For slavish fanboys of grisly noise bands like Cop Shoot Cop and Pussy Galore (i.e. me), one of the most coveted artifacts is the Live Crush 84-85 tape by the imaginatively titled beat combo, Shithäus. Simply put, this was future C$C founder Tod [A] and future Pussy Galore founder Jon Spencer’s short-lived “art school” band whose name was a derisively scatological dig at the uber-pretentious posturing of then-already-mythic Gothic overlords, Bauhaus. Somewhat ironically, while justifiably targeted with myriad accusations of arty pompousness, Bauhaus themselves were only named after an art school (not an actual institution, but a school of thought). In reality, they were actually childhood friends from the glum middle-class midlands of England. Shithäus, for all their sneery renouncement of highfalutin’ pomposity, were actually bona fide art-school students from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. Have fun parsing that one.
In any case, prior to Tod forming Dig Dat Hole and later Cop Shoot Cop (and, for the matter, Firewater) and Spencer assembling Pussy Galore, Boss Hog, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and, more recently, Heavy Trash (I’m probably forgetting someone), these two young noiseniks briefly served in the ranks of the same band. This is that band.
This, of course, is all ancient history here in 2021, but as has been so often the case over the past year, some generous music fan (operating under the mysterious moniker blackoperations) seized the opportunity to share this archival find on YouTube, uploading both side A and side B of Live Crush 84-84 in all its chaotic cacophony.
Here’s the very lengthy description from blackoperations, filled with some compelling bits of trivia, notably that Jon didn’t even play guitar in the band.
A-1 Intro
A-2 Crush Jam
A-3 Rubber Doll
A-4 Walking Insane
A-5 Fire Ritual
A-6 Eye Gouge
A-7 Warm Leather
A-8 Weenie Up Neville’s Butt
A-9 Constant DecayB-1 Fag Hag
B-2 Film Song
B-3 Texas
B-4 When It Comes Time
B-5 May Day
B-6 Brain Dogs
B-7 Swan Song (White Ice)
B-8 I Like It Like That
Self-released/hand-made cassette by Shithaus (exact number in circulation is unknown).
Tom Fry (Vocals)
Tod Ashley (Guitar)
Stephan Harshman (Bass)
Jon Spencer (Drums)
James Joaquin (Drums)Part of the tape was recorded during a live broadcast on a show called ‘Noise with Neville’ on 90.1 WRIU, Kingston, RI.
For this broadcast the band are going by the name ‘Knocked-Up Teens’ as the name ‘Shithaus‘ was not deemed “broadcast worthy by FCC regulations”.
“Neville was a demagogue of the Providence noise-rock and proto-industrial scenes of the mid 1980s. The program ran from at least the Spring of 1985 into the Summer of 1987. Today the whereabouts of Mr. Neville are unknown.”
Also as stated on the broadcast the band management was ‘Method of Control’ whose ‘MOC’ logo can be seen on the bottom-right of the cover image.
The DJ gives a run-down of the bands equipment which includes; “Olds Mobile Gas Tank, Chevy Gas Tank, A Grinder, a drum board, A couple of cassette decks, fully fledged rhythm section, a guitar and some vocals”.
Most of the above information is courtesy of Jose Fritz. Visit his blog to read the complete entry and to hear a short audio sample of this release which includes a Jon Spencer introduction (“Hey stick around you might enjoy it.”).
When It Comes A Time was also released on the cassette compilation UHF/Channel 14. Shithaus released one cassette in 1985 and the music was used in two experimental films directed by Jon Spencer called ‘Pus: The Movie’ and ‘Ponzo’s Masterwork’. There was also a 16mm Black and White film titled ‘Shithaus’ which was released on V/A feat. Jon Spencer – Cinema Of Transgression Vol. 1.
OTHER NOTES: There is not a great deal of information known about Shithaus and pretty much everything available on the internet comes from a very limited number of sources which are as follows:
*Shithaus played a gig at AS220, Saturday September 7, 1985, gallery in Rhode Island – as220.org
*“sluggo: I remember seeing Shithaus, which was an early incarnation of Pussy Galore, play in a chicken wire-cage in this damp basement where everyone was covered in fluorescent paint”. – dragking.org
*Jim Thirlwell mentions Shithaus in an interview: “FOETUS: I totally respect Cop and I think Tod is a great songwriter. He acknowledges the fact that certain songs have a heavy Foetus influence. We’re close buddies and we collaborate. SECONDS: Did he play with you as a band-member? FOETUS: He played on a few songs on Gash, but he wasn’t in the band. No, him and Jon Spencer hooked up at Rhode Island School Of Design. Him and Jon had this band called Shithaus and then he had a band called Dig That Hole.” – foetus.org
*A message which refers to the Shithaus cassette: “ok, someone mentioned that in the early 80s in Providence some band that played in the apt. next to them was pussy galore. Most likely that was Jon’s first band Shithaus which he was in with, I believe, one of the principles in the noise rock band Cop Shoot Cop. I have the Shithaus cassette which was the soundtrack to a student film or something circa 84-85. I am not positive but I thought Pussy Galore was an idea in Providence but became a band when Julie and Jon moved to DC in like summer 1985. Where Neil lived I don’t remember. Christina, Jon’s wife, from Boss Hog lived in DC then and worked at Hagen Dasz 83/84-ish with Ian Mackaye and Henry Rollins, but I was too young to know all this at the time. They were resoundingly hated here because their lyrics were so harsh and their attitude so unlike DC. for me the thing is that people thought they were arty because they had no other frame of reference. If you were a critic who never heard the Keggs or the Green Fuzz, but you liked no wave bands, ehh… It’s like the people who talk about VU as new wave but never seem to notice the rock roots which form a lot of their songs. I don’t hear the sun ra references in people’s stuff because I don’t have that in my repetoire. – Don” – xnet2.com/bomp/searchable/0001/msg00564.html
Review : Maximum Rock And Roll / MRR #28 Sept 1985 Billing themselves as an “industrial hardcore half-breed,” I’d say they’re more on the industrial side of life. While there are some post-punk influences, the noise/mechanical factor is predominant. This is a “live” tape, and well-done if you’re into modern pain. TIM YOHANNAN
This, ladies & gentlemen …. was Shithäus. Enjoy.
Recent Comments