Zen Guerrilla was a rock band originally from Newark, Delaware and later based in

San Francisco, California 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 ...

. Musically, the band evolved over their career. Their early sound was characterized by

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

elements, such as delayed

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s and noise washes. Their unique sound gained a growing local following (winning several Philly music awards), however, did not increase marketability. Later, Zen Guerrilla fused

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

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 ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

to create a sound which could be likened to bands such as the

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spen ...

History

Zen Guerrilla formed in

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 31,454. The University of Delaware is ...

, in the late 1980s. Band members Andy Duvall (drums), Marcus Durant (vocals/harmonica), Carl Horne (bass), Daniel McMullen (keyboard), and Rich Millman (guitar) came together from local bands Marcus Hook, the Gollywogs, Stone Groove, and No Comment. Their early sound was characterized by psychedelic elements, such as delayed guitars and noise washes played by

The Sloth ''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' ...

(before leaving the band in 1991). This unique sound gained a growing local following (their first two color vinyl 45s winning several Philly music awards), while avoiding increased marketability. Later, the band released their self-titled CD on

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based Compulsiv Records in 1992 and recorded at the world-famous

Third Story Recording Studio Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

in Walnut Hill with producer/engineer, Scott Herzog.See the liner notes on their records and CD's Soon after, Zen Guerrilla moved to Philadelphia and were regular performers around the city at clubs such as the

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. Around this time the band began a heavy touring schedule, which would have them cross the country multiple times through the end of the decade. Zen Guerrilla relocated to

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 ...

in 1994. Their constant touring increased their exposure, and, combined with their explosive live show, helped to release albums first with

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 ...

and later

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 ...

, which is known for being the original record company of

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 ...

. The band's version of the song "Empty Heart" was featured in the 2000

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

game ''

Grind Session ''Grind Session'' is a 2000 skateboarding video game developed by Shaba Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was Shaba Games' debut video game, and they would later develop installments in Activision's '' ...

''. The band dissolved sometime around 2003.

Discography

Albums

*''Zen Guerrilla'' - Compulsiv 1992 *''Invisible "Liftee" Pad / Gap-Tooth Clown'' -

1997 *''Positronic Raygun'' -

1998 *''Trance States in Tongues'' -

1999 *''Shadows on the Sun'' -

2001 *''Heavy Mellow'' - Flapping Jet 2002 (LP picture disc)

EPs

*''Creature Double Feature'' - Dead Beat records 1995 *''Invisible "Liftee" Pad'' - Insect 1996 *''Gap-Tooth Clown'' - Insect 1997 *''Plasmic Tears and the Invisible City'' - Insect 2002

Singles

*"Pull" b/w "Nile Song" - Union Hall 1993 *"Crow" b/w "Unusual" - Union Hall 1994 *"Trouble Shake" b/w "Change Gonna Come" -

1997 *"Ghetto City Version" b/w "Hungry Wolf" -

Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

1999 *"Mama's Little Rocket" - Allied Recordings 2000 *"Dirty Mile" b/w "Ham and Eggs" -

Estrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is a set of recurring physiological changes induced by reproductive hormones in females of mammalian subclass Theria. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous phas ...

2000 *"Pocketful of String" b/w "Wigglin' Room" - Fanboy 2000 *"The Seeker" b/w "Half Step" -

2000 *"Mob Rules" b/w "The Trooper" - Safety Pin 2001

References

External links

Andy Duvall's new band 'Carlton Melton'
The Carl Horne Experiment
solo act of bassist.
Browntown West
3/4 of band doing cover songs with Christa DiBiase on vocals. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zen Guerrilla Musical groups from San Francisco