The Beast Of England & Szandora La Vey Career Of Evil

Szandora Lavey is Old Nick’s favorite Renaissance Woman. Hula hoop artist, writer, burlesque performer, model, and photographer are just a few of the hats she wears. She has toured far and wide as the hula hoopin’, strip teasin’ front woman of such instrumental groups as Thee Swank Bastards and Sinister Twist. Now she adds singer to her resume with this single, the first official release to feature her on lead vocals. At her Satanic majesty’s request, San Francisco’s The Beast Of England headed by husband and wife duo Lance Eason (The Hard Ponys) and Kathleen Auterio, have laid down a version of the Patti Smith penned Blue Oyster Cult classic, “Career of Evil,” a lifelong favorite of Miss Szandora’s. The band plays it straight, sticking close to the original and allowing Szandora to deliver her own uniquely devilish take on the song’s vocal. The B-side finds her vamping it up even harder on a Cramps-like original, “(Belle of the) Black Heart’s Ball,” coming on like a punk rock Wanda Jackson over what is more or less a classic novelty song in the vein of “The Monster Mash.” The band is rounded out by Beast of England mainstay Tim Sunderman on bass and the Hard Ponys’ Jim Clenney on drums. Inferno of Joy’s HUGH YEARBEAUGH adds keyboards on the A-side. Packaged with a full-color insert and a 10-page, fully illustrated parody of the old Chick pamphlets extolling the evils of backwards satanic messages in rock music.