Rapeman was a short-lived American noise rock band founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1989. It consisted of Steve Albini (formerly of

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Nake ...

) on guitar and vocals,

David Wm. Sims David William Sims (born September 17, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist of the bands Scratch Acid (with whom he initially played guitar), Rapeman, and The Jesus Lizard. He has also recorded or performed with Spark ...

(formerly of Scratch Acid and simultaneously of the Jesus Lizard) on

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

and

Rey Washam Rey Washam (born Reynolds Washam, March 14, 1961, in Austin, Texas) is a Grammy nominated drummer who has been performing for more than 35 years. He has collaborated with many bands, the most notable of which include: Scratch Acid, Rapema ...

(formerly of Scratch Acid and Big Boys) on

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

. Their sound was also described by some as

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

. Rapeman were formed as a parallel sister project to The Jesus Lizard, although they outlasted Rapeman by several years.

History

Rapeman was formed in 1987 when drummer Rey Washam and bassist David Wm. Sims relocated to Chicago from Texas after the breakup of their band Scratch Acid. Steve Albini had just ended his group

, and was looking to switch to a musical project with a live drummer, instead of his Roland TR-606 drum machine. Rapeman's initial 1988 releases included the mostly live recorded ''

Budd Budd may refer to: People * Budd (given name) * Budd (surname) Places * Budd Coast, Wilkes Land, Antarctica * Budd Creek, California * Budd Peak (Enderby Land), Antarctica * Budd Peak (Heard Island), Indian Ocean ** Budd Pass * Budd Inlet, a ...

'' EP, the "Hated Chinee b/w Marmoset" 7" single, and their sole album, '' Two Nuns and a Pack Mule''. The band recorded in Albini's own home studio, often giving production credit to someone named Fluss, later revealed to be Albini's cat. All were originally released on Touch and Go Records in the US, Blast First! in the UK and Au Go Go in Australia. Rapeman left Blast First! in 1990 after Albini had an argument with the label over the release of a Big Black record. Touch and Go started distributing in the UK in 1992 and re-released Rapeman's records there. The band's final record before their breakup, the "Inki's Butt Crack" 7" single, was issued in 1989, as part of the

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 ...

Singles Club.

Name controversy

The band's name was controversial. For the 1994 book, ''Rock Names'' by Adam Dolgins, Albini revealed that "'' Rapeman'' is ... the title character in a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese comic book that I had come across through a friend of mine. The comic book is just a total mind-bender. There's a whole genre of comics in Japan, rape stories where women are raped in really graphic detail for whatever reason". Albini and drummer Washam became "sort of obsessed" with the comic, and named their new group after the titular satirical anti-hero. According to Albini, Rapeman's first American tour garnered negative press response and protests at several of their gigs solely from the band's name. In a ''Kreative Kontrol'' podcast in 2014, bass guitarist Sims discussed always having issues with the name, saying it was "the biggest musical regret" of his life. In an April 2020 interview on the ''Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal'' podcast, Albini expressed regret for the name of the band, saying that he did not feel he had been "held to account for being in a band called Rapeman". He added that "it was a flippant choice", calling it unconscionable and indefensible. He later likened it to getting a bad tattoo. In October 2021 he again addressed the mistakes he felt he'd make on this Twitter account. "A lot of things I said and did from an ignorant position of comfort and privilege are clearly awful and I regret them. It's nobody's obligation to overlook that, and I do feel an obligation to redeem myself...". He added, "I expect no grace, and honestly feel like I and others of my generation have not been held to task enough for words and behavior that ultimately contributed to a coarsening society."

Later projects

Albini later played bass with

Flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

before going on to form Shellac and expanding his work as a recording engineer. Sims reunited with ex- Scratch Acid vocalist David Yow to form the Jesus Lizard (with Albini recording their albums). Washam went on to drum for former

Chrome Chrome may refer to: Materials * Chrome plating, a process of surfacing with chromium * Chrome alum, a chemical used in mordanting and photographic film Computing * Google Chrome, a web browser developed by Google ** ChromeOS, a Google Chrome- ...

guitarist Helios Creed.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Two Nuns and a Pack Mule'' (1988, Touch and Go Records/ Blast First!/ Au Go Go) UK Indie No. 4Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980 - 1989'', Cherry Red Books,

Singles and EPs

* ''

'' EP (1988, Touch and Go/Blast First!/Au Go Go) UK Indie No. 2 * "Hated Chinee" 7" single (1988, Touch and Go/Blast First!/Au Go Go) * "Inki's Butt Crack" 7" single (1989,

Singles Club)

References

{{Authority control American noise rock music groups American post-hardcore musical groups Musical groups from Chicago Obscenity controversies in music Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1989 Touch and Go Records artists American musical trios Blast First artists