Locust Abortion Technician
Encyclopedia
Locust Abortion Technician is the third full-length studio album by American experimental
punk band the Butthole Surfers
, released in March 1987. All songs were written and produced by the Butthole Surfers, except for "Kuntz
," which was written by an unknown and uncredited Thai
artist.
The album was originally released as vinyl
on Touch and Go
, and was remastered to CD on Latino Buggerveil
in 1999.
Locust Abortion Technicians front cover illustration of two clowns playing with a dog was painted by Arthur Sarnoff
, entitled "Fido and the Clowns".
This album was listed in the list 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
.
, heavy metal
, and psychedelia
into a then-unique sound that could be considered noise rock
. With its marriage of punk and metal producing a number of grinding, slower-paced songs, the album might also be seen as an early precursor of grunge
. "Sweat Loaf" utilizes a warped riff similar to the verse riff from the Black Sabbath
song "Sweet Leaf
." Not all of the tracks are guitar
-oriented, though; the song "Kuntz
" was created by remixing an original Eastern recording by a Thai artist.
This album marked the debut of bass
player Jeff Pinkus
, as well as the return of co-drummer
Teresa Nervosa
, who had left the band in December 1985. It was also the first Surfers full-length album to feature lead singer Gibby Haynes
' "Gibbytronix" vocal effects, which features on the songs "Sweat Loaf" and "Human Cannonball" (though Gibbytronix were employed on Comb on the Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis
EP a year earlier).
Many Locust Abortion Technician songs are recurring features of the Surfers' live concerts, including "Sweat Loaf," "Graveyard," "Pittsburgh to Lebanon," "U.S.S.A.," "Kuntz
," and "22 Going on 23."
, Texas
in 1986. A private studio did not mean an end to the sub-standard equipment that had plagued their previous recording sessions, though. In addition to having just one microphone
, they also used an outdated 8-track tape recorder
instead of the 16-track gear used on Rembrandt Pussyhorse
. However, guitarist Paul Leary
believes that the inferior equipment forced the band to be more creative than they might otherwise have been.
Additionally, the new studio freed the band from having to worry about recording costs, allowing them to experiment even more than on previous releases. Jeff Pinkus has also said that the home studio gave them the luxury of taking extended breaks for drug use.
Many of the album's tracks also underwent extensive in-studio development. Though this had largely become a Surfers tradition, Locust Abortion Technician was one of their last recordings done in such a manner, with the band going into the studio with more fully formed songs on subsequent releases. Pinkus has expressed the opinion that the earlier, more chaotic recording sessions resulted in much of the spontaneous creativity that had propelled the group's early albums.
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
punk band the Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
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...
, released in March 1987. All songs were written and produced by the Butthole Surfers, except for "Kuntz
Kuntz (song)
"Kuntz" is a song by the experimental punk band Butthole Surfers, originally released as the ninth track of their 1987 album Locust Abortion Technician....
," which was written by an unknown and uncredited Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
artist.
The album was originally released as vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
on 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...
, and was remastered to CD on 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...
in 1999.
Locust Abortion Technicians front cover illustration of two clowns playing with a dog was painted by Arthur Sarnoff
Arthur Sarnoff
Arthur Sarnoff was an American artist. Prior to working as an illustrator, Sarnoff studied at the Industrial School and the Grand Central School of Art in New York City. He was a member of the Society of Illustrators and exhibited widely including the National Academy of Design.Sarnoff was a...
, entitled "Fido and the Clowns".
This album was listed in the list 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...
.
Music
Arguably the Surfers' heaviest album, and without a doubt their darkest and most disturbing, Locust Abortion Technician is also considered by many critics and fans to be one of the band's best, harnessing aspects of punkPunk 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...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, and 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...
into a then-unique sound that could be considered noise rock
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...
. With its marriage of punk and metal producing a number of grinding, slower-paced songs, the album might also be seen as 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...
. "Sweat Loaf" utilizes a warped riff similar to the verse riff from the Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
song "Sweet Leaf
Sweet Leaf
"Sweet Leaf" is a song by Black Sabbath from their 1971 album Master of Reality. The song, a hymn to recreational cannabis use, got its title from a packet of cigarettes bassist Geezer Butler bought in Dublin that claimed the tobacco was "the sweet leaf." The song begins with a tape loop of...
." Not all of the tracks are 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...
-oriented, though; the song "Kuntz
Kuntz
- Surname :Kuntz commonly refers to surname of German origin. The name originated as a short form of Konrad meaning "bold adviser".* Murray Kuntz , is a former professional ice hockey right winger* Terry Kuntz , game designer* Robert J...
" was created by remixing an original Eastern recording by a Thai artist.
This album marked the debut of bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player 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 the return of co-drummer
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...
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:...
, who had left the band in December 1985. It was also the first Surfers full-length album to feature lead singer 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:...
' "Gibbytronix" vocal effects, which features on the songs "Sweat Loaf" and "Human Cannonball" (though Gibbytronix were employed on Comb on the 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....
EP a year earlier).
Many Locust Abortion Technician songs are recurring features of the Surfers' live concerts, including "Sweat Loaf," "Graveyard," "Pittsburgh to Lebanon," "U.S.S.A.," "Kuntz
Kuntz
- Surname :Kuntz commonly refers to surname of German origin. The name originated as a short form of Konrad meaning "bold adviser".* Murray Kuntz , is a former professional ice hockey right winger* Terry Kuntz , game designer* Robert J...
," and "22 Going on 23."
Background
Locust Abortion Technician was the first Surfers album primarily recorded at the band's home studio, which was originally assembled in a rental house they were sharing near AustinAustin, 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...
, 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 1986. A private studio did not mean an end to the sub-standard equipment that had plagued their previous recording sessions, though. In addition to having just one 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...
, they also used an outdated 8-track tape recorder
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...
instead of the 16-track gear used on 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...
. However, guitarist 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...
believes that the inferior equipment forced the band to be more creative than they might otherwise have been.
Additionally, the new studio freed the band from having to worry about recording costs, allowing them to experiment even more than on previous releases. Jeff Pinkus has also said that the home studio gave them the luxury of taking extended breaks for drug use.
Many of the album's tracks also underwent extensive in-studio development. Though this had largely become a Surfers tradition, Locust Abortion Technician was one of their last recordings done in such a manner, with the band going into the studio with more fully formed songs on subsequent releases. Pinkus has expressed the opinion that the earlier, more chaotic recording sessions resulted in much of the spontaneous creativity that had propelled the group's early albums.
Track listing
All songs written and produced by the Butthole Surfers, except where noted.Side A
- "Sweat Loaf" – 6:09
- "Graveyard" – 2:27
- "Pittsburgh to Lebanon" – 2:29
- "Weber" – 0:35
- "HAY" – 1:50
- "Human Cannonball" – 3:51
Side B
- "U.S.S.A." – 2:14
- "The O-Men" – 3:27
- "KuntzKuntz (song)"Kuntz" is a song by the experimental punk band Butthole Surfers, originally released as the ninth track of their 1987 album Locust Abortion Technician....
" (unknown Thai artist) – 2:24 - "Graveyard" – 2:45
- "22 Going on 23" – 4:23
- The opening of the first track, "Sweat Loaf", was sampled by OrbitalOrbital (band)Orbital are a British electronic dance music duo from Sevenoaks, England consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. Their career initially ran from 1989 until 2004, but in 2009 they announced that they would be reforming and headlining The Big Chill, in addition to a number of other live shows...
on their track "Satan." - The song "Hay" is actually a redone, reversed version of "22 going on 23." The last part of "22 going on 23" what seems like mooing, is actually the main lyrics of "Hay", only reversed and stretched. Also,in the final part of "Hay", there is something that seems to be a high-pitched voice speaking gibberish. This is the speaking in the beginning of "22 going on 23", including the repeated words.
- The song "22 going on 23" brought the band to wider UK attention when it was voted number 44 in John Peel's 1987 Festive Fifty
- The song "Sweat Loaf" is referenced to in the Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
song "Deep Kick" from their album One Hot MinuteOne Hot MinuteOne Hot Minute is the sixth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 12, 1995, on Warner Bros. Records...
.
Personnel
- Gibby HaynesGibby HaynesGibson 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 - Paul LearyPaul LearyPaul 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...
- guitarElectric guitarAn 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... - Jeff PinkusJeff PinkusJeff 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...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - King CoffeyKing CoffeyKing 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...
- drumsDrum kitA 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 .... - Teresa NervosaTeresa TaylorTeresa 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