Flour is the musical project and nickname of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

musician Pete Conway, who wrote songs and played

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

in the bands Rifle Sport and

Breaking Circus Breaking Circus was a post-punk band from the 1980s, based in Chicago and later Minneapolis, founded by guitarist and vocalist Steve Björklund. History Björklund had played guitar and sang for Chicago punk band Strike Under after a short stin ...

until the mid-1980s.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 483Frampton, Scott
Flour
, ''

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 ...

'', retrieved 2010-03-27 He released four

solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

s on

Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. ...

from 1988 to 1994 on which he plays most of the instruments himself. Flour toured as a live band twice with a lineup that featured ex- Big Black guitarist

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...

on bass and former Breaking Circus

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

ist

Todd Trainer Todd Trainer is the drummer for the band Shellac. He also performs as a solo artist under the name Brick Layer Cake. He previously played drums for the bands Breaking Circus and Rifle Sport, and he played drums with Scout Niblett in 2005. Pers ...

on drums before they went on to form the band

Shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...

. Flour's solo recordings feature the drum machine sound characteristic of Big Black, which was also toyed with by many other

independent rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produce ...

bands in the Midwest during that time period. Flour's third solo album ''Machinery Hill'' was described 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 databa ...

s Richard Foss as "an oddball masterpiece of grinding guitar, fluid bass, hammering drums, and very creative ideas".Foss, Richard " ''Machinery Hill'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-03-27 In the mid-1990s, Conway was part of an all-bass trio, called Brits Out of America, along with Dana Cochrane of Mickey Finn, Amy Larson of Strumpet, and Ben Ivascu of Polica, STNNNG, Marijuana Deathsquads, etc.Music Notes: Last Nights
", '' City Pages'', April 24, 1996, retrieved 2010-03-26 In 1992, Conway performed as the bass player on the supergroup

Pigface Pigface is an American industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin. History Pigface was formed from Ministry's ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' tour, which produced the '' In Case You Didn't Feel ...

's "Fook You '92" tour.

Album discography

Solo albums

*''Flour'' LP (1988) *''Luv 713'' LP (1990) *''Machinery Hill'' CD (1991) *''Fourth and Final'' CD (1994)

Collections

* ''Luv 713/Flour'' CD (1990)

As a band member

With Breaking Circus

*'' The Very Long Fuse EP'' (Homestead Records HMS012, 1985) *''

The Ice Machine ''The Ice Machine'' is an album by Breaking Circus. It was released in 1986 by on Homestead Records. Track listing Side 1: #"Song of the South" (Steve Björklund, Pete Conway, and Todd Trainer) #"Ancient Axes" (Björklund) #"Daylight" (Björklu ...

'' (Homestead Records HMS075, 1986) *'' Smokers' Paradise EP'' (Homestead Records HMS092, 1987)

With Rifle Sport

*'' Voice of Reason'' ( Reflex Records Reflex-E, 1983) *" Complex EP" (Ruthless Records RRRS-014, 1985) *'' White (Made In France)'' ( Ruthless Records RRRS-016, 1987) *'' Live At The Entry, Dead At The Exit'' (Ruthless Records RRRS-021, 1989) *'' Primo'' (Big Money-Ruthless BMI-011, 1991)

References

American rock singers American rock songwriters Musical groups from Minnesota Touch and Go Records artists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Pigface members {{US-rock-band-stub