Beat Happening

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Beat Happening
Beat Happening (1988 Rough Trade publicity photo).jpg
Beat Happening in 1988.
Clockwise from top: Calvin Johnson, Bret Lunsford, Heather Lewis.
Background information
Origin Olympia, Washington, United States
Genres
Years active1982–1992
Labels
Spinoffs The Halo Benders
Past members

Beat Happening was an American indie pop band formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American indie pop and lo-fi movements, noted for their use of primitive recording techniques, disregard for the technical aspects of musicianship, and songs with subject matters of a carefree or coy nature.

Contents

History

Formation

Beat Happening met while attending the Evergreen State College and began recording in 1983. The band took its name from a student art film, Beatnik Happening, made by Bret's girlfriend. [1] The band's basic line-up was drums, guitar, and vocals, though when they formed, their only instruments were a pair of maracas and a Sears Silvertone guitar purchased at a thrift shop. Heather once joked in an interview that the history of the band could be told through a list of the various people whose drums they had borrowed. Heather and Calvin had been members of a previous band and approached Bret, who had no musical experience at the time, saying they ought to start a band and go to Japan. [1]

Early recordings made use of an Echoplex machine to add heavy reverb to Bret's guitar, in an attempt to mask his poor performance. [1]

The band traveled to Tokyo in 1984 with intentions of touring. Their first show in Japan was at the high school of a former exchange student Calvin knew. [1] The band members recorded Three Tea Breakfast, a five-song EP that marked the band's first release. [2]

Studio albums

Beat Happening (1985), their full-length debut, was critically acclaimed, as was Jamboree (1988). By the release of Dreamy in 1991, Beat Happening was one of the most popular bands in the indie rock community, leading to their pivotal role in the International Pop Underground Convention, which brought anti-corporate rock its earliest mainstream acceptance. Their last full-length album was 1992's You Turn Me On , which represented the band breaking many of their established conventions from earlier albums, most notably on "Godsend", which runs 9 minutes and features blatant use of multitrack recording. The album was described by allmusic.com as a "masterpiece." Though never announcing a break-up and claiming at one point to still practice once a month, the members of Beat Happening have moved on to various other projects. In 2000 they released the "Angel Gone" single, their first new release in eight years.

Crashing Through , which collects all of the band's officially released music except for two of their tracks from a live cassette split with The Vaselines, was released in 2002. The box set included a booklet containing a lengthy essay on the history and impact of the band by Lois Maffeo, as well as rare photos of Calvin, Heather, and Bret.

In September 2015, the band announced the release of a new compilation spanning their entire career entitled Look Around , which was released by Domino Records on 20 November 2015. [3]

With the full cooperation of the band and Calvin's K Records label, Domino released a vinyl box set of the entire Beat Happening discography, We Are Beat Happening, in November of 2019.

Influence

The English indie-pop band This Many Boyfriends are named after a Beat Happening song - namely The This Many Boyfriends Club. The Swedish band Friendly Boyfriend, likened to a "corrupted Beat Happening," [4] has a name that recalls the lyric "You got a friendly boyfriend" from Beat Happening's song "T.V. Girl." The United States band The Snogs have also been compared to Beat Happening, [5] and have released tracks such as "Tastes Like Candy," "Couple of Sleepyheads," and Teenage Sleepyhead" recalling Beat Happening song titles "Black Candy" and "Sleepy Head."

Beat Happening's live performances stood out for Calvin's dancing moves (pogo, hula, and shimmy), which he'd seen on news reports about UK punks. His onstage behavior did not ingratiate the band to hardcore audiences when they toured with Fugazi in the late 1980s, and audiences were openly hostile, even throwing an ashtray at the band. [6] Nonetheless, rock critic Michael Azzerrad suggests that Beat Happening "was a major force in widening the idea of a punk rocker from a mohawked guy in a motorcycle jacket to a nerdy girl in a cardigan." [7] The presence of Heather Lewis on drums and Calvin's non-threatening stage presence presented a wider variety of behaviors and identities than other acts in the hardcore scene of the time, which was predominantly male and focused on aggression or hyper-masculinity. [7] Beat Happening has been cited as an influence on early riot grrl acts such as Bratmobile [7] and Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill. [8] Kurt Cobain had the K Records logo tattooed on his forearm, saying it was to "try and remind me to stay a child." [9] [10] The song "Lounge Act" on Nevermind references his logo tattoo in the line, “I'll arrest myself and wear a shield.” Cobain also played guitar on a K Records release, "Bikini Twilight," with Johnson, released as The Go Team. [11]

Calvin Johnson was one of the founders of indie-rock label K Records, and comprised one-half of the indie pop band The Go Team, along with Tobi Vail; they had an approach and aesthetic similar to that of Beat Happening.

Current status

Though not officially broken up, the band has not performed together in public since the early 1990s.

Members

Discography

Albums

EPs

Compilations

Singles

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<i>Beat Happening</i> (album) 1985 studio album by Beat Happening

Beat Happening is the debut album by American rock band Beat Happening, released in November 1985 through K Records. After the end of Laura, Heather and Calvin, vocalist and guitarist Calvin Johnson and drummer Heather Lewis formed Beat Happening. To help with a gig, guitarist Bret Lunsford joined them soon after. Between November 1983 and February 1985, the band recorded several tracks that subsequently appeared on different versions of their debut album. Two of the recording sessions were produced by Greg Sage of the Wipers, taking place at The Firehouse and Yoyo, both places located in Olympia, Washington. Other tracks were done at Johnson's residence at the Martin Apartments and with friend Pat Maley in a recital hall on the campus of Evergreen State College.

<i>Jamboree</i> (Beat Happening album) 1988 studio album by Beat Happening

Jamboree is the second album by American indie rock band Beat Happening, released in 1988 through K Records and Rough Trade Records. All songs were produced by Steve Fisk with assistance from Screaming Trees members Mark Lanegan and Gary Lee Conner, except "Cat Walk," produced by Patrick Maley, and "The This Many Boyfriends Club," recorded live by Rich Jensen.

<i>Crashing Through</i> (album) 2002 box set by Beat Happening

Crashing Through is a box set with 7 discs containing every studio album, oddities, and rare tracks by the indie rock band, Beat Happening. It was released through K Records on May 7, 2002 but is now out of print.

Tiger Trap was an American twee-pop foursome composed of high school friends Angela Loy and Rose Melberg, with Heather Dunn and Jen Braun. The group recorded for K Records. The name "Tiger Trap" comes from the very first Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, and was used prior to the formation of the band by Rose Melberg for a solo set in 1991 at the first night of the International Pop Underground Convention, Love Rock Revolution Girl Style Now, inspiring the Beat Happening song of the same name. Formed in Sacramento, California in 1992, they managed to garner something of a cult following before disbanding only a year later. Their last concert took place at Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, in December 1993. Bands they played with include Heavenly, Unwound, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Girl Trouble, Mecca Normal, Beat Happening, and Tsunami.

<i>It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water</i> 2000 studio album by the Microphones

It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water, sometimes shortened to It Was Hot, is the second studio album by American indie folk and indie rock band the Microphones. It was released by K Records on September 26, 2000. After Phil Elverum—the frontman, principal songwriter, and producer of the Microphones's albums—had gained a small following with 1999's Don't Wake Me Up, he recorded It Was Hot in Dub Narcotic Studio in Olympia, Washington, between September 1999 and March 2000. The album was recorded on analogue tape; Elverum embraced the medium's technical imperfections. The album was described as indie rock, lo-fi, and indie pop and was inspired by Elverum's visits to the ocean. As a whole, the album centers on the theme of water, while its lyricism is heavily themed on nature. The 11-minute track "The Glow" acts as the album's climax and introduces the concept of the "glow", which was explored in more depth on 2001's The Glow Pt. 2.

<i>Dont Wake Me Up</i> (album) 1999 studio album by the Microphones

Don't Wake Me Up is the debut studio album by American musical project the Microphones. It was released by K Records on August 24, 1999, and reissued on vinyl via P.W. Elverum & Sun on April 16, 2013. The album was recorded between April 25, 1998, and March 1, 1999, in studios in Olympia and Anacortes, Washington.

<i>Beat Happening/Screaming Trees</i> 1988 EP by Beat Happening and Screaming Trees

Beat Happening/Screaming Trees is an EP and a one-off collaboration between Beat Happening and Screaming Trees. The 12-inch EP was originally released on Homestead Records in 1988, and it was later reissued as part of Beat Happening's box set Crashing Through in 2002. The journal of Kurt Cobain contains a draft of a letter sent to Mark Lanegan, in which he described "Polly Pereguinn" as his favorite pop song of the 1980s.

<i>Dreamy</i> (Beat Happening album) 1991 studio album by Beat Happening

Dreamy is an album by the indie pop band Beat Happening, released in 1991. The band recorded the tracks in a living room and in a professional recording studio.

<i>You Turn Me On</i> 1992 studio album by Beat Happening

You Turn Me On is the fifth and final album by the American band Beat Happening, released in 1992. The band supported the album with a North American tour.

The Shield Around the K: The Story of K Records is a 2000 documentary produced and directed by Heather Rose Dominic about the independent record label, K Records. The film profiles the birth and growth of the punk rock DIY label based in Olympia, Washington.

Heather Lewis is an American multi-instrumentalist and founding member of Beat Happening. Prior to her work with Beat Happening, Lewis was a member of the Supreme Cool Beings, who are notable for having the first ever release on K Records, 1982's Survival of the Coolest. She appeared as a guest vocalist on several songs from Land of the Loops, as well as the Wedding Present's album Watusi.

<i>Look Around</i> (Beat Happening album) 2015 compilation album by Beat Happening

Look Around is a compilation album by indie rock band Beat Happening, released on 20 November 2015. The album is touted as a "career-spanning double album anthology", with track selections picked by the band.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Baumgarten, Mark (2012). Love Rock Revolution. Seattle: Sasquatch Books. p. 72. ISBN   978-1-57061-822-2.
  2. ↑ Baumgarten, Mark (2012). Love Rock Revolution. Seattle: Sasquatch Books. p. 89. ISBN   978-1-57061-822-2.
  3. ↑ Coughlan, Jamie (22 September 2015). "Beat Happening Announce Career Spanning Compilation". Overblown Webzine. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Friendly Boyfriend - Pick Up!". Torn Light Records. September 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  5. ↑ "The Snogs". Record Turnover. 15 April 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  6. ↑ Baumgarten, Mark (2012). Love Rock Revolution. Seattle: Sasquatch Books. p. 100. ISBN   978-1-57061-822-2.
  7. 1 2 3 Azerrad, Michael (2002). Our Band Could Be Your Life . Back Bay Books. pp. 455–456. ISBN   978-0-316-78753-6.
  8. ↑ Wilcox, Kathi (8 April 2014). "Bikini Kill: Girl Soldier (Interview)" . Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  9. ↑ True, Everett. (2007). Nirvana : the biography. OverDrive, Inc. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. ISBN   978-0-7867-3390-3. OCLC   830122168.
  10. ↑ Sandford, Christopher, 1956- (2004). Kurt Cobain (2nd Carroll & Graf ed., rev. & updated ed.). New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN   0-7867-1369-0. OCLC   54691610.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Baumgarten, Mark, 1978- (2012). Love rock revolution : K Records and the rise of independent music. Seattle: Sasquatch Books. ISBN   978-1-57061-822-2. OCLC   755697720.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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