Suburban Lawns
Encyclopedia
The brainchild of CalArts students William "Vex Billingsgate" Ranson and (Minneapolis born) Sue "Su Tissue" McLane, Suburban Lawns formed in Long Beach, California
in 1978 out of the ashes of previous incarnations Art Attack and The Fabulons, recruiting Huntington Beach natives Richard "Frankie Ennui" Whitney and Charles "Chuck Roast" Rodriguez, as well as John McBurney (aka "John Gleur").
The 1979 debut single "Gidget Goes to Hell" (released on their own Suburban Industrial label) gained the band notoriety when its Jonathan Demme
-directed music video was shown on Saturday Night Live
.
Their sole album, Suburban Lawns, produced by EJ Emmons, was released in 1981 on I.R.S. Records
, featuring New Wave radio favorite "Janitor." Gleur departed during the recording of the Richard Mazda
-produced 5-song EP Baby, released in 1983, and the band folded shortly afterward.
The lyrics of "Janitor" were derived from a real-life conversation between Sue McLane and friend Brian Smith. According to Brian, the two were conversing in a loud room when they first met:
"She asked me what I did for a living. I said 'I'm a janitor,' and she thought I said 'Oh my genitals.' [Richard Whitney] overheard this and wrote the song."
After Suburban Lawns folded, Whitney and Ranson formed a new, short-lived band called The Lawns, while McLane attended Berklee College of Music
, where she studied piano.
In 1982 McLane recorded a solo album, Salon de Musique. She also played the role of Peggy Dillman in Demme's 1986 comedy movie Something Wild opposite Melanie Griffith
, Jeff Daniels
and Ray Liotta
.
A Suburban Lawns poster is seen in the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High
, hanging on the wall in the bedroom of the character Damone.
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
in 1978 out of the ashes of previous incarnations Art Attack and The Fabulons, recruiting Huntington Beach natives Richard "Frankie Ennui" Whitney and Charles "Chuck Roast" Rodriguez, as well as John McBurney (aka "John Gleur").
The 1979 debut single "Gidget Goes to Hell" (released on their own Suburban Industrial label) gained the band notoriety when its Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
-directed music video was shown on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
.
Their sole album, Suburban Lawns, produced by EJ Emmons, was released in 1981 on I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...
, featuring New Wave radio favorite "Janitor." Gleur departed during the recording of the Richard Mazda
Richard Mazda
Richard Mazda is a record producer, writer and musician. In later life he also became an actor and director.-Music career:Mazda was one of the co-founders of Poole punk/mod band Tours, singing and playing lead guitar. They signed to Virgin Records in 1979 after selling large quantities of their...
-produced 5-song EP Baby, released in 1983, and the band folded shortly afterward.
The lyrics of "Janitor" were derived from a real-life conversation between Sue McLane and friend Brian Smith. According to Brian, the two were conversing in a loud room when they first met:
"She asked me what I did for a living. I said 'I'm a janitor,' and she thought I said 'Oh my genitals.' [Richard Whitney] overheard this and wrote the song."
After Suburban Lawns folded, Whitney and Ranson formed a new, short-lived band called The Lawns, while McLane attended Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, where she studied piano.
In 1982 McLane recorded a solo album, Salon de Musique. She also played the role of Peggy Dillman in Demme's 1986 comedy movie Something Wild opposite Melanie Griffith
Melanie Griffith
Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl...
, Jeff Daniels
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
and Ray Liotta
Ray Liotta
[File:Ray Liotta is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese and his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams...
.
A Suburban Lawns poster is seen in the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written by Cameron Crowe and adapted from his 1981 book of the same name...
, hanging on the wall in the bedroom of the character Damone.