Sheep on 

(Words by Wolfenstein • Music by Wolfenstein/Sidore/Daniels/Matthews)

Recorded sometime late 1989 at The Diner - This was the only careworn overdubbed undertaking by the group. Everything else you’ll hear today was performed solely for the moment, for the sheer bliss of the music itself, with nary a thought toward the posterity of CD compilations and such, quality be damned! But on this track, quality was not bedamned because we rewound a lot and tried hard.

Live at Some Guy’s Party on Portrero Hill - Easter-ish 1990

I never knew who invited us to play at this guy’s Victorian up on The Hill, and I suppose I could find out right now if I made a few phone calls - but NAH! Alls I remember is that we had to walk down to the Wells Fargo that day and embarrass Lenny at work in order to beg him to do the gig. He did it - and played every song note-perfect (well almost) with absolutely NO rehearsal for months prior, which I will always recall as being quite utterly amazing - and noteworthy, as you can see by the fact that I’m writing about it in these notes. We just HAD to do it, you see, because we had never even been asked to play anywhere ever before - this was our BIG BREAK! Plus Danny Hesse was somehow mysteriously in town, and thus faking any and every song was that much easier. It’s his one appearance as part of this WTO-lineup of musicians. My dearest Jeff suffered as our makeshift soundman, and in hmongst the crowd you might hear Benny, Jeanne, Monique and Lila. Or you mightn’t. I have spared you the night’s later segments, where we completely degenerated into playing “Stupid Songs” (as the loud drunken crowd requested endlessly) such as “Wooly Bully” and “Twist & Shout.” Ugghh.

Fancy Diner Recordings, September 16, 1989

that was a pretty good recording to break up all these roughies.

Diner Jam, Summer 1989

We sound fairly spiff due to the fact that I edited out most of the huge mistakes that came up inevitably in every song. Well, shee-it, it’s not like we rehearsed with any diligence in order to pull off something flawless! We WANTED flaws! We were all ABOUT flaws. ADMIRE the flaws. Especially the incredible dual-guitar interactions between David and Lenny on the AC/DC number (Paul on bass). WOW! You know, I was thrilled to death when I (or Paul maybe) unearthed this tape, because at last we have EVIDENCE of the actual Wagnerian-Twelvetone Overdrive ethic in action - - our fabulous a-cappella arrangements - - on the final three songs, with a totally fabricated crossfade into the last song to hide the fact that the tape ran out during “And Soon.” Through such fabrication, a listener can listen again and again to this memoir for years to come, without wincing and cringing (as much as he would have otherwise, anyway).