Circus Lupus was a

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 based in the area of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The band originally formed in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, where one-time Ignition and Soul Side bassist Chris Thomson met guitarist Chris Hamley and drummer Arika Casebolt while attending school. The name "Circus Lupus" comes from an SCTV sketch about "Circus Lupus, the

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

", a mock TV commercial for an entirely wolf-filled traveling circus, with graphics of wolves on

trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes, metal straps, or chains, from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or ...

swings and other circus apparatus. Reg Shrader initially played bass with the band. He was replaced by Seth Lorinczi, as the band was making its transition from Madison to Washington. The band released two full-length

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

s and a seven-inch single on

Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.–based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release '' Minor Disturbance'' by their band the Teen Id ...

. The '' Super Genius'' LP (DIS63) was released in 1992, followed by the "Pop Man" with B-side "Pressure Point" single (DIS73; produced by

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...

) and '' Solid Brass'' LP (DIS79) in 1993. The band has also released material on the Cubist Production

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

. Members of the band have participated in other projects, including work released on

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-based label Southern Records. One of these follow-up bands was Antimony, featuring Arika Casebolt on drums, Seth Lorinczi on bass, and Chris Hamley on guitar and vocals. They released a full-length album in 1995 on Double Deuce Records out of New York City. Chris Thomson and Chris Hamley later reunited to form the Dischord and Simple Machines Records band Monorchid. Seth Lorinczi moved to San Francisco in the 2000s, creating the band The Quails with Jen Smith and Julianna Bright and releasing three CDs.

Members

*Chris Thomson:

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(1990–1993) *Arika Casebolt:

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 ...

(1990–1993) *Chris Hamley:

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 ...

(1990–1993) *Seth Lorinczi:

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(1991–1993) *Reg Shrader:

(1990–1991)

Discography

*'' Super Genius'' (1992) *'' Solid Brass'' (1993) ; Singles *''Tightrope Walker / Chinese Nitro'' 7-inch (1990, Cubist) *''Sea Of Serenity / Heathen'' split 7-inch w/

Trenchmouth Trenchmouth was an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1988. Throughout its existence, the band mainly consisted of Damon Locks (vocals/percussion), Chris DeZutter (guitar), Wayne Montana (bass), and Fred Armisen (drums). ...

(1992, Skene!, Dischord) *''Circus Lupus'' 7-inch (1992, Dischord)

Members

Discography

References

See also