The Epileptix
Self Hate
scum stats: 300 black vinyl, 100 clear, some with yellow sleeve, some with black-and-white sleeve, limited to 50 copies with color photocopied sleeve and 50 clear vinyl (the copy I'm holding)
If you ever thought that the Clone Defects were a little TOO polished, well rewind a year or so before their inception and get a load of what Tim Vulgar was doing here with the Epileptix. The RAW "Killed By Death"-inspired punk rock was sort of a bubbling underground at the time in 1997, so much so that a recent series of compilations titled "Destroy All Art" kicked off their entire endeavor with the title track from this single.
(That series is dope, by the way, may be my favorite idea behind a compilation in the past decade or so. Go explore.)
I LOVE the idea that this record comes from a Detroit band just BARELY before I was cognisant/participating in the local music scene there. As in, I must've missed these guys by a minute. I have recollection of seeing both the Piranhas and Clone Defects before THEY ever put out any records, and it appears the collapse of the Epileptix is what enabled the genesis of those two acts, both of whom I adore.
And the fact that someone was doing a colored vinyl/sleeve variant limited to 50 copies in '97? Right up my alley. Just beautiful. The 8+ minutes to listen to these four songs is worth it for a nice, self-contained aggro session for the day. Don't you deserve at least that much?
timmy vulgar for life
This group definitely captures mid-70s punk. I never wore the fashion nor spiked my hair but I loved the music. It was the influx of new groups and artists that gave new hope to music lovers/ that was sorely needed. Just like The Beatles did . It wasn’t so much the music as it was they were a band and they were a hit. So you didn’t have to worry about not looking like Elvis or being a heart throb if you’re only interest was making music. Think about the variety of top hits during this time . Go look up billboard or whatever during the early and mid 60s it’s amazing .That’s what punk/ new wave did. By the end of the 70s it was bleak again/then one Sunday night early 80s I discovered college radio and I found myself back inside a record store looking for r.e.m./B-52s/dream syndicate/ and so on and so forth. The sameness of music now is what’s wrong with our cities and towns/ all have the same stores/ restaurants it’s devoid of character. Gotta go my wife is telling me we have a winner. Hey hey my my keep on rockin in the free world.
I really love listening to Detroit garage rock. I think there’s something to it that makes me want to say, “Awesome!”. It’s nice to support smaller artists.
I love your love of the Detroit music scene….HARD STOP. Thanks for always sharing this awesome stuff with us.