Zen Guerrilla was a rock band originally from Newark, Delaware and later based in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Musically, the band evolved over their career. Their early sound was characterized by

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

elements, such as delayed

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 ...

s and noise washes. Their unique sound gained a growing local following (winning several Philly music awards), however, did not increase marketability. Later, Zen Guerrilla fused

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

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 ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

to create a sound which could be likened to bands such as the

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spenc ...

History

Zen Guerrilla formed in

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington. According to the 2010 United States Census, ...

in the late 80s. Band members Andy Duvall (drums), Marcus Durant (vocals/harmonica), Carl Horne (bass), Daniel McMullen (keyboard) and Rich Millman (guitar) came together from local bands Marcus Hook, The Gollywogs, Stone Groove and No Comment. Their early sound was characterized by psychedelic elements, such as delayed guitars and noise washes played by The Sloth (before leaving the band in 1991). This unique sound gained a growing local following (their first two color-vinyl 45's winning several Philly music awards), while avoiding increased marketability. Later, the band released their self-titled CD on

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

-based Compulsiv Records in 1992 and Recorded at the world-famous Third Story Recording Studio in Walnut Hill with producer/engineer, Scott "Turkey Lips" Herzog.See the liner notes on their records and CD's Soon after, Zen Guerrilla moved to

and were regular performers around the city at clubs such as the Khyber Pass Pub. Around this time the band began a heavy touring schedule, which would have them cross the country multiple times through the end of the decade. Zen Guerrilla relocated to

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 ...

in 1994. Their constant touring increased their exposure, and, combined with their explosive live show, helped to release albums first with

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 label, t ...

and later

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

, which is known for being the original record company of

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.' ...

. The band's version of the song "Empty Heart" was featured in the 2000 PlayStation game '' Grind Session''. The band dissolved sometime around 2003.

Discography

Albums

*''Zen Guerrilla'' - Compulsiv 1992 *''Invisible "Liftee" Pad / Gap-Tooth Clown'' -

1997 *''Positronic Raygun'' -

1998 *''Trance States in Tongues'' -

1999 *''Shadows on the Sun'' -

2001 *''Heavy Mellow'' - Flapping Jet 2002 (LP picture disc)

EPs

*''Creature Double Feature'' - Dead Beat records 1995 *''Invisible "Liftee" Pad'' - Insect 1996 *''Gap-Tooth Clown'' - Insect 1997 *''Plasmic Tears and the Invisible City'' - Insect 2002

Singles

*"Pull" b/w "Nile Song" - Union Hall 1993 *"Crow" b/w "Unusual" - Union Hall 1994 *"Trouble Shake" b/w "Change Gonna Come" -

1997 *"Ghetto City Version" b/w "Hungry Wolf" -

Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

1999 *"Mama's Little Rocket" - Allied Recordings 2000 *"Dirty Mile" b/w "Ham and Eggs" -

Estrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous p ...

2000 *"Pocketful of String" b/w "Wigglin' Room" - Fanboy 2000 *"The Seeker" b/w "Half Step" -

2000 *"Mob Rules" b/w "The Trooper" - Safety Pin 2001

References

External links

Andy Duvall's new band 'Carlton Melton'
The Carl Horne Experiment
solo act of bassist.
Browntown West
3/4 of band doing cover songs with Christa DiBiase on vocals. Musical groups from San Francisco {{US-rock-band-stub