'Monkey' pulls punk band from gutter

Guttermouth

Musical Monkey

Punk rock. The term doesn't mean a whole lot these days, what with all these bands hitting the mainstream with a three-chord pop song and calling themselves "punk." Punk supposedly played out in the early '80s, right? Tell that to Guttermouth.

Guttermouth began in the late '80s in Orange County, Calif., churning out a few 7" records before releasing their first album, "Full Length," (now called "The Album Formerly Known As Full Length LP") on Dr. Strange Records in 1991. Songs like "I'm P

Get your minds into the gutter with the hard-core punk sounds of Guttermouth.

unk," "Mr. Barbecue," and "Toilet"defined Guttermouth as a band who lived up to its name. Hyper-tempo songs mixed with hilarious, sometimes offensive lyrics made for a true punk combination. If you're looking for political correctness, look elsewhere.

1994's "Friendly People" on Nitro Records proved Guttermouth to be anything but, and 1996's "Teri Yakimoto" saw Guttermouth expanding its sound and also its sarcastic critique to include hippies in "Trinket Trading, Tick Toting, Toothless, Tired, Tramps": "Make you clip your toenails, make you cut your hair / Rid the world of hippies purifies our air," and vegans in "Mark's Ark." It's gotten even more wacky this year with the release of "Musical Monkey," Guttermouth's most catchy and most hideous work yet.

You think Marilyn Manson's lyrics are shocking? Obviously, you haven't been exposed to anything this risky. What's so great about Guttermouth is that they never pretend to pull any punches and really aren't trying to impress anyone, but if they can make you laugh or gross you out, they've done their job. "What's The Big Deal" pokes fun at redneck hunters, while "Lucky The Donkey," one of the catchiest melodies on the album, describes an encounter in Mexico at a donkey show and gives a little too much info.

"Musical Monkey" hits its stride with "Do The Hustle," an all-out assault on annoying rollerbladers. Mark Adkins sings "Whoopee, it's fun to skate / I'll do a figure eight / Watch me do a circle going backwards down the stairs / Oh, gee this is fun / Looks like I better run / 14 guys on skateboards wanna ollie off my head," as he mocks the "roller disco queens." The most clever track, "Bakers Dozen," takes aim at people who try so hard to be punk and the fact that punk's been separated into so many sub-genres it's ridiculous: "Ska core, snow core, hard core, homo core, alba core / Can't take it anymore."

Besides providing social commentary and biting humor and wit, Guttermouth can tell a story like no one else. "Abort Mission" is a tale about the time Mark tried to date a vegan, and needless to say, it just didn't work out. How about "What If?" where Adkins looks back to the early '70s, and paints a picture of the B-52's Fred Schneider trying out to be the next lead singer of the Doors just after Jim Morrison has died. "Perfect World" describes what it would be like if Adkins ruled the world: "Nacho cheese and anarchy / Boy that sure sounds good to me / Every kind of drug is free in the new America."

The album comes to a close with the title track "Musical Monkey," in which Adkins plays the part of the weasel journalist who fronts the punk scene: "Time to trash a band / They fucking blow / Since I wasn't on the list / I didn't make it to the show, oh well / No major labels / They really suck / Except for Bad Religion / Can't get their sticker off my truck." This is the mentality that fuels Guttermouth to do something as "un-punk" as a drum solo on the record.

"Musical Monkey" is not the record you want to play in front of the parents, but it represents everything that the music industry should be about: rebellion, attitude, fun, and no ass kissing. If it's too much, I guess you should stick with something safer. If you're tired of the same old mundane whatever, though, definitely check "Musical Monkey" out - this is what punk was meant to be.

Guttermouth will be playing St. Andrew's tonight in Detroit. It's an all-ages show, and if you ever wondered what a loud, intense, fun show is like, Guttermouth delivers one, and then some. They'll be jumpin' around, whoopin' it up and playing classics like "Chicken Box," "Asshole," and some new ones from "Musical Monkey." Check them out, and prepare to be blown away.

- Colin Bartos

09-23-97