Albums / Compilations / Members on Other Albums

 

This part of the Bitch Discography lists albums that members of Bitch have appeared on outside of Bitch. The classic era members of Bitch are listed first, and the all-star members are listed after that.

Many of the albums and demos listed here were released on a very limited basis initially and are no longer available for purchase. However, other items are available for purchase, and whenever they are, we have linked the title to a source where you can buy the item. In most cases, this is Amazon.com, but a couple are linked to CDBaby and CDJapan. You can also browse the Amazon widgets to the left under the menu bar to look at the items in this section of the Bitch Discography that are available through Amazon.com.

Betsy Bitch

Even though Betsy goes by “Betsy Bitch”, on all of the Bitch albums Betsy is credited simply as “Betsy”.  This tradition began with The Boxboys, where she is also credited by her first name only.
 

with The Boxboys:

"American Masquerade" b/w "Come See About Me" (aka Uptown Yankee Ska) (M.A.O. Records ZOH-002, 1980) 

The first of two 7” releases by The Boxboys, which to my knowledge is Los Angeles' earliest second-wave ska band. Ska fans often refer to this single as Uptown Yankee Ska, however this was not originally meant to be the title of the album, but rather a description of the music so record buyers would know what style of music the single was. “Come See About Me” is an intensified Supremes cover.
 

Skaletons in the Closet 2-10-80 (M.A.O. Records MAOS 3, 1981)

“Separate Rooms,” “Busy Boy” / “Go Go”  

This was a three-song EP consisting of leftover tracks from a recording session that produced part of the “American Masquerade” b/w “Come See About Me” single.   All three of the songs on Skaletons in the Closet feature Betsy on vocals, but Betsy had just left the band, which technically made these songs obsolete.  They were compiled into a “leftovers” EP so that the band could have something new to sell at shows without the extra costs of having to record new material.

The five songs on these two releases are very fun and well-performed new-wavey second wave ska.  Their only downside is that Betsy is not a particularly good fit for the group. Betsy’s lyrical contributions are well-written, but her sexy, womanly personality sounds restricted in this situation, although feisty bits shine through here and there, like when Betsy taunts an unnamed boy by asking, “How come you never call me?  Don’t you like girls anymore—hmmm?” at the end of “Come See About Me”.  A cute, sassy, girly personality like Jane Wiedlin’s probably would have worked much better for this group.  This unhappy “poor fit” situation was rectified several times over for Betsy when she joined Bitch, although not for The Boxboys, who would fade away soon after Betsy left. 

If you're interested in learning a little more about The Boxboys, there's a great interview with Betsy about her days with The Boxboys at Marco on the Bass' Ska Blog.  Click here to read it. 

 

with Lizzy Borden (guest vocals):

Terror Rising (Metal Blade RR 9621, 1987)

"Don't Touch Me There"

Various Artists:  Best of Metal Blade, Volume 3  (Enigma/Metal Blade D-73319, 1988)

"Don't Touch Me There"

Terror Rising/Give Em the Axe (Metal Blade 3984-14091-2, 1994)

"Don't Touch Me There"

Heavy metal performer Lizzy Borden is a big fan of the theatrical shock rock band The Tubes.  He decided to record a heavy metal version of The Tubes’ song “Don’t Touch Me There” for a 1987 stopgap EP called Terror Rising.  Terror Rising was recorded to tide fans over until Lizzy Borden had completed the full-length album Visual Lies, which would come out later the same year.  The vocals on the song “Don’t Touch Me There” are shared between a woman and a man, so Lizzy asked Betsy to come in and sing the lady’s part.  Betsy’s comments on the session are a tongue-in-cheek “That was a fun recording session, if I can remember back that far.”  The song appeared again in the 1988 compilation Best of Metal Blade, Vol. 3 (which also featured the Bitch song “Hot and Heavy” from The Bitch is Back), and again in the 1994 Terror Rising/Give ‘Em the Axe CD reissue.  

 

with Shadow (guest vocals):  

Forever Chaos (Japanese version only) (Victor Entertainment [Japan] MICP-10792, 2008)

“Damnation Alley”

Shadow is a melodic death metal group from Japan, and Forever Chaos is their second album.  The Japanese edition of the album features two Japanese version-only bonus tracks, one of which is a cover of “Damnation Alley” by Bitch featuring Betsy on vocals in a celebrity guest appearance. (The other Japanese bonus track is a cover of “Stand Up and Shout” by Dio.)

 

David Carruth

with Bad Axe:

Bad Axe (Record label?, serial #?, 1976)

Reissued on LP by Hexamon Records HR 002, 2004.  LP Reissue includes an insert and poster and is a numbered limited edition of 500.

“Cities of Rage,” “Stray,” “Do What We Please,” “What Did I Do,” “Set Me Free,” “Vacation,” “Blues L.A.,” “Foggy Morning,” “Road to Makin' It,” “Take Your Time”

This full-length LP is Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple-influenced 70’s hard rock that essentially sounds like a bunch of kids aping their heroes. It’s no classic, but it has its moments. David’s guitar sound is unflinchingly intense and buzzsaw-like throughout the entire album, which definitely adds fire to the record.

Bad Axe is most famous for featuring Dana Strum on bass; Strum would later achieve fame with Slaughter.  The other members of the group were David Carruth on guitar, Stacy Moreland on vocals, and Steve Ward on drums.  David joined the band soon after moving to L.A. in 1976 and stayed with the group until 1980.  

According to Bitch drummer Robby Settles: “I moved to Huntington Beach, CA in Nov 1979. David was already living in Van Nuys. Bad Axe was peaking at about that time. I went to some shows. I decided to move to Hollywood in August 1980. I stayed with David for two weeks while looking for apartment and work. By then Bad Axe was splintering. David felt Dana Strumm [sic] was up to something [and suspected] Bad Axe was auditioning or already rehearsing with other guitar players. By then I was living in Hollywood and David asked me to go to SIR [Studio Instrument Rentals, the rehearsal space both Bad Axe and Bitch rehearsed at] to check it out. So I made a surprise visit [and sure enough they were]. That was is it for David with Bad Axe.”  David and Robby would start Bitch right after this episode.  Apparently Bad Axe fell apart soon after the “surprise visit” episode, as Betsy does not remember ever running into Bad Axe at SIR when Bitch was rehearsing there, and does not remember them being active at the time either.
 

“Cry For Me” b/w ”All You Can Stand” (Progrezzive Records, EB7001, 1977)

A huge improvement on the Bad Axe LP released the previous year!  Much tighter arrangements and better songwriting to the point that it’s hard to tell it’s the same band!  Apparently a lot happened for this band in a relatively short time for them to make this much of an improvement in a year’s time.  The music on this 7” 45 rpm single continues to be straight-ahead, punchy 70’s hard rock. It’s a great little record that’s worth seeking out.

 

David Carruth & Robby Settles: 
(Plus Ed McCrary and Robert Farr from the 1999 “Infatuation” lineup):

with Killen:

Speak No Evil (Rainbo Records,  Serial #?  2005)

Epic: The Video (Rainbo Records, Serial #?  2006) (DVD)

Instrumental power metal four-piece Killen is a project fronted by Ed McCrary, who was part of the 1999 lineup of Bitch that recorded the song "Infatuation" that ended up on Metal Blade Records' 20th Anniversary Box Set (2002).  The band features founding Bitch members David Carruth and Robby Settles as permanent members of the band. Bitch's "Infatuation"-period bass player Robert Farr also contributed to four songs on the Speak No Evil CD, but the bass work on the rest of the CD and on the entirety of the Epic DVD are handled by Ben Cook, who was part of a band McCrary was in in the early 1990's called Bonedown.

Killen revels in power metal’s mid-tempo and slow-burning sides, concentrating on a rock solid musical foundation instead of speed and technical prowess.  The band’s underlying concept is to write and perform well-structured songs where the guitars “sing” instead of a vocalist, and they definitely succeed in that.  Killen’s music includes some prog elements in the power metal tradition as well, which provides some variety in tempo and dynamics.  This is great stuff for power metal fans who are overloaded on self-indulgent flash and “putter-putter-putter” ballast.  Traditional metal fans and progressive metal fans who are looking for music with strong arrangements and more musical substance should find plenty to enjoy in Killen as well.  Visit Killen's website at www.killen.info and their MySpace at www.myspace.com/killenmusic for more information.

 

Mark Anthony Webb
(Damnation Alley/Be My Slave bass player)

with Molten Leather:  

Various Artists:  Metal Massacre II (Metal Blade MB1004, 1984)

“Inversion”

In addition to featuring the first track ever released by Metal Blade “house band” Armored Saint, Metal Massacre II features tracks from two bands that each had Bitch bass players.  The other is Overkill L.A., who feature Ron Cordy and are listed below.
 

Various Artists: Metal Massacre Limited Edition Picture Disc Box (Metal Blade MBB1, 1984)  

“Inversion”

This box set featured the first five Metal Massacre LP’s as picture discs.
 

Various Artists:  Grim Harvest: The Complete Metal Massacre Volumes I-XII  (Metal Blade/BMG Direct D207373, 1998)
Limited edition, numbered 11-CD box set

“Inversion”

Features all twelve of the Metal Massacre albums in a limited BMG Record Club-exclusive box set.

 

Ron Cordy
(The Bitch is Back/Betsy/A Rose My Any Other Name bass player)
 

with Overkill (aka Overkill L.A. and SST Overkill):

Various Artists:  Metal Massacre II  (Metal Blade MB1004, 1984)

“No Holds Barred”  

In addition to the first track ever released by Metal Blade “house band” Armored Saint, Metal Massacre II features tracks from two bands that each had Bitch bass players.  (The other is Molten Leather, who feature former Bitch bass player Mark Anthony Webb and are listed above.) 

Overkill were a punk/metal crossover band that went on to sign with punk/alternative label SST Records and release a 7” EP and an album with them.  The band’s official name was “Overkill” and they went by that name during their entire existence, but when the current Overkill became the famous metal monsters they are today, SST changed the name of this band to “Overkill L.A.” to avoid confusion and legal problems.  The band would reform (minus Cordy) and change names again to SST Overkill, which they use today. 
 

Various Artists: Metal Massacre Limited Edition Picture Disc Box (Metal Blade MBB1, 1984)

“No Holds Barred”  

A box set featuring the first five Metal Massacre LP’s as picture discs.

Hell’s Getting Hotter 7" EP (SST Records SST 008, 1982)
 
“Hell's Getting Hotter,” “Our War,” “Burn the School,” “Don't Wanna Be Told”  

This early SST release was reissued on CD as part of the 7” Wonders of the World album (see below).  Gotta love the total time for this EP: 4:39.  That’s four minutes, thirty-nine seconds for all four tracks combined! 

Various Artists: The Blasting Concept (SST Records SST 013, 1983)

“Hell's Getting Hotter”  

Various Artists compilation featuring SST artists like The Minutemen, Black Flag, Meat Puppets, Würm, and Hüsker Dü.  Reissued on CD in 1987.

Triumph of the Will (Cesstone [SST] Records SST 038, 1985)

“What Do You Want,” “Triumph Of The Will,” “American Dream,” “Slaughter,” “No Holds Barred,” “Victimized,” “Ladies In Leather,” “Bad Boy,” “Chains,” “Addict,” “Lost Life,” “On The Loose,” “Don't Need A Reason,” “Head On”  

Released posthumously two years after the band’s 1983 breakup. The original vinyl of this title features the name “Overkill”, but the CD reissue of Triumph of the Will features the name Overkill L.A. to avoid confusion and legal problems with the far better known thrash band.  Reissued on CD in 1992.
 

Various Artists: The Blasting Concept Vol. 2  (SST Records SST 043, 1985)

“Over the Edge” 

Another SST compilation featuring The Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Hüsker Dü, Würm, and the influential doom metal band St. Vitus amongst others. “Over the Edge” is a non-LP track unavailable elsewhere.  Reissued on CD in 1988. 

Various Artists: The 7” Wonders of the World (SST Records SST 070, 1986)

“Hell's Getting Hotter,” “Our War”, “Burn the School”, “Don't Wanna Be Told”

Cassette/CD reissue of EP’s by The Minutemen, Black Flag, Meat Puppets, Würm, Hüsker Dü, and Overkill.  Features Overkill’s Hell’s Getting Hotter EP in its entirety.  Reissued on CD in 1988.  

Various Artists:  Grim Harvest: The Complete Metal Massacre Volumes I-XII  (Metal Blade/BMG Direct D207373, 1998)
Limited edition, numbered 11-CD box set

“No Holds Barred”

Features all twelve of the Metal Massacre albums in a limited BMG Record Club-exclusive box set.

Steve Gaines

with Abattoir: 

Vicious Attack (Combat Records MX8014, 1985)

Reissued on CD by Century Media CM 66011, 1998, and by Heavy Metal Rock Records [Brazil] PICD53233, 2008 (the 2008 issue is a limited edition pressing of 1000).

“Screams From The Grave,” “Vicious Attack,” “The Enemy,” “Ace Of Spades,” “The Living And The Dead,” “Stronger Than Evil,” “Don't Walk Alone,” “Game Of Death” 

Steve was vocalist only on Abattoir’s first (and most famous) album.  The album played a minor role in the famous “PMRC Hearing” held before the United States Senate’s Committee On Commerce, Science, and Transportation on September 19, 1985. The album showed up in a slide show by PMRC consultant David Ling to illustrate the PMRC’s case (Bitch’s Be My Slave appeared later in the same slide show).  When the slide depicting the cover of Vicious Attack appeared, Mr. Ling said, “This is the cover of the new album by the band Abattoir.  The title song is about a homocidal [sic] maniac, and notice on the cover the arms of the man wrapped around the woman. In one hand is a long knife. The other hand holds a hook being pressed against the woman's breast.” (From p. 15 of the transcript of this hearing.)  “Ace of Spades” is a thrash metal cover of the famous Motörhead song. 
 

Various Artists:  Show No Mercy: Tribute to W.A.S.P. (Dwell Records Dwell-1053, 2001)

“School Daze”

You mean it’s not a tribute to Slayer?  Most of the groups on this unintentionally funny CD sound like they showed up for the wrong tribute album.  Abattoir offer a cover of “School Daze” from WA.S.P.’s self-titled 1983 debut, and seem rather alone here as a classic metal band on a compilation full of amateurish, wannabe-evil W.A.S.P. covers sung by high school monster vocalists.

Various Artists:  A Metal Crusade: Tribute to Saxon (Dwell Records Dwell-1067, 2001)

“Motorcycle Man”  

A huge about-face from the W.A.S.P. tribute album mentioned above. A Metal Crusade is a pretty worthy tribute to the gods of NWOBHM, and features a lot of original metal bands from the 1980’s.  Many of these performers were part of the 1980’s metal scene and got a late start in releasing albums, but stayed true to the old school metal sound when they did get around to releasing albums later on.  Abattoir contributes a cover of “Motorcycle Man”, which is from Saxon’s second album, Wheels of Steel (1980). 
 

No Sleep ‘Til Kalamazoo (live) (Independent release, no serial #, 2001)

“Vicious Return,” “The Enemy,” “Under My Skin,” “Vicious Attack,” “Everybody Dies,” “Stronger than Evil,” “Off,” “Screams From the Grave,” “Ace of Spades”

This was an independently released live album recorded at Kalamazoo, Michigan at the Classic Metal Festival in June of 2001. When Steve joined the reformed Abattoir, he returned to vocal duties and also played bass, whereas he was a vocalist only in Abattoir previously. 

From the Ashes (unreleased album, 2004)

From Blabbermouth.net:

ABATTOIR: New Album Update, Special Anniversary Concert Planned - Sep. 20, 2004

Los Angeles-based thrash metal legends ABATTOIR will release their long-awaited new album in late 2004 or early 2005 through Artillery Music. "If you didn't know, we had a recording snafu in which all of the tracks were lost when we only had a rough mix completed," ABATTOIR frontman Steve Gaines writes in an online posting at The Earth-Dog Chamber. "So it will be a mastered version of the rough along with every demo we did going into the recording — plus the original two-song demo from 1983 — extremely rare — about 20 songs total. It will be called 'From the Ashes'."  

This was to be a triumphant return studio album, and even opened with a song called “Vicious Return.”  According to Steve:  “To my knowledge [From the Ashes] has not been released... it was under the care of [Abattoir guitarist] Mark Caro, although I do not know if releases were ever made available.  I have never seen an official release.”

with Bloodlust: 

Anti-Life (3-song demo) (Sanguine Music, no serial #, 1987)

“Guilty as Sin”, “Trapped in the Void”, “C.T.R.”

After Steve Gaines left Abattoir, he joined Bloodlust, another Metal Blade discovery whose 1985 full-length Guilty As Sin has become another cult classic in the Metal Blade annals.  Steve sang vocals for Bloodlust, replacing Guilty As Sin vocalist Guy Lord.  This privately-released, cassette-only demo features “C.T.R.” and the song “Guilty As Sin” (there is no song called “Guilty as Sin” on the album of that nam; both of these songs would be rerecorded for the Terminal Velocity EP the following year.

Terminal Velocity (Wild Rags Records WRR 005, 1988)

“Terminal Velocity,” “City of the Forgotten” / “C.T.R. (Sunday's Liar),” “Semper Fi / Guilty as Sin”

Four track, five-song EP.  Steve Gaines on vocals again. “Semper Fi” is an instrumental acoustic guitar piece that was used as an intro to the song “Guilty as Sin.”

Guilty as Sin/Terminal Velocity reissue (Old Metal Records OMR-40, 2007)  

A reissue of Bloodlust’s Metal Blade LP Guilty as Sin and the follow-up EP Terminal Velocity on one CD.  Steve only appears on the four tracks from Terminal Velocity.

Important Note!  Old Metal Records, a reissue label run by King Fowley of the bands Destruction and October 31, and Steve Gaines' current band Anger As Art’s label Old School Metal Records are two different labels and are not to be confused.

with Tactics:

The Master Plan (Independent release, no serial #,1991)

“The Master Plan (Panic),” “Just Another Deal,” “On the Attack,” “Fear No Evil, “Something Wicked”, “Hard Times,” “Blessed and the Damned,” “Burn,” (Deep Purple cover), “Spare No Lives”

2-Song Demo (Independent release, no serial #, 1992)

2-Song Demo (Independent release, no serial #, 1993)

2-Song Demo (Independent release, no serial #, 1995)

4-Song Demo (Independent release, no serial #, 1997)

Prey Upon the Weak (Independent release, no serial #, Year?)

Prey Upon the Weak was a CD compilation of the untitled demos released above.  I do not have any information on the song titles of the demos or the CD.  Anyone who has further information or copies of these, please feel free to contact me at davidgasten ??? yahoo !!!! com; I’d be interested in adding the song info here and hearing the music too. 

 

with Pagan War Machine:

Pagan War Machine EP (Independent release, no serial #, 2002)

“Bullet Proof,” “March Of The Pissed,” “Eyes That Burn The Soul,” “The Swarm”; reissued with live bonus tracks “Bullet Proof,” “Rage & Retribution,” and “The Swarm” in 2003.

Pagan War Machine was originally a side project for Dreams of Damnation (see below), but the interest in Pagan War Machine was high enough that it ended up taking on a life of its own briefly and even exceeded interest in Dreams of Damnation for a time.  Both Pagan War Machine and Dreams of Damnation feature Jim Durkin, founding member of Dark Angel, on guitar.  Steve sings and plays bass in Pagan War Machine. The live bonus tracks were recorded in Los Angeles in March 2003.

 

with Dreams of Damnation:

Vengeance: Chapter 1 EP (Record label? Serial #? 2003)

“New Flesh,” “Bring On The War,” “Women Of Sodom” 

Jim Durkin, who is also a founding member of Dark Angel, founded this group.  Steve shared guitar duties with Durkin in this band but did not sing.  Steve left both Dreams of Damnation and its side project Pagan War Machine in 2004 to begin a project that would become Anger as Art (see below). 

 

with Anger As Art:

Steve Gaines: Anger As Art (Independent release, no serial #, 2004)
reissued as Anger As Art: Anger As Art (Old School Metal OSM 002, 2006)

“Attitude Adjustment,” “I Create Your God,” “Wide Awake,” “Hate In My Heart - Hell in My Head,” “Anger As Art,” “New War,” “Wait For The Hammer,” “Blood Of My Enemies”; reissued with live bonus tracks “Hate In My Heart - Hell In My Head,” “Everybody Dies”, “Anger As Art,” and “Troops of Doom.” in 2006.

“It was started as a vehicle—a catharsis of sorts—to let some songs I wrote be heard,” says Gaines. “And the response was so favorable, that I had to put a band together—there was too much demand.”

The first version of the first album was credited to Steve Gaines and entitled “Anger As Art.” The album was picked up by the indie label Old School Metal Records and reissued as a self-titled album by Anger As Art with new cover artwork and four live bonus tracks. All of the instrumentation on the initial nine studio tracks is performed by Steve Gaines; the live bonus tracks feature Steve with William Rustrum (guitar), Javier Marrufo (bass), and Mars Castro (drums) rounding out the band. The live bonus track “Troops of Doom” is a Sepultura cover.

Important Note! Anger As Art's label Old School Metal Records is a completely different label from Old Metal Records. Old Metal Records is a reissue label run by King Fowley of the bands Destruction and October 31; this label released the Bloodlust Guilty as Sin/Terminal Velocity CD reissue that Steve Gaines appears on (see entry above for more information).

Callous and Furor (Old School Metal OSM 004, 2006)

“Catharsis,” “Anger is Rising,” “Bane of My Existence,” “Gnashing of Teeth,” “No Seed of Mine,” “Callous and Furor,” “Watch Me Suffer (Watch Me Die),” “Race for the War,” “Invaders from Within,” “All That is Mine to Avenge,” “Self Destructing Man,” “HypoChrist,” “Still I Hate” 

This album features Steve Gaines (guitar), William Rustrum (guitar), Javier Marrufo (bass), and Mars Castro (drums), so the same lineup who play on the live bonus tracks on the reissued Anger as Art CD.

Disfigure (Old School Metal [serial #?], 2009)

According to Steve G. in an email sent to me in July of 2009: “Now with a new reconfigured lineup featuring Hirax and Abattoir members, we are recording the 3rd Anger As Art album Disfigure for Old School Metal Records. Band is Myself, Danny Oliverio [guitar, Abattoir], Angelo Espino [bass, Hirax and Once Dead] and Rob Alaniz [drums, Abattoir].”  According to Old School Metal Records’ website, this new album is to be released on November 15, 2009.
 

Steve Kara and Jay Dean

with The Electric Prunes:

“Hideaway (live),” “Never Had It Better (live)”

This album was compiled to sell on a 2009 package tour which the Prunes ended out dropping out of due to disagreements with the concert promoters.  Sky Saxon of the pioneering sixties punk/psychedelic band The Seeds passed away before the tour took place, which left Love to complete the tour with Jerry Miller of Moby Grape. There are two more Electric Prunes songs on the compilation that Steve K. and Jay did not appear on, "Circus Freak" (from the 2006 album Feedback) and a demo of "Left in Blue."  Founding Electric Prunes members Mark Tulin and James Lowe also contributed interviews to a recollection track about the 1960's that concludes the album.

Guitarists Steve Kara and Jay Dean have been working with The Electric Prunes in a live setting since 2004.  The Prunes are currently working on a new album that is being produced by Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, and Steve K. and Jay will be performing on that album.  More news to come on that…

Steve Kara’s discography is very convoluted and hard to track.  After his work with the 1970’s Jesus rock group Gentle Faith, Steve K. worked primarily as a touring guitarist for Pat Boone, Debby Boone, Larry Norman, and Randy Stonehill amongst others.  Larry Norman’s estate has released many of Norman’s concerts as official bootlegs with no personnel information included, so it’s very likely that Steve appears on at least a few of those releases.  I also have information about Steve playing on some of Bryan McLean of Love’s solo material around 1982, but have not been able to find out if any of it was released officially. 

Any and all assistance with tracking Steve Kara’s discography would be greatly appreciated.  Any Larry Norman fans, Love fans, psych/prog fans, Jesus Music fans, etc. are encouraged to send whatever information they have on Steve Kara’s officially-released audio or video appearances to davidgasten ??? yahoo !!! com.
 

with Gentle Faith:

Gentle Faith (Maranatha! Music HS-027, 1976)  

“Simple Song”, “Living in the Sonshine”, “The Whole Lump of Dough”, “It's So Good to Know”, “Jerusalem”, “Noah”, “My Love for You”, “Turnaround”, “Home” 

Gentle Faith was a Jesus rock group that maybe best known as the launch pad for the career of blues/rock/gospel performer Darrell Mansfield, who was the band’s frontman.  Steve Kara was full-time guitarist for this group. The group started as a psych/prog group and went in a country rock/bluegrass/jam band direction.

The album suggests a young band with a lot of ideas that doesn't have enough room on the album for everything that they want to do, which unfortunately makes the album very scattershot. There's some real gems scattered throughout this hodgepodge though. The most remembered song in this album is "Jerusalem", which sounds like a shorter and more minimalistic "Epitaph" by King Crimson."Living in the Sonshine" is hard rock played on acoustic instruments and is quite good; "Turnaround" starts quiet and unassuming and then builds to an intense and emotional climax. So they're no All Saved Freak Band, but they do have their moments.

Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher  (documentary released by Jester Media, 2005; DVD release [serial ?], 5-27-2008)

This Emmy-nominated documentary was directed by David di Sabatino.  Sabatino is a Toronto native who now lives in LA and who has also been a longtime collector and fan of Jesus Music.  This controversial documentary is about Lonnie Frisbee, a prominent figure in the 1970’s Jesus Movement who was also a closet homosexual and ended up dying of AIDS in 1993. 

Sabatino had initially contacted Jesus Music pioneer Larry Norman about the possibility of using Norman’s music as soundtrack music for the film.  Norman then belatedly decided not to back out of granting music rights to the film, and pulled the plug after the music was already in place in the soundtrack and Norman had released a Frisbee soundtrack consisting of his own music!  After this catastrophe hit, Sabatino contacted Richard Acevedo of Jesus Music reissue label Hidden Vision Records, and had him put together a soundtrack of more obscure Jesus Music for the film.  This version of the film is what ended up being released officially.  Acevedo included music by Gentle Faith in the soundtrack.

Various Artists: Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher Official Soundtrack (Jester Media, [serial ?], 2007)

“Gentle Faith”, “The Darkness”  

The soundtrack of the above-mentioned Frisbee documentary includes ten tracks Richard Acevedo of Hidden Vision Records selected for use in the film.  Two tracks by Gentle Faith appear on this soundtrack CD.

 

with Malcolm Wild:  

Broken Chains (Maranatha! Music MM0069, 1980)

The only solo album ever released by Malcolm Wild, who was one half of the folk rock/beat duo Malcolm & Alwyn.

with Debby Boone:

With My Song (Lamb & Lion LL1046, 1980)

One of Debby “You Light Up My Life” Boone’s Christian inspirational albums.  Some of the music Steve K. appears on is in a haunting 60’s folk style similar to Donovan or Bryan McLean’s solo material, and some of it is in a girly 70’s schlock pop vein ala very early Amy Grant or, well, “You Light Up My Life”.  Curb Records reissued With My Song on CD in 1992, and reissued it again in 2008 as a 2-CD Value Package paired with Debby’s 1987 inspirational album Friends for Life.

 

with Various Artists:

God Loves Country Music  (Maranatha! Music MM0080, 1981)

This was an all-star Calvary Chapel project featuring Steve Kara on acoustic guitar alongside famous names like Darrell Mansfield (who was band mates with Steve K. in Gentle Faith), Bernie Leadon (The Eagles, The Flying Burrito Brothers), Chris Hillman (The Byrds), Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield, Poco, Richie Furay Band), Terry Taylor (Daniel Amos), and Tommy Coomes (LoveSong) amongst others.
 

(with Bryan McLean of Love?????)
 

with Timothy Leary & Simon Stokes:

Right to Fly (PsychoRelic Records 71278 60035 2, 1996)  

The final Timothy Leary album, which came out six weeks after his death.  (Leary died on May 31, 1996, and the album was released July 16 of that year.)  The album has also been released by Mausoleum and Pet Rock Records.  Strangely enough, this is where Steve’s interest in heavy metal starts to show itself.

Jay Dean

with Mystery Roundup:

(Demos?)  

(Compilations?)
 

with The Dirty Dogs:

3-Song Demo (self-released, no serial #, 1989)

“Ladies’ Man,” “Dirty Dogs,” “Watchin’ The World Go Round”

The Dirty Dogs were part of the late 80’s/early 90’s wave of Sunset Strip Scene metal bands that followed in Guns n’ Roses’ wake.  Other notables from this period of the Sunset Strip Scene include Jetboy, The Hangmen, and Junkyard.  In their brief period together (1988-1990), The Dirty Dogs became one of the top-drawing acts in the Hollywood club scene, packing out legendary venues like The Whiskey-a-Go-Go, The Coconut Teaser, and Club Lingerie.  At different points the band included Jay Dean, Fred Gordon, Mickey MacMahan, Randy Scarbeary, Tim English, and Nate Winger (brother of Kip Winger).   This three-song demo was produced by Beau Hill, producer for Ratt, Winger, and Alice Cooper amongst others.   Apparently the band just missed being signed to A&M Records after the demo was recorded.  The band recorded another demo after Jay left the band in 1989, and the tracks from that demo are featured on The Dirty Dogs’ official MySpace.

(Compilations?)

with Baby Driver:

4-Song Demo (self-released, no serial #, 1991)

A short-lived post-Dirty Dogs band featuring ex-Dirty Dogs members Jay Dean, Mickey McMahan, and Fred Gordon, with another vocalist replacing Tim English.  

 

with Gordon/English Project:

The Liars’ Club  (motion picture released by New Horizon Picture Corporation, 1993; VHS release 736991446335, 10-29-1996)

“Times Are Getting Hard”

A 1991 in-studio project featuring Jay Dean, Tim English, Fred Gordon, and Randy Scarbeary, all of whom were ex-members of The Dirty Dogs.  The song was produced by Dean Chamberlain, formerly of The Motels and the cult new wave band Code Blue.

with Gor Mkhitarian:  

Episode (Gor Music, [serial #?], 2004)

“Shogher Jan (Traditional),” “Cold Wagon 1993,” “One Song,” “Wherever,” “Stigma,” “90 Days,” “Wedding Gift,” “No Limits,” “Me and My Country,” “Jail,” “Disease”

Gor Mkhitarian is an award-winning Armenian singer-songwriter who lives in Los Angeles but has a VERY large following in his Armenian homeland.  His initial claim to fame was a member of Lav Eli, a well-known rock band in Armenia.  This is his first album after moving to Los Angeles; Jay Dean has been a regular member of his backup group since his move to LA.
  

Gor (Gor Music, [serial #?], 2006)

“Breakdown,” “Stigma,” “One Song,” “Tip of My Fingers,” “Amber Glow,” “Cold Wagon 1993,” “Nothing at All,” “About God” 

“Stigma” and “Cold Wagon 1993” were originally on Episode and make a second appearance on this album.
 

Acoustic Folklore  (Gor Music, [serial #?], 2007)

“Mokats Mirza,” “Inchu Bingyole Mtar,” “Sarer,” “Shogher Jan (Re-Mastered),” “Artsiv,” “Sasuntsiner,” “Aravotyan Yerg”

Contains recordings of many Armenian folk songs. “Shogher Jan” was originally on Episode and makes a second appearance on this album.
 

United Fantasies: Exit Ahead  (Gor Music, [serial #?], 2008)

“Last Letter,” “Heavenly Sunday,” “Walk With Me,” “Hallucinogen,” “New York,” “Good Morning Defeat,” “Escape,” “Moscow,” “You're Discontent,” “Song Unvisited,” “Dream (Remix),” “Amazing Man”

Spirit  (Gor Music, [serial #?], 2009)

“Yes Achq (I'm the Eye),” “Hrashqner (Miracles),” “Hayr Mer (Lords Prayer),” “Or (Day),” “Orhnutyun (Blessing),” “Luysi masin (About Light),” “Dzyun (Snow),” “Haghtanak (Victory),” “Orhnutyun (Acoustic),” “Unaynutyun (Vanity),” “About God (Remastered)”

According to a press release posted in Gor’s Facebook fan page: “Spirit is a collaboration of the artist and Fr. Vazken Movsesian, director of the In His Shoes Mission. The album was formed out of a desire to provide new generations with the spirituality of the ancient Armenian church. Spirit does exactly that. The songs harmoniously weave ancient church music with the pop sound that is Gor’s trademark.”  “About God” was originally on Gor and makes a second appearance on this album.

  Albums / Compilations / Members on Other Albums

 

©2009 David Gasten. All rights reserved.