Happy Flowers was an American musical group, formed in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

, United States, in 1983 by two members of the Landlords, John Beers ("Mr. Horribly Charred Infant", drums, vocals) and Charlie Kramer ("Mr. Anus", guitar, vocals), both students at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 362-3Foster, Patrick " ''I Crush Bozo'' 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 2010-08-30 This duo combines improvisational noise punk guitar and drums with lyrics often written in the first person from the perspective of a child, with childlike intonation and grammar.Robbins, Ira & Schinder, Scott
Happy Flowers
, ''

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 2010-08-30 Their humorous songs are mainly about freak childhood accidents and common childhood gripes.

History

The Landlords were an early

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band from

, United States. The band, consisting of four students from the

, was formed at around October 1983. A month after the Landlords formed, the band began to break off into a number of other bands which included the Happy Flowers When Beers and Kramer concentrated on their Happy Flowers work, Landlords bassist Eddie Jetlag continued his association with them by writing sleevenotes for their releases. The Landlords continued for a few years after Happy Flowers started.Crigler, Pete (2010) ''Keeping It Tight in the Old Dominion: A History of Virginia Rock Music'', Dog Ear Publishing, , p. 31 Happy Flowers' first song, "Mom, I Gave the Cat Some Acid", was released during the summer of 1984 as a part of the compilation album called '' Brain of Stone''. This was followed the same year by the band's first two EPs.Ankeny, Jason " Happy Flowers Biography,

, retrieved 2010-08-30 The band received a wider audience with the albums ''My Skin Covers My Body'' (1987) and '' I Crush Bozo'' (1988), both released by

Homestead Records Homestead Records was a Long Island, New York-based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading that operated from 1983 to 1996. The label was known for not paying its artists and not spending any money on promotion. History The l ...

. The 1990 album ''Lasterday I Was Been Bad'' featured drummer Scott Pickering on half of the tracks.Hamlin, Andrew " ''Lasterday I Was Been Bad'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-08-30 In March 2000, the band went on a four-date tour, the band's first tour in nearly ten years. In February 2004, the band reunited in

for a 20th anniversary performance, a limited-edition DVD from which is available from Lost Frog Productions. In March 2006, the band reunited again and played at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

music festival in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

Line-up

* Mr. Horribly Charred Infant (vocals, instruments, non-instruments) * Mr. Anus (vocals, instruments, non-instruments)

Discography

Landlords discography

*'' It's a Teenage House Party With The Landlords'' LP (1984), Catch Trout *''Our Favorite Songs!'' EP (1987), Catch Trout *''Fitzgerald's Paris '' LP (2016), Feel It Records

Happy Flowers albums

*'' My Skin Covers My Body'' (1987), Homestead *'' I Crush Bozo'' (1988), Homestead *''

Oof Oof or OOF may refer to: Acronyms * Out of focus; see List of abbreviations in photography * Other Official Flows, a categorization of foreign aid used by official development assistance * Out of facility; see List of business and finance abbr ...

'' (1989), Homestead *'' Lasterday I Was Been Bad'' (1990), Homestead ;Compilations: *'' Making the Bunny Pay'' (1987), Catch Trout - compilation of first two EPs *''Too Many Bunnies, (Not Enough Mittens)'' (1989), Homestead *'' Flowers on 45: The Homestead Singles'' (1992), Homestead

Happy Flowers singles and EPs

*'' Songs for Children'' 7" EP (1984), Catch Trout *''

Now We Are Six ''Now We Are Six'' is a book of thirty-five children's verses by A. A. Milne, with illustrations by E. H. Shepard. It was first published in 1927 including poems such as "King John's Christmas", "Binker" and "Pinkle Purr". Eleven of the poem ...

'' 7" EP (1986), Catch Trout *"They Cleaned My Cut Out With a Wire Brush" (1988), Homestead *"BB Gun" (1989), Homestead *"Call Me Pudge" (1990), Homestead *''The Peel Sessions'' 7" EP (1991), Homestead

Videography

*''20th Anniversary Show'' (DVD, 2006)

References

External links

*
Happy Flowers entry
a
Monocular Times
* {{Authority control American noise rock music groups Homestead Records artists Punk rock groups from Virginia