The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas by vocalist David Yow, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims. They relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1989, where they found kindred spirits in recording engineer Steve Albini and Touch and Go Records. With the addition of drummer Mac McNeilly, they began performing live, eventually attracting an international audience with their powerful live show.[1]
For other uses, see Jesus Lizard (disambiguation).
The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground…[who] turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial noise."[2] The albums Goat (1991) and Liar (1992) have since been recognized as two of the most significant noise rock albums of their decade.[3][4]
Drummer Jim Kimball replaced McNeilly late in 1996, and was himself replaced by Brendan Murphy two years later, with McNeilly returning to drums for their reunion shows years later. Despite releasing a split single with leading alt-rockers Nirvana and signing to Capitol Records, the band failed to find commercial success amid the alternative rock explosion of the 1990s and disbanded in 1999. Their reunion tour ten years later garnered positive responses from audiences and critics. The band performed another reunion tour in 2017 and 2019.
History[edit]
Formation and Touch & Go years (1987–1994)[edit]
The band began in Austin, Texas, when guitarist Duane Denison asked 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 resultant group took its name from a common nickname for the basilisk, a type of lizard that can run on water. The trio rehearsed several times in Austin with a drum machine. Yow and Sims moved to Chicago in 1988, and Denison followed the next year.
Their first EP, Pure, was recorded by Albini and released by Touch & Go in 1989. It is the only record by the band that uses a drum machine. Drummer Mac McNeilly, formerly of Phantom 309, was recruited and the band played its first live show on July 1, 1989. Albini recorded the band's next four albums – Head (1990), Goat (1991), Liar (1992), and Down (199). During this era the group also released a live record, Show, and a split single with Nirvana, Puss/Oh, the Guilt.
Sound and influence[edit]
Their music featured 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 rhythm or lead instrument, while the rhythm section's stops and starts were simultaneously precise and brutal. David Sprague suggests that "Yow's disjointed couplets" are reminiscent of a "preacher speaking in tongues."[22] Denison cited in his primary influences, british guitarists such as John McGeoch from Siouxsie and the Banshees and Magazine for his work on Juju in particular,[23] Andy Gill from Gang of Four, Geordie Walker from Killing Joke, Keith Levene from Public Image Ltd,[24] and bands of the US underground scenes like Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, Butthole Surfers and Big Black.[24] Denison said that he wanted to mix "the post-punk, minimalist thing with the more, ... esoteric, porgy vibe."[24] 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."[25] Yow doesn't consider himself a singer in the usual sense, but rather, thinks of himself as a vocal stylist. 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. He was also known to lick members of the crowd while climbing all over them and sometimes striking up conversation mid-song.
Legacy[edit]
The band have been cited as an influence or as a favorite by Nirvana,[26][27] Whores,[28] KEN Mode,[29] Bill Kelliher of Mastodon,[29] Botch,[30] Converge,[31] Brand New,[32] Gouge Away,[33] METZ,[34] Steve Albini,[35] Alexis Marshall of Daughters,[36] Sara Lund of Unwound,[37] Jim Suptic of The Get Up Kids,[38] Jawbreaker,[39] Johnny Temple of Girls Against Boys,[40] Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit,[41] Red Fang,[42][43] Joe Lally of Fugazi,[44] Henry Rollins,[44] Helmet,[45][46] Lydia Lunch[47] and many others.[48]