Splitting the Difference # 33 G-Whiz/The Lonely Trojans (1989, Toxic Shock) + G-Whiz - Eat at Ed's LP (1992, TK/Zeno)

Technically this is the 33rd installment of my Splitting the Difference split 45 series, but truth be told, the emphasis here is going to be on G-Whiz (my apologizes to all two of you Lonely Trojans die-hards). Thought this would be a more than appropriate followup to Tuesday's man dingo post, given that 'da Whiz also called the environs of Phoenix, Arizona their home, not to mention that both bands are definitely cut from the same metaphorical "cloth." Not only did G-Whiz wear their influences on their sleeve, they even thanked them (All and Big Drill Car among others) on the back cover of their debut LP, Eat at Ed's. Possessing an eccentric bent truly unto to themselves, these Mesa, AZ desert punks never marginalized melody, even though it often took a minute or so for some of their songs to build to an effective one. Ed's is quite simply a terrific album, boasting ten abstract popcore numbers ranging from the sentimental "Hedges," to the dynamic havoc of "Wednesday," and the pulverizing panache of "Crystallized." 9/10 of the album were ushered into the digital age in 2002 as bonus material for the G-Whiz - The Pop Punk Singles Collection CD on Boss Tuneage Records (later rereleased on Number One Punk). A review of it can be sized up here. All tracks were ripped from my original, strawberry/banana splatter colored vinyl copy. There's also the more recent G-Whiz disk, She Has That Plastic Alternative Indie Emo Punk Rock Mannequin Look!, essentially a reissue of their crucial second album, Hook, originally released in 1994.

The G-Whiz split with The Lonely Trojans comes to us from the legendary Toxic Shock Records label. This was part of T/S's Noise From Nowhere series (whatever that was). Recorded in '89 the Whiz's two cuts found the band straight outta the kennel and eager to strip their collective teeth. "Dine-o-mite" was recut for the band's Hook album. As for the band occupying the other side of the split, The Lonely Trojans were also from the AZ as well, but settled on playing a more conventional brand of roughhewn, riff-savvy power punk, that reminds me very vaguely of the Snuff and early Wedding Present. Had a 12" ep by them that I unwisely put on the market a few years ago.

If you like these G-Whiz recordings, by all means buy the CDs mentioned above. Support the band!

G-Whiz - Eat at Eds
01. Boomerz
02. Pacifier
03. Wednesday
04. Bad
05. Humeral
06. Hedges
07. Weights-n-Lures
08. Hobbies
09. Crystallized
10. Vitamin

split 7"G-Whiz
01. Dine-o-mite
02. Big Adventure

Lonely Trojans
01. The Rolling Song
02. T.P.D.

Get both here.