Fu Manchu is an American

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep ...

band, formed in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

in 1985, and long-associated with the

Palm Desert Scene The Palm Desert Scene is a group of related bands and musicians from Palm Desert, California. Their hard rock sound – sometimes described as desert rock – contains elements of heavy metal, psychedelia, blues, punk, alternative, grunge, and ...

History

Fu Manchu originally formed in 1985 as a

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

band called Virulence. The lineup was vocalist Ken Pucci, guitarist Scott Hill, bassist Mark Abshire, and drummer Ruben Romano. In 1987, Abshire left the band and was replaced by Greg McCaughey. They recorded their debut LP ''If This Isn't a Dream...'' in 1988, which was released on Alchemy Records (1989). In 1990, Pucci left the band and was replaced by vocalist Glenn Chivens, and they changed their name to Fu Manchu. Soon after, they released the "Kept Between Trees"

7 inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

Slap-a-Ham Records Slap a Ham Records was an independent label from San Francisco owned and operated by Chris Dodge, bassist of the band Spazz as well as others. The label is generally seen as a highly influential entity within the hardcore punk scene in California ...

. McCaughey was replaced by Mark Abshire. Chivens also left the band around this time for unknown reasons. Rather than search for a new vocalist, Scott Hill added lead vocalist to his guitar duties. To compensate, Scott Votaw was recruited as lead guitarist. In 1992, Fu Manchu released three 7 inch singles: "Senioritis", "Pick Up Summer", and "Don't Bother Knockin' (If This Vans Rockin')". In 1993, Votaw left the band and was replaced by lead guitarist

Eddie Glass Eddie Glass (born December 19, 1970) is an American rock musician best known for his work with punk band Olivelawn and stoner rock bands Nebula and Fu Manchu. Nebula has been Glass' primary musical group since 1997, when he and drummer Ruben Ro ...

, who had previously played drums in the band

Olivelawn Olivelawn was an American punk rock band from San Diego, California, that released two albums in the early 1990s. History Olivelawn was composed of singer Mike Olson, guitarist O. (a.k.a. Otis Barthoulameu) and the rhythm section of drummer ...

. Fu Manchu's first album, '' No One Rides for Free'' (1994), was released by

Bong Load Custom Records Bong Load Records is an independent record label originally based in Los Angeles which was founded by producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf and partner Bradshaw Lambert. Much of the Bong Load Records catalog is released in small quantities. Seve ...

, an independent label. ''No One Rides for Free'' marked the beginning of the band's heavy focus on

muscle car Muscle car is a description according to '' Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' that came to use in 1966 for "a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The '' Britannica Dictionary'' ...

s and drag racing, common themes in the stoner rock genre. Abshire left Fu Manchu before they recorded their second album, ''Daredevil'', in 1995. He was replaced by Brad Davis. The band promoted ''Daredevil'' with extensive touring throughout the US and Canada, and reached a wider audience thanks to an opening slot with

Monster Magnet Monster Magnet is an American rock band. Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded in 1989 by Dave Wyndorf (vocals and guitar), John McBain (guitar) and Tim Cronin (vocals and drums); they have since gone through several lineup ...

, who at the time were the commercial darlings of the stoner rock genre. Romano and Glass left shortly after the release of Fu Manchu's third album, '' In Search Of...'' (1996), citing personal and musical differences with Hill. They were replaced by

Brant Bjork Brant Bjork (born March 19, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is perhaps best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork played in Vista Chino, along wit ...

and Bob Balch, respectively. Glass, Romano and Abshire soon regrouped to form Nebula, a

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

that took the

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and ente ...

-influenced side of Fu Manchu and expanded on it. Members of Nebula have commented that "we're all family" to fans wearing Fu Manchu shirts at their concerts. Fu Manchu went on to release several successful albums and reinforce their reputation as a powerful live act. The band had gained this reputation over the years due to their performance when touring with notable bands such as

Kyuss Kyuss ( ) was an American rock band, formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987. The band disbanded in 1995, and since then, members of Kyuss have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, ...

, Marilyn Manson, Clutch,

Corrosion of Conformity Corrosion of Conformity (also known as COC) is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina, formed in 1982. The band has undergone multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with guitarist Woody Weatherman as the sole const ...

, White Zombie,

Sevendust Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lo ...

, and

P.O.D. P.O.D., an initialism for Payable on Death, is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992 and based in San Diego, California. The band's line-up consists of drummer and rhythm guitarist Wuv Bernardo, vocalist Sonny Sandoval, bassist Traa ...

, among others. In 2001, the band released an album, '' California Crossing''.

left the band soon after to pursue a solo career and was replaced by former Sunshine and

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

drummer Scott Reeder (often confused with bassist Scott Reeder, of

Unida Unida () is an American stoner rock band, originally formed in 1998 by John Garcia of Kyuss and Slo Burn. History Formation, Dozer split, and ''Coping with the Urban Coyote'' (1998–1999) Following the dissolution of Kyuss in 1995, for ...

, and

Goatsnake Goatsnake is an American stoner/ doom metal band from Los Angeles, California. They have released three studio albums, the first being 1999's '' Goatsnake Vol. 1''. Biography Goatsnake was formed in 1996 after the disbanding of The Obsess ...

fame). In 2004, Fu Manchu released their eighth album, ''Start the Machine''. Fu Manchu's ninth album is called ''

We Must Obey ''We Must Obey'' is the ninth studio album by the southern California stoner rock band Fu Manchu (band), Fu Manchu. It was released on February 19, 2007, and features a cover of the Cars' "Moving in Stereo." Track listing Personnel *Scott Hil ...

'' which was released on February 19, 2007. The band spent most of 2007 and 2008 on tour, playing several shows in North America and Europe. In February 2008, the track "Mongoose" (from the ''California Crossing'' album) was featured in a

Super Bowl ad Super Bowl commercials, colloquially known as Super Bowl ads, are high-profile television advertisement, television commercials featured in the U.S. television broadcast of the Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League (N ...

for the

Toyota Sequoia The Toyota Sequoia is a full-size SUV manufactured by Toyota mainly for the North American market since 2000 for the 2001 model year and derived from the Tundra pickup truck. It is the largest SUV ever produced under the Toyota brand, after th ...

. Their tenth album '' Signs of Infinite Power'' was released on October 19, 2009, in Europe and October 20 in North America. On March 10, 2010, it was announced that Scott Reeder would play drums for

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

for the South American tour dates in April. In June 2012, the band stated they had begun writing for a new record. In 2014, the band released its eleventh album, '' Gigantoid''. In December 2017, they announced their twelfth album, ''Clone of the Universe'', which released on February 9, 2018.

Discography

Albums

* '' No One Rides for Free'' LP/CD (1994

Bong Load Bong Load Records is an independent record label originally based in Los Angeles which was founded by producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf and partner Bradshaw Lambert. Much of the Bong Load Records catalog is released in small quantities. Sev ...

) * '' Daredevil'' LP/CD (1995 Bong Load) * '' In Search Of...'' LP/CD (1996

Mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks an ...

) * ''

The Action Is Go ''The Action is Go'' is the fourth studio album by American stoner rock band Fu Manchu. It features new drummer Brant Bjork (Kyuss) and new lead guitarist Bob Balch, replacing Eddie Glass and Ruben Romano, who left to form the band Nebula. The ...

'' LP/CD (1997 Mammoth) * '' Godzilla's/Eatin' Dust'' (1999

Man's Ruin Man's Ruin Records was an independent record label owned and founded by San Francisco Bay Area artist Frank Kozik. After the 1994 release of Man's Ruin's first record ''Experimental Audio Research (EAR): Delta 6'' Kozik worked with artists whom ...

) * '' King of the Road'' LP/CD (2000 Mammoth) * '' California Crossing'' LP/CD (2001 Mammoth) * '' Start the Machine'' CD (2004

DRT Entertainment DRT Entertainment was a New York City based independent record label founded in 2003 by Derek Shulman, Ron Urban, and Theodore "Ted" Green. The label is defunct. The label advertised itself as an "artist friendly hard rock music company for ban ...

) * ''

'' LP/CD (2007

Century Media A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

/ Liquor and Poker) * '' Signs of Infinite Power'' LP/CD (2009 Century Media) * '' Gigantoid'' LP/CD (2014 At the Dojo) * ''

Clone of the Universe ''Clone of the Universe'' is the twelfth studio album by American stoner rock band Fu Manchu (band), Fu Manchu, released on February 9, 2018, by At The Dojo Records. The album features a guest appearance by Rush (band), Rush guitarist Alex Lifeso ...

'' LP/CD (2018 At the Dojo)

Singles and EPs

* "Kept Between Trees" 7-inch (1990 Slap-a-Ham Records) * "Senioritis" 7-inch (1992 Zuma Records) * "Pick-Up Summer" 7-inch (1992 Elastic Records) * "Don't Bother Knockin' (If This Van's Rockin)" 7-inch (1992 Elastic Records) * "Missing Link" 7-inch (1996

) * " Asphalt Risin'" 7-inch (1996

) * "

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

" 10-inch (1997

) * " Jailbreak" CD/split 7-inch with

Fatso Jetson Fatso Jetson is an American desert rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1994 by Yawning Man members Mario Lalli and Larry Lalli, along with Tony Tornay. They are often credited as the fathers of the desert strain of stoner rock l ...

(1998 Sessions Records) * " Eatin' Dust" 10-inch (1999

) * "Ride To Live (Live To Ride)" Twisted Forever Comp. (2001 Koch) * " Something Beyond" CD/7" (2003 Elastic Records) * " Hung Out to Dry" CD/7" (2006

) * "Knew It All Along" 7-inch (2007 At the Dojo) * "Beach Blanket Bongout" 7-inch (2009 At the Dojo) * "Slow Ride / Future Transmitter" 7-inch (2016 At the Dojo) * "Fu30, Pt. 1" 10-inch (2020 At the Dojo) * "Fu30, Pt. 2" 10-inch (2022 At the Dojo)

Compilation and live albums

* '' Return to Earth 91–93'' LP/CD - 1998 - Elastic Records * '' Go for It... Live!'' LP/CD - 2003 - Steamhammer * ''A Look Back : Dogtown & Z-Boys'' - 2021 - At The Dojo

Singles and music videos

* "Tilt" (1995) * "Asphalt Risin'" (1996) * "Evil Eye" (1997) * "King of the Road" (2001) * "Squash That Fly" (2001) * "Written in Stone" (2004) * "Hung Out to Dry" (2007)

Personnel

Current members

*Scott Hill – guitar and vocals (1985–present) *Brad Davis – bass and vocals (1994–present) *Bob Balch – guitar (1996–present) * Scott Reeder – drums and vocals (2001–present)

Former members

*Ruben Romano – drums and vocals (1985–1996) *Ken Pucci – vocals (1985–1990) *Mark Abshire – bass and vocals (1985–1987, 1990–1994) *Greg McCaughey – bass (1987–1990) *Glenn Chivens – vocals (1990) *Scott Votaw – guitars (1990–1993) *

– guitars (1993–1996) *

– drums (1996–2001)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:95 bottom:95 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1986 ScaleMinor = increment:2 start:1987 Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:vocals2 value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:lines value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars LineData = at:01/01/1994 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1995 color:black layer:back at:02/27/1996 color:black layer:back at:10/07/1997 color:black layer:back at:02/19/1999 color:black layer:back at:02/15/2000 color:black layer:back at:10/23/2001 color:black layer:back at:09/14/2004 color:black layer:back at:05/08/2007 color:black layer:back at:10/20/2009 color:black layer:back at:04/25/2014 color:black layer:back at:02/09/2018 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Ken text:"Ken Pucci" bar:Glenn text:"Glenn Chivens" bar:Scott text:"Scott Hill" bar:Votaw text:"Scott Votaw" bar:Eddie text:"Eddie Glass" bar:Bob text:"Bob Balch" bar:Mark text:"Mark Abshire" bar:Greg text:"Greg McCaughey" bar:Brad text:"Brad Davis" bar:Ruben text:"Ruben Romano" bar:Brant text:"Brant Bjork" bar:Reeder text:"Scott Reeder" PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Ken from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1990 color:vocals bar:Glenn from:01/02/1990 till:02/28/1990 color:vocals bar:Scott from:01/01/1985 till:end color:guitar bar:Scott from:01/01/1985 till:02/28/1990 color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Scott from:03/01/1990 till:end color:vocals width:3 bar:Votaw from:03/01/1990 till:01/01/1993 color:guitar bar:Eddie from:01/02/1993 till:08/01/1996 color:guitar bar:Bob from:08/02/1996 till:end color:guitar bar:Mark from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1987 color:bass bar:Mark from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1987 color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Greg from:01/02/1987 till:02/28/1990 color:bass bar:Mark from:03/01/1990 till:06/01/1994 color:bass bar:Mark from:03/01/1990 till:06/01/1994 color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Brad from:06/02/1994 till:end color:bass bar:Brad from:06/02/1994 till:end color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Ruben from:01/01/1985 till:08/01/1996 color:drums bar:Ruben from:01/01/1985 till:08/01/1996 color:vocals2 width:3 bar:Brant from:08/02/1996 till:03/02/2002 color:drums bar:Reeder from:03/02/2002 till:end color:drums bar:Reeder from:03/02/2002 till:end color:vocals2 width:3

References

External links

Official website
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fu Manchu Heavy metal musical groups from California American stoner rock musical groups Century Media Records artists Musical groups established in 1987 DRT Entertainment artists Mammoth Records artists Liquor and Poker Music artists Man's Ruin Records artists