When Wipers lead singer Greg Sage was a child he grew fascinated with cutting records on his own. Since his father worked in the broadcast industry he had access to a lathe, and spent his evenings bootlegging songs off the radio and converting those to records for his friends at school. This passion pre-dated his ability to play an instrument but certainly influenced what was to come as Sage grew into adulthood and formed Wipers with his two friends Sam Henry (drums) and Dave Koupal (bass).
When Wipers was formed in the late 70’s in the Pacific Northwest it was in the midst of a punk rock explosion from bands like The Clash, Ramones, and Sex Pistols (what I’ve affectionally dubbed The Holy Trinity of Punk) that turned the world of rock and roll upside down. Wipers embodied the ideals of that punk movement in a way that was more genuine than most– they initially formed with the intention of simply being a recording project and had no aspirations of playing any live shows to avoid any perceptions of commoditizing their art form.
When Is This Real? was initially released it was largely ignored by the masses outside of generating some local buzz in the Portland area. However as time went on the album become somewhat of a cult classic, hitting its zenith when Kurt Cobain of Nirvana listed it as one of the most influential albums in his life that inspired his own work. Today it’s seen as a cornerstone of punk music and consistently lauded as one of the most impactful albums that laid the groundwork for punk rock music to come.
Standout Songs: “Return of the Rat”, “Up Front”, “Alien Boy”
