- Ninety Pound Wuss
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Ninety Pound Wuss Origin Port Angeles, Washington Genres Punk rock
Christian punk
Experimental rock
Post-hardcore
Thrash punkYears active 1994–2000[1] Labels Tooth & Nail Records Associated acts Raft of Dead Monkeys, Loveland, Suffering & the Hideous Thieves, The Cootees, Slick Shoes, Roadside Monument Members Jeff Suffering
John Spalding
Marty Martinez
Matt JohnsonNinety Pound Wuss (aka 90 Lb. Wuss) was an experimental punk rock band from Port Angeles, Washington, USA that released three studio albums on Tooth & Nail Records. They were part of the Christian punk movement of the mid 1990s, yet as their religious content grew less pronounced, their sound would become more diverse.
Contents
History
Ninety Pound Wuss formed in Port Angeles, Washington in 1994 with Jeff Suffering (vocals), John Himmelberger (guitar), Matt Nelson (bass), and Marty Martinez (drums).
They released their self-titled debut album on Tooth & Nail Records in 1995, recorded at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle with producer Bob Moon. Yuri Ruley was the drum tech for the album, which featured a relatively straight-ahead punk rock sound, with some subtle pop punk influence scattered throughout. That influence would come to fruition on "Something Must Break", the album's most well-know song due to compilation appearances and a music video. The vast majority of the album's lyrics dealt with the Christian faith and frequently mentioned Christ or Jesus. However, songs like "A.S.D." and "Misplaced Society", with their lack of blatant religious context, would be a glimpse at the direction the band was heading, both lyrically and musically.
Ninety Pound Wuss released their sophomore effort, Where Meager Die of Self Interest in late 1997, recorded and mixed by Babes in Toyland producer Tim Mac, and marked a notable change in the band's sound, with the music becoming much darker, more experimental, and bordering on thrash punk at times. The vocals would also become more frantic, aggressive, and inaudible, as compared to their debut, while the lyrics still maintained their beliefs with a newfound sense of maturity, as made evident on tracks like "Queen Maggot" and "Sick and You're Wrong". The album's writing and recording process would take place during a transitional time for the band, with the departure of guitarist John Himmelberger, replaced by mainstay, John Spalding. Due to this line-up change, both guitarists would appear on the album, albeit on separate tracks. Bassist Matt Nelson was also replaced with Dale Yob prior to recording. Where Meager Die Of Self Interest also marks the debut of Suffering using a keyboard, another hint at the direction the band would be taking next.
Their third album Short Hand Operation was released on April 22, 1999 and produced by Steve Kravac, who has done notable work for MxPx, Guttermouth, Union 13, and Blink-182, among others. Dale Yob was replaced with bassist Matt Johnson before recording began. The album marked another drastic shift in the band's ever changing experimental sound scape and would become their swan song. Although some tracks build on the keyboard playing of Suffering from the previous album, it's the guitar work of Spalding that truly becomes prominent, creating a geared, fast-paced album, aside from synth-heavy instrumental "It Seems So Far Away" and epic album closer "At The End Of It All". Ninety Pound Wuss broke up following the release of Short Hand Operation. At the time, Suffering referred to the album as "quite possibly ...the best record I'll ever record." [1] Explaining their breakup, Suffering said, "We had a rough tour and nobody wanted to continue playing in the Christian music industry." [2]
The band would issue one posthumous release, the live album Hierarchy Of Snakes, which primarily focused on material from Short Hand Operation and Where Meager Die Of Self Interest, all but ignoring the debut, with "Misplaced Society" being the lone exception. The release also included the Bauhaus cover "Double Dare" as well as the unreleased song "Dead End" and was limited to a pressing of only 1,000 copies.
Post activity
Suffering and Spalding went on to form Raft of Dead Monkeys with labelmate members of Roadside Monument, releasing their debut album Thoughlev on Burnout Records in 2001. Suffering would go on to front Suffering & the Hideous Thieves, along with contributing to Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.
Spalding was diagnosed with cancer sometime in 2004. He amassed a library of home recordings that, after his diagnosis, became a music project titled Loveland. After a grueling four year battle against cancer, Spalding died on November 23, 2008. The album The Beautiful Truth was released posthumously in 2009, under the name John Spalding's Loveland. Although the majority of the vocals, guitar, bass and drum programming work was done by Spalding, the album features notable appearances from Matt Johnson, Andrea Zollo, Dana James, Steve Snere, Jake Snider, Cory Murchy, Dave Knudson and Morgan Henderson. It was issued on Tigre Blanco Records, who have released material by Minus the Bear, a band whose members also appear on the album.
Band members
- Jeff Suffering – vocals, keyboards (1994–2000)
- John Spalding – guitar (1997–2000)
- Matt Johnson – bass (1999–2000)
- Marty Martinez – drums (1994–2000)
Former members
- Matt Nelson – bass (1994–1996)
- John Himmelberger – guitar (1994–1997)
- Dale Yob – bass (1997–1999)[2]
Discography
Albums
- Ninety Pound Wuss (1995)
- Where Meager Die of Self Interest (1997)
- Short Hand Operation (1999)
- Hierarchy of Snakes (2000)
Vinyl releases
- Kick You Hard 5" (1996) Tooth & Nail Records
- Split with The Captives 7" (1998) Crash Records
References
- ^ "Releases: Ninety Pound Wuss". Tooth & Nail Records. 2008. http://www.toothandnail.com/releases/?keywords=Enter+Keywords&artist_id=165. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ http://www.discogs.com/artist/Dale+Yob
External links
Categories:- Christian punk groups
- Christian rock groups from Washington (state)
- Tooth and Nail Records artists
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