DINOSAURS, THE - s/t LP

Dinosaurs-s/t LP

(2017-Big Muddy Records/BDR Records) (BMR034/BDR #8)

The Dinosaurs were a garage-punk band that formed in St. Louis in 1978. Made up of misfits and outsiders, they existed alongside but apart from the emerging punk rock movement. To record collectors, the Dinosaurs are the creators of the sought after “Rock & Roll Moron” 45, which the band self-released in 1979. But to most patrons of underground culture around the Midwest, the Dinosaurs are known as the starting point in the musical history of Bob Reuter, St. Louis’ D.I.Y. “Renaissance Man” who gained regional success as a songwriter, radio DJ (“Bob’s Scratchy Records”), lo-fi photographer, and late-in-life author.

Inspired by the new wave counterculture as much as the pop sensibilities it rebelled against, the Dinosaurs played a mix of proto-punk and classic rock, delighting some while offending others. Consisting of four ne’er-do-well city boys, the Dinosaurs were defiantly uncouth and had an explosive energy that mirrored the raw aggression of the forgotten, post-industrial Midwest city they called home. Alongside the catchy and compulsive songwriting of the band’s founder, Bob Reuter, the Dinosaurs became oddities in St. Louis’ growing punk scene. They made an initial splash as the weekend house band in a neighborhood dive bar playing for four hours a night. Their sets attracted a mixed crowd of factory workers, freaks and oddballs who fell in love with the wild musicians and the unruly atmosphere their music created. After a few months and one too many violent incidents, the band was asked to move on. The Dinosaurs drifted from venue to venue around the St. Louis metropolitan area, bringing their small but rowdy and loyal following with them wherever they went. At times they were celebrated, but at other times their brazen attitudes brought them into conflict with the rest of the scene. After a year and a half and one self-released 45, the band imploded on stage and went their separate ways.

After the break up, the Dinosaurs were all but forgotten until Reuter came to local prominence as the founder of Kamikaze Cowboy, an alt-country band who gigged alongside contemporaries like Uncle Tupelo. With his new spotlight and a penchant for story telling, Reuter spun the legend of the Dinosaurs, claiming that they were St. Louis’ first and only punk band in the 70s. During this time, Reuter also gained significant notoriety for his vinyl only radio show and his lo-fi black & white photography that documented the desperation and ruin of life in St. Louis as well as the bohemian rock & roll culture that thrived in spite of the desolation. In the 2010s, Reuter fell in with a young group of musicians at Big Muddy Records and formed the band Bob Reuter’s Alley Ghost, who performed some of the Dinosaurs songs and recaptured the energy of their proto-punk sound while introducing the music to a new generation. Reuter toured regionally with Alley Ghost and released a critically acclaimed album, “Born There” before his death in 2013. He gathered a small cult following throughout the States and his admirers grew to include noteworthy rock & roll figures such as Kim Fowley and ? of the Mysterians.

Now for the first time ever, twelve of the Dinosaurs finest homemade recordings from 1978 are presented side by side on vinyl. The tracks have been remastered from the original audio tapes and packed with expansive liner notes and photography on a 12" x 24" insert. The package also includes an additional ten tracks for download including two essential live recordings.

Audio sample: "Rock & Roll Moron"