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The Nation of Ulysses was an American punk rock band from
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, formed in spring 1988 with four members. Originally known as simply "Ulysses," the first mark of the group consisted of
Ian Svenonius Ian F Svenonius is an American musician and singer of various Washington, D.C.-based punk bands including Nation of Ulysses, the Make-Up, Weird War, XYZ, Escape-ism, and Chain and the Gang. Between his numerous projects, Svenonius has releas ...
on vocals and trumpet, Steve Kroner on guitar, Steve Gamboa on bass guitar, and
James Canty James Canty is a Brooklyn, New York-based multi-instrumentalist musician from Washington, D.C. Canty is currently known for playing guitar in the band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and guitar and keyboard with The Make-Up. Before forming The Ma ...
on drums. Tim Green joined the band late in 1989 as a guitarist and the band became "Nation of Ulysses." Nation of Ulysses disbanded in the autumn of 1992, having failed to complete their third album. After the breakup, Svenonius, Canty, and Gamboa went on to form the short-lived
Cupid Car Club Cupid Car Club, also known as Cupid Car Club M.P., was a short-lived American post-hardcore band consisting of Ian Svenonius on vocals, James Canty on drums, Steve Gamboa on guitar (all of which were previously members of Nation of Ulysses and la ...
and The Make-Up. Tim Green went on to help create
The Fucking Champs The Fucking Champs are a three-piece rock band from San Francisco, California. They are known for their heavy metal sound, based largely around shifting time signatures, guitar harmonies, and plentiful rhythm. Most songs are instrumental. They ...
, a mostly-instrumental trio out of San Francisco, and later Concentrick, a solo project with a focus on ambient music. Nation of Ulysses was known for their
far-left politics Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars consider ...
, their extremely physical live performances, and their unique take on punk culture and fashion. In total, Nation of Ulysses released three full-length albums, and two vinyl EPs released on
Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles. ...
, and were featured on a number of compilation albums on a variety of record labels.


History

The band formed in spring 1988, initially composed of four members –
Ian Svenonius Ian F Svenonius is an American musician and singer of various Washington, D.C.-based punk bands including Nation of Ulysses, the Make-Up, Weird War, XYZ, Escape-ism, and Chain and the Gang. Between his numerous projects, Svenonius has releas ...
on vocals and trumpet, Steve Kroner on guitar, Steve Gamboa on bass guitar, and
James Canty James Canty is a Brooklyn, New York-based multi-instrumentalist musician from Washington, D.C. Canty is currently known for playing guitar in the band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and guitar and keyboard with The Make-Up. Before forming The Ma ...
on drums – and known simply as "Ulysses." In late 1989, Tim Green joined the band as a second guitarist and the band was renamed to "Nation of Ulysses." In 1990, before the band released any official albums, Ian Svenonius was featured as teen-oriented ''
Sassy Magazine ''Sassy'' magazine is a defunct, general interest teen magazine aimed at young women. It covered a wide variety of topics, and was intended as a feminist counterpoint to '' Seventeen'' and '' YM'' magazines. ''Sassy'' existed between 1988 and 1996 ...
s first "Sassiest Boy in America." He was interviewed at length in the magazine's October issue, going into some depth about the band's sound and political motivations. In 1991 they released their first full-length album, '' 13-Point Program to Destroy America'' on
Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles. ...
. This was followed a year later by '' Plays Pretty for Baby'', also on Dischord. During the recording of the band's follow-up to ''Plays Pretty for Baby'', Steve Kroner left the band. The remaining quartet continued to record, but eventually dissolved in 1992. In a later interview, Svenonius explained the reason for the split: "Nation of Ulysses broke up because the epoch changed with the advent of
digital music Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, sa ...
and the
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explosion. We were faced with what's now known as
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
, a sort of vacuous form. We had to determine our next move and this the_Make-Up.html" ;"title="Make-Up_(American_band).html" ;"title="he forming of the_Make-Up">Make-Up_(American_band).html"_;"title="he_forming_of_Make-Up_(American_band)">the_Make-Upis_it." After_the_band's_dissolution,_Svenonius_went_on_to_form_the_short-lived_Cupid_Car_Club_ Cupid_Car_Club,_also_known_as_Cupid_Car_Club_M.P.,_was_a_short-lived_American_post-hardcore_band_consisting_of_Ian_Svenonius_on_vocals,_James_Canty_on_drums,_Steve_Gamboa_on_guitar_(all_of_which_were_previously_members_of_Nation_of_Ulysses_and_la_...
_with_James_Canty_ James_Canty_is_a_Brooklyn,_New_York-based_multi-instrumentalist_musician_from__Washington,_D.C. Canty_is_currently_known_for_playing_guitar_in_the_band_Ted_Leo_and_the_Pharmacists,_and_guitar_and_keyboard_with__The_Make-Up._Before_forming_The_Ma_...
_and_Steve_Gamboa,_Make-Up_(American_band).html" ;"title="Make-Up (American band)">the Make-Up">Make-Up_(American_band).html" ;"title="he forming of Make-Up (American band)">the Make-Upis it." After the band's dissolution, Svenonius went on to form the short-lived
Cupid Car Club Cupid Car Club, also known as Cupid Car Club M.P., was a short-lived American post-hardcore band consisting of Ian Svenonius on vocals, James Canty on drums, Steve Gamboa on guitar (all of which were previously members of Nation of Ulysses and la ...
with
James Canty James Canty is a Brooklyn, New York-based multi-instrumentalist musician from Washington, D.C. Canty is currently known for playing guitar in the band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and guitar and keyboard with The Make-Up. Before forming The Ma ...
and Steve Gamboa, Make-Up (American band)">the Make-Up (again with Canty and Gamboa), and Weird War. Green went on to become an engineer and record producer and joined the Progressive metal, prog-heavy metal music, heavy metal band
The Fucking Champs The Fucking Champs are a three-piece rock band from San Francisco, California. They are known for their heavy metal sound, based largely around shifting time signatures, guitar harmonies, and plentiful rhythm. Most songs are instrumental. They ...
. Though relatively short-lived, Nation of Ulysses' influence has been substantial: they have been cited as influences for bands such as
Glassjaw Glassjaw is an American post-hardcore band from Hempstead, New York. The band is fronted by vocalist Daryl Palumbo and guitarist Justin Beck, and was a major part of the Long Island music scene in the early 2000s. The band has been influential i ...
,
The (International) Noise Conspiracy The (International) Noise Conspiracy (abbreviated T(I)NC) were a Swedish rock band formed in Sweden in the late months of 1998. The line-up consists of Dennis Lyxzén (vocals), Inge Johansson (bass), Lars Strömberg (guitar), and Ludwig Dahlbe ...
,
The Hives The Hives are a Swedish rock band that rose to prominence in the early 2000s during the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the album ''Veni Vidi Vicious'', containing the single "Hate to Say I Told You So". T ...
,
Thursday Thursday is the Names of the days of the week, day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fi ...
,
Refused Refused (also known as the Refused) is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå and formed in 1991. Refused is composed of vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. Guit ...
,
Boysetsfire boysetsfire is an American post-hardcore band from Newark, Delaware. Formed in October 1994, boysetsfire is composed of guitarists Chad Istvan and Josh Latshaw, vocalist Nathan Gray, and bassists Chris Rakus and Robert Ehrenbrand. Lyrical theme ...
,
Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the ...
, Rocket From The Crypt,
Antioch Arrow Antioch Arrow was an American punk rock band from San Diego, California, that formed in 1992. Most of their discography was released through the San Diego independent label Gravity Records. The label was responsible raising San Diego's profile ...
,
The Locust The Locust was an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California, known for their mix of grindcore aggression and new wave experimentation. The band has been noted for their use of insect costumes when performing live. History Prio ...
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At The Drive-in At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (dru ...
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LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals, various instruments), Nancy Whang (synthesizer, keyboards, vocals), Pat Mahoney (dr ...
, Bis and
Huggy Bear Huggy may refer to: * Huggy (Pillow Pal) *Huggy Boy * Huggy Face *Huggy Leaver *Huggy Ragnarsson *Huggy Wuggy, an antagonist in the horror video game ''Poppy Playtime ''Poppy Playtime'' is an episodic horror video game developed and publishe ...
, among many others.


Recordings

During Nation of Ulysses' four years of activity, they released only two full-length albums: '' 13-Point Program to Destroy America'' in 1991 and '' Plays Pretty for Baby'' in 1992, both released on
Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles. ...
. After releasing ''Plays Pretty for Baby'', the band began recording a third full-length album, but Steve Kroner separated from the band before recording was completed. The remaining quartet continued to record, but the group eventually dissolved before the record's completion. In 2000, six songs from those sessions, in addition to four new tracks recorded live, were compiled and released posthumously as ''The Embassy Tapes''. In addition to their three full-length albums, Nation of Ulysses released two vinyl EPs. The first, a self-titled EP, was the band's first official release, but went out of print when the three tracks from it were included in ''13-Point Program to Destroy America''. The second EP, released in 1992 under the title ''The Birth of the Ulysses Aesthetic (the synthesis of speed and transformation)'', also went out of print when its tracks were later released on ''Plays Pretty for Baby''. The band were also featured in a number of compilation albums on a variety of record labels. In 1992, NOU was on tour with Bikini Kill, and when they arrived in Memphis, the found that the promoter for the show hadn't ''actually'' promoted the show. So, while out on the town flyering the streets and ducking into record stores, NOU ran into
Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums) ...
, a band which had been in town recording their own album. Primal Scream then decided to attend NOU's show at the Antenna Club, and then proceeded to invite NOU to record with them in the studio the next day. Nation of Ulysses then recorded five songs with Primal Scream in nine hours, though of course only after a quick errand for some tin foil to smoke a bit of crack, according to Tim Green. These recordings are known as Memphis Demos, and include the demos of N-Sub Ulysses, 50,000 Watts, Mockingbird, Yeah, and Shakedown.


Musical ideology and style

Nation of Ulysses' music was noisy and manic, but they also had a strong
free-jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians durin ...
influence. The group embodied a rejection of the 1960s and 1970s music and styling by rejecting drug use and advocating that punk youth dress nicely and sensibly. To this end, the liner notes of '' 13-Point Program to Destroy America'' states the band's aim "To dress well, as clothing and fashion, are the only things which we -- the kids -- being utterly disenfranchised, have any control over." Much of the band admitted to not knowing how to play their instruments well, stating "All you need is a concept. There's no reason you have to sound like
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
."


Political concepts

Nation of Ulysses described themselves not as a rock 'n' roll group in the traditional sense, but "as a
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
" and as "a shout of secession." Explaining their intent, Svenonius said "it's basically a new nation underground for the dispossessed youth colony. It's all about smashing the old edifice, the monolith of
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
."
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's Steve Huey described Nation of Ulysses' philosophy as "a relentlessly provocative (and entertaining) jumble of teenage rock 'n' roll rebellion, leftist radicalism, anarchist punk polemics, and abstract intellectual rambling, .. hich gives the sense ofan off-kilter, almost tongue-in-cheek approach to a 'perpetual 18-year old's' view of America, and life in general." This tongue-in-cheek political attitude was echoed by a spoken-word introduction to the song "The Sound of Jazz to Come", from their 1992 '' Plays Pretty for Baby'', in which the band describes themselves as "the seriously unserious, reverently irreverent, amoral moralists." Asked about their use of the medium they claimed to counteract – rock 'n' roll – Svenonius declared "Well, it's a camouflage, to allow for movement, revolutionary liberation from the constraints of everyday composure, basically allowing anybody to move in anyway that they want and to lift spirit to a plateau to destroy 'parent culture.' " Nation of Ulysses claimed to make weapons, not records. Discussing their second release, Svenonius asserted: "it's like a blueprint for the destruction of the Parent Culture. It's like a zip gun ... It's an instruction pamphlet for kids on how to destroy their home life, you know, their domestic state." Although their first album was named '' 13-Point Program to Destroy America'', Nation of Ulysses didn't align themselves with a particular political philosophy: "We don't usually address normal political dictums. We aim toward the everyday fixtures of life, like
aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...
, sound, non-spoken things that are inherently political in nature instead of, like bogus politicians who focus on glossy surface issues which avoid any kind of revolutionary change."


''Ulysses Speaks''

Nation of Ulysses published a
zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...
called "Ulysses Speaks," which was an extension of their ideology expressed in their music and liner notes. The zines espoused what they referred to as "The Ulysses Aesthetic," which was a mix of 1960s and 1970s radical politics, French
Situationist The Situationist International (SI) was an Proletarian internationalism, international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and Political philosophy, political theorists. It was prominent in Eu ...
writings, and
juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...
. The zine was distributed at live shows as well as made available by writing the band. A total of 9 issues were published.


Live performances

The band was known for their extremely physical performances, during some of which Svenonius recalls breaking his arm, his leg, and breaking his head open on numerous occasions. Audience members were also hurt during performances. Svenonius described Nation of Ulysses performances as "an extraordinary freak-out kind of thing ..really masochistic, lots of blood ..cacophonous, and violent, and aggressive."


Discography


Studio albums

*'' 13-Point Program to Destroy America'' (Dischord) (1991) *'' Plays Pretty for Baby'' (Dischord) (1992) *''The Embassy Tapes'' (Dischord) (2000)


Studio EPs

*''Nation of Ulysses'' (Dischord) (1991) *''The Birth of the Ulysses Aesthetic (the synthesis of speed and transformation)'' (Dischord) (1992)


References


External links


Official site on Southern RecordsOfficial site Dischord page
* *
Archive of Ulysses zine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nation of Ulysses, The Musical groups from Washington, D.C. American post-hardcore musical groups Dischord Records artists Musical groups established in 1988 Musical groups disestablished in 1992