The Wipers are a band from Portland Oregon, currently on hiatus, that formed in the late 70’s by Greg Sage and were a huge influence on 80’s and 90’s punk/grunge movement they were very much ahead of their time. They have been named by such bands as Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana, and Mudhoney as a major influence. If I didn’t know the album was recorded in 1979 myself I would have thought it was a grunge record from the 90’s. A lot of people I meet don’t seem to know about this great band which is probably because they do not like doing press, interviews are rare, they are about as independent as you can get, right down to their website Zenorecords which the band runs themselves. The album “Is This Real?” was their first album released in 1979 on Greg Sage’s label Trap Records. It was self recorded and a lot of the recording techniques used were designed by the band. This album is full of catchy guitar riffs, lyrics about alienation, and the whole quiet/loud song structure that would become huge in the 90’s. You’ll find a couple mp3’s from this album at the end of this post. The following quote taken from a 2000 interview sums up The Wipers whole attitude about being their own band with their own identity. When asked about being a punk rocker…

I was never a punker. Punks made fun of us in the beginning because we did not wear black leather coats with “The Clash” painted on the back. I would wear flannel shirts back in 1980 because it was the most uncool thing a person could wear at the time. It was my silent way of expressing my rebellious attitude and to show other kids that you didn’t have to look a certain way to be accepted. I still am as rebellious and nonconformist as I was back then.

The album was bootlegged a number of times throughout the 80’s without the bands permission. In 2001 Sage finally regained control of the recordings they were then officially released on a box set with extra bonus tracks and demos. You can pick up this box set of their first three albums for the very low price of $17 USD on the Zenorecords website.

Assorted Cuts from “Is This Real?”

• D-7
• Is This Real?
• Mystery
• Return of the Rat
• Tradgedy
• Alien Boy

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