Ninety Pound Wuss
Encyclopedia
Ninety Pound Wuss was an experimental
punk rock
band from Port Angeles, Washington
, USA
that released three studio albums on Tooth & Nail Records
. They were part of the Christian punk
movement of the mid 1990s, yet as their religious content grew less pronounced, their sound would become more diverse.
(vocals), John Himmelberger (guitar), Matt Nelson (bass), and Marty Martinez (drums).
They released their self-titled debut album on Tooth & Nail Records
in 1995, recorded at Robert Lang Studios
in Seattle with producer Bob Moon. Yuri Ruley
was the drum tech for the album, which featured a relatively straight-ahead punk rock
sound, with some subtle pop punk
influence scattered throughout. That influence would come to fruition on "Something Must Break", the album's most well-know song due to compilation
appearances and a music video
. The vast majority of the album's lyrics dealt with the Christian faith and frequently mentioned Christ
or Jesus
. However, songs like "A.S.D." and "Misplaced Society", with their lack of blatant religious context, would be a glimpse at the direction the band was heading, both lyrically and musically.
Ninety Pound Wuss released their sophomore effort, Where Meager Die of Self Interest in late 1997, recorded and mixed by Babes in Toyland
producer Tim Mac, and marked a notable change in the band's sound, with the music becoming much darker, more experimental, and bordering on thrash punk at times. The vocals would also become more frantic, aggressive, and inaudible, as compared to their debut, while the lyrics still maintained their beliefs with a newfound sense of maturity, as made evident on tracks like "Queen Maggot" and "Sick and You're Wrong". The album's writing and recording process would take place during a transitional time for the band, with the departure of guitarist John Himmelberger, replaced by mainstay, John Spalding. Due to this line-up change, both guitarists would appear on the album, albeit on separate tracks. Bassist Matt Nelson was also replaced with Dale Yob prior to recording. Where Meager Die Of Self Interest also marks the debut of Suffering using a keyboard
, another hint at the direction the band would be taking next.
Their third album Short Hand Operation was released on April 22, 1999 and produced by Steve Kravac, who has done notable work for MxPx
, Guttermouth
, Union 13
, and Blink-182
, among others. Dale Yob was replaced with bassist Matt Johnson before recording began. The album marked another drastic shift in the band's ever changing experimental sound scape and would become their swan song. Although some tracks build on the keyboard playing of Suffering from the previous album, it's the guitar work of Spalding that truly becomes prominent, creating a geared, fast-paced album, aside from synth-heavy instrumental "It Seems So Far Away" and epic album closer "At The End Of It All". Ninety Pound Wuss broke up following the release of Short Hand Operation. At the time, Suffering referred to the album as "quite possibly ...the best record I'll ever record." http://www.shzine.com/interview-suffering.asp Explaining their breakup, Suffering said, "We had a rough tour and nobody wanted to continue playing in the Christian music industry
." http://www.shzine.com/interview-suffering.asp
The band would issue one posthumous release, the live album
Hierarchy Of Snakes, which primarily focused on material from Short Hand Operation and Where Meager Die Of Self Interest, all but ignoring the debut, with "Misplaced Society" being the lone exception. The release also included the Bauhaus
cover "Double Dare" as well as the unreleased song "Dead End" and was limited to a pressing of only 1,000 copies.
with labelmate members of Roadside Monument
, releasing their debut album Thoughlev on Burnout Records in 2001. Suffering would go on to front Suffering & the Hideous Thieves, along with contributing to Mars Hill Church
in Seattle, Washington.
Spalding was diagnosed with cancer sometime in 2004. He amassed a library of home recording
s that, after his diagnosis, became a music project titled Loveland. After a grueling four year battle against cancer, Spalding died on November 23, 2008. The album The Beautiful Truth was released posthumously in 2009, under the name John Spalding's Loveland. Although the majority of the vocals, guitar, bass and drum programming work was done by Spalding, the album features notable appearances from Matt Johnson, Andrea Zollo
, Dana James
, Steve Snere
, Jake Snider
, Cory Murchy
, Dave Knudson and Morgan Henderson
. It was issued on Tigre Blanco Records, who have released material by Minus the Bear
, a band whose members also appear on the album.
Former members
Vinyl releases
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 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 Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles is a city in and the county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 19,038 at the 2010 census. The area's harbor was dubbed Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles by Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza in 1791, but by the mid-19th century the name had...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that released three studio albums on Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
. They were part of the Christian punk
Christian punk
Christian punk is a form of Christian music and a subgenre of punk rock with some degree of Christian lyrical content. Much disagreement persists about the boundaries of the subgenre, and the extent that their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies among bands...
movement of the mid 1990s, yet as their religious content grew less pronounced, their sound would become more diverse.
History
Ninety Pound Wuss formed in Port Angeles, Washington in 1994 with Jeff SufferingJeff Suffering
Jeff Suffering Jeff Suffering Jeff Suffering (birth name, Jeff Bettger, is the lead singer of Ninety Pound Wuss, Raft of Dead Monkeys, and Suffering and the Hideous Thieves. While no longer involved in the aforementioned projects, Suffering continues to perform live music with Mars Hill Church in...
(vocals), John Himmelberger (guitar), Matt Nelson (bass), and Marty Martinez (drums).
They released their self-titled debut album on Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
in 1995, recorded at Robert Lang Studios
Robert Lang Studios
Robert Lang Studios is a recording studio in Shoreline, Washington, United States, just north of Seattle. Numerous bands have recorded at Robert Lang Studios including Alice in Chains, Candlebox and Bush. Perhaps the most famous recording session at Robert Lang Studio was in late January 1994 when...
in Seattle with producer Bob Moon. Yuri Ruley
Yuri Ruley
Yuri Zane Ruley is an American drummer who plays in the pop punk band MxPx. In 1992, while still in high school, Ruley started MxPx with Mike Herrera and Andy Husted; Husted was replaced by Tom Wisniewski two years later...
was the drum tech for the album, which featured a relatively straight-ahead 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...
sound, with some subtle pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
influence scattered throughout. That influence would come to fruition on "Something Must Break", the album's most well-know song due to compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
appearances and a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
. The vast majority of the album's lyrics dealt with the Christian faith and frequently mentioned Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
or Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. However, songs like "A.S.D." and "Misplaced Society", with their lack of blatant religious context, would be a glimpse at the direction the band was heading, both lyrically and musically.
Ninety Pound Wuss released their sophomore effort, Where Meager Die of Self Interest in late 1997, recorded and mixed by Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (band)
Babes in Toyland was an American alternative rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native Kat Bjelland , with Lori Barbero and Michelle Leon , who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992...
producer Tim Mac, and marked a notable change in the band's sound, with the music becoming much darker, more experimental, and bordering on thrash punk at times. The vocals would also become more frantic, aggressive, and inaudible, as compared to their debut, while the lyrics still maintained their beliefs with a newfound sense of maturity, as made evident on tracks like "Queen Maggot" and "Sick and You're Wrong". The album's writing and recording process would take place during a transitional time for the band, with the departure of guitarist John Himmelberger, replaced by mainstay, John Spalding. Due to this line-up change, both guitarists would appear on the album, albeit on separate tracks. Bassist Matt Nelson was also replaced with Dale Yob prior to recording. Where Meager Die Of Self Interest also marks the debut of Suffering using a keyboard
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
, another hint at the direction the band would be taking next.
Their third album Short Hand Operation was released on April 22, 1999 and produced by Steve Kravac, who has done notable work for MxPx
MxPx
MxPx is a pop punk band from Bremerton, Washington with connections to the Christian punk scene. The band has recorded eight studio albums, four EPs, four compilation albums, a live album, a VHS tape, a DVD and released 20 singles....
, Guttermouth
Guttermouth
Guttermouth is an American punk rock band formed in 1988 in Huntington Beach, California and currently recording for Hopeless Records. They have released nine full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
, Union 13
Union 13
Union 13 is a hardcore punk band from Boyle Heights, California, USA who have, to date, released four full length albums – three on Epitaph Records and one on Disaster Records....
, and Blink-182
Blink-182
Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992...
, among others. Dale Yob was replaced with bassist Matt Johnson before recording began. The album marked another drastic shift in the band's ever changing experimental sound scape and would become their swan song. Although some tracks build on the keyboard playing of Suffering from the previous album, it's the guitar work of Spalding that truly becomes prominent, creating a geared, fast-paced album, aside from synth-heavy instrumental "It Seems So Far Away" and epic album closer "At The End Of It All". Ninety Pound Wuss broke up following the release of Short Hand Operation. At the time, Suffering referred to the album as "quite possibly ...the best record I'll ever record." http://www.shzine.com/interview-suffering.asp Explaining their breakup, Suffering said, "We had a rough tour and nobody wanted to continue playing in the Christian music industry
Christian music industry
The Christian music industry is a small part of the larger music industry, that focuses on traditional Gospel music, Southern Gospel music, Contemporary Christian music, and alternative Christian music. It is sometimes called the gospel music industry, although this designation is not a limitation...
." http://www.shzine.com/interview-suffering.asp
The band would issue one posthumous release, the live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Hierarchy Of Snakes, which primarily focused on material from Short Hand Operation and Where Meager Die Of Self Interest, all but ignoring the debut, with "Misplaced Society" being the lone exception. The release also included the Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
cover "Double Dare" as well as the unreleased song "Dead End" and was limited to a pressing of only 1,000 copies.
Post activity
Suffering and Spalding went on to form Raft of Dead MonkeysRaft of Dead Monkeys
Raft of Dead Monkeys was a rock band from Seattle, WA, USA, known for their controversy within the Christian punk scene. Described as a hypothetical band mocking rock culture, their early stage shows consisted of vulgar lyrics, male strippers and bloody nurses...
with labelmate members of Roadside Monument
Roadside Monument
Roadside Monument was a Christian math rock band from Seattle, Washington who were signed to Tooth & Nail Records. They were active from 1994–1998 and then again from 2002–2003.-History:...
, releasing their debut album Thoughlev on Burnout Records in 2001. Suffering would go on to front Suffering & the Hideous Thieves, along with contributing to Mars Hill Church
Mars Hill Church
Mars Hill Church is a Reformed Christian megachurch located in Seattle, Washington. Services are offered at multiple locations in the city; the church podcasts content of weekend services, as well as conferences on the Internet with more than 100,000 downloads every week...
in Seattle, Washington.
Spalding was diagnosed with cancer sometime in 2004. He amassed a library of home recording
Home recording
Home recording is the practice of recording in a private home, rather than in a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a "project studio" or "home studio". Home recording is practiced by indie bands, singer-songwriters, hobbyists, podcasters, documentarians,...
s that, after his diagnosis, became a music project titled Loveland. After a grueling four year battle against cancer, Spalding died on November 23, 2008. The album The Beautiful Truth was released posthumously in 2009, under the name John Spalding's Loveland. Although the majority of the vocals, guitar, bass and drum programming work was done by Spalding, the album features notable appearances from Matt Johnson, Andrea Zollo
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Pretty Girls Make Graves was an art punk band, formed in Seattle in 2001, named after The Smiths song of the same name...
, Dana James
Your Enemies Friends
Your Enemies Friends is a post-hardcore rock band that formed in late 2001 in Los Angeles, California.They have shared the stage with bands such as ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Blonde Redhead, The Icarus Line, TV on the Radio, The Promise Ring, and The Mars Volta.After enlisting...
, Steve Snere
These Arms Are Snakes
These Arms Are Snakes was an American post-hardcore band that formed in 2002 and featured former members of Botch and Kill Sadie. The band was known for their intense live shows, which often feature vocalist Steve Snere crowd surfing and spending a large portion of the live performance in the...
, Jake Snider
Jake Snider
Jake Snider is the lead vocalist and guitarist in the band Minus the Bear. He also plays guitar in Onalaska. He has previously been a part of the bands Sharks Keep Moving and State Route 522...
, Cory Murchy
Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2001, the group features current and former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving...
, Dave Knudson and Morgan Henderson
Morgan Henderson
Morgan Henderson is the former bassist of the post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers and the indie rock band Sharks Keep Moving, and the current bassist in the post-punk band Past Lives and a multi-instrumentalist with Seattle-based folk-pop group Fleet Foxes.. Henderson has also been credited for...
. It was issued on Tigre Blanco Records, who have released material by Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2001, the group features current and former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving...
, a band whose members also appear on the album.
Band members
- Jeff SufferingJeff SufferingJeff Suffering Jeff Suffering Jeff Suffering (birth name, Jeff Bettger, is the lead singer of Ninety Pound Wuss, Raft of Dead Monkeys, and Suffering and the Hideous Thieves. While no longer involved in the aforementioned projects, Suffering continues to perform live music with Mars Hill Church in...
– vocals, keyboards (1994–2000) - John Spalding – guitar (1997–2000)
- Matt Johnson – bass (1999–2000)
- Marty Martinez – drums (1994–2000)
Former members
- Matt Nelson – bass (1994–1996)
- John Himmelberger – guitar (1994–1997)
- Dale Yob – bass (1997–1999)
Discography
Albums- Ninety Pound Wuss (1995)
- Where Meager Die of Self Interest (1997)
- Short Hand Operation (1999)
- Hierarchy of Snakes (2000)
Vinyl releases
- Kick You Hard 5" (1996) Tooth & Nail RecordsTooth & Nail RecordsTooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
- SplitSplit albumA split album is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There have been singles and EPs released in the same nature, which can be referred to as split singles and split EPs respectively...
with The Captives 7" (1998) Crash Records