Pittsburgh Punk: Carsickness – “Bill Wilkinson”
Carsickness
“Bill Wilkinson”
1878-1882
In my book, Carsickness was the very best band to ever come out of Pittsburgh. A no wave/reggae/punk blend, they were a perfect band to represent Pittsburgh’s seamy side. I saw them dozens of times when they would play Pittsburgh, and I never walked away disappointed. What a band: you never knew what they were going to do. They were always inviting audience participation. They would drag you on stage, and they would play forever if they were allowed. They were also the greatest, most fun guys of all time.
Their Italian record company just released a collection of all their songs plus some unreleased tracks. Carsickness was always releasing EP and singles galore, often giving them away. Description: imagine the Contortions meeting the Greatful Dead. No, they were even punkier than the Dead. Listen to them. Honestly, no band represented Pittsburgh and Youngstown, Ohio, more closely than Carsickness. You will not be disappointed.
http://raveuprecords.com/rur/carsickness
2 Comments
Hi Phil,
My late uncle bequeathed me his record collection, which included Carsickness’s first LP and a few other local bands. I didn’t even know this scene existed! I’m wondering if you might be able to recommend any other Pittsburgh bands from the punk/post-punk era.
Thanks!
Bands I also have fond memories of are The Five and The Cardboards. Years later I had someone come up to me in a NYC club because I was wearing a Five tee shirt that I had gotten by bringing a blank tee to WRCT and they would screen them for free.