Pussy Galore (band)
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(July 2008) |
Pussy Galore | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Washington, D.C. |
| Genres | Garage rock,noise rock,punk blues,garage punk |
| Years active | 1985–1990 |
| Labels | Caroline,Product Inc., Supernatural Organization,Rough Trade,Matador,Mute,In the Red |
| Past members | Bob Bert Julia Cafritz Neil Michael Hagerty John Hammill Cristina Martinez Jon Spencer Kurt Wolf |
Pussy Galorewas an Americangarage rockband formed by students atBrown Universityin 1984. They had a constantly fluid line-up until their demise in 1990, with vocalist-guitaristJon Spenceras the sole member through the band's history. They took their name from thecharacterin theJames BondfilmGoldfinger,and their sound was an irreverent experimentalblues rockinfluenced byThe Rolling StonesandEinstürzende Neubauten.[1]
History
[edit]The band's earliest incarnation consisted of guitarist and vocalistJon Spencer,guitarist and occasional vocalistJulia Cafritzand drummer John Hammill, though this line-up both changed and expanded in later years. Spencer and Cafritz were both students at Ivy League college Brown when the band formed in 1984. Following the self-released 7 "Feel Good About Your Body,they added guitaristNeil Hagerty.The new line-up recorded theEPGroovy Hate Fuck.This EP, like all of their early releases, would be self-released on their own Shove Records label. After the band moved to New York City after graduation from Brown, they further expanded the line-up by taking on then 16-year-oldCristina Martinezas a guitarist. Martinez was not a musician and had simply taken the photograph for the 7 ". The band also replaced Hammill with formerSonic YouthdrummerBob Bert.Then, on a dare from Sonic Youth, they released a limited-editioncassette[2][3]cover albumofthe Rolling Stones'Exile on Main St.They followed this up in January 1987 with another self-released mini-set,Pussy Gold 5000.Shortly after this, Martinez left the band and formedBoss Hogwith Spencer a few years later.
In September 1987, Pussy Galore recorded their debut album and their first recording for another label,Right Now!,onCaroline Records.Shortly following the release ofRight Now!,Hagerty left the band and was replaced by Kurt Wolf, but he was to return to the Pussy Galore line-up following the release of theSugarshit SharpEP with Wolf leaving to join Loudspeaker.Sugarshit Sharpis probably best known for the garage rock interpretation ofEinstürzende Neubauten's industrial/dance classic from the mid-1980s "Yu-Gung". Pussy Galore used sampling in their music, drawing short samples from both the original track and thePublic Enemyrap classic "Don't Believe The Hype".F.M. Einheit,a member of Neubauten, was said to have been quite impressed with the cover version.[4]The EP also introduced Pussy Galore's new logo, which consisted of Neubauten's "Yu-Gung Man" emblem with a grainy, almost indecipherable photocopy of the Rolling Stones' trademark lips-and-tongue image superimposed over its head.
Their second full-length set,Dial 'M' for Motherfucker,was released in 1989 and continued their formula ofnihilisticguitar noise and punk rock provocation, with additional studio trickery filling out the material. Originally intended to be titledMake Them All Eat Shit Slowly,the name of the album was ultimately vetoed by Caroline Records. The album is sometimes wrongly referred to asNew Album By Pussy Galore.This is largely due to the fact that the cover of the album has no text except for a sticker that appeared on the plastic shrink wrapping that bears those words.Dial Mrepresents a move away from a simple noise formula to something more experimental. It is, for example, difficult to determine where some songs begin and end. Many sequences on the album appear to run in reverse, sometimes mid-song, seemingly for no apparent reason. Cafritz appears on some of this album but not the entirety.Dial Mmarks a point at which Cafritz and the band began fighting, ultimately leading to her leaving the band.[citation needed]
They released a split single in 1989, a cover ofBlack Flag's "Damaged II" withTadcovering "Damaged I" on the other side, forSub Pop Recordsand another split single with Black Snakes for the Japanese indie label Supernatural Organization.
By now, Cafritz had quit the line-up. The trio of Spencer, Hagerty and Bert released one final album in 1990 calledHistoria de la Musica Rockfor Caroline Records before calling it a day the same year. The album cover ofHistoriawas a parody of a music compilation vinyl series from Spain calledHistoria de la Música Rock.
Aftermath
[edit]Spencer co-foundedBoss Hogwith former Pussy Galore guitarist Cristina Martinez in the late 1980s just prior to the dissolution of Pussy Galore itself. Spencer and Martinez had married in 1989 (and are still married today). He also went on to form the Blues Explosion. Neil Hagerty continued his 'noise-terrorist' career with his girlfriend, Jennifer Herrema, inblues-rockduoRoyal Trux,which the pair had formed inChicagoduring 1987. Cafritz and Bert joined forces briefly in the early 1990s to release a self-titled album under the nameAction Swingers.
Two years after the breakup, their CD compilationCorpse Love: The First Yearwas released. It included four tracks from theExile On Main Streetcassette, as well as some previously released early material, including short interviews.
Discography
[edit]Cassettes
[edit]- Exile on Main StCassette (1986, Shove) (limited edition of 550 copies; four tracks from this appear on theCorpse LoveCD)http://www.xtrmntr.com/pg/exile/
Albums
[edit]- Right Now!LP (1987, Caroline; reissued 1998Matador Records/Mute Records)
- Dial 'M' for Motherfucker(a.k.a.Make Them All Eat Shit Slowly,a.k.a.New Album by Pussy Galore) LP (1989, Caroline; CD version contained five of the six tracks fromSugarshit Sharp,with a cover of Devo's "Penetration in the Centerfold" replacing "Yu-Gung"; reissued 1998 Matador Records/Mute Records with original vinyl contents only)
- Historia de la Musica RockLP (1990, Caroline)
EPs
[edit]- Feel Good About Your Body7 ", 1985
- Groovy Hate FuckEP (1986, Shove)
- Pussy Gold 5000EP (1986, Shove)
- Sugarshit SharpEP (1988, Caroline; reissued 1998 Matador Records/Mute Records with bonus track "Penetration in the Centerfold" )
Compilations & live albums
[edit]- 1 Yr LiveCS (1986, Shove)
- Groovy Hate Fuck (Feel Good About Your Body)LP (1987, Vinyl Drip) (UK collection of early releases)
- Corpse Love: The First YearCD (1992, Caroline)
- Live: In the RedLP last live show, recorded atCBGBs(1998,In the Red)
Videos
[edit]- Maximum PenetrationVHS (1987, Atavistic Video)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Du Noyer, Paul (2003).The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music(1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 105.ISBN1-904041-96-5.
- ^Earles, Andrew (15 September 2014)."Pussy Galore:Dial M for Motherfucker".Gimme Indie Rock.Minneapolis:Voyageur Press.p. 248.ISBN9781627883795.RetrievedDecember 28,2016– via Google Books.
- ^Eddy, Chuck (December 2009)."Essentials: A Noisy, Filthy, Sarcastic Grunt, Pigf--k Set the Stage for Flannel's Fury".Spin.RetrievedDecember 28,2016– via Google Books.
- ^F.M. EinheitInterview on CBC Radio's Brave New Waves (circa 1990)
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- Punk rock groups from Washington, D.C.
- American garage punk groups
- Musical groups established in 1985
- Musical groups disestablished in 1990
- Caroline Records artists
- Rough Trade Records artists
- Matador Records artists
- Mute Records artists
- American garage rock groups
- In the Red artists
- 1985 establishments in Washington, D.C.