One of the many benefits of living as long as I have is the ability to see what we call “orphaned albums” finally reach the ears of listeners sometimes decades after they had been recorded. Some of these are legendary in their reputation. Others are more obscure, but there’s nothing wrong with being obscure. In fact, it’s heartening that music that may not have been widely known through reputation may still bob to the surface and be heard many years later. The music of Kaspar Hauser is one such instance.

In this case, a Massachusetts New Wave quartet with a guitar, synth, bass, drums lineup that was proffering exactly the sort of music that I would have been supporting in 1982 had they been in my location. They took their name from the strange Bavarian youth of the 19th century who claimed to have been raised in a dungeon before his early demise under shadowy circumstances. And they released a single 7″ EP in 1982 that is now a solid two figure disc.

The band were David Wildman [synth, vocals], Steve Traiger [guitar], Tim Power [bass], and Ted Selke [drums]. Wildman later had a band called Thinner according to Discogs. By 1984 drummer Selke had moved to Atlanta and became a member of the great Arms Akimbo, whom I had seen on MTV’s “IRS Records: The Cutting Edge” and liked a lot. Following that he was a member of Joybang! and Drivin N Cryin before beginning his Psych band The Seventh Ring Of Saturn.

Selke has now turned his attention to a live recording made in Massachusetts back in 1982 and it constitutes the album that never was from this New Wave band. His Mesh Art label is releasing it on CD tomorrow and it’s a live recording that captured a New Wave band with an intriguing blend of the powerful and obscure in equal measures. The three tracks from their sole EP are here with eight more songs that paint a compelling picture of the reach of this band that were sidelined in that fast-moving period before they could develop any further.

Kaspar Hauser: Live At The Zone Art Center Springfield, Mass. – April 24, 1982 – US – CD [2025]

1. Mysteries Of The Organism 3:12
2. Living With Fire 3:48
3. Bounty 3:42
4. Personal Space 3:36
5. Emperor Vito 2:00
6. Thought Patterns 3:32
7. Sample And Hold 3:23
8. People On A Crowded Bus 3:51
9. Decision Time 3:02
10. State Of The Art 3:26
11. Inhibited 2:54
12. Personal Space [Reprise] 3:12

Urgent tempos characterized “Mysteries of the Organism” with peals of tense guitar and syncopated bass chugs provided a propulsive setting for Wildman’s vocal style to take us places. His phrasing suggested the approach of perhaps Peter Case of The Plimsouls dropped into a very different band with nary a Byrdism in sight. Wildman’s synth playing at first here sounded like it could have been a Vox or Farfisa organ with the direct patches he favored. It was an exciting way to launch the show and promised more where that had come from.

“Living With Fire” had been the A-side of their 7″ EP and slowed the tempo a touch for the second cut. I loved the insistent synth lines dropping out to give the spotlight to the rhythm section for the intense middle eight. The loping, almost dub feel to the rhythms of “Bounty” gave the deep bass and shrill sustain of the synth a dynamic that was almost static. All the better to give Wildman’s intense vocals and provocative lyrics plenty of space to make their impression. The coup de grace was the chaotic slide guitar of Steve Traiger to fully suggest a society unmoored from normality [as well as morality] as the could-have-been-written-today lyrics hit home on the powerful song.

Motorik drumming from Mr. Selke was abetted by the chunky bass and shards of guitar shot through “Personal Space” while the synths only joined the song in its climax as Wildman gave it his all. Then the breakneck tempo and circular bass and guitar riffage of “Emperor Vito” was an exceptionally exciting vortex of sound and impact. It was an intense burst of sound and light and over far too quickly at a leave-me-wanting-more two minutes! This had been another song from their EP and now I wish I had a copy to hear the studio take on it as well.

The dubspace drumming and minor key synth hook of “Thought Patterns” anchored the song and gave us something to focus on when the lyrics got really dark. The atonal guitar solo at the climax was maybe pushing things a bit too far into bleakness. Then the tone maybe drifted a little far in the opposite direction with the robotic tale of “Sample And Hold.” Ultimately it was not a terribly different song or sentiment from the one of the same name and year from Neil Young! The random wave synth patch stood here as the most playful moment from the driving album.

I really loved how Mr. Traiger surfed the edge of chaos for his nearly metallic solo on “People On A Crowded Bus.” With the solo being handed off to Wildman and his synth before the instrumental portion of the song was over. The big bass riff of Tim Power grounded “Decision Time” for Selke’s drums to explore urgent ticking hi-hats and a reckless solo at the song’s midpoint leading to a percussive climax that I wish had finished the song off as with The Jam’s “Funeral Pyre.”

A dialogue between the shimmering synth hook and the slashing guitar typified “Inhibited.” With the stasis of its energy echoing the unique lyrical stance as Wildman complained of wanting to shout but having no voice. This was a unique song that proffered a point of view uncommon in Rock music. The product of a creative band unafraid to stand apart from the pack.

The album suggests that Kaspar Hauser had a lot to offer 43 years ago and the emergence of this recording will give those who like me, delve into the hidden margins of New Wave and Post-Punk something new and valid to investigate. The live recording is reasonably clean and well recorded, with the small, polite audience at the Arts Center not intruding very much at all on the vibe it captured. I wish I had sampled to embed but for now it’s just a CD. I can’t find the disc online yet but there’s every chance that tomorrow it will be widely available at retailers and streamers. I just can’t say right now, but if you would like to hear more, I suggest a stop at Ted Selke’s website to poke around and ask questions. If I had been living in Springfield, Massachusetts back in 1982, this would have been my favorite local band back then. That much is clear.

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