The Yuppie Pricks are an American five-piece punk rock band from

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, United States. They "deal in reverse psychology punk by ironically celebrating the

materialist Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...

excesses of the upwardly mobile in songs like "Greed Is Good," "Fraternity Days" and "Fuck You, I’m Rich," which are tinged with old school UK punk, Black Flag and

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 bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing ...

touches." Alternately described as "raucous, straight-ahead punk" and "''

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of ''The Observer'' notes that while "some countr ...

'' hardcore with a wicked sense of humor" the Yuppie Pricks are frequently lauded for their live performances, where they've been known to wear

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beh ...

-era tennis gear and denounce the 'service industry scum' who come to their shows. Director

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

cited the Yuppie Pricks song "Coke Party" in a ''Variety'' magazine interview, as one of five songs that mean a lot to him.

History

Formed in 1999 by self-styled pharmaceutical business magnate Trevor Middleton and third-generation divorce lawyer Deuce Hollingsworth, the Yuppie Pricks recorded their self-produced, self-released debut, ''Initial Public Offering''. Following numerous local gigs and an appearance at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

in 2003, drummer Darin Murano exited the band, due to a case of aggravated

tendinitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elbo ...

. Murano was temporarily replaced by Ken Dannelley (ex-Stretford, Hamicks), but it was not until British expatriate Nigel Smythen-Wesson arrived that a permanent replacement was found. A return performance at SXSW 2004 followed, during which the band was courted by former Dead Kennedys frontman

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

, and subsequently signed on with his

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent labe ...

imprint, who released 2005's ''Brokers Banquet''. Recorded at Bubble Studios by Chris 'Frenchie' Smith (ex-

Sixteen Deluxe Sixteen Deluxe is an American alternative rock band from Austin, Texas, United States. They were mainly active in the 1990s, recording initially for Butthole Surfers drummer King Coffey's Trance Syndicate label. They issued one album on Warner ...

Young Heart Attack Young Heart Attack (YHA) are a high-energy rock band from Austin, Texas, that formed in 2001. Chris "Frenchie" Smith and bassist Steven T. Hall had previously been in the Sixteen Deluxe and Joey Shuffield in Fastball. Lineup Original (2000– ...

), and mixed by Mark Hutchins, ''Brokers Banquet'', which parodied the Rolling Stones' ''

Beggars Banquet ''Beggars Banquet'' is the 7th British and 9th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first Ro ...

'' cover art, featured a more hard-edged 'rock' influence, combined with the tongue-in-cheek lyrics and punk-fueled aggression of the first album. Along with the more aggressive sound came a transition from a four-piece to a five-piece line-up, with bassist Preston Hetherington switching over to second guitar, and the band recruiting Ricky the Intern from the 'Zero Skills Employment Agency' (according to their bio) on bass. With last-minute addition Trey Robles (ex-Hard Feelings) on drums, the band toured the East Coast in Spring of 2005, hitting renowned punk-rock enclave

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

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, as well as recording a live broadcast for

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM, Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable televisi ...

at the invitation of

Lou Brutus Lou Brutus (born November 10, 1962) is an American radio personality, program director, voice-over talent, musician, and photographer. He is best known as the host of the nationally syndicated rock radio programs '' hardDrive with Lou Brutus'' a ...

of the station's

Fungus 53 Fungus, branded on air as Fungus 53, was a Commercial-free radio station on XM Satellite Radio, launched in early 2004 and was specialized in playing Uncensored Punk rock, Hardcore rock and Ska music. The channel was one of nine on XM that is mar ...

channel.

later named ''Broker's Banquet'' one of the top 25 punk albums of 2005, and John Peel kicked off his BBC broadcast during SXSW 2005 with the Yuppie Pricks song, "Cherry Red." Following an extended hiatus, the Yuppie Pricks released their third full-length disc in 2008, ''Balls'', on Chicken Ranch Records, an album where "the irony drips like bacon fat," "to negate everything you ever thought about punk," and which "recontextualizes classics from punk’s ever-growing classic history (Buzzcocks, Big Boys! etc.) and creates new oil guzzling and FOX news approved republican punk anthems." Once again, the Yuppie Pricks dipped into their decidedly un-punk past to parody the Black Crowes' infamous ''

Amorica ''Amorica'' (stylized as ''amorica.'') is the third studio album by American rock band The Black Crowes. Spawned from the band's unreleased, incompleted, scrapped ''Tall'' album, ''Amorica'' was released November 1, 1994, on American Recordings a ...

'' album, featuring their own male-enhanced take on the 1970s-era Hustler-inspired cover art, and landing them in the October 2008 issue of ''Blender'' magazine. Additionally, selected tracks from ''Balls'', including "Donkey Show" and "Fuck You, I'm Rich," were put in heavy rotation on XM Satellite Radio's

punk channel. Yuppie Pricks returned in 2014 with ''Appetite For Consumption'', a more hard rock flavored album with covers of songs from the

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and

Sir Mix-A-Lot Anthony L. Ray (born August 12, 1963), better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 1992 hit song " Baby Got Back", which peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' ...

Discography

Albums

*''Initial Public Offering'' (YP Records, 2001) *''Brokers Banquet'' (Alternative Tentacles, 2005) *''Balls'' (Chicken Ranch, 2008) *''Appetite For Consumption'' (Chicken Ranch, 2014)

Singles

*"Stock Market" 7" (Chicken Ranch, 2005) *"Let's Go Skiing/My Way" (Digital Single) (Chicken Ranch, 2010)

References

External links