John S. Hall
Encyclopedia
John S. Hall is an American poet, author, singer and lawyer perhaps best known for his work with King Missile
, an avant-garde
band
that he co-founded in 1986 and has since led in various disparate incarnations.
. New York and grew up in Manhattan
's West Village. He recalls being "very quiet and shy" as a child, and a social outcast as an adolescent. In 1978 he graduated
from Stuyvesant High School
.
poetry scene. He read his poems at such venues as Speakeasy and ABC No Rio
. According to performance poet
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
, Hall "became an easily recognizable figure in the scene: pale, bald, dressed mostly in black and white, with wire-rimmed glasses and a porkpie hat
."
Hall has long been a vocal opponent of slam poetry, taking issue with such factors as its inherently competitive nature and what he considers its lack of stylistic diversity. In a 2005 interview by Aptowicz, he recalled seeing his first slam, at the Nuyorican Poets Café
:
Despite his reservations about slam poetry, Hall has performed alongside slam poets on such television programs as PBS
's The United States of Poetry, MTV
's Spoken Word Unplugged, and HBO
's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry
.
band" Hall started because he "was really into hippies and LSD, and tuning in and dropping out
, and all that stuff." The other was You Suck, which Hall says was inspired
by a band led by punk
musician Mykel Board
:
Over the objections of the band, Board released the You Suck single with a pornographic
cover image
. The single was not a commercial success, and the band broke up shortly after its release.
poetry reading
s. After three shows, he became a "featured" poet at the Backfence, a performance space in Manhattan's East Village
. In 1986, feeling that "20 minutes of me reading poetry would be totally boring]," Hall asked his guitarist friend Dogbowl
to augment his performances with original music. Dogbowl agreed, and with the addition of bassist Alex DeLaszlo
, drummer R.B. Korbet
, and xylophonist
George O'Malley, King Missile (Dog Fly Religion) was born. The band released two album
s on the Shimmy Disc
label, 1987's Fluting on the Hump
and 1988's They
, and then dissolved because Dogbowl wanted to pursue a solo career
.
After Dogbowl's departure, Hall asked Bongwater
guitarist Dave Rick
to help him put together a new band. Rick recruited multi-instrumentalist Chris Xefos
, and Hall retained They drummer Steve Dansiger
. Hall dubbed the new lineup King Missile, dropping the parenthetical "Dog Fly Religion" subtitle
"since that was [Dogbowl's] idea." In late 1989 and early 1990, the band recorded the album Mystical Shit
, and in 1990 released it on Shimmy Disc. On the strength of the single "Jesus Was Way Cool
", the album hit #1 on the CMJ charts, and the band was signed by a major label, Atlantic Records
. This series of events led Hall to make a habit of joking
, "'Jesus' got me signed to Atlantic Records." Shortly after getting signed, Hall released an album on Shimmy Disc with permission from Atlantic: Real Men
, a side project recorded with producer and Shimmy Disc founder Kramer
. King Missle was featured in the 1990 documentary CutTime
which chronicled the East Village music scene at the time.
King Missile recorded three albums for Atlantic: 1991's The Way to Salvation
, 1992's Happy Hour, and 1994's King Missile
. Happy Hour spawned a modest hit in "Detachable Penis
," which reached #25 on the Billboard
Modern Rock Tracks chart. Nonetheless, after the commercial failure of King Missile, the band was dropped from Atlantic, and broke up shortly thereafter because, according to Hall, "there was no reason to stay together."
In 1996, Hall released a "solo album
," The Body Has a Head
, on the German label Manifatture Criminali. The album featured considerable input from multi-instrumentalists Sasha Forte
, Bradford Reed
, and Jane Scarpantoni
. With these musicians, as well as They cellist Charles Curtis
, Hall formed a new band, King Missile III . In 1998, the new lineup released its "debut" album, Failure, on Shimmy Disc. Curtis and Scarpantoni left the band after the release of Failure, and King Missile III continued as a trio, releasing two more albums, 2003's The Psychopathology of Everyday Life and 2004's Royal Lunch
.
. The first, 1997's Jesus Was Way Cool
, is a collection of forty poems recorded on King Missile and Hall solo albums, plus a never-recorded poem, "Hope."
The second, 2007's Daily Negations
, is a dark-humored satire of self-help book
s. In it, Hall presents a negative thought for each day of the calendar year (including Leap Day). For example, the negation for March 16 reads, "Today, I will try to remember to regret the past. I will think of how many mistakes I have made throughout my life. I will say to myself, 'If only I could go back in time and make different choices, so that my life could be the way it should have been.' Then I will remind myself that I cannot."
Other recurring subjects of Hall's work include religion
and spirituality
(e.g., "The Fish That Played the Ponies," "Jesus Was Way Cool," "The God"), nihilism
(e.g., "No Point
," "Ed," "Jim"), and masochism (e.g., "Pickaxe," "Take Me Home," "My Lover").
to abstract, disjointed free verse
. The writing frequently contains absurdist
imagery (e.g., "A giant testicle rolled over a Waffle House
, killing several clowns") and/or adynata
(e.g., "P]igeons came along and ate his eyes, and seagulls ripped his stomach out, and pelican
s ate his liver
, and his spleen
popped out all on its own and turned into a harmonica
and played a pleasant little tune. Then out came his pancreas
, which turned into the dog that bit him last week, and it bit him again and again and again many times").
Hall's performance style is also eclectic, his delivery ranging from a deadpan
monotone to melodic tenor
singing to overwrought screaming. In a 1998 interview, Hall expressed a preference for his spoken material over his sung: "Most of my work that I prefer is this type, and in most cases, the singing stuff [on albums] is filler, with the exception of songs here and there... [F]or the most part, I'm better at the spoken shit."
, Hall explained how he chose his stage name
:
. He graduated cum laude from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
in Manhattan, and after graduation co-founded Heraty Hall, a firm
specializing in entertainment law
. Hall later left the firm to go into solo practice until 2006, when he took a position as a corporate analyst at a law firm.
Asked by Aptowicz in the aforementioned 2005 interview if he became a lawyer out of disillusionment with the contemporary poetry scene, Hall laughed and replied, "I became a lawyer to make money
."
George W. Bush
and the Bush administration as subject matter for several King Missile III songs, including "The President," "Suggested Response to the Coming Crises," and "Another Political Poem." He campaigned for Democratic
candidate John Kerry
in the United States presidential election of 2004
.
Hall considers himself both Buddhist
and agnostic
. On his MySpace
page, he summarizes his faith as follows: "I don't believe in God
, but I do believe in something. I'm just not sure what."
Hall is also a vegan
.
King Missile
King Missile is an American avant-garde band that has been led in various disparate incarnations by poet/singer John S. Hall since 1986. Currently, Hall performs with a new version of the first incarnation, King Missile ....
, an avant-garde
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
that he co-founded in 1986 and has since led in various disparate incarnations.
Early life
John S. Hall was born on September 2, 1960 in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. New York and grew up in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's West Village. He recalls being "very quiet and shy" as a child, and a social outcast as an adolescent. In 1978 he graduated
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
from Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School , commonly referred to as Stuy , is a New York City public high school that specializes in mathematics and science. The school opened in 1904 on Manhattan's East Side and moved to a new building in Battery Park City in 1992. Stuyvesant is noted for its strong academic...
.
Participation in poetry scene
In the early 1980s, Hall began participating in the Lower East SideLower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
poetry scene. He read his poems at such venues as Speakeasy and ABC No Rio
ABC No Rio
ABC No Rio is a social center located at 156 Rivington Street on New York City's Lower East Side that was founded in 1980. It features a gallery space, a zine library, a darkroom, a silkscreening studio, and public computer lab...
. According to performance poet
Performance poetry
Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution.-History:...
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz is an American poet and writer. Recently, she was awarded a 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Poetry.-Life:...
, Hall "became an easily recognizable figure in the scene: pale, bald, dressed mostly in black and white, with wire-rimmed glasses and a porkpie hat
Pork pie hat
A pork pie hat is a type of hat made of felt or straw. It is a type of fedora which has a cylindrical crown and flattish top. This style of crown is called a "telescopic crown", but the hat overall resembles the boater hat. It is short and has an indentation all the way around its top, allowing...
."
Hall has long been a vocal opponent of slam poetry, taking issue with such factors as its inherently competitive nature and what he considers its lack of stylistic diversity. In a 2005 interview by Aptowicz, he recalled seeing his first slam, at the Nuyorican Poets Café
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
:
Despite his reservations about slam poetry, Hall has performed alongside slam poets on such television programs as PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
's The United States of Poetry, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Spoken Word Unplugged, and HBO
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry
Def Poetry
Def Poetry, also known as Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry or Def Poetry Jam, which was co-founded by Bruce George, Danny Simmons and Deborah Pointer, is an HBO television series produced by hip-hop music entrepreneur Russell Simmons. The series presents performances by established spoken word...
.
Early bands
Hall performed in at least two musical groups before co-founding King Missile. One was Purple Sunshine, a "hippieHippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
band" Hall started because he "was really into hippies and LSD, and tuning in and dropping out
Turn on, tune in, drop out
"Turn on, tune in, drop out" is a counterculture phrase popularized by Timothy Leary in 1967. Leary spoke at the Human Be-In, a gathering of 30,000 hippies in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and uttered the famous phrase, "Turn on, tune in, drop out". In a 1988 interview with Neil Strauss, Leary...
, and all that stuff." The other was You Suck, which Hall says was inspired
Artistic inspiration
Inspiration refers to an unconscious burst of creativity in a literary, musical, or other artistic endeavour. Literally, the word means "breathed upon," and it has its origins in both Hellenism and Hebraism. The Greeks believed that inspiration came from the muses, as well as the gods Apollo and...
by a band led by 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...
musician Mykel Board
Mykel Board
Mykel Board is a regularly published journalist, especially well known for his articles in Maximumrocknroll....
:
Over the objections of the band, Board released the You Suck single with a pornographic
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
cover image
Album cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
. The single was not a commercial success, and the band broke up shortly after its release.
King Missile
In 1985, Hall began presenting his work at open mikeOpen mike
An open mike or open mic is a live show where audience members may perform at the microphone. Usually, the performers sign up in advance for a time slot with the host or master of ceremonies. These events can be focused on poetry and the spoken word, music, comedy, and the open format of open...
poetry reading
Poetry reading
A poetry reading is a performance of poetry, normally given on a small stage in a café or bookstore, although poetry readings given by notable poets frequently are booked into larger venues to accommodate crowds...
s. After three shows, he became a "featured" poet at the Backfence, a performance space in Manhattan's East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
. In 1986, feeling that "20 minutes of me reading poetry would be totally boring]," Hall asked his guitarist friend Dogbowl
Dogbowl
Dogbowl is an American artist and musician. He was a founding member of the avant-garde band King Missile and has recorded many albums as a solo act....
to augment his performances with original music. Dogbowl agreed, and with the addition of bassist Alex DeLaszlo
Alex DeLaszlo
Alex DeLaszlo is an American musician. He contributed bass harmonica, harmonica, saxophone, and backing vocals to King Missile , the first incarnation of avant-garde band King Missile.-Discography:...
, drummer R.B. Korbet
R.B. Korbet
R.B. Korbet is an American musician living in the United Kingdom. She contributed drumming and vocals to King Missile , the first incarnation of avant-garde band King Missile...
, and xylophonist
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
George O'Malley, King Missile (Dog Fly Religion) was born. The band released two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s on the Shimmy Disc
Shimmy Disc
Shimmy Disc was an influential New York City based record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, it was responsible for providing a mass audience for acts including Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, Ween,...
label, 1987's Fluting on the Hump
Fluting On The Hump
Fluting on the Hump is the first album by avant-garde band King Missile, first released exclusively in LP format in 1987 and later included on the CD compilation Mystical Shit & Fluting on the Hump.-Track listing:All lyrics by John S...
and 1988's They
They (album)
They is the second album by avant-garde band King Missile, released in 1988.-Track listing:# "Now" – 1:53# "I'm Open" – 2:21# "Mr...
, and then dissolved because Dogbowl wanted to pursue a solo career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
.
After Dogbowl's departure, Hall asked Bongwater
Bongwater (band)
Bongwater was a psych rock band formed in 1985 and dissolved in 1992. The group was founded by Ann Magnuson and Mark Kramer , who had worked together previously in Pulsallama. The group also featured drummer Dave Licht and guitarists [Dave Rick] and later Randolph A. Hudson III...
guitarist Dave Rick
Dave Rick
Dave Rick is an American guitarist and former member of underground rock bands B.A.L.L, Bongwater, King Missile, Phantom Tollbooth, When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water, Wide Right, Wonderama, and Yo La Tengo . He is a current member of Atlantic Drone, Dew-Claw, The Martinets, Overcat...
to help him put together a new band. Rick recruited multi-instrumentalist Chris Xefos
Chris Xefos
Chris Xefos is an American multi-instrumentalist musician/engineer/producer and former member of band King Missile. He plays various instruments such as accordion, bass, piano, and synthesizer, among others. He began recording/producing various groups in New York during the 1980s, including...
, and Hall retained They drummer Steve Dansiger
Steve Dansiger
Steve Dansiger is an American drummer and member of the first two incarnations of avant-garde band King Missile and of the band Pianosaurus.Dansiger is now a therapist with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology with ONE80CENTER and has appeared on comedian Marc Maron's "WTF" podcasts.-Discography:...
. Hall dubbed the new lineup King Missile, dropping the parenthetical "Dog Fly Religion" subtitle
Subtitle (titling)
In books and other works, a subtitle is an explanatory or alternate title. For example, Mary Shelley used a subtitle to give her most famous novel, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, an alternate title to give a hint of the theme. In library cataloging the subtitle does not include an...
"since that was [Dogbowl's] idea." In late 1989 and early 1990, the band recorded the album Mystical Shit
Mystical Shit
Mystical Shit is the third album by avant-garde band King Missile, first released in 1990 and later included on the compilation album Mystical Shit & Fluting on the Hump.-Track listing:All lyrics by John S...
, and in 1990 released it on Shimmy Disc. On the strength of the single "Jesus Was Way Cool
Jesus Was Way Cool
"Jesus Was Way Cool" is a song by avant-garde band King Missile. It appears on the band's 1990 album Mystical Shit.-Content:In "Jesus Was Way Cool," frontman John S. Hall, over a simple piano figure, delivers a deadpan monologue in which he declares Jesus "way cool" for such skills as healing,...
", the album hit #1 on the CMJ charts, and the band was signed by a major label, Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. This series of events led Hall to make a habit of joking
Joke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
, "'Jesus' got me signed to Atlantic Records." Shortly after getting signed, Hall released an album on Shimmy Disc with permission from Atlantic: Real Men
Real Men (album)
Real Men is an album by King Missile frontman John S. Hall and producer/multi-instrumentalist Kramer. It was released in 1991.-Track listing:All lyrics by Hall...
, a side project recorded with producer and Shimmy Disc founder Kramer
Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer , known professionally as Kramer, is a musician, composer, record producer and founder of the New York City record label Shimmy-Disc...
. King Missle was featured in the 1990 documentary CutTime
Paul Devlin (filmmaker)
Paul Josiah Devlin is a sports editor and documentary filmmaker.A five-time Emmy winner for his work on NBC's Olympics and CBS's Tour de France, Paul Devlin's films include Power Trip, which screened in 60 countries, theatrically across the United States and on PBS's Independent Lens, was nominated...
which chronicled the East Village music scene at the time.
King Missile recorded three albums for Atlantic: 1991's The Way to Salvation
The Way to Salvation
The Way to Salvation is the fourth album by avant-garde band King Missile, and the band's first for Atlantic Records. It was released on April 16, 1991.-Track listing:All lyrics by John S...
, 1992's Happy Hour, and 1994's King Missile
King Missile (album)
King Missile is the eponymous sixth album by avant-garde band King Missile, and the band's third for Atlantic Records. It was released on April 19, 1994.-Track listing:All lyrics by John S. Hall...
. Happy Hour spawned a modest hit in "Detachable Penis
Detachable Penis
"Detachable Penis" is a song by avant-garde band King Missile. It was the first single from the band's 1992 album Happy Hour, and became a modest hit, reaching #25 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.-Lyrical content:...
," which reached #25 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Modern Rock Tracks chart. Nonetheless, after the commercial failure of King Missile, the band was dropped from Atlantic, and broke up shortly thereafter because, according to Hall, "there was no reason to stay together."
In 1996, Hall released a "solo album
Solo album
A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...
," The Body Has a Head
The Body Has a Head
The Body Has a Head is an album by King Missile frontman John S. Hall, released exclusively in Germany in 1996. Though billed as a Hall "solo album," the collection features considerable input from multi-instrumentalists Sasha Forte, Bradford Reed, and Jane Scarpantoni, all of whom would become...
, on the German label Manifatture Criminali. The album featured considerable input from multi-instrumentalists Sasha Forte
Sasha Forte
Sasha Forte is an American multi-instrumentalist and member of avant-garde band King Missile III. She is proficient at such instruments as bass, guitar, synthesizer, viola, and violin....
, Bradford Reed
Bradford Reed
Bradford Reed is an American multi-instrumentalist, experimental luthier, and member of avant-garde band King Missile III. He is proficient at such instruments as drums, guitar, melodica, piano, and synthesizer. In the 1980s he invented the pencilina, a custom-made string instrument.-Pencilina:The...
, and Jane Scarpantoni
Jane Scarpantoni
Jane Scarpantoni is a classically trained cello player who has played on a number of alternative rock albums.She was a member of Hoboken, New Jersey's Tiny Lights in the mid-'80s, then went on to play with other musicians especially those associated with the Hoboken underground rock scene of the...
. With these musicians, as well as They cellist Charles Curtis
Charles Curtis (musician)
Cellist Charles Curtis is an internationally renowned performer and composer of a wide variety of music, with particular emphasis on the avant-garde...
, Hall formed a new band, King Missile III . In 1998, the new lineup released its "debut" album, Failure, on Shimmy Disc. Curtis and Scarpantoni left the band after the release of Failure, and King Missile III continued as a trio, releasing two more albums, 2003's The Psychopathology of Everyday Life and 2004's Royal Lunch
Royal Lunch
Royal Lunch is the ninth album by avant-garde band King Missile, and the band's third in its incarnation as "King Missile III." It was released on September 21, 2004.-Track listing:All songs by Sasha Forte, John S. Hall, and Bradford Reed...
.
Books
Hall has released two books, both on Soft Skull PressSoft Skull Press
Soft Skull Press is an independent publisher founded by Sander Hicks in 1992, and run by Richard Eoin Nash from 2001 to 2009. In 2007, Nash sold Soft Skull to Counterpoint LLC, where it continues to function as a division of the press...
. The first, 1997's Jesus Was Way Cool
Jesus Was Way Cool (book)
Jesus Was Way Cool is a collection of poems by King Missile frontman John S. Hall. It was released by Soft Skull Press in 1997.-Contents:# "Sensitive Artist"# "Take Stuff from Work"# "The Sandbox"# "Fish"# "Wuss"# "I'm Open"# "The Love Song"...
, is a collection of forty poems recorded on King Missile and Hall solo albums, plus a never-recorded poem, "Hope."
The second, 2007's Daily Negations
Daily Negations
Daily Negations is the second book by King Missile frontman John S. Hall. It was released by Soft Skull Press in 2007.The book is a dark-humored satire of self-help books. In it, Hall presents a negative thought for each day of the calendar year . For example, the negation for March 16th reads,...
, is a dark-humored satire of self-help book
Self-help book
Self-help books are books written with the stated intention to instruct any readers on a number of personal problems. They take their name from Self-Help, the Victorian best-seller, but are also known and classified under "self-improvement", a term that is a modernized version of self-help...
s. In it, Hall presents a negative thought for each day of the calendar year (including Leap Day). For example, the negation for March 16 reads, "Today, I will try to remember to regret the past. I will think of how many mistakes I have made throughout my life. I will say to myself, 'If only I could go back in time and make different choices, so that my life could be the way it should have been.' Then I will remind myself that I cannot."
Dominant themes of work
Asked in a 2003 interview to speak about the common themes of his work, Hall replied:Other recurring subjects of Hall's work include religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
(e.g., "The Fish That Played the Ponies," "Jesus Was Way Cool," "The God"), nihilism
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
(e.g., "No Point
No Point (song)
"No Point" is a song by avant-garde band King Missile. It appears on the band's 1990 album Mystical Shit.-Content:In "No Point," a psychedelic rock track with prominent lead guitar, frontman John S...
," "Ed," "Jim"), and masochism (e.g., "Pickaxe," "Take Me Home," "My Lover").
Writing and performance styles
Hall's writing varies in format from straightforward narrativeNarrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
to abstract, disjointed free verse
Free verse
Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern.Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Verse displays some elements of form...
. The writing frequently contains absurdist
Absurdism
In philosophy, "The Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any...
imagery (e.g., "A giant testicle rolled over a Waffle House
Waffle House
Waffle House is a restaurant chain with over 1600 locations found in 25 states in the United States. Most of the locations are in the Southern United States, where the chain remains a regional cultural icon...
, killing several clowns") and/or adynata
Adynaton
Adynaton is a figure of speech in the form of hyperbole taken to such extreme lengths as to suggest a complete impossibility:...
(e.g., "P]igeons came along and ate his eyes, and seagulls ripped his stomach out, and pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
s ate his liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
, and his spleen
Spleen
The spleen is an organ found in virtually all vertebrate animals with important roles in regard to red blood cells and the immune system. In humans, it is located in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. It removes old red blood cells and holds a reserve of blood in case of hemorrhagic shock...
popped out all on its own and turned into a harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and played a pleasant little tune. Then out came his pancreas
Pancreas
The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...
, which turned into the dog that bit him last week, and it bit him again and again and again many times").
Hall's performance style is also eclectic, his delivery ranging from a deadpan
Deadpan
Deadpan is a form of comic delivery in which humor is presented without a change in emotion or body language, usually speaking in a casual, monotone, solemn, blunt, disgusted or matter-of-fact voice and expressing an unflappably calm, archly insincere or artificially grave demeanor...
monotone to melodic tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
singing to overwrought screaming. In a 1998 interview, Hall expressed a preference for his spoken material over his sung: "Most of my work that I prefer is this type, and in most cases, the singing stuff [on albums] is filler, with the exception of songs here and there... [F]or the most part, I'm better at the spoken shit."
Stage name
In a 2003 missive to his electronic mailing listElectronic mailing list
An electronic mailing list is a special usage of email that allows for widespread distribution of information to many Internet users. It is similar to a traditional mailing list — a list of names and addresses — as might be kept by an organization for sending publications to...
, Hall explained how he chose his stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
:
Legal career
After the collapse of the second incarnation of King Missile, Hall decided to attend law schoolLaw school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
. He graduated cum laude from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University, located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo's success as a young school has been remarkable, leading some to characterize Cardozo as a...
in Manhattan, and after graduation co-founded Heraty Hall, a firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
specializing in entertainment law
Entertainment law
Entertainment law or media law is a term for a mix of more traditional categories of law with a focus on providing legal services to the entertainment industry. The principal areas of Entertainment Law overlap substantially with the well-known and conventional field of intellectual property law...
. Hall later left the firm to go into solo practice until 2006, when he took a position as a corporate analyst at a law firm.
Asked by Aptowicz in the aforementioned 2005 interview if he became a lawyer out of disillusionment with the contemporary poetry scene, Hall laughed and replied, "I became a lawyer to make money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
."
Political and personal beliefs
Hall has used his vehement dislike of PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and the Bush administration as subject matter for several King Missile III songs, including "The President," "Suggested Response to the Coming Crises," and "Another Political Poem." He campaigned for Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
in the United States presidential election of 2004
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
.
Hall considers himself both Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
. On his MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page, he summarizes his faith as follows: "I don't believe in God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, but I do believe in something. I'm just not sure what."
Hall is also a vegan
Veganism
Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
.
With King Missile (Dog Fly Religion)
| Album | Record Label | Release Year |
|---|---|---|
| Fluting on the Hump Fluting On The Hump Fluting on the Hump is the first album by avant-garde band King Missile, first released exclusively in LP format in 1987 and later included on the CD compilation Mystical Shit & Fluting on the Hump.-Track listing:All lyrics by John S... |
Shimmy Disc Shimmy Disc Shimmy Disc was an influential New York City based record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, it was responsible for providing a mass audience for acts including Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, Ween,... |
1987 |
| They They (album) They is the second album by avant-garde band King Missile, released in 1988.-Track listing:# "Now" – 1:53# "I'm Open" – 2:21# "Mr... |
Shimmy Disc | 1988 |
With King Missile
| Album | Record Label | Release Year |
|---|---|---|
| Mystical Shit Mystical Shit Mystical Shit is the third album by avant-garde band King Missile, first released in 1990 and later included on the compilation album Mystical Shit & Fluting on the Hump.-Track listing:All lyrics by John S... |
Shimmy Disc | 1990 |
| The Way to Salvation The Way to Salvation The Way to Salvation is the fourth album by avant-garde band King Missile, and the band's first for Atlantic Records. It was released on April 16, 1991.-Track listing:All lyrics by John S... |
Atlantic Records Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz... |
1991 |
| Happy 14½ Happy 14½ Happy 14½ is an EP by avant-garde band King Missile. It was released in 1992, shortly before the band's album Happy Hour. The EP was intended for promotional use only, and not supposed to be sold; nonetheless, copies are sometimes available in "used" sections of record stores because some people... (EP Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact... ) |
Atlantic | 1992 |
| Happy Hour | Atlantic | 1992 |
| King Missile King Missile (album) King Missile is the eponymous sixth album by avant-garde band King Missile, and the band's third for Atlantic Records. It was released on April 19, 1994.-Track listing:All lyrics by John S. Hall... |
Atlantic | 1994 |
With King Missile III
| Album | Record Label | Release Year |
|---|---|---|
| Failure | Shimmy Disc | 1998 |
| The Psychopathology of Everyday Life | Instinct Records Instinct Records Instinct Records is a New York City electronic-music record label that first gained prominence in 1990. It is best-known for releasing much of Moby's early work. The label has several sublabels, which include Evolver, Instinct Ambient, Kickin Records USA, Liquid Music, Shadow Records, and Sonic... |
2003 |
| Royal Lunch Royal Lunch Royal Lunch is the ninth album by avant-garde band King Missile, and the band's third in its incarnation as "King Missile III." It was released on September 21, 2004.-Track listing:All songs by Sasha Forte, John S. Hall, and Bradford Reed... |
Important Records | 2004 |
With Kramer
| Album | Record Label | Release Year |
|---|---|---|
| Real Men Real Men (album) Real Men is an album by King Missile frontman John S. Hall and producer/multi-instrumentalist Kramer. It was released in 1991.-Track listing:All lyrics by Hall... |
Shimmy Disc | 1991 |
Solo
| Album | Record Label | Release Year |
|---|---|---|
| The Body Has a Head The Body Has a Head The Body Has a Head is an album by King Missile frontman John S. Hall, released exclusively in Germany in 1996. Though billed as a Hall "solo album," the collection features considerable input from multi-instrumentalists Sasha Forte, Bradford Reed, and Jane Scarpantoni, all of whom would become... |
Manifatture Criminali | 1996 |