![]() ![]() ![]() “With the same spark that powered early Alvvays work and the nifty guitar work of St. “homemade indie pop…The songwriting and melodies are easy to imagine as more polished productions, but they’re great just as they are” – Complex (Best New Artists of April 2018) “Threaded through the entire project is Vu’s remarkable knack for melody armed with a dazzlingly confident voice, these songs are all clearly hers, even if they explore radically different musical territory.” – Bandcamp (Album of the Day) “a keen-eyed lyricist and a vocalist capable of bringing singer-songwriter vulnerability to bristling post-punk soundscapes…she’s poised to be an essential voice in this new era of indie rock for years to come.” – Pigeons & Planes (Best New Artists of 2018 So Far) “Hana Vu’s ‘Shallow’ proves the seventeen-year-old is cooler than you and me.” – FADER The 18-year-old’s debut EP, How Many Times Have You Driven By, is an incredibly self-assured, individual collection.” – Under The Radar (8/10) “How Many Times is an intriguing glimpse of an artist at the beginning of a skillfully carved path” – Pitchfork Praise for Hana Vu’s How Many Times Have You Driven By “Fleetwood Mac is one of the most sacred artists of all time, but Hana Vu does the rock band justice on her cover of their 1982 hit ‘Gypsy’.”- Highsnobiety With extensive liner notes and photos, How Far Will You Go? tells the story of America’s greatest 70s should-have-beens, a band so amazing that the only reason you haven’t heard of them is because they were faggots, and they didn’t give a shit.“It’s not every day we’re offered a fresh cover of a classic from a vital new voice. Then there’s the raft of unreleased recordings, including a 9 minute disco workout entitled Piss Slave, and two versions of Million Dollar Babies, an ode to New York’s notorious trucks where men would go late at night to trick.Īll-in-all, How Far Will You Go? is a revelation, lovingly restored by Emmons from original master tapes, and even mastered for vinyl by Emmons on his own cutting lathe. The live band played almost weekly at Rodney Bingenheimer‘s English Disco, with a band featuring 14 year old future Quiet Riot-ers Randy Rhoads and Kelly Garni. Smokey even remem- bers a few mid-70s jams with Williamson, with a vague view towards replacing the rehab-bound Iggy as Stooges frontman! They went on to self- release five singles that span pre-punk, stoner jams, disco, synth-punk and more, all stamped with Smokey’s fearless candour.ġ976 single and compilation title track How Far Will You Go…? features guitar from EJ’s studio buddy James Williamson, fresh from his adventures recording Raw Power with Iggy & the Stooges in London with David Bowie. So Smokey formed S&M Records, with a logo featuring a muscular arm encased in studded cuffs, and “S&M” tattooed on the bulging bicep. “We can’t put this out, it’s a fucking gay record, what’s the matter with you,” said one record exec, while adding “it’s really good though.” The single was shopped around to labels using Emmons’ industry contacts, but doors were regularly slammed on the duo. Released in 1974, first single Leather b/w Miss Ray wasn’t just openly gay, it was exultantly, unapologetically gay, examining front-on the newly-liberated leather and drag scenes thriving in America’s urban centres. EJ Emmons was a budding record producer from New Jersey, already starting to work in small studios around Hollywood.Ĭondon had marched in New York the night after the Stonewall Riots in 1969, and so by the time he and EJ created Smokey, they weren’t about to hold back. John “Smokey” Condon was a bewitchingly beautiful Baltimore transplant, himself no angel after spending his teenage years partying with the John Waters crowd. They fell into a relationship that would produce five of the most criminally neglected singles of the decade, as well as a treasure trove of unreleased recordings. In 1973, two wide-eyed young music fans made their way to Los Angeles and were introduced by a notoriously touchy-feely road manager for the Doors. Featuring cameos from James Williamson of the Stooges, Randy Rhoads of Quiet Riot/Ozzy Osbourne and members of the Motels, King Crimson, David Bowie’s Tin Machine, Suburban Lawns and many others, the Smokey story has to be heard to be believed. Chapter Music is excited to present the first ever reissue of wild and outlandish 1970s LA pre-punk icons Smokey. ![]()
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