The Nip Drivers were an American
punk rock band formed in 1980 in
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...
. The band was the brainchild of lead singer Mike Webber, and for a time included guitarist Kurt Schellenbach, Janus Jones on bass, and Nick Passiglia on drums, though the lineup at any given time was fluid. They played fast hardcore punk, often infused with humor and a total lack of political correctness. In addition to their own compositions, they recorded sometimes improbable covers of pop hits such as
Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
’s “
Have You Never Been Mellow
''Have You Never Been Mellow'' is the fifth studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released on 12 February 1975 by MCA Records.
Reception
Both the title single and the album rose to the top of their respective US charts ...
,”
Duran Duran's "
Rio
Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil.
Rio or Río may also refer to:
Geography Brazil
* Rio de Janeiro
* Rio do Sul, a ...
," and
Sweet
Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketone ...
’s “
Fox on the Run”. The last is heard on the soundtrack of the 1984 film ''
Desperate Teenage Lovedolls''. The band also made a cameo appearance in the 1985 film ''
Echo Park
Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known f ...
'' starring Susan Dey and Tom Hulce.
After a period of inactivity, Webber emerged with an all-new line-up in the 1990s. In 2000, the 1980s LPs were reissued on CD. In 1999 Mike started an acoustic project called the Bob Drivers with Jula Bell (Bulimia Banquet, Bobsled, Miss Derringer)where Mike played acoustic guitar and Jula played punk rock autoharp. The name was a play on Bobsled+Nip Drivers, henceforth, The Bob Drivers. In 2001 Mike emerged with the last Nip Drivers line up. He used his other band Marc Spitz Freestyle, as his back up band. The other members included Jula Bell on bass and b.u.vox, Greg Cameron (SWA, October Faction) on drums, and Dave Wakefield (Sukia) on guitar. They recorded 4 new Nip Driver songs that are due for release in Winter of 2020. Mike Webber died on November 11, 2006. The last show that the Nip Drivers played before Mike died was with the Nip Drivers/MSF at the Liquid Kitty Punk Rock BBQ in West LA August 13, 2006.
Discography
* ''Destroy Whitey'' (12" EP, 1984,
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 Cali ...
)
* ''Oh Blessed Freak Show'' (LP, 1985, Bemisbrain/
Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
* Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family ...
)
* ''Nip Drivers'' (7” EP, 1990, No Reality—this is sometimes referred to as the ‘’Pretty Face’’ EP)
* ''Dirt My Hole'' (7” EP, 1995, Fearless)
* ''Destroy Whitey/Oh Blessed Freak Show'' (CD reissue, 2000, Taang! Records)
Compilation appearances
* ''Party or Go Home'' (1983,
Mystic Records
Mystic Records is an American record label and music production company specializing in hardcore punk, crossover thrash, underground music, vintage and cult records. It is owned and operated by Doug Moody. The label was first established in Hollywo ...
)
** Includes "Tang"
* ''
Desperate Teenage Lovedolls'' (1984, Enigma)
** Includes "
Fox on the Run"
* ''When Men were Men... and Sheep were Scared'' (1985, Bemisbrain)
** Includes “
Rio
Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil.
Rio or Río may also refer to:
Geography Brazil
* Rio de Janeiro
* Rio do Sul, a ...
” and “E.Y.O.B.”
References
{{Reflist
External links
Nip Drivers in concertIMDb.comSlope Records Re-issue
Hardcore punk groups from California
Pop punk groups from California
Musical groups established in 1980
Musical groups disestablished in 2000