Tampa Bands
Drumming in Primitive Romance
The Strait-Jackets
My brother Lester and I started The Strait-Jackets in Tampa, Florida, in 1978.
We played our punky power-pop at clubs, theaters, and universities in the Tampa area and beyond.
The Strait-Jackets had the honor of opening for the following national acts: Pat Benatar, John Cale, Ultravox, 999, The Records, and Herman’s Hermits.
The band recorded a full studio album that remains unreleased to this day. We hope to release it in the near future.
“I Wanna Be Lost” at Tampa Theatre, 1980
“The Scheme of Things” at a Brighton rehearsal studio, 1984
Primitive Romance
After The Strait-Jackets broke up, Lester and I started Primitive Romance in 1981. We were influenced by post-punk bands coming out of the US and UK at that time, such as Joy Division, Bauhaus, and Wire.
We played in the Tampa area for a year and opened for the Psychedelic Furs. We also self-released a three-song flexi-disc.
The band then decided to move to Boston. Once in Boston, we played at local clubs and started recording songs. We opened for Section 25, Blurt, The Human Switchboard, and Mission of Burma.
In 1984, Primitive Romance released a 7” single. In 2012, the indie record label Matador Records released a 7” single of ours as part of its Single Going Steady series.
Primitive Romance, 1985. From left to right: Allen Esser, Lester Esser, Stu Shoaps, and Dan Holmes.