Tales of Terror
The most influential hardcore punk band to come out of Sacramento, and the … Read Full Bio ↴The most influential hardcore punk band to come out of Sacramento, and the most seminal non-seminal forgotten hardcore punk band of the 80s; Tales of Terror consisted of frontman Rat's Ass (Pat Stratford), guitarists Luther Storms (Lyon Wong) and Capt. Trip Mender (Steve Hunt), bassist Dusty Coffin (Geoff Magner), and drummer Thopper Jaw (Mike Hunter). Their sole album, Tales of Terror; released in 1984 by CD Presents, received positive reviews and appeared on Kurt Cobain's list of top 50 albums of all time. Trailblazers of the genre that would become grunge, traces of the Tales of Terror sound can be heard in bands from Nirvana to Green River to The Melvins and Mudhoney. Though poised for success, their tenure was cut short by the death of Lyon Wong in 1986.
Tales of Terror is also featured on 'Skate Rock Vol. 2 - Blazing Wheels and Barking Trucks' comp LP (Thrasher, 1984) with the instrumental song 'Gods from Outer Space'; 'Rat Music for Rat People Vol. 2' comp LP (CD Presents, 1984) with the song 'Skate or Bate' (also present as a bonus track on the cassette version of their self-titled album. The other bonus track is a cover of The Stooges' 'Search and Destroy'); and on 'Them Boners Be Poppin' comp LP (Boner Records, 1985). That compilation includes Tales' songs 'Texas Against the World', 'Danant' (actually stolen by the Guns 'N Roses and re-titled 'Used to Love Her' as well as turned into a mellow acoustic soft number), and 'LSD for Africa' (parody of 'Let It Be' by The Beatles and the collaboration song 'USA for Africa').
Despite never really achieving any commercial success, they became something of an underground musical legend. Their sole record reached various 'seminal' musical figures. Their LP is rare, a collectible item and musical time capsule. For decades there was never a CD version or repress; due to years of legal battles, disputes and spite from CD Presents owner, who were responsible for the original album’s distribution. However, in 2021, a remastered reissue was released by UK based label Call of the Void (Related to or sub-label of Fire Records).
Tales of Terror were not your typical hardcore punk band. They were very proficient at playing their instruments – unlike many hardcore punk bands - and brought many then-alien influences into hardcore punk - before some of the most notorious hardcore punk bands started doing it; namely in the form of heavy metal proficiency, early tremolo picking, palm muting, rock n roll/rockabilly, psychedelic elements, noise rock, early dissonance and blues (which might have started the niche sub-genre known as 'cowpunk' that Mudhoney and others perpetuated). They were also part of the then-burgeoning skate punk/skate rock music scene. Although the singer was the only skateboarding practitioner, at which he was good.
Their music had hardcore punk speed and urgency mixed with chaos, emotion, psychedelia, complexity, technicality and heaviness. They had two lead guitarists. Both would often interchange riffs, trade off heavy sections and handle guitar soloing. The riffing style was unusual and unique, the riffs could only be described as 'terrorific' (a reference to their themes) as the riffs induce palpable fear and despair. They sound almost as what could have partly inspired His Hero Is Gone's 'swarm of bees' signature riffing style that is so permeated in the modern metal and hardcore scenes. The singer always had a slur in his inflection when singing (powerfully, within his vocal range), very idiosyncratic and incomparable. The bassist was prominently featured and highly placed in the mix; accentuating his playing style which gave way to a very thick, piercing, distorted, low tone. The drummer was notable for his chaotic, all over the place style of playing and random drum fills. The force he applied to the snare drum was Dave Grohl levels.
They had a story-telling style of writing to their lyrics. Which is why they christened themselves as 'Tales of Terror'. It was not only a reference to the famed classic horror movie. Their lyrics were not exclusively political unlike most other hardcore punk of the time or modern. Their songs were a collection of (terror) tales they felt the need to share. They reference this and themselves on the title track (Tales of Terror; track 9 on the LP version, track 10 on the cassette version). They probably had more tales to tell, which they were not able to continue doing. Pat Stratford, the singer often utilised British terms and words. He must have been close with a British person.
Green River themselves – the musical group who took the most from Tales of Terror and the first true grunge band - were not ashamed of or subtle enough not to wear this influence on their sleeves; as they covered Tales of Terror's song 'Ozzy' (re-titled 'Ozzie') from their sole album on their 1987 EP, 'Dry as a Bone'.
Tales of Terror, at some point; through touring, wound up in Seattle during the early 80s and played gigs Green River members attended. Apparently, they were so 'blown away' by the band that they derived a significant amount of their own style from Tales of Terror. Kurt Cobain himself, as a fan of Green River; also ended up acknowledging Tales of Terror's music as an influence, as evidenced by their presence on his Top 50 albums ever. This influence even still reached Mark Arm and Steve Turner's subsequent band Mudhoney, as decades later, they named a song after Tales of Terror for their 2008 record 'The Lucky Ones'.
Lyon Wong died on a January 5, 1986 night due to head trauma inflicted from hitting the pavement with his head after being violently pushed over by an angry Jock that accosted him after he and the rest of his bandmates (possibly more people too) made possibly offensive gestures at a pickup truck full of jocks. The jock in question only received a 6-month sentence.
Coincidentally, Lyong Wong played guitar left-handed; same as the aforementioned Kurt Cobain from Nirvana and Wipers' Greg Sage did. He was also half-Asian (of Chinese descent, to be exact) and the son of actor Victor Wong, now deceased as well.
Tales of Terror practice space was at The Stucco factory in Sacramento, the legendary artists' warehouse on R Street. They would often gather there with their local fans and friends.
Their shows were wild and chaotic which became legendary. The singer would often do backflips mid-singing, sometimes even holding his skateboard whilst performing. The rest of the band would appear as demonically possessed when playing their instruments. Their shows were a pure rush of energy and adrenaline in the true spirit of hardcore punk and rock n roll (as was the music itself). They always lived to the limit.
After the abrupt end of the band, the singer tried to continue being a musician. However, it never paid off. Tales of Terror were his true calling. The same can be said about the rest of his bandmates, most of them did not even attempt to play music in a band again. They were always mourning the loss of their dear close friend. They all also had troubled turbulent lives after the dissolving of the band and none of them reached the level of musicianship they achieved together once.
They all might as well have died when Lyon was murdered. That is how close they all were. They opted not to carry on without him, out of respect and sadness. Who knows the things they would have achieved had tragedy never struck their musical career. Perhaps they were never meant to do anything else, but they still remain very obscure and under the radar of most music fans and 'professional' critics/journalists/reviewers/whatever.
The band consisted of:
-Pat Stratford aka Rat's Ass (lead vocals) (Previously of Square Cools)
-Geoff Magner aka Dusty Coffin aka Dusty Boots (vocals/bass) (Also previously of Square Cools, now deceased)
-Lyon Wong aka Emperor Fuckshit aka Luther Storms (backup vocals/lead guitar, long-time deceased)
-Steve Hunt aka Capt. Trip Mender (lead guitar/backup vocals)
-Mike Thorpe aka Thopper Jaw (drums)
Tales of Terror is also featured on 'Skate Rock Vol. 2 - Blazing Wheels and Barking Trucks' comp LP (Thrasher, 1984) with the instrumental song 'Gods from Outer Space'; 'Rat Music for Rat People Vol. 2' comp LP (CD Presents, 1984) with the song 'Skate or Bate' (also present as a bonus track on the cassette version of their self-titled album. The other bonus track is a cover of The Stooges' 'Search and Destroy'); and on 'Them Boners Be Poppin' comp LP (Boner Records, 1985). That compilation includes Tales' songs 'Texas Against the World', 'Danant' (actually stolen by the Guns 'N Roses and re-titled 'Used to Love Her' as well as turned into a mellow acoustic soft number), and 'LSD for Africa' (parody of 'Let It Be' by The Beatles and the collaboration song 'USA for Africa').
Despite never really achieving any commercial success, they became something of an underground musical legend. Their sole record reached various 'seminal' musical figures. Their LP is rare, a collectible item and musical time capsule. For decades there was never a CD version or repress; due to years of legal battles, disputes and spite from CD Presents owner, who were responsible for the original album’s distribution. However, in 2021, a remastered reissue was released by UK based label Call of the Void (Related to or sub-label of Fire Records).
Tales of Terror were not your typical hardcore punk band. They were very proficient at playing their instruments – unlike many hardcore punk bands - and brought many then-alien influences into hardcore punk - before some of the most notorious hardcore punk bands started doing it; namely in the form of heavy metal proficiency, early tremolo picking, palm muting, rock n roll/rockabilly, psychedelic elements, noise rock, early dissonance and blues (which might have started the niche sub-genre known as 'cowpunk' that Mudhoney and others perpetuated). They were also part of the then-burgeoning skate punk/skate rock music scene. Although the singer was the only skateboarding practitioner, at which he was good.
Their music had hardcore punk speed and urgency mixed with chaos, emotion, psychedelia, complexity, technicality and heaviness. They had two lead guitarists. Both would often interchange riffs, trade off heavy sections and handle guitar soloing. The riffing style was unusual and unique, the riffs could only be described as 'terrorific' (a reference to their themes) as the riffs induce palpable fear and despair. They sound almost as what could have partly inspired His Hero Is Gone's 'swarm of bees' signature riffing style that is so permeated in the modern metal and hardcore scenes. The singer always had a slur in his inflection when singing (powerfully, within his vocal range), very idiosyncratic and incomparable. The bassist was prominently featured and highly placed in the mix; accentuating his playing style which gave way to a very thick, piercing, distorted, low tone. The drummer was notable for his chaotic, all over the place style of playing and random drum fills. The force he applied to the snare drum was Dave Grohl levels.
They had a story-telling style of writing to their lyrics. Which is why they christened themselves as 'Tales of Terror'. It was not only a reference to the famed classic horror movie. Their lyrics were not exclusively political unlike most other hardcore punk of the time or modern. Their songs were a collection of (terror) tales they felt the need to share. They reference this and themselves on the title track (Tales of Terror; track 9 on the LP version, track 10 on the cassette version). They probably had more tales to tell, which they were not able to continue doing. Pat Stratford, the singer often utilised British terms and words. He must have been close with a British person.
Green River themselves – the musical group who took the most from Tales of Terror and the first true grunge band - were not ashamed of or subtle enough not to wear this influence on their sleeves; as they covered Tales of Terror's song 'Ozzy' (re-titled 'Ozzie') from their sole album on their 1987 EP, 'Dry as a Bone'.
Tales of Terror, at some point; through touring, wound up in Seattle during the early 80s and played gigs Green River members attended. Apparently, they were so 'blown away' by the band that they derived a significant amount of their own style from Tales of Terror. Kurt Cobain himself, as a fan of Green River; also ended up acknowledging Tales of Terror's music as an influence, as evidenced by their presence on his Top 50 albums ever. This influence even still reached Mark Arm and Steve Turner's subsequent band Mudhoney, as decades later, they named a song after Tales of Terror for their 2008 record 'The Lucky Ones'.
Lyon Wong died on a January 5, 1986 night due to head trauma inflicted from hitting the pavement with his head after being violently pushed over by an angry Jock that accosted him after he and the rest of his bandmates (possibly more people too) made possibly offensive gestures at a pickup truck full of jocks. The jock in question only received a 6-month sentence.
Coincidentally, Lyong Wong played guitar left-handed; same as the aforementioned Kurt Cobain from Nirvana and Wipers' Greg Sage did. He was also half-Asian (of Chinese descent, to be exact) and the son of actor Victor Wong, now deceased as well.
Tales of Terror practice space was at The Stucco factory in Sacramento, the legendary artists' warehouse on R Street. They would often gather there with their local fans and friends.
Their shows were wild and chaotic which became legendary. The singer would often do backflips mid-singing, sometimes even holding his skateboard whilst performing. The rest of the band would appear as demonically possessed when playing their instruments. Their shows were a pure rush of energy and adrenaline in the true spirit of hardcore punk and rock n roll (as was the music itself). They always lived to the limit.
After the abrupt end of the band, the singer tried to continue being a musician. However, it never paid off. Tales of Terror were his true calling. The same can be said about the rest of his bandmates, most of them did not even attempt to play music in a band again. They were always mourning the loss of their dear close friend. They all also had troubled turbulent lives after the dissolving of the band and none of them reached the level of musicianship they achieved together once.
They all might as well have died when Lyon was murdered. That is how close they all were. They opted not to carry on without him, out of respect and sadness. Who knows the things they would have achieved had tragedy never struck their musical career. Perhaps they were never meant to do anything else, but they still remain very obscure and under the radar of most music fans and 'professional' critics/journalists/reviewers/whatever.
The band consisted of:
-Pat Stratford aka Rat's Ass (lead vocals) (Previously of Square Cools)
-Geoff Magner aka Dusty Coffin aka Dusty Boots (vocals/bass) (Also previously of Square Cools, now deceased)
-Lyon Wong aka Emperor Fuckshit aka Luther Storms (backup vocals/lead guitar, long-time deceased)
-Steve Hunt aka Capt. Trip Mender (lead guitar/backup vocals)
-Mike Thorpe aka Thopper Jaw (drums)
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Tales of Terror Lyrics
1 3 Spontaneous dirtclouds Are after me Epoxy frogs attach thems…
Chambers of Horror My life is in a box Four walls Ceiling and floor What time…
Danant I had to kill her, because I loved her I had…
Evil There's too much evil under the sun Is there a war…
Hound Dog You ain't nothin' but a hound dog Cryin' all the time You…
L.S.D. For africa And when my bong is empty I know just where to…
Ozzy Look at that girl She's in the corner She's the girl with…
Possession I'm only 14 My head's within the clutches of sin Got skulls…
Romance You, you thought you were a real big girl You thought…
Search and Destroy I'm a street walking cheetah With a hide full of napalm I'm…
Skate or Bate Change the world Grab yourself a skate Do a grinder on the…