Formaldehyde Blues Train: Six songs, circa 1992
PERSONNEL:
Hollis Fitch: vocals
Dave “Jake Rancheroo” Weiss: guitar
Richard Jean: guitar
Murray Compton: bass
Jim “the Lieutenant” Petropoulos: drums
TRACK LISTING:
1. Backroads
2. Capt. Dog
3. Voo Doo Nectarine
4. Devil’s Eyes
5. St. Louie
6. The Swamp Song
Way back when, in a very different Brooklyn, there was a red-hot music scene in, of all places, Park Slope. Centered on Lauterbach’s, a sketchy basement dive on Prospect Avenue, the Brooklyn Beat embraced an insane variety of musical styles, played by bands of uniformly high quality. I can honestly say I never saw a bad show at Lauterbach’s.
Among the kings of the Brooklyn Beat scene was Formaldehyde Blues Train, purveyors of swamp-rock supreme. FBT had only two formal releases that I know of: the 1991 Friday The 13th 7″, and the 1993 CD EP Dig; both are long out of print, but there are used copies to be had. Given that four of the songs here appeared on one or both of those records, I’m figuring this super-rare tape surfaced sometime in between. Or maybe it predated them; I can’t be sure.
Anyhoo, if yer hankering for some volcanic, yowling swamp-a-billy, grab a bottle of hootch and crank this ‘un up! As an added bonus, here’s a fun old video that will give you a taste of what TBT were like in their prime:
15 thoughts on “Formaldehyde Blues Train: Six songs, circa 1992”
There is also a cassette tape “More Coal!” dated 1989 – maybe a demo with phone # for booking
Songs are
Side A:
St. Louie
Yuppies for Breakfast
The Jake
Side B:
The Desert Song
Hamburger Eating Man
The Boss’s Bottle
Thank you for the kind words Jim, it was a scene that is hopefully being carried out by the next guard in dingy basement bars everywhere…….
I still have the blue Formaldehyde guitar in the video LOL !! ( still using it secretly )
I would love to get a copy of the more cold demo.
I saw them play live in Richmond Virginia and got that demo tape but someone stole it from me.
Thanks Jim for remembering us. Garage bands rule !(still)
Jim,
Contact me regarding FBT. I’m assuming you can see my e-mail address even if the general public can’t.
One of the best bands ever.
Damn right.
After unfortunately missing a recent reunion show, I popped Dig into my car’s CD player on the way to work tonight. Fantastic stuff. Great live band. Thankful to have made the acquaintance of most band members during my years living in South Park Slope. One member and I share an alma mater, another gave me guitar lessons, and yet another sold me an amplifier! (My brush with greatness.)
Thanks for checking in, Chris!
you guys were amazing… i can’t believe there was a reunion show… i would have killed to be there
I was in FBT for 4 yrs or so (including these tracks). Love those recordings. Some of the best I ever got to play on. Thanks for the memories.
Rock on, Richard!
Wow, I haven’t seen this since I had the awesome opportunity to work with the beautiful Rob Sutton mixing this at Power Play Studios. Memory is a bit fuzzy but I had a real great time assisting Rob on this project. I had heard of the band but was never fortunate enough to have seen them perform. Love this recording!
Not sure if you heard about this, but here ya go!…
https://youtu.be/wnXfGnahBHc?si=PwSiVTSc-4VC3abk
Hell yeah, Deek! I knew about it, and I plan to be at that show!