Bloody Mannequin Orchestra
Encyclopedia
Bloody Mannequin Orchestra were an influential early 1980s punk
band from Bethesda, MD. They formed around a small, but active, scene at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
and were part of the larger D.C hardcore
community. The band members were Colin Sears
, Roger Marbury, Alex Mahoney, Sharon Cheslow
and Charles Bennington.
Cheslow had been in Chalk Circle
, "the first all-female band to emerge from harDCore
," before BMO. Sears and Marbury went on to form the mid-'80s Revolution Summer
era Dischord Records
band Dag Nasty
with Brian Baker of Minor Threat
.
BMO released cassettes and the Roadmap to Revolution LP on WGNS
, a label started by Sears, Cheslow and Geoff Turner (later in Gray Matter
). Cheslow and Sears also published the fanzine If This Goes On. BMO, like other Bethesda bands, were known for their smart, playful music with a political consciousness.
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 from Bethesda, MD. They formed around a small, but active, scene at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School is a Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, public school named for two of the towns it serves along with Kensington and Silver Spring, Maryland. It is located at 4301 East-West Highway, in Bethesda, an unincorporated community in Montgomery County...
and were part of the larger D.C hardcore
Washington, D.C. hardcore
Washington, D.C. has had one of the first and most influential hardcore punk scenes in the United States since the early 1980s.Among the earliest DC punk bands were the Bad Brains, Slickee Boys, Teen Idles, Minor Threat, S.O.A., Chalk Circle, Velvet Monkeys, Void, The Faith, DC Youth Brigade,...
community. The band members were Colin Sears
Colin Sears
Colin Sears is a punk drummer who has performed in Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, Dag Nasty, The Marshes, and currently Handgun Bravado and The Valley Floor...
, Roger Marbury, Alex Mahoney, Sharon Cheslow
Sharon Cheslow
Sharon Cheslow is an American musician, composer, and artist. In 1981, she formed Chalk Circle, Washington, D.C.'s first all-female punk band...
and Charles Bennington.
Cheslow had been in Chalk Circle
Chalk Circle (band)
Chalk Circle were an American punk rock band formed in 1981 in Washington, DC. Their raw, rhythmic, minimal sound had more in common with post-punk or art punk than D.C. hardcore, a community they initially helped pioneer...
, "the first all-female band to emerge from harDCore
Hardcore
Hardcore may refer to:* soft core, the members of a group or movement who form an intransigent nucleus resistant to change...
," before BMO. Sears and Marbury went on to form the mid-'80s Revolution Summer
Revolution Summer
Revolution Summer may refer to:* Revolution Summer , a film directed by Miles Montalbano* Revolution Summer , a soundtrack album by Jonathan Richman...
era Dischord Records
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...
band Dag Nasty
Dag Nasty
Dag Nasty was a Washington D.C. punk band formed in 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker of Minor Threat, drummer Colin Sears and bassist Roger Marbury, both of Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, and vocalist Shawn Brown...
with Brian Baker of Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
.
BMO released cassettes and the Roadmap to Revolution LP on WGNS
WGNS Recordings
-History:WGNS was initially started in the early 1980s as a cassette label. Initial recordings were mastered to a cassette and then dubbed from the master to cassettes which were numbered and sold...
, a label started by Sears, Cheslow and Geoff Turner (later in Gray Matter
Gray Matter (band)
Gray Matter was a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., who played in the 1980s and '90s. They disbanded in 1986, but reformed in 1990.On September 12, 2008, the band reformed for a one off reunion show to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the Black Cat, a night club in Washington DC,...
). Cheslow and Sears also published the fanzine If This Goes On. BMO, like other Bethesda bands, were known for their smart, playful music with a political consciousness.