Nation of Ulysses
Encyclopedia
The Nation of Ulysses was an American punk rock
band from Washington, D.C.
, formed in spring 1988 with four members. Originally known as simply "Ulysses," the first mark of the group consisted of Ian Svenonius
on vocals and trumpet, Steve Kroner on guitar, Steve Gamboa on bass guitar, and James Canty on drums. Tim Green joined the band late in 1989 as a guitarist and the band became "Nation of Ulysses." Nation of Ulysses disbanded in the autumn of 1992, having failed to complete their third album. After the breakup, Svenonius, Canty, and Gamboa went on to form the short-lived Cupid Car Club
and The Make-Up.
Nation of Ulysses was known for their far-left political concepts, their extremely physical live performances, and their unique take on punk culture and fashion. In total, Nation of Ulysses released three-full length albums, and two vinyl EP
s released on Dischord Records
, and were featured on a number of compilation albums on a variety of record labels.
on vocals and trumpet, Steve Kroner on guitar, Steve Gamboa on bass guitar, and James Canty
on drums – and known simply as "Ulysses." In late 1989, Tim Green joined the band as a second guitarist and the band was renamed to "Nation of Ulysses."
In 1991, before the band had released any official recordings, Ian Svenonius was featured as teen-oriented Sassy Magazine
s first "Sassiest Boy in America." He was interviewed at length in the magazine's October issue, going into some depth about the band's sound and political motivations.
In 1991 they released their first full-length album, 13-Point Program to Destroy America on Dischord Records
. This was followed a year later by Plays Pretty for Baby
, also on Dischord. During the recording of the band's follow-up to Plays Pretty for Baby, Steve Kroner left the band. The remaining quartet continued to record, but eventually dissolved in 1992. In a later interview, Svenonius explained the reason for the split: "Nation of Ulysses broke up because the epoch changed with the advent of digital music and the Nirvana
explosion. We were faced with what's now known as indie rock
, a sort of vacuous form. We had to determine our next move and this [the forming of the Make-Up] is it."
After the band's dissolution, Svenonius went on to form the short-lived Cupid Car Club
with James Canty and Steve Gamboa, the Make-Up (again with Canty and Gamboa), and Weird War
. Green went on to become an engineer and record producer and joined the prog
-heavy metal
band The Fucking Champs
.
Though relatively short-lived, Nation of Ulysses' influence has been substantial: they have been cited as influences for bands such as The (International) Noise Conspiracy
, The Hives
, Thursday
, Glassjaw
, Refused
, Boy Sets Fire, Bikini Kill
, Rocket From The Crypt
, Antioch Arrow
, The Locust
, At The Drive-in
, LCD Soundsystem
, and Huggy Bear, among many others.
.
In addition to their three-full length albums, Nation of Ulysses released two vinyl EPs. The first, a self-titled EP, was the band's first official release, but went out of print when the three tracks from it were included in 13-Point Program to Destroy America. The second EP, released in 1992 under the title The Birth of the Ulysses Aesthetic (the synthesis of speed and transformation), also went out of print when its tracks were later released on Plays Pretty for Baby. The band were also featured in a number of compilation albums on a variety of record labels.
."
" and as "a shout of secession." Explaining their intent, Svenonius said "it's basically a new nation underground for the dispossessed youth colony. It's all about smashing the old edifice, the monolith of rock and roll
."
Allmusic's Steve Huey described Nation of Ulysses' philosophy as "a relentlessly provocative (and entertaining) jumble of teenage rock 'n' roll rebellion, leftist radicalism, anarchist punk polemics, and abstract intellectual rambling, [...] [which gives the sense of] an off-kilter, almost tongue-in-cheek approach to a 'perpetual 18-year old's' view of America, and life in general." This tongue-in-cheek political attitude was echoed by a spoken-word introduction to the song "The Sound of Jazz to Come", from their 1992 Plays Pretty for Baby
, in which the band describes themselves as "the seriously unserious, reverently irreverent, amoral moralists."
Asked about their use of the medium they claimed to counteract - rock 'n' roll - Svenonius declared
"Well, it's a camouflage, to allow for movement, revolutionary liberation from the constraints of everyday composure, basically allowing anybody to move in anyway that they want and to lift spirit to a plateau to destroy 'parent culture.' "
Nation of Ulysses claimed to make weapons, not records. Discussing their second release, Svenonius asserted: "it's like a blueprint for the destruction of the Parent Culture. It's like a zip gun ... It's an instruction pamphlet for kids on how to destroy their home life, you know, their domestic state."
Although their first album was named 13-Point Program to Destroy America, Nation of Ulysses didn't align themselves with a particular political philosophy: "We don't usually address normal political dictums. We aim toward the everyday fixtures of life, like aesthetics
, sound, non-spoken things that are inherently political in nature instead of, like bogus politicians who focus on glossy surface issues which avoid any kind of revolutionary change."
called "Ulysses Speaks," which was an extension of their ideology expressed in their music and liner notes. The zines espoused what they referred to as "The Ulysses Aesthetic," which was a mix of 60's and 70's radical politics, French Situationist writings, and juvenile delinquency
. The zine was distributed at live shows as well as made available by writing the band. A total of 8 issues were published.
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 Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, formed in spring 1988 with four members. Originally known as simply "Ulysses," the first mark of the group consisted of Ian Svenonius
Ian Svenonius
Ian Folke Svenonius is an American musician, notable as the singer of various Washington, D.C.-based bands including Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up, Weird War, and Chain and The Gang. Between his numerous projects, Svenonius has released more than 15 full-length albums and more than 20 singles,...
on vocals and trumpet, Steve Kroner on guitar, Steve Gamboa on bass guitar, and James Canty on drums. Tim Green joined the band late in 1989 as a guitarist and the band became "Nation of Ulysses." Nation of Ulysses disbanded in the autumn of 1992, having failed to complete their third album. After the breakup, Svenonius, Canty, and Gamboa went on to form the short-lived Cupid Car Club
Cupid Car Club
Cupid Car Club, also known as Cupid Car Club M.P., was a short-lived American post-hardcore band consisting of Ian Svenonius on vocals, James Canty on drums, Steve Gamboa on guitar , and Kim Thompson on bass and vocals.They released one 7" EP on Kill Rock Stars, called...
and The Make-Up.
Nation of Ulysses was known for their far-left political concepts, their extremely physical live performances, and their unique take on punk culture and fashion. In total, Nation of Ulysses released three-full length albums, and two vinyl 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...
s released on Dischord Records
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...
, and were featured on a number of compilation albums on a variety of record labels.
History
The band formed in spring 1988, initially composed of four members – Ian SvenoniusIan Svenonius
Ian Folke Svenonius is an American musician, notable as the singer of various Washington, D.C.-based bands including Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up, Weird War, and Chain and The Gang. Between his numerous projects, Svenonius has released more than 15 full-length albums and more than 20 singles,...
on vocals and trumpet, Steve Kroner on guitar, Steve Gamboa on bass guitar, and James Canty
James Canty
James Canty is a Brooklyn, New York-based multi-instrumentalist musician from Washington, D.C. Canty is the younger brother of Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty and writer Kevin Canty....
on drums – and known simply as "Ulysses." In late 1989, Tim Green joined the band as a second guitarist and the band was renamed to "Nation of Ulysses."
In 1991, before the band had released any official recordings, Ian Svenonius was featured as teen-oriented Sassy Magazine
Sassy Magazine
Sassy magazine is a defunct teen magazine, aimed at teenage female fans of alternative and indie rock music. It was founded in March 1988 by an Australian feminist, Sandra Yates, CEO of Matilda Publications, who based it on the teen magazine Dolly, which is still in publication in...
s first "Sassiest Boy in America." He was interviewed at length in the magazine's October issue, going into some depth about the band's sound and political motivations.
In 1991 they released their first full-length album, 13-Point Program to Destroy America on Dischord Records
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...
. This was followed a year later by Plays Pretty for Baby
Plays Pretty for Baby
Plays Pretty for Baby is the second album by the American punk rock band Nation of Ulysses.Tracks 14-16 on the CD are not on the original album, and are taken from the 7" EP Birth of a Ulysses Aesthetic....
, also on Dischord. During the recording of the band's follow-up to Plays Pretty for Baby, Steve Kroner left the band. The remaining quartet continued to record, but eventually dissolved in 1992. In a later interview, Svenonius explained the reason for the split: "Nation of Ulysses broke up because the epoch changed with the advent of digital music and the 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...
explosion. We were faced with what's now known as indie rock
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...
, a sort of vacuous form. We had to determine our next move and this [the forming of the Make-Up] is it."
After the band's dissolution, Svenonius went on to form the short-lived Cupid Car Club
Cupid Car Club
Cupid Car Club, also known as Cupid Car Club M.P., was a short-lived American post-hardcore band consisting of Ian Svenonius on vocals, James Canty on drums, Steve Gamboa on guitar , and Kim Thompson on bass and vocals.They released one 7" EP on Kill Rock Stars, called...
with James Canty and Steve Gamboa, the Make-Up (again with Canty and Gamboa), and Weird War
Weird War
Weird Wars is a series of horror role-playing games set during past and future wars and published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. The original release, Weird War II: Blood on the Rhine was set during World War II, and utilized the D20 System...
. Green went on to become an engineer and record producer and joined the prog
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
-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...
band The Fucking Champs
The Fucking Champs
The Fucking Champs are a three-piece progressive rock band from San Francisco, California. They are known for their heavy metal appeal, based largely around shifting time signatures, guitar harmonies, and lots of rhythm. Most songs are instrumental. They are currently signed to Drag City...
.
Though relatively short-lived, Nation of Ulysses' influence has been substantial: they have been cited as influences for bands such as The (International) Noise Conspiracy
The (International) Noise Conspiracy
The Noise Conspiracy is a Swedish rock band formed in Sweden in the late months of 1998. The line-up consists of Dennis Lyxzén , Inge Johansson , Lars Strömberg , and Ludwig Dahlberg . The band is known for its punk and garage rock musical influences, and its impassioned left-wing political stance...
, The Hives
The Hives
The Hives are a Swedish garage rock band that first garnered attention in the early 2000s as a prominent group of the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the "greatest hits" album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song "Hate to Say I Told...
, Thursday
Thursday (band)
Thursday were an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Formed in 1997, the group has released six full-length albums, their most recent being No Devolución, which was released in April 2011 on Epitaph Records...
, Glassjaw
Glassjaw
Glassjaw is a four-piece rock band from Long Island, New York. The band is fronted by vocalist Daryl Palumbo and guitarist Justin Beck, and have undergone numerous line-up changes since their inception...
, Refused
Refused
Refused was a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1991. In total the band released five EPs and three albums, before splitting up in 1998...
, Boy Sets Fire, Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill was an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington in October 1990. The group consisted of vocalist and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band is widely considered to be the pioneer of the riot grrrl movement,...
, Rocket From The Crypt
Rocket from the Crypt
Rocket from the Crypt was an American rock band led by John Reis, formed in 1989 in San Diego, California and disbanded in 2005.The band gained critical praise and the attention of major record labels after the release of their 1992 album Circa: Now!, leading to a recording contract with Interscope...
, Antioch Arrow
Antioch Arrow
Antioch Arrow, from San Diego, California, was on the seminal post-hardcore label Gravity Records, responsible for putting San Diego on the map in the mid-90's as one of the centers of the movement....
, The Locust
The Locust
The Locust is a musical group from San Diego, California, United States known for their unique mix of grindcore speed and aggression, mathcore complexity, and new wave weirdness.- Style :...
, At The Drive-in
At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In was an American rock band from El Paso, Texas, considered part of the post-hardcore genre and active from 1993 to 2001. They were known for their extremely energetic stage shows which hearkened back to the 1980s hardcore scene...
, LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...
, and Huggy Bear, among many others.
Recordings
During Nation of Ulysses' four years of activity, they released only two full-length albums: 13-Point Program to Destroy America in 1991 and Plays Pretty for Baby in 1992, both released on Dischord Records. After releasing Plays Pretty for Baby, the band began recording a third full-length album, but Steve Kroner separated from the band before recording was completed. The remaining quartet continued to record, but the group eventually dissolved before the record's completion. In 2000, six songs from those sessions, in addition to four new tracks recorded live, were compiled and released posthumously as The Embassy TapesThe Embassy Tapes
The Embassy Tapes is the third compilation album by the American punk rock band Nation of Ulysses.After releasing Plays Pretty for Baby in 1992, the Nation of Ulysses began recording a third full-length album, but Steve Kroner separated with the band before the record was completed...
.
In addition to their three-full length albums, Nation of Ulysses released two vinyl EPs. The first, a self-titled EP, was the band's first official release, but went out of print when the three tracks from it were included in 13-Point Program to Destroy America. The second EP, released in 1992 under the title The Birth of the Ulysses Aesthetic (the synthesis of speed and transformation), also went out of print when its tracks were later released on Plays Pretty for Baby. The band were also featured in a number of compilation albums on a variety of record labels.
Musical ideology and style
Nation of Ulysses' music was noisy and manic, but they also had a strong free-jazz influence. The group embodied a rejection of the 60's and 70's music and styling by rejecting drug use and advocating that punk youth dress nicely and sensibly. To this end, the liner notes of 13-Point Program to Destroy America states the band's aim "To dress well, as clothing and fashion, are the only things which we -- the kids -- being utterly disenfranchised, have any control over." Much of the band admitted to not knowing how to play their instruments well, stating "All you need is a concept. There's no reason you have to sound like Led ZeppelinLed 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...
."
Political concepts
Nation of Ulysses described themselves not as a rock 'n' roll group in the traditional sense, but "as a political partyPolitical party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
" and as "a shout of secession." Explaining their intent, Svenonius said "it's basically a new nation underground for the dispossessed youth colony. It's all about smashing the old edifice, the monolith of rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
."
Allmusic's Steve Huey described Nation of Ulysses' philosophy as "a relentlessly provocative (and entertaining) jumble of teenage rock 'n' roll rebellion, leftist radicalism, anarchist punk polemics, and abstract intellectual rambling, [...] [which gives the sense of] an off-kilter, almost tongue-in-cheek approach to a 'perpetual 18-year old's' view of America, and life in general." This tongue-in-cheek political attitude was echoed by a spoken-word introduction to the song "The Sound of Jazz to Come", from their 1992 Plays Pretty for Baby
Plays Pretty for Baby
Plays Pretty for Baby is the second album by the American punk rock band Nation of Ulysses.Tracks 14-16 on the CD are not on the original album, and are taken from the 7" EP Birth of a Ulysses Aesthetic....
, in which the band describes themselves as "the seriously unserious, reverently irreverent, amoral moralists."
Asked about their use of the medium they claimed to counteract - rock 'n' roll - Svenonius declared
"Well, it's a camouflage, to allow for movement, revolutionary liberation from the constraints of everyday composure, basically allowing anybody to move in anyway that they want and to lift spirit to a plateau to destroy 'parent culture.' "
Nation of Ulysses claimed to make weapons, not records. Discussing their second release, Svenonius asserted: "it's like a blueprint for the destruction of the Parent Culture. It's like a zip gun ... It's an instruction pamphlet for kids on how to destroy their home life, you know, their domestic state."
Although their first album was named 13-Point Program to Destroy America, Nation of Ulysses didn't align themselves with a particular political philosophy: "We don't usually address normal political dictums. We aim toward the everyday fixtures of life, like aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
, sound, non-spoken things that are inherently political in nature instead of, like bogus politicians who focus on glossy surface issues which avoid any kind of revolutionary change."
Ulysses Speaks
Nation of Ulysses published a zineZine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
called "Ulysses Speaks," which was an extension of their ideology expressed in their music and liner notes. The zines espoused what they referred to as "The Ulysses Aesthetic," which was a mix of 60's and 70's radical politics, French Situationist writings, and juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
. The zine was distributed at live shows as well as made available by writing the band. A total of 8 issues were published.
Live performances
The band was known for their extremely physical performances, during some of which Svenonius recalls breaking his arm, his leg, and breaking his head open on numerous occasions. Audience members were also hurt during performances. Svenonius described Nation of Ulysses performances as "an extraordinary freak-out kind of thing [...] really masochistic, lots of blood [...] cacophonous, and violent, and aggressive."Studio albums
- 13-Point Program to Destroy America (Dischord) (1991)
- Plays Pretty for BabyPlays Pretty for BabyPlays Pretty for Baby is the second album by the American punk rock band Nation of Ulysses.Tracks 14-16 on the CD are not on the original album, and are taken from the 7" EP Birth of a Ulysses Aesthetic....
(Dischord) (1992) - The Embassy TapesThe Embassy TapesThe Embassy Tapes is the third compilation album by the American punk rock band Nation of Ulysses.After releasing Plays Pretty for Baby in 1992, the Nation of Ulysses began recording a third full-length album, but Steve Kroner separated with the band before the record was completed...
(Dischord) (2000)
Studio EPs
- Nation of Ulysses (Dischord) (1991)
- The Birth of the Ulysses Aesthetic (the synthesis of speed and transformation) (Dischord) (1992)