Pinhead Gunpowder 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 that formed in the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wi ...

area of

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 ...

, in 1991. The band currently consists of

Aaron Cometbus Aaron Elliott (born May 20, 1968), better known as Aaron Cometbus, is an American musician, author, songwriter, roadie, and magazine editor, best known as the creator of the punk zine ''Cometbus''. Career Born in Berkeley, California, Cometbus ...

(drums,

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

), Bill Schneider (bass),

Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician and actor. He is best known for being the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is als ...

(guitar, vocals) and Jason White (guitar, vocals). The band's name comes from a brand of "high octane" green tea served at the

Arcata Arcata (; ; ) is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. Arcata was first founded in 1850 as Union, was officially ...

co-op and discovered by Aaron Cometbus during one of his many

dumpster diving Dumpster diving (also totting, skipping, skip diving or skip salvage) is wikt:salvage, salvaging from large commercial, residential, industrial and construction containers for unwanted items discarded by their owners but deemed useful to the ...

adventures.

History

Pinhead Gunpowder was founded in

in January 1991 by Aaron Cometbus and Jon Quittner. Cometbus wanted the name "Pinhead Gunpowder", while Quittner wanted to call it "50 Foot Hesher". Along with vocalist Doug "Douggie Grime" Rogers and bassist David "Atlas" Kimmel, the band played once at a party where Cometbus snapped his bass pedal in half in the middle of the set. Shortly after the show, Cometbus moved back to Berkeley, taking the name of the band and some of the songs with him. Quittner stayed in Arcata with the band and they changed their name to 50 Foot Hesher and acquired a new drummer. A few months later, Quittner left the band and the remaining members changed the name to "Lank". Back in Berkeley, Cometbus formed the second incarnation of Pinhead Gunpowder with Bill Schneider and Sarah Kirsch of The Skinflutes, and Billie Joe Armstrong of

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

. In June 1991, they recorded their first EP, ''Tründle and Spring''. It was not until April of the following year that the band played their first live show at Punks With Presses in Oakland along with Rancid and The Gr'Ups. The band then released their second EP, ''Fahizah''. In 1993, Kirsch left the band. Rumors that the reason was differences with Armstrong's decision to sign to a major label with Green Day were debunked by the band on

Damian Abraham Damian Abraham (also known as Father Damian, Pink Eyes and Mr. Damian) is a Canadian musician and presenter who first came to prominence as the vocalist for the band Fucked Up. Career Abraham formed Fucked Up in Toronto in 2001. The band has ...

's podcast Turned Out a Punk. Kirsch was replaced by Jason White of Chino Horde. White would later also become Green Day's touring guitarist. Shortly after, the band embarked on a week long tour of

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and

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 ...

in the winter of 1994. Pinhead Gunpowder performed for the first time in many years during February 2008, debuting three new songs, "Anniversary Song", "West Side Highway", and "On the Ave". The band released their latest EP, ''West Side Highway'' through

Recess Records Recess Records is an independent record label founded in 1988. Label founder Todd Congelliere (frontman for F.Y.P and Toys That Kill) initially made 100 cassettes of F.Y.P's songs and sold them at skateboard contests. Two years later, Cong ...

on August 19, 2008. This marked the band's first new release in 5 years. Pinhead Gunpowder released a greatest hits album called '' Kick Over the Traces'' on June 19, 2009. Also, Pinhead Gunpowder mentioned that in August or September Recess would re-release on vinyl and CD the albums '' Jump Salty'', '' Carry the Banner'', '' Goodbye Ellston Avenue'', ''

Shoot the Moon ''Shoot the Moon'' is a 1982 American drama film directed by Alan Parker, and written by Bo Goldman. It stars Albert Finney, Diane Keaton, Karen Allen, Peter Weller, and Dana Hill. Set in Marin County, California, the film follows George ...

'' and '' Compulsive Disclosure''. Band member Sarah Kirsch died in 2012. She had been diagnosed with

Fanconi anemia Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare, autosomal recessive genetic disease characterized by aplastic anemia, congenital defects, endocrinological abnormalities, and an increased incidence of developing cancer. The study of Fanconi anemia has improve ...

, a genetic disorder that can cause

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

and other cancers. In March 2021, the band re-issued their entire discography on vinyl. On September 5, 2024, the band returned with a new single, "Unt". A new album, also titled ''

Unt UNT or University of North Texas is a state university in Denton, Texas. UNT or Unt may refer to: * Unt (surname), an Estonian-language surname * Unt (album), ''Unt'' (album), a 2024 album by Pinhead Gunpowder * ("A New Era"), a political party in ...

'', was released on October 18, 2024.

Band members

;Current members *

– guitar, vocals (1991–present) *

– drums (1991–present) * Bill Schneider – bass, vocals (1991–present) * Jason White – guitar, vocals (1994–present) ;Former members * Sarah Kirsch – guitar, vocals (1991–1994; died 2012) * Jon "Quitty" Quittner – guitar (1991)

Songwriting

Aaron Cometbus is the primary writer of Pinhead Gunpowder's songs. During Pinhead Gunpowder's first incarnation, Cometbus and Quittner wrote a handful of songs together, including "In Control", "Losers of the Year", "Certain Things", "Brother", "I Used To", "Stab You in the Eye", and "Cuidado" (The last two songs released by Quittner and Cometbus under the band name "Mundt"). Cometbus often borrows songs recorded by his other bands to release as Pinhead Gunpowder songs, including "Train Station" from Shotwell Coho, "The Great Divide" from Redmond Shooting Stars, "Asheville" from Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, and "On the Ave" and "Landlords" from Astrid Oto. Only three Pinhead Gunpowder songs have been written by Billie Joe Armstrong, under the name "Wilhelm Fink": "27", "New Blood", and "Anniversary Song".

Influences

The bands influences are

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, The Replacements,

Generation X Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...

Swiz Swiz was an American hardcore punk band formed in 1987 in Washington, D.C., United States. History The founding members were Shawn Brown (vocals) and Ramsey Metcalf (guitar), who later added Nathan Larson (bass), Alex Daniels (drums) and Ja ...

, Code Of Honor,

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

, and

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

. They have also done cover versions of many of the songs by these bands or artists.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Compilation albums

Compilation appearances

References

External links

Pinhead Gunpowder profile at Punknews.org (Reviews, News, Biography)

Pinhead Gunpowder
on

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

{{Authority control Punk rock groups from California Musical groups from the San Francisco Bay Area Musical groups established in 1990 Adeline Records artists Recess Records artists Hardcore punk groups from California Transgender women singers 1991 establishments in California