Shrimper [PSST, PSST 011]

Shrimper [PSST, PSST 011, Cassette, Reissue]

Dennis made a long post about this one when the reissue came out, which you can read here at the Shrimper blog. Selected quotes:

The first Shrimper cassette was not on Shrimper, it was on a label called PSST. Right, Psst, as in quietly trying to get your attention or as in PISSED, Two things at the forefront of mind being a twenty year old in 1990. The name of the only proper release on PSST was a compilation entitled Shrimper. PSST also had a third rail in regard to its origin as a label name; it was also a piss take on the most beloved west coast flag flying record label of the time whose MO and roster influenced Shrimper, that being SST records.

....

"The cassette, “Shrimper” was, for the most part, an amalgamation of various bands related to The Bux (the pre-Refrigerator band of Allen & Dennis Callaci) & KSPC DJ’s. The Jim Bishop Guitar Army, Punk Rock, The Sunday Supper Club & Welfare all featured DJ’s from KSPC; Girlhole, Pigsnuff, Mark, Asshole Mouth & The Satnam Puppets were offshoots of The Bux. Also featured on the tape is a live cut by The Deli Creeps (Featuring gtr maven Buckethead and the unique voicings of Barnum in their bizarro horror/comedy begins), Oskar Meyer (A bridge from the nascent LA punk scene of the late 70’s to the Inland Empire. He was in circles that featured Geza X and others in his orbit & is still recording today. I just heard an incredible batch of new songs he has recorded as M Otis Beard this past year) and rounding out the tape is as a cut by The Idiot Savants. Who? Yeah, I dunno, they were the first band to send a cassette for submission that I didn’t know hide nor hair about, don’t know now. There would be dozens of others on Shrimper that had releases without either party ever meeting, seeing one another or even talking to each other on the phone, here is the first.

....

Worth mentioning in the history of the label, that Bill Chen (another one of those pesky DJ’s at KSPC) and Robert Vodicka (He would head up New Alliance records when it became an umbrella label under SST) had championed The Bux, featuring them on a 7″ single that also featured future Shrimper artists The Primordial Undermind, Nothing Painted Blue and Shoeface that after delay, saw release in 1991. The calendar year after the release of the PSST Shrimper tape, Nothing Painted Blue, Buzzsaw, The Mountain Goats, WCKR SPGT, Goosewind and Bob Durkee (whose Fartblossom label and the band he played in, PHC) would intersect with Shrimper as well as SST artist Lou Barlow making that early circle complete. These artists would become regular walk on guests and put an end to the nom de plume, wished for/prayed for scene that this cassette’s nascent seed would soon help to birth."

The 7" Dennis mentions here is If I Could Hear You I Would Hit You, the first release by Baby Huey.

Tracklist for this tape:

A1. The Bux - Dear John (L.)
A2. Bloated Soul/Oskar Meyer - Tin
A3. Satnam Puppets - I Am So Happy
A4. Jim Bishop - Part Of, But Not All Of 1
A5. Punk Rock - I Got A Gun
A6. Asshole Mouth - Duh Da Duh Duh
A7. Sunday Supper Club - Motel Sex
A8. Welfare - Untitled
A9. Girl Hole - 21

B1. The Idiot Savants - Perfect
B2. Mark - Meddle
B3. Deli Creeps - Live At Madame Wongs
B4. Pigsnuff - Lips
B5. Unknown Artist - The Colonial Awards Of 1983

On the A-Side:

The Bux! This is a great one. There's also a "Dear John" on Bad Luck Here.
I'd like to look up some more stuff on Oskar Meyer/M. Otis Beard if possible...
Satnam Puppets always sound like they're having fun. You generally can't hear them very well, but what you can hear is fun!
"Part of, But Not All Of 1" is, I assume, a predecessor to Jim Bishop's "Part of, Not All of 2" which appears on Winky Dog.
Punk Rock's track here is fun, with spoken vocals through some distortion and speed changes
I have no info on Asshole Mouth, Welfare, or Girlhole.
Not sure who all's in Sunday Supper Club, but I swear it sounds like Allen Callaci in there
At the end of the A-side, there's a spoken bit about the bands on the tape, and a note about "Colonial Awards of 1983"
- "Okay, that was---those were songs by artists you can get through the PSST catalog, that's from the uh, fall----no, no no. Summer catalog of 1990. And on side 2 we're gonna have bands that will be on the fall catalog of 1990, and also a tape that's really cheesy called "The Colonial Awards" which is 1983, and has never been released before for some strange reason, so you'll be hearing that too. ...Maybe my kitty. (squeaky cat meow noises)"

On the B-Side:

As you can see from Dennis's article, he didn't know who The Idiot Savants were and he still doesn't
Usually when someone is listed as just "Mark" on a Shrimper release, it's Mark Szabo. Luigi Falagario, whose Szabo expertise I defer to at any opportunity, includes this appearance under his Mark Szabo discography page.
The Deli Creeps have a Wikipedia page!

I have the reissue of this tape, so I can't confirm anything about the original. On the copy of the reissue I have, "The Colonial Awards Of 1983"

A PSST catalog exists, which you can see a scan of here. Some notes:

The PSST catalog lists 'Massacre at the Scream' by Satnam Puppets, 'Sunburned Fat' by The Bux, and 'Five Years (Aloha)' by Wckr Spgt as PSST releases
Shrimper catalogs from 1990 list 'Massacre at the Scream' as SHR 03, 'Sunburned Fat' as SHR 02, and '5 Years (Aloha)' as SHR 08.
'5 Years (Aloha)' was originally a 1988 release by Anthropology Records; Anthropology was one of many outlets for Wckr Spgt's Mark Givens to make a fake name ("William Gwens" this time) and exercise his graphic design sense. You can see a lot of information and download all the tracks from 'Five Years' here at the Wckr Spgt website.

And a full transcript of that catalog:

P.S.S.T. Records aren't. Basically all of the tapes available are
cassette only releases with exceptions coming... all tapes are chrome,
quality varies (this isn't a soundfidelity f#!cks wet dream) A compilation
of all the bands listed below is available for a wet one dollar bill.
So familiarize your self with a sound of sorry clams.

GIRLHOLE - (Untitled) -Tape loops, Feedback, Overdubs, Dinosaurs,
songs sound warbely-A Must for Sebadoh Fans. 30 min. $3.00 (psst 1)

SAT-NAM PUPPETS - "Massacre at the Scream" - From New York, Sat-Nam
Puppets sound like Beat Happening losing their virginity to Lisa
Suckdog. Not to boast, but this is definitely thee best unsigned
band of the Ninetiees. 33 min. $3.00 (psst 2)

The bux
"Sunburned Fat"-The newest release by the bux, recorded on a 4 track
in Dennis' room. 22 Tracks of Bob Dylan/Sonic Youth/Mia Peebles Pop:
33 min. $3.00 (psst 3)

"Monster Jargon's Popcorn Revue"-Soon to be entering it's second
Printing, still a few left with handmade covers (limited 100)
includes the hit "Monster Jargon" 45 min. $3.00 (psst 4)

"Live and Sucking"-Combines the live KSPC Radio show with the seminal
Anti-Club show (hear the gang getting in verbal bouts with the
audience!) also includes other stuff.... 90 min. $4.00 (psst 5)

WCKR SPGT-"Five Years (Aloha)" If you haven't got this tape yet,
the swelling will never go away. If Sun Ra had kids that were
weaned on Ralph Records, Mint Julepe's and... lots o' min. $5.00

PUNK ROCK- "Frog lip fruit chew" Remember the first time you got a
tape recorder? Well, it probably sounded kind of like this (features
members of Rent, American White Mudd and Phillipeed)
20 min. $2.00 (psst 7)

ASSHOLE MOUTH - "Chin" Instrumental and not so Instrumental stuff,
if Sterling Morrison and Jandek didn't, this would be it.
33 min. $3.00 (psst 8)

OSKAR MIRE/BLOATED SOUL - "The Fifth Force" Seminal L.A. Punkrocker
turned Las Vegas instrumental Genius. Use to read Richie Rich with
Geza X. This tape has him doing a Mantra on Guitar and reeling with
Neil from classic L.A. band "Here Eat This". 20 min. $2.50 (psst 9)

SUNDAY SUPPER CLUB - "Motel Sex" The almost all girl band from
Washington. It gets me dizzy just trying to explain em', just
imagine the Banan Splits in an airplane crash. (Stupid lyrics,
Parental advisory) 20 min. $2.00 (psst 10)

SHRIMPER (A P.S.S.T Compilation) A sampler of all ten artist
available through psst, includes unreleased (or previously,
anyway) tracks by the bux, Sunday Supper Club, and Asshole
Mouth. 33 min. $1.00 (psst 11)

Click the thumbnail below to view a full size scan of the reissue J-card:

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