Men's Recovery Project was an American

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

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

band formed by

Sam McPheeters Sam McPheeters (born 1969) is an American artist, journalist, novelist, and performer. Early life Raised in Albany, New York, Albany, New York (state), New York, he became a published author at age 12, with ''Travelers' Tales'', a collection of r ...

and

Neil Burke Neil Burke is an American musician and artist. He is known as a former member of several hardcore punk and noise rock bands, most notably Born Against and Men's Recovery Project. Burke is currently a poster artist, graphic designer and screen ...

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, active from 1993–2002. The group's

post-modern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...

absurdist musical attitude resulted in a diverse and consistently obtuse output, with varied material touching on

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

avant garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or 'vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical De ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

and

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

motifs that often alluded to their roots in

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 ...

History

Burke (formerly of the

New York hardcore New York hardcore (also known as NYHC) is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Wa ...

band

Life's Blood Life's Blood was an American hardcore punk band formed by four first-year college students in New York City in 1987. It consisted of Adam Nathanson on guitars, Neil Burke on bass, John Kriksciun on drums, and Combined Effort all ages shows pro ...

) and McPheeters originally co-founded the hardcore punk band

Born Against Born Against was an American hardcore punk band from New York active between 1989 and 1993. In addition to their radical leftist politics, the group espoused a DIY punk message and challenged what they perceived as being a problem within the p ...

in 1989, although Burke left the group later that year. The group's strident radical leftist message slowly gave way to cynical absurdism over their four-year career, and Men's Recovery Project, founded in 1993 after the demise of Born Against, further developed these sensibilities. The duo of McPheeters and Burke remained Men's Recovery Project's core members, although the group was frequently augmented by additional musicians. Over its career, the band saw membership from Joe Preston (of

The Melvins ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and

Thrones A throne is a seat of state for a potentate or dignitary. Throne or Thrones may also mean: People * Throne (surname) Arts and entertainment *The Throne (group), collaboration pseudonym for rappers Jay Z and Kanye West (as on Drake's "Pop Style") * ...

Tonie Joy Anthony R. "Tonie" Joy is an American musician based in Baltimore, Maryland. Joy is known for his work in various underground rock and post-hardcore bands. He ran the independent record label Vermin Scum from 1989 until 2001. Musical career H ...

(of

Moss Icon Moss Icon is an American post-hardcore band formed in late 1986 in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. Its original lineup comprised vocalist Jonathan Vance, guitarist Tonie Joy, bassist Monica DiGialleonardo, and drummer Mark Laurence. Alex Bad ...

and

Universal Order of Armageddon Universal Order of Armageddon was an American hardcore band, active from 1992 to 1994 and reformed in 2010. History The band formed in September 1992. By early 1993, after quickly gaining a small but devoted following, they recorded and toured ...

), producer Max Henkel, and the entirety of the group Rah Bras, among others. The band toured the US extensively, and also made two trips to Japan. Men's Recovery Project released four full-length albums and numerous smaller releases on labels such as

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally known ...

, Lungcast Records and McPheeters' own

Vermiform Records Vermiform Records was an American independent record label that specialized in releasing punk rock music from 1990 until 2002. Vermiform released 58 albums and relocated many times, being headquartered in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Isl ...

. Following their demise, McPheeters formed the short-lived hardcore band

Wrangler Brutes The Wrangler Brutes were an American hardcore punk band formed in 2003 in Los Angeles, California. History Wrangler Brutes were formed around vocalist Sam McPheeters (ex-Born Against, Men's Recovery Project), drummer Brooks Headley (ex-Born A ...

. Burke is involved in art and screen-printing.

Discography

*"Emergency Record" 7" (Lungcast, 1993) *"Make a Baby" 7" (Vermiform, 1994) *"Frank Talk About Humans" CD/7"x2 (Vinyl Communications, 1994) *"Normal Man" 7" (Gravity, 1995) *"Time to Milk" 7" split w/ H.G.C. (Chester, 1996) *"Botanica Mysteria" 7" (Kill Rock Stars, 1996) *"Immense Ovary Reject" 7" (Walkabout, 1996) *"New Human" tour-only 5" (Vermiform, 1996) *"Thank You for Killing Me" 7" (Paralogy, 1997) *''The Golden Triumph of Naked Hostility'' CD (Vermiform, 1997) *''Grappling with the Homonids'' icLP/CD split with Sinking Body (Vermiform, 1998) *''Resist the New Way'' LP/CD (Vermiform, 1999) *''Bolides Over Basra'' LP/CD (Load, 2000) *''Night Pirate'' LP/CD (

, 2001) *'' The Very Best of Men's Recovery Project'' (5RC, 2005)Vermiform: MRP discography

References

External links

Neil Burke - Artwork
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mens Recovery Project American experimental rock groups American noise rock music groups Rock music groups from Rhode Island Load Records artists Kill Rock Stars artists