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Alice Donut is a punk rock band from
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formed in 1986.''Alice Donut'' on Alternativetentacles.com
/ref> The band released six albums before splitting up in 1996. They reformed in 2001.


History


1986–1996: Formation to split

Alice Donut formed in 1986 after the demise of the Sea Beasts, a band at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, the name soon trimmed from the initial Alice Donut Liver Henry Moore, a play on "
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore ''Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' is a 1974 American comedy drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Robert Getchell. It stars Ellen Burstyn as a widow who travels with her preteen son across the Southwestern United States in se ...
".''The New Yorker'', Volume 85, 2009, Issues 31-39, p. 11 Ted Houghton, Tomas Antona, Dave Giffen and Tom Meltzer recruited drummer Stephen Moses and quickly found a substantial audience at
CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
. Guitarist Michael Jung soon replaced Meltzer. The band's first commercial release was the ''Donut Comes Alive'' album, released in 1988 on
Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...
's
Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...
label,Jenkins, Mark (1989)
Alice Donut Rising from the Dead
, ''
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'', April 7, 1989. Retrieved December 14, 2018
followed in 1989 with ''Bucketfulls of Sickness and Horror in an Otherwise Meaningless Life''.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 196Mason, Stewart
''Bucketfulls of Sickness and Horror in an Otherwise Meaningless Life'' Review
,
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved December 14, 2018
In August 1990, the band's debut single, a
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of " My Boyfriend's Back", preceded third album ''Mule'', released the following month, and described by ''
Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' as "challenging and invigorating".Robbins, Ira & Sprague, David
Alice Donut
, ''
Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
''. Retrieved December 14, 2018
''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''),Earles, Andrew (2014) ''Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996'', Voyageur Press, , p. 14 and included an instrumental cover of
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
's "War Pigs". Austrian born Bassist Sissi Schulmeister joined the band before the end of the year,Schramm, Stephen (2017)
Blue Devil of the Week: Rocker Blends Creativity and Web Design
, today.duke.edu, December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2018
with Richard Marshall also joining on guitar. 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". It would be over three years before the bands's next studio album, ''Pure Acid Park'',Stewart, Allison (1995)
''Pure Acid Park'' Review
, ''
CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
'', September 1995, p. 28. Retrieved December 14, 2018 via
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although a (mostly) live album, ''Dry-Humping the Cash Cow'', came out in 1994. 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. The band's many shows between 1988 and 1996 included tours of the United States, Europe, and Japan, including a performance at the
Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
in 1993. Moses went on to briefly join Rasputina, while Antona and Schulmeister got married and relocated to
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
.Bush, John
Alice Donut Biography
,
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved December 14, 2018


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. Guitarist Dave Giffen rejoined the group for ''Fuzz'', which was recorded in Brooklyn's BC Studio with longtime co-producer
Martin Bisi Martin Bisi (born 1961) is an American producer and songwriter. He is known for recording important records by Sonic Youth, Swans, John Zorn, Material, Bill Laswell, Helmet, Unsane, The Dresden Dolls, Cop Shoot Cop, White Zombie, Boredoms, Ang ...
, mixed and engineered by
Joel Hamilton Joel Hamilton (born 1980) is an American Brooklyn-based record producer, audio engineer and musician. Hamilton performs as a musician for the band Book of Knots. He is also a producer and engineer at Studio G in Brooklyn, New York. In the summer ...
, and released on September 5, 2006. The band's tenth studio album followed, ''Ten Glorious Animals'', released in September 2009, again on Alternative Tentacles.Cooke, Jennifer (2009)
Alice Donut, Ten Glorious Animals
,
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
, September 29, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2018
In 2011, the band's 25th anniversary was marked with the documentary ''Freaks in Love''. 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.


Musical style

The band has been described as "punk...with elements of oddball country and funk" by
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
writer John Bush, and as "abstract metal" by Andrew Earles. ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' described the band as a "dadaist punk ensemble" playing "oddball psychedelic noise-rock with a spiky sense of humor". ''
Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' 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". Critics also drew comparisons with artists such as
Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been ...
,
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
, and
G.G. Allin Kevin Michael "GG" Allin (born Jesus Christ Allin; August 29, 1956 – June 28, 1993) was an American punk rock musician who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. Allin was best known for his controversial live performances, ...
.


Discography


Demos

* ''Dork Me Bangladesh'' (1987)


Albums


Studio

* ''Donut Comes Alive'' (1988),
Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, t ...
* ''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


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)


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links

*
The Alternative Tentacles biography
* {{Authority control Alternative Tentacles artists Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Punk rock groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City 1986 establishments in New York City Musical groups established in 1986