Sordid Humor was an American rock music band, formed in 1987 by the duo of Tom Barnes and Jim Gordon. The duo received help from drummers Ken Gregg, Chris Pedersen, and Toby Hawkins, and bassists Tony Fader, David Immergluck and Marty Jones. Barnes' unique vocal style and unusual phrasing was the trademark of Sordid Humor, and he went on to lend his vocals and

alt-rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

guitar style to

Engine 88 Engine 88 was a rock band that spawned out of the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1990s. History Engine 88 (originally known as simply Engine) released three albums (2 on Caroline Records) and a handful of seven-inch singles throughout the 1990s ...

, and a solo project called the Blimp. Sordid Humor played a textured rock with layers of guitars and vocals that, at the time, could best be classified as

college rock College rock was the alternative rock music played on student-run university and college campus radio stations located in the United States and Canada in the 1980s. The stations' playlists were often created by students who avoided the mainstream ...

, releasing several independent releases before breaking up in 1992. An EP entitled ''Tony Don't'' was released on vinyl in 1989 by Oedpius Records of San Francisco, CA. It contained the tracks "Jumping Jesus", "Apollo XIII", "First Goodbye", "Indian Ocean", and "Broken Desert". The only full-length album now available, ''Light Music For Dying People'', was released after their breakup by

Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

in 1994. Despite their limited success, Sordid Humor's music has survived in the choices of college

DJs A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

. They are notable for bringing together three musicians of

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mil ...

Adam Duritz Adam Fredric Duritz (born August 1, 1964) is an American singer, best known as the frontman for the rock band Counting Crows, of which he is a founding member and principal composer. Since its founding in 1991, Counting Crows has sold over 20 mi ...

, who sang backing vocals on "Barbarossa" and several other tracks on ''Light Music'',

David Immerglück David A. Immerglück (born May 3, 1961)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American multi-instrumentalist who is best known as a guitarist in the alternative rock bands Counting Crows, ...

, who played bass on several tracks of the album, and

David Bryson Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mil ...

who produced several of their tracks. Duritz would later incorporate lyrics from Sordid Humor songs "Private Archipelago", "Doris Day", and "Jumping Jesus" in Counting Crows performances, and Counting Crows would include a cover of "Jumping Jesus" on their album '' Underwater Sunshine''. Marty Jones also played bass on "Light Music". He is the namesake for the Counting Crows song "Mr. Jones".

References

American rock music groups American musical duos Rock music duos Counting Crows Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Capricorn Records artists {{US-band-stub