URBAN ASPIRINES: Plan 9: Frustration EP 1981 + Dealing With The Dead 1984

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Plan 9: Frustration EP 1981 + Dealing With The Dead 1984

Plan 9 is an American neo-psychedelic band from Rhode Island formed in 1979.
The group was named for the 1950s science fiction film Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Featuring four guitars and a sound straight from those psychedelic '60s, Rhode Island's Plan 9 dealt with little except period covers on their first album, 1981's "Frustration". The group added a batch of originals on "Dealing With the Dead", and spent the next two albums compiling early singles (Plan 9) and documenting their live show (I've Just Killed a Man, I Don't Want to See Any Meat). Plan 9 began to add remnants of hard rock with 1985's "Keep Your Cool & Read the Rules", but after switching to Enigma, the group stripped its '60s influences and began sounding like a plain old rock band.

Enter, John DeVault asleep on the couch, Holly Scanlon if we ever needed a singa, Mike Meehan learning to play guitar but could actually play the drum kit, John Florence with a Tele bass as long as he

was tall, Deborah DeMarco shy but willing and Eric Stumpo who could sing like Morrison and Arthur Lee and other snotty vocalists of garage psych, while ripping out the meanest guitar solos. Since Tori was still in Junior High and liked to hang around, we were hired for her graduation dance. We punked it out to the max, in pink fur pants, hi heels and back-up 8mm films. We played everything we knew, for 4 hours, rousting covers of every cool record from our ever expanding collection of 45's, the grittiest and grungiest garage tunes that were 3 chord wonders and easy to jam on. That was 1979, just prior to beginning an association with BOMP's Greg Shaw, that would eventually lead to the TRANCE-E-DELLIC improv's of Plan 9 2003!

Deborah DeMarco found a VOX Super Continental organ at a yard sale. Evan Williams, currently Medicine Ball co-creator and guitar generator, needed a place to live, had a car and a Gibson SG, left handed that he covered with illustrations that were really good, came in one night. We jammed on Dirty

Water by the Standells for an hour. He realized the common denominator in our demos, silly love songs as they were, Gotta Move, Frustration, I Can Only Give You Everything, cool music so... we became the "4 guitar 9 member psychedelic experience" started to practice more... oh and I almost forgot about Mikey RIPAMAN who got a Burns guitar for the occasion, had played with us in Newport early on and looked like Eddie of Flo &, and was simply a funny funny man. The idea became apparent to us that we should be Plan 9, to honor the absurdity of the then little known sci-fi debacle, to which we felt akin, P-9 from Outer Space, the one they will certainly remember Ed Wood for.

Plan 9 was bolstered by their eight members, half of which played guitar, but if they were unafraid to show their influences, the devotion to old achievements presented a band who lacked either raw power or resourceful interpretation. Plan 9's tight, scuzzy reworking of Them's "I Can Only Give You Everything," known to later generations as the principal hook to Beck's "Devil's Haircut," barely kept the effort afloat.

FRUSTRATION 1981

Plan 9 ‎– Frustration
Label: Voxx Records ‎– VXS 200.007
Country: US
Released: 1981
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Garage Rock.

TRAXS

01. Can't Stand This Love, Goodbye    2:17
02. How Many Times    3:40
03. I Can Only Give You Everything    4:15
04. I'm Not There    1:50
05. Move    3:39
06. Flashback    2:50
10. Frustration    11:50

MEMBERS

Bass – John Florence
Drums – Michael Meehan
Engineer – Richard P. Robinson
Guitar – Evan Williams , John DeVault, Tom Champlin
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Eric Stumpo
Photography, Organ – Deborah DeMarco
Producer, Arranged By – Plan 9
Vocals, Tambourine – Michael Ripa

Notes
Recorded & mixed at Trod Nossel Studios, Wallingford, CT June-July 1981

DEALING WITH THE DEAD 1984

Vocalist/guitarist Eric Stumpo founded Plan 9 in 1979 while teaching at the String Instrument Workshop in Wakefield. Students and friends who hung around the store including his life-partner, organist/vocalist Deborah DeMarco, rehearsed ‘60s Garage Rock and Psychedelic covers there. The band’s long touring and recording career began soon after rehearsal tapes were sent to Greg Shaw of

Bomp Records resulting in their first single, “Can’t Stand This Love, Goodbye” in 1981 followed by the Frustration EP on Bomp subsidiary Voxx.
Shaw sponsored tours which led to their Manhattan debut at The Peppermint Lounge. Three indie albums followed establishing them as pioneers of Neo-Psychedelia and forerunners of the Paisley Underground. In 1985, they signed with Enigma/Pink Dust Records whose distribution deal with Capitol/EMI propelled them into the international market for a three-album run beginning with the landmark LP Keep your Cool and Read the Rules. In a 2010 online article, “Artist of the Week: Plan 9,” Reverend Matt commented that “…the layering of anywhere between three and five guitars and the interweaving of Deborah DeMarco’s swirling organ lines” demonstrates that “…the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts,” bringing “the listener’s mind to the outer limits of psychedelia.”

Taking their name from the now infamous Edward D. Wood, Jr's film "Plan 9 From Outer Space", the fledgling band of John DeVault, Holly Scanlon, Mike Meehan, John Florence, Debora DeMarco, Eric Stumpo, Tom Champlin, Eric Vandelin, Evan Williams and Mike Ripa helped create the wall of guitar

sound which became indicative of Plan 9. 1981 saw the release of the first single ("Can't Stand This Love, Goodbye") ...quickly followed by the "Frustration" EP on Greg Shaw's Voxx label. Then a full length album, "Dealing with the Dead" was released in 1983 on Midnight Records, sporting full color fluorescent artwork and cool comic insert by artist RK Sloane. The band was nominated in 1983 for the CMJ Future Artists Music Award."Five Years Ahead Of My Time" was released as a double A-sided 45, followed by aself-titled album of rarities and additional tracks from the Dealing with the Deadsessions on European label New Rose. "Midnight's Christmas Mass" LP included Eric'swonderful "Merry Christmas" track. Then "I've Just Killed A Man, I Don't Want To See Any Meat" LP was recorded live for Midnight, after which the band signed with Enigma Records andits new creation Pink Dust.

Eric, Debora, Brent Hosier, Evan Williams, Brian Thomas, Tom, Evan Laboissonniere, JohnF, Don Fogarty, Mike Jacobs & the late great Cub Coda then settled in for "Keep Your CoolAnd Read The Rules" LP. The title track became a film featuring Al-x Nagle, whichrecently received its final edit by John DeVault...

"Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere" saw the band rework a 1956 recording originally put out there by Uncle Bobby Carl & The Blendaires, and featured the gnarly vocals of Reid Paley and sweet backup from Tanya Donnelly. Then came a jazz-psych piece ("Sea Hunt" LP), theimaginary soundtrack, which featured sister Becky (Sturdivant), Eric, Debora, John F, Evan W, Tom, and Frank Villani, recorded in Texas.
"Ham & Sam Jammin'" featured Mr Paul Everett on vocals, Eric, Debora, John F, Frank V, Kevin Fallon, Julius Borges, Marsharam Heller, Carey Monserrate, Hugh Everett and the spirit of Ben McLelland, engineered by Paul Kolderie. A video for the track Mambo Night, by indie film guru Jon Moritsugu, briefly flirted with the MTV audience...
The early 1990's brought "Around The USA" 45 and "Stock Footage" CD, the latter being a compilation of music from films by Roger Corman. A late 1990's release on J-Bird records ("Pleasure Farm") featured Eric, Debora, Evan L, Tom, Roger Vaughan, Steven Anderson and Kevin Fallon.
"Nine Mens Misery" was an improvisational score for a documentary film by Victor Franko about the Narragansett Indians winning a battle at a big rock in Cumberland RI. More improv followed with "The Gathering" CD and then Trance-e-dellic met Country in the shape of the "Cow Town" CD featuring Eric, Debora, Frank, Ben, Tom Carmody and Dana Maguire, engineered by Frank Villani.
Plan 9 provided a musical backdrop to Melissa Emma's spoken word which brought forth theCD "Sour Tongue Readings - No Spitting" in 2002. The band then recorded an infomercial for Bob Fagan (Bright Pictures NYC) for Mage Knight.

Plan 9 ‎– Dealing With The Dead
Label: Midnight Records ‎– MIR LP 103, Midnight Records ‎– MIRLP 103
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Garage Rock

TRAXS

01. I Like Girls (Written-By – Stumpo, DeVault) 4:04
02. B-3-11 (Written-By – Stumpo) 3:55
03. White Women (Written-By – Stumpo) 2:59
04. Dealing With The Dead (Written-By – Stumpo) 5:29
05. Step Out Of Time (Written-By – Williams) 3:33
06. Gone (Written-By – Stumpo) 2:56
07. Beg For Love (Written-By – DeMarco) 3:34
08. Can't Have You (Written-By – DeMarco) 3:09
09. Keep On Pushin' (Written-By – DeAzevedo, Youshock) 3:03

MEMBERS

Bass, Percussion – John Florence
Drums – Steven Andersen
Engineer – Richard P. Robinson
Guitar – Evan Williams , John DeVault, Tom Champlin
Guitar, Vocals – Eric Stumpo
Guitar, Vocals, Percussion – Michael Ripa
Keyboards – Deborah DeMarco
Narrator – John DeVault (tracks: A4)
Photography By – Deborah DeMarco
Producer, Arranged By – Plan 9

Notes
Recorded and mixed in 1983 at Trad Nossel Studios, Wollingford, Ct - US.

ALBUMS

01."Frustration EP": 1981 Voxx
02. "Dealing With The Dead": 1984 Midnight
03. "Plan 9": 1984 New Rose
04. "It's A Live / I Just Killed A Man And I Don't Want To See Any Meat...": 1985 Midnight
05."Keep Your Cool and Read The Rules": 1985 Pink Dust/Enigma
06."Anytime Anyplace Anywhere EP": 1986 Restless/Enigma
07."Sea Hunt": 1987 Enigma
08."Ham & Sam Jammin'": 1989 Restless
09."Stock Footage": 1994 WorryBird
10."Pleasure Farm"¨1998 J-Bird
11."Cow Town"¨2001 Criswell Predicts
12."The Gathering": 2001 Criswell Predicts
13."9 Men's Misery": 2001 Criswell Predicts
14."Sour Tongue Readings": 2002 Criswell Predicts
15."Things I Do": 2008 Criswell Predicts