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24 September 2012

The E-Types! - Action Packed EP


Label: Square Target
Year of Release: 1992

Among the British retro-boppers there seems to be precious little mention of US neo-mod and garage bands.  Whilst plenty of readers of both this blog and some of the others on the reading list probably tuck into revivalists linked to Billy Childish or signed to Acid Jazz records, mentions of bands such as The Go and The Woggles are rather thin on the ground (and we'll put The White Stripes to one side as a freak accident for the purposes of this discussion).  This isn't perhaps as odd as it might initially appear - the more underground movements are, after all, the more likely it is that their appreciation will become regionalised and localised.  It's highly unlikely that most of these bands have the finances to organise a global promotional tour even if the will might be there.

Sacramento's The E-Types! were a case a point, spending the period from 1987-1992 producing the kind of power-pop which actually seeped into the British charts earlier in the eighties - out in America, however, they were a cult band who played to enthusiastic specialised audiences who probably might not otherwise have gained easy access to bands influenced by The Jam.  Predictably, the contents of this EP sound rather sunnier and less wiry and neurotic than their British counterparts, but maintain a snappy three-minute pop charm which sees the whole thing through nicely.  In particular, the final track "1,000 Times A Day" is shows a band who might have been capable of much more commercial things had they been given the chance to develop further.

It didn't happen, obviously, and - compilation appearances aside - this appears to have been their only release.  Still, one-single and one-EP wonders were also a sixties phenomenon, so perhaps the limited music available from this lot was actually just one more aspect to their authenticity, albeit an unintentional one.

Track Listing:
1. She Changes
2. What's Goin' On
3. I Never Cried
4. 1,000 Times A Day



6 comments:

Chocoreve said...

Please post some Mystic Tide dude !

23 Daves said...

Chocoreve! You're alive!!!

I would post some Mystic Tide if I had any, but unfortunately I don't.

Anonymous said...

Hello! This is Kevin, the drummer for The E-Types - there was an album release shortly after the Action Packed EP..Google "Teen Trash Vol. 8" and you'll find it. Cheers!

23 Daves said...

Thanks for dropping by, Kevin, and for the extra information. What are you up to these days, and do you know where the rest of the band are?

Dean said...

This is way after the fact, but this is Dean from the E-Types. Thanks for remembering us! After the EP was released, we suffered the typical "musical differences" with the Curt, the bass player - who wanted to add a girl lead singer ala the Primitives or Darling Buds. The E-Types LP was released posthumously.

So Kevin and I went on to form another 3 piece called the Decibels, who released an EP(known as the Radio EP) in 1996. As we were expanding to a 4 piece, Kevin left and as a 4 piece with Brian Machado (from the Troublemakers) on drums we released 3 full lengths (Create Action, 1998, Big Sounds of the Decibels, 2001, and the Bart Thurber Sessions, 2003) and made appearances on numerous compilations. No drastic change in the kind of music, and I believe the Decibels generally sound the way the E-Types would have evolved.

Most recently we played the Purple Weekend Festival in Leon, Spain in 2013 and very occasionally get together if schedules match up and the right offer comes along.

The E-Types did one reunion gig in I believe, the late 1990's. I'm still friends with Curt and Kevin so alls well that ends well!

Dean

Curt said...

Hey everyone, Curt here. So, yeah, I’m a bother and a loudmouth. I never wanted to replace Dean, truly. I used to get all excited about things and was in a Hummingbirds/Darling Buds/Primitives mood and just pushed a little too hard. I was thrilled with the lineup, to be honest, but as was typical of me, I spoke whenever the thoughts came to me. Sorry buddy. I would have loved to continue releasing records and playing gigs as the powerful trio we were for years to come. Years later, we’re lining up for a digital release of our entire catalog. Hopefully that’ll make up for some of the troubles. Sorry guys.