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Breaking Circus

 
Artist: Breaking Circus
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Breaking Circus

Group Members:

Todd Trainer, Phil Harder, Flour, Steve Bjorklund

Similar Artists:

Arsenal, Jawbox, Naked Raygun

Followers:

Jawbox

Formal Connection With:

Brick Layer Cake, Rifle Sport, Shellac, Big Trouble House, Flour
  • Genres: Rock

Biography

After establishing himself as a key member in the early Chicago punk scene, Steve Bjorklund (Strike Under, Terminal Beach) formed Breaking Circus. Signed to Homestead, Breaking Circus first issued The Very Long Fuse, an eight-song blast of pounding dance beats and scabrous guitars. Around 1986, Bjorklund headed north to Minneapolis, and began using Rifle Sport's rhythm section (bassist Flour and drummer Todd Trainer) during periods of inactivity. Phil Harder later joined as the second guitarist. With more deliberate arrangements, the trio released the Ice Machine LP and the Smokers' Paradise EP in 1987. After breaking the band up in 1988, Bjorklund briefly associated himself with Balloon Guy; Flour went on to record on his own on Touch & Go, while Trainer recorded as Brick Layer Cake and eventually joined the Chicago-based Shellac. Harder formed Big Trouble House.~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Breaking Circus
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Breaking Circus
Origin Chicago, Illinois, USA
Genre(s) Alternative rock
Post-punk
Years active 1984–1988
Label(s) Homestead Records
Associated acts Shellac (band)
Brick Layer Cake
Flour (band)
Rifle Sport
Big Trouble House
Man Sized Action
Former members
Steve Björklund
Peter Conway
Todd Trainer
Phil Harder
Tony Pucci

Breaking Circus was a postpunk band from the 1980s, based in Chicago and later Minneapolis, led by guitarist and vocalist Steve Björklund.

Contents

History

Björklund had earlier been a guitarist and vocalist for Strike Under; after a short stint in Terminal Beach,[1] Breaking Circus was his next project, which initially also included bassist Bruce Lange.[2] Breaking Circus signed to Homestead Records for their first release, The Very Long Fuse (1985), which used the Roland TR-606 drum machine.[2] The EP included the song Marathon, which has been cited as "stuck in several thousand heads" and a "college-radio favorite"[2][3]

In 1986, Björklund moved to Minneapolis and began working with Rifle Sport bassist Pete "Flour" Conway and drummer/guitarist Todd Trainer.[4] In 1986 the band released a song, Driving the Dynamite Truck on the Twin/Tone compilation Big Hits Of Mid-America Volume Four, with a slightly different lineup having Tony Pucci of Man Sized Action in the drummer's chair.[5] Driving the Dynamite Truck was later covered by the band Seam on the Kernel EP.[6] Homestead Records released the band's The Ice Machine LP with the album's credits appearing as a Monopoly-style drinking game insert.

Breaking Circus was joined by second guitarist Phil Harder for a national tour before returning to the studio to record another LP that was to feature four songs by Björklund, four by Flour, and four by Trainer. When the band arrived in the studio, they received word from Homestead that the label would only pay for six of the twelve songs that they had originally planned to record. All four of Björklund's songs and one by each of the other members were released on the EP Smokers' Paradise in 1987.

The band broke up in 1988. Phil Harder became a music video director and went on to form the trio Big Trouble House[7] .[8] Flour recorded four full-length solo albums for Touch and Go Records. Todd Trainer recorded two EPs under the name Brick Layer Cake before joining Shellac. Björklund released a final 7" single of solo electro-pop versions of songs by Naked Raygun and the UK Subs under the name Breaking Circus and was briefly in the band Balloon Guy[9] before moving on to work as a producer.

Discography

Studio albums

See also

References

  1. ^ "Terminal Beach". ChicagoPunk. http://punkdatabase.com/wiki/Terminal_Beach. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  2. ^ a b c Graham Sanford. "Bands You Missed, Vol. 2". Gapers Block: Transmission, a Chicago music site. http://gapersblock.com/transmission/2008/07/11/bands_you_missed_vol_2/. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  3. ^ Hicks, Dillon (June 8, 2005), "How Could You Idiots Forget...?", City Pages, http://www.citypages.com/2005-06-08/news/how-could-you-idiots-forget, retrieved 2008-10-09 
  4. ^ Andy Kellman. "Breaking Circus". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kcz1z8bajyv2~T1. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  5. ^ "Big Hits Of Mid-America Volume Four". Twin/Tone Records. http://www.twintone.com/projects/8681.html. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  6. ^ "Song: Driving the Dynamite Truck". Second Hand Songs. http://www.secondhandsongs.com/song/66794. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  7. ^ Jack Rabid. "Breaking Circus". Trouser Press. http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=breaking_circus. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  8. ^ Scholtes, Peter (2007-08-22), "Seen Your Video", City Pages, http://www.citypages.com/2007-08-22/news/seen-your-video 
  9. ^ Groebner, Simon Peter (February 17, 1997), "Electronic Flashbacks", City Pages, http://www.citypages.com/1997-02-17/news/electronic-flashbacks/, retrieved 2008-10-09 


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Big Trouble House (Rock Band, '80s, '90s)
Drug Testing in the Workplace (1993 Album by Balloon Guy)
Kernel (1992 Album by Seam)

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