Lutefisk was an American alternative rock band based in

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' ...

. It was active in the 1990s as part of LA's

Silver Lake Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

alternative music scene. During this time, it released two studio albums on Bong Load Records and recorded a third unreleased record for A&M Records.

History

Lutefisk's frontman, Don Burnet, was formerly the frontman of the band Plain Wrap during the 1980s, and led the band 3D Picnic from 1986 to 1992. Burnet had also played drums for

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

before becoming Lutefisk's guitarist. The founding of the band was related to the curing of a "premature midlife artistic crisis", faced by Burnet the age of 30. The name of the band refers to

lutefisk ''Lutefisk'' (Norwegian, in Northern and parts of Central Norway, in Southern Norway; sv, lutfisk ; fi, lipeäkala ; literally "lye fish") is dried whitefish (normally cod, but ling and burbot are also used). It is made from aged stockfi ...

, a dried fish dish of Scandinavian origin, prepared with lye. Its "window of success" as a recipe is rather small, according to

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

's 2007 book '' Pontoon''. According to Burnet, the band's name is about playing pop songs that are "hard to stomach". Lutefisk released its first album, ''Deliver from Porcelain: Theme and Variations'', in 1995 on

Bong Load Custom Records Bong Load Records is an independent record label originally based in Los Angeles which was founded by producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf and partner Bradshaw Lambert. Much of the Bong Load Records catalog is released in small quantities. Seve ...

. It was named the 10th best local album of the year by Mike Boehm in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''. In 1996, Lutefisk performed at

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

on the indie stage. They released their second and final album, ''Burn in Hell Fuckers'', on the same label in 1997. Its name derives from a phrase the band's frontman wrote on the wall of their recording studio after it was robbed, in hopes it might scare away the burglars if they returned. Lutefisk recorded ''Burn in Hell Fuckers'' on a four-track, which they wore out during the album's production. It received mixed reviews from critics, particularly pertaining to the band's cover of Wild Cherry's "

Play That Funky Music "Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on th ...

". Critics who wrote favorably of the cover included Steven Mirkin, who praised the cover as "near perfect", and Curtis Bonney, who wrote that it "plunges into the radioactive whirlpool and comes out mangled, nearly (and hilariously) unidentifiable." Conversely, Randy Roberts said the band's decision to cover it "makes one question the band's musical judgment from the first note to the last." The album was awarded a three-star rating by Jeff Salamon, who described the album's sound as "a cross between the Grifters and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

". The August 2009 issue of ''

SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' included Lutefisk in their article "SPIN's 100 Greatest Bands You've Probably Never Heard Of".

Discography

*''Deliver from Porcelain: Theme and Variations'' (Bong Load Custom, 1995) *''Burn in Hell Fuckers'' (Bong Load Custom, 1997) *''This Is Where The Stars Are'' (A&M Records, 1997, unreleased)

References

{{Reflist, 30em Musical groups from Los Angeles Alternative rock groups from California 1990s establishments in California