45 Grave is an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band from Los Angeles formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist
Dinah Cancer
Mary Ann Sims (born August 28, 1960), known professionally as Dinah Cancer, is an American singer. She is the lead vocalist of 45 Grave, which helped found the deathrock music genre.
Biography
Cancer's first band was Castration Squad, an ...
subsequently revived the band.
History
The band was founded during the punk rock movement by
Paul B. Cutler
Paul B. Cutler is an American producer and guitarist, best known for his work with the Dream Syndicate and 45 Grave.
Career
Cutler's first band, the Consumers, were the first punk rock band from Phoenix, Arizona. In 1979, he founded the punk an ...
in Los Angeles, California, alongside another band with almost the same lineup called Vox Pop, which produced two singles.
45 Grave's original lineup consisted of Cancer (formerly of Castration Squad) on vocals, Cutler (formerly of
the Consumers
The Consumers were the first American punk rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, United States, but their members quickly relocated to Los Angeles, and became involved with the then-burgeoning L.A. punk scene.
History
The Consumers formed in Phoeni ...
) on guitar,
Rob Graves
Robert Douglas "Rob" Graves (born May 18, 1973) is an American songwriter, musician, and producer. He is most well known for his work with the band Red.
Graves has produced for bands such as, Red, Pillar, Wavorly, Kerrie Roberts and Head. ...
(also known as Rob Ritter, formerly of the Exterminators,
the Bags and
the Gun Club
The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce.
History Early days (1979–1980)
The Gun Club w ...
) on bass, and
Don Bolles (of the Exterminators,
the Germs
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
and
Nervous Gender
Nervous Gender is an American punk rock electronic band formed in Los Angeles in 1978 by Gerardo Velazquez, Edward Stapleton, Phranc and Michael Ochoa.
Their use of heavily distorted keyboards and synthesizers made them, along with The Scr ...
) on drums.
The name, according to Bolles, derived from a mysterious button Cutler found at a thrift store and gave to Bolles for Christmas that said "WE DIG 45 GRAVE". Bolles stated that this needed to be the name of the band, and everyone agreed.
In 1980, 45 Grave recorded their first released song, "Riboflavin Flavored, Non-Carbonated, Poly-Unsaturated Blood", included on the
Los Angeles Free Music Society
The Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) is a loose underground collective of experimental avant-rock artist-musicians formed in 1973. Described as a "lightning rod for art-damage, weird-music lovers everywhere," LAFMS was formed by Chip Chapma ...
compilation album ''Darker Skratcher''. The song was a cover version of the
novelty song
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...
originally performed by Don Hinson and the Rigamorticians on their 1964 album release ''Monster Dance Party''. The 45 Grave recording (as with the original, produced by Gary S. Paxton of
Skip & Flip
Skip & Flip was a U.S. pop duo, consisting of Skip ( Clyde Battin) and Flip ( Gary S. Paxton). They met while attending the University of Arizona in the late 1950s.
Career
Once known as The Rockabillies, they recorded on Rev Records as The Pled ...
) achieved cult status and became a signature song of the band's live sets.
Early on, the band began by playing the Consumers songs that Cutler had written, with lyrics changed to fit Cancer's singing style, before concentrating on composing new material like "Black Cross" (issued as a single in 1981,
featuring
Pat Smear
Georg Albert Ruthenberg (born August 5, 1959), better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guita ...
of the Germs on guitar on the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
"Wax") and a fast-paced punk song called "Partytime" (which was later slowed down and reworked on their 1983 debut album and sole studio release, ''
Sleep in Safety
''Sleep in Safety'' is the first studio album by American rock band 45 Grave. It was released in 1983 on record label Enigma.
Critical reception
Contemporary critical reception of the album has been generally positive. Ned Raggett of AllMusic ...
''). Another signature 45 Grave track, "Evil", was featured on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, and band members appeared as extras in Ridley Scott's ''
Blade Runner
''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...
''.
Despite never achieving major success, 45 Grave were recognized as being one of the first American gothic bands, predating the formation of
Christian Death
Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religi ...
. The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles listed 45 Grave and Christian Death as "early proponents of American Gothic Rock".
''Return of the Living Dead''
In 1985, a new, heavier version of "Partytime" was featured on the soundtrack to the film ''
Return of the Living Dead
''The Return of the Living Dead'' is a 1985 American comedy horror film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon in his directorial debut, and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Matthews and Don Calfa. The film tells the story of how a wa ...
'' along with tracks by bands such as
T.S.O.L. and
the Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...
.
The band reformed in 1988 for a brief tour, which was recorded and released as ''Only the Good Die Young''. However, when Graves died in 1990 from an accidental drug overdose, the band broke up once again.
Reformation
In 2004, 45 Grave reformed to commemorate their 25th anniversary, with Cancer as the sole remaining member from previous incarnations. The lineup included bassist
Lisa Pifer
Lisa Pifer (born 1967), also known as Lisafer, is an American bass player and songwriter from Los Angeles. She has played in many punk bands, including U.X.A., Nina Hagen, D.I., Snap-her, and Lisafer. She is of German-Dutch descent.
Pifer gre ...
(of Snap-Her), guitarist Jamie Pina, drummer Mike "Thrashhead" Sullivan, and former
Adolescents
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majo ...
and Christian Death guitarist
Rikk Agnew
Richard Francis "Rikk" Agnew Jr. (born December 9, 1958) is an American musician with a career spanning more than 40 years. He has previously been a member of some of the most influential bands of the Orange County hardcore punk genre, as we ...
. Cancer posted on her
MySpace blog, "I'm building this to keep the spirit of 45 Grave alive, introduce its magic to new fans, and as a personal commemorative of my best memories being the driving force and front person of 45 Grave. This is a part of my life that indeed changed me forever".
By 2006, Agnew and Pina had been replaced by guitarists L. Ron Jeremy and Kenton Holmes, who remained with the band until 2010. Stevyn Grey replaced Sullivan on drums in 2007, and was in turn replaced by Tom Coyne in 2008. Brandden Blackwell replaced Pifer on bass in 2009.
''
Night of the Demons'', a 2009 remake of the classic 1987 cult horror film, featured 45 Grave's title track. In 2010, Rikk's brother
Frank Agnew
Francis Thomas "Frank" Agnew (born August 18, 1964) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a member of punk rock band the Adolescents. Frank's brothers Rikk Agnew and Alfie Agnew, as well as his son Frank Agnew Jr., are als ...
(
T.S.O.L.,
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...
, the Adolescents) joined the band on guitar, replacing Jeremy. Mark Bolton joined on second guitar in 2011.
''Pick Your Poison'', 45 Grave's first new album in 27 years, was released in 2012 on
Frontier Records
Frontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Sun Valley, Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways.
History
Frontier Records first ...
. The album contained a mix of new songs, unrecorded old songs and a remake of "Night of the Demons", for which a video was produced.
Former
Dickies
Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. is an apparel manufacturing company primarily known for its largest brand, Dickies. The company was founded in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1922 by C. N. Williamson and E. E. "Colonel" Dickie, who began a denim bib overall co ...
guitarist Dylan Thomas joined in 2014, replacing Bolton.
Musical style
45 Grave's songs included more stop-start mid-song tempo changes, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship accentuated by Cutler's virtuoso guitar playing. Keyboards added to the spooky atmosphere of many songs and harkened back to proto-punk garage bands of the early 1960s. The band's output also had elements of
surf rock, manifested in the instrumental "Surf Bat" from ''Sleep in Safety''. The band's appearance drew from horror films to create a camp gothic aesthetic. However, the band's lyrical themes often adopted a tongue-in-cheek manner instead.
The band's musical style encompasses
death rock
Death rock (or deathrock) is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genre ...
and
gothic rock
Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...
.
Members
;Current members
*Dinah Cancer
Mary Ann Sims (born August 28, 1960), known professionally as Dinah Cancer, is an American singer. She is the lead vocalist of 45 Grave, which helped found the deathrock music genre.
Biography
Cancer's first band was Castration Squad, an ...
– vocals (1979–1990, 2004–present)
*Tom Coyne – drums (2008–present)
*Brandden Blackwell – bass (2009–present)
*Dylan Thomas – guitars (2014–present)
;Touring musicians
*Del Hopkins – drums, keyboards (1980–1986)
*Bruce Duff – bass (1983–1985)
;Former members
*Paul B. Cutler
Paul B. Cutler is an American producer and guitarist, best known for his work with the Dream Syndicate and 45 Grave.
Career
Cutler's first band, the Consumers, were the first punk rock band from Phoenix, Arizona. In 1979, he founded the punk an ...
– guitars, backing vocals, keyboards (1979–1990)
*Rob Graves
Robert Douglas "Rob" Graves (born May 18, 1973) is an American songwriter, musician, and producer. He is most well known for his work with the band Red.
Graves has produced for bands such as, Red, Pillar, Wavorly, Kerrie Roberts and Head. ...
(aka Rob Ritter) – bass, backing vocals (1979–1990; died 1990)
* Don Bolles – drums, backing vocals (1979–1990)
*Paul Roessler
Paul Roessler (born August 27, 1958) is an American musician and record producer. Roessler was a prominent member of the L.A. punk scene during the late 1970s and 1980s. He played keyboards in bands such as The Screamers, Twisted Roots, 45 Gra ...
– keyboards, backing vocals (1980–1990)
*Pat Smear
Georg Albert Ruthenberg (born August 5, 1959), better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guita ...
– guitars (1981)
*Mikey Borens – guitars (1983–1984)
*Lisa Pifer
Lisa Pifer (born 1967), also known as Lisafer, is an American bass player and songwriter from Los Angeles. She has played in many punk bands, including U.X.A., Nina Hagen, D.I., Snap-her, and Lisafer. She is of German-Dutch descent.
Pifer gre ...
– bass (2004–2009)
*Jamie Pina – guitars (2004–2006)
*Rikk Agnew
Richard Francis "Rikk" Agnew Jr. (born December 9, 1958) is an American musician with a career spanning more than 40 years. He has previously been a member of some of the most influential bands of the Orange County hardcore punk genre, as we ...
– guitars (2004–2005)
*Mike "Thrashhead" Sullivan – drums (2004–2007)
*L. Ron Jeremy – guitars (2006–2010)
*Kenton Holmes – guitars (2006–2010)
*Stevyn Grey – drums (2007–2008)
*Frank Agnew
Francis Thomas "Frank" Agnew (born August 18, 1964) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a member of punk rock band the Adolescents. Frank's brothers Rikk Agnew and Alfie Agnew, as well as his son Frank Agnew Jr., are als ...
– guitars (2010–2013)
*Mark Bolton – guitars (2011–2014)
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Sleep in Safety
''Sleep in Safety'' is the first studio album by American rock band 45 Grave. It was released in 1983 on record label Enigma.
Critical reception
Contemporary critical reception of the album has been generally positive. Ned Raggett of AllMusic ...
'' (1983, Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
* Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family ...
; 1993, Restless)
* ''Pick Your Poison'' (2012, Frontier
A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...
)
EPs
* ''Phantoms'' (1983, Enigma)
* ''What Is 45 Grave? A Tale of a Strange Phenomena'' (1984, Enigma)
Singles
* " Black Cross" b/w "Wax" (1981, Goldar)
* " School's Out" b/w " Partytime ("The Story of Sabine)" (1984, Enigma)
Live albums
* ''Only the Good Die Young'' (1989, Restless)
Compilation albums
* ''Autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
'' (1987, Restless)
* ''Debasement Tapes'' (1993, Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
)
* ''A Devil's Possessions – Demos & Live 1980–1983'' (2008, Cleopatra)
Compilation appearances
* "Riboflavin Flavored, Non-Carbonated, Poly-Unsaturated Blood" on ''Darker Skratcher'' (1980, Los Angeles Free Music Society
The Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) is a loose underground collective of experimental avant-rock artist-musicians formed in 1973. Described as a "lightning rod for art-damage, weird-music lovers everywhere," LAFMS was formed by Chip Chapma ...
)
* "Bobby" on ''Light Bulb Magazine Number Four – "The Emergency Cassette"'' (1981, Los Angeles Free Music Society)
* "Evil", "Concerned Citizen" and "45 Grave" on ''Hell Comes to Your House
''Hell Comes to Your House'' is an American deathrock and punk compilation of Southern California bands. It is notable for releasing the first ever Christian Death song "Dogs", as well as including the first studio recordings of Social Distortio ...
'' (1981, Bemisbrain)
* "Partytime (Zombie Version)" on '' The Return of the Living Dead (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (1985, Enigma)
* "Insurance from God" on ''Enigma Variations
Edward Elgar composed his ''Variations on an Original Theme'', Op. 36, popularly known as the ''Enigma Variations'', between October 1898 and February 1899. It is an orchestral work comprising fourteen variations on an original theme.
Elgar ...
'' (1985, Enigma)
See also
* Deathrock
Death rock (or deathrock) is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk gen ...
* Christian Death
Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religi ...
References
External links
Official 45 Grave site
Dinah Cancer's website
*
at Punk Zine Archive
at Punk Zine Archive
at Punk Zine Archive
Review of 45 Grave show in March, 2011
in Big Wheel Magazine
Death Rock Pioneers 45 Grave Rise, Fall, Rise Again/
OC Weekly Dec. 2012
45 Grave Sleep in Safety Cover Album
{{Authority control
American death rock groups
American gothic rock groups
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical groups established in 1979
Musical groups disestablished in 1985
Musical groups reestablished in 1988
Musical groups disestablished in 1990
Musical groups reestablished in 2005
Musical quartets
Restless Records artists
Enigma Records artists