The Nip Drivers were an American punk rock band formed in 1980 in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...

. The band was the brainchild of lead singer Mike Webber, and for a time included guitarist Kurt Schellenbach, Janus Jones on bass, and Nick Passiglia on drums, though the lineup at any given time was fluid. They played fast hardcore punk, often infused with humor and a total lack of political correctness. In addition to their own compositions, they recorded sometimes improbable covers of pop hits such as

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’s “

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,” Duran Duran's "

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," and

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’s “ Fox on the Run”. The last is heard on the soundtrack of the 1984 film '' Desperate Teenage Lovedolls''. The band also made a cameo appearance in the 1985 film ''

Echo Park Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known f ...

'' starring Susan Dey and Tom Hulce. After a period of inactivity, Webber emerged with an all-new line-up in the 1990s. In 2000, the 1980s LPs were reissued on CD. In 1999 Mike started an acoustic project called the Bob Drivers with Jula Bell (Bulimia Banquet, Bobsled, Miss Derringer)where Mike played acoustic guitar and Jula played punk rock autoharp. The name was a play on Bobsled+Nip Drivers, henceforth, The Bob Drivers. In 2001 Mike emerged with the last Nip Drivers line up. He used his other band Marc Spitz Freestyle, as his back up band. The other members included Jula Bell on bass and b.u.vox, Greg Cameron (SWA, October Faction) on drums, and Dave Wakefield (Sukia) on guitar. They recorded 4 new Nip Driver songs that are due for release in Winter of 2020. Mike Webber died on November 11, 2006. The last show that the Nip Drivers played before Mike died was with the Nip Drivers/MSF at the Liquid Kitty Punk Rock BBQ in West LA August 13, 2006.

Discography

* ''Destroy Whitey'' (12" EP, 1984,

New Alliance Records New Alliance Records was an independent record label founded by American musicians D. Boon and Mike Watt (of The Minutemen) and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich. They were inspired by the example of their friends in southern Cali ...

) * ''Oh Blessed Freak Show'' (LP, 1985, Bemisbrain/

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) * ''Nip Drivers'' (7” EP, 1990, No Reality—this is sometimes referred to as the ‘’Pretty Face’’ EP) * ''Dirt My Hole'' (7” EP, 1995, Fearless) * ''Destroy Whitey/Oh Blessed Freak Show'' (CD reissue, 2000, Taang! Records)

Compilation appearances

* ''Party or Go Home'' (1983,

Mystic Records Mystic Records is an American record label and music production company specializing in hardcore punk, crossover thrash, underground music, vintage and cult records. It is owned and operated by Doug Moody. The label was first established in Hollywo ...

) ** Includes "Tang" * '' Desperate Teenage Lovedolls'' (1984, Enigma) ** Includes " Fox on the Run" * ''When Men were Men... and Sheep were Scared'' (1985, Bemisbrain) ** Includes “

” and “E.Y.O.B.”

References

{{Reflist

External links

Nip Drivers in concertIMDb.comSlope Records Re-issue
Hardcore punk groups from California Pop punk groups from California Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 2000