The Ravers

THE RAVERS
 
 
The Nails  were originally a five-piece new wave band that formed in Boulder, Colorado in 1976.  In Colorado, they were originally named The Ravers; and their roadie, Eric Boucher, later became known as Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys.  The band members were Marc Campbell (lead vocals, guitar), Dave Kaufman (keyboards), Al Leis (drums), Artie Freeman (lead guitar), and Jon Cormany (bass).  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 

Phil Gammage clearly has made a lot of friends in what had already been a dozen years in music.  Martin Blazy, who was a fellow bandmember in the Corvairs, serves as the drummer on Cry of the City; and the female vocalist, Wendy Wild had been an artist in the East Village scene when Certain General was starting up.  Bassist D. Lee is from Band of Outsiders, and David Kaufman had been in the Nails the Ravers

 

After Joey Vain and Scissors broke up, Phil Gammage got another band together called the Corvairs.  He and another student Miles Syken agreed to form a rock band; Syken had been the guitarist in a high-energy cover band called the Mutilators, with the remaining members of that band becoming a punk band called Defex.  Jon Cormany had just returned from playing in New York City with Boulder’s first punk rock band the Ravers (who by then had become the Nails – they are now one of my favorite New Wave bands since I picked up their album, Dangerous Dreams), and he was in the audience for their first show at the Moose Club as the opening act for the Nightflames.  He became the band’s bassist by their next concert.  By the spring of 1979Jimmy Frost joined up as their permanent drummer.  Icepick Phil describes their sound in the early years as “a hybrid of a 60’s pop sound, surf, and artsiness”. 

 

(March 2015)

 

Last edited: March 22, 2021