The Firemen - Jocko Bozo (1979)

So back in the day I used to live in this tiny apartment unit 2C with a couple good buddies of mine at the time and a rotating cast of other characters. Despite whatever chaos we were getting ourselves into on any given day we all shared an absolute love for music and constantly seeking out something different. We didn't have smartphones with music apps, we didn't even have an internet connection in the place, but between all of us, we had an endless flow of physical media - CDs, LPs, cassettes - and the means to play them throughout each room. We were also constantly making our own music, which the neighbor next door didn't always love and he let it be known by knocking on the wall and calling the cops but in retrospect, I think he just wanted to be invited to the party.

Anyway, one of my buddies had the Devotees compilation on vinyl. It's a collection of assorted bands covering Devo at the prompting of L.A. based radio station KROQ, put out by Rhino Records in 1979. So this came out before the video sensation of Whip It became a thing. These are truly the "Devotees."

I don't have any specific information on The Firemen themselves, but what I do know is they took any already wild song "Jocko Homo" and clownified it to the point where maybe today I wouldn't believe it was real if I hadn't held the vinyl in my own hands and saw it spinning on the turntable. The production is actually really solid and we get the addition of clown horns, telephone dials and even the Green Acres TV show theme. 

"Are we not clowns? We are BOZO. Are we not wangs? We are dildos."