Pussy Galore (band)
Encyclopedia
Pussy Galore was an American
garage rock
band that formed in Washington, D.C.
in 1985. They had a constantly fluid line-up until their demise in 1990. Like many garage rock outfits, they were dogged by substance abuse problems. They took their name from the character in the James Bond
film, Goldfinger
, and their sound was inspired by The Velvet Underground
and the New York Dolls
.
and drummer John Hammill, though this line-up would be subject to both change and expansion in later years. Following the self released 7" Feel Good About Your Body, they added guitarist Neil Hagerty
, and replaced Hammill with former Sonic Youth
drummer Bob Bert
after the band moved to New York City. They further expanded the line-up by taking on then 16-year-old Cristina Martinez as a guitarist. Martinez was not a musician and had simply taken the photograph for the 7". The new lineup recorded the EP
Groovy Hate Fuck. The EP, like all of their early releases, would be self-released on their own Shove Records label. They subsequently left for New York where they released a limited-edition cassette-only cover album of the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. They followed this up in January 1987 with another self-released mini-set Pussy Gold 5000. Shortly after this Martinez left the band and formed Boss Hog
a few years later.
In September 1987, Pussy Galore recorded their debut album and their first recording for another label, Right Now! on Caroline Records. Shortly following the release of Right Now!, Hagerty left the band and was replaced by Kurt Wolf, but he was to return to the Pussy Galore line-up following the release of the Sugarshit Sharp
EP with Wolf leaving to join Loudspeaker. Sugarshit Sharp is probably best known for the garage rock interpretation of Einstürzende Neubauten
's industrial/dance classic from the mid 1980s, Yu-Gung. Pussy Galore used sampling in their music, drawing short samples from both the original track and the Public Enemy rap classic, Don't Believe The Hype. F.M. Einheit, a member of Neubauten, was said to have been quite impressed with the cover version. The EP also introduced Pussy Galore's new logo, which consisted of Neubauten's "Yu-Gung Man" emblem with a grainy, almost indecipherable photocopy of the Rolling Stones' trademark lips-and-tongue image superimposed over its head.
Their second full-length set Dial M for Motherfucker
, was released in 1989 and continued their formula of nihilistic
guitar noise and punk rock provocation, with additional studio trickery filling out the material. Originally intended to be titled Make Them All Eat Shit Slowly, the name of the album was ultimately vetoed by Caroline Records. The album is sometimes wrongly referred to as New Album By Pussy Galore. This is largely due to the fact that the cover of the album has no text except for a sticker that appeared on the plastic shrink wrapping that bears those words. Dial M represents a move away from a simple noise formula to something more experimental. It is, for example, difficult to determine where some songs begin and end. Many sequences on the album appear to run in reverse, sometimes mid-song, seemingly for no apparent reason. Cafritz appears on some of this album but not the entirety. Dial M marks a point at which Cafritz and the band began fighting, ultimately leading to her leaving the band.
They released a split single in 1989, a cover of Black Flag
's "Damaged II" with Tad
covering "Damaged I" on the other side, for Sub Pop Records and another split single with Black Snakes for the Japanese indie Supernatural Records.
By now, Cafritz had quit the line-up. The trio of Spencer, Hagerty and Bert released one final album in 1990 called Historia De La Música Rock for Caroline Records before calling it a day the same year. The album cover of Historia was a parody of a music compilation vinyl series from Spain called Historia de la Música Rock.
Spencer co-founded Boss Hog
with former Pussy Galore guitarist Cristina Martinez in the late 1980s just prior to the dissolution of Pussy Galore itself. Spencer and Martinez had married in 1989 (and are still married today). He also went on to form the Blues Explosion. Neil Hagerty continued his 'noise-terrorist' career with his girlfriend, Jennifer Herrema, in blues-rock
duo Royal Trux
, which the pair had formed in Chicago during 1987. Cafritz and Bert joined forces briefly in the early 1990s to release a self-titled album under the name, Action Swingers.
Two years after the breakup, their CD compilation Corpse Love: The First Year was released. It included four tracks from the Exile On Main Street cassette, as well as some previously released early material, some of which included short interviews.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
band that formed in 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....
in 1985. They had a constantly fluid line-up until their demise in 1990. Like many garage rock outfits, they were dogged by substance abuse problems. They took their name from the character in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film, Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
, and their sound was inspired by The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
and the New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
.
History
The band's earliest incarnation consisted of guitarist and vocalist Jon Spencer, guitarist and occasional vocalist Julia CafritzJulia Cafritz
Julia Cafritz is a musician who has performed with Pussy Galore and Free Kitten.- Biography :In 1985, guitarist Julia Cafritz joined fellow Brown University drop out, Jon Spencer, to form the punk noise band Pussy Galore. In May 1986 they moved to NYC...
and drummer John Hammill, though this line-up would be subject to both change and expansion in later years. Following the self released 7" Feel Good About Your Body, they added guitarist Neil Hagerty
Neil Hagerty
Neil Michael Hagerty is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is best known for his work in Royal Trux. Hagerty released several solo albums since Royal Trux's demise in 2001, followed by recordings under the moniker The Howling Hex...
, and replaced Hammill with former Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
drummer Bob Bert
Bob Bert
Robert Bertelli, better known as Bob Bert, is an American rock drummer.Bert is the son of the quarterback Angelo Bertelli. Based in Hoboken, New Jersey, Bert initially came to prominence as drummer for the experimental rock band Sonic Youth during the early to mid-1980s. Bert played on the Sonic...
after the band moved to New York City. They further expanded the line-up by taking on then 16-year-old Cristina Martinez as a guitarist. Martinez was not a musician and had simply taken the photograph for the 7". The new lineup recorded the 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...
Groovy Hate Fuck. The EP, like all of their early releases, would be self-released on their own Shove Records label. They subsequently left for New York where they released a limited-edition cassette-only cover album of the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. They followed this up in January 1987 with another self-released mini-set Pussy Gold 5000. Shortly after this Martinez left the band and formed Boss Hog
Boss Hog
Boss Hog is an American punk blues band including the husband and wife duo of Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez along with Jens Jurgensen , Hollis Queens and Mark Boyce...
a few years later.
In September 1987, Pussy Galore recorded their debut album and their first recording for another label, Right Now! on Caroline Records. Shortly following the release of Right Now!, Hagerty left the band and was replaced by Kurt Wolf, but he was to return to the Pussy Galore line-up following the release of the Sugarshit Sharp
Sugarshit Sharp
-Accolades:-Personnel:*Bob Bert – drums*Juicy Cafritz – guitar, vocals*Neil Hagerty – guitar, vocals*Jon Spencer – guitar, vocals...
EP with Wolf leaving to join Loudspeaker. Sugarshit Sharp is probably best known for the garage rock interpretation of Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...
's industrial/dance classic from the mid 1980s, Yu-Gung. Pussy Galore used sampling in their music, drawing short samples from both the original track and the Public Enemy rap classic, Don't Believe The Hype. F.M. Einheit, a member of Neubauten, was said to have been quite impressed with the cover version. The EP also introduced Pussy Galore's new logo, which consisted of Neubauten's "Yu-Gung Man" emblem with a grainy, almost indecipherable photocopy of the Rolling Stones' trademark lips-and-tongue image superimposed over its head.
Their second full-length set Dial M for Motherfucker
Dial M for Motherfucker
Dial 'M' for Motherfucker is an album by the New York City garage punk band Pussy Galore, released in 1989 by Caroline Records. The song Kicked Out is played in an Episode of House, "Games", when Gregory House plays it to annoy Wilson and induce a seizure in a patient.-Track listing:#Understand...
, was released in 1989 and continued their formula of nihilistic
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
guitar noise and punk rock provocation, with additional studio trickery filling out the material. Originally intended to be titled Make Them All Eat Shit Slowly, the name of the album was ultimately vetoed by Caroline Records. The album is sometimes wrongly referred to as New Album By Pussy Galore. This is largely due to the fact that the cover of the album has no text except for a sticker that appeared on the plastic shrink wrapping that bears those words. Dial M represents a move away from a simple noise formula to something more experimental. It is, for example, difficult to determine where some songs begin and end. Many sequences on the album appear to run in reverse, sometimes mid-song, seemingly for no apparent reason. Cafritz appears on some of this album but not the entirety. Dial M marks a point at which Cafritz and the band began fighting, ultimately leading to her leaving the band.
They released a split single in 1989, a cover of Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
's "Damaged II" with Tad
Tad (band)
Tad was an American grunge band from Seattle, Washington led by Tad Doyle. Among the first of the many bands which came out of Seattle in the grunge era, Tad was notable for the fact that its music had a noticeable 1970s metal influence, rather than the punk which influenced most other grunge bands...
covering "Damaged I" on the other side, for Sub Pop Records and another split single with Black Snakes for the Japanese indie Supernatural Records.
By now, Cafritz had quit the line-up. The trio of Spencer, Hagerty and Bert released one final album in 1990 called Historia De La Música Rock for Caroline Records before calling it a day the same year. The album cover of Historia was a parody of a music compilation vinyl series from Spain called Historia de la Música Rock.
Spencer co-founded Boss Hog
Boss Hog
Boss Hog is an American punk blues band including the husband and wife duo of Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez along with Jens Jurgensen , Hollis Queens and Mark Boyce...
with former Pussy Galore guitarist Cristina Martinez in the late 1980s just prior to the dissolution of Pussy Galore itself. Spencer and Martinez had married in 1989 (and are still married today). He also went on to form the Blues Explosion. Neil Hagerty continued his 'noise-terrorist' career with his girlfriend, Jennifer Herrema, in blues-rock
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
duo Royal Trux
Royal Trux
Royal Trux was an American alternative rock band from 1987 to 2001, founded by Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema .-History:...
, which the pair had formed in Chicago during 1987. Cafritz and Bert joined forces briefly in the early 1990s to release a self-titled album under the name, Action Swingers.
Two years after the breakup, their CD compilation Corpse Love: The First Year was released. It included four tracks from the Exile On Main Street cassette, as well as some previously released early material, some of which included short interviews.
Albums
- Exile on Main Street Cassette (1986, Shove) (limited edition of 550 copies, although four tracks from this appeared on the Corpse Love CD)
- Right Now!Right Now! (Pussy Galore album)-Personnel:*Bob Bert – drums*Juicy Cafritz – guitar, vocals*Neil Hagerty – guitar, vocals*Jon Spencer – guitar, vocals...
LP (1987, Caroline; reissued 1998 Matador RecordsMatador 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...
/Mute RecordsMute RecordsMute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
) - Dial M for MotherfuckerDial M for MotherfuckerDial 'M' for Motherfucker is an album by the New York City garage punk band Pussy Galore, released in 1989 by Caroline Records. The song Kicked Out is played in an Episode of House, "Games", when Gregory House plays it to annoy Wilson and induce a seizure in a patient.-Track listing:#Understand...
(aka Make Them All Eat Shit Slowly, aka New Album By Pussy Galore) LP (1989, Caroline; CD version contained five of the six tracks from Sugarshit Sharp, with a cover of Devo's "Penetration In the Centerfold" replacing "Yu-Gung"; reissued 1998 Matador Records/Mute Records with original vinyl contents only) - Historia De La Música Rock LP (1990, Caroline)
- Corpse Love: The First Year CD (1992, Caroline)
- Live: In The Red LP last live show, recorded at CBGBs (1998, In the RedIn the Red RecordsIn the Red Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, CA formed in 1991 by Larry Hardy. It is known for hosting garage punk related bands on its label....
)
EPs
- Feel Good About Your Body EP 7", 1985
- Groovy Hate Fuck EP (1986, Shove)
- Pussy Gold 5000 EP (1986, Shove)
- Sugarshit SharpSugarshit Sharp-Accolades:-Personnel:*Bob Bert – drums*Juicy Cafritz – guitar, vocals*Neil Hagerty – guitar, vocals*Jon Spencer – guitar, vocals...
EP (1988, Caroline; reissued 1998 Matador Records/Mute Records with bonus track "Penetration In the Centerfold")
Compilation album
- Groovy Hate Fuck (Feel Good About Your Body) LP (1987, Vinyl Drip) (UK collection of early releases)
See also
- Royal TruxRoyal TruxRoyal Trux was an American alternative rock band from 1987 to 2001, founded by Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema .-History:...
- Boss Hog
- Jon Spencer Blues ExplosionJon Spencer Blues ExplosionThe Jon Spencer Blues Explosion are an American alternative rock trio, formed in 1991 and based out of New York City, New York. The band consists of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spencer on vocals, guitar and theremin...
- RTXRTXRTX may refer to:* RTX Red Rock, an action-adventure game for the PlayStation 2, which was developed and published by LucasArts* Royal Trux, as an abbreviation for the name of the band...
- Heavy TrashHeavy TrashHeavy Trash is an American rockabilly band based in New York City, formed by Jon Spencer of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Matt Verta-Ray . The band's music draws from an eclectic mix of genres, including rock & roll, blues, alternative country, Americana and garage punk...
- The Howling Hex
- Free KittenFree KittenFree Kitten is a musical collaboration between Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Pussy Galore's Julie Cafritz. Originally performing under the name Kitten, they changed their name, after receiving threats of legal action by a heavy metal singer performing under that name...