Thursday, December 18, 2008

Long-lost classic Chicago bands: Chia Pet!

Long-lost classic Chicago bands: Chia Pet!

Chia Pet's first album -- Elpee -- previously available ONLY on vinyl and long out-of-print, is finally out as a digital download! It was the very first release on Johann's Face Records and I remember excitedly buying it at one of their infamous shows at The Gallery down in Normal, IL. The were sort of the de facto insane house bandthat wowed recent grads and current students and cool kids in Palatine in the late '80s. They jumbled punk, funk, soul, and gutterpunch opera-rock into an unddeniable danceparty mush machine that prompted many a nubile young thang to partially of fully disrobe mid-show. (See: the Naked Parties of '89.)

I actually bought a couple extra vinyl copies of Elpee a few years ago because my original copy had grown a bit warped from overplay, but I haven't really brought them into DJ sets in the last few years since I moved from vinyl to CDs and finally iPods. So I immediately plunked down the seven bucks for the digital download and you can bet your ass these tunes will start regularly popping up in my DJ sets for the foreseeable future. It's time to spread the word!

SIDE NOTE: A number of classic Johann's Face Records bands are reuniting next April for the label's 225th (!) anniversary. Might I start a grassroots effort demanding the reunion of the first band to even put out a record on the label? Viva la Chia Pet!

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