Jon Cougar Concentration Camp is a 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...

 band from San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

.

History

Jon Cougar Concentration Camp was formed in January 1994 in San Diego by Chris Fields, Clint Graham, Travis Spatter, and Travis Milligan. The band named themselves after a pun

Pun

The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...

 on musician John Cougar Mellencamp. They played their first show at The Casbah on January 31, 1994, and less than two months later self-released their first 7” EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

. This would be the only recording with Clint and Travis, who both left the band. Guitarist Dave Swain was eventually added and the band continued as a trio.

Their eponymous debut album came in 1995 on Second Guess Records. "Til Niagara Falls" was released on legendary punk label BYO Records

BYO Records

BYO Records is a Los Angeles, California based independent punk rock record label created by Shawn and Mark Stern, two of the three brothers of the seminal California punk rock band Youth Brigade . BYO stands for Better Youth Organization and aims to promote punk and other alternative youth...

 in 1997. This would be followed up by two more albums in 1998, "Melon" an album of new JCCC material, and Too Tough To Die

Too Tough to Die

Too Tough to Die is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band The Ramones. It was released on October 1,1984. It is the first Ramones album to feature new drummer Richie Ramone...

 a track for track cover of the Ramones

Ramones

The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...

 album of the same name.

During a break between tours and recording Dave and Chris joined The Queers

The Queers

The Queers are a punk band formed in 1981 by Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joe King . The band originally broke up in 1984, but reformed with Joe Queer and a new line-up in 1986. In 1990, the band signed with Shakin' Street Records and released their first album Grow Up...

 and played on their album Punk Rock Confidential. Dwarves

Dwarves (band)

Dwarves is an American punk band formed in Chicago, Illinois, as The Suburban Nightmare, in the mid-1980s. They are currently based in San Francisco, California. Formed as a garage punk band, their career subsequently saw them move in a hardcore direction before settling into an eclectic punk rock...

 frontman Blag Dahlia

Blag Dahlia

Paul Cafaro , better known as Blag Dahlia, is an American musician, producer, and author.-Music career:Cafaro is a native of Highland Park, Illinois, and is most well known as the front-man of Dwarves, a punk rock band. With the Dwarves he has written and produced 10 full length records over a span...

 (who had produced Melon) also invited Chris to join his band. Chris would join The Dwarves, and after being overwhelmed by being in three bands, left the Queers and ended Jon Cougar Concentration Camp. A final JCCC album "Hot Shit" was released in 1999.

After a ten year hiatus the band reunited in 2009. They recorded another song for song cover album, this time a version of Screeching Weasel

Screeching Weasel

Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead.Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant...

's My Brain Hurts

My Brain Hurts

My Brain Hurts is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Screeching Weasel. It was released in 1991 through Lookout! Records. It was the band's first album released through Lookout! Records. The album marked a very distinct stylistic shift...

 titled "My Hair Hurts". It will be released on Livid Records as a vinyl only release in November 2009.

Studio albums

• Jon Cougar Concentration Camp (1995)
• Til Niagara Falls (1997)
• Melon (1998)
• Too Tough To Die (1998)
• Hot Shit (1999)
• My Hair Hurts (2009)