A long time ago (the mid-nineties) in a place far-far away (San Francisco) there existed a Rock and Roll band called Syrup.

Were they before their time/after their time? Who knows. . .

Their music was described, by some, as King Crimson, Gang Of Four, The Cramps and Birthday Party put in a blender ; some thought they sounded like The Jesus Lizard; others simply finished their drinks and made for the nearest exit.

Most found it rather difficult to relate to the freak show, transvestite, crazy-time signature, completely bizarre song structure, space alien, socially alienated, super-paranoid, clinically depressed,  bi-polar--Waiting For Godot on Prozac meets Cats on Crystal-Meth nature of the music.

Who can blame them ?

Can I blame them ?

Can I press charges ?

If you believe that the answer is "yes" please email me.

The following was Syrup's "official" press release:

SYR-UP (sir'ep, sur'-) n. 1. a band. 2. a thick liquid in which aural perception is dissolved. - syr'up-y, adj.

   J. COWARD voice, bass, anxiety.
   T. JONES telecaster, voice, revenge.
   J. CRAWDAD drums, excuses, nicotine.

J. Coward. Born-again loser, wan-a-be anomaly, Coward enjoys shopping after peak hours, and aspires to sport a Mission goatee.

T. Jones began touching himself at a very young age and developed an agility that has prevented him from achieving the "life-goals" he once thought would be easily procurable and ultimately profitable.

J. Crawdad was a founding member of the percussive group Ballyhoo, a pioneering snare drum quartet from The Wooten College, Dorcester, a consistent performer with Johnny Crawdad And The Marine Creek Band, a South Dakota lounge ensemble, and remains a regular contributor to Vermicious Knids, a Los Angeles-based country-fusion trio and monthly fanzine.

J. Coward and T. Jones first began playing together in 1986. Since then they have existed as musicians in Vermont, Boston, Puerto-Rico, New York, and finally San Francisco where, upon uniting with J. Crawdad in 1994, they formed Syrup. In the past six months Syrup has performed throughout the Bay Area at venues including: The Chameleon Club, Club Boomerang, The Berkeley Square, The Paradise Lounge, Club DNA, The Thirsty Swede, The Nightbreak, CW Saloon, and Hanno's In The Alley. Syrup's mailing list continues to expand, as does their audience, both pseudo-spiritually and numerically, at each successive performance.

For Syrup MP3's
C l i c k Here

These songs were recorded in a number of different ways, on a number of different days. Some were recorded in Mr. Crawdad's bedroom using a Tascam 4-track recorder. Other songs were recorded using three Tascam 4-tracks in Mr. Crawdad's livingroom/guestroom/garage/office/storage area. (For isolation purposes I recorded my guitar parts while in a different room, the bathroom actually, while sitting on a closed toilet. ) Another batch of these songs were recorded at a 16-track studio (The Mud Shack) in Oakland, CA. Some songs were just captured on a "boom-box" while we rehearsed at Lennon Studios in San Francisco inside a 12' X 12' room. The more electronic songs are the unique and individual efforts of the genius J. Coward.  I recommend using foam-lined protective headgear while enjoying these files/this music.