The Mau Maus

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Ratchet Blade Records Offers Shipping Savings on Mau Maus CD

The Mau Maus and Ratchet Blade Records are aware of the insane International shipping charges and and have worked with their on-demand supplier to bring a cost efficient Mau Maus CD to international fans. They are offering a jewel case edition of the Scorched Earth Policies: The & Now CD, complete with a full color 2 panel insert, back cover and disc. These are shipping straight from the manufacturer so they ship separately from any other items in your order, but if you want these albums with just $6 shipping (as opposed to $17+ shipping for the regular release) this is the way to go. The CD orders also include a full digital download of the album. Get the Scorched Earth Policies: The & Now International Shipping Super Saver today! (click HERE to order).

“Formed from the ashes of legendary Los Angeles glam rock band Berlin Brats, the Mau Maus have proven to be one of punk rock’s more tenacious groups, with lineups having existed in five different decades now—and yet despite forming in 1977—prior to this CD, the only legitimate recordings one could find were two tracks featured on the second Hell Comes to Your House compilation. In an effort to both clear the vaults and make up for lost time, this features six tracks recorded in 1983 and produced by Doors guitarist Robbie Krieger (who also lays down a barnburner solo on one track), plus eight tracks of more recent vintage that meld fairly seamlessly with the earlier tunes, making this the definitive showcase for this band’s take on punk rock: one part Dolls, one part Stones, mix in a whole lotta attitude ‘n’ hostility and set the whole fuckin’ thing ablaze. An all-around swell collection complete with extensive liner notes, pics, and some of the finest punk rockin’ you’re likely ever gonna come across.”

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Mau Maus LP & CD eBay Bundle

Ratchet Blade Records has put up a killer deal on a Mau Maus Lp and Cd ebay bundle, to get both the Mau Maus lp and cd (w/ a 20 page full color booklet on the Mau Maus notorious history) and 3 free fliers from the collection of lead singer Rick Wilder for one low price. Take advantage now and get this vital piece of Los Angeles punk rock history. Click HERE to check it out.

Here is an excerpt from the CD booklet biography:
“The Mau Maus have a reputation as one of the baddest of Hollywood’s bad-boy bands- and it’s no hype. Leader Rick Wilder, a local underground legend sings (and looks) like a Mick Jagger-Johnny Rotten clone created by some mad punk scientist. And like the New York Dolls (another Mau Maus influence), the band has a reputation for showing up in dubious playing condition, arriving late on stage and sometimes falling apart during it’s sets.
So it came as no surprise that the quartet, headlining a four-band bill at the Cathay De Grande Tuesday, had to wait on stage about 15 minutes before Wilder appeared. But once the band unleashed its classic raunch ‘n’ roll, the only question about the Mau Maus was why it isn’t a bigger success.” Craig Lee, Los Angeles Times 1/20/1983

Why indeed. The Mau Maus were the most notorious of the original 1970’s Hollywood punk rock bands, and there was no shortage of praise for their hellacious sound & fury. But they were also the band that had a street hustler’s stubborn suspicion of every opportunity, not looking but kicking the gift horse in the mouth, thus resisting management, agents and even record labels. And they rode that fuck-‘em-all locomotive right off the tracks and into the woods.
Volatile as a den of thieves, with members being fired and rehired at the blink of a bloodshot eye, you never knew if they would show up, but goddamn it, you knew when they showed up.

Mau Maus LP

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Mau Maus’ Rick Wilder Featured on Pitchfork

Pitchfork did a great feature on the Mau Maus’ Rick Wilder, along with video director Grant Singer. Below is a portion of it, click HERE for the full interview.

When Grant Singer made “Dayzed Inn Daydreamz”, his third video for Ariel Pink’s album Pom Pom, the director relegated the singer to a cameo and gave the lead role to Rick Wilder. Shockingly thin, hair dyed marmalade orange, and a hoop through his right nostril, Wilder is an arresting figure. His character alternates between a dull job at a grocery store, drinking in a trailer park, and prancing on a bar’s stage in glittering silver pants.Though his sunken face is not familiar to most, Wilder once fronted the Berlin Brats, the group he founded in 1972 that Rodney Bingenheimer described as “the first real L.A. homegrown glam rock band” in the Los Angeles punk scene oral history We Got the Neutron Bomb. After the Brats broke up, Wilder lead the Mau Mau’s in various forms since the late 1970s, with sporadic recorded output. He is also interviewed in The Decline of Western Civilization III, the documentary made in 1998 but widely seen for first time with the boxset release of Penelope Spheeris’s series.

After Singer got the opportunity to do three videos leading up to the release of the Weeknd’s new album Beauty Behind the Madness, he again brought in Wilder and made him a through line in this trilogy. In “The Hills” Wilder looms in the mansion that Abel Tesfaye hobbles into, in “Can’t Feel My Face” he throws the lighter that ignites the singer, and in “Tell Your Friends” he catches a couple bullets. With his hair slicked back and in dark suits, some have taken his character to represent the devil or the music industry (same diff?), but in keeping with the Weeknd’s insistent opaqueness, Singer won’t really talk about the videos’ meaning or what it’s like working with the artist.Singer and Wilder have become friends over the past year and plan to continue collaborating in the future. At a restaurant in West Hollywood, the two talked about their relationship.

Mau Maus' Rick Wilder

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New Mau Maus Merch Store

There is a new Mau Maus merch store where you can preview and purchase the historical LA Punk Rock release Scorched Earth Policies: Then & Now, along with other Mau Maus merchandise. Click HERE to visit the store.

“The ones that impressed us in look had bad attitudes, like the Mau Maus. They were great. They were really hard… and that totally impressed me. And I thought, “That’s a great way to look.” So I always tried to look like one of those guys.” Spit Stix – FEAR

“Can we just tell the world what incredible groundbreakers the Mau Maus were?! I first saw them in the late 70’s and I’ve been a fan ever since. Back in the day when everyone was trying to be “cool,” the Mau Maus had everybody beat, hands down. No question, they were the absolute coolest. Rick Wilder is always the strongest force in the room. There’s something unique and beautiful about him… I’m hoping in another life we can hook up.” – Penelope Spheeris

Mau Maus LA Punk Rock

“Everybody knows the Mau Maus. Whether it’s some story of a chaotic back-alley Hollywood show, or dark tales of crimes real or imagined, the Los Angeles punk scene wouldn’t have been the same without Rick Wilder and the nefarious group. Reveled AND reviled, and taking the raw energy of Iggy & the Stooges and infusing an unhealthy dose of James Brown jive, the original Mau Maus (Wilder, Greg Salva, Rod Donahue & Earl Washington) sprang upon the emerging Hollywood scene in 1978. After tearing through the Masque and one-time pimp-hang the King’s Palace (as well as tearing through some member changes), a new line up of Wilder, Michael Livingston, Scott Franklin and Paul Mars shanghaied the Hong Kong Café, pounded down the Whiskey and uprooted the Mabuhay Gardens. They then proceeded to record the incendiary Robby Krieger-produced Mad Dog sessions, the little-heard, after-hour Paramount tapes and two songs for Hell Comes To Your House Vol. 2. A scene-stealing performance in the OJ Simpson detective movie “Cocaine and Blue Eyes” accented this “Joyride to the End of the World”…

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Rick Wilder on Mike Watt Radio Show

Rick Wilder appeared on the Watt From Pedro Radio Show, the podcast of Mike Watt from the Minutemen, as well as the Iggy and the Stooges. Click HERE to listen to the interview.

PROGRAM NOTES:

Mike Watt (solo artist, Minutemen, fIREHOSE, Iggy Pop and The Stooges) playing some tunes and doing some spiel. Assisted by brother matt and coming to you from the wild kingdom at the pleasure point, in San Pedro California! TWFPS www.twfps.com

hour one: “abide with me” john coltrane w/thelonious monk “re-pulsion” kyoka (w/mike watt on bass) “all fall down” (live on target video) Rick Wilder mau maus “the street is my home” berlin brats “ticking beat” sandra vu “who tattled told?” sock-tight “houdini” cuz “good complexion” tobacco “sacando pecho y brazo” victor jara “inside looking out” omega is the alpha “tropically hot” berlin brats hour two: “(I’m) psychotic” berlin brats “talkin’ about my neighbors” san pedro slim “mujer metralleta” familea miranda “utsu” hobocombo “sun” in zaire “as they swim” tom gallo “objectivication” (live) peer group “peel the sticker off the apple” jee jee band “war baby” mau maus “clear the runway” wharton tiers ensemble “hang on” the gears “cannibalism is the future” toepunt “buddha’s hair” devin flynn hour three: “roadhouse blues” (live) mau maus w/robbie krieger “impaired nominee” scarcity of tanks “father’s day” (live) bob schriner “people” rewild “the manual” 208 talks of angels “blooms & blossoms” freescha “mechanical mammoth” mystical weapons

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Mau Maus Appearing with the Avengers

The Mau Maus are appearing November 1st at Los Globos with San Francisco’s Avengers.

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Mau Maus & Dickies at the Whiskey on September 1st

The Mau Maus are appearing with the Dickies at the legendary Whiskey-au-go-go on Sunday Sept. 1st in celebration of Dickies singer Leonard’s Birthday Bash.

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Paul Mars has a new website check it out at www.paulmarsblack.com

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Mau Maus Interview and Edward Colver Photos

Here’s a historic Mau Maus radio interview with the 1982 line up (Rick Wilder, Scott “Chopper” Franklin, Mike Livingston and Paul Mars Black) along with some unreleased Mau Maus photos from the great Edward Colver. The interview was conducted by Austin DJ Stig Stench for Stench Radio:

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Mau Maus at the Punk Rock Picnic April 13th

The Mau Maus will be appearing at the Punk Rock Picnic on Saturday April 13th and will be featuring a new line up consisting of Rick Wilder, Michael Livingston, Danny Kuperson and Alex Gomez. Check the Live Dates for more info.