Crimpshrine's origins are traced back to S.A.G. S.A.G. was formed in Berkeley, CA during the summer of 1982 by Jesse Michaels (of later Operation Ivy fame) (just 12 at the time) and Aaron Cometbus. The band mostly did just tape dubs with Jesse and Aaron trading off on instruments. It wasn't a functioning band until 1983 when Jeff Ott (at 12 years old) was brought in. Jeff played drums (even though they only had one drum). Jesse only sung, and Aaron played a guitar with only 3 strings. Later, they had changed their name to Revolution Through Apathy. S.A.G. had split up in early 1984. There were some rumors that Jesse was kicked out for smoking too much pot, so Jesse went one way and Aaron and Jeff went another. Jesse was Crimpshrine's original vocalist until he was not in the band. However, years later he came back and did some live backup vocals with Crimpshrine. There may be some tape dubs floating around, but other than that, the only released material that can be found by S.A.G. was one song- "I Had To Kill Some Ants Today" on Aaron Cometbus's "Lest We Forget" compilation. It was released in 1991 on tape by BBT Tapes. Other than that song, no other songs are known to be released by S.A.G. However, some S.A.G. lyrics were used in Operation Ivy in the end of Plea for Peace and some other songs such as Steppin' out.
After S.A.G.'s breakup, Aaron and Jeff switched off on instruments. Sometimes Aaron would play guitar and Jeff would play the synthesizer or piano or they would both play guitar. Eventually, Isaac (unsure of his last name) joined the band, first on violin, and then synthesizer. Lint from Operation Ivy played bass for a little while. This was the start of Crimpshrine. Finally, Crimpshrine became Jeff on guitar and Aaron playing drums and percussion. The only song used from those early Crimpshrine days on their later recordings was Tomorrow, which was originally an instrumental but eventually had words. In late 1984, Aaron was able to get a real drum set, and it was decided that Jeff would sing. The original plan was to have a female vocalist but that never happened. After going through 6 bassists (Ron, Chalky, Lint, and later Dave Ed, Spider, Suzie, David, Chris, Ben Weasel, and John J.) and one and a half years of confusion, Crimpshrine played their first show. However, their bassist decided to quit right before the show, so they had to get a replacement bassist learn 3 of their songs in 5 minutes. Pete Rypins joined the band in October of 1986 as the bassist and Crimpshrine finally began to play some real shows instead of playing in Jeff's basement most of the time. Their first demo was recorded in February of 1987. Then, they did 2 songs, Another Day and Rearranged, for the Turn It Around compilation. Their first EP, "Sleep, What's That?" was recorded in September of 1987 and released in January 1988 on Lookout Records.
They gained a second guitarist, Idon Bryant, prior to Sleep, What's That's release. He was not included on that album, but played on their second full-length, "Lame Gig Contest." It was rejected by Lookout Records, but put out by Musical Tragedies, a German label, with the lyrics translated from English to German in the sleeve. This is a very rare album to come across, however much of it was released in other Crimpshrine albums, such as Duct Tape Soup and The Sound of a New World Being Born.
The band was in various newspaper articles in their time, some describing them, others for their way of publicizing themselves. They would write "Crimpshrine" (which was a name they gave to a girl they knew with crimped hair) all over Berkeley High School's walls, as well as purple dots and other grafitti. Their principal actually supported the grafitti! One of their best articles was from in the Oakland Tribune, who went to BHS wanting to interview a band. They were interviewed by Maximum Rock N' Roll in 1988 as well.
After Lame Gig Contest came another EP, "Quit Talkin' Claude." Quit Talkin' Claude was released Claude was a renowned Berkeley scenester who was said to never shut up. Idon Bryant and Pete Rypins had left the band by that time. Pete was replaced by Paul Curran on bass. When Paul joined the band in 1988, Crimpshrine toured for awhile. His brother, Jack, was a roadie. Paul drove the Pinto they toured in. Jake was a roadie from time to time as well. He sang on one of their songs. Zak and Dennis were also roadies.
The 1989 release of Quit Talkin' Claude on Lookout Records was their farewell record, as they had split up. Quit Talkin' Claude was recorded in January of 1989 with Kevin Army, who worked with Operation Ivy and many other bands. After this release Crimpshrine was on some other compilations. Lookout released two retrospectives, containing some unreleased and hard-to-find Crimpshrine songs, The Sound of a New World Being Born and Duct Tape Soup. They made a split EP in 1988 with Boneyard and A Priori called Caution. It was released on Skene Records. They appeared on "The World's In Shreds" with the song Pretty Mess. It was an EP released in 1989 on the record label Shredder. Jawbreaker, Moral Crux, and A Priori appeared on this album as well. They appeared in 1993's "Benicia..." compilation put out by Take A Day on cassette. The song "Going Home" by Crimpshrine on that compilation is not known to be released on any other album. Other bands on it were Pinhead Gunpowder (Aaron's drumming) and Monsula. Crimpshrine were on some Lookout compilations. One of the obvious ones was The Thing that Ate Floyd, which contained many other of the Gilman era bands. They appeared with the song "Sanctuary" on Lookout's 1998 compilation Forward Till Death. They did a split with Mutley Chix in the No Idea Fanzine (issue 7). The Crimpshrine songs were Closed Doors Closed Minds, Caught Up, and Fucked Up Kid. Mutley Chix did Small Town, Big Hell and Lamp. Their real farewell album was a split single released in 1990 on the record label No Reality. It was called the Burning Bridges EP on their side. On the other side was Angel... Your Hair Looks Good! by G-Whiz. The two songs by Crimpshrine on their farewell album were Over the Years and The Direction of Things to Come. Over the Years was taken from their first demo which was recorded with Brian Edge at Gilman in January of 1987. It was recorded with Pete but not with Idon. The Direction of Things to Come was taken from their last studio recording session in January of 1989. It was recorded by Kevin Army. It featured Paul, Jeff, and Aaron.
Crimpshrine fell apart in 1989 and the members went their separate ways. Jeff went into Fifteen, Aaron got involved with countless bands such as Pinhead Gunpowder (with Billie Joe Armstrong) and Astrid Oto. Paul was in Go Sailor and Shotwell Coho, and also did a stint with Sweet Baby; he now plays bass and sings in both Surrender and Onion Flavored Rings. Idon has been in a fairly popular East Bay hardcore punk, Strychine. Pete resurfaced in Tilt, and has been playing with The Tantrums for over 10 years. Check them out at their homepage or at their Myspace page. Crimpshrine, the heart and soul of the East Bay, lives on through the other members projects and through the people that still listen to them and are inspired by them today.
Construction
Crimpshrine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Makes us look so inferior. But there was no
Strict order here so it made us feel unsure.
And someone thought maybe if the planet
Could be paved - and changed everything so
Life was easier, then we would not feel
Afraid...
And this fear that springs from nowhere
It Begins to take control to the point that we
Find that we feel so helpless - that we
Feel so far down this hole. And it seems
That the only way out is to somehow gain
Control. So we lay down our rules and we
Begin our construction. With our invented
Authority we begin our destruction...
Started thousands of years ago and now
There's no escaping - concrete and steel
Are everywhere so we close our eye...
I'm not afraid to stop
The lyrics to Crimpshrine's song "Construction" are a commentary on humanity's impact on the natural world. The first verse emphasizes that the planet is superior to humans, but without any strict order, it makes humans feel unsure. The feeling of insecurity leads to the desire to control and manipulate the planet, paving the way for a more comfortable life. However, this construction comes at a cost, as the fear that originally drove humans to control the natural world eventually takes control of their minds. The need to feel in control leads to the destruction of natural habitats and ecosystems in favor of man-made structures. The consequences of this destruction are far-reaching and difficult to escape.
Throughout the song, the band urges listeners to open their eyes to the destruction they are causing and take responsibility for their actions. The final line, "I'm not afraid to stop," shows a willingness to correct the course before it's too late.
The song's message is still relevant today, as our relationship with the environment remains a pressing issue. The lyrics encourage listeners to consider the impact of their actions and strive for sustainability. Crimpshrine's "Construction" serves as a reminder that the consequences of our actions can have long-lasting effects on the world around us.
Line by Line Meaning
We've been blessed with this planet that
The natural beauty of our planet often makes humans feel inferior to it.
Makes us look so inferior. But there was no
Humans look inferior because there is no fixed structure or order for our planet.
Strict order here so it made us feel unsure.
Due to the lack of structure on our planet, humans feel uncertain about their place in the world.
And someone thought maybe if the planet
People started to think that if the planet was changed and made easier, then their fears would disappear.
Could be paved - and changed everything so
The idea was to pave the planet and alter everything to make life simpler.
Life was easier, then we would not feel
By making life easy, humans would not be fearful anymore.
Afraid...
The fear in humans' minds would cease to exist.
And this fear that springs from nowhere
The fear originates from nowhere but in our minds.
Accelerates itself in our own minds.
Overtime, the fear consumes us completely.
It Begins to take control to the point that we
The fear starts to control us to a point where we feel helpless.
Find that we feel so helpless - that we
The fear is so strong that it overpowers us and makes us feel stuck in a hole.
Feel so far down this hole. And it seems
The only way out for humans is to take control.
That the only way out is to somehow gain
By gaining the power and control of the planet, humans feel they can overcome their fears.
Control. So we lay down our rules and we
Humans take over and enforced their own rules.
Begin our construction. With our invented
Using their newfound power, humans start constructing and altering the planet, so it suits them better.
Authority we begin our destruction...
But this authoritarian construction leads to destruction of the planet and the natural world.
Started thousands of years ago and now
This destructive process started thousands of years go and has been continuing since.
There's no escaping - concrete and steel
Now concrete and steel dominate the planet, with no ways of getting away from it.
Are everywhere so we close our eye...
Humans are now used to it and have stopped noticing this domination. They choose to ignore it.
I'm not afraid to stop
The artist is not afraid to bring up these issues and talk about them.
Contributed by Caroline O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Hill Billy
I got into Crimpshine in 89. Now I'm 36 and still love them!!!
j2daesse
I LOVE THIS SONG! LONG LIVE CRIMPSHRINE!!! 82 VIEWS??!!! COME ON PEOPLE!!!
j2daesse
LONG LIVE CRIMPSHRINE! WE ARE BRINGING IT BACK! SPREAD THE WORD!