Black Randy and the Metrosquad

Black Randy and The Metrosquad
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Punk rock
Years active	1977–-1982
Labels	Dangerhouse
Past members	Black Randy David Brown Bob Deadwyler Pat Garrett KK Barrett Joe Ramirez Tom Hughes Joe Nanini

Black Randy and the Metrosquad was a punk rock and Synth act from the late 1970s and early 1980s in the Los Angeles punk scene. They gained notoriety not only for their surreal and smutty sense of humour, but also for their amalgamation of proto-punk, 1970s porn, pop, and avant-garde music.

History

The band formed in Los Angeles in 1977 with Black Randy (born John Morris) as front man, David Brown on keyboards, and other members including Pat Garrett on guitar, who later joined The Dils. However, the band had a rotating line-up, which even included live back-up singers known as the Blackettes which often included Exene Cervenka, Lorna Doom, Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, and featured several members of The Eyes.

Black Randy's lyrics gave him a reputation for being as witty as he was offensive with songs about porn, Marlon Brando, and Idi Amin. Their first single, "Trouble at the Cup", advocated fighting the police, though this may have been tongue in cheek. His cover of James Brown's "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" may not have been. Some saw this cover as an offensive reinterpretation of the song as a mocking attack on black pride (considering that Black Randy was white); others saw it as irreverent, ironic, and humorous. The band also covered various porn music themes from the 70s.

They released many vinyl singles and cassette tapes from 1977 onwards which were later compiled an album called, Pass the Dust, I Think I'm Bowie, which had sophisticated and even innovative musical arrangements that had more in common with post-punk than hardcore bands like Black Flag. This album led to the band being the most represented act on Dangerhouse Records, the label established by Brown and Garrett. This was the label's only album release, though this was not due to nepotism, but rather to bands with major-label aspirations worrying that being associated with Black Randy's offensive songs could jeopardize their chances of being signed. The band appeared in Lou Adler's 1981 satirical punk rock film Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, performing "I Slept in an Arcade". Pass the Dust... was reissued in 2004 by Sympathy for the Record Industry, and as a double LP by Vinyl Countdown Records in 2009, include the original album, the Dangerhouse singles, demos, live material, and a Black Randy phone call.

The band imploded mid in 1982 when their frontman succumbed to drug and alcohol problems, which were evident in chaotic live shows, where songs were hardly sung and Brown tried, to no avail, to salvage the show. Black Randy died on November 11th, 1988. He was portrayed by Chris Pontius in the film What We Do Is Secret, a biopic of Darby Crash.

Discography

Albums

• Pass the Dust, I Think I'm Bowie (1979), Dangerhouse - reissued (2004), Sympathy for the Record Industry, (2009), Vinyl Countdown

Singles

• "Trouble at the Cup" (1977), Dangerhouse
• Idi Amin EP (1978), Dangerhouse - as Black Randy & his Elite Metrosquad
• "I Slept in an Arcade" (1979), Dangerhouse

External links

• Black Randy crank calls
• Review of Pass the Dust, I Think I’m Bowie at Crawdaddy!.
• Profile of the band