A couple months ago a friend handed me a sack of old local demo tapes that he wanted me to digitize. Thought it would be fun to share this one even though I'm hardly over the moon about it. I can't tell you much about the Neurotic Blondes other than they resided in the Buffalo, NY area and were fronted by a female singer. Unpretentious homegrown indie pop with some occasional punky vibes, that amazingly doesn't sound like an obvious product of the '80s. No keyboards/keytars or anything remotely excessive. Can't say these folks resembled anyone in particular. Song selection is a little uneven, especially at the beginning, but the Blondes catch fire midway on the tuneful "Burning Down the Bridges" and "Close." A couple throwaways too, but nothing egregious, and a bratty reading of a John Denver classic closes this affair out. Make what you will of Neurotic Blondes.01. On the Bus
02. Locked Within
03. Anonymous Friend
04. Burning Down the Bridges
05. Close
06. The Words Escape Me
07. In Pursuit
08. Buster
09. Average Guy
10. Jet Plane
Hear
8 comments:
I dont know this band is pretty fun, and they sound like they are having fun recording these song.
Just came back to say thanks. The more I listen to it the more I enjoy it. Don't really think there is any throwaways, a few not better than others but still great tunes.
I have to say my favorite tracks is the fast-paced, punky, maybe funky song Pursuit.
Definitely worth checking out.
Great. Glad you enjoyed kurganwins!
They used to play local clubs, high schools in the late 80s in buffalo- the lead singer for jet plane, (the one I remember the most), was Joe Guerzo who went to St. Joes high school. I recall the band name was because various band members dated blondes who ended up being, well, neurotic. Fun group, thanks for the memories!
I was the songwriter for Neurotic Blondes - guitarist, harmonica payer, and harmonies/sometimes lead vocalist. The band included:
Joe Guerzo - vocals
Matt Conway - bass/vocals
Dave Iten - drums/vocals
Mike Iten - guitars/harmonica/vocals
We were around from 1987-1990, I think, and we had a helluva lotta fun. First, but not last, songs I ever wrote, and glad none are too “egregious.”
We had one more demo we released featuring “A Perfect World,” “Red, Red Rose,” and “Peace of Mind,” recorded at Select Sound in Kenmore, which I remember was terribly expensive, with no bending on the part of management when one of the 16 tracks was malfunctioning.
Great times - miss that band — and those blondes we were named for!
Holy shit! I can’t believe I just saw this! This is Joe Guerzo, the singer in this band. We were in high school at St. Joe’s in Buffalo and it was the first band I ever played in. Judging from the cover, I may have made that tape by hand on one of those dual tape tracks! Remember those? Anyway, I eventually moved to Athens, Ga and played and wrote the music for indie bands, The Earthworms, Flood City Shootout and currently, The Vinyl Strangers. Those bands are all wonderful and they all reflect the love of pop that runs through my veins. Some were signed by indie labels and led me to great adventures of touring across the country and getting to meet several of my musical heroes like The Pixies, REM and Marshall Crenshaw. There were also certain lows like crooked record companies and thieving managers, as well as interventions for a couple of my drug addicted bandmates. Whenever I got down about that stuff and thought about why I spend so much of my time chasing my love of making music, it’s the memory of that 1st Band that kept me going, The Neurotic Blondes. (I was the least Blonde member!) The innocence, the love and the fun of making music with your friends is all captured there. I know not all the tracks are perfect, but it was pretty good for a group of teenagers. And I’ll always cherish those memories of how we stomped across the stage all doe eyed and happy. To Mike, David and Matty: Thank you for being my Neurotic Blonde Brothers!
P.S. And I’m a dude. My voice was pretty high in HS, so I understand the confusion. People would tell us we sounded like the Housemartins back then...
Dang, I missed this one! Please add to your re-up list. Thanks!
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