Neuware • AT • 2020 • Bachelor

80s / Power Pop / Punk Rock / Killed By Death

14 Tracks; Compilation.

Infectious Milwaukee Punk Pop ca. 1981. Rare and previously unreleased tracks from the Splunge Archives. Including demos, live tracks and the highly coveted "Taking The City By Storm" EP, remastered for the first time.

Rising like the phoenix from the ashes of the first version of the band; THE HASKELS served up heavy doses of three minute, adrenaline-fueled hard punk pop, as evidenced on the highly sought after, Killed by Death bootlegged, "Taking the City by Storm" EP released in 1981 on their own Milwaukee Hits label. Now the full story of the band can be heard, seen, and told.

As the decade turned from the rust belt 70s to the Reagan-era 80s, the original HASKELS split into two factions, with the local punk/new wave/post-punk scene moving to the gritty Starship club in downtown Milwaukee. THE HASKELS were instrumental in getting bands to play the venue, including the Oil Tasters, Plasticland, Ama-Dots, Shivvers, Die Kreuzen and a burgeoning Violent Femmes.

The version of THE HASKELS represented here initially included Presley Haskel and Gerard LaValliere, fresh from the first line up of the band; joined by the crack rhythm section of Bobby Mitchell and Vodie Rhinehardt. Later tracks, including the EP were recorded by the Presley/Bobby/Vodie trio. In either case, the material is a match made in punk pop heaven; coupling Presley’s knife-sharp songwriting sensibilities with a tight unit of A-Team musicians driving the music forward.

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