The Jesus Lizard | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Austin, Texas, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1987–1999, 2008–2010, 2017–present |
Labels | Touch and Go, Capitol, Ipecac |
Members | David Yow David Wm. Sims Duane Denison Mac McNeilly |
Past members | Jim Kimball Brendan Murphy |
The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas by vocalist David Yow, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims. They relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1989, where they found kindred spirits in recording engineer Steve Albini and Touch and Go Records. With the addition of drummer Mac McNeilly, they began performing live, eventually attracting an international audience with their powerful live show. [1]
The Jesus Lizard were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground…[who] turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial noise." [2] The albums Goat (1991) and Liar (1992) have since been recognized as two of the most significant noise rock albums of their decade. [3] [4]
Drummer Jim Kimball replaced McNeilly late in 1996, and was himself replaced by Brendan Murphy two years later, with McNeilly returning to drums for their reunion shows years later. Despite releasing a split single with leading alt-rockers Nirvana and signing to Capitol Records, the band failed to find commercial success amid the alternative rock explosion of the 1990s and disbanded in 1999. Their reunion tour ten years later garnered positive responses from audiences and critics. The band performed another reunion tour in 2017 and 2019.
The band began in Austin, Texas, when guitarist Duane Denison asked David Yow, formerly of Scratch Acid, to play bass on some songs he wanted to record. Yow suggested that he sing and have former Scratch Acid bassist David Wm. Sims play bass instead. The resultant group took its name from a common nickname for the basilisk, a type of lizard that can run on water. The trio rehearsed several times in Austin with a drum machine. Yow and Sims moved to Chicago in 1988, and Denison followed the next year.
Their first EP, Pure , was recorded by Albini and released by Touch & Go in 1989. It is the only record by the band that uses a drum machine. Drummer Mac McNeilly, formerly of Phantom 309, was recruited and the band played its first live show on July 1, 1989. Albini recorded the band's next four albums – Head (1990), Goat (1991), Liar (1992), and Down (1994). During this era the group also released a live record, Show , and a split single with Nirvana, Puss/Oh, the Guilt .
The band signed to Capitol Records in 1995, recording the song "Panic in Cicero" for the Clerks soundtrack and making appearances at Lollapalooza shortly thereafter. Impressed by his work on The Melvins' Stoner Witch album, the band hired producer Garth Richardson to record their next record, Shot , the following year. While rumors that Albini refused to work with the band due to their involvement with a major label persisted, both Albini and the group have stated this to be false.[ citation needed ]
McNeilly left the band in late 1996, [5] citing exhaustion from touring and the desire to spend more time with his family. [6] He was replaced by Jim Kimball, of Mule and Denison's side project, The Denison/Kimball Trio.
After more heavy touring the following year, this lineup recorded 1998's self-titled EP, their only record whose title is not a four-letter word, on Jetset Records. The EP featured production and engineering by Andy Gill of Gang of Four, John Cale, and Jim O'Rourke. Later that year, the band released the album Blue , also recorded by Gill. A departure, the record explored their experimental instincts previously hinted at on earlier songs like "Happy Bunny Goes Fluff-Fluff Along" and "White Hole".
In August 1998 Kimball left the group [7] and was replaced by Chicago-based drummer Brendan Murphy, formerly of the Wesley Willis Fiasco. They embarked on several more months of heavy touring, playing the final gig of their initial career at the Umeå Open festival in Umeå, Sweden, on March 27, 1999. After being dropped from Capitol Records mid-contract, the band announced its split the following June.
In 2000, Touch & Go issued Bang , a CD of 7" tracks and rarities. The members remained musically active: Denison began performing with Tomahawk, continued to play with Kimball in The Denison/Kimball Trio, and backed Hank Williams III on tour. In 2006, he also formed U.S.S.A. with bassist Paul Barker (ex-Ministry). McNeilly played drums in P.W. Long's Reelfoot recording "Push Me Again", and continued to play along with his wife in their band Mouse. He recorded with Steve Albini in February 2007 for Denison's Fuzz label mate Greg Garing.
In 2006, Yow and Sims reformed Scratch Acid, along with original members Rey Washam (also of Rapeman, Ministry) and Brett Bradford (also of Sangre de Toro) for the Touch & Go Records 25th Anniversary Festival in Chicago. A week before the Touch & Go Festival, the reunited Scratch Acid played to a sold-out crowd at Emo's in their hometown of Austin. Sims relocated to New York City, began working as an accountant, and maintained his solo project Dangerpuss. Denison relocated to Nashville. Yow moved to Los Angeles, working in graphic design for an advertising agency and joining the band Qui, [8] before pursuing an acting career [9] and briefly joining Flipper on vocals. [10] [11]
The Jesus Lizard reformed in 2008 with McNeilly drumming, and began playing concerts the next year. These shows included appearances at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, and All Tomorrow's Parties music festivals in England and New York. [12] [13] On October 6, all of the band's Touch & Go studio albums were re-released with improved sound and bonus tracks. The albums were remastered by Albini and Bob Weston and packaged with new liner notes and gatefold artwork. [14] Following the tour, the individual members returned to other projects and stated that this run of activity was "probably [their] last." [15]
In August 2011 MVD released Club, a concert DVD and double LP of the band's Nashville performance at Exit/In from the 2009 tour. [16]
In 2013, Yow released Tonight You Look Like a Spider , a solo album that had been in production for almost 15 years on Joyful Noise Recordings. The album was released in a limited edition, where the vinyl album was delivered inside of a concrete monolith, instead of a normal record sleeve. Yow stated that he'd been inspired to do the album by Mike Patton, and described his compositional process by stating, "I rented a saxophone for 2 months, I borrowed some guitars and some drums, I rummaged through the kitchen, I squeezed a fat cat, I poked and prodded and ended up with my very own music." [17]
In October 2013, the Jesus Lizard was set to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties event Release the Bats in Melbourne, Australia. They canceled this show due to 'unforeseen circumstances'. [18] [19]
In September 2017, the band announced their second reunion. [20] The band undertook their first tour in eight years that December. [21] They went on a tour in September 2018 and would play Riot Fest 2018 in Chicago that same month. In June 2024, The Jesus Lizard announced their first album in 26 years, revealing the title to be Rack , simultaneously releasing the first single, "Hide and Seek", to streaming platforms. The album was released on September 13 through Ipecac Recordings. [22]
Jesus Lizard's sound, with its scathing mix of piercing guitar, machine-like drums, propulsive bass guitar, and deranged vocals, has often been classified as noise rock. The band has rejected this label, however, with Mac McNeilly stating that, "I do not think we ever looked at ourselves that way, though. Rather, we were a band that played rock music under the big umbrella of rock." [23] David Yow has described the band's music as "four white guys who liked to play a cross between Led Zeppelin and the Birthday Party." [24]
Duane Denison's playing is influenced by British guitarists such as John McGeoch from Siouxsie and the Banshees and Magazine for his work on Juju in particular, [25] Andy Gill from Gang of Four, Geordie Walker from Killing Joke, Keith Levene from Public Image Ltd, [26] and bands of the US underground scenes like Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, Butthole Surfers and Big Black. [26] Denison said that he wanted to mix "the post-punk, minimalist thing with the more, ... esoteric, porgy vibe." [26]
Albini typically kept vocals "low in the mix," or much less prominent than was typical of rock and roll recordings. In Our Band Could Be Your Life , Michael Azerrad writes that "on the Jesus Lizard albums Albini recorded, singer David Yow sounds like a kidnap victim trying to howl through the duct tape over his mouth; the effect is horrific." [27] David Sprague suggests that "Yow's disjointed couplets" are reminiscent of a "preacher speaking in tongues." [28] Yow doesn't consider himself a singer in the usual sense, but rather, thinks of himself as a vocal stylist. While appreciated as a unique vocalist, Yow was more often cited for his confrontational antics on-stage, often leaping into the crowd or taking off his clothes. He was also known to lick members of the crowd while climbing all over them and sometimes striking up conversation mid-song.
The band have been cited as an influence or as a favorite by acts including Nirvana, [29] [30] OK Go frontman Damian Kulash, [31] Gouge Away, [32] KEN Mode, [33] Bill Kelliher of Mastodon, [34] Whores, [35] Botch, [36] Converge, [37] Brand New, [38] Chat Pile, [39] METZ, [40] Alexis Marshall of Daughters, [41] Sara Lund of Unwound, [42] Jim Suptic of The Get Up Kids, [43] Jawbreaker, [44] Johnny Temple of Girls Against Boys, [45] Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit, [46] Red Fang, [47] [48] Joe Lally of Fugazi, [49] Henry Rollins, [49] Helmet, [50] [51] and Lydia Lunch. [52]
Albini described them as "the best band of the 90s, hands down ... They were a great band and they changed music for the better. Their music was more rigorous and more adventurous than all their peers, and they worked their asses off." [53] However, he criticized their decision to sign to Capitol, a major label, saying it doomed them to "become a third-string act for a big corporation that didn't give a shit about them or their audience". [54]
Current members
Former members
Albums [55]
Year | Album | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Down | UK Albums | 64 |
1996 | Shot | US Heatseekers | 28 |
Singles
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | "Puss/Oh, the Guilt" (split single with Nirvana) | UK Singles Chart [56] | 12 |
Rapeman was an American noise rock band founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1989. It consisted of Steve Albini on guitar and vocals, David Wm. Sims on bass and Rey Washam on drums. In the years since their brief tenure, Rapeman’s sound has also been described as post-hardcore.
Urge Overkill is an American alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, consisting of Nathan Kaatrud, who took the stage name Nash Kato (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser. They are widely known for their song "Sister Havana" and their cover of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon", which was used in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Oui, their latest album, was released in 2022.
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded first as a solo project by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band became a trio with an initial lineup that included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun. In 1985, Pezzati was replaced by Dave Riley, who played on Big Black's two full-length studio albums, Atomizer (1986) and Songs About Fucking (1987).
Duane Denison is an American guitarist best known for work with the punk rock band The Jesus Lizard. He is also a founding member of super-group Tomahawk.
David Lambeth Yow is an American musician and actor born in Las Vegas, Nevada and best known as the vocalist for the noise rock bands Scratch Acid and the Jesus Lizard. Yow's debut solo album, Tonight You Look Like a Spider, was released in June 2013 on Joyful Noise Records.
"Puss"/"Oh, the Guilt" is a split single, released as a double a-side, from the American rock bands the Jesus Lizard and Nirvana, released via Touch and Go Records.
Tomahawk is the debut studio album by American experimental rock band Tomahawk. Recorded after a meeting between vocalist Mike Patton and guitarist Duane Denison, the album features members of Faith No More, The Jesus Lizard, Helmet and Melvins. The band toured with Tool in support of the record.
Head is the debut studio album by the American band the Jesus Lizard. It was released on Touch and Go Records in 1990. It was their first album to feature a drummer, Mac McNeilly.
Scratch Acid was an American post-hardcore/noise rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 1982. One of the pioneers of noise rock in the 1980s, the band is best remembered as a stepping stone for its frontman David Yow, and bass player David Wm. Sims, both later of The Jesus Lizard.
Pure is the debut EP by The Jesus Lizard, released in 1989. The cover artwork was by bassist David Wm. Sims. This is the only record by the Jesus Lizard recorded with a drum machine. Drummer Mac McNeilly was added to the group soon after it was recorded.
Goat is the second studio album by the Jesus Lizard, released in 1991. The album was produced by Steve Albini.
Laughing Hyenas was an American post-hardcore band from Ann Arbor, Michigan, that existed from 1985 to 1995, fronted by Negative Approach vocalist John Brannon. According to AllMusic, "At first, the band specialized in dirges overlaid with the tortuous, throat-shredding vocals of frontman John Brannon. As time passed, their blues connections became more and more explicit". Though they played with many of the era's most notable acts, including Mudhoney, Dinosaur Jr., and Sonic Youth the band failed to achieve any level of commercial success, breaking up in the mid-90s due to personal issues.
Shot is an album by the band The Jesus Lizard, its first release on Capitol Records. Some copies of the album were accompanied by a documentary titled "Sho(r)t".
Down is an album by the Chicago band The Jesus Lizard. It was their last album for Touch and Go records and the last to be produced by Steve Albini.
Britt Walford is an American musician best known for being the drummer, co-founder, and occasional guitarist for the post-rock band Slint.
Blue is the sixth studio album by The Jesus Lizard, released in 1998. Produced by Andy Gill, it is something of a departure for The Jesus Lizard, exploring some of the more experimental instincts hinted at on earlier songs like "Happy Bunny Goes Fluff-Fluff Along" on Pure. It is one of only two releases by the band to feature new drummer Jim Kimball, the other being the self-titled EP released two months prior. A limited edition vinyl pressing was released on Jetset Records on April 21, 1998. The album was released in Canada only by Sonic Unyon Records under license from Capitol Records in the USA after EMI Canada passed on releasing the album.
Mule was an American punk blues band from Michigan, active in the early 1990s. Formed by former members of Wig and Laughing Hyenas, their music incorporated elements of hardcore punk, blues-rock, and country music.
The Denison/Kimball Trio were a musical duo consisting of American guitarist Duane Denison and American drummer Jim Kimball. Their music was completely instrumental and heavily influenced by jazz, the avant-garde and movie scores. The group's debut album was the soundtrack to Walls in the City, a short film directed by independent filmmaker Jim Sikora and featuring Jesus Lizard front-man David Yow in a bit role. The band's name was changed to DK3 with the release of their third album Neutrons, which included Ken Vandermark on reeds. The members parted ways in 1999 to pursue other interests, with Denison touring for Hank Williams III and forming Tomahawk in 2000.
"Mouth Breather" is a 1990 song by American rock band The Jesus Lizard from the album Goat. It was revealed in the documentary Breadcrumb Trail that the song was based on Steve Albini's opinion of Slint drummer Britt Walford, after Walford had house sat for him.
Rack is the seventh studio album by American rock band the Jesus Lizard, which was released on September 13, 2024, on Ipecac Recordings. It is the first studio release by the band in 26 years since Blue (1998). The record was praised by music critics upon release.
I choose the Juju album by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The guitar work of the late John McGeoch was already burned into my head from his days with Magazine. His playing was atmospheric and aggressive, and combining it with the Budgie/Severin rhythm section made this album truly inspiring to me.
Then the next wave, when you had, say, Andy Gill from Gang of Four, Geordie Walker from Killing Joke, Keith Levene from Public Image Ltd, John McGeoch from Magazine & Siouxsie and the Banshees. That's when it got good. [...] then in America, the underground scenes started coming up with Black Flag and Hüsker Dü and Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers, Big Black, Naked Raygun and Scratch Acid. And I said, 'Okay, now I see where I belong'. [...] Mixing the post-punk, minimalist thing with the more, shall we say, esoteric, porgy vibe, and that's where I'm coming from.
We all have pretty different influences, which we try to bring together. Collectively, we are influenced by the Jesus Lizard.
Anyway… bands that have always been at the core of our sound include the Melvins, Dazzling Killmen, Today is the Day, Drive Like Jehu, Kittens, the Jesus Lizard, Zeni Geva, Unsane, TAD, Black Flag, Bad Brains, etc.
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