Miriam Linna (far left) with The Cramps

It’s worth mentioning the Norton Records 25th Anniversary Festival happening at The Bell House in Brooklyn this week for a couple reasons. Norton, which specializes in reissuing in primal rock & roll records, was started in 1986 by Billy Miller and Miriam Linna to put out a Hasil Adkins album. Linna, while born in Ontario, has long been inextricably tied to Northeast Ohio and the music scene that sprang up there in the early to mid-70s. She moved to New York in 1976 to play drums with The Cramps, whose Lux Interior and Poison Ivy had also relocated from Ohio. (She was later replaced by another Ohio native, Nick Knox.) For a great remembrance of those times, check out Miriam’s blog. In addition to celebrating, Linna and Miller will be playing with their band the A-Bones on Sunday.

The Alarm Clocks in the mid-60s

Also, playing this weekend are The Alarm Clocks, a garage rock band that formed in Parma in the mid-60s. The short-lived band was only around from 1965 to 1967 and only issued one 45 during their existence. Just 300 copies of that single, “No Reason to Complain” b/w “Yeah,” were ever pressed, but remarkably it ended up on the first volume of Crypt’s esteemed Back from the Grave compilations. After reissuing the single, Norton tracked down guitarist Bruce Boehm and put out a full album of unreleased recordings in 2000. The Alarm Clocks ended up reuniting to celebrate the 40th birthday of their one single, which in turn led to the group giving it another go and recording a new record, The Time Has Come, which Norton released in 2006. They added guitarist Tom Fallon for the new record, while in the intervening years original drummer Bill Schwark was replaced by Vince Bartolotto. They play the Norton Fest tomorrow night, but are also making an appearance at Bait and Tackle on Friday.

Unfortunately, the Norton anniversary shows, which take place Thursday to Sunday, are all sold-out, so you’ll need to either scalp tickets or weasel your way in somehow. For the full line-up, check out the Norton website.