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VILLAGE VOICE, FEBRUARY 17, 1972 (HOTEL DIPLOMAT CONCERT)
Teenage Lust, who closed the night, are a different story. Led by Lower East Side stalwarts Billy Joe White
and Harold C. Black, the band played with an elan and vigor reminiscent of the early MC5. Combining strong rock melodies with
trenchant lyrics, black and white songs cogently expressed adolescent exuberance. Newly formed and still a bit shaky, the
band could use some tightening up. Through no fault of their own, the sound mixing was terrible. But I'm sure these problems
will clear up as they become more experienced. Thus, even though they aren't first-rate yet, a solid foundation already exists,
and I look forward to their development.
UNKNOWN NEWSPAPER, (HOTEL DIPLOMAT CONCERT)
THE DANA BEAL BENEFIT AT THE HOTEL DIPLOMAT WAS BEAUTIFUL-PEOPLE GETTING TOGETHER AND HAVING A GOOD TIME AND HELPING
TO FREE A BROTHER AT THE SAME TIME. IF THAT KIND OF THING WOULD DOMINATE A SCENE, "PEOPLE" LIKE BILL GRAHAM AND HOWARD STEIN
WOULD BE OUT OF BUISNESS. THE FREE RANGER TRIBE-TOM, MALANIE, CINDY, FRANK, MIKE, AND OTHERS DID MOST OF THE WORK & FRONTED
THE BREAD FOR THE HALL. UNFORTUNATLY, NOT TOO MUCH MONEY WAS RAISED SINCE THE HARD-CORE FREAKS WHO CAME TO THE THING
WERE TOO STONED POOR AND NO SUPERSTARS WERE ON THE BILL TO ATTRACT THE TEENY BOPPERS. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT ALOT OF SO-CALLED
HIP MEDIA TURNED DOWN ADS FOR THE THING-LIKE WNEW SAID IT WAS "TOO CONTROVERSIAL." JUST WAIT TILL SPRING COMES AND THE RLF
LAUNCHES ANOTHER OFFENSIVE!!!! ANYWAY TEENAGE LUST PLAYED SOME GREAT ROCK AND ROLL WHILE THE LEAD SINGER OF DOLLS JUST BLEW
EVERYONE OUT.
THE VILLAGE VOICE, FEBRUARY 17,1972 (GASLIGHT BENEFIT)
ROCK ON & ROCKS OFF
Teenage Lust, who closed the night, are a different story. Led by ex-Lower East Side stalwarts Billy Joe
White and Harold C. Black, the band played with an elan and vigor reminiscent of the early MC5. Combining strong rock melodies
with trenchant lyrics, black and white songs cogently expressed adolescent exuberance. Newly formed and still a bit shaky,
the band could use some tightening up. Through no fault of their own, the sound mixing was terrible. But I'm sure these problems
will clear up as they become more experienced. Thus, even though they aren't first-rate yet, a solid foundation already exists,
and I look forward to their development.
ACE, ACE SOUNDS: APRIL 18, 1972 (GASLIGHT BENEFIT)
TEENAGE LUST INFECTS GASLIGHT
Eat your heart out CSN&Y, Grand Funk can take
their railroad and ride. Black Sabbath, T-Rex, and all the rest can now make way for what's got to be the HEAVIEST BAND OF
ALL TIME, bar none.
You guessed it! The band is New York's own TEENAGE LUST, a spin-off
from that super-group everybody knows about, The Lower East Side (which usually accompanies David Peel). LUST recently appeared
at the Gaslight AuGoGo in a special benefit performance for the ACE, ZIPPIE (the new political gang that's on the scene),
and the Rock Liberation front.
The house was full of people who dug the low admission policy (only a buck), both friends
and strangers, all of whom had a fine rocking time. Billy Joe White, lead guitarist for LUST, told everybody before they started
playing, "I think you people better move back about twenty feet." People scurried out of the way of the big I mean business
Marshall amplifiers, moving the benches to the side. Sure enough, LUST let forth a blast of sound that had the audience begging
tor mercy. LUST plays LOUD, because they are a hard rock group. Bred amid the nastiness of the Lower East Side, they have
to be and ought to be. After paying much dues on the streets with Peel, BJ. White and sideman Harold Black have finally synthesized
their experience into a particular sound; you might call it "New York Nasty." Black and White recently helped out Peel on
his new album (on Apple), doing a lot of the music and production (but getting no cover credits which seems like a rip-off).
THE VILLAGE VOICE, NOVEMBER 16,1972 (MERCER ART CENTER)
TEENAGE LUST is a rock band that really isn't very good. so why do I keep going back to hear
them whenever I find out they have managed to wangle another appearance someplace? I followed them from Upstairs at Max's
to a huge SoHo gallery party, and now every Sunday night for the next few weeks they'll be doing it at the Mercer Arts
Center.
I guess it's the total of what
they do rather than what they simply play that signals my synapses and makes my heart go jangle.
They are raucous. They are too loud. They are an eyeful. they
even become sereamingly monotonous. Today so much of rook 'n' roll has become glitter
und gestalt that maybe Teenage Lust can shout and
screech and slither their way to the top of the fave rock pile. Their name is perfect and probably as prophetic as a
tube of Propa PH, I can just see them building their fame by playing all the important high school dances all the way
from Syosset to Long Island.
Every time I've seen them perform,
the audience catches the foot and mouth dance disease stomping
and shouting all over the place. Very anti Quaalude. Ears actually ring for an hour afterward.
Isn't energy what it's supposed to be all about?
But energy isn't their only appeal. Teenage Lust is accessible. It's clear that almost anyone can play as good, including yourself, so it's easy to change places in your head. Billy Joe the lead singer with
the long blond hair, sequined black shirt, General MacArthur shades, red velvet pants,
and white clogs, had a quirky kind of magnetism. He looks like the little kid next door is either wearing someone else's clothes or he suddenly grew up overnight and became sexy.
The rest of the band also look theatrically enlightening the rest of the band al but wait until you see the Lustettes, four prancing dancing girls who carry on while yapping' background vocals. They wear red boas and black bikinis, with a sequined LU on their right tit. and an ST
on the left. Three of the Lustettes are ass-shakin'
little sexpots, and the fourth is a long legged asparagus who shakes her beautiful bones.
Teenage Lust is really not a very good group at all, but from all these words I've written
about them I hope you get the idea that they are terrific.
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UNKNOWN NEWSPAPER
Teenage Lust In Rock Renaissance
by Eddie Pittman Jr.
There is a New York City rock renaissance, and the rock-show band Teenage Lust is a masterpiece
of entertainment in this scene. They come on like a teenage version of some high class Vegas visual. Light, Glitter, heavy
metal rock.
Billy Joe White, vocalist, showman, sings in one song about "Fancy Nancy", a Hollywood girl with
a pink Cadillac. She'll only let you drive her car if you are a star. Of course. Another song is "Wild Weekend", which
needs no explaination; but the three Lustettes: Laurie(blonde with teeter-totter hips);another Laurie(she's not skinny, she's
just tall, that's all);and Leslie(my favorite, she's Lustcious!)... as i was writing, the three Lustettes provided plenty
of song and dance excitement.
But Teenage Lust is more than flash sex and show image. They have music. Bill Lussenden plays clean,
concentrated licks. Tommy Coyne, drummer, is a driving center beat;Donald Kretmar provides solid bass, and Harold C. Black
(Captain Smooth) does assorted percussion, conga, and mouth harp. The whole band is focused around showman Billy Joe. who,
with his long blonde hair, dark aviator shades, glitter, and rock star clothes, is shot out of a gun right from the opening.
It's all rock 'n' roll 70's style--white light from the music's source. It will charge your cells.
So see ya at the dance. I gotta get some loose lust.
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