Effective period / Period of releases: 2015

Members: Sam Elwitt, Jonathan Caws-Elwitt, Mitchell Mutz, Phil Brown (12), Alfred Woo, David Cohen (5)

Creating a mishmash of five-minutes-ago punk, early 80's college-radio sounds, FM rock, and general goofiness, the Degrads foisted a batch of quirky, original, musically-accomplished-but-deliberately-silly songs upon the sleepy Rochester suburbs in the summer of 1982. From the whiny, lightweight punk of "Dopes!" and "I Should've Worn Shorts With Pockets" to the snotty party grooves of "Dancing in My Underwear" and "Get Down – Get Back Up Again!" to the sophomoric comedy of "I Don't Care if She Smells" and "Eat Roughage" to the bizarre musical theater of "Eggplants and Venison Stew" (which was performed live by hand-puppets) . . . well, the titles say it all, don't they? Among the tracks heard here are signature tune "What's My Problem?" and tongue-in-cheek ballads "Fun with a Porpoise" and "Nancy" (both sung by 15-year-old Spuzzy Dynamite).

The Degrads returned in the summer of '83, by which time they had begun to take themselves more seriously as a "new music" band. That season brought them Rochester club outings (notably with the Chesterfield Kings), college radio airplay, and a local TV appearance (see pictures). Their self-released pop-punk single, "I Saw Bobbie Sobbing in the Lobby", earned them a review in Trouser Press before they disbanded.