Angry Samoans

[NotBaker]

So I'll readily admit that there are huge gaps in my punk knowledge and plenty of great bands I've never listened to. To wit, I've heard of the Angry Samoans, but never really listened to them. But then recently stumbled over this:



The video: At a Lemonheads show in Lancaster, PA in 2007 (with Bill and Karl in the band), Milo joins them onstage to do a cover of "Right Side of My Mind". Anyway - this motivated me to listen to a bunch of Samoans stuff, and I'm really digging it.

[The Snake]

I like Back From Samoa and Queer Pills the best, but like the other stuff too.
I listen those two records very often, great stuff.

[yourenotevil]

first two records are great, everything else they did after the 2nd lp is average at best.

[FormerLurker]

first two records are great, everything else they did after the 2nd lp is average at best.

Absolutely. Get the "Unboxed Set" or whatever it's called and just listen to the first half.

[Janelle]

first two records are great, everything else they did after the 2nd lp is average at best.

Yup. The VOM stuff is cool too that Metal Mike was in before this. They had "I'm In Love With Your Mom" And the Metal Mike stuff from the '90s I like - well, I only heard 'Next Stop Nowhere: The EP Collection'

[tango fistula]

GREAT punk band...

Funny how lame old punkers are and how they never get mentioned....they just didnt have a clone
crew aping their every mannerism and clothing choice thus no respect.

Don't mention stupid offensive lyrics...lots of ya love the Descendents and ALL...both famous for very questionable lyrics.

In my opinion Back From Samoa is one of the four corners of the building that housed Hardcore punk
as that record seeped into many record stores stock in 1982-83...and into everyones collection

[scannest]

One of the first CD's I ever bought was Gimme Samoa: 31 Garbage Pit Hits. It includes all of Inside My Brain, Back from Samoa and Yesterday Started Today. Essential stuff.

[Welly]

Yup. Angry Samoans - Back From Samoa: all-time essential top ten material.

[FlexMyHead]

Well, their lyrics have been commented on before on this very board, I think they get lumped in with the Meatmen in that it was being "punk" and not sexist or whatever. I like their earlier stuff of course for its raw stripped downness, but I also like their later attempts at straight up fuzzed-out-pop-rock stuff. I totally get why some people would like one or the other though.

By chance, I have a photo of a test pressing for your viewing pleasure!

[The Snake]

STP not LSD is also a solid record.

[earthdog70]

I'm debating going to see them next week with G.B.H.

[JGJR]

GREAT punk band...

Funny how lame old punkers are and how they never get mentioned....they just didnt have a clone
crew aping their every mannerism and clothing choice thus no respect.

Don't mention stupid offensive lyrics...lots of ya love the Descendents and ALL...both famous for very questionable lyrics.

In my opinion Back From Samoa is one of the four corners of the building that housed Hardcore punk
as that record seeped into many record stores stock in 1982-83...and into everyones collection

Yeah but that was the Samoans' entire schtick early on. Sure Descendents/ALL and plenty of other bands have questionable/offensive lyrics, but there is much more to them.

[JGJR]

One of the first CD's I ever bought was Gimme Samoa: 31 Garbage Pit Hits. It includes all of Inside My Brain, Back from Samoa and Yesterday Started Today. Essential stuff.

I love Yesterday Started Tomorrow.

[lewdd]

I'm debating going to see them next week with G.B.H.

Angry Samoans = not so good anymore based on my experiece seeing them at PRB a few years ago. Garbage Hits = CLASSIC!!!

[MJH]

Back From Samoa was required listening for me and my friends in the 80s....easily as important to me as Flag, Jerks or DOA were...

[patient_ot]

Never bothered with them until fairly recently, due to their reputation. I can appreciate them now, same as other "stupid" bands like the Dayglo Abortions or whatever. Meatmen I don't really dig however. For the Samoans, I think all you really need is the Unboxed Set cd, which has most of the stuff they recorded in the 80s. First two albums were best.

[WrEtcH]

okay, I don't need to explain how great "Back From Samoa" is as well as some of their older catalog (which I sorta just did,) but currently, the last time I saw them was at PRB (w/ 7 SECONDS) last year and Mike got some more kids from the East Bay. I thought that line up was the best he had in years (not counting the original guys.) I always know it's going to be a rotating set up musicians with Mike and Bill. Again, I haven't seen them since they, but hopefully that line up is in tack.

[MXV]

All of those early records were great. I didn't follow them after the end of the 80's though.

I saw them at the very first Riot Fest, twice, and I enjoyed them. That was about ten years ago now though so I have no idea what they are like now.

Drastic Plastic did some amazing vinyl reissues of the first two records recently and are well worth picking up, especially if you don't own the originals and they sound way better than any of the subsequent reissues that happened over the years.

[scannest]

Saw them in Philly about 5-6 years ago. Couple things:

Their merch was incredible - they had t-shirts they must have scrounged from a dumpster that they wrote ANGRY SAMOANS across the front of in black sharpie and were selling for 5 bucks. Like a kids Elmo t-shirt with ANGRY SAMOANS scrawled on it. Great concept, but still too pricey even at 5 dollars.

They had the set list printed out and stacked at the merch table (don't think they were actually selling them). They walked on stage and Mike says "Okay, 31 songs to go" and they started. Every few songs he'd remind us ("23 songs left", "7 to go"). I'm not sure how I felt about this. I mean, it was pretty funny and very punk rock, but no one likes to be reminded how much the band they paid to see would rather be anywhere else.

[Welly]

Metal Mike is a total music geek, especially about Angry Samoans, so I very much doubt he was going through the motions. In fact it was always part of the schtick to not give a shit. If you look up some of their best footage, which is a 1980 rehearsal in freshly printed Black Flag shirts for a freshly sped-up punk rock after Vom, you'll see Metal Mike lying on the floor in an overcoat for the first few songs, actively not giving a shit.

When they toured through here about 15 years ago, they were on form, and he was completely engaged with talking to people. Signed my pal's Vom record and talked to us about old stuff like Rodney like with a passion like it was last week. I later contacted him for info regarding an Angry Samoans history I later wrote and printed in the zine, and he sent me reams and reams of info like a true band historian.

The obnoxious lyrics were part of their charm, like they were part of the charm of much of the hardcore generation of bands. It was part of the zeitgeist, it wasn't anything like the over-informed pick and mix chin-stroking and market conscious 'punk rock' of the present day, it was about pissing off as many people as possible, because that was one of the only kinds of 'marketing' there was to get your name out there. The Samoans weren't the Posh Boy darlings of Rodney on the Roq, they went out of their way to be the band that was banned from Rodney on the Roq.

The only tragedy for this band is the latter day acrimony between Metal Mike and Greg Turner, especially seeing as they explored their interest in sixties garage psych with the later Samoans and the Mistaken only to later see the two exchange shots and pursue their music separately.

[dave123]

First few records are essential listening. After that, I don't mind their stuff. It's just not at the same level (isn't that the usual case with hardcore punk bands).

[johnnotkathi]

Not much to add, Queer Pills, Inside my Brain and Back from Samoa are about all you need, other than a few pretty good songs mixed into the balance of their releases. Saw them in the early 80's and off and on since then - always a fun time.

There was a time we thought they were the best band in the history of music.