Kepone Is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
indie 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 produc ...
band based out of
Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1991, the band's name was derived from the
Kepone
Chlordecone, better known in the United States under the brand name Kepone, is an organochlorine compound and a colourless solid. It is an obsolete insecticide, now prohibited in the western world, but only after many thousands of tonnes had be ...
crisis that occurred in the Richmond area in the 1970s.
Originally formed as a side project of
Michael Bishop of
Gwar
Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...
,
the original line-up of the band also included guitarist Tim Harriss of Burma Jam and Hoi-Polloi as well as drummer
Seth Harris
Seth D. Harris (born October 12, 1962) was the 11th United States Deputy Secretary of Labor, and served for six months as the Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor and a member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet. Nominated by President Obama in Febru ...
of Honor Role.
Kepone released their debut
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 ...
, ''Ugly Dance'', through
Quarterstick Records
Quarterstick Records is a sublabel of Touch and Go Records.
Artists
*Bad Livers
*Calexico
* DK3
* Dead Child
* June of 44
*Kepone
* The Mekons
* Mi Ami
*Peter Móren (of Peter, Bjorn and John)
*Mule
* Naked Raygun
*Tara Jane O'Neil
* Pegboy
*Ph ...
in 1994.
Harris left soon after to focus on
environmental activism
The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists ad ...
, and Ed Trask of the Holy Rollers replaced him.
The band released two more albums, ''Skin'' and ''Kepone'', before their eventual break up.
The three would play separately in other bands before reuniting to form American Grizzly with vocalist Bunny Wells. American Grizzly broke up in 2005.
The band reunited for one night at the 2011 Gwar-B-Q in Richmond, Virginia, on September 17, 2011. Kepone opened for
Lamb of God on January 22, 2012, at The National in Richmond, and Gwar on December 21, 2012, at the NORVA in
Norfolk, Virginia. Kepone has since reunited to perform on the main stage at Gwar-B-Q 2014 at Hadad's Lake in Richmond.
Discography
Albums
*''Ugly Dance'' (1994)
*''Skin'' (1995)
*''Kepone'' (1997)
Singles
*From ''Ugly Dance''
**1994 "Henry"
**1994 "Ugly Dance"
*From ''Skin''
**1995 "Knifethrower"
*From ''Kepone''
**1997 "Ghost"
References
External links
Band Fansitebr
Myspace tribute page
Indie rock musical groups from Virginia
Music of Richmond, Virginia
Quarterstick Records artists
{{US-indie-rock-band-stub