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Alice Donut
American punk rock band From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Alice Donut is a punk rock band from New York City formed in 1986.[1] The band released six albums before splitting up in 1996. They reformed in 2001.
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History
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1986–1996: Formation to split
Alice Donut formed in 1986 after the demise of the Sea Beasts, a band at Columbia University, the name soon trimmed from the initial Alice Donut Liver Henry Moore, a play on Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.[2] Ted Houghton, Tomas Antona, Dave Giffen and Tom Meltzer recruited drummer Stephen Moses and quickly found a substantial audience at CBGB. Guitarist Michael Jung soon replaced Meltzer. The band's first commercial release was the Donut Comes Alive album, released in 1988 on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label,[3][4] followed in 1989 with Bucketfulls of Sickness and Horror in an Otherwise Meaningless Life.[5][6]
In August 1990, the band's debut single, a cover version of "My Boyfriend's Back", preceded third album Mule, released the following month, and described by Trouser Press as "challenging and invigorating".[5][7][8] Revenge Fantasies of the Impotent was released in May 1991 (and later included in Andrew Earles' Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996),[9] and included an instrumental cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs".[5][10] Austrian born Bassist Sissi Schulmeister joined the band before the end of the year,[11] with Richard Marshall also joining on guitar.[5]
The band's fifth album, The Untidy Suicides of Your Degenerate Children, was released in September 1992; It was described by CD Review as "a peculiar mixture of ornate and wicked little bits about suicide, strippers, and a disgruntled ex-postal worker".[12] It would be over three years before the bands's next studio album, Pure Acid Park,[13] although a (mostly) live album, Dry-Humping the Cash Cow, came out in 1994.[5][14]
The band decided to call it a day after playing their 1,000th show, in London on November 25, 1995, and confirmed the split in February 1996.[15] The band's many shows between 1988 and 1996 included tours of the United States, Europe, and Japan,[1] including a performance at the Reading Festival in 1993.
Moses went on to briefly join Rasputina, while Antona and Schulmeister got married and relocated to Durham, North Carolina.[11][16]
Reunion
In 2001, Alice Donut started recording and writing again and in 2003 Three Sisters, their first release after their hiatus, was recorded as a four-piece with Tom Antona on vocals, Michael Jung on guitar, Stephen Moses on drums and Sissi Schulmeister on bass.[16][17]
Guitarist Dave Giffen rejoined the group for Fuzz, which was recorded in Brooklyn's BC Studio with longtime co-producer Martin Bisi, mixed and engineered by Joel Hamilton, and released on September 5, 2006.[16]
The band's tenth studio album followed, Ten Glorious Animals, released in September 2009, again on Alternative Tentacles.[16][18]
In 2011, the band's 25th anniversary was marked with the documentary Freaks in Love.[16] In 2012, the Freaks in love compilation was released. Alice Donut still performs live on some occasions, like a show in 2014 in France and 2017 in Baltimore, MD at Ottobar.
On November 11, 2016, Tomas Antona stated on Facebook that Alice Donut are writing a new album. No completion or release date was given.
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Musical style
The band has been described as "punk...with elements of oddball country and funk" by Allmusic writer John Bush,[16] and as "abstract metal" by Andrew Earles.[9] The New Yorker described the band as a "dadaist punk ensemble" playing "oddball psychedelic noise-rock with a spiky sense of humor".[2] Trouser Press described the band as "a little bit Zappa, a little bit cacophonous punk", calling it "a belated East Coast response to the Dickies and Redd Kross".[8] Critics also drew comparisons with artists such as Butthole Surfers, Frank Zappa, and G.G. Allin.[6][8][9][13]
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Members
- Tomas Antona – vocals, drums
- Stephen Moses – drums, trombone
- Michael Jung – guitar, keyboard, vocals
- Sissi Schulmeister – bass, banjo, vocals, accordion, guitar
- David Giffen – guitar, banjo, vocals
- Richard Marshall – guitar, vocals (1990–1995)
- Ted Houghton – Bass, vocals (1986–1990)
- Tom Meltzer – guitar, vocals (1986–1987)
Discography
Demos
- Dork Me Bangladesh (1987)
Albums
Studio
- Donut Comes Alive (1988), Alternative Tentacles
- Bucketfulls of Sickness and Horror in an Otherwise Meaningless Life (1989), Alternative Tentacles
- Mule (1990), Alternative Tentacles
- Revenge fantasies of the impotent (1990), Alternative Tentacles
- The Untidy Suicides of your Degenerate Children (1992), Alternative Tentacles
- Pure Acid Park (1995), Alternative Tentacles
- Three Sisters (2004), Howler
- Fuzz (2006), Howler
- Ten Glorious Animals (2009), Alternative Tentacles
Live
- Dry-humping the Cash Cow (1994), Alternative Tentacles – live
Compilations
- Freaks in Love (2011), Alternative Tentacles – compilation
- Poof. (2013), MVD
Singles and EPs
- "My Boyfriend's Back"/"Demonologist" 7" (1990), Alternative Tentacles
- "Get A Life" 7" (1990), Vital
- The Ass Trilogy 12" (1991), Alternative Tentacles
- "Love Rollercoaster"/"Egg" (1991), Rave – split with Da Willys
- "Magdalene" 7" (1992), Alternative Tentacles
- "Blood On The Tundra"/"Bottom Of The Chain" 7" (1993), HeartFirst – split with Ice Princess
- "Medication" 7" (1993), Alternative Tentacles
- "Nadine" 7" (1994), Alternative Tentacles
- Michael Gerald's Party Machine Presents 7" (1996), Touch and Go – split with Killdozer
- Free Electric State 7" (2010), 307 Knox – split with Free Electric State
VHS
- Video Monstrosity (1994), Alternative Tentacles
DVD
- London, There's a Curious Lump in My Sack (2004), Punkervision
- Freaks in Love: :: A Quarter Century in Underground Rock with ALICE DONUT (2012)
- Poof. (2013), MVD
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References
Further reading
External links
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