Mumps (sometimes credited as ''The'' Mumps) were an American punk band fronted by
Lance Loud
Alanson Russell "Lance" Loud (June 26, 1951 – December 22, 2001) was an American television personality, magazine columnist, and new wave rock-n-roll performer. Loud is best known for his 1973 appearance in ''An American Family'', a pionee ...
. The mainstays of the band were Loud and keyboardist and primary songwriter
Kristian Hoffman
Kristian Hoffman is an American musician.
Biography and career
Kristian Hoffman came into public consciousness as the best friend of Lance Loud in the PBS series ''An American Family.'' His sister is the writer Nina Kiriki Hoffman. During the ...
(who had met at school), and guitarist
Rob Duprey. The initial rhythm section was
Jay Dee Daugherty
Jay Dee Daugherty (born March 22, 1952) is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Biography
Moving to N ...
and Aaron Kiley on drums and bass respectively. Kiley and Daugherty were replaced with Kevin Kiely and John Earl (JED) Dennis. Shortly thereafter, Dennis was replaced by Paul Rutner, which completed the "classic" Mumps lineup. Joe Katz, also of The Student Teachers, replaced Kiely late on in the original run of the band.
Mumps were a popular band at clubs such as
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...
and
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 ...
. They also performed at Irving Plaza and Maxwell's (Hoboken, New Jersey), and opened for the Ramones at
Hurrah in August 1978. Their concerts were lively and featured energetic, expressive performances from Lance Loud and other band members on songs like "We're Americans", "I Believe In Anyone But You", "Strange Seed", "Brain Massage", "Scream and Scream Again".
Their first
45 record single was "I Like To Be Clean", backed by "Crocodile Tears" on
Bomp Records. Their second was "Rock & Roll This & That" with two B-sides: "Muscleboys" and "That Fatal Charm". The recorded version of "Rock & Roll This & That" interpolated a short guitar riff from the Rolling Stones' "
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", but in live performances, they would interpolate other riffs such as David Bowie's "
Rebel Rebel
"Rebel Rebel" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released in the UK in February 1974 by RCA Records as the lead single from the album ''Diamond Dogs''. Written and produced by Bowie, the song is based around a distinctiv ...
". In spite of these two independently produced singles, they failed to secure a contract with a major record label, notably being told "'We don’t want ‘the gay band'" by A&M.
Three compilations of their music have been released, ''Fatal Charm'' (Eggbert Records, 1994), a remastered, 2-disc CD and DVD compilation, ''How I Saved The World'' (
Sympathy for the Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry (also known as Sympathy Records or Sympathy 4 the R.I.) is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by Long Gone John. The first Sympathy release was the Lazy Cowgirls' ''Radio Cowgirl'' ...
, 2005)
and a single disc CD/LP collection ''Rock & Roll This, Rock & Roll That: Best Case Scenario, You’ve Got Mumps'' (
Omnivore Recordings
Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Re ...
, 2021).
Members
Timeline
Collert, Cheeseman and the younger Louds were in the proto-Mumps band Loud
† Mache and Gomez filled in at 1990 partial reunion show. They were members of Hoffman's other band, The Swinging Madisons
References
Punk rock groups from California
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