FINALLY, THE STORY OF THE FLYIN' A-HEADS

I first found out about the Fuckin' Flyin' A-Heads in an old issue of Touch & Go that I more than likely found wedged next to a well worn copy of High Society under my older brother's mattress. Tesco Vee described them as one of the weirdest bands he'd ever heard in his life and capped off the review of their Swiss Cheese Back single by announcing the unit was from Hawaii. HAWAII?!? That was it… I had to know what this record sounded like. Most punk record collectors and dealers I questioned about it didn't know what I was talking about. The ones who did asked me, "Why the hell would you want to hear that thing? It's terrible!" This coming from the same people who were trying to hawk Cash Pussies singles on unsuspecting kids. Typical.

When I finally tracked down a copy, it was a confusing spin. Was this at the right speed? What kinda drugs were these guys on? This single made Flipper sound like Uriah Heep. I pondered more and more on it as I spun it ad infinitum. Even now in my paunchy years, I still wonder what the hell they were thinking making this record. Recently, the DeStijl label in Minnesota re-issued the single for a whole new generation of supposed weirdos. A-Heads drummer Dan Garrett was cool enough to take some time out from taking care of his parents in Burbank, California to talk to me so's I could pick his brains on all those things I wondered about all these years. What can I say? I got the life.

Vice: What was the punk rock scene like in Hawaii in the early 80s?
Dan Garrett:There was absolutely no punk rock in Hawaii! What's on that single is the recording of our first and last song at our only show in Hawaii. I guess you could consider that the only punk rock show that ever happened in Hawaii. You gotta understand though; our goal wasn't really to be punk rock; it was to be fully original. We were really into doing improvisation. We tried to play something different every time we got the chance to go on stage

What was the crowd like at that gig?
It was a very small audience. Sep (Eric "Sep" Ishii, vocalist) was mock terrorizing them with a large hunting knife a la "The Brown Buffalo" in Fear in Loathing in Las Vegas. People cleared out except for our friends who were rolling on the floor laughing. It was a great little live show; let's put it that way. It was in a small community college just above Pearl Harbor. After that show, we moved to San Francisco to play music. We did live shows at this club in San Francisco called the Sound of Music.

What was the reaction like there compared to Hawaii?
Pretty good actually! The thing that killed us in that town was Sep made a poster for an upcoming show we were doing that was a rear entry shot from a porno. He posted it all over the Catholic Mission District on every telephone poll. The cops didn't like that and they went around to all the club owners and said "Don't book these guys." Without any venues to play in, that was the end of the band. That was about December of 1980.

Did you continue playing music in San Francisco after you guys split?
Yeah. I was in a band called Murder with Bob Clic from the Lewd and Nyna Crawford from VKTMS. We did a single on a label called Broken Rekids I was also in a band called the Uptights that was more of a hardcore band and then I was in the Ronsons with Kurt Vanderhoof from Metal Church. I haven't had a chance to get a band together out here in Burbank. I have a friend who I play with down here named Pete Wilkinson who was a childhood buddy of Randy Rhodes, but that's about it.

So where are the other guys in the band today?
I just found out two days ago that Howard (Howard Nishioka, guitar) died seven years ago. Boy! How's that for a cold shock, you know? I saw him in Hawaii the last time I was out there in '02, and apparently he died in '03. People don't telegraph and say they're gonna die--they just stop calling. That's been happening to me too much lately. Sep died in 2000 from a brain aneurysm due to complications with leukemia. Considering all the things I've done, it's amazing I'm still alive! The bass player, Bob Wilson I think lives in the LA area but I haven't spoke to him in years. They were great guys and I miss them. We were real aliens in Hawaii, so it made us form a strong bond.

How do you feel about people caring about the record 30 years after it came out?
I'm flabbergasted! It was a fun band to be in; that's for sure. A fun piece of terroistic art.

One of my favorite things about the record is the cover art. I just think it's fantastic.
Cool. All that artwork was done in one afternoon on an acid trip. Yeah… being in that band was fun.

TONY RETTMAN

You can listen to "Swiss Cheese Back" and its b-side at this guy's blog, but after you've done that you've got to promise to buy a copy of the reissue from De Stijl. Promise.