Digging For Fire Vol. 7: The Mumps
This past weekend I got to spend the day with Mike & Damian from Fucked Up. Which meant almost all we spoke about was music! I wasn’t really sure what my next Digging For Fire would be, but thankfully a mention of tracking down a certain 7″ and our conversation then steered me into the right direction… The Mumps!
I had totally forgotten about the Mumps. I don’t think I’ve even listened to anything of theirs in maybe a Decade, but I used to love them! I have no clue why I let them fall so far off my playlist. Formed in the mid 70s, the Mumps weren’t quite aggresive enough to be Punk, were way too weird to be Power-Pop, and just too rough around the edges to be New Wave. They were the kind of band that I imagine rode in many scenes because they couldn’t fit into any one in particular. Which is probably why as the decades past they’ve gotten more and more forgotten. They had the charm of the New York Dolls, the creepy rhythmic timing of the Cramps & the quirkiness of the B-52s. And while during the 70s they were the toast of the 70s NYC scene, failure to ever secure a major label deal or release an album quickly doused the flame on their legend, as more and more of their contemporaries began being snapped up and making it big as the decade came to an end.
The bands today is best known for who it’s members were than what they sounded like. Singer and frontman Lance Loud was “the son”on what is generally accepted as TV’s first reality show… PBS’ An American Family. Lance is not only famous for being on the show, but for being openly gay on TV. Lance unfortunately away in 2001 from AIDS. Keyboardist Kristian Hoffman, Loud’s best friend & frequent guest on An American Family, handled a lot of the songwriting duties in the Mumps. Hoffman I think is better known these days as a frequent collaborator/song writer/keyboardist for so many other pioneering punk/no/new wave acts of the 70s-80s like Lydia Lunch, James White & even penning Klaus Nomi’s Total Eclipse.
As I mentioned, the Mumps never put out any albums just two 7″ records, with Crocodile Tears being their best known song from them. Personally I think Scream & Scream Again! was the bands best song but unfortunately it was never released as a single or b-side. Since their demise there have been a few compilations that that have cataloged their entire recorded output. I’m posting the comprehensive and long out of print one Fatal Charm. I hope you enjoy!