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Dub Narcotic Sound System | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Olympia, Washington |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Years active | 1995–2003 |
| Labels | K |
| Members | Calvin Johnson Chris Sutton Heather Dunn |
| Past members | Larry Butler Brian Weber Lois Maffeo Jeff Smith Jen Smith |
Dub Narcotic Sound System (D.N.S.S.) is an Olympia, Washington based indie-funk musical group founded by Calvin Johnson, signed to K Records.
The band was named after Calvin Johnson's basement recording studio, Dub Narcotic. [1] The band and its members were all based in Olympia, Washington when they were active in the band. Dub Narcotic Sound System has toured in the United States, Japan, Canada and Europe with bands such as Built to Spill, Fugazi, and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. [2]
The Register-Guard described the band in 1999 as "An electronica and hip-hop tinged indie combo". The newspaper also criticised Johnson's vocals, citing them as "so low and gravelly, it can, at times, be unbearable". [3] In relation to a 1996 concert at a roller skating rink with Lois Maffeo, they described the music as "dull to dance to, but skates can glide along to it fine". [4]
The Michigan Daily described their album Degenerate Introduction as "an open, airy fusion of punk, funk, dub, indie rock and hip-hop with a lo-fi hue". However, the newspaper criticised Johnson's vocals, saying they were "polarizing and force[s] you to become annoyed as he drowns out the empty beats". [5]
The following studio recordings by D.N.S.S. were released on K Records:
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.
Calvin Johnson is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, music producer, and disc jockey. Known for his uniquely deep and droning singing voice, Johnson was a founding member of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, Dub Narcotic Sound System, The Go Team and The Halo Benders.
The U.S. state of Washington has been home to many popular musicians and several major hotbeds of musical innovation throughout its history. The largest city in the state, Seattle, is known for being the birthplace of grunge as well as a major contributor to the evolution of punk rock, indie music, folk, and hip hop. Nearby Tacoma and Olympia have also been centers of influence on popular music.
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent music" since the 1980s.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spencer on vocals, guitar and theremin. Their musical style is largely rooted in rock and roll although it draws influences from punk, blues, garage, rockabilly, soul, noise rock, rhythm and blues and hip hop. They released nine official studio albums, collaborative records with Dub Narcotic Sound System and R.L. Burnside as well as numerous live, singles, out-take albums, compilations, remix albums and, in 2010, a series of expanded reissues. Throughout the course of their career, this experimental sound and occasionally unconventional recording techniques has allowed the band to work with such artists as Elliott Smith, Beck, Solomon Burke, Steve Albini, Martina Topley-Bird and Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys.
Sad Sappy Sucker is a 2001 studio album released by alternative rock band Modest Mouse. Originally slated to be Modest Mouse's debut album in 1994, Sad Sappy Sucker was shelved for several years until its eventual release in 2001, following the popularity of the band's third album The Moon & Antarctica. Several songs were recorded at Olympia, Washington's Dub Narcotic Studios by Beat Happening frontman Calvin Johnson. The record was officially released by Johnson's label K Records on April 24, 2001, available in both Compact Disc and vinyl LP, and containing nine additional tracks added to the original track listing of 15 songs.
The Microphones were an American indie folk, indie rock, and experimental project from Olympia, Washington. The project was founded in 1996 and ended in 2003, with a short reunion following in 2007 and revivals in 2019 and 2020. Across every iteration of the Microphones, it has been fronted by Phil Elverum. Elverum is the principal songwriter and producer behind the band's albums, but he has also collaborated with other local musicians on his other recordings and tours. Many of Elverum's recordings from the project's initial period were released by the label K Records.
The port city of Olympia, Washington, has been a center of post-hardcore, anti-folk, and other youth-oriented musical genres since the late 1970s. Before this period, Olympia's The Fleetwoods had several Billboard chart successes between 1959 and 1963. Olympia saw a rise in feminism in the music industry, where artists commonly addressed rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, patriarchy, classism, anarchism, and female empowerment in their songs. It was a center for the riot grrrl movement of the early 1990s, which featured Bikini Kill and Bratmobile.
The Go Team was a 1980s band from Olympia, Washington, consisting of Tobi Vail and Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening.
Lois Maffeo is an American musician and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. She has been closely involved with and influenced many independent musicians, especially in the 1990s-era Olympia, Seattle and Washington, D.C. music scenes.
Treepeople is an alternative rock band from Boise, Idaho, although its members were officially based in Seattle, Washington. The band was originally composed of vocalist/guitarist Scott Schmaljohn, drummer Wayne Flower, guitarist/vocalist Doug Martsch, and bassist Pat Brown. After six albums and various lineup changes, the band disbanded in 1994. The band's original lineup would reform in 2018, sans Brown due to his death in 1999.
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.
An independent music scene is a localized independent music-oriented community of bands and their audiences. Local scenes can play a key role in musical history and lead to the development of influential genres; for example, no wave from New York City, Madchester from Manchester, and grunge from Seattle.
Boot Party is the first studio album by American alternative rock group Dub Narcotic Sound System. It was released on K Records in 1996.
Experimental Remixes is an EP by American punk blues band The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion released in 1995 by Matador Records which consists of six remixes of the group's songs and a hidden bonus track called "Tour Diary". A secondary pressing by Matador increased the length of the "Tour Diary" track to 17 minutes from its original 7 minute length, but the artwork and catalog numbers are identical. Five years after the EP was originally released on Matador, it was reissued by Mute Records in the UK with three additional remixes.
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.
Skating Polly is an American rock band formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, in 2009. The band was founded by multi-instrumentalist step-siblings Kelli Drew Mayo and Peyton Mckenna Bighorse, who were 9 and 14 years old respectively. Kelli's brother Kurtis Lee Mayo joined the band on drums in 2017 so that Peyton and Kelli could focus on guitar and bass respectively. The band is noted for their alternating instruments among each member, poetic lyrics, intense live shows, melodic arrangements, and an eclectic array of songs that vary in style from riot grrrl to grunge to piano-based indie pop.
Yoyo A Go Go, usually abbreviated to Yoyo and often typeset in various ways, was an independent music festival in Olympia, Washington, first held in 1994 and followed by successor festivals in 1997, 1999, and 2001. Five- and six-day concert marathons featured dozens of punk and indie rock acts stacked back to back, as well as a variety of associated entertainment and small-scale local retail. The concerts took place at the historic Capitol Theater and showcased performers from the local Olympia music scene, while also including national and international artists.
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