Above, Jack Wimpy Rutherford Hayes (foreground) on stage with The Queers.
Wimpy Rutherford carries on the original Queers’ legacy
with a new generation of punk rockers
by Andrew Wallace
The original frontman for Portsmouth’s legendary punk band, The Queers, Jack “Wimpy Rutherford” Hayes doesn’t play out often these days. But when Valentino Valpa, of Dover punk band The Cryptics, made him a simple offer, Hayes couldn’t refuse.
“Valentino contacted me and asked if I wanted to do a show with them and The Casualties and that they would learn my material,” he said. “This guy’s been to a lot of my shows, so I went over for the first time and had a practice and they nailed it. I mean, these guys did their homework.”
For one night, on Friday, April 24, Hayes, backed by The Cryptics, will be at the Dover Brick House for a rare performance of classic Queers songs and some surprise covers. Street-punk stalwarts The Casualties will headline the show.
Though the metrics are debatable, The Queers are one of the most influential, successful, and well-traveled bands in Seacoast history. Their first incarnation, the faster and funnier version of The Queers, began in 1981.
“You kind of have the two (versions of) The Queers,” said Hayes. “You have the early Queers, where we did ‘rah-rah,’ in your face, short songs, no real harmony vocals, cut-it-in-a-day type stuff, then you have the later pop-punk stuff.” Founding guitarist Joe King (a.k.a. Joe Queer) has kept the band going in various forms since then, though Hayes isn’t currently in the band. It’s not bad for a group that chose its moniker in large part to piss off the city of Portsmouth. In the early ’80s, there was resistance from venues and studios, but by the time the band recorded their first 7-inch record, it was clear they had created something that would last for decades.
“We recorded ‘Kicked Out of the Webelos’ and ‘This Place Sucks’ and released 200 copies, hand signed, and that’s all there was of The Queers. It got a little cult popularity and was the most requested song of the year on WUNH in 1984. On the West Coast, ‘Beat Me, Bite Me’ was already playing in weird record stores,” Hayes said. “There were very few punks around; there was GG Allin and The Jabbers and The Queers, and it kind of came and went. We played a handful of gigs and that was really it.”
When The Queers broke up in late 1984, it was the end of the first chapter of a legacy that would span four decades, include dozens of members and tours, and create countless classic punk rock anthems.
“I’d like a key to the city. I think we deserve one.” — Jack “Wimpy Rutherford” Hayes
Hayes has fond memories of those early years, especially of Scott “Tulu Titmouse” Gilderlseeve, The Queers’ original bass player. Gildersleeve died last month, and his death has weighed heavily on Hayes. The two had played music together for most of their lives and had just finished recording an album, “Tulu and Wimpy Fly Like a Cucumber.” It was Gildersleeve who encouraged Hayes to take on vocal duties for The Queers in the first place.
“The original lineup was Joe on guitar, Scott on bass, and me on drums. And so we started getting into these new harder, quicker songs than we were doing and it was hard for Joe to sing to, so one time we’re all at practice and drinking and (Scott) said, ‘Hey Wimpy, why don’t you try to sing the songs?’ So I got off the drums and Scott got on and we did ‘This Place Sucks’ and I did an English accent … and everyone was just rolling on the floor,” Hayes said. “It wasn’t even our best lineup, it was just so funny that we went with it.”
When he reminisces about those years, Hayes’ eyes light up with an invincible youthfulness that’s contagious. He’s keenly aware of how important it is to connect with fans, especially young musicians. “In 1982, Kevin Kecy got me backstage at the Hampton Casino to meet The Ramones. Me, Joe King, and GG Allin were all sitting at the same table. We got backstage and Dee Dee was sitting there and we started talking. … So there I am, 24 years old, talking with my hero, eating pizza and smoking weed. Talking and talking and talking, about music,” he said.
“I said, ‘Oh yeah, I’m in this band, The Queers, and we just put out a single last year,’ and he’s like, ‘The “Kicked Out of the Webelos” Queers?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah!’ ‘Oh, I got your record, I got that and the one with ‘Beat Me, Bite Me,’ isn’t that yours too?’ … That half an hour was the highlight of my fucking life. So whenever young kids want to spend that five minutes to ask questions about shit, I always do that.”
As for The Queers’ own influence on future generations of punks, Hayes agreed the band had a big hand in shaping the Seacoast scene. “I’d like a key to the city,” he joked. “I think we deserve one.”
Wimpy Rutherford and The Cryptics perform with The Casualties, Rockin’ Bob, Red Tape, and The Earbleeds on Friday, April 24 at 8 p.m. at the Dover Brick House, 2 Orchard St., Dover.