Legal Stuff (or as we like to say Commom Courtesy)

The story so far...


"For those of you who don't know, Bill Wilkison and I talked the famous underground punk rock band, The Expendable Teens, into doing a lot of promotional art for them. Bill has done numerous sketches of the band (Scuz, Willy, Athena, and Flip) and even one of their manager.

"We came up with the idea of doing a Teens mini-comic (kind of like an episode of Scooby-Doo, but starring the Teens and minus the annoying dog). They loved the idea, and the Teens mini-comic premiered at Wizard World Chicago last year.

"Since then, a red cover "bootleg edition" of the comic has appeared. Bill and I have some of these for sale (as well as the original). We contacted the Teens about this, and they thought it was pretty cool since they've been letting fans bootleg their live shows for years. They told us to encourage bootlegging of the comic book as well.

"So if you find, buy, or get a copy of the Teens mini-comic, you can "bootleg" it by making your own version. The only catch is that you need to credit me [Nik Havert] and Bill Wilkison as the creators and also put in a link to the Teens' blog (http://expendableteens.blogspot.com/).

Nik

Flipping out!

If any one has a copy of the MAD LIBS bootleg, I want to see it!

Flip!

Spaz downdate!

Hello from down under! Scuz here to let you know where we've been. After touring through the southwest, Lou managed to find us some gigs in Australia. Of course, we had to ride on a fishing boat the whole way there. I ended up burning half of my clothes because of the damn smell.

We got here in five pieces. Our gear is another story. It ended up at an Australian canning factory with about 50 tons of fish. Luckily, it went untouched in a utility closet, and no one at the company seemed to know how it got there. The weirdest part was that Willy's guitar had been re-tuned to perfection somewhere along the way.

We've played seven gigs in Australia now, and Triple J (the big radio station here) still won't let us on the air. I think it may have something to do with one of their slimy producers asking Athena if she wanted to see his one-eyed wallaby and her responding by head butting him.

We're keeping Foster's in business and Willy's ready to punch Flip for saying, "You wanna get outta here, you talk to me." in his best Mel Gibson voice every time we leave a joint. Flip's fallen in love with Vegemite. I swear to Cthulhu it's true.

We have seven more gigs to go, and then it's back to the states to work on the new album (tentative title "Spam Necklace").

Stay crazy.



Note from B!

Sorry for the late post Spaz...I've been a bit under the weather and just totally spaced your e-mail. So, all you Ex-T fans read on as Lou tells you what's new...

FAFU!

Well, well, well.

Lou, here!

After a long holiday (away from each other) the band is back together. Ironically we all ended up in Australia and did a few shows. Scuz was suppose to get an update on here! We're ready to start booking dates for the upcoming Summer Tour. June, July and August are our biggest months followed closely by last minute gigs and supermarket parking lots in September, October and November. We usually take the holiday months off...December, January, February and March and spend the next two months April and May rehearsing and recording (not necessarily in that order.) More on that when Scuz updates. I'm trying to make him take more responsibility and my therapist says I need to stop "enableing him." Trouble is if I didn't enable him he wouldn't be "able" to do much of anything.

Ever since we started this blog, we have been receiving countless e-mails from people that remember us back when. Well we're happy to say that we are still killing the time signatures and hope to see you soon. And if you remember the old days you should know to arrive early because one of three things are bound to happen:

1. We get closed down by the authorities about two or three songs into the set.
2. Athena trashes everything in sight, including the instruments and the amps.
3. Scuz just sort of disappears.

Also, a big thanks for anyone so far that has taken the time to dig out any Expendable Teens memorabilia from whatever damp, rat infested, mold covered dump heap you've been storing them in. Seriously people some of these pics are disgusting. Then again, we probably got them from us that way. We'll be posting them in the months to come.

For now, on to more exciting news...even though there are no current plans for another Expendable teens comic, we still have found a number of bootlegs currently circulating. We've actually heard about more than we've seen. But they are all becoming increasingly more creative.



This was one of the most interesting that we found in Covington, KY. We're referring to it as the "chainsaw edition". The back cover credits J.C. Filer, a friend of the band and Expendable Teen artist B. Wilkison. The cover does not seem to have been done by J.C. and while a rendition of the band appears in the book that is distinctly J.C.'s the book just seems to be a cheap imitation of J.C's style over the original version by B! But, none the less we have decided to make this version THE OFFICIAL BOOTLEG EDITION. There are some distinct differences from the original that make this book really special. It's not just your average copy and burn style of bootleg. Here's a preview:



As THE OFFICIAL BOOTLEG EDITION we have rebootleged the bootleg and now sell it as well as the originals at all of our shows. I understand that J.C. will have some on hand during an appearance at something called S.P.A.C.E. in Ohio this month.

Speaking of bootlegs, "Little Suzie" Johnson of Amboy, IN, posted this image of her signed copy of the mini-comic on one of a few forums that have started to spring up since the bootleg phenomenon began last year. While the copy she got signed was an original comic and not a bootleg it is rare to have all four signatures on any one article of merchandise. Athena and Willy are the best at signing merchandise, then Flip. If you're lucky enough to find Scuz in a state to even hold a pen let alone sign, consider yourself lucky!

For some reason we've been getting a lot of questions about our past association with Stiff Records and the recent decision not to include THE TEENS in "The Return of Nuggets" CD collection by Rhino Entertainment. Well, as some of you know the relationship with Stiff ended abruptly in the fall of 1984 even though they held our contracts until the spring of 1989. For those of you that are interested we are trying to compile a collection of memorabilia from that era. So, if you have any, please contact theinkslinger@mac.com!

Thanks to Nik we were able to amass the information needed to publish the following "discography".

The Expendable Teens discography
The Stiff Records years
All titles released by Detroit, Michigan’s Stiff Records

I Like Kicking You in the Face (released October 01, 1979 – vinyl only).
Track listing: (1.) I Like Kicking You in the Face (2.) Gimmie the Finger (3.) American Occupation (4.) Music to Creep By (5.) Tangled Desire
Credits: Scuz – Lead vocals / Willy – Guitars, theremin on “Music to Creep By” / Athena – Bass, lead vocal on “Gimme the Finger” / Flip – Drums / All songs written by the Expendable Teens

Too Late Is Better Than Never (released April 11, 1980 – vinyl and CD).
Track listing: (1.) Miracles Are For Pussies (2.) One Night Stand (3.) I Won’t Forgive Reagan (4.) Spank Me with Your Bible Belt (5.) Don’t Think (6.) Pre-Thanksgiving Feast (7.) Taxes to Beat the Axis (8.) Master of Kung Fu (9.) Vampire in a Bikini (10.) Eat Your Heart Out (11.) Blind as a Bat (12.) Moondance (13.) Gutpunch CD BONUS TRACKS: (14.) Murray Is a Jerk (15.) Miracles Are For Pussies – LIVE (16.) Fun Bags (17.) I’ve Had It Up to Here (18.) One Night Stand – LIVE
Credits: Scuz – Lead vocals, creaking door on “One Night Stand,” breaking dishes on “Pre-Thanksgiving Feast,” bullwhip on “Spank Me with Your Bible Belt” / Willy – Guitars, backing vocals on “I Won’t Forgive Reagan” / Athena – Bass, lead vocal on “Fun Bags,” backing vocals on “One Night Stand” / Flip – Drums, insulting rant on “Murray Is a Jerk” / All songs written by the Expendable Teens except “Moondance” (by Van Morrison)
One Night Stand / Taxes to Beat the Axis (single - released April 11, 1980 – vinyl only)
Credits: Scuz – Lead vocals / Willy – Guitars / Athena – Bass, backing vocals on “One Night Stand” / Flip – Drums / Written by the Expendable Teens

Rocket to Uranus (released March 09, 1981 – vinyl and CD)
Track listing: (1.) Bustin’ Out (2.) The Bottom Line (3.) My Ladybug (4.) Rocket to Uranus (5.) I’ve Never Seen Her Wrestle (6). Empty-Headed College Girls (7.) Watching From the Shadows (8.) Runnin’ with the Wolfpack (9.) Change of Plans (10.) Point of No Return (11.) Major Setback (12.) She’s a Spinner (13.) The Indians Got Screwed (14.) Beer Is Good
Credits: Scuz – Lead vocals, shakers on “The Indians Got Screwed,” vibrator on “Rocket to Uranus” / Willy – Guitars, theremin on “Rocket to Uranus” / Athena – Bass, lead vocal on “My Ladybug,” backing vocals on “Empty-Headed College Girls” and “She’s a Spinner” / Flip – Drums, backing vocals on “I’ve Never Seen Her Wrestle” / All songs written by the Expendable Teens

Rocket to Uranus / Major Setback (live) (single - released September 05, 1981 – vinyl only)
Credits: Scuz – Lead vocals, vibrator on “Rocket to Uranus” / Willy – Guitars, theremin on “Rocket to Uranus” / Athena – Bass / Flip – Drums / Written by the Expendable Teens

Pirates, Banditos, and Other Assorted Tough SOB’s (released December 22, 1984 – vinyl and CD)
Track listing: (1.) I Could Take Superman (2.) Germs in My Jeans (3.) In the Tub with Marilyn (4.) Cathouse (5.) Giant Monster (6.) Devil Whiskey (7.) The Return of Captain Nemo (8.) Sleepin’ at the Y (9.) One Night Stand – DEMO VERSION (10.) American Occupation - LIVE (11.) I Like Kicking You in the Face - LIVE
Credits: Scuz – Lead vocals, splashing water on “In the Tub with Marilyn,” creaking door on “One Night Stand,” / Willy – Guitars, backing vocals on “Devil Whiskey” / Athena – Bass, lead vocal on “Cathouse,” backing vocals on “One Night Stand” / Flip – Drums, backing vocals on “Sleepin’ at the Y” / All songs written by the Expendable Teens

Adolescent Thunder (released April 19, 1989 – vinyl and CD)
Track listing: (1.) Moldy Mommy Mummy (2.) Show Me Your Pantylines (3.) Who Do You Love? (4.) Penguins with Guns (5.) Miracles Are For Pussies – LIVE (6.) One Night Stand – LIVE (7.) Gimme the Finger – LIVE (8.) Gutpunch – LIVE (9.) Runnin’ with the Wolfpack – LIVE (10.) Funbags – LIVE (11.) Rocket to Uranus – LIVE (12.) Beer Is Good – LIVE (13.) I Could Take Superman – LIVE (14.) Sleepin’ at the Y – LIVE
Credits: Scuz – Lead vocals, maracas on “Who Do You Love?”, vibrator on “Rocket to Uranus” / Willy – Guitars, theremin on “Rocket to Uranus” / Athena – Bass, backing vocals on “One Night Stand,” lead vocal on “Gimmie the Finger” and “Funbags,” / Flip – Drums, backing vocals on “Sleepin’ at the Y” / All songs written by the Expendable Teens except “Who Do You Love?” (by Bo Diddley)

And for those of you who remember what all the fuss was about I've pulled out my one and only copy of the cassette we made after leaving Stiff...basically it was a "Happy Fuck You Card" to Stiff that infuriated the record execs and turned us into the pariahs you've all come to know and love.



It was about as direct as we have ever been and I can't help but feel a bit nostalgic. Stiff, on the other hand went so far as to completely obliterate us from any archives or history about their company...and all we can say to that is...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!