Pinhead Gunpowder | |
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Origin | East Bay, California |
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Years active |
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Labels | Lookout!, Adeline, Recess, 1-2-3-4 Go! |
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Pinhead Gunpowder is an American punk rock band that formed in East Bay, California, in 1991. The band currently consists of Aaron Cometbus (drums, lyrics), Bill Schneider (bass), Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, vocals) and Jason White (guitar, vocals). The band's name comes from a brand of "high octane" green tea served at the Arcata co-op and discovered by Aaron Cometbus during one of his many dumpster diving adventures.
Pinhead Gunpowder was founded in Arcata, California in January 1991 by Aaron Cometbus and Jon Quittner. [2] Cometbus wanted the name "Pinhead Gunpowder", while Quittner wanted to call it "50 Foot Hesher". Along with vocalist Doug "Douggie Grime" Rogers and bassist David "Atlas" Kimmel, the band played once at a party where Cometbus snapped his bass pedal in half in the middle of the set. Shortly after the show, Cometbus moved back to Berkeley, taking the name of the band and some of the songs with him. Quittner stayed in Arcata with the band and they changed their name to 50 Foot Hesher and acquired a new drummer. A few months later, Quittner left the band and the remaining members changed the name to "Lank".[ citation needed ]
Back in Berkeley, Cometbus formed the second incarnation of Pinhead Gunpowder with Bill Schneider and Sarah Kirsch [3] of The Skinflutes, and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. [4] In June 1991, they recorded their first EP, Tründle and Spring. It was not until April of the following year that the band played their first live show at Punks With Presses in Oakland along with Rancid and The Gr'Ups. The band then released their second EP, Fahizah. In 1993, Kirsch left the band. Rumors that the reason was differences with Armstrong's decision to sign to a major label with Green Day were debunked by the band on Damian Abraham's podcast Turned Out a Punk. Kirsch was replaced by Jason White of Chino Horde. White would later also become Green Day's touring guitarist. Shortly after, the band embarked on a week long tour of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington in the winter of 1994.[ citation needed ]
Pinhead Gunpowder performed for the first time in many years during February 2008, debuting three new songs, "Anniversary Song", "West Side Highway", and "On the Ave".[ citation needed ]
The band released their latest EP, West Side Highway through Recess Records on August 19, 2008. This marked the band's first new release in 5 years. [2]
Pinhead Gunpowder released a greatest hits album called Kick Over the Traces on June 19, 2009. [2] [5] Also, Pinhead Gunpowder mentioned that in August or September Recess would re-release on vinyl and CD the albums Jump Salty , Carry the Banner , Goodbye Ellston Avenue , Shoot the Moon and Compulsive Disclosure . [6] All of the albums were re-released in assorted colors in early February 2010 through Recess Records, but quickly recalled and destroyed at the request of the band due to issues with the vinyl pressing. The band last performed at a benefit show at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California, on February 12, 2010. [7] [8]
Band member Sarah Kirsch died in 2012. She had been diagnosed with Fanconi anemia, a genetic disorder that can cause leukemia and other cancers. [3]
In March 2021, the band re-issued their entire discography on vinyl. [9] [10]
On September 5, 2024, the band returned with a new single, "Unt". [11] A new album, also titled Unt , was released on October 18, 2024. [12]
Aaron Cometbus is the primary writer of Pinhead Gunpowder's songs. During Pinhead Gunpowder's first incarnation, Cometbus and Quittner wrote a handful of songs together, including "In Control", "Losers of the Year", "Certain Things", "Brother", "I Used To", "Stab You in the Eye", and "Cuidado" (The last two songs released by Quittner and Cometbus under the band name "Mundt"). Cometbus often borrows songs recorded by his other bands to release as Pinhead Gunpowder songs, including "Train Station" from Shotwell Coho, "The Great Divide" from Redmond Shooting Stars, "Asheville" from Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, and "On the Ave" and "Landlords" from Astrid Oto. Only three Pinhead Gunpowder songs have been written by Billie Joe Armstrong, under the name "Wilhelm Fink": "27", "New Blood", and "Anniversary Song".[ citation needed ]
The bands influences are Ramones, Joni Mitchell, The Replacements, Generation X, Swiz, Code Of Honor, Avengers, and Cheap Trick. They have also done cover versions of many of the songs by these bands or artists. [13]
Year | Title | Label |
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1997 | Goodbye Ellston Avenue | Lookout/Recess/1-2-3-4 Go! |
2024 | Unt | 1-2-3-4 Go! |
Year | Title | Label |
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1991 | Tründle and Spring | Take a Day/1-2-3-4 Go! |
1992 | Fahizah | Lookout/1-2-3-4 Go! |
1994 | Carry the Banner | Too Many/Lookout/Recess/1-2-3-4 Go! |
1999 | Shoot the Moon | Adeline/Recess/1-2-3-4 Go! |
2000 | Dillinger Four / Pinhead Gunpowder | Adeline |
2000 | Pinhead Gunpowder | THD/1-2-3-4 Go! |
2000 | 8 Chords, 328 Words | Lookout/1-2-3-4 Go! |
2008 | West Side Highway | Recess/1-2-3-4 Go! |
2022 | At Your Funeral | GO-82/1-2-3-4 Go! |
Year | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1994 | Jump Salty | Recess/1-2-3-4 Go! |
2003 | Compulsive Disclosure | Lookout/Recess/1-2-3-4 Go! |
2009 | Kick Over the Traces | Recess [2] |
Year | Title | Label | Contributing track |
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1991 | Very Small World | Very Small | "Losers of the Year" |
1992 | Can of Pork | Lookout | "Benicia by the Bay" |
1993 | Benicia | Take a Day | "Benicia by the Bay" |
1993 | Vinyl Retentive | Very Small | "Beastly Bit" |
1994 | Misfit Heartbeat | Take a Day | "I Wanna" |
1996 | Lookout Records | Lookout | "I Am the Stranger" |
1997 | Humans as Sewage | BBT Tapes | "Swan Song (live)", "Reach for the Bottle (live)", "Nigel Sings" |
1997 | The Last Great Thing You Did | Lookout | "Life During Wartime" |
2000 | Faux Pas Potpourri – Very Small Records '93–'99 | Very Small | "Reach for the Bottle (live)" |
2000 | Might as Well... Can't Dance | Adeline | "Porch" |
2001 | Down in Front | No Idea | "Beastly Bit (acoustic)", "Reach for the Bottle (live)", "Swan Song (live)" |
2005 | Then Is the New Now | Lookout | "At Your Funeral", "Life During Wartime" |
2006 | Second-Hand Suit Jacket Racket | Lookout | "Letter from an Old Friend" |
Billie Joe Armstrong is an American musician and actor. He is best known for being the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder, and provides lead vocals for Green Day's side projects Foxboro Hot Tubs, the Network, the Longshot and the Coverups. Armstrong has been considered by critics as one of the greatest punk rock guitarists of all time.
Slappy is the second EP by American rock band Green Day. It was released in 1990 through Lookout! Records. Upon its release, several different colors of vinyl were available in limited quantities. Frontman and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong cited the extended play as the one on which Green Day began to find its sound. The dog on the cover was known as Mickey. "Slappy" was a nickname given to him by bassist Mike Dirnt's friend Jason Relva. The EP includes one cover, "Knowledge", which was originally by influential California punk band Operation Ivy. All four tracks were later included on the compilation album 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours in 1991.
1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours is a compilation album comprising early recordings by American rock band Green Day, released October 1, 1991, on Lookout Records. Often erroneously referred to as the band's debut album, the compilation combines the band's actual debut 39/Smooth (1990) and its first two EPs 1,000 Hours (1989) and Slappy (1990), as suggested by the amalgamation of the titles of the debut album and two EPs for the resulting compilation album. The album includes one cover, "Knowledge", which was originally by influential California punk band Operation Ivy, whose singer, Jesse Michaels, contributed the artwork for the album. The cover art features the same image from 39/Smooth.
39/Smooth is the debut studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on April 13, 1990, by Lookout Records. After finalizing their line-up, the band played frequent shows at the 924 Gilman Street venue, where they started attracting a following and eventually caught the attention of Lookout Records' founder Larry Livermore. Following the release of their debut EP 1,000 Hours (1989) and stints in other bands, Green Day went to Art of Ears Studio, located in San Francisco, California, to record their debut studio album, which was co-produced with Andy Ernst. Sessions started at late December 1989 and ended in January 1990, costing $675. 39/Smooth has been tagged as punk rock, pop-punk and skate punk, with comparisons made to the work of older punk bands the Buzzcocks and the Ramones, as well to contemporaries Crimpshrine and the Lookouts. Written mostly by frontman and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, unrequited love and longing for desire served as the main lyrical topics, while reminiscing on youth appeared in two of the songs.
Kerplunk is the second studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on December 17, 1991, by Lookout! Records. Following a US tour promoting their debut studio album 39/Smooth (1990), drummer John Kiffmeyer left to attend college and was replaced by Tré Cool, formerly of the Lookouts. By this stage, Green Day's audience expanded to teenage girls from suburban towns. In May 1991, they decamped to Art of Ears Studios in San Francisco, California, to record their next album with Andy Ernst, who co-produced the sessions with band. Six songs were recorded until the proceedings stopped in order for Green Day to resume touring, returning to the studio in September 1991 to finish the work.
Crimpshrine was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California. The group was formed in 1982 by Aaron Cometbus, founder of the seminal punk rock zine Cometbus, and future Operation Ivy vocalist Jesse Michaels. They grew out of the East Bay scene, centered on 924 Gilman Street, and had an important influence on later East Bay bands such as Operation Ivy, Green Day and punk rock in general.
Aaron Elliott, better known as Aaron Cometbus, is an American musician, author, songwriter, roadie, and magazine editor, best known as the creator of the punk zine Cometbus.
Jason White is an American musician, best known for being the touring guitarist of the rock band Green Day, with whom he has performed since 1999. He has worked with the band in the studio and on tour, and has appeared in various music videos with the band, including "When I Come Around", "Wake Me Up When September Ends", "21 Guns", "Last of the American Girls", "Kill the DJ", "Nuclear Family", "Stay the Night", and "Dilemma". He joined the group in the studio as a session member for the band’s 2012 trilogy, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!. Aside to working with Green Day, he's a member of the punk band Pinhead Gunpowder, which also featured Green Day vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong. White has also been a member of a number of Green Day side projects, including, among others, Foxboro Hot Tubs, The Network, and The Coverups.
Compulsive Disclosure is the second compilation album by the American punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder. It was released on October 21, 2003, through Lookout! Records. The album features songs from the group's eponymously titled 2000 EP, the Dillinger Four / Pinhead Gunpowder split EP, the 8 Chords, 328 Words EP and also features re-recorded versions of the songs "2nd Street" and "At Your Funeral". Compulsive Disclosure was re-released on CD and vinyl through Recess Records on February 12, 2010, with two unreleased tracks, "Salting Agents" and "El Lasso Grappo".
Shoot the Moon is the fourth EP by the American punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder. It was released on March 30, 1999 through Adeline Records. It was re-released on CD and vinyl through Recess Records on February 12, 2010. It was re-leased on vinyl in 2022 by 1, 2, 3, 4 Go! Records.
Goodbye Ellston Avenue is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder. It was released on February 25, 1997, through Lookout! Records. The album was re-released on vinyl and CD through Recess Records.
Carry the Banner is the third EP by the Berkeley, California-based punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder. Originally released on 10" vinyl in December 1994 through Too Many Records, the EP was reissued on CD by Lookout Records shortly after as the initial vinyl pressing sold out quickly. It was the group's first release to feature Jason White on guitar/vocals, replacing Sarah Kirsch, who left the band in 1994. Cometbus revealed this was due to person differences between the two and Kirsch's being busy with several other bands.
Jump Salty is a compilation album by the American punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder. The album collects tracks from the group's first two extended plays, Tründle and Spring and Fahizah, as well as compilation appearances.
Fuel was a short-lived Bay Area post-hardcore musical act that created both personal and political songs, something that was unique during the "first wave" of emo in the 1990s. Fuel had a sound akin to the mostly East Coast bands on Dischord Records, especially Fugazi, with twin guitars and dueling rough post-hardcore vocals. In fact, it is noted that Fuel was often jokingly referred to as "Fuelgazi." Fuel's style resembled the D.C. sound of many Dischord bands.
Fahizah is the second EP by the American punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder. It was released in 1992 through Lookout! Records, their first release for the label.
Tründle and Spring is the debut EP by the American punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder. It was originally released in 1991 through No Reality Records. The EP was later re-released through Duotone Records and Take a Day Records.
Kick Over the Traces is a compilation album by the American punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder. The album contains tracks from Pinhead Gunpowder releases since the band formed in 1990. The album was released through Recess Records on June 16, 2009. The Japanese edition features a second disc recorded live at 924 Gilman Street on February 10, 2008, and features different cover art.
Monsula was an American punk rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States. The band was conceived in 1988 by Pete Zetterberg and Paul Lee in an art class at Benicia High School. With many member changes over the years, they performed regularly at Berkeley's Gilman Street Project and were known for their simple East Bay pop punk style of music. The band played hundreds of live shows throughout North America before disbanding five years later in 1993.
Can of Pork is a compilation album of various punk rock artists. It was released as two 12-inch vinyl records or one CD in April 1992 by Lookout Records. The vinyl version has a booklet of lyrics and photography and the CD version has information on contacting the bands and a detailed description of the compilation's production.
Unt is the second studio album by American punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder. It was released on October 18, 2024 by 1-2-3-4 Go! Records. The album marks the first release from the band in 16 years. It was released on digital, vinyl, compact disc and cassette. The self-titled single for the album was released on flexi-disc.