In 1981 Happy Squid Records released what was to become a seminal compilation of underground bands from Southern California, with one soon-to-be-famous Phoenix, Arizona band crossing the border. KEATS RIDES A HARLEY documented the Los Angeles punk scene - but from a perspective that was decidedly non-Hollywood. Consider it the outsiders' take on the new underground happening at the time. Twenty-four years later Warning Label Records presents KEATS for the first time on CD with newly-discovered bonus tracks from each artist from the original recording sessions. For the original sessions, Vitus Matare of The Last offered up his 4-track recording services and a classic was born. KEATS presented the first known recordings of bands such as Gun Club, The Leaving Trains, 100 Flowers, Meat Puppets, and others. This reissue doubles the tracks found on the original release, adding long-lost recordings by each of the bands represented. The CD also includes the ultra-rare HAPPY SQUID SAMPLER, originally released in a limited edition of 500 7' singles in 1980. Other artists represented include Los Angeles art-punk pioneers Human Hands, Bruce Licher's pre-Savage Republic band Tunneltones, the pre-Slovenly band Toxic Shock, and Vidiots featuring vocals by L.A. punk legend Rik L. Rik. Extensive liner notes include a lovingly-rendered introduction by noted rock critic and Leaving Trains front-man Falling James, an essay by producer and engineer Vitus Matare, and modern-day reflections by original members of all the bands.
