The Gun Club: Dressed up like an Elvis from Hell.

{When reading this article - download and then listen to this music at maximum volume}
Run Through the Jungle - The Gun Club
Fire of Love - the Gun Club
Carry on Home - The Gun Club
Devil in the Woods - The Gun Club
Sex Beat - The Gun Club
Fire Spirit - The Gun Club
She's like herion to me - The Gun Club
For the Love of Ivy - The Gun Club


The Gun Club evolved from the mind of Jeffrey Lee Pierce and the punk scene of early 80's L.A.. This highly under-rated band forever seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, always a step in front or behind the recognition they deserved. It wasn't until the advent of the web and the extraordinary availability of music that the howling excess of The Gun Club became a must for every serious collection. A new generation has caught the bug and people are starting to discover one of the greatest voices in rock music. Sure, The Gun Club could be construed as punk, rockabilly, punk/blues and country/punk but essentially they are just a great rock outfit. Even though the line up was like a checkout at the supermarket there was always the man with the enormous ego thrashing about out front. That man and that ego belongs to one of music's greatest fans, Jeffrey Lee Pierce. This short, half mexican with the flamboyance of beached goldfish was once a music journalist for the L.A. punk rag, Slash and president of the Blondie fan club. A music tragic without doubt. He took his love of music and convinced himself, as well as Kid 'Congo' Powers (The Gun Club, The Cramps and The Bad Seeds), to begin a style of music that would rip the guts out of the tradition of American music. This band was doing covers of the old master himself, Robert (sold his soul at the crossroads)Johnson, when most in the alternative music scene had never heard of him. It wasn't exactly smooth sailing for The Gun Club as JLP was a difficult customer, to say the least, and the band's personnel changed as regularly as JLP's moods. JLP had a difficult time being professional as he had a wee problem with the booze and drugs and consequently his live performances are best described in this New York Times article by Robert Palmer:

Members of the audience were angry, and saying so, because for people who follow the Gun Club, the band has always been special. They were particularly incensed that Mr. Pierce was making slapstick comedy out of "Preachin' the Blues," an old Mississippi blues song recorded by Son House and Robert Johnson, and given new life by the Gun Club's version on the band's first album, "Fire of Love" (Ruby Records, 1981). Mr. Pierce's arrangement of the song, which alternates sinister pauses and sudden bursts of wildly flailing slide guitars and drums played at a manic tempo, is already a rock classic, and when listeners began to complain that it was not being performed seriously, Mr. Pierce stopped and squinted out at the crowd. "Oh, you want us to be serious," he said, and as he kicked into the next verse, howling like a banshee, it was evident that tonight, at least, "Preachin' the Blues" was going to be as serious as the Gun Club could make it. It was a wailing, inspiring performance, the sort the Gun Club is capable of giving every night.

Unfortunate but true - The Gun Club were under-achievers. This doesn't exclude us from buying a copy of Fire Of Love or Miami and sitting back and falling in love with the energy that JLP had in his singular voice or the great guitaring of Ward Dotson on these first two albums. They were a band that led you to unexpected places. The vibrating tremelo of JLP's voice moving steadily out of time with the slide guitar is unique and once heard will never be forgotten. I can play The Gun Club to people who haven't listened to them for twenty years and they immediately remember and a smile returns to their faces as they realise they are back in the fold. Back on the train because that's what listening The Gun Club is like. You feel as though you're travelling through the freak shows of a badly-run circus or the seedy underbelly of any overpopulated city. Amidst this unsettling ride there is always the lurking feeling that you have no control over your destination yet realising that it is most probably hell.

The band started under the name of Creeping Ritual (which pretty much describes their music) but under the influence of Keith Morris (The Circle Jerks) they changed their name to The Gun Club. After an arduous apprenticeship in L.A.'s alternative club scene and then losing Kid 'Congo' Powers to The Cramps, the band managed to string together enough songs for their debut album, Fire Of Love. Surely, one of the most significant debut albums of the 80's. A timeless piece of distorted blues and a platform for JLP's distorted personality. He wails and moans in orgasmic throes to Ward Dotson's singular guitar work. The train-like beat set by Terry graham (drums) and Rob Ritter (bass) give the album a sense of journey as each song moves seamlessly into the next. We are being led to the dark side but only to meet JLP and his voodooesque lyrics. When he sings "Bury way down deep in hell" or "Buy me a graveyard on my own" in one of the finest songs on the album, For the Love of Ivy, we get the feeling that perhaps he's not joking. Each song on this album stands alone. From the imminently danceable Sex Beat to the vicious but sweet She's like Herion to me (one the greatest titles for a song) this band achieved well deserved cult status. (It should be noted that the cover art was different in Australia).

The second album released by The Gun Club was Miami. It was another piece of murky brilliance and the band had extended their cult status with a beautifully crafted piece of mayhem. Miami was more subdued than Fire of Love but no less an album. JLP's links to Blondie become immediately evident when we notice that the producer was Chris Stein and that the background vocals are attributed to D.H. Lawrence jr. a.k.a. Debbie Harry. Billy Idol apparently based his huge hit White Wedding on the last track of the album, Mother of Earth - bit of a stretch but interesting. There are many questions surrounding the production of this album but it remains a favourite with The Gun Club fans. Their version of Creedence's Run Through the Jungle is superb and guaranteed to blast the wax from your ears. Miami was recorded in New York and the band continued its strange separation from its fan base which was situated firmly in L.A.. The critical reception of this album was less than brilliant and the band once more fell under the vicious spell of JLP's fluctuating personality and experienced yet another personnel change. Exit Ward Dotson and Terry Graham. Dotson describes the relationship in an interview:

Jeff kicked us out of the band because I could no longer tolerate his idiotic behaviour. He could be charming when he wanted to or when he had to, but that would make me resent him even more. He was also a huge liar; sometimes he'd lie just for the hell of it. This may all sound whimsical or romantic, but you try being in a van with someone like that and you're going to start dreaming of killing him. I don't care how good a songwriter he was.

Enter Jim Duckworth (guitar) and Dee Pop (drums). Unfortunately, this line up wasn't to last very long either. This manifestation of the band recorded one E.P., Death Party, and went their separate ways. The clip below is from this E.P. and highlights the singularity of JLP's voice and rollicking rhythm of The Gun Club. The Lie is the best song on the E.P. and an impressive example of what JLP could do considering his half-arsed approach to just about everyhting except booze and drugs. The worm was boring its way to the heart and the band or JLP was a quickly fading force.

Although the band had a new label and were receiving some well-earned critical success there was to be an inevitable change to the line up. Exit Duckworth and Pop. Re-enter Kid 'Congo' Powers and Terry Graham with the new addition of Patricia Morrison on bass. This all happened accidentally as the band was booked for an Australian tour but Duckworth and Graham refused to hop on the plane with JLP due to his exasperating behaviour and the band was reformed with the help of the Australian support band of the tour, The Johnnys. JLP put out a distress call to Kid 'Congo' Powers and the tour went ahead with Powers staying until the band's split in 1984. The band returned to L.A. and recorded their next album, The Las Vegas Story. A strange mixture of Gershwin come Creedence, the album pales in comparison to their earlier work. The dark edge seemed more artificial on this record but, nonetheless, still worth a listen. There are some great tracks here, particularly, JLP's version of My Man's Gone Now from the Gershwin opera, Porgy and Bess. Only JLP would think of covering America's seminal opera work under the guise of swamp influenced rock music. During their farewell tour in London JLP was introduced to Romi Mori by The Scientist's front man, Kim Salmon. Mori was to become the love of his life and she joined the band in the reformed line up in 1986.

It was end for The Gun Club although they released Mother Juno in 1987. Again this album had none of the force of Fire of Love or Miami but there are still some great tracks. Lupita Screams and Araby are indicative of The Gun Club at their best. They struggled on devoid of any purpose for a few more years and released Pastoral Hide and Seek(1990), Divinity E.P.(1991) and their final album, Lucky Jim(1993). The front man had become an unworkable mess and the covorting, moaning and screaming were a fading reminder of what might have been. This was a band that had the ability to transport their audience. JLP was a master of the macabre and his life was the performance he should have saved for the stage. It is not uncommon to read reports of JLP's extreme dress sense whether it be drag or mock-military, he was not a man to pass by unnoticed. After a couple of solo works and some spoken word works JLP's body had had enough and packed it in in 1996. He left us with his predominantly fictional memories in his book Go tell the Mountain and a wonderful body of work which seems to be gaining new momentum. I often look through the greatest album lists of all time and am continually amazed that The Gun Club never get a mention. I feel it is only a matter of time because something this good can't remain a secret forever. If JLP hadn't been such a self-destructive mess this band would have their due kudos many years ago. Yet, I can't help but feel that they never would have been what they were if it wasn't for the unpredictability of Jeffrey Lee Pierce.