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Home > Artists > The Imports > Chronology The Imports (1979-1980) - Chronology Imports' Home | Biography | Discography | Chronology | Repertoire | Reviews
Table of Contents
Chronology, Minutia, and Ephemera
Tuesday, December 18, 1979 - The Void audition at Aeden's Loft on 180 N Wacker Drive (near Randolph) in downtown Chicago. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass). They had no drummer for this event. The trio receive limited praise from those who managed to show up early enough to catch them play. Return to Gig Index.
Monday, December 31, 1979 - The Void play thir second gig at Aeden's loft at 180 N Wacker Drive. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Leslie (drums).
Thursday, January 10, 1980 - Jim Peterson calls the Void regarding an ad they placed in the January 9th issue of the Chicago Reader for a drummer. Also responding to the ad is a woman named Marcie, who offers to be the group's manager. She asks them whether they ever rehearse in the nude, and if they would enjoy having someone lick the sweat from their bodies as they played. The group declines her kind offer. Jim, however, is invited to an audition. Friday, January 11, 1980 - Jim auditions as a drummer for the Void, and is accepted. Saturday, January 12 1980 - The Void, including their new drummer, go shopping for a bass amp. Up to this point, Joe has been using an antique tube radio amplifier hooked up to a couple of old speakers wired up inside a cardboard box. Somewhere around this time, the band settles upon the name of "The Imports", as this was their favorite section at Wax Trax. This name was chosen after having also considered such names as "The Optics", "Profile", and "The Razors". Saturday, February 9, 1980 - Joe Strell's girlfriend Margaret Fitzsimmons attends an Imports rehearsal in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago. Wednesday, February 13, 1980 - Joe Strell gets the hives in response to an altercation with his Latin teacher and writes "He's Just Spastic". Saturday, March 1, 1980 - Alec Dale first plays drums. [The Imports have decided to seek a new drummer, as Jim Peterson has been having marital problems and misses rehearsal on a regular basis. To those rehearsals that he is able to attend, he brings a six-pack or two of beer, which he proceeds to consume until he falls over his drumset. The fact that they don't much like his style of playing doesn't help his case much.] This evening, Joe Strell calls several clubs around Chicago, managing to secure a date playing at Ann Arkees on north Clark Street.
Wednesday, March 5, 1980 - Jim Peterson, who failed to mesh sufficiently with the Imports rapid punk style, picks up his drums and bows out of the picture. John Krug, Tom and Ben's 12-year old younger brother, is appointed de facto drummer of the band, as Alec Dale is still coming up to speed. Tom Krug goes up to Wax Trax to drop off a cassette tape of the Imports for Paul Weller of the Jam, who will be stopping by for a personal appearance to support their 1980 "Setting Sons" tour.
Paul Weller tells the Imports that they would be popular in England right now, and that he would mention them in an upcoming interview he had scheduled with the New York Rocker (which he does, when asked if he has heard any bands he liked while touring the United States). He also suggests that they listen to the British bands Joy Division and Gang of Four. During the show, Joe Strell befriends Sandy Rizzo, radio disk jockey and media photographer from Downers Grove. Return to Gig Index.
Saturday, March 16, 1980 - The Imports begin to break in Alec Dale, a guitarist, as their new drummer. Alec would replace John Krug, whose young age (12) was perceived by the other members of the Imports as a liability in getting gigs at Chicago bars, for which the legal drinking age was 21, although the rest of the Imports were also under age. John Krug would go on to join the Throbbers, a University of Chicago band featuring Vincent Katz (guitar/vocals), Mark David (guitar), John Heckel (bass), and "Billy Krummond" aka John Krug (drums). The Throbbers released a 7" single on Ock-Bok-Boe Records in 1981featuring "Unrequited Hardon" b/w "Dear One". Monday, March 17, 1980 - Joe Strell calls Huey's to see about getting a gig.
Sunday, March 23, 1980 - Joe Strell calls Huey's again and speaks to Bob, who says something about the Imports possibly playing in May. Joe wonders whether he heard right, and if Bob didn't perhaps mean April... The Imports eventually do play a show at Huey's, at a benefit for the Winter Palace on June 7, 1980.
Sunday, March 29, 1980 - The Imports play at a poet's book party at the Moss Club on West Randolph in Chicago, along with the bands Special Affect and the Ferraris. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale(drums). This date marks Alec Dale's debut as the Imports' drummer. The general rumor at the time was that the Imports were either eleven and a half year old girls, or else twelve year old boys. One woman is so impressed with Tom that she gives him her most prized band button. Rose and her friend Marie from France are in the audience. Return to Gig Index. Tuesday, April 1, 1980 - Alec Dale marks his milestone of one month playing drums. Joe Strell and Alec walk in the rain, thinking deep thoughts. Joe falls asleep while Alec is talking. Wednesday, April 2, 1980 - Joe Strell dyes his hair blue black. Sunday, April 6, 1980 - The Imports dye Easter eggs at the home of Shari Roberts. Afterwards, they practice for awhile. Friday, April 11, 1980 - Joe Strell, Ben Krug, and Anne Knepler take the train up to Northwestern to see the band Da! perform. Unfortunately, Da! were playing at Northeastern. The three make the best of the evening, having dinner at a restaurant under the train tracks and then heading down to Joe's house in Wicker Park to spend the night. Saturday, April 12, 1980 - The Imports open (and close) for the Dadistics at Gaspar's in Chicago, playing the first and last sets of the evening. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale (drums). This gig comes courtesy of Tom Krug's friendship with Audrey Stanzler, lead singer of the Dadistics. The Imports receive $50 for their efforts. Prior to the gig, Joe picks up a speaker for his bass amp from Kagin & Gaines, where it was being re-coned. Return to Gig Index. Wednesday, April 16, 1980 - Alec Dale and Joe Strell walk about Hyde Park after rehearsal smoking Camel cigarettes, taking puffs between long intervals. The two end up in a Illinois Central (IC) warm-up hut, where Joe begins to feel ill and curls up in a fetal position. Alec keeps asking if Joe wants more of the cigarette. Joe is incredulous, responding "I feel like I'm dying and you're offering me cigarettes!"
Tuesday, May 6, 1980 - Tom Krug and Alec Dale move the Imports' equipment into a rehearsal space in the basement of the Shoreland Hotel in Hyde Park. At the time, the Shorland was used as a student dormitory for the University of Chicago. The rehearsal space is secured for the Imports by Danny Kahn in exchange for his student ID.
Saturday, May 10, 1980 - The Imports rehearse at the Shoreland. Alec Dale had spent the whole day working at the boatyard without having a bite to eat. As the Imports begin to rehearse, Alec goes berserk, becoming inconsistently critical of the group's direction and saying that he was going to kill himself. After rehearsal, having been joined by Shari Roberts and Anne Knepler, the Imports attend a "hostage party" on the tenth floor, in honor of the Iran crisis, costuming themselves in crepe paper streamers. Tom and Joe make red armbands for themselves, and bind Ben with white streamers and tape. Tom and Joe then proceeded to go about the party accusing everyone of being spies, wrapping them up, and putting them in the closet. Alec Dale smeared his sport coat with dip and went about complaining what a dull party it was. Monday, May 12, 1980 - Joe Strell called a number of clubs, including Lucky Number, Jamie's Elsewhere, Beginnings, and O'Banion's (who said the Imports were too young). Joe buys a pair of black, high-top Converse All Stars and writes "Detestable Communications". Tuesday, May 13, 1980 - The Imports rehearse their two sets of material at the Shoreland. Exhausted from staying up late the night before with Tom Krug, playing Beatles songs and harmonizing, Joe Strell rehearses while lying down, and takes a fifteen minute nap between sets while Ben Krug gets a Dr. Pepper. After rehearsal, they call Beginnings to cancel a gig, having decided that they didn't want to play the suburbs. Wednesday, May 14, 1980 - Joe Strell goes to Wax Trax with Sandy Rizzo, where he talks with Andrew Clark, who says that his band Epicycle is having "age problems", meaning that they are finding it difficult to get booked into clubs as they (like the Imports) are under age.
Wednesday, May 21, 1980 - The Imports stop by Jackson Gray Graphics / Praxis at 180 W Washington to work with Brian Shanley on a poster for an upcoming gig. Thursday, May 22, 1980 - The Imports rehearse at the Shoreland Hotel. Jeff Elton stops by to watch them practice, and agrees to hire them for a fraternity party on May 24th. After rehearsal, Joe Strell and Alec Dale jam with the Aardvarks until around one in the morning. The Aardvarks, who are occupying the rehearsal space next door to the Imports, consisted of Bruce (guitar), Ed (guitar), and Lore (keyboards). Friday, May 23, 1980 - The Imports rehearse at the Shoreland Hotel. After rehearsal, Joe Strell goes next door to jam again with the Aardvarks, playing songs such as Elvis Costello's "Watching the Detectives". Afterwards, they all go onto the roof of the Shoreland. Saturday, May 24, 1980- The Imports play on a flatbed truck outside Mellow Yellow in Harpers Court of Hyde Park, Chicago for the Festival of the Arts. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale (drums). In attendance is Tom Wall, who will soon become the Imports new drummer. Tom is favorably impressed with their performance. The same evening, the Imports play a University of Chicago Phi Delta Theta fraternity party, for which they receive $125. The University of Chicago cover band Drag opened. Return to Gig Index. Sunday, May 25, 1980 - The Trouble Boys play a party at the Shoreland Hotel. The Imports attend. Tuesday, May 27, 1980 - Tom Krug and Joe Strell graduate from St. Ignatius College Preparatory, Chicago, Illinois, in a service at the Holy Name Cathedral. Saturday, May 31, 1980 - The Imports (sans Alec Dale) are interviewed by Steve Lafreniere of Praxis. Tom Krug, Ben Krug, and Joe Strell obtain IDs at a small shop on State Street, downtown. Sunday, June 1, 1980 - The Imports rehearse at the Shoreland. Rehearsal is delayed while the Imports search for some cables that had been lent to the Aardvarks. Following a rumor that they had been given to someone on the twelfth floor, they try Lore's apartment. Retrieving the cables, Joe Strell invites her to come watch the Imports practice. Afterwards, everyone heads up the fire escape to the roof. Saturday, June 7, 1980 - The Imports play a benefit for the Winter Palace at Huey's for $40. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale (drums). Return to Gig Index. Monday, June 9, 1980 - Alec Dale graduates from Kenwood Academy high school on the South Side of Chicago. The Imports hold a late rehearsal in their borrowed space in the basement of the Shoreland Hotel.
Tuesday, June 10, 1980 - The Imports play at Jamie's Elsewhere on north Clark Street, near Belmont Avenue in Chicago. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale (drums). The poster for this gig was designed by Steve Lafreniere of Praxis, and included an anatomical line drawing from the 1500s. Return to Gig Index. Thursday, June 12, 1980 - The Imports play at Tuts on Belmont with the Dadistics for $50. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale (drums). Return to Gig Index.
Friday, June 13, 1980 - The Imports play at Ruts for $50. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale (drums). Return to Gig Index. Saturday, June 14, 1980 - The Imports play again at Ruts for $50. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale (drums). Pete Strell, Joe's father, brings Joe's younger sisters Constance and Meghan to see the show. During the second set, a woman named Amy brings a chair out onto the dance floor, sets it down directly in front of the band, and watches the remainder of the show from this proprietary vantage point. Later, she gives the Imports a ride back to Hyde Park in her station wagon. Return to Gig Index. Friday, July 11, 1980 - The Imports play a party in a house on Blackstone in Hyde Park, Chicago, where they debut their new "post-punk" material consisting of three songs that they play for ten to fifteen minutes apiece. They make around $63 by charging a dollar at the door. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale (drums). Ben Krug celebrates his 16th birthday. Return to Gig Index.
Saturday, July 12, 1980 - The Imports play in the context of a poetry reading at the Hubbard Street Gallery. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale (drums). Bruce Pavitt of Subterranean Pop (Sub Pop) fame dances with great enthusiasm, as do the police officers in the station across the street, with perhaps a certain degree of irony. Return to Gig Index. Monday, July 21, 1980 - The Imports play Lucky Number for a large and supportive audience. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale (drums). Joe Strell finds a black leather guitar strap for his bass on the floor in the dressing room in the basement. Return to Gig Index. Sunday, July 27, 1980 - The Imports open for the Cramps at Tuts on Belmont in Chicago. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Alec Dale (drums). Appropriately, the moon is full for the event, as was the club. The mix was good, and the cathedral atmosphere of Tuts lent a certain somber quality to the occasion. Joe Strell makes the acquaintance of Ginte, a Lithuanian woman who later lends him her sister Oste's copy of a book of Kafka's short stories. This is Alec Dale's last gig as drummer for the Imports. Alec goes on to become the drummer of the Vagueley's, who release the song "Sofa or a Chair" on Bruce Pavitt's "Sub Pop 5" cassette 'zine (1981). Later, Alec returns to guitar and joins New York's Killdozer, until Wisconsin group emerges with the same name and the New York band is renamed Sharky's Machine. Return to Gig Index.
Monday, August 11, 1980 - The Imports headline at Tuts. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Tom Wall (drums). This is Tom Wall's first gig with the Imports.
August 20, 1980 - Joe Strell and Renee Saracki start dating. Tuesday, September 16, 1980- The Imports play the Lucky Number. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Tom Wall (drums). Net loss for the gig was -$90, as only twenty-eight of an expected two-hundred showed up, presumably due to a heavy rain that started around 6:30 that evening. The sound men are jerks and do a poor job at balancing the vocals with bass, guitar, and drums. Return to Gig Index.
Saturday, September 27, 1980- The Imports play Gaspar's with the Painter Band. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Tom Wall (drums). Joe Strell wears a white air force jacket he borrowed from Danny Kahn. The Imports put on a great show. Joe sprains his ankle. After the event, they drop off Tom Wall at 123 W Chestnut to see Heavy Manners. Return to Gig Index.
Thursday, October 9, 1980 - Joe Strell composes a melancholy melody on the upright piano in the Krug's dining room with lyrics entitled "A Friend", mourning the gradual dissolution of his friendship with Tom Krug. Friday, October 10, 1980 - Tom Krug's friend Joyce attends an Imports rehearsal. Joe Strell writes in his journal that he is contemplating quitting the Imports, as he and Tom Krug have not been getting along well for some time. Saturday, October 11, 1980 - The Imports play Gaspar's. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Tom Wall (drums). The show is so-so. Afterwards, Joe, Danny, Renee, and Sara catch a cab from Gaspar's down to 51st and Dorchester in Hyde Park to attend a U of C party where a man with a beard asks Joe if he knows Mohamed Ali. Return to Gig Index. Sunday, October 12, 1980 - The Imports play at Tuts. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Tom Wall (drums). Rose, a fan from the very beginning, comes to see the show. Return to Gig Index. Wednesday, October 15, 1980 - After The Imports rehearsal, Joe Strell and Renee Saracki go about the University of Chicago putting up "generic" Imports posters, i.e. for general promotion and not advertising any specific gig. Monday, October 20, 1980 - The Imports record a rehearsal session on a monophonic tape recorder from Sears. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Tom Wall (drums). The songs recorded on this day were as follows (Click on the links to see the lyrics!):
Friday, October 24, 1980 - The Imports' single is played on WXRT by Bobby Skafish. Saturday, October 25, 1980- The Imports play with the White Castles at the International House of the University of Chicago. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Tom Wall (drums). The two bands play two sets apiece, alternating between bands. The White Castles start off with a short set, followed by an equally sparse set by the Imports lit only with red lighting. For this first set, the Imports play two instrumentals and one song with Ben Krug singing vocals. After the White Castles second set, the Imports begin their second set with the band playing behind a closed curtain that gradually opened to a thunderous crowd screaming "Imports!" In attendance at this gig are Jeff and Marko Pezatti, who will later go on to form Naked Raygun. Return to Gig Index. Friday, October 31, 1980 - The Imports see the Throbbers and Drag play a party at Pierce, a University of Chicago dormitory. Throbbers lineup: Mark David, John Heckel, Billy Krummond (aka John Krug) and Vincent Katz.
Saturday, November 1, 1980 - The Imports play with Special Affect at Wizards on North Wells in Chicago. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Tom Wall (drums). On the way to the show, the band experiences a certain degree of anxiety as Robert drives through Cabrini Green with the band's equipment in his pickup truck. The band has dinner at Arby's. Rebecca walked by, looking for the Pickle Barrel. During the show, a drunk fan burns a ten dollar bill in The Imports' honor. Marty Sorensen, the bassist of Special Affect, especially appreciates the manic bass line of "Justice". Return to Gig Index. Thursday, November 6, 1980 - The Imports play the Lucky Number. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Tom Wall (drums). Margaret Fitzsimmons celebrates her sixteenth birthday. Return to Gig Index. Friday, November 7, 1980 - Joe Strell and Joan Miller attend the record release party for Special Affect's new album Too Much Soft Living. They have dinner at Billy Goat's Pub on lower Michigan, and then walk north to the nightclub. Heavy Manners open. Follow these links to see video of Special Affect performances of Too Much Soft Living and Out of Order on YouTube. Saturday, November 22, 1980 - Joe Strell goes down to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois on a Greyhound bus to visit with his friend Ward Toy. While there, Joe decides to quit the Imports to attend college at the University of Illinois. Wednesday, November 26, 1980 - Joe Strell tells Tom Krug in a phone call from Champaign, Illinois that he is no longer serious about the Imports, and doesn't want to play anymore. Joe agrees to play the two scheduled gigs in Minneapolis, however. Wednesday, December 3, 1980 - Robert Krug and his girlfriend Cathy drive Tom Krug, Ben Krug, and Joe Strell from Hyde Park, Chicago, to Minneapolis in Robert's red antique pickup truck. Tom, Ben, and Joe ride in the back of the covered (but unheated) truck, watching the road recede behind them and wondering vaguely about the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning. Arriving in Minneapolis, they check in at Sammie's, where the club manger welcomes them with drinks on the house. They all indulge, and by the time the bar closes Joe has managed to down several too many screwdrivers. During the course of the evening, they had befriended a few local denizen, who offer them a place to stay. Tom and Ben stay with a couple who provide toothbrushes, wash cloths, and towels. Robert, Cathy, and Joe aren't as fortunate. Upon arrival at two in the morning at their prospective accommodations, their hosts quickly disappear into the bushes, abandoning the woebegone trio in subzero temperatures. The disorienting ride in the back of the pickup is the last straw for Joe's already woozy stomach, and he proceeds to throw up all over himself and the back of the truck. With only a thin leather jacket to keep him from the cold, and an excess of alcohol in his system, he then begins to shiver so dramatically that the entire truck shakes back and forth. Cathy brings Joe up front into the heated cab, and, despite the mess and smell, embraces him in an attempt to keep him from freezing to death. Meanwhile, Robert walks up and down the block, knocking on door after door in a valiant attempt to find shelter from the cold. Eventually, he comes upon a small commune of hippies who agree to take them in. Joe is quickly stuffed into a sleeping bag while his clothes are tossed into the washer. Small kittens pounce on his head while his shivering gradually subsides. The next day, Tom Wall arrives by airplane. Also joining the group, haven driven from Chicago in a borrowed station wagon, are Renee Saracki and Danny Kahn. Having been loyal fans of the Imports from the very beginning, Danny and Renee wouldn't dream of missing their final shows. Thursday, December 4, 1980- The Imports open for the Jim Carroll Band at Sammie's (aka Sam's) in Minneapolis, a gig they landed courtesy of Steve Lindsey, Jim Carroll's bass player, whom they had met while he was visiting his girlfriend Amy in Hyde Park. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Tom Wall (drums). Tom and Ben appear breathless in the group's dressing room before the show, bearing bags of purloined food from McDonald's. Tom and Ben are too pumped up on adrenaline to eat. The rest of the crew digs in with great appreciation. The cassette board tape of this evening's performance is perhaps the best recording available of the Imports later material, as the only other extent recordings are from a couple of rehearsal sessions on October 16th and 23rd (see above entries for these dates). The set list for the December 4th show was as follows (Click on the links to see the lyrics!):
During the sixth song, "Red is Black", Tom Krug breaks a guitar string. As the Imports had no back-up equipment, he has little choice but to replace the string on stage, while the rest of the band keep playing the song. The Imports receive scattered applause throughout the set, but the audience is clearly there for the Jim Carroll Band. After the show, the Imports, with the added guests Renee Saracki and Danny Kahn, rent a room in an old hotel in downtown Minneapolis. This hotel occupied an entire city block, having been created by joining once separate buildings into a more or less coherent whole. The group is somewhat cramped in the room, but after the events of the previous night, no one is complaining. To safeguard their equipment, Tom spends the night in the pickup truck with the gear. Joe spends much of the night wandering up and down the labyrinth of hotel hallways. Return to Gig Index. Friday, December 5, 1980 - The Imports headline at the Seventh Street Entry. Lineup: Ben Krug (vocals), Tom Krug (guitar), Joe Strell (bass), Tom Wall (drums). This was the Imports' last gig. Although the Imports had certainly enjoyed playing on the large stage at Sammie's the night before, they felt far more at home in the intimate environment of the Seventh Street Entry. The crowd is enthusiastic. The Imports exit on a high note. Return to Gig Index. After their final performance in Minneapolis, Joe Strell left the band and the Imports dissolved. Tom Krug, Ben Krug, and Tom Wall then joined up briefly with Al Jorgensen from Special Affect to create the short-lived Carmichaels (aka the Silly Carmichaels), which played a couple of dates around Chicago and recorded several songs in the studio (see Ben Krug's interview on this subject). Al Jorgensen went on from there to create Ministry, which debuted at the Lucky Number on New Year's Eve 1981, and has since received some degree of acclaim in the alternative / industrial community. For additional information on Al Jorgensen's other post Special Affect projects, see the Wikipedia entries for Al Jorgensen as well as My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult.
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Poster for the Clash at the Aragon Ballroom, Chicago
