Doug Gillard has been an indie rock fixture since the ’80s, having played in Ohio bands Death of Samantha, Cobra Verde and My Dad is Dead before joining Guided by Voices, and he’s also spent time in Nada Surf, Beatles tribute band Bambi Kino and more. One of his earliest groups, though, was Children’s Crusade, a mid-’80s post-punk band he formed in high school with Fraser Sims. The band’s music has been pretty hard to find, but their 1984 tape A Duty-Dance With Death is getting its first-ever vinyl and CD pressings via Robert Pollard’s new Splendid Research label. It’s out November 15 and you can preorder it now.
“Our stuff was mainly UK post-punk informed along with things we were hearing on NE Ohio college radio,” Doug writes. “Sometime in spring of 1982, I returned from a family visit to Boston with a record I’d heard on college radio then bought at Newbury Comics- the hardcore compilation This Is Boston Not L.A. We decided to go in that direction musically, going by Fraser’s new band name, Starvation Army. I didn’t last long, but Fraser and Sean carried on as SA, becoming more integrated into the Cle scene, as did I with other projects. ‘Scene’ meaning not only all-ages shows, but also in area bars. Clubs back then didn’t check ages of band members really, plus we looked older, despite being 16 and 17. So in late ’83 or early ’84 Fraser & I revived our interest in collaborating, and recorded these 8 songs in a proper studio in spring 1984. Fraser had just signed up for the Army and left for basic training in TX the next day.”
As for this reissue, Doug says, “This record is a remix and remaster of A Duty-Dance With Death using only the original tracks from the original half-inch multitrack tapes as recorded in 1984. I was always amazed by Fraser’s lyrics and titles, and am glad these can be heard and read again. 18-year-old me was certainly new to mixing in a studio then, and while I had some assistance from the engineer, I didn’t know too much, and am happy to have the opportunity to give these sounds a bit more clarity. This debut effort has always been near & dear to our hearts & we are excited for everyone to hear this long unavailable project.”
You can listen to “Man-Gun,” a mutant punk ripper, below.
In related news, volume 20 of Robart Pollard’s EAT collage book series is now available and can be bundled with the Children’s Crusade reissue. Check out the EAT 20 cover below.
A Duty-Dance With Death
The Guardian
Man-Gun
Lurker on the Threshold
Bleak Outpost
Operate – Art Student
Decade of the Worm
Hunger (The Hunger Artist)
Betrayal In Three Acts
