Oxymoron (band)
Encyclopedia
Oxymoron is a German
Oi!
/streetpunk band formed in 1992. The band was founded by Sucker (vocals) and his cousin Björn (drums), along with two friends, Martin (guitar) and Filzlaus (bass).
festival in their hometown, along with other local bands. After the show, they were offered several slots as support acts for more established bands all over the world.
In May 1994, they released their debut EP
, Beware, Poisonous! on their own Oxyfactory Records label. The EP was soon reissued by Helen of Oi! Records in October of that year, which led to a full-length album deal.
While recording Fuck The Nineties—Here’s Our Noize, bassist Filzlaus left the band, and was eventually replaced by a friend, Arne. Helen of Oi! Records originally released the album on vinyl in May 1995, and re-released it on CD in the United States in February 1996.
Following the release of Fuck The Nineties—Here’s Our Noize, which received great underground reviews, Oxymoron began to tour across Germany as well as in Europe. The band released a split EP with English band Braindance, entitled Mohican Melodies in September 1995.
Oxymoron released the Crisis Identity EP in March 1996 on Arne’s short-lived Rough Beat Records label, and the band appeared on Helen Of Oi!’s Streetpunk Worldwide compilation EP in the same year. They also embarked on their first US tour, along the east coast with Braindance and The Casualties
. Also in 1996, Oxymoron made the jump to the German Knock-Out Records label, which released the band's second full-length, The Pack Is Back, in April 1997. The release was followed by more touring in Europe, as well as a three-week summer tour in Japan with The Discocks. Oxymoron established themselves well in the American and German punk scene as an anti-racist streetpunk band.
In 1998, several tours were cancelled, Sucker had to be hospitalized for nerve damage, and Arne decided to leave the band just weeks before they were to head back into the studio. They released a split with Dropkick Murphys
titled Irish Stout vs. German Lager. Chrissy, who temporarily had been a second guitarist and had played bass on the first US tour, stepped in on bass. March 1999 saw the release of the mini-album, Westworld, and was followed by more touring of Europe as well as a seven-week coast-to-coast US tour with Dropkick Murphys and The Ducky Boys
. Chrissy left the band after the tour and was quickly replaced by Morpheus.
In October 2000, Oxymoron released a compilation album, Best Before 2000, which included all previous 7” singles, along with tracks from previous compilations. November 2001 marked the release of the Savage Output EP, which included three tracks from their upcoming full-length along and one unreleased track. Their third full-length album, Feed The Breed was also released in November 2001, and was followed by a six-week coast-to-coast US tour, as well as a European/German tour.
Martin, decided to leave the band, which led to Chrissy stepping in on guitar. They eventually found a replacement guitarist, but he left in the middle of the 2002 US tour. The band’s driver, Davey, filled the void for the remainder of the tour, and also on the following European tour.
2011: "Mission Mohawk": Bad Co. Project (Sucker's solo project)
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Oi!
Oi!
Oi! is a working class subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads and other working-class youths ....
/streetpunk band formed in 1992. The band was founded by Sucker (vocals) and his cousin Björn (drums), along with two friends, Martin (guitar) and Filzlaus (bass).
Career
Originating from Germany, their first real public performance was at an annual punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
festival in their hometown, along with other local bands. After the show, they were offered several slots as support acts for more established bands all over the world.
In May 1994, they released their debut EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Beware, Poisonous! on their own Oxyfactory Records label. The EP was soon reissued by Helen of Oi! Records in October of that year, which led to a full-length album deal.
While recording Fuck The Nineties—Here’s Our Noize, bassist Filzlaus left the band, and was eventually replaced by a friend, Arne. Helen of Oi! Records originally released the album on vinyl in May 1995, and re-released it on CD in the United States in February 1996.
Following the release of Fuck The Nineties—Here’s Our Noize, which received great underground reviews, Oxymoron began to tour across Germany as well as in Europe. The band released a split EP with English band Braindance, entitled Mohican Melodies in September 1995.
Oxymoron released the Crisis Identity EP in March 1996 on Arne’s short-lived Rough Beat Records label, and the band appeared on Helen Of Oi!’s Streetpunk Worldwide compilation EP in the same year. They also embarked on their first US tour, along the east coast with Braindance and The Casualties
The Casualties
The Casualties are an American street punk band from New York City, New York, formed in 1990.-Biography:The Casualties members aimed to return to what they viewed as the "golden era" of street punk, embodied by bands such as The Exploited, Charged GBH , which they believed had disappeared by...
. Also in 1996, Oxymoron made the jump to the German Knock-Out Records label, which released the band's second full-length, The Pack Is Back, in April 1997. The release was followed by more touring in Europe, as well as a three-week summer tour in Japan with The Discocks. Oxymoron established themselves well in the American and German punk scene as an anti-racist streetpunk band.
In 1998, several tours were cancelled, Sucker had to be hospitalized for nerve damage, and Arne decided to leave the band just weeks before they were to head back into the studio. They released a split with Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....
titled Irish Stout vs. German Lager. Chrissy, who temporarily had been a second guitarist and had played bass on the first US tour, stepped in on bass. March 1999 saw the release of the mini-album, Westworld, and was followed by more touring of Europe as well as a seven-week coast-to-coast US tour with Dropkick Murphys and The Ducky Boys
The Ducky Boys
The Ducky Boys are a street punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. Since forming in 1995 in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, the band has spanned over ten years with two tenures that have led to four full-length albums and over 50 songs. The band derives its name from the name of an Irish...
. Chrissy left the band after the tour and was quickly replaced by Morpheus.
In October 2000, Oxymoron released a compilation album, Best Before 2000, which included all previous 7” singles, along with tracks from previous compilations. November 2001 marked the release of the Savage Output EP, which included three tracks from their upcoming full-length along and one unreleased track. Their third full-length album, Feed The Breed was also released in November 2001, and was followed by a six-week coast-to-coast US tour, as well as a European/German tour.
Martin, decided to leave the band, which led to Chrissy stepping in on guitar. They eventually found a replacement guitarist, but he left in the middle of the 2002 US tour. The band’s driver, Davey, filled the void for the remainder of the tour, and also on the following European tour.
Hiatus
While not announcing an official breakup, Oxymoron has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2002, when Oxymoron announced: "In the near future you won't hear much from us. Oxymoron will have a break for a while! We'll let you know what's going on here, but first of all we definitely [need to] take some time off with the band." In 2005 they reported that "the band is still on ice." 2006 saw the release of somewhat new material in the Noize Overdose split EP with Bonecrusher. The EP contained previously unreleased tracks, along with live footage from a 1999 Hamburg, Germany concert. 2006 also marked the release of the first album of Sucker’s solo project, Bad Co. Project, entitled Sucker Stories.Albums
- 1995: Fuck The Nineties: Here's Our Noize
- 1997: The Pack Is Back
- 1999: Westworld
- 1999: Best Of Before 2000
- 2001: Feed The Breed
Splits and compilations
- 1995: Mohican Melodies: split with Braindance
- 1996: Streetpunk Worldwide: split with The Discocks, Bottom Of The Barrel and Braindance
- 1998: A Tribute To Cock Sparrer: split with Dropkick Murphys, Shock Troops and Disgusteens
- 1998: Skins 'n' Pins: compilation
- 1998: Irish Stout vs. German Lager: split with Dropkick Murphys
- 2000: Worldwide Tribute To The Real Oi!: compilation
- 2001: Taisho vs. Oxymoron: split with Taisho
- 2006: Noize Overdose: split with Bonecrusher
Solo projects
2006: "Sucker Stories": Bad Co. Project (Sucker's solo project)2011: "Mission Mohawk": Bad Co. Project (Sucker's solo project)
Current members
- Sucker: Vocals (1992–Present)
- Björn: Drums (1992–Present)
- Morpheus: Bass (1999–Present)
Former members
- Filzlaus: Bass (1992–1994)
- Martin: Guitar (1992–2001)
- Arne: Bass (1995–1998)
- Chrissy: Bass (1996 US Tour, 1998–1999)
- Chrissy: Guitar (2001)
- Unknown Member: Guitar (Played for part of 2002 US Tour)
- Davey: Guitar (2002)
External links
- Oxymoron Official Website
- [ Oxymoron's All Music Entry]