Blast From the Past

The Gears - Rockin' at Ground Zero (Hep Cat)
Initially I had reservations about even spinning my review copy of Rockin' at Ground Zero. While I wasn't familiar with The Gears, I do know enough about the L.A. punk scene of the late 70s and early 80s. And that era of punk doesn't really do much for me. The L.A. variant seemed musically angrier and less melodic than stuff coming out of other locales (like NYC). Speed was king, and finesse mattered less.

Eventually I popped the disc in, and was pleasantly surprised. The first thing that struck me was the immediacy of the songs. The dry, almost effects-free production aesthetic presents The Gears in a manner that (I imagine) isn't too far removed from their live set. Of course the needles aren't all in the red, and the balance and mix are as they should be. But the energy's all here.

"Baby Runaround" kicks off sound a bit like a slowed-down Ramones, but there's -- believe it or not -- a subtlety to the playing. "Let's Go to the Beach" updates surf music for the era, while providing a catchier take on that genre than, say, the Surf Punks. "Elks Lodge Blues" marries blues and punk in an effective method, turning in a performance that has as much in common with the tracks on Rhino's Loud, Fast and Out of Control (an essential box set compilation of 50's rock) as it does with, say, the Sex Pistols. Axxel G. Reese's yelps are particularly effective, and the playing tighter than one might have a right to expect from L.A. punk scenesters.

Overall, the songs on Rockin' at Ground Zero traffic in teenage rebellion and fun-at-the-beach themes rather than nihilistic, atavistic hardcore messages. And musically, the Gears manage the feat of providing variety while working solidly within the punk genre (something the Ramones decidedly did not do that same year: they recorded End of the Century with Phil Spector at the boards). The Gears weren't adherents of the faster-is-better aesthetic so prevalent in L.A., and that's ultimately to their credit. These tracks hold up well nearly thirty years later, and don't really sound dated at all.

Well, except "Darlin' Baby." The song starts as a 50s throwback tune and then (ahem) shifts gears for the chorus into a pogo-worthy rocker. The presence of such dynamics throughout Rockin' at Ground Zero makes listening to the album a rewarding experience; unlike some records of the era, the shifts in tone, style and delivery keep the listener on their toes, ad sidestep the numbing attack of lesser punk acts. One guesses the Gears were an incendiary live act; hearing these songs, it's impossible not to imagine a club full of pogoers. The Gears seemed to understand what was valuable about early rock and roll, and incorporated that into their then-modern songs. The spirits of Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent...and Sid Vicious are breathed back to life on Rockin' at Ground Zero.

Bonus tracks include the original 45s of "Let's Go to the Beach" and "Don't Be Afraid to Pogo." Both versions are (naturally) rawer than their album counterparts, in both performance and production. Five demos from 1979 (in surprisingly good fidelity) show that the Gears' approach was pretty fully developed before they entered the studio. The exception is "Heartbeat Baby", which underwent a radical reinvention that improved the song exponentially. In the end, most the self-produced demos don't sound that different from the polished versions. And that's to the credit of Rockin' at Ground Zero producer Gary Hirstius and all involved in that album.

The D.I.'s - Rare Cuts (Hep Cat)
 The 2009 Hep Cat release of Rockin' at Ground Zero includes a bonus CD of cuts entitled, appropriately enough, Rare Cuts! After the demise of The Gears, vocalist Axxel G. Reese and guitarist drummer Dave Drive resurfaced quickly in The D.I.'s, There they employed a similar (yet slightly more refined) approach. Elements of rockabilly are brought more to the fore; "Taylor Yard Blues," the kickoff track on Rare Cuts! sounds like Jason and the Scorchers, West Coast Edition. The production of nine of Rare Cuts! tracks is handled by the estimable Billy Zoom (X, The Blasters) who exhibits a keen understanding of the group's musical direction. (He would. I mean, look at the guy.)

While elements of humor always lurked just below the surface in The Gears songs, tracks like "Your Dad's a Cop" bring the smirking approach to the fore. The D.I.'s slow things down just a bit compared to The Gears, but in doing so they add a certain groove to the music. Except for the punkabilly vocal delivery, "Leave Love to Me" wouldn't sound out of place on a Junior Brown album. As with The Gears, there's a surprising and refreshing variety to the songs; the tracks on Rare Cuts! stay far away from the "let's write the same song over and over" approach of many bands.

Rare Cuts! spans five separate sessions covering the period 1983 to 1990. The four tracks that comprise their 1984 Lock N' Load EP (the group's sole official release prior to this compilation) exhibit a buzzsaw guitar attack leavened with nimble lead fills throughout. "Shot Down" from the group's 1985 sessions for A&M starts off sounding like a punked-up "Last Train to Clarkesville", and that's not a bad thing. Those sessions even include a touch of keyboards(!) courtesy of Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & the Herartbreakers) and tight harmony backing vocals. By far the most "professional" sounding tracks on the disc, the A&M session cuts keep the energy while bringing the sort of polish that (one would have hoped) could have brought the D.I. some hard-won commercial success. That was not to be, but this package puts 22 songs together for a fantastic listen. Don't miss the D.I.'s cover of the Buffalo Springfield hit "Mr. Soul."

The liner notes included with Rare Cuts! adds some needed perspective and context to the music by this relatively-unknown combo. Despite their low profile, the D.I.'s were turning out music every bit as exciting as The Blasters and X, to name two. While the D.I.'s maintained the punk aesthetic, the songs on Rare Cuts! transcend that genre to produce some timeless rock and roll. Packaged together, The Gears' Rockin' at Ground Zero and The D.I.'s Rare Cuts are two hours of rock and roll's true essence.

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