THE FUCKIN' FLYIN' A-HEADS

The Fuckin' Flying A-Heads are probably one of the oldest, most out-there and uncatergorizable bands in the whole spectrum of Hawaii punk, who have been recently brought back from the netherrealms to reissue reality. Their sole seven inch "Swiss Cheese Back/Watching TV" is complete mindfuckery of the highest caliber, drug punk from head to toe, and Hawaii's only nearest comparison to the art terrorism-nihilist void of Flipper or the Electric Eels. To me, it sounds like a Hawkwind riff dragged through some punk mud, recorded with a broken mic, mixed with a tinkertoy soundboard, and the tapes dunked in a bleach and water solution.It's monotonous mutated music, which is a compliment, mind you, and while the seven inch is an endurance test of patience and attention, it's an unltimately satisfying record if you're a fan of noxious noise.

The FFA were freakish music nerds (read: fans of Frank Zappa,Blue Cheer and Funhouse-era Stooges) who were eager to buckle expectations, be confrontational, noisey and cause a general ruckus. Like most freaks in the late 70's, they found an open door via punk rock. The single was recorded live at a sparsely attended show in Pearl City, at a now exinct place called the Leeward Theatre in January of 1980. After running out a paying crowd with their churning psychnoise, they decided to take it to the next level and piss off/confuse the record buying public by releasing a 7 inch of the event. The record barely sold, not only because of its contents, but because store owners were hesitant to sell something with the word "Fuckin'" in the title. Apparently, Rough Trade bought some copies that circulated in their UK stores, as well as to some California record shops, but that was the extent of it. Good luck finding it in any record shop in Hawaii; I've yet to ever see a copy in any used shops or thrift stores. The band soon relocated to San Francisco, tried their hand at getting gigs at fledgling punk clubs like the Mabuhay Gardens, where they were told by Dirk Dirksen himself that their music was "Too intense- it will likely cause a riot." They played a few gigs in the Bay Area, before the member's other musical and drug commitments effectively dissolved the band. Their singer Eric Ishii passed away from leukemia in Dec. of 2000 but their music lives on with the reissue of their seven inch by De Stijl records.

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