The Nig-Heist
Encyclopedia
The Nig-Heist was a punk band led by Black Flag
's roadie and live sound man and SST Records
employee Steve "Mugger" Corbin and featuring a revolving-door roster of members of the bands who were on tour with Black Flag at the moment. The band used to open for Black Flag on tour and recorded a 7", an LP and had tracks on compilations. They were notorious for their risqué stage antics, including band members playing naked, Mugger wearing a long-haired wig and insulting the crowd. Their songs were overtly vulgar and explicit in a funny way. Their motto was: "The band that cums in your mouth, not in your hands".
and Black Flag. Ginn gave Mugger a job at his SST Electronics company. After becoming Black Flag's roadie, Mugger wanted to start his own band to bring some humor as well as antagonize the scene. He recruited members of the bands who were on tour with Black Flag for his band and usually had them play a different instrument than they normally played.
On stage, Mugger played naked or in his underwear and would always wear a long-haired wig with a trucker cap and taunt punks and skinheads in the audience who didn't want to see any "long-haired faggot" on stage. Mugger often baited the crowd with statements like "I know your kind, you want to overthrow the government" and "if you think I'm a faggot, why don't you come up here and let me buttfuck you" while also asking female concert-goers for sexual favors.
The rest of the band usually played in disguise and under fake names or behind their amps. Band members generally included Black Flag tour party members and featured such players as Greg Ginn
, Chuck Dukowski
, Dez Cadena
, Chuck Biscuits
, Bill Stevenson
from the Descendents
, D. Boon
from the Minutemen
, SPOT
, Dave "Davo" Classen (Black Flag's soundman), SST hanger-ons Merrill Ward from Overkill
and Tom Troccoli from Tom Trocolli's Dog, Kira Roessler
as well as Ian MacKaye
from Minor Threat
. Because their songs were so sexist, the Nig-Heist didn't want to have a girl in the band so, when Kira Roessler played bass in the band, she was hidden behind a curtain on stage and another guy in disguise took the bass in front and pretended to play.
The Nig-Heist's songs always revolved around sex, as evidenced by song titles like "Put My Love in Your Mouth", and "Balls of Fire", and dealt with their topic in purposely explicit and immature ways. Predictably, this angered most not in on the joke and the biggest cheers for the Nig-Heist came when they announced they were playing their last song, if they got a chance to do so. The band often had the plug pulled on them by club managers or were attacked by outraged audience members. If they weren't attacked, Mugger often got the last laugh by leaving stage, taking off his wig and moving through the audience, unnoticed. They made headlines in Denver in April 1984 when Mugger and Trocolli were arrested for lewd behavior onstage at The Rainbow Music Hall after the club owner was scandalised by their obscenity. They were jailed for indecent exposure and simulating anal intercourse and Greg Ginn bailed them out later. One of Mugger's lines he always said when angry people in the crowd started spitting on him was "Hey if you fags are going to spit on me, aim for my butthole so I have some lubrication for after the show"
In 1983, Joe Carducci
's Thermidor Records released a one song Nig-Heist 7" called Walking Down the Street with Raymond Pettibon
artwork and, a year later, released the group's self titled LP. Also in 1984, the Nig-Heist did their most extensive tour, opening for Black Flag and the Meat Puppets
. By then, Mugger had also taken on an important role in running SST Records, splitting control of the label with Ginn, Dukowski, and co-owner Joe Carducci. Despite Mugger's position at the label, no Nig-Heist material was ever released on SST.
After 1984, Mugger left the road crew to concentrate on SST and that was the end of The Nig-Heist. Mugger remained with the label until the late '80s when, after disagreements over the type of artists the label should sign, he was bought out by Ginn and Dukowski. Mugger, who had studied economics at UCLA while working for SST, used the money to invest in technology and became a computer industry mogul and a millionaire.
In 1998 Drag City Records released the Nig-Heist's discography on CD. The record included both of the Nig-Heist records as well as some demos and a disc of live shows.
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 roadie and live sound man and SST Records
SST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment...
employee Steve "Mugger" Corbin and featuring a revolving-door roster of members of the bands who were on tour with Black Flag at the moment. The band used to open for Black Flag on tour and recorded a 7", an LP and had tracks on compilations. They were notorious for their risqué stage antics, including band members playing naked, Mugger wearing a long-haired wig and insulting the crowd. Their songs were overtly vulgar and explicit in a funny way. Their motto was: "The band that cums in your mouth, not in your hands".
History
The Nig-Heist was founded in 1981 in Los Angeles by Steve "Mugger" Corbin, who was a dropout who ran away from an abusive home in his early teens. He and other runaways eventually began to congegrate at the Church, a former church that was converted into a band practice space, where they became immersed in the fledging suburban hardcore scene. It was there that Mugger became acquainted with Greg GinnGreg Ginn
Gregory Regis Ginn is a guitarist, songwriter, and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986....
and Black Flag. Ginn gave Mugger a job at his SST Electronics company. After becoming Black Flag's roadie, Mugger wanted to start his own band to bring some humor as well as antagonize the scene. He recruited members of the bands who were on tour with Black Flag for his band and usually had them play a different instrument than they normally played.
On stage, Mugger played naked or in his underwear and would always wear a long-haired wig with a trucker cap and taunt punks and skinheads in the audience who didn't want to see any "long-haired faggot" on stage. Mugger often baited the crowd with statements like "I know your kind, you want to overthrow the government" and "if you think I'm a faggot, why don't you come up here and let me buttfuck you" while also asking female concert-goers for sexual favors.
The rest of the band usually played in disguise and under fake names or behind their amps. Band members generally included Black Flag tour party members and featured such players as Greg Ginn
Greg Ginn
Gregory Regis Ginn is a guitarist, songwriter, and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986....
, Chuck Dukowski
Chuck Dukowski
Chuck Dukowski is an American punk rock musician, best known as a founding member and bass player for Black Flag. Dukowski wrote some of Black Flag's most popular songs, including "My War," "What I See," "I've Heard It Before" and "Spray Paint." He left the band before the release of My War, and...
, Dez Cadena
Dez Cadena
Dez Paul Cadena is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag. Since 2001 Cadena has played guitar with the Misfits...
, Chuck Biscuits
Chuck Biscuits
Chuck Biscuits is a Canadian-born drummer, now a U.S. citizen, who is best known as an original member of the heavy metal/hard rock band Danzig. Most recently, he was a member of the punk rock band Social Distortion in the late 1990s...
, Bill Stevenson
Bill Stevenson
John William "Bill" Stevenson is an American musician and record producer. He is the drummer and frequent songwriter for the California punk rock group Descendents. In late December 1981 he played a few concerts with Black Flag because their drummer ROBO was detained in England after a tour there...
from the Descendents
Descendents (band)
The Descendents are an American punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California. As of 2011, they have released six studio albums, three live albums, three compilation albums and three EPs. The Descendents broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different musicians...
, D. Boon
D. Boon
d. Boon born Dennes Dale Boon, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Active between 1978, when he joined The Reactionaries, and 1985, when he was killed in a van accident, Boon was best known as the guitarist and vocalist of the Californian punk rock trio Minutemen.-Youth:Dennes Boon...
from the Minutemen
Minutemen (band)
Minutemen were an American hardcore punk band formed in San Pedro, California in 1980. Composed of guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley, Minutemen recorded four albums and eight EPs before Boon's death in an automobile accident in December 1985...
, SPOT
Spot (producer)
SPOT, , was the house producer and engineer for the influential independent punk record label SST Records. He recorded, mixed, produced or co-produced for most of SST's pivotal acts between 1979 and 1985...
, Dave "Davo" Classen (Black Flag's soundman), SST hanger-ons Merrill Ward from Overkill
Overkill L.A.
Overkill L.A. or SST Overkill is a speed metal and hardcore band started in 1980 in Los Angeles and which recorded two records on SST Records and some tracks on compilations. The band started as Overkill but they were rechristened Overkill L.A...
and Tom Troccoli from Tom Trocolli's Dog, Kira Roessler
Kira Roessler
Kira Roessler is an American bass guitarist, singer and Emmy award-winning dialogue editor. She is best known for her membership in the punk rock group Black Flag.-Biography:...
as well as Ian MacKaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
from Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
. Because their songs were so sexist, the Nig-Heist didn't want to have a girl in the band so, when Kira Roessler played bass in the band, she was hidden behind a curtain on stage and another guy in disguise took the bass in front and pretended to play.
The Nig-Heist's songs always revolved around sex, as evidenced by song titles like "Put My Love in Your Mouth", and "Balls of Fire", and dealt with their topic in purposely explicit and immature ways. Predictably, this angered most not in on the joke and the biggest cheers for the Nig-Heist came when they announced they were playing their last song, if they got a chance to do so. The band often had the plug pulled on them by club managers or were attacked by outraged audience members. If they weren't attacked, Mugger often got the last laugh by leaving stage, taking off his wig and moving through the audience, unnoticed. They made headlines in Denver in April 1984 when Mugger and Trocolli were arrested for lewd behavior onstage at The Rainbow Music Hall after the club owner was scandalised by their obscenity. They were jailed for indecent exposure and simulating anal intercourse and Greg Ginn bailed them out later. One of Mugger's lines he always said when angry people in the crowd started spitting on him was "Hey if you fags are going to spit on me, aim for my butthole so I have some lubrication for after the show"
In 1983, Joe Carducci
Joe Carducci
Joe Carducci is an American writer, record producer, and former A&R executive, formerly most closely associated with the influential record label SST Records....
's Thermidor Records released a one song Nig-Heist 7" called Walking Down the Street with Raymond Pettibon
Raymond Pettibon
Raymond Pettibon is an American artist who currently lives and works in Venice Beach, California.-Early life:...
artwork and, a year later, released the group's self titled LP. Also in 1984, the Nig-Heist did their most extensive tour, opening for Black Flag and the Meat Puppets
Meat Puppets
The Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980, in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood , his brother Cris Kirkwood , and Derrick Bostrom . The Kirkwood brothers met Bostrom while attending Brophy Prep High School in Phoenix...
. By then, Mugger had also taken on an important role in running SST Records, splitting control of the label with Ginn, Dukowski, and co-owner Joe Carducci. Despite Mugger's position at the label, no Nig-Heist material was ever released on SST.
After 1984, Mugger left the road crew to concentrate on SST and that was the end of The Nig-Heist. Mugger remained with the label until the late '80s when, after disagreements over the type of artists the label should sign, he was bought out by Ginn and Dukowski. Mugger, who had studied economics at UCLA while working for SST, used the money to invest in technology and became a computer industry mogul and a millionaire.
In 1998 Drag City Records released the Nig-Heist's discography on CD. The record included both of the Nig-Heist records as well as some demos and a disc of live shows.
Members
- Steve "Mugger" Corbin - Lead Vocals
- Bill StevensonBill StevensonJohn William "Bill" Stevenson is an American musician and record producer. He is the drummer and frequent songwriter for the California punk rock group Descendents. In late December 1981 he played a few concerts with Black Flag because their drummer ROBO was detained in England after a tour there...
- Guitar - David "Davo" Classen - Drums
- Tom Trocolli - Bass
- SPOTSpot (producer)SPOT, , was the house producer and engineer for the influential independent punk record label SST Records. He recorded, mixed, produced or co-produced for most of SST's pivotal acts between 1979 and 1985...
- Drums - Chuck BiscuitsChuck BiscuitsChuck Biscuits is a Canadian-born drummer, now a U.S. citizen, who is best known as an original member of the heavy metal/hard rock band Danzig. Most recently, he was a member of the punk rock band Social Distortion in the late 1990s...
- Drums - Merrill Ward - Guitar
- Dez CadenaDez CadenaDez Paul Cadena is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag. Since 2001 Cadena has played guitar with the Misfits...
- Drums - Ian MacKayeIan MacKayeIan Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
- Bass - Kira RoesslerKira RoesslerKira Roessler is an American bass guitarist, singer and Emmy award-winning dialogue editor. She is best known for her membership in the punk rock group Black Flag.-Biography:...
- Bass - Greg GinnGreg GinnGregory Regis Ginn is a guitarist, songwriter, and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986....
- Guitar - Jack BrewerJack BrewerJack Brewer is a former American football safety in the National Football League for the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Arizona Cardinals.-College career:...
- Vocals - d. BoonD. Boond. Boon born Dennes Dale Boon, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Active between 1978, when he joined The Reactionaries, and 1985, when he was killed in a van accident, Boon was best known as the guitarist and vocalist of the Californian punk rock trio Minutemen.-Youth:Dennes Boon...
- Roadie
Discography
- Albums
- The Nig-Heist LP (Thermidor Records, 1984)
- Nig-Heist CD (Drag City Records, 1997)
- Singles
- "Walking down the Street" 7" (Thermidor Records, 1982)
- Compilations
- Chunks LP (New Alliance RecordsNew Alliance RecordsNew Alliance Records was the record label founded by The Minutemen's D. Boon and Mike Watt and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich after the example of Black Flag's SST Records...
, 1981) - features the track The Nig-Heist (The Last Generation)
- Chunks LP (New Alliance Records