Rozz Rezabek-Wright (born June 4, 1960), usually Rozz Rezabek, is an American musician based in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, formerly of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
According to ''
Willamette Week
''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture.
History
Early history
''Willame ...
'', Rezabek "gave ex-flame
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...
(once Courtney Harrison) her rocker name; he thrashed backstage with
Johnny Rotten
John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and agai ...
at the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
' final show, took a teenage
Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...
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 ...
histories (his own forthcoming) ever after".
History
Negative Trend
In 1977, Rezabek formed punk San Francisco-based band
Negative Trend
Negative Trend was an American punk rock band, active between 1977 and 1979. Before they disbanded, the band released one self-titled EP in September 1978.Charles Strong, Martin''The Great Indie Discography'': Negative Trend Canongate Books Ltd. ...
with guitarist Craig Gray (later of
Toiling Midgets
Toiling Midgets is a rock band from San Francisco, California formed in 1979 by members of San Francisco punk bands Sleepers and Negative Trend. They have been active on-and-off since 1979, with their early 1990s lineup getting most attention d ...
) and bassist Will Shatter (later of Flipper).Boulware, Jack; Tudor, Silke (2009). ''Gimme Something Better: The Profound, Progressive, and Occasionally Pointless History of Bay Area Punk from Dead Kennedys to Green Day''.
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year. He left the band in March 1978, prior to their released recordings.
Theatre of Sheep
In 1980, Rezabek formed Portland new wave band Theatre of Sheep, who were popular locally but never made the jump to a wider audience. Their 1983 cassette-only release, ''A Cathartic Aquacade'', was produced and engineered by
Greg Sage
Greg Sage (born October 21, 1951) is an American songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist, regarded as an important influence on many punk rock and post-punk artists. Sage is best known as the principal songwriter and vocalist/guitarist of the infl ...
, leader of Portland punk band the Wipers. Theatre of Sheep's debut 12-inch
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.
, ''A Quiet Crusade'', was released on their own Sheepish label in 1983, followed by a cassette-only collection, ''Theatre of Sheep's Greatest Hits''. The band broke up in 1984. Theatre of Sheep were later documented with the 2006
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
''Old Flames''.
Solo work
In an attempt to escape ongoing conflicts with several women (one being Love), Rezabek moved back to San Francisco for several years.
Rezabek's first solo release, the ''Stockholm Today'' 7-inch EP, was released in 1986 by Truce. A 7-inch single, "Blue Blessing", followed in 1988, issued on Tombstone Records.
He appeared in the 1998 documentary film ''
Kurt & Courtney
''Kurt & Courtney'' is a 1998 British documentary film by Nick Broomfield investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Kurt Cobain, and allegations of Courtney Love's involvement in it.
Synopsis
The documentary begins as an investi ...
'', which also featured the Theatre of Sheep song "Pyramid's Babylon".
In 1999, Rezabek released his first solo studio album, ''Lover Legend Liar''.
Reunions
On November 3, 2007, Rezabek performed a set of Negative Trend songs in San Francisco at a Lennon Studios benefit for punk musician Johnny Genocide of No Alternative.
Theatre of Sheep reunited for Portland shows at Slabtown in 2007. and the closing of
Satyricon
The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petro ...