Young Loud and Snotty [1/17]

Dead Boys: Stiv Bators (vocals); Cheetah Chrome, Jimmy Zero (guitar); Jeff Magnum (bass); Johnny Blitz (drums). Additional personnel: Ronald Binder (vocals, handclaps); Fuji, James Sliman, Michael Sticca (handclaps). Recorded at Electric Lady Studios and live at C.B.G.B.'s, New York, New York. There was definitely a dank underbelly swelling during the punk explosion of the late '70s. The Dead Boys crawled under it and found themselves quite comfortable. Making music in New York's subterranean regions allowed the band an unparalleled sense of vulgarity and a freedom to assault for assault's sake. Thus, YOUNG, LOUD, AND SNOTTY is as artless and rude as its title. Led by the gnashing, noxious, and rail-thin Stiv Bators, the Dead Boys wreaked havoc like the most destructive of party crashers. The vicious "Sonic Reducer" offended everyone it was meant to offend and became the band's anthem. Such havoc is hard to sustain, and the career of the Dead Boys was similarly brief. The band's legacy, however, did not pass unnoticed. Both Pearl Jam and Guns 'N' Roses have covered the often-overlooked band. Bators went on to form the not-nearly-as-threatening Lords of the New Church before he was hit and killed by a passing car in 1990.