Unfinished Business (The Toilet Tapes)
Fave Raves — Track #6: TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN / Track #11: GEORGETTE
Who knew the search for lost 1313 Mockingbird Lane recordings would take on Indiana Jones-like proportions, searching out the reclusive Haunted Hausmann with a jon boat through the gator-filled swamps of Florida?!
Rumored to be shunning society and the trappings of social media and the internet, the journey was rough and the results were shocking, but, oh man, were they worth it!!
When we finally found him, he had no phone in his small shack and, to put it politely, very limited conditions. But, once we brought up the old band, we saw a slight spark in his eye. “Old tapes? Come with me!!” On the edge of the property was a beat-up outhouse with just a utility lamp for lighting. Lo and behold, in a no longer used toilet (perfect for storage) was a pile of old reels & cassettes!
What we have here is a mixed bag of songs never released, combined with unreleased versions of songs that are totally different from the released versions. Some of these are demo versions. Others are rehearsal versions. And some are killer live versions.
From hi-fi to lo-fi and everywhere in between. The material on this record represents several different lineups, but no matter what, 1313 Mockingbird Lane always maintains their stripped-down rock-and-roll feel and manages to tear it up! So, turn it up & get a hold of yourself!!
Jack Rabid/The Big Takeover #86…
Cacophone follows their reissue of 1313ML’s 1990 first LP with this unreleased dive. The ’60s-inspired Albany cavestompers, known for eight 45s, 1989-1996, were the frogspawn of Screaming Jay Hawkins, Chuck Berry, Link Wray (a drummer played with him), Bo Diddley (they cover 1960’s R&B #20 “Road Runner” like The Pretty Things—less politely than The Zombies!), Cramps, Misfits (in crypt-ic subjects), The Munsters TV show that provided their moniker (“More flaming dragon, Grandpa?”) and every hard-nosed garage-punk combo that defiled Pebbles collections. Therefore, the basement quality of some (not most—e.g., the hellacious, live “Teenage Frankenstein”) of Unfinished doesn’t blunt their wallop any more than it would The Lyres or Chesterfield Kings, whom they opened for. Who needs The Standells to cover The Beatles at Munster Mansion (3/16/65)? Herman, here’s your party band!
- All tracks previously unreleased!
- Limited edition on sick & twisted yellow & brown plop vinyl w/color poster (Standard edition on sewer-discharge colored vinyl)!
- Incredible cover photography by Kristin LaMonte/360 Unlimited with help from Haunted Hausmann hisself!
- Liner notes by band member & compilation producer Marty Feier.
- LP-insert/8-page CD booklet with rare photos & memorabilia
1313 Mockingbird Lane Bio
Inspired to form a band after stealing a Back from the Grave-style mixtape of ’60s punk at a house party, 1313 Mockingbird Lane recorded their first single within a month of committing that crime. That despite the fact only bandleader and guitarist, Haunted Hausmann, had ever picked up an instrument prior.
They would go on to release eight 7-inchers and two full-length LPs on imprints such as NYC’s notorious Midnight Records and Germany's Screaming Apple. They shared the stage with East Coast luminaries of the garage genre such as the Cynics, Chesterfield Kings, and Lyres, winning accolades from all.
Sure, I know this genre of music has been done before, but how many times (aside from The Cramps and Lyres) have you heard it done this well? — Buzz Magazine, 1990
For more info about 1313 Mockingbird Lane and Unfinished Business (The Toilet Tapes), please contact us using the form here.
