BUMMER was an American

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band from

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, formed in 2012. The members included vocalist and guitarist Matt Perrin, bassist Mike Gustafson, and drummer Sam Hutchinson. The band was known for their unique sense of

black humor Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

tied into their cathartic "wall of sound" live show.

History

BUMMER originally formed in July 2012 in Olathe, Kansas. The original lineup included Matt Perrin, Mike Gustafson, and Sam Hunter. Gustafson and Perrin were known to be previously jamming in other bands beforehand, and were looking for a new drummer to play with. Perrin and Hunter were seniors at

Olathe East High School Olathe East High School is a public high school located in Olathe, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. The school is one of five high schools in the Olathe USD 233 school district. Olathe East is a member of the Kansas State ...

at the time, and Hunter took interest in playing with the two. This iteration of the lineup released the first self-released EP titled "Young Ben Franklin" in April 2013. Shortly after this release the band parted ways with drummer Sam Hunter and recruited Thomas Williams (who had played with Gustafson and Perrin previously in another band). With Williams behind the kit the band released their second self-released EP "Milk" in October 2013 as well as their infamous 2015 EP "Spank" released by High Dive Records which featured a gimp mask and BDSM themed art. Before the record was released Williams left the band to pursue a career as a master technician and Sam Hutchinson (formerly of the band CANYONS) would take over duties on drums for the foreseeable future. The band also relocated from Olathe to Kansas City at this point. After the release of "Spank" and the touring that followed. The band released a Split 12-inch LP with PINKO from

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sub-sequentially released by High Dive Records in 2017. After a extensive summer of touring with Whores. and Wrong, the band would head into the studio later that year to record their debut LP "Holy Terror" released by Learning Curve Records in 2018. Holy Terror created additional outreach and reception for the band. With people citing the bands aggressive approach of low end punch & jabbing guitars, as well as their signature sense of black humor regarding the song titles and lyrical content. The band would continue their relationship with Learning Curve Records and follow up a year later with their 2019 EP "Thanks for Nothing". In early 2020. The band was approached by

The Body The Body may refer to: Literature * ''The Body'' (short story), a short story by Camillo Boito * ''The Body'' (novella), a novel written by Stephen King * ''The Body'' (Sapir novel), a novel by Richard Sapir * ''The Body'' (Kureishi novel), ...

Thrill Jockey Records Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

to do a split 7-inch after a show the two played together. This was released as "The Body / BUMMER Split 7-inch and was released by Thrill Jockey Records in Sep 2020. The band formally signed to Thrill Jockey later that year and would go on to release their second LP "Dead Horse" in 2021. "Dead Horse" was seen to push the bands sound even further. Creating a lean and consolidated sonic attack, adding sampling and additional layering. The release saw no lack in sense of humor with songs like "I Want To Punch Bruce Springsteen in the D*ck" and "Magic Cruel Bus". The band called it quits in 2022 after playing a final show with

Cherubs A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

and Young Widows.

Musical style

The band is mainly described as

with heavy influences of

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge or sludge doom) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated through combining elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. It is typically harsh and abrasive, often featuring shouted vocals, heavi ...

. The band is routinely described as creating "A Wall of Sound" for listeners, and embracing jabs of nihilistic humor within the song titles and themes of each release. Many have noted influences from

Unsane ''Unsane'' is a 2018 American psychological horror film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. The film stars Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Matt Damon, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, and Amy I ...

METZ Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

Coalesce Coalesce may refer to: *Coalesce (band), a metalcore band from Kansas City, Missouri, active from 1994 to 1999, 2005– **Coalesce discography, a list of Coalesce's albums and songs *COALESCE, an SQL function *Null coalescing operator, a binary op ...

, Helmet,

Karp Karp may refer to: Places * Karp, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-east Poland * Karp, Lublin Voivodeship, in east Poland People * Karp (surname) * Karp Khachvankyan (1923–1998), Armenian actor and director Other uses * KARP-FM, a radio st ...

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, and more. The band works a lot with of Justin Mantooth at Westend Recording Studios in Kansas City, Kansas. The band has worked with Mantooth on every release but two.{{Citation needed, date=February 2022

Band members

Current members

*Matt Perrin - Guitar / Vocals (2012-2022) *Mike Gustafson - Bass (2012-2022) *Sam Hutchinson - Drums (2015-2022)

Former members

*Thomas Williams - Drums ''(2013-2015)'' *Sam Hunter - Drums ''(2012-2013)''

Discography

LPs

* ''- Dead Horse (2021)'' * ''- Holy Terror (2018)''

EPs

* ''Thanks For Nothing'' (2019) * ''Spank'' (2015) * ''Milk'' (2013) * ''Young Ben Franklin'' (2013)

Splits

* 7-inch split w/ The Body (2020) * 12-inch split w/ PINKO (2017)

References

Musical groups from Kansas City, Missouri American noise rock music groups Thrill Jockey artists