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.
Situation
Crimpshrine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd like to ease your mind
But I speak, you turn away
I know we're supposed to fear each other
But I feel no fear
I'd like to take away your nervousness
But I can't get near
An uncomfortable confrontation
Between two minds
Unthinking as to why
There's this nervousness between us
And I wish we'd been simply taught to trust
Cuz every man is my brother
And I must treat him as such
So come on down man
And take a look at who I am
Or are you afraid to find
A part of yourself
Inside of someone you don't understand?
I would think that to be the case
Cuz you got the same eyes
And I got the same face
We got the same blood
And we got the same flesh
So take you hate and give it a rest
Every man is my brother
The lyrics to "Situation" by Crimpshrine explore the discomfort and fear that exist between individuals who are supposed to fear each other due to societal norms. The singer of the song acknowledges the fear and nervousness in the eyes of the person they are addressing but wishes to ease their mind. Unfortunately, every interaction becomes an uncomfortable confrontation because of the lack of trust and understanding between the two parties. The singer wishes that they were taught to trust rather than fear each other, and they want to treat every person as their brother. The song encourages people to look beyond their differences and recognize their commonalities, such as their same eyes, flesh, and blood, to move beyond hate.
The lyrics to "Situation" were written during a time when racism, homophobia, and bigotry were prevalent in society. The song's message encourages people to look beyond their differences and recognize their similarities rather than engaging in prejudiced behaviors. The lyrics, "I'd like to take away your nervousness, but I can't get near" exemplify the societal divide between people, and the song's message is that people should push past this to understand and relate to each other. "Situation" is a reminder that we should practice empathy and compassion towards our fellow humans, regardless of their background.
Line by Line Meaning
I look at you, you look afraid
I see fear in your eyes as we meet face to face
I'd like to ease your mind
I wish to alleviate your anxiety
But I speak, you turn away
Whenever I try to communicate, you avoid me
I know we're supposed to fear each other
Society teaches us to be distrustful of one another
But I feel no fear
Despite the social conditioning, I am not afraid
I'd like to take away your nervousness
I hope to make you feel calm and confident
But I can't get near
However, you keep your distance from me
And every situation becomes
In every instance where we meet,
An uncomfortable confrontation
there is an awkwardness and tension as if we are adversaries
Between two minds
Both of our psyches are at odds with each other
Unthinking as to why
We don't know why we are behaving this way toward one another
There's this nervousness between us
There is a mutual anxiety when we interact
And I wish we'd been simply taught to trust
I believe it would be better if we were brought up to have faith in one another
Cuz every man is my brother
I see every person as a sibling in this life
And I must treat him as such
Therefore, it is my duty to show them kindness regardless of our differences
So come on down man
So let's discuss this, my friend
And take a look at who I am
Instead of viewing me as an outsider, try to understand my perspective
Or are you afraid to find
Could it be that you are too afraid to see
A part of yourself
That I represent a facet of your identity
Inside of someone you don't understand?
That lies in a person you cannot comprehend
I would think that to be the case
I assume that is your situation
Cuz you got the same eyes
As we are both of the same species
And I got the same face
We share similarities even in our features
We got the same blood
As humans, we have the same fluid running through our veins
And we got the same flesh
Our bodies are made of the same substance
So take you hate and give it a rest
Let go of your animosity toward others and relieve yourself of its burden
Contributed by Henry D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@chadbaier9752
Crimpshrine was so crunchy
@Whatsahandle4
Cringe shrine= more cringe than crunnch
@bretadounitedfc
track 12
@jasondarling4378
Took me 9+ years to see yer comment! 👍
@Whatsahandle4
That painting is so gross and disturbing. To this day I don't know what it is