Fish Karma (real name Terry Owen, born 1959) is an American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

comedy rock Comedy rock is a genre of rock music that is Comedy music, comedic in nature. It is often mixed with satirical music, satire or irony.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All music guide to rock: the definitive guide to rock, pop, and ...

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

musician from

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, United States.

Biography

Fish Karma has also described as "one of the worst vocalists ever to have the gall to step in front of a mic, his voice falling somewhere between Neil Young after a swift boot to the naughty bits and the dying screech of a depleted air horn". His career in creative antagonism began at the University of Arizona where Fish worked with a student run comedy troupe. An early incarnation of Owen's stage persona featured Karma garbed in elf shoes and a full-length burlap gown (purchased at a Tucson thrift store) festooned with bottle caps. While performing at a club called Tequila Mockingbird, Karma so offended musician Al Perry (who was employed as a bartender at the club) with his perverse renderings of Delta blues that Perry intentionally disrupted Karma's performances by running an electric drink mixer during his songs. This early antagonism led fortuitously to a musical collaboration lasting more than two decades. Recording on only the cheapest and most inferior equipment, Perry, like a revolted yet somewhat intrigued biographer, began capturing Fish's songs on tape. Karma's concerts made him a cult figure. Byron Coley of

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

said "Fish is a great entertainer. Live, he strums along at whatever tempo he wants & rants & raves the funniest observations this side of

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercultur ...

." Karma worked with Al Perry & The Cattle, Mojo Nixon and

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. Init ...

who says "Fish's music is your basic FUGS-style electric grunge folk, and his lyrics feature some of the meanest put-downs of American consumer culture I've heard in years." The songs "Should I Shop Or Should I Die" and "Grenada" aim their sights squarely at America's obsession with materialism and the need to police the world. After a few self-released albums, Fish got a record deal and put out two CDs: ''Teddy In The Sky With Magnets'' (1991) and ''Sunnyslope'' (1993). His trademark song "God Is A Groovy Guy" is about the ferocious and anal retentive Jehovah of the Old Testament that says "You are all doomed - especially you!". After years of touring, Fish took a break in 1995; only popping up in 1998 to collaborate with Andy Young on the children's record, The Dangerous Playground. The Tucson Weekly said "He's hilarious, irreverent, disgusting and thoroughly insightful. He's sort of a cross between

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

in the Freak Out days and early

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

ramblings." Fish is well known for his wry wit and humor, as well as an insatiable need to spit on all things conventional. He says "Part of my problem is that the first record I ever heard was "My Ding-A-Ling" by

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

. I have been struggling to overcome that disability ever since." Fish Karma's music is a tortured testament of his laughter in the face of oblivion. He is an eternally befuddled spokesperson for important social issues of which he has only a vague understanding.

Discography

Singles

*"Hellhound on my Leg" (7", Addled Records) *"American" (7", Sapient Records)

Albums

*''To Hell With Love, I'm Going Bowling'' (cassette) (Addled Records) *''Disco Entropy'' (Addled Records) *''Teddy in the Sky with Magnets'' (1991) (Triple X) *''Sunnyslope'' (1993) (Triple X) *''The Dangerous Playground'' (1998) (San Jacinto) *'' Lunch With The Devil'' (2001) ( Deep Shag Records) *''The Theory of Intelligent Design'' (2006) (

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 " C ...

) *''Halloween in America'' (2010) (

) *''Lethal Fairy tales'' (2012) (

)

References

Other sources

Fish Karma @ Deep Shag Records
(An earlier revision of this article is copied from this source with permission) *

External links

''Fish Karma'' @ Deep Shag Records
* ttp://www.tucsoncitizen.com/media/local_music/rock/karma_fish/index.html ''Tucsonan Terry Owen celebrates two decades of collaboration with his alter ego, Fish Karma'', Tucson Weekly, August 9, 2001br>Tucson's favorite tentacle: An interview with Fish Karma, Tucson Sentinel, June 8, 2018Nine Questions, Tucson Weekly, April 9, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish Karma American punk rock musicians 1959 births Living people Alternative Tentacles artists American folk rock musicians American comedy rock musical groups American comedy folk musical groups Musicians from Tucson, Arizona Triple X Records artists Rock musicians from Arizona