We were first alerted to Memphis based Goner Records last year when listening to Alice and Friends the debut album by Box Elders, one of the newest bands on their roster.
The Box Elders brand of 1960s style DIY punk, humour and having a drummer who could drum and play keyboards simultaneously enthralled us. As we looked into the label further we discovered a treasure trove of the unusual, the classic and above all garage punk.
Here’s a bit of history about the label to set the scene before we give you a run down of some of our favourite Goner acts. Goner Records launched back in the early 1990s by Eric Friedl in Memphis, Tennessee, to showcase music by his own band Oblivians and other garage punk outfits of the time.
With the late Jay Reatard among the first on its roster the label, which is co owned by Friedl and Zac Ives, has grown steadily over the years, taken on artists around the world but steadfastly stuck to its garage punk and Memphis roots. It how hosts an annual Goner Fest in Memphis and runs a record shop in the city. For more information about Goner visit here.
We are also running a competition to win a DVD and CD from the label’s 2007 Goner Fest. Click here for more details.
Some of our favourite Goner bands
Box Elders
Brothers Clayton and Jeremiah McIntyre are the driving force behind Box Elders, forming the band in their native Omaha Nebraska. Dave Goldberg, who plays drums with one hand, keyboards with the other on stage is the third member and gives the band a real difference to others.
Their music is basic, but full of fun and the cheap production gives it a sixties feel that many other bands spend a fortune to emulate. They just throw it together and it comes out just fine. To read our review of Box Elders’ debut Alice and Friends click here.
CocoComa
Chicago garage punk outfit CoCoComa was started five years ago by husband and wife Bill and Lisa Roe and have since been joined by keyboardist and bassist Mike Fitzpatrick. They claim that they ‘don’t practice much and should probably start wearing ear plugs,” in their publicity blurb. Maybe consider the latter but more practice could spoil the raw edge that this fiery band have in their sound.
Harlan T Bobo
This trabadour style singer songwriter could be any age between 20 and 80. His music is timeless, mixing classic rock n roll with punk and folk expertly. Love drives this man and none more so than on 2010’s Sucker, which as he says on the sleeve notes, was “mostly written while courting an adventurous woman and following her around the world. The courtship was a success.” Sucker is an eclectic and heartwarming album and would be a welcome addition to any CD collection.
Eddy Current Suppression Ring
Goner has really extended its reach with Eddy Current Suppression Ring. The Melbourne act have been going for around four years and with 2010’s Rush To Relax have created one of the most unusual sounds in garage punk. At times silly, they blend a sound akin to early Buzzcocks with the tribal drumming of The Monks, all wrapped up into a very Australian sound. Garnered with praise by Australian radio stations such as Triple J, they are still pretty unknown outside Australia. In fact they are still pretty unknown in Australia, despite have the cool swagger of a far bigger band. For a review of Rush To Relax click here.
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