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XBXRX is an American
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 ...
band formed in 1998 in
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
, United States. Their early sound was no wave-influenced, but became more
improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
and deconstructed, moving away from using the
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s that typify new wave. They are a collective with a revolving cast of musicians, including
Steve Touchstone Steve Touchton is an American musician who currently resides in Los Angeles. He was a founding member of the bands XBXRX XBXRX is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Mobile, Alabama, United States. Their early sound was no wave-influenc ...
,
Weasel Walter Weasel Walter (born Christopher Todd Walter, May 18, 1972) is an American composer, improviser, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and founder of ugEXPLODE Records. Walter's work has been informed by techniques and traditions of music including Av ...
, and
Vice Cooler Vice Cooler is an American musician, music video director, and photographer. He has been recognized by people like High Places and Henry Rollins as an "inspiration". Peaches has crowned him as the world's greatest performer. Band history Coole ...
. In 2002,
Wesley Willis Wesley Lawrence Willis (May 31, 1963 – August 21, 2003) was an American musician and visual artist. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1989, Willis began a career as an underground singer-songwriter in the outsider music tradition. Wil ...
wrote a song dedicated to the band. For many years the collective resided in
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, where they finished working on their last full-length record, ''
Wars War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
'', which was released in April 2007. In 2008 they were working on a record of improv based pieces titled "Sound" and splits with
Mika Miko Mika Miko was an American band formed in 2003 in Los Angeles, California. In 2004, they gained local popularity for their frenetic live performances. Featuring Victor Fandgore (Jennifer Clavin), Jet Blanca (Jenna Thornhill), Michelle Suarez, Jes ...
and
Japanther Japanther was an American punk band established by Matt Reilly and Ian Vanek, then students at Pratt Institute. Japanther was featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennial and the 2011 Venice Biennale, and collaborated with a diverse pool of artists su ...
. As of 2010, they have regrouped, and relocated to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
releasing new music and playing shows around
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
with their new line up.


Early years

On February 27, 1998, after attending a concert by
Unwound Unwound is an American post-hardcore band. The band was formed in 1988 in Tumwater, Washington, Tumwater and Olympia, Washington by vocalist/guitartist Justin Trosper, bassist Vern Rumsey and drummer Brandt Sandeno, and was largely based in Olym ...
and
Deerhoof Deerhoof are an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They currently consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised no ...
at Jaycee Hall in Biloxi, Mississippi, the band started as a trio, using a simple drum set, guitar and an inexpensive
Radio Shack RadioShack, formerly RadioShack Corporation, is an American retailer founded in 1921. At its peak in 1999, RadioShack operated over 8,000 worldwide stores named RadioShack or Tandy Electronics in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Austra ...
synthesizer. Their early sets consisted of very loose, improvised song structures. After a solid lineup they made their first public performance at a friend's birthday party in May 1998. In 1999, the band hit the road for the first time with a van that belonged to the drummer's mother. Eventually all of the members either graduated early or dropped out and went on tour more or less full time.


2000-2002

In summer of 2000, the band went into the studio to record some songs with producer
Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...
. The sessions would turn into the band's first real full length, ''
Gop Ist Minee XBXRX is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1998 in Mobile, Alabama, United States. Their early sound was no wave-influenced, but became more free improvisation, improvised and deconstructed, moving away from using the synthesizers that ...
'' which was released on
Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally know ...
sister label '' 5RC''. The album was released in January of the next year and was followed by tours with Unwound, Deerhoof, QandnotU, and the Sissies. In between shows, they recorded their ''Clear'' EP (with
Ian Mackaye Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk ...
) and several singles, including the Quintron and Miss Pussycat collaboration single, "Mardi Gras", which was recorded by Tim Kerr, and the
Vern Rumsey Vernon Emmry Aldo Rumsey (January 24, 1973 – August 6, 2020) was an American musician. He rose to prominence as the bassist for the band Unwound. He generally played a Fender Jazz bass. He was also a recording engineer who has worked with ban ...
-produced "Hold Onto Your Skulls". In 2002, the band took a break.


2003-2005

Weasel Walter had become a fan of XBXRX after seeing multiple Chicago performances between 1999 and 2001. He had kept in touch with the band, and in 2003, when Touchstone and Cooler moved the band from
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
to
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, they asked Walter to join the band as their new drummer and enlisted Paul Costuros (of Total Shutdown) to fill in on bass duties. In April 2003, they did their first tour with the new lineup, opening for Holy Molar. They quickly started working in the studio and opened for
Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
and
Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...
. The end result was a contract with
Polyvinyl Records In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Examples Vinyl polymers ar ...
which produced the band's follow up to ''Gop Ist Minee'', '' Sixth in Sixes''.


2006-2008

The band recorded their next two full-length albums ''Wars'' (Polyvinyl 2007) and ''Sounds'' (Important Records, 2007). While ''Wars'' focuses on their punk and new wave background, ''Sounds'' was dedicated to the opposite: studio experiments and improvised material which had only been reserved for their live shows. They toured with Melt Banana.


2009

''Un Usper'' was released on June 3, 2009 as the band's latest album. It is mixed, produced, and released by the band as a download only, donation based record.


2010

"O" is a 10-song 7" which was released in September 2010 on
Polyvinyl Records In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Examples Vinyl polymers ar ...
. "O" is a return to form for the band harkening back to their ''Sixth in Sixes'' era. The band line up now consists of
Vice Cooler Vice Cooler is an American musician, music video director, and photographer. He has been recognized by people like High Places and Henry Rollins as an "inspiration". Peaches has crowned him as the world's greatest performer. Band history Coole ...
, and
Steve Touchstone Steve Touchton is an American musician who currently resides in Los Angeles. He was a founding member of the bands XBXRX XBXRX is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Mobile, Alabama, United States. Their early sound was no wave-influenc ...
, in addition to new members Kyle H. Mabson and Josh Taylor (of Friends Forever, and
Foot Village Foot Village is a tribal noise rock band based in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of members Brian Miller, Grace Lee, Gregory Witscher, and Josh Taylor. The band has been described as a "drum-n-shout assembly". In a review of their 200 ...
).


Discography


Albums

* ''Greatest'' CD-R (ODM, 1998) * ''Love Songs for the Blind'' (Anal Log, 1999) * ''Gop Ist Minee'' ( 5RC, 2001) * '' Sixth in Sixes'' (
Polyvinyl In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Examples Vinyl polymers are ...
, 2005) * ''
Wars War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
'' (
Polyvinyl In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Examples Vinyl polymers are ...
, 2007) * ''Sounds'' (Important Records, 2007) * ''Un Usper'' (Self Released, 2009)


Singles and EPs

* "xbxrx" CD-R (Nothing Fancy Just Music ka NFJM 1998) * "Song Known As" (NFJM, 1998) * "We Are All Dying" (1998) * "Science In The Shape Of Birds" (split with Quintron, Bobby Conn, Zeek Sheck) (TOYO, 2000) * "Hold Onto Your Skulls" (ARKAM, 2001) * "Mardi Gras" (GSL, 2001) * "Split with Sick Lipstick" (DELETED ART, 2002) * ''Clear'' EP (NOVA/ TAPES, 2002) * ''10 Bands'' (split with Erase Errata, Tracy And The Plastics and Peaches) (NFJM, 2002) * "We Hate The President" (
Narnack Narnack Records is an independent record label founded in 2000. The label developed in New York City's underground music scene and quickly became known for its ability for developing new artists Coachwhips, OCS (band), OCS, Langhorne Slim, Ohsee ...
, 2003) * "Last" (NFJM, 2004) * "split with Total Shutdown" (double 5") (ROCK IS HELL, 2005) * "split with
An Albatross An Albatross is a noise rock band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History Formed in the fall of 1999 by guitarist Jake Lisowski, vocalist Edward B. Gieda III, drummer Chris Abbott, bassist Jason Hudak, and organist Phillip Reynolds Price, ...
" (GSL, 2005) * "O" 7" (
Polyvinyl In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Examples Vinyl polymers are ...
, 2010)


Videos

* NFJM 1V (NFJM, 1998) * NFJM 2V (NFJM, 1999) * NFJM 3V (NFJM, 2000) * NFJM 4V (NFJM, 2000) * NFJM 5V (split with Deerhoof) (NFJM, 2001) * NFJM 6V (NFJM, 2004) * ''KRS Video Fanzine'' (
Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally know ...
, 2005)


Compilations

* ''P.O.W! records presents... Knockout!!!'' (POW!, 2000) * ''Troubleman Unlimited Mixtape'' (Troubleman Unlimited, 2002) * ''Kitra Vol. 3'' (Powerbunny 4x4 records, 2001)


References


External links

* {{Authority control Rock music groups from Alabama American noise rock music groups