Guerilla Toss is an American rock band, formed in Boston in 2011. Now based in New York City, Johnston, Maurabr>"Guerilla Toss returns to Cambridge, chaos intact"
"

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

", Boston, 21 October 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2016. the group currently consists of singer Kassie Carlson, drummer Peter Negroponte, guitarist Arian Shafiee, keyboardist Jake Lichter, and bassist Zach Lewellyn. Guerilla Toss has released five studio albums, seven

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

, and three remix albums, on various underground labels,

DFA Records DFA Records is an American independent record label based in New York City. The label was originally founded in 2001 by Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. Goldsworthy and Mur ...

and more recently on

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

. They were listed in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine as one of the "10 Great Modern Punk Bands""10 Great Modern Punk Bands"
''

'', New York, 13 April 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. and

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, comedian, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1 ...

has called them "one of the first great bands of the new century".

History

Formation and early years (2011–2014)

In 2011, Andy Allen and Peter Negroponte formed an early instrumental version of Guerilla Toss that played a mix of

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

. Singer Kassie Carlson joined the band in 2012, replacing Allen.Ruiz, Matthew Ismae
"Flavorwire Video Premiere: Guerilla Toss’ Technicolor Acid Test Gets Doused in 'Perfume' "
Flavorwire, 19 April 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.Levy, Mar
"Guerilla Toss performs tonight, and here are 10 things you might want to know"
"Cambridge Day", Cambridge, 5 December 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Carlson first met Guerilla Toss when her former hardcore band, Western Syndrome, performed with the group at a house show.Price, Dillo
"Guerilla Toss- Eraser Stargazer"
"Sound Renaissance", 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016. Around this time is when Guerilla Toss' members consider the band to have truly started. Guerilla toss gaygardens

Guerilla Toss toured extensively, nationally, and within Boston's DIY community by performing at many show houses such as Gay Gardens, where Carlson and Negroponte were both residents on separate occasions. Later that year Guerilla Toss released ''Jeffrey Johnson'', through Feeding Tube Records."Guerilla Toss is The Deli’s Best Emerging New England Band of 2012"
" The Deli Magazine", Boston, 17 February 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2016. In May 2013, Guerilla Toss released an EP, ''GTOSS'', through Tzadik Records, the record label owned by

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

composer

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

.Parish, Mat
"A Boston indie-rock watch list"
"

", Boston, 3 January 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2016. The group then released an EP later that year—''Kicked Back into the Crypt'', a split LP with noise rock band The Sediment Club that was co-released through Sophomore Lounge Records and Feeding Tube RecordsBucciero, Jo
"Guerilla Toss: "(God Fearing) Sex Symbol""
, Adhoc.fm, New York, 30 July 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2016. Guerilla Toss began to incorporate

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

elements into their sound as shown with the release of their debut LP ''Gay Disco'' through NNA Tapes in December 2013."Guerilla Toss Gay Disco"
"

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

", Chicago, 20 January 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2016."Five Best New Artists"
" Spin", New York, 26 November 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2016. In July 2014, they released their next EP, ''367 Equalizer'', through Infinity Cat Recordings.Bowe, Mile
"Guerilla Toss – "367 Equalizer" (Stereogum Premiere)"
"

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

", 4 June 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2016."10 New Artists You Need to Know: November 2016"
/ref> Towards the end of 2014 the band released the EP, ''Smack The Brick'', through NNA Tapes.Sugarman, Mik
"Guerilla Toss: "Be the Breeder""
, Adhoc.fm, New York, 28 October 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Guerilla Toss wrapped up the year by going on a US / Europe tour that included the fourth-to-last show at New York City warehouse venue Death By Audio with Thee Oh Sees.

Signing to DFA ''Eraser Stargazer'', ''GT Ultra, Twisted Crystal'' (2015–2019)

Guerilla Toss relocated to New York City during the summer of 2015.Klingman, Jef
"Guerilla Toss Is Brooklyn’s Best New Band (from Boston)"
" Brooklyn Magazine", Brooklyn, 2 November 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2016. On June 24, 2015, Guerilla Toss opened for seminal Boston

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Mission Of Burma Mission of Burma was an American post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. The group formed in 1979 with Roger Miller (rock musician), Roger Miller on guitar, Clint Conley on bass guitar, bass, Peter Prescott (musician), Peter Prescott on drum k ...

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

. The band's leader,

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits " King of the Road", "Dang Me", and " England Swing ...

is a self proclaimed fan. Adding to Guerilla Toss’ growing popularity, Kris Petersen and Jonathan Galkin of

, the record label co-founded by James Murphy of

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American Dance-punk#Contemporary dance-punk, dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals ...

, signed Guerilla Toss to the label.Caldwell, Patric
"Guerilla Toss creates exuberant noise you want to dance to"
, "My Statesman", Austin, 9 March 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. The band's first release through them was the EP ''Flood Dosed'' in October 2015, which was met with some acclaim.Rettig, Jame
"25 Great EPs from 2015"
"

", 2 December 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2016.Corcoran, Nin
"30 Best Local Albums of 2015"
" DigBoston", Boston, 30 December 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2016.Clark, William
"Wydyde – "Body in the Sand""
"Boston Hassle", Boston, 24 March 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Around this time, the band began varying their setlists and jamming during their live performances in addition to encouraging tapers to come and check out their shows, citing the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

as an inspiration.Arroyo, Steve
"Guerilla Toss – Eraser Stargazer"
"

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

", Chicago, 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016. In March 2016, Guerilla Toss released their album ''Eraser Stargazer'' through

. ''Eraser Stargazer'' was recorded during the winter of 2015 in Livingston Manor, NY. Guerilla Toss released two more recordings in 2016. One of them was a remix EP of ''Eraser Stargazer'' by Giant Claw—who did the artwork for ''Eraser Stargazer'', ''Live in Nashville'', and ''Gay Disco''—titled ''Giant Claw vs. Guerilla Toss'', which was released in May 2016 through

. The other release was their first live album, ''Live in Nashville'', which was recorded at The End in

Nashville, TN Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

on March 11, 2016, during the Eraser Stargazer tour. The album was released in June 2016 on vinyl via Feeding Tube Records and digitally via

.Bowe, Mile
"Guerilla Toss get remixed by Giant Claw and destroy an audience with Live In Nashville"
"

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

", London, 27 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016. In June 2017, Guerilla Toss released ''GT ULTRA'', their second full-length album release on

.Rettig, Jame
"Stream Guerilla Toss GT Ultra"
"

", 23 June 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017. The LP received positive reviews.Jarnow, Jess
"GT Ultra Review"
"

" July 2017. Retrieved 15 Dec 2022 Popular

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

and music critic

Anthony Fantano Anthony Nicholas Fantano ( ; born October 28, 1985) is an American Music journalism, music critic and internet personality who runs ''The Needle Drop'', a YouTube channel with a tie-in website and Twitch (service), Twitch streaming channel. Self ...

gave the album an 8/10, saying "Thanks to some clearer production, more up-front performances, and a zany new wave influence, GT ULTRA is the most I've ever enjoyed a Guerilla Toss album" and included it on his "Loved List: 2017" On July 18, 2018, the band released a music video for the song "Meteorological", alongside an announcement on their official Facebook page. The video was produced by giraffestudio and directed by Nicky "Giraffe" and Juliana "Giraffe". Carlson was also part of the video editing process. On the official announcement, that was released alongside an article on Stereogum, where their sixth full-length album, ''Twisted Crystal'', was announced. The album was released on September 14, 2018, with artwork made by Jacob van Loon. An EP titled ''What Would The Odd Do?'' was released on NNA Tapes October 18, 2019.Aswad, Je
"EP Review - What Would The Odd Do?"
Variety", Nov 23, 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2022. The band continued to tour, opening for Battles in Toronto, Chicago, Brooklyn, and Boston in December 2019.

Signing to Sub Pop, ''Famously Alive'' (since 2022)

On June 15, 2020, the band released 2 songs as part of the

7" club, "Human Girl" and "Own Zone".Small-Samanth
"Guerilla Toss Share New Songs Human Girl and Own Zone"
"Under The Radar", 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 Dec 2022. In January 2022, Guerilla Toss announced that they had signed to Sub Pop, and released their next album, ''Famously Alive'', through the label on March 25, 2022. They released the album's first single, "Cannibal Capital", on January 12, 2022.Rettig, Jame
"Guerilla Toss – "Cannibal Capital"
"

", 12 January 2022. Retrieved 15 Dec 2022. The LP received positive reviews.Reyes-Kulkarni, Sab
"Guerilla Toss Famously Alive Review"
op Matters", 25 March 2022. Retrieved 14 Dec 2022.Freedman, Ma
"Famously Alive Review"
"

", 28 March 2022. Retrieved 14 Dec 2022. Nick Forté, of the seminal

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band Rorschach, is credited as co-writing two songs on the album."TP Mix #145 - Guerilla Toss"
"The Playground". Retrieved 15 Dec 2022 Shortly after Famously Alive was released, Stephen Malkmus, who had seen the band perform in 2019, personally asked Guerilla Toss to open for his band Pavement on their 2022 reunion tour. It was announced in May that they would open in San Francisco, Troutdale, and Seattle.Pearis, Bil
"Pavement Announce Tour Openers"
"

Brooklyn Vegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, before broadeni ...

", Brooklyn, 4 May 2022. Retrieved 14 Dec 2022. They were later added to the Toronto and Boston Pavement shows as well. In July 2022, Guerilla Toss released the single "Zum Herz" on the official tribute album to

Neu! Neu! (; German for "New!"; styled in block capitals) were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Plank, w ...

, through

Grönland Records Grönland Records is a British–German independent record label founded in London, England; the company relocated to Berlin in 2009. "Grönland" (German for Greenland) refers both to the country, the label's founder, Herbert Grönemeyer and ...

. On October 28, 2022, Guerilla Toss released the single "Heathen Money" on a compilation called ''"The Eleventh Hour: Songs For Climate Justice"'', curated by

and film director Adam McKay. All of the proceeds from the compilation go to the Climate Emergency Fund. Guerilla Toss toured extensively throughout the year, playing festivals such as

Pickathon Pickathon is an annual, three-day music festival taking place the first weekend of August at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon. Founded in 1999, the festival initially grew out of Portland, Oregon, Portland's Bluegrass music, bluegrass and ...

Berlin and Paris,"Announcing Pitchfork Music Festival Berlin Initial Lineup and Dates For Paris and London Festivals"

30 June 2022 and the Primavera Weekender. Frequent collaborator and former Guerilla Toss bassist Ben Katzman was a contestant on '' Survivor 46'', which aired in 2024. On February 20, 2024, it was announced that Guerilla Toss would be opening for Primus and

Coheed and Cambria Coheed and Cambria is an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. It consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), and Za ...

on their summer co-headline tour, with Katzman rejoining the band on second guitar and vocals. The collaborative single with Katzman "Final Vibal" was released in July.

Artistry

Musical style

Guerilla Toss's earlier work has been labeled as

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

,Hunter, Scot
"Dispelling the Misconceptions of Art Rock with Guerilla Toss"
"Impose Magazine", Brooklyn, 10 December 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2016.

no wave No wave was an avant-garde music genre and visual art scene that emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was a pun based on the rejection of commercial new wave music. Reacting against punk rock's recycling of rock and r ...

,DeMerritt, Pau
"Guerilla Toss in transition"
"

Creative Loafing Creative Loafing is an Atlanta-based publisher of an arts and culture news and events newspaper/magazine. The company historically published a weekly publication that once had a 160,000 weekly circulation. While Creative Loafing is no longer p ...

", Atlanta, 7 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2016.

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

, and

, namely for their odd time signatures and dissonant instrumentals. Throughout their DFA years, critics noted the addition of

psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened o ...

krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...

, new wave,Levinson, Leah B
"Twisted Crystal Review"
"Tiny Mixtapes", 2018. Retrieved 15 Dec 2022

and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

elements to the bands sound, often being compared to artists like

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

The B-52's The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...

,Seling, Mega
"Guerilla Toss Confronts Lingering Anxiety on Famously Alive"
"Nashville Scene", 14 April 2022. Retrieved 15 Dec 2022

Boredoms Boredoms () (later known as V∞redoms) is a rock band from Osaka, Japan formed in 1986. The band's sound is often referred to as noise rock, or sometimes Japanoise (Japan's noise music scene), though their more recent records have moved towar ...

,Leitko, Aaro
"Eraser Stargazer Review"
"

", February 26, 2016. Retrieved 15 Dec 2022

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

, and

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

. Carlson's vocal style has been compared to that of Lizzy Mercier Descloux,

Laurie Anderson Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson (born June 5, 1947) is an American avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker whose work encompasses performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and sculpting,Amirkhanian, Cha ...

, and

Kathleen Hanna Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician and pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. She is the lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill and fronted the electropunk band Le Tigre ...

Influences

Early on in their career, Guerilla Toss considered

artists like

James Chance James Chance, also known as James White (born James Siegfried, April 20, 1953 – June 18, 2024), was an American saxophonist, keyboard player, and singer. A key figure in no wave, Chance played a combination of improvisational jazz-like musi ...

and

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

artists like

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born 'Don Glen Vliet'; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as the M ...

, and

composers like

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

and

, to be major influences. They have cited artists such as

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

,Seling, Mega
"Guerilla Toss Confronts Lingering Anxiety on Famously Alive"
"Nashville Scene" 14 April 2022. Retrieved 15 Dec 2022 Andy Stott, Caroline Polachek,Odgers, Elio
"Guerilla Toss: “I was so nervous I couldn’t even form words”"
Still Listening Magazine. Retrieved 15 Dec 2022 Arca, Arthur Russell, and

Boards Of Canada Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of the brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin. Signing first to Skam Records, Skam followed by Warp (record label), Warp Records in the 1990s, they received recognition following th ...

Konigsberg, Lil
"Guerilla Toss and My Idea Have Been Hard at Work"

Talkhouse ''Talkhouse'' is a digital media outlet and online magazine created in 2013 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Musicians, actors, and filmmakers share their experiences in their respective fields in personal essays, discuss their peers' work in edi ...

, October 18, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2022 as recent influences. The band dubbed the sound of ''Famously Alive'' as "Hyper Punk"Helfand, Raphae
"Guerilla Toss Go Bubblegum, Ballistic on Famously Alive"
"

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

" February 16, 2022. Retrieved 15 Dec 2022 (a play on the genre of

Hyperpop Hyperpop (sometimes called bubblegum bass) is a loosely defined electronic music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated during the early 2010s in the United Kingdom. It is characterised by an exaggerated or maximalist take on p ...

), fusing elements of pop and electronic music into their sound with a maximalist approach.Segal, Dav
"Formerly Demonic Guerilla Toss Become Well Oiled Pleasure Machine on Debut Sub Pop Album"
"The Stranger" March 29, 2022. Retrieved 15 Dec 2022 Carlson's older brother is singer Jonah Jenkins of Only Living Witness and

Milligram The kilogram (also spelled kilogramme) is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand grams. It has the unit symbol kg. The word "kilogram" is formed from the combination of the metric prefix kilo- (m ...

, as well as several other Boston based underground punk and hardcore bands throughout the 90's. He currently sings in the

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge doom or simply sludge) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that combines elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. The genre generally includes slow tempos, down-tuned guitars and nihilis ...

crust punk Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stri ...

band Raw Radar War. She grew up watching her brother perform and has stated in several interviews that she considers him an early influence in her development as a musician. Several members of Guerilla Toss are avid fans of

The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, folk, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, and world music with psyc ...

.Reyes, Jorda
"DIY rockers Guerilla Toss blend whimsy and profundity on Twisted Crystal"

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

, April 18, 2019. Retrieved 19 Dec 2022 Carlson is a DJ for WJFF Radio Catskill and curates a weekly show called ''Rare Pear Radio'', featuring fringe music mostly by

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

and female artists.

Lyrical themes

Carlson's lyrics often deal with subject matter such as

substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...

and recovery,Freedman, Ma
“What Would the Odd Do?” Guerilla Toss Bid Farewell to Addiction"

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

, October 30, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2022 growing up in

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

, religious fanaticism, the

psychedelic experience A psychedelic experience (known colloquially as a trip) is a temporary altered state of consciousness induced by the consumption of a psychedelic substance (most commonly Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, mescaline, psilocybin mushrooms, or N,N- ...

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, self motivation, depression and alien abduction. Carlson has said she draws inspiration from multitudes of subjects including contemporary literature like that of

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera ( ; ; 1 April 1929 – 11 July 2023) was a Czech and French novelist. Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship ...

, existentialist literature like that of

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

, and

cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

.Cohn, Am
“Artist Profile: Kassie Carlson of Guerilla Toss”
“

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the college sports teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate Varsity team, varsity sports teams for women and men at Harva ...

”, Cambridge, 25 February 2016.

Members

Current * Kassie Carlson - vocals/violin (2012–present) * Peter Negroponte - drums (2011–present) * Arian Shafiee - guitar (2011–present) * Zach Lewelleyn - bass (2021–present) * Jake Lichter - keyboards (2024–present) Current Touring Members * Ben Katzman - guitar/vocals (2024–present) * William Dantzler - visuals (2015–present) * Matthew Mann - visuals (2022–present) * Watley - dog (2018–present) Former * Andy Allen - saxophone (2011) * Simon Hanes - bass (2011-2014) * Ian Kovac - keyboards (2011-2014) * Ben Katzman - bass (2015-2016) * Stephe Cooper - bass (2018-2021) * Sam Lisabeth - keyboards (2015-2023) Former Touring Members * Borey Shin - keyboards (2011) * Toby Aronson - keyboards (2014) * Pat Keuhn - bass (2014) * Phil Racz - bass (2015) * Greg Albert - bass (2016-2017) * Katie McShane - keyboards/vocals (2023)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums * ''Gay Disco'' (2013) * ''Eraser Stargazer'' (2016) * '' GT Ultra'' (2017) * '' Twisted Crystal'' (2018) * ''Famously Alive'' (2022) EPs * ''Jeffery Johnson'' (2012) * ''Kicked Back into the Crypt'' (2013) * ''GTOSS'' (2013) * ''Guerilla Toss'' (2013)https://www.discogs.com/release/4566344-Guerilla-Toss-Gorilla-Toss * ''367 Equalizer'' (2014) * ''Smack the Brick'' (2014) * ''Flood Dosed'' (2015) * ''What Would The Odd Do?'' (2019) Live albums * ''Live in Nashville'' (2016) Singles * "Human Girl"/"Own Zone" (2020) Remixes * Giant Claw – "Giant Claw vs. Guerilla Toss" (2016) * Jay Glass Dubs – "Jay Glass Dubs vs Guerilla Toss" (2017) * Khotin and Yu Su – "Retwisted Crystal" (2019) Music videos * "367 Equalizer" (2014) * "Doll Face on the Calico Highway" (2016) * "Perfume" (2016) * "Color Picture" (2016) * "The String Game" (2017) * "Skull Pop" (2017) * "Betty Dreams of Green Men" (2017) * "Dose Rate" (2018) * "Meteorological" (2018) * "Plants" (2019) * "Cannibal Capital" (2022)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Boston Rock music groups from Massachusetts 2012 establishments in Massachusetts DFA Records artists