Creating a mishmash of five-minutes-ago punk, early 80's college-radio sounds, FM rock, and general goofiness, the Degrads foisted a batch of quirky, original, musically-accomplished-but-deliberately-silly songs upon the sleepy Rochester suburbs in the summer of 1982. From the whiny, lightweight punk of "Dopes!" and "I Should've Worn Shorts With Pockets" to the snotty party grooves of "Dancing in My Underwear" and "Get Down -- Get Back Up Again!" to the sophomoric comedy of "I Don't Care if She Smells" and "Eat Roughage" to the bizarre musical theater of "Eggplants and Venison Stew" (which was performed live by hand-puppets) . . . well, the titles say it all, don't they? Among the tracks heard here are signature tune "What's My Problem?" and tongue-in-cheek ballads "Fun with a Porpoise" and "Nancy" (both sung by 15-year-old Spuzzy Dynamite).
The Degrads returned in the summer of '83, by which time they had begun to take themselves more seriously as a "new music" band. That season brought them Rochester club outings (notably with the Chesterfield Kings), college radio airplay, and a local TV appearance (see pictures). Their self-released pop-punk single, "I Saw Bobbie Sobbing in the Lobby", earned them a review in Trouser Press before they disbanded.
The guy in the purple pants went on to found The Silly Pillows. His brother, in the purple shirt, showed up in The Cost of Living, Sea Monkeys, Silly Pillows, and Nutley Brass. And a Degrads song called "Purple Addict" was covered by Boston-area sixties-revivalers The Pets in their mid-80's live repertoire.
"I Saw Bobbie Sobbing in the Lobby" was reissued in 1997 as part of a Silly Pillows retrospective CD called Pillow Paw Prints [FloatinFriends/Teichiku].
Hahaha, I turned five right before you started, I think, lol. I wish I knew of you back then because the Degrads would have been the perfect music to listen to when I was five. I could have brought in a Degrads record to first grade and we could have bopped around to that instead of that kid Andrew bringing in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" that one day. lol
Thanks for the add, that's great shit!!