King Snake Roost (also known as KSR) were one of a number of Australian and International guitar-based bands who emerged from within the punk rock and post-punk scene of the mid-1980s that came to be defined as

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

. King Snake Roost formed in 1985 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and in 1987 the band moved to Sydney. The band broke up in 1990 after a two-month tour of the US. In Australia and the USA the band played with some of the most influential noise rock bands of the 1980s, including Sonic Youth, Big Black, Mudhoney,

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

, Babes In Toyland,

Lubricated Goat Lubricated Goat are an Australian noise rock band which originally formed in 1986 by multi-instrumentalist Stu Spasm. They achieved brief notoriety in November 1988 for appearing nude on the ABC TV program '' Blah Blah Blah'', wearing only thei ...

feedtime Feedtime (stylised as feedtime) is an Australian noise rock band from Sydney, New South Wales, that was initially formed as a duo in 1979 by Rick Johnson on guitar and vocals and Allen Larkin on bass guitar and vocals. They soon became a trio ...

and The Mark of Cain. KSR played at some prestigious 1980s US venues, including,

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kr ...

and

Maxwell's Maxwell's, last known as Maxwell's Tavern, was a bar/restaurant and music club in Hoboken, New Jersey. Over several decades the venue attracted a wide variety of acts looking for a change from the New York City concert spaces across the river. Ma ...

Lineup

1985-1986

* Charlie Tolnay, guitar **was also a founding member of the seminal Adelaide post punk band

Grong Grong Grong Grong is a small town that is located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is situated on the Newell Highway, east of Narrandera in the Shire of Narrandera. The name ''Grong Grong'' is an Aboriginal term mea ...

**for a brief time he was in blues-punk band Bloodloss with

Guy Maddison Guy Bernard Maddison (born 31 March 1965) is an Australian punk and grunge musician. From 1986 to 1989 he worked as a member of noise rock group Lubricated Goat and appeared on their album ''Paddock of Love''. He was a member of Bloodloss (199 ...

of Mudhoney and he recorded with

**during 1989 he recorded the Tumor Circus album with members of Steel Pole Bathtub and

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 ...

of the

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 p ...

**also played on both

Bushpig :''"Bush pig" may also refer to the red river hog. The bushpig (''Potamochoerus larvatus'') is a member of the pig family that inhabits forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and cultivated areas in East and Southern Africa. Probably introduce ...

records with Steve Turner and

Mark Arm Mark Arm (born Mark Thomas McLaughlin; February 21, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. His former group, Green River, was one of the first grunge bands, along with Malfunkshun, ...

of Mudhoney
*Trigger (Steve Tregilgas), vocals. *Michael Raymond, bass. *George Klestines, drums, formerly of

and Perdition.

1986-1987

* Charlie Tolnay, guitar *Peter Hill, vocals & feed harp, also a member of

*Bill Bostle, drums, was also a member of Half. *Michael Raymond, bass. **It was this line up that recorded the first KSR release ''From Barbarism to Christian Manhood''. For a brief time after Michael Raymond left bass duties were handled by 'Uncle Egon' (the band's name for the pre-recorded bass parts played back off tape), most notably for the

Adelaide University Union YouX (Formerly AUU) is a student union at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. It provides academic advocacy, welfare, and counselling services to students free of charge, funds the student newspaper '' On Dit,'' and owns a number of co ...

show with Big Black. Dave Taskas of

also played bass at a small number of shows in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

1987-1989

*Charlie Tolnay, guitar. *Peter Hill, vocals, guitar, feed harp. *Bill Bostle, drums. *David Quinn, bass, also a member of Deathless, and previously of Madroom. **This lineup was responsible for all subsequent King Snake Roost recordings, and the US tour.

1989-1990

* Charlie Tolnay, guitar *Peter Hill, vocals *Gene Rivet, bass *Craig Rossi, drums, who also played in Box Of Fish. **This version of the band was short-lived.

Guests

*Lachlan McLeod, a member of Salamander Jim and Thug, amongst others. *Dave Boyne, member of legendary 1960s garage band

The Missing Links The Missing Links were an Australian garage rock, R&B, and protopunk group from Sydney who were active from 1964 to 1966. The group was known for wearing their hair long and smashing their equipment on-stage. Throughout the course of 1965, the ...

. *Adrian Symes, aka 'Sax Adrian', who played with many bands during the 1980s. *Tom Sturm, of

. *Michael Farkas, singer from

Discography

;Studio albums *'' From Barbarism to Christian Manhood'' (1987, Aberrant) *'' Things That Play Themselves'' (1988, Aberrant) *'' Ground Into the Dirt'' (1990, Amphetamine Reptile) ;Singles *''Raw Cuts'' (1987,

Satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

) *''Top End Killer/A Storm Brewin (1988, Aberrant) *''Buffalo Bob/More Than Love'' (split single with

) (1988, Aberrant) *''School's Out/Nutbush City Limits'' (split single with Bloodloss) (1989, Crack) ;Appears on *'' Hard to Believe: Kiss Covers Compilation'' (1989, Waterfront) *''Dope-Guns-'n-Fucking in the Streets: Volume 3'' (1989, Amphetamine Reptile) *''Dope-Guns-'n-Fucking in the Streets: Volumes 1–3'' (1990, Amphetamine Reptile) *''Dope Guns & F*cking Up Your Video Deck: Volume One'' (1990, Amphetamine Reptile)

References

{{Authority control Amphetamine Reptile Records artists Grunge musical groups Noise rock groups Musical groups from Adelaide Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Australian alternative rock groups 1985 establishments in Australia