Los Creeple Peeple!

80's Garage-punk anyone? If you like garage-music and maybe followed the garage-scene back in the 1980's, you may be interested in this special-tribute post.Back in the day, before grunge made it big, competing with the big-hairsprayed, spandex-wearin' 80's metal bands, you had down the street and going strong the great American garage groups like The Chesterfield Kings, The Fuzztones, The Fleshtones, & The Lyres on the East Coast, and The Gravedigger 5, The Tell-Tale Hearts, The Unclaimed, The Pandoras and The Mummies on the West Coast. These groups and many others lead the charge of the U.S. garage bands back in the 80's.
This post will hopefully be especially interesting to Mummies fans. The San Francisco Bay area Mummies rocked the socks off their audiences from 1988 into the early 90's. The band featured the legendary Russell Quan on drums and Trent Ruane on keyboards. Their exploits and music are well known in garage-circles, but not many people know about the long lost garage-punk band Russell & Trent were in - right before the Mummies formation.

This post is dedicated to LOS CREEPLE PEEPLE.
A short-lived band of four 60's-punk enthusiasts from the Bay Area and one import from Virginia. Los Creeple Peeple were:
- Russell Quan - Drums
- Trent Ruane - Keyboards
- Christof Certik - Guitar
- Matt Brown - Lead Vocals, harp, tambourine
- Jules Sabenorio - Bass
Named after the creepy-crawly 'Thingmaker' Mold Pak toys from the 60's, Los Creeple Peeple played only 1 kind of music: loud & loose 60's garage-punk. All five members had the 60's-charmkin look down pat, and gallantly lived it as a lifestyle 24 -7. The group had alot of talent. Russell and Christof were previously from a great band called The Horseless Headmen. Matt Brown had come from The Organ Grynders out of Richmond, Virgnia. (I have tapes of both bands I'll post one day!) Los Creeple Peeple had a wild authentic live sound, but before they were able to reach their full potential, the band snuffed out quickly after only playing about a year (1987-1988) without ever properly recording their music. Fortunately, as some collectors and people who were there know, there is in existence a rare, hard-to-find 'demo' tape. Recorded in all their raucous glory, live in their rehearsal space - not long before the band eventually split.

Heard only here, and for the 1st time anywhere,
Forgotten & unheard for 21 years...
Back from the Grave, they were once called...
Los Creeple Peeple!

Berkeley, 1988

Los Creeple Peeple only played in the Bay Area - Berkeley and San Francisco. (*But there was that one crazy mod show in San Jose!)
They were pals with and played many-a-show with The Birminghams, which featured a young Bart Davenport (The Loved Ones) and future CAKE guitarist, Xan.

They played what you would expect - covers of their favorite obscure 60's punk songs of course! They did create a few originals tunes. 2 are featured here.
"Step Aside Girl", (a likely candidate for what might have been thier 1st release) is a non-stop rave-up. In my humble opinion, this cut stands up to the best of 'em.
Listen/Download: "Step Aside Girl"

Next we have the great cover they did of The Caravelles, "Lovin' Just My Style". This, my friends, is Los Creeple Peeple doing what they did best, and very much represents their sound: authentic, wild, and pounding. Dig Russell's mad-man drumming.
Listen/Download: "Lovin' Just My Style"


Another great original they conjured up was the minor chorded & spooky-favored "Looking For Love". Making an intellectually sophisticated, but somehow innocent and introspective point in prose; "...I'm-a lookin' for love- I can't stop, until she's mine! Yeeeaaaaahhhh!!!!"Listen/Download: "Looking For Love"


"Suicide" was a lost nugget originally done by a band called The Royal Flairs, and was one of the first songs the eager Creeple-lads learned as a group. The hard-driving tune was often used as the opening song of their live set.
Listen/Download: "Suicide"

Finally we have the great "Won't You Listen". Arguably their wildest effort - From the opening note, letting it all hangout at breakneck speed, they attempt a cover version of the great dutch Outsiders rocker.
Listen/Download: "Won't You Listen"

Los Creeple Peeple 1988

comments?

Postscript:
Out of the ashes of Los Creeple Peeple, Russell & Trent soon formed the Mummies and went on to garage-immortality. Russel is still very active in the Northern California garage-scene as many readers know. Christof would soon evolve his musical interests more towards celtic- folk, baroque and renaissance music. He is now living in LA and still active musically. Check out, Winter Flowers! Jules played in a few bands post-Creeples and is now selling real estate in Maryland. Matt played in a few more garage-punk bands back east, The Last Respects (NYC) and The Shakedowns (Richmond, Va). *Both bands will be featured here in upcoming tribute posts). He is currently "retired" from music and is a full-time daddy.

Viva Los Creeple Peeple!!

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