White Sister

1984 debut album by LA rock band, and Greg Giuffria protégées, White Sister.

LINKS:

Gus Moratinos Profile:  https://www.candomusos.com/profile-gus-moratinos.php

707, “I Could Be Good for You”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gER3fIVuszA

White Sister Website: https://www.whitesister.com/

Twister Sister “We’re Not Gonna Take It”:https://youtu.be/4xmckWVPRaI?si=5DlqoOD0tf55fZOe

White Sister Full Record: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCfCly5K0O8&list=PLP2wsAHmXHnKSq6HjGk23iCjJ0j4Glp8-

Frank Zappa, Punky’s Whips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSUHGcVda0g&list=RDgSUHGcVda0g&start_radio=1

Angels’ version of Whips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXQ-KjobBoM&list=RDCXQ-KjobBoM&start_radio= 

You Tube Video Link:

“White Sister!” The 1984 debut album by….. White Sister.  [Album cover}

They have very clean footwear.

Originally consisting of Rick Chadock [pic}, Dennis Churchill [pic], Garri Brandon[pic], and Gus Moratinos[pic], the band played clubs around Burbank and Pasadena in 1980.  In 1981, Gus left the band to go to The Grove School of Music. There he received a degree in Latin drumming and percussion. Gus is still musically active and seems to be doing just fine.

The band replaced Morantinos with Richard Wright[pic], and White Sister hit the Hollywood club circuit, opening for other loud, hairy bands like Quiet Riot, Ratt, Motley Crue, and ….707? 

[sings] “I Could Be Good For You!  My, my my” 

Not really as hairy, but  its a jam.

 Anyway…

Story goes that one night, after a gig, the band meets Gregg Giuffria [pic] at a Hollywood gas station. Giuffria had just watched his band Angel implode and got little help from Casablanca Records in putting out the flames. Giuffria lands White Sister some odd editing work and then helps get them signed to EMI. He then produces their 10 track debut, “White Sister.”

Once again, have to point out the band’s impressive footwear. [pic]

The band wrote all their songs, except one, and overall, “White Sister” appears to be a full-on group effort by White Sister. They play their own instruments, they sing their own background vocals, and Guiffria even contributed keyboards on two songs,  “Whips” and “Walk Away.” It was recorded and mixed in various places around Hollywood, and looks like a standard 80s EMI package. 

And I love this…[pic] EMI gives you the phone number for Regency Artists’ LA offices, just in case you are so moved to book the band yourself. If you don’t want to go that far, there is a mailing address for the White Sister Fan Club. Or you can find the current band link on my website. As a side note, I called the phone number a few times and it just goes to voicemail.

You can see, the band is really, really, really grateful!! [pic] Calling out no less than 50 people by name, and everyone at KMET,  everyone at The Troubadour, everyone at Kramer Guitars, and NIKE sportswear, and you know, God, “for giving us the determination and talent to make it this far.” Exclamation point, Exclamation point, Exclamation point.  

And then the “special thanks-for-nothin’, blah-blah-blah…We may forgive, but we never forget!” Exclamation point, Exclamation point, Exclamation point.

While it is highly unlikely they were referring to EMI when they penned their middle-finger-gratitude (they did thank everyone at EMI America) White Sister’s relationship with the label wasn’t all tea and honey. 

The record came out in 1984 and the band wanted to go on tour to support the release. But EMI didn’t want to pay for a tour. EMI didn’t even want “White Sister.”  They wanted a name change.

See, that same year,  Atlantic released “Stay Hungry” by Twisted Sister. [pic] This was the record that had “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.”  “We’re Not Gonna Take It” was everywhere! Everyone knew Twisted Sister. EMI says change the name, but White Sister dig their Cuban heels in and say, “NO! There are plenty of bands with ‘white’ in their name.  No one is confused with that!”

Let’s see…80’s “white” bands…

White Lion [pic]

White Snake [pic]

Great White [pic]

Barry White [pic]

White Wolf [pic]…they were from Canada

Average White Band [pic],

Hm! I guess White Sister has a point.

White Sister win their argument, keep their name, and stay home, cuz EMI ain’t paying for a tour, and the record is destined for the cut-out bin.

Now, the record…

Dennis Churchill and Garri Brandon split the singing duties equally, and they are kinda interchangeable. But neither one has enough oomph to take it to the next level.

Churchill gets to set the tone by singing the record’s first song, “Don’t Say That You’re Mine.” That’s the song that within the first 8 seconds wants to be Van Halen’s “Running With the Devil,” and then quickly devolves into Night Ranger’s, “Don’t Tell Me you Love Me.”

Garri Brandon’s voice has a higher range, making a call-back song like, “LOVE…Don’t Make It Right,” and the confusing ballad, “Just for You” more rock-esque?. I mean, one minute I’m like, are they singing about an alien abduction? Next minute I’m thinking its a love song…And the next minute, I’m kinda asleep, so its OK.

Dennis Churchill also gets to sing what I think is the best song on the record, “Whips.” That’s the one song they didn’t write.

Sorry, guys.

“Whips” is credited to Phillips-Fredericksen-Meadows. As in Ricky Phillips from The Babys [pic], and Fergie Frederiksen and Punky Meadows from, you guessed it, ANGEL[pic]! As a quick side note, Fergie Frederiksen was later in Toto[pic], obviously not when they came out with the song, “White Sister” that we are assuming the band named themselves after.

But before “Whips” was ever recorded by our virginally-shod friends, Phillips, Frederiksen, Meadows, and Greg Guiffria recorded a version of it when Guiffria was thinking of an Angel reboot, and then he got side tracked with forming Guiffria, and of course our buddies, White Sister. Their version of “Whips” was later released on a demo bootleg called “Angel Rarities”  along with the song “Trouble Shooter” which was recorded by White Sister for their 2nd record.  Honestly, White Sister’s version of Whips is better than Angel’s, demo aside.

And just to take it weirder, in 1976, Frank Zappa[pic] wrote a song, with Punky Meadow’s permission, called, “Punky’s Whips” which features drummer Terry Bozzio on vocals. Long before he and his wife Dale formed the quintessential 80’s LA band, Missing Persons[pic].

You should be able to find copies of this record in the cheaps, Discogs definitely has it. I also have a link to the complete record on BandsoftheLost.com, along with other strangeness.

If you’d like to hear about records you may or may not have owned back in the day, feel free to subscribe to Bands of the Lost YouTube channel or check us out on BandsoftheLost.com.

Happy digging