Poison Idea: Pearls Before Swine 12" (Green Vinyl)
Seeing what an integral part Tom âPig Championâ Roberts is to the legacy of POISON IDEA, it might be hard to imagine the band ever existing without his six-strings of fury leading the way. But when they first started out in 1980, the bandâs line-up consisted solely of Chris Tense on guitar, Helmetâs Henry Bogdan on drums and founder Jerry A. Lang on vocals and saxophone. It might also be difficult to fathom them not coming out of the gate as a blazing hardcore punk unit, yet when they first started out, they were more inspired by the challenging and disjointed sound of New York Cityâs No Wave scene than anything coming from the west coast of America. âThe No Wave stuff was hard to understand and kind of scary, so thatâs what made it interestingâ tells Lang, âBut when that first wave of hardcore hit, it hit so hard. It was breathtaking, so I was like, this is what I want to do nowâ. Ditching Bogdan and gaining Dean Johnson on drums, the band set out to be one of the first hardcore punk bands in Portland.
Sadly, recordings of their first incarnation have yet to surface, but due to the tireless efforts of Mark Rainey and his TKO empire, we can now get an earful of their first stab at hardcore sans Tom here on Pearls Before Swine: The Early Years Volume 2.
Kicking off the collection, we have POISON IDEA performing their first ever gig as a high-velocity punk band on New Years Eve 1980 â truly an incredible find. âWe put our gear in shopping carts and pushed it to the venueâ Jerry recalls as well as the reaction from Portlandâs first wave of hardcore kids, âThey only had 30 seconds in a song to throw each other around and pogo, so theyâd go for it. It came naturally, like the music possessed themâ. The embryonic versions presented here of future POISON IDEA classics like âGive It Upâ and âCastrationâ are played in a more quirky and herky-jerky manner than how they would appear three years later on their debut seven-inch EP, Pick Your King. This recording also holds the most unfiltered display of Germs vocalist Darby Crashâs influence on Jerry. âHis voice gave me the license to goâ states Jerry. âYou didnât have to be a trained singer. Just open up your soul and screamâ.
The remainder of this release is culled from a recording done in June of 1981 at a birthday party for Kim Kincaid, vocalist for local punk group, Neo Boys. The event was held at the short-lived but groundbreaking punk venue for Portland, Clockwork Joeâs. âClockwork Joeâs was like Peter Panâs island of lost boysâ Lang recollects, âThere was a lot of booze, a lot of drugs and a lot of young kidsâ. Hearing this ferocious, tightly-wound set, one can only imagine the sweaty debauchery that occurred that night, especially during the pounding rendition of âUnderageâ presented here, yet another future Pick Your King track.
Despite their progression, there were still elements to POISON IDEA mark two that stuck in Jerryâs craw, namely Chris Tenseâs apprehension to turn up his amp. Concurrently, Tom Roberts, guitarist for local band Imperialist Pigs, was equally fed up with the unpredictable, booze-fueled behavior of their vocalist, Eddie Avery. âIt was at a party in July that I fired the whole band and Tom fired his singer. So, I just took the rest of the Imperialist Pigs and started calling them Poison Ideaâ Lang reveals. When it became apparent their drummer wasnât up to snuff, a forgiving Jerry welcomed Dean Johnson back into the fold. Not long after, Tense was brought in on bass. It is with this line-up that Poison Idea galvanized into the powerhouse unit that would record their classic initial triumvirate of records: the aforementioned seven-inch EP Pick Your King (1983), the twelve-inch EP Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes (1984) and their first full-length, Kings of Punk (1986).
Listening to these newfound recordings, itâs abundantly clear there was something sinister and special to POISON IDEA right from the beginning. Being granted the chance to hear them in their primordial form shouldnât be taken lightly. So crank the ever-livinâ shit out of Pearls Before Swine: The Early Years Volume 2 and thank your lucky stars for the opportunity..
-Tony Rettman
September 2025
- Format Type: 12"
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Poison Idea: Pearls Before Swine 12" (Green Vinyl)
Poison Idea: Pearls Before Swine 12" (Green Vinyl)
Seeing what an integral part Tom âPig Championâ Roberts is to the legacy of POISON IDEA, it might be hard to imagine the band ever existing without his six-strings of fury leading the way. But when they first started out in 1980, the bandâs line-up consisted solely of Chris Tense on guitar, Helmetâs Henry Bogdan on drums and founder Jerry A. Lang on vocals and saxophone. It might also be difficult to fathom them not coming out of the gate as a blazing hardcore punk unit, yet when they first started out, they were more inspired by the challenging and disjointed sound of New York Cityâs No Wave scene than anything coming from the west coast of America. âThe No Wave stuff was hard to understand and kind of scary, so thatâs what made it interestingâ tells Lang, âBut when that first wave of hardcore hit, it hit so hard. It was breathtaking, so I was like, this is what I want to do nowâ. Ditching Bogdan and gaining Dean Johnson on drums, the band set out to be one of the first hardcore punk bands in Portland.
Sadly, recordings of their first incarnation have yet to surface, but due to the tireless efforts of Mark Rainey and his TKO empire, we can now get an earful of their first stab at hardcore sans Tom here on Pearls Before Swine: The Early Years Volume 2.
Kicking off the collection, we have POISON IDEA performing their first ever gig as a high-velocity punk band on New Years Eve 1980 â truly an incredible find. âWe put our gear in shopping carts and pushed it to the venueâ Jerry recalls as well as the reaction from Portlandâs first wave of hardcore kids, âThey only had 30 seconds in a song to throw each other around and pogo, so theyâd go for it. It came naturally, like the music possessed themâ. The embryonic versions presented here of future POISON IDEA classics like âGive It Upâ and âCastrationâ are played in a more quirky and herky-jerky manner than how they would appear three years later on their debut seven-inch EP, Pick Your King. This recording also holds the most unfiltered display of Germs vocalist Darby Crashâs influence on Jerry. âHis voice gave me the license to goâ states Jerry. âYou didnât have to be a trained singer. Just open up your soul and screamâ.
The remainder of this release is culled from a recording done in June of 1981 at a birthday party for Kim Kincaid, vocalist for local punk group, Neo Boys. The event was held at the short-lived but groundbreaking punk venue for Portland, Clockwork Joeâs. âClockwork Joeâs was like Peter Panâs island of lost boysâ Lang recollects, âThere was a lot of booze, a lot of drugs and a lot of young kidsâ. Hearing this ferocious, tightly-wound set, one can only imagine the sweaty debauchery that occurred that night, especially during the pounding rendition of âUnderageâ presented here, yet another future Pick Your King track.
Despite their progression, there were still elements to POISON IDEA mark two that stuck in Jerryâs craw, namely Chris Tenseâs apprehension to turn up his amp. Concurrently, Tom Roberts, guitarist for local band Imperialist Pigs, was equally fed up with the unpredictable, booze-fueled behavior of their vocalist, Eddie Avery. âIt was at a party in July that I fired the whole band and Tom fired his singer. So, I just took the rest of the Imperialist Pigs and started calling them Poison Ideaâ Lang reveals. When it became apparent their drummer wasnât up to snuff, a forgiving Jerry welcomed Dean Johnson back into the fold. Not long after, Tense was brought in on bass. It is with this line-up that Poison Idea galvanized into the powerhouse unit that would record their classic initial triumvirate of records: the aforementioned seven-inch EP Pick Your King (1983), the twelve-inch EP Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes (1984) and their first full-length, Kings of Punk (1986).
Listening to these newfound recordings, itâs abundantly clear there was something sinister and special to POISON IDEA right from the beginning. Being granted the chance to hear them in their primordial form shouldnât be taken lightly. So crank the ever-livinâ shit out of Pearls Before Swine: The Early Years Volume 2 and thank your lucky stars for the opportunity..
-Tony Rettman
September 2025
- Format Type: 12"
Original: $30.00
-70%$30.00
$9.00Product Information
Product Information
Shipping & Returns
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Description
Seeing what an integral part Tom âPig Championâ Roberts is to the legacy of POISON IDEA, it might be hard to imagine the band ever existing without his six-strings of fury leading the way. But when they first started out in 1980, the bandâs line-up consisted solely of Chris Tense on guitar, Helmetâs Henry Bogdan on drums and founder Jerry A. Lang on vocals and saxophone. It might also be difficult to fathom them not coming out of the gate as a blazing hardcore punk unit, yet when they first started out, they were more inspired by the challenging and disjointed sound of New York Cityâs No Wave scene than anything coming from the west coast of America. âThe No Wave stuff was hard to understand and kind of scary, so thatâs what made it interestingâ tells Lang, âBut when that first wave of hardcore hit, it hit so hard. It was breathtaking, so I was like, this is what I want to do nowâ. Ditching Bogdan and gaining Dean Johnson on drums, the band set out to be one of the first hardcore punk bands in Portland.
Sadly, recordings of their first incarnation have yet to surface, but due to the tireless efforts of Mark Rainey and his TKO empire, we can now get an earful of their first stab at hardcore sans Tom here on Pearls Before Swine: The Early Years Volume 2.
Kicking off the collection, we have POISON IDEA performing their first ever gig as a high-velocity punk band on New Years Eve 1980 â truly an incredible find. âWe put our gear in shopping carts and pushed it to the venueâ Jerry recalls as well as the reaction from Portlandâs first wave of hardcore kids, âThey only had 30 seconds in a song to throw each other around and pogo, so theyâd go for it. It came naturally, like the music possessed themâ. The embryonic versions presented here of future POISON IDEA classics like âGive It Upâ and âCastrationâ are played in a more quirky and herky-jerky manner than how they would appear three years later on their debut seven-inch EP, Pick Your King. This recording also holds the most unfiltered display of Germs vocalist Darby Crashâs influence on Jerry. âHis voice gave me the license to goâ states Jerry. âYou didnât have to be a trained singer. Just open up your soul and screamâ.
The remainder of this release is culled from a recording done in June of 1981 at a birthday party for Kim Kincaid, vocalist for local punk group, Neo Boys. The event was held at the short-lived but groundbreaking punk venue for Portland, Clockwork Joeâs. âClockwork Joeâs was like Peter Panâs island of lost boysâ Lang recollects, âThere was a lot of booze, a lot of drugs and a lot of young kidsâ. Hearing this ferocious, tightly-wound set, one can only imagine the sweaty debauchery that occurred that night, especially during the pounding rendition of âUnderageâ presented here, yet another future Pick Your King track.
Despite their progression, there were still elements to POISON IDEA mark two that stuck in Jerryâs craw, namely Chris Tenseâs apprehension to turn up his amp. Concurrently, Tom Roberts, guitarist for local band Imperialist Pigs, was equally fed up with the unpredictable, booze-fueled behavior of their vocalist, Eddie Avery. âIt was at a party in July that I fired the whole band and Tom fired his singer. So, I just took the rest of the Imperialist Pigs and started calling them Poison Ideaâ Lang reveals. When it became apparent their drummer wasnât up to snuff, a forgiving Jerry welcomed Dean Johnson back into the fold. Not long after, Tense was brought in on bass. It is with this line-up that Poison Idea galvanized into the powerhouse unit that would record their classic initial triumvirate of records: the aforementioned seven-inch EP Pick Your King (1983), the twelve-inch EP Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes (1984) and their first full-length, Kings of Punk (1986).
Listening to these newfound recordings, itâs abundantly clear there was something sinister and special to POISON IDEA right from the beginning. Being granted the chance to hear them in their primordial form shouldnât be taken lightly. So crank the ever-livinâ shit out of Pearls Before Swine: The Early Years Volume 2 and thank your lucky stars for the opportunity..
-Tony Rettman
September 2025
- Format Type: 12"
