
DELIVERING THE LEGEND OF THE CRAMPS
The Cramps represented an unapologetic celebration of individuality, weirdness, and rebellion. They taught the world to embrace the freaky and fun, combining timeless music with an unforgettable visual and cultural impact. For many, The Cramps are not just a band but an attitude and a way of life.
The Cramps were one of the most legendary bands in music history as they represented an unapoltetic celebration of weirdness and rebellion on their own terms. They were more than music but a visual experience and beyond their music a way of life setting a path of music
When Lux Interior passed away in 2009 his partner Poison Ivy retired from music and the Cramps were no more after performing since 1976–a span of 33 years of music, madness and meyhem! They left behind a huge following and place in rock and roll history. In December of 2022 the Cramps song “Goo Goo Muck” was featured on the Netflix original Wednesday and went worldwide reaching more people than the Cramps had ever played out to combined in their history!
The Fiends of Dope Island are a Cramps tribute band who carry on the tradition of the Cramps covering their music exclusively as a tribute band. They include Thomas Janszen on the drums, Luka Janszen on the fuzz guitar, Aeneas Verrópoulos taking care of Poison Ivy’s guitar parts and Tyler Jones on lead vocals. They have been together since December of 2022 and are from Amsterdam unleashing the spirit and energy of the Cramps. The band takes their name from the last studio LP release by the Cramps The Fiends of Dope Island.
“We The Fiends of Dope Island are a band that pays serious tribute to The Cramps without the flare and glamour in which most tribute bands portray themselves. We have a deep rooted passion for uncut, raw rock n roll without the over produced commercial glitter and we’d like to keep it that way. There isn’t much great Rock N Roll these days so we find it’s our mission as a band to keep this timeless music alive. It brings us great satisfaction taking the stage and performing these timeless songs for all ages to dance to and enjoy.”
“We think that the way The Cramps put on their stage performance is something that cannot be recreated. Therefore we decided to focus on the music and visually staying true to ourselves. Some older members of the audience told us that when they close their eyes they almost feel as if they were catapulted back in the 80s being an outcast teenager again watching The Cramps. To us that’s the biggest compliment. Also, punk rock is about being true to yourself not giving into social norms. That being said, we put on a high energy show solely dedicated to The Cramps and the immortal music in which they created.”
“It started as a joke, a challenge among friends. It all started in the fall of 2022. During that time Tyler was diving heavily into The Cramps music to cure his broken heart. He was so taken back by how powerful their music was that he thought like, let’s play a cramps show, wouldn’t that be fun? The joke became serious when we started practicing. The music is like a drug, it overtakes you. Once you start you can’t stop. We have great chemistry so we decided to stay together and keep playing shows. and the immortal music in which they created.”
And for those unfamiliar with the Cramps, they originated out of New York City in 1976 out of the iconic CBGB’s punk era creating psychobilly music with their own original twist. Lux Interior (Erick Purkhiser) met Poison Ivy (Kristy Wallace) while attending college in Sacramento, California in the early 70s and they relocated to New York City to form the Cramps with various members through their history. “First of all, they’re the first and only band documented to have played a show in a mental institution (in 1978 at the Napa Valley Mental Hospital which can be found on Youtube). The band-members didn’t just play in The Cramps, it was their life, especially for lead singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy Rorschach, the founding members. I’ve always described them to be the Bonnie and Clyde of Rock n Roll, giving it their all and taking no prisoners. Their lives on and offstage were only dedicated to the band. Lux and Ivy were always dressed in the same way as they were dressed on stage. Lux and Ivy never had kids, their baby was The Cramps. Musically their psychotic blend of rockabilly and punk, defined a unique sound that hasn’t been recreated since. You can hear that their style pays a heavy homage to the music of Link Wray, The Trashmen and The Sonics to name a few, but their music is original in its own right. Unfortunately we’re all too young to have seen them perform live, but watching footage of their shows feels like it must have been almost like some kind of spiritual ceremonial ritual rather than an ordinary musical performance. Discovering the Cramps has opened a gateway to other great undiscovered garage rock bands of the early sixties which can be heard on a rare album entitled The Purple Knif, an hour long radio show paying ode to Lux’s childhood disc jokey hero Pete “Mad Daddy” Myers. Lux hosted the show in Hollywood back in the mid 80’s featuring songs from Lux and Ivy’s personal home vinyl collection. It’s a real shame that they didn’t receive more recognition being the Cramps.”
As for some of the songs you will hear, “Well of course there’s the most well known songs like The Way I Walk, Human Fly and Goo Goo Muck, but we also try to incorporate some rarities like Five Years Ahead of My Time which can be found on The Cramps album “How To Make a Monster” , a 2 disc set album that features rare unreleased tracks including rehearsals and live performances from Max’s Kansas City and CBGB. Another song we like to squeeze in our set, The Band That Time Forgot is a quick banger that can only be found on YouTube! Recently we also snuck in a non-Cramps song entitled Sex Beat by The Gun Club. The funny thing is that their guitarist, the legendary Kid Congo Powers, who played with The Cramps during the early 80’s, first started out playing for The Gun Club so we thought incorporating Sex Beat would be nice addition to our set. Musically their psychotic blend of rockabilly and punk, defined a unique sound that hasn’t been recreated since. You can hear that their style pays a heavy homage to the music of Link Wray, The Trashmen and The Sonics to name a few, but their music is original in its own right. Unfortunately we’re all too young to have seen them perform live, but watching footage of their shows feels like it must have been almost like some kind of spiritual ceremonial ritual rather than an ordinary musical performance. Discovering the Cramps has opened a gateway to other great undiscovered garage rock bands of the early sixties which can be heard on a rare album entitled The Purple Knif, an hour long radio show paying ode to Lux’s childhood disc jokey hero Pete “Mad Daddy” Myers. Lux hosted the show in Hollywood back in the mid 80’s featuring songs from Lux and Ivy’s personal home vinyl collection. It’s a real shame that they didn’t receive more recognition being that they’ve stayed so genuine to the sound. I guess that’s what makes their music so special and niche. Rock N Roll is for the weirdos and is meant to stay sick. It should remain that way.”

The Fiends of Dope Island have plenty going into the upcoming year as well. “Recently we’ve started working on our own songs within the same style and would like to eventually ease our way into only playing originals but until we have enough songs to present we will keep paying tribute to The Cramps music. We have a few dates booked within the Netherlands but the biggest thing will definitely be the US tour. Right now we’re still working on the details, but if everything goes to plan we should be able to announce more details soon. We plan on hitting east coast cities like Boston, New York and Philadelphia. We’re also thinking about heading further west to cities like Chicago and Detroit but setting that up might be a push too far since we’re still unknown to the public. Like we mentioned previously we pay tribute to the music of The Cramps without straying away from our identity. We want to stay true to ourselves while giving our fans an unforgettable experience. The very first time I played The Cramps debut album ‘The Songs The Lord Taught Us’ I was taken back by the raw power and emotional realness which the music conveyed. I was immediately sold when I heard the song TV Set, a raw electrifying psychedelic boogie that bled originality but also gave me a sense of nostalgic familiarity. Prior to discovering The Cramps I’ve always been a big fan of punk rock especially The Misfits, so I related to their sound blending old 50’s rock and punk with horror lyrical themes.”
Having been to several of the actual Cramps performances over the years there is truly nothing quite like a live performance musically, asthetically and intensity wise an experience you will never forget. Their music alone is worth the experience and the Fiends of Dope Island are one band you will want to see to get a taste of what they were about and truly worth your support! And Stay Sick! Turn Blue!
