Scratch Acid was an

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

group formed in 1982. One of the pioneers of

in the 1980s, the band is best remembered as a stepping stone for its front man

David Yow David Yow (born August 2, 1960) is an American musician and actor born in Las Vegas, Nevada and best known as the vocalist for the noise rock bands Scratch Acid and the Jesus Lizard. Yow's debut solo album, '' Tonight You Look Like a Spider'', w ...

, and bass player David Wm. Sims, both later of

The Jesus Lizard The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas and based in Chicago, Illinois. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground… hoturned out a series of independent records filled with s ...

History

Scratch Acid was launched in Austin, Texas in 1982. When they first began, their lineup was Steve Anderson (vocals), David Wm. Sims (guitar), Brett Bradford (guitar),

(bass), 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, Rapeman, ...

(drums). Anderson was kicked out of the band before they ever recorded an album, prompting Yow to move to vocals and Sims to move to bass. Scratch Acid's first EP was released in 1984, by Texas indie record label Rabid Cat and featured the song "Lay Screaming", a track which vocalist David Yow indicated was "inspired by

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...

, reading his shit."Gary Davis, "Scratch Acid," ''Flipside,'' whole no. 52 (Spring 1987), pp. 14-15. The band returned to Rabid Cat for their debut album, ''Just Keep Eating'', released in 1986. When queried about the significance of the title in a February 1987 interview, the band called the title "kinda silly" and "an inside joke", related to the fact that they all had lived together and done well to just keep surviving. Eschewing pop sensibilities but instead pushing boundaries with noise, the band listed

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

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 ...

, and

Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been ...

as their stylistic peers. The band's third and final release, an EP entitled ''Berserker'', was released by

Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. Tou ...

. A posthumous compilation CD entitled ''

The Greatest Gift "The Greatest Gift" is a 1943 short story written by Philip Van Doren Stern, loosely based on the Charles Dickens 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'', which became the basis for the film ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946). It was self-published as ...

'' was released by

in 1991.

Critical response

The band was named by music journalist Will Lerner as "the American equivalent of the Birthday Party." After developing a reputation as a crazy, noisy punk band, Scratch Acid disbanded in 1987. According to the liner notes of ''The Greatest Gift'', the band members never received compensation from either Rabid Cat or Fundamental Records (who distributed their releases in Europe). Writing in '' Flipside'' magazine, Gary Davis emphasized the band's rawness, energy, and earnestness in a live setting:

"...The band is unpretentious, fast, and forceful. They present no gimmicks, glamor, or elaborate stage show. After all, that's already been done so many times before. Scratch Acid simply walk on stage in their street clothes and begin to play. The quality of their music stands on its own."

Later projects and reunions

Brett Bradford went on to form Colorado punk band Great Caesar's Ghost, who disbanded in 1993. He also formed Sangre De Toro and played with Areola 51. Washam went on to perform with many other bands, including the Big Boys,

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Helios Creed Barry Johnson (born on November 3, 1953), known professionally as Helios Creed, is an American guitarist, singer and bandleader. He first came to prominence in the mid-1970s with the San Francisco band Chrome, who were considered an early infl ...

the Didjits The Didjits were an American punk rock band formed in Mattoon, Illinois in 1983, composed of Rick Sims (a.k.a. Rick Prot5) on guitar/vocals, Doug Evans on bass, and Rick's brother Brad Sims, on drums. Didjits were known for the aggressive guita ...

Lard Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard
entry in the o ...

, and Tad. In 1987, Sims and Washam joined

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

in the band

Rapeman 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) on guitar and vocals, David Wm. Sims (formerly of Scratch Acid and simultaneously of the Jesus Liza ...

, which disbanded just before Sims reunited with Yow in 1989 to form

the Jesus Lizard The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas and based in Chicago, Illinois. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground… hoturned out a series of independent records filled with s ...

. All of the original members of the band appeared at Emo's nightclub in Austin on September 2, 2006, and at the Touch and Go 25th anniversary celebration in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

on September 9, 2006. They played their third and final show of the brief reunion at Seattle's Showbox Theater on Saturday, September 16, playing 20 songs from their 28-song (recorded) oeuvre before leaving the stage. The band reunited for their first UK show since 1987 at the second British

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

music festival March 9 through 11, 2012, curated by

Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock ...

Jeff Mangum Jeff Mangum (born 24 October 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who gained prominence as the founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of Neutral Milk Hotel, as well for his co-founding of The Elephant 6 Recording Company. Ma ...

. David Wm. Sims also announced in his blog that the band will play some dates in November and December in the US "and possibly in Europe". On August 31, David Yow released the complete list of tour dates on his Facebook page.

Discography

;EPs * ''

Scratch Acid Scratch Acid was an Austin, Texas noise rock group formed in 1982. One of the pioneers of noise rock in the 1980s, the band is best remembered as a stepping stone for its front man David Yow, and bass player David Wm. Sims, both later of The Jesu ...

'' (1984, Rabid Cat) - UK Indie no. 26Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 197 * ''

Berserker In the Old Norse written corpus, berserker were those who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English word '' berserk'' (meaning "furiously violent or out of control"). Berserkers ...

'' (1987, Touch and Go Records) - UK Indie no. 7 ;LPs * '' Just Keep Eating'' (1986, Rabid Cat) ;Compilation * ''

'' (1991, Touch and Go Records)

References

External links

Band profile at Touch and Go Records website

Scratch Acid
at ''

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 ...

''
Blog of bassist David Wm. Sims
{{Authority control American post-hardcore musical groups Punk rock groups from Texas Indie rock musical groups from Texas Musical groups from Austin, Texas Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1987 Touch and Go Records artists 1982 establishments in Texas