Uncle Bonsai is an American

contemporary folk Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid 20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from tradit ...

trio from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington. They formed in 1981, took a hiatus from 1989 to 1998, and have been performing and recording regularly again since 1999. Their earlier songs included "Suzy", "Charlie and Me", "Penis Envy", and "Boys Want Sex in the Morning", some of which occasionally resulted in

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) problems when played on the radio, and twenty-odd songs recounting the life experiences of a character named Doug ("Doug's First Date", "Doug at His Mom's", "Doug's First Job", "Doug Engaged", "Doug Gets Married", etc.). Their more recent works, including "The Baby's Head", "The Grim Parade", "20th Century Man," and "Where's The Milk", focus on the passing of time, the passing of genes, and the passing of pets – the truth of everything seemingly buried somewhere under the family tree. Uncle Bonsai has headlined at clubs and festivals throughout North America and opened for various artists, including

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

, TOTO,

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...

Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...

, and

The Bobs The Bobs were an a cappella vocal group founded in San Francisco, California in the early 1980s. They moved to Seattle, Washington and were active recording and touring throughout the United States, Canada and Europe until their farewell show a ...

. The original members were Andrew Ratshin, Arni Adler, and Ashley O'Keeffe. In March 2007 they announced that they would be recording and performing more frequently, with O'Keeffe replaced by singer/songwriter (and Mel Cooleys member) Patrice O'Neill. Most of the satirical songs were written by Ratshin, but Adler revealed her own brand of absurdist wit in several songs, including fan favorites "Cheerleaders on Drugs" and "Don't Put It In Your Mouth." The band's songs continue to receive airplay on

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

and

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

. Andrew Ratshin also performs and records solo as 'The Electric Bonsai Band' ("It's not electric, it's not a band."), and as part of a sextet, 'Mel Cooleys'. His records are available on the

Yellow Tail Records Yellow Tail Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in the early 1990s, by Andrew Ratshin and Hilary Field, it releases a variety of folk, acoustic, and classical music. In addition, the label has released th ...

label.

Discography

* ''A Lonely Grain of Corn'' (1984; re-release 2001) * ''Boys Want Sex in the Morning'' (1986) * ''I Am Joe's Eyes'' (1990) lectric Bonsai Band* ''The Inessential Uncle Bonsai'' (1992) * ''Myn Ynd Wymyn'' (1992) * ''But I'm Happy Now'' (1993) lectric Bonsai Band* ''Plain Brown Wrapper'' (1999) * ''Sponge Boy'' (CD single) (1999) * ''Doug'' (2000; recorded live on Aug. 4, 1998) ith Electric Bonsai Band and Mel Cooleys* ''Apology'' (2001) * ''The Grim Parade'' (2010) * ''The Family Feast: The Study of the Human Condition, First World Problems, and the Lasting Physiological and Psychological Effects of Eating Our Young'' (2017)

References

External links

Official web site

Official Electric Bonsai Band web site
* American folk musical groups American comedy musical groups Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups from Washington (state) {{US-folk-band-stub