I first heard the Cramps courtesy of my friend Bill Hussey in 1985. He lent me the tape of the Cramps’ album Bad Music for Bad People. I loved the cover art, so I was intrigued to hear it. I vividly remember listening to”Garbageman” on my boombox for the first time as I was setting up a new skateboard. I was slightly unsure about the twanginess of it, because anything with a country flavor to it was seen as supremely un-punk. Fortunately, “Garbageman” began with the lyrics “You ain’t no punk, you punk… you wanna talk about the real junk”, which gave the Cramps enough punk cred for me to give their music a chance. Bad Music for Bad People is a definitive classic album with songs like “Human Fly,” “Love Me,” and “Uranium Rock.” I was also intrigued that the founders of the band, Lux Interior, and Poison Ivy Rorschach were romantic partners. There were not that many women in punk bands and Poison Ivy was as cool as they come… with beauty and style for miles! I love the Cramps’ distinctive visuals. From their cover art to photoshoots, the Cramps had a dark, campy Rockabilly goth image with a pinch of sexiness in lead guitarist Poison Ivy, who always wore fishnet stockings and never seemed to age. I saw the Cramps a couple times in Providence, including on their 1990 Stay Sick! tour. That show was one of the best I’ve ever seen, with lead singer Lux Interior climbing up the speaker stacks, humping them and, and jumping back to the stage, all while perfectly maintaining his black magic possessed Elvis vocals. Poison Ivy made perfect fuzzed out riffs look effortless and she happened to have her normally curly hair straightened on that tour. I feel very lucky that photographer Huib Rutten was willing to let me illustrate from his fantastic photo of Poison Ivy from the same era. I think the Cramps are one of the greatest bands ever and exuded a primal sleazy swagger with unique wit and style.
-Shepard
PRINT DETAILS: Poison Ivy of The Cramps. 24″ H x 18″ W. Screen print on 80# cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Numbered edition of 550. $75. Available on Thurs, Oct. 29 @ 10 AM PDT at Obey Giant Store.
