Saccharine Trust 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 ...

band from

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, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, formed in 1980 by singer Jack Brewer and guitarist Joe Baiza. The band would frequently perform with SST labelmates

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Min ...

and Black Flag. However, Baiza described Saccharine Trust as the "

black sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

" of the SST roster. Drummer Rob Holzman appeared on their 1981 debut '' Paganicons'' but left the band to play in Slovenly, replaced by drummer Tony Cicero. After a ten-year hiatus circa 1986 to 1996, the band re-formed and began performing around the West Coast. Baiza describes the band's sound as "poetry music" or "mini-theater."

History

Joe Baiza met Jack Brewer in Wilmington, California while looking for a summer job. Brewer was already in a band called The Obstacles with Marshall Mellow on guitar, William Trujillo on drums and Joe Burgos singing and playing organ. Baiza wanted to join the band so he suggested the need for a bass player and ended up taking the position. The group was initially more mainstream but Baiza slowly pushed them in a punk rock direction. One by one band members quit until finally it was just Brewer and Baiza. After spending almost a year attempting to put together a new lineup which included a failed audition by

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ca ...

, Saccharine Trust played their first gig in 1980 with the

. The lineup consisted of Baiza on guitar, Brewer on vocals, Luis Maldonado on bass, and Richie Wilder on drums. The band's name came from a line in the

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

song " The Bewlay Brothers" on '' Hunky Dory''. Wilder left the band and joined Mood of Defiance. He was replaced by Rob Holzman who heard about the open position from his friends Bruce Lossen and Tom Watson. Maldonado was more interested in

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

and as the band started exploring jazz he decided to leave and Earl Liberty replaced him on bass. Soon the band was invited by members of Black Flag to play a show at the Star Theater in San Pedro. Black Flag band members and SST owners Greg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski were present at the show and asked the band to record for SST. Before their debut EP '' Paganicons'' was released, Saccharine Trust appeared on ''Cracks in the Sidewalk'' a compilation album on Mike Watt's New Alliance Records label. Joe Baiza contributed guitar to Minutemen's '' What Makes a Man Start Fires?'' and Jack Brewer contributed songwriting to the Minutemen's landmark 1984 album '' Double Nickels on the Dime''. The band's lineup continued to change over the years and even broke up in the 1990s before being revived in 1996. The reformed lineup of Baiza, Brewer, Brian Christopherson on drums and Chris Stein on bass is considered the "best version" by Baiza, and was together longer than the original version of the band. In late 2018, Stein died after a two-year battle with cancer.

Legacy and influence

In his journals,

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

guitarist

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...

listed Saccharine Trust's ''Paganicons'' as one of his Top 50 favorite albums.

Buzz Osborne Roger "Buzz" Osborne (born March 25, 1964), also known as King Buzzo, is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and golfer. He is a founding member of the rock band Melvins, as well as Fantômas (band), Fantômas and Venomous Concept. Biog ...

The Melvins ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

stated in the book ''Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge'' that Saccharine Trust were hugely influential in terms of atmosphere.

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 ...

covered their song "I Am Right" on the SST compilation ''The Melting Plot''.

Double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

ist Damon Smith has credited the album with altering his views on punk rock, jazz, and free-form jamming.

Weasel Walter Weasel Walter (born Christopher Todd Walter, May 18, 1972) is an American composer, improviser, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and founder of ugEXPLODE Records. Walter's work has been informed by techniques and traditions of music including A ...

has described Saccharine Trust as "true modernists".

Discography

;Studio albums *'' Surviving You, Always'' (1984, SST) *'' We Became Snakes'' (1986, SST) *'' The Great One Is Dead'' (2001, Hazelwood) ;EPs *'' Paganicons'' (1981, SST) ;Singles *"A Christmas Cry" (1981, SST) ;Live albums *'' Worldbroken'' (1985, SST) *'' Past Lives'' (1989, SST) ;Compilations * ''Cracks in the Sidewalk'' (1980, New Alliance) * ''The Blasting Concept'' (1983, SST) *'' The Sacramental Element'' (1986, SST)

References

External links

allmusic Biography AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

{{Authority control American post-hardcore musical groups Hardcore punk groups from California Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups from Los Angeles SST Records artists