Wipers were a punk rock group formed in Portland, Oregon, United States in … Read Full Bio ↴Wipers were a punk rock group formed in Portland, Oregon, United States in 1977 by guitarist Greg Sage, drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal. Perhaps best known for the iconic early 80s album Is This Real?, Wipers were one of the earliest American purveyors of the genre, and the group's tight song structure and use of heavy distortion has been hailed as extremely influential by numerous critics and musicians (including Nirvana, who covered several of their songs), laying the groundwork for the evolution of modern alternative rock from punk.
The idea behind the Wipers started off as only a recording project. The plan was to record 15 LPs in 10 years without touring or promotion of any type. Sage's thoughts were that the mystique built from the lack of playing the traditional rock & roll promotion game would make people listen to their recordings much deeper with only their imagination to go by. He thought it would be easy to avoid press, shows, pictures, interviews. He looked at music as art rather than entertainment; with that concept in mind he thought music was personal to the listener rather than a commodity.
"I think I got that concept early on as a kid. I was very lucky to have my own professional record cutting lathe when I was in 7th grade due to my father being involved in the broadcast industry. I would cut records for friends at school of songs off the radio and learned the art of record making long before learning to play music. I would spend countless hours studying the grooves I would cut under the microscope that was attached to the lathe and loved the way music looked, moved and modulated within the thin walls. I might have spent too much time studying music through a microscope because it gave me a completely different outlook on what music is and a totally opposite understanding of it as well. There was something very magical and private when I zoomed into the magnified and secret world of sound in motion. I got to the point that I needed to create and paint my own sounds and colors into the walls of these grooves."
Greg Sage's first choice of instrument was bass guitar, because of the low tones that made larger grooves in the vinyl records due to slower modulations. Unfortunately, basses were harder to find and much more expensive when Sage was in grade school, so he had to go with guitar instead. After several years of playing and recording guitar he felt he wanted to do something different in music, and being labeled as a band seemed to be the first tradition and standard he should try to avoid. He wanted to make his own recordings, manufacture and run his own label himself without anyone else's financing in order to keep the music as pure and unfiltered as possible. In fact, in 1979, Sage approached several young Portland punk bands and asked them to record singles for his new [lable]Trap label. Some of those early bands were Stiphnoyds, Neo Boys and Sado-Nation. Sage later re-released some of that material on a compilation record entitled History Of Portland Punk.
Sage has done some studio production for other bands, most notably Napalm Beach. Sage helped Napalm Beach record their first studio tracks, including a debut EP (never released), and some tracks for Sage's 1981 Trap Sampler compilation album. Sage also recorded some of Napalm Beach's live performances and released them on cassette. After the Wipers original drummer, Sam Henry joined Napalm Beach (1981), Sage engineered and produced the band's first full studio album, Rock & Roll Hell.
Sage realized that his initial ideas of conduct would be near impossible for him, due to the fact that to most record labels it was first and foremost business to them. Being such an independent artist was an oddity. Sage says he learned that it is almost impossible to be a true artist in the sense he started off with, and that survival was to learn to compromise. These realizations influenced Sage wanting The Circle album to be the last Wipers album.
In spite of Sage's original intentions, Wipers also played live shows and even released a live album, called Wipers Live.
Wipers' first single, Better Off Dead was released in 1978 on Sage's own Trap Records. Their first album, Is This Real?, came out the following year on Park Avenue Records, a larger label which the band hoped would offer them wider distribution. Originally recorded on a 4-track in the band's rehearsal studio, the label insisted the band use a professional studio. Once released, the LP quietly gained a cult following, although the band was best known for their live shows around the Portland area.
In 1980, through Park Avenue Wipers released the Alien Boy EP, consisting of the title track and three demo outtakes. Released without the band's permission, the EP was the first of many unauthorized and bootleg Wipers records. In fact, Wipers never received royalties from these early releases until Sage's Zeno Records reissued them as a triple-CD in 2001. Sage has said regarding Is This Real?: "Hell, that record was in print for over twenty years and we never received a cent for it."
Though Is This Real? defied categorization upon its release, its catchy, driving punk anthems are now regarded as post-punk classics. Uninterested in more of the same, Sage tweaked and evolved the band's sound with each subsequent release. Sage became known for not only his do-it-yourself ethic and guitar solos, but also for his domineering approach to the band’s creative process. With the new rhythm section of bassist Brad Davidson and drummer Brad Naish (ex-Styphnoids), Wipers' recorded a second LP for Park Avenue.
With its epic title track and generally longer song lengths, 1981's Youth of America stands in sharp contrast to the short/fast punk approach of the time. Following a dispute over the cover art for their Youth of America Wipers parted ways with Park Avenue for good.
The next LP, the militant, distortion-drenched Over the Edge, was the first Wipers record to meet with immediate acceptance. The single Romeo, which had already been released earlier on 7" by Trap, actually got some radio airplay.
The band then embarked on their first extensive tour, documented on the excellent 1984 Live LP. The band members purposely relied on word-of-mouth advertising for their albums, often rejecting interviews, and played far fewer live shows than many of their punk contemporaries.
Many of the recording techniques and musical equipment were designed by Sage and the band.
In the mid-80's, Wipers made the jump to Enigma Records subsidiary Restless Records, one of the biggest independent labels of the time signing punk-related bands. First to be released was Sage's solo album Straight Ahead.
Over the next few years they released three more LPs on Restless, the first being 1986's Land Of The Lost which featured the song Let Me Know used in the Keanu Reeves film River's Edge. Copies of this album are highly sought after collectibles. They then released Follow Blind in 1987 and The Circle intended to be the band's last album. 18-year-old drummer Travis McNabb joined the band for the tour for the The Circle (later joining Better Than Ezra).
Wipers broke up around 1989.
Meanwhile, several alternative rockers became vocal about their admiration for Sage, such as the Melvins, mudhoney and Dinosaur Jr. The most notable was Kurt Cobain, whose band Nirvana covered Wipers songs and asked Sage to open for them on tours. Never wanting to be opportunistic and never wanting to draw attention to himself, Sage politely turned down the offers.
In the early nineties, Sage relocated to Arizona and, in 1995, at the revived Wipers with the release of Silver Sail, followed by the Herd in 1996 and Power in One.
All Wipers activity ceased in 2001.
Sage later remarked on their initial reception: "We weren’t even really a punk band. See, we were even farther out in left field than the punk movement because we didn’t even wish to be classified, and that was kind of a new territory. [...] When we put out Is This Real? […] it definitely did not fit in; none of our records did. Then nine, ten years later people are saying: 'Yeah, it’s the punk classic of the ’80s.'"
The idea behind the Wipers started off as only a recording project. The plan was to record 15 LPs in 10 years without touring or promotion of any type. Sage's thoughts were that the mystique built from the lack of playing the traditional rock & roll promotion game would make people listen to their recordings much deeper with only their imagination to go by. He thought it would be easy to avoid press, shows, pictures, interviews. He looked at music as art rather than entertainment; with that concept in mind he thought music was personal to the listener rather than a commodity.
"I think I got that concept early on as a kid. I was very lucky to have my own professional record cutting lathe when I was in 7th grade due to my father being involved in the broadcast industry. I would cut records for friends at school of songs off the radio and learned the art of record making long before learning to play music. I would spend countless hours studying the grooves I would cut under the microscope that was attached to the lathe and loved the way music looked, moved and modulated within the thin walls. I might have spent too much time studying music through a microscope because it gave me a completely different outlook on what music is and a totally opposite understanding of it as well. There was something very magical and private when I zoomed into the magnified and secret world of sound in motion. I got to the point that I needed to create and paint my own sounds and colors into the walls of these grooves."
Greg Sage's first choice of instrument was bass guitar, because of the low tones that made larger grooves in the vinyl records due to slower modulations. Unfortunately, basses were harder to find and much more expensive when Sage was in grade school, so he had to go with guitar instead. After several years of playing and recording guitar he felt he wanted to do something different in music, and being labeled as a band seemed to be the first tradition and standard he should try to avoid. He wanted to make his own recordings, manufacture and run his own label himself without anyone else's financing in order to keep the music as pure and unfiltered as possible. In fact, in 1979, Sage approached several young Portland punk bands and asked them to record singles for his new [lable]Trap label. Some of those early bands were Stiphnoyds, Neo Boys and Sado-Nation. Sage later re-released some of that material on a compilation record entitled History Of Portland Punk.
Sage has done some studio production for other bands, most notably Napalm Beach. Sage helped Napalm Beach record their first studio tracks, including a debut EP (never released), and some tracks for Sage's 1981 Trap Sampler compilation album. Sage also recorded some of Napalm Beach's live performances and released them on cassette. After the Wipers original drummer, Sam Henry joined Napalm Beach (1981), Sage engineered and produced the band's first full studio album, Rock & Roll Hell.
Sage realized that his initial ideas of conduct would be near impossible for him, due to the fact that to most record labels it was first and foremost business to them. Being such an independent artist was an oddity. Sage says he learned that it is almost impossible to be a true artist in the sense he started off with, and that survival was to learn to compromise. These realizations influenced Sage wanting The Circle album to be the last Wipers album.
In spite of Sage's original intentions, Wipers also played live shows and even released a live album, called Wipers Live.
Wipers' first single, Better Off Dead was released in 1978 on Sage's own Trap Records. Their first album, Is This Real?, came out the following year on Park Avenue Records, a larger label which the band hoped would offer them wider distribution. Originally recorded on a 4-track in the band's rehearsal studio, the label insisted the band use a professional studio. Once released, the LP quietly gained a cult following, although the band was best known for their live shows around the Portland area.
In 1980, through Park Avenue Wipers released the Alien Boy EP, consisting of the title track and three demo outtakes. Released without the band's permission, the EP was the first of many unauthorized and bootleg Wipers records. In fact, Wipers never received royalties from these early releases until Sage's Zeno Records reissued them as a triple-CD in 2001. Sage has said regarding Is This Real?: "Hell, that record was in print for over twenty years and we never received a cent for it."
Though Is This Real? defied categorization upon its release, its catchy, driving punk anthems are now regarded as post-punk classics. Uninterested in more of the same, Sage tweaked and evolved the band's sound with each subsequent release. Sage became known for not only his do-it-yourself ethic and guitar solos, but also for his domineering approach to the band’s creative process. With the new rhythm section of bassist Brad Davidson and drummer Brad Naish (ex-Styphnoids), Wipers' recorded a second LP for Park Avenue.
With its epic title track and generally longer song lengths, 1981's Youth of America stands in sharp contrast to the short/fast punk approach of the time. Following a dispute over the cover art for their Youth of America Wipers parted ways with Park Avenue for good.
The next LP, the militant, distortion-drenched Over the Edge, was the first Wipers record to meet with immediate acceptance. The single Romeo, which had already been released earlier on 7" by Trap, actually got some radio airplay.
The band then embarked on their first extensive tour, documented on the excellent 1984 Live LP. The band members purposely relied on word-of-mouth advertising for their albums, often rejecting interviews, and played far fewer live shows than many of their punk contemporaries.
Many of the recording techniques and musical equipment were designed by Sage and the band.
In the mid-80's, Wipers made the jump to Enigma Records subsidiary Restless Records, one of the biggest independent labels of the time signing punk-related bands. First to be released was Sage's solo album Straight Ahead.
Over the next few years they released three more LPs on Restless, the first being 1986's Land Of The Lost which featured the song Let Me Know used in the Keanu Reeves film River's Edge. Copies of this album are highly sought after collectibles. They then released Follow Blind in 1987 and The Circle intended to be the band's last album. 18-year-old drummer Travis McNabb joined the band for the tour for the The Circle (later joining Better Than Ezra).
Wipers broke up around 1989.
Meanwhile, several alternative rockers became vocal about their admiration for Sage, such as the Melvins, mudhoney and Dinosaur Jr. The most notable was Kurt Cobain, whose band Nirvana covered Wipers songs and asked Sage to open for them on tours. Never wanting to be opportunistic and never wanting to draw attention to himself, Sage politely turned down the offers.
In the early nineties, Sage relocated to Arizona and, in 1995, at the revived Wipers with the release of Silver Sail, followed by the Herd in 1996 and Power in One.
All Wipers activity ceased in 2001.
Sage later remarked on their initial reception: "We weren’t even really a punk band. See, we were even farther out in left field than the punk movement because we didn’t even wish to be classified, and that was kind of a new territory. [...] When we put out Is This Real? […] it definitely did not fit in; none of our records did. Then nine, ten years later people are saying: 'Yeah, it’s the punk classic of the ’80s.'"
Our Past Life
Wipers Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Wipers:
04 The Chill Remains I wonder how it's been Your ship came in But the shadow…
06 Nothing Left To Lose Did I see you the other day? Grey eyes looked so…
Against the Wall Just living day to day Oh come on say it Say it's…
Alien Boy Go and grab your gun Got him on the run 'Cause he's…
All the Same I've been walking around All I see is good things What …
Back to the Basics I was talkin to my friends today I don't know why…
Better Off Dead You slip, you pull a dirty trick You turn around and…
Blue Cowboy Blue cowboy rides off thru the range The Wind it cries…
Born With a Curse i was told long ago by a wise man who…
Chill Remains I wonder how it's been Your ship came in But the shadow…
Coming Down It's on my mind yeah Every single time When I think about…
D-7 Straight as an arrow Defect, defect Not straight, not so str…
Don't Belong To You If I could change your mind I wouldn't waste much time I…
Don't Know What I Am I don't know what I am So just going to put…
Dont Belong to You If I could change your mind I wouldn't waste much time I…
Doom Town Life's so incomplete Here on the street Live in a doom town …
Fair Weather Friends Been laying on a wagon ′Til we've got a bust wheel So…
Follow Blind Feeling time standing by me Feel your time standing by me …
Goodbye Again Here comes the rain on your forehead again, My soul was…
Green Light Legion My sixth sense tells me something's wronge here I'm used to…
I Looking from the inside you feel Nothing on the outside is…
I Want a Way Looking from the inside you feel Nothing on the outside is…
I'll Be Around I wish you would just stay around I wish we all…
Image of Man Watch it from the dark side Come into the right side This…
IS THIS REAL Sometimes I get these feelings And I don't know what to…
Is This Real? Sometimes I get these feelings And I don't know what to…
Just a Dream Away Just dreams Watch it fade away so fast I know I saw…
Just Say Just say You always need to say You always need to say You'l…
Land of the Lost Get sick and tired Of waiting around This place just gets …
Let It Slide You leave your world just so far away But that's ok…
Let Me Know Well, something's shaking here No need to hide what you're f…
Let's Go Away Stuck in the pits of cape coral Really gave me the…
Line There's a thin white line That we almost crossed Yeah D…
Losers Revenge Take another shot - from a million miles away No one…
Losers Town Sitting around here thinking just the other night Wonder wh…
Mars When ours was the land We had a medicine man He longed…
Messenger Messenger... Always bring's bad news Just a trick of fate …
Misfit You know it's just the pits When you don't quite fit…
Mistaken ID "Ok people, if Orwell was right, we're all gonna be…
Mystery You think I'm retrospective Of someone you used to know I …
Never Win See you later Sorry I didn't know You don't have the time…
Next Time It sure is a thrill tonight Hope everything works out just…
No Doubt About It There's no doubt about it It's reaching the end You can't …
No Fair Out of the shadows...blistering lights... Through the hallw…
No Generation Gap Has it been so long, since you had your way? With…
No One Wants An Alien Looking from the inside you feel Nothing on the outside is…
No Place Safe Whisper not a sound A shadow's on the rise There's no place…
Nothing Left To Lose Did I see you the other day? Grey eyes looked so…
Now Is the Time Now is the time, where is the truth?…
On a Roll Johnny's got a problem The only sun That seems to say May…
Over The Edge It's not the truth I see It's just a mockery Don't need…
Potential Suicide It's such a long way down Maybe I should try a…
Prisoner There's a place around this sign the sky's parade All I…
Psychic Vampire Wait it - need it - take it - have…
Pushing the Extreme Through your mirror there is such vanity Through the light,…
Rebel With a Cause It took me such a long time To find out why…
Return of the Rat Well you better watch out Well you better beware They're c…
Rocket There's a whirlwind driving harder entering Into inner spac…
Romeo Romeo... Walks the city at night The tall dark buildings cas…
Scared Stiff What′s a pretty you If you feel place You look so scared Yo…
Shaken I'm going to lay here shaking and wait for the…
Ship of Dreams I feel it's time to seal our fate You better grab…
Sign of the Times See the sun as it falls from the sky I put…
Silver Sail Sailin around the world in silver ship I wonder what they…
Sinking As A Stone What did I have at stake Why did I have to…
So Young Set apart from the rest of the world Caught up in…
Some Place Else I think there's someplace else I'd take you there myself Don…
Someplace Else I think there's someplace else I'd take you there myself D…
Soul's Tongue Footprints painted as the truth walks on Ya know, if the…
Standing There I can see you standing there Cold as the wind Will you…
Stay Around Today Will it change your mind? You want it all to be…
Still Inside of Me I took the wrong way to find my way back…
Stormy Hello rain - so good to see you now Wash away…
Straight Ahead I've heard this story Just about a million times But I…
Take It Now It came in to my night I see it taking form We…
Taking Too Long Didn't realize the sign Because it was a sign of the…
Telepathic Love Send a message via telepathic line Send it cause I'm feelin…
The Chill Remains I wonder how it's been Your ship came in But the shadow…
The Fall Living on these stale pills so long I can't stand…
The Lonely One For all the lonely ones Who live life in the dreams It's…
This Time Don't wanna be a part of you. Cuz you always make…
Time Marches On I feel it's a mystery And I know what it's for It's…
Too Many Strangers There's too many strangers All along the wavering miles Th…
Tragedy Tragedy Oh Tragedy You're You're You're Such a tragedy…
Up Front It's got to be up front Got to be so close…
Up in Flames I don't wanna leave, but it seems unfair Things are surely…
Voices in the Rain As darkness falls Nothing left at all Aimlessly wandering…
Wait A Minute Let's get just a little too proud That's the way it…
Warning There's no use fighting now These endless days Maybe later…
Way of Love Girl, I'm laying it on the line Giving me chills up…
What Is What keeps the world on spinning? What keeps the stars in…
What's Wrong? In your house built of sand Each grain placed in time What…
When It's Over t's 4 A.M., and I'm a hundred miles from breakfast…
Wind The Clock Slowly Can't you see can't you hear The sound of people running W…
Window Shop For Love I can't believe my eyes Can't see so clearly A thick dark…
Y I Came That's why I came I saw clean in the night Or was…
YOUR EMPATHY Do you think that we just existed For that moment? Waiting…
Youth of America Youth of America Is living in the jungle Fighting for surviv…
Youth Of America [Out Take Mix Youth of America Is living in the jungle Fighting for surv…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@sp00kyaction
My absolute favourite Wipers song.
@whitenoise0065
@@pillihpzelaznog2017 ?
@filler7359
@@whitenoise0065 no
@vinnierotondaro358
Fools disagree
@dognougat
You know it baby
@bigmaz4002
And just like your past life you wish it could go on forever
@ShadSimm
Sublime and viscous.
@KW7T5HI
beautiful.
@ArmandosecoMr
this is paranormal
@lukepearson4954
What a tune! Were everlong came from )