Tales of Terror was a

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

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 punk ...

band which was active from 1983 until 1986. Some, including

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

and

Mark Arm Mark Arm (born Mark Thomas McLaughlin; February 21, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. His former group, Green River, was one of the first grunge bands, along with Malfunkshun, So ...

, cite Tales of Terror as a key inspiration for the then-burgeoning

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

scene.Gustafson, Guphy (January 1, 2010)
"Bad Dream or Acid Trip?"
''Midtown Monthly''. Archived fro
the original
on July 13, 2011.

History

After the dissolution of their previous band, the Square Cools, singer Pat "Rat’s Ass" Stratford and bassist Geoff "Dusty Coffin" Magner formed Tales of Terror with guitarist Lyon Wong and drummer Mike Hunter. A second guitarist, Steve "Capt. Trip Mender" Hunt, later joined the band.Jackson, Griffith (July 6, 2006)
"Secret history of Sacramento music"
''

Sacramento News & Review The ''News & Review'' is a group of free alternative weekly newspapers published by Chico Community Publishing, Inc. of Chico, California. The company publishes the ''Chico News & Review'' in Chico, California, the ''Sacramento News & Review'' in ...

''. Retrieved July 10, 2021. By 1984 they were playing all over town and supporting big name punk acts like

The Vandals The Vandals are an American punk rock band, established in 1980 in Orange County, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums, two live albums, and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped ...

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

, and

Fang A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fang ...

. Their one album, the self-titled effort ''

Tales of Terror ''Tales of Terror'' is a 1962 American International Pictures horror film in colour and Panavision, produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson, and Roger Corman, who also directed. The screenplay was written by Richard Matheson, and th ...

'', was released in 1984 on the

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 ...

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

label,

CD Presents David Ferguson was an American international outsider-culture impresario, activist, music producer and concert promoter. Over his career, most of which has been spent on the West Coast, he worked with musical acts such as the Avengers, John Ly ...

. Distribution was limited; it is estimated that fewer than 5000 copies were pressed. However, the band's career came to an end on the night of January 5, 1986. Wong, the son of

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

actor Victor Wong, died on a Midtown sidewalk of head trauma he suffered after being knocked to the curb during a late-night altercation. He was pronounced dead at 2:14 am, January 6, at Sutter General Hospital. Wong was 22 years old. The assailant, a minor, received a 6-month sentence for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

. The band opted not to continue without Lyon Wong. The various members drifted into other groups, most notably the Pirates of Venus, the Cactus Liquors and the Whorelords. The last time Pat Stratford, Steve "Capt. Trip Mender" Hunt, and Geoff Magner ever played on stage together was at the Trocadero in SF as an encore to a Hot Rod Shopping Cart show opening for Agent Orange with J Meraz on drums.

Legacy

Described by ''Midtown Monthly'' as "One of the most influential bands Sacramento ever produced" and often cited as the foundation of the grunge movement, their blend of hardcore,

psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...

, and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

had a lasting impact on music fans around the country, including Green River and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

frontman

. In ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' magazine

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...

’s Mark Arm (whose earlier band Green River covered Tales' "Ozzy" on their 1987 '' Dry As a Bone'' EP) listed some of their gigs as the most inspirational he had seen. Dave Chavez of

Verbal Abuse Verbal abuse (also known as verbal aggression, verbal attack, verbal violence, verbal assault, psychic aggression, or psychic violence) is a type of psychological/mental abuse that involves the use of oral, gestured, and written language direct ...

said, "With the right management and maybe a little bit of rehab here and there, Tales of Terror probably would have been the Nirvana and broke. If it wasn’t for the murder of Lyon Wong."

Members

*Pat Stratford -

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...

s (1982 - 1986) *Lyon Wong -

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 ...

(1982 - 1986; died 1986) *Steve Hunt - guitar (1982 - 1986) *Geoff Magner -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(1982 - 1986) *Mike Hunter -

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s (1982 - 1986)

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation appearances

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tales Of Terror (Band) Hardcore punk groups from California Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1986 Musical groups from Sacramento, California Skate punk groups 1982 establishments in California