Big Boys

Last updated
The Big Boys
Origin Austin, Texas, United States
Genres Punk rock, skate punk, funk punk, queercore, hardcore punk, post-punk
Years active19791984
LabelsMoment Productions
Wasted Talent
Enigma Records
Past members Randy "Biscuit" Turner
Tim Kerr
Chris Gates
Steve Collier
Greg Murray
Fred Schultz
Rey Washam

Big Boys were an American pioneering punk rock band who are credited with having helped to create and introduce skate punk as a new style of music, which became popular in the 1980s. They also were famous for bringing elements of funk into their hardcore punk style.

Contents

History

Formation

Formed in 1977 in Austin, Texas, United States, [1] the original band members were Randy "Biscuit" Turner on vocals, Tim Kerr on guitar and Chris Gates on bass. The key members of the band were childhood friends for a decade before the band was started. [2] Over the years the group played with five drummers in all; Steve Collier, Greg Murray, Fred Schultz, Rey Washam and Kevin Tubb who played only one show (the band's first) because Collier was sick.

The hardcore punk style, a development from the earlier punk sound, arose spontaneously in various cities, but in Austin it was represented by MDC, Big Boys, the Huns, the Skunks and the Dicks. The bands often played together; Big Boys and the Dicks jointly released a split single and an LP, Live At Raul's.

Big Boys shows were legendary, frequently involving food fights, with "Biscuit" frequently sporting a pink ballerina's tutu and pink cowboy boots. [2] Invitations would be made to the audience to come up and sing along, which often occurred. At the end of early shows, the band was famous for yelling, "OK y'all, go start your own band."

Queried about his sexuality by Flipside magazine in 1982, "Biscuit" Turner replied:

"I don't know if I want to answer that or not because it doesn't make any difference if I'm gay or not, I'm a human being and my sexual preference doesn't play into my lifestyle. It comes from my heart and I want people to look at me and say I'm a human being — don't ask me about what 5% of my life is." [2]

Musical importance

Big Boys are credited as well with the introduction of funk rhythms to hardcore punk, producing funk metal, an innovation influential on later bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, who actually opened up for the Big Boys in Hollywood, leading to Red Hot Chili Peppers being referred to as "the Little Big Boys". This credit is due in no small part to the addition of a horn section, the Impromptu Horns, spearheaded by Chris Gates' brother, Nathan. The Impromptu Horns played mainly local shows, and played on some of the funkiest tracks recorded by Big Boys. Horn players included Nathan Gates, David Kitto and Tim Kopra on trombones; Brent Fawns and David Griffy on trumpets.

They were also one of the first bands involved in the skatepunk scene, appearing in Thrasher skateboarding magazine and on Thrasher's Skate Rock compilation records, and had their own Big Boys skateboard designed by Pushead and produced by Zorlac Skateboards. After a Bad Brains show in Austin that ended in controversy involving Biscuit (and later inspired the songs "Brickwall" by Big Boys and "Pay to Come Along" by MDC), conflicts began to arise within the band, specifically between Biscuit and Chris. Big Boys played their last show very unexpectedly. Biscuit and Chris never spoke to each other again.[ citation needed ]

Aftermath

Tim Kerr went on to play with many bands, including Poison 13, Bad Mutha Goose, Monkeywrench, Jack O Fire, Lord High Fixers and, in 2004, the Total Sound Group Direct Action Committee.

Chris Gates was also with Poison 13, Junkyard and Charter Bulldogs. Gates can currently be heard fronting Big Chris Gates and Gatesville, a southern-fried country group based in Austin.

Horn player Tim Kopra became an astronaut and commander of the International Space Station.

Drummer Rey Washam has played consistently with such groups as Jerryskids, [3] Scratch Acid, Rapeman, and Ministry. Original drummer Steve Collier switched from drums to guitar and formed Doctors' Mob, whose first album was produced by Chris Gates, and later played in the Sidehackers and the Rite Flyers.

Randy Turner performed with the Slurpees, Cargo Cult, and Swine King, the latter band contributing the song "All Broke Down" to Outpunk Records' compilation, Outpunk Dance Party . Randy Turner was found dead from Hepatitis C complications in his home on August 18, 2005, at the same time he was featured on the cover of that week's The Austin Chronicle .

The Big Boys also appeared in the well-reviewed 2006 Sundance film, American Hardcore . Their song "Brickwall" appeared on the soundtrack.

Big Boys were innovative in many ways and were influential in the direction music and music scenes would take in their wake.

Discography

Singles

Albums

Compilations

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minor Threat</span> American hardcore punk band

Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitarist Lyle Preslar to form Minor Threat. They added a fifth member, Steve Hansgen, in 1982, playing bass, while Baker switched to second guitar.

Chuck Biscuits is a Canadian drummer best known for his work in several punk rock bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MDC (band)</span> American punk rock band

MDC is an American punk rock band formed in 1979 in Austin, Texas, subsequently based in San Francisco, and currently Portland, Oregon. Among the first wave of bands to define the sound and style of American hardcore punk, MDC originally formed as The Stains; they have periodically changed the meaning of "MDC", the most frequent being Millions of Dead Cops. The band's lyrical content expresses radical left political views and has proven influential within the punk subculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dicks (band)</span> Punk band from Austin, Texas

Dicks were an American punk rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 1980 and initially disbanded in 1986. After the first breakup, singer Gary Floyd formed the band Sister Double Happiness, with drummer Lynn Perko, then later fronted a project called Black Kali Ma. In 2004, The Dicks reunited and were active until 2016.

Youth crew is a music subculture of hardcore punk, which was particularly prominent during the New York hardcore scene of the late 1980s. Youth crew is distinguished from other punk styles by its optimism and moralistic outlook. The original youth crew bands and fans were predominantly straight edge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorilla Biscuits</span> American hardcore punk band

Gorilla Biscuits are an American hardcore punk band from New York City, New York, United States, formed in 1986. The band currently consists of Anthony "Civ" Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios and Luke Abbey, and is signed to Revelation Records. Gorilla Biscuits are part of the New York hardcore scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limp Wrist</span> American punk band

Limp Wrist is an American punk rock band, who formed in 1998. Featuring members of Los Crudos, Hail Mary, Devoid of Faith, By the Throat, and Kill the Man Who Questions, the band plays short, fast hardcore music, and covers themes concerning the gay community in their live performances and lyrics. They are an openly gay band and they identify as part of the "queercore" punk subculture. The band declared in Frontiers magazine, "We put the 'core' back in 'Queercore'". The band are featured on the cover of My Brain Hurts, Liz Baillie's comic about queer teenagers in New York City.

Outpunk enjoys the distinction of being the first record label entirely devoted to queer punk bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Muir</span> American singer

Michael Allen Muir is an American singer who is the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of Los Angeles-based bands Suicidal Tendencies, Los Cycos, and Infectious Grooves. He has also released several solo albums under his nickname Cyco Miko. Muir's trademark is wearing bandanas, jerseys with the number 13, and hats with block-style letters that read "suicidal".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scratch Acid</span> American noise rock band

Scratch Acid was an American post-hardcore/noise rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 1982. One of the pioneers of noise rock in the 1980s, the band is best remembered as a stepping stone for its frontman David Yow, and bass player David Wm. Sims, both later of The Jesus Lizard.

Randy J. "Biscuit" Turner was an American punk singer and artist. He was the lead singer for the seminal hardcore punk band Big Boys, formed in Austin in the late 1970s. Turner is regarded as a pioneer bi performer in the world of punk rock.

Attitude Adjustment is an American crossover thrash band from the San Francisco Bay Area. Their debut album, American Paranoia, is considered to be an early "crossover" between hardcore punk and thrash metal.

Heart Attack was an American early New York hardcore band formed in 1980 and active until 1984.

Max Brody is an American musician based near Seattle, Washington, best known as the drummer/saxophonist for the industrial metal band Ministry from 1999 to 2004

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Rampage</span> Canadian singer and bassist (1960–2018)

Randall Desmond Archibald, better known by his stage name Randy Rampage, was a Canadian musician and founding member, bass player and vocalist of the hardcore band D.O.A. They are often referred to as the "founders" of hardcore punk along with Black Flag, Bad Brains, Angry Samoans, the Germs, Negative Trend, and Middle Class. Their second album Hardcore '81 was thought by many to have been the first actual reference to the second wave of the American punk sound as hardcore. Hardcore 81 included a fourth member of the lineup Dave Gregg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Treece</span> American musician and pro skateboarder

Chuck Treece is a session musician and professional skateboarder from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1984, he became famous for being the first African-American skateboarder to be featured on the cover of Thrasher magazine. His musical credits include starting the 1980s skate punk band McRad, remixing songs for Amy Grant and Sting, playing the bass line on "The River of Dreams" by Billy Joel, filling in on drums at a Pearl Jam concert, and touring with Urge Overkill, Underdog and Bad Brains. In 2010, he was awarded a Pew Fellowships in the Arts. Chuck currently plays bass in a thrash metal band called ACTiVATE. Treece drummed on the album, Mass by Canadian ska band, Bedouin Soundclash.

M.I.A. is an American 1980s punk rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. The band's sound is generally hardcore and thrasher, though they produced more melodic and progressive sounds in their later albums. AllMusic called the band "one of the 50 best So-Cal punk bands of the great early-'80s second wave explosion."

<i>Tales of Terror</i> (Tales of Terror album) 1984 studio album by Tales of Terror

Tales of Terror was the first and only full-length self-titled album released by Californian hardcore punk band Tales of Terror on September 1, 1984 on the label CD Presents.

JFA is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1981, with roots in Arizona and in Southern California skateboard culture. The original members include Brian Brannon (vocals), Don "Redondo" Pendleton (guitar), Michael Cornelius (bass), and Mike "Bam-Bam" Sversvold (drums). Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls also played bass for a time. The band was pivotal in the development of the skate punk and Skate Rock scenes. Over the years, the lineup has included many bass players and drummers but the core of Brannon and Redondo has remained constant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SIN 34</span> American hardcore punk rock band

SIN 34 was an American hardcore punk rock band formed in 1981 in Santa Monica, California. The band featured a female front-person, Julie Lanfeld-Keskin. The band's rhythm section would go on to form Painted Willie in 1984, and sign with SST Records in 1985, and embark on a six-month national US tour with Black Flag in 1986. Reforming out of the blue in 2008, SIN 34 would once again play shows primarily in their native southern California through 2012. Longtime member and primary songwriter Phil Newman died after an apparent accident on a sail boat, February 22, 2015; the band has no plans to continue. Singer Lanfeld-Keskin died April 4, 2018.

References

  1. Cummings, Chris (March 1985). "Big Boys Interview". Bomb Factory via Internet Archive.
  2. 1 2 3 Al Kowalewski and Holly Duval Cornell, "Big Boys," Flipside, whole no 32 (August 1982), pg. 12.
  3. "STB/Jerryskids: Mars Needs Women and Other Big Hits Album Review". Austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 16 September 2020.