The Jesus Lizard is an alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas, and based in Chicago, Illinois from 1989 to 1999.
History
Formation and the Touch and Go years (1987–1994)
Guitarist Duane Denison recruited David Yow, formerly of Scratch Acid to play bass on some songs he wanted to record. Yow suggested that he sing and have former Scratch Acid bassist David Wm. Sims play bass instead. The trio rehearsed several times in Austin with a drum machine. Yow and Sims moved to Chicago in 1988 and Denison followed suit the next year.
The first EP, Pure , was produced by Steve Albini and released by Touch & Go Records in 1989. It is the only record by the band that uses a drum machine. Drummer Mac McNeilly was recruited to the lineup and the band played its first live show on July 1, 1989. Steve Albini produced the band's next four Touch & Go albums, Head , Goat , Liar , and Down . Albini typically kept vocals "low in the mix," or much less prominent than was typical of rock and roll recordings. In Our Band Could Be Your Life , Michael Azerrad writes that "on the Jesus Lizard albums Albini recorded, singer David Yow sounds like a kidnap victim trying to howl through the duct tape over his mouth; the effect is horrific." (Azerrad, 344) While appreciated as a unique vocalist, Yow was more often cited for his confrontational antics on-stage, often leaping into the crowd or taking off his clothes. In 1994, David Yow tried out his acting chops in Jim Sikora's independent feature "Walls In the City" with the soundtrack done by Denison Kimball Trio and released on SkinGraft Records.
The Capitol years and breakup (1995–1999)
The Jesus Lizard signed to Capitol Records in 1995. The band also recorded the song, "Panic in Cicero" for the Clerks soundtrack, and made appearances at Lollapalooza. Impressed by his work on the album "Stoner Witch" by the Melvins, the band hired producer GGGarth to record Shot in 1996. It has been widely held that Steve Albini refused to work with the band because they had signed to a major label, although Albini himself denied this in comments made to a review of the 2009 reissue of the Touch & Go catalog that appears on the Paste Magazine web site.
Mac McNeilly left the band in 1998 for personal reasons and was replaced by Jim Kimball, who appeared that year on the Jesus Lizard's self-titled EP (their only album whose title is not a four-letter word) on Jetset Records. The EP featured production and engineering by Andy Gill of Gang of Four, John Cale, and Jim O'Rourke.
In 1998, the band released Blue , recorded by Andy Gill. A departure for The Jesus Lizard, the record explored some of the more experimental instincts hinted at on earlier songs like "Happy Bunny Goes Fluff-Fluff Along" on "Pure". During the following tour Kimball was replaced by Brendan Murphy. Later that year the band announced that they were breaking up. Their final gig was at the Umeå Open festival in Umeå, Sweden, on March 27, 1999.
Post-breakup (2000–2007)
In 2000, Touch & Go issued a CD of 7" tracks and rarities called Bang . After the split some of the members moved on to other bands. Denison plays with Tomahawk, continues to play with Kimball in the Denison Kimball Trio (which is actually a duo), and backed up Hank Williams III on a couple of tours. In 2006 he formed U.S.S.A. with ex-Ministry bassist Paul Barker. The band was signed by former Babes in Toyland bassist Maureen Herman to the Fuzz Artists label in 2007. In 2006, Yow and Sims reformed Scratch Acid, along with Rey Washam (Rapeman, Ministry) and Brett Bradford for the Touch and Go Records 25th Anniversary Festival in Chicago. A week before the Touch and Go Festival, the reunited Scratch Acid played to a sold-out crowd at Emo's in their hometown of Austin, TX.
After The Jesus Lizard, drummer Mac McNeilly played drums in P.W. Long's Reelfoot recording "Push Me Again" and touring with Long. McNeilly also continued to play along with his wife in their band Mouse. McNeilly recorded with Steve Albini in February 2007 for Denison's Fuzz label mate Greg Garing. Bassist David Wm. Sims relocated to New York City and now works as an accountant. He occasionally records songs as his solo project Dangerpuss, which he releases as MP3s on his blog. Vocalist David Yow moved to Los Angeles to work in graphic design for an advertising agency. Yow has joined the Los Angeles band Qui.
Reunion (2009–present)
The Jesus Lizard scheduled a number of shows in 2009 with their original line-up, including appearances at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, and All Tomorrow's Parties music festivals in England, and New York including headlining show in London and on Pukkelpop in Belgium. They also headlined the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle on July 24, 2009.
On October 6, 2009, all of the band's Touch and Go studio albums were re-released with improved sound and bonus tracks. All the albums were remastered by Bob Weston and Steve Albini and have new liner notes and gatefold artwork.
Sound and influence
The band took their name from a common nickname for the basilisk, a type of lizard that can run on water. While never finding much mainstream success, the Jesus Lizard have been called "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground… turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial noise, all of which received positive reviews in underground music publications and heavy college-radio play."
Their music was a scathing mix of piercing guitar, machine-like drums, propulsive bass guitar, and psychotic vocals. Denison's stinging guitar often served more as texture or coloring than as a melody instrument, while the rhythm section's stops and starts were simultaneously precise and brutal. David Yow's frenzied, often incoherent vocals were unique, unlike anything past or present. David Sprague suggests that "Yow's disjointed couplets" are reminiscent of a "preacher speaking in tongues.
Discography
Studio albums
- Head (1990, Touch and Go)
- Goat (1991, Touch and Go)
- Liar (1992, Touch and Go)
- Down (1994, Touch and Go)
- Shot (1996, Capitol)
- Blue (1998, Capitol)
Live albums
- Show (1994, Collision Arts)
Compilations
- Bang (2000, Touch and Go)
- Inch (2009, Touch and Go)
EPs
- Pure (1989, Touch and Go)
- Lash (1993, Touch and Go)
- The Jesus Lizard (EP) (1998, JetSet)
DVDs
- The Jesus Lizard - Live (Music Video Distributors 2007)
Chart positions
Albums
Singles
References
- ^ Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life . Little Brown and Company, 2002. ISBN 0-316-78753-1
- ^ ATP Website "" Retrieved February 27, 2009.
- ^ Jesus Lizard Remasters Retrieved October, 2009.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Jesus Lizard". Allmusic . Retrieved June 5, 2005.
- ^ Sprague, David. "JESUS LIZARD". Trouser Press, 2007. Retrieved on March 4, 2009.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 282. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
External links
- http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/10/the-jesus-lizard-touch-and-go-reissues.html - Steve Albini discusses getting fired by the band in the comments below the review.]
- Band's biography / discography
- The Jesus Lizard's official MySpace page
- Touch &
Basiliscus (genus) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jesus Christ lizards; Mystical Lizards; Devil's Lizard [edit] See also. Animal locomotion on the surface layer of water [edit] References ^
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