HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bitch Magnet was an American
post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...
band who formed in 1986 at
Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...
in
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
and later moved to
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
.


History

Bitch Magnet released their first record in 1988. All of the band's albums were released on Communion Records in the US; they were also signed to the European labels Shigaku/What Goes On and Glitterhouse. The band disbanded in 1991. On March 31, 2011, Bitch Magnet announced that the line-up of Fine, Morfin and Park - the band's original recorded line-up - would reunite to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival "Nightmare Before Christmas," held in the UK in December 2011. In addition to performing at ATP, the band also played shows in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
,
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
and in the Netherlands at Groningen's Vera club. The band played its first reunion shows in Asia in November 2011, in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
and
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. In the spring of 2012 Bitch Magnet played additional shows in Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Manila. It concluded its reunion with a tour of America in autumn, 2012, performing in Seattle, San Francisco, two shows in New York, and its final show in Chicago, at the Empty Bottle. Bitch Magnet's three albums were reissued on December 6, 2011 by Temporary Residence Limited, as a deluxe limited-edition triple-LP set and as a triple CD. The reissues include non-LP tracks and previously unreleased recordings that were remixed with John Congleton in late 2010.


Style

Steve Huey of ''
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
'' described Bitch Magnet's sound as a "blistering and intellectual brand of
post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...
punk." They have drawn comparisons to Big Black. They have also drawn comparisons to
Slint Slint was an American Rock music, rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986 after the dissolution of two local bands, Squirrel Bait and Maurice. It initially consisted of guitarist-vocalist Brian McMahan, guitaris ...
, though they have been described as "more relentless and somewhat less nuanced."


Members


Final line-up

* Sooyoung Park
lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
,
bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
(1986–1990, 2011–2012) *Jon Fine –
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
(1986–1990, 2011–2012) *Orestes Morfín (aka Orestes Delatorre) –
drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
(1987–1990, 2011–2012)


Former members

*Jay Oelbaum – drums (1986) *
David Grubbs David Grubbs (born September 21, 1967) is an American composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. He has also played in Codeine (band), Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet a ...
– guitar (1989) *David Galt – guitar (1989) *Pete Pollack – drums (1990)


Discography


Albums

*''
Umber Umber is a natural earth pigment consisting of iron oxide and manganese oxide; it has a brownish color that can vary among shades of yellow, red, and green. Umber is considered one of the oldest pigments known to humans, first used in the Ajant ...
'' (1989) *'' Ben Hur'' (1990)


EPs and singles

*'' Star Booty'' (1988) *"Valmead" b/w "Pea" - split with
Codeine Codeine is an opiate and prodrug of morphine mainly used to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea. It is also commonly used as a recreational drug. It is found naturally in the sap of the opium poppy, ''Papaver somniferum''. It is typically use ...
(1990, Glitterhouse also released as 12" with live versions of "Big Pining" and "Navajo Ace") *"Mesentery" & "Motor" b/w "Big Pining (alternate version)" (1990, Waterfront) *"Sadie" b/w "Where Eagles Fly" (cover of Misfits song "Where Eagles Dare") included in limited release of ''Ben Hur'' LP (1990) *"Sadie" b/w "Ducks and Drakes (live)" (1991, Caff Records)


Compilations

*''Endangered Species'', a 6 record box set compilation of 7" singles, released by Glitterhouse,1991, contains one track by Bitch Magnet: "White Piece of Bread" (alternate side with Bullet LaVolta's "Hello There") *'' Bitch Magnet'', a triple-CD set containing ''Ben Hur'' with "White Piece of Bread" and "Sadie", ''Umber'' with "Motor (alternate mix)", and ''Star Booty'' with alternate versions of "Sadie" and four other ''Umber'' songs. Also released as a triple-LP set. (Temporary Residence Limited, 2011)


Music videos

* "Mesentery" (1990)


References


External links

* Online history of BM {{Authority control Musical groups from Ohio Musical groups from North Carolina American post-hardcore musical groups American noise rock music groups American musical trios Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Glitterhouse Records artists