Butthole surfers
| Butthole surfers | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Alternative rock , noise rock , post-hardcore , psychedelic rock , experimental rock |
| founding | 1981 |
| Website | www.buttholesurfers.com |
| Current occupation | |
| Gibson "Gibby" Haynes | |
Guitar , vocals |
Paul Leary (Walthall) |
| Jeffery "King" Coffey | |
| former members | |
Drums |
Teresa Taylor (1983–1985, 1986–1989) |
| Andrew Mullen (1981-1982) | |
bass |
Bill Jolly (1983-1984) |
bass |
Terrence Smart (1984-1985) |
bass |
Mark Kramer (1985) |
bass |
Trevor Malcolm (1985-1986) |
bass |
Jeff Pinkus (1986-1993) |
guitar |
Josh Klinghoffer (2001) |
| Kathleen Lynch (1986-1989) | |
The Butthole Surfers are an American alternative rock band that was founded in 1981 in San Antonio , Texas and is best known for its sensational live shows.
history
The band was formed in 1981 in San Antonio by Gibson "Gibby" Haynes ( vocals ) and Paul Leary Walthall ( guitar ). Both met in 1977 as students at Trinity University there . In 1983 Jeffery "King" Coffey joined them as a drummer . These three formed the core members for the following years of the band's existence. Other temporary members included a. Teresa Taylor as second drummer and several bassists , including Jeff Pinkus, Andrew Weiss, Bill Jolly and Mark Kramer.
Their first EP of the same name was released in 1983 for Jello Biafras record label Alternative Tentacles , and a live LP was recorded the following year to compensate for the out of control expenses for the recordings for the first record. Already on their debut EP they provoked with titles like The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave and The Revenge of Anus Presley . They recorded their first album Psychic ... Powerless ... Another Man's Sac from 1984 for the Touch and Go Records label . In addition to hardcore punk , the band's sound was still heavily influenced by psychedelic rock and heavy metal . This mix makes them a forerunner of grunge rock. However, their sound changed over the years. The second album Rembrandt Pussyhorse from 1986 is reminiscent of avant-garde bands like the Einstürzende Neubauten and the Residents with its experimental tones .
Only their third album Locust Abortion Technician from 1987 and the now increasingly unusual live shows made them known to a wider public. Even at the beginning of the band's existence, Coffey had installed a stroboscope under one of his drums . The group later acquired several such lights, which generated a flash of flashes almost continuously during a performance. With these visual aids, a quadraphonic sound and two drummers playing at the same time, the band produced a nightmarish experience for the audience. Singer Gibby Haynes contributed to this experience with his singing style, which was reminiscent of screaming and was often supported by a megaphone . Countless costumes, strips of fabric tied into hair, nude dancers, fake blood, stuffed animals and an upside-down percussion cymbal filled with gasoline , which he lit and struck during the shows, were further elements of Haynes' stage show. Various films were shown on a screen behind the stage when the Butthole Surfers performed; These included recordings of autopsies , traffic accidents, atomic bomb explosions, people with epileptic seizures and scenes of facial operations and penile reconstructions . But not only shocking images were shown; an episode of Charlie's Angels is one of the films shown.
During the band's performances, there were often outbreaks of violence between members of the band and injuries from the use of flammable substances and beer bottles , also due to the increasing abuse of alcohol , marijuana and LSD . However, the band managed to make a living through their shows and the three albums released so far. At the time of Locust Abortion Technician and Hairway to Steven , they managed to sell out larger halls as well. In 1989 they left Touch and Go to sign a recording deal with Rough Trade Records . In the meantime, the band had made a reputation for itself as a tough negotiating partner within the music scene. When Rough Trade had to file for bankruptcy after the appearance of Pioughd in 1991 , the band had long since secured their master tapes and proceeds from record sales. After taking part in the first Lollapalooza tour in the same year , they received their first recording contract with a major label , Capitol Records .
The music of the Butthole Surfers had meanwhile evolved from the more experimental tones to somewhat more conventional alternative rock . This is also evident in their first release for Capitol, Independent Worm Saloon in 1993, produced by John Paul Jones ( Led Zeppelin ). During this time she contributed songs for Hollywood - soundtracks for, eg for. Romeo and Juliet , Escape from LA and Mission: Impossible II . In 1996 they managed to be played on the radio with their album Electriclarryland . At the same time, however, there were also legal difficulties. They sued their old record company Touch and Go for releasing their back catalog . In 1999 they won the trial and released their older albums on their own record label, Latino Buggerveil . In the same year, there were legal difficulties with Capitol Records, which resulted in her expulsion.
After the release of Electriclarryland , the band's music became more and more influenced by electronic sounds. Gibby Haynes named Massive Attack and the Chemical Brothers as influences . As a result, the 2001 album Weird Revolution was released , a revised version of an album recorded for Capitol but never released under the name After the Astronaut . In 2002, Humpty Dumpty LSD was released , a collection of previously unreleased songs recorded for earlier albums.
Apart from the butthole surfers, the band members were also musically active. Gibby Haynes and Jeff Pinkus released the house album Digital Dump as The Jackofficers in 1990 . In 1991 Haynes sang the hit Jesus Built My Hotrod for Ministry ; a song with the same lyrics appeared on the 1993 album Independent Worm Saloon called Some Dispute Over T-Shirt Sales . In 2004, Haynes recorded the song Caliente (Dark Entries) for the film Saw II with the Revolting Cocks , a kind of cover version of the song Dark Entries by Bauhaus . Paul Leary released a solo album in 1991 called The History of Dogs and produced bands such as Sublime , Reverend Horton Heat and the Meat Puppets .
Surname
In the early days of the band, the group performed under constantly changing names, e.g. B. as Dick Clark Five , Nine Foot Worm Makes Own Food , the Vodka Family Winstons and many more. "Butthole Surfers" was originally a song title under which an organizer mistakenly announced the band. The name was then adopted by the musicians. Since then, their obnoxiousness ( butthole means "asshole") has given concert organizers and broadcasters the opportunity to disguise the band name as "BH Surfers" or the like.
Discography
- 1983: Butthole Surfers (EP, also known as Brown Reason to Live )
- 1984: Live PCPPEP
- 1984: Psychic ... Powerless ... Another Man's Sac
- 1985: Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis (EP)
- 1986: Rembrandt Pussyhorse
- 1987: Locust Abortion Technician
- 1988: Hairway to Steven
- 1989: Widowermaker (EP)
- 1989: Double Live
- 1990: Pioughd
- 1993: Independent Worm Saloon
- 1996: Electriclarryland
- 2001: Weird Revolution
- 2002: Humpty Dumpty LSD
Web links
- Official website
- Butthole Surfers at Musicline.de
- Butthole Surfers at Alternative Tentacles
- Butthole Surfers at Allmusic (English)
swell
- ↑ a b c Azerrad, Michael: Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 . Little Brown 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1
- ↑ Morthland, John & Patoski, Joe Nick: " Feeding the Fish: An Oral History of the Butthole Surfers ( Memento of the original from November 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original - and archive link according to instructions and then remove this note. ", SPIN Magazine.
