The Culprit Spring, 1983— I Was There
(Orginally published in Denim & Leather #3 [Summer, 1983] re-printed here in a discretely-revised version)
When they returned recently from recording their debut album in California, Culprit seemed anxious to get back in front of their loyal fans, and a blitz of shows commenced. The first back was at Lake Hills with Ten Minute Warning and Kidskin on March 12. Culprit debuted two new originals at that time that will be on Guilty As Charged, which should be out on Shrapnel Records in a couple of months. The new songs are "Tears Of Repentance" and "Steel To Blood."
Then they did a show at Astor Park on April 12. That was the first time Culprit had played an over-21 club, and for good reason; the vast majority of their fans are not properly aged. "We don't like playing bars," Culprit frontman Jeff L'Heureux told me, "but record company people just won't come to see us at Crossroads." That show was opened by Legacy and Overlord and the cover was only $1. Three great bands for a buck! I borrowed an ID, traded my spikes for a Speidel, lowered my voice and headed for Astor Park. I passed the picture and DoB tests but couldn't match the signature and was promptly shown the sidewalk by the biggest Iranian bouncer I'd ever seen. The show sounded great from the alley.
Culprit then opened for Rail in Wenatchee, for Q5 at Crotchroads and also rocked the High School Drags at S.I.R. (Seattle International Raceway) - all in two weekends.
But one of the best Culprit shows of this mythical season was at Natasha’s in Bremerton on April 8. Andy & I made the 6:10 ferry and stole some Hamm’s beers out of the back of an open pickup on the boat (Hammscam). The show was opened by Equus from Port Orchard and SATO from Burien. Sometimes at these shows you have to sit through one, maybe even two baby bands to get to the headliners, but not this time. All three bands were killer! Equus filed an all-cover set that included tunes by AC/DC, KISS, Motley Crue and a wicked version of the Beatles "Helter Skelter." SATO was up next and proceeded to sing about Satan for a half-hour. A little bit of Satan is tall fun, but these guys go a bit overboard. The funny thing is that they don't need to. There's so much talent in this band that they hardly know what to do with it all. They've got 30 fast fingers in their string section, particularly bassist Mike Starr. Their singer and drummer are excellent too. Maybe they just need an exorcism…
By the time the two openers had finished, Natasha's was pretty full. There were a lot of rivetheads there, but it seemed like they were mostly local and more likely "going out to Natasha's," than "going to see Culprit." No matter-- Culprit let them know they were there-- and blew more than a few unsuspecting Bremerton locals into complete oblivion.
Playing an 11-song set consisting of the nine originals from the album plus two of their stand-by covers, "Radar Love" and "Jailhouse Rock," Culprit killed. The vocals of Jeff L'Heureux were soaring as usual, and he gave his cords a good workout on songs like "Players" and "Ice In The Back." The Germ is so versatile—as strong in the lower ranges as he is in the higher ones. Scott Earl was his usual bindle of heavy metal energy. As electrically charged as his bass, The Bitch always seems on the verge of bursting into flames, his level is so high. Somebody should hook him up to a generator-- he could power the whole town. Bud Burrill, sported a Motley Crue shirt and was ferocious behind the drums, laying down a marching beat on “Steel to Blood.” Kjartan Kristofferson was in the grips of a flu bug that had already made its way through the rest of the band, so John DeVol handled most of the leads. But despite Kjartan's mild handicap, the pair was unbeatable, producing the searing leads and blistering riffs that have become their trademark.
Culprit is a very promising band. They are great showmen, skilled at working an audience. They are master musicians. Their sound is complex, precise and polished but also super aggressive with a razor steel edge, very unique in a genre that is rapidly homogenizing. Their material is solid and presents a cohesive sound. Still, none of these individual components seem to pin down the excitement of a Culprit show exactly. There's something about how the visual image and the music just all come together and click. Loud. You have to be there, I guess. And I was...
As promised, Guilty as Charged came out later that year. I couldn’t wait to put it on. I’d seen the band a dozen times by then and knew their songs very well. The record, of course, was a crushing disappointment. The performances were solid, but the sound was awful. Toy guitars, ladyfinger drums, no bass. I’d come to love these songs in the communal magic of the live skating rink experience: punishing volume, suffocating temperatures, all the fuckin’ headbanging. The sting of sweat and the smell of barf on Scott’s breath. Trying to replicate those powerful feelings by listening to these tin can recordings was discouraging at best—utterly defeating at its worst. There were OK shows ahead and a couple of new songs later on, but the writing was on the wall as far as I was concerned. Let’s go, move it….