Nervebreakers – I Wanna Kill You [White Vinyl 1977 Texas PUNK!] – New 7"

white  VINYL!

 why punk had to happen, in a place called Texas.  Without the constraints of what punk should sound like, they offer variety, 70s punk, garage power pop, trash swagger,showing they had something going before punk came to Texas.  It clearly goes back to the 1960s for some of its inspiration, but it also clearly has some NYC/Cleveland influences, and moves the influences into the present.  It's a great.

"Nervebreakers are a late seventies / early eighties Texas punk band considered by many to be the first of their kind in the southwest. Like many others of this genre, they started out as a high school garage band doing sixties / early seventies cover songs. What made them unique was their range of material; from the music of the English Invasion to Yummy Yummy bubble gum as well as songs from punk pioneers MC-5 to true blue country artists like George Jones.

The array of influence from all those cover songs melded into a two guitar, bass and drum sonic assault with a wild child vocalist up front. The members of the band began writing some of their own songs.

On July 24, 1977 the Ramones first blitzkrieged Dallas at The Electric Ballroom, Nervebreakers opened. In 1978 they opened for the Sex Pistols at The Longhorn Ballroom. In 1979 when the Clash were calling here at Dallas’ Palladium, Nervebreakers let them know they weren’t in London anymore. By 1980 when the Police came to town, they were Nervebreakers fans due to Random Notes in Rolling Stone. The list reads on and on in NME, Melody Maker and High Times. Like a who’s who of punk rock history, our guys held their own as the Texas band to see.

Nervebreakers weren’t just playing, they were the real deal. Home grown - born and raised. Texas proud and ready to kill. 

In the pre - D.I.Y. days of 1978 they self-released the EP “Politics” featuring “My Girlfriend is a Rock”. ”Girlfriend” became a hit in San Francisco, Sacramento and Boston and was later covered by the Angry Samoans and Wool - among others. This song (and the US invasion of Iraq) inspired sixteen year old punk upstarts, Spector 45, to put their spin on the song as “My Girlfriend’s in Iraq” in 2003.



Despite being recognized as the biggest and baddest of them all locally, they were also huge fans of Texas predecessors such as the 13th Floor Elevators. This eventually led to the band contacting Psychedelic rock pioneer Roky Erickson. Roky had just walked out of a mental institution so they offered to open shows for him and provide the legendary musician with a backup group. The result helped Roky back in the public eye. And “Roky Erickson and the Nervebreakers Live at the Palladium in 1979” was issued on the French label New Rose Records.

In 1980 Nervebreakers took on their biggest endeavor yet, recording the full length album “We Want Everything”. Sadly due to band finances this effort was not to be released. Side projects and individual interest whittled away at the band until an eventual demise. Each and every off shoot has been and continues to be incredible. Vocalist Thom "Tex" Edwards has fronted bands including “The Swingin’ Cornflake Killers”, “The Loafin ' Hyenas” and most recently “Out on Parole”. Lead guitarist, Mike Haskins, has led the instrumental spaghetti western band “The Big Guns” for the last decade. And guitarist Barry Kooda had a great run with late 80's band “Yeah Yeah Yeah” and as one of three front men in the 1990's country outfit “The Cartwrights”. But those are all other long stories so for now let’s just stick with Nervebreakers.

“We Want Everything” did not see the light of day until 1994 when Texas rarities / reissue label ‘Existential Vacuum’ released it to rave reviews. This was followed by a single reuniting of the band for a release party at Trees in Deep Ellum. Shortly thereafter this effort was picked up by garage / punk label ‘Get Hip Records’ and made available worldwide. In 2000 Italian label “Rave Up Records” woke up and released “Hijack the Radio” a collection of singles, rarities and live cuts. Years after they laid the groundwork for thousands of other Texas bands, Nervebreakers were finally getting their due.  -Frank Campagna, Dallas, 2009