From Swami John:

The music of Crime was and still is some of the wildest, loosest, confrontational and violent noise ever created. Proclaiming themselves "San Francisco"s first and only rock n roll band" they were the first punk band on the West Coast to release their own record with the Hot Wire My Heart b/w Baby, You"re So Repulsive single in 1976.

Ironically, Crime never considered themselves "punk" as they felt it was a media concoction and too safe to represent their abrasive output. Armed with feedback drenched and amphetamine induced crude blues riffs and donning full San Francisco Police Department regalia, not only in performance but on the streets as well, Crime was a magnificently creative and subversive force backed by a furiously rebellious soundtrack. Unfortunately, the legacy of this highly influential band has been regulated to shady bootlegs and exorbitantly priced copies of the scant original offerings. Swami is honored to reissue San Francisco"s STILL Doomed, a posthumous collection of Crime"s most venomous offerings re-mastered and including two unreleased outtakes from their first studio session. San Francisco"s STILL Doomed is a life affirming sonic baptism for the uninitiated and for the already converted it is mandatory artifact that honors this creative and uncompromising band.

Their debut was at a Gay political fundraiser on Halloween 1976. By the fifth song, the plug was pulled and the crowd clenched their ringing ears and headed for the exits. The band became regulars at the Mabuhay Gardens (a Filipino nite club that would soon become the epicenter for the SF underground) and cemented their reputation as the most alienating band on the scene. In a scene of freaks, dropouts, junkies, artists, flakes, leftover hippies and society"s outcasts, THEY were the outsiders. Crime thought nothing of burning an occasional bridge or two (whether it was canceling a gig with The Damned on their first trip to the states because Crime refused to open or verbally assaulting record shop owners who were afraid to sell their records). In a nutshell, they didn"t give a fuck about anything except for their own universe that they created. It is because of this attitude that they were able to create a sound that is still unmatched in it"s extremity to this day.

In 1977, Crime self released their 2nd single Frustration b/w Murder By Guitar with Brittley Black on drums. The band played a landmark performance for the inmates at San Quentin Penitentiary, filmed and released by Target Video. The band continued to perform and record with Hank Rank on drums, but found little interest from outside agencies. Due mainly to a severe antisocial behavior (Frankie Fix once told an interested Seymour Stein of Sire Records that The Ramones were "hippies that should cut their hair"), the band had increasing difficulty finding opportunities to advance as a group.

A third single (Macerate b/w Gangster Funk released by Berkeley Squared) saw the band trying to update their sound with keyboards. They continued for a short while, but by this time the fire that propelled the band to such individualistic concepts and visionary heights had burned out. They packed it in around 1981 remained in relative obscurity until their music was resurrected for a whole new audience by way of Sonic Youth covering "Hot Wire My Heart" on 1987"s Sister album.

The recordings on this release represent almost all of the Crime"s best material. The majority consists of sessions that the band had forgotten about until tapes surfaced in a closet around 1990. It is these spacious recordings that capture the band at their musical peak and have continued to amaze and inspire me for over 12 years since I was first introduced to this release. Never before released versions of "Hot Wire My Heart" and "Baby, You"re So Repulsive" have been added.

Hear for yourself. In my opinion, it doesn"t get any more reckless than this. Listening to Crime is like getting pissed on by Elvis. A holy golden stream of salty heat that you never forget for the rest of your life.

I hope you cherish it as much as I do.

Thanks for listening,

Swami John