But before commanding enough respect to circle around him such a vast group of talented players, Geza X worked sound for the infamous Los Angeles venue the Masque. Located in the basement of some shambolic building, the Masque functioned as crash pad, practice spot and concert hall for the nascent punk scene. Certainly, there were punk houses cropping up all across town and down into Orange County, but the Masque was home to some of the bigger names of the scene.
Concurrently to making a name for himself at the venue he recorded the Dead Kennedys as well as the Germs before Darby Crash had his run in with death in that fateful garage. Geza X was able to distill the more jagged and less fashion conscious scene in California (well, that’s relative – how much time do you think kids spent painting leather jackets and affixing studs to articles of clothing?). Separate from his work behind the boards Geza X went in on a record that attempted to include some skewed humor and even a bit of new wave flavor atop of its punk theatrics.
Before working out what this all amounts to, it’s worth noting that Geza X didn’t move around in straight punk tropes. And while there were undoubtedly a vast number of folks trucking in the same sounds, the Flesh Eaters were probably closest to what Geza X got on tape with his own group. But coming out of Akron was an ensemble called Tin Huey that, a few years earlier, were able to extract punkiness and toss in a goofy RnB thing. It’s just as possible that Geza X was aware of the Akron band as not. Regardless, though, the similarities are worth noting.
As for You Goddam Kids!, which was released in 1982 through some label called Final Gear, the album was made up of a few tracks that were represented elsewhere – most notably “Isotope Soap” appeared on Jello Biafra’s Let Them Eat Jellybeans. And while that track should be considered the highlight of the disc, comedic fair like “Funky Monsters” and “Practicing Mice” are just as listenable.
“I Hate Punks” arrives as the most radio friendly track – musically at least. With that easy melody bolstered by a saxophone, Geza X gets off one of the more melodically accessible choruses on the disc. Unfortunately or not, the subject matter discussed here just wouldn’t have translated to a broad audience.
Despite You Goddam Kids! being his lone long player, Geza X has remained a vital part of the music industry down there in SoCal by continuing to record groups in the studio he owns. Cop it well…