TALES FROM THE
CUTOUT BIN VIII
The Record Industry May Be in
Shambles But We Feel No Guilt.

TAMPA: A VERY VERY
CURTAILED HISTORY
And the Current State of Our
Metal Scene.

UNDERGROUND METAL
REISSUES VII
Some Germans, some Brazilians, some Christians, some weirdos walk into a bar...

UNDERGROUND METAL
REISSUES VI
Some Germans, some Brazilians, some Christians, some weirdos walk into a bar..

LOS VIOLADORES
A Retrospective Conversation
with Pil Trafa vocalist of the
Argentinean punk legends.

TALES FROM THE
CUTOUT BIN VII
Eight Old Ones Get Resurrected
From the Can.

UNDERGROUND
METAL REISSUES V
Naglfar, Gorguts, Dark Funeral,
Blessed Death, etc,

BULLDOZER
The Story of the Legendary
Italian Thrash Metal Band

TALES FROM THE
CUTOUT BIN VI
Eight New Heavyweight Cutout
Bin Dwellers.

UNDERGROUND
METAL REISSUES IV
Disincarnate, Paradox,
Quick Change, etc

TALES FROM THE
CUTOUT BIN V
A New Installment in Our
Nobel Prize Winning Series

KIN PING MEH
70's Kraut Prog That Makes
Good Use of Restrain and Puts
the Emphasis in Songrwriting

UNDERGROUND
METAL REISSUES 3
Metal Classics Get the Treatment

TALES FROM THE
CUTOUT BIN IV
Record Hunting in South
America for Spain's Post
Punk Classics

MORE FEATURES

ACT III: THE END

ELECTRIC CHAIR THEATRE AND THE AFTERMATH

Paul Boering: After the tour, we holed ourselves up in our practice space and wrote the songs for Electric Chair Theatre.  Unbeknownst to us, American Recordings was starting to fall apart at this time.

RX Mauser: We kind of had the feeling that something was going wrong as we started recording Electric Chair Theatre -- like when we showed up at the studio in San Francisco only to learn that American had not made the deposit and that we couldn't even set up. This was rectified and we did record the album, but there was never much reaction from American.

Bryn Mars: After Nix Nought Nothing, the label sent us to Brilliant Studios in San Francisco to record the second record.  We didn't really feel comfortable there, and the music never quite "gelled".  We then went back to New York and recorded some songs back home with our friend//sound tech Scott. The label decided to drop us at that point, so we put the album out ourselves on our own label, Gladglum & Others, Ltd.

Paul Boering: None of us had much money at the time, so the cost of manufacturing the CD and placing advertisements in magazines really took its toll financially, putting us into debt.  The ads generated few sales. There were only 2 small reviews of the album, in inconsequential magazines, and their response to the album was tepid, at best. Fewer and fewer people were coming to our shows.  On top of this, I perceived (correctly or incorrectly) that many of our fans who liked Nix Nought Nothing or the early singles, did not like the Electric Chair Theatre material.

THE BREAK-UP

Paul Boering:  The conclusion of the band was brought about by the following factors: fewer people showing up at our shows, no one in the band being thrilled about the post-Electric Chair Theatre songs, and no prospect of any record label to release them anyway, everyone being in debt due to financing the release of the 2^nd album, which sold only a handful of copies, being demoralized in general about the lack of response to Electric Chair Theatre. Then Bryn Mars announced that he was going to go back to school.  So we decided to call it a day. And since we knew the band was ending by a certain date (i.e., when Bryn was scheduled to leave town to go to school), we were able to enjoy our last couple of months together, booking 2 "Final Shows" which were well-attended, fun to play, and left us with a good taste in our mouths.

Whitey Sterling: At the end I would say that there was a wall of depression over the band.  There was not any bad blood (at least none expressed), but none of us were terribly happy. On some part we felt a little underappreciated, but at the same time holding to a paradox that we did not need nor deserve any such recognition, creating for us a double bind that would allow for no other possibility than what would be termed a losing proposition.  Part of me, and I think this holds for the others, felt that we had not finished our mission.  That there was supposed to be a third album that never happened.  It haunted me for years.  I think it still lurks in the shadows somewhere, but I am more okay with that now.

RX MAUSER: One thing I think that had a lot to do with our demise was the changing nature of NYC during the Giuliani years. I hate to bring politics into this, but what made NYC great was the type of people it attracted. It was a natural beacon for anyone trying to do something creative -- whatever you wanted to do, you could go to NYC and find at least some kind of audience for it.  Another factor was ourselves. Whitey probably feels differently, but I felt that towards the end of STIFFS, INC. the songs were becoming harder to come up with and they weren't that good.  

Bryn Mars: We hit a wall, creatively, and the disappointment of playing shows to 20 people took its toll.  We just weren't inspired to keep pushing. There was never any bad blood.  We were friends before, during, and after our brush with fame.  Looking back, I simply think we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  We might have had more success in 1916.

Listen to the radio edit of “Chelsea”  

INFLUENCING OTHERS

Paul Boering: Yes, I've thought about it, but that's just the way things go. Musical interests and influences pass in cycles and each time it comes around anew, the bands tend to reach a wider audience.  THE THIRD BARDO had a tiny audience; they begat THE CRAMPS who had a medium audience; THE CRAMPS begat THE WHITE STRIPES who have a huge audience. The way I look at it, we were either 7 years ahead of our time, or 17 years too late.

Whitey Sterling: A number of people have pointed out to us the success of bands after us and drawn parallels or comparisons, but I tend to dismiss this.  We all draw from the same pool.  We're all doing the same thing.  It's all part of one continuous flow, so I think an idea of a linear progression is more illusory than anything

RX Mauser: I haven't listened to music for the past five years so I can't really comment, but it doesn't sound like something that would bother me. It's only seems natural that the likes of WIRE and THE BUZZCOCKS should continue to inspire bands, and if a band was inspired by us and cites our inspirations for cred, well, they've made their cred and they have to sleep in it.
 

Bryn Mars: I just hope some successful band today, whom we inspired (if there are any), will cover one of our songs.  I have a mortgage to pay. 

Listen to the band covering THE ADVERTS’ “One Chord Wonders”

LOOKING BACK

Paul Boering: I was proud of Nix Nought Nothing then, and I am just as pleased with it now.  It is very satisfying when four people work collectively to create something greater than any one of them could create alone. The album flows nicely from beginning to end. Plus, it ends with one chord repeated 13 times. I always loved that.

Whitey Sterling: I think it is nice that people seem to appreciate what we did.  I cannot say that I have much of a concept of it, but I certainly appreciate it when it makes itself known to me.  But the bottom line is that I made peace with what we did at a certain point, after a period of decided war with it, and once I did that, whatever followed was fine with me.  When I reflect on Nix Nought Nothing, I see it as perfectly capturing who we were at that time, and what we were trying to do. There is nothing I would change about it.  I regret nothing.

RX Mauser: When we started out we thought that we had something good, but the only place we expected to take it was not to the top of the charts, but to NYC. We ended up doing a lot more than just that and had a really good time doing it. If we are acquiring a cult following now, I think that's great.

Bryn Mars: We had always hoped that someone would enjoy what we were doing, so it's a good feeling, even in spite of the fact that we haven't played a note together since 1998.  But, maybe there are still a few more songs we can squeeze out of this machine called STIFFS, INC.  Time will tell. 

Paul Boering: I am glad that as time passes, more people might be exposed to our music.  Now if only I could sell the remaining 700 copies of Electric Chair Theatre.....That would be vindication!

Listen to the song “Richard”  

Check our lost and found piece on Nix Nought Nothing here

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