|
Early GOF
childhood, teen years, and first bands, including From Far Away, Beauty? |
Psychodrama 1981-82
featuring the
300 Days Of Sodom
cassette release
featuring the
300 Days Of Sodom
cassette release
300 Days Of Sodom (The Vomit Of Psychodrama) cover art by Leslie Singer
The 300 Days of Sodom cover art is a color photocopy of a manipulated color photocopy of an out of focus color snapshot of a surrealistic sculpture/assemblage that I made and entitled "Glorification of the Ego." As I recall the sculpture consisted of a portable heater covered in tacks that I stuck on with modeling clay. I was inspired by the Man Ray piece, "Cadeau" as well as Meret Oppenheim's "Le Dejeuner en Fourure".
The title of the album is definitely a riff on The 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade and the film version by Pasolini.
The title of the album is definitely a riff on The 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade and the film version by Pasolini.
Al Margolis' copy of 300 Days Of Sodom
300 Days Of Sodom (The Vomit Of Psychodrama) cassette label, provided by Leslie Singer. The "LOD" in the fake LOD0666 catalog number stands for "Love Of Death".
review of 300 Days Of Sodom by Graham Ingels in his Castanets column, the "M" issue of OP Magazine, September/October 1982
Brett Kerby (credited as Ayu The Clitless) — Keyboards (including Farfisa organ), Bass Guitar, Drums, Vocals.
Leslie Singer — Prepared Guitar, Bass, Vocals.
Rob Lippert — Keyboards, Distorted Guitar, Bombay Drums,Tapes, Rhythm Box, Vocals, Treatments.
300 Days Of Sodom was recorded in December 1981, January 1982, and March 1982 at Brett Kerby's house in Chantilly, Virginia — here it says Centreville.
Engineered and Mixed by Rob Lippert.
Rob Lippert was 15 years old when the album was recorded. Leslie was 18. Brett was 27.
Leslie Singer — Prepared Guitar, Bass, Vocals.
Rob Lippert — Keyboards, Distorted Guitar, Bombay Drums,Tapes, Rhythm Box, Vocals, Treatments.
300 Days Of Sodom was recorded in December 1981, January 1982, and March 1982 at Brett Kerby's house in Chantilly, Virginia — here it says Centreville.
Engineered and Mixed by Rob Lippert.
Rob Lippert was 15 years old when the album was recorded. Leslie was 18. Brett was 27.
Tracks from 300 Days Of Sodom by Psychodrama in the streaming audio players below
transcribed by Hal McGee from Al Margolis' personal copy of the cassette. Thanks, Al!
All 11 songs were dubbed onto one side of a 60-minute cassette.
Leslie Singer and Rob Lippert have confirmed that this is the version of 300 Days Of Sodom that was used during Leslie's time in the band.
According to Rob Lippert, after Leslie left Psychodrama, Brett Kerby later kept on adding supplementary audio materials to these original 27 minutes until it expanded to a C-90.
transcribed by Hal McGee from Al Margolis' personal copy of the cassette. Thanks, Al!
All 11 songs were dubbed onto one side of a 60-minute cassette.
Leslie Singer and Rob Lippert have confirmed that this is the version of 300 Days Of Sodom that was used during Leslie's time in the band.
According to Rob Lippert, after Leslie left Psychodrama, Brett Kerby later kept on adding supplementary audio materials to these original 27 minutes until it expanded to a C-90.
1. Viva Vietnam Dada
Right from the start we've got some of what Frank Zappa would refer to as "conceptual continuity" with the first song "Viva Vietnam Dada" beginning with me saying "shit" during the count in. The word "shit" would appear again in the title of two of my subsequent cassette releases.
Right from the start we've got some of what Frank Zappa would refer to as "conceptual continuity" with the first song "Viva Vietnam Dada" beginning with me saying "shit" during the count in. The word "shit" would appear again in the title of two of my subsequent cassette releases.
The lyrics to "Viva Vietnam Dada":
Viva Vietnam Dada
Pol Pot Tristan Tzara
Viva Vietnam Dada
Pol Pot Hannah Höch
Viva Vietnam Dada
Pol Pot Kurt Schwitters
Viva Vietnam Dada
Viva Vietnam Dada
Now the first thing that strikes me as a glitch with this song is that the Pol Pot regime was in Cambodia, not Vietnam. Also the imitative Asiatic vocal sounds at the end of the song, I think now would be considered racist microaggressions. At the time, that wasn't my intention but here we are now. Brett harmonizes with me on this ditty and also plays guitar. He would play guitar with some sort of mallet or stick-- kind of like Yamantaka Eye of the Boredoms but on only one guitar not 8. Rob was playing his bucket drums. In my notes to the lyrics I noted that Hannah Höch should be pronounced as "Hoech." Yep, it's the attention to the little details that is important....
Viva Vietnam Dada
Pol Pot Tristan Tzara
Viva Vietnam Dada
Pol Pot Hannah Höch
Viva Vietnam Dada
Pol Pot Kurt Schwitters
Viva Vietnam Dada
Viva Vietnam Dada
Now the first thing that strikes me as a glitch with this song is that the Pol Pot regime was in Cambodia, not Vietnam. Also the imitative Asiatic vocal sounds at the end of the song, I think now would be considered racist microaggressions. At the time, that wasn't my intention but here we are now. Brett harmonizes with me on this ditty and also plays guitar. He would play guitar with some sort of mallet or stick-- kind of like Yamantaka Eye of the Boredoms but on only one guitar not 8. Rob was playing his bucket drums. In my notes to the lyrics I noted that Hannah Höch should be pronounced as "Hoech." Yep, it's the attention to the little details that is important....
I'm not sure why the lyrics to this song aren't included on the lyric sheet but then the lyrics to Rob's song "I Want to See You" aren't included either. Just another one of life's mysteries...
Right off, I find it interesting that we collectively shared songwriting credits even though all the songs were really brought in and ready to go by either Brett, Rob or me. However, it is nice that we honored whatever the other bandmate brought to the song to make it a realization.
Right off, I find it interesting that we collectively shared songwriting credits even though all the songs were really brought in and ready to go by either Brett, Rob or me. However, it is nice that we honored whatever the other bandmate brought to the song to make it a realization.
2. Right Way, Wrong Way
A Rob song about the alienating effects of technology especially on children and how it is all leading to the doomsday and death.
A Rob song about the alienating effects of technology especially on children and how it is all leading to the doomsday and death.
3. Laurie and Hank
A different, more electronic version than the one that appears on Side Y of the Early Rarities tape. Sounds like Brett is harmonizing with me on this one. This is based on some true events and conversations but distorted in a surrealistic horror show way. Luckily the violent events that are described such as the harm to Laurie Anderson's face never occurred. I did have the good fortune of meeting Laurie Anderson after her performance in Washington, D.C. (doing excerpts from United States) back in 1981 or 1982. I gave her a little weird assemblage/sculpture made out of a small plastic bust of Beethoven covered in Play-Doh and real dead flies. She accepted the gift very graciously and made a cute joke about it.
I think that the Barry Gristle mentioned in "Laurie and Hank" is Brett. He had a car wreck just before we began working on 300 Days of Sodom. He was running out of gas and had to make a turn off on the beltway, over shot the turn off and flipped the car over. He managed to walk away relatively unhurt.
A different, more electronic version than the one that appears on Side Y of the Early Rarities tape. Sounds like Brett is harmonizing with me on this one. This is based on some true events and conversations but distorted in a surrealistic horror show way. Luckily the violent events that are described such as the harm to Laurie Anderson's face never occurred. I did have the good fortune of meeting Laurie Anderson after her performance in Washington, D.C. (doing excerpts from United States) back in 1981 or 1982. I gave her a little weird assemblage/sculpture made out of a small plastic bust of Beethoven covered in Play-Doh and real dead flies. She accepted the gift very graciously and made a cute joke about it.
I think that the Barry Gristle mentioned in "Laurie and Hank" is Brett. He had a car wreck just before we began working on 300 Days of Sodom. He was running out of gas and had to make a turn off on the beltway, over shot the turn off and flipped the car over. He managed to walk away relatively unhurt.
Hank Lowman was another person on the Northern Virginia noise scene. He was a bit pretentious but looking back on it, I wasn’t as compassionate or appreciative of him as I could have been. Ah, the mistakes of youth...
Editor's Notes:
For more about Hank Lowman, see the Early GOF page.
Bill Warrell was the owner of d.c. space, a classic Washington, D.C. music venue in the 1970s and 1980s.
Editor's Notes:
For more about Hank Lowman, see the Early GOF page.
Bill Warrell was the owner of d.c. space, a classic Washington, D.C. music venue in the 1970s and 1980s.
4. You?
This song would get the audiences pissed off. Brett would go out into the crowd and ask them if they felt like dying today. The answer was usually "No!"
This song would get the audiences pissed off. Brett would go out into the crowd and ask them if they felt like dying today. The answer was usually "No!"
5. Nervana
A Brett song with my opening cackle and guitar. I think that is Rob drumming on his bucket again. I like how the combination of the Rob's drumming and my guitar creates a very wild saturation effect. I think that I'm doing some harmonizing along with Brett's processed vocals. Brett is singing all the parts. He had quite a vocal range with a lot of power. One of his nicknames was “Tina”, as in Tina Turner.
A Brett song with my opening cackle and guitar. I think that is Rob drumming on his bucket again. I like how the combination of the Rob's drumming and my guitar creates a very wild saturation effect. I think that I'm doing some harmonizing along with Brett's processed vocals. Brett is singing all the parts. He had quite a vocal range with a lot of power. One of his nicknames was “Tina”, as in Tina Turner.
6. Drivers Education
Yep, here comes the car crash theme. I mention Susan Mumford. She was the singer in Tiny Desk Unit along with Bob Boilen before he used the name for his NPR show. I don't know why I was so bitchy about her-- just stirring up teenage trouble I guess... But actually, t is all coming back to me why I was getting all mean girl on Susan. Tiny Desk Unit did a song called "Take Me To Paris". Both of my parents were Francophiles and every August, my mother would complain about being stuck in DC. She would say something like "Take Me to Paris." Somehow in my mind, I associated that with a rejection of me. So, now I remember Brett and me snickering about "Take Me to Paris." I'm sure Susan meant it to sound artistic and bohemian but instead it triggered an negative emotional response in me and it sounded bourgeois to Brett. Anyway, like I've said before, I wish her well!
Yep, here comes the car crash theme. I mention Susan Mumford. She was the singer in Tiny Desk Unit along with Bob Boilen before he used the name for his NPR show. I don't know why I was so bitchy about her-- just stirring up teenage trouble I guess... But actually, t is all coming back to me why I was getting all mean girl on Susan. Tiny Desk Unit did a song called "Take Me To Paris". Both of my parents were Francophiles and every August, my mother would complain about being stuck in DC. She would say something like "Take Me to Paris." Somehow in my mind, I associated that with a rejection of me. So, now I remember Brett and me snickering about "Take Me to Paris." I'm sure Susan meant it to sound artistic and bohemian but instead it triggered an negative emotional response in me and it sounded bourgeois to Brett. Anyway, like I've said before, I wish her well!
early version of "Drivers Education", from the From Far Away, Beauty? era.
7. I Want To See You
This song is sung by Rob. Rob looked a lot like Rupert Chappelle. He could go crazy when performing live and scare the audience but I think that deep down he was a gentle soul. He and I were about the same age and he was also living with his parents. I think that he worked at a drug store. He lived in Annandale, Virginia and I would pick him up and we would both go out to rehearsal at Brett’s farm house. After rehearsal, we would sometimes hang out in his basement, eating frozen pizza (we would add extra cheese to make it better) and watch bad late night tv. Good times!
This song is sung by Rob. Rob looked a lot like Rupert Chappelle. He could go crazy when performing live and scare the audience but I think that deep down he was a gentle soul. He and I were about the same age and he was also living with his parents. I think that he worked at a drug store. He lived in Annandale, Virginia and I would pick him up and we would both go out to rehearsal at Brett’s farm house. After rehearsal, we would sometimes hang out in his basement, eating frozen pizza (we would add extra cheese to make it better) and watch bad late night tv. Good times!
8. Boy Shoots Mom
Another one of my unconscious gun control advocacy songs based on a news story that I had read. A child had found a hand gun in his home and while playing with it, he accidentally shot his mother. So this gun problem has been around for quite awhile. Brett loved this song and sings background vocals. I now find the ending with all the screams rather blood curdling and frightening. Back then I just thought it was cool. I notice that some of the songs have nice fade outs and vocal panning touches— that was all Rob’s doing.
Another one of my unconscious gun control advocacy songs based on a news story that I had read. A child had found a hand gun in his home and while playing with it, he accidentally shot his mother. So this gun problem has been around for quite awhile. Brett loved this song and sings background vocals. I now find the ending with all the screams rather blood curdling and frightening. Back then I just thought it was cool. I notice that some of the songs have nice fade outs and vocal panning touches— that was all Rob’s doing.
9. These Are Eyes
Brett’s favorite subject matter for songs was death, eyes, children and the mind. Before I met him, he told me that he used to sit out in the sun, licking the electric contacts on 9 volt batteries while tripping on LSD. He said that the shock from the batteries intensified the trip. This song has some nice stereo panning effects thanks to Rob.
Brett’s favorite subject matter for songs was death, eyes, children and the mind. Before I met him, he told me that he used to sit out in the sun, licking the electric contacts on 9 volt batteries while tripping on LSD. He said that the shock from the batteries intensified the trip. This song has some nice stereo panning effects thanks to Rob.
10. June 1968
A song about the attempted assassination of Andy Warhol. Another way to look at it that it was a business deal gone bad. A few years ago I saw the Warhol film that Valerie Solanas appeared in,
“I, A Man” (not “Biker” as I incorrectly stated in my song). She was very good in her brief appearance. Anyway, I think that this was another of my unintentional gun control advocacy songs. I love Andy Warhol and all his work. I know that he wasn’t perfect but who is? His Diaries are like the I-Ching to me. As fate would have it, his foundation is the biggest funder of the organization that I work for so I feel very grateful to Andy Warhol every day.
A song about the attempted assassination of Andy Warhol. Another way to look at it that it was a business deal gone bad. A few years ago I saw the Warhol film that Valerie Solanas appeared in,
“I, A Man” (not “Biker” as I incorrectly stated in my song). She was very good in her brief appearance. Anyway, I think that this was another of my unintentional gun control advocacy songs. I love Andy Warhol and all his work. I know that he wasn’t perfect but who is? His Diaries are like the I-Ching to me. As fate would have it, his foundation is the biggest funder of the organization that I work for so I feel very grateful to Andy Warhol every day.
11. Splotch of Blood
Another Brett song about eyes, death and children. I guess there were some issues there but none of us talked about our parents or families that much. We just put it all into the music.
Another Brett song about eyes, death and children. I guess there were some issues there but none of us talked about our parents or families that much. We just put it all into the music.
Leslie's Psychodrama timeline from UNSOUND Magazine, Volume 2, Number 1, 1985
poster promoting Psychodrama performance at St. Stephen's church in Washington, D.C., February 22, 1982
poster promoting Psychodrama performance on March 5, 1982 at dc space
photo of Leslie performing with Psychodrama at dc space in March 1982, originally published in Truly Needy #9
Editor's Note:
Arthur Harrison told me about his duo with Rupert Chappelle called Thunderbug a.k.a. Jobs for America! The Psychodrama poster above, for the show at d.c. space doesn't say anything about Jobs For America, but there is something about Wonder Bread, which was a song that Jobs For America did in those days. Arthur told me that the dc space show was actually their gig and they asked Psychodrama to play too.
For Art Harrison's memories of Psychodrama, see the Editor's Note near the bottom of this page.
Arthur Harrison told me about his duo with Rupert Chappelle called Thunderbug a.k.a. Jobs for America! The Psychodrama poster above, for the show at d.c. space doesn't say anything about Jobs For America, but there is something about Wonder Bread, which was a song that Jobs For America did in those days. Arthur told me that the dc space show was actually their gig and they asked Psychodrama to play too.
For Art Harrison's memories of Psychodrama, see the Editor's Note near the bottom of this page.
photo of Leslie by Rob Lippert, 1982
This photo of me by Rob Lippert with my pick-up truck was possibly taken when Psychodrama auditioned for the P Street Beach Festival/Event in April 1982. I remember that red polo shirt and those brown polyester Dickie's style slacks as being one of my performance outfits. I thought it was very No New York/Talking Heads. My hair style looks noticeably different from the Christmas 1980 photo before I joined From Far Away, Beauty?. Yeah, it looks like hanging out around the hardcore punk scene got me to get my hair cut. Now that I think about it, I may have done it myself. I remember reading about Alex Chilton during his Panther Burns days in NY Rocker and the writer commenting that Alex's hairstyle looked like he got done in a mental institution. I just thought that was so cool and it inspired me to cut my own.
I have a hazy memory of Psychodrama playing an open mic/audition to appear at an early version of DC Pride to be staged at the P Street Beach in NW Washington DC. Even though I was born in DC and had grown up just outside of DC, for some reason I had never heard of the P Street Beach. That's because, as I found out later, the P Street Beach is actually a small parcel of wooded land that is part of the Rock Creek Park Hiking Trail. It is a bit of land behind a high school that was and is still a notorious Gay male cruising spot. Well, we didn't pass the audition. The music was too weird and Rob told them that we would need at least 40 minutes to set up our equipment. The guy in the leather cap running the auditions didn't like the sounds of either. I think that this could've been gig number 2 in April.
The piece in Unsound lists the highlights but it doesn’t mention the gig at a college auditorium where I got hit over the head with the chair. As I recall, in the late spring or early summer of 1982, Psychodrama performed in an auditorium type space at American University. I remember Barbara Rice and Hugh Beyers sitting up front looking delighted and horrified at the same time by the show.
Brett did a version of Jill Kroesen's "Jesus Song". Jill was a big part of the NY downtown music scene and had worked with Rhys Chatham and Robert Ashley. Jill left NYC in the mid ‘80’s but came back several years ago to stage a performance art piece at the Whitney Museum. Her "Jesus Song" inspired Brett and me to write a song called "Fire in the Brain of Jesus".
I think that while he was doing the song on the organ on one side of the stage, Rob and I were doing some Theatre of Cruelty skit on the other side. A metal chair was one of the props. I don't remember the action exactly except that when Rob and I rehearsed it before the show everything went smoothly. When we performed the piece live in the front of the audience, the adrenaline kicked in and Rob got very caught up in the moment, picked up the chair and hit me in the head with it. He didn't smash me over the head, it was more a clumsy banging into. It caused me to bite down hard and I chipped one of my back teeth to the point that I could taste bits of tooth in my mouth. There wasn't any blood and I never blacked out. He and I continued with the show like nothing happened. By the end of the show, I had a big lump on my head but didn't bother going to the hospital or anything. I think that I was relying on some advice that my mother used to give whenever as kids we bumped our heads, "If you have a lump on your head, you are okay. If you don't, we probably need to get it checked out." Now looking back on it, I don't think her advice was necessarily well-informed but it served me well in this situation.
Anyway, it was an accident and eventually the lump went down. Rob was sorry for accidentally hitting me and I took the lump as a badge of courage and showmanship on my part.
I have a hazy memory of Psychodrama playing an open mic/audition to appear at an early version of DC Pride to be staged at the P Street Beach in NW Washington DC. Even though I was born in DC and had grown up just outside of DC, for some reason I had never heard of the P Street Beach. That's because, as I found out later, the P Street Beach is actually a small parcel of wooded land that is part of the Rock Creek Park Hiking Trail. It is a bit of land behind a high school that was and is still a notorious Gay male cruising spot. Well, we didn't pass the audition. The music was too weird and Rob told them that we would need at least 40 minutes to set up our equipment. The guy in the leather cap running the auditions didn't like the sounds of either. I think that this could've been gig number 2 in April.
The piece in Unsound lists the highlights but it doesn’t mention the gig at a college auditorium where I got hit over the head with the chair. As I recall, in the late spring or early summer of 1982, Psychodrama performed in an auditorium type space at American University. I remember Barbara Rice and Hugh Beyers sitting up front looking delighted and horrified at the same time by the show.
Brett did a version of Jill Kroesen's "Jesus Song". Jill was a big part of the NY downtown music scene and had worked with Rhys Chatham and Robert Ashley. Jill left NYC in the mid ‘80’s but came back several years ago to stage a performance art piece at the Whitney Museum. Her "Jesus Song" inspired Brett and me to write a song called "Fire in the Brain of Jesus".
I think that while he was doing the song on the organ on one side of the stage, Rob and I were doing some Theatre of Cruelty skit on the other side. A metal chair was one of the props. I don't remember the action exactly except that when Rob and I rehearsed it before the show everything went smoothly. When we performed the piece live in the front of the audience, the adrenaline kicked in and Rob got very caught up in the moment, picked up the chair and hit me in the head with it. He didn't smash me over the head, it was more a clumsy banging into. It caused me to bite down hard and I chipped one of my back teeth to the point that I could taste bits of tooth in my mouth. There wasn't any blood and I never blacked out. He and I continued with the show like nothing happened. By the end of the show, I had a big lump on my head but didn't bother going to the hospital or anything. I think that I was relying on some advice that my mother used to give whenever as kids we bumped our heads, "If you have a lump on your head, you are okay. If you don't, we probably need to get it checked out." Now looking back on it, I don't think her advice was necessarily well-informed but it served me well in this situation.
Anyway, it was an accident and eventually the lump went down. Rob was sorry for accidentally hitting me and I took the lump as a badge of courage and showmanship on my part.
I would write up the Alexandria Father Fucker/Punishment Times issues mostly myself with some input and giggles of encouragement from Brett. I would photocopy the issues and we would hand them out at our shows. I think that I made about 25 - 50 copies of each issue.
With the title of our zine, Father Fucker Times, Brett and I were saying "Fuck the Patriarchy". The title is an inversion of "motherfucker". I guess that is more of a political statement than a taboo breaker. Because being a motherfucker is breaking a big time taboo-- just ask Oedipus and Jim Morrison.
In all the versions that I heard Nico do of "The End" (including live-in-person at the 9:30 Club), she never changed it to "Father, I want to....." As I recall she would just say "Mother" and then let out a scream. But then, as I understand it, her father died fighting the Nazis so there was already a lot of stuff going on there...
Looking back on the Alexandria Father Fucker/Punishment Times, I think that Brett and I were frustrated that our work wasn't getting a better reception in DC and that this zine was a maladaptive response to that. We were blowing off steam and trying to be "transgressive". Yes, the zine does come off as being very bitter. Now I wonder if Brett and I were also adopting the pose and mouthing the story line that other bands in DC had at that time: DC sucks, it's so conservative, blah, blah, blah.
There was another more traditional new wave band at the time called D.Ceats. Martha Hull of The Slickee Boys and some guys from some other DC new wave bands such as Black Market Baby were in it. Evan Cantor may remember them as he was friends with The Nurses and Tru Fax & the Insaniacs, fellow DC new wavers on the scene. Anyway, Martha and her boys would give interviews about how DC ate/eats it (sucked) and that's why they called themselves D.Ceats. Martha was well-respected on the DC scene and I loved her in The Slickee Boys and D.Ceats. (She would do a wonderful version of Lulu's "To Sir With Love."). I guess they were frustrated because no one was giving them a major record label deal like the Urban Verbs got. Meanwhile, the DC scene was great and very supportive in many ways. I think that history and the many books on the hardcore scene had proven that. Also thanks to the DC scene and Jack Kerouac, I was inspired to go on the road and take my wonderful noise and artistic vision out west and to the world!
With the title of our zine, Father Fucker Times, Brett and I were saying "Fuck the Patriarchy". The title is an inversion of "motherfucker". I guess that is more of a political statement than a taboo breaker. Because being a motherfucker is breaking a big time taboo-- just ask Oedipus and Jim Morrison.
In all the versions that I heard Nico do of "The End" (including live-in-person at the 9:30 Club), she never changed it to "Father, I want to....." As I recall she would just say "Mother" and then let out a scream. But then, as I understand it, her father died fighting the Nazis so there was already a lot of stuff going on there...
Looking back on the Alexandria Father Fucker/Punishment Times, I think that Brett and I were frustrated that our work wasn't getting a better reception in DC and that this zine was a maladaptive response to that. We were blowing off steam and trying to be "transgressive". Yes, the zine does come off as being very bitter. Now I wonder if Brett and I were also adopting the pose and mouthing the story line that other bands in DC had at that time: DC sucks, it's so conservative, blah, blah, blah.
There was another more traditional new wave band at the time called D.Ceats. Martha Hull of The Slickee Boys and some guys from some other DC new wave bands such as Black Market Baby were in it. Evan Cantor may remember them as he was friends with The Nurses and Tru Fax & the Insaniacs, fellow DC new wavers on the scene. Anyway, Martha and her boys would give interviews about how DC ate/eats it (sucked) and that's why they called themselves D.Ceats. Martha was well-respected on the DC scene and I loved her in The Slickee Boys and D.Ceats. (She would do a wonderful version of Lulu's "To Sir With Love."). I guess they were frustrated because no one was giving them a major record label deal like the Urban Verbs got. Meanwhile, the DC scene was great and very supportive in many ways. I think that history and the many books on the hardcore scene had proven that. Also thanks to the DC scene and Jack Kerouac, I was inspired to go on the road and take my wonderful noise and artistic vision out west and to the world!
I can't remember how The Chancery show on April 23, 1982 came about. I think it is something that Brett somehow got us into. There was one other band on the bill that night. They went on before us. They were called I/O which stood for Inside/Outside. The singer looked like a Big Jim doll (a 1970's action figure similar to GI Joe). I didn't know about this until I got to the gig but I knew the drummer Sam from my high school. He was a nice guy who played in other rock oriented high schools. I would describe I/O as trying to be new wave.
The Chancery had a very long bar that ran the length of the ground floor, off to one side. Up front there was a good size stage and then the other side of the space had the stairway leading to the second floor. From the start, the club owner was very nice to us. We arrived fairly early and began our equipment set. I don't think that we did a sound check but that kind of stuff never bugged us. I/O came in and did their set up and everything was going okay. They went on first circa 9 pm. Before they went on, there was a jukebox playing the same songs over and over again-- "Jesse's Girl" by Rick Springfield and "I Know What Boys Like" by the Waitresses. That was the omen that something bad was going to happen.
I/O went on and did there rock/into new wave show. The muscle bound lead singer strutted around the stage like he was some kind rock god. The Psychodrama gang found him to be very annoying. There were about 40 people in the crowd, mostly there for I/O.
Then Psychodrama went on. We did a set very much like 300 Days of Sodom. Brett was set up closest to the bar area with me in the middle and Rob to my left side. Brett was on Farfisa and bad guitar that he would pound on several of my songs like "Drivers Education" and "Viva Vietnam" Dada. Rob had his synth, plastic drum and guitar setup and I was on guitar. We all did our vocals The Chancery had a PA system of some sort but I don't remember there being a sound person. While we were playing, we screened our super 8 film reenactment of a news story about the woman who got accidentally dragged by her family's car when she went to do her grocery shopping somewhere in the suburbs of either Maryland or Virginia. Ronnie and his friend were upstairs digging the show.
Everyone downstairs was hating it. Mostly they walked out. I can't remember whether the club owner cut the power on us or not but we lasted about a half hour. I remember him angrily coming up to Brett and telling him that the show was over. He only talked to Brett. I don't remember him speaking to Rob or me. I think that the owner was upset that his clientele was leaving and not staying on to drink. I don't think that we got paid for this show. We packed up our gear without any further issues and got out of there. The next day my parents asked me how the show went and I remember being a bit embarrassed to tell them what happened. I don't remember their response exactly but it was not anything terrible or unsupportive. More like "Oh, well, you can't win 'em all. Better luck next time."
The Chancery had a very long bar that ran the length of the ground floor, off to one side. Up front there was a good size stage and then the other side of the space had the stairway leading to the second floor. From the start, the club owner was very nice to us. We arrived fairly early and began our equipment set. I don't think that we did a sound check but that kind of stuff never bugged us. I/O came in and did their set up and everything was going okay. They went on first circa 9 pm. Before they went on, there was a jukebox playing the same songs over and over again-- "Jesse's Girl" by Rick Springfield and "I Know What Boys Like" by the Waitresses. That was the omen that something bad was going to happen.
I/O went on and did there rock/into new wave show. The muscle bound lead singer strutted around the stage like he was some kind rock god. The Psychodrama gang found him to be very annoying. There were about 40 people in the crowd, mostly there for I/O.
Then Psychodrama went on. We did a set very much like 300 Days of Sodom. Brett was set up closest to the bar area with me in the middle and Rob to my left side. Brett was on Farfisa and bad guitar that he would pound on several of my songs like "Drivers Education" and "Viva Vietnam" Dada. Rob had his synth, plastic drum and guitar setup and I was on guitar. We all did our vocals The Chancery had a PA system of some sort but I don't remember there being a sound person. While we were playing, we screened our super 8 film reenactment of a news story about the woman who got accidentally dragged by her family's car when she went to do her grocery shopping somewhere in the suburbs of either Maryland or Virginia. Ronnie and his friend were upstairs digging the show.
Everyone downstairs was hating it. Mostly they walked out. I can't remember whether the club owner cut the power on us or not but we lasted about a half hour. I remember him angrily coming up to Brett and telling him that the show was over. He only talked to Brett. I don't remember him speaking to Rob or me. I think that the owner was upset that his clientele was leaving and not staying on to drink. I don't think that we got paid for this show. We packed up our gear without any further issues and got out of there. The next day my parents asked me how the show went and I remember being a bit embarrassed to tell them what happened. I don't remember their response exactly but it was not anything terrible or unsupportive. More like "Oh, well, you can't win 'em all. Better luck next time."
In late Spring of 1982 Barbara Ann Rice interviewed Leslie Singer, Brett Kerby, and Rob Lippert of Psychodrama for the third issue of her Truly Needy zine. In mid-August 2018 Leslie Singer remembered these things about the interview, but remembers very little about what was said in the interview itself:
Barbara interviewed us in living room of her one bedroom apartment that she shared with her husband Bill. I remember Bill as he would come to shows with Barbara at the 9:30 Club. He was tall, dark hair, had glasses and a mustache. He seemed like a nice quiet guy. I don't recall him being around for the interview. We sat on her couch and chatted/gossiped about the DC scene, life in Psychodrama, etc. She had a coffee table and sat across from us in a comfy chair. There was other furniture in the room but I don't remember seeing a TV.
We did the interview on a Sunday afternoon since Barbara had a full time job. Something with the government... The interview wrapped up circa 6 PM so we walked over to the diner. A greasy spoon type place. My first reaction is that Barbara ordered something vegetarian. I ordered either a pot roast type thing or a chicken pot pie. As I recall the main entree was good. The vegetables were the problem. When I got to SF, during my early GOF days, I used to eat a lot of chicken pot pie. It was the easiest thing to buy and prepare (just stick it in the oven) for a single person as I could find back in those days.
In the late '70's and early '80's the Adams Morgan section of DC was still predominately Latino and African American. The hard working poor. However, there were white hippies living there such as the family who ran the punk space, Madam's Organ out of their house. That family and Madam's Organ got shut down/kicked out circa 1980. I think that the Bad Brains played the last show there and everyone in the audience proceeded to smash the entire house up during the show as part of the farewell. Dave Meschter, of Bazilisk, was there for the last show and very fond memories of it that he shared with me. By the time of the Psychodrama interview, one could see the early signs of gentrification but certainly nothing like it is today.
During the interview, Barbara did say a funny thing that has stuck with me today. Barbara mentioned that she had a next door neighbor who had complained to her that Barbara and Bill were making too much noise while having sex. Barbara said that her response to this woman was"What do you expect me to do, he is my husband." I'm not exactly sure how and why this came up but I clearly remember that. And the mushy overcooked frozen vegetables at the diner.
Barbara interviewed us in living room of her one bedroom apartment that she shared with her husband Bill. I remember Bill as he would come to shows with Barbara at the 9:30 Club. He was tall, dark hair, had glasses and a mustache. He seemed like a nice quiet guy. I don't recall him being around for the interview. We sat on her couch and chatted/gossiped about the DC scene, life in Psychodrama, etc. She had a coffee table and sat across from us in a comfy chair. There was other furniture in the room but I don't remember seeing a TV.
We did the interview on a Sunday afternoon since Barbara had a full time job. Something with the government... The interview wrapped up circa 6 PM so we walked over to the diner. A greasy spoon type place. My first reaction is that Barbara ordered something vegetarian. I ordered either a pot roast type thing or a chicken pot pie. As I recall the main entree was good. The vegetables were the problem. When I got to SF, during my early GOF days, I used to eat a lot of chicken pot pie. It was the easiest thing to buy and prepare (just stick it in the oven) for a single person as I could find back in those days.
In the late '70's and early '80's the Adams Morgan section of DC was still predominately Latino and African American. The hard working poor. However, there were white hippies living there such as the family who ran the punk space, Madam's Organ out of their house. That family and Madam's Organ got shut down/kicked out circa 1980. I think that the Bad Brains played the last show there and everyone in the audience proceeded to smash the entire house up during the show as part of the farewell. Dave Meschter, of Bazilisk, was there for the last show and very fond memories of it that he shared with me. By the time of the Psychodrama interview, one could see the early signs of gentrification but certainly nothing like it is today.
During the interview, Barbara did say a funny thing that has stuck with me today. Barbara mentioned that she had a next door neighbor who had complained to her that Barbara and Bill were making too much noise while having sex. Barbara said that her response to this woman was"What do you expect me to do, he is my husband." I'm not exactly sure how and why this came up but I clearly remember that. And the mushy overcooked frozen vegetables at the diner.
Hal McGee's personal copy of the "You'll Hate This Record" Record, purchased directly from Mykel Board of Seidboard World Enterprises, New York City. Original pressing, with fake vomit applied by Mykel when I placed my order in June 2018.
Mykel Board's text about Psychodrama, from the back cover of Hal McGee's personal copy of the You'll Hate This Record Record
"Suffocation" was a song I wrote in the summer of 1982 while in Psychodrama but it never made past the lyric sheet/artwork stage. I was inspired by the 1968 George Romero film, Night of The Living Dead. I thought that the film captured the mindlessness and lack of political engagement that I saw around me in the late '70's. The song is also about the feelings I had trying to apply for various office, retail and hospital records clerk jobs in Northern Virginia while not succumbing to the government worker/don't go back to Rockville career track.
The St. Stephen's Church that we performed at was actually in DC. Brett was really into making every show a happening and I mean that in the true 60's sense of an all surrounding event. There were decorations and junk everywhere. As I recall the audience had to walk and sit right in it all. Between that and the weird music, most of them couldn't take much. It was kind of like the Theatre of Cruelty or something. As I recall we had a band opening for us, a three piece-- two guys and a gal, called Speedracer X. One of the guys was a DJ at the University of Maryland radio station, WMUC. He played cool stuff and had us on his show once for an interview. However, doing the St. Stephen's Church show with us killed that friendship. The happening was too much for him. I think that he just wanted to do a straight ahead new wave show.
As for d.c. space, we did the similar happening thing again but this time screened some super 8 films. Brett made one that involved animals on the farm that he worked on and I think that is what caused the issue with the vice squad. Also, looking back on it, even though no one carded me and I was of legal drinking age in DC which at that time was 18, I could've appeared younger.
There were just a handful of shows in 1982 but enough for the word to get out to Mykel Board. He lived around the corner from CBGB's and ran a record distribution service. He asked us to record two songs for the album which we did in Brett's farm house which we used as a rehearsal space in Chantilly, Virginia. We recorded straight onto a metal tape cassette live in the room. No overdubs, not much mixing or post-production other than Rob was able to do with his at-home set up.
As for CBGB's we drove up there and back in 24 hours with our friend Ronnie who later joined Psychodrama as Fifi Poopbutt and James aka Mark who later joined as Jimbo. At that time my grandmother had given me the $ to buy a pick up truck which we used to haul the equipment and ourselves to gigs. (This is the same truck that Brett and I drove out to SF in October 1982. I was and still am a big fan of Jack Kerouac's On the Road.) We got up to NYC and had time to go to Times Square back when it was pretty sleazy. I remember that there were guys on the streets saying things like "Come on up -- Twenty Five dollars -- you can get fucked." And Brett bought street weed off of someone but I think that it was just oregano. Anyway, we took the 6 train up and back and made it in time for the show. We played Twister on stage and then got back into the truck and drove back to DC. All drug and alcohol free. Well maybe Brett was sipping on some cheap wine but I was very straight edge in those days and did all the driving.
Richmond had a great scene in the late '70's/early '80's. A great mix of garage punk, new wave and folks into futurist music by Luigi Russolo. I think that we had a lot of art students there from VCU which has a big art department. The owner of the club was wearing a button that said "Heroin and Health Food". The opening band The Heretics were a bit arty too so a good time was had by all the first time that we played down there. As I recall we played there a second time but the place had changed and the Heretics wanted to be a new wave band and we were bringing them down with all the art/happening stuff. This was right before Brett and I moved to SF. Back then we would only eat at McDonald's. I would always have a Big Mac and one of those cellulose milkshakes. Kept me going for hours!
As for d.c. space, we did the similar happening thing again but this time screened some super 8 films. Brett made one that involved animals on the farm that he worked on and I think that is what caused the issue with the vice squad. Also, looking back on it, even though no one carded me and I was of legal drinking age in DC which at that time was 18, I could've appeared younger.
There were just a handful of shows in 1982 but enough for the word to get out to Mykel Board. He lived around the corner from CBGB's and ran a record distribution service. He asked us to record two songs for the album which we did in Brett's farm house which we used as a rehearsal space in Chantilly, Virginia. We recorded straight onto a metal tape cassette live in the room. No overdubs, not much mixing or post-production other than Rob was able to do with his at-home set up.
As for CBGB's we drove up there and back in 24 hours with our friend Ronnie who later joined Psychodrama as Fifi Poopbutt and James aka Mark who later joined as Jimbo. At that time my grandmother had given me the $ to buy a pick up truck which we used to haul the equipment and ourselves to gigs. (This is the same truck that Brett and I drove out to SF in October 1982. I was and still am a big fan of Jack Kerouac's On the Road.) We got up to NYC and had time to go to Times Square back when it was pretty sleazy. I remember that there were guys on the streets saying things like "Come on up -- Twenty Five dollars -- you can get fucked." And Brett bought street weed off of someone but I think that it was just oregano. Anyway, we took the 6 train up and back and made it in time for the show. We played Twister on stage and then got back into the truck and drove back to DC. All drug and alcohol free. Well maybe Brett was sipping on some cheap wine but I was very straight edge in those days and did all the driving.
Richmond had a great scene in the late '70's/early '80's. A great mix of garage punk, new wave and folks into futurist music by Luigi Russolo. I think that we had a lot of art students there from VCU which has a big art department. The owner of the club was wearing a button that said "Heroin and Health Food". The opening band The Heretics were a bit arty too so a good time was had by all the first time that we played down there. As I recall we played there a second time but the place had changed and the Heretics wanted to be a new wave band and we were bringing them down with all the art/happening stuff. This was right before Brett and I moved to SF. Back then we would only eat at McDonald's. I would always have a Big Mac and one of those cellulose milkshakes. Kept me going for hours!
Editor's Notes about Psychodrama's reputation:
I asked Art Harrison about how he remembered Psychodrama:
"I only have vague memories of Psychodrama, since the performances I saw were so far in the past. Of the three people you mentioned, I recall some conversations with Rob Lippert, who helped create the No Thing Last Stand video sometime in the '80s at a Virginia cable television station.
"I recall Psychodrama performing at a club called d.c. space in the early '80s in a particularly energetic show. If my memory is correct, Rupert Chappelle and I were booked there as Jobs For America, and Rupert invited Psychodrama to play with us. Psychodrama employed a film projection that was controversial because of lewd content, and they had a marvelous prop that was a horn-of-plenty, filled with severed doll heads. I heard afterward that Rupert and I would be subsequently prohibited from playing at d.c. space because of our association with Psychodrama. I recall thinking at the time that this may have been management's excuse for banning us on the basis of Jobs For America's material."
Arthur went on to say:
"I recall that in the '80s, Rupert explained the circumstances of his (and our) bannings from the clubs the same way I understood it to happen. Psychodrama's film depiction of a sex act with a farm animal was one of the reasons given for the police investigation. I recall seeing the film clip sometime after the performance at d.c. space, and thinking that it was far-less shocking that anything John Waters portrayed in some of his films, e.g., 1972's Pink Flamingos. So. D.C. establishment's reaction to the event was possibly part of their overall sentiment opposing counter-culture and clubs that provided alternative music."
Jack Hurwitz on Psychodrama's reputation:
"Psychodrama wanted to be controversial, upset the flow, and take things to the extreme. But as far I as I know, they didn't break any laws or do anything truly extreme. Almost all of the rumors were made up by them and supplemented with faked video and propaganda. When, the impact of art is really out of the artist's hands. I don't feel sorry for Rob [Lippert] or any of them for getting in trouble because people believed it.
"Arthur and Rupert, who I played with in No Thing, had done shows with them. They told me stories that sounded really cool. Like Psychodrama had a horn of plenty filled with baby heads and other gimmicks. I did hear they were verbally abusive as part of their act. On stage they would insult the audience, put people down, plant trouble makers in the audience, and offer people to have sex on stage, etc they probably don't recall saying.
BTW, something you have to consider. DC had a huge straight-edge punk scene. They hated electronic and experimental anything. But I would not be surprised if Psychodrama played up the crap with the farm animals [the film for which Brett was investigated by the vice squad] to mess with the straight-edgers who were militant about animal rights and being vegetarian. It is highly likely, a lot of the rumors were cultivated by those people and even more likely they were the ones who reported them to the authorities."
from an article at the Panic Research website:
"Bazilisk's leader Brett Kerby later attained notoriety for his transgressive performance project Psychodrama, which specialized in taunting the Dischord scene, playing with dead animals on stage, and getting banned from every club they ever played."
////////////////
Hal McGee, Editor
In late June 2018 when I asked Leslie about reports and comments that Psychodrama pelted their audiences with cow dung (and offal -- see below), she replied:
I honestly have no memory of doing or being involved in such things or exactly why we were getting banned other than we seemed weird and no one liked our music. Frankly, Brett, Rob and I enjoyed whatever sensationalized hyperbolic attention that we could get— especially if it was more spectacular than anything that we actually did. I remember filling spaces with artwork that was made from trash, screaming and playing out of tune guitar, getting hit over the head with a metal chair by Rob in the middle of a show and both of us carrying on like nothing happened, showing weird homemade super 8 films which thanks to stop action in camera editing seem to depict me getting dragged by a car in a supermarket parking lot (this was based on a news story and was our idea of a scathing critique of suburban gender roles and consumerism ) and Hugh Beyers writing in one of the issues of Truly Needy that he was getting tired of Psychodrama’s petty guignol. As for those other exploits involving cow shit and chicken guts, I would be proud to brag about it now and go into all the gory and nauseating details but alas, it must’ve been another Leslie in another Psychodrama in a parallel universe.
I asked Art Harrison about how he remembered Psychodrama:
"I only have vague memories of Psychodrama, since the performances I saw were so far in the past. Of the three people you mentioned, I recall some conversations with Rob Lippert, who helped create the No Thing Last Stand video sometime in the '80s at a Virginia cable television station.
"I recall Psychodrama performing at a club called d.c. space in the early '80s in a particularly energetic show. If my memory is correct, Rupert Chappelle and I were booked there as Jobs For America, and Rupert invited Psychodrama to play with us. Psychodrama employed a film projection that was controversial because of lewd content, and they had a marvelous prop that was a horn-of-plenty, filled with severed doll heads. I heard afterward that Rupert and I would be subsequently prohibited from playing at d.c. space because of our association with Psychodrama. I recall thinking at the time that this may have been management's excuse for banning us on the basis of Jobs For America's material."
Arthur went on to say:
"I recall that in the '80s, Rupert explained the circumstances of his (and our) bannings from the clubs the same way I understood it to happen. Psychodrama's film depiction of a sex act with a farm animal was one of the reasons given for the police investigation. I recall seeing the film clip sometime after the performance at d.c. space, and thinking that it was far-less shocking that anything John Waters portrayed in some of his films, e.g., 1972's Pink Flamingos. So. D.C. establishment's reaction to the event was possibly part of their overall sentiment opposing counter-culture and clubs that provided alternative music."
Jack Hurwitz on Psychodrama's reputation:
"Psychodrama wanted to be controversial, upset the flow, and take things to the extreme. But as far I as I know, they didn't break any laws or do anything truly extreme. Almost all of the rumors were made up by them and supplemented with faked video and propaganda. When, the impact of art is really out of the artist's hands. I don't feel sorry for Rob [Lippert] or any of them for getting in trouble because people believed it.
"Arthur and Rupert, who I played with in No Thing, had done shows with them. They told me stories that sounded really cool. Like Psychodrama had a horn of plenty filled with baby heads and other gimmicks. I did hear they were verbally abusive as part of their act. On stage they would insult the audience, put people down, plant trouble makers in the audience, and offer people to have sex on stage, etc they probably don't recall saying.
BTW, something you have to consider. DC had a huge straight-edge punk scene. They hated electronic and experimental anything. But I would not be surprised if Psychodrama played up the crap with the farm animals [the film for which Brett was investigated by the vice squad] to mess with the straight-edgers who were militant about animal rights and being vegetarian. It is highly likely, a lot of the rumors were cultivated by those people and even more likely they were the ones who reported them to the authorities."
from an article at the Panic Research website:
"Bazilisk's leader Brett Kerby later attained notoriety for his transgressive performance project Psychodrama, which specialized in taunting the Dischord scene, playing with dead animals on stage, and getting banned from every club they ever played."
////////////////
Hal McGee, Editor
In late June 2018 when I asked Leslie about reports and comments that Psychodrama pelted their audiences with cow dung (and offal -- see below), she replied:
I honestly have no memory of doing or being involved in such things or exactly why we were getting banned other than we seemed weird and no one liked our music. Frankly, Brett, Rob and I enjoyed whatever sensationalized hyperbolic attention that we could get— especially if it was more spectacular than anything that we actually did. I remember filling spaces with artwork that was made from trash, screaming and playing out of tune guitar, getting hit over the head with a metal chair by Rob in the middle of a show and both of us carrying on like nothing happened, showing weird homemade super 8 films which thanks to stop action in camera editing seem to depict me getting dragged by a car in a supermarket parking lot (this was based on a news story and was our idea of a scathing critique of suburban gender roles and consumerism ) and Hugh Beyers writing in one of the issues of Truly Needy that he was getting tired of Psychodrama’s petty guignol. As for those other exploits involving cow shit and chicken guts, I would be proud to brag about it now and go into all the gory and nauseating details but alas, it must’ve been another Leslie in another Psychodrama in a parallel universe.
Jeff Lindholm commenting in Richmond Style Weekly, 2014.
Check out this live video of "Wonder Bread" by Thunderbug (a.k.a. Jobs For America) in 1981 at Columbia Station.
Visit Rupert Chappelle's YouTube channel where you can view hundreds of videos of Rupert (and Arthur) playing Arthur's Model 302 Theremin.
Rupert is well-known for his 1978 album of electronic music, Ozone Music.
In 1982 Thermidor Records released a Jobs For America LP, which will be re-issued Fall 2018 by the Swedish Columbia label.
Visit Rupert Chappelle's YouTube channel where you can view hundreds of videos of Rupert (and Arthur) playing Arthur's Model 302 Theremin.
Rupert is well-known for his 1978 album of electronic music, Ozone Music.
In 1982 Thermidor Records released a Jobs For America LP, which will be re-issued Fall 2018 by the Swedish Columbia label.
Leslie and I continued to talk about Psychodrama throughout August and on into September 2018 and on the 4th of that month she wrote:
I don’t recall Brett, Rob and I consciously setting out to piss off our audience or targeting certain people to attack. We didn’t sit around at rehearsal and say “What can do to confront and antagonize the folks coming to hear our music. I do recall us sitting around trying to come up with ways for us to get a gig at the 9:30 Club. We were just trying to be interesting and not boring. Obviously, we were ignorant, inconsiderate, and oblivious as to what our actions would cause for the audience and fellow performers like Arthur and Rupert. Frankly, I don’t think that we set out to get banned- we just wanted to make our racket our way and everyone else be damned. And that we were successful at!"
I don’t recall Brett, Rob and I consciously setting out to piss off our audience or targeting certain people to attack. We didn’t sit around at rehearsal and say “What can do to confront and antagonize the folks coming to hear our music. I do recall us sitting around trying to come up with ways for us to get a gig at the 9:30 Club. We were just trying to be interesting and not boring. Obviously, we were ignorant, inconsiderate, and oblivious as to what our actions would cause for the audience and fellow performers like Arthur and Rupert. Frankly, I don’t think that we set out to get banned- we just wanted to make our racket our way and everyone else be damned. And that we were successful at!"