Flop (band)
Encyclopedia
Flop was an early-1990s
pop punk
band from Seattle
, Washington. The band gained some exposure as a result of a brief appearance in Doug Pray
's motion picture documentary Hype!
.
, guitarist Bill Campbell, bassist Paul Schurr, and drummer Nate Johnson. Willoughby, Campbell and Schurr lived together with a few other friends in a large Craftsman
-style house in Seattle's U-District
near the University of Washington
campus.
Willoughby, Campbell and Schurr began jamming together during the declines of their respective bands Pure Joy, Chemistry Set and Seers of Bavaria. Johnson, drummer for seminal Seattle punk
band The Fastbacks, frequented many of the parties at the U-District
house and eventually joined them, completing the foursome. Never intending to actually become a real band, they toyed with many self-deprecating
names including "Butt Sweat and Tears" and "The Value Village People". Eventually however they lied their way into a show and needed an official name and inspired by the headline for a review of a local play
in the newspaper "Resounding Flop" was shortened to "Flop" and a band was born.
The band's first live performance was opening for Game Theory
at the University of Washington's Husky Union Building
ballroom. The promoters originally booked Willoughby's band Pure Joy for the show but Flop played instead, thus notifying his former bandmates of Pure Joy's demise. Pure Joy was still listed as the supporting act on fliers and advertisements.
Flop's live performances over its first two years were marked with near fall-down drunkenness, numerous pitchers of beer poured on band members and audiences alike, and many broken instruments (both theirs and others). Flop was banned from two clubs, one in Vancouver and one in Bellingham
during this period.
The band's debut record, The Losing End, was released in 1990
as a 45-RPM 7" EP, and contained four tracks of Flop's earliest material: "The Losing End", "Somehow", "Dissipate" and "Fucking Thing" (shortened to "Ucking" on the sleeve and "F* Thing" on the vinyl artwork at the demand of the record-pressing plant's religious owners). The record was released on the Lucky Records
recording label, with cover art provided by Willoughby's brother Randy Willoughby.
Shortly after The Losing End, Flop released its first single, Drugs, featuring a cover version of "Action" by The Sweet. Willoughby has openly expressed disapproval of the record, along with apologies to the record label Dashboard Hula Girl Records
, citing unsatisfactory editing and the poor quality of the songs themselves. The sleeve art contains two photos of cadavers in mid-autopsy
, taken from one of Schurr's pre-med manuals.
Following the release of Drugs, Johnson left on an Alaska
vacation (i.e., gutting fish in a fish-canning boat), putting the band on a year-long hiatus. After Johnson's return to Seattle
, the band came back to the studio to record their 1992
debut album, Flop and the Fall of the Mopsqueezer!.
by Kurt Bloch
, and was released by Lisa Fancher's Frontier Records
(the vinyl version of the album released on Dashboard Hula Girl Records
. Four of the album's sixteen tracks, "I Told A Lie", "Anne," "Tomato Paste" and "Hello," would later be included on the band's Munster Records 7" EP, We Are You.
According to Rusty Willoughby, the album's basic tracks were recorded hours after a Flop performance in Vancouver, and it was Johnson's return to Seattle from Alaska that "energized" the band into creating the record.
, who offered the band a recording contract (Stuart later attributed his subsequent move to Seattle and current work at Sub Pop
Records to the personal and business relationships he made while wooing Flop to Epic). The band was signed to Epic during the height of "alternative music" and Seattle-band popularity. Flop recorded its first, and only, major label release, Whenever You're Ready, with The Fastbacks' Kurt Bloch
. The record was then mixed by Martin Rushent
(renowned for his work with artists like Buzzcocks
and Human League), and was released in 1993
on Sony 550, an imprint label of Epic Records
headed by now music mogul
Polly Anthony. It was "crammed with wonky lyrics, self-consciously clever song structures, and earnest vocals".
The band, as did many independent bands signed to major labels at the time, found their ideals and work ethic at odds with the corporate Epic engine, and as a result the record quickly became a low priority for the label's marketing and promotion departments. The record was not commercially successful and the band was dropped by the label.
Following several national and regional club tours, some headlining, others supporting acts like The Lemonheads
and The Screaming Trees, Schurr left the band. He was replaced by former Posies
bassist Dave Fox following Flop's month-long European tour with The Posies
.
to release its third and final LP, World of Today, a selection of songs with themes ranging from the death of Kurt Cobain
to life stories of arsonists. Shortly after its release, Johnson, arguably the heart of the band, left for Europe. Flop disbanded shortly thereafter, playing its final show at The Casbah in San Diego.
'".
1990s in music
For music from a year in the 1990s, go to 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99This article includes trends in popular music in the 1990s....
pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
band from Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Washington. The band gained some exposure as a result of a brief appearance in Doug Pray
Doug Pray
Doug Pray is an American documentary film director, cinematographer, and editor who often explores unique subcultures in his films. His work includes Surfwise a portrait of the nomadic, 11-member Doc Paskowitz family ; Big Rig , a documentary about truck drivers; Infamy , a documentary about...
's motion picture documentary Hype!
Hype!
Hype! is a documentary directed by Doug Pray about the popularity of grunge rock in the early to mid-1990s United States. It incorporates interviews and rare concert footage to trace the steps of grunge, from its subversive inception in neighborhood basements, to its explosion as a pop culture...
.
The Beginning (1990-1991)
Flop's original four members consisted of lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Rusty WilloughbyRusty Willoughby
Rusty Willoughby is an active American musician born in Staten Island and currently living in Redmond, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. , he has been vocalist, songwriter and guitarist or bass guitarist for several Seattle based bands: Pure Joy , Flop , Llama , and Cobirds Unite...
, guitarist Bill Campbell, bassist Paul Schurr, and drummer Nate Johnson. Willoughby, Campbell and Schurr lived together with a few other friends in a large Craftsman
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
-style house in Seattle's U-District
University District, Seattle, Washington
The University District is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, so named because the main campus of the University of Washington is located there. The UW moved in two years after the area was annexed to Seattle, while much of the area was still clear cut forest or stump farmland...
near the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
campus.
Willoughby, Campbell and Schurr began jamming together during the declines of their respective bands Pure Joy, Chemistry Set and Seers of Bavaria. Johnson, drummer for seminal Seattle 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...
band The Fastbacks, frequented many of the parties at the U-District
University District, Seattle, Washington
The University District is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, so named because the main campus of the University of Washington is located there. The UW moved in two years after the area was annexed to Seattle, while much of the area was still clear cut forest or stump farmland...
house and eventually joined them, completing the foursome. Never intending to actually become a real band, they toyed with many self-deprecating
Self-deprecation
Self-deprecation, or Self-depreciation, is the act of belittling or undervaluing oneself. It can be used in humor and tension release.-In comedy:...
names including "Butt Sweat and Tears" and "The Value Village People". Eventually however they lied their way into a show and needed an official name and inspired by the headline for a review of a local play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
in the newspaper "Resounding Flop" was shortened to "Flop" and a band was born.
The band's first live performance was opening for Game Theory
Game Theory (band)
Game Theory was an American rock band from 1981 to 1989. The group's lead singer, Scott Miller, went on to front the band The Loud Family. Game Theory is best known for its double LP Lolita Nation. The band favored hyper-literary references, a la Jean-Luc Godard, including the evident...
at the University of Washington's Husky Union Building
Husky Union Building
Husky Union Building is a building at the University of Washington. It was opened in October 1949, and transferred from the Associated Students of the University of Washington to the university administration in April 1962.- External links :...
ballroom. The promoters originally booked Willoughby's band Pure Joy for the show but Flop played instead, thus notifying his former bandmates of Pure Joy's demise. Pure Joy was still listed as the supporting act on fliers and advertisements.
Flop's live performances over its first two years were marked with near fall-down drunkenness, numerous pitchers of beer poured on band members and audiences alike, and many broken instruments (both theirs and others). Flop was banned from two clubs, one in Vancouver and one in Bellingham
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
during this period.
The band's debut record, The Losing End, was released in 1990
1990 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze...
as a 45-RPM 7" EP, and contained four tracks of Flop's earliest material: "The Losing End", "Somehow", "Dissipate" and "Fucking Thing" (shortened to "Ucking" on the sleeve and "F* Thing" on the vinyl artwork at the demand of the record-pressing plant's religious owners). The record was released on the Lucky Records
Lucky Records
-Lucky Records - Tokyo:Lucky Records of the 1930s was a record label based in Tokyo, Japan which specialized in issuing United States popular music to the Japanese audience....
recording label, with cover art provided by Willoughby's brother Randy Willoughby.
Shortly after The Losing End, Flop released its first single, Drugs, featuring a cover version of "Action" by The Sweet. Willoughby has openly expressed disapproval of the record, along with apologies to the record label Dashboard Hula Girl Records
Dashboard Hula Girl Records
Dashboard Hulagirl Records is a Seattle-based independent American record label founded in 1989 by Trev Dellinger and Chris Swenson. The label released several LPs, EPs, and singles before folding in 1992...
, citing unsatisfactory editing and the poor quality of the songs themselves. The sleeve art contains two photos of cadavers in mid-autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
, taken from one of Schurr's pre-med manuals.
Following the release of Drugs, Johnson left on an Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
vacation (i.e., gutting fish in a fish-canning boat), putting the band on a year-long hiatus. After Johnson's return to Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, the band came back to the studio to record their 1992
1992 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....
debut album, Flop and the Fall of the Mopsqueezer!.
Flop and the Fall of the Mopsqueezer! (1992-1993)
Flop and the Fall of the Mopsqueezer! was recorded primarily at Egg Studios in SeattleSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
by Kurt Bloch
Kurt Bloch
Kurt Bloch is an American songwriter, guitarist, engineer and producer, best known as songwriter and lead guitarist of Fastbacks. He has also been a member of The Young Fresh Fellows and has recorded tracks and produced albums for Tokyo Dragons, Robyn Hitchcock, Les Thugs, Flop, Sicko , The Minus...
, and was released by Lisa Fancher's Frontier Records
Frontier Records
Frontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways....
(the vinyl version of the album released on Dashboard Hula Girl Records
Dashboard Hula Girl Records
Dashboard Hulagirl Records is a Seattle-based independent American record label founded in 1989 by Trev Dellinger and Chris Swenson. The label released several LPs, EPs, and singles before folding in 1992...
. Four of the album's sixteen tracks, "I Told A Lie", "Anne," "Tomato Paste" and "Hello," would later be included on the band's Munster Records 7" EP, We Are You.
According to Rusty Willoughby, the album's basic tracks were recorded hours after a Flop performance in Vancouver, and it was Johnson's return to Seattle from Alaska that "energized" the band into creating the record.
Whenever You're Ready (1993-1994)
Flop and the Fall of the Mopsqueezer! drew the attention of young A&R man Stuart Meyer at Epic RecordsEpic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, who offered the band a recording contract (Stuart later attributed his subsequent move to Seattle and current work at 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 to the personal and business relationships he made while wooing Flop to Epic). The band was signed to Epic during the height of "alternative music" and Seattle-band popularity. Flop recorded its first, and only, major label release, Whenever You're Ready, with The Fastbacks' Kurt Bloch
Kurt Bloch
Kurt Bloch is an American songwriter, guitarist, engineer and producer, best known as songwriter and lead guitarist of Fastbacks. He has also been a member of The Young Fresh Fellows and has recorded tracks and produced albums for Tokyo Dragons, Robyn Hitchcock, Les Thugs, Flop, Sicko , The Minus...
. The record was then mixed by Martin Rushent
Martin Rushent
Martin Rushent was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and The Buzzcocks.- Early life :Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father was a car salesman...
(renowned for his work with artists like Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
and Human League), and was released in 1993
1993 in music
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
on Sony 550, an imprint label of Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
headed by now music mogul
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
Polly Anthony. It was "crammed with wonky lyrics, self-consciously clever song structures, and earnest vocals".
The band, as did many independent bands signed to major labels at the time, found their ideals and work ethic at odds with the corporate Epic engine, and as a result the record quickly became a low priority for the label's marketing and promotion departments. The record was not commercially successful and the band was dropped by the label.
Following several national and regional club tours, some headlining, others supporting acts like The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band first formed in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member....
and The Screaming Trees, Schurr left the band. He was replaced by former Posies
The Posies
The Posies are an alternative rock/power pop group. The band was formed in 1987 in Bellingham, Washington by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. They are best known for their radio hits "Golden Blunders" , as well as "Dream All Day", "Solar Sister" and "Flavor of the Month"...
bassist Dave Fox following Flop's month-long European tour with The Posies
The Posies
The Posies are an alternative rock/power pop group. The band was formed in 1987 in Bellingham, Washington by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. They are best known for their radio hits "Golden Blunders" , as well as "Dream All Day", "Solar Sister" and "Flavor of the Month"...
.
World of Today (1995)
Having already recorded another album's worth of music, Flop returned to Frontier RecordsFrontier Records
Frontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways....
to release its third and final LP, World of Today, a selection of songs with themes ranging from the death of Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
to life stories of arsonists. Shortly after its release, Johnson, arguably the heart of the band, left for Europe. Flop disbanded shortly thereafter, playing its final show at The Casbah in San Diego.
Critical reception
Flop has been referred to as a band with "dangerous tendencies toward dubious ostentation," "dry-witted, intelligent pop" and "too idiosyncratic to be lumped in with what most people think of as 'the Seattle soundGrunge
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...
'".
Albums
- Flop and the Fall of the Mopsqueezer! (Frontier RecordsFrontier RecordsFrontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways....
- 1992) - Whenever You're Ready (Sony 550 - 1993)
- World of Today (Frontier RecordsFrontier RecordsFrontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways....
- 1995)
EPs and Singles
- The Losing End (Lucky RecordsLucky Records-Lucky Records - Tokyo:Lucky Records of the 1930s was a record label based in Tokyo, Japan which specialized in issuing United States popular music to the Japanese audience....
- 1990) - Drugs (Dashboard Hula Girl RecordsDashboard Hula Girl RecordsDashboard Hulagirl Records is a Seattle-based independent American record label founded in 1989 by Trev Dellinger and Chris Swenson. The label released several LPs, EPs, and singles before folding in 1992...
- 1990) - Anne (1993)
- We Are You (Munster Records - 1993)
- Regrets (Sony 550 - 1993)
- The Great Valediction (Sony 550 - 1993)
- Act 1 Scene 1 (Super Electro - 1995)
- Place I Love (1995)
Compilations
- Another Damned Seattle CompilationAnother Damned Seattle CompilationAnother Damned Seattle Compilation is a musical tribute to 1970s punk band The Damned, featuring tracks recorded in 1990 to 1991 by 18 Seattle area bands and released on Seattle's Dashboard Hula Girl Records.-History of the Compilation:...
(Dashboard Hula Girl RecordsDashboard Hula Girl RecordsDashboard Hulagirl Records is a Seattle-based independent American record label founded in 1989 by Trev Dellinger and Chris Swenson. The label released several LPs, EPs, and singles before folding in 1992...
- 1990) - Hype! soundtrack (Sub PopSub PopSub 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...
- 1996)