While striving to bring regional music to world exposure FRESH also strongly feels responsible to not overlook area performances which have been overlooked by others. 
SPK are beginning to receive their just attention. They have continued on paving new paths with little regard for their acceptence. At last count 11 different members have been associated with the group. 
As summer ended in the Southern Hemisphere they played two memorable shows in Australia - first at an abandoned brick works factory which led to a show at a trendy nightclub, where their sound consistantly shattered the glasses on the shelves. 

SPK DISCOGRAPHY 

SPK - THE LAST ATTEMPT AT PARADISE : 
LIVE IN LAWRENCE, FRESH SOUNDS INC. 
FRESH TAPE 103 (USA) 

SPK - LEICHENSCHREI (2nd LP) 
THERMIDOR T9 (USA) 

SYSTEM PLANNING KORPORATION - INFORMATION OVERLOAD UNIT (1st LP) 
SIDE EFFECTS RECORDS (AUSTRALIA) 

SURGICAL PENIS KLINIK - MEAT PROCESSING SECTION 45 : MEKANO / SLOGUN 
INDUSTRIAL RECORDS (ENGLAND) 

SPK - MEAT PROCESSING SECTION 45 W/ ONE MORE CUT 
SIDE EFFECTS RECORDS (AUSTRALIA) 

SPK - NO MORE / CONTACT / GERMANS EP 
SIDE EFFECTS RECORDS (AUSTRALIA)

Fakers fade as SPK outrages new wave rave 

by DOUG HITCHCOCK 
J-W Staff Writer 

A prerecorded cassette of manic, swirling, synthesized white noises blasted over the speaker system, punctuated by bass thumps and primal drum rhythms, and Leichenschrei, the screams of the dead. 
A tall, angular man in military garb stud amid the maelstorm, screaming Gregorian chants and beating a bass guitar designed for Star Wars. 
The sound rumbled out over the speakers, echoing dizzying waves, low notes vibrating internal organs. Films and slides from mortuaries and medical school anatomy laboratories were shown on the wall behind the stage. 
In one of six "assaults" on America the experimental music group SPK zeroed in Off the Wall Hall, 737 N.H., after playing Los Angeles and Phoenix. 
The band scheduled the Lawrence concert after making personal contacts in town. On their tour, which ends in Boston next month, they are staying with friends, travelling in a Ford van, and living basially hand-to-mouth, they said. 

USING ELECTRONIC gadgetry, tape machines, a bass guitar, and, for percussion, a pair of automobile coil springs, drums and syndrus -- electronic drums with an endless range of effects -- the band produced an otherwordly wall of sound. It could have been Kurtz' soundtrack from the Heart of Darkness. 
Some were viably shaken, shuddering at what they had seen and heard during the hour-and-a-half show, which combined the diaconcerting music and simularly natured visuals. 
Others, however, seemd to have found what one band called "the dark humor." and a metaphorical, though macabre, message about some of the demons that haunt modern life. 
Real 'orror show. 
We're now entering a "new dark age." Oblivion, one of the founding members of SPK, said in an interview before the band's performance. And SPK, which Oblivion said originated in New Zealand, tries to depict their view of society's regression -- the consequences of it, and the accompanying emotions. 
THE HELLISH aspects of mental disease, along with the more grotesque "rituals" of modern medicine, like austopsies, and the degradation of pornography, provide a comment on the state of life for "your normal, everyday depressed person." Oblivion said. 
SPK's music undoubltedly stretches the definition of the term, whether for good or bad. 
The band doesn't claim to entertain. Some of the people who came to the show, perhaps expecting just another banal, guitar-based group of punkolds, left after the first few minutes of the show, wearing looks of disgust and uncertainty. 
SPK's music and viusal step beyond mere allenation -- which seems to be the fodder for most punk or new wave thrashers -- to the edges, indeed, beyond the boundaries of what is considered sane, normal, or socially acceptable. 
Oblivion said the band tries to "raise awareness" of the ravages of mental disease -- the self mutilation, pshysical decay and the occasional artistic outpourings which he he says he and and other band members have spent many hours researching. 
"Like (author William S.) Burroughs said, 'There are a few morons among us who stand out only becasue the rest are worse,'" he said. 
THE BAND has its reasons for focusing on the mind -- it is the only source for change, Oblivion said. 
"The mind is the center of all revolutionary activity, so I think ultimately that's where it all comes down to," he said. "You are not really repressed by the state apperatus to the same extent you are repressed by yourself, your own inability . . . your own desire to consent to conform." 
The point is to "shock people out of their complacency," Oblivion said. 
He rapidly illustrated the ban'd methods by describing a scene in the life of L.P. Paviov, the Russian psychologist who spent years in the early 20th Century studying dogs' behavior, researching and confirming the existence of the condition response. 
Pavlov had several dogs conditioned to respond on command -- specifically, to salivate at the sound of a bell -- until the room they were kept in flooded, Oblvion said. The conditioning had disappeared after the event because of the shock, he said. 
Oblivion and a friend, Nihilist, decided to start a musial organization as a means to leave a government mental hospital in New Zealand. Oblivion was an aid, Nihilist was committed for schizophrenia. 
Oblivion's job was to train patients how to perform various mental tasks on a daily basis. 

"THESE GUYS had no memory span of more than five minutes," he said. "And you had to retrain them every five minutes. For three months, three hours a day, it just drove you insane." 
"It came down to the point where we either had to be terrorists or musicians," Oblivion said. "Not that we really call ourselves musicians," Oblvion said. "Not that we really call ourselves musicians." 
Nihilist eventually commited suicide. The band added members and reformed with four members , Jack on drums, Karl on tape recorders and sound, Oblivion on bass, coil spring, violin and vocals, and Tone Generator in control of the visuals. 
SPK had recorded its second record on the Side Effect records, its own lable. Three more discs are due to follow, as well as a movie entitled, "L'Etat Haemophiliaque (Internal Bleeding)." band members said. 

SPK is a controversial group of musical subversives who use synthesizers, noise tone generators, and other high-tech devices to produce a complex music that assaults existing aesthetic categories and preconditioned responses. Among the very few geninely futurist groups, SPK uses a highly scientific approach, going beyond the technological pop romanticism of bands such as Devo or Kraftwerk. Though American appearences by the Australian SPK have been exceedingly rare, their San Francisco show last year inspired William S. Burroughs to call them his favourite band. SPK's album, Information Overload Unit, appeared on the Side Effects label.

Thank you for your interest. This is the first in a series of Dokuments, with the intention of providing a visual interpretation of SPK to accompany standard aural output. This particular Dokument is expressly intended for use with the first LP by SPK, Information Overload Unit. 
Details - Personnel; 
Operator - synthesizers, rhythms, treatments, vocals. 
Wilkins - guitars, bass, tapes, vocals. 
Mr.Clean - technician. 
Tone Generator - synthesizers, treatments. 
Details - Content; 
Face Ultra - Emanation Machine R.Gie 1916. Suture Obsession. Macht Schrecken. Berufsverbot. 
Face Hyper - Ground Zero:Infinity Dose. Stammheim Torturkammer. Retard. Epilept:Convulse. Kaltbruchig Acideath. 

The project ideal is to express the content of various psycho-pathological conditions, especially shizophrenia, manic - depressive psychosis, mental retardation and paranoia. Information Overload supersedes normal, rational thought structures, forcing deviation inot less restrictive mental procedures of so-called 'mental illness'. SPK is trying to be a voice for those individuals condemned to the slow decay of mental hospitals and chemical / electro / surgical therapy, without fetishising them into blatant entertainment product. 'SONICS FOR MANICS' aims to be a vehicle for sharing mental experience through sound. 

Owing to the instability of personalities associated with SPK output is likely to be irregular, as it has been up to now. 

We would like to hear from anyone interested in what we are doing, especially those with interest in, or history of, pshycotic disorder. We will reply personally to all correspondence. Our name and material will vary with each project, but once established, you will have no difficulty in maintaining contact.

At the Neuropsychiactric Lab, in San Diego the men are shown a series of films which become steadily more horrific. The trainee is ofrece to watch by having his head clamped so he cannot turn away, and by the use of a device which keeps his eyelids open. One of the first films shows an African youth being circumcised with a blunt knife and without anaesthetic. When the film is over, the trainee is asked questions like "What was the motif on the knife handle?" or, "How many people were holding the youth down?". 
It appears this technique was particulary employed towards the end of 1973, at the time of the Yom Kippur war. So, far from using research to prevent atrocities occuring in the future, it appears that atrocities are being studied to learn more about killing, and to train people to be better at it. 

A technique used to exploit the need to comply is to spend hours asking and shouting questions to which the priosoner cannot possibly know the answer - details of atomci weaponry etc. Many ex-prisoners spoke of the "...tremendous feeling of relief you get when he finally asks you something you can answer." 

The Russians were reported to have used succiny chlorine on Israeli prisoners in Syra, 1973. The drug, administred by injection, causes convulsive muscular spasms, leaving the victim totally paralised, in agonising pain, unable to breathe properly, but concious. The victim himself dying for lack of oxygen, although the effict is transitory, but there is then the threat of a repeat experience.

TORTURKAMMER 

Following the apperance of the Baader-Meinhof group, the Germans developed long-term solitary confinement units known as Tot Trakt (Silent Floor) in which all walls and furniture were painted harsh white, the lights were permanently on, and the windows were dark and extremely difficult to see through. This system led to Holger Meinz starving himself to death and to Meinhof's suicide by hanging in May 1976.

ALL THE WAY WITH S.P.K. 

AMERICAN TOUR: 

SAN FRANCISCO: 17/4/82; 
PLAYED WITH THREE LOCAL GROUPS; USING FLAME THROWER, ACCIDENTALLY IGNITED ONE OF THE AUDENCE, FORTUNATLY THEY WERE JUST AS QUICKLYPUT OUT. AUDIENCE RESPONSE GOOD . . . 

LOS ANGELES: 24/4 
PLAYED AT 'AL'S BAR' WITH LOCAL OUTFIT NERVOUS GENDER, EXCELLENT SETUP AND SHOW, WELL RECEIVED. 

PHOENIX, ARIZONA: 25/4 
PLAYED AT SALTY DOG CLUB, ANOTHER GOOD SHOW TO SMALL CROWD. PUNK REVIVAL VISITORS FROM L.A. TOOK EXCEPTION TO THE PERFORMANCE AND COMMENCED TO ATTACK WITH CHAINS AND OTHER WEAPONS. FORTUNATLY ONLY MINOR INJURIES WERE SUSTAINED. 

LAWRENCE, KANSAS: 28/4 
PLAYED AT "OFF THE WALL HALL" BEST PERFORMANCE TO DATE. FLATTENED ENTHUSIASTIC AUDIENCE WITH MASSIVE P.A. AMPLIFICATION OF FX BASS REGENERATION. 
LIVE RECORDING RELEASED ON FRESHSOUNDS BOX 36, LAWRENCE KANSAS, 
MIXDOWN FROM 4TRACK TO CASSETTE 66044

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: 2/5 
AS A RESULT OF THE ABOVE SHOW INVITED TO PLAY "SAM'S DISCO." AUDIENCE OF AROUND 150 COVERED LOCAL MODELS WITH PIECES OF BRAIN AND FLESH. 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: 6/5 
AT CLUB COD, AUDIENCE AROUND 150 BUT BY ALL REPORTS THEY CONSISTENTLY OUTSELL THE BIRTHDAY PARTY ON THEIR RECENT TOUR. 

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 16/5 
PLAYED AT MAVERICS, SOUND SYSTEM BLEW UP AFTER THREE SONGS SO SHOW HAD HEAVY VISUAL ATTENTION, SOME TROUBLE SIMILAR TO PHOENIX. 

NEW YORK: 1/6 
PLAYED AT THE PYRAMID CLUB, DNA DATE CANCELLED AS BAND BROKE UP. 

NEW YORK: 7/6 
PLAYED AT CBGB, BEST NY SHOW. USED PIG HEAD AND BACK SCREEN PROJECTION. 

NEW YORK: 13/6 
PLAYED AT DANCETERIA WITH SOME NEW MATERIAL DONE IN N.Y. GREAT RESPONSE. 

DEPARTED USA 15/6 FOR LONDON 
PLANNING ON A EUROPEAN TOUR IN JULY. POSSIBLE RETURN TO NEW YORK IN FALL. 

SURGICAL PENIS KLINIK. Probing the alternative imagination and the depths of unconscious, SPK create metaphorically macabre music that exposes the demons of modern life like a raw nerve. Using electronic gadgetry, tape machines, bass guitar, automobile coil springs, and lots of metal, they produce an otherwordly wall of sound. From Australia, the group was formed in 1978 and released their first record on Throbbing Gristle's label, Industrial Records. Their second album just out on S.F.'s Thermador, assaults the senses with screaming Gregorian-chant vocals and low notes that vibrate the internal organs. The performance includes film and slides in a similar vein as the music. "The hardest, most uncompromising edge of the New Wave. . . their originality and intensity of instrumentation sets them apart from others in the 'experimental' heap" (New Musical Express). Not for the feint of heart, but NOT TO BE MISSED. 

L.A. Reader

But dispite my misgivings about both the attitudes and the music these furtive little sluggards make, occasionally I hear something that isn't instantly dismissable -and that's the case with SPK, I'm surprised to say SPK is yet another noxious ensemble obessed with medical-textbook photos of decaying flesh, solemn to the point of rigor mortis, and seemingly even more mired pathology than their chums in Throbbing Gristle. But SPK -- which sometimes stands for Surgical Penis Klinik -- occasionally commits some intriguing noises to vinyl, and while their "Mekano" b/w "Slogun" (Industrial import single) was a bore, the new LP, Leichenschrei (roughly translated, "scream of the dead"), on Berkeley-based Thermidor Records, is the best record in this coprophiliac genre that I've endured. What sets Leichenschrei apart are it's variety of effects, which range from dub-influenced ping-pong percussion to to natural sounds to tape loops, all of which are displayed and faded with enough speed to keep the tedium at a minimum. Obviously this isn't a blanket recommendation, even to liberal, open-minded Reader readers, but if you salivate at the sight of Slug Bait, this may be the platter for you. 
SPK hatch up their schemes in Australia, and they've played America only once -- in San Francisco last summre. But they're back again for a cross-country tour, and they'll play Al's Bar this Saturday, one show only, with Nervous Gender as the opening act. I suggest earplugs as an essential fashion accourtrement --the volume levels at Al's are painful enough with mundane rock 'n' roll, and this kind of thing could be damaging. 
Aw, go on I dare ya.