Pitchblende was an American four-piece

art punk Art punk, or artcore, is a subgenre of punk rock in which artists go beyond the genre's rudimentary garage rock and are considered more sophisticated than their peers. These groups still generated punk's aesthetic of being simple, offensive, and ...

band from

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 ...

, United States, composed of Justin Chearno on guitar, Scott DeSimon on bass guitar, Patrick Gough on drums and Treiops Treyfid on guitar. Between 1991 and 1995, the group recorded three albums and several singles for the independent labels Cargo, Jade Tree,

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City ap ...

and

Simple Machines Simple Machines was an American independent record label in Arlington, Virginia. The label was founded by Derek Denckla and Jenny Toomey and Brad Sigal while both were living in the Positive Force House in north Arlington, but Sigal and even ...

Style

Although based in Washington, Pitchblende's dense, angular sound was commonly thought to be closer in style to the contemporary music scenes in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

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 ...

than what was heard on the DC-based

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 ...

labels at the time. Central to Pitchblende's approach was an emphasis on experimentation and dynamics; the band's songs often used complex structures, unusual arrangements, alternative tunings and jarring time changes. Pitchblende's recordings and loud, energetic live shows earned them critical accolades and comparisons with influential bands such as

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 ...

and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

. The group melded together the chaotic spirit of

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 ...

with an absurdist,

dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

aesthetic; somewhat pop sensibilities; and a musical proficiency informed by

prog-rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the ...

bands. In spite of occasional references to being inspired by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, very little of Pitchblende's music was

improvisational Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

. This misconception prompted the band to cheekily rename itself The Pitchblende Quartet for its final 1995 album, ''Gygax!''.

Break up

Despite extensive touring and a prolific recorded output, Pitchblende remained largely a favorite of critics and college radio. After a disastrous final US tour in 1994 when the band's gear was stolen in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and DeSimon was attacked and beaten up in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, Chearno and DeSimon moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

where they formed the three piece instrumental band

Turing Machine A Turing machine is a mathematical model of computation describing an abstract machine that manipulates symbols on a strip of tape according to a table of rules. Despite the model's simplicity, it is capable of implementing any computer algori ...

with the late Jerry Fuchs. Chearno went on to form the bands

Doldrums The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ , or ICZ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the ...

and Panthers, and later worked in the wine industry in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. DeSimon is a magazine editor. Gough is an urban planner in Northern Virginia who played in the D.C.-based trio Imperial China from 2007 to 2013, and Treyfid is a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based fine artist, solo musician and graphic designer. Chearno died on August 22, 2024, at the age of 54.

Discography

Singles and EPs

* "Sum"/"Lacquer Box" 7-inch, Landspeed - LS001, February 1992 * ''The Weed Slam'' EP 7-inch - "Weed Slam"/"Ask Rexella"/"Ursa Minor", Jade Tree - JT1008, October 1992 * ''Penny for the Guy'' Working Holiday split 7-inch (with Swirlies), Simple Machines - WH11, November 1993 * "Psychic Power Control"/"In the Flat Field" 7-inch, Cargo - Fist15, May 1994 * "Nine-Volt"/"Karoshi" 7-inch (alternative versions), Pushead Fan Club limited/signed run of 400, September 1994 * "Windshield Kiss" split 7-inch (with Eggs), Jade Tree - JT-16, November 1995

LPs

* ''Kill Atom Smasher'' CD/LP, Cargo - Fist12, April 1993 * ''Au Jus'' CD/CS, Cargo - Fist22, June 1994 - CD/LP, Matador (Europe) - Ole 102, April 1995 * ''Gygax!'' CD, Cargo - HED-048, February 1996 - ''Gygax!'' CD/LP, Matador (Europe) - Ole 190, April 1996

Appearances

* "Drop In the Big Drink" split 7-inch (with Rocket from the Crypt, Rodan, and Walleye), Compulsive - COMP12, October 1993 * ''Chairman of the Board - Frank Sinatra Tribute'', double CD, "Here's to the Losers", Grass/Dutch East - GROW1212-2, Spring 1995 * ''

Working Holiday! ''Working Holiday!'' is a compilation album released on the Simple Machines label in 1994. It is a collection of tracks by American indie bands which were originally released on a series of 12 7" singles by Simple Machines as part of the Wor ...

'' double CD, "Penny for the Guy" 7-inch version and a live recording of "Flax" at the Working Holiday Festival, January 1994, Simple Machines - SMR 26, December 1994 * WGNS ''Gots No Station'' compilation, "Sideling Hill" (alternate version), 1994 * ''Jade Tree First Five Years'', "Windshield Kiss" 7-inch, 2000

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitchblende Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 American art rock groups Punk rock groups from Washington, D.C. Jade Tree (record label) artists 1991 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1995 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.