Fish Karma
Encyclopedia
Fish Karma is an American
punk rock
/comedy rock
/folk rock
musician from Tucson, Arizona
.
's bastard brother to the most horrible thing you've ever seen in your life. He has also been described as "one of the worst vocalists ever to have the gall to step in front of a mic, his voice falling somewhere between Neil Young after a swift boot to the naughty bits and the dying screech of a depleted air horn". His career in creative antagonism began at the University of Arizona where Fish worked with a student run comedy troupe. An early incarnation of Owen's stage persona featured Karma garbed in elf shoes and a full-length burlap gown (purchased at a Tucson thrift store) festooned with bottle caps. The stage bug infected him and, discovering that he could neither sing nor play an instrument, he decided to begin a life in music.
While performing at a club called Tequila Mockingbird, Karma so offended musician Al Perry (who was employed as a bartender at the club) with his perverse renderings of Delta blues that Perry intentionally disrupted Karma's performances by running an electric drink mixer during his songs. This early antagonism led fortuitously to a musical collaboration lasting more than two decades. Recording on only the cheapest and most inferior equipment, Perry, like a revolted yet somewhat intrigued biographer, began capturing Fish's songs on tape. Karma's concerts made him a cult figure. Byron Coley of The Village Voice
said "Fish is a great entertainer. Live, he strums along at whatever tempo he wants & rants & raves the funniest observations this side of George Carlin
." Fish Karma's punk rock sensibilities and rusted razor wit led him to work with Al Perry & The Cattle, Mojo Nixon
and Jello Biafra
who says "Fish's music is your basic FUGS-style electric grunge folk, and his lyrics feature some of the meanest put-downs of American consumer culture I've heard in years." The songs "Should I Shop Or Should I Die" and "Grenada" aim their sights squarely at America's obsession with materialism and the need to police the world.
After a few self-released albums, Fish got a record deal and put out two CDs: Teddy In The Sky With Magnets (1991) and Sunnyslope (1993). His trademark song "God Is A Groovy Guy" is about the ferocious and anal retentive Jehovah of the Old Testament that says "You are all doomed - especially you!". After years of touring and being generally pissed off about everything, Fish took a break in 1995; only popping up in 1998 to collaborate with Andy Young on the twisted children's record, The Dangerous Playground.
The Tucson Weekly said "He's hilarious, irreverent, disgusting and thoroughly insightful. He's sort of a cross between Frank Zappa
in the Freak Out days and early Bob Dylan
ramblings." Fish is well known for his wry wit and humor, as well as an insatiable need to spit on all things conventional. He says "Part of my problem is that the first record I ever heard was "My Ding-A-Ling" by Chuck Berry
. I have been struggling to overcome that disability ever since." Fish Karma's music is a tortured testament of his laughter in the face of oblivion. He is an eternally befuddled spokesperson for important social issues of which he has only a vague understanding.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
/comedy rock
Comedy rock
Comedy rock is rock music mixed with comedy, often satire and parody.-History:Early USA examples include Stan Freberg, who lampooned artists such as Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte and The Platters, and Sheb Wooley whose "Purple People Eater" reached No...
/folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
musician from Tucson, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
Biography
Fish Karma has been called everything from Neil YoungNeil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
's bastard brother to the most horrible thing you've ever seen in your life. He has also been described as "one of the worst vocalists ever to have the gall to step in front of a mic, his voice falling somewhere between Neil Young after a swift boot to the naughty bits and the dying screech of a depleted air horn". His career in creative antagonism began at the University of Arizona where Fish worked with a student run comedy troupe. An early incarnation of Owen's stage persona featured Karma garbed in elf shoes and a full-length burlap gown (purchased at a Tucson thrift store) festooned with bottle caps. The stage bug infected him and, discovering that he could neither sing nor play an instrument, he decided to begin a life in music.
While performing at a club called Tequila Mockingbird, Karma so offended musician Al Perry (who was employed as a bartender at the club) with his perverse renderings of Delta blues that Perry intentionally disrupted Karma's performances by running an electric drink mixer during his songs. This early antagonism led fortuitously to a musical collaboration lasting more than two decades. Recording on only the cheapest and most inferior equipment, Perry, like a revolted yet somewhat intrigued biographer, began capturing Fish's songs on tape. Karma's concerts made him a cult figure. Byron Coley of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
said "Fish is a great entertainer. Live, he strums along at whatever tempo he wants & rants & raves the funniest observations this side of George Carlin
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
." Fish Karma's punk rock sensibilities and rusted razor wit led him to work with Al Perry & The Cattle, Mojo Nixon
Mojo Nixon
Mojo Nixon is an American musician, known for playing psychobilly music...
and Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
who says "Fish's music is your basic FUGS-style electric grunge folk, and his lyrics feature some of the meanest put-downs of American consumer culture I've heard in years." The songs "Should I Shop Or Should I Die" and "Grenada" aim their sights squarely at America's obsession with materialism and the need to police the world.
After a few self-released albums, Fish got a record deal and put out two CDs: Teddy In The Sky With Magnets (1991) and Sunnyslope (1993). His trademark song "God Is A Groovy Guy" is about the ferocious and anal retentive Jehovah of the Old Testament that says "You are all doomed - especially you!". After years of touring and being generally pissed off about everything, Fish took a break in 1995; only popping up in 1998 to collaborate with Andy Young on the twisted children's record, The Dangerous Playground.
The Tucson Weekly said "He's hilarious, irreverent, disgusting and thoroughly insightful. He's sort of a cross between Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
in the Freak Out days and early Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
ramblings." Fish is well known for his wry wit and humor, as well as an insatiable need to spit on all things conventional. He says "Part of my problem is that the first record I ever heard was "My Ding-A-Ling" by Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
. I have been struggling to overcome that disability ever since." Fish Karma's music is a tortured testament of his laughter in the face of oblivion. He is an eternally befuddled spokesperson for important social issues of which he has only a vague understanding.
Albums
- To Hell With Love, I'm Going Bowling (cassette) (Addled Records)
- Disco Entropy (Addled Records)
- Teddy in the Sky with Magnets (1991) (Triple X)
- Sunnyslope (1993) (Triple X)
- The Dangerous Playground (1998) (San Jacinto)
- Lunch With The DevilLunch With The DevilReleased in 2001 on Deep Shag Records, Lunch with the Devil includes the songs "Poodlecide", a tribute to 1980s metal icon Ronnie James Dio , and a twisted ballad of unbidden lust . Of interest to listeners of the Dr. Demento Radio Show is the first official release of a song that's been played for...
(2001) (Deep Shag RecordsDeep Shag RecordsDeep Shag Records is an American record company started in 2000 by Michael Reed. They are best known for the On The Road With Ellison series of releases by Harlan Ellison and for re-issuing rare 1980's modern rock, New Wave, comedy, and spoken word albums which were previously unavailable on...
) - The Theory of Intelligent Design (2006) (Alternative TentaclesAlternative TentaclesAlternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
) - Halloween in America (2010) (Alternative TentaclesAlternative TentaclesAlternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
)