Melvins
Melvins | |
|---|---|
| File:Grimmmelvins.jpg Coady Willis, King Buzzo, Jared Warren, Dale Crover | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Montesano, Washington |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Members | Buzz Osborne Dale Crover |
| Website | official website |
The Melvins are an American Doom Metal/Stoner Metal/Post-Punk band and usually play as a trio. Singer/guitarist Buzz Osborne (aka "King Buzzo") and drummer Dale Crover are constant members, but several bass guitarists have been through the group. The band was named after a grocery clerk at the Thriftway in Montesano, Washington where Osborne served as clerk (and vandal). Melvin was the most-hated fellow employee and the band's members felt it to be an appropriately ridiculous name.
The Melvins' music is influenced by Black Flag's My War era punk, slow rock acts like and Flipper and The Swans, and, notably Black Sabbath-style metal, but their idiosyncratic approach, bizarre sense of humor, and experimentation make neat categorization difficult. The Melvins often favor very slow tempos, and their sludgey sound was a strong influence on grunge music, especially Nirvana and many other bands from Seattle. Their protegés, however, tended to use more conventional musical structures with this sound. The Melvins have influenced many doom metal bands, most explicitly Boris, who took their name from one of The Melvins' songs.
Though the group has received mostly positive critical notice, Crover's drumming has been especially praised; Patrick Kennedy describes his work as "astonishing, powerful, and daring."[1]
While never finding and probably never even seeking great mainstream success, The Melvins maintain an impressive schedule of new albums and tours, including two releases with former Dead Kennedys front man Jello Biafra, and have a dedicated cult following. The band has been colloquially known as "Jelvins" during Biafra's current tenure with the band. In appreciation of their devoted fans, The Melvins have released various collectables through the years that have included two-headed dolls, an eight track tape, a plastic fetus in a jar, and a myriad of various posters, t-shirts and one off fanzines.
History
The Melvins were formed in the early 1980s by Buzz Osborne (guitar/vocals), Matt Lukin (bass) and Mike Dillard (drums) who all went to High School in Montesano, Washington. In the beginning they played The Who and Jimi Hendrix covers and began playing fast hardcore punk. When Dillard left the band Dale Crover joined and the band's rehearsals moved to a back room of Crover's parents house in Aberdeen, Washington. It was soon afterwards that they started to play songs slower and "heavier" than nearly anyone else at the time.
In 1985 C/Z Records was created to document the Washington music scene, the label released Deep Six, featuring four songs by The Melvins. On February 8, 1986 a live two track recording sesion at Ironwood Studios resulted in the bands debut, the Six Songs EP, released on C/Z Records (later rereleased as 8 Songs, 10 Songs and as 26 Songs in 2003 on Ipecac Recordings).
In December of 1986 they recorded their first full album Gluey Porch Treatments, at Studio D in Sausalito, California, released in 1987 on Alchemy Records (later rereleased as a bonus on the CD version of their second album Ozma on Boner Records and in 1999 on Ipecac Recordings with some garage demos).
Osborne and Crover relocated to San Francisco, California in 1988. Lukin stayed in Washington and formed the grunge band Mudhoney. Lori Black (a.k.a. "Lorax"), daughter of Shirley Temple, replaced Lukin on bass. The band recorded their next album, Ozma, in May 1989, and it came out later that year. The album was produced by Mark Deutrom, who later joined the band on bass.
After finishing the work on the Bullhead album, the band toured Europe. Their January 23, 1991 show in Alzey, Germany was released as Your Choice Live Series Vol.12, without the song It's Shoved that appeared on the It's Your Choice compilation. When they returned they recorded their next album, Eggnog, that was released the same year on Boner Records.
Lori Black left the band and was replaced by Joe Preston. Preston appears on the Salad Of A Thousand Delights (1992, Box Dog Video), he had his own Melvins "solo" EP (King Buzzo, Dale Crover and Joe Preston all 1992 Boner Records). After the 1992 album Lysol (later renamed to Melvins because the name lysol was used without permission) Preston departed from the band.
Lorax rejoined the band for their first major label recording, 1993's Houdini on Atlantic Records. Mark Deutrom replaced Lorax on bass shortly after the albums release.
The Melvins released two albums in 1994, Stoner Witch (Atlantic Records) and Prick (Amphetamine Reptile Records, under the name SNIVLEM). Stag was released in 1996. The band were dropped by Atlantic Records in 1997.
Returning to Amphetamine Reptile Records, the band released their Honky album the same year and released a live show from August 1997 in Richmond, Melbourne Australia as Alive At The F*ckerclub in 1998.
1999 saw the beginning of a partnership with Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings, which, in addition to releasing new Melvins albums, began remastering and reissuing much of The Melvins' discography. The Crybaby, their third Ipecac release in a trilogy, saw a number of singers and admirers guesting on most songs; an unexpected highlight was an oddly touching rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", sung by 1970s teen idol Leif Garrett. Kevin Rutmanis, formerly of The Cows, was bassist during this era.
Examples of The Melvins' experimentalist tendencies include Colossus of Destiny, a live set of synthesizer and sampler experimentation presented as two long tracks, and described approvingly by one critic as "more like avant-garde electro-acoustic than anything else." [2] Other examples of their warped humor include their album and song titles, as well as their candor at live performances. Live antics include King Buzzo asking the crowd at a concert the question "Were you guys as surprised as I was to find out Rob Zombie was gay?".
In 2003 Atlantic Records (UK) released Melvinmania: The Best Of The Atlantic Years 1993-1996, a compilation of recycled tracks from the band's three major label releases (with at times amazingly incorrect liner notes). This release was unsanctioned by the band who had no input into the track selection or liner notes.
In 2004, Osborne and Crover toured to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band, and also released an art book Neither Here Nor There. The book is a collection of art by creators of their cover art as well as friends of the band, and also contained retrospectives on the past twenty years of The Melvins. The book included a CD with selected tracks from their albums.
Also in 2004 The Melvins have collaborated with ambient artist Lustmord for Pigs of the Roman Empire and with Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra for Never Breathe What You Can't See and Sieg Howdy! released in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Never Breathe What You Can't See was supported by a mini-tour with Jello Biafra and Adam Jones from Tool. A planned European tour was canceled in early October 2004, reportedly due to unknown complications involving Rutmanis. Following the tour cancellation, The Melvins finished the year playing a few shows supporting the work of filmmaker Cameron Jamie in Europe and the United States.
When asked about Rutmanis and the canceled portion of the tour, Osborne and Crover stated that Rutmanis had "disappeared". Fans feared that Rutmanis had departed like so many bassists before him; however, Rutmanis returned temporarily in early 2005. In June of 2005, Rutmanis officially left the band with his 'drug abuse' being cited as the major cause. When Melvins toured with Jello Biafra in October and November of 2005, David Scott Stone filled in on bass.
In early 2006, Crover confirmed rumors of the members of Big Business joining The Melvins. Commenting on adding another drummer, Crover said this about Coady Willis: "He's left handed, so we want to do this 'mirror image' type of thing. We've kind of fused our two drum sets together, and we're going to try and do some crazy thing with it. We're sharing these big toms in between us."
A tour of the United States is planned for the fall of 2006, and a new album titled "A Senile Animal" is expected in October of 2006. [3]
The Nirvana Connection
Fellow Aberdeen resident Kurt Cobain (a good friend of Crover) was a huge Melvins fan and helped them transport their equipment to a few shows. Cobain also auditioned to join the band on guitar, but he didn't make it because he reportedly was so nervous that he forgot all the songs. Cobain kept his relations with the band and later helped produce parts of their major label debut, Houdini.
In late 1985 Crover co-founded the band Fecal Matter with Cobain and Greg Hokanson.
Crover helped out on drums when Nirvana recorded a ten song demo on January 23, 1988 at the Reciprocal Recording Studios in Seattle, Washington, and played a live show in Tacoma, Washington later that day.
In 1990, when Nirvana was without a drummer, and Crover helped out by playing on a brief west coast tour with Sonic Youth. Osborne gave Dave Grohl from Scream the phone number of Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic; Grohl later became Nirvana's full-time drummer.
When Nirvana's Nevermind became a massive, unexpected success, The Melvins were one of many groups to benefit from Nirvana's support. Cobain, who used his own success increase awareness of his favorite bands, lauded the group in interviews, leading to their signing with Atlantic.
Members
Also known as "King Buzzo". Plays guitar in Fantômas and Venomous Concept. Played second guitar on Tool's cover of Peach's You Lied on the Salival album, not on the No Quarter (Led Zeppelin) cover as the booklet erroneously credits.
Famous for helping out Nirvana on drums. He also was a founding member of Kurt Cobain's first band, Fecal Matter. He sings and plays guitar in the band Altamont and he is the current drummer for The Men of Porn.
Additional touring musicians
- Coady Willis - Drums
- Jared Warren - Bass guitar
- David Scott Stone - Second guitar, Bass guitar
- Adam Jones - Second guitar
- Trevor Dunn - Bass guitar
- Jello Biafra - Vocals (when touring to support their collaborations)
Former members
- Mike Dillard - Drums (early 1980s-1984)
- Matt Lukin - Bass guitar (early 1980s-1987)
- Lori Black - Bass guitar (1987-1991, 1993)
- Joe Preston - Bass guitar (1991-1992)
- Mark Deutrom - Bass guitar (1993-1998)
- Kevin Rutmanis - Bass guitar (1998-2005)
Discography
Note that The Melvins' discography contains many items that are limited to a few copies and are not represented here.
Albums/EPs
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Singles
Various artists/Sampler/Soundtracks
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | Catalog Number |
 |
September 1, 1985 | Deep Six various artists | C/Z Records | CZ001 |
| 1989 | Peace Through Chemistry various artists | Alchemy Records | ||
| 1990 | Dope Guns And Fucking In The Streets Volumes 4-7 various artists | Amphetamine Reptile Records | AmRep 008 | |
| 1991 | It's Your Choice various artists | Your Choice Records | YC-LS 013 | |
| 1991 | Kill Rock Stars various artists | Kill Rock Stars | KRS 201 | |
| 1992 | Hard To Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation various artists | C/Z Records | CZ024 | |
| 1992 | International Pop Underground Convention various artists | K Records | KLP11 | |
| 1993 | Advanced Alternative Media Vol.1 various artists | Advanced Alternative Media | ||
| 1993 | Gimme Indie Rock Vol.1 various artists | K-Tel Records | 6453 | |
| 1993 | CMJ New Music No. 3 various artists | CMJ | CMJOCT93 | |
| 1994 | 13 Years of Losing Money various artists | Gasatanka | ||
| 1994 | Tales From The Crypt Presents: Demon Knight various artists | Atlantic Records | 82725-2 | |
| 1995 | AmRep Motors 1995 Models various artists | Amphetamine Reptile Records | ||
| 1996 | A Small Circle Of Friends various artists | Grass Records | ||
| 1997 | Mind The Gap Volume 14 various artists | Gonzo Circus | GC020 | |
| 1997 | Alternative Distribution Alliance Monthly Sampler various artists | Alternative Distribution Alliance | ||
| 1998 | Great Jewish Music: Marc Bolan various artists | Tzadik Records | TZ 7126 | |
| 1999 | Mind The Gap Volume 27 various artists | Gonzo Circus | GC033 | |
| 1999 | Cinema Beer Belly various artists | Hopeless Records | CD and DVD | |
| 2000 | Runnin' On Fumes! various artists | Gearhead | ||
| 2000 | Terror Firmer (soundtrack) various artists | Go-Kart Records | ||
| 2000 | Live @ Bob's Garage Vol. 1 various artists | KISW | ||
| 2006 | Suicide Squeeze: Slaying Since 1996 various artists | Suicide Squeeze Records | ||
| 2006 | Sleepless In Seattle: The Birth Of GRUNGE various artists | LiveWire Recordings | LWR-1012 |
References
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas & Prato, Greg. "Melvins". All Music Guide. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
- Press release. "THE MELVINS To Release 'A Senile Animal' In October - July 18, 2006". "Blabbermouth.net". Retrieved July 20, 2006.