomas and Peter Laughner. The group's sound was a bit too comparable to art rock for Chrome and Blitz's tastes (whose influences included the Stooges, Alice Cooper, and the New York Dolls), and by 1975, Rocket from the Tombs had split up.

Chrome and Blitz decided to enlist local singer Stiv Bators (aka Steve Bator), second guitarist Jimmy Zero (aka William Wilden), and bassist Jeff Magnum (aka Jeff Halmagy), and formed a new group more akin to their musical tastes and dubbed Frankenstein. But the group only managed a handful of local shows before fading away. Noticing that there was an underground punk scene flourishing in New York City's Bowery, the group befriended one of the leading bands from that scene, the Ramones, who had come to Cleveland on a tour stop. At the insistence of Bators, Ramones frontman Joey Ramone helped arrange a tryout for the group at CBGB's, as the whole former Frankenstein band (sans Magnum), made the trek to New York. Not only did the group land a spot at CBGB's, they enlisted the club's owner (Hilly Kristal) as their manager, and signed a recording contract with Sire shortly thereafter.

Changing their name to the Dead Boys (from a line in their song "Down in Flames"), the band caused an immediate splash in their newly adopted hometown, due to Bators' Iggy Pop-esque, audience-bating antics, and the group's vicious three-chord punk rock. The Dead Boys' classic debut, Young Loud & Snotty, was issued in 1977 and produced by rock singer Genya Ravan, with future-renowned producer Bob Clearmountain providing bass. But by the time the Dead Boys launched a supporting tour (including opening slots for their hero Iggy Pop in the U.S. and the Damned over in England), Magnum had signed on once more as the group's bassist. Despite receiving a fair amount of coverage in the rock music press, punk was still misunderstood by most rock fans in the U.S., which resulted in the album not performing up to expectations sales-wise (despite spawning one of punk's great anthems, "Sonic Reducer").

The Dead Boys set their sights on their sophomore effort, which was originally to be produced by Lou Reed (with a working title of "Down to Kill"). But at the insistence of their record company (who was trying to convince the band to soften up their sound a bit to produce a breakthrough hit), the group enlisted former Cream producer (and bassist for early-'70s Cream disciples Mountain) Felix Pappalardi. The match didn't prove to be a fitting one, as the former hippie didn't understand the sonic onslaught of these young punks, resulting in an album that failed to expand on the promise of their debut (it's been rumored that the group unsuccessfully attempted to convince ex-Stooges guitarist James Williamson to take over the production chores from Pappalardi, in a last ditch effort to save the album). With a new title of We Have Come for Your Children, the album spawned another punk classic in "Ain't It Fun," but the disc sold even fewer copies than its predecessor. To add insult to injury, the group was forced off tour for a long period of time, as Blitz was almost killed in a New York City street fight/mugging (a Blitz Benefit concert was held at CBGB's to raise money for the drummer's medical bills, featuring appearances by John Belushi and Divine, as well as members of Blondie, the Ramones, and former Alice Cooper guitarist Glen Buxton).

With their record company pressuring the group to change their sound and their look completely, the Dead Boys split up in 1979. But just a few months later, the band was forced to reunite for the recording of a live album at CBGB's (due to contractual obligations). To get revenge at Sire, Bators purposely sang off-mic, resulting in an (expected) unusable recording (when the album was reissued for the Bomp label several years later, Bators re-recorded his vocals in the studio). Despite splitting up once more shortly afterwards, the Dead Boys would reunite for the odd show here and there throughout the '80s. Bators tried his hand at acting in such films as Polyester and Tapeheads, in addition to pursuing a solo career (1980s new wave Disconnected), before joining forces with ex-members of Sham 69 in the group the Wanderers (who issued a lone album, 1981's Only Lovers Left Alive), and ex-Damned guitarist Brian James in the goth-punk outfit Lords of the New Church (releasing several albums between '82 and '88). Having relocated to Paris, France, Bators then attempted to assemble a punk supergroup, of sorts, which was to have included Johnny Thunders and Dee Dee Ramone, which fizzled out before any recording could get under way. On June 4, 1990, Bators died from injuries sustained after being hit by a car in Paris.

After Bators' death, countless Dead Boys compilations, live sets, and rarities collections were issued, including such titles as Twistin' on the Devil's Fork: Live at CBGB's, Magnificent Chaos, Down in Flames, All This & More, and Liver Than You'll Ever Be, in addition to releases by the pre- Dead Boys outfits Rocket from the Tombs (The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs) and Frankenstein (Eve of the Dead Boys: October 1975). Despite only issuing a pair of studio recordings during their brief but colorful career, the Dead Boys' influence on subsequent rock bands continues to be felt to this day, as such acclaimed groups as Guns N' Roses and Pearl Jam covered their songs in the '90s and 2000s.

About The Briefs:

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The fall of 2000 was a time of innocence. Clinton was President. The Twin Towers were still standing. And Bob Seger still had his dignity. Then the Briefs burst onto the scene like a neutron bomb with the audaciously titled “Hit After Hit” and the punk rock landscape was changed forever.

Their ’77-style pop punk is loud, raucous and fierce, yet cohesive and hooky and hilarious. The Briefs are like a team of Chinese acrobats falling down the stairs on purpose. And when I say “pop” I mean popular in the broadest sense possible. The fifteen year-old mall hottie is a fan, but so is the 40 year-old stalwart with the pristine Undertones collection. Sure The Briefs wear their influences on their sleeve – Adverts, Buzzcocks, Weirdos to name just a few — but they cop to them like junkies caught tying off in the alley with a skinny tie. They can’t help it. It’s in their blood. Listen you’ll understand. The groove is familiar but they’ve got a sound that’s all their own and uniquely unique. Infectious? Once they get in your ear, there’s no getting them out. The Briefs are mother fucking nerve agents for a diseased life.

With their skinny ties, plastic sunglasses, matching bleach-blond dye jobs and bad haircuts, The Briefs take the stage like commandos of the New Wave, retro zombies from the Disco Inferno. Take a good look because once they start to play it’s all a blur. This is their secret. It’s not what they sound like or what they look like. It’s their energy. They’ll come to your town and electrify the place. It doesn’t matter if they go on first, last or in between. It doesn’t matter if it’s an all- ages gig, an outdoor music fest, or a shitty little dive bar deep in the heart of Wrongville. The Briefs are one of the hardest working bands in America. They’ll play any time, anywhere. They’ll pile out of the van and stun the crowd like rioters at a Republican convention.

They have so much energy, it’s hard to believe they’re from Seattle. The city that put lattes and flannel on the map. A place so dull it’s known for rain. The Briefs still make Seattle their home, but they’ve come a long way since their debut record, and they’re still cranking out hits. They’ve played the Wasted Festival in the UK, the Warped Tour in the USA, and a gang of shows in between. True to their “on tour for the indefinite future” motto, they’ve been back to Europe where they sold out the biggest tour they’ve booked so far across the UK, Germany, Italy, and France and have since been back on US soil and are on their second US tour in the last 8 monthes, this time with Pyschobilly sensations, The Horrorpops and will be appearing at select dates including the 2006 Bumbershoot festival in their hometown this summer and beyond.

Years later they’re still poor and still weird but their fans are so much richer for the shitload of records they’ve put out along way. If you’re hungry for more history, BYO re-releasd “Hit After Hit” and “Off the Charts” so now you can listen to what you’ve been missing, but start with their newest record: “Steal Yer Heart.” It’s got 12 tracks of pure punk rock pandemonium. If their last record, “Sex Objects” was full of political mischief, an antidote for these tumultuous times, “Steal yer Heart” is a dysfunctional love song, a reflection of the challenges that come with spending half your life on the road.

There’s the anthem-ish “Criminal Youth,” the hilarious “Getting Hit on at the Bank,” and the blistering “Can’t Get Through.” And then there’s “I Can’t Work” a song so nerve-jangled and strange it feels like audio panic attack. Even the newest member, Stevie Kicks of the New Town Animals from Vancouver BC, puts in a turn at lead vocals with “Forty & Above.” Romance schmomance (fictional or otherwise). The Brief’s new record is a platter full of anti-love songs for anyone who has ever had a bad case of rotten love. Think of it as a soundtrack for tenderhearted hooligans and sweet-as-sin heartbreakers to break up by. Just give it a spin and you’ll come crawling back for more.

2007 brought even more changes to the quartet as the realities of such subject matters they’ve been lauded for writing about in their songs came around. Being “Poor and Weird” or knowing “I Can’t Work” were becoming obstacles in each of their personal lives. After long touring stints the previous year in support of “Steal Yer Heart”, the band returned to Seattle to regroup. Months later, the official “story” on what the status of the band remained a mystery until the announcement of a European tour with the Misfits in the UK and a full European tour for the fall of 2007. As a follow up to the delightful news that the band were indeed still active, the release of “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, a movie about the band was announced for the fall of 2007. As a bonus, a 2nd disc will include rare live recordings of some of the bands’ most popular hits. What the future holds for this band remains, to some degree, a mystery, but what is for certain is that 4 lps, countless singles, tours, and now, a DVD movie means that the band is most definitely here to stay.

About Suzi Moon:

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SUZI MOON comes thundering back with her 2nd solo EP Animal, a powerful clutch of high impact songs which reaffirm her status as one of punk's most vibrant performers! With a stellar rock & roll pedigree reaching back to when the then 15-year-old MOON joined her sister’s famed punk band, CIVET, the singer-songwriter has followed through with songs that show her incredible growth. Recording two albums for Hellcat Records and touring with the likes of SOCIAL DISTORTION, DROPKICK MURPHYS, and FLOGGING MOLLY (all before she turned 21), MOON established herself as a ferocious punk truth-teller with both a distinctive personal style and a fiercely untamed stage presence. After CIVET went on hiatus, MOON formed TURBULENT HEARTS, a high-intensity trio that quickly gained popularity in their hometown Los Angeles scene and earned followings in the US and Europe, playing such high-stakes settings as the Rebellion Festival and Punk Rock Bowling.

The restless, boundlessly creative MOON set about crafting the groundbreaking songs which comprise Animal in the summer of 2021. It is classic MOON: hard hitting, dynamic and thunderingly expressive, the perfect artistic antidote for today’s uncertain climate. SUZI MOON'S effortless channeling of classic ‘77 punk rock spirit with a modern twist continues to evolve and grow.

About L.I.B.:

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DEATH IS EXPECTED