The A-side has the super-angry, super-catchy “The Threat” with the lyrics “Do you know what it is like to walk down the street at night. Do you know what it is like to feel the threat…It’s finally time to stop all the violence Time for us to take back the night.” (The first “Take Back the Night” marches started back in the early 70’s. I’m not sure how active they are today but they were a pretty big deal in the early 90’s and I went to a couple of them while in college.) Also on Side A is “Sexism Impressed,” a dark, mid-tempo growler calls out compliance to the patriarchy: “We sit idle and submissively accept. By not confronting we aquiesce to the situation. The way you facilitate the promotion of bullshit. The way you unquestioningly proceed with the image.” On Side B (or the “Nipple Side”) is “Ultimate Violations” a hardcore rager which begins with recorded man/woman on the street quotes “We have to support women who are raped. We have to empower them to stand up and fight,” “No means no,” “Rape is rape. Rape means if the girl doesn’t want to have sex, the bottom line is it’s rape,” and then Spitboy launches into a heart-ripping description of sexual violation aftermath. It’s a tough 45 to listen to but the message is clear, and important.

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Hectic is a quick listen, lasting around 10 minutes total. It’s extra-fast ska-jumpy, definitely rough around the edges with NO horns, just the standard rock guitar/bass/drums/vocal lineup. For me most ska records tend to sound all alike after a song a two so the infusion of some hardcore punk is refreshing. Punk takes center stage on the first track, “Junkie’s Runnin’ Dry” as well as on “Hoboken.” My favorite ska-forward song is “Healthy Body,” which has a lot of tempo changes and seems very Clash-inspired, down to singer Jesse Michaels’ vocal intonations. I also really like the guitar riff on “Yellin’ In My Ear.”

Our copy is not a first-run, which is probably for the best. According the Discogs listing of Hectic, the first pressing listed numbers on the back cover but “The numbers are not necessary consecutive. The number of copies in the first pressing is unknown. David Hayes [Lookout! Records co-owner] stamped multiple copies of this album as “0001” just to trick collectors.”

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Livermore is probably better known for his record label (named for the band and his ‘zine), writing for Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll and for helping to found the East Bay Gilman Street Project where bands like Operation Ivy, the Mr. T Experience and, most famously, Green Day got their start. The Lookouts was Livermore’s band and their second and final full-length album, Spy Rock Road (the name inspired by the “off-the-grid hippie wilderness” area where Livermore lived), is mostly bright and snotty 80′s California punk filled with fun. Livermore, who plays guitar and sings, is joined by Kain Kong (Kain Henschke) on bass and vocals, as well as a young Tré Cool (Frank Edwin Wright) on drums. Cool, of course, would go on to be Green Day’s drummer. Cool and Kong, who were both teenagers when The Lookouts recorded Spy Rock Road, wrote the punchy, bright tracks like “That Girl’s From Outer Space,” “Wild” and “Generation” (that track’s lyrics: Oh we’re the new generation/You couldn’t stop us if you tried/Come all you people rejoice in our youth/It’s not how old you are but what you do/We’re young/We’re strong). Livermore, who was in his 30′s at the time, wrote the darker, more hardcore tinged tracks like “Life” and “Alienation.” Punk’s not dead but it certainly becomes more aware of its mortality and vulnerability with age.

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Fun In the Dark is on the pop side of the punk-pop curve, very 50′s/60′s via the the Ramones inspired tunes over garagey guitars and beats. Some of the tracks are literal nods to the monster genre like “(She’s My) Vampire Girl,” “(She’s Got a) Brain Scrambling Device” and “The Spell Is On.” Others…not so much: “Carly Simon” for example. Overall: kitschy, a bit silly, but a good pull for a poppy punky Halloween party.

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