Back in 2000, I wrote the liner notes for Live At Kenny's 1980, an LP by "Syracuse's Only!," The Penetrators. And here they are!
You probably had to be there to understand, but the conservative little city of Syracuse, NY (motto: "Snow? Yeah, we got snow") was a genuinely exciting place to be a young rock 'n' roll fan in the late '70s and early '80s. The vibrance of a re-energized, vital international rock 'n' roll movement, jump-started by punk and new wave, was keenly felt even in my sleepy little home town, as local bands like The Flashcubes, The Ohms, The Poptarts, The Most, Screen Test, The Dead Ducks Band, 1.4.5., and The Tearjerkers all plugged in and let fly with a thrilling, raucous pop noise that was nothing short of transcendent. Many of us believed--really believed--that Syracuse would be the next Liverpool.
The Penetrators--originally a self-contained recording-only combo, consisting of singer Jack Lipton and singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Eliot "Spike" Kagan--were a part of this scene, yet subtly apart from it. The DIY spirit that sparked the punk and new wave explosion in Syracuse and elsewhere was certainly and inspiration for The Penetrators, and local new wave kingpins The Most even covered a Penetrators song, "Drive Me Crazy," in their live shows. But, while most of the local scenesters were working within a broad power pop or new wave aesthetic, The Penetrators were proudly, defiantly...well, just plain grungier than any other band in town.
I mean that in a good way. The Penetrators' records revealed a band that drew just as much inspiration from '60s frat-rock bands like The Kingsmen and The Sonics as they did from The Ramones. They were like a 1965 AM radio signal, with its wires crossed into Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. As Jack Lipton recalls, "I always envisioned The Penetrators as Iggy and the Stooges' Raw Power LP meets The Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street." And Spike Kagan adds, "The Penetrators were formed by Jack and myself as a tribute to all the bands we had been in and formed up to that time. Such memorable groups as Lloyd and his Groovy Guys, Big Cheese and the Goomers, and The Little Willie Experience were just a part of our initial forays into rock 'n' roll immortality."
I was a fan of The Penetrators. I eagerly read about them in the local fanzine Poser (and in the tres-fab international rock mag Trouser Press), and I bought their two rockin' 45s at Desert Shore Records up on the SU hill. But I never saw them live; they weren't doing live shows when I was in Syracuse, and I'd moved away by the time they began playing out. Now, after all these years, I finally have a proper chance to experience the buzz of a live rock 'n' roll show by the self-proclaimed "#1 Band In Town," The Penetrators. Put on your rock 'n' roll face--it's Penetratin' time!
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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.
The many fine This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation albums are still available, each full of that rockin' pop sound you crave. A portion of all sales benefit our perpetually cash-strapped community radio project:
Volume 1: download
Volume 2: CD or download
Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio: CD or download
Carl's writin' a book! The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1)will contain 165 essays about 165 tracks, each one of 'em THE greatest record ever made. An infinite number of records can each be the greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Updated initial information can be seen here: THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (Volume 1).
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