Milwaukee's Haskels were kings of the late 70's punk scene, centered at Zak's North Avenue nightclub, sharing the stage with bands like the Lubricants, Blackholes, Orbits, Plasticland and others that have found their way onto bootlegs and posthumous releases of their own.
Their sound was a combination melded from the roots/glam/Detroit-inspired, naive retro pop sound of godfather/scenester Presley Haskel and Richard LaValliere's surreal dream-based narrative genius compositions, fleshed out by Gerard LaValliere's precise guitar attack and Guy Hoffman's unorthodox but dance-inducing beats. The band's chops as well as their charisma carried the day, as they filled clubs and held court at the Haskel Hotel, their headquarters in the run-down Brady Street area of Milwaukee's lower East side.
The Haskels, evolved out of another popular pre-punk band of the time, In A Hot Coma, burned brightly from 1977 to 1979, supernova-ing after their last show together on New Year's Eve 1979. Presley and Gerard continued on to form the next version of the band, with Presley's Haskels releasing the classic "Taking The City By Storm" EP in 1981, while Richard and Guy went on to form the Oil Tasters, releasing two 45's and the acclaimed Oil Tasters self-titled LP on Thermidor Records in 1982. Guy later went on to drum for the BoDeans and ultimately, the Violent Femmes.
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