Crib Notes

Back in December 2005, garage punk and power pop luminary Gentleman Jesse Smith and Die Slaughterhaus Records owner Mark Naumann scrambled to get a Christmas 7-inch out in time for the holidays.

They failed.

“The team of me and Mark just isn’t a very productive one,” Smith laughs. “Mark slept on it a little and [the band] totally missed our deadline to have the song to him.”

The record’s sleeves didn’t show up until months later. As a result, it’s the only Gentleman Jesse vinyl release that’s never demanded a repress. Christmas songs come a dollar a dozen in December when people actually enjoy, or at least tolerate, the seasonal cheer. A Christmas record that comes out after the holiday doesn’t stand a chance. Want proof? Even though only 500 copies were pressed three years ago, the release still sits on shelves in pretty much any record store in town.

That’s not to say the songs are bad by any means. The record is a split single between the long dead Gentleman Jesse and His Men moniker, and Fever B (a.k.a. Brian Hermosillo of Donny Denim, the Fevers and the Sweet Faces). On the a-side Gentleman Jesse’s “Christmas Hangover” is a concise, barreling anthem that counters a scaled down intro with busy licks and holiday cheer. On the flip-side Fever B’s “Down with Christmas” is a primitive, anti-holiday mantra that builds on the grooves of gritty rock ‘n’ roll.

Both numbers fit perfectly as opposite sides of a very catchy single. But bad timing has kept it from becoming notable. “The records showed up on Christmas eve eve.,” Smith adds. “We had them in time to give one to my parents without a cover and that was about it.”

This year there’s plenty of time before Christmas, and still plenty of Gentleman Jesse’s “Christmas Hangover” to be had.

Gentleman Jesse plays w/ the Long Shadows. $5. 9 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 25. The Earl, 488 Flat Shoals Rd. 404-522-3950.

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On the evening of Thursday, October 16th, the Black Lips plus Die Slaughterhaus Records owner Mark Nauman took the stage at the Earl to resurrect the now legendary Renegades — the short-lived, pre-Black Lips incarnation … the one that earned them the rowdy reputation that kept them off of most stages in town for a long long while.

The group appeared onstage after sets from opening bands Jack of Hearts, Goodnight Loving and Stolen Minks.

After giving a shout to their original drummer Bradley Harris, who died from an accidental overdose a few years back, Jared announced “the last time I played these songs I could not grow facial hair.”

This was the first time the Renegades’ name had even been uttered in town for nearly a decade.

If not for the one and only sleeveless and posthumous 7-inch the group released via Die Slaughterhaus a few years ago there would be nothing more than rumors and exaggerated memories to prove that the band ever even existed.

At the show Nauman threw handfuls of generic-looking old Renegades cassette tape recordings into the audience, but they were snatched up just as quickly as they flew through the air. A few tapes even clashed against in-coming beer cans and geysers of beer spray erupting from the tumultuous crowd.

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(Ryan Androus)

Record sleeves aren’t just about packaging, but impact. When done right, they can propel a band to another level. Mark Naumann, who has run local DIY output Die Slaughterhaus Records since 2001, shares his top five DSH record sleeves.

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