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Fleshtones, The

Profile:
Often tagged as garage rock revivalists, the Fleshtones mix the fuzz guitar and Farfisa organ sounds of that genre with rockabilly, '50s and '60s R&B, and surf into a potent retro stew the group likes to call "super rock." The group formed in 1976 in Queens with vocalist/keyboardist Peter Zaremba, guitarist Keith Streng, bassist Jan Marek Pakulski, and drummer Bill Milhizer and aimed to return rock & roll to the simplicity and unself-consciousness of the '50s and early '60s. (The group was often joined on-stage and in the studio by sax player Gordon Spaeth, who passed on in 2005.) The group fit nicely into New York's punk and new wave scene, and an early single, "American Beat," attracted the attention of independent label Red Star and, in time, I.R.S. The group's debut EP, Up-Front, was released in 1980 and was followed by their first full-length album, Roman Gods, and Blast Off!, an unreleased studio album recorded for Red Star in 1978. 1983 produced Hexbreaker, widely regarded as the Fleshtones' finest album. The band continued to record through the '80s and released Powerstance in 1992 and Beautiful Light in 1994. (Powerstance also marked the debut of new Fleshtones bassist Ken Fox, who replaced Pakulski in the lineup and has been with the group ever since.) While the group's popularity dipped under the radar in the last half of the '90s, in 2003 the group bounded back when they were signed to the potent indie label Yep Roc Records and released one of their best albums, Do You Swing? An equally solid follow-up, Beachhead, was issued in 2005 and was produced in part by Detroit garage rock kingpin Jim Diamond. Fleshtones side projects include Keith Streng's band Full Time Men, which featured R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, and Peter Zaremba's Love Delegation. In 2008, more than 30 years after the group formed, they released Take a Good Look, proving their ability to be just as raucous as they were in the good ol' days.
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Discography

Releases:
American Beat (7")   Red Star Records 1978
Up-Front (12")   I.R.S. Records 1980
Roman Gods (12")   I.R.S. Records 1981
Roman Gods (Album) (4 versions)   I.R.S. Records ... 1981
Blast Off! (Cass)   ROIR (Reachout International Records) 1982
Ride Your Pony / Roman Gods (7")   I.R.S. Records 1982
Shadow-Line (7", Single)   I.R.S. Records 1982
Hexbreaker! (Album) (2 versions)   Illegal Records (Netherlands) ... 1983
Screamin' Skull (7", Single)   I.R.S. Records 1983
American Beat (7")   I.R.S. Records 1984
American Beat (12", Maxi)   I.R.S. Records 1984
American Beat (7")   I.R.S. Records 1984
American Beat '84' (12", Maxi)   I.R.S. Records 1984
American Beat '84' (12", Maxi)   I.R.S. Records, CBS 1984
Speed Connection - Live In Paris 85 (LP, Album)   I.R.S. Records 1985
Speed Connection II - The Final Chapter (Live In Paris 85) (LP, Comp)   I.R.S. Records 1985
Fleshtones Vs. Reality (12")   Emergo 1987
Powerstance! (LP)   Big Beat 1991
Laboratory Of Sound (Album) (3 versions)   Hitch-Hyke Records ... 1995
Gentleman's Twist (7")   Epitaph 1998
More Than Skin Deep (LP)   Telstar Records (US) 1998
Hitsburg Revisited (CD)   Telstar Records (US) 1999
Blast Off! (LP, 220)   Munster Records 2001
Do You Swing? (CD)   Yep Roc Records 2003
Take A Good Look (LP + CD, Album)   Yep Roc Records 2008
Production:
Urgh! A Music War (CD) Shadow-Line A&M Records 1981
Mix:
Urgh! A Music War (CD) Shadow-Line A&M Records 1981
Appears On:
URGH! A Music War (Comp) (2 versions) Shadow Line (Live) A&M Records 1981
Tracks Appear On:
Marty Thau Presents 2x5 (Album, Comp) (4 versions) Shadow-Line, F-F-Fasci... Intercord Tonträger GmbH ... 1980
I.R.S. Greatest Hits Vols. 2 & 3 (2xLP, Comp, Gat) Cold, Cold Shoes I.R.S. Records 1981
Illegal Greatest Hits (LP, Comp) Cold, Cold Shoes Illegal Records (Netherlands) 1981
Start Swimming (LP) Wail Baby Wail, Big Ma... Stiff America 1981
URGH! A Music War (Comp) (6 versions) Shadow Line A&M Records 1981
Bachelor Party - The Music From The Movie (Comp) (3 versions) American Beat '84 (The... I.R.S. Records ... 1984
Just What The Doctor Ordered (LP, Comp) Hall Of Fame I.R.S. Records 1985
The I.R.S. 1985 Fall Fashions (Cass, Promo) Hope Come Back I.R.S. Records 1985
I Was A Teenage Zombie (LP, Comp) I Was A Teenage Zombie Enigma Records (3) 1987
The Fleshtones Present: Time Bomb The Big Bang Theory! (LP, Comp) I Was A Teenage Zombie... New Rose Records 1988
New York Rockers (Cass, Album) Watch Junior Go! ROIR (Reachout International Records) 1989
Shangri-La - A Tribute To The Kinks (Comp) (3 versions) Too Much On My Mind Imaginary Records ... 1989
Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits Of The '80s, Vol. 7 (CD) Ride Your Pony Rhino Entertainment Company 1994
hu H - CD 15 (CD, Comp) High On Drugs Huh Music Service 1995
Flaming Burn Out! An Estrus Benefit Comp (CD, Comp) You Can't Get Him Fran... Man's Ruin Records 1997
Collector's Collection '98 (CD, Promo) Watch This Amsterdamned Records 1998
Super Bad @ 65: A Tribute To James Brown (CD) Don't Be A Dropout Zero Hour 1998
Children Of Nuggets - Original Artyfacts From The Second Psychedelic Era 1976-1996 (Box + 4xCD, Comp) The Girl From Baltimor... Rhino Entertainment Company 2005
Selections From Children Of Nuggets Boxed Set (CDr, Smplr, Promo) The Girl From Baltimore Warner Strategic Marketing (US) 2005
Rare Trax Vol. 50 - Fuzz Tones - US-Garage-Rock From The Sixties, Seventies & Eighties (CD, Comp, Car) Ship Foolin' Around Rolling Stone (Germany) 2007
Buried Treasure (CD, Comp) Going Back To School Classic Rock 2008
Winners (CD, Smplr) Jet Set Fleshtones Yep Roc Records 2008
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YouTube Videos

The Fleshtones - Roman Gods