About this episode
Chris Ashford of What Records? discusses releasing the first LA punk single "Forming" by the Germs, rarities, tapes, memories of Darby Crash and early punk scene stories. Topics Include: Chris Ashford founded What Records? and knew Germs members George (Pat Smear) and Paul (Darby Crash) He worked in record stores through high school and was fascinated by record labels Chris decided to start a label while his friends formed the Germs band He had no formal education about making records, learned from Richard Fuse at Rhino "Forming" was recorded in a garage with two-track deck and two microphones The single had multiple takes but most were erased years ago B-side used cassette recording from Germs' Cheech & Chong "Up in Smoke" audition Master tape for "Forming" is missing, possibly in Canada, but Chris owns rights Cheech & Chong footage shows Germs performing "Sexboy" - same version as B-side They kept the cassette source secret initially to avoid potential lawsuits Lou Adler excluded Germs from movie because audiences wouldn't believe they were real Chris missed the "Up in Smoke" taping because he had to work his day job He financed all What Records releases including "Forming" himself Black rectangle on sleeve was intentionally ambiguous, meant as tongue-in-cheek band photo Address on record was Chris's parents' house where he lived He quickly moved to P.O. Box and removed address to protect his mother First pressing had wrong labels on wrong sides due to Monarch pressing plant error About 1,000 copies were made, most of original pressing was destroyed 600-700 defective records were thrown down hill as frisbees for fun None of them expected anything significant to happen with the record "Forming" was technically the first independent DIY punk single from Los Angeles The record served as legitimizing calling card for the Germs Darby Crash
