AltScene

The Butthole Surfers

Arguably the most infamously named band in the annals of popular music -- for years, radio found their moniker unspeakable, and the press deemed it unprintable -- Butthole Surfers long reigned among the most twisted and depraved acts ever to bubble up from the American underground. Masters of calculated outrage, the group fused the sicko antics of shock rock with a distinct and chaotic mishmash of avant-garde, hardcore, and Texas psychedelia; sleazy, confrontational, and spiteful, songs like "The Revenge of Anus Presley," "Bar-B-Q Pope," and "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey Oswald's Grave" seemed destined to guarantee the Buttholes little more than a lifetime of cultdom. Yet, by the mid-'90s, they were left-field Top 40 hitmakers, success perhaps their ultimate subversion of mainstream ideals.

Brown Reason to Live [EP] The seeds of their formation dated back to 1977, when future frontman Gibby Haynes, the son of the Dallas-based children's TV host known as "Mr. Peppermint," met guitarist Paul Leary while attending college in San Antonio. Four years later, Haynes -- then completing his graduate work in accounting -- and Leary formed the Ashtray Baby Heads, later dubbed Nine Foot Worm Makes Home Food; they became Butthole Surfers only after a radio announcer mistakenly took the title of an early song to be the group's name. In 1981, they signed to Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra's label Alternative Tentacles, and two years later issued their hallucinatory eponymous debut, also issued on colored vinyl under the name Brown Reason to Live.
Live PCPPEP After a number of bassists and drummers, the Surfers' lineup fell into place in 1983 with the addition of drummers King Coffey (formerly of the Hugh Beaumont Experience) and Theresa Nervosa; at the same time, their bizarre live gigs -- a traveling freak show combining n*de dancers, film clips of s*x-change operations, and Haynes' pyromaniacal behavior -- began to win a devout cult following, and in 1984 they issued the concert set Live PCPPEP. A move to the Chicago-based indie Touch & Go precipitated a turn toward even greater thematic offensiveness, as evidenced by tracks like "Concubine" and "Lady Sniff" from 1985's Psychic...Powerless...Another Man's Sac.
Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis After the EP Cream Corn From the Socket of Davis, the Buttholes resurfaced in 1986 with Rembrandt Pussyhorse, a twisted trip into neo-psychedelia featuring a brutal deconstruction of the Guess Who's "American Woman," as well as new bassist Jeff "Tooter" Pinkus. The introduction of Haynes' "Gibbytronix" vocal effects unit increased the level of dementia for 1987's Locust Abortion Technician, an extremist fusion of punk, metal, art rock, and worldbeat rhythms. Following 1988's faux-Zeppelin rant Hairway to Steven, the group issued Double Live, a mock bootleg released through their own Latino Bugger Veil imprint; after a pair of EPs, 1989's Widowermaker! and 1990's The Hurdy Gurdy Man, they remained uncharacteristically silent until 1991's uneven Pioughd, recorded for the Rough Trade label.
Independent Worm Saloon For many observers, the biggest shock in a career built on outrageous behavior arrived in 1992, when the Buttholes signed with major label Capitol, which promptly reissued Pioughd following the demise of Rough Trade. After entering the studio with producer and former Led Zep bassist John Paul Jones, they emerged in 1993 with the LP Independent Worm Saloon; the first single and video, "Who Was in My Room Last Night?," both garnered a surprising amount of airplay, much to the chagrin of the many media outlets which begrudgingly referred to the group as "BH Surfers." Following a series of side projects -- most notoriously Haynes' group P, which also featured movie star Johnny Depp -- the band (now a trio consisting of Haynes, Leary, and Coffey) returned in 1996 with Electriclarryland, scoring a major chart hit with the trip-hop-flavored "Pepper." In 1998, they recorded a follow-up, After the Astronaut, but disputes between the Surfers and Capitol prevented the album from being released, though advance copies were sent to reviewers. Three years later, Butthole Surfers emerged with their first for Hollywood/Surfdog Records, Weird Revolution, which recycled some of the songs from After the Astronaut, but in new recordings.

PEOPLE WHO LIKE THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS

XxOrenxX

Arizona
United States

Nov 21, 2024 14:54

postmortem envenomations

Hertfordshire
United Kingdom

Nov 21, 2024 14:13

{Mat}

North Yorkshire
United Kingdom

Nov 21, 2024 14:02

Free2Roam

Devon
United Kingdom

Nov 21, 2024 12:42

Paper_Machete

London
United Kingdom

Nov 21, 2024 10:35

Max

Normandy
France

Nov 21, 2024 09:43

DM70

West Yorkshire
United Kingdom

Nov 21, 2024 07:09

marqueemoon93

Massachusetts
United States

Nov 21, 2024 00:07

salex89

Merseyside
United Kingdom

Nov 20, 2024 07:32

Willing2Byours

Oxfordshire
United Kingdom

Nov 19, 2024 22:57

Spacerawk

Pennsylvania
United States

Nov 19, 2024 06:34

Effinjay

Essex
United Kingdom

Nov 18, 2024 10:46

5280punk

Colorado
United States

Nov 18, 2024 07:05

Paddyelvis

East Sussex
United Kingdom

Nov 16, 2024 17:55

lukesmile

West Midlands
United Kingdom

Nov 15, 2024 18:13

NightViking666

California
United States

Nov 15, 2024 08:08

ZionFromMatrix

Virginia
United States

Nov 15, 2024 00:20

blackflagjohn

Texas
United States

Nov 7, 2024 02:25

grungy guy

Essex
United Kingdom

Oct 31, 2024 13:54

Kieran

Lancashire
United Kingdom

Oct 28, 2024 08:16

Mayor of Necropolis

Weddell Sea
Antarctica

Oct 25, 2024 23:31

Allyphant

Midlothian
United Kingdom

Oct 20, 2024 11:15

Mercury

Middlesex
United Kingdom

Oct 4, 2024 20:56

Tzuar

Worcestershire
United Kingdom

Sep 18, 2024 12:19

h8makingnames

Virginia
United States

Sep 13, 2024 14:51

My Nonexistent Romance

Texas
United States

Sep 13, 2024 05:46

Earthrocker

Northumberland
United Kingdom

Sep 11, 2024 19:35

AwakeAlways

Washington
United States

Jul 22, 2024 06:48

Miss Spooky

Hampshire
United Kingdom

Jul 20, 2024 03:07

Ḟ̷̡̜̝͉̥̙͂̐̆͌͜͠͠ͅaust A̶͛̄͐̓͛͘

California
United States

May 26, 2024 06:47

Rain2k3

New York
United States

May 11, 2024 14:06

Cyrus

New York
United States

Mar 14, 2024 22:54

JEWELZAF

Florida
United States

Feb 26, 2024 20:42

Wanderer.O_7

Pennsylvania
United States

Jan 24, 2024 20:49

Lisa Ann

Massachusetts
United States

Jan 12, 2024 01:22

KittenMitten13

Texas
United States

Jan 8, 2024 07:47

Jimbo Himbo

Wisconsin
United States

Dec 14, 2023 06:12

Mikey

New York
United States

Dec 3, 2023 08:11

billjones768

California
United States

Nov 25, 2023 18:45

Mostly_Dead

Georgia
United States

Nov 4, 2023 22:47

PunkRockBWC

California
United States

Oct 25, 2023 09:25

Lily

Monmouthshire
United Kingdom

Oct 18, 2023 23:56

Sceleratis

Florida
United States

Oct 9, 2023 08:04

puraluna

Texas
United States

Jul 1, 2023 09:30

Phonoi

New Hampshire
United States

May 29, 2023 23:00

Liljess

Florida
United States

Mar 27, 2023 00:53

Melo

Illinois
United States

Jan 15, 2023 04:08

James_flint

Norfolk
United Kingdom

Jan 9, 2023 16:53

tommies_gHOST

Oklahoma
United States

Dec 5, 2022 22:31

bikinikill

Tyne and Wear
United Kingdom

Nov 18, 2022 16:13

Guy_Who_Looks_Like_A_User

Co. Durham
United Kingdom

Nov 9, 2022 16:36

Brett4200

Washington
United States

Sep 17, 2022 02:46

Oldschooljohn

New Mexico
United States

Aug 6, 2022 06:18

DepecheModefor4

Nordrhein Westfalen
Germany

Jul 31, 2022 17:43

CorvoAttano

Missouri
United States

Jul 31, 2022 03:26

Jim

London
United Kingdom

Jun 6, 2022 20:54

AzazelFukr

Texas
United States

Apr 30, 2022 00:13

SivaMarti

Oregon
United States

Apr 25, 2022 02:22

dave757575

Essex
United Kingdom

Apr 11, 2022 10:39

♡ Koda ♡

Ohio
United States

Mar 17, 2022 16:51

Lothric40k

North Carolina
United States

Feb 3, 2022 04:37

Lin.An

Minnesota
United States

Dec 20, 2021 21:54

NeKroNicuS

Colorado
United States

Nov 13, 2021 00:32

AlfredRodriguez

Texas
United States

Oct 1, 2021 06:04

teknokrat

London
United Kingdom

Jun 29, 2021 19:15

JadeFox

New York
United States

May 4, 2021 02:22

ZeincNekrosis

Colorado
United States

Mar 28, 2021 22:45

Spitpersonalities

New Jersey
United States

Mar 28, 2021 06:54

IrishKing

California
United States

Mar 12, 2021 07:16

androAri

Arizona
United States

Dec 20, 2020 10:26

cpt_howdy

Florida
United States

Dec 10, 2020 03:32

ChilliConCardinal

Northamptonshire
United Kingdom

Oct 26, 2020 23:46

Freezah

North Carolina
United States

Sep 25, 2020 16:37

DefectiveUnit42

California
United States

Aug 5, 2020 18:56

OffBeatSignature

West Virginia
United States

Jul 24, 2020 04:01

grimm_gremlin_xo

Alabama
United States

May 17, 2020 17:41

Firewalker

Texas
United States

May 16, 2020 22:52

Da

Kansas
United States

May 3, 2020 01:44

Stewie Juices

London
United Kingdom

Apr 24, 2020 22:01

OniKatsu

Kwazulu-natal
South Africa

Mar 26, 2020 18:39