- The Embarrassment
The Embarrassment were a quartet formed in Wichita,
Kansas that lasted from 1979 to 1983. They were: guitarist Bill Goffrier, lead singer and organist John Nichols, bassist Ron Klaus and drummer Brent Giessmann. Although some people considered the bandpunk rock , the band itself liked to describe themselves as "Blister Pop." TheVillage Voice 's long-time chief music critic,Robert Christgau , called them a "great lost American band." ( [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=1425&name=The+Embarrassment] )The band stopped performing when two of the members moved to Boston. Giessmann drummed for
The Del Fuegos , and Goffrier formed the band Big Dipper with former members of theVolcano Suns . Several of The Embarrassment's unreleased songs were recorded by Big Dipper, including "Faith Healer," which was later covered by Japanese all-girl groupShonen Knife .The "Embos," as fans call them, have played several reunion concerts in the years since, the latest being in August, 2006, when they played shows in
Lawrence, Kansas and Wichita, Kansas.Kansas-born political writer
Thomas Frank quoted lyrics from their song "Sex Drive" in his bestselling 2004 book "What's the Matter with Kansas? " (page 57 of the paperback edition).2008 reunion
the embarrassment performed an acoustic concert august 30, 2008 at john barleycorn's in the delano district, west douglas avenue, wichita, kansas.
the performance was opened by brent giessmann solo on electric piano for a few songs, then the local group the sluggos.
the original trio of goffrier, nichols and giessmann then took the stage with eric cale (cover artist of death travels west!) on upright bass and freedy johnston on additional guitar and backing vocals.some new, or previously unperformed work was presented, including the song carpshoot written by ron klaus, who was not able to attend.
freedy johnston followed to end the night with his solo work.
wsuir, wsu student internet radio filmed the event and are working on the edit. the concert was also filmed by a fan from lawrence and was to be made available via m. bill goffrier. there are also some clips available on youtube.
donuts, made from kansas wheat, were provided by michael carmody.
2006 Reunion
The Embarrassment played two reunion shows in August 2006.
Friday/Saturday August 18/19, 2006The Roadhouse,
Wichita, KS (with special guests [http://www.myspace.com/localband Local Band] on Friday; [http://www.myspace.com/thesluggos The Sluggos] on Saturday)Sunday, August 20, 2006Liberty Hall,
Lawrence, KS (with special guests [http://www.killcreek.com/ Kill Creek] and The Mortal Micronotz)Discography
*1980 - Sex Drive/Patio Set (Big Time - 7")
*1981 - The Embarrassment EP (Cynykyl Records - 12" 45 rpm)
*1983 - Death Travels West (Fresh Sounds - mini LP)
*1984 - The Embarrassment Retrospective (Fresh Sounds - cassette)
*1987 - The Embarrassment LP (Time To Develop)
*1990 - God Help Us LP and CD (Bar/None)
*1995 - Hey Day 1979-83 Double CD (Bar/None)
*2001 - Blister Pop CD ( My Pal God)Compilations
*1981 - Fresh Sounds From Mid America Volume 1 (Fresh Sounds - cassette)
*1981 - Battle of The Garages Volume 1 (Bomp! Records )
*1981 - Sub Pop 5 (Sub Pop - cassette)
*1982 - Sub Pop 7 (Sub Pop - cassette)
*1988 - Human Music ( Homestead)
*1989 - Time For A Change ( Bar/None)External links
* [http://www.bar-none.com/bios/embarbio.html Brief article on The Embarrassment, with discography]
*http://www.mypalgodrecords.com/embarrassment.shtml My Pal God page on The Embarrassment's authorized bootleg "Blister Pop"
*http://www.embarrassment.org/ Unofficial The Embarrassment website
*http://www.myspace.com/theembarrassment The Embarrassment page on MySpace
*http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/embos/ embos: The Embarrassment Appreciation Society (Yahoo! Groups)
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