The Swingin' Neckbreakers and the Return of Rock
I first heard the Swingin' Neckbreakers doing a college radio shift in 1994. I was the music director of a student radio station in Tennessee Volunteers territory when I first put their single "I'm in Love With Me"/"Quit Your Belly Achin' Baby" on the antiquated turntable. I remember loving the cockiness of the a-side, the straightup garage sound. I sought out their first album, Live for Buzz, and was quickly converted to a garage rock fanatic. Granted, most of the album was covers, but who cared? The songs were addictive. The first track, "You," is still an all-time favorite live number.
It wasn't until I moved to New York in '97 that I had the chance to see the Neckbreakers live. My roommate at the time, Fred, and my old partner in crime at the radio station, Murdock, were both fans, so we decided to take on the night together. It was a smoldering summer evening, the smell of piss and trash lurking in the air. As the night grew later and bodies danced to the bands, the room grew warmer. We pounded beer after beer to counter the irritating temperatures. By the time the Neckbreakers came on we were all loaded?especially Murdock, who was drinking two beers for every one of mine. Actually, we couldn't really tell if we were loaded or not because of how much we were sweating?like a hot summer day when you drink continuously but never quite get drunk. That didn't stop us from dancing with randoms till the last song was over. They ended with "Look Away," a danceable number they often end their sets with.
It was late and our clothes were soaked, so we headed toward the subway and home. We'd just heard about a 65-year-old Polish woman riding the subway topless, which convinced Murdock to remove his shirt. He was sweating more than I'd ever seen and looked like he was going to be sick. The next thing I knew he was groping the trashcan in the Broadway/Lafayette station and puking into it while singing, "Hi Ho Silver/Look Away/Look Away." Lucky for us he decided to put his shirt back on before getting into the train. He passed out immediately and we had to wake him at his stop. He stumbled out of the doors straight into the wall, bumped into a woman and spit up again.
I haven't missed a Swingin' Neckbreakers show since. Their cleverly titled albums (Live for Buzz, Shake Break!, Kick Your Ass and The Return of Rock) explode onstage with energized punkish beats and extremely catchy lyrics about girls, pool-hopping and wrestling. The songs are short, memorable and more often than not pay respects to the likes of the Rogues, the Sonics, Chuck Berry and Ray Davies. Tom and John Jorgensen formed the band in 1992 and stabilized the lineup after two releases, when Jeffrey Jefferson joined the group, replacing former guitarist Don Snook. Their first release with the new lineup, Kick Your Ass, contained more originals than previous records. While every record has several favorites, "I'm the Mailman" takes the blue ribbon on Kick Your Ass ("I deliver that mail for Uncle Sam... Let me tell you who I am/I am the U.S. mailman/I walk around all day/I gotta move the mail across the U.S.A.").
Listening to a Swingin' Neckbreakers record is like having a dance party in your bedroom all by yourself and feeling okay about it. Their newest album, The Return of Rock (Telstar), expands on their pop-sensibility style of songwriting by adding a Farfisa, piano and saxophone into the mix. Songs like "Definition of Love" and "Stop, Drop, Wiggle" maintain their garage roots, while others like "Us Against the World" and "So Less," experimenting with the keyboards, come off as, well, more rock. Then there's the ode to wrestling, "Hail to the Baron" (finally), and "One Potato Two Potato"?surprisingly, the only cover song on the album.
Watch out for their upcoming live album, which Rocket from the Crypt's John Reis will be releasing, wherein you're more than likely to hear us shouting "Jersey rules!" or "Fuck Jersey!" between every song. Until then, check them out this Saturday night with new Telstar labelmates the Greenhornes, Georgia's the Woogles, the Sugarmen 3 and more.