I was turned onto WAZMO NARIZ through a 1981 compilation: I.R.S. GREATEST HITS VOLS. 2 & 3.
Trouser Press said this about it: This double album has its musical ups and downs, but it’s a well-assembled sampler by a label that, at the time, had a phenomenal roster. A lot of these bands have since made better records than the items included here; still, it fulfills its appointed mission skillfully, and does contain a lot of good material.
It was also my introduction to Skafish, another Chicago band that shares a lot of similarities. Both were decidedly uncool, oddball, & original. There wasn't a pretty boy in either band, both shared their name with the stage name of the lead singer, and both were early 80’s new wave bands.
Of WAZMO, Trouser Press journo Steven Grant wrote: Despite a wealth of talent and wild humor, Nariz fell between niches — too bizarre to be pop, too pop to be avant-garde — and the band dissolved amid financial worries & critical apathy.
But their successes certainly stirred some envy in their peers. Their first single Tele-Tele-Telephone was picked up by STIFF Records—and was one of the label’s first UK releases. After releasing an EP, the band caught the attention of I.R.S. Records’ founder Miles Copeland who put them on tour with his brother’s band THE POLICE. Two songs from an appearance opening for them at Santa Monica Civic Center are included here.
They were prolific songwriters. None of the songs on their EP were included on their debut album. To my knowledge, they didn’t record any cover songs.
Lead singer Wazmo Nariz (Larry Grennan) was an early host of MTV’s Cutting Edge. Wazmo/Grennan went on to work with Stan Ridgway, and his drummer Bruce Zelesnik was a member of Ridgway’s band. Grennan popped up in several national commercials back in the day.
Doug Stone reviewed their lone I.R.S. release: This inaugural LP spurts Bryan Ferry trilling trapped in bouncy Oingo Boingo biscuits. Skinny-tie before skinny ties made the scene (hence Nariz' trademark of two wide ties) and new wave before new wave crashed on the shore, Nariz and his Wazband are undeniably talented but strikingly odd. If you like your '80s pop off-kilter and kooky, chances are you'll dig Things Aren't Right, which sets the standard for standing apart.
A shout out is in order to (friend of the blog) ViacomClosedMeDown. He posted the lion's share of the tracks contained here on his blog. While I had some of the tracks on CD, I used his rips so it would have the warm crackle of vinyl throughout--except for of a couple of live YouTube videos I converted. Check out VCMD's Wazmo post here: Down Underground
