Doo Rag (band)
Encyclopedia
Doo Rag was an American lo-fi
blues band
duo from Tucson
, Arizona
, USA. The band consisted of Bob Log III
and Thermos Malling. By the time of their breakup, they had supported a number of artists on tour, most notably Sonic Youth
and Beck
.
songs when a friend jumped up and started banging a cheese grater with a spoon
," guitarist Bob Log recalls. "The next day we went out on the sidewalk and played, hoping to scrounge up cigarette
money." http://www.boblog111.com/press_preview.html The band recorded a cassette
together, which they self-released
, and then began touring, despite the unsigned
nature of the band and their lack of record label promotion.
Doo Rag first gained recognition outside of Tucson playing in San Diego at the Casbah nightclub when members of the late 80's and early 90's cult underground band Crash Worship
. Crash Worship
had gotten a hold of their first self released cassette tape in the early 90's and hadn't even believed that they were an actual band, although they had been listening to it repeatedly as they had become fans of the mystery duo. Soon after Doo Rag was opening for Crash Worship
on several U.S. tours.
Soon after they had started playing semi regularly in L.A. at a former bowling alley turned nightclub where they first caught the attention of Beck before his hit "Loser" had garnered him national attention. Beck asked Doo Rag to open for him on his first major U.S. tour after his first Geffen Records release.
Doo Rag was soon after touring Europe and playing everything from small clubs to the huge outdoor summer music festivals in Holland. In 1995, they played the side stage of Lollapalooza where they met Sonic Youth who had become ardent fans of the pair.
The next summer found Doo Rag touring with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Delta Blues legend R.L. Burnside.
While on tour in support of the band Ween
, and after six years of working together, Malling left the tour to spend time with his new wife. Rather than stop playing guitar, Bob Log III decided to finish the tour as a one-man band. He purchased a drum machine, kicked a guitar case and a homemade kick cymbal, and invented a new way to play drums. He still employs this technique after 12 years.
and inventions, and Bob Log III's unique finger picking style of guitar playing, as well as causing mini riots in any club they happened to be performing in. Guitarist and singer Bob Log III
played an acoustic/electric slide homemade dobro, which sounded akin to an electrocuted McDowell on amphetamines, mixed with AC/DC. He also played a $2 thrift store guitar in a similar slide fashion which often left the sound men at the clubs they were playing at in awe at its wicked growl during the duo's sound check. Doo Rag also employed a number of Thermos Malling's unique microphone
setups to distort the vocals, and was as likely to be singing through a vacuum cleaner
hose as to be singing into two hairdryers with built-in microphones. Thermos Malling contributed percussion using a custom-made drumkit compiled from a Budweiser
box for a bass drum, a tin bucket as a snare drum, an old film reel as a cymbal, an iron shopping basket used as a hi-hat, and a number of other found objects.
'Splits'
'Albums'
'Appearances'
Lo-fi music
Lo-fi is lower quality of sound recordings than the usual standard for music. The qualities of lo-fi are usually achieved by either degrading the quality of the recorded audio, or using certain equipment. Recent uses of the phrase have led to it becoming a genre, although it still remains as an...
blues band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
duo from Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, USA. The band consisted of Bob Log III
Bob Log III
Bob Log III is an American slide guitar one-man band. During performances, he plays old Silvertone archtop guitars, wears a full body human cannonball suit, and a pilot's helmet wired to a telephone receiver, which allows him to devote his hands and feet to guitar and drums. The spectacle has been...
and Thermos Malling. By the time of their breakup, they had supported a number of artists on tour, most notably 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...
and Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
.
History
The members of Doo Rag first began performing together at a party in Tucson in 1990. "I had a snare drum with a guitar bolted onto it, and I was playing Fred McDowellFred McDowell
Fred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
songs when a friend jumped up and started banging a cheese grater with a spoon
Spoon
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...
," guitarist Bob Log recalls. "The next day we went out on the sidewalk and played, hoping to scrounge up cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
money." http://www.boblog111.com/press_preview.html The band recorded a cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
together, which they self-released
DIY ethic
The DIY ethic refers to the ethic of self-sufficiency through completing tasks oneself as opposed to having others who are more experienced or able complete them for one's behalf. It promotes the idea that an ordinary person can learn to do more than he or she thought was possible...
, and then began touring, despite the unsigned
Unsigned artist
The term "unsigned artist" or "independent artist" is used in the music industry as a marketing technique.-History and current scene:Many unsigned artists used to sell their music and music-related merchandise without the financial support of a record label, while often seeking a recording contract...
nature of the band and their lack of record label promotion.
Doo Rag first gained recognition outside of Tucson playing in San Diego at the Casbah nightclub when members of the late 80's and early 90's cult underground band Crash Worship
Crash Worship
Crash Worship or ADRV was a San Diego based experimental-aktionist-industrial-noise performance group formed in 1986. Most renowned for its live shows in which three stand-up percussionists hammered out concussive poly-rhythms to abstract mutated guitar, synthesizers, effects and dualling vocalists...
. Crash Worship
Crash Worship
Crash Worship or ADRV was a San Diego based experimental-aktionist-industrial-noise performance group formed in 1986. Most renowned for its live shows in which three stand-up percussionists hammered out concussive poly-rhythms to abstract mutated guitar, synthesizers, effects and dualling vocalists...
had gotten a hold of their first self released cassette tape in the early 90's and hadn't even believed that they were an actual band, although they had been listening to it repeatedly as they had become fans of the mystery duo. Soon after Doo Rag was opening for Crash Worship
Crash Worship
Crash Worship or ADRV was a San Diego based experimental-aktionist-industrial-noise performance group formed in 1986. Most renowned for its live shows in which three stand-up percussionists hammered out concussive poly-rhythms to abstract mutated guitar, synthesizers, effects and dualling vocalists...
on several U.S. tours.
Soon after they had started playing semi regularly in L.A. at a former bowling alley turned nightclub where they first caught the attention of Beck before his hit "Loser" had garnered him national attention. Beck asked Doo Rag to open for him on his first major U.S. tour after his first Geffen Records release.
Doo Rag was soon after touring Europe and playing everything from small clubs to the huge outdoor summer music festivals in Holland. In 1995, they played the side stage of Lollapalooza where they met Sonic Youth who had become ardent fans of the pair.
The next summer found Doo Rag touring with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Delta Blues legend R.L. Burnside.
While on tour in support of the band Ween
Ween
Ween is an American alternative rock group. They formed in 1984 in New Hope, Pennsylvania when central members Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo met in an eighth grade typing class. Ween has a large cult underground fanbase despite being generally unknown in American pop music...
, and after six years of working together, Malling left the tour to spend time with his new wife. Rather than stop playing guitar, Bob Log III decided to finish the tour as a one-man band. He purchased a drum machine, kicked a guitar case and a homemade kick cymbal, and invented a new way to play drums. He still employs this technique after 12 years.
Instruments
The group was known for Thermos Malling's unusual instrumentationInstrumentation (music)
In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
and inventions, and Bob Log III's unique finger picking style of guitar playing, as well as causing mini riots in any club they happened to be performing in. Guitarist and singer Bob Log III
Bob Log III
Bob Log III is an American slide guitar one-man band. During performances, he plays old Silvertone archtop guitars, wears a full body human cannonball suit, and a pilot's helmet wired to a telephone receiver, which allows him to devote his hands and feet to guitar and drums. The spectacle has been...
played an acoustic/electric slide homemade dobro, which sounded akin to an electrocuted McDowell on amphetamines, mixed with AC/DC. He also played a $2 thrift store guitar in a similar slide fashion which often left the sound men at the clubs they were playing at in awe at its wicked growl during the duo's sound check. Doo Rag also employed a number of Thermos Malling's unique microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
setups to distort the vocals, and was as likely to be singing through a vacuum cleaner
Vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
hose as to be singing into two hairdryers with built-in microphones. Thermos Malling contributed percussion using a custom-made drumkit compiled from a Budweiser
Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)
Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
box for a bass drum, a tin bucket as a snare drum, an old film reel as a cymbal, an iron shopping basket used as a hi-hat, and a number of other found objects.
Discography
'Singles'- Hussy Bowler 7" (Westworld, 1993, WW-7)
- Trudge 7" (In The Red, 1994, ITR 021)
- Swampwater Mop Down 7" (Drunken Fish Records, 1995, DFR-11)
- Two Tones To Tune 7" (Discos Alehop!, 1997, hop 014)
'Splits'
- Sinful Tunes & Spirituals 2x7" (Au-Go-Go, 1998, ANDA 238)
'Albums'
- Chunked & Muddled LP/CD/CS (Bloat Records, 1994, BLT 10048)
- Barber Shop CS (Bloat Records, 1994, BLT #?)
- Doo Rag, What We Do LP/CD (Dependability, 1996, L 45649)
- Near the end of the band, and shortly after What We Do, the band acquired a 78 lathe and offered to release 100 personalized 78s, provided you sent your name and a message in time. None have become publicly available since this notification.
'Appearances'
- Thermos Malling appears on Now I Got WorryNow I Got WorryNow I Got Worry is a 1996 studio album by the American punk blues band The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The album opens up with Spencer screaming. "Fuck Shit Up" is a cover of a Dub Narcotic song. The man depicted on the cover is Jon Spencer...
by the Jon Spencer Blues ExplosionJon Spencer Blues ExplosionThe Jon Spencer Blues Explosion are an American alternative rock trio, formed in 1991 and based out of New York City, New York. The band consists of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spencer on vocals, guitar and theremin...
.