The Smurfs were a punk band of foreign exchange students Chris Park (Spastic Smurf), Kent Mitchell (Sassy Smurf) and Bill Maurer (Smelly Smurf). They lived in Korea in the 90s, where their first 2 demos were produced.
They quickly wrote fun, fast-paced songs about TV, hating stuff, video games, etc. But don't let the basic topics influence your opinion because these guys kick ass.
They're comparable to The Queers, if The Queers were angry little blue people and drank more coffee.
The very first Smurfs tape was recorded at Drug, a punk club in Seoul, with a four track. It was quickly recorded as Bill would soon have to return to America and The Smurfs would be reduced to only two members.
This album is full of songs that absolutely rock, most of which have funny straight-to-the-point titles (I Wish I Was in the WWF, My Girlfriend Doesn't Like Star Trek, I Wanna Be David Hasselhoff, the list goes on).
Lineup
Chris "Spastic Smurf" Park - Guitar, Lead Vocals
Kent "Sassy Smurf" Mitchell - Bass, Backing Vocals
Billy "Smelly Smurf" Maurer - Drums, Backing Vocals
The second Smurfs tape was recorded without Bill and recorded in much worse quality, however still has great songs like "My Girlfriend is a Christian Nazi" and "I Love Your Nintendo, Not You". Taking Bill's place was Tim Stys, who played alongside Bill in various other bands such as Bench and The Smelly Men.
Lineup
Chris "Spastic Smurf" Park - Guitar, Vocals on "I Hate You"
Kent "Sassy Smurf" Mitchell - Bass, Lead Vocals, MS Paint drawing on the cover
Tim "Sexual Smurf" Stys - Drums, Backing Vocals
Miles "Sweetie Smurf" Sexton - Drums/Vocals on Smurfgasms
In 1999, The Smurfs returned to America and put out their first and unfortunately last vinyl release. Limited to 100 copies, one of my most prized musical possessions.
This 7"contains what I would consider their highest quality recordings. It has a short run time, only about 9 minutes, but those 9 minutes are full of fast-paced, funny, fucking awesome punk rock. Buffy is one of their best tunes.
Lineup
Chris "Spastic Smurf" Park - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Kent "Sassy Smurf" Mitchell - Bass, Lead Vocals
Billy "Smelly Smurf" Maurer - Drums, Backing Vocals
You can download it + 3 bonus tracks here..
Yes, Gargamel has an obscure punk band named after him, too. And yes, they absolutely rock too.
This release is interesting because the Gargamels side is nowhere online and it has a Smurfs song that has never resurfaced, "Nuke My School". The rest of the Smurfs side includes the full Got The Blues EP + 2 rerecorded Smurflings tracks that have been rereleased on the Bandcamp page for Got The Blues.
Thankfully I have actually contacted the owner of SPR and he is sending me a copy of this split. I'll make the audio accessible as soon as I can.
Download is not currently available.
A sticker and a button, neither of which exist anymore probably.
The compilation CD, entitled "Hate You!". They were burned by Chris whenever asked for and include their first 2 demos, 36 songs total.
I absolutely recommend these guys, especially to people that love fast and raw punk rock. They are one of my favorite bands and I think they definitely deserved more love.
All of their albums are great but I'd say it's best to start with Smurfin' USA so you can see how they improved and learned their instruments over time. Give them a listen, you won't regret it!