Fang Mail, Pt. 21

Thought we'd share some more "fang mail" from folks who've actually purchased the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD:

"For the first time on DVD, a completely electrifying proto-punk group who made their first appearance in the '70s. They were on the scene a while during that period without having had the chance to record an LP. Which is very sad, because the potential was there. This was proto-punk in the same vein as the DOLLS/STOOGES/BLUE OYSTER CULT/DICTATORS with a volley of super titles," writes Arsene Obscene leader Francois Ibanez on the Rock In Nice message board here.

"Obviously, you won't listen to this using the latest sound technology," Ibanez continues. "The guy shot the film -- in trashy black and white -- from 100 meters behind the audience, which didn't move the entire hour. I imagine that in 1974 the crowd had to be a bit blase. The film dwells for five minutes on some girl's doughy butt -- the only person moving -- oscillating between the songs as in a trance.

"The sound quality is still strangely 'almost' acceptable, and the band give their all, especially the singer with his pants kissing his pubic hair a la Iggy. There's a pathetic, albeit intentionally humorous, side to all this, which adds an aspect of the beautiful loser. A good, though forgotten, group."

Special thanks to original Back Door Man staffer/South Bay homegirl D.D. Faye for the French-to-English translation.

"The Imperial Dogs Foresaw Punk In Style, Songs & Sound"

"The Imperial Dogs were a hard-edged, confrontational, raw rock band that foresaw punk in their manner of dress (leather-clad biker trash cum a glammed-out, street/Sunset Strip look: shirtless with dog collars, furry pants, face make-up, and skull-and-crossbones drawn on their chests), song subjects (a menacing kiss-off to the hippie '60s titled 'This Aint The Summer Of Love'), influences (Iggy & The Stooges, the MC5, the Velvet Underground, the New York Dolls), and sound (high-energy, guttural, street-tough and wild)" ...

"Their songs were tight hard-rockers with tough subject matter, full of hellacious rebellion and energy. 'Midnite Dog,' '13 Sons Of Satan,' Amphetamine Superman,' and 'Rock 'N' Roll Overdose' serve as a good idea of where these guys were coming from" ...

"Track down the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD the next time you're saddling up for a night of drunken debauchery and howling at the moon."

All this is just the tip o' the tongue-bath that proto-punk aficionado Nick Myers gives "crazed, L.A. rock 'n' roll combo" the Imperial Dogs here.

Fang Mail, Pt. 20

Thought we'd share some more "fang mail" from people who've actually purchased the Imperial Dogs Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD:

"I can't believe you guys didn't get more recognition!" writes Scott Taylor from England. "It makes me wonder why bands like the Sex Pistols and the Damned gained so much infamy when the Imperial Dogs were being loud and challenging years before! The Imperial Dogs have become a big influence on our band -- we intend to cover one of your songs soon -- and have inspired us to give a big 'FUCK YOU' to the wishy-washy popular bands in our native Derbyshire and beyond! Thanks for your piece of history!"

Fang Mail, Pt. 19

Thought we'd share some more "fang mail" from folks who've actually purchased the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD.

"You did the Midnite Dog imperially, indeed," writes longtime music journalist/author Don Snowden from Valencia, Spain. "Good thing 'An Evening Of Sex, Violence And Public Outrage" (as promised on the flyer for the gig) was held in the Multi-Purpose Room, but then I guess that's why they built one of 'em ... I presume Don Waller passed on the name of his tailor to (Cramps frontman) Lux Interior."

Imperial Dogs Unleash Two New Video Clips: 'Just Kids' And 'Intensity 21.5'

On November 11, 1974, the Imperial Dogs performed live! at Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco before a packed house of Hollywood glitterati, including the band's spiritual godfather, Iggy Pop.

To celebrate the 36th anniversary of this footnote in rock history, we've
uploaded two new video clips,which can either be viewed below or here and here.

The first, "Just Kids," features the Imperial Dogs emphasizing the power in "power-pop." (Pop group, are ya?)



The second, "Intensity 21.5," is the sonic result of the Imperial Dogs' experiments in better living through chemistry. (The title is an oblique reference to the density of lead, the heaviest of metals.)



Both of these clips are taken from the Imperial Dogs Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD, which sports superior audio and video quality than these low-res versions and is available directly from this site. (Details can be found in the left-hand column on the first page).

Stupefaction's Before & After Series Spotlights The Imperial Dogs & The Blue Oyster Cult (& L7 & Lizzy Borden)

The latest installment in the Stupefaction blog's ongoing "before and after" series (found here) spotlights the Imperial Dogs' original version of "This Ain't The Summer Of Love" -- taken from the Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD -- alongside subsequent recordings by the Blue Oyster Cult, L7, and Lizzy Borden, all of which are taken from various Youtube postings.

And ... as almost everyone reading this sentence already knows, "This Ain't The Summer Of Love" has also been recorded by the Nomads (as the Screamin' Dizbusters), the U.V.'s, and Current 93 as well as interpolated into Green River's second version of "Swallow My Pride."

Spatziba: Imperial Dogs Rediscovered!

"Found my Imperial Dogs LP Unchained Maladies on the Dog Meat label and it blew my head off again," writes Simonk here on the Spatziba site.

"I loves me some of that Detroit guitar thang: Stooges, MC5, Mitch Ryder, Rationals, Sonic's Rendevous Band, and the likes," continues Simonk. "So when I was first exposed to the Imperial Dogs I was hooked. I knew there was a posthumous 7" in '78 and the LP on Dog Meat. Then I found this stuff on youtube from a recently released Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD and wow ... I mean WOW!!!

"I need to get this DVD, as any fan of rock and, of course, roll, will need to. There's not really much 'round now that gets close to this!"

"Wild, Boundary Crossing, Pre-Punk": The Story Of The Imperial Dogs

The story of the "wild, boundary crossing, pre-punk" Imperial Dogs -- from genesis to apocalypse to resurrection (in the form of the Live! At Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD) is retold by vocalist Don Waller here at the This Ain't The Summer Of Love blog.

Co-starring Imperial Dogs guitarist Paul Therrio, bassist Tim Hilger, and drummer Bill Willett (R.I.P.), this .44 magnum opus includes guest appearances by Iggy Pop & The Stooges, the Blue Oyster Cult, the New York Dolls, Rodney Bingenheimer, Kim Fowley, the Clap, Alice Gazzari, Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye, Greg Ginn, Keith Morris, the Pop!, the Zippers, the Wig Titans, Phast Phreddie Patterson (as well as the rest of the Back Door Man fanzine/record label gang) and -- as they used to say in the ads for the dances at El Monte Legion Stadium -- many, many more.

Fang Mail, Pt. 18

Thought we'd share some more "fang mail" from people who've actually purchased the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD.

"What a boss show! I dig it the most!" writes Nancy Breslow (a.k.a. Jim Short, whose NYC-based Short News fanzine flourished from 1979-84). "And I just noticed the kids sparkin' a bone during 'This Ain't The Summer Of Love.' Ha!"

Fang Mail, Pt. 17

Thought we'd share some more "fang mail" from people who've actually purchased the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD.

"The music was great!" writes Chris Loos of Porcupine Ridge, Australia, adding, "I would've liked to been around back then to see you guys live -- I surely would've been dancing around with that couple -- and Don Waller was a great frontman who really put in 110%. It would've been wicked to have all these songs recorded in a studio, but this very enjoyable document is enough."

This Ain't The Summer Of Love ... Blog!

"This Ain't The Summer Of Love" was written by Don Waller and Paul Therrio of the Imperial Dogs, who can be seen performing the song on their recently released Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD.

Two years later, the song was re-worked and recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult on their Agents Of Fortune LP.

Since then, the tune's title has inspired a 2009 book by Steve Waksman, a skateboard by Queen Michelle, and this blog, where the whole story -- complete with cameo appearances by the Nomads, L7, Lizzy Borden, the U.V.'s, Current 93, and Green River -- has now been retold.

This Ain't The Summer Of Love ... Skateboard!

When Queen Michelle from the Kingdom Of Style blog was recently asked by SGC N-Y-C to design a pair of skateboards, she chose to emblazon one of them with the lyrics that comprise the chorus to the Blue Oyster Cult's version of "This Ain't The Summer Of Love," which were partially written by the Imperial Dogs, whose original rendition of this timeless tune can be found on their Live! In Long Beach (October 30,1974) DVD.

Daily Breeze: 'Imperial Dogs: Live!' DVD Shows Band's Raw Power!

"Rude, loud and focused on its mission to wake up the youth of America from the complacency of the post-hippie era, the Imperial Dogs were a trailblazing band in all senses of the word. Especially the 'blazing' part" ... "The band rips through its songs with a ferocity that appears to stun most of the listless crowd" ... "A fascinating look at a band that had already lived the rebelliousness of the punk rock explosion years before it became a reality," says Sam Gnerre, writing about the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD here at the Daily Breeze website as well as in the July 8 issue of the South Bay-based daily newspaper.

Fang Mail, Pt. 16

Thought we'd share more "fang mail" from people who've actually purchased the Imperial Dogs' Live! At Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD.

"This is explosive!" writes Thomas Walls of Lake Worth, Florida, adding, "I first got the Imperial Dogs album on Dog Meat back in the early-'90s. I must've stolen a line or two from that record and used it onstage with the Creepy T's: "We're gonna put our poodles in your noodles!"

"And Bobby Load of South Florida's infamous punk band Load saw the album at my house once and had me draw a skull-and-crossbones in magic marker on his chest for their reunion show in Ft. Lauderdale.

"I always thought the Imperial Dogs were so great because they made seriously good music without taking themselves so seriously. And I was a huge Blue Oyster Cult fan since high school, so the 'This Ain't The Summer Of Love' story intrigued me. So naturally when I started to listen to things other than oldies or classic rock, I became a Stooges and Radio Birdman fan. And when I found the Imperial Dogs, it was whoa, geez, this is where it's at."

Proto-Punk Legend/Former Debris Frontman Chuck Ivey Meets The Imperial Dogs!

"I loved the Imperial Dogs video!! Fantastic sounds and show!" says Chuck Ivey, bassist/vocalist/songwriter for Chickasha, Oklahoma-based Debris, whose 1976 indie album Static Disposal is now recognized as a futomic explosion of true-blue flame proto-punk (as evidenced by its 2007 deluxe extended reissue on Anopheles Records).

"Wish we could've been with you back then," Ivey continues." Seems like you had a lot of the same creative forces going. We all would've had a blast together I am sure."

Having actually witnessed Chuck play bass alongside fellow Oklahoma refugees guitarist Pat Garrett and drummer KK Barrett when the Randoms performed at the now-legendary Masque Benefit, held at the Elks Lodge, MacArthur Park, Los Angeles on February 25, 1978 -- and immortalized on the Dicks Fight Banks Hate volume of the Live At The Masque series of three CDs that was issued by Year One Records in 1996 -- Imperial Dogs frontman Don Waller can only concur ...

Fang Mail, Pt. 15

Thought we'd share some more "fang mail" from people who've actually purchased the Imperial Dogs Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD. Kim Maki, a longtime Detroit mover 'n' shaker who blogs here, succinctly says: "It's fascinating!"

Fang Mail, Pt. 14

Thought we'd share some more "fang mail" from people who've actually purchased the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD. Jeremy Cargile of Reno, Nevada writes: "Y'all were cer-tain-ly uh top-flight, nonpareil rock 'n' roll band followin' the family tradition of the heavyweight underground forebearers (the Stooges, the MC5, the Blue Oyster Cult, Blue Cheer, mebbe Brain Capers -era Mott The Hoople, et al.) and all the high-energy rock 'n' roll that preceded it (the Who, the early Kinks, the mid-period Rolling Stones, and summa the more energized garage bands).

"I'll def give ya smokin' the Clap, but a lotta the proto-punk touchstones aren't easily compared. Yer most def on par, or exceeding the more straight material by Rocket From The Tombs and Simply Saucer, but they pulled more from the mutant and freak-rock tradition ta these ears. Both are all-time fave-raves for me. I'd say y'all were closer as apprentices approximatin' yer masters, but the way those bands 'failed' is tryin' the same is kinda what made 'em."

Fang Mail, Pt. 13

Thought we'd share some more "fang mail" from people who've actually purchased the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD. Mitch Schneider -- founder/head honcho of the long-running, L.A.-based MSO publicity firm -- writes: "You guys were ahead of your time! Love the onstage comments about urging the crowd to burn the Carole King 'Tapestry' album and shooting methadrine into granola! Smart, nasty, glam-into-punk fireworks -- and I love the Mott 'Rock And Roll Queen' cover!"

Fang Mail, Pt. 12

The Imperial Dogs thought we'd share some "fang mail" from people who've actually purchased our Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD. Peter Verzil of Amsterdam writes: "Got the DVD. It's great, man! You guys had your own sound. Great songs. You should have been big! Love the drums on 'I'm Waiting For The Man' and your rap after that. And 'This Ain't The Summer Of Love' is a classic single. Bonus points for playing a Mott The Hoople song. And I love Bill Willett's drumming."

The Imperial Dogs: 'Out-Playing Every Band In The City'!

"Most 70s punk enthusiasts know this band from their one single 'THIS AIN'T THE SUMMER OF LOVE/I'M WAITING FOR THE MAN' from 1977, which is an experimental, scathing, grinding punk attack and the flip is a supercharged version of the VELVETS classic, but go back three years and you'll find this band really out-playing every band in the city on this previously unreleased documentary footage" ... "You have to see this. The singer and his bandmates dance and slam the guitar notes to the ground while the audience just stares. Most are not sure what to make of this futuristic sound. When they play 'THIS AIN'T THE SUMMER OF LOVE,' people watching look shocked. And they really rip up a song called 'MIDNITE DOG'... "This is really strong pre-punk in a STOOGES mold," says whoever's writing about the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD here.

Terminal Boredom: Imperial Dogs DVD Is 'A Great Set' Of 'Gonzo Stoogoid Tracks'!

"A great set, especially considering the year, showing off a band that coulda been a contender" ... "'This Ain't the Summer of Love' (later appropriated by BOC) is an under-appreciated proto-classic, and gonzo Stoogoid tracks like 'Amphetamine Superman' and 'Midnite Dog' aren't far behind. They whip through a baker's dozen to blank stares and open mouths, and the absence of crowd reaction provides humorous context" ... "Great costumes (fur pants, no shirts, chains, great hair, swazis) enhance vocalist Don Waller's crowd-baiting performance," says veteran rock aficionado/journo Rich K, writing about the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD here (scroll about half-way down the page) at the electronic version of his long-running Terminal Boredom 'zine.

Roctober: ' This Imperial Dogs DVD Is Amazing'!

"This DVD is amazing, not merely for the content (Stooges-esque proto-punk from before many were doing such a thing), but for what it is (a videotaped performance of an obscure band before ANYONE was considering doing such a thing)" ... "Half the fun is seeing the audience not knowing how the hell to react, the rest of the fun is seeing [Don] Waller strutting, crawling, and doing his best degenerate, abusive, white guy version of the theatricality he already loved in James Brown and Co." ... "the shoulda been classic songs like 'Just Kids,' 'Amphetamine Superman,' and their claim to fame 'This Ain't the Summer of Love,' which they sold to Blue Oyster Cult, who really just used the title (this version is scarier) make this a hard product to pass up," writes veteran journalist/author/"Chic-A-Go-Go" cable TV producer Jake Austen, reviewing the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD here at the electronic version of his long-running Roctober magazine.

Blitz Declares Imperial Dogs DVD 'A War On Mediocrity'!

"Nothing less than a declaration of war on mediocrity" ... "The Imperial Dogs espoused a refreshing individualism that, while not bereft of convention, nonetheless provided the catalyst for the groundswell that was to come" ... "Their victory (and ultimately ours) was nonetheless a righteous one," says veteran journalist Michael McDowell, writing about the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD here at the online version of his Blitz fanzine, which he began publishing way back in 1975.

The Imperial Dogs' 'Just Kids' Makes World-Wide Broadcast Debut On 'Chic-A-Go-Go' TV Show!

It's only fitting that the Imperial Dogs' video performance of "Just Kids" makes its world-wide broadcast debut on "Chic-A-Go-Go" -- a music show "for kids of all ages" that's been airing weekly on Chicago's public access TV since 1996 (!). "Chic-A-Go-Go" is the brainchild of Jake Austen -- author of TV A-Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol and creator of the long-running, Chicago-based Roctober fanzine.

If you're in the Chicago area, the Imperial Dogs' segment is set to air on Channel 19 at 8:30pm on Tuesday, May 25 and repeat at 3:30pm on Wednesday, May 26, but you can see it here now. (This video footage also can be found on the Imperial Dogs'Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD.)

The segment opens with Imperial Dogs frontman Don Waller being interviewed by the show's host, Ratso, on subjects ranging from the I-Dogs DVD to his involvement in the recently released The T.A.M.I. Show DVD and the legendary Back Door Man fanzine to his advice to the young people of America.

Imperial Dogs Bite Back At Bluefat.com!

"Supremely rocking and wickedly funny" ... "One raucous rock-monster tune after mostly self-penned tune" ..."Drummer Bill (Willett) plays like a very athletic octopus; it's worth the price of admission just to watch this guy whack the tubs" ... "Way, way ahead of their time," exclaims veteran L.A. arts journalist John Payne, writing about the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD -- and interviewing former I-Dogs frontman Don Waller -- here at his incredibly eclectic Bluefat.com site.

The Bad And The Beautiful: Iggy Pop Meets The I-Dogs

The Imperial Dogs are as surprised as we are deeply honored to discover this fan-created video collage that accompanies our recording of "The Bad And The Beautiful," which can be found here.

When Iggy Pop witnessed the Imperial Dogs perform this song live at Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco on November 11, 1974, he was overheard to ask, "You know that song, 'The Bad And The Beautiful'? Did those guys write that? Man, that's a good song. I wanna record that."

Unfortunately, Iggy's next stop was UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute, after which he decamped with David Bowie to Berlin, where he promptly forgot all about this hallowed evening ...

Indeed written by Imperial Dogs members Don Waller and Paul Therrio, this song -- recorded live in our Carson, California practice space -- appears only on the Unchained Maladies: Live! 1974-75 album that was issued on Australia-based Dog Meat Records in 1989. (All the images in this video are taken from that album's cover or inner sleeve.) And the reason "The Bad And The Beautiful" doesn't appear on the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD is simple -- we hadn't written it yet.

Imperial Dogs Rock Detroit (Metro Times)!

"A killer and insulting rock 'n' roll band" ... "punk-rock-with-melody as skull-ringing as it is apt for smutty shout-outs as 'Amphetamine Superman' and 'Just Kids'" ... "a gnarly snapshot of the missing link between the late '60s L.A. rock explosion and Hollywood's '77 punk rock. Worth every penny," writes Brian Smith, raving about the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30,1974) DVD here at the Metro Times site as well as in this week's issue of the Detroit alternative-weekly newspaper.

Imperial Dogs: 'Precursors To The Punk Explosion'

"Spreading the gospel of the Stooges, the Velvet Underground, '60s garage bands, the best '60s British groups (the Kinks, the Yardbirds) and the spirit of real rock 'n' roll -- hard, mean, with attitude to spare and a sense of humor to boot -- the Imperial Dogs had their own very original sound, wrote great songs, and were excellent musicians," says James "The Hound" Marshall, writing here at his always astonishing thehoundblog, a must-bookmark site for any true fan of rock when it still rolled.

After viewing the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD, Marshall -- a longtime (former) WFMU DJ, journalist, world-class record collector, and veteran NYC rock scenester -- ranks the Imperial Dogs alongside the Droogs, Rocket From The Tombs, and rock journo Nick Kent as those who helped lay the groundwork for punk-rock as we now know it, adding, "Had the Imperial Dogs stayed together for another year or two, they might've changed the course of L.A. punk for the better."

Imperial Dogs: 'Loud Guitars, Tongue In Cheek Lyrics & Shocking Visuals Deliver First Glimpse Of Punk Rock'

"A blistering hour-long concert ... with this fantastic live set, a frantic mix of loud guitars, tongue in cheek lyrics, and shocking visuals, the Imperial Dogs delivered the first glimpse of punk rock," says John B. Moore, writing about the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD -- and conducting an interview with former I-Dogs frontman Don Waller -- here at Blurt Online.

I-Dogs Guitarist Paul Therrio & Iggy Pop: Surfer's Choice!

After repeated viewings of the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD -- which he pronounces "a corker" -- Waitakere Walks blogmeister Papa Jon draws parallels between I-Dogs guitarist Paul Therrio ("a life long avid surfer") and Iggy Pop's attributing his 1970s revitalization by immersing himself in Our Mother Ocean, illustrating his point by reproducing the DVD booklet's photo of Iggy checking out the Imperial Dogs when they played Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco for the first time on November 11, 1974.

It's worth noting that the skull 'n' crossbones on Paul's chest was simply the product of I-Dogs frontman Don Waller's handiwork with a marking pen -- and they only did this once.)

The Imperial Dogs: Garage Rock? Proto-Punk? Heavy Metal? Or All Of The Above?

"Building on the influence of '60s garage rock and '70s proto-punk like the Stooges and Mott The Hoople, the traces of things to come are all over the material: a song called 'Loud, Hard & Fast' is indeed all of the above,"so sayeth Smith College professor Steve Waksman, author of This Ain't the Summer of Love: Conflict and Crossover in Heavy Metal and Punk (University of California Press, 2009), writing about the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD here.

Waksman -- whose book takes its title from the song that was originally written and performed by the Imperial Dogs, then later re-worked and recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult for their 1976 Agents Of Fortune LP -- had not previously heard the Imperial Dogs' version, which they can be seen and heard performing on the DVD. But now that he has ...

"It's amazing this was recorded, let alone that it's been issued on DVD," continues Waksman. "The liner notes are great and help to put this lost nugget of hard rock history in the perspective it deserves. I urge anyone with an interest in the twisted, intersecting paths of metal and punk to buy a copy."

Punk Legend Keith Morris Meets The Imperial Dogs!

Former Black Flag/Circle Jerks frontman/fellow South Bay homeboy Keith Morris just scored a copy of the Imperial Dogs' DVD and this is what he posted here on his Facebook page: "HEY RAWK PEEPS! Just watched The IMPERIAL DOGS live in Long Beach and I've gotta say... GET THIS! If yer a fan of the STOOGES, STONES, MOTT THE HOOPLE, KINKS, VELVETS, DOLLS go to: theimperialdogs.com And yeah that's IMPERIAL as in IMPERIAL HIGHWAY runnin' right through South Central w/a brown bag fulla Budweiser! This was filmed in 1974 when we didn't have much real local music 'cause they were all playin' Top 40!"

I-Dogs On Kim Fowley's 'Underground Garage' Radio Show!

Wearing an Imperial Dogs T-shirt, the already legendary Kim Fowley welcomed the Imperial Dogs to the stage when the fearsome foursome played their first show at the similarly legendary Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco on November 11, 1974. (See photo at right.) Fowley later introduced then-former I-Dogs frontman Don Waller to then-Blue Oyster Cult co-manager/co-producer Murray Krugman, which led to the BOC's re-working and recording the Imperial Dogs' original version of "This Ain't The Summer Of Love" for their 1976 platinum-selling album, Agents Of Fortune.

On Saturday (Feb. 20), Kim Fowley welcomes the Imperial Dogs to his weekly portion of the "Underground Garage" satellite radio program, which airs from 9am to 1pm on the Sirius 25 and XM 59 channels. This week, the Fowley show's theme is "a tribute to local bands," so he'll be mashing up instrumental audio segments from the L.A./South Bay-based Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD with glory-that-was-grease instrumentals -- all cherry-picked from Kim's colossal collection of vintage vinyl -- and delivering his inimitable sex 'n' drugs 'n' rock 'n' roll-fueled raps over the top. Now that's info-tainment!

Tune in, turn on, and hear the Imperial Dogs' version of the Kinks' "Till The End Of The Day" collide with Lonnie Mack's "Memphis" (DJ break #3) and the I-Dogs' originals "Midnite Dog" and "Loud, Hard & Fast" segue into Duane Eddy's "Because They're Young" and the Frogmen's "Underwater" (DJ breaks #6 and #9, respectively). Stay tuned and bear ear-witness to the Imperial Dogs' version of Mott The Hoople's "Rock And Roll Queen" swapping precious bodily fluids with Lonnie Mack's "Wham!" (DJ break #11) and the I-Dogs' fans screaming for an encore sliding seamlessly into the Routers' "Let's Go" (DJ break #13). Losing band to have heads shaved on stage!

Kim Fowley's name has been on a lot of loose lips lately, seeing as how he plays a Machiavellian role in The Runaways movie, which is set to open on March 19. As an original member of the Back Door Man fanzine staff, Don can't wait to see whether the film includes the Runaways playing their first gig at a party held in BDM founder Phast Phreddie Patterson's parents' living room on September 11, 1975, or BDM staffer D.D. Faye's bringing guitarist Lita Ford into the group, or Don himself teaching Joan Jett the John Lee Hooker-style monologue that appears in the middle of "Born To Be Bad" backstage between sets at the Whisky-a-Go-Go ...

'Playing Bone Shattering Music & Causing Mayhem' Pt. 2

Featuring guest commentary from Back Door Man fanzine founder Phast Phreddie Patterson and first-generation L.A. punk-rock photographer Jenny Lens, the second installment of a two-part interview with former Imperial Dogs ("a band that seemed to exist for the sheer enjoyment of causing mayhem and playing electric music at bone shattering decibels") frontman Don Waller can now been seen here at Troy Church's The Bigfoot Diaries blog.

Imperial Dogs On 'The Watt From Pedro Radio Show'!

Former Imperial Dogs frontman Don Waller is this week's guest on bassist extraordinaire Mike Watt's long-running Internet radio program, "The Watt From Pedro Radio Show," playing audio selections from -- and giving background info on -- the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD, and trading South Bay proto-punk war stories about the Back Door Man fanzine, the Blue Oyster Cult, Patti Smith, Rodney's English Disco, the F.B.I.'s busting into an I-Dogs' practice in search of Patty Hearst, and much, much more. Hear it all here.

'This Ain't The Summer Of Love' Now A Book!

This Ain't the Summer of Love: Conflict and Crossover in Heavy Metal and Punk -- written by Steve Waksman (an Associate Professor of Music and American Studies at Smith College) and published by the University of California Press -- takes its title from a song originally written and performed by the Imperial Dogs back in 1974.

Moving from Grand Funk Railroad, Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop to the Dictators and the Runaways to Motorhead and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal to grunge, Waksman not only details how heavy metal and punk arose as a reaction to the prevailing trends in rock music of the '60s, but also how much these two styles influenced as well as opposed each other, and provoked widely different reactions from critics and fans.

Waksman packs a whole lotta research into these 400 pages, and although certain sections of the book are far too academic in tone to appeal to the casual reader, it benefits greatly from Waksman actually being a guitarist as well as a true fan of the music. You might not share his taste, but that's inevitable -- and not really the point.

As for the tome's title track, Waksman recounts how Kim Fowley introduced former Imperial Dogs frontman Don Waller to then Blue Oyster Cult co-manager/co-producer Murray Krugman, which resulted in the BOC's reworking the I-Dogs' original tune -- retaining the hookline, title, and concept -- and recording it for their 1976 Agents Of Fortune album. Waksman also notes how this chorus was later interpolated into pioneering Seattle outfit Green River's 1988 re-recording of their own "Swallow My Pride":

"Like Blue Oyster Cult singing Don Waller's lyrics in 1976, they mock the suggestion that the late 1960s was some golden era never to be reproduced or recovered ... Performing an undisclosed partial cover of a song that was not quite obscure but not quite a hit, by a well-known but hard to categorize band from the previous decade, Green River asserted above all the value of hidden knowledge in the sphere of rock ... Resources from the past became the means to counter the orthodoxies of the present and to create a new synthesis that melded hardcore's radical sense of refusal with the ambivalent embrace of heavy metal excess."

Yeah, what he said ...

I-Dogs DVD: 'Both Unadulterated Genius & Filthy Mayhem'

Latest review of the Imperial Dogs' DVD ("Soul baring, trash kicking, guitar infused, spine knuckling music" ... "both pure unadulterated genius and just filthy mayhem" ... "way ahead of their time") comes courtesy of Troy Church at his The Bigfoot Diaries blog, which also features the first installment of a two-part interview with former Imperial Dogs frontman Don Waller.

Imperial Dogs: Punk? Heavy Metal? Just Call It Rock & Roll!

Here's a particularly perspicacious review of the Imperial Dogs' 1989 LP, Unchained Maladies: Live! 1974-75, written by the infamously iconoclastic Chris Stigliano for issue No. 17 of his long-running Black To Comm fanzine, which has since metamorphosed into the Blog2Com site:

"While we're still on the continent,let's look into yet another label dedicated to THE BIG BEAT. Dog Meat Records. Besides releasing loads of Australian and El Lay decarock back during their stint as Grown Up Wrong, these buds've raped the Vaults of Mid-'70s Punk Past and come up w/a nailbiter of a disc w/the Imperial Dogs' UNCHAINED MALADIES, a collection of tracks by the overlooked band of the sleazy LA scene who mighta made a dent if they came about during the late-'70s but got bashed about while part of the Rodney's/Kim Fowley scene.

"You've probably read my review of their single that BACK DOOR MAN released in '77; well, that's on here as are more rehearsal tracks from the same sesh that spawned these screamers & even some live tracks from the group's debut gig in '74 and boy, is this great. Like the best of SoCal rock, this is punk and heavy metal, or like the best punk has some heavy metal influx and like the best HM's got punk roots ... aww, just call it ROCK & ROLL!

"The live tracks are as RAW & ALIVE as the stuff the Stooges laid down at the Whiskey a few months prior w/heavy Stoogian overtones while the new rehearsal spazz seems more Heavy Metal proper in a Blue Oyster Cult and even pre-speedmetal artery! Like Rocket From The Tombs, the Dictators and loads more, this was happening across the country and maybe WORLD at the same time w/o each band knowing what the other was up to ... howcum THE VILLAGE VOICE (or RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT) hasn't picked up on that yet?

"The forebearers to a whole load of the Southern Californicate rock scene from Black Flag, Wurm, Metallica and Guns & Roses to Fear and just about every kid inna area to hitch up to the punk and/or heavy metal mainlines (and I should tell ya Don Waller's liner notes are great in the way they detail the story and the response from various stars ... a few of the facts presented therein should even get a few rock & roll history books rewritten too!)."

The Imperial Dogs: Stoner Rock & New Wave Fans Unite!

Call it shake appeal or maybe a personality crisis, but the Imperial Dogs' 1989 album, Unchained Maladies: Live! 1974-75 united fans from across the musical spectrum, as evidenced by these vintage posts found on the message boards at stonerrock.com and nwoutpost.com, respectively:

"The Imperial Dogs. L.A. band around '75. Very Stooges meets the New York Dolls. There was an album, Unchained Maladies, released on the Australian label Dog Meat back in the early '90s. Great album."

"Imperial Dogs - Live 1974-75. Proto-punk in a Dolls-Stooges vein, incredible guitar playing."

Imperial Dogs Make 'Noise For Heroes'

Here's still another review of the Imperial Dogs' Unchained Maladies: Live! 1974-75 -- written by Steve Gardner for his fanzine-turned-webzine Noise For Heroes -- from when the LP was first released on Australian indie Dog Meat Records back in 1989:

"If you've already read the Dog Meat records feature [Noise For Heroes #19], you'll have gotten some of the background on this record ... recorded on cassette (4 songs of a live show and the others at practices in a garage), marginal sound quality, not marginal energy and spirit ...

"Dave Laing thinks of this in the same vein as the Survivors' LP that he also was responsible for releasing. But there's a big difference to me, and that's while the Survivors did covers of cool songs that they pumped up the way they thought they should be played, the Imperial Dogs record is mostly their own material and a lot of it is really good, too. It's easier to forgive bootleg sound quality when it is coming with music that you can't get any other way.

"One of the fun things about listening to this is the way songs sound like they fit in with some of today's ideas about what should be in music, but there are other influences in there that just feel totally alien, like '13 Sons Of Satan,' which sounds like an early Deep Purple song. I can't say this is essential, since the Dogs were heard by few and influenced only a handful, but it's an interesting document and I'm glad that it's been made available."

And ... once again, the sound quality on the Imperial Dogs' DVD is far superior to the abovementioned LP -- and has the benefit of you-are-there visuals -- and the DVD features five original songs that don't appear on the LP, but not "13 Sons Of Satan" ('cause we hadn't written it yet).

Fang Mail, Pt. 11

Thought we'd share some more "fang mail" from people who've actually purchased our DVD. Lee Joseph -- whose Dionysus Records has been freeing the minds of true rock 'n' roll fans for decades -- writes: "If you're a fan of Blue Oyster Cult, Radio Birdman, the Dictators, dirty Detroit rock 'n' roll, and the usual assortment of CREEM magazine early-to-mid '70s sleaze, then you totally need this!!!

"Check out the mindblowing clip from the DVD of the band doing the ORIGINAL VERSION of 'This Ain't The Summer Of Love' that later turned up on BOC's Agents Of Fortune LP. Proto-punk godhead!!!"

Imperial Dogs DVD: "One Of L.A. Music's Missing Links"

Latest review of the Imperial Dogs' DVD ("One of L.A. music's missing links" ... "the songs -- a real consistent set -- unslavishly genuflect to the Stooges, the MC5, the New York Dolls and even Black Sabbath" ... "The Imperial Dogs rocked.") comes courtesy of longtime L.A. journo/musician Greg Burk's unabashedly individualistic MetalJazz site.

Vintage Violence: 'Unchained Maladies' Rip 'Your Flesh'

Here's yet-another review of the Imperial Dogs' Unchained Maladies: Live! 1974-75 -- written by Your Flesh editor Peter Davis for the long-running fanzine-turned-webzine -- from sometime back when the LP was issued on Australian indie Dog Meat in 1989:

"It pretty much figures that a band like the Imperial Dogs, no matter how lacking in historical relevance, could have had so many brushes with the 'right people' and still couldn't achieve so much as a significant peep of praise beyond a small modicum of cult popularity, which was obscure at best (just like their hard to come by posthumous single).

"After all, Blue Oyster Cult cribbed 'This Ain't the Summer of Love' from 'em; Bob Ezrin (Kiss producer) considered cribbing toons, too, but bailed 'cause he thought they were too negative, and even Kim Fowley courted, and even shopped the Dogs.

"Now, we are talking about '73-'75; a pretty pathetic period for music, so it goes without saying that the Dogs were a band ahead of their time (pre-dating late '70's punk, for the most part), sans any infamy, let alone any substantial documentation -- fuck!

"To think that they even played my home town a bunch is downright buggy, and look, it even took an Australian label to put it out ... call that justice. Maybe if Hilly Krystal lived in L.A. instead of New York it might've been the Dogs instead of the Dead Boys ... I call this boss."

Taxi To The "Terminal Boredom' Zone

Over the years, talk-talk on the message boards at the Terminal Boredom blog has turned to the Imperial Dogs' Unchained Maladies: Live! 1974-75 LP that was issued on Australian indie Dog Meat back in 1989. To wit (and sometimes lack thereof):

"Denkinger said here's one on eBay for a steal, so buy it. And I'm glad I did, because all I had was the '(This Ain't the) Summer of Love' 7", which is fucking great. Any of the what is pre-punk and what is punk argument becomes irrelevant upon listening to this album. If punk rock is music and not a date on the calendar, the cuts recorded in 1974 are punk rock ... and still sound fresh today. Great record." (SSR, December 16,2007)

"Sometimes a bit too hard rock for me, often a bit too lo-fi, but still some neat proto punk moments." (Laurent Bigot, July 14, 2008)

"Way better than I remember, although can't be cranked up really high. Proto EVERYTHING." (Griffith, April 10, 2009)

Imperial Dogs Reviewed In L.A. Weekly -- In 1990!

Since the L.A. Weekly's Internet archives don't go any further back than 1998 (!), we're forced to reprint the review of the Imperial Dogs' 1989 Dog Meat LP that Scott Morrow wrote for the alt-weekly's March 2-8, 1990 issue in its entirety:

"Unchained Maladies (Live! 1974-75). So sez the fancy, pic-packed jacket on this deluxe, pink-vinyl Aussie import. (They sure as shoot don't make 'em like this in America no more!) And just WHO are these Imperial Dogs anyway? Well, unless you were hanging out on the rock & roll scene in L.A. 'round about 1974, you probably don't know. Even then, you probably don't, unless you wore lots of leather and platform boots and dug Motor City-style high-energy rock & roll.

"This album is a documentation of the Dogs' first gig, 3/28/74, at (of all places!) Gazzarri's. 'Animals!' screamed club owner Bill Gazzarri's sister. 'We've never had such animals at Gazzarri's!' And they probably haven't had them since. So, fortunately, this gig was recorded for posterity, on a mono cassette recorder (tape restoration by the incredible Bill Inglot). The audience is making fun of the Dogs when they first hit the stage, but after a screaming double-time version of the Kinks' 'Till the End of the Day' ... fun they make no more!

"These Dogs -- decked in HUGE animal fur bell-bottoms, whips, chains, Iron Crosses, Spandex and scarves -- run their way through the four nasty songs from this sesh on side one (the 'Hollywood Side'), and six songs recorded in Carson on a stereo cassette recorder 'live in the garage' on side two (the 'Carson Side'), all featuring such classic early-'70s rock & roll subject matter as heroin (the William Burroughs/Albert King-vein 'Needle & Spoon'); Satan ('13 Sons of Satan'); the Nazi High Command ('Amphetamine Superman'); O.D.-ing ('Rock 'n' Roll Overdose'); more drugs (Uncle Lou's 'I'm Waiting for the Man') and hippie let's-go-up-the-country-get-my-head-together mellowness (on 'This Ain't the Summer of Love,' a Dogs song recorded by Blue Oyster Cult, in an almost unrecognizable version on their 1976 Agents of Fortune).

"Les Imps, all totally into Detroit rock like the Stooges, could be categorized as that vital missing link between the New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols, with a very heavy dose of Doorsian mystique tossed in. (Note for you 'Where are they now?' archivists, the singer is local rock/soul journalist Don Waller.) There were lots of close calls to fame, but nothing ever really panned out. It might have had something to do with the fact that no right-thinking club owner would let the Dogs play at his club, or that they had obviously 'unique' lifestyles. So this record, baby, is it.

"If MC5 means more to you than some lost equation of Einstein's, this is the big pink hunk of rock for you. Recorded in glorious Garage-Fi, it's not only a piece of history, but it also kicks out the jams. As the liner notes say, 'In retrospect, the Imperial Dogs were neither good-bad, nor evil. They were merely, tragically, and inexorably ahead of their time ... " I think they still are."

Maximum R&R (Slight Return)

"STOOGES/DOLLS-influenced rock blowout that differs from today's crop in one major way -- this was recorded in 1974. From the opening (the KINKS 'Till The End Of The Day' to their version of 'I'm Waiting For The Man,' this is blowout through and through. For anyone into Sub Pop or Sympathy ... stuff."

That was somebody with the initials ML, writing about the Imperial Dogs' Unchained Maladies: Live! 1974-75 LP that was issued on the Australian indie Dog Meat label, in the February 1990 issue of the legendary fanzine Maximum R&R.

Note that the two covers mentioned as well as five of the Imperial Dogs' originals ("Midnite Dog," "Contradictions," "This Ain't The Summer Of Love," "Amphetamine Superman," and "Rock 'N' Roll Overdose") found on this long out-of-print 1989 LP also appear in sonically superior -- with the added benefit of you-are-there visuals -- versions on the Imperial Dogs' Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974) DVD.

Oh, You 'Ugly Things'!

"An article about the amazing Imperial Dogs, zinester Don Waller's ridiculous proto punk band that somehow got an anarchic concert videotaped (!) in 1974, augmented by a sidebar on his work on the Back Door Man zine," is cited as being one of the highlights of the latest issue of Ugly Things here at the roctoberreviews blog.

In the same vein -- but a different arm -- author/South Bay rock scene veteran Joe Carducci's newvulgate blog cites "good articles on the Imperial Dogs and Back Door Man mag" as well as "too much great information to summarize"as being yet another pair of reasons to purchase the latest issue of Ugly Things.