Based in Chicago, The Jesus Lizard formed in 1989 - the original line-up consisting of 3 members and a drum machine. David Yow doing the vocals, David Sims playing the bass (the two of them had formerly worked together in Scratch Acid) and Duane Denison on guitar (oh, and the drum machine banging the drums, not to forget).
The band debuted in 1989 with the mini-album, Pure. Sims had previously worked together with Steve Albini (ex-Big Black) in the band Rapeman, and the latter thus produced the set. Within a year, their next release and first full-lenght album Head followed - again, with the help of Albini, who this time was in charge of engineering and co-producing the album. Furthermore, The Jesus Lizard got a human replacement for the drum machine as Mac McNeilly took on the task (who was later replaced by Jim Kimball). More albums soon followed, Goat in 1991 and Liar in 1992 after which the band crossed the Atlantic to start their second European tour at London's Marquee Club (each person in the lucky crowd there was presented with an exclusively pressed 7" featuring Gladiator). Also, the band collaborated with Nirvana on a joint single Puss (from their Liar album) in 1993. This single made it to the charts in the UK and even meant an appearence on Top of The Pops (!).
August 1994 saw the release of Down which was to become the band's last full-lenght album to be released on Touch and Go Records. The band was then signed by Capitol Records and in April 1996 they released Shot; their debut on this label. With the actual album, a 40 minutes video SHO(r)T Film was released. The vidoe contains brief interviews and 30 minutes of live footage recorded in Chicago at the Vic Theater in 1996. 2 years later, The Jesus Lizard put out a self-titled EP (limited edition) on Jetset Records and the full-lenght album Blue (vinyl version released on Jetset, and CD format on Capitol) .
The sound of The Jesus Lizard is very distinctive and powerful; heavy bass lines, crashing guitars, and Yow's very own way of growling the lyrics! Unfortunately, the band split up in the summer of 1999. Their last show was in Umeå, Sweden on 27th of March 1999. Following their split, their final album - a compilation singles, EPs, live tracks and unreleased demos - was put out in January 2000. Despite their split-up, The Jesus Lizard remains one of my all-time favourite bands.
Although this means that you probably will not be able to catch the guys live, I feel I must give an account of how they were gig-wise; 'cos they sure were fantastic! When The Jesus Lizard played live, excitement was always guaranteed - It was always a very intense experience and from the moment Yow entered the stage, things started to happen. He used to spend more time amongst the crowd than on the actual stage - one had to prepare oneself for crowd-surfing, stage diving and the likes. Sometimes you'd loose sight of Yow; but pretty soon you'd realise that he'd be standing right behind you! If you're still not convinced, click here for some fab live shots of the band.
Fave live moment: At The Garage, London, April 1996, Yow somehow made his way to the ceiling and managed to dangle upside down from the fan...
Most bizarre object thrown on stage: A skate board at LA2, London, July 1996....Luckily, no one got hurt! (And no, it wasn't me who threw the thing up there!)
For more information on The Jesus Lizard, please try some of the following links: * * * The band @ Jetset Records * * * The Jesus Lizard Homepage * * * The Jesus Lizard Reviews * * *
* * * The Jesus Lizard: Family Tree * * * Pop Talk * * * The Jesus Lizard @ RollingStone.com * * *
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