Welcome to Break'er Records

by Gregor MacKenzie
PART FOUR

"Then, out of the blue, I heard the news.
The Commandos were calling it quits."

Radio Problems/No Surveyed Performances

These were exciting times, I was certain that major changes were about to sweep through the music business, but it didn't quite turn out that way. One problem was getting radio play. I don't recall ever hearing any of these local bands on the radio. I am sure some of the smaller alternative stations here in town played them and some college stations, but the major local radio stations just carried on with their top-ten/easy-listening/ oldies/ classic rock formats. All through this time period, it seemed like the radio stations were tightening up their play lists and taking fewer and fewer chances with new bands. It wasn't just the local bands that were being ignored by radio, I rarely heard The Ramones on any of the local stations, maybe once or twice, if that and I never heard any song by The Sex Pistols. Even after The Commandos released an album on a major label (Blank Records) and went on a national tour with Pere Ubu (from Cleveland), I never heard them once on a major local radio station. All through the 1960s, the local radios stations had supported the local bands, now things were very different. For the Break'er songs, we had set up a publishing company with ASCAP called Ebbed Tide Music. ASCAP sent us a quarterly survey of all the radio performances of our songs, each survey we got read "No Surveyed Performances." In addition to a lack of airplay, another problem was the lack of clubs that would book the newer bands. Other than Jay’s Longhorn, the only other local club that booked the newer bands at this time was Duffy’s (located in South Minneapolis). In addition to the local bands, Duffy’s would also bring in some big name acts. I recall seeing the Mo-Dettes (all-girl band from England), Iggy Pop, Wendy O. & the Plasmatics, and The Circle Jerks.

Commandos Call It Quits

I was going downtown to the Longhorn at least twice a week, usually every weekend and having a great time listening to the bands. Then, out of the blue, I heard the news... The Commandos were going to call it quits and have a series of farewell concerts at the end of November 1978. 1 couldn't believe it. I was shocked. I never imagined that this would happen. I assumed (and hoped) that The Commando's would become a popular national band, similar to The Ramones. I was depressed for weeks. It was like hearing that your girlfriend was going to leave you. I loved The Commandos. I did not want them to break up. I wanted them to stay together. The final weekend came and I went down there to see my favorite band for the last time. Their last show was on November 24, 1978. 1 made up my mind to enjoy the last shows and not get depressed about it. You can hear me on the live album, recorded that night; I am chanting, “Commando's forever...” along with a couple other guys, following their last song. It was a great night, a night to remember, for sure.

The Commando Era Ends/More Bands Pop Up

The Commando's were now history, but there was plenty of energy left in the rock and roll revolution that they had started. New bands were popping up frequently at The Longhorn, including Husker Du, The Replacements, The MORs, Wilma and The Wilbers and Shock Treatment, to name just a few. Dave Ahl and Chris Osgood from The Commando's put together various bands, including Boy's Life and Speed Weiner. Steve Fjelstad (from Fingerprints) played bass for both of those groups. Steve Almass put together a band called Crackers. One day at the Longhorn, a holiday of some sort, they had ten bands, starting about noon. I got down there just as the first band, Kyx, was leaving. The next band up was Husker Du and the only people there to see them were a bartender, a sound guy and myself. I continued to go to the Longhorn on a weekly basis.

The Shimmer

During this time period, I experienced something I refer to now as the Shimmer! It's a certain “thing” that happens on certain nights with certain bands, when the sound seems to transform into something different than usual, when the air crackles with waves of sound, when the various instruments and vocals blend into one giant monolithic noise, when the audience and band seem to blur together, when you feel the music bombard your every sense.... it's a natural high, no alcohol or drugs needed. The Commandos shimmered all the time and many of the other bands from that era could also produce the same effect.

Danger Roads

The double 45 met with the same fate as the first two 45s. There was very little interest in our 45s. I was a disappointed but was determined to carry on. The next two 45s for Break’er Records would be recorded by a studio band known as Danger Roads. Back in 1971, 1 met Dave Danger and we started writing songs together, mainly in the Barry Manilow ballad style. Once in awhile we would come up with some off the wall novelty type songs. Dave and I went out to Los Angeles in about 1973 to write songs and make it big, but we never got our big break. I came back in 1976, Dave returned to Minnesota the following year. Dave had written a novelty tune called My Metaphysical Friend which became the A side for B.R. 45-107. The B-side, Only in L.A. (another novelty tune) was written in Los Angeles back in 1976, by Dave and myself, along with Jackie Winslow, a lady we had met out there in the early 1970's. Once again, this 45 was recorded at Tracks On Fifth. Dave sang the songs and played keyboards. The Misanthropes provided the drums, bass, guitar, synthesizer, background vocals and special effects. Lyle “Joe” Kelly, a friend of ours, actually came up with the name Danger Roads (while watching a TV news report on dangerous roads in Minnesota) and we all liked that name and thought it would fit for this record. In appreciation for coming up with the name of the band, and for providing inspiration, Lyle “Joe” Kelly was credited as the producer for that 45. Eventually, Dave would have his own studio in St. Paul called Danger Studios. It was fun to work with Dave on this 45, it was a good change from The Misanthropes type of music.

In the following year, 1979, the second Danger Roads 45 came out on Breaker (B.R. 45-108). This was a one sided 45 called It’s Time To Become Robots written by Dave and myself. I would call it a techno-dance-novelty tune. I recently came across a tape of Five Cavemen (by Danger Roads) that was suppose to be the B-side for that record, but never made it to vinyl. Dave Danger is on the front of the picture sleeve. The photo of Dave was taken at Southdale in Edina at a place that would shoot your picture and then digitize it and put on T-shirts or coffee mugs. The musicians on this tune were Dave on lead vocals and keyboards, Mike McKern on drums, Ron Katz (a friend of Dave's from Los Angeles) on guitar and bass and I played the Omni keyboard and sang background. Once again, this was a fun record to make. We mailed this 45 out to radio stations again and also to a bunch of roller rinks here in Minnesota. I had a theory that kids in roller rinks might enjoy roller-skating to this song. Tad and I took the record out to the Silver Slide Disco one night, a disco located in the basement of the Burnsville Bowl. To get down to the disco you had to slide down a corkscrew slide from the first floor. They had a pretty good sound system there and we gave the 45 to the disc jockey and he played it. This was right at the end of the disco era.

Later on, in 1980 we got a play list in the mail from WHBI in New York City. Much to our surprise It’s Time To Become Robots was in their top ten most requested songs list for August and September 1980. We had no record distribution and very minimal promotion, if any, so we were not able to take advantage of the airplay. (the story continues)