Antiseen
From Punkopedia - The Punk, Hardcore, and Indie Encyclopedia
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| Music genre(s) | |
| Homebase | North Carolina |
| Years active | 1983-Present |
| Current Status | Active |
| Notable Records | |
| Label(s) | |
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Contents |
[edit] History
ANTiSEEN, a self-described "Destructo Rock" band from North Carolina, have been playing and touring since 1983. They are the most prominent active representatives of the scum punk genre, but their influence spans the industry, with collaborations with GG Allin & Hank Williams III. Williams is one of many artists who list the band as an influence and have covered the band's songs.
The band has recently released a tribute album entitled "Everybody Loves ANTiSEEN." This album features 58 various artists covering songs from ANTiSEEN's 20+ year long history.
The band's members have often changed from record to record, with the only constant members being Joe Young and Jeff Clayton.
The band has a strong love for pro wrestling. They have displayed this by making musical tributes to various wrestlers including Cactus Jack, Sabu, Terry Funk, and Abdullah The Butcher. Non-specific songs include (I'm a) Babyface Killer (sung from the viewpoint of a heel) and From Parts Unknown (a tribute to wrestlers who wear masks).
The band is no stranger to cover songs, and has covered songs by artists such as Hank Williams Sr., Skrewdriver, Ernest Tubb, Hellstomper, GG Allin, The Anti-Nowhere League ,Broken Talent, Alice Cooper, Dave Dudley, Bob Dylan, Roky Erickson, George Jones, The kinks, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Curtis Mayfield, Roy Orbison, The Ramones, Rancid Vat, Rose Tattoo, Steve Sadler, Jumping Gene Simmons, Jack Starr, Sun Ra, Screaming Lord Sutch, The Stooges, Talking Heads, The Trashmen, and The Troggs.
This does not mean that the band doesn't write their own material. Besides the above mentioned wrestling songs they also feature songs about militant issues (Stormtrooper, Pledge Allegiance to the Bomb, Warhero), a love for The South (Trapped in Dixie), a lack of shame (Glad I Am The Way I Am, Fuck All Y'All, No Apologies), songs that defy political correctness (Animals, Eat 'Em, F.T.K., Spare Change, Watch The Bastard Fry, Melting Pot, O.D. For Me, Hippy Punk), and day to day subjects (I Don't Ask You For Nothing, Backlash, Leeches & Losers, Run My World, Alive & Unwell, People Like You, Misery). According to their coffee table book (Destructo Maximus) Jeff Clayton writes most of the lyrics although on their most recent studio release Badwill Ambassadors, Barry Hannible and Doug Canipe handled most of the songwriting duties.
The band is considered by a few to be nothing more than a GG Allin backing band because GG did use them as a backing band on his Murder Junkies album. The band has stated that this album was a mixed blessing, stating that although they regret the "backing band" stigma that it gave them, they loved the way the album turned out.
Some times it seems like thats all people wanna talk about. I don't regret those days at all, but we have done more than just that. We miss GG a lot though. -Jeff Clayton during an October 2001 interview when asked about playing with GG Allin.
The band's stage show often features wrestling style action, such as Jeff cutting his head open so that he wears a crimson mask, Jeff jumping through (sometimes flaming) tables, and barbed wire shows where the stage is covered in a wall of barbed wire. Even the crowd gets in it, a few times in Charlotte N.C. Jeff has also pulled audience members up on stage to sing a Ramones cover "Beat On The Brat". The Cosmic Commander often acts as the bands "manager" coming on stage before the show, begins to taunt the crowd and prepare them for that is about to happen. His dressing style includes brightly colored turbans, wrap around glasses, and sequined jackets, not unlike that of The Grand Wizard. Jeff Clayton also often plays the washboard during shows, destroying it at the end of a song. The methods of destroying it go from simple smashing it against the floor, putting explosives in it and setting it on fire, and elbow dropping through glass washboards.
The band has toured extensively throughout the US and Europe over the years.
The band is credited with the birth of the now dead "Confederacy of Scum." The COS was a group of bands who got together to have a yearly supershow. Some bands that were included in these shows are Rancid Vat, Limecell, Hellstomper, Cocknoose, Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13, Hammerlock, Before I Hang, and The Dead Kings.
[edit] Discography
- Honour Among Thieves (1988)
- Raw Shit (1989)
- Noise For The Sake Of Noise (1989)
- Destructo Blitzkrieg (1990)
- GG Allin & ANTiSEEN: Murder Junkies (1991)
- Southern Hostility (1991) (Man's Ruin Records)
- Eat More Possum (1993) (Man's Ruin Records)
- Here To Ruin Your Groove (1996)
- The Boys From Brutalsville (2001)
- Screamin' Bloody Live (2002)
- Badwill Ambassadors (2004)
- Antiseen/Electric Frankenstein split 7" split single (January 11, 2005, TKO *Records 135)
- Everybody Loves ANTiSEEN (2006)
[edit] Members
Current Members:
Past Members:
