PEER GROUP - Rhetoric And Hands

Originally planned to be released on New Alliance (NAR 009) in 1982, but never released, PEER GROUPs five-song debut now sees the light of day courtesy of San Pedro, Californias Water Under The Bridge. GINO PUSZTAL didnt have a band. He had a guitar strung upside down and a notebook full of half-finished angry and odd songs. He talked to GARY JACOBELLY about jamming. Gary brought in LINA SEDILLO on bass and Gino brought MIKE HURLEY in on drums. Together they formed Peer Group, a band composed of most of the remaining people in the small ovarian scene that hung out with the local South Bay bands from New Alliance that wanted to play but didnt yet have a band. As is the case with most bands choosing a name, they became Peer Group since it was the only name they didnt all immediately hate. They played together for one raw and dislocated year until there was a falling out with Gino. Ultimately it ended when the band fixed it so he would fire them all at once. The trio recruited JIMMY THE OTTER SLAYDEN on vocals. Jimmy was a pretty funny galoot. He was a surfer and a heck of a nice guy, and was a lot of fun at rehearsals. The band rehearsed and did a few gigs with Jimmy. Eventually, one day he didnt come to rehearsal. He got ahold of the band a couple of weeks later, but by then they were already trying it as a trio. During this time, late in winter 1981, the engineer at their sometime rehearsal space taped them for a demo. Most songs were recorded in one take in a couple of hours, thus explaining their charming, raw quality. Jimmy wrote Iconoclast Youth. Eating Out was Mike Hurleys contribution. Lina and Gary wrote the goofy little half bad French howl of despair Lon Chaney, and Gary wrote the twin head-scratchers Bromide and Box of Words." First pressing of 330 copies. Includes a download with four bonus tracks (including "I Saw That Movie," which appeared on the Chunks compilation)." -Water Under The Bridge.