Jon Ashline (vocals, coffee cans, plastic lamp shade, metal lawn table, snare drum, organ, piano, guitar) and Bruce Cole (vocals, guitar, keyboard)
Others: Hot Scott Fischer, Paul "Dirt" Wheeler, "Mean" Gene Scott, Wolf Roxon, and other assorted weirdos.
Influences
'60s garage and psychedelic rock, krautrock, proto-punk, acid rock, Clepunk, The Stooges, MC5, The Godz, The Silver Apples, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Shaggs, The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Downliners Sect, The Newbeats, The Seeds, The Music Machine, The Sonics, The Velvet Underground, Captain Beefheart, Amon Düül I, The Troggs, Pere Ubu, The Electric Eels, The Residents, The Ramones, Throbbing Gristle, Devo, The Butthole Surfers, The Shaggs, Cardinals baseball, stupidity, cheap beer, electronics, cartoons, comic books, you name it!
Sounds Like
Sounds like two guys bangin' out a bunch of retarded nonsense in their basement!
A close friend of the band runs this page for The Screamin' Mee-Mees from St. Louis, Missouri.
Bruce Cole and Jon Ashline first got together as young teenagers in the late 1960s while growing up in the middleclass St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, MO. The duo, who never played live together (not even once!) have long kept a low profile amongst the local St. Louis media and punk music scene. Yet they have amassed a sort of cult following amongst record collector geeks all around the world thanks to a few scattered singles and the inclusion of one of their songs ("Hot Sody") on the punk comp, "Killed by Death" 3. Their inclusion on that one compilation LP probably helped catapult them more than anything into this "cult status" (which, incidentally, is rumored to include the likes of Thurston Moore, Mudhoney, and Beck, amongst others) despite the fact that their self-released (on their own Dog Face Records label) debut 7", Live from the Basement, was released back in 1977 and is itself quite a collector's item. Or that they followed that release with a succession of more singles and two phenomenal LPs in the 1990s and a succession of posthumous CDs in the '00s on the Gulcher label.
Bruce Cole, now in his mid-50s, still lives in St. Louis. In fact, he still lives in the very same house where all of the Screamin' Mee-Mees music was recorded. His mother's dead, he's lonely, and spends too much of his time down at the local tavern. Jon Ashline lives in Topeka, KS where he has a family.
Discography:
Live From the Basement 7"
(Dog Face Records, 1977/reissued on Bag of Hammers, 1996)
Clutching Hand Monster Mitt LP
(Dog Face Records, 1992)
"Pull My Finger" b/w "Family Tree" 7"
(Electric Records, 1992)
"Life Never Stops" b/w "Oscillations" 7"
(Dog Meat Records, 1994)
Home Movies 7"
(Bag of Hammers Records, 1996)
Nude Invisible Foot Phenomenon LP
(Bag of Hammers, 1996)
"Answer Me" b/w "Arthritis Today" 7"
(Brinkman Records, 1996)
The Screamin' Mee-Mees & Hot Scott Fischer - Warp Sessions 1973 CDR
(Slippy Town, 2001)
The Screamin' Mee-Mees & Hot Scott Fischer - You're Now in Our World: Warp Sessions 1972 CDR
(Slippy Town, 2001)
Live From the Basement CD
(Gulcher Records, 2004)
Garbage Collage CD
(Gulcher Records, 2004)
Plastic Hong Kong Door Bell Finger CD
(Gulcher Records, 2007)
Compilations:
"Hot Sody" was included on "Killed by Death" Vol. 3
(Redrum, 1989)
"Cartoonland" on a tribute to The Twinkeyz split 7" with Mike Rep & The Quotas
(New World of Sound Records, 1996)
"Squawk Squawk Squawk" on a compilation double 7" EP that came out in Whump 1 (fanzine, 1996)
"Mesmerizing Donut Glaze" on "Dropped on the Head" Vol. 2
(Illbilly Records, 2002)
Featuring Doc and Longhead from the original Billy Coma and new members, Jamey Almond formerly of The Trip Daddys on Guitar and Lorne formerly of the Electric on Bass!
With Valentine's Day now upon us, very best wishes to you. Of course we're aware that Valentine's Day has become commercialized into a billion dollar industry. And although it's not wise to stuff ourselves with too much chocolate or spend too much money on silly stuffed animals made by oppressed children slave laborers who work their fingers to the bone in the horrific third-world sweat shops where those cute 'n' cuddly stuffed animals originate, the general idea and non-corrupted concept of Valentine's Day still remains a most enchanting one. Admiration and romance still remain positive qualities of life.
Even insects like the common grasshopper appreciate the enchantment of romance as the male mounts the female and clings to her back, maneuvering his abdomen beneath hers in order to insert his aedeagus into her copulatory bursa. Apart from the sporadic kicking movements of his methathoracic legs, the male grasshopper remains almost motionless while in complete awe of the overwhelmingly sensual sensations of this romantic moment. Pretty inspiring, huh? Enjoy Valentine's Day in its more purer form. Grasshoppers seem to have their hearts in the right place. Savor the enchantment of friendship, love and romance. Happy Valentine's Day wishes to YOU.
And yes, we are still working diligently on a "box set" release that will feature a CD of back catalog, a CD of new BIG STICK recordings, a DVD of videos and a 12 page color booklet illustrating our illustrious history.
Come see us open for legendary '60s garage punks GONN at Off Broadway in St. Louis on January 5th! The Vultures are also on the bill... Click the web flyer for more info:
THIS IS THE LINEUP FOR THE JAN 12 EDITION OF THE BASTARDS BALL. THE HEADLINERS ARE SKINNY JIM AND THE # 9 BLACKTOPS FROM WEST FRANKFORT ILLINOIS , THE CLINTS, FEATURING FORMER MEMBERS OF ST. LOUIS FAVORITES THE UNMUTUALS, DOWN AND DIRTY FUCK-ROCK MASTERS THE SPARK THUGS, AND FINALLY PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE! AS ALWAYS THE BASTARDS BALL IS FREE!! AND AS AN ADDED BONUS, THERE WILL BE A BEER RAFFLE HELD BETWEEN SETS, JUST SEE THE DOOR MAN FOR YOUR FREE RAFFLE TICKETS. THE CHARLACK PUB IS LOCATED ON LACKLAND RD NEXT TO THE 7-11 1 BLOCK EAST OF ST CHARLES ROCK ROAD AND I-170.
