Under the spotlight are Carlisle, PA garage band Thee Cellar Dwellers. They hung around long enough to release one single on Get Hip Records. Jim Baetz answers my questions.
Thee Cellar Dwellers from PA: Well we’ve entered a new decade and it’s well over 25 years since the worldwide garage revival which is a very scary thought. Just where did those years go?
My blog (now defunct) is now almost 3 years old and still going strong with over 200 thousand hits, an incredible achievement really because I’m a bit of a lone wolf and hardly ever bother to link my blog with others. I’m very choosy who I want to link up with.
Anyway, back to business. Jim Baetz from Thee Cellar Dwellers checked out ’Opulent Conceptions’ some months back and kindly answered some questions I sent him about his old garage band who recorded a single in the mid 80s for Get Hip Records.
It was one of the first batch of releases that the Get Hip label put out. I reviewed this 45 earlier this year.
Formation
What made you decide to form Thee Cellar Dwellers. How did you all get together?
My band in high school played a show with a few other local bands. Mark and Eric were there and they helped me haul some equipment back to my house. I didn’t see them for a while.
Went off to college. Saw Mark again after I dropped out of college. He said he played guitar, his girlfriend played organ, his brother played drums and he knew a bass player. We got together in early 1986.
How long was the band active?
We started in early 86 and disbanded in December of 89.
Where did the band play?
We played locally at show organized by us or friends. Clubs in the area weren’t friendly to bands playing 60s stuff. We also played in Pittsburgh PA, New York City and Washington DC. Great scene in DC.
Who were your local competitors?
There were a few bands doing 60’s stuff. I think the scene was pretty friendly. The Cool Italians and The Pall Bearers were two local groups.
Was there any garage revival scene going on in Carlisle, PA?
Carlisle is a pretty small town. I made the 30 mile drive to Harrisburg to see everyone. We were only two hours from DC and three hours from New York. We did have quite a few bands from those areas come to town for shows.
Thee Cellar Dwellers: Garage Band History
The Cynics
How did the 45 deal with Get Hip come about?
The Cynics played a show locally. We went and were some of the only people there.
We talked with them, played a few shows with them and the record happened.
Were there any plans to release further records following your debut 45?
We did sessions at a local studio, Studio 213. The plan was to record half and hope Get Hip would pick up the tab for the rest. They didn’t like the recording much.
Which angered us a bit. We did sessions in our practice room and he wanted to release those. We didn’t want them released. This was several month before the band split.
Why did the band split?
I wanted to move on and do something different. Mike wanted to also. He went onto college full time.
Did you form or play in any other bands after the demise of Thee Cellar Dwellers?
I was in a power pop band called Needle Jack. I thought it was a really great band. Mark, Susan and Eric formed The Omega Men with Jonathan Sipes. Great band.
Misc information:
Four songs by Thee Cellar Dwellers that were either given away to fanzines of the day or have remained in Jim’s basement gathering dust since the mid 80s. ’Please Don’t Cry’ is a cover originally recorded by English mod band The Eyes.
You’ll find the 1965 version on the flip of ’Good Day Sunshine’.
’Just A Little Bit’ is a cover originally recorded in 1965 by Irish band Them for their first album. ’I Know It’s True’ is an original song from the Studio 213 sessions.
’Cryin’ In My Beer’ is also an original song recorded very early in Thee Cellar Dwellers existence.
More from Jim
I’ve attached two more songs for you. “I Know It’s True” is from the Studio 213 sessions and is an original tune. Dan Geddes mentioned it in his review in Top Gear. “Cryin’ in my Beer” is another original.
This is from the basement demos session. Both strong songs, I think. Nearly all the songs were written by me. Mike did a song or two.
I have nearly all of the early Cynics stuff also. They were great, on record and live back then. We played often with them. I haven’t heard any of their stuff lately.
I’m sure it is still good. Gregg runs a pretty tight ship and doesn’t really tolerate them not being good.
We dug pretty deep on a lot of the songs we did. It is amazing to listen back and remember some of the stuff we did.
My memory for those days can be a bit cloudy. It is over 20 years ago and we weren’t sober too often back then. But we had a ton of fun.
DC Space
We also did stuff from more obvious bands, but not obvious songs. I am looking for a set we did at DC Space that was really good because I have the tape but can’t find it.
I want to make a digital copy and get it out to some people. It is really nice to see people have fond memories of that band. I figured no one cared. Enjoy the tunes and let me know when you post something.
Wow. I’ve had a crazy time the last few months. Fatherhood is certainly keeping me on my toes. But, I have answered the questions (see above). Here are two songs.
I can send more later. I think you’ll enjoy these. One from each session. “Just a Little Bit” we ripped the version Them did. Also, “Please Don’t Cry” by the Eyes. That is the song that was on the comp.
I’ve gotten back in touch with Mike the bass player and will forward the questions to him also. (Jim, December 2009)
THEE CELLAR DWELLERS – ’Wonderin’ Why?’/’Dwellin’ (Get Hip GH-105) 1987
One of the early releases on Get Hip Records was by this neo garage band from Carlisle, PA.
The sleeve is a beautiful thing but the music is a bit of a let down. ’Wonderin’ Why?’ written by Jim Baetz doesn’t quite lift off like it could have done with some 60s punk style snarls but worse to come is how the record just kinda fades out to a whimper.
Blame the production on this?
Dwellin’
The flip ’Dwellin’ is a fuzztoned & organ swingin’ instro with the odd ’Hey!’ thrown in for good measure. It’s obviously a much better side but again I don’t think the production is that great.
The fuzz guitar pans from one channel to another in an annoying stereo way. This would have been more powerful and purist in a mono mix.
I found some information online from a mod fanzine called Top Gear. This is from issue 4 circulated in 1988:
THEE CELLAR DWELLERS- “Wonderin’ Why?” / “Dwellin’” (Get Hip Records)
I was a little disappointed with this single but I like the band a lot, and their live shows are always a blast, but they didn’t seem to capture their live excitement on this release.
I don’t even feel that the choice of material is a good representation of their style. However, for some good news, read the next review.
Daniel Geddes
Thee Cellar Dwellers
6 song demo cassette #2
Demo tape
If you remember last issue, I reviewed Thee Cellar Dwellers’ demo cassette. Well, this is their second demo cassette, which contains rough mixes of their forthcoming ep.
This blows away both the single and the previous demo cassette. Much closer to Thee Dwellers live sound.
My favourites are the Beatlesque cuts ’Girl In My Dreams’ and ’I Know It’s True’. There are also some excellent instrumentals. My copy of the tape includes an additional track, which is a cover of The Eyes’ ’Please Don’t Cry’.
This will not be included on the EP, but released on a compilation tape put out by Sound Affects fanzine in San Diego. These tracks are more like Thee Cellar Dwellers I know.
Get this tape by sending either $2.00 and a blank cassette, or $4.00 to:
Thee Cellar Dwellers
c/o Jim Baetz
Sunset Drive
Carlisle, PA 17013
I’ve not heard these demo tapes and didn’t know they existed. I don’t think any EP was released after this 45 for Get Hip as the reviewer suggested. If you know any better let me know.
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