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Center For Disease Control Boys 1986 Seattle bandPinetopJackson
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SIDE A "We're the Center for Disease Control Boys" 04:22
SIDE B "Who We Hatin' Now, Mr. Reagan?" The Center for Disease Control Boys was a satirical Western swing band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1986. The band's premise was that a pandemic would usher a second Great Depression and that clinicians from the CDC would form a country western band to blow off steam between beleaguered shifts. Their performances thus included a blend of Depression era music by artists like Woody Guthrie, older tunes by artists like Bob Wills and Asleep at the Wheel, original compositions like "Mailin' In The Keys," which foreshadowed the Great Recession by 22 years, and populist artists chosen for their politically incorrect lyrics which were purposely out of step with the punk bands that dominated the pre-grunge Seattle music scene.
Their stage show employed a range of props and costumes such as bales of hay, stuffed roosters, rubber trout, wooden barrels and wads of self printed "country cash" which was tossed to the crowd to mock the Federal Reserve which they insisted would usher the demise of the dollar.
The band was only in existence for six months, but they are noteworthy for their ever-changing lineup of musicians and performers who went on to have a dramatic impact on the Seattle music scene including Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, Jonathan Poneman, founder of Sub Pop Records, and Ben McMillan, lead singer for Skin Yard and Gruntruck.
The CDC Boys were the first design and musical collaboration between Dean Wartti and George Hackett, and are widely seen as the precursor to the Non-Impressionist Movement. Wartti had a background in theatrical performance and design. He also managed and booked talent for the Ditto Tavern in Belltown which filled a void in the local music scene by providing a venue for folk, punk, art rock, and emerging grunge bands from the Northwest. Thus, he was in a perfect position to find musicians for the band and create their prophetic vision.
Hackett was an accomplished guitarist who shared Wartti's interest in cultural satire, diverse musical tastes and politics. Dean wrote the lyrics and led the band onstage. Together they assembled the props, including a weekly trip to a farm on Orrilla Road in Seattle where they purchased hay for their performances, and the graphic design. The cast of band members were found within the rotating roster of Ditto performers.
Rehearsals were held at the SKUD artists collective in Belltown, Seattle, Washington and an opening performance was booked at the Rainbow Tavern in the University District as part of a KCMU Showcase. Shortly after their first performance, The CDC Boys recorded their one and only single. A 7" 45 RPM record, "We're The Center for Disease Control Boys," was pressed in Canada on their own Fin De Siecle label. After nine live shows, the band held their final performance at Seattle's annual Bumbershoot Festival, where they debuted a stirring opus to the Kennedy Assassination entitled, "Grassy Knoll."
The line up for CDC Boys' debut at the Rainbow Tavern was:
Dean Wartti: vocals, washboard, accordion
George Hackett: Twelve string guitar, vocals, waders
Ben McMillan (Skin Yard, Gruntruck): vocals, cowbell
Tamara Jones (Brides of Frankenstein): bass, vocals
Bob Maguire (The Subterraneans): vocals, guitar
Gary Heffern (Penetrators): vocals, stage presence
Chris Cornell (Soundgarden): drums, vocals, overalls
They were joined onstage by accomplished Seattle instrumentalist Orville Johnson: fiddle, mandolin. The show also featured singing cowgirls who threw hay, Shake 'N' Bake boxes, and wads of 'country buckeroos' into the audience.
Cowgirl No. 1: Juliana Wood
Cowgirl No. 2: Debra June Connor
As the CDC Boys existed mainly as a side project for all concerned, the line up continued to change, and included at times:
Jonathan Poneman, who went on to found Sub-Pop Records (bass)
Artie Palm (mouth harp, saxophone, and guitar)
Tim Bowman (accordion and musical saw)
Ben Thompson (Clay Alien, The Fantods) drums, and hay bale procurement following Cornell's departure to tour with Soundgarden
Chapters
Transcript
SIDE A "We're the Center for Disease Control Boys"
0:04 [Applause]
0:08 [Music]
0:14 hey we're the center for disease control
0:18 boys
0:20 every night we sit around and make this
0:22 kind of noise we're just ordinary fellas
0:25 fighting boxes and
0:27 if you've got some strangers
0:45 [Music]
1:04 if you got some strange disease come on
1:06 now phone us if you please and if you
1:08 don't know where you got it from don't
1:09 tell us
1:11 [Music]
1:25 [Music]
1:32 every night we sit around and make this
1:34 kind of noise we're just ordinary fellas
1:51 [Music]
1:55 what i do i'm here to give you an
1:57 example
1:59 if you're applying for a job your resume
2:02 is not your profits how things look
2:03 about when i check your urine samples
2:10 [Music]
2:12 make this kind of noise we're just
2:14 ordinary fellas
2:18 [Music]
2:27 and if you don't know where you got it
2:29 from don't tell us
2:31 [Music]
2:39 and i just take one foot out of
2:42 something i cannot pronounce and i
2:44 squirt it in that rabbit's poor pink
2:46 iris oh the center part is
2:50 [Music]
3:02 samples
3:06 [Music]
3:13 [Music]
3:16 i
3:28 [Music]
3:30 for disease control boys
3:34 but every night would sit around and
3:36 make this kind of noise we're just
3:38 ordinary fellas and boxers and rebels
3:41 chickens up for cancer making rats
3:44 cooking
3:50 [Music]
3:53 and if you don't know where you got it
3:55 from don't tell us
3:57 we're the center for
4:01 [Music]
4:06 [Applause]
4:12 and if you don't know where you got it
4:14 from
4:15 [Music]
SIDE B "Who We Hatin' Now, Mr. Reagan?"
4:26 [Music]
4:41 to make sure our banana crops okay
4:44 but i'll present into articles and paper
4:48 and cases now we're having their own
4:50 debate
4:51 well i thought the fruits
4:55 my daddy tried to bring me up that way
4:59 now sings my uncle's running
5:02 and ortega's getting bolder every day
5:06 who we hating now mr reagan
5:10 [Music]
5:21 i hear that all south africa's revolt
5:24 i ain't been there but i'll bet it's
5:26 true
5:28 they ought to quit their whining get on
5:30 with their mind and an actual fight for
5:32 bishop two two two
5:34 two who we hated now mr reagan
5:38 which corner of the world deserves our
5:41 mind
5:42 who he hates now mr reagan
5:46 just ain't been there and tell me that
5:48 we're right orville johnson now
5:53 [Music]
6:03 come on ben how come there's
6:09 [Music]
6:17 m
6:21 not that the marine corps needs any
6:23 formal introduction
6:25 appears that all our fake men are
6:27 written
6:28 [Music]
6:32 instead
6:35 [Music]
6:43 which corner of the world deserves our
6:45 mind
6:46 [Music]
6:54 time comes when even freedom needs
6:57 vacation
6:59 or maybe just a short connecting flight
7:04 but when we do there's terror there i'm
7:07 waiting
7:09 the time has come to show them who is
7:12 right
7:15 [Music]
7:39 let's hurry up and pick ourselves a
7:43 fight
7:44 [Music]
8:01 you
4 Comments
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@Bready_Player_Bun
1 year ago
*The band's premise was that a pandemic would usher a second Great Depression*
Truly ahead of their time.5
Reply
@Morganstudios
1 year ago
Total F*cking Godhead brought me here.
2
Reply
@VanishedPNW
1 year ago
HA. Too funny. This shit would fool people down south. They'd have played this on the radio down in Arkansas.
1
Reply
PinetopJackson
Ha!
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Topic: The 'Center For Disease Control Boys' 1986 Seattle band (Read 153 times)