Split Tooth and No Threes Records are excited to announce '1, 2, 4, Go!': The Oral History of The Cheaters,' a new 66-page zine with 2 CDs! This is the definitive history of a criminally overlooked Pacific Northwest band and the ultimate rock ’n’ roll saga for anyone who has ever wanted their rock stars to play guitar with a saw and slip on their own banana peels.
The Cheaters weren’t the first punk band in Seattle and they didn’t last long enough to truly leave a mark on the burgeoning local music scene, but no one in their day was making or performing music quite like them. Founded by brothers Kurt Bloch (
@brdcrp ) and Al Bloch (before Kurt became the virtuosic guitarist/songwriter for The Fastbacks and joined
@yffmusicnstuff ) with their neighbor Scott Dittman while still in high school, The Cheaters quickly became a basement-bred experiment in mixing all of their favorite types of rock music, from early British punk to overly complicated prog, with a healthy dose of mischievous teenage humor tossed in for good measure. In just over a year, they released their own 45 single, wrote and performed their own material from nearly the start, founded a semi-real record label, established the groundwork for a Blue Öyster Cult-inspired self-mythology, appeared in a short film by a future Oscar winner, and then imploded in a heat of passion and punk-rock angst during a show.
1, 2, 4, Go!: The Oral History of The Cheaters by
@craigwaswright and
@bwrightsplittooth is presented in a zine designed by
@valbarano and features interviews with members of the band and those closest to them — including friends and future Fastbacks Kim Warnick and Lulu Gargiulo, Conrad Uno of PopLlama, and more — alongside rare and never-before-seen photos and documents from the Cheaters’ fleeting heyday.
Included with the zine are two CDs of Cheaters music from No Threes Records, including a complete and never-before-heard live show from 1979.
Order your copy today at the link in our bio!
