Among the pearls buried on an unduly unheralded late 80s compilation of “driving bands from
Los Angeles” called
“GIMME THE KEYS” was a band called
THE THIRSTY BRATS. There wasn’t a lot to these fellas – their thing was raw, dirty, 50s-inspired drunk-and-roll in the vein of then-current acts like the
LAZY COWGIRLS and slightly earlier bands like the
SUICIDE KINGS. Little did I know it until today, but
SCOTT “DELUXE” DRAKE claims to have been a member of the band at one juncture. I believe him.
(Note, 7/2/07 – Drake not only confirmed this for us, but sent the photograph you see here as proof. It replaces the one we had up previously).
I saw the band one time only, at an all-day free festival/alcoholiday of Trigon Records acts in Isla Vista, California. This’d be around 1989, I’d say. I think the Thirsty Brats might have been hopped up on goofballs, as their set was exceptionally sloppy, the singer harangued the crowd unduly and often, and loads of drunk people danced their asses off to the dirty rock and roll beat. Other acts that appeared that day included CLAW HAMMER, a tripping-on-acid CRAWLSPACE (confirmed to me personally by the band), FEARLESS LEADER (stymied by the Isla Vista Park Service in their attempt to “let a chicken loose” during their set), and MOIST-N-MEATY. In other words, pretty much all the bands on “Gimme The Keys”. Eighteen years later I spin the record and my favorite track not by Claw Hammer is easily “White Ghetto” by those same Thirsty Brats. In fact, I kinda think it’s a classic. Whatever that means.
Play or Download THIRSTY BRATS – “White Ghetto” (from 1988 compilation “Gimme The Keys”)
Among the pearls buried on an unduly unheralded late 80s compilation of “driving bands from 
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10 comments:
My first two years of college were spent in Erie Pa (What was I thinking!!!) and not that I actually saw the Thirsty Brats (although I did see them once in Pgh.) but I did hang out with their Bass player a bunch. He was a good guy. In general the band seemed really into "Living the dream" and the move to LA was pretty bold. I can only imagine that real life not to mention LA Drugs had their way with these guys.
Dave Martin
Only one chromosome removed from the glory that was THE CHILD MOLESTERS. Yeeeeah.
love the drum break in the 2nd to last verse.
i love this song.
stumbled onto your blog, not by search engine. Surprised to see you mention the Lazy Cowgirls and Scott Drake! Saw the next bands of both two nights ago at Safari Sams (a club) in Hollywood. It was Pat Todd and the Rankoutsiders (replacing the cowgirls), and the Humpers (Drake's band).
And yes, Drake was in the Suicide Kings. I have the album to prove it.
cheers!
Ed "ShitEd", ex-Flipside fanzine
Yes, I was in The Thirsty Brats and yes, I played guitar on White Ghetto.
A great bunch of guys.
RIP----Jeff Spring.
I used to live down a side street right off Melrose, just a stone's throw from The Anti Club. I saw zillions of bands in there, but I really liked Moist and Meaty. Years later I saw Edwin as a finalist for some contest in the now defunct Musician magazine. I sure would like to have a copy of the Moist and Meaty album again.
Hey, I used to play guitar in Moist and Meaty. If you're still interested I can hook you up with an l.p. or cd of our full length record. We're also planning a reunion gig sometime in the next two months. Let me know. --Scott
email: wurban805@charter.net
The other Thirsty Brats song on that comp is "Pennsylvania T-Head". Could one of the native speakers tell me what a T-Head is? Does it mean a person with a temper, or is this a reference to drugs? Thanx. Uli from Germany
T-Head is a person who likes to take Tuinal too much!
I saw the Brats WAY too many times for my own good in Erie!
I was the guitar player in the Thirsty Brats when we were still in Erie...1984-1985. Fun and wasted times...Jeff Larson (aka Marvin Gardens)
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