Butthole Surfers
Encyclopedia
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock
band formed by Gibby Haynes
and Paul Leary
in San Antonio, Texas
in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer
King Coffey
has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa
served as second drummer from 1983 to 1985, 1986 to 1989, and 2009. The band has also employed a variety of bass players, most notably Bill Jolly and Jeff Pinkus
.
Rooted in the 1980s hardcore punk
scene, Butthole Surfers quickly became known for their chaotic and disturbing live shows, black comedy
, a sound that incorporates elements of psychedelia
, noise
, punk rock
and, later, electronica
, as well as their use of sound manipulation and tape editing. The Buttholes have a well-reported appetite for recreational drugs, an evident influence on their sound.
Although they were respected by their peers and attracted a devoted fan base, Butthole Surfers had little commercial success until 1996’s Electriclarryland
. The album contained the hit single “Pepper
” which climbed to number one on Billboard's
Modern Rock Tracks
chart that year.
in San Antonio
, Texas
during the late 1970s, when students Gibson “Gibby” Haynes
, and Paul Leary Walthall
(later just Paul Leary) met for the first time. Though it was their overall strangeness and shared taste in non-mainstream music that caused them to become friends, both appeared to be headed for very conventional careers. Haynes, as captain of Trinity's basketball team, as well as the school's "Accountant
of the Year", soon graduated to a position with a respected Texas accounting firm, while Leary remained in college working on his MBA
degree.
In 1981, Haynes and Leary published the magazine
Strange V.D., which featured photos of abnormal medical ailments, coupled with fictitious, humorous explanations for the diseases. After being caught with one of these pictures at work, Haynes left the accounting firm and moved to Southern California. Leary, at the time one semester shy of his degree, dropped out of college and followed Haynes. After a brief period spent selling homemade clothes and linens emblazoned with Lee Harvey Oswald
's image, the pair returned to San Antonio, and launched the band that would eventually become the Butthole Surfers.
During a brief concert at the Tool and Die club in San Francisco
, Dead Kennedys
frontman and Alternative Tentacles
overseer Jello Biafra
witnessed their performance and became a fervent fan. Biafra invited the group to open for the Dead Kennedys and T.S.O.L. at the Whisky a Go Go
in Los Angeles
, and soon made an offer that would launch their recording career: if they could get someone to lend them studio
time, Alternative Tentacles would reimburse the studio when the album was complete. The band then returned to San Antonio to record at BOSS Studios (a.k.a. Bob O'Neill's Sound Studios, a.k.a. the Boss). However, the Mathews brothers did not enter the studio with Haynes and Leary; the two had quit following a physical altercation between Scott Mathews and Haynes. The bass position was taken over by Bill Jolly, who would play on the Surfers' next two releases, and a number of drummers participated. The last of these, King Coffey
(born Jeffrey Coffey), is still with the band to this day.
Released on Alternative Tentacles in July 1983, the resulting EP, Butthole Surfers
(also known as Brown Reason to Live and Pee Pee the Sailor), offered songs with provocatively absurd titles like "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave" and "Bar-B-Q Pope", alternately sung by Haynes and Leary. (Haynes would become the band's primary singer by the time of their first LP
.) The album cover, like the many bizarre illustrations that would accompany Surfers' succeeding work, was designed by the band itself. Teeming with humor, Butthole Surfers laid the foundation for what was to come. It influenced at least one future superstar in Nirvana
frontman Kurt Cobain
, who listed it as one of his top 10 favorite albums in his Journals
. Cobain would later meet his wife, Courtney Love
of Hole
, at a Butthole Surfers/L7
concert in 1991.
Soon after the release of Butthole Surfers, the band recruited a second drummer, Teresa Nervosa
(born Teresa Taylor), who had played with Coffey in a number of high school
marching band
s in the Texas' Fort Worth
and Austin
areas. She and Coffey would drum in unison
on separate, stand-up kits, adding to the spectacle of Surfers' ever-evolving stage show. Though Nervosa and Coffey repeatedly referred to themselves, and were referred to, as siblings, it has since been revealed that the two only presented themselves as such due to their similar appearances, and are not actually related. With her arrival, the band's core "classic lineup"—Haynes, Leary, Coffey, and Nervosa—was in place. With the exception of a number of different bass players and Nervosa's brief sabbatical from late 1985 to 1986, it remained largely unchanged until her final departure in 1989. In 2008, she returned to the band—the band's website announced 2009 tour dates including "Teresa Taylor".
In September 1984, Butthole Surfers issued a second EP on Alternative Tentacles, Live PCPPEP
. Primarily featuring live performances of songs from their debut, it prompted some critics and fans to joke that they had released the same album twice. The band had already returned to BOSS Studios to record enough material for a full-length album months before Live PCPPEPs release. (Jolly left shortly after these sessions, but did perform on the live EP). Moreover, they had started a second album at the same studio. Both were originally offered to Alternative Tentacles, with Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac
arriving first.
Before either album could be released, though, Alternative Tentacles had to acquire the master tapes
from Bob O'Neill, BOSS Studios' namesake and owner. He refused to release them until he'd been reimbursed for the sessions, and Alternative Tentacles couldn't immediately afford to pay. After waiting months, the band issued Live PCPPEP out of financial desperation, and O'Neill was preparing to release Psychic... on his own Ward 9 label to recoup his expenses.
, a friend and their east coast booking agent, signed the band to Corey Rusk's then-nascent Touch and Go Records
in Detroit. Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac was released in 1984. Building on their first EP, the Surfers made psychedelia a much bigger part of their sound on this release, which made full use of the tape editing, non-traditional instrumentation, and sound modulation that came to define their studio recordings.
Just before Psychic...s debut, and with new bassist Terence Smart in tow (the first of many through 1986), the band commenced their first nationwide tour. It was on this outing that they truly established a national presence, starting at Touch and Go's early headquarters in Detroit before heading to New York City, where they impressed members of Sonic Youth
, as well as Shockabilly
(and future Butthole Surfers) bassist Mark Kramer
. They then crisscrossed the country for several months, including a show in Seattle, that made a fan of future Soundgarden
guitarist Kim Thayil
. While in San Francisco at the end of the tour, and without a place to live, the band collectively decided to move to Winterville (a small town outside Athens), Georgia, where they admittedly made a hobby of stalking members of R.E.M.
. They would leave a van parked in front of Michael Stipes' house painted on the side "Michael Stipe/Despite the Hype/I'd Love to Suck/Your Big Long Pipe" Smart quit after falling in love with a friend of the band, and Trevor Malcolm, a young Canadian musician recommended by Touch and Go, replaced him on bass.
Word was spreading about the band's bizarre stage show by the time they hit the road again, resulting in ever-larger audiences at their concerts. Not long after Malcolm's arrival, the Surfers recorded their act for posterity by filming two concerts at Detroit's Traxx club. Some of this footage was eventually packaged as Blind Eye Sees All
, their only official video release to date. They purchased their first 8-track recorder at this time, and used it to record two songs later used on the A-side of Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis
.
Reportedly unhappy with life in the band, Malcolm quit in mid-1985. A friend of the band's from Athens, Juan Molina, was brought in for a brief U.S. tour, but was not interested in becoming a full-time member. Without a permanent bassist and a quickly approaching European tour looming—the band's first—they contacted Kramer, who quickly agreed to join. Meanwhile, their second LP, which had been submitted to Alternative Tentacles as Rembrandt Pussy Horse, was still in limbo. The reasons for Alternative Tentacles' actions are unclear, but it is known that the label delayed a decision for about a year before ultimately refusing to publish it. While waiting, the band released the four-song Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis EP on Touch and Go in late 1985. Once Alternative Tentacles finally declined, the group went back into the studio to record two new tracks to replace "To Parter" and "Tornadoes", which were originally intended for Rembrandt... before appearing on the Cream Corn... EP's B-side.
Following the European tour, the Surfers experienced more upheaval when Nervosa left around Christmas 1985, as she was tired of the living conditions associated with constant touring and had a desire to be with family. She was replaced by another female drummer, Kytha Gernatt, who was dubbed Cabbage Gomez, Jr. in press soon after joining the band. Cabbage had previously performed with Kathleen Lynch
(a.k.a. Kathleen, a.k.a. Ta-Da the Shit Lady) in the band Easturn Stars; Lynch gained fame as the Butthole Surfers infamous naked dancer from 1986 to 1989. Kramer also left during this period and was replaced by Jeff Pinkus
, who gave the band's bass position its longest period of stability by staying until 1994.
Their second LP was finally issued as Rembrandt Pussyhorse
on Touch and Go in April 1986. Coming out some two years after the original sessions, it featured a different mix and song selection than Alternative Tentacles' unreleased version. Best known for its minimalist reworking of The Guess Who
's "American Woman
", it is one of the most experimental albums in the Surfers' heavily experimental career. Following a particularly out-of-control tour, even by Butthole Surfers standards, the band semi-settled in Austin, Texas in the summer of 1986. Nervosa rejoined them (Cabbage having been fired months earlier), and they went to work on crafting their first home studio in a rental house on the outskirts of town. Before long, they started a leisurely recording session for their third full-length project. Released in March 1987, Locust Abortion Technician
is one of the heaviest Butthole Surfers albums, and it is often considered their finest to date. Harnessing aspects of punk, heavy metal, and psychedelia, its unique sound produced a number of grinding, slower-paced songs, arguably making it an early precursor of grunge
.
In early 1988, the Surfers were ready to record a new album and wanted to use a modern studio for the first time, choosing a state-of-the-art facility in Texas. The following sessions took only one week, as the band had been performing most of the material for years. The band opted to follow this album's blueprint on future projects. In contrast, songs on their earlier recordings had undergone far more in-studio development and experimentation. Pinkus has expressed the opinion that the later, better-organized sessions stifled much of the spontaneous creativity that had propelled their earlier releases.
Hairway to Steven
was issued in April, and marked a midway point between the band's experimental roots, and the more accessible recordings that would follow. While half of the material is as extreme sounding as their earlier work, other songs are more conventional. This was the first Surfers album to make extensive use of acoustic guitar. Hairway to Steven did not have song titles when first released, and instead represented each track with an absurdist, often scatological, cartoon. The band traveled widely in support of the album over the next year, including a very successful tour of Europe (helped in part by the influence of new UK distributor Blast First
). Like their studio recordings, their live shows were beginning to lose much of their earlier chaos.
While touring during the winter of 1988, the Surfers used a portable DAT
recorder to tape various concerts. The strongest of these recordings were packaged as Double Live
, a limited edition double album released on vinyl and cassette in 1989, and on CD the following year. This was the first release on the band's Latino Buggerveil
label. Though the album, as of spring 2007, is out of print, its songs are available as free MP3
downloads on the band's official website. Issued in response to widespread, for-profit bootlegging of their live shows, it contained performances of songs from all of their previous studio albums and EPs.
Double Live was to be the last Surfers album to feature Nervosa, who left early in 1989. Shortly after leaving, she was diagnosed with an aneurysm, and was forced to undergo brain surgery. She further began to suffer from strobe light-induced seizures. In 1991, Nervosa (who has gone by Teresa Taylor since her retirement) had a small role in Richard Linklater
's film Slacker. She was employed at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
as recently as 1995.
The Surfers did not seek to replace her at the time, and opted to continue as a quartet. Following a final EP for Touch and Go—1989's Widowermaker
—the band left their longtime recording partners to sign with longtime supporter Terry Tolkin
at Rough Trade Records
who had also brought them to Touch and Go
, for a reportedly generous one-album deal. Prior to the new LP's debut, Rough Trade talked the band into first releasing 1990s The Hurdy Gurdy Man
, which previewed material from the coming release. The same year, Rough Trade issued Digital Dump
by The Jackofficers
, Haynes and Pinkus's psychedelic house music
side project.
piouhgd was the band's fifth full-length studio album, and their first for Rough Trade. Released in April 1991, it featuring more electronic instrumentation, but was largely viewed as a disappointment in comparison to past recordings. Both Haynes and Leary have since expressed displeasure with the album. Regardless, the band was invited to be part of that summer's inaugural Lollapalooza
tour. Around this time Haynes collaborated with Ministry
, contributing vocals on their 1991 single "Jesus Built My Hotrod
", which was later included on 1992's Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs
.
. Capitol immediately reissued piouhgd and paired the band with their first big-name producer, John Paul Jones
, best known as the bassist for Led Zeppelin
. The fruit of their partnership, 1993's Independent Worm Saloon
, featured a more straightforward rock approach at Jones's insistence. This paid off for the Surfers, giving them their first minor radio hit, "Who Was in My Room Last Night?
". It reached number 24 on Billboards Modern Rock Tracks singles chart, while the album peaked at number 124 on the Billboard 200
. Two of the new songs were featured on episodes of MTV
's Beavis and Butt-head
. Legendary guitarist and huge influence on the Butthole Surfers, Helios Creed
played guitar on two of the songs from the record, "The Annoying Song" and "Clean It Up".
When Pinkus left in 1994, the remaining members enlisted a series of fill-in musicians, and continued to tour sporadically, even as all three pursued side projects. Haynes was working with Johnny Depp
, Bill Carter
, Sal Jenco, Flea
, and others in a new group, P. In 1993, Haynes played with this band in Los Angeles' Viper Room
, on the night the actor River Phoenix
died of a drug overdose. Meanwhile, Leary was building a reputation as a skilled music producer, while Coffey set up his own record label Trance Syndicate
. According to Leary and industry insiders, Haynes was increasingly dependent on hard drugs at this time, though Haynes has downplayed their concerns.
In 1995, the band contributed a cover of the Underdog theme song to be included on the tribute album
Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall
for MCA
. Later that year, Haynes's side project, P, issued an eponymous LP on Capitol, while Coffey's Trance Syndicate label released the first Butthole Surfers compilation album. Titled The Hole Truth... and Nothing Butt
, it was mostly live tracks recorded at different venues from 1985 to 1991. In December, the Surfers initiated what would become an extended legal battle with Touch and Go. At first they were seeking to increase their profits from the albums released by the label, because the label chose a strategy of non-promotion. The case quickly became a fight for all ownership rights that dragged on for more than three years.
In 1996, Capitol released the Surfers' Electriclarryland
, which climbed to number 31 on the Billboard 200; the single “Pepper
” topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Their songs started appearing on the soundtracks of major Hollywood movies, including Baz Luhrmann
's Romeo + Juliet and John Carpenter
's Escape from L.A.
Despite improved sales with their second Capitol album, the group's relationship with the label was increasingly troubled. A planned 1998 project, After the Astronaut, was scrapped and the Surfers acrimoniously split with their manager, Tom Bunch. In 1999, the Surfers won their lawsuit against Touch and Go. Despite the outcome, several of the Surfers' peers in the alternative music community, including Fugazi and Minor Threat
lead singer Ian MacKaye
, criticized them for having pursued the lawsuit. Haynes and others said they wouldn't have initiated the proceedings if they felt Rusk's dealings had been honorable. Rusk provided the band with indecipherable accounting statements. Rusk continued to insist his actions were honest even though the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found otherwise. With the case resolved, the band reissued Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac, Rembrandt Pussyhorse (with the Cream Corn... EP), Locust Abortion Technician, and Hairway to Steven on their Latino Buggerveil label.
, on the Hollywood Records
/Surfdog Records
imprint. The album was released in August 2001, and reached number 130 on the Billboard 200. It was their most electronic album to date, and the single "The Shame of Life" peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Since then, the group has released two compilations on Latino Buggerveil: 2002's Humpty Dumpty LSD
is a compilation of studio outtakes, while 2003's Butthole Surfers/Live PCPPEP
, combines their first two Alternative Tentacles EPs. In 2004, Haynes formed Gibby Haynes and His Problem, who released an eponymous album on Surfdog Records later that year. While promoting the side project, Haynes indicated that another Butthole Surfers studio album was likely, and remarked that it would be "noisy". However, no release date has been announced.
The song "Who Was In My Room Last Night" was featured in Guitar Hero 2.
The band reunited with Jeff Pinkus
and Teresa Nervosa
for a tour of the east coast and Europe in Summer 2008. It was the first time the reunited line up played together since 1989. The group performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties
festival curated by Melvins and Mike Patton
. The group's appearance at All Tomorrow's Parties led to a dispute with ATP founder and organizer Barry Hogan, who told a reporter for the Village Voice that the Butthole Surfers (along with Killing Joke
and The Black Lips) would never play the festival again. The reunited 86-89 "classic" lineup continued to tour into 2009, with stops in the United States & Canada.
In Austin, Texas
during their last scheduled show for the North American/Canada 2008-2009 tour on October 31, 2009 Haynes said "We played our first show as the Butthole Surfers in Austin. And this may be our last." Haynes has not yet clarified this statement. Recently, Paul Leary and King Coffey have both stated that the band will tour again if they can pull off another album. Currently, Paul Leary is producing the debut album from Carny. The Butthole Surfers played two shows in Austin at Scoot Inn during Halloween 2010. A report in the New York Times suggested that, even though Butthole Surfers had not released an album of new material since 2001, the "songs are practically incidental to the spectacle" after seeing them perform along with psychedelic band Lumerians
in Brooklyn.
The line-up of Haynes, Leary, Pinkus and Coffey did a 12-show tour of mostly western U.S. States and one appearance in Canada from August 26, 2011 to September 11, 2011.
The name has long been a source of trouble for the band. Many clubs, newspapers, radio, and TV stations refuse to print or mention their full name, and instead opted to use "B.H. Surfers", or other abbreviations.
who had supported them from the beginning. A staged reproduction of the band's live show was filmed for 1988's Bar-B-Que Movie
, a short Super 8 mm film
movie directed by Alex Winter
, who is best known as "Bill S. Preston, Esq." from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
. Bar-B-Que Movie is a spoof of 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
, and the film ends with a music video-style performance of the song "Fast" (a.k.a. "Fart Song"), featuring Haynes, Leary, Coffey, Nervosa, and Jeff Pinkus
, as well as dancer Kathleen Lynch
. The track displayed many of the band's stage gimmicks, such as the burning cymbal, strobe lights, films, and smoke.
By the time Lynch left in 1989, the Surfers' stage show had become more predictable, with previously random shockers being done at the same point in each night's performance. Teresa Nervosa
quit for good around the same time, and King Coffey
became the band's sole percussionist. Strobe lights, smoke machines, and even Gibby Haynes
' burning cymbal are still part of the presentation, but the chaotic spontaneity of their 1980s performances is no longer on display.
), guitarist Paul Leary, dual drummers Coffey and Nervosa (the latter briefly replaced by Cabbage), and whichever bassist happened to be filling in at the time, had a visual aspect. As with their music, their appearance was exceptionally non-conventional in the early days, including sideways mohawks, dreadlocks, unnaturally colored hair, and the like.
Known for taking the stage at early concerts with hundreds of clothespins attached to his hair and clothes, Haynes would often strip throughout a show until he was down to his underwear, or less, by the end. Other attire included flasher-style trench coats over his nakedness, ridiculously home-styled wigs and cross-dressing; often enjoying a skirt made of an American flag and a large '60s torpedo-style stuffed bra. At other times he would hide condoms full of stage blood in his clothes and repeatedly fall to the floor, appearing to bleed profusely. Some of Haynes' other favorite tricks involved throwing handfuls of photocopied cockroach images into the crowd, rolls and rolls of toilet paper tossed across the audience, as well as filling an inverted cymbal with lighter fluid, setting it (and sometimes his hand) on fire, and repeatedly hitting it with a mallet. As previously mentioned he would sing through most anything that would alter his voice, including toilet paper rolls and megaphones early on, which eventually evolved into "Gibby's kit", a.k.a. "Gibbytronix;" a rack of vocal effects stacked as high as he could reach, before which he would often stand for the majority of the show in later performances. He also often utilized various foot switches which would be used to activate certain vocal effects, and when thought to be dancing during some performances he would actually be stepping on his various pedals. Adding to the spectacle were Coffey and Nervosa, who played in unison on stand-up drum kits; behind which they would collapse onto the floor and out of eyeshot, to collect their breath and strength before rising just in time to play the next song. Finally, the whole band would often tear apart stuffed animals while on stage.
In 1986, they first met Lynch (a.k.a. Kathleen, a.k.a. Ta-Da the Shit Lady), who was then working at a strip club called Sex World in New York City. Though never an official member, she became the Surfers' famous "naked dancer", performing intermittently with them through 1989. One show in Washington, D.C. with GWAR saw Kathleen take the stage to dance in nothing but gold body paint and antique wooden snow shoes. And at another particularly wild concert in 1986, Haynes and Lynch, by now completely bald, reportedly engaged in sexual intercourse while on stage, as Leary used a screwdriver to vandalize the club's speakers. This came after only five songs, during which time Haynes had started a small fire.
The films' subject matter was often as disturbing as the manner in which they were played; with images of accidents, nuclear explosions, meat processing, spiders & scorpions stalking prey, gory drivers education films, and penis reconstruction surgery. Not all of the movies were horrific, and they often included nature, wildlife, and aquatic footage; as well as a color negative of a Charlie's Angels
episode.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band formed by Gibby Haynes
Gibby Haynes
Gibson Jerome "Gibby" Haynes is an American musician, radio personality, and painter, and the lead singer of the group Butthole Surfers.-Early life and career:...
and Paul Leary
Paul Leary
Paul Leary is an American musician from Austin, TX, best known as the guitarist for American rock band Butthole Surfers. He is also the producer of a number of songs and albums by other bands, including U2, Sublime, the Meat Puppets, Daniel Johnston, The Reverend Horton Heat, Pepper, Maggie...
in San Antonio, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
King Coffey
King Coffey
King Coffey is an American drummer, best known for being the drummer of the psychedelic/noise rock band the Butthole Surfers. He began drumming in a Fort Worth hardcore punk band called The Hugh Beaumont Experience. Around that same time he published a fanzine called Throbbing Cattle...
has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa
Teresa Taylor
Teresa Taylor , also known as Teresa Nervosa, is an American musician and actor. She is best known as being a drummer for the American punk band Butthole Surfers.-Biography:...
served as second drummer from 1983 to 1985, 1986 to 1989, and 2009. The band has also employed a variety of bass players, most notably Bill Jolly and Jeff Pinkus
Jeff Pinkus
Jeff Pinkus is an American bassist, best known for his work with American punk band Butthole Surfers from 1986-1994.In 1990, he and Butthole Surfers lead vocalist Gibby Haynes released Digital Dump, the only album from their psychedelic house music side project, The Jackofficers.Upon leaving the...
.
Rooted in the 1980s hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
scene, Butthole Surfers quickly became known for their chaotic and disturbing live shows, black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
, a sound that incorporates elements of psychedelia
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, noise
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and, later, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, as well as their use of sound manipulation and tape editing. The Buttholes have a well-reported appetite for recreational drugs, an evident influence on their sound.
Although they were respected by their peers and attracted a devoted fan base, Butthole Surfers had little commercial success until 1996’s Electriclarryland
Electriclarryland
Electriclarryland is the seventh studio album by the American alternative rock band Butthole Surfers, released in April 1996 . This album brought the Butthole Surfers their first Top 40 hit with "Pepper". The album was certified gold by the RIAA on August 20, 1996.The title of this album is a...
. The album contained the hit single “Pepper
Pepper (song)
"Pepper" is a song by American alternative rock band Butthole Surfers. It appeared on their 1996 album Electriclarryland, and reached number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart...
” which climbed to number one on Billboard's
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart that year.
Formation (1976–1981)
Butthole Surfers formed at Trinity UniversityTrinity University (Texas)
Trinity University is a private, independent, primarily undergraduate, university in San Antonio, Texas. Its campus is located in the Monte Vista Historic District and adjacent to Brackenridge Park....
in San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
during the late 1970s, when students Gibson “Gibby” Haynes
Gibby Haynes
Gibson Jerome "Gibby" Haynes is an American musician, radio personality, and painter, and the lead singer of the group Butthole Surfers.-Early life and career:...
, and Paul Leary Walthall
Paul Leary
Paul Leary is an American musician from Austin, TX, best known as the guitarist for American rock band Butthole Surfers. He is also the producer of a number of songs and albums by other bands, including U2, Sublime, the Meat Puppets, Daniel Johnston, The Reverend Horton Heat, Pepper, Maggie...
(later just Paul Leary) met for the first time. Though it was their overall strangeness and shared taste in non-mainstream music that caused them to become friends, both appeared to be headed for very conventional careers. Haynes, as captain of Trinity's basketball team, as well as the school's "Accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
of the Year", soon graduated to a position with a respected Texas accounting firm, while Leary remained in college working on his MBA
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
degree.
In 1981, Haynes and Leary published the magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
Strange V.D., which featured photos of abnormal medical ailments, coupled with fictitious, humorous explanations for the diseases. After being caught with one of these pictures at work, Haynes left the accounting firm and moved to Southern California. Leary, at the time one semester shy of his degree, dropped out of college and followed Haynes. After a brief period spent selling homemade clothes and linens emblazoned with Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
's image, the pair returned to San Antonio, and launched the band that would eventually become the Butthole Surfers.
Early years (1981–1984)
Haynes and Leary played their debut show at a San Antonio art gallery in 1981; at that time they had not yet settled on the band name "Butthole Surfers". By 1982, the band were backed by the sibling rhythm section composed of bassist Quinn Mathews and his brother, drummer Scott Mathews. The band did not gain a following in San Antonio, and purchased a van to return to California later that summer.During a brief concert at the Tool and Die club in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
frontman and Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
overseer Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
witnessed their performance and became a fervent fan. Biafra invited the group to open for the Dead Kennedys and T.S.O.L. at the Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and soon made an offer that would launch their recording career: if they could get someone to lend them studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
time, Alternative Tentacles would reimburse the studio when the album was complete. The band then returned to San Antonio to record at BOSS Studios (a.k.a. Bob O'Neill's Sound Studios, a.k.a. the Boss). However, the Mathews brothers did not enter the studio with Haynes and Leary; the two had quit following a physical altercation between Scott Mathews and Haynes. The bass position was taken over by Bill Jolly, who would play on the Surfers' next two releases, and a number of drummers participated. The last of these, King Coffey
King Coffey
King Coffey is an American drummer, best known for being the drummer of the psychedelic/noise rock band the Butthole Surfers. He began drumming in a Fort Worth hardcore punk band called The Hugh Beaumont Experience. Around that same time he published a fanzine called Throbbing Cattle...
(born Jeffrey Coffey), is still with the band to this day.
Released on Alternative Tentacles in July 1983, the resulting EP, Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers (EP)
Butthole Surfers is the debut studio EP by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in July 1983. It is also known as Brown Reason to Live and Pee Pee the Sailor . All songs were written and produced by the Butthole Surfers.The album was originally released on Alternative Tentacles...
(also known as Brown Reason to Live and Pee Pee the Sailor), offered songs with provocatively absurd titles like "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave" and "Bar-B-Q Pope", alternately sung by Haynes and Leary. (Haynes would become the band's primary singer by the time of their first LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
.) The album cover, like the many bizarre illustrations that would accompany Surfers' succeeding work, was designed by the band itself. Teeming with humor, Butthole Surfers laid the foundation for what was to come. It influenced at least one future superstar in Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
frontman Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
, who listed it as one of his top 10 favorite albums in his Journals
Journals (Cobain)
Journals is a collection of writings and drawings by Kurt Cobain, lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana. Though the content is undated, it is arranged in an approximation of chronological order, starting with a letter Cobain wrote to Dale Crover in 1988, and ending with a rant about...
. Cobain would later meet his wife, Courtney Love
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
of Hole
Hole (band)
Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
, at a Butthole Surfers/L7
L7 (band)
L7 was an American rock band from Los Angeles, that was active from 1985 to 2000. Due to their sound and image, they are often associated with the grunge movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s.-History:...
concert in 1991.
Soon after the release of Butthole Surfers, the band recruited a second drummer, Teresa Nervosa
Teresa Taylor
Teresa Taylor , also known as Teresa Nervosa, is an American musician and actor. She is best known as being a drummer for the American punk band Butthole Surfers.-Biography:...
(born Teresa Taylor), who had played with Coffey in a number of high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
s in the Texas' Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
and Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
areas. She and Coffey would drum in unison
Double drumming
Double drumming is a musical technique, used mostly in rock music, where two drummers play two drum kits at the same time. One may play the rhythm while the other may play another style, or both may play the same rhythm...
on separate, stand-up kits, adding to the spectacle of Surfers' ever-evolving stage show. Though Nervosa and Coffey repeatedly referred to themselves, and were referred to, as siblings, it has since been revealed that the two only presented themselves as such due to their similar appearances, and are not actually related. With her arrival, the band's core "classic lineup"—Haynes, Leary, Coffey, and Nervosa—was in place. With the exception of a number of different bass players and Nervosa's brief sabbatical from late 1985 to 1986, it remained largely unchanged until her final departure in 1989. In 2008, she returned to the band—the band's website announced 2009 tour dates including "Teresa Taylor".
In September 1984, Butthole Surfers issued a second EP on Alternative Tentacles, Live PCPPEP
Live PCPPEP
Live PCPPEP is a live EP, and first official live album, by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in September 1984. All songs were written by the Butthole Surfers, and recorded live at The Meridian in San Antonio, Texas on March 25, 1984....
. Primarily featuring live performances of songs from their debut, it prompted some critics and fans to joke that they had released the same album twice. The band had already returned to BOSS Studios to record enough material for a full-length album months before Live PCPPEPs release. (Jolly left shortly after these sessions, but did perform on the live EP). Moreover, they had started a second album at the same studio. Both were originally offered to Alternative Tentacles, with Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac
Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac
Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac is the first full-length studio album by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in December 1984 by Touch and Go Records and Fundamental Records. All songs were written and produced by the Butthole Surfers....
arriving first.
Before either album could be released, though, Alternative Tentacles had to acquire the master tapes
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
from Bob O'Neill, BOSS Studios' namesake and owner. He refused to release them until he'd been reimbursed for the sessions, and Alternative Tentacles couldn't immediately afford to pay. After waiting months, the band issued Live PCPPEP out of financial desperation, and O'Neill was preparing to release Psychic... on his own Ward 9 label to recoup his expenses.
Legend grows (1984–1987)
With some members working as dishwashers, the group was apparently not thrilled with the album being released on Ward 9. Terry TolkinTerry Tolkin
Terry Tolkin was the Vice President of A&R at Elektra Records from 1992 to 1996. He signed a number of critically acclaimed alternative rock bands, including Luna, Stereolab, Afghan Whigs, Scrawl, Jennyanykind and Nada Surf...
, a friend and their east coast booking agent, signed the band to Corey Rusk's then-nascent Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.After its genesis as a hand-made fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s alternative and underground rock scenes, Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous...
in Detroit. Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac was released in 1984. Building on their first EP, the Surfers made psychedelia a much bigger part of their sound on this release, which made full use of the tape editing, non-traditional instrumentation, and sound modulation that came to define their studio recordings.
Just before Psychic...s debut, and with new bassist Terence Smart in tow (the first of many through 1986), the band commenced their first nationwide tour. It was on this outing that they truly established a national presence, starting at Touch and Go's early headquarters in Detroit before heading to New York City, where they impressed members of Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, as well as Shockabilly
Shockabilly
Shockabilly was a band which included Eugene Chadbourne on guitar/vocals, Mark Kramer on bass/organ, and David Licht on drums.Shockabilly released a number of albums during their brief existence , most were later re-released...
(and future Butthole Surfers) bassist Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer , known professionally as Kramer, is a musician, composer, record producer and founder of the New York City record label Shimmy-Disc...
. They then crisscrossed the country for several months, including a show in Seattle, that made a fan of future Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
guitarist Kim Thayil
Kim Thayil
Kim Thayil is an American guitarist best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based grunge band Soundgarden, which he cofounded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984...
. While in San Francisco at the end of the tour, and without a place to live, the band collectively decided to move to Winterville (a small town outside Athens), Georgia, where they admittedly made a hobby of stalking members of R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
. They would leave a van parked in front of Michael Stipes' house painted on the side "Michael Stipe/Despite the Hype/I'd Love to Suck/Your Big Long Pipe" Smart quit after falling in love with a friend of the band, and Trevor Malcolm, a young Canadian musician recommended by Touch and Go, replaced him on bass.
Word was spreading about the band's bizarre stage show by the time they hit the road again, resulting in ever-larger audiences at their concerts. Not long after Malcolm's arrival, the Surfers recorded their act for posterity by filming two concerts at Detroit's Traxx club. Some of this footage was eventually packaged as Blind Eye Sees All
Blind Eye Sees All
Blind Eye Sees All is a home video by the Butthole Surfers, which was released in 1986 through Touch and Go Video. The video was re-released on DVD in 2002 by Music Video Distributors.-Track listing:#"The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave"...
, their only official video release to date. They purchased their first 8-track recorder at this time, and used it to record two songs later used on the A-side of Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis
Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis
Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis is the second studio EP by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in October 1985. All songs were written and produced by the Butthole Surfers....
.
Reportedly unhappy with life in the band, Malcolm quit in mid-1985. A friend of the band's from Athens, Juan Molina, was brought in for a brief U.S. tour, but was not interested in becoming a full-time member. Without a permanent bassist and a quickly approaching European tour looming—the band's first—they contacted Kramer, who quickly agreed to join. Meanwhile, their second LP, which had been submitted to Alternative Tentacles as Rembrandt Pussy Horse, was still in limbo. The reasons for Alternative Tentacles' actions are unclear, but it is known that the label delayed a decision for about a year before ultimately refusing to publish it. While waiting, the band released the four-song Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis EP on Touch and Go in late 1985. Once Alternative Tentacles finally declined, the group went back into the studio to record two new tracks to replace "To Parter" and "Tornadoes", which were originally intended for Rembrandt... before appearing on the Cream Corn... EP's B-side.
Following the European tour, the Surfers experienced more upheaval when Nervosa left around Christmas 1985, as she was tired of the living conditions associated with constant touring and had a desire to be with family. She was replaced by another female drummer, Kytha Gernatt, who was dubbed Cabbage Gomez, Jr. in press soon after joining the band. Cabbage had previously performed with Kathleen Lynch
Kathleen Lynch (performer)
Kathleen Lynch is an American dancer and performance artist, best known as American punk band Butthole Surfers' "naked dancer" from 1986–1989; however, she was never officially part of the band....
(a.k.a. Kathleen, a.k.a. Ta-Da the Shit Lady) in the band Easturn Stars; Lynch gained fame as the Butthole Surfers infamous naked dancer from 1986 to 1989. Kramer also left during this period and was replaced by Jeff Pinkus
Jeff Pinkus
Jeff Pinkus is an American bassist, best known for his work with American punk band Butthole Surfers from 1986-1994.In 1990, he and Butthole Surfers lead vocalist Gibby Haynes released Digital Dump, the only album from their psychedelic house music side project, The Jackofficers.Upon leaving the...
, who gave the band's bass position its longest period of stability by staying until 1994.
Their second LP was finally issued as Rembrandt Pussyhorse
Rembrandt Pussyhorse
Rembrandt Pussyhorse is the second full-length studio album by American experimental punk band Butthole Surfers, released in April 1986. All songs were written and produced by the Butthole Surfers, except "American Woman", which was written by Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Jim Kale, and Garry...
on Touch and Go in April 1986. Coming out some two years after the original sessions, it featured a different mix and song selection than Alternative Tentacles' unreleased version. Best known for its minimalist reworking of The Guess Who
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, they also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "Share the Land"...
's "American Woman
American Woman (song)
"American Woman" is a song by Canadian rock band The Guess Who, first released in January 1970 on the album of the same name and later in March as a single, which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has been covered by many rock artists, including Lenny Kravitz, Krokus, and The Butthole...
", it is one of the most experimental albums in the Surfers' heavily experimental career. Following a particularly out-of-control tour, even by Butthole Surfers standards, the band semi-settled in Austin, Texas in the summer of 1986. Nervosa rejoined them (Cabbage having been fired months earlier), and they went to work on crafting their first home studio in a rental house on the outskirts of town. Before long, they started a leisurely recording session for their third full-length project. Released in March 1987, Locust Abortion Technician
Locust Abortion Technician
Locust Abortion Technician is the third full-length studio album by American experimental punk band the Butthole Surfers, released in March 1987...
is one of the heaviest Butthole Surfers albums, and it is often considered their finest to date. Harnessing aspects of punk, heavy metal, and psychedelia, its unique sound produced a number of grinding, slower-paced songs, arguably making it an early precursor of grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
.
Evolution (1987–1991)
Around the time of Locust Abortion Technicians debut, the group bought a home in Driftwood, Texas, approximately 30 miles (48.3 km) outside Austin. It was a ranch house built into the side of a hill, with 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) of surrounding property. As with the rental home, the compound was turned into a de facto recording studio. They did not live together in the new house for long, though, with Coffey being the first to move out and get his own place. They all had separate residences by 1991.In early 1988, the Surfers were ready to record a new album and wanted to use a modern studio for the first time, choosing a state-of-the-art facility in Texas. The following sessions took only one week, as the band had been performing most of the material for years. The band opted to follow this album's blueprint on future projects. In contrast, songs on their earlier recordings had undergone far more in-studio development and experimentation. Pinkus has expressed the opinion that the later, better-organized sessions stifled much of the spontaneous creativity that had propelled their earlier releases.
Hairway to Steven
Hairway to Steven
Hairway to Steven is the fourth full-length studio album by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in February 1988. All songs were written by the Butthole Surfers, co-produced by the Surfers and Ric Wallace, and mixed by Wallace...
was issued in April, and marked a midway point between the band's experimental roots, and the more accessible recordings that would follow. While half of the material is as extreme sounding as their earlier work, other songs are more conventional. This was the first Surfers album to make extensive use of acoustic guitar. Hairway to Steven did not have song titles when first released, and instead represented each track with an absurdist, often scatological, cartoon. The band traveled widely in support of the album over the next year, including a very successful tour of Europe (helped in part by the influence of new UK distributor Blast First
Blast First
Blast First is a sub label of one-time independent record label, Mute Records, founded in approximately 1985. It was named after a phrase taken from the first number of the radical Vorticist journal Blast, published by Wyndham Lewis in 1914...
). Like their studio recordings, their live shows were beginning to lose much of their earlier chaos.
While touring during the winter of 1988, the Surfers used a portable DAT
Digital Audio Tape
Digital Audio Tape is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a compact audio cassette, using 4 mm magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but is roughly half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. As...
recorder to tape various concerts. The strongest of these recordings were packaged as Double Live
Double Live (Butthole Surfers album)
Double Live is a live double album by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released on vinyl and cassette tape in 1989. An expanded CD edition followed in 1990...
, a limited edition double album released on vinyl and cassette in 1989, and on CD the following year. This was the first release on the band's Latino Buggerveil
Latino Buggerveil
Latino Buggerveil is an independent record label and publishing company that was founded by psychedelic noise-punk band the Butthole Surfers.The label's first release was the 1987 album A Texas Trip, a various artists compilation which was co-released by Caroline Records...
label. Though the album, as of spring 2007, is out of print, its songs are available as free MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
downloads on the band's official website. Issued in response to widespread, for-profit bootlegging of their live shows, it contained performances of songs from all of their previous studio albums and EPs.
Double Live was to be the last Surfers album to feature Nervosa, who left early in 1989. Shortly after leaving, she was diagnosed with an aneurysm, and was forced to undergo brain surgery. She further began to suffer from strobe light-induced seizures. In 1991, Nervosa (who has gone by Teresa Taylor since her retirement) had a small role in Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater
-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
's film Slacker. She was employed at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired is a Texas special public school, in the continuum of statewide placements for students who have a visual impairment. It is considered a statewide resource to parents of these children and professionals who serve them...
as recently as 1995.
The Surfers did not seek to replace her at the time, and opted to continue as a quartet. Following a final EP for Touch and Go—1989's Widowermaker
Widowermaker
Widowermaker is the third studio EP by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in September 1989. All songs were written by the Butthole Surfers.This was the band's last release on Touch and Go Records.-Track listing:# "Helicopter" – 6:47...
—the band left their longtime recording partners to sign with longtime supporter Terry Tolkin
Terry Tolkin
Terry Tolkin was the Vice President of A&R at Elektra Records from 1992 to 1996. He signed a number of critically acclaimed alternative rock bands, including Luna, Stereolab, Afghan Whigs, Scrawl, Jennyanykind and Nada Surf...
at Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
who had also brought them to Touch and Go
Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.After its genesis as a hand-made fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s alternative and underground rock scenes, Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous...
, for a reportedly generous one-album deal. Prior to the new LP's debut, Rough Trade talked the band into first releasing 1990s The Hurdy Gurdy Man
The Hurdy Gurdy Man (EP)
The Hurdy Gurdy Man is the fourth studio EP by American alternative rock band Butthole Surfers, released in 1990.The EP was named after its title track, "The Hurdy Gurdy Man," written by '60s pop star Donovan...
, which previewed material from the coming release. The same year, Rough Trade issued Digital Dump
Digital Dump
Digital Dump is an album by The Jackofficers, an electronic and sample-based side project of Butthole Surfers members Gibby Haynes and Jeff Pinkus. This is the only release by the band.-Track listing:#"Love-O-Maniac" – 3:05#"Time Machines Pt. 1" – 4:57...
by The Jackofficers
The Jackofficers
The Jackofficers was a side project started by Gibby Haynes and Jeff Pinkus of the Butthole Surfers. They released their only album, Digital Dump, in 1990 and disbanded the same year following a brief club tour that found them simply hitting play on a walkman and standing there while it played...
, Haynes and Pinkus's psychedelic house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
side project.
piouhgd was the band's fifth full-length studio album, and their first for Rough Trade. Released in April 1991, it featuring more electronic instrumentation, but was largely viewed as a disappointment in comparison to past recordings. Both Haynes and Leary have since expressed displeasure with the album. Regardless, the band was invited to be part of that summer's inaugural Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
tour. Around this time Haynes collaborated with Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
, contributing vocals on their 1991 single "Jesus Built My Hotrod
Jesus Built My Hotrod
"Jesus Built My Hotrod" is a 1991 single by Ministry and was the band's most popular song up to that point. The track features a driving beat and speed metal guitar work backing Butthole Surfers' singer Gibby Haynes gonzo vocal stylings....
", which was later included on 1992's Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs
Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs
-Samples:Samples.N.W.O.*"All right! It's all right!" - Apocalypse Now*"What we are looking at is good and evil, right and wrong." "A new world order!" "We're not about to make that same mistake twice." "God bless America! [crowd cheering]" "Wait...watch and learn." "I believe in freedom." -...
.
Mainstream recognition (1991–1999)
Rough Trade filed for bankruptcy in 1991, but not before releasing Leary's solo project, The History of Dogs. The following year, The Surfers shocked many fans and critics by signing with the major label Capitol RecordsCapitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. Capitol immediately reissued piouhgd and paired the band with their first big-name producer, John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
, best known as the bassist for Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
. The fruit of their partnership, 1993's Independent Worm Saloon
Independent Worm Saloon
Independent Worm Saloon is the sixth album by alternative rock band Butthole Surfers, released in 1993 on Capitol Records.-Track listing:# "Who Was in My Room Last Night?" – 4:09# "The Wooden Song" – 3:50# "Tongue" – 2:06...
, featured a more straightforward rock approach at Jones's insistence. This paid off for the Surfers, giving them their first minor radio hit, "Who Was in My Room Last Night?
Who Was In My Room Last Night?
"Who Was in My Room Last Night?" is the opening track from American alternative rock band Butthole Surfers' sixth album, Independent Worm Saloon.A remixed version, known as the "Tate or Tot Mix," was released on the CD magazine Volume Eight.-Music video:...
". It reached number 24 on Billboards Modern Rock Tracks singles chart, while the album peaked at number 124 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. Two of the new songs were featured on episodes of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Beavis and Butt-head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
. Legendary guitarist and huge influence on the Butthole Surfers, Helios Creed
Helios Creed
Helios Creed is an American guitarist, singer and bandleader. He first came to prominence in the mid 1970s with the San Francisco band Chrome. They are credited with being the godfathers of what later became known as Industrial Rock music...
played guitar on two of the songs from the record, "The Annoying Song" and "Clean It Up".
When Pinkus left in 1994, the remaining members enlisted a series of fill-in musicians, and continued to tour sporadically, even as all three pursued side projects. Haynes was working with Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
, Bill Carter
Bill Carter
Bill Carter is a writer and director. He directed the documentary film Miss Sarajevo, which consists of amateur video material he shot during his stay in the besieged city of Sarajevo...
, Sal Jenco, Flea
Flea (musician)
Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
, and others in a new group, P. In 1993, Haynes played with this band in Los Angeles' Viper Room
Viper Room
The Viper Room is a nightclub located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. It was opened in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp until 2004. The club became known for being a hangout of Hollywood elite, and was the site where actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose on...
, on the night the actor River Phoenix
River Phoenix
River Jude Phoenix was an American film actor, musician, and teen icon. He was the oldest brother of fellow actors Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer Phoenix.Phoenix began acting at age 10 in television commercials...
died of a drug overdose. Meanwhile, Leary was building a reputation as a skilled music producer, while Coffey set up his own record label Trance Syndicate
Trance Syndicate
Trance Syndicate was an independent record label founded in 1990 by King Coffey, drummer of Austin, TX band the Butthole Surfers.. Its first release was Crust's The Sacred Heart of Crust EP...
. According to Leary and industry insiders, Haynes was increasingly dependent on hard drugs at this time, though Haynes has downplayed their concerns.
In 1995, the band contributed a cover of the Underdog theme song to be included on the tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall
Ralph Sall
Ralph Sall is a record producer, music supervisor, composer, songwriter, and screenwriter. He is the president of Bulletproof Entertainment, a company involved in several facets of the entertainment industry, including film, television, comic books and graphic novels, music, internet and live...
for MCA
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
. Later that year, Haynes's side project, P, issued an eponymous LP on Capitol, while Coffey's Trance Syndicate label released the first Butthole Surfers compilation album. Titled The Hole Truth... and Nothing Butt
The Hole Truth... and Nothing Butt
The Hole Truth... and Nothing Butt is the first compilation album by American punk band Butthole Surfers, officially released in March 1995. All songs were written by the Butthole Surfers, except for "Come Together" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man"....
, it was mostly live tracks recorded at different venues from 1985 to 1991. In December, the Surfers initiated what would become an extended legal battle with Touch and Go. At first they were seeking to increase their profits from the albums released by the label, because the label chose a strategy of non-promotion. The case quickly became a fight for all ownership rights that dragged on for more than three years.
In 1996, Capitol released the Surfers' Electriclarryland
Electriclarryland
Electriclarryland is the seventh studio album by the American alternative rock band Butthole Surfers, released in April 1996 . This album brought the Butthole Surfers their first Top 40 hit with "Pepper". The album was certified gold by the RIAA on August 20, 1996.The title of this album is a...
, which climbed to number 31 on the Billboard 200; the single “Pepper
Pepper (song)
"Pepper" is a song by American alternative rock band Butthole Surfers. It appeared on their 1996 album Electriclarryland, and reached number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart...
” topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Their songs started appearing on the soundtracks of major Hollywood movies, including Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
's Romeo + Juliet and John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
's Escape from L.A.
Escape from L.A.
Escape From L.A. is a 1996 film directed by John Carpenter. The sequel to the action film Escape from New York, the film follows former war hero Snake Plissken, played by Kurt Russell...
Despite improved sales with their second Capitol album, the group's relationship with the label was increasingly troubled. A planned 1998 project, After the Astronaut, was scrapped and the Surfers acrimoniously split with their manager, Tom Bunch. In 1999, the Surfers won their lawsuit against Touch and Go. Despite the outcome, several of the Surfers' peers in the alternative music community, including Fugazi and Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
lead singer Ian MacKaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
, criticized them for having pursued the lawsuit. Haynes and others said they wouldn't have initiated the proceedings if they felt Rusk's dealings had been honorable. Rusk provided the band with indecipherable accounting statements. Rusk continued to insist his actions were honest even though the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found otherwise. With the case resolved, the band reissued Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac, Rembrandt Pussyhorse (with the Cream Corn... EP), Locust Abortion Technician, and Hairway to Steven on their Latino Buggerveil label.
Recent years (2000–present)
In 2000, the band hired Nathan Calhoun as bassist. Having resolved their dispute with Capitol, the Surfers re-recorded most of After the Astronauts songs for Weird RevolutionWeird Revolution
Weird Revolution is the eighth studio album by the alternative rock band Butthole Surfers, released in 2001 on Surfdog Records and Hollywood Records....
, on the Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
/Surfdog Records
Surfdog Records
Surfdog Records is a record label and music publishing company based in Encinitas, California, The United States of America with close ties to the local music and surfing communities. Its roster is diverse and includes artists of the rock, punk, swing, rockabilly, reggae, lounge and alternative...
imprint. The album was released in August 2001, and reached number 130 on the Billboard 200. It was their most electronic album to date, and the single "The Shame of Life" peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Since then, the group has released two compilations on Latino Buggerveil: 2002's Humpty Dumpty LSD
Humpty Dumpty LSD
Humpty Dumpty LSD is the second compilation album by American experimental rock band Butthole Surfers, released in July 2002. All songs were written by the Butthole Surfers, except for "Earthquake," which is a cover version of the 13th Floor Elevators song.The album was released on the band's own...
is a compilation of studio outtakes, while 2003's Butthole Surfers/Live PCPPEP
Butthole Surfers/Live PCPPEP
Butthole Surfers/Live PCPPEP is the third compilation album by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in January 2003. All songs were written by the Butthole Surfers....
, combines their first two Alternative Tentacles EPs. In 2004, Haynes formed Gibby Haynes and His Problem, who released an eponymous album on Surfdog Records later that year. While promoting the side project, Haynes indicated that another Butthole Surfers studio album was likely, and remarked that it would be "noisy". However, no release date has been announced.
The song "Who Was In My Room Last Night" was featured in Guitar Hero 2.
The band reunited with Jeff Pinkus
Jeff Pinkus
Jeff Pinkus is an American bassist, best known for his work with American punk band Butthole Surfers from 1986-1994.In 1990, he and Butthole Surfers lead vocalist Gibby Haynes released Digital Dump, the only album from their psychedelic house music side project, The Jackofficers.Upon leaving the...
and Teresa Nervosa
Teresa Taylor
Teresa Taylor , also known as Teresa Nervosa, is an American musician and actor. She is best known as being a drummer for the American punk band Butthole Surfers.-Biography:...
for a tour of the east coast and Europe in Summer 2008. It was the first time the reunited line up played together since 1989. The group performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
festival curated by Melvins and Mike Patton
Mike Patton
Michael Allan "Mike" Patton is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More. He has also sung for Mr...
. The group's appearance at All Tomorrow's Parties led to a dispute with ATP founder and organizer Barry Hogan, who told a reporter for the Village Voice that the Butthole Surfers (along with Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
and The Black Lips) would never play the festival again. The reunited 86-89 "classic" lineup continued to tour into 2009, with stops in the United States & Canada.
In Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
during their last scheduled show for the North American/Canada 2008-2009 tour on October 31, 2009 Haynes said "We played our first show as the Butthole Surfers in Austin. And this may be our last." Haynes has not yet clarified this statement. Recently, Paul Leary and King Coffey have both stated that the band will tour again if they can pull off another album. Currently, Paul Leary is producing the debut album from Carny. The Butthole Surfers played two shows in Austin at Scoot Inn during Halloween 2010. A report in the New York Times suggested that, even though Butthole Surfers had not released an album of new material since 2001, the "songs are practically incidental to the spectacle" after seeing them perform along with psychedelic band Lumerians
Lumerians
Lumerians is a San Francisco Bay Area based five-member band which has a psychedelic "mindbender" space rock sound. The group is notable for performances characterized by "transcendent live video projections" and having "incredible visuals," according to one music critic. One critic described the...
in Brooklyn.
The line-up of Haynes, Leary, Pinkus and Coffey did a 12-show tour of mostly western U.S. States and one appearance in Canada from August 26, 2011 to September 11, 2011.
Name
The band did not begin as the Butthole Surfers, although they did have a song of that title, possibly an early version of 1984's "Butthole Surfer". This changed at their first paid concert, when an announcer forgot what the band was called and used the song title for the group’s name. They decided to keep the moniker, and have largely been billed as such ever since. Prior to that, the Surfers performed under a different name at every live show. Early aliases included the Dick Clark Five, Nine cm Worm Makes Own Food, the Vodka Family Winstons, and many others.The name has long been a source of trouble for the band. Many clubs, newspapers, radio, and TV stations refuse to print or mention their full name, and instead opted to use "B.H. Surfers", or other abbreviations.
Live performances
In the 1980s, the Butthole Surfers earned a reputation for putting on particularly wild, often disturbing live performances that were both decadent and violent. As a result, they began to attract a wide range of curiosity seekers within a few years of their debut, in addition to traditional fans of punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
who had supported them from the beginning. A staged reproduction of the band's live show was filmed for 1988's Bar-B-Que Movie
Bar-B-Que Movie
Bar-B-Que Movie is an 11 minute Super 8 film directed by American actor/filmmaker Alex Winter, created in 1988. It is a spoof of 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and stars American punk band Butthole Surfers...
, a short Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
movie directed by Alex Winter
Alex Winter
Alexander Ross "Alex" Winter is an English-born American actor, film director, and film writer, best known for his role as Bill S. Preston Esq. in the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and its 1991 sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey...
, who is best known as "Bill S. Preston, Esq." from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a 1989 American science fiction–comedy buddy film and the first film in the Bill & Ted franchise in which two metalhead slackers travel through time to assemble a menagerie of historical figures for their high school history presentation.The film was written by...
. Bar-B-Que Movie is a spoof of 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
, and the film ends with a music video-style performance of the song "Fast" (a.k.a. "Fart Song"), featuring Haynes, Leary, Coffey, Nervosa, and Jeff Pinkus
Jeff Pinkus
Jeff Pinkus is an American bassist, best known for his work with American punk band Butthole Surfers from 1986-1994.In 1990, he and Butthole Surfers lead vocalist Gibby Haynes released Digital Dump, the only album from their psychedelic house music side project, The Jackofficers.Upon leaving the...
, as well as dancer Kathleen Lynch
Kathleen Lynch (performer)
Kathleen Lynch is an American dancer and performance artist, best known as American punk band Butthole Surfers' "naked dancer" from 1986–1989; however, she was never officially part of the band....
. The track displayed many of the band's stage gimmicks, such as the burning cymbal, strobe lights, films, and smoke.
By the time Lynch left in 1989, the Surfers' stage show had become more predictable, with previously random shockers being done at the same point in each night's performance. Teresa Nervosa
Teresa Taylor
Teresa Taylor , also known as Teresa Nervosa, is an American musician and actor. She is best known as being a drummer for the American punk band Butthole Surfers.-Biography:...
quit for good around the same time, and King Coffey
King Coffey
King Coffey is an American drummer, best known for being the drummer of the psychedelic/noise rock band the Butthole Surfers. He began drumming in a Fort Worth hardcore punk band called The Hugh Beaumont Experience. Around that same time he published a fanzine called Throbbing Cattle...
became the band's sole percussionist. Strobe lights, smoke machines, and even Gibby Haynes
Gibby Haynes
Gibson Jerome "Gibby" Haynes is an American musician, radio personality, and painter, and the lead singer of the group Butthole Surfers.-Early life and career:...
' burning cymbal are still part of the presentation, but the chaotic spontaneity of their 1980s performances is no longer on display.
Appearance
Lead vocalist and saxophonist Haynes (who sometimes sang through a bullhornMegaphone
A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loud hailer is a portable, usually hand-held, cone-shaped horn used to amplify a person’s voice or other sounds towards a targeted direction. This is accomplished by channelling the sound through the megaphone, which also serves to match the...
), guitarist Paul Leary, dual drummers Coffey and Nervosa (the latter briefly replaced by Cabbage), and whichever bassist happened to be filling in at the time, had a visual aspect. As with their music, their appearance was exceptionally non-conventional in the early days, including sideways mohawks, dreadlocks, unnaturally colored hair, and the like.
Known for taking the stage at early concerts with hundreds of clothespins attached to his hair and clothes, Haynes would often strip throughout a show until he was down to his underwear, or less, by the end. Other attire included flasher-style trench coats over his nakedness, ridiculously home-styled wigs and cross-dressing; often enjoying a skirt made of an American flag and a large '60s torpedo-style stuffed bra. At other times he would hide condoms full of stage blood in his clothes and repeatedly fall to the floor, appearing to bleed profusely. Some of Haynes' other favorite tricks involved throwing handfuls of photocopied cockroach images into the crowd, rolls and rolls of toilet paper tossed across the audience, as well as filling an inverted cymbal with lighter fluid, setting it (and sometimes his hand) on fire, and repeatedly hitting it with a mallet. As previously mentioned he would sing through most anything that would alter his voice, including toilet paper rolls and megaphones early on, which eventually evolved into "Gibby's kit", a.k.a. "Gibbytronix;" a rack of vocal effects stacked as high as he could reach, before which he would often stand for the majority of the show in later performances. He also often utilized various foot switches which would be used to activate certain vocal effects, and when thought to be dancing during some performances he would actually be stepping on his various pedals. Adding to the spectacle were Coffey and Nervosa, who played in unison on stand-up drum kits; behind which they would collapse onto the floor and out of eyeshot, to collect their breath and strength before rising just in time to play the next song. Finally, the whole band would often tear apart stuffed animals while on stage.
In 1986, they first met Lynch (a.k.a. Kathleen, a.k.a. Ta-Da the Shit Lady), who was then working at a strip club called Sex World in New York City. Though never an official member, she became the Surfers' famous "naked dancer", performing intermittently with them through 1989. One show in Washington, D.C. with GWAR saw Kathleen take the stage to dance in nothing but gold body paint and antique wooden snow shoes. And at another particularly wild concert in 1986, Haynes and Lynch, by now completely bald, reportedly engaged in sexual intercourse while on stage, as Leary used a screwdriver to vandalize the club's speakers. This came after only five songs, during which time Haynes had started a small fire.
Equipment
The Surfers began to take the collection of visual equipment seriously following Coffey's recruitment in 1983, when he added a clear plastic drum fitted with a strobe light to their show. Shortly afterwards, the band purchased what was reported as several thousand dollars worth of stolen strobe lights at a bargain rate, and their visual equipment soon took up more space than their instruments. Smoke machines were later added. Equally memorable was the band's propensity for projecting a variety of films behind them as they played, beginning with one 16-millimeter projector, before adding others. This set-up allowed them to play a number of overlapping movies at the same time which were often strangely angled, upside down or played in reverse. Combined with the increasing number of strobe lights, the effect created a visually disorienting atmosphere, which occasionally caused epileptic seizures in audience members.The films' subject matter was often as disturbing as the manner in which they were played; with images of accidents, nuclear explosions, meat processing, spiders & scorpions stalking prey, gory drivers education films, and penis reconstruction surgery. Not all of the movies were horrific, and they often included nature, wildlife, and aquatic footage; as well as a color negative of a Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
episode.
Band members
Though the Butthole Surfers have been through numerous official and unofficial members since 1981, current members Gibby Haynes, Paul Leary, and King Coffey have been together since 1983.| Name | Position | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Gibby Haynes Gibby Haynes Gibson Jerome "Gibby" Haynes is an American musician, radio personality, and painter, and the lead singer of the group Butthole Surfers.-Early life and career:... |
lead vocals, guitar Electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... , saxophone Saxophone The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... |
1981–present |
| Paul Leary Paul Leary Paul Leary is an American musician from Austin, TX, best known as the guitarist for American rock band Butthole Surfers. He is also the producer of a number of songs and albums by other bands, including U2, Sublime, the Meat Puppets, Daniel Johnston, The Reverend Horton Heat, Pepper, Maggie... |
guitar, vocals | 1981–present |
| King Coffey King Coffey King Coffey is an American drummer, best known for being the drummer of the psychedelic/noise rock band the Butthole Surfers. He began drumming in a Fort Worth hardcore punk band called The Hugh Beaumont Experience. Around that same time he published a fanzine called Throbbing Cattle... |
drums Drum kit A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... |
1983–present |
| Jeff Pinkus Jeff Pinkus Jeff Pinkus is an American bassist, best known for his work with American punk band Butthole Surfers from 1986-1994.In 1990, he and Butthole Surfers lead vocalist Gibby Haynes released Digital Dump, the only album from their psychedelic house music side project, The Jackofficers.Upon leaving the... |
bass Bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... |
1986–1994, 2008–present |
| Name | Position | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Teresa Nervosa Teresa Taylor Teresa Taylor , also known as Teresa Nervosa, is an American musician and actor. She is best known as being a drummer for the American punk band Butthole Surfers.-Biography:... |
drums Drum kit A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... |
1983–1985, 1986–1989, 2008–2009 |
| Nathan Calhoun | bass Bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... |
2000–2002 |
| Kytha Gernatt (Cabbage) | drums | 1985–1986 |
| Mark Kramer Mark Kramer Mark Kramer , known professionally as Kramer, is a musician, composer, record producer and founder of the New York City record label Shimmy-Disc... |
bass | 1985 |
| Trevor Malcolm | bass | 1985 |
| Terence Smart | bass | 1984–1985 |
| Bill Jolly | bass | 1982–1984 |
| Quinn Matthews | bass | 1982 |
| Scott Matthews | drums | 1981–1982 |
| Andrew Mullin | bass | 1981–1982 |
| Scott Stevens | bass | 1981 |
| Name | Position | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Morales | [additional drummer] | 2002 |
| Josh Klinghoffer Josh Klinghoffer Joshua Adam "Josh" Klinghoffer is an American multi-instrumentalist, who is best known as the current guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Klinghoffer replaced his friend and frequent collaborator John Frusciante, who left the band in 2009.Klinghoffer also fronts Dot Hacker, and was... |
guitar, drums Drum kit A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... |
2001 |
| Kyle Ellison | guitar | 1996 |
| Owen McMahon | bass | 1996 |
| Kathleen Lynch Kathleen Lynch (performer) Kathleen Lynch is an American dancer and performance artist, best known as American punk band Butthole Surfers' "naked dancer" from 1986–1989; however, she was never officially part of the band.... |
dancer | 1986–1989 |
| Juan Molina | bass | 1985 |
Discography
- Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's SacPsychic... Powerless... Another Man's SacPsychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac is the first full-length studio album by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in December 1984 by Touch and Go Records and Fundamental Records. All songs were written and produced by the Butthole Surfers....
(1984) - Rembrandt PussyhorseRembrandt PussyhorseRembrandt Pussyhorse is the second full-length studio album by American experimental punk band Butthole Surfers, released in April 1986. All songs were written and produced by the Butthole Surfers, except "American Woman", which was written by Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Jim Kale, and Garry...
(1986) - Locust Abortion TechnicianLocust Abortion TechnicianLocust Abortion Technician is the third full-length studio album by American experimental punk band the Butthole Surfers, released in March 1987...
(1987) - Hairway to StevenHairway to StevenHairway to Steven is the fourth full-length studio album by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in February 1988. All songs were written by the Butthole Surfers, co-produced by the Surfers and Ric Wallace, and mixed by Wallace...
(1988) - piouhgd (1991)
- Independent Worm SaloonIndependent Worm SaloonIndependent Worm Saloon is the sixth album by alternative rock band Butthole Surfers, released in 1993 on Capitol Records.-Track listing:# "Who Was in My Room Last Night?" – 4:09# "The Wooden Song" – 3:50# "Tongue" – 2:06...
(1993) - ElectriclarrylandElectriclarrylandElectriclarryland is the seventh studio album by the American alternative rock band Butthole Surfers, released in April 1996 . This album brought the Butthole Surfers their first Top 40 hit with "Pepper". The album was certified gold by the RIAA on August 20, 1996.The title of this album is a...
(1996) - Weird RevolutionWeird RevolutionWeird Revolution is the eighth studio album by the alternative rock band Butthole Surfers, released in 2001 on Surfdog Records and Hollywood Records....
(2001)
External links
- Band's biography / discography
- Official Butthole Surfers website
- Butthole Surfers at Alternative TentaclesAlternative TentaclesAlternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
- Butthole Surfers collection on the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
's live music archive. - Butthole Surfers: "U.S.S.A". (2:00) recorded at CBGB by Barbera Milne 6/13/85 published on the Tellus Audio Cassette MagazineTellus Audio Cassette MagazineLaunched from the Lower East Side, Manhattan, in 1983 as a subscription only bimonthly publication, the Tellus cassette series took full advantage of the popular cassette medium to promote cutting-edge downtown music, documenting the New York scene and advancing experimental composers of the time...
@ UbuwebUbuWebUbuWeb is a large web-based educational resource for avant-garde material available on the internet, founded in 1996 by poet Kenneth Goldsmith. It offers visual, concrete and sound poetry, expanding to include film and sound art mp3 archives.-Philosophy:...