GET SMART!

GET SMART! is a three-piece indie post-punk band that formed in Lawrence, KS in 1980 while the members, Marcus Koch (guitar/vocals), Lisa Wertman Crowe (bass/vocals) and Frank Loose (drums/vocals), were attending the University of Kansas. The group was prominent in the local music scene, and along with a cohort of other bands, helped to solidify Lawrence as an alternative music hotbed and a touring destination for many other regional and national acts. Along with frequent local shows, the band toured coast-to-coast, performing more than 300 gigs in a six-year span.

They released their first recording in 1981, a flexi-disc included in Talk Talk magazine. This was followed by Words Move, a self-released 4-track EP, and next was a four-band split cassette, Fresh Sounds from Middle America. They recorded their first LP, Action Reaction, prior to relocating to Chicago in late 1982. The debut was eventually released in 1984 by Fever Records and distributed by Enigma Records. In 1986, they recorded and released their sophomore LP, Swimming With Sharks through Enigma’s subsidiary, Restless Records.
The original lineup reformed in January, 2020, and in December, 2020, they released a collection of six previously recorded (but never released) songs, titled Oh Yeah No. Originally recorded with the prominent Chicago engineer Iain Burgess, the final mixes were completed by Steve Albini.
The group played 40th + 1 anniversary shows in Lawrence and Chicago in 2021 and have continued to perform as time allows them to get together.