The Nig-Heist was a

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

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 ...

shock rock Shock rock is the combination of rock music or heavy metal music with highly theatrical live performances emphasizing shock value. Performances may include violent or provocative behavior from the artists, the use of attention-grabbing imagery ...

band led by Steve "Mugger" Corbin, a roadie and live sound engineer for Black Flag and employee of

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was formed in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Tuners, a small business through which he sold electronics equipm ...

. The Nig-Heist featured a revolving-door roster of members of the bands who were on tour with Black Flag at the moment. The band used to open for Black Flag on tour and recorded a 7", an LP and had tracks on compilations. They were notorious for their risqué stage antics, including band members playing naked, Mugger wearing a long-haired wig and insulting the crowd. Their songs were overtly vulgar and explicit in a funny way. Their motto was: "The band that cums in your mouth, not in your hands".

History

The Nig-Heist was founded in 1981 in Los Angeles by Steve "Mugger" Corbin, who was a dropout who ran away from an abusive home in his early teens. He and other runaways eventually began to congregate at the Church, a former church that was converted into a band practice space, where they became immersed in the fledgling suburban hardcore punk scene. It was there that Mugger became acquainted with

Greg Ginn Gregory Regis Ginn (born June 8, 1954) is an American guitarist, bassist, singer and songwriter, best known for being the leader, primary songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led ...

and Black Flag. Ginn gave Mugger a job at his SST Electronics company. After becoming Black Flag's roadie, Mugger wanted to start his own band to bring some humor as well as antagonize the scene which he felt was overly-serious and crowded with lackluster bands.Richie Charles (2011-11-01
Scoring a Three with Mugger
Vice.com, accessed 2020-02-09 He recruited members of the bands who were on tour with Black Flag for his band and usually had them play a different instrument than they normally played. On stage, Mugger played naked or in his underwear and would always wear a long-haired wig with a trucker cap and taunt punks and skinheads in the audience who didn't want to see any "long-haired faggot" on stage. Mugger often baited the crowd with statements like "I know your kind, you want to overthrow the government" and "if you think I'm a faggot, why don't you come up here and let me buttfuck you" while also asking female concert-goers for sexual favors. The rest of the band usually played in disguise and under fake names or behind their amps. Band members generally included Black Flag's

Kira Roessler Kira Roessler (born June 12, 1961) is an American musician and two-time Emmy Award-winning dialogue editor. She is best known as the bassist for the influential hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1983 to 1985. Since the mid-1980s, she has been ...

Chuck Dukowski Gary Arthur McDaniel (born February 1, 1954 ), better known by his stage name Chuck Dukowski, is an American punk rock musician most well known for being the bass player, and occasional songwriter for Black Flag. Career Early years Dukowski ...

Dez Cadena Dez Cadena (born June 2, 1961) is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1980 to 1983. Cadena played guitar with Misfits from 2001 to 2015, initi ...

Chuck Biscuits Chuck Biscuits (born Charles Montgomery on April 17, 1965) is a Canadian drummer best known for his work in several punk rock bands. Biscuits was a member of D.O.A. from 1978 to 1982, playing on the band's first two albums before briefly joini ...

; Bill Stevenson from the

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a s ...

and Black Flag;

D. Boon Dennes Dale Boon (April 1, 1958 – December 22, 1985) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and songwriter of the punk rock trio Minutemen. He was born on April 1, 1958 in San Pedro, California, and formed the Minuteme ...

from the

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

; recording engineer

SPOT Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot (produ ...

;

Dave "Davo" Classen Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

(Black Flag's soundman); SST hangers-on

Merrill Ward Merrill may refer to: Places in the United States *Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska *Merrill, Iowa * Merrill, Maine *Merrill, Michigan * Merrill, Mississippi, an unincorporated community near Lucedale in George County *Merrill, Oregon *Merrill, Wi ...

from Overkill and

Tom Troccoli Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

from

Tom Trocolli's Dog Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

; as well as

Ian MacKaye Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk ...

from east-coast band

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitaris ...

. Because their songs were so sexist, the Nig-Heist didn't want to have a woman in the band. When Kira Roessler played bass in the band, she was hidden behind a curtain and a man pretended to play on stage. The Nig-Heist's songs always revolved around sex, as evidenced by song titles like "Put My Love in Your Mouth", and "Balls of Fire", and dealt with their topic in purposely explicit and immature ways. Mugger later said the songs were inspired by an exaggerated version of his own youthful preoccupation with sex: "When you’re that age, what else do you think about?" Predictably, this approach angered most not in on the joke and the biggest cheers for the Nig-Heist typically came when they announced they were playing their last song, if they got a chance to do so. The band often had the plug pulled on them by club managers or were attacked by outraged audience members. If they weren't attacked, Mugger often got the last laugh by leaving stage, taking off his wig and moving through the audience, unnoticed. They made headlines in Denver in April 1984 when Mugger and Trocolli were arrested for lewd behavior onstage at The Rainbow Music Hall after the club owner was scandalized by their obscenity. They were jailed for indecent exposure and simulating anal intercourse and Greg Ginn bailed them out later. One of Mugger's lines he always said when angry people in the crowd started spitting on him was "Hey if you fags are going to spit on me, aim for my butthole so I have some lubrication for after the show" In 1983,

Joe Carducci Joe Carducci is an American writer, record producer, and former A&R executive, formerly most closely associated with the influential record label SST Records. Carducci lived for a time in Chicago before moving to Hollywood in 1976. From 1981 to 19 ...

Thermidor Records Thermidor () was the eleventh month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word ''thermal'', derived from the Greek word "thermos" (''heat''). Thermidor was the second month of the summer quarter (''mois d'ét ...

released a one-song Nig-Heist 7" called Walking Down the Street with

Raymond Pettibon Raymond Pettibon (born Raymond Ginn, June 16, 1957) is an American artist who lives and works in New York City. Pettibon came to prominence in the early 1980s in the southern California punk rock scene, creating posters and album art mainly for ...

artwork and, a year later, released the group's self-titled LP. Also in 1984, the Nig-Heist did their most extensive tour, opening for Black Flag and the

Meat Puppets Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar/vocals), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothers ...

. By then, Mugger had also taken on an important role in running SST Records, splitting control of the label with Ginn, Dukowski, and co-owner Joe Carducci. Despite Mugger's position at the label, no Nig-Heist material was ever released on SST. After 1984, Mugger left the road crew to concentrate on responsibilities at SST, marking the end of The Nig-Heist. Mugger remained with the label until the late 1980s when, after disagreements over the type of artists the label should sign, he was bought out by Ginn and Dukowski. Mugger, who had studied economics at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

while working for SST, used the money to invest in technology and became a computer industry mogul and a millionaire.''American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980-1996'', movie,

Steven Blush Steven Blush is an American author, journalist, record collector and film maker who is best known for his book ''American Hardcore'' and the movie of the same name. Blush has written five books, is the founder of ''Seconds'' magazine and has w ...

Paul Rachman Paul Rachman (born September 13, 1962) is an American film director who directed the highly praised 2006 documentary on punk music '' American Hardcore'', which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. H ...

, September 22, 2006. In 1998

Drag City Records Drag City is an American independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, ...

released the Nig-Heist's discography on CD. The record included both of the Nig-Heist records as well as some demos and a disc of live shows.

Members

* Steve "Mugger" Corbin - Lead Vocals * Bill Stevenson - Guitar * David "Davo" Classen - Drums * Tom Trocolli - Bass *

- Drums *

- Guitar *

- Drums *

- Bass *

- Guitar * Jack Brewer - Vocals *

d. Boon Dennes Dale Boon (April 1, 1958 – December 22, 1985) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and songwriter of the punk rock trio Minutemen. He was born on April 1, 1958 in San Pedro, California, and formed the Minuteme ...

- Roadie

Discography

Albums

*1984: ''The Nig-Heist'' LP (

) *1997: ''Nig-Heist'' CD (

) ;Compilations *1981: ''Chunks'' LP (

New Alliance Records New Alliance Records was an independent record label founded by American musicians D. Boon and Mike Watt (of The Minutemen) and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich. They were inspired by the example of their friends in southern Califo ...

) - features the track ''The Nig-Heist (The Last Generation)''

Singles

*1982: "Walking Down the Street" 7" (

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nig Heist Punk rock groups from California Musical groups established in 1981 Comedy rock