It was 1980. The Judy's once again made their way into the recording studio to record their second vinyl offering. While it wasn't their first "record", it is still considered by most as their "debut", simply because of the extremely limited distribution of their 7" single, "Teenage Hang Ups". Early copies of "The Wonderful World of Appliances" contained a bonus copy of "Teenage Hang Ups", which would contribute to the confusion over which came first.

Over a period of a few hours at Steve Ames' now defunct Rampart Recording studio (located near Bellaire), The Judy's belted out six new cuts and released it on David Bean's custom "Wasted Talent" record label. Each of the six tracks on the EP clocked in at under 2 1/2 minutes each. Using The Wonderful World of Appliances as their springboard, The Judy's began raising eyebrows in Houston music circles within just a few months.

The Wonderful World of Appliances was typical of most local independent releases of the time. Pressed locally at "Houston Records" (on Houston's north side - Jensen Drive to be exact). It came packed in a paper sleeve, with a couple of photocopied inserts, and was wrapped in a loose plastic bag. Without real distribution for the project, The Judy's ended up selling their debut EP at their live shows, on consignment at some of the cooler record stores in town (like Infinite and Record Rack), and in later years, via mail-order.

The self-produced project touched on many topics. Surprisingly, while this offering's written introduction spoke of the band's affection for modern household appliances, it wasn't until "Washarama" that songs about them actually surfaced in recorded form. Most of the songs on The Wonderful World of Appliances actually dealt with sociopolitcal issues and relationships! It's interesting to note that while The Judy's sang about certain issues, the listener was usually left in the dark wondering where the band actually stood on the things they were singing about. And, they probably meant for it to be that way. For example, Radiation Squirm only briefly mentions nuclear waste - it's actually a song about dancing. HowsGary (a song about convicted murderer Gary Gilmore who fought the court system demanding execution instead of life in prison) offers no insight on the issue of capital punishment. Vacation In Tehran is obviously about the Iranian hostage crisis, but what does the song mean? Are we to think for a moment that the song is to be taken literally? Certainly not. Dogs is a look inside the mind of serial killer "Son of Sam".

Why?

Good question.