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Liner Notes

A weekly column by Tampa Tribune pop music critic Curtis Ross

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By CURTIS ROSS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 26, 2008

One of my favorite albums of all time is "Club Wig," the eponymous debut of a band from Tuscaloosa, Ala. The band existed in one form or another from 1984 -- at the time, anyone who wanted could get up and play with the band; drums consisted of two cardboard boxes -- until (I think) 1987.

The band never seemed particularly career-oriented, and "Club Wig" would be a major label A&R nightmare. There's a Patsy Cline cover with a James Brown break, an ode to our 16th president ("That was old Abe/Oh how he hated to shave") and a hysterical paean to "Naugahyde."

It also has near-perfect pop, psychedelia and ska. About half of it would have been excised by any band more business-minded. Thank God Club Wig wasn't, because "Club Wig" is great as it is.

So why am I prattling on about a band most of you have never heard and probably never will?

Because there probably is or was a band like Club Wig in your life, too. Friendships are formed around bands like this. Maybe the rest of the world never hears them but they mark a particular time in your life in a way a world-famous act never will.

I mean, I'm sure lifelong friendships were formed around The Grateful Dead, but how many Deadheads bought beers for, borrowed records from and bummed cigarettes off Jerry Garcia?

Beyond that, there's the fascination - and frustration - of knowing there must be other albums like "Club Wig" out there, good records that never made it much past the band's city limits.

OK, maybe you had to be there to truly appreciate "Club Wig." But I've played it for a lot of people since I left Tuscaloosa and some people -- the ones with some taste, anyway -- seem to like it.

So who's your Club Wig? And why aren't you telling me about them?

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