WarfRat Tales (Unabridged)

NEW! Pictures from the WarfRat Tales (Unabridged) and Keats Rides A Harley CD Releases show (featuring The Last, The Question?, Wednesday Week, Human Hands, Urinals, S Squad and Earwigs) are on-line. Click here to check them out.

Now, if you've made it to this page, you probably don't need to be sold on this record. You know what it is and you've got to have it. What you might not know, even if you own the 1983 vinyl version of WarfRat Tales, is that this is WarfRat Tales (Unabridged).

What was once a humble single LP with nine great bands playing 15 of their finest songs, is now a double LP on one CD, featuring 13 bands (no superstition here) cranking out 28 tunes (running time is 78:45)! The entire output (save the two 100 Flowers songs) was recorded by legendary producer Vitus Mataré on an abused four-track Dokorder 1140 at Lyceum Sound, a Mar Vista garage (literally).

Bands that didn't make the first cut that are now Unabridged are The Gun Club (featuring Jeffrey Lee Pierce), To Damascus (featuring Sylvia Juncosa), The Up & Out and Urinals (aka 100 Flowers).

Bands on the original WarfRat Tales LP that have additional songs on WarfRat Tales that are previously unreleased include The Rain Parade (Look Both Ways), The Last (Anything That's Out There) , The Question? (One More Time), Earwigs (Automatic Reverse) and Hector & The Clockwatchers (Octavia).

Sorry, but there are no extra tracks from The Leaving Trains, Wednesday Week, 100 Flowers or The Point, but you still get their original recordings (all previously unissued on CD, except the 100 Flowers tracks).

Just because we're all about keeping it real:
Producer Vitus Mataré supervised the mastering and sequencing of the CD. David Nolte, who played in three bands on this CD, supervised the tape restoration. Bill Inglot, who recorded bands at Lyceum Sound, participated in both the mastering and tape restoration. The artwork for WarfRat Tales (Unabridged) was done by Don Brown, who did the artwork for the original LP. Just as the LP is expanded, the CD comes with a 20-page booklet with the original liner notes from The Leaving Trains' Falling James, plus new notes from Gary Stewart (manager of The Last), Jason Falkner (WarfRat Tales changed his life) and, of course, Vitus Mataré, without whom this CD would sound like an extended version of 4' 33" by John Cage. And let's not forget that Avebury Records' founder and owner is Kelly Callan of Wednesday Week.

Here's the lineup for WarfRat Tales (Unabridged) (songs not on the original LP are bolded):

The Last.
The songs: Try To Rise. Anything That's Out There. Brand New Drug.
The players: Joe Nolte: guitar, vocals; Vitus Mataré: keyboards, vocals; Steve Andrews: guitar; John Rosewall: bass; John Frank: drums.

The Rain Parade.
The songs: I Look Around. Look Both Ways. This Can't Be Today.
The players: Matthew Piucci: guitar, vocals; David Roback: guitar, vocals; Will Glenn: keyboards, tambourine; Steven Roback: bass, vocals; Eddie Kalwa: drums; with Brian Norris and Kendra Smith.

The Gun Club.
The songs: Watermelon Man. Fire Of Love.
The players: Jeffrey Lee Pierce: vocals; Ward Dotson: guitar; Rob Ritter: bass; Terry Graham: drums.

Wednesday Week
The songs: Boy You Got Me Good. Anyone Like Me.
The players: Kristi Callan: guitar, vocals; Kelly Callan: drums; Kjehl Johansen: bass; with David Nolte, Steve Andrews and Vitus Mataré.

To Damascus
The songs: Night Surfing. And Leave and Leave Me.
The players: Sylvia Juncosa: guitar, keyboards, vocals; Sleepy Sue Rollins: bass; Randy Santeman: drums.

The Leaving Trains
The songs: Leaving Train. Creeping Coastline of Lights.
The players: James Moreland: vocals, guitar; Manfred Hofer: guitar; Tom Hofer: bass; Loco Caboose: drums.

100 Flowers
The songs: 100 Flowers. From The Fire.
The players: John Talley-Jones: bass, vocals; Kjehl Johansen: guitar; Kevin Barrett: drums; with Vitus Mataré.

The Question?
The songs: Brand New World. Shall Be Love. One More Time.
The players: Tony Rugolo: guitar, vocals; David White: drums; Daniel Saltzman: bass, vocals.

Urinals
The songs: I'm Like You. Scholastic Aptitude.
The players: John Talley-Jones: bass, vocals; Kjehl Johansen: guitar; Kevin Barrett: drums; with Vitus Mataré.

Earwigs
The songs: Stop The Clock. Automatic Reverse.
The players: Dan 'Nirvesh' Willard: vocals, synthesizer, sax; Kevin Kerns: vocals, guitar; Tom Underhill: bass, vocals; Dale Turkle: drums.

Hector & The Clockwatchers
The songs: Octavia. Mishap at Greebsley's
The players: Eric Kenneth: keyboards, vocals; David Nolte: bass, vocals; Radny: guitar; Slambang: drums.

The Point
The song: Pothead
The players: Mike Alford: drums; Tom Alford: guitar, vocals; Greg Edwards: bass, vocals; Jon Stebbins: guitar, vocals.

The Up & Out
The songs: I'm Learning. Gruelled Again.
The players: Brett Guitierrez: guitar, vocals; Eric Stringer: bass, vocals; Bob Rumph: drums.