Nervous Gender 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 ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

band formed in Los Angeles in 1978 by Gerardo Velazquez, Edward Stapleton,

Phranc Phranc (born Susan Gottlieb; August 28, 1957), is an American singer-songwriter whose career began playing in several bands in the late 1970s Los Angeles punk rock scene. Her musical style later shifted during the 1980s as a solo artist, into a ...

and Michael Ochoa. Their use of heavily distorted keyboards and synthesizers made them, along with The Screamers, one of the original innovators of what is today called "

electropunk Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...

", although they could equally be considered an early industrial group. The group was confrontational and experimental. Phranc's

androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often r ...

appearance was the embodiment of the group's name, garnered the band much press in

zines A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

such as ''

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

'' and, later, proving inspirational to founders of the

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically ...

movement. Despite their somewhat high profile, the groups' habit of provoking the audience, obscene material and harsh erotics guaranteed they would never gain commercial acceptance. At their first show in 1979, a benefit for the Women's Video Center, Phranc called the audience "pussies" and "dykes" when the band was requested to stop playing.

History

The band were formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1978 by Gerardo Velazquez, Edward Stapleton, Phranc and Michael Ochoa. In 1979,

Don Bolles Donald Fifield Bolles (July 10, 1928 – June 13, 1976) was an American investigative reporter for ''The Arizona Republic'' newspaper who was known for his coverage of organized crime in and around Phoenix, Arizona, especially by the Chicago Ou ...

of the Germs joined as drummer. The following year, Phranc left the band and Paul Roessler of the Screamers joined. At this time they recorded the tracks for the compilation ''Live at Target'', released as an LP and a video, both seminal not only in the punk scene but also as early industrial recordings; fellow contributors

Factrix Factrix was an American pioneering industrial group from San Francisco, formed in 1978 by Bond Bergland, Cole Palme, and Joseph T. Jacobs, and was praised by Carlo McCormick as "one of the great bands of their era, prescient and influential." ...

and

Z'EV Z'EV (born Stefan Joel Weisser, February 8, 1951 – December 16, 2017) was an American poet, percussionist, and sound artist. After studying various world music traditions at CalArts, he began creating his own percussion sounds out of indu ...

(listed on this recording as "UNS") were early industrial acts, and Nervous Gender found more acceptance among that scene initially. All the artists involved in ''Live at Target'' were experimenting with atonality, noise and concepts not common until

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 ...

groups emerged later. Nervous Gender played with bands such as SPK,

NON Non, non or NON can refer to: * ''Non'', a negatory word in French, Italian and Latin People *Non (given name) *Non Boonjumnong (born 1982), Thai amateur boxer * Rena Nōnen (born 1993), Japanese actress who uses the stage name "Non" since July ...

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The band currently comprises founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments, percussion, ...

, and

Psychic TV Psychic TV (aka PTV or Psychick TV or several other aliases) were an English experimental music, experimental video art and music collective, formed by performance artist Genesis P-Orridge and Scottish musician Alex Fergusson (musician), Alex ...

during the early 1980s. In 1981 they released their LP ''Music from Hell'', which included guest vocalist

Alice Bag Alicia "Alice" Armendariz (born 7th November 1958), also known as Alice Bag, is an American punk rock singer and author. She is the lead vocalist and co-founder of Bags (Los Angeles band), the Bags, one of the earliest punk bands to form in Lo ...

from

Bags A bag, also known regionally as a sack, is a common tool in the form of a floppy container, typically made of cloth, leather, bamboo, paper, or plastic. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being lengths of animal s ...

singing on "Alice's Song". Nervous Gender did not record in the studio again. After the LP came out, Paul Roessler moved to New York City to play with the

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rise to prominence during the punk and Neue Deutsche Welle movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is ...

Band and was replaced by Bill Cline, and Don Bolles left the band to play with

45 Grave 45 Grave is an American rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. History The band was founded during the punk rock movement by Paul B. Cutler ...

. He was replaced by an eight-year-old boy, Sven Pfeiffer. In 1982, Sven was deported alongside his mother and both returned to live in Germany. During their career Nervous Gender was called by one critic, "...the thorn in the side of the L.A. music scene..." During the mid-1980s, the band was on the verge of breaking up when members of

Wall of Voodoo Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California who were active from 1977 until disbanding in 1989. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence, the band came to prominence when its 1982 single " ...

Bruce Moreland,

Marc Moreland Marc Moreland (January 8, 1958 – March 13, 2002) was an American rock musician. He was the former guitarist for rock band Wall of Voodoo, punk band the Skulls, and rock bands Pretty and Twisted and Department of Crooks. He also released a solo ...

and Chas Grey, who were fans, stepped in and offered to collaborate with them. It was at this point that a guitar-driven version of Nervous Gender emerged. During this time Dinah Cancer of 45 Grave was a frequent guest performer with them, and they played shows with bands such as

Christian Death Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religion ...

Super Heroines The Super Heroines were an American deathrock trio formed in Los Angeles during the early 1980s. However, unlike other early deathrock bands such as Christian Death and 45 Grave, Super Heroines did not carry on a traditional goth sound, instead ...

Kommunity FK Kommunity FK is an American post-punk/gothic rock band which formed in 1978. The band helped establish what came to be known as the deathrock scene in Los Angeles. History The band was formed in 1978 by singer Patrick Mata, who was influenced ...

and Gobsheit (a side project of Stapleton's with Patrice Repose) at venues such as the Anti Club. In 1988, Edward Stapleton played his last show with the band. In early 1990, original members Gerardo Velasquez and Michael Ochoa along with Joe Zinnato (a long time Ochoa collaborator) revived Nervous Gender as a trio. This formation did a series of 8 performances, and were working on what would have been the final Nervous Gender album (working title "American Regime") with producer Paul B. Cutler (of

). The final performance of Nervous Gender was on August 26, 1991, at Club A.S.S. in Silverlake, CA. Gerardo Velasquez died on March 28, 1992, at age 33. After Gerardo's death, members Ochoa and Zinnato, with the addition of singer Claire Lawrence – Slater (of Honeymoon Killers, Huge Killer Ships), formed "HighHeelTitWig" a punk-industrial-pop-grunge hybrid, which played a series of shows. In 1995 Joe Zinnato suffered a serious stroke which put an end to musical activities. As of 2005, Edward Stapleton, Michael Ochoa and Joe Zinnato were reviewing all of the Nervous Gender material (studio, live and rehearsal recordings and performance videos) with an eye towards releasing a NG retrospective. At this time, Edward Stapleton (with Karene Stapleton) also recorded under the nam
Kali's Thugs
In 2007 the band reformed with Stapleton, Ochoa, Zinnato and Tammy Fraser. As of 2017, Edward Stapleton, and Matt Comeione, San Diego Mod and Cal Arts trained composer started Nervous Gender Reloaded. The duo released the album Milking the Borg in 2021. 2023 saw the release of an expanded reissue of the Music from Hell debut album on 2LP and CD.

Discography

* ''Music from Hell'' (Subterranean Records 1981, officially reissued on cassette tape in 2015 and on vinyl, compact disc & digitally in 2023) * Nervous Gender Archives, series of archival recordings available from Nervous Gender via their web site ** ''Nervous Gender Live at the Hong Kong Cafe 1979'' (2006) ** ''Nervous Gender Live at the Whiskey A Go-Go 1980'' (2006) ** ''Nervous Gender Live at the Roxy 1986'' (2006) ** ''Nervous Gender – Music from Hell 2009 Remixed / Remastered'' (2009) (Limited Edition CD Limited to 250 numbered copies) * ''Gestalt / Green Tile Floors (Test Tube Records. 2011) 7 inch green vinyl 45 record. 2 songs from 1979 newly recorded for the first time in 2010. Engineered by Paul Roessler of the Screamers and former Nervous Gender member. * ''Milking the Borg'' (2021) by Nervous Gender Reloaded, released digitally and on CDr.

''Music from Hell''

''Music from Hell'' is the first studio album by Los Angeles

band Nervous Gender. ;Side A (Martyr Complex) # Monsters # Nothing to Hide # Cardinal Newman # Fat Cow # Alien Point of View # People Like You # Regress for You ;Side B (Beelzebub Youth) # Christian Lovers # Exorcism # Bathroom Sluts # Pie on a Ledge # Push, Push, Push # Alice's Song Side B is a live performance the band labeled "an electronic bruto-canto dissertation on the banality of spiritual transcendence". After reissues in 2009 and 2015, the San Francisco-based Dark Entries record label reissued the album in 2023 as a 2LP, CD and digital release (on Bandcamp), expanded with demos and live recordings. All material was recorded between 1979 and 1982.

References

External links

Nervous Gender:
Nervous Gender on Bandcamp
*
Music from Hell reissue on Dark Entries site

Nervous Gender unofficial site

2015 Nervous Gender interview

Eastside Punks Episode 4 video documentary on YouTube
Nervous Gender Reloaded:
Nervous Gender Reloaded

Nervous Gender Reloaded on Bandcamp

Nervous Gender Reloaded on Discogs
{{Authority control LGBTQ-themed musical groups Punk rock groups from California Electropunk musical groups Queercore groups Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 1978 1978 establishments in California https://nervousgenderreloaded.bandcamp.com/album/milking-the-borg

History

Discography

''Music from Hell''

See also

References

External links