Marley - It's Rock-n-Roll / Killer 7" acetate
Here's an unreleased 1977 acetate from a Rochester, NY band predating the Now and the Times. It is one of four copies pressed on acetate only.
Steve "Static" from the Now plays rhythm/lead guitar and lead vocals on one side. The late Larry "Luxury", who was lead singer in the Now, plays drums and sings lead on the other side. The other guitar player's name was Ted, who called himself Dow Jones when he was in the Now. The bass player, whose name I don't know, quit the band before the record could be pressed (this was to be his copy of the acetate), and in short time they recruited a new bass player and changed their name to the Now, releasing the "I'm Eating Off a Fashion Plate / Switchblades To Swizzlesticks (Ballad of Larry Luxury)" single in 1978. A year later, Larry and Steve (and other Now members?) formed the Times, releasing the "Atomic Blonde / A Television Reality" single and the track "Rock 'n' Roll Reds" on the "From The City That Brought You...Absolutely Nothing" compilation LP.
The Fine Recording Studio of Rochester, NY had been around since the late 1950s. Gene Cornish (Young Rascals) recorded there, as well as every 60s punk group in the area. Vince Jans, who owned and ran the studio, recorded everything that ever came out on Fine Records. This was his last recording, as he died about a month later and his wife shut down the record label and studio in 1977 and sold all the equipment. The studio's master tapes and records survived untouched until 2002, when they were sold to garage rock collector (and former Psychosurgeon and Lipstick Killer) Mark Taylor in Australia. No material relating to the Marley was found. See Mark's Fine Recording Studio website for more details.
So what's it sound like? I had been told it's kind of like the Now, only with a psych edge, but that's not quite accurate. I can't even tell which side is the one sung by Larry Luxury. The winner here is the b-side "Killer" which sounds EXACTLY like some lost Mike Rep and the Quotas outtake. If you like his "Stupor Hiatus" LP on Siltbreeze you'd love this track. Punk purists probably wouldn't be interested, but it's a really good garage/psych/punk song. The A-side "It's Rock-n-Roll" is much weaker. It's more on the psych side, and the lyrics are too bubblegum for my taste. If you'd like to hear "Killer", send me an email.
Please email me if you have any other info surrounding this record.
The labels. pictured below, are covered with glue stains, but the grooves have surprisingly little wear for an acetate.
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Last Updated: 28 October 2003