The Grip Weeds, S/T, three songs, circa 1989

The Grip Weeds, S/T, three songs, circa 1989

PERSONNEL:
Rick Reil: Singing, guitars 12+6, organ
Jeff Surawski: Singing, bass
Kurt Reil: Singing, drums, perc
Tim Mesko: Singing, guitar, harmonica

TRACK LISTING:
1. I Forgot To Lie
2. Love Me Like Before
3. You Know He Did

Active to this day, New Brunswick, New Jersey’s The Gripweeds emerged in 1988 as East Coast counterparts to the then-fading Paisley Underground. Across eight albums, an EP and a pair of singles, they have stuck to a winning formula of flower-power-pop with a heart of Yardbirds — and good on them!

The Grip Weeds Business Card
Business card included

The Grip Weeds formal debut was the self-released 1992 EP See You Through. However, three years earlier, “I Forgot To Lie” appeared on A Mountain Of Music, a compilation of Jersey bands. I’m going to assume this demo tape dates from around that time.

This is the original Gripweeds line-up, with Jeff Surawski on bass and Tim Mesko on guitar and harmonica (Surawski was out by ’89; Mesko departed in 1993). Aside from “I Forgot To Lie”, this music has never been officially released, as far as I know. Is this the band’s first demo? It’s entirely possible.

5 thoughts on “The Grip Weeds, S/T, three songs, circa 1989

  1. Thank you SO much for posting this! I thought I would never hear “Love Me Like Before” again. It brings back happy memories of seeing the fresh-faced Kurt in his striped long-sleeved shirt singing it at the Strip.

  2. Thanks for sharing this. Been a Grip Weeds fan for a long time and nice to hear these earlier songs. I understand there was also a 6 song cassette that had these 3 songs and 3 others around the same time. The Grip Weeds continue to make great music.

    Bill O

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