Starlite Desperation - Notes From the Drag

I'll have to fess up to being a total fanboy about Starlite Desperation for the past ten or so years of its on-and-off existence. From the first time that my old band played at Epicenter in SF in 1996 with the then Monterey-based glam punk trio adorned in silk shirts and makeup and on to the major label quartet that someone (oh wait, that was me) foolishly called "smog-psych" opening for the Donnas, Starlite Desperation has always remained a shining example of clever, catchy songwriting with one of the greatest vocalists heard in ages. So, how appropriate it is that so few people have actually heard this classic band despite its longevity and quality.

Since its release, the band's Cold Sweat records debut Violate a Sundae (its third album, a culmination of several lineup changes and relocations from Salinas, CA to Detroit to Portland to Los Angeles) has caught people off guard with its pugnacious assault of psychedelic garage punk that's something akin to the decrepit 50's rock'n'roll of Static Age-era Misfits run through the distortion-ravaged sound of Primal Scream's XTRMNTR. Earlier tracks like "Notes From the Drag" evoke the ecstatic fury of the Gun Club's "Fire Spirit" while "Born To Be Dizzy" hints at the creeping calamity of the Cramps and brazen anthems of the Saints. “Born to scream, sha-la-la-la-la-la-la,” yelps Dante Adrian on the song, his chirping, piercing voice jutting proudly from the speakers. He sings the mock nursery rhyme chorus in jest, but it’s true -- he’s got one of the best rock’n’roll voices of all time. He squeaks, he coos, he quivers with all the earnest ecstasy of a young Elvis Presley and warbling prophylactic frenzy of Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh.
   Plenty of bands write good songs, but precious few possess a powerful and immediately recognizable personality like the Starlite Desperation. And, though the world is littered with johnny-come-lately purported garage rock saviors, the Los Angeles trio has spent the past nine years chewing up and spitting out its influences in an act of affectionate cannibalism. Starlite Desperation’s ritual gnawing at the corpus of rock'n'roll has kept alive the vitality and subtle flavors of the Gun Club, the Scientists, Devo, Misfits and the Stooges. However, while the Starlite Desperation remain staunch defenders of -- and proudly digest -- rock tradition, its recent six-song EP, Violate a Sundae (on L.A.’s Cold Sweat label) shows the band growing to be equally worthy of legend.
While the group sounded charmingly ragged on its first two albums, 1998’s Show You What a Baby Won’t (GSL) and Y2K’s Go Kill Mice(Flapping Jet) the recent EP bristles with distortion and, well, desperation. At the moment the band is preparing to hit the studio to record its major label debut for Capitol.

(Download - "Notes From The Drag")

(Download - "Born To Be Dizzy")

Comments

[Dan]

Rock n fucking Roll.

[Savage]

I saw these guys open for Burning Brides this year, but they completely stole the show. I've been meaning to track their stuff down. Thanks.

[Vin]

The Lost Kids EP that Dante put out was also great.

[mike lupica]

Straight from the shameless self-promotion department (but hopefully excused in this case on the grounds that most people who have heard Starlite Desperation are fanatical about them), I bring you the live set they played on my radio show last year. Go here: http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/11993

to stream the Real Audio archive.

[lo]

one of my all time favorite bands. i was so psyched when i finally got a chance to see them last november. i have some photos from the show (at sokol underground in omaha, ne). some of them really suck, some of them don't. check them out:
http://www.honeybop.com/lo/images/StarliteD/page1.html