Raft of Dead Monkeys was an American rock band from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, United States, known for their controversy within the

Christian punk Christian punk is a form of Christian music and a subgenre of punk rock which contain Christian lyrical content. Much disagreement persists about the boundaries of the subgenre, and the extent that their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies a ...

scene. Described as a hypothetical band mocking

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

culture, their early stage shows consisted of vulgar lyrics, male

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

s and bloody nurses. They broke up on October 22, 2001. The majority of the band members were openly

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and previously played in bands on

Tooth & Nail Records Tooth & Nail Records is a Christian rock record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington where it is situated today. It is home to many well-known musical acts, including Underoat ...

, a label that featured primarily

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

bands. The band itself was not affiliated with Tooth & Nail, but the fan base of affiliated bands (

Roadside Monument Roadside Monument was an American math rock band from Seattle, Washington, who were active from 1994–1998 and then again from 2002–2003. History Before Roadside Monument began, singer Doug Lorig was involved in other bands. During junior hi ...

Ninety Pound Wuss Ninety Pound Wuss (sometimes styled as 90 Lb. Wuss) was an American punk rock band formed in Port Angeles, Washington, in 1994. They signed to Tooth & Nail Records in 1995 and released three studio albums over the next five years which would b ...

) was largely Christian, and was left confused when Raft released their first album which contained explicit lyrics. In 2001 Raft was invited to play Tomfest, a Christian

underground music Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, mainstream popular music culture. Underground music is intimately tied to popular music culture as a whole, so there are important tensions within underground ...

festival, and received mixed reactions when singer

Jeff Suffering Jeff Suffering (born Jeff Bettger), is the former lead singer of Ninety Pound Wuss, Raft of Dead Monkeys, and Suffering and the Hideous Thieves. Suffering also played bass in Team Strike Force a worship band that was part of Mars Hill Church i ...

flipped off the crowd during their song "Two Year Lease", which features the lyrics, "''you're not the only whore in town, you're just the best fuck around''." Tomfest founder Mikee Bridges later issued an apology to those who were offended by the performance. In an interview, Suffering explained the band's concept with the following: : It was art and we were making some statements about our culture by mirroring it, copying it and throwing it back on people’s faces to like say, “Hey, this is what people adhere to and this is it.” We thought it was funny and humorous and a lot of people didn’t get the joke and didn’t get that we were characters that we had created when we performed sort of to break the Rock ‘n’ Roll idea/lifestyle, although we don’t really have that idea or lifestyle, at least I don’t. Raft of Dead Monkeys played a reunion show in January 2004 at

Studio 7 :''"Studio 7" was also the original developmental title for the NBC drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.'' ''Studio 7'' is an American game show that premiered on July 22, 2004 on The WB. ''Studio 7'' was hosted by Pat Kiernan. Each episode feat ...

in Seattle. In 2016, Interesting Productions released a documentary about the band.

Members

;Last known lineup *

- Bass, Vocals (DRYBNZ, Suffering and the Hideous Thieves,

) * Doug Lorig - Guitar, Vocals - (

Black Eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South ...

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) *John Spalding - Guitar (

, Suffering and the Hideous Thieves) (RIP) *Davey B. - Drums ;Former *Matt Johnson - Drums (

Blenderhead Blenderhead was an American punk rock band signed to Tooth & Nail Records. They released three albums from 1992 to 2001. The band reunited for guitarist Tyler Vander Ploeg's 40th birthday in March 2016. Band members ;Current * Billy Power - vo ...

, Don't Know, Supine to Sit,

Rocky Votolato Rocky Votolato (born March 8, 1977 in Dallas, Texas, United States), is an American singer-songwriter. Biography He was raised in Frost, Texas, roughly 50 miles south of Dallas, until the age of 13. After his parents were divorced, his mothe ...

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) *Jonathan Ford - (

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, Decahedron,

Pedro the Lion Pedro the Lion is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, United States. David Bazan formed the band in 1995 and represented its main creative force, backed by a varying rotation of collaborating musicians. In 2006 Pedro the Lion wa ...

, Mr. Bishop's Fist,

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, Native Lights) *

Damien Jurado Damien Jurado is an American singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington, United States. Over the years, he has released albums on Sub Pop, Secretly Canadian, Loose, and is currently on his own label Maraqopa Records. Music career Jurado's solo ...

- ( Coolidge) *James Parks *Brian Wall *Christopher Pugmire

Discography

Albums

* '' Thoroughlev'' (2001 Burnout Records)

Extended plays

* ''DBM'' EP (1999 Make Believe Recordings) * ''Joey the Pigfucker'' (unreleased)

Compilation appearances

* Various Artists: ''Is It... Dead?'' (2001

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

References

External links

Official websiteWhat a great name for a band!
''Seattle Times'' interview with Matt Johnson.

June 2000 interview with Jeff Suffering
Troy McClure Interviews Raft of Dead Monkeys
February 2000 interview with Jeff Suffering and John Spalding.
''Decapolis'' interview with Jeff Suffering
{{Authority control Punk rock groups from Washington (state) Hardcore punk groups from Washington (state) Christian punk groups Musical groups from Seattle