I’ve always had a soft spot for Chrome. They are arguably one the least-known names among the roster of influential post-punk bands, and yet in my opinion they are one of the most noteworthy.

Chrome was formed in San Francisco in 1976 by drummer/multi-instrumentalist Damon Edge and bassist/guitarist Gary Spain. Not much is known about Spain, due his gradual departure from the band after playing on the first album. Damon Edge managed to leave behind something resembling a paper trail: he was a former Cal Arts student from L.A. who had worked briefly for MGM recording B-movie and porno soundtracks. In a 1979 New Music Express interview, Edge is quoted as saying, “I wanted to make something which would be a foundation for a unit to abstract from” in answer to questions about the band’s origins. This abstract rhetoric seems to be the norm in all of his interviews.

John Lambdin (formerly of The Flower Travelin’ Band) and Mike Low joined Chrome just prior to the recording of the first LP, The Visitation (1977). Although not exactly a masterpiece, Visitation served as a good indication of things to come. Influences of early 70’s proto-punk were mixed with a distinctly west-coast latin funk fixation, an obvious obsession with sci-fi themes, and some early tinkering with samples and various types of noise making devices.

After Visitation, Low left the project and was replaced by Helios Creed, who showed up for his first audition dressed as a pirate. Creed would eventually form the core of the band alongside Edge as Chrome quickly blossomed into a garish musical mutant. In 1978 Alien Soundtracks was released, and the following year brought Half Machine Lip Moves. Both were originally self-released on Damon Edge’s own label, as was Visitation, because Edge felt that no record company would appreciate Chrome’s bizarre sound, let alone see any commercial potential in it.

During the Soundtracks/Lip Moves period, Chrome’s disregard for glossy production values and musical tradition was very much in keeping with punk, but unlike the minimalism of punk, they were experimenting with every sort of sound-producing gadget they could get their hands on. Guitars were often saw-like and fuzzed out beyond recognition, tape loops and electronic sounds became a key element, and there was even some unorthodox use of orchestral instrumentation. The overall sound of these early records is that of a chaotic, abrasive sound collage, and is regarded by most die-hard fans to be the definitive Chrome sound. Edge and Creed would go on to release eight more LP’s and several singles as Chrome from 1979 to 1983, and helped to sow the seeds of what would later become American industrial rock. Nonetheless, fellow music nerds usually offer nothing but blank stares when I mention the band.

Chrome never gained much attention during their most prolific period, despite a cult following of devoted fans. One reason for this may very well have been the issue of playing live. The only known public performances during the original Chrome period were in 1981: once in San Francisco and once in Bologne, Italy. Most of the original members of the band had dropped out of the picture after Alien Soundtracks. Although brothers John and Hillary Stench apparently contributed to the recording of Blood On The Moon (1981) and Third From The Sun (1982), Edge and Creed were the only constant members, and it seems the pair had somewhat disparate personalities. Despite being the primary spokesperson for the band, Edge was something of a recluse, with little interest in performing. He felt that the standard formula of recording an album with the intention of touring live was outmoded and artistically limiting. In contrast, Creed was outgoing and had ambitions of touring extensively. This clash of opposites seems to have doomed the project almost from the start, and after a few years it led to a messy breakup.

After the final meltdown in 1983, Damon Edge ran off to Germany, perhaps hoping to find a more supportive environment in Europe for his high-brow artistic ideas. He monopolized the rights to the old name and formed a new band, but the sound of the resurrected Chrome was less experimental, and somewhat stale overall. The sci-fi lyrical themes were still there, but the music had lost its luster. Creed, finally free to pursue his own vision of a touring rock band, stayed in San Francisco and formed a new group. He proceeded to tour constantly, and is still active today.

Damon Edge eventually returned to California, and died alone in his apartment in 1996, where his corpse lay undiscovered for roughly one month. A dismal end for the visionary who had exhibited such enthusiasm for the future of music two decades before. Creed reclaimed the Chrome name almost immediately, and has organized several short “reunion” tours with various supporting musicians since (most recently in September 2008), as well as releasing new material under Chrome.

The Chrome history is a storybook example of the volatility of creative collaboration. Two radically different artistic ideals managed to collide for a brief time with amazing results, but ultimately the dialectic was a destructive one. Edge’s esoteric aesthetic ideas and Helios Creed’s steadfast loyalty to rock n’ roll just didn’t jive in the long run. Sadly, after going their separate ways, neither of them managed to create anything on par with their past accomplishments together.

Chrome discography (from www.staticwhitesound.com the official Chrome information site)

Chrome on Lastfm

Additional sources:

The Secret History Of Rock

Search And Destroy, Vol. 8, 1978

New Musical Express, Nov. 1979

New Musical Express, Jan. 1980

Sounds, May 10, 1980

Music From The Empty Quarter, 1991

The Wire Vol. 178, Sept. 1998

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