From the archives: That time Burger Records did a Fresno comp
Plus, Poor Man's Poison teases new music with Travis Brooks.
Burger Records always had an amorphous tie to Fresno for me.
It was something I’d hear people mention in passing, back when Burger Records was hip shit on the scene, what with indie cassette thing and the annual Burger Boogaloo (now Mosswood Meltdown) festival.
But I never bothered to ask the follow up, or worked to get it confirmed in any way. Still haven’t.
But there is evidence.
This post from Love the Captive promoting a show on Burger Revolution Day 2019 says it straight out. “Did you know one of the CEOs of Burger is from #Fresno? True story!”
The label put together a tour kick off gig for LeWolves in 2014 and also this compilation cassette, which the label released in 2013.
“Party in the Tower - Fresno Rock ‘N Roll 1980-88” compiles 15 tracks from The Clams, Radio London, the Directions and the Pep Boys — four bands from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s who “packed the Wild Blue Yonder, the Warnors Star Palace, the Olympic and where great original music was encouraged during the disco age.”
Of these, the Clams is the best known (to me, at least, for whatever it’s worth).
There could be a through line here between Chris Bohrman, who played in Radio London, and Burger Records co-founder Sean Bohrman. But that would just be speculation on my part (someone could probably confirm).
The compilation was released analog and doesn’t seem to have crossed the digital divide or was lost in the label’s rather messy dissolution (meaning I’m not seeing it on the usual channels like Youtube, Bandcamp, etc.). You can get a copy on eBay if you’re looking.
Coming soon: Poor Man’s Poison + Travis Brooks
Both Poor Man’s Poison and Travis Brooks have started teasing a collaboration.
It looks to be a pair of singles, titled “The Woods” and “Ireland Sky.”
Both will be available across platforms Nov. 29.
Poor Man’s Poison had been on hiatus until 2019 when it kind of picked up where they left off. They weren’t playing live anymore, but still managed to get some good play from their music. “Hell’s Comin’ With Me,” became a hit in the video soundtrack world and racked up a BILLION streams on Youtube shorts.
Last year, it released an EP, “The Great Big Lie.”
Brooks is a guitar slingin’ solo artist who plays a lot about town. He has a regular Wednesday night gig at Lucy’s Lounge and is all over the tap room winery circuit.
For now, there’s only a snippet of the collaborative tracks available, but you can check out Brook’s other original music up on Spotify.
That’s it for this week. Remember you can now hear me on the Homegrown Show Sundays at 8 p.m. on New Rock 104.1 FM. Tonight is Friend(s)giving with music archivist and KFSR radio host Nate Butler of KFSR. Follow my other writing at The Fresno Bee. If you have anything you think I need to be looking at or listening to, feel free to let me know: jtehee@gmail.com