All About Scout

Scout's "Economics" Side of Moo Cow 7"

Here is their full discography, graciously provided by Scott Wishart which sounds better than any of my transfers as they are from the original master tapes:

Scout Complete Recordings

Here is the song info:

SCOUT – DISCOGRAPHY
1. Tomato (asylum)
2. Economics (slalom through interpretational milestones)
3. Intravenous Everything
4. The Lemming Constant (red sea)
5. Metro
6. Past Perfect Tense/Coop
7. Mute Bastard Lesson (marxist)
8. Two Inch Rule (carpetback)
9. Parallax (feedback the factory’s bullshit)
10. Bookmobile of Apathetic Propaganda (don’t say “fuck” on the Sabbath)
11. Eljer (3n)
12. Salts of Aluminum (toxin theory)
13. High Noon
14. Maggard
15. Bearded Clam
16. Tusk
17. Q
18. Lie

Ervin Lockett-guitars, vocals 13-18
Scott Wishart-drums, vocals 1-12
Tim O’Brien-guitars 1-10
Theo Witsell-bass, backup vocals 1-10
Lewis Lovely-bass 11-14
Robbie Morris-bass 15-18

1,2 from “Economics” 7” on Moo Cow
3 from “Amnesia” comp on Ebullition
4 from “Ground Rule Double” comp. On Divot/Actionboy 300
5 from split 7” with Cromwell on Alone
6-11 from split Lp with Freemasonry on Lunchbox
12-14 from second demo13-18 from first demo

Car Vs. Driver played with Scout more than any other band during its existence, probably because our bass player was the older brother of their drummer. They were a band that definitely needed repeat listenings and shows to fully appreciate, as their music and presentation were so dense and layered it would be difficult for the casual observer to comprehend. One thing that was nice about their recordings is that they would always provide explanations for each of their songs, which cut through a lot of the abstractness and ambiguity and gave the songs a clear, deeper meaning. So few bands actually do this, so it is nice when a band lays it out like this, and this is a band that definitely benefited from this approach. Their songs had many noisy parts where the lyrics were spoken and buried in the sound, their song titles were cryptic, their drummer did most of the singing, and their songs were usually these huge orchestrated opuses that could sometimes sound like 5 or 6 songs put together. It was an overwhelming experience to see them play, but when we would tour with them, I would get into a groove and really start getting into their music. My favorite song was Salts of Aluminum, because it had such a great repetitive ending that really stood out live. I'm not sure if they liked it very much, but I always requested it and after a while they started incorporating it into their set.

There were also several eras of Scout throughout the years, as I believe they existed from 1992 until around 1996 and although their most powerful and cohesive lineup was the Scott Wishart/Erv Lockett/Tim O'Brien/Theo Witsell quartet, my favorite was the trio from around their second demo of Scott, Erv and Lewis Lovely, aka the Caucasian drummer, the African-American guitarist, and the Asian bass player. Lewis played this white Rickenbaker bass with a Rat pedal that sounded awesome and fuzzy. Check out High Noon, Maggard, Eljer and Salts of Aluminum to see what I mean.

Erv on Guitar in Texas - I loved that blue Hamer guitar of his, and was bummed when I saw him play later and he didn't have it.

After Car Vs. Driver broke up, Steve Wishart replaced Theo Witsell on bass as Theo moved back to Little Rock, and they did a proper US tour (one that CVD never did). I remember Steve telling me that Erv brought something like 5$ with him for the entire tour, and had to eat the leftovers from everyone's meals after they were done. He was dubbed "cleanup" for that tour. Steve also told me that they became so annoyed with him over the course of the tour that they would finish their meals even though they were full so Erv couldn't eat just to be spiteful. I don't think I ever saw them with this lineup, as I believe they broke up soon after the tour. I think two Wisharts in one band is probably pretty tough to deal with.

Scott lives now in Charlotte, NC and runs Lunchbox Record Store - check it out here: Lunchbox Records. The last I heard from Theo is that he is living on a farm/commune in the Little Rock area and giving back to our mother Earth. Erv was working at the Local in Atlanta for many years and played in Ostinato with Scott and later played with Atlanta bands such as Motherfucking Tourettes, but I believe has now moved away from Atlanta. Tim lives in Atlanta and unfortunately I heard his house burned down recently. Supposedly he took a shower and left some candles burning, and when he got out the house was engulfed, losing everything. Lewis was a bass player for several Atlanta bands, but over the past several years has been a high-class soundman touring with many bands I can't remember and has an infinite collection of hilarious tour stories regarding Korn, Marylin Manson, Weezer, etc. Steve Wishart moved to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and finally New York where he played with several bands including Fields Lay Fallow with the guys from Spirit Assembly and To The Mean with some of the SA dudes as well as the drummer from Policy of 3 and the singer from Amber Inn. He may be moving back down to the Atlanta area soon, so stay tuned.

Unfortunately Scout never released a proper album of material - only a split 12", a 7" and several compilation songs and demo tapes. This is really too bad, as they were a good band that deserved the recognition that was given to many other bands around the same time, but life can be like that sometimes. Later Scott and Erv formed Ostinato Grove/Ostinato and recorded a great album which was never released, and also didn't ever get any recognition. I will post that soon, and you can judge for yourself.

Here is the insert from the split 12" with Freemasonry (Lunchbox no. 5) - Click on any image to enlarge:

Scout's Second Demo Tape (Front and Back)

"Tomato" side of Moo Cow 7"

Insert from Economics/Tomato 7"

Split 7" with Cromwell (front above, back below)

Split 7" with Cromwell Insert (front and back)