Album Notes

Construction Complete On El Destructo LTD CD

One of Rochester’s most unpredictable rock acts is poised to startle its fans once again, but this time by doing what is expected of popular performers: releasing a CD at long last.

The distinctive take-no-prisoners sound and furious stage presence of frontman Ed Repard made El Destructo Ltd a favorite among local club-goers from the late ‘90s through 2003. The act’s notoriety spread so far that the Mex restaurant on Alexander Street actually kept an “El Destructo Ale” on the menu in its honor, yet its reputation was never bolstered by a CD release until now.

"There was never, ever a bad El Destructo show," drummer Ryan Kemp said. "Playing out was what we enjoyed the most and what came easiest to us. If you weren't having a cocktail and jumping up and down listening to us, letting the music pump through you, you weren't really at the show."

Kemp also played keyboards and shared duty on backup vocals with bassist Jimmy Handsome in one of El Destructo LTD’s many incarnations. Both play on the new CD, “Cumbre Vieja,” set to be released within the next month by CMI Records. The most important ingredient in El Destructo Ltd’s explosive mix, however, is certainly guitarist and lead vocalist Ed Repard.

El Destructo Ltd is the brainchild of Repard, whose musical resume includes such local acts as The Shop Class Squares. Appearing onstage like a dangerous Elvis Costello teetering on the brink of a meltdown, Repard dominates and sets the tone for both the act’s unstructured sound and its rapport with its fans.

"Ed was never one for genres." CMI Records CEO Cash Mattock said while trying to find the words to describe El Destructo LTD’s distinctive sound. "It's raw rock, sort of like New York romantic punk." Repard’s free-spirited refusal to be pinned down to one niche may have paid off by widening El Destructo LTD’s appeal.

"We had a pretty big cult fan base,” Kemp said. "It was all over the board. It included everyone from punks to metal fans to rockabilly guys to country."

Because El Destructo Ltd emphasizes fun and simplicity, it may never win any awards for minutely structured melodies, painstakingly planned performances or lyrics with meanings so deep they make your brain hurt. That doesn’t bother the act’s frontman one bit though.

"The kids don't like to think, so don't make 'em," is Ed's motto, according to Mattock, who also produced and engineered the new album.