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Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 by Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and guitarist East Bay Ray in San Francisco, California, with the intention to release the Dead Kennedys' self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, they released records for other bands as well. They would go on to release albums by artists such as Dead Kennedys, NoMeansNo, D.O.A., Alice Donut, Lard, the Dicks, Butthole Surfers, 7 Seconds, Neurosis, Wesley Willis, Half Japanese, Blowfly, Subhumans (Canada), the Crucifucks, Victims Family, Pansy Division, Zolar X, Culture Shock, World/Inferno Friendship Society, Itchy-O, ArnoCorps, the Darts, Tsunami Bomb, and many more. In the mid-1980s Jello Biafra became the sole owner of Alternative Tentacles. History The origins of Alternative Tentacles trace back to June 1979. The name Alternative Tentacles was used as the label name on Dead Ken ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jello Biafra
Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially active from 1979 to 1986, Dead Kennedys were known for rapid-fire music topped with Biafra's sardonic lyrics and biting social commentary, delivered in his "unique quiver of a voice". When the band broke up in 1986, he took over the influential independent record label Alternative Tentacles, which he had founded in 1979 with Dead Kennedys bandmate East Bay Ray. In a 2000 lawsuit, upheld on appeal in 2003 by the California Supreme Court, Biafra was found liable for breach of contract, fraud, and malice in withholding a decade's worth of royalties from his former bandmates and ordered to pay over $200,000 in compensation and punitive damages; the band subsequently reformed without Biafra. Although now focused primarily on spoken word ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dicks (band)
Dicks were an American punk rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 1980 and initially disbanded in 1986. After the first breakup, singer Gary Floyd formed the band Sister Double Happiness, with drummer Lynn Perko, then later fronted a project called Black Kali Ma. In 2004, The Dicks reunited and were active until 2016. The Dicks went through two incarnations in the 1980s, changing its lineup when Floyd moved from Austin to San Francisco in 1983. As a political band with Marxist lyrics during the Reagan Era, they did not shy from controversy. Floyd was one of a handful of openly gay musicians in the 1980s punk scene. History Austin lineup (1980–1983) Dicks were formed in Austin in 1980 by Gary Floyd, Buxf Parrott, Pat Deason, and Glen Taylor. Their first single "Dicks Hate The Police", released in 1980, brought them much attention and is now regarded as a classic hardcore punk record.True, Christopher " Dicks Biography, ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation In the song Floy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The World/Inferno Friendship Society
The World/Inferno Friendship Society (also referred to as World Inferno, or Inferno) was an American band from Brooklyn, New York. Its style merged punk, soul, klezmer and jazz, while its collective membership featured horns, piano and guitar and had a membership of about 40 players, of whom only about seven to ten active members usually performed at a time. The group was led by singer Jack Terricloth, who was the only constant during the group's history. Terricloth was known for his pointed commentary during shows; his monologues touched on politics and his transformation from the "old school." Its lyrics often concerned historical or biographical subjects, such as Weimar-era Germany, Peter Lorre, Jeffrey Lee Pierce of the Gun Club, Paul Robeson, Leni Riefenstahl, Dante Alighieri, Philip K. Dick, and Jonathan Fire*Eater. Terricloth died in May 2021. Hallowmas The World/Inferno Friendship Society's annual Halloween show, Hallowmas, was its most-anticipated performan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culture Shock (band)
Culture Shock are an English ska punk band formed in Warminster, Wiltshire in 1986 by Dick Lucas, previously of the Subhumans. Band history Culture Shock have played hundreds of gigs, including frequent appearances at free festivals, and released six studio albums on the Bluurg record label. Lucas' lyrics were mostly concerned with social and political issues, from cruelty to animals, Northern Ireland, war, and social alienation, but were far from angry rants, often finding a positive and empowering perspective. Culture Shock split at the end of 1989, as Bill and Nige both had young families to support. Dick went on to form Citizen Fish with Jasper, the bassist on Culture Shock's final album, and two other former members of the Subhumans. Nige died in 1993. Reformation Interest in the band was revived by the release of the ''Everything'' CD retrospective in 2012; Culture Shock reformed as a gigging band and have been playing since 2013. The line-up remains the same except ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zolar X
Zolar X is an American glam rock band founded in 1973. Zolar X became known in the Los Angeles club scene for dressing and acting like space-aliens. They spoke an 'alien language' of their own invention. They are referred to as "Los Angeles' first glam rock band" in the 1998 book ''Glam! Bowie, Bolan and the Glitter Rock Revolution'' by Barney Hoskyns. Zolar X were the house band at Rodney's English Disco, which was depicted in George Hickenlooper's 2004 documentary ''Mayor Of The Sunset Strip''. Zolar X played gigs with Shady Lady, Iggy Pop, Michael Des Barres, Jobriath Boone, and the New York Dolls. History Coming to Earth: 1973–1975 Zolar X enjoyed regional success as a live act, and national exposure via Lenny Kaye's ''Rock Scene Magazine'', but commercial success eluded them. Zolar X were unable to get signed to a record label. In 1982 they released one independent record, ''Timeless'', a collection of demos, on Pyramid Records. Zolar X's founder was vocalist, compose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pansy Division
Pansy Division is an American queercore band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1991 by guitarist/singer/songwriter Jon Ginoli along with bassist Chris Freeman. Conceived as the first openly gay rock band featuring predominantly gay musicians, Pansy Division's music, a mix of pop punk and power pop, focuses mainly on LGBT issues, sex and relationships, often presented in a humorous light. In 1992, the band signed to punk label Lookout! Records and received international notoriety touring with Green Day in 1994, becoming the most commercially successful band of the queercore movement which began in the 1980s. Pansy Division has released seven studio albums and three B-side compilations, among other recordings. In 2008, the band was the subject of a documentary film entitled ''Pansy Division: Life in a Gay Rock Band''. History Formation Frustrated by the lack of openly gay rock musicians, Jon Ginoli started performing solo sets under the moniker Pansy Division (a pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victims Family
Victims Family is a hardcore punk band formed in 1984 in Santa Rosa, California, by bass guitarist Larry Boothroyd and guitarist and vocalist Ralph Spight. Devon VrMeer completed the trio as drummer. Their sound blended punk, heavy metal and jazz, making them difficult to categorize into a single genre. Allmusic says, "Since its inception, the trio has refused to be pigeonholed to any single musical style — incorporating elements of hardcore punk, jazz, funk, hard rock, and noise into its challenging sound". They were known as one of the most musically diverse bands in the San Francisco underground music scene. Over the years, Victims Family went through four drummers and two break-ups. Their name was taken from a piece by the cartoonist B. Kliban. History In 1984, Victims Family played their first show at the Kennilworth Recreation Center in Petaluma, California, where they later opened for Faith No More and Suicidal Tendencies. In summer 1985, the band made their first U.S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Crucifucks
The Crucifucks were an American punk band formed in 1981 in Lansing, Michigan. They were noted for their political agitation, provocative lyrics, and unusually shrill vocals by band leader Doc Corbin Dart. Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra signed them to his independent Alternative Tentacles label. Other members of the original line up included Dart's cousin Joe on guitar, Scott Fagersten on bass, and drummer Steve Shelley, who went on to play with Sonic Youth. History The band's debut LP '' The Crucifucks'' was recorded in 1984 and released in 1985 on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label. ''Wisconsin'' followed in 1987, also on Alternative Tentacles. Between that album and 1996's ''L.D. Eye'', Dart recorded two solo projects, ''Patricia'', on Alternative Tentacles in 1990, and ''Black Tuesday'', a self-released cassette, in 1991. After a long hiatus, Doc released an album entitled "The Messiah" on Crustacean Records in 2004. The moniker he used for this album is "2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subhumans (Canada)
Subhumans were a Canadian punk rock band formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1978.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 157 Known by pejorative, punk rock nicknames, original members were known simply as "Useless" (Gerry Hannah), "Dimwit" (Ken Montgomery), "Wimpy" (Brian Roy Goble) and "Normal" (Mike Graham). History Dimwit quit the band shortly after their first 7" was released to join the Pointed Sticks, and was replaced by Koichi Imagawa, also known as Jim Imagawa, on drums. In 1981, Hannah left the band and gradually became involved with a small group of underground activists calling themselves ''Direct Action''. In the alternative media they were referred to as the ''Vancouver 5'', but in the mainstream press they were dubbed the '' Squamish 5''. The group, composed of ecologists and feminists, were responsible for a number of actions, including the 14 October 1982 bombing of the Litton Industries plant in Ontario which ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blowfly (musician)
Clarence Henry Reid (February 14, 1939 – January 17, 2016) was an American musician, songwriter and producer also known by the stage name and alternate persona Blowfly. He released over 25 parody albums as Blowfly and another three albums as Clarence Reid. Biography Reid was born in Cochran, Georgia, in 1939 and moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, in his adolescence (c. 1949). His stage name was given to him by his grandmother who he would visit in Georgia occasionally. During this time, Reid would make explicit parodies of the country music that was popular on the airwaves in Cochran then, prompting his grandmother to brand him a " blowfly". "In hillbilly, you'll find some of the best lyrics and morals. I used to listen to Homer and Jethro, and they would rap most of the time, only they didn't call it rap then. They used to call it soul talkin'. As a form of revenge, I would take songs like " The Twist," and I would change it from (sings) "Come on baby, let's do the twist" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Half Japanese
Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair in 1974, after their family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland. Half Japanese' original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out-of-tune, distorted guitar. Both Fair brothers sang, although over time Jad held the frontman role. As of the band's last several releases since the 1990s, according to the album and CD credits, Half Japanese composes and plays the entirety of the music while Fair, eschewing his role as guitarist from earlier albums, plays almost no guitar but is responsible for the vocals and lyrics, which typically divide into either "love songs or monster songs." Band history Their lyrics often deal with monsters and the supernatural (especially as influenced by "creature feature" and sci-fi movies), in addition to more conventional themes, such as young love. The band was formed in Jad and David Fair's bedroom in the mid-1970s, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wesley Willis
Wesley Lawrence Willis (May 31, 1963 – August 21, 2003) was an American musician and visual artist. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1989, Willis began a career as an underground singer-songwriter in the outsider music tradition. Willis' songs are typically partially spoken in an MC style, and partially sung in a nasal and out-of-tune manner reminiscent of punk rock vocals. They feature bizarre, humorous and sometimes obscene or absurd lyrics sung over backing created by using the auto accompaniment feature on his Technics KN keyboard. His songs cover a wide variety of topics, with mental illness and consumerism being the most prominent themes. He is best known for songs such as "Rock N Roll McDonald's" as well as a series of songs where he would directly insult his demons. Willis gained a large cult following in the 1990s, particularly after the release of his 1995 ''Greatest Hits'' album on the Alternative Tentacles label. Jello Biafra compiled the album's track ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
