King Missile

Infobox musical artist
Name = King Missile


Img_capt =
Img_size = 270
Landscape = yes
Background = group_or_band
Origin = New York City, USA
Genre = Avant-garde, anti-folk, psychedelic rock, alternative rock, pop rock
Years_active = 1986-present
Label = Shimmy Disc
Atlantic Records
Instinct Records
Important Records
Associated_acts = John S. Hall
Dogbowl
Kramer
Bongwater
Hypnolovewheel
When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water
Purple Sunshine
You Suck
URL = [http://www.myspace.com/kingmissile King Missile MySpace]
Current_members = Sasha Forte
John S. Hall
Bradford Reed
Past_members = Dogbowl
Alex DeLaszlo
R.B. Korbet
George O'Malley
Steve Dansiger
Dave Rick
Chris Xefos
David Ramirez
Roger Murdock
Charles Curtis
Jane Scarpantoni

King Missile is an avant-garde band that has been led in various disparate incarnations by poet/singer John S. Hall since 1986. Currently called King Missile III (pronounced "the third"), the group released its ninth and most recent studio album, "Royal Lunch," in 2004.

History

King Missile (Dog Fly Religion)

In 1985, writer John S. Hall began presenting his work at open mike poetry readings. After three shows, Hall became a "featured" poet at the Backfence, a performance venue in Manhattan's East Village.cite web
last = Prindle
first = Mark
title = Interview with John S. Hall
publisher = Prindle Rock and Roll Record Review Site
date = 2003
url = http://www.markprindle.com/hall-i.htm
accessdate = 2008-05-21 ] In 1986, feeling that "20 minutes of me reading poetry would be totally boring,"Hall, John S. (2004). Album notes. In "Mystical Shit & Fluting on the Hump" [CD booklet] . New York City: Shimmy Disc.] Hall asked his guitarist friend Dogbowl to augment his performances with original music. Dogbowl agreed, and with the addition of bassist Alex DeLaszlo, drummer R.B. Korbet, and xylophonist George O'Malley, King Missile (Dog Fly Religion) was born.

In 1987, the band went to the Noise New York studio and in just ten hours recorded and mixed its debut album, "Fluting on the Hump." The producer/engineer, Kramer, released the album on his then-fledgling label, Shimmy Disc. The label sent the album to every college radio station that reported to "College Media Journal," and the album subsequently performed well on the CMJ charts.

In 1988, Hall and Dogbowl, along with cellist Charles Curtis and new drummer Steve Dansiger, recorded the second King Missile (Dog Fly Religion) album, the longer, more experimental, less "jokey" "They." Like its predecessor, the album was produced by Kramer and released on Shimmy Disc. According to Hall, " [the album] wasn't well received. Dogbowl was itching to make his own records, so we went our separate ways." Dogbowl went on to record several albums for Shimmy Disc.

King Missile

After Dogbowl's departure, Hall asked Bongwater guitarist Dave Rick to help him put together a new band. Rick recruited multi-instrumentalist Chris Xefos, and Hall retained Dansiger on drums. Hall dubbed the new lineup King Missile, dropping the parenthetical "Dog Fly Religion" subtitle "since that was [Dogbowl's] idea." In late 1989 and early 1990, the band recorded the album "Mystical Shit," and in 1990 released it on Shimmy Disc. On the strength of the single "Jesus Was Way Cool," the album hit #1 on the CMJ charts, and the band was signed by a major label, Atlantic Records. This series of events led Hall to make a habit of joking, "'Jesus' got me signed to Atlantic Records."

Another lineup change occurred before the recording of King Missile's major-label debut, as Dansiger left the band and was replaced on drums by Hypnolovewheel member David Ramirez. The subsequent album, "The Way to Salvation," was released on April 16, 1991, and reached #2 on the CMJ charts. Atlantic promoted the album with the release of a single, "My Heart Is a Flower," and accompanying video.

After Ramirez left the group and was replaced by yet another drummer, Roger Murdock, the band recorded its second major-label album, "Happy Hour," released on December 15, 1992. The album debuted at #1 on the CMJ charts, and its accompanying first single, "Detachable Penis," (often attributed to Primus) became a modest hit, reaching #25 on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart.cite web
last =
first =
title = King Missile Singles Peak Chart Positions
publisher = Allmusic
date =
url = http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:f9fqxqw5ld0e~T51
accessdate = 2008-05-21 ] Atlantic released videos for "Detachable Penis" and the subsequent singles "(Why Are We) Trapped?" and "Martin Scorsese," but neither follow-up single achieved the chart success of "Detachable." According to Hall, the band realized that its hit song had drawn in many casual fans who didn't care about the rest of the group's material; thus, the band began to play the song "early in the set, so that the people who didn't like us could leave, and we could play for the people who cared. That worked out well. People did leave."

The band's third and final album for Atlantic was the eponymous "King Missile," released April 19, 1994. Neither the album nor its lead single, "Love Is...," was a commercial success; consequently, the band was dropped from Atlantic, and broke up shortly thereafter because, according to Hall, "there was no reason to stay together."cite web
last =
first =
title = Interview w/ John
publisher = Farmboy's King Missile
date =
url = http://www.i-mockery.com/kingmissile
accessdate = 2008-05-21 ]

King Missile III

After the collapse of the second incarnation of King Missile, Hall decided to attend law school. He graduated "cum laude" from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan,cite web
last =
first =
title = Bios
publisher = Heraty Law
date =
url = http://www.heratylaw.com/bios
accessdate = 2008-05-22 ] and after graduation co-founded Heraty Hall, a firm specializing in entertainment law.

In 1996, Hall released a "solo album," "The Body Has a Head," on the German label Manifatture Criminali. The album featured considerable input from multi-instrumentalists Sasha Forte, Bradford Reed, and Jane Scarpantoni. With these musicians, as well as "They" cellist Curtis, Hall formed a new band, King Missile III. On September 15, 1998, the new lineup released its "debut" album, "Failure," on Shimmy Disc.

Curtis and Scarpantoni left the band after the release of "Failure," and King Missile III continued as a trio, releasing two more albums: "The Psychopathology of Everyday Life" (Instinct Records, January 21, 2003) and "Royal Lunch" (Important Records, September 21, 2004).

Musical styles

The various King Missile lineups have performed many disparate musical styles. King Missile (Dog Fly Religion)'s sound, driven by acoustic guitar and harmonica, was widely dubbed "anti-folk." In King Missile, electric guitars and keyboards were more prominent, and the music contained elements of psychedelic rock, alternative rock, and pop rock. King Missile III's sound is broadly experimental, and features a wide array of instruments, including violin, synthesizers, and the pencilina, a string instrument designed by Reed himself.

The central element of each group's sound has been Hall's lyrics, which vary in format from straightforward narrative to abstract, disjointed free verse. Hall's performance style is also eclectic, his delivery ranging from a deadpan monotone to melodic tenor singing to overwrought screaming.

tudio discography

King Missile (Dog Fly Religion)

King Missile III

References

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/kingmissile King Missile MySpace page]
* [http://www.myspace.com/johnshall John S. Hall MySpace page]
*amg | id = 11:ink9kent7q7z | label = King Missile
* [http://www.songmeanings.net/artist.php?aid=9200 King Missile lyrics database at SongMeanings]