Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo remained together for the entire history of the band, while Steve Shelley (drums) followed a series of short-term drummers in 1985, rounding out the core line-up. Jim O'Rourke was also a member of the band from 1999 to 2005, and Mark Ibold was a member from 2006 to 2011.
Robert Bertelli, better known as Bob Bert, is an American rock drummer.
Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured in numerous stage and television shows, such as Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, and is currently headlining in Las Vegas at The Rio. Jillette serves as the act's orator and raconteur.
Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair around 1975, sometime after the family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out-of-tune, distorted guitar. Both Fair brothers sang, although over time Jad moved into the frontman role. As of the last several releases since the 1990s, according to the album and CD credits, the band composes and plays the entirety of the music while Fair, eschewing his role as guitarist from earlier albums, plays almost no guitar but is responsible for the vocals and lyrics, which typically divide into either "love songs or monster songs." The band, still a vital "art punk" unit, has released six albums since 2014 with the same personnel that recorded Hot in 1993. Their last three releases, Why Not?, Invincible and Crazy Hearts have all received four-star reviews from the U.K. magazine, Record Collector, while New Yorker also praised the 2021 release, Crazy Hearts. The band members are John Sluggett (guitar), Gilles-Vincent Rieder (drums), Jason Willett (bass), Mick Hobbs (guitar), and Jad Fair.
Steven Jay Shelley is an American drummer. He is best known as a member of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth.
Pussy Galore was an American garage rock band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1985. They had a constantly fluid line-up until their demise in 1990. They took their name from the character in the James Bond film Goldfinger, and their sound was inspired by The Rolling Stones and Einstürzende Neubauten.
DGC Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, which is owned by the Universal Music Group.
Jad Fair is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.
Life in Exile after Abdication is the second album by Moe Tucker, released in 1989.
The Tinklers are a band from Baltimore who have been together since 1979. The group consists of Charles Brohawn and Chris Mason, both of whom sing, play guitar, and percussion instruments of varying degrees of quality. Both members are also actively engaged in creating art in other mediums including visual art and books. Their music can be characterized as outsider music due to its lack of traditional musical skills and abilities including proficiency at their instruments and the ability to sing in tune. Their performance method and practice eschews conventional standards of skills thought necessary for making music and can be historically placed with other acts such as Jad Fair and Half Japanese, Daniel Johnston, and many more obscure musicians.
Donald Gene Fleming is an American musician and producer. Besides fronting a number of his own bands, Fleming has produced Sonic Youth, Screaming Trees, Teenage Fanclub and Hole.
Julia Cafritz is an American musician and guitarist who was a member of Pussy Galore and Free Kitten. She is regarded as a cult figure from the New York City noise music scene of the 1990s.
Bewitched was a noise rock musical project headed by American percussionist Bob Bert. It was founded in 1986 after Bert had left the band Sonic Youth the previous year. The project began as a solo effort but morphed to incorporate several other musicians, including violinist Donna Croughn of Tiny Lights. The music was noise rock influenced with an emphasis placed on Bert's drumming. It also incorporated turntables courtesy of DJ David Cream of Wheat P, which at the time was innovative.
50 Skidillion Watts, also known as "50,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Watts Records", was the label used by brothers David and Jad Fair of the punk rock band Half Japanese to release their first albums recorded in the late 1970s.
The Honeymoon Killers were an American noise rock band from New York City, formed in 1983. Their name is taken from the 1970 crime film The Honeymoon Killers. The Honeymoon Killers' sound is deeply rooted in the blues earning them comparisons to The Cramps, whose music was highly influential to Teel. The nucleus of the band was Jerry Teel and Lisa Wells, with Sally Edroso serving as the longest standing drummer between 1985 and 1990. The group's rotating line-ups would consist of members belonging to like-minded bands such as Pussy Galore, Boss Hog, Ritual Tension and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Their first three albums were independent releases issued by the band's label Fur Records. The group disbanded in 1994, with its leader Jerry Teel forming The Chrome Cranks with drummer Bob Bert and guitarist William Gilmore Weber.
Luke Wood is a music industry executive, mainly known as the ex-President of both Beats Electronics (2012–2020) and DGC Records (2007–2010). He was also a guitarist for the 1990s alt-rock bands Sammy and Girls Against Boys. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in American Studies in 1991 from Wesleyan University and currently sits on the Board of Trustees.
Action Swingers were an indie rock/garage punk band formed in the late 1980s in New York City, fronted by singer/guitarist Ned Hayden, who was the only constant member. During its history the band featured members of several other bands, both as full members and guest musicians. The band split up in 1998.
The Chrome Cranks are an American punk-styled blues band based in New York City. They were originally formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1988. The core membership consists of singer-guitarist Peter Aaron, guitarist William Gilmore Weber III, drummer Bob Bert, and bassist Jerry Teel.
Uzi was an American alternative rock band, formed in 1984 in Boston, Massachusetts and disbanded in 1987. The band featured Thalia Zedek, Danny Lee (drums), Randy Barnwell, Bob Young (guitar) and Phil Milstein. Never achieving commercial success during their short period of activity, the band gained a cult following, becoming a part of Boston's underground rock scene.
Exile on Main St. is an album by American noise rock band Pussy Galore, released in December 1986 by Shove Records. The album itself is a cover album. The entire project was an attempt at re-interpreting The Rolling Stones' 1972 album Exile on Main St. in its entirety. Its only official release format was the cassette tape, in a limited run of only 550 hand-numbered copies.
