Naked Prey was an American rock band from
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
. United States, which was formed in 1982 by the former
Green on Red
Green on Red was an American rock band, formed in the Tucson, Arizona punk scene, but based for most of its career in Los Angeles, California, where it was loosely associated with the Paisley Underground. Earlier records have the wide-screen psy ...
drummer
Van Christian and David Seeger, who had been in the original line-up of the Giant Sandworms (who later became
Giant Sand
Giant Sand is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s post-punk and paisley underground scenes. They later s ...
) as well as The Pedestrians, a band credited with having performed the first
punk rock show in Tucson. Other artists who recorded or performed with the band included members of
Green on Red
Green on Red was an American rock band, formed in the Tucson, Arizona punk scene, but based for most of its career in Los Angeles, California, where it was loosely associated with the Paisley Underground. Earlier records have the wide-screen psy ...
and the
Sand Rubies,
John Convertino
Calexico is a Tucson, Arizona-based Americana, Tex-Mex, indie rock band. The band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand. They have recorded a number of albums on Q ...
and
Joey Burns
Calexico is a Tucson, Arizona-based Americana, Tex-Mex, indie rock band. The band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand. They have recorded a number of albums on Q ...
, later of
Calexico
Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...
,
Chuck Prophet
Charles William Prophet (born June 28, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. A Californian, Prophet first achieved notice in the American psychedelic/desert rock group Green on Red, with whom he toured and rec ...
,
Rainer Ptacek
Rainer Ptacek, also known mononymously as Rainer (June 7, 1951 – November 12, 1997), was a German-American guitarist and singer-songwriter based in Tucson, Arizona for much of his adult life. His guitar technique, which incorporated slide, fin ...
and longtime drummer Tommy Larkins, who currently plays with
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...
, famously appearing with him as half of the two-man Greek chorus in ''
There's Something About Mary
''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men who ...
''. Christian himself also performed with
The Band of Blacky Ranchette (an occasional project of Giant Sand's
Howe Gelb
Howe Gelb (born October 22, 1956, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer based in Tucson, Arizona.
Projects
Gelb's approach to music is collaborative and he has recorded with a number of s ...
) and was in the original lineup of The
Friends of Dean Martinez
Friends of Dean Martinez is an American instrumental rock/ post-rock band featuring members of Giant Sand, Calexico, and Naked Prey. The band combines Americana with electronica, ambient, lounge, psychedelia and dub and intertwines surf rock ...
.
Naked Prey's aggressive, distorted sound was characterized as "rough-edged
country rock
Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...
" and "folk-distorto-rock" and the band was credited with helping to pioneer the guitar-heavy "Desert Rock" sound associated with Tucson in the 1980s and 1990s.
The band was also associated with the vaguely psychedelic
Paisley Underground
Paisley Underground is a musical genre that originated in California. It was particularly popular in Los Angeles, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Paisley Underground bands incorporated psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and guitar interplay, owin ...
scene out of
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' ...
.
In 1984 Naked Prey recorded their first record, produced by
Dan Stuart of
Green on Red
Green on Red was an American rock band, formed in the Tucson, Arizona punk scene, but based for most of its career in Los Angeles, California, where it was loosely associated with the Paisley Underground. Earlier records have the wide-screen psy ...
for the
Down There label of
Steve Wynn
Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...
(
Dream Syndicate
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, alth ...
). Two subsequent releases were on Los Angeles-based independent label
Frontier Records
Frontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Sun Valley, Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways.
History
Frontier Records first ...
. Though they never achieved commercial success, they, like many Tucson bands, acquired a substantial following in Europe.
The band broke up in the late 1990s, but Christian re-unites Naked Prey from time to time for occasional performances.
Members
*Van Christian - Vocals, guitar
*David Seger - Guitar, vocals
*Richard Baden - Bass, vocals
*Tommy Larkins - Drums
Discography
*''Naked Prey'' (1984)
*''Under the Blue Marlin'' (1986)
*''40 Miles from Nowhere'' (1987)
*''Kill the Messenger'' (1989)
*''Live in Tucson'' (1990)
*''Jumbo's Shinebox'' (1992)
*''And then I Shot Everyone'' (1995)
References
Rock music groups from Arizona
Musical groups from Tucson, Arizona
Enigma Records artists
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