The Flesh Eaters (band)
Encyclopedia
The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock
Punk 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...

 band, formed in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardins, known as
Chris D.
Chris D.
Chris D., real name Chris Desjardins, is a punk poet, rock critic, singer, writer, actor and filmmaker. Chris D. is best known as the lead singer and founder of the early Los Angeles punk/deathrock band The Flesh Eaters. Desjardins was a feature writer at Slash magazine in 1977, when he formed a...

 While Desjardins is the group's only continual member, the Flesh Eaters' lineup has drawn from some of the most famous bands of the L.A. punk scene, such as The Plugz
The Plugz
The Plugz were a Mexican-American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 1977. They and The Zeros were among the first Chicano punk bands, although several Latino garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters and Question Mark & the Mysterians, predated them...

, X, The Blasters
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...

 and Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...

.

The band's greatest success was in the early 1980s. Though a part of that era's productive punk rock scene, their music was distinctive for its morbid lyricism and often for its sophisticated arrangements, as heard, for example, on 1981's A Minute to Pray, A Second To Die
A Minute to Pray, a Second To Die (album)
A Minute to Pray, a Second To Die is the second album from the Los Angeles punk rock band The Flesh Eaters. Released in 1981, it is perhaps their most acclaimed work. The band's roster on this album comprises Dave Alvin , John Doe , Chris D...

. Desjardins's poetry has been described as "wonderful bleeding collages of B-movie dementia, street crime, Mexican Catholicism and Dionysian punk spurt poetics.".

The band recently reformed and tours the Los Angeles area on occasion.

History

The Flesh Eaters were started in the fall of 1977 by punk poet Chris Desjardins
Chris D.
Chris D., real name Chris Desjardins, is a punk poet, rock critic, singer, writer, actor and filmmaker. Chris D. is best known as the lead singer and founder of the early Los Angeles punk/deathrock band The Flesh Eaters. Desjardins was a feature writer at Slash magazine in 1977, when he formed a...

, a singer known for morbid lyrical themes. Their first gig was December 21, 1977, at The Masque in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. Musicians in various Flesh Eaters line-ups included Tito Larriva
Tito Larriva
-Early life:Larriva was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, and El Paso, Texas. As a child he played the violin in the school orchestra and sang in the church and school choirs where he met his wife Janet Carroll. In 1972 Larriva snuck into Yale University for a full...

 (The Plugz
The Plugz
The Plugz were a Mexican-American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 1977. They and The Zeros were among the first Chicano punk bands, although several Latino garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters and Question Mark & the Mysterians, predated them...

), Stan Ridgway
Stan Ridgway
Stanard 'Stan' Ridgway is an American multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums and was the original lead singer of the band Wall of Voodoo...

 (Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo was an American New Wave group from Los Angeles best known for the 1983 hit "Mexican Radio". The band had a sound that was a fusion of synthesizer-based New Wave music with the spaghetti western soundtrack style of Ennio Morricone.-Formation:...

), John Doe
John Doe (musician)
John Doe is an American singer, songwriter, actor, poet and bass player. Doe founded the much-praised L.A. punk band X, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span the rock, country and folk music genres...

 (X), DJ Bonebrake
DJ Bonebrake
Donald J. "DJ" Bonebrake is an American musician from California who first emerged as the drummer of the punk rock band Eyes...

 (X), Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin , is a guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has been one of the leading proponents of 'roots' or 'American' music, bringing together elements of rock-and-roll, blues, rural and tejano music....

 (The Blasters
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...

), Bill Bateman (The Blasters
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...

) and Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs, The Blasters, and The Flesh Eaters...

 (The Blasters
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...

, Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...

). A precursor of deathrock
Deathrock
Deathrock is a term used to identify a sub-genre of punk rock incorporating horror elements and spooky atmospherics, that emerged on the West Coast of the United States in 1979.-Characteristics:...

, their music was a pastiche of punk rock
Punk 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...

, road-house blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

, rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...

, and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

.

The first release by The Flesh Eaters was the 1978 7-inch EP entitled Flesh Eaters (aka Disintegration Nation). The effort was produced by Randy Stodola and Chris D.
Chris D.
Chris D., real name Chris Desjardins, is a punk poet, rock critic, singer, writer, actor and filmmaker. Chris D. is best known as the lead singer and founder of the early Los Angeles punk/deathrock band The Flesh Eaters. Desjardins was a feature writer at Slash magazine in 1977, when he formed a...

 and released by Upsetter Records. The band’s debut album No Questions Asked, was released in 1980, also by Upsetter Records. The band also weighed in with three tracks on the Upsetter compilation Tooth and Nail
Tooth and Nail
Tooth and Nail is the second studio album by heavy metal band Dokken, released in 1984 through Elektra Records. It was the #35 album of 1985 according to Billboard magazine. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA and reached #49 on the Billboard 200 U.S...

, along with the Germs
The Germs
The Germs are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1977 to 1980. The band's early lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom, and their most consistent drummer Don Bolles. Germs have since reformed in 2005 with Shane...

, UXA
UXA
In computing, UXA is the reimplementation of the EXA graphics acceleration architecture of the X.Org Server developed by Intel. Its major difference with EXA is the use of GEM, replacing Translation Table Maps...

, the Controllers
The Controllers
The Controllers are a fictional extraterrestrial race existing in the DC Universe. They first appear in Adventure Comics #357 , and were created by Jim Shooter, Mort Weisinger, and Curt Swan.-Pre-Crisis:...

, Negative Trend
Negative Trend
Negative Trend was an early San Francisco punk rock band, active from 1977–1979.The former members of Negative Trend would go on to start a number of other notable western US punk bands...

, and the Middle Class. All of this early material has been reissued on the CD release of No Questions Asked.

Their next, most acclaimed album A Minute to Pray, A Second To Die
A Minute to Pray, a Second To Die (album)
A Minute to Pray, a Second To Die is the second album from the Los Angeles punk rock band The Flesh Eaters. Released in 1981, it is perhaps their most acclaimed work. The band's roster on this album comprises Dave Alvin , John Doe , Chris D...

, featured a veritable supergroup of LA scene musicians: Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin , is a guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has been one of the leading proponents of 'roots' or 'American' music, bringing together elements of rock-and-roll, blues, rural and tejano music....

 (guitar), John Doe
John Doe
The name "John Doe" is used as a placeholder name in a legal action, case or discussion for a male party, whose true identity is unknown or must be withheld for legal reasons. The name is also used to refer to a male corpse or hospital patient whose identity is unknown...

 (bass), Chris D. (vocals, maracas), Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs, The Blasters, and The Flesh Eaters...

 (saxophone, rhythm sticks), DJ Bonebrake
DJ Bonebrake
Donald J. "DJ" Bonebrake is an American musician from California who first emerged as the drummer of the punk rock band Eyes...

 (maracas, snare, marimbas) and Bill Bateman (drums). In his review on Allmusic, Patrick Kennedy states, “A classic album of trashy-noir darkness, seamy Hollywood dreck, campy blues horror, and Stax-influenced, stripped-down guitar punk, (…) A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die, truly delivers what it promises: simple, direct, roots-flavored early L.A. punk.” Forced Exposure
Forced Exposure
Forced Exposure was an independent music magazine published sporadically out of Massachusetts from the early-'80s to 1993, edited by Jimmy Johnson and Byron Coley. It was printed on cheap newsprint with plain design and filled with corrosive yet humorous writing...

 founder Byron Coley
Byron Coley
Byron Coley is an American music critic who wrote prominently for Forced Exposure magazine in the 1980s, starting with their fifth issue until the magazine ceased publication in 1993. Prior to Forced Exposure, he wrote for NY Rocker, Boston Rock, and Take It! magazine. Coley is one of the first...

 has gone on record saying "A Minute to Pray . . ." is his favorite album of all time, the Flesh Eaters being his favorite group of all time.

The next album, Forever Came Today, was released in 1982 by Ruby/Slash Records in the USA and Expanded Music in Italy. Produced by Chris D., this album featured Don Kirk (guitar), Robyn Jameson (bass), Chris D. (vocals), Steve Berlin (saxophones), Chris Wahl (drums) and Jill Jordan (backing vocals). The same lineup released A Hard Road to Follow in 1983.

During this time they contributed a song to the Return of the Living Dead soundtrack.

The Flesh Eaters initially broke up in 1983. However, a greatest hits album entitled Destroyed by Fire was released by SST Records
SST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment...

 in 1987 and a live album called Flesh Eaters Live was released on Homestead Records
Homestead Records
Homestead Records was a Long Island, NY based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading. It was founded in 1984 by Sam Berger, who was the American Independent buyer for Dutch East India Trading. Berger was finding that many bands who had perhaps released their own first 45 were...

 in 1988. Desjardins performed with his new band, The Divine Horsemen
The Divine Horsemen
Divine Horsemen were a punk/roots band founded in 1983 by Chris D. , formerly of L.A. punk rock band The Flesh Eaters. The band developed a distinctive alt country- type sound. They took their name from a voodoo term; a worshiper who is possessed by loa during a ceremony is said to be being ridden...

 until 1988. In 1989, Desjardins recorded an LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...

 with the one-time group Stone By Stone. Shortly after this they changed their name back to The Flesh Eaters. They continued to perform on the west coast, and in 1990 released a second greatest hits album on SST Records entitled Prehistoric Fits – Flesh Eaters Greatest Vol. 2. Over the next three years, The Flesh Eaters released three more albums on SST Records: Dragstrip Riot (1991), Sex Diary of Mr. Vampire (1992) and Cruicified Lovers in Woman Hell (1993). All three of these albums were produced by Chris D and featured the musicians Wayne James, Glenn Hays, Ray Torres, Texas Terri Laird, Juanita Myers, Christian Free, Stuart Lederer, and Madonna M. During this period they also appeared on Gabba Gabba Hey: A Tribute to the Ramones on Triple X Records (1991)

The Flesh Eaters discontinued performances in the spring of 1993. Since then, Desjardins has performed intermittently with a variety of musicians under this name. In 1999, the band released Ashes of Time on Upsetter Records (produced by Chris D. and Robyn Jameson). The most recent Flesh Eaters album Miss Muerte was released in 2004 on Atavistic Records
Atavistic Records
Atavistic Records is an American rock and jazz record label based in Chicago, Illinois, known particularly for its No Wave and free jazz recordings. It has released albums by Glenn Branca, Nels Cline, Lydia Lunch, Peter Brötzmann, various Ken Vandermark projects, Pinetop Seven, Swans, Elliott...

 and produced by Chris D. This label has also reissued No Questions Asked and Hard Road to Follow. In February 2006, it was announced that the original Flesh Eaters would perform several live shows. This particular line-up of The Flesh Eaters had not played together since the spring of 1981. John Doe
John Doe
The name "John Doe" is used as a placeholder name in a legal action, case or discussion for a male party, whose true identity is unknown or must be withheld for legal reasons. The name is also used to refer to a male corpse or hospital patient whose identity is unknown...

 and DJ Bonebrake
DJ Bonebrake
Donald J. "DJ" Bonebrake is an American musician from California who first emerged as the drummer of the punk rock band Eyes...

 from X, Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin , is a guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has been one of the leading proponents of 'roots' or 'American' music, bringing together elements of rock-and-roll, blues, rural and tejano music....

 and Bill Bateman from The Blasters
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...

 and Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs, The Blasters, and The Flesh Eaters...

 from Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...

 were scheduled to appear for these shows. The tour included three dates in California and one date in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 at the All Tomorrows Party Festival.

Discography

  • Flesh Eaters (1978), Upsetter Records – 7-inch 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...

  • No Questions Asked (1980), Upsetter Records – Debut album
  • A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1981), Ruby
    Ruby
    A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...

    /Slash Records
    Slash Records
    Slash Records is a record label in Los Angeles, originally specializing in local and punk rock bands.The label was formed in 1978 by Bob Biggs as an outgrowth of the Los Angeles-based fanzine, Slash. Biggs, a painter, initiated the label with a seven-inch single from The Germs in 1978. A full album...

    , USA
  • Forever Came Today (1982), Ruby/Slash Records, USA; Expanded Music, Italy
  • A Hard Road to Follow (1983), Upsetter Records
  • Destroyed by the Fire – The Flesh Eaters’ Greatest Hits (1987), SST Records
    SST Records
    SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was initially called Solid State Transmitters through which Ginn sold electronics equipment...

  • Flesh Eaters Live (1988), Homestead Records
    Homestead Records
    Homestead Records was a Long Island, NY based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading. It was founded in 1984 by Sam Berger, who was the American Independent buyer for Dutch East India Trading. Berger was finding that many bands who had perhaps released their own first 45 were...

  • Prehistoric Fits – Flesh Eaters Greatest Vol. 2 (1990), SST Records
  • Dragstrip Riot (1991), SST Records
  • Sex Diary of Mr. Vampire (1992), SST Records
  • Crucified Lovers in Woman Hell (1993), SST Records
  • Ashes of Time (1999), Upsetter Records
  • Miss Muerte (2004), Atavistic Records
    Atavistic Records
    Atavistic Records is an American rock and jazz record label based in Chicago, Illinois, known particularly for its No Wave and free jazz recordings. It has released albums by Glenn Branca, Nels Cline, Lydia Lunch, Peter Brötzmann, various Ken Vandermark projects, Pinetop Seven, Swans, Elliott...


External links

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