Grifters
Encyclopedia
The Grifters was a 1990s indie rock
band based in Memphis
who released albums on Doink, Sonic Noise, Shangri-La Records
, and Sub Pop Records.
The band originally formed in the late 1980s as A Band Called Bud
, with vocalist/guitarist Scott Taylor, bassist Tripp Lamkins, and drummer Dave Shouse. After being renamed the Grifters (after the novel by Jim Thompson
) by 1990, Shouse joined Taylor on guitar, with Stanley Gallimore taking over on the drums. Songwriting duties were shared between Shouse, Taylor and Lamkins. For several years in the 1990s they recorded primarily at Easley McCain Recording
and were closely affiliated with Memphis's Shangri-La Records label for a time. Jeff Buckley
was a vocal supporter of The Grifters and was close friends with the band.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band based in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
who released albums on Doink, Sonic Noise, Shangri-La Records
Shangri-La Records
Shangri-La Projects is a record label in Memphis, Tennessee that grew out of and split off from the Shangri-la Record store in Memphis, Tennessee, and released several of the seminal records of the early 90's Memphis indie scene...
, and Sub Pop Records.
The band originally formed in the late 1980s as A Band Called Bud
Dad (cassette)
Dad is a 1989 studio album by the indie rock act A Band Called Bud, later known as the Grifters.-Background:One year before taking on a real drummer and the name the Grifters, Tripp Lamkins, David Shouse and Scott Taylor played and performed under the name A Band Called Bud...
, with vocalist/guitarist Scott Taylor, bassist Tripp Lamkins, and drummer Dave Shouse. After being renamed the Grifters (after the novel by Jim Thompson
Jim Thompson (writer)
James Myers Thompson was an American author and screenwriter, known for his pulp crime fiction....
) by 1990, Shouse joined Taylor on guitar, with Stanley Gallimore taking over on the drums. Songwriting duties were shared between Shouse, Taylor and Lamkins. For several years in the 1990s they recorded primarily at Easley McCain Recording
Easley McCain Recording
Easley McCain Recording is an American recording studio, based in Memphis, Tennessee, notable for recording musicians such as Tav Falco's Panther Burns, Grifters, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Come, White Stripes, Townes Van Zandt, Pezz, Jeff Buckley, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Guided by Voices, Lydia...
and were closely affiliated with Memphis's Shangri-La Records label for a time. Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
was a vocal supporter of The Grifters and was close friends with the band.
The Grifters Discography
as A Band Called Bud:- Dad full length cassette (Doink Records, 1989)
- Shark 7 flexi discFlexi discThe flexi disc is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable...
with The Martini Age (Kreature Comforts,1989)
Albums
- So Happy TogetherSo Happy TogetherSo Happy Together is the first full-length album by Memphis indie rock band The Grifters. The album was noisier and lo-fi by even Grifters standards, much of it being home recordings on 4-track. It was released on the now defunct Chicago, Illinois label, Sonic Noise. It featured the re-recording...
LP/CD (Sonic Noise, 1992) - One Sock MissingOne Sock MissingOne Sock Missing is the second album from the Grifters released in 1993 on Shangri-La Records. "Certainly the most low-key of the Grifters' early records, 1993's One Sock Missing is less noisy and aggressive than its immediate predecessor, So Happy Together []" The album received comparisons to...
LP/CD (Shangri-LaShangri-La RecordsShangri-La Projects is a record label in Memphis, Tennessee that grew out of and split off from the Shangri-la Record store in Memphis, Tennessee, and released several of the seminal records of the early 90's Memphis indie scene...
, 1993) - Crappin' You NegativeCrappin' You NegativeCrappin' You Negative is the third full-length album from The Grifters and was released on Shangri-La Records.-Track listing:# "Rats" - 3:46 # "Maps of the Sun" - 3:52 # "Dead Already" - 4:18...
LP/CD (Shangri-La Records, 1994) - Ain't My LookoutAin't My LookoutAin't My Lookout is the fourth full-length album by Memphis indie rock band The Grifters, and their first for Sub Pop Records. While Sub Pop released the Compact Disc, the Grifters remained true to their old home, Shangri-La Records, which was able to receive the licensing for the vinyl release...
LP/CD (Shangri-la Records/Sub Pop, 1996) - Full Blown PossessionFull Blown PossessionFull Blown Possession is the fifth full-length album by Memphis indie rock band The Grifters.-Track listing:#"Re-Entry Blues" – 3:56 #"Fireflies" – 4:18 #"Spaced Out" – 4:52...
LP/CD (Sub Pop, 1997)
EPs
- DisfigureheadDisfigureheadDisfigurehead is the first 7" EP by Memphis indie rock band The Grifters. The band was still a trio and the dynamics were not dissimilar from their A Band Called Bud incarnation, except that the production was more polished and the effects were toned down so that the guitars had a rougher...
EP 7" (Doink Records, 1990) - The Kingdom of JonesThe Kingdom of JonesThe Kingdom Of Jones is the second 7" EP by Memphis indie rock band The Grifters. Shangri-La Records re-released the first two Grifters singles in 1996 as the The Doink Years 10" and again on CD in 2006...
EP 7" (Doink Records, 1991) - he Eureka E.P.]] 10"/CD (Shangri-La Records, 1995)
- The Doink YearsThe Doink YearsThe Doink Years is an album released by The Grifters in 1996.The Grifters, on the verge of releasing their first major label album on Sub Pop 1996, Shangri-La Records re-issued the first two self-released Grifters 7" singles as a 10", with a single per side and featuring a bonus track recorded in...
10" reissue of Disfigurehead and The Kingdom Of Jones (Shangri-La Records, 1996) - The Doink YearsThe Doink YearsThe Doink Years is an album released by The Grifters in 1996.The Grifters, on the verge of releasing their first major label album on Sub Pop 1996, Shangri-La Records re-issued the first two self-released Grifters 7" singles as a 10", with a single per side and featuring a bonus track recorded in...
CD reissue of Disfigurehead and The Kingdom Of Jones (Shangri-La Records, 2006)
Singles
- "Soda Pop" 7" (Shangri-La Records, 1992)
- "Corolla Hoist" 7" (Shangri-La Records, 1992)
- "Under the Ground" split 7" (with CrainCrain (band)Crain was an indie band spawned from the same fertile early 1990s Louisville, Kentucky math rock scene that also gave birth to Slint and Rodan. Combining complex meter and composition with a hard-edged attack, the band was a fixture of the scene but failed to attain the same acclaim as their more...
; Simple Machines, 1993) - "Holmes" 7" (Darla RecordsDarla RecordsDarla Records is an independent record label founded by James Agren while he was in New York. Darla Record's first release was a 7-inch by Grifters, an indie rock/lo-fi band from Memphis.- Background :...
, 1994) - "Bronze Cast" 7" (Shangri-La Records, 1994)
- "Dildozer" split 7" (with Fluffy Kitty; Cherry Smash, 1994)
- "I'm Drunk" split 7" (with Guided by VoicesGuided by VoicesGuided by Voices is an American indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Beginning with the band's formation in 1983, it made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard...
; Now Sound, 1994) - "Queen of the Table Waters" 7" (Sub Pop Records, 1994)
- "Stream" 7" (Derivative Records, 1995)
- "Slipknot" 7" (Super 8 Records, 1996)
- "Last Man Alive" 7" (Sub Pop Records, 1996)
- "Wicked Thing" 7" (Sub Pop Records, 1997)
Various-artist compilation appearances
- "She Blows Blasts Of Static" on Altered States of AmericaAltered States of AmericaAltered States of America is a 100-song 3" mini CD released by the grindcore band Agoraphobic Nosebleed. The album's songs cover a variety of topics, with many referring to violence and drug use. There also several noise-based and experimental songs...
, cassette, (Lime Lizard, UK, 1993) - "Black Fuel Incinerator" on Why Do You Think They Call It Pop? 10" (Pop Narcotic,1993)
- "Make It Happen" on Ten Cent Fix, CD, (Jiffy Boy, 1993)
- "Spaceship" on A Day in the Park, CD, (Now Sound, 1994)
- "Look What You've Done To Me Now" on The Smitten Love Song Comp, CD, (Karate Brand, 1994)
- "Under The Ground" on Working Holiday!Working Holiday!Working Holiday! is a CD album released on the Simple Machines label. It is a compilation of tracks by American indie bands which were originally released on a series of 12 7" singles by Simple Machines as part of the Working Holiday monthly record club starting from December 1992. Each song was...
, CD, (Simple Machines, 1994) - "The Want (live)" on Half-Cocked: The Motion Picture Soundtrack CD (MatadorMatador RecordsMatador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...
, 1995) - "Roadside Monument" on Mike McGonigal's Chemical Imbalance: 1984-1996, Vol.3, No.1, (Chemical Imbalance, 1995)
- two songs on Barristers: Two Years In The Alley CD, 1996
- "Empty Yard" on Red Hot + Bothered: The Indie Rock Guide Book to DatingRed Hot + BotheredRed Hot + Bothered is an anthology of the indie rock scene from the 1990s produced by Paul Heck. It was released as part of the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series....
CD (Red Hot OrganizationRed Hot OrganizationRed Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
/Kinetic, 1995) - "Corolla Hoist (live at WMBRWMBRWMBR is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology student-run college radio station, licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and broadcasting on 88.1 FM. It is all-volunteer and funded by listener donations and MIT funds...
)" on MAGNET/Darla Single 7" (Magnet Magazine/Darla RecordsDarla RecordsDarla Records is an independent record label founded by James Agren while he was in New York. Darla Record's first release was a 7-inch by Grifters, an indie rock/lo-fi band from Memphis.- Background :...
, 1996) - "Wicked Thing" on Spring Lineup - A Compilation Of Sub Pop's Heavy Hitters Promo CD, (Sub Pop Records, 1997)
- "Holmes" on The Basement Recordings: Live at Cicero's, CD, (On The Clock, 1997)
- "The Muffin Man" on Rudy's Rockin' Kiddie Caravan CD, (Bloodshot Records, 1997)
- "Radio City Suicide" on Chicago Cab Soundtrack, CD, (Loosegroove RecordsLoosegroove RecordsLoosegroove Records was a Seattle based record label formed by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard and Brad drummer Regan Hagar in 1994. Initially a subsidiary of Sony before going independent in 1996, Loosegroove signed many up and coming artists from various musical genres, especially rock and hip...
, 1998) - five singles on Shangri-La: 10 Years, CD, (Shangri-La Records, 1998)
- two singles on Darla 100, CD, (Darla Records, 2000)
- "Hits Keep Comin" on The Unaccompanied Voice: An A Capella Compilation, CD, (Secretly CanadianSecretly CanadianSecretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. It was started in 1996 by Chris and Ben Swanson, Eric Weddle, and Jonathan Cargill. Their first release was a re-issue of an album by June Panic...
, 2000) - "Confidential" on Shangri-la Projects: B-Sides, CD, (Shangri-La Records, 2006)
Bootlegs
- No Particular Slogan, (2xCD, singles compilation)
- That's Not French, (live bootleg recorded recorded at The Bottleneck Lawrence, KansasLawrence, KansasLawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
, 2000)
Video
- "Banjo" & "Whatever Happened To Felix Cole" - VHS video single (Shangri-La Records 1995)
- "Last Man Alive" (directed by Russell Bates, 1996)
Film Appearances
- Half-Cocked directed by Suki Hawley & Michael Galinsky. The Grifters appear as themselves and perform "The Want" live
External links
- Grifters Official Website (built by fans)
- Grifters on Myspace (built by family)
- Bush, John. [ Allmusic band biography]