Rettsounds - White Christmas

In typical Rettsounds fashion, we bring an Xmas delight that will only be of interest to a scant but cool as hell few.

If you’re the type who has row upon row of rare punk singles in your walk-in humidor, then you should be aware of the Normals, the Skinnies, and the scene that revolved around the ‘Lectric Eye label in New Orleans in the late 70s. Their singular vision of presenting the raw goods from within their barren landscape was a silent testimony to the DIY spirit that the whole punk thing sparked, even if they actually wanted to break onto a major label.

A few weeks ago, while digging through the garage for spare Xmas lights and decorations, Normals guitarist/vocalist David Brewton came upon something he had totally fucking forgotten about: The reel of a rather obnoxious recording of "White Christmas" done up by members of both the Normals and the Skinnies in a Louisiana studio way back there in 1978. When word came in through the "red phone" of the existence of such an artifact, we knew it was something that had to be talked about, even if you didn’t care about it. David was all too quick to sing.

VICE: How did this whole thing come about? 
David Brewton: The Normals were finishing up some four-track studio songs with Charlie [Hanson, Normals guitarist] engineering and producing. He had an idea after these sessions to do a Christmas song. The Skinnies were there at that studio and heard what Charlie was doing. Bobby Brennan [Skinnies bass player] had the right voice for the snarling lead vocals. Carlos Boll [Skinnies guitarist and ‘Lectric Eye label owner] and Ricky Polizzi [Skinnies drummer] joined in on the backup vocals, and things just fell into place.

Were you guys aware of that Ravers single "Punk Rock Christmas" at the time? 
Oh yeah, I personally had that Raver's 45. Charlie probably wanted to better that.

What was the recording session like? 
All recordings were done at Steve Trosclair's rehearsal studio where both the Normals, Skinnies, and the Models practiced and did demos when possible. Charlie mixed it all down and created a real "hoot” atmosphere!

What was it like for a punk band who wanted to record in Louisiana at the time? 
As far as recording engineers in Louisiana in those times, we dealt with Al Taylor of Rosemont Studios, who was a pleasure to work with. He mainly did gospel and gave the Skinnies and the Normals professional courtesy throughout those ‘Lectric Eye sessions. He enjoyed the end results, as I remember. We can thank Al for allowing the mix-down VU meters to reach into the red for the first Normals 45, "Almost Ready" b/w "Hardcore." Believe me when I say those VU's never left the red for long!

Were there ever plans to release this as a Xmas single on ‘Lectric Eye? 
We were looking to get a record contract with a major label with the other Normals' demos just recently recorded there. So, producing White Christmas independently on Lectric Eye didn't figure into the budget.

Now that you've got this recording out in the open, what are your plans? 
To finally get it out on the internet to corrupt the youth and misspent youth of this planet!

What are you hoping to see under your tree this year? 
I'm just hoping one of our dogs won't make his "mark" under there.

Previously – Some Weirdos and 1970s Muck