Tales of Terror (band)
Encyclopedia
Tales of Terror was a Sacramento
punk rock
band which was active from 1982 until 1986. The band released a self-titled LP
in 1984 on the label CD Presents. The LP is rare, and no CD version has been released. Tales of Terror played sleazy, sloppy, raucous California punk in the vein of the Stooges. The band morphed from the Square Cools into Tales of Terror.
The band consisted of:
Pat Stratford (lead vocals/guitar)
Geoff Magner (vocals/bass)
Lyon Wong (vocals/lead guitar)
Mike Thorpe (drums)
Steve Hunt (rhythm guitar)
reviewed "Tales of Terror" for Maximum Rock and Roll in 1984. He wrote: "Totally drunken, power-chord punk rock
, folks. It's straight out of the DEAD BOYS/STOOGES
school of intense, fuck-it-all, snarl and self-destruct. These Sacramento's are good at it too. Recommended."
's Journals
at number 32 in a list of 50 and the song "Chambers of Horror" is in a list of songs.
Green River (band members went on to Mudhoney/Love Battery/Mother Love Bone/Pearl Jam) covered the Tales' song "Ozzie" and it can be found on their "Rehab Doll/Dry as a Bone" CD. There are some suggestions that the Guns N' Roses song "Used to Love Her" is an uncredited version of Tales' "Danant". Alex Vincent, Green River's drummer, attended high school with Stratford for two years before moving to Seattle.
In 2008, Seattle band Mudhoney
released The Lucky Ones. The ninth track on the said album is titled Tales of Terror. Mark Arm
, the lead singer of Mudhoney, was also the lead singer for Green River.
, died of head trauma he suffered on the night of January 5, 1986. As Wong was standing outside the Zebra Club, a carload of teenagers from Sacramento High School drove by and began cursing at him, then exited their vehicle to confront him. When Wong was not looking, one teenager (purportedly the football quarterback) punched him; knocking Wong to the pavement and causing him to strike his head on the ground. He was pronounced dead at 2:14am, January 6, at Sutter General Hospital. Wong was 22 years old. The assailant received a 6-month sentence.
. The dealer who sold him the drugs was never put on trial. Geoff Magner was the grandson of William Magner, winner of the 1930 Dipsea Race
.
Noise
More Noise
Credits:
Bass, Backing Vocals - Dusty Coffin*
Drums [And Jokes] - Thopper Jaw*
Engineer - Gary Mankin , Scott Chandler
Guitar, Backing Vocals - Luther Storms* , Capt. Trip Mender*
Mastered By - Gary Hobish
Photography [Back Cover] - Victor Wong
Photography [Cover] - Erich Mueller
Producer - Paul Ratt*
Vocals [And Other Organs] - Rat's Ass*
Notes:
Engineered at Rhythmic River Studios, San Francisco, California.
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band which was active from 1982 until 1986. The band released a self-titled LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
in 1984 on the label CD Presents. The LP is rare, and no CD version has been released. Tales of Terror played sleazy, sloppy, raucous California punk in the vein of the Stooges. The band morphed from the Square Cools into Tales of Terror.
The band consisted of:
Pat Stratford (lead vocals/guitar)
Geoff Magner (vocals/bass)
Lyon Wong (vocals/lead guitar)
Mike Thorpe (drums)
Steve Hunt (rhythm guitar)
Reviews
Tim YohannanTim Yohannan
Tim Yohannan, born August 15, 1945, died April 3, 1998 in San Francisco, California of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, was the founder of Maximum Rocknroll , a radio show and zine documenting the punk scene around the world...
reviewed "Tales of Terror" for Maximum Rock and Roll in 1984. He wrote: "Totally drunken, power-chord punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, folks. It's straight out of the DEAD BOYS/STOOGES
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
school of intense, fuck-it-all, snarl and self-destruct. These Sacramento's are good at it too. Recommended."
Influence
The album is listed in Kurt CobainKurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
's Journals
Journals (Cobain)
Journals is a collection of writings and drawings by Kurt Cobain, lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana. Though the content is undated, it is arranged in an approximation of chronological order, starting with a letter Cobain wrote to Dale Crover in 1988, and ending with a rant about...
at number 32 in a list of 50 and the song "Chambers of Horror" is in a list of songs.
Green River (band members went on to Mudhoney/Love Battery/Mother Love Bone/Pearl Jam) covered the Tales' song "Ozzie" and it can be found on their "Rehab Doll/Dry as a Bone" CD. There are some suggestions that the Guns N' Roses song "Used to Love Her" is an uncredited version of Tales' "Danant". Alex Vincent, Green River's drummer, attended high school with Stratford for two years before moving to Seattle.
In 2008, Seattle band Mudhoney
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American alternative rock band. Formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988 following the demise of Green River, Mudhoney's members are vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison, and drummer Dan Peters. Original bassist Matt Lukin left the...
released The Lucky Ones. The ninth track on the said album is titled Tales of Terror. Mark Arm
Mark Arm
Mark Arm is the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. He is also credited with coining the term "grunge" to describe his style of rock music...
, the lead singer of Mudhoney, was also the lead singer for Green River.
Pat Stratford
Pat Stratford, aka Rats Ass, was the frontman/singer. Pat was also in the Square Cools and fronted the Whorelords.Lyon Wong
Lyon Wong, son of Chinese-American actor Victor WongVictor Wong
Victor Wong was a Chinese American character actor who appeared in supporting roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s.-Education:...
, died of head trauma he suffered on the night of January 5, 1986. As Wong was standing outside the Zebra Club, a carload of teenagers from Sacramento High School drove by and began cursing at him, then exited their vehicle to confront him. When Wong was not looking, one teenager (purportedly the football quarterback) punched him; knocking Wong to the pavement and causing him to strike his head on the ground. He was pronounced dead at 2:14am, January 6, at Sutter General Hospital. Wong was 22 years old. The assailant received a 6-month sentence.
Geoff Magner
Jeff Magner, aka Boots aka Dusty Coffin, played bass. Jeff was in the Square Cools, and the Cactus Liquors, reportedly died in early 2004 of a drug overdose. Geoff had become addicted to heroin and was a long time sufferer of Bipolar DisorderBipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
. The dealer who sold him the drugs was never put on trial. Geoff Magner was the grandson of William Magner, winner of the 1930 Dipsea Race
Dipsea Race
The Dipsea Race is the oldest cross-country trail running event—and one of the oldest foot races of any kind—in the United States. The 7.5 mile long Dipsea Race has been held annually almost every year since 1905, starting in Mill Valley, and finishing at Stinson Beach, in Marin County,...
.
Steve Hunt
Trip Bender, aka Trip Mender, was lead guitar and back up vocals. He's in San Francisco based Ding Dang.Tales of Terror Track Listing
Tracklist:Noise
- A1. Hound Dog
- A2. That Girl
- A3. Possession
- A4. Deathryder
- A5. Evil
- A6. 13
More Noise
- B1. Romance
- B2. Over Elvis Worship
- B3. Tales Of Terror
- B4. Jim
- B5. Chambers Of Horror
- B6. Ozzy
- Cassette version has 2 extra tracks ("skate or bate" after "13" and "Search and Destroy" after "Ozzy"), and one LP track ("Jim") is missing. (songbook was available separately).
Credits:
Bass, Backing Vocals - Dusty Coffin*
Drums [And Jokes] - Thopper Jaw*
Engineer - Gary Mankin , Scott Chandler
Guitar, Backing Vocals - Luther Storms* , Capt. Trip Mender*
Mastered By - Gary Hobish
Photography [Back Cover] - Victor Wong
Photography [Cover] - Erich Mueller
Producer - Paul Ratt*
Vocals [And Other Organs] - Rat's Ass*
Notes:
Engineered at Rhythmic River Studios, San Francisco, California.
Compilation appearances
- Not So Quiet on the Western Front comp LP (1982): Square Cools - "I Don't Wanna Die for my Country"
- Skate Rock 2 comp LP (Thrasher, 1984) - "Gods from Outer Space"
- Rat Music for Rat People Vol. II comp LP (CD Presents, 1984) - "Skate or Bate"
- Them Boners Be Poppin' comp LP (Boner Records, 1985) - "Texas Against the World;" "Danant;" "LSD for Africa"