Billy Jack (1990-1996)

Billy Jack formed in '89 or '90 when Wayne Shellabarger hit Dave Nagle's car and offered to buy Dave beer if he wouldn't report the accident. Naturally, Dave and Wayne became friends and the band started soon afterward. This is the first Billy Jack release and was recorded not long after Joe Brooks joined the band. When they started there was a drummer named Carl and a keyboardist named Bob both of whom left the band for reasons I'm not sure of. 4-track recordings were made of the original lineup but so far Wayne has yet to unearth the masters so I don't have them. Songs are hilarious and probably not something you'd want your children to hear, especially the bonus tracks I'm including that explain why the band chose the name "Waterproof Records" for their label.

No Job Too Big For This Thirsty Lover (1991)

1. Crystal Up My Butt

2. Tommy

3. Knights In White Cotton Panties

4. Martin

5. Roadkill BBQ

6. Grandpa Ollie

7. $400 Boner

8. Oiling the Mitt

9. Billy Jack Theme

Bonus Tracks

10. In Jail

11. In Jail (extended)

DOWNLOAD HERE

13th St. Revisited (Cassette Compiliation, 1990)

This third cassette only compilation in the 13th St. series was the first released by Disgraceland Recordings. The tape came out in 1990 and was put together by Brett Morse, Patrick Yonally and Jeff Cellers. Dunghill was working on a third 13th St. compilation at the time and decided to throw in the towel. They gave Disgraceland the tapes they'd collected up to that point and wished us luck.

13th St. Revisited (1990)

1. Sport of Kings - Michael Billings

2. Santa Monica - The Davenports

3. The Golden Dagger - Christopher Cook

4. Long Distance - George Lane

5. Post - Willy Vlautin

6. People Believe - Uncle Charlie

7. 7/26/1989 - Agrosoul

8. Dog - Steve Nordby

9. Double-You - Patrick Yonally

10. Robot Square Dance - Dogwater

11. Say It's So - Snakepit

12. Blue/Driving - Now William

13. Spread the Love - Prairie School

14. Flying Pig - Infradig

15. Dog - Oswald Five-O

16. On Track - Mike Johnson

17. Alien - Mona Lisa Overdrive

18. Sing For Your Soul - Superchrist

19. Teenage Brain Surgeon - The Cherry Poppin' Daddies

20. Name of the Game - The Black Dahlias

21. Don't Crowd Me - The Falling Spikes

22. Sick and Tired (Sans You) - Dead River

DOWNLOAD SIDE 1

DOWNLOAD SIDE 2

Positively 13th St. (Cassette Only Compilation, 1988)

The second and last of the Dunghill Recordings cassette compilations was released in early 1988. Even more bands than appeared on Panic on 13th, still with no place to play regularly. This tape was sort of the end of an era in Eugene music, most of the bands that were playing between 1983 and 1988 had broken up or were on the verge of it by 1989. A bunch of former high school kids who listened to the bands on this tape were now college brats and would start up a whole crop of new bands to keep the Eugene "scene" going into the mid-90's (check out 13th St. Revisited and Slaughter on 13th to hear these bands). I think it was mid-1989 by the time Max's actually started letting these types of bands play their venue. Not being all-ages, it wasn't ideal but it was better than anything we'd had before. The link has been revised to include Snakepit, thank you Mike for permission.

Positively 13th St. (1988)

1. Babe the Big Blue Ox - Bovine Impulse

2. Decay - Snakepit

3. Secondary Importance - Uncle Charly

4. Tour of Eugene - Zombie Toolshed

5. It's So Dark - Bottled Hungarian

6. Irish Temper - The Flatlanders

7. Long Way to Go - Heather Perkins

8. Glass Jar - Clear My Name

9. Someone In My Eyes - The Bel-Airs

10. There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight - Christopher Cook & Monica Casagrande

11. Postcard - John O'Neil

12. Jean Waits - Some Velvet Sidewalk

13. Crayons - Some Velvet Sidewalk

14. Lost Again - Bigg Katt

15. Ghost Town - Mind Garage

16. I Throw a Fit - Throwing Jones

17. Make Me Pretty - Piledriver

18. Melted Black Plastic - Bovine Impulse

DOWNLOAD HERE

Panic on 13th (Cassette Only Compilation, 1986)

The first of several cassette-only Eugene compilations came out in 1986 courtesy of our friends at Dunghill Recordings. Many of the participants played in multiple bands on the tape and it's still surprising that there were this many bands at the time considering that there were ZERO venues for them to perform at on a regular basis. That situation didn't right itself for about 4 more years by which point every band that appears here was finished although Rawhead Rex and Uncle Charlie were pretty much Bovine Impulse and Johnson Unit with different names. This tape sold dozens of copies and was the start of it all! This updated post now includes the Snakepit tracks as Mike Johnson has given the blog a thumbs up!

Some notes from Steve Nordby aka Bobby Brady aka the guy who mastered stuff for Dunghill:

"Dunghill grew out of an idea of Al Larson to put together a tape of Eugene bands. We just asked friends to contribute.

The Dunghill investors were Al, Rob, John, and me. We all lost money.

"Panic on 13th" is raw and sweet and lovely and *the* Eugene sound that you hear echoes of decades later.

The Johnson Unit stuff here isn't anywhere else. "What Makes" is loaded with movie titles. (how many can you find). "Can't Afford it It" was a *very* early recording and the tape runs off the reel at the end.

I was impressed with Mind Garage, although I don't think I'd seen them before this compilation.

Saint Huck - It doesn't get any better! Steve P started Snakepit, then Saint Huck, then Cherry Poppin Daddies. To me, Saint Huck makes the rest footnotes. Steve's melodies with Dan Schmidt bass = greatness!

Bovine Impulse - Probably the best Eugene proto-band.

E-13 - Legendary. Too much to say here.

Mooselodge - Yeah!"

Panic on 13th (1986)

1. All Nerves - Snakepit

2. Short Narrative - Snakepit

3. Me & Mine - Snakepit

4. Long Ways Gone - Mind Garage

5. Witching Hour - Mind Garage

6. Another Journey By Bus - Johnson Unit

7. What Makes - Johnson Unit

8. Can't Afford It - Johnson Unit

9. Roseland - Saint Huck

10. Both - Saint Huck

11. (Have You Felt the) Bovine Impulse - Bovine Impulse

12. This Fascist Thing - Bovine Impulse

13. Eat Sleep Work Fuck - Bovine Impulse

14. Big Parade - Moose Lodge

15. Granny Rabbit - Moose Lodge

16. Cheesehead Alert - E-13

17. Courage - Cargo Cult

18. Dominance - Billings Guitar Project

DOWNLOAD HERE

The Black Dahlias (1990-1992)

The Black Dahlias were around for 3 years or so having been founded by Patrick Yonally, Brett Morse and myself back in 1990. Marshall, the band's drummer was added in the first couple of weeks. The original lineup only managed to record to 4-track and I'm doing a public service not posting anything I played guitar and sang on in this band because that stuff was not good. After a couple of years the band finally hit a real studio and recorded these six tracks of which only two showed up on actual releases. King of the Wheel was on a Dave Clark 5 tribute comp (I think) and Sometimes was on the Eugene cassette comp. Slaughter on 13th. This is the first post for a Patrick Yonally project and I have enough of his stuff to justify it's own separate blog.

Black Dahlias- Studio Demos (1992)

1. I'm Not Invisible

2. Everywhere I Go

3. Sometimes

4. Topsy Jane

5. I Know Why

6. King of the Wheel

DOWNLOAD HERE

Here is an additional collection of unreleased 4-track demos. Eugene Saunders was in the band at this point playing guitar. Not sure if Eugene or Patrick were moving to organ for some of the tracks. While certainly not the best recorded, this is how I remember the band sounding.

Black Dahlias 4-Track Demos (1991)

1. Everywhere I Go
2. Topsy Jane
3. Radio Shades
4. I'm Not Invisible
5. Cry
6. Santa Monica

DOWNLOAD HERE

I know a ton of live material and video footage exists. I'll try and raid the Patrick Yonally archives soon.

Soda Jerk ('94-'95)

Jealous Butcher released a split cassette of Sodajerk and Slotcar a couple of years after both bands had broken up. Logic dictates that one or more of the people in Soda Jerk must've been behind Soda Girl Records. Anyone know? I used to have a live tape too but I'm not sure what happened to it which is a real shame because I remember really liking their no keyboards cover of Berlin's "The Metro." Kpants considered Soda Jerk to be "our main competition."

Soda Jerk - Self-Titled Demo ('95)

1. Gobots

2. Luck

3. S.P.

4. Luxon Top

5. Broken Dart

DOWNLOAD HERE