Nervebreakers are a

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

-area punk rock band that formed in 1973. The band became known for melodic, rocking punk with liberal doses of George Jones and psychedelia, and has the distinction of being one of the few bands to open for

The Sex Pistols ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Background

Nervebreakers started as a cover band playing songs from the 1960s. As the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

and The Sex Pistols became big in America, the band was able to find a sustaining audience. The band's first big break came when they opened for the Ramones on July 24, 1977 at The Electric Ballroom, a dance hall in the industrial district of Dallas. In January 1978, Nervebreakers opened for The Sex Pistols at The

Longhorn Ballroom The Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, Texas (USA). has been called, Texas' Most Historic Music Venue and since its inception has had a colorful set of proprietors. Originally built by O.L. Nelms, an eccentric Dallas millionaire, for his close friend, ...

, and a photo of guitarist Barry Kooda appeared in the March 1978 issue of

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. Later that year, the band recorded their debut EP, ''Politics''. The song "My Girlfriend is A Rock" became a runaway hit in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Boston, and was later covered by the Angry Samoans and

Wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

, among others. The band also opened for

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

and

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played with ...

. The band contacted legendary

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

pioneer and Texas native

Roky Erickson Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson (July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic rock genre. Biography Erickso ...

and wound up doing double duty by opening several shows as Nervebreakers, as well as being Erickson's backing band. A live recording of one of these shows was released on CD by the French record company New Rose Records. In 1979 they recorded a single for Wild Child Records containing the songs "Hijack the Radio" and "Why Am I So Flipped," and contributed two songs ("So Sorry" and "I Love Your Neurosis") to the ESR

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

"Are We Too Late For The Trend?" They recorded another song, "I Don't Believe In Anything," but it was not released. By 1980, Nervebreakers were one of the biggest bands in Dallas. They began recording a full-length album, ''We Want Everything'', on May 27 that year, but the album remained unreleased until 1994 when a

vinyl LP The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...

on the Texas rarities/reissue label Existential Vacuum was released to rave reviews. Shortly thereafter, the album was picked up by garage/punk label Get Hip Records, and a CD was made available worldwide. In 2000, Italian label Rave Up Records released ''Hijack the Radio'', a vinyl collection of singles, rarities and live cuts. After the departure of Mike Haskins and Bob Childress in 1981, Paul Quigg and James Flory joined, and Nervebreakers won the Agora's Battle of the Bands in Dallas. The prize was recording time at Pantego Studios, where they recorded the Thom Edwards/Mike Haskins original "Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls," along with an obscure Rolling Stones cover, "I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys." The single was released on black and blue vinyl in a clear sleeve, but by then the band had already parted company. In 2014, the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...

series '' Halt and Catch Fire'', which takes place in the 1980s, featured the Nervebreakers' "I Love Your Neurosis" briefly during the opening sequence of the fourth episode of the series' first season.

Reforming

Mike, Tex, Barry, Carl and Bob re-entered the studio in 2007-2008 to record new original material for an album entitled ''Face Up to Reality'', which was initially slated for release in 2011. In 2009, Nervebreakers returned to live performance, with several shows in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and Dallas.

Band members

* Thom "Tex" Edwards: Vocals * Mike Haskins: Lead Guitar/Vocals * Barry "Kooda" Huebner: Rhythm Guitar/ Vocals * Carl Giesecke: Drums * Pierre Thompson: Bass; was replaced by Clarke Blacker and later "BBQ" Bob Childress * Paul Quigg (Guitar) and James Flory (Bass) replaced Mike and Bob for the East Coast tour and the 45 single *"Girls.../...Boys" * Walter Brock: Farfisa; was instrumental in writing some of the band's most notable early songs prior to the name change from Mr. Nervous Breakdown to Nervebreakers when Walter left and Barry joined. * Tom Ordon: sometime manager and proprietor of Wild Child Records which released three singles for the band.

References

External links

Nervebreakers Official Website

Nervebreakers on Facebook

T. Tex Edwards

Barry Kooda

Dallas Observer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nervebreakers Punk rock groups from Texas Musical groups from Dallas Musical groups established in 1975