various: dangerhouse complete singles collected 1977-1979

Dangerhouse was one of the first independent labels to document the burgeoning West Coast punk rock scene of the late '70s. Although short-lived, its work provided a vital outlet for the bands and other participants and set a template for many to follow. This collection compiles the 14 7"s released on Dangerhouse between 1977 and 1979, including classic tracks by Weirdos, Avengers, Alley Cats, X, Black Randy, Dils, Bags, Randoms, Howard Werth, The Deadbeats, Yes, and Rhino 39. Includes an extensive 36-page booklet featuring an interview with Dangerhouse founder David Brown, many unseen photos of all the bands and memorabilia. "Dangerhouse, created by the triumvirate of yours truly, Pat "Rand" Garrett, and Black Randy, was a highly naive attempt to create a politically and artistically correct playground for the unique, nihilistic talents of the LA punk scene. It was clear something needed to be done. In the beginning there was a lot of musical talent that was going to unrecorded waste. Whereas the English musicians had been set upon by some of the top producers in the business, the very lack of commercialism implicit in L.A. punk seemed to drive away potential resources. Those were culturally weird times, Saturday Night Fever and burned-out super group remnants filled the airwaves. The early groups (like the Screamers, Germs, Weirdos, Black Randy) were very good at manipulating the local venue owners and press, and were able to almost immediately fill clubs and halls with folks who were just plain bored and curious. Suffice it to say that the scene had everything: every kind of self-abuse imaginable, negative social patterns, infighting, gender-fucking, etc. What needs to be talked about here are the musicians and other creative forces at work behind the scenes on the Dangerhouse product. Starting out, the studio was anywhere we could plug in; later, our home was the Kitchen Synch with the extremely copasetic Mike Hamilton as engineer. Over the years, Mike patiently sat while irate punks insulted his intelligence, and offered great 8 and 16-track advice to Pat and me, refugees from a 4-track world. To Dangerhouse, and the fans, the sound quality was paramount. The do-it-yourself aspect of the production and packaging spoke for itself. We created ideas for affordable products which set the pace for imitators, like the clear plastic-bag 45 sleeves (because traditional sleeves cost more than the records to be pressed) and the multi-color silkscreened picture disc used for "YES LA." Sad to say, the downturn of the record business in 1979 due to the so-distant "oil embargo" hurt everyone in the record industry and made it too rough a row to hoe for Dangerhouse. Tough titty. These recordings still sound as powerful and relevant as the day they were cut. If you, Mr. or Ms. Consumer, care about creativity as opposed to the number of units shipped, it was a victory. And if there was ever a label that released cool shit, over which I'd rather have been A&R man/Prexy, it sure as hell doesn't come to mind." --David Brown