Killdozer (band)
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Killdozer was the name of a band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1983, with members Bill Hobson, Dan Hobson and Michael Gerald. They took their name from the 1974 TV movie, directed by Jerry London, itself based on a Theodore Sturgeon short story. They released their first album, Intellectuals are the Shoeshine Boys of the Ruling Elite, in the same year. The band split in 1990 but reformed in 1993, losing Bill Hobson and gaining Paul Zagoras, and continued until they split up in 1996. Their farewell tour was officially titled "Fuck You, We Quit!". The band released 9 albums, including a post-breakup live CD, The Last Waltz, released in 1997.
Killdozer was notable for its unusual song structures, and its humorous but dead-pan lyrics growled (with dead-serious earnestness) by singer Michael Gerald at the top of his lungs. Many of the lyrics dealt with disturbing narratives from small-town USA or had a jaded, left wing political content. Killdozer is regarded by many to have set the foundation for grunge music, in spite of that genre's association with the city of Seattle.[1]
The band also became famous for its uproarious cover songs, a memorable example being Don McLean's "American Pie". A version exists on their 1989 all-covers album For Ladies Only. Gerald also did a memorable cover of Jessi Colter's "I'm Not Lisa" for the band's 1986 EP Burl, dedicated "in loving memory of" the still-living-at-the-time Burl Ives. The EP in its entirety can be found on the CD version of their 1994 album Uncompromising War on Art Under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
The band recorded under the Touch and Go Records label during the 1980s and they often toured with or played alongside stablemates such as Butthole Surfers, Scratch Acid and Big Black. The band frequently recorded with producer and fellow Madisonian Butch Vig. Steve Albini, who recorded Killdozer's 1995 album God Hears Pleas of the Innocent, has on many occasions cited Killdozer as a band who reach his exacting standards.[citation needed] Twelve Point Buck was the album that brought Butch Vig to the attention of Kurt Cobain and Billy Corgan. [2]
Killdozer played with all original members at Touch and Go Records' 25th anniversary celebration in Chicago, Illinois on September 9, 2006.[1] To promote the event, flyers declared "Fuck You, We Reunite!", harkening back to the name of their farewell tour ("Fuck You, We Quit!).
Dan Hobson remains active in the Madison, WI music scene, playing in several bands including Cement Pond with Timothy Beach Sullivan (DIN #4), Stephen G. Burke on guitar and vocals, and Gordon Ranney on bass and vocals (both of The Gomers[3]. The group has released one full length album entitled "Vanilla Guerilla" on the independent Corporate Hell Inc. record label in 2005. Michael Gerald is an attorney in Los Angeles, California. Bill Hobson is a grip in Los Angeles, California.
Discography
Albums
- The Last Waltz (1997 on the Man's Ruin Records label, re-released in 2006 on the Crustacean Records label)
- God Hears The Pleas Of The Innocent (1995)
- Uncompromising War on Art Under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat (1994)
- Twelve Point Buck (1989)
- For Ladies Only (1988)
- Little Baby Buntin' (1988)
- Burl EP (1986)
- Snake Boy (1985)
- Intellectuals are the Shoeshine Boys of the Ruling Elite (1984)
Singles
- Go Big Red ("Sonnet '96" b/w "I Saw The Light") (1996 on -ismist Recordings)
- Michael Gerald's Party Machine Presents! Collaboration with Alice Donut (1996)
- We Will Crush You 10" Collaboration with Ritual Device (1995 on Man's Ruin Records label)
- "The Pig Was Cool" b/w "Unbelievable" (1993)
- "Her Mother's Sorrow" b/w "Short Eyes" (1989 on the Amphetamine Reptile Records label)
- Yow! ("Lupus" b/w "Nasty") (1989)
External links
- Southern Records Killdozer site, including discography
- Renaldo Larue's Killdozer site, includes complete discography
- Mark Prindle's Killdozer record review site, a critical look back at all of Killdozer's releases
- Live 2006 performance at Touch & Go Record's 25th Anniversary
- Myspace page devoted to Killdozer
- Killdozer's 1988 European Tour Diary originally published in Your Flesh Magazine