When I was a young lady saxophone player I remember being at a party in St. Kilda in Melbourne and freaking out* over a record someone put on that was the coolest thing I’d ever heard. The song was Do The Wrong Thing by The Lounge Lizards from their debut self-titled album released in 1981.
Within hours I bought the record and within months I’d practically worn it out (although I still have it and listen to it more than 25 years later). I’d never heard anybody play saxophone like John Lurie and was in love with the way he and his contemporary James Chance were reinventing the sound of the instrument. When it finally came along I grabbed No Pain For The Cakes, the second Lounge Lizards album and loved it just as much, back in the days before playlists where you could just play 2 albums back to back on the record player. When the third album , Voice of Chunk was released a couple of years later, it was only available via mail order from New York. What a hassle, but like a good super fan I went & got an international money order and put my order in the mail, along with a letter saying I was coming to New York and wished I’d be able to catch a live show while I was in town. Maybe a month later a fax came to my job at the record company from a kind soul named Ali whose gender may have been either telling me there was a gig at The Knitting Factory and my name was on the guest list – New York City, just like I pictured it! I went to the show at the Knitting Factory on Houston Street found Ali who turned out to be a girl, met a beautiful girl called Rene who turned out to be John Lurie’s girlfriend and somehow found myself at the afterparty at The Odeon. It was like a punkjazz no wave downtown 81 nine years on fairytale . The next day I ran into the bass player Oren Bloedow on the street and he took a picture of me at the corner of Houston & Lafayette in front of a big tinsel star in the sky above the Puck Building. Anyway, to this day when I hear the Lounge Lizards I’m reminded that John Lurie is one of my favorite saxophone players and one who I’ve always been inspired and influenced by. I only saw them twice more after that glamorous night so I was excited to find this concert online.
* Do The Wrong Thing still makes me freak out.
Moist Paula's Horn Chic 