Bunnygrunt

Last updated
Bunnygrunt
Origin St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Genres Indie pop, cuddlecore [1]
Years active1993–1998
2003–present
Labels Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records, No Life Records, Septophilia, WeePOP! Records, Pancake Productions
MembersMatt Harnish
Karen Ried
Eric Von Damage
Past membersRenee Dullum (1993–1995)
Jen Wolfe (1995–1998)
Lauren Trull (2003–2005)
Website bunnygrunt.com

Bunnygrunt are an American indie pop band from St. Louis, Missouri composed of guitarist/vocalist Matt Harnish and drummer Karen Ried.

Contents

History

1993–1998

The band formed in early 1993, with Wally Schwartz on bass. Their first release, the "Criminal Boy" 7", came in the same year, on Silly Moo Records. In short order Rene Dullum took over the duties on bass. They continued to release 7"s and EPs, drawing attention for this and for their rapid release schedule, until they recorded their debut full-length in 1995, titled Action Pants! , released on No Life Records. This release was not without its problems. Dullum was fired from the band before the album was released, taking her songs with her. This meant that the album's running time was rather short – now being only 8 songs long, and around 20 minutes in length (partly due to the 10-minute-long "Open Wide and Say Oblina", the album's closer). The band then recruited bassist Jen Wolfe, and continued to release 7"s, including The Bunnygrunt Family Notebook, and Blue Christmas (a Christmas 7", with their cover of the holiday standard on the one side, and an original, 'Season's Freaklings', on the other). In 1998, they released their second album, Jen-Fi, again on No Life. This had double the tracks of their first album, although the running time was again very brief, as few songs broke the 2 minute mark. The album attracted favourable reviews, yet the band disappeared soon after this, with little fanfare. Matt and Karen went on to form The See-Thrus. Later still Matt joined The Julia Sets and Karen formed The Fantasy Four.

2003–present

In 2003, the earlier-recorded Bunnygrunt song 'Season's Freaklings' (also previously featured on a compilation entitled Better Than Fruitcake which was a forerunner to the Bert Dax Christmas compilations—see below) was used on the soundtrack to the Billy Bob Thornton movie, Bad Santa, enhancing the band's popularity. In the fall of 2004, a new collection of Bunnygrunt's old tracks and rarities, entitled In the Valley of Lonesome Phil, was released on Harnish's own label, "The Bert Dax Cavalcade of Stars". Ried had been playing with various local musicians as The Fantasy Four, and Harnish was busy at various pf local artists playing original and traditional holiday songs every Christmas season), playing bass for the St. Louis-based Julia Sets (who had a split EP with theoints since Bunnygrunt's secession into relative non-existence around 1998 with running his Bert Dax label (which releases, among other things, a compilation o Fantasy Four on the Bert Dax label in 2001), and working at popular local record store Vintage Vinyl. The band played a house party with Lauren Trull on bass to celebrate the release of Bad Santa and decided to reform full-time, playing the Athens PopFest (to which they have returned as recently as August 2010, and at which they are one of only three acts to appear every single year since its inception, alongside Cars Can Be Blue and Casper & the Cookies) later that year. The band released their latest album, Karen Haters Club, on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records, in the fall of 2005. Trull has since left the band, and Ried and Harnish now continue officially as a two-piece, with Eric Von Damage (formerly of Corbeta Corbata and The Adversary Workers) on drums, though a set arsenal of regular guests with whom they play live shows and record has been established, including Jason Hutto of Walkie Talkie U.S.A. and Phonocaptors fame, Mario Viele of the Pubes and Sex Robots, as well as Erik Seaver of the Museum Mutters, Parker's Back, Lost to Metric, and the Five Deadly Venoms. At the 2007 Athens Popfest, Bunnygrunt was joined onstage by the horn section of HHBTM label-mates Red Pony Clock for a cover of Carmelita by Warren Zevon. At the 2010 Athens Popfest, Bunnygrunt was joined onstage by several friends for a cover of Red Pony Clock's "Don't Forget Who Your Friends Are."

In 2009, the band released a new full length on HHBTM entitled Matt Harnish and Other Delights. Pancake Productions released two Bunnygrunt 7" records, "Lady, You Just Got Von Damaged" in 2010 and "The Worst Of Both Worlds" (a split with The Winchester and with Throwing Things Records) in 2012. The title of "...Von Damaged" is in keeping with their tradition of naming records after members of the band, Eric Von Damage having been Bunnygrunt's drummer for the majority of years since their reunion. The cover of the record is an embroidery painting of Von Damage lounging in a chair with a bulldog nearby and a macaw on his shoulder.

Bunnygrunt's sixth (or fifth, depending on how you are counting) album Vol. 4 was released in July 2015 on HHBTM. The cassette and CD versions featured bonus tracks from singles and other records released since (and even before) their previous album, including the two Pancake Productions 45s and the WeePOP! EP. [2]

Tribute album

In late August 2013, Pancake Productions released You Wanna Be Just Like Bunnygrunt: A Loving Tribute To The First 21½ Years. It features 26 covers of Bunnygrunt songs from all eras of the band by label-mates, friends, and a variety of acts from around the globe, including members of longtime tour partners Tullycraft and Darling Little Jackhammer as well as other bands containing former members such as The Sex Robots and Jason Hutto, and other friends including The Ottomen, Red Pony Clock, Casper & The Cookies, and Googolplexia. [3]

Style

During their original lifespan, Bunnygrunt's sound changed only marginally, being centred on a sound that was primarily labelled as twee pop or cuddlecore, which led to Allmusic naming them 'The World's Cutest Band'. [4] While the accuracy of this label is open to dispute, it is clear that the band themselves were not happy with being presented in this way, or indeed even being classified as 'twee', due to the connotations associated with such a label (deliberately sloppy instrumentalism, overly 'cutesy' presentation). Indeed, Harnish noted that he "hated" the label, and this aspect of twee music.[ permanent dead link ]

However, the band's position as twee was only solidified when their first major show after their 2004 reformation took place at the Athens PopFest, a music festival organised by noted twee label Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records, who also released Karen Haters Club. The style of music prevalent on this album, however, is not exactly what one might call twee pop, the band creating a far heavier sound, more akin to simple punk rock. However, the band's twee label persists, though mainly by association.

Lyrics

Bunnygrunt's lyrics cover a wide range of material, but are not often particularly serious, as song titles such as "I Mock You With My Monkey Pants", "I Dated a Zombie", and "I Just Had Broken Heart Surgery, Love Won't Bypass Me Again" attest. At times, their lyrics have taken on leanings towards the satirical, for example, "Superstar 666" from Action Pants!, which features Ried satirically proclaiming herself to be a celebrity, a theme which continues in several Bunnygrunt songs.

Discography

Albums

EPs/Singles

Related Research Articles

14 Iced Bears are a British indie pop band associated with the C86 music scene. Formed in Brighton in 1985, by Robert Sekula and Nick Emery the band featured a shifting line-up of musicians across their seven-year existence, centred on songwriter and vocalist Rob Sekula and guitarist/songwriter Kevin Canham. Their jangly indie pop was characterised by a fuzzy protopunk-influenced guitar sound, and saw them receive modest critical acclaim in Britain's music press as well as prompting disc jockey John Peel to recruit them to record a couple of sessions for his programme on BBC radio. The group released a handful of singles, including "Come Get Me" on the influential Sarah label, and two full-length albums: the eponymous 14 Iced Bears (1988), and Wonder (1991).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Innocence Mission</span> American musical group

The Innocence Mission is an American indie folk band formed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1986. The band is composed of Karen Peris, her husband Don Peris, and Mike Bitts. Although all members of the band have contributed to their music, Karen Peris is their main writer.

Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records is an American independent record label based in Athens, Georgia. Its catalogue features indie rock, indie pop and hip-hop music, with several of its artists associated with or influenced by The Elephant 6 Recording Company.

The Essex Green is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn that has released four albums to date. The band is primarily composed of songwriters Jeff Baron, Sasha Bell and Chris Ziter, and specializes in a classic sound inspired by 1960s–1970s pop and folk in the tradition of bands like The Left Banke and Fairport Convention.

Fablefactory is a band from Athens, GA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Melberg</span> American drummer

Rose Melberg is a musician and songwriter from Sacramento, California, currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She has performed both as a solo artist and as a member of Tiger Trap, The Softies, Go Sailor, Gaze, Gigi, Imaginary Pants, Brave Irene, Knife Pleats and Olivia's World.

Baby Calendar is a three-piece indie pop band from Miami, Florida. In 2006, Baby Calendar was signed to Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records based in Athens, Georgia and known for releasing mostly indie pop and twee-pop bands, working with bands such as Of Montreal, Casper & the Cookies, and Bunnygrunt, and hosting the annual Athens Popfest.

Marshmallow Coast is an indie pop band associated with the Elephant Six Collective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarandon (band)</span>

Sarandon are an English indie rock group, formed in London in 2003, who have so far released two albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tullycraft</span> American indie pop band

Tullycraft is an American indie pop band from Seattle, Washington, that formed in 1995. They have been associated with the genre of twee pop; in fact, they are considered to be one of the true pioneers of the American twee pop movement. They are known for their DIY ethic, only releasing albums on independently owned and operated record labels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Campesinos!</span> Welsh indie rock band

Los Campesinos! are a seven-piece indie pop band from Cardiff, Wales, formed in early 2006 at Cardiff University. The band has endured several lineup changes with Gareth Paisey, Neil Turner (guitar) and Tom Bromley (guitar) being the only original members remaining. Rob Taylor (guitar), Kim Paisey, Matt Fidler and Jason Adelinia (drums) are also currently rostered. All replace their surnames with "Campesinos!" as stage names.

Crayon was an indie pop band from Washington State.

The Silly Pillows were an American indie pop band formed by Jonathan Caws-Elwitt. They began as a home-recorded duo of Jonathan and his wife Hilary Caws-Elwitt, sharing tapes through the cassette underground. In the 1990s the band evolved into a studio-recorded full lineup, which dissolved in 2000. From 2005 to 2008, Jonathan and Hilary revived their home-recording career as "The Original Silly Pillows."

Keith John Adams is a British singer-songwriter. He makes garage pop music on his own and with a number of revolving collaborators, some from the UK and some from the US.

Casper & the Cookies is an American rock and pop band from Athens, Georgia, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Husband (music project)</span> Musical artist

James Husband is the recording project of James Huggins III, Of Montreal's multi-instrumentalist.

Cher Doll Records is an American independent record label founded in Seattle, Washington, by Nancy Ostrander in 1993. The label released records for several indie-pop bands, including Neutral Milk Hotel's first single.

The Besties were an American indie pop band from Brooklyn, New York. Their sound can best be described indie pop or "twee", although at shows they were known to introduce themselves as a punk band. TimeOut Chicago describes the band as sounding like "the Go-Go's on Epitaph Records", and Allmusic compares them to Cub and the All Girl Summer Fun Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ethical Debating Society</span> English DIY punk/post-riot grrrl group

The Ethical Debating Society are a three-piece DIY punk, post-riot grrrl group from London. They have been described as "one of the most exciting DIY bands" in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Schefano</span> American singer-songwriter

Louis Schefano is an American singer-songwriter, producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist originally from Birmingham, Alabama, United States. He has recorded under various monikers including Regia, Louis, and Suspicious Light. Schefano was also a founding member of Remy Zero and Little Red Rocket, and has performed, produced or recorded with Azure Ray, Maria Taylor, Verbena, Cheshires, Bright Eyes, The Ladybug Transistor, and Jaymay.

References

  1. ↑ "Cuddlecore". The Daily Collegian , 17 January 1995.
  2. ↑ "HHBTM168CD & HHBTM168CS". HHBTM.com. June 2019.
  3. ↑ "PP 021 - You Wanna Be Just Like Bunnygrunt: A Loving Tribute To The First 21½ Years". PancakeProductions.net.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "PP 005 - Lady, You Just Got Von Damaged!". PancakeProductions.net.
  6. ↑ "PP 012 - The Worst Of Both Worlds". PancakeProductions.net.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.