Raft of Dead Monkeys was an American rock band from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, United States, known for their controversy within the Christian punk scene. Described as a hypothetical band mocking

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

culture, their early stage shows consisted of vulgar lyrics, male

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...

s and bloody nurses. They broke up on October 22, 2001. The majority of the band members were openly

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and previously played in bands on

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, a label that featured primarily

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...

bands. The band itself was not affiliated with Tooth & Nail, but the fan base of affiliated bands (

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, Ninety Pound Wuss) was largely Christian, and was left confused when Raft released their first album which contained explicit lyrics. In 2001 Raft was invited to play Tomfest, a Christian

underground music Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, Popular music, mainstream popular music culture. Underground styles lack the commercial success of popular music movements, and may involve the use of avant-g ...

festival, and received mixed reactions when singer Jeff Suffering flipped off the crowd during their song "Two Year Lease", which features the lyrics, "''you're not the only whore in town, you're just the best fuck around''." Tomfest founder Mikee Bridges later issued an apology to those who were offended by the performance. In an interview, Suffering explained the band's concept with the following: : It was art and we were making some statements about our culture by mirroring it, copying it and throwing it back on people’s faces to like say, “Hey, this is what people adhere to and this is it.” We thought it was funny and humorous and a lot of people didn’t get the joke and didn’t get that we were characters that we had created when we performed sort of to break the Rock ‘n’ Roll idea/lifestyle, although we don’t really have that idea or lifestyle, at least I don’t. Raft of Dead Monkeys played a reunion show in January 2004 at Studio 7 in Seattle. In 2016, Interesting Productions released a documentary about the band.

Members

;Last known lineup * Jeff Suffering - Bass, Vocals (DRYBNZ, Suffering and the Hideous Thieves, Ninety Pound Wuss) * Doug Lorig - Guitar, Vocals - (

Black Eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South a ...

Patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology The word "patrol" is derived from the Frenc ...

) *John Spalding - Guitar ( Ninety Pound Wuss, Suffering and the Hideous Thieves) (RIP) *Davey B. - Drums ;Former *Matt Johnson - Drums (

Blenderhead Blenderhead was an American punk rock band signed to Tooth & Nail Records. They released three albums from 1992 to 2001. The band reunited for guitarist Tyler Vander Ploeg's 40th birthday in March 2016. Band members ;Current * Billy Power - v ...

, Ninety Pound Wuss,

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, Supine to Sit,

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) *Jonathan Ford - (

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, Decahedron, Pedro the Lion, Mr. Bishop's Fist,

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, Native Lights) *

Damien Jurado Damien Troy Jurado (; born November 12, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington, United States. Over the years, he has released albums on Sub Pop, Secretly Canadian, Loose, and is currently on his own label, Maraqopa Recor ...

- ( Coolidge) *James Parks *Brian Wall *Christopher Pugmire

Discography

Albums

* '' Thoroughlev'' (2001 Burnout Records)

Extended plays

* ''DBM'' EP (1999 Make Believe Recordings) * ''Joey the Pigfucker'' (unreleased)

Compilation appearances

* Various Artists: ''Is It... Dead?'' (2001

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

References

External links

Official websiteWhat a great name for a band!
''Seattle Times'' interview with Matt Johnson.

June 2000 interview with Jeff Suffering
Troy McClure Interviews Raft of Dead Monkeys
February 2000 interview with Jeff Suffering and John Spalding.
''Decapolis'' interview with Jeff Suffering
{{Authority control Punk rock groups from Washington (state) Hardcore punk groups from Washington (state) Christian punk groups Musical groups from Seattle