THE CUSTOMS "LONG GONE" b/w "SHE'LL ALWAYS BE MINE" 1980 SHAKE IT EX/NM RARE

$

25

LAST YEAR I LOST ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS TO CANCER, HE WAS A COOL MUSICIAN A DRUMMER BY TRADE, ORIGINALLY FROM SEATTLE, BUT RELOCATED TO L.A. IN 1985, HE AMASSED A VERY LARGE MUSIC COLLECTION, AND HAD KILLER TASTE FOR ROCK & ROLL, SADLY I AM SELLING OFF A LOT OF HIS COLLECTION ON BEHALF OF HIS WIDOW TO HELP PAY OFF DEBTS INCLUDING HOSPITAL BILLS, TAXES AND STORAGE UNIT FEES. I AM NOT TAKING ANYTHING FOR THIS SERVICE, DOING IT FOR MY FRIEND (MISS YOU DAVE!). THIS ITEM IS FROM HIS COLLECTION.

THE PHOTO'S MAY BE A LITTLE BLURRY, HAVE A LITTLE GLARE, SOME REFLECTIONS OR IN SOME CASES YOU MAY SEE SPECKS OF DUST. BUT THE PHOTO'S ARE OF THE ACTUAL ITEM YOU ARE BIDDING ON. I DO COMBINE SHIPPING.

THESE ARE VISUALLY & PLAY GRADED. I WILL BE LISTING A LOT OF HIS 45's OVER THE COMING FEW WEEKS.

ARTIST: THE CUSTOMS (CINCINNATI PUNK/GARAGE)

TRACK LISTING-

SIDE 1. “LONG GONE”

SIDE 2. “ SHE'LL ALWAYS BE MINE”

NO TIMES LISTED

LABEL: SHAKE IT! RECORDS (INDIE LABEL)

CAT#- ST 004

YEAR: 1980

RECORD CONDITION: THE RECORD IS IN NM/EXCELLENT CONDITION, NO SURFACE SOUNDS , NO CLICKS POPS, NICE SHINEY LUSTER TO THE BLACK VINYL,NO SCUFFS, BLEMS, LINES, SCRATCHES. LOOKS & PLAYS SUPER CLEAN. BOTH LABELS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. ONE OR TWO VERY VERY LIGHT CLICKS ON THE LEAD IN GROOVES, THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT NM

SLEEVE CONDITION: THE SLEEVE IS IN NM/EXCELLENT CONDITION, STRAIGHT EDGES, NO TEARS,RIPS OR WRITING ON IT. IT'S BASICALLY A WRAP AROUND SINGLE SHEET OF PAPER, THE RECORD ITSELF IS IN A GENERIC WHITE PAPER SLEEVE.

OTHER INFO: THIS RECORD IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT. NO RESERVE!

ARTIST & RELEASE INFO:

Description:

In 1978, most Rock & Roll fans in Cincinnati, Ohio were too preoccupied with the recent national success of local boys-done-good Pure Prairie League to give much thought to the bands that were festering in the city’s basements. Luckily those festering bands were upholding the polyvinyl chloride Rosetta Stone testaments of Rock & Roll handed down by prophets like The Wailers and Orangie Ray Hubbard. Armed with a bottle of Paramount gin and a fistful of pills, they set out to loosen the stranglehold on American Rock & Roll by Sgt. Pepper. The Customs were one of those bands.

“The loudest, drunkest, most obnoxious Rock & Roll band in the city…fronted by a ‘singer’ with the vocal ability of the local Greyhound bus dispatcher.” That’s how the esteemed Cincinnati press referred to The Customs. (We guess it was meant as a dig, but it sounds like mighty high praise–if your heroes were The Sonics and Little Vic.) Post-DMZ/pre-Lyres Peter Greenberg led the charge, seeking out the company of fellow rare B-side hounds and rounding out the initial ’78 lineup with Carson, Greenberg, Heil and Rosenthal.

Formed with the sole understanding that one reverb-drenched note from a nearly inaudible Link Wray 45 had more Rock & Roll merit than the entire recorded output of Carlos Santana, The Customs stormed and stumbled through some of Cincinnati’s finer, shittier clubs.  The band’s debut 45 was released by a fledgling Shake It Records. In a fitting fashion, the group celebrated their release by disbanding.

After a cooling-off period, The Customs  reemerged with the line-up of Bivens, Cole, Greenberg, Heil and Rosenthal and a new set that quickly led to the recording of their second SHAKE IT release, “Long Gone,” a cut that would eventually end up in the set lists of bands on both sides of the Atlantic.  Again, and with perfect irony, the group heralded this release with Greenberg’s departure to Boston where he hooked up with his former cohort Jeff Conolly of The Lyres. A third line-up materialized which featured Dan Valentie in Greenberg’s place, but it soon dissolved into numerous splinter bands including The Hi-Fi’s and The Auburnaires.

ALSO THIS-----

The Customs are celebrating their 30th anniversary with a reunion show at The Southgate House in Newport, KY on May 31, 2008 to celebrate the re-issue of their album “Long Gone”.

Cincy Groove: How did the idea for the 30th reunion show come about?

Billy Rosenthal: We did the cd in 1998 and I suggested that a reunion show would be a thing we should consider. Not everybody was into the idea 10 years ago. So Darren put out the cd on Shake It Records and 10 years pass. I just got a call from Peter this past December and he mentioned it again to me, so I thought about it. We all finally came to agreement and decided to just go ahead with the reunion.

Peter Greenberg: Well I cleared my plate of all the crap I was doing for the last 25 years. I was working a corporate job and decided to quit. I was out in Cincinnati back in November playing guitar with Tim Cole and Vince Gray. Brian Kilzarian heard that we were interested in a reunion show and kind of got the ball rolling. I have started playing again and my family and I are moving to New Mexico (from Dallas) where I am going to set up and studio and look for some people to play with before I get too old. I also have a job out in New Mexico developing solar power technology.

Cincy Groove: So was everyone receptive to the idea of a reunion show?

Peter Greenberg: For the most part everybody was into the idea. Billy wanted to do the reunion 10 years ago but it wasn’t the right time for me.

Cincy Groove: I think its great the band still has all those photos on your myspace page from the late 1970’s.

Peter Greenberg: I didn’t know how to use myspace so Brian set up the myspace page. But after he set it up I went out and bought a scanner and scanned a bunch of the old photos.

Cincy Groove: So Billy, are you full time musician?

Billy Rosenthal: I am, I have one band that I play drums with on a regular basis and I freelance with about 3 other groups. I went from being in the building/contractor business and being a part time musician from 1992 until 2002. Since 2002 I now just play music. If you want to play oldies and that kind of stuff there’s plenty of work down here (Florida). Its not as much fun as the old days with The Customs of course but it sure pays better (laughing).

Cincy Groove: What venues did The Customs play at back in the late 1970’s?

Billy Rosenthal: We did Bogarts a lot. We opened for The Ramones, Iggy Pop & The Cramps there. I think there was a place called Dollar Bills we played at, Shipleys, Top Cats, and Chapter 13 up in Mt Adams. We also played some loft parties down in the Over The Rhine area. I used to live above Northside Tavern back in the early 1980’s. Back then it was a real dump but now I have heard it is a really nice place. Northside in the 1970’s wasn’t a pretty place but there were a lot of really nice people and cool junk shops, stuff like that.

Cincy Groove: How long were The CUSTOMS together?

Peter Greenberg: We were together for about 2 years while I was in Cincinnati and then they kept it going for another year or so with another guitar player after I left.

Cincy Groove: How did The CUSTOMS end up meeting back in the 1970’s?

Billy Rosenthal: Tom, the singer, and myself knew each other since our college days at UC in the early 70’s. We were both record collectors and in the record business. In 1978 Peter came back to Cincinnati to goto UC. A mutual friend of ours introduced us to Peter. The three of us decided we liked the same kind of music and decided to start a band. It was kind of rough at first. We didn’t have a lot of money to buy equipment. Whatever we had we used.

At the time The CUSTOMS got together you either played in a cover band playing Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones tunes or you tried something different. So we tried something different and it ended up working for us. I actually still have the stage backdrop we used back then when we had to changed the spelling of the band from The Kustoms with a K to The Customs with a C.

The CUSTOMS:
Forrest Bivens (bass)
Jim Cole (guitar, organ)
Peter Greenberg (guitar, vocals)
Thom Heil (“vocals”)
Jess Hirbe (then Shake It Label owner)
Billy Rosenthal (drums)

I DO COMBINE SHIPPING. THE $4 FLAT RATE ALSO INCLUDES THE PADDED MAILER WHICH COST OVER $1 EACH. THANKS!

ALL 7” SINGLES WILL BE MAILED OUT IN PADDED ENVELOPES WITH EXTRA STURDY CARDBOARD TO PROTECT THE ITEM. I DO COMBINE SHIPPING WITH OTHER LIKE SIZED ITEMS. ADDITIONAL 45’S .50 EA. IN THE U.S. VIA MEDIA MAIL OR OTHER USPS SERVICES. ONE 45 WITH SHIPPING MATERIALS IS 5 OUNCES, 2 6 OUNCES, THREE 8 OUNCES, FIGURE 2 OUNCES FOR EA. ADDITIONAL 45. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING IS BASED ON WEIGHT AND COUNTRY. FOR THE U.S. THE $4 COST OF THE MEDIA MAIL INCLUDES MY COST OF PADDED ENVELOPES, PACKING MATERIALS & TIME. THANKS! BOB

INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS TAKE NOTE !!!

IF YOU OPT TO NOT PAY FOR THE EXTRA INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED MAIL, AND OPT FOR THE REGULAR INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS WHICH HAS NO TRACKING AT ALL, I WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR PACKAGE, AND I WILL TAKE PICTURES OF MY POST OFFICE RECEIPTS AND MY U.S. CUSTOMS FORMS AND SEND THEM TO YOU AS PROOF OF MY MAILING YOUR ITEM OUT, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FAILINGS OF YOUR COUNTRIES POSTAL SERVICE, KNOW THIS BEFORE YOU BID ON ANY OF MY ITEMS!!! IF YOUR ITEM DOES NOT ARRIVE DO NOT BLAME ME!

DUE TO THE RECENT INCREASE IN THE INTERNATIONAL MAILING RATES THAT WENT UP ON JUNE. 1, 2015, I WILL NOT DO A FLAT RATE FOR ANY ITEMS, FROM NOW ON YOU WILL HAVE TO CALCULATE THE RATE BASED UPON YOUR COUNTRY. ALSO ADDITIONAL COMBINED ITEMS WILL MEAN A HIGHER SHIPPING CHARGED BASED ON EACH ITEM. SORRY ABOUT THIS, BUT THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT THAT.REGISTERED INTERNATIONAL MAIL WHICH ALLOWS FOR DOOR TO DOOR TRACKING IS AN ADDITIONAL $14.00.

I DO COMBINE SHIPPING……….

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International Buyers – Please Note:

Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.

Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.

PLEASE PAY FOR ALL ITEMS WITHIN 5 DAYS, OR MESSAGE ME TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU CAN’T,(IF YOU ARE BIDDING OR PLAN TO BID ON OTHER ITEMS) I WILL DO A ONE WEEK WAIT FROM THE DATE OF THE END OF THE FIRST AUCTION WIN, TO COMBINE SHIPPING ON ITEMS, AFTER THAT I NEED PAYMENT IN FULL AND WILL MAIL OUT THE ITEMS , EVEN IF YOU ARE BIDDING ON OTHERS, THUS BEGINS A NEW BILLING/SHIPPING CYCLE. THIS CASH FLOW IS MY SOURCE OF INCOME FOR PAYING RENT/BILLS, ETC. IF YOU HAVE WON AN ITEM AND I DO NOT HEAR FROM YOU ONE WAY OR THE OTHER WITHIN 7 DAYS I WILL OPEN AN “UNPAID ITEM CASE”, IN ORDER TO FREE UP THE ITEM FOR A POSSIBLE RE-LISTING OR A “SECOND CHANCE OFFER”. PLEASE WHEN YOU WIN AN ITEM TRY AND PAY FOR IT IN A TIMELY FASHION OR LET ME KNOW YOU ARE LOOKING AT OTHER ITEMS I HAVE LISTED, I MAIL ITEMS OUT WITHIN TWO WORKING DAYS ONCE PAYMENT IS RECEIVED. DO NOT ASK FOR ITEM TO ME MARKED “GIFT” ON CUSTOMS FORMS, INTERNATIONAL BUYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL DUTIES AND CUSTOMS FEE’S! CHECK WITH YOUR POST OFFICE, I WILL NOT PAY THEM.

NEW NOTE TO ALL POTENTIAL BIDDERS PLEASE! DO NOT BID IF YOU HAVE NO INTENTION OF PAYING FOR AN ITEM YOU MIGHT WIN, ALSO IF YOU ARE AN INTERNATIONAL BIDDER, PLEASE! BE AWARE OF THE COST OF INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING. I DO NOT LIKE OPENING UNPAID ITEM CASES BUT I WILL IF YOU NEGLECT TO PAY.