Truly one of the seminal bands in Dallas history, The Nervebreakers' heyday came way back in 1977 when the band got the chance to open up for a Dallas date with Ramones. Then, in 1978, they did the same for the Sex Pistols -- and even got a mention in Rolling Stone in the process. In the following years, they'd go on to play alongside the likes of The Clash, The Police and others. Impressive stuff, no doubt.
Perhaps most impressive, though, is the fact that these guys -- true Dallas legends and, for my money, still the best punk band in town -- are still around, still doing their thing. In 2009, the band officially reunited, which explains why, over the course of the past few years, they've popped up again on some area bills. (Just a few months back, they played the Aardvark in Fort Worth with fellow 1970s area favorites the Fort Worth Cats.) And, dammit, T. Tex Edwards, Barry Kooda, Mike Haskins and Co. still sound fresh in those settings. Same goes for their old recorded material, too: "My Girlfriend Is A Rock" remains among the greatest songs the region's ever produced, with its snotty, slacker attitude and fiery guitar solos.
So maybe it shouldn't come as all that much of a surprise to hear that one enterprising label is finally getting around to re-issuing some old Nervebreakers classics.
This week, Edwards passes along the word that the Nervebreakers' two first-ever seven-inch release their 1978 Politics EP (which includes "My Girlfriend Is A Rock") and their 1979 "Hijack The Radio"/"Why Am I So Flipped?" single release, both originally put out by Wild Child Records, are being re-released by the Pittsburgh-based garage label Get Hip Recordings.
"Finally," Edwards says, quite simply, in the note he wrote DC9, spreading the news.
Indeed.
