Sewer Trout was an American punk rock band, formed in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

in 1985. The group's uptempo bass lines and fast-paced songs would serve as a basis and influence for many of the later California

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

bands of the 1990s. The band consisted of Jim MacLean (

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

/ bass), his brother Hal MacLean (

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 ...

), and Keith Lehtinen (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

), with Erik Benson joining as a second guitarist after meeting Hal at

Sacramento State California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

. Although Benson's

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

influences eventually led to the band's break-up and re-joining as the Well Hung Monks.

History

Formed in Concord in 1985, Sewer Trout moved to Sacramento with the MacLean brothers and Keith Lehtinen. The group was a fixture of the early

924 Gilman Street The Alternative Music Foundation located at 924 Gilman Street, often referred to by its fans simply as "Gilman", is a non-profit, all-ages, collectively organized music club. It is located in the West Berkeley area of Berkeley, California, about ...

scene and its first release was on the

Maximumrocknroll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly zine of punk subculture. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily featur ...

compilation album ''

Turn It Around! ''Turn It Around!'' is a punk rock compilation album by ''Maximumrocknroll''. Originally released as two 7-inch records in October 1987, it served as a benefit to raise money for the Berkeley, California DIY punk scene (known as the Gilman Stree ...

'' in October 1987. The same year saw the group's first record released through

Lookout! Records Lookout Records (stylized as Lookout! Records) was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California and later in Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having released Operation ...

. A few more records followed on Lookout!,

Very Small Records Very Small Records was an independent record label, formed in 1989 by David Hayes, co-founder and former co-owner of Lookout Records. The name of the label was changed to Too Many Records around 1994, but was changed back around 1997. The label ter ...

, and their own label, One Shot Flop. All of Sewer Trout's material was later released as the compilation album ''From the Forgotten Memories of Punks Failed Hopes and Dreams Loom'' in 1997. Sewer Trout were friends with David Hayes, the co-founder of Lookout! Records and the owner of Very Small Records. Through his labels, Hayes was able to focus a lot of attention on the Sacramento punk scene, often filling his compilations with up to ten Sacramento bands. On December 1, 2005, a message was posted on Sewer Trout's Myspace announcing that Jim MacLean had committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. The message stated "MacLean took his own life Monday or Tuesday after the Thanksgiving weekend. Jim may be gone, but his music will live forever."

Band members

* Jim MacLean -

, bass (1985-1990) (deceased) * Keith Lehtinen -

(1985-1990) * Hal MacLean -

(1985-1990) * Erik Benson - guitar (1988-1990)

Discography

Releases

* ''From the Bowels of Suburbia Emerge...'' (demo) (1985) * ''Songs About Drinking'' (EP) -

(1987) * ''Sewer Trout for President'' (EP) - One Shot Flop (1988) * ''Flawless'' (10-inch EP) -

(1989) * ''From the Forgotten Memories of Punks Failed Hopes and Dreams Loom'' - Spa Records (1997)

Compilation appearances

* "Sewer Trout for President" on ''Lethal Noise, Vol. 2'' - David Hayes self-released cassette (1987) * "Wally and the Beaver Go to Nicaragua" on ''

'' -

(1987) * "Sex Trout" on ''We've Got Your Shorts'' (EP) - Fascist Food Records (1988) * "Vagina Envy" on ''

The Thing That Ate Floyd ''The Thing That Ate Floyd'' is a compilation album released in December 1988 by Lookout! Records as a double LP, and in 2002 as a double CD. The album is a compilation of bands from the 924 Gilman St. punk rock scene. It includes bands such as ...

'' - Lookout! Records (1988) * "Bang 'Ol Lulu" and "Holiday in Romania" on ''Alone in This World'' - Bat Guano Records (1989) * "Holiday in Romania" on ''Four Two Pudding'' - Very Small Records (1993)

External links

Sewer Trout Myspace page
Punk rock groups from California Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 American musical trios Musical quartets Musical groups from Sacramento, California 1985 establishments in California