Pussy Galore
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Pussy Galore
- Genres: Rock
Biography
Pussy Galore didn't invent noise rock, but they did change the way many musicians approached the notion of transforming chaotic noise into music. Early on, most bands that embraced noise as an aesthetic either had an arty world-view, a philosophical axe to grind, or some combination of the two. Pussy Galore, on the other hand, simply embraced godawful racket for the hell of it, laying out willfully primitive and technically ragged music drawn from '60s garage punk, gutbucket blues, and several generations of attitudinal and misbehaving rockers (most notably the Rolling Stones), all wrapped up in a simple but aggressive agenda of annoying anyone within earshot, even those who had sympathy for their approach.Pussy Galore were formed in 1985 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist and guitarist Jon Spencer, vocalist and guitarist Julia Cafritz, and drummer John Hammill; they also frequently included additional percussionists who would bang on pieces of metal. In the interest of greater ear-splitting chaos, the band did without a bassist, and a few months after forming they booked time in a tiny recording studio to cut their debut 7", an EP called Feel Good About Your Body, which was released on the trio's own Shove Records label in January 1986. A few months later, Pussy Galore were back with a 12" EP, Groovy Hate Fuck, which introduced the band's third guitarist, Neil Hagerty. Groovy Hate Fuck's cover photo was snapped by a young photographer named Cristina Martinez, who caught Spencer's eye and would soon join the lineup on guitar and organ, despite her lack of musical experience (something that didn't burden most of the members of the group).
Between their frantic, noisy attack and song titles like "Teen Pussy Power," "You Look Like a Jew," and "Fuck You, Ian MacKaye," it didn't take long for Pussy Galore to get noticed, and after thoroughly polarizing the D.C. music community, the band relocated to New York City in search of a larger audience. Drummer Hammill opted to stay behind, and former Sonic Youth timekeeper Bob Bert joined the group in his place. When a rumor began to circulate that Sonic Youth were working on an album in which they would cover the Beatles' White Album song by song (a rumor that proved to be false), Pussy Galore decided to create their own preemptive response, cutting a jagged, lo-fi reinterpretation of the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. that was issued on a limited-edition cassette; the release earned Pussy Galore a great deal of press attention, even though they only produced 550 copies of the tape.
Independent New York label Buy Our Records teamed up with Pussy Galore for their next release, the EP Pussy Gold 5000, which arrived in stores in early 1987. Pussy Galore soon headed to Chicago to record their first proper album with fellow curmudgeon Steve Albini at the controls, and Pussy Galore, Right Now! was issued by Caroline Records in September 1987. Neil Hagerty sat out the sessions for the 1988 EP Sugarshit Sharp, as did Cristina Martinez, but Hagerty was back (along with additional guitarist Kurt Wolf) for 1989's Dial 'M' for Motherfucker. However, the band was starting to run out of steam, with Julia Cafritz dropping out prior to the recording of 1990's Historia de la Musica Rock, and not long after the album was released, Pussy Galore finally broke up.
Given Pussy Galore's busy and often contentious existence, most of the bandmembers went on to surprisingly successful careers in the wake of the band's breakup. Jon Spencer would, of course, front the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and formed Boss Hog with Cristina Martinez, who had become his wife. Julia Cafritz would go on to perform with the bands Guv'ner and Action Swingers, and would perform in Kim Gordon's side project Free Kitten. And Michael Hagerty (also billing himself as Neil Michael Hagerty) would record with Royal Trux, Weird War, and Howling Hex, as well as cutting several solo albums. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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Pussy Galore (band)
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| Pussy Galore | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Genres | Garage rock, noise rock, punk blues |
| Years active | 1985–1990 |
| Labels | Caroline, Matador, In the Red |
| Associated acts | Boss Hog, Royal Trux, Sonic Youth, Blues Explosion, Heavy Trash, Chrome Cranks, Bewitched |
| Past members | |
| Jon Spencer Cristina Martinez Julia Cafritz Neil Michael Hagerty John Hammill Bob Bert Kurt Wolf |
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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. Like many garage rock outfits, they were dogged by substance abuse problems. They took their name from the character in the James Bond film, Goldfinger, and their sound was inspired by The Velvet Underground and the New York Dolls.[1]
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Contents
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History
The band's earliest incarnation consisted of guitarist and vocalist Jon Spencer, guitarist and occasional vocalist Julia Cafritz and drummer John Hammill, though this line-up would be subject to both change and expansion in later years. Following the self released 7" Feel Good About Your Body, they added guitarist Neil Hagerty, and replaced Hammill with former Sonic Youth drummer Bob Bert after the band moved to New York City. They further expanded the line-up by taking on then 16-year-old Cristina Martinez as a guitarist. Martinez was not a musician and had simply taken the photograph for the 7". The new lineup recorded the EP Groovy Hate Fuck. The EP, like all of their early releases, would be self-released on their own Shove Records label. They subsequently left for New York where they released a limited-edition cassette-only cover album of the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. They followed this up in January 1987 with another self-released mini-set Pussy Gold 5000. Shortly after this Martinez left the band and formed Boss Hog a few years later.
In September 1987, Pussy Galore recorded their debut album and their first recording for another label, Right Now! on Caroline Records. Shortly following the release of Right 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 the Sugarshit Sharp EP with Wolf leaving to join Loudspeaker. Sugarshit Sharp is probably best known for the garage rock interpretation of Einstürzende 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 the Public Enemy rap classic, Don't Believe The Hype. F.M. Einheit, a member of Neubauten, was said to have been quite impressed with the cover version.[2] 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 of nihilistic guitar noise and punk rock provocation, with additional studio trickery filling out the material. Originally intended to be titled Make Them All Eat Shit Slowly, the name of the album was ultimately vetoed by Caroline Records. The album is sometimes wrongly referred to as New 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 M represents 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 M marks 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 of Black Flag's "Damaged II" with Tad covering "Damaged I" on the other side, for Sub Pop Records and another split single with Black Snakes for the Japanese indie Supernatural Records.
By now, Cafritz had quit the line-up. The trio of Spencer, Hagerty and Bert released one final album in 1990 called Historia De La Música Rock for Caroline Records before calling it a day the same year. The album cover of Historia was a parody of a music compilation vinyl series from Spain called Historia de la Música Rock.
Spencer co-founded Boss Hog with 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, in blues-rock duo Royal Trux, which the pair had formed in Chicago during 1987. Cafritz and Bert joined forces briefly in the early 1990s to release a self-titled album under the name, Action Swingers.
Two years after the breakup, their CD compilation Corpse Love: The First Year was released. It included four tracks from the Exile On Main Street cassette, as well as some previously released early material, some of which included short interviews.
Discography
Albums
- Exile on Main Street Cassette (1986, Shove) (limited edition of 550 copies, although four tracks from this appeared on the Corpse Love CD)
- Right Now! LP (1987, Caroline; reissued 1998 Matador Records/Mute Records)
- Dial M for Motherfucker (aka Make Them All Eat Shit Slowly, aka New Album By Pussy Galore) LP (1989, Caroline; CD version contained five of the six tracks from Sugarshit 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 Música Rock LP (1990, Caroline)
- Corpse Love: The First Year CD (1992, Caroline)
- Live: In The Red LP last live show, recorded at CBGBs (1998, In the Red)
EPs
- Feel Good About Your Body EP 7", 1985
- Groovy Hate Fuck EP (1986, Shove)
- Pussy Gold 5000 EP (1986, Shove)
- Sugarshit Sharp EP (1988, Caroline; reissued 1998 Matador Records/Mute Records with bonus track "Penetration In the Centerfold")
Compilation album
- Groovy Hate Fuck (Feel Good About Your Body) LP (1987, Vinyl Drip) (UK collection of early releases)
Videos
- Maximum Penetration VHS (1987, Atavistic Video)
See also
References
- ^ Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music (1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 1-904041-96-5.
- ^ F.M. Einheit Interview on CBC Radio's Brave New Waves (circa 1990)
External links
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