Studio Practice: OUGD603 - The 27 Club - Research

The brief of this project asks for a 27 record sleeve to be produced to commemorate one of the members of the 27 club, a name given to musicians who died at the age of 27, the significantly high number of deaths at this age amongst musicians is what merits the unique name. The brief asks for the artwork to represent the musician, one of the musicians' songs, or memorable moments.

Looking through the given list of artists, the brief consists of a number of artists who are obscure and are different, not focussing on the well known I began to look through a number of these artists which were not fully appreciated before there deaths. Looking at the history and music of the band to get a better idea of the artists.

D.Boon - Dennes Boon - Lead signer of 'Minutemen' an American punk rock band formed in California in 1980. Died - 22nd December 1985 - Traffic Collision
Notable Songs - 'Corona' - Used as the theme tune for TV show Jackass

Minutemen
Genre - Post-Punk / Alternative Rock - the band said their name had nothing at all to do with the brevity of their songs; rather, it was derived partly from the fabled minutemen militia of colonial times and partly to lampoon a right-wing reactionary group of the 1960s that went by that name.

Influence - Wire, Gang Of Four, The Pop Group, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, and The Urinals

Nearly all of their early songs had unusual structures and were less than a minute long—even later, when Minutemen's music became slightly more conventional, their songs rarely passed the three-minute mark. Minutemen were fans of Captain Beefheart, and echoes of his distinctive, disjointed, avant-blues music can be heard in their songs, especially their early output. Boon's songs were typically more direct and progressively political in nature (as can be seen in the lyrics).

- songs/events/movies etc.;

Albums -
'The Punchline' 1981
'What Makes A Man Start Fires?' 1983
'Double Nickels on the Dime' 1984
'3-way-tie (for last)' 1985 (released just before the death of Boon)

Songs -
'The Big Stick' (3-Way-Tie (for last) - 1985

Now over there in Managua Square
With American made bombs falling everywhere
They kill women and children and animals too
These bombs are made by people like me and you
And we're told that we hold a big stick over them
But I know from what I've read that peace is in our hands

Now over there in Guatamala my friend
We're making mistakes there once again
Uncle Sam supports a fascist regime
That doesnt represent the people over there
And we learn and believe there is justice for us all
And we lie to ourselves with a big stick up our ass

Now if we stand and yell it out
That war isn't what what we're all about
Then someone will hear and bring us back
To get the peace train back on it's tracks

This is what I'm singin' about
The race war that America supports
Indians will never die
They'll do just fine if we let them try
And I hold, we're never told that peace is in our hands
If we stop there is time to heal the scars we've caused
To heal the scars we've caused
To heal the scars we've caused
'Price of Paradise' 3-Way-Tie (for third) 1985

How I remember the history I have seen
I was just a young boy, the horror I couldn't foresee
All the pain that comes with war
All the scars that never heal
Here in paradise the price is cheap
Young men die for greed

Across the ocean, in a land they call Vietnam
Young men dying is all it would cost
And we were told and proud to believe
They would die to keep us free
Here in America the price is cheap
Young men die for what?

My brother, the soldier, a hero who survived
Would tell the story of men who died without dreams
And they fight for men twice their age
Smell of death and his life did change
Price of paradise is stained with blood
Young men die for what?

All pawns and puppets of flesh and bone
Will die for their leaders far from their homes
These are men who died very young
Afraid to see that their cause was unjust
Why couldn't they live for life?
Not die to survive

'Political Nightmare' - 3-Way-Tie (for third) 1985

Someone's doing something
Confusion
Another invasion?
Sympathize with who?

Someone killed somebody
Confusion
Did anyone gain?
How much did it cost?

Woke up screaming
Someone changed sides
Everyone was dyin'

One too many votes...Satan won

'Corona' Double Nickels on the dime 1984

The people will survive
In their environment
The dirt, scarcity, and the emptiness of our south
The injustice of our greed
The practice we inherit

The dirt, scarcity and the emptiness of our south
There on the beach
I could see it in her eyes
I only had a Corona
Five cent deposit

Minutemen are seen as one of the most influential rock bands of 80's American rock, Boons political style mixed with his bandmates musical influence saw them become one of the most popular underground bands of the 1980's. The band's style and the untimely death of Boon sees the band stamped on the face of rock history.

The lyrics which the Minutemen wrote were very politically heavy and focussed on America's exploits in other nations throughout the 80's during the band's existence, these can be focussed on to help meet the requirements of the brief, I aim to visualize these lyrics to highlight and celebrate D.Boons Strongminded and ethical spirit.

The Minutemen frequently toured supporting Black Flag, an American Punk Rock band of very high popularity on the punk and underground scene even to this day, the visuals Black flag used in there music artwork and gig poster artwork clearly gave inspiration to the Minutemen in their visual identity, as below are a mixture of album art, single art and gig posters which showcase how the band were creatively inspired by there political personalities and their peers, Black Flag.

Black Flag - Gig posters and Visual aesthetic (In relation to 'Minutemen');

GOING FORWARD

The Rough Punk aesthetic of the artwork looked at has at times a rough print feel to it, as well as an illustrative one, this can be created through methods of traditional print such as monoprint or Lino print where simple drawings can be produced in different colours, this would give the simple rough look which the Minutemen conveyed visually, homing in on the political ideals of the band to produce a homage to Boon.

Mia Zapata - Lead singer of American Grunge Rock bang, 'The Gits' - Formed in Ohio in 1986. Died - 7th of July 1993 - Murdered.

The band moved to Seattle to be part of its bustling experimental music scene. They would often play and frequent Gorilla Gardens, a music venue, which when it opened had two concert rooms, putting on punk gigs and metal gigs simultaneously, at the time the two genres fan bases had a volatile attitude to the other, the venue changed this by getting the two genres under one roof, this saw an appreciation for each other and out of this combination came grunge, Seattle is seen by many as the home of grunge, with bands such as Nirvana, Sound Garden and Pearl Jam being from there, there is a huge heritage of music and alt-culture, this can be played upon with looking at the gits.

The band's first official release was "Precious Blood", released by the local Big Flaming Ego Records. This single was quickly followed up by two more releases ("Second Skin" on Broken Rekids (1991), "Spear & Magic Helmet" on Empty Records (1991), as well as the Bobbing For Pavement compilation (Rathouse/Broken Rekids, 1991). In 1992 the band recorded and released their debut album, Frenching the Bully.

On July 7th, 1993 Zapata was murdered walking home from Seattle bar The Comet, it was not until 2004 that her murder was solved and a conviction made. In the aftermath of Zapata's murder, friends created a non-profit self-defense group called Home Alive, which ceased operations in 2010, organized benefit concerts and CDs with the participation of several bands, including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Heart, and the Presidents of the United States of America. The Home Alive group has its own instructors and seek to empower women with ways to protect themselves against predators. They hold a range of courses, from anger management and use of pepper spray to the martial arts.

Sub-pop - Record Label started by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle in 1986. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Sound garden, and Mudhoney, central players in the emerging grunge movement. Looking at the styles and aesthetics related to the grunge scene and affiliated acts, it becomes clear a rough punk style can be seen, taking ideas from its background genres.

'Absynth' - Frenching the Bully 1992

There are these people that use you for
Their own need for deception
By the size of their lies and
The size of the stories that they're telling
They've proved themselves to be
Very small.....minded
Do you ever think when you're dealing with the worst
The outcome is the best thing for you
And by the good of evil is the knowledge
That you face it
I could put it in some theme of a tale
Or a story from a myth
But it means a simple thing
I ain't worth nothing if there's no perspective
Of truth in my life
I think I've had enough
I wonder why I don't just go off
Don't like to be a violent woman
But I know I have it in me
I know I shouldn't be surprised
Why some people look like hogs rolling in the mud
It's a dying shame
That's where some look for the truth!

'Insecurities' - Frenching the Bully 1992

Our insecurities, they bend us down on broken knees
Our insecurities, we wear them till we cannot see
The crap the shit the garbage our mind it has to swallow;
It makes us enemies, building up mistrust with greed
Turns me to shut the door and hide away while time gets lost
Your ignorant response can leave you looking of a beast
(chorus)
And when you're pushing me away
You're scared you'll get too much
And when you're playing the jester
Well I guess you ought to
Or else it might mirror a flaw that lies in you
Oh damn your insecurities
Not always insecure, but bold on what you think is right
I hope you break the crown before you plate it on your head

(chorus)
Oh damn your insecurities, they're catching up with you

'It all dies anyway' - Frenching the Bully 1992

Once, once is really something twice
It's just a tease for a little more
One more time I've gotta ask you
Come over here cause I got something I'd like to say
Once, once is real easy then
Twice, your just begging for a little more
One more time I've gotta ask you, come over here
'cause I've got something I've gotta say
It may seem easy for you to penetrate what you
Intend to deny, but when it comes back around
Is death the only way to get attention?
Once, once is real early but twice came back
And it got a little rough
And there I stand in the middle, and I was
By myself like before
Yeah once, once is real conniving, it's easy now
When your conniving with me
You step in my way, well now I have a little more to say
It may seem easy for you to recognize
What you intend to ignore, but when it cuts back round
Well death is a sick way for attention
I think there's a little more to be said
They cut the cord, it cuts everything that's living in me
Well it all dies anyway
I thought that that might disappear but you penetrate
The will to deny and I'm standing in the dark all over again
Oh lie on me, that's all I want is you to lie on me
Why did I see the birds an the sidewalk today
Split open inside and why do I hear the birds when they're
Squawking over my head, don't let me down
Don't come down on me
'cause I just want to know, I need just a little
More time to explain myself
Once, once is real easy, then twice
Just a tease for a little more
One more time I've gotta ask you
Come over here, sit down, I've got somethin'
That's just begging to get out
Once, once is real conniving
And twice, you're just begging for a little more
One more time, I'm gonna need you, I can tell
It may seem easy for you to penetrate
Your will to ignore, but when it cuts back round
Death is the sickest way for attention

'A' - Frenching the Bully 1992

There goes your burning, you can't anticipate
The things you push for now are just forgotten the next day
And then you masturbate in your thoughts in our own eyes

Then you push some things on us you won't let us deny
There you go pushing us again

Well, I won't always have to understand
There you're setting your own life on lies, forget about tomorrow, we're here to survive
You apologize and I accept it all on faith
But still you do not try to push away your old mistakes
And now I find myself underhand to what you want, you think you'll find it better, child?
Well, go out and find it all!

The Gits songs on their debut album, the only one to appear Zapata, are a varied range of emotionally turbulent songs, many of which focus on relationships and death, with Mia Z being the main lyricist we see her talent very clearly, and through listening to them hear the energy and spirit of the band. The Gits were known for there energetic live performances.