Larry May – Vocals
Matthew Odietus – Guitar
Willy Johns – Bass
Sergio Ponce – Drums
Paul Johnson: recording engineer
Dan-O Deckelman: analog-to-digital transfer
Dennis Kane: mixing and mastering
Jake Starr: super-fan and producer
Andrea Rizzo: Cover photos
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Taking their name from an obscure, bizarre, and trashy 70's horror flick late one night after drinking heavily, THE CANDY SNATCHERS formed in 1992 in Virginia Beach. They are a mix of 60’s garage, the Detroit sound and late 70’s punk with the energy and intensity of any hardcore band. Besides the insanity that ensued as soon as they hit the stage—breaking bottles, cutting themselves with the glass, blood everywhere, setting the bass on fire while being played, drums were routinely collided with and obliterated—the band played amazingly well, with great songs in the vein of the Dead Boys, early Misfits, Radio Birdman and The Saints. The bands end was because of the passing of guitarist and co-creator, Matthew Odietus in 2008. His death marked the end of the 16-year band as we know it, and left the rock ‘n’ roll community reeling.
In 1997, with explosive new drummer, Sergio Ponce, they had written an impressive amount of new songs and were ready to start tracking them to tape for their second album. The first attempt to capture the magic took them to Compactor Studio in Brooklyn, NYC, with Paul Johnson engineering. Nineteen (19) songs were laid down with 17 planned for the new album titled «Moronic Pleasures» and two ("Bum" and "You Want What") slated for a 7" single. The 17 album tracks were given only a rough mix and dubbed onto cassette for the band to review; the two 7" single tracks were given a proper, final mix and sent to the record label for pressing. After they did the basic tracks, Matt went back and played a second rhythm guitar and solos pretty much the same way: from song to song without stopping the tape. Vocals, same thing. Larry belted out one song after another. They simply played the songs from a setlist. Then they mixed and off they went. For some inexplicable reason that has gone to the grave, Matt rejected this session. Later he told, he was unhappy with the guitar sound.
The second attempt to record was a quick stop at Andy Slob’s basement studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, while they were on tour. The band was supposedly unhappy with the overall sound and rejected these sessions as their new album. With both attempted sessions rejected, the band eventually headed back to NYC with Dean Rispler at the engineering helm to re-record most of the songs for the THIRD time. This final session became their second album now titled "Human Zoo". The album was released in 1998 and the previous "Moronic Pleasures" session at Compactor Studio was forgotten for 20 years.
"Human Zoo" rocks L.A.M.F, but "Moronic Pleasures" as recorded at Compactor Studio is the Candy Snatchers at their zenith. The performances are stronger and the feel of the songs is sleazier.
Release Date: 14 May 2019
