Rob's Pages

Friday, November 9

The Embarrassment - Witchita, KS 1983 & 1981

REPERCUSSION: Two weeks ago, I posted a dB’s show from 1984 that had a cover song called “Sex Drive” by a group I’d never heard of, The Embarrassment. Demonstrating his unerringly good taste in music, Peter Holsapple has once again pointed me in the right direction: “The Embos” (as their fans know them) are quite a find — a talented combo from Kansas that had their heyday in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They call their music “blister pop”. Check out the music they’ve released over the years; it’s all worth seeking out, methinks…

BIG THANKS to “The Embos” for sharing some of their rare live music freely on the web & special thanks to John McBride for mixing and mastering the KMUW tracks in Nashvegas.
 
Members of The Embarrassment, many moons ago
They were prob’ly dreaming up more great blister pop...
 
SAMPLE: "Woods of Love (Witchita, KS 1983)"

KMUW-FM Radio
Witchita, KS
1983 (month & day unknown) 
soundboard (sound quality Ex-)
01 Godfrey Harold Hardy
02 Wellsville
03 Woods of Love
04 Death Travels West
05 Can't Forget
06 The Viewmaster
07 Jazzface
08 She's One of the Other Kind

The Flatiron
Witchita, KS
April 25, 1981
VHS audio rip (sound quality VG-)
09 Celebrity Art Party
10 D-Rings
11 Dino In the Congo
12 Funtime

BONUS TRACK
Liberty Hall
Lawrence, KS
August 20, 2006
soundboard (sound quality Ex-)
13 Careen
 
Snag this if you want cover art (it's not in the download...)
From one of the band's last gigs at the Cedars
 
The Embarrassment:
John Nichols – guitar, vocals, keyboard
Brent “Woody” Giessmann – drums, vocals, sax
Bill Goffrier – guitar, vocals
Ron Klaus - bass

Learn more about The Embarrassment's music at TrouserPress, AllMusic or the band's web site
  

9 comments:

  1. I think they also had a song called "Elizabeth Montgomery's Face", which was an ode to the actress. Fucking brilliant song...

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    1. Philip - did that see an official release? I'd like to hear that one...

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  2. @Rob-In-Brevard- Thanks for posting this- great material. And as for "Elizabeth Montgomery's Face" having a studio release; it sure did. Recorded first for their 1st EP in '81, and then re-recorded (?) and issued on their epononymous LP on Time to Develop Records. It also turned up on the anthology set "Heyday" and there is a different version on their "Blister Pop" CD. Great, great song from a criminally under-recognized group.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the info, max. I thought the song title rang a bell, but I couldn't place it...

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  3. Anyone who loves The Embarrassment, absolutely needs to obtain Big Dippers "Supercluster" anthology....great, great band

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    Replies
    1. Agreed -- that's a cool anthology; well worth seeking out...

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  4. double that, & it would be even great if someone get to share a copy of that 3Ds Antology to review it.. x)
    Nice work on that blog, i hope you keep it up for long..

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  5. thank you! this is great. link still alive in 2021 :)
    do u have their 'blister pop' compilation? ta

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    Replies
    1. Thanks to the magic of Dropbox, nearly all the links on the blog are alive! I do own "Blister Pop," but why not buy it on Discogs and help the band & label make a little $? I don't post any official releases here...

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