''Butthole Surfers'' is the debut studio EP by American rock band

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 ...

, released in July

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

. It is also known as ''Brown Reason to Live'' and ''Pee Pee the Sailor'' (see " Title controversy"). All songs were written and produced by Butthole Surfers. The album was originally released on

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 labe ...

. The center label on vinyl printings invited listeners to play the record at 69 RPM, a joke referencing the famous

sex position A sex position is a position of the body that people use for sexual intercourse or other sexual activities. Sexual acts are generally described by the positions the participants adopt in order to perform those acts. Though sexual intercourse ge ...

. The album's back cover features a mildly distorted image of famed

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

luchador Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

Santo.

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

listed the EP in his top fifty albums of all time.

Music

The album consists of seven songs that mostly feature heavily distorted

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

with largely nonsensical, barely intelligible lyrics, alternately sung by

lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Gibby Haynes Gibson Jerome Haynes (born September 30, 1957) is an American musician, radio personality, painter, author and the lead singer of the band Butthole Surfers. Early life and career Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Gibby Haynes is the son of actor ...

and guitarist

Paul Leary Paul Leary Walthall (born May 7, 1957), known as Paul Leary, is an American musician and music producer from Austin, Texas, best known as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist for the American rock band Butthole Surfers. He is also th ...

. Haynes also plays

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

and drums on some tracks. Unlike later Butthole Surfers albums, no electronic instrumentation is present. Having parted ways with their original drummer, Scott Matthews, shortly before entering the studio, Butthole Surfers used a number of different percussionists on this album. The last of them,

King Coffey King Coffey (born Jeffrey Coffey; 1964) is an American drummer, known for being the drummer of the psychedelic/noise rock band Butthole Surfers. He began drumming in a Fort Worth hardcore punk band called The Hugh Beaumont Experience in high ...

, is still with the band to this day. Bassist Bill Jolly was also a relatively new addition, joining after original bass player Quinn Matthews quit at the same time as his brother, Scott.Michael Azerrad, '' Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991'' (New York, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2001) 279 Jolly would also play on the Surfers' first official live release, '' Live PCPPEP'', and their first full-length album, '' Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac''.

Title controversy

Though this EP is also known as ''Brown Reason to Live'', ''Butthole Surfers'' is its official title. Firstly, "Butthole Surfers" were the only words to appear on the front cover of its original release. Furthermore,

Latino Buggerveil Latino Buggerveil is an independent record label and publishing company that was founded by psychedelic noise- punk band the Butthole Surfers. The label's first release was the 1987 album ''A Texas Trip'', a various artists compilation which was co ...

's 2003 reissue of the EP, together with 1984's '' Live PCPPEP'' on a single CD, is titled '' Butthole Surfers/Live PCPPEP''. Perhaps most importantly, it is listed as ''Butthole Surfers'' in the "Discography" section of the band's official website. That said, ''Brown Reason to Live'' has a strong claim to title rights, and many fans refer to it by that name. The 12-inch

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

edition was, and still is, sold as ''Brown Reason to Live'' through original label

, but it is unclear if it was initially released as such. Also, though the words "Brown Reason to Live" did not appear on the original album's packaging, 'A BROWN REASON FOR LIVING' was etched into the run-out grooves of early pressings of this release and 'Brown Reason To Live' was included below the band's name on later Alternative Tentacles printings (see image). Finally, Latino Buggerveil's reissue of this album is listed as ''Brown Reason to Live'' (together with ''Live PCPPEP'') on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

Background

The sessions for ''Butthole Surfers'' were made possible by an earlier Butthole Surfers concert at

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boule ...

, where they had opened for

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing ...

and T.S.O.L. The band gained an early admirer in Dead Kennedys'

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 ...

, who also ran Dead Kennedys'

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

. Biafra told the band that, if they got someone to loan them

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

time, Alternative Tentacles would reimburse the studio once the album was complete. According to

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

, the band then talked Bob O'Neill, owner of

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

' BOSS Studios, (a.k.a. Bob O'Neill's Sound Studio, a.k.a. the Boss), into loaning them the required time. Joe Pugliese, a San Antonio music promoter, recalled that lead singer

slept at the studio during these sessions. Mike Taylor, an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

at BOSS Studios, assisted with the EP's production. Taylor would later record and assemble the contents of 1984's '' Live PCPPEP''.Joe Nick Patoski and John Morthland, "Feeding the Fish: An Oral History of the Butthole Surfers," ''Spin Magazine'', 1996
, archived at Butthole Surfers fan website
Negro Observer

Track listing

All songs written and produced by Butthole Surfers.

Side 1

# "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave" – 2:09 # "Hey" – 2:06 # "Something" – 4:36

Side 2

# "Bar-B-Q Pope" – 3:36 # "Wichita Cathedral" – 2:22 # "Suicide" – 1:24 # "The Revenge of Anus Presley" – 2:25

Personnel

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

("Hey," "Wichita Cathedral," and "Suicide"),

, lead vocals ("The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave," "Something," and "Bar-B-Q Pope") * Bill Jolly -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

("Bar-B-Q Pope" and "Wichita Cathedral") * Brad Perkins - drums on "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave" and "The Revenge of Anus Presley" * Various musicians - drums (all other tracks)

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butthole Surfers (Ep) 1983 debut EPs Butthole Surfers albums Alternative Tentacles EPs