Dharma Bums (band)
Encyclopedia
The Dharma Bums were a U.S. garage band in the best traditions of the MC5
and early 80s college-rock bands such as Rain Parade
and R.E.M.
. The band's members were Jim, John
, Jeremy, and Eric. They named themselves after the Jack Kerouac
book The Dharma Bums
.
They formed in 1987 in Portland, Oregon
, by members of two local bands, the The Watchmen and Perfect Circle (no connection with the later bands The Watchmen
or A Perfect Circle
). The first album, Haywire, was produced by Scott McCaughey
(lead singer of the Young Fresh Fellows
) and recorded for the PopLlama
label in 1989. McCaughey later played their debut to Frontier Records
boss Lisa Fancher, who was impressed enough to re-release the album. One of the tracks, "Boots Of Leather", proved to be an enduring college radio hit.
In 1990 the more polished album Bliss was released on Frontier Records. Featuring greatly improved songwriting, it covered subjects from rape and adolescence to suicide, in a mature fashion built on ragged rock textures. The Dharma Bums recorded their third and final album Welcome for the Tim/Kerr label in 1991, and disbanded in 1992. Wilson went on to form the alt-rock band Pilot.
Some biographers, as Melissa Rossi
, author of Courtney Love: Queen of Noise (ISBN 0-671-00038-1), and Poppy Z Brite, author of Courtney Love: The Real Story
, write that Courtney Love
and Kurt Cobain
first met each other at a Dharma Bums concert in Portland—where Nirvana served as the opening act. Many in the local Portland scene had expected Dharma Bums to be the big breakthrough "alternative
" act of the Northwest music scene, but Nirvana
, a frequent opening act for Dharma Bums, was the breakthrough act of the genre instead.'
MC5
The MC5 is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan and originally active from 1964 to 1972. The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson...
and early 80s college-rock bands such as Rain Parade
Rain Parade
The Rain Parade was a band active in the Paisley Underground scene in Los Angeles in the 1980s.-History:The band was founded by college roommates Matt Piucci and David Roback in 1981, originally as The Moving Sidewalks. David's brother Steven Roback joined the band shortly thereafter...
and R.E.M.
Röntgen equivalent man
Named after Wilhelm Röntgen , the roentgen equivalent in man or rem is a unit of radiation dose equivalent...
. The band's members were Jim, John
John Moen
John Moen is a musician and member of The Decemberists, Boston Spaceships, and Perhapst. He sings, plays the drums, five banjos, the melodica, occasionally the keyboard, and dances around with a floor tom...
, Jeremy, and Eric. They named themselves after the Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
book The Dharma Bums
The Dharma Bums
The Dharma Bums is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. The semi-fictional accounts in the novel are based upon events that occurred years after the events of On the Road...
.
They formed in 1987 in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, by members of two local bands, the The Watchmen and Perfect Circle (no connection with the later bands The Watchmen
The Watchmen
The Watchmen is a Canadian rock band. They were one of the most commercially successful Canadian alternative rock groups of the mid to late 1990s. During their peak years the band had three gold records and one platinum record...
or A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle is an American rock supergroup formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. The original incarnation of the band also included Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, and Tim Alexander on drums...
). The first album, Haywire, was produced by Scott McCaughey
Scott McCaughey
As a singer and songwriter, Scott McCaughey is the leader of the Seattle and Portland-based bands The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5.He is also bassist for Robyn Hitchcock's most recent touring band, The Venus 3, along with Bill Rieflin and Peter Buck....
(lead singer of the Young Fresh Fellows
Young Fresh Fellows
The Young Fresh Fellows are an American alternative rock group that was formed in 1981 in Seattle, Washington, by Scott McCaughey and Chuck Carroll; Tad Hutchison, Chuck Carroll's first cousin, joined for the recording of the group's debut album in 1983....
) and recorded for the PopLlama
PopLlama Records
PopLlama Records is an independent record label founded by record producer Conrad Uno in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. After making several of his own demos in his basement studio, Uno would produce the Young Fresh Fellows' debut album The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest at the bands request...
label in 1989. McCaughey later played their debut to Frontier Records
Frontier Records
Frontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways....
boss Lisa Fancher, who was impressed enough to re-release the album. One of the tracks, "Boots Of Leather", proved to be an enduring college radio hit.
In 1990 the more polished album Bliss was released on Frontier Records. Featuring greatly improved songwriting, it covered subjects from rape and adolescence to suicide, in a mature fashion built on ragged rock textures. The Dharma Bums recorded their third and final album Welcome for the Tim/Kerr label in 1991, and disbanded in 1992. Wilson went on to form the alt-rock band Pilot.
Some biographers, as Melissa Rossi
Melissa Rossi
Melissa Rossi is an American author and journalist who writes about subjects such as American politics and international geopolitical situations...
, author of Courtney Love: Queen of Noise (ISBN 0-671-00038-1), and Poppy Z Brite, author of Courtney Love: The Real Story
Courtney Love: The Real Story
Courtney Love: The Real Story is a biography of rock musician Courtney Love, written by Poppy Z. Brite. The book, Brite's first full-length work of nonfiction, was published by Simon and Schuster in 1997. Though technically unauthorized, Love actually paid to Brite in order to write the book....
, write that Courtney Love
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
and Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
first met each other at a Dharma Bums concert in Portland—where Nirvana served as the opening act. Many in the local Portland scene had expected Dharma Bums to be the big breakthrough "alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
" act of the Northwest music scene, but Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, a frequent opening act for Dharma Bums, was the breakthrough act of the genre instead.'
External links
- [ Dharma Bums entry on allmusic.com]
- SATYRICOM ...THE ALBUM is a tribute to the defunct Portland nightclub.