Album Notes

1982: Out of Nowhere Massachusetts, roadies for a local punk band, (The Vandals), record and copy their own cassettes of "Fun Core" music with titles like: Defreeze Walt Disney, Farm Rap, and Scoutmasters From Hell. They call themselves; The Pajama Slave Dancers.

They perform in rented halls with 80's "old school" punk bands such as; Flipper, the Big Boys, Jody Foster's Army; and a lot of fun is had. They get to hang with their hero Jello Biafra backstage at the Rusty Nail,(R.I.P.) Hadley, Ma. and get their photo in "Maximum Rock 'n' Roll." Everything is very cool.

Their first cassette sells out (300), so the guys make another 20 song tape, and buy a better tape deck.
PSD plays 15 years..dissolves..Slow Band appears, plays 10 years on GLitterhouse Records..dissolves...6 years later....Lonesome Brothers.

Reviews of other Steve Westfield Albums:

"At the risk of overhyping,
... one of those great albums". Puncture

."...he's made a helluva record.", CMJ

"...individualistic, cream-of-the-recent-crop.
The Leonard Cohen of alt-rock.", Entertainment Weekly

*****(five stars) Music Express (Germany)

"...a delicious surprise package." Rolling Stone

All Music Guide:
Review by Stephen Cramer

Massachusetts singer/songwriter Steve Westfield debuted with a collection of sly and frantic songs on Mangled. "Missing" starts off the disc, ranging from gentle guitar-picking to a rousing, rock-fueled section in the middle of the song, with a guitar solo by the Pixies' Joey Santiago.
The mixture of the frantic bassline and the crazy wah-wah guitar at the beginning of "Crummy Little Town" makes it clear to the listener that this album is not the work of a traditional musician. Westfield seeks to break the rules every chance he can get, pushing hard to make the music powerful and complementary to his dry and direct lyrics. Buffalo Tom's Chris Colburn and Sebadoh's Lou Barlow add instrumentation to one of the most howling ballads of this period of indie rock, "Alone at Last." That song is quickly followed by the silliest track of the disc, "Clappy Birthday," consisting entirely of handclaps.
The mood soon becomes murky again, as Westfield sings the blues over a variety of instruments, including slide guitar, clarinet, recorder, and bongo. The music borders on a hard rock sound on "Electrocute Me," before the simple guitar chords of "Life Goes On," a heartfelt and optimistic epic. Mangled was recorded entirely in Massachussetts and was released in 1994 on BIB Records.