''Punky Brüster – Cooked on Phonics'' is the debut studio album by Canadian musician

Devin Townsend Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...

, originally released as ''Cooked on Phonics'' under the fictional band name Punky Brüster. It was released on Townsend's label,

HevyDevy Records Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...

, on March 19, 1996. It is a comedic

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

written by Townsend. ''Cooked on Phonics'' tells the story of a fictitious

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band "from South Central

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

" called Cryptic Coroner; during a gig, their guitarist breaks a

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, and the band is forced to improvise and

tune up "Tune Up" or "Tune-Up" is a composition written by Eddie Vinson, but is traditionally credited to Miles Davis, who first recorded and popularized it. It has become a jazz standard. Background and history "Tune Up" was first recorded on May 19, 19 ...

to play punk rock instead; the band accidentally becomes an overnight success and decides to sell out their metal look and sound to become a commercial punk rock band called Punky Brüster (the band's name being a pun on the 1980s U.S. television series ''

Punky Brewster ''Punky Brewster'' is an American Situation comedy, sitcom television series about a young girl (Soleil Moon Frye) being raised by a foster parent (George Gaynes) in Chicago. The show ran on NBC from September 16, 1984, to March 9, 1986, and ag ...

''). At the end of the track "Larry's O," Townsend says the album took "A week-and-a-half to write, six days to record, 12 hours to mix."

Track listing

Personnel

Each member of the project is credited under two aliases, the first as a Punky Brüster member, and the second as a Cryptic Coroner member. *

: **Dr. Skinny – main vocals, guitar **Lord Stenchlor *John Randahl Harder **Squid Vicious – bass, vocals **Jokor, King of the Orcs * Adrian White: **Dances with Chickens – drums **Underwator

Additional vocalists and musicians

* Chris Valagao (E. Val Mescal) – vocals on ''Oats Peas Beans & Barley'' *

Jed Simon Jedson Louis Simon (born February 27, 1964) is a Canadian guitarist. He was a member of supergroup Scar the Martyr and has been a member of numerous bands, including Front Line Assembly, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, Tenet, and Vimic ...

(Ace Longback) – background vocals *

Byron Stroud Byron Stroud (born February 12, 1969) is a Canadian musician. He is the former bassist for metal bands Fear Factory, Imonolith and Strapping Young Lad, current bassist for metal bands City of Fire and Zimmers Hole, and studio bassist for 3 In ...

(Stoolie B. Flames) – vocals, textures *Bob Wagner (Velvet Kevorkian) *Chief Dontsmoken *Pete of Shit *Surrey Wagner – drums *Diananator *Matteo Caratozzolo – editing, vocals

References

External links

Punky Bruster
at DevyWorld {{DEFAULTSORT:Punky Bruster - Cooked on Phonics 1996 debut albums Devin Townsend albums 1990s concept albums Albums produced by Devin Townsend Punky Brewster