Center for Disease Control Boys
Encyclopedia
The Center for Disease Control Boys were a satirical Western swing
band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1986. Their performances included a mixture of original compositions and older songs written by such artists as Bob Wills
, Asleep at the Wheel
, and Woody Guthrie
. Their stage show used an extensive array of props and costumes such as bales of hay
, stuffed roosters, rubber trout, and wads of self printed 'country currency'. Although the band was only in existence for six months, they are noteworthy for their ever changing lineup of musicians and performers which included Chris Cornell
with Soundgarden
, Jonathan Poneman, founder of Sub Pop
Records, and Ben McMillan, lead singer for Skin Yard
and Gruntruck
.
, punk
, art rock
, and emerging grunge
bands from the Northwest. Hackett was an accomplished guitarist
who worked at Boeing
and shared Wartti's interest in cultural satire, diverse musical tastes, and leftist politics. Wartti had a background in theatrical performance and design. As they wrote the songs and assembled the props and graphics, the two realized that a diverse cast of band members could be found within the roster of Ditto performers. Rehearsals were held at the SKUD artists collective in Belltown, Seattle, Washington
and an opening performance was booked at the Rainbow Tavern as part of a KCMU Showcase. Thus began the band's short but illustrious career.
The show also featured singing cowgirls who freely dispensed hay, empty Shake 'N' Bake boxes, and wads of 'country buckeroos.'
As the CDC Boys existed mainly as a comedic side project for all concerned, the band's line up continued to change, and included the following at times:
The CDC Boys concluded their brief career by releasing a 45 single "We're The Center for Disease Control Boys" b/w "Who We Hatin' Now Mr. Reagan?" on their own Fin De Siecle label. Their final performance was at Seattle's annual Bumbershoot
Festival, where they debuted a stirring opus to the Kennedy Assassination
entitled, "Grassy Knoll".
at the time of the CDC Boys, went on to become Andrea Hackett, founder of the Las Vegas Dancers Alliance
, the most widely-known organization of strippers in Las Vegas.
• Ben McMillan died in January, 2008 in Seattle from complications related to diabetes.
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1986. Their performances included a mixture of original compositions and older songs written by such artists as Bob Wills
Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
, Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel is a American country music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, but based in Austin, Texas. Altogether, they have won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception. In their career, they have released more than twenty studio albums, and have charted more than twenty...
, and Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
. Their stage show used an extensive array of props and costumes such as bales of hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
, stuffed roosters, rubber trout, and wads of self printed 'country currency'. Although the band was only in existence for six months, they are noteworthy for their ever changing lineup of musicians and performers which included Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...
with Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
, Jonathan Poneman, founder of Sub Pop
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
Records, and Ben McMillan, lead singer for Skin Yard
Skin Yard
Skin Yard was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, who were active from 1985 to 1992. The group never gained a mainstream audience, but were an influence on their contemporaries – most notably Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, The Melvins, and Green River – alongside whom they are considered...
and Gruntruck
Gruntruck
Gruntruck was a grunge band formed in 1989 in Seattle, Washington by Ben McMillan and Scott McCullum, both previously from Skin Yard. Tommy Niemeyer from The Accüsed and Tim Paul, previously of Napalm Beach and Final Warning, rounded out the initial, classic line-up...
.
History
The CDC Boys was a design and musical collaboration between Dean Wartti and George Hackett in 1986. Wartti was manager and booking agent for the Ditto Tavern, which filled a void in the local music scene by providing a venue for folkFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, punk
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...
, art rock
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
, and emerging grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
bands from the Northwest. Hackett was an accomplished guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
who worked at Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
and shared Wartti's interest in cultural satire, diverse musical tastes, and leftist politics. Wartti had a background in theatrical performance and design. As they wrote the songs and assembled the props and graphics, the two realized that a diverse cast of band members could be found within the roster of Ditto performers. Rehearsals were held at the SKUD artists collective in Belltown, Seattle, Washington
Belltown, Seattle, Washington
Belltown is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, United States, in the 98121 Zip Code, located on the city's downtown waterfront, on land that was artificially flattened as part of a regrading project...
and an opening performance was booked at the Rainbow Tavern as part of a KCMU Showcase. Thus began the band's short but illustrious career.
Lineup
The line up for the debut of the CDC Boys was:- Dean Wartti: vocals, washboardWashboardA washboard is a tool designed for hand washing clothing. With mechanized cleaning of clothing becoming more common by the end of the 20th century, the washboard has become better known for its originally subsidiary use as a musical instrument....
, accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist.... - George Hackett: Twelve string guitarTwelve string guitarThe twelve-string guitar is an acoustic or electric guitar with 12 strings in 6 courses, which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar...
, vocals, waders - Ben McMillan (Skin YardSkin YardSkin Yard was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, who were active from 1985 to 1992. The group never gained a mainstream audience, but were an influence on their contemporaries – most notably Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, The Melvins, and Green River – alongside whom they are considered...
, GruntruckGruntruckGruntruck was a grunge band formed in 1989 in Seattle, Washington by Ben McMillan and Scott McCullum, both previously from Skin Yard. Tommy Niemeyer from The Accüsed and Tim Paul, previously of Napalm Beach and Final Warning, rounded out the initial, classic line-up...
): vocals, cowbell - Tamara Jones (Brides of Frankenstein): Double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, vocals - Bob Maguire (The Subterraneans): vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Gary Heffern (Penetrators): vocals, stage presence
- Chris CornellChris CornellChris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...
(SoundgardenSoundgardenSoundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
): drums, vocals, overalls - They were joined onstage by accomplished Seattle instrumentalist Orville JohnsonOrville JohnsonOrville Johnson is an American resonator guitar player and musician, born in 1953 in Edwardsville, Illinois. He came up in the St. Louis, Missouri music scene and now lives in Seattle, Washington. A frequent session musician, he also has released a number of solo and group albums...
: fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
The show also featured singing cowgirls who freely dispensed hay, empty Shake 'N' Bake boxes, and wads of 'country buckeroos.'
- Cowgirl #1: Juliana Wood
- Cowgirl #2: Debra June Connor
As the CDC Boys existed mainly as a comedic side project for all concerned, the band's line up continued to change, and included the following at times:
- Jonathan Poneman (bass)
- Artie Palm (mouth harpMouth harpMouth harp may refer to:* Harmonica* Jew's harp...
and guitar) - Tim Bowman (accordion and musical sawMusical sawA musical saw, also called a singing saw, is the application of a hand saw as a musical instrument. The sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin...
)
The CDC Boys concluded their brief career by releasing a 45 single "We're The Center for Disease Control Boys" b/w "Who We Hatin' Now Mr. Reagan?" on their own Fin De Siecle label. Their final performance was at Seattle's annual Bumbershoot
Bumbershoot
Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day weekend at the 74-acre Seattle Center, which was built for the 1962 World's Fair. Seattle Center includes indoor theaters,...
Festival, where they debuted a stirring opus to the Kennedy Assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
entitled, "Grassy Knoll".
Discography
Throughout their career, The Center for Disease Control Boys played only nine shows, but they put out a 45 vinyl single on Fin de Siecle Records in 1986.Additional information
• George Hackett, who worked at BoeingBoeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
at the time of the CDC Boys, went on to become Andrea Hackett, founder of the Las Vegas Dancers Alliance
Las Vegas Dancers Alliance
The Las Vegas Dancers Alliance was an organization of adult entertainment workers in Las Vegas founded in 2002 by Andrea Hackett in response to adopted by Clark County, Nevada that criminalized lap dances. It grew to include 1,000 members from strip clubs throughout the Las Vegas valley including...
, the most widely-known organization of strippers in Las Vegas.
• Ben McMillan died in January, 2008 in Seattle from complications related to diabetes.