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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...)
MP3@320
Alt. Link
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. UnknownAugust 27, 2013 at 4:42 PM

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rob-in-BrevardAugust 28, 2013 at 6:46 AM

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

      Delete
  2. maxwattsSeptember 7, 2013 at 10:16 PM

    @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. Rob-in-BrevardSeptember 8, 2013 at 5:27 AM

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

      Delete
  3. luckyDecember 26, 2013 at 3:57 PM

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rob-in-BrevardDecember 26, 2013 at 6:26 PM

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

      Delete
  4. AnonymousAugust 27, 2014 at 11:49 PM

    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..

    ReplyDelete
  5. impeachandlockhimupMay 4, 2021 at 2:44 PM

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rob-in-BrevardMay 4, 2021 at 6:56 PM

      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...

      Delete

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