The Kneecappers
Chris Yarmock - Vocal (lead)
Gary Lupico - Guitar, Vocals
Dan Petricig - Guitar, Vocals
Dave Crane - Drums
Russell Sherman Jr. - Bass
Richard Ellis -Drums
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Whew, Fitzpatrick's "Rainbow", what a place for memories. Somehow the Backdoor Men convinced Fitz to start booking punk shows there, 78 or 79, I guess. The place might have been the biggest dump in the flats, back when every joint in the flats was a dump. There was a trough urinal in the men's room that, in lieu of actual plumbing, emptied out into a 5 gallon bucket underneath. On a good night, the piss would spill out from under the door and into the club. A literal pisshole.
One particular Kneecapper night, things got out of hand. At the beginning of the set in front of our usual sparse crowd, Russell's amp got smoked. The logical reaction for Russell was to smash his bass (a real cool Mosrite that would probably fetch enough to pay for an entire CD today), and the games began. Yarmock began ripping the 2x4 railings off the stage and tossing them around. The half blind violin player who we called "Jean Luc Wally" crawled under the stage and was throwing his clothes out. The band let loose with an all out verbal (and in Yarmock's case, physical) assault on the "crowd". Pieces of bass and the stage were flying everywhere and some guy with a big red afro was picking up tables and chairs and hurling them around the club. A river of piss streamed from under the shithouse door, washing away bits of wood and broken teeth. At the end of this very successful evening, Fitz accosted us and was yelling "I run a nice place here, you'll never play in the flats again!" We reminded him that the bucket needed changing and left. On the way out I saw Big Red Afro guy and said "Nice job, man, next time bring your friends." He said "I would, but I tend to repulse most people." We had the greatest fans.
As a postscript, a couple of years ago I saw Fitz waiting tables at an Indian restaraunt in Cle Hts. We've all come a long way.
Gary Lupico
Nick Knox
You told me you was high-class
But I could see through that
Yes, you told me you was high-class
But I could see through that
And daddy, I know
You ain't no real cool cat
“Hound Dog” -Big Mama Thornton
The realest, coolest, most high-class cat of them all was born in the Brooklyn of Clevo on March 26, 1953. High school kids in Nick Knox’s hood were so damn cool Elvis played a swingin dance party in their gym when our hero was two years old. In the drive-in movie version, Nick’s beautiful mother is a chaperone at that sweaty mess and couldn’t get a sitter. It’s a week before Halloween. Close up on the cool cat night owl toddler -- on his mama’s hip -- diggin Elvis’ hips -- and that crazy DJ’s snare and voodoo heart thump, casting spells in the blue light night.
Blow yourself up, get under my car
Tell all your rat friends that we'll be in the bar
Zoot zoot zoot zoot zoot zoot
Blow yourself up, it might cool you off
Get under a truck and watch me get off
“Zoot Zoot” -electric eels
Nicky told me that the coolest place to be when he was the coolest kid in town was down the road from that sweaty gym: the corner of Memphis and Fulton Avenues in the Brooklyn of Clevo, where sometimes on a full moon if the wind was right you could hear the Clevo Zoo wolves howl. Hep cats and kitties played backseat bingo in souped-up boneyard specials cruising to Mad Daddy howlin on the radio. Our hero grew up at the Memphis Drive-In creature double feature, streetwise, lean and fast. He worked at the coolest wax slinger in town, Record Rendezvous (of course the sponsor of the very first rock ‘n roll show in the world). He joined the coolest band - electric eels. So icy cool, they only play one gig after Nick joins and then dissolve in a barroom rumble that tumbles across the big screen, as Nicky says in voiceover: “I was only ever in two bands.”
Oh baby I see you in my Frigidaire
Yeah baby I see you in my Frigidaire
Behind the mayonnaise, way in the back
I'm gonna see you tonight for a midnight snack
But though it's cold
You won't get old
'Cause you're well preserved in my Frigidaire
“TV Set” -The Cramps
The other Band was the Cramps. Sweet Miriam, my Canadian girlfriend from Ashtabula, stopped pounding the skins for the Cramps in 1977 and Nick sat in and stayed. He made a record in the Memphis of Tennessee studio run by the same guy that recorded Elvis. Nick’s razor-sharp, spike-through-the-vampire’s-heart snare and ultimate ice box cool defined the Cramps til 1991, when our hero left the band, moved back to Clevo and changed his name. He wouldn’t talk about showbiz or pose for a picture for a long long time. In the drive-in movie version it’s cuz he’s so damn cool he won’t show up on film. Close up on the center of the frame - even though we can’t see him, we can hear his giant hero heart’s steady, voodoo beat.
I got somethin' to say to you and you better listen
I'm'a tell ya how to be cool in one easy lesson
Go! Sunglasses after dark!
AAAAAHHHH! They're so sharp!
And you'll be cool...And the squares'll drool
It's real simple...Sunglasses after dark!
AAAAAHHHH! They're so sharp!
Listen to this:
Went out last Saturday night
Got myself in a knife fight
Everybody got cut includin' me
'Cause not one of us cats could see!
We had on S.A.D.
That's right.
“Sunglasses After Dark” -The Cramps
(as interpreted by Archie & the Bunkers)
So then Nick met a coupla crazy fireman’s kids with a smokin’ cool band called Archie & the Bunkers. He became their Senior Advisor and hooked them up with Sweet Miriam and her record label. Our hero and Miriam DJed at a coupla A&TB shows, one at the most haunted house in Clevo. It’s a coupla weeks before Halloween. He let me take his picture that night. Close up on Nicky in his element, all blue light night, voodoo heart thump and casting spells. He shows up on film beaming, photogenic, and as always, the coolest cat in the room.
Well, since my baby left me
Well, I found a new place to dwell
Well, it's down at the end of Lonely Street
At Heartbreak Hotel
Well, I'll be
I'll be so lonely baby
Well, I'm so lonely
I'll be so lonely, I could die
“Heartbreak Hotel” Elvis Presley
(as interpreted by the Cramps)
“Cardiogenic Shock” sounds like the name of a Cramps hit record, not the creature feature Thing that killed our hero on June 15, 2018. I figure, like, photogenic = ‘genic’ attached to a word makes it a good Thing, not an evil monster that drove a spike through Nick’s heart. The fireman called to tell me our Nick was gravely ill. Sweet Miriam called from the Brooklyn of New York to say that everything was gonna be alright, but it never would be again. The coolest cat of them all was gone. But in the drive-in movie version, me and my fella turn on the blue night light, let our hair down and spin some Cramps wax. Fade out to the switchblade snap of Nicky’s snare, and the voodoo thump of his big, beautiful heart.
Meredith Rutledge-Borger
Rubber City Rebels
Rod Firestone
Buzz Clic
Bob Clic
Mike Hammer
Donny Damage
Stix Pelton
Pete Sake
Johnny Bethesda
Brandon Matheson
Randy Rice
Wild Giraffes
Chris King - Vocal (lead)
Edgar Reynolds - Guitar, Vocals
Jeff Iannini - Guitar, Vocals
Alan McGinty - Drums
Chris Burgess - Bass
Mike Terrell - Guitar, Vocals
Bill Elliott - Guitar, Vocals
Dave Ivan - Bass
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Wow. I came across this site whilst searching for an old schoolmate and this totally blew me back to the 80's; somewhere between innocence and total corruption. Mike T was my best friend's brother so we all got to do the cool roadie stuff: hauling equipment, getting into gigs for free, drinking free Rolling Rock. Well maybe it was cool at the time.
We did most of the Giraffe shows from the Zoo to the Cove too ... I forget that place behind Painesville Shopping Center. I still bump into Chris and Beth once in awhile running here and there.
We are all in different places living our live. Me, a computer jockey, now married with 4 daughters. Funny, my twin 19 year-olds are about the same age I was when I was a Giraffe. They do the new punk/skah thing downtown and all around and really dig it. They're into Punchline, Against All Authority, KattyWhompus, etc. Some pretty hip stuff.
One story I recall was the incredible van heist from the Agora in CLE. We were doing a show at the Agora and decided to park the van on Payne Ave. Big mistake. Show lets out about 2:30AM and the van is stolen! Bummer for Glen!
Other stories of lewd sex, drunkenness and sordid perverions will have to wait for another time.
Peace to All!
A Wild Giraffe
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Tom Fallon uses the phrase "they'd blow the lid off the place" sometimes when we talk about old bands.
I have seen it first hand with three Cleveland bands - The Clocks, Vaguely Familiar and, of course, the Wild Giraffes.
I am not talking about some crazed punk moment where the room would explode with mind shaking sounds like the Pagans or Easter Monkeys could do, but of sounds that inspired every single body in the room to get up and dance.
And to think back to those times, it seems somewhat humorous to me. I started seeing the Pagans and the Giraffes quite regularly around the same time. A time when pop magazines were pushing questions like, "Are you punk or new wave? Do you wear a loose tie or leather? Talking Heads or Damned? Ramones or Costello? Do you Pogo or Rock Lobster?"
Pretty funny to look back on. In our town it did seem that there was a mini-war between the Pagans and Giraffes. Me, I loved going to see both (but I did opt for the black leather).
Cheese
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I saw the Wild Giraffes perform at the Cleveland Zoo, (I shit you not)...they were absolutely fantastic! Dave "Animal" Ivan and the crew bouncing up and down like pogo sticks on speed. Great songs and unbelievable energy....everything was painted yellow....the amps, the keyboards, Alan's drums, even their microphones.....I ran home and spray painted my Fender Twin, immediately . No question, I had to have a yellow amp like the Wild Giraffes!
Dave Alexander
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These short stories revolve around the Giraffes, but they involve other bands they were playing with, this is 76-77.
#1 Edgar takes me to a small newspaper office in Euclid, and I meet some guy named Mike, a reporter or something, and he is playing with another band. Later that night at the Looking Glass, I see the same guy talkin
g to Chris King at the bar and walk to the john, and Chris is laughing his nads off.He tells me that Hudson took a wet bar rag, rolled it up, and stuck it down his pants. The Giraffes opened that night, and were their usual smokin rock&roll selves! Later I hear the intro riff to Secret Agent Man go to check out the Pagans, they're sloppy, but rockin, and there he is, Mr Newspaper with what looked like a Big Chuck special in his jeans, I mean that was some funny shit!
About 2 songs later he dumps a full beer over his head, no big deal , seen that a million times, but....the next thing I know the son of a bitch is BLOW DRYING HIS HAIR...ON STAGE! Total genius, and shitass funny!
The next story I'll tell is once again at the Looking Glass, with Pere Ubu, with our champion Giraffes playing the part of the funny mofo's. This is all for now, as i literaly type with 1 finger.
Steve Potosin
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I was in the Pagans for a year and a half. We played with the Dead Boys, the Rubber City Rebels, Devo, Pere Ubu, The Wild Giraffes and The Nerves. A few of the gigs stand out in my mind. The Pagans headlined at the Willowick Community Center and the Wild Giraffes opened for us.
There were about 350 people there. The Wild Giraffes were an excellent original band with nice harmonies, good melodies and hooks; kind of a 60's retro, new wave band. The teenage crowd danced and enjoyed the group. The Pagans came on to a packed house, and we played our usual numbers and after two songs cleared out the place.
Everyone left after TWO SONGS! The Band was visibly upset. I had a couple of disastrous gigs with one of my prior bands, Milk, so I wasn't nearly as upset.
Denny Carelson
Hammer Damage
Donny Damage (Dave Zagar) - Vocal (lead), Guitar
Insanity (Jeff Bates) - Guitar, Vocals
George Cabaniss - Guitar
Mike Hammer - Drums
Scott Winkler - Bass, Vocals
Ig Morningstar - Guitar
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Hammer Damage was founded in 1978, by Mike Hammer and Dave Zagar (a.k.a. Donny Damage).
The original line-up included George Cabaniss on guitar, Scott Winkler on bass, Damage on guitar and Hammer on drums. The Hammer Damage Band started out in 1978 and quickly built a strong following in the Akron-Kent music scene. They also enjoyed some modest success in Cleveland, Columbus, Kent and Youngstown.
The Lepers
Pie Tinn - Vocal (lead)
Richard Redmond - Guitar, Vocals
Al Luminum - Guitar, Vocals
Vic Mature - Drums
We had been working Fitzpatrick's Rainbow every Sunday night for a couple months and getting really tired of trying to do three sets in front of 10 people by ourselves. We read about the Lepers and somehow contacted them. I don't recall how, but it was a perfect match. I remember the first time they played. It was just Barb, Paul and Mark. A guitar, drums and a chick singer. How loud could that be? Man, they were so loud we had to go into the parking lot to listen to them. But they were great, exactly what we were looking for. Working with them, we were able to bring others in--Public Enemy, The Decoys, X-Blank-X, Syd's Dance Band, Pagans, Ubu--because of the Lepers' cache in the punk scene. We played for a year straight at Fitz' and had a one-year anniversary featuring us and The Lepers. It was great! But somehow that whole scene got lost in the cracks. Now, it's all coming out again. We have miles and miles of tapes of those shows, photos, posters, copies of Veland--yes, the whole ugly story will come out! Stay tuned, but don't stay in tune. Nobody did back then.
Dan Cook
X _ X
Tony Fier- Drums
Jim Ellis - Bass, Vocals
Andrew Klimek - Lead Guitar, Vocals
John Morton - Vocal (lead), Guitar