Jon Cougar Concentration Camp is an American punk rock band from

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

, United States.

History

Jon Cougar Concentration Camp was formed in January 1994 in San Diego by Chris Fields, Clint Graham, Travis Spatter, and Travis Milligan. The band named themselves after a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on musician

John Cougar Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

. They played their first show at The Casbah on January 31, 1994, and less than two months later self-released their first 7” EP. This would be the only recording with Clint and Travis, who both left the band. Bass guitarist Dave Swain was eventually added and the band continued as a trio. Their eponymous debut album came in 1995 on Second Guess Records. ''Til Niagara Falls'' was released on punk label BYO Records in 1997. This would be followed up by two more albums in 1998, ''Melon'' an album of new JCCC material, and ''Too Tough to Die'' a track for track cover of the Ramones album of the same name. During a break between tours and recording Dave and Chris joined

The Queers The Queers are an American punk rock band, formed in 1981 by the Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joseph “Joe” P. King (a.k.a. Joe Queer) along with Scott Gildersleeve (a.k.a. Tulu), and John “Jack” Hayes (a.k.a. Wimpy Rutherford). With ...

and played on their album '' Punk Rock Confidential''. Dwarves frontman

Blag Dahlia Paul Cafaro (born May 8, 1966), known professionally as Blag Dahlia, is an American singer and record producer, best known as the vocalist for punk band Dwarves.Ritchie, Ryan (2007)Locals Only – Blood, Guts and Literacy: Blag Dahlia steps out ...

(who had produced ''Melon'') also invited Chris to join his band. Chris would join The Dwarves, and after being overwhelmed by being in three bands, left the Queers and ended Jon Cougar Concentration Camp. A final JCCC album ''Hot Shit'' was released in 1999. After a ten-year hiatus the band reunited in 2009. They recorded another song for song cover album, this time a version of

Screeching Weasel Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Mike Kennerty (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums). Screeching Weasel is originally from the Chicago subur ...

's ''

My Brain Hurts ''My Brain Hurts'' is the third studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. The album was originally released on CD, vinyl and cassette in September 1991 through Lookout Records. It was the group's first album on Lookout as ...

'' titled ''My Hair Hurts''. It was released on Livid Records as a vinyl only release in November 2009. Jon Cougar Concentration Camp was included in the list of "100 Best Band Names of All Time" by

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

in December, 2009. In 2015, the band released the four-track EP ''Armageddon Party'' on Rad Girlfriend Records, their first release of original music in 15 years.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Jon Cougar Concentration Camp (That's Il-Legal -- Go Get Them)'' (1995) *Til Niagara Falls...'' (1997) *''Melon'' (1998) *''Too Tough to Die'' (1998) *''Hot Shit'' (1999) *''My Hair Hurts'' (2009) *''Armageddon Party'' (EP) (2015)

Compilation albums

*''No More Room in Hell'' (2000)

References

{{Authority control Punk rock groups from California BYO Records artists Musical groups from San Diego