Sex Clark Five (abbreviated SC5) is an underground

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band formed in the early 1980s in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in ...

. Calling their inventive, sawed-off

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and c ...

songs "strum and drum" (a pun on

Sturm und Drang ''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...

), SC5 released several albums that featured the jangly

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a rang ...

guitar sound characteristic of Southern

college rock College rock was the alternative rock music played on student-run university and college campus radio stations located in the United States and Canada in the 1980s. The stations' playlists were often created by students who avoided the mainstream ...

bands of the time, including

R.E.M R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternativ ...

. Guitarists James Butler and Rick Storey and drummer Trick McKaha were all friends from Huntsville High School. After stints in

Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

cover and pseudo punk bands, the three recruited bassist Joy Johnson. Primary singer/songwriter Butler built quirky, catchy melodic hooks around lyrics that often included offbeat European historical references, and wrapped them around rapidly strummed guitars and rave up

surf guitar Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is instrumental su ...

riffs. Politically charged tunes such as "Liberate Tibet" and "Sarajevo" were called prophetic by some critics. In spite of their political content, SC5's songs were often filled with the kind of wry, outlandish humor exemplified by the band's name (a play on

The Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...

). SC5 would count both

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

and the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

as musical influences. The band was also notorious for erratic live shows. Drummer Trick McKaha would sometimes wear a bag over his head. Sex Clark Five came to the attention of

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

legend John Peel when he was given a copy of their debut EP, "Neita Grew Up Last Night." After playing the disc on his show repeatedly, Peel asked the band to send more. SC5 recorded their first full-length album, ''Strum and Drum!'', in 1986 in Butler's family basement. Noted for its twenty brief tracks (several of which barely exceeded one minute in length), ''Strum and Drum!'' was a critical success and an underground favorite of 1987, hailed as "a near-classic first step" by

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

. The album received extensive college radio airplay and earned the band a small but devoted following. Some contemporary indie bands have acknowledged ''Strum and Drum!'' as a pop milestone. SC5 later issued ''Battle of Sex Clark Five'', ''Ketchup if You Can'' (EP), and ''Antedium'', incorporating essentially the same formula, but to less critical acclaim. During the 1990s, SC5 continued to record but found only small labels with few resources to promote them. The band released an EP, ''Hit Parade'', under the name Martin Luther Kinks with Rick Storey serving as singer/songwriter. More than one major label expressed interest in SC5, but the band was unable to follow up due to chronic disorganization. The band toured sporadically and recorded four sessions for John Peel, usually with many unreleased tracks. Johnson left the group in 1993 and was replaced by singer Laura E. Lee. Trick left the group in 1995, although he played accompaniment on some of the later releases. Butler and Storey collaborated on ''Crimson Panzer'' (2000), which again appeared almost exclusively on the John Peel Show. In the May 2006 issue of '' GQ'',

A.C. Newman Allan Carl Newman (born April 14, 1968) is a Canadians, Canadian musician and singer–songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor (band), Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he r ...

of the New Pornographers nominated the SC5 as his "unsung heroes." SC5’s Strum and Drum Opera Ghost Brigade (2018) and The Orange Album (2020) received their world premieres and were played in full on WFMU New York. In 2020 SC5 was featured in the double LP collection STRUM AND THRUM (named after SC5’s legendary first album) The American Underground Jangle 1983-1987, released by Captured Tracks Records. The liner notes call Ghost Brigade “absolutely brilliant” and dub SC5 as “America’s most inexplicable band.”

Discography

* ''Neita Grew Up Last Night'' EP (Records to Russia, 1985) * ''Strum and Drum!'' (Records to Russia, 1987; Subway Records UK 1990; Beehive Rebellion, 1996) * ''Battle of Sex Clark Five'' (Bloodmoney Records/Skyclad, 1989) * ''Ketchup If You Can'' EP (Records to Russia, 1991) * ''Antedium'' (Records to Russia, 1993) * ''Crimson Panzer'' (Records to Russia, 2000) * ''Rembrandt X'' (Records to Russia, 2013) * ''Ghost Brigade: A Strum and Drum Opera'' (Records to Russia, 2018) * The Orange Album (Records to Russia 2020) * Biden Goes to Bitburg single (sc5songs.com 2022)

References

{{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from Alabama Musicians from Huntsville, Alabama