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The Compulsive Gamblers | |
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Origin | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
Genres | Garage rock, punk blues, garage punk |
Years active | 1990—1993, 1998—2003 |
Labels | Boiler Room, Lemon Peel Records, Sympathy for the Record Industry |
Members | Greg Cartwright Jack Yarber Rod Thomas Jeff Meier Brenden Lee Spengler |
Past members | Philip Tubb Greg Easterly Paul Blanda Greg Roberson |
Compulsive Gamblers were an American garage rock group formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1990 by Greg Cartwright and Jack Yarber, both future members of the Oblivians. [1]
Originally known as "The Painkillers", the band was founded in 1990 by future Oblivians frontmen Greg Cartwright and Jack Yarber, both of whom shared vocal and guitar duties. With the addition of bassist Fields Trimble, keyboardist Philip "Flipper" Tubb, drummer Rod "Bushrod" Thomas, and fiddler Greg Easterly, the band soon adopted the name the "Compulsive Gamblers", and set to work recording their first 7-inch, Joker . The album was released a year later, and was followed by two further 7-inch recordings, Church Goin' and Goodtime Gamblers . According to Cartwright, one of the themes of the Church Goin' 7-inch, and of the Compulsive Gamblers in general, was "the self destructive gambler, these people who just can't fix their lives and just fuck up at every turn. They need to do something. So that was the idea for "Church Goin'", but it wasn't fully realized..."
The band struggled through 1990 and 1991 without any major gigs or a set band, but by the following year the band's fortunes had started to turn. By 1992 the band had a concrete lineup and had begun to form a unique sound, however, just as the Gamblers luck seemed to be looking up the band began to drift apart.
In 1993 Cartwright was offered a place to stay and record in New York with singer Casey Scott, which for a time he accepted. Cartwright played guitar on Casey Scott's "Creep City" album that was released on Capitol Records in 1993. Around this time the other members of the band began to venture off on their own as well, leaving only Yarber and Easterly to try to keep the band afloat. Upon Cartwright's return to Memphis in the summer of 1993, he and Yarber decided to split their time between the Gamblers and a side project called the Oblivians. By 1995, Thomas and Easterly had relocated to New Orleans, and Cartwright and Yarber focused their creative efforts solely on the Oblivians, resulting in the ultimate breakup of the first incarnation of the Gamblers.
Label interest for the Compulsive Gamblers had always been fleeting, and the band was unable to garner much interest while the band was still together. As Yarber explained, the Compulsive Gamblers “did two 7-inches and recorded a bunch of songs on home recordings. We recorded in Easley (Recording studio), but we never really had an album...our CD came out after The Oblivians started playing.” Eventually their 7" recordings were compiled in LP format under the title Gambling Days are Over and released by Sympathy for the Record Industry.
After the breakup of the Oblivians, Cartwright and Yarber reformed the Compulsive Gamblers, this time as a three-piece with Rod Thomas back on drums. With this lineup they released the album Bluff City in 1999. Bassist Jeff Meier and keyboardist Brendan Lee Spengler were added to the lineup following a European tour, and in this incarnation the band released the studio album Crystal Gazing Luck Amazing and the live album Live & Deadly: Memphis-Chicago , their final release before again disbanding.
Compulsive Gamblers I: (1991–1993, first three singles and "Gambling Days Are Over")
Jack Yarber: guitar, vocals
Greg Cartwright: guitar, vocals
Bushrod Thomas: drums
Fields Trimble: bass
Greg Easterly: violin
Compulsive Gamblers II: (after The Oblivians broke up, 1998, Bluff City LP/CD)
Jack Yarber: guitar, vocals
Greg Cartwright: guitar, vocals
Bushrod Thomas: drums
Compulsive Gamblers III: (Spring 1999 US Tour)
Jack Yarber: guitar, vocals
Greg Cartwright: guitar, vocals
Jeff Meier: bass
Bushrod Thomas: drums
Compulsive Gamblers IV: (After the Spring 1999 US Tour, Crystal Gazing, Luck Amazing LP/CD)
Jack Yarber: guitar, vocals
Greg Cartwright: guitar, vocals
Jeff Meier: bass
Brenden Lee Spengler: organ
Dale Beavers: guitar
Other former Members:
Greg Roberson (also former member of Reigning Sound) played on the Live & Deadly LP (Sympathy).
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Gambling Days Are Over is the debut studio album by the Compulsive Gamblers. It was released in 1995 by Sympathy for the Record Industry. The album, with the exception of the last three songs, was recorded on an 8-track recorder in vocalist Jack Oblivian's apartment. The album was released after the band had already broken up, and was essentially a collection of the group's three 7-inch releases, "Church Goin'," "Joker," and Goodtime Gamblers." During the recording of the album the Compulsive Gamblers lineup consisted of Jack Oblivian and Greg Oblivian on guitar and vocals, Bushrod Thomas on drums, Fields Trimble on bass, and Greg Easterly on violin. The first three songs on the album are cover songs reflecting the band's diverse influences; the album contains covers by The Tornados, the Bar-Kays, and Tom Waits. The song "Sour and Vicious Man" was covered by Jay Reatard of the Reatards on their third album, Not Fucked Enough.
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Bluff City is the second studio album by the Compulsive Gamblers. It was released on April 27, 1999, by the independent music label, Sympathy for the Record Industry. The album was recorded after the band returned from a four-year hiatus in which members Greg Cartwright and Jack Yarber were recording under the name, the Oblivians. Bluff City was written while the Compulsive Gamblers were a threesome, with Cartwright and Yarber joined by Bushrod Thomas on drums. After the recording of Bluff City, the group recruited bassist Jeff Meier for a European tour in support of the album.
Crystal Gazing Luck Amazing is the third and final studio album by The Compulsive Gamblers. The album was released June 20, 2000 by Sympathy for the Record Industry. The album's lineup consisted of Gamblers mainstays Greg Cartwright and Jack Yarber on guitar and vocals. The Compulsive Gamblers began recording the album following their first European tour, which saw the addition of bassist Jeff Meier and keyboardist Brendan Lee Spengler to the Compulsive Gamblers' formerly three-piece outfit. The track Rock & Roll Nurse was covered by the band The Von Bondies on their 2001 debut album Lack of Communication.
Live & Deadly: Memphis–Chicago is a live album recorded by the Compulsive Gamblers. It is the final release by the band, released on April 15, 2003 by the independent record label Sympathy for the Record Industry. The album contains 16 tracks recorded during two May 2002 performances, one in Memphis, Tennessee, and the other in Chicago, Illinois. Live & Deadly was released just prior to the second and final time the Compulsive Gamblers disbanded. The album contains cover songs by the Bar-Kays, Tom Waits, and Nolan Strong & The Diablos. The song "Sour and Vicious Man" was in turn covered by The Reatards on their third album, Not Fucked Enough.
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