The Nails
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The Nails were originally a five-piece new wave band that formed in
Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...
in 1976. In Colorado, they were originally named The Ravers. The band members were Marc Campbell (lead vocals, guitar), Dave Kaufman (keyboards), Al Leis (drums), Artie Freeman (lead guitar), and Jon Cormany (bass). The band's roadie, Eric Boucher, went on to be known as
Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Init ...
, lead singer of the
Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...
.


History

In 1977, the Ravers recorded an EP in Boulder with Screwball Records. The Ravers moved to New York in June 1977 and played the showcase clubs CBGB and Max's Kansas City. Shortly after arriving in NY, The Ravers changed their name to The Nails (there was a local band named Raver). A 45 with the band's original lineup was recorded in New York City in 1978. By mid-1978, Leis (now deceased), Cormany, and Freeman (now a medical school professor) had left the band. By the late 1970s, The Nails had established themselves on the club circuit and were now composed of Campbell and Dave Kaufman, along with bassist George Kaufman (Dave's brother),Dave Kaufman - The Thelonious Monk of Rock Keyboards! (Dave Kaufman website)
Retrieved February 12, 2021.
saxophonist Douglas Guthrie, and drummer Tommy Cotogna. ''Hotel for Women'', an EP recorded in 1981, contained an early version of " 88 Lines About 44 Women", a song that caught the attention of
RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
. The Nails were signed to RCA by Bruce Harris, also known for bringing
The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
to America. In 1984, the group, with new guitarist Steve O'Rourke in tow, re-recorded "88 Lines About 44 Women" for RCA, who included it on The Nails' full-length debut LP, ''Mood Swing''. The re-recorded version did not feature a live drummer, as Cotogna had left the band at this point (drummer Dennis McDermott performed on the remaining tracks on ''Mood Swing''). The song received regular airplay despite a number of
double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...
s and lyrical references to
masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...
and
sadomasochism Sadism () and masochism (), known collectively as sadomasochism ( ) or S&M, is the derivation of pleasure from acts of respectively inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation. The term is named after the Marquis de Sade, a French author known ...
. Two years later, with new drummer Mike Ratti firmly established in the band, they released ''Dangerous Dreams'', also on RCA. Both ''Mood Swing'' and ''Dangerous Dreams'' made the ''
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'' top 200 album chart and were critically acclaimed. However, following the release of ''Dangerous Dreams'', The Nails left RCA, who consequently did not release either LP on compact disc. "88 Lines About 44 Women" continued to appear on compilations 20 years after its release and was featured in a
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television commercial that aired in the late 1990s. In 1988, the band reconvened (without Guthrie and Dave Kaufman) to record a third album, ''Corpus Christi'', which was not released until 1993 and received little exposure. The Nails deny ever receiving any proceeds from this album, citing a rift with their former producer, claiming that he swindled them out of their rights. They posted re-recordings of these songs on the late George Kaufman's site, along with the explanation of the dispute. They strongly discourage fans from purchasing the album, as they will never be compensated. In 2007, the band licensed ''Mood Swing'' and ''Dangerous Dreams'' from RCA parent company Sony-BMG Entertainment and released these albums on compact disc for the first time. In March 2009, bassist George Kaufman died of complications following heart surgery. He is survived by his wife, Sharla, and his children, Isabel and Michael Kaufman. Lead vocalist and lyricist Marc Campbell died of a heart attack at his home in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, on December 21, 2024, at the age of 73.


Discography


Albums

*''
Mood Swing A mood swing is an extreme or sudden change of mood. Such changes can play a positive or a disruptive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning. When mood swings are severe, they may be categorized as part ...
'' - 1984 *''Dangerous Dreams'' - 1986 *''Corpus Christi'' - 1993


Singles & EPs

*"Cops Are Punks / Big Star / Another Lesson" - 1977 *"Back Street Boys / Rock & Roll Show" - 1978 *"Young and Wild / Transcontinental Ska" - 1980 *''Hotel for Women'' - 1981 *" 88 Lines About 44 Women" - 1984 *"Let It All Hang Out" - 1985 *"Things You Left Behind" - 1986


CD/MP3 reissues

* ''Mood Swing'' (remastered with bonus tracks) - 2007 * ''Dangerous Dreams'' (remastered with bonus tracks) - 2007 * ''Hotel for Women'' (remastered with bonus tracks) - 2009


References


External links


The Nails
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nails, The American new wave musical groups Rock music groups from Colorado