The
Penetrators (Punk)
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The
Penetrators
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|
Origin |
Syracuse |
|
Years
active |
1976–present |
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Website |
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Members |
Eliot (Spike) Kagan -
vocals, guitars, keyboards, tenor saxophone, bass,
drums Curtis Seals
- vocals, keyboards |
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Past
members |
Paul Bawol -
bass (1980 live unit) |
The
Penetrators are a US punk
band from Syracuse,
New York formed
in 1976. Their debut 45 RPM record "Gotta Have Her / Baby
Don'tcha Tell
Me" was self-released in 1979 and was followed shortly
thereafter by three
other 45 RPM and EP releases on their own FRED Records
record label. [1]
Contents
The
Penetrators were founded by lead
singer Jack Lipton and multi-instrumentalist Eliot (Spike)
Kagan in Syracuse,
NY in August, 1976.[2]
What happened when Garage Rock met Punk Rock in
the cold climes
of upstate NY? "Formed in 76 as punk was exploding, The
Penetrators kicked
out their own unique twisted version of garage rock...
snotty, loud and amateur
as can be." [3] This duo of Syracuse
music makers released their second
45 in 1979 ("Teenage Lifestyle/Rock 'n' Roll Face") to
further
critical acclaim and won a spot on Killed
By
Death #19 in 1998 for their efforts. [4]
Originally
intended as a studio project,
Jack and Spike wasted no time putting together a live
performing unit in 1980,
whose efforts were captured on the soundboard bootleg
cassette recording
released in 2001 on Rave Up Records of Rome, Italy: "Live
at Kenny's
1980." [5]
Other
1979/1980
releases included the two-sided release of "The
Scandalizer/Drive Me
Crazy" by (respectively) Curtis Seals and Christian
D'Orbit, and Eliot
(Spike) Kagan's 4 track "solo" EP: "SPIKE!"
In 1982, The
Penetrators recorded and
immortalized on video the classic track that MTV would not
show on their
Basement Tapes show: "Shopping Bag".[6]
All
this musical
productivity and hard work led to their studio efforts
being released by Venus
Records (FRED 0) on the album "Kings of Basement Rock" in
1988. "Kings
of Basement Rock" was
subsequently reissued twice on two other labels - by Rave
Up Records in 2000
and by Slovenly Records in 2013. A CD
anthology of their studio and live efforts, "Basement
Anthology", was
released by Swami Records in 2005. [7] The initial 2
Penetrator 45 RPM record efforts have been re-released in
EP form on Rave Up (1999)
and as separate 45's on Windian Records (2011 and 2012
respectively). The
Curtis Seals / Christian D'Orbit 45 was
re-released by Windian Records in 2014, along with their
45 RPM release of the
Penetrators' classic "Shopping Bag" (backed by "Everybody
Needs
Lovin'"). Possible
plans to reissue
the "Spike!" solo EP by Penetrators multi-instrumentalist
/ producer
Eliot (Spike) Kagan are still in the works.
But all is not reissues in the Penetrators world: They released an album (in both vinyl and CD formats) on Slovenly Records in 2008 called "Bad Woman" that consisted of their takes of such classics as "The Last Time" and "Dirty Water", as well as remakes of their own bona fide classics, including "Teenage Lifestyle" and "Gotta Have Her", which were also put out by Slovenly on a two-sided 45. Slovenly Records also put out a 45 of new studio efforts in 2015: "She's The Kinda Girl/ Take A Stand." Adding his renowned lead guitar stylings to all these recent studio Slovenly efforts is Central New York guitar legend Mark Doyle.
The Penetrators have also been performing at various punk festival gatherings over the last 20+ years, including the Horizontal Action (Chicago) Blackout 2003[8] , the UFO Dictator Fest 4 (2008)[9] , and the 2012 Windian Anniversary Showcase in Washington, DC[10] The Penetrators never went away and continue to make fresh music even after 40+ years in the music business. They even self-released a CD on their own FRED Records called “Legacy” in 2017, [11] and they are always making sure to maintain a social media footprint commensurate with their place in rock ‘n’ roll history. [12] [13] [14] [15]
While all
this activity was going on, Jack
Lipton put out two "solo" CD's:
"Bad Boy" (released in 2004) [16] and
"Forgotten Boy" (released in 2012) [17] .
Rolling
Stones, Eric Burdon, Iggy
Pop, 60's
Garage Rock,
Kinks, Ramones, 60's Soul Music, and much,
much more.[15]
§ Gotta Have Her / Baby, Dontcha Tell Me 7" - Fred FCX10, 1979 PS
- Windian WIN 20015, 2011 PS
§ Teenage Lifestyle / Rock`n'Roll Face 7" - Fred FCX20, 1979 PS
- Windian WIN 20024, 2012 PS
§ Watch Out For The Penetrators 7" EP - IT Rave Up Gems #3, 2000 PS
(Gotta Have Her / Baby, Dontcha Tell Me // Teenage Lifestyle /
Rock`n'Roll Face)
§ Curtis Seals - The Scandalizer / Christian D'Orbit - Drive Me Crazy 7"
- Fred FCX-30, 1980 PS
- Windian WIN 20034, 2014 PS
§ Spike! 7" EP - Fred FCE40, 1980 PS
(Life Stinks / Brooklyn // No 1 Band In Town / Love Ya Honey)
§ Shopping Bag / Everybody Needs Lovin' 7" - Windian WIN 20033, 2014 PS
§ Kings Of Basement Rock LP - Fred 0, 1988 / 1976-81
- IT Rave Up RUR #12, 2000
- Slovenly 702-126, 2013
(Gotta Have Her / It's My Life / Teenage Lifestyle / Stop Action /
#1 Band In Town / Everybody Needs Lovin' // Baby, Dontcha Tell Me /
Rock`n'Roll Face / Life Stinks / Shopping Bag / Drive Me Crazy /
The Scandalizer)
§ Live At Kenny's 1980 LP - IT Rave Up RUR #20, 2001 / 1980
(Gotta Have Her / Baby, Dontcha Tell Me / (I Like) Brooklyn / #1 Band In Town /
Rock 'N' Roll Face / Sweet Soul Music / Rock 'N' Roll Face (Studio) //
The Scandalizer / Drive Me Crazy / Teenage Lifestyle / Your SoCalled Friends /
The Godfather Speaks (P.D.) / Life Stinks (Studio))
§ Spike Penetrator! LP - IT Rave Up RUR #39, 2004
(#1 Band In Town / Life Stinks / (I Like) Brooklyn / Rude Boys / Dance Mr. DJ /
Warlord // #1 Band In Town / Love Ya Honey / Your SoCalled Friends /
Shopping Bag / I Call That Love Too / Life Stinks (extended))
§ Basement Anthology CD - Swami SWA 129, 2005
(Teenage Lifestyle / Baby Dontcha Tell Me / #1 Band In Town / Shopping Bag /
Rock 'N' Roll Face / The Scandalizer (live) / Gotta Have Her / Life Stinks /
Your So-Called Friends / Stop Action / Love Ya Honey / Warlord / Intro /
Drive Me Crazy / It's My Life / Sweet Soul Music (live) / (I Like) Brooklyn /
I Call That Love Too / Everybody Needs Lovin'))
§ Teenage Lifestyle / Gotta Have Her 7" - Slovenly 702-64, 2007 PS
§ Bad Woman CD, LP - Slovenly 702-69, 2008
(Bad Woman / Teenage Lifestyle / If You Have Ghosts / Little Girl /
What Will Be If You're 70 / Gotta Have Her / Lied To Me // Talk Talk / (I Like) Brooklyn /
Li'l Red Riding Hood / #1 Band In Town / Bad Woman (alt.-Spike) / Dirty Water /
The Last Time // last two songs only on CD: Teenage Lifestyle (alt.-Jack) / Teenage Lifestyle (alt.-Spike))
§ She's The Kinda Girl / Take A Stand 7" - Slovenly 702-164, 2014 PS
§ Legacy CD - FRED FCD1, 2017
(She’s The Kinda Girl / Take A Stand / Those Hard Times Are Through /
What They Said They Would / Young & Strong / Lied To Me /
Them No Listen / Nothing Can Change / Keep On Rollin’ (Stones) /
She’s The Kinda Girl (abridged) / Them No Listen (Extended)
·
Official
1.
http://www.collectorscum.com/volume3/ny/
3.
http://tinygrooves.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-penetrators-kings-of-basement-rock.html
4.
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Killed-By-Death-19/master/1393436
5.
http://www.discogs.com/Penetrators-Live-At-Kennys-1980/release/2369007
6.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsNkLET6BGg
7. https://musicbrainz.org/release/16159b1b-6e90-4457-af44-dd2ee50481ed
8.
http://www.victimoftime.com/articles/5-shots-horizontal-action-blackout-2003/
9.
http://www.victimoftime.com/articles/ufo-dictator-fest-blasts-tonight-kalamazoo/
11.
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/thepenetrators1
12. https://myspace.com/kingsofbasementrock
13.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Syracuse-Penetrators/45478889795
14. https://www.facebook.com/groups/824044674341952/
17.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Forgotten-Boy-Jack-Penetrator-Lipton-Solo-CD-2012-release-/231044651932