Boris the Sprinkler is a punk rock band that formed in Green Bay,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

in 1992.

History

Boris the Sprinkler was founded in Green Bay in 1992 by Reverend Nørb (vocals) and Paul #1 (guitar).Cover Story: Boris the Sprinkler
''Maximum Ink'', July 1999. Nørb and Paul (born Paul Schroder) initially played with Eric Lee (bass) and Ronny Johnny Kispert (drums); later members included Eric James (bass), Ric 6 (bass), and Paul 2 (drums). Nørb, who was born Norb Rozek,
'' Shepherd Express'', July 28, 2013. had previously written for the music magazines ''Sick Teen'' and ''

Maximum Rocknroll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly zine of punk subculture. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily fea ...

''. Nørb's lyrics and the band's style were self-consciously irreverent, tongue-in-cheek, and referential to other aspects of

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ...

, influenced by punk rock groups such as

The Dickies The Dickies are an American punk rock band formed in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, in 1977. One of the longest tenured punk rock bands, they have been in continuous existence for over 40 years. They have consistently balanced catchy mel ...

The Rezillos The Rezillos are a punk/ new wave band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1976. Although emerging at the same time as other bands in the punk rock movement, the Rezillos did not share the nihilism or social commentary of their contemporaries, b ...

, and

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

. The group often dressed in flamboyant styles such as "zebra-print tights and gold lamé body suits". Boris the Sprinkler released eight full-length albums over the period 1994-2000, including 1994's ''8 Testicled Pogo Machine'' (which included a vocal cameo by

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 ...

on its first track), 1998's ''End of the Century'' (which

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

album of the same name in its entirety), and two albums for

Go-Kart Records Go-Kart Records is an independent record label specializing in punk rock located in New York City that was most active from 1995 to 2005. It also has a European division in Mannheim, Germany. History In its May 1999 issue, ''Guitar World'' ...

, 1999's ''Suck'' and 2000's ''Gay''. The group also released numerous EPs and singles, among them 1995's Mutant Pop release "Drugs and Masturbation" and 1996's "Kill the Ramones".Kill the Ramones review
Allmusic In 2013, Nørb published ''The Annotated Boris: Deconstructing the Lyrical Majesty of Boris the Sprinkler'', a "line-by-line analysis" of songs he wrote for Boris the Sprinkler. The band released a new album, Vespa to Venus, on Beer City Records on September 13, 2019. The release reunited the 1997 Mega Anal lineup of Paul #1, Paul #2, Ric Six, and Reverend Nørb.

Discography

Albums

*''8-Testicled Pogo Machine'' (Bulge Records, 1994) *''Saucer to Saturn'' (Bulge Records, 1995) *'' End of the Century'' ( Clearview Records, 1996) *''Mega Anal'' (Bulge Records, 1997) *''Suck'' (

, 1999) *''Group Sex'' (Bulge Records, 2000) *''Gay'' (Go-Kart, 2000) *''Vespa To Venus'' (Beer City, 2019)

Live albums

*''The Frozen Tundra of... Boris the Sprinkler'' (Bulge Records, 1998) *'' Live Cincinnati 1999'' (

Mutant Pop Records Mutant Pop Records was an independent record label founded in Corvallis, Oregon in 1995. After ceasing the release of new material in 2002, the label made a brief comeback attempt in 2008 before terminating operations at the end of that year. Com ...

, 2000)

EPs

*''V.M.Live Presents Boris the Sprinkler 11/1/96'' (VML Records) *''Gratuitous 1998 Summer Tour 10"'' (Clearview Records) *''Banana Pad Riot! / Split with The Vindictives, Young Fresh Fellows & Mr. T Experience'' (Skullduggery Records) *''8" flexi-disc with Less Than Jake, Sonic Dolls and Mulligan Stu'' (Rhetoric Records)

Singles

*''4Money (split with Quencher)'' (Lombardi Records) *''She's Got a Lighter / It's My Style'' (Trouser Cough Records) *''(Do You Wanna) Grilled Cheese? / Bad Guy Reaction'' (Bulge Records) *''Male Model / Superball Eyes / Ejector Seat'' (Bulge Records) *''Beth / I Turned Into a Martian (split with The Droids)'' (Power Ground Records) *''Drugs & Masturbation / Yeah Yeah / Yeah Yeah No'' (

) *''Ready Steady Go (split w/ Scooby Don't)'' (Just Add Water Records) *''True Grit / Poodle Party / Do the Mimi (split with the Meatmen)'' (Bulge Records) *''Hey Ed! / Attitude (split w/

Moral Crux A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

)'' (They Still Make Records) *''Sheena's Got a Microwave / Chipmunks Are Go! / Chemistry Set (split with the Sonic Dolls)'' (Bulge Records) *''113th Man / Son of Musical Interlude / Penalty Box / Can't Controllit'' (SuperSonicRefrigeRecords) *''Kill the Ramones / Kill the Sex Pistols'' (Junk Records) *''Little Yellow Box / Why Don't We Do It in the Dumpster / Get Off the Phone'' (Bulge Records) *''New Wave Records / Yellow Pills / Hi, We're the Replacements'' (Mutant Pop Records) *''Nikki The Sprinkler / Borisites (split with the Parasites)'' (Just Add Water Records) *''(I've Been Hittin' On A) Russian Robot / Do The Go / Got The Time'' (

Lookout Records Lookout Records (stylized as Lookout! Records) was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California and later in Berkeley, California, Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having ...

) *''Sick Sick Sick / Ultimatum / Busy Signals'' (split with the Dead Vampires) (

Dirtnap Records Dirtnap Records is an independent record label specializing in punk rock. It was founded by Ken Cheppaikode while he was living in Seattle, Washington, in 1999. He bought Green Noise record store in Portland, Oregon, in 2005 and then ran the lab ...

)

Members

*Rev. Nørb – vocals, keytar, guitar, harmonica *Paul No. 1 – guitar, vocals *Erik No. 1 – bass, guitar *Ronny Johnny Kispert – drums *Eric No. 2 – bass, vocals, recording engineer *Paul No. 2 – drums *Ric Six – bass *Tim 00 – bass *LP – guitar

Footnotes

External links

* {{Authority control Punk rock groups from Wisconsin Musical groups established in 1992