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ous and tight with a dollar. We'd take a Coleman stove and a tent,
sleeping bags with us so if we didn't find someone's house to crash
at for the night, we still had the option of sleeping in the van."
Why the Split?
The Primates quietly disbanded in 1989. At that point, each
individual, says Eric, was going in a different musical direction and
the band was, pretty much, done. The Primates officially signed
off with a three-hour, 53-song marathon show at the old Clayton
Street location of the 40 Watt. The 'Mates final performance was
prefaced by an opening set by R.E.M., then working on material
that would eventually comprise the Green album.
These Days
After the three put the snotty little trio from Ellijay to rest,
Reece began to hone the Redneck GReece character that remains
his trademark stage persona. L.H. became the drummer for Reece's
newly christened Redneck GReece Delux and eventually steered
away from performing, though he has since been known to sit in
on the occasional Redneck set.
The Primates: 1983-1989
Broke-ass vans, marathon shows comprised of 90-second songs
and a record recorded at the wrong speed but released anyway—
these are just a few memorable battle scars of departed '80s Athens
trio The Primates. Though bad luck seemed to walk hand in hand
with the North Georgia-born transplants, The Primates, nonethe
less, remain a famously infamous entry in Athens music folklore.
Greg Reece and brothers Eric and L.H. Sales arrived in Athens,
initially, to attend college, but, like many others, ended up get
ting a crash course in rock and roll, instead. The three had come
from their hometown of Ellijay with a past that included Eric and
L.H. playing gospel, surf and classic rock covers with their father's
various bands. Reece and the Sales brothers were already well-ac
quainted, having formed a seminal version of The Primates while
still attending high school in Ellijay.
"As far as I can recall, most people that were playing around
that downtown Athens scene at that time had come up from some
where like Atlanta," remembers Eric Sales. "We were one of the
only groups that had these pronounced North Georgia accents. We
were fresh from Ellijay. I guess we didn't really mix very well with
all the arty underground stuff going on. It took us several years
! to develop a following or get a decent crowd.
I That probably also had to do with the fact
j that we weren't really that good, either!"
"We would do originals and everything
from Commander Cody to Buck Owens to
Johnny Cash," says Reece. "We did rock,
mostly, that'd gotten countried-up by us or
whoever's version we'd learned the song from.
We weren't trying to be country, though, at
all. We weren't ashamed of the fact we could
do it—we were hicks, after all. But with all
the so-called 'trendyitis' over here, we were
just beating our heads against the wall to get
a few people to come out and see us. "
As Reece points out, The Primates weren t
really full-on punk—they'd grown up play-
| ing Thorogood and Creedence covers, after
all. Nor were they remotely akin to the New
Wave image many Athenians were selling.
A short-lived four-man version of the group
that included guitarist Mike Wigham, who The Primates circa 1986 (L to R) Eric Sales. L.H. Sales. Greg Reece
added more of a twangy rockabilly sound, was
formed soon after the band's 1983 arrival in Athens. That lineup
wasn't together more than a couple of years though, and most re
member The Primates as a three-piece with attitude and ingenuity
to spare.
"Our personalities really paired up. Wigham was a South
Georgia redneck and we were North Georgia rednecks," says Eric.
"He was also older than us and added that really great lead sound
that we just didn't have. We played what was probably our best
show to date with that lineup, opening for The Replacements. That
was in the basement of the old Stitchcraft building. Hootenanny
had just come out, I think, and they were making one of their first
runs through the South. So, we come in the Monday after this re
ally big show and Mike's packing up his stuff to head back south.
After auditioning and trying out a few other guitar players, we
just said 'screw it,' and decided it was us three from then on out.
Once we decided that, we kept it super simple. We were thinking if
The Ramones didn't need a flashy lead guitarist, then why did we?
When in doubt, Ramones it out."
Without expendable finances or many promises of guarantees
on the way, The Primates nonetheless toured heavily. Like many
bands of the day, they relied on selling of homemade cassettes
for merchandise. Their sole vinyl 45 EP—the tongue-in-cheek
"Little Opossum Outta Tuna"—was accidentally pressed at 33 RPM
speed, but a few copies sold and a few were played by adventurous
college jocks. Reece says it got college airplay in locations like
Pittsburgh and Tuscaloosa, though the pressing mishap probably
"landed it more times, than not, in the garbage can."
The members of Mercyland were the 'Mates' frequent touring
partners. These cramped, should've-been-miserable road journeys
were often the result of youthful vigor, not seasoned experience.
Both the Sales boys and Reece recall many unforgettable sticky
situations.
"Everything we learned about touring was basically idiot's
luck," says Eric. "We'd get out there and not have any way to cover
our asses if we ran out of money. So, if you got ripped by a club
or something, you were screwed! We'd have to sell blood plasma
to get to the next town where there might be some cash waiting.
We just didn't know any better. Fortunately, Greg was very industri-
Eric, after a short stint behind Bryan Cooke's pre-Thumb Attack
and Time Toy band Brian & The Cooks, joined up with Jack Logan
and Liquor Cabinet, remaining with the group through the much-
publicized Bulk era that saw the group get sudden rave reviews
and appear on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Eric recently made
his return to live performing after a 10-year absence. Now going
it alone as a solo act, he still fondly remembers the good, bad and
ugly days of The Primates.
"We were out there to play and get experience. Playing rock
and roll on the road was a great, unreachable albatross for us, re
ally," Eric says. "It was a hell of an experience, though. The thing
about playing somewhere new every night like that is, for better or
worse, it improves you as a band. Definitely not the best thing for
your liver, but it will make you a better musician!"
Michael Andrews
That Beat in Time is a biweekly feature examining dearly departed local acts
worth digging up
The Primates
Greg Reece (vocals, guitar)
Eric Sales (vocals, bass)
L.H. Sales (drums)
Mike Wigham (guitar, 1983-1984)
The Primates Released:
1985 “Little Opossum Outta Tuna” vinyl single (Independent release)
1986 Proud O'Me Gluttony local compilation cassette (DRG Records)
Hear The Primates:
The Primates have no official Internet presence, and most
of their releases were homemade cassettes and live bootlegs
anyway, so good luck!
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