ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE '80S...
The Mall Weirdos were part of the first great wave of 1980s unsung underground rock bands from the American Midwest.
Their 15 seconds of fame was playing the very first South By Southwest music fest in Austin, Texas, and getting mentioned in a story about the event on the "All Things Considered" show on National Public Radio.
Their 15 seconds of fame was playing the very first South By Southwest music fest in Austin, Texas, and getting mentioned in a story about the event on the "All Things Considered" show on National Public Radio.
The band was formed in 1986 by Garrett Whatley and Mike Starling. Whatley, originally from Fort Worth, Texas, was writing album reviews for a La Crosse, Wisconsin music paper called Earfood, where Starling was managing editor. The two struck up a friendship and began jamming in the basement of the old Victorian house where Whatley lived.
With the addition of drummer Ward Wiesenthal, they began playing local dive bars and all-ages shows as the Mall Weirdos, opening for a slew of era's top underground acts like Black Flag, Glass Eye, the True Believers, Rigor Mortis, and the Circle Jerks. Whatley and Starling also started a local concert promotion company called Clean Productions with Jim Anderson and Paula O'Rourke.
With the addition of drummer Ward Wiesenthal, they began playing local dive bars and all-ages shows as the Mall Weirdos, opening for a slew of era's top underground acts like Black Flag, Glass Eye, the True Believers, Rigor Mortis, and the Circle Jerks. Whatley and Starling also started a local concert promotion company called Clean Productions with Jim Anderson and Paula O'Rourke.
Whatley and Starling wrote and recorded a number of songs for the band, though none were ever commercially released. On Whatley's death at age 51, Starling compiled a nine-song collection of Mall Weirdos demos to distribute to friends and family.
Titled These Are The Things I Know How To Say: A Tribute to Garrett Whatley, 1951-2002, the CD included Weirdos originals like "I'm Bilingual," "Chicago Bang-Bang" and "Your Analysis" as well as covers of the country standard "Detroit City," the jazz tune "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and a 36-minute original instrumental jam called "PMM (Perpepetual Motion Machine)."
Titled These Are The Things I Know How To Say: A Tribute to Garrett Whatley, 1951-2002, the CD included Weirdos originals like "I'm Bilingual," "Chicago Bang-Bang" and "Your Analysis" as well as covers of the country standard "Detroit City," the jazz tune "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and a 36-minute original instrumental jam called "PMM (Perpepetual Motion Machine)."
The music of the Mall Weirdos is not currently available online, but who knows? Maybe someday. If you're interested in hearing it or finding out more about the band, you can use the email form below to drop us a line.
What are those Mall Weirdos up to these days?
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