Teenage Gluesniffers

Let me start things off by saying that there was a 6 or 7 year span where I liked The Queers so much I would have taken a bullet for them. The Queers started off in 1982 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Taking their cues from The Angry Samoans, Black Flag, The Ramones, The Dickies, and their fellow New Hampshire native GG Allin, along with ther boredom and adolescent who-gives-a-shit attitude, Joe King, Wimpy and Tulu decided to form a band. They called themsevles The Queers merely to piss off the local meatheads and rednecks. With early song titles like We'd Have A Riot Doing Herion, I Don't Wanna Work, I'm Useless, This Place Sucks, I Spent The Rent, Nobody Likes Me, and Nothing To Do, they fit right in with the other great teenage bands of the era. Wimpy was the original lead singer of the band, and his vocal style was unbelievably snotty and abrasive. It fit perfectly with the tunes. Eventually, guitarist Joe King stated singing more backup vocals and when Wimpy left the band, Joe took over lead vocal duties. Joe's voice is much more pleasing to the ear, and he could actually sing, as opposed to Wimpy, who just yelped really. As soon as that switch happened, there was a very noticeable pop influence on their sound. They still played with the punk intensity and snottiness, but they became the perfect blend of The Ramones and The Beach Boys, two of Joe's favorite bands. In came a new rhythm section of Hugh "Hubie" O'Neill and JJ Rassler, who was later replaced by B Face on the bass. For me, at least, this is when they went from being a good band to a great band. MRR columnist Ben Weasel got a hold of some recordings and got them signed to the same label his bad, Screeching Weasel (perhaps more on them later...), Lookout Records. Through Lookout's name recognition, promotion, financial backing (?), The Queers made a name for themselves on an international scale, becoming one of the figurehead bands of the ever-increasing pop punk scene. It was during these years that I saws them live about a dozen times or so. They totally kicked ass live, and I couldn't have loved a band more. When I was learning how to play the guitar, I immediatley learned how to play their whole catalog (along with the ramones catalog) and used to play along with the cds endlessly. Here are some songs from that era:

Goodbye California
Feeling Groovy
Ursula Finally Has Tits
Teenage Gluesniffer
Ben Weasel
Hawaii

Their relationship with Lookout soured, and Hugh passed away in 1998, and B Face moved on as well. Too much drink/drugs/bad vibes (and an unfortunate brain aneurysm) brought the end of their best lineup. Joe has continued the band, releasing things on various labels, and having various lineups of the band, but he has remained as the frontman. After a little while I lost track of them, returning to their albums every once in a while. I think its time for another trip down memory lane. Here's a link where you can purchase their new live album, "Weekend At Bernies". Check it out party people.