Kliph Scurlock
Encyclopedia
Kliph Scurlock is an American
musician
. He is the drummer
for the alternative
rock
band
The Flaming Lips
.
He was born Clifton Thomas Scurlock in Topeka, Kansas
, the son of Roger W. Scurlock (born ca. 1946) and Linda Louise Rokey (September 6, 1944-July 17, 1981). His love of music was inspired by his mother. Linda Scurlock was in the first all-female mariachi
band, Mariachi Estrella. She also gave him his first Beatles
album
, which was on 8-track tape.
When he was eight years old, his mother died in the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse
in Kansas City
, where she was performing with Mariachi Estrella. After her death, Scurlock went to live with his father. He began playing in the school band
and marching band
in 6th grade. When he was in 11th grade, he began spelling his name K-l-i-p-h to distinguish himself from another student named Cliff. The spelling variant stuck and family and friends began spelling it that way.
At age 16, Scurlock bought a Ringo Starr
series 1964 Ludwig Silver Sparkle Drum Set. Within two weeks, he was in his first band—a cover band
whose first show was at a Topeka strip club
named the Golden Horseshoe. The following year, he joined his first "real" band, Slackjaw, based out of Lawrence
. When he was 18, he moved there. He quit Slackjaw in 1993 and played in a lot of other bands, including Kill Creek, Sleeztax, Panel Donor, the Rohypnol Rangers, and Contortion Horse.
In March 1999, Scurlock was hired as a roadie
for the Flaming Lips while the band was on tour to promote
their album The Soft Bulletin
. He remained with them on their next tour while they served as Beck
's backing band
in 2002. Scurlock was chosen to play the drums on that tour, to enable another band member, multi-instrumentalist
Steven Drozd
, to play lead guitar
. Scurlock then became the Flaming Lips' touring drummer so Drozd could continue playing guitar and keyboards live. Subsequently there was a distinction between the Flaming Lips (Coyne, Ivins, Drozd) and the Flaming Lips Live (which included Scurlock). However, upon the release of the Flaming Lips album Embryonic
in October 2009, Scurlock was formally recognized in the liner notes as a full-fledged member of the band.
Scurlock is an endorser for Alchemy Cymbals
. In addition to the Embryonic
album, he is credited on the 2003
"Fight Test
" EP
. He also plays with a band named The Paris Gun, which includes Steven Drozd.
He maintains the Ask Kliph! thread on the Flaming Lips.com forum, where users can ask questions about the band, music, etc.
Kliph Scurlock lives in Lawrence, Kansas
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. He is the drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
for the alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
.
He was born Clifton Thomas Scurlock in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, the son of Roger W. Scurlock (born ca. 1946) and Linda Louise Rokey (September 6, 1944-July 17, 1981). His love of music was inspired by his mother. Linda Scurlock was in the first all-female mariachi
Mariachi
Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...
band, Mariachi Estrella. She also gave him his first Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
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...
, which was on 8-track tape.
When he was eight years old, his mother died in the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse
Hyatt Regency walkway collapse
The Hyatt Regency hotel walkway collapse was a collapse of an interior suspended skywalk system that occurred on July 17, 1981, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, killing 114 people and injuring 216 others during a tea dance. At the time, it was the deadliest structural collapse in U.S...
in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, where she was performing with Mariachi Estrella. After her death, Scurlock went to live with his father. He began playing in the school band
School band
A school band is a group of student musicians who rehearse and perform instrumental music together. A concert band is usually under the direction of one or more conductors...
and marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
in 6th grade. When he was in 11th grade, he began spelling his name K-l-i-p-h to distinguish himself from another student named Cliff. The spelling variant stuck and family and friends began spelling it that way.
At age 16, Scurlock bought a Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
series 1964 Ludwig Silver Sparkle Drum Set. Within two weeks, he was in his first band—a cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
whose first show was at a Topeka strip club
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
named the Golden Horseshoe. The following year, he joined his first "real" band, Slackjaw, based out of Lawrence
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
. When he was 18, he moved there. He quit Slackjaw in 1993 and played in a lot of other bands, including Kill Creek, Sleeztax, Panel Donor, the Rohypnol Rangers, and Contortion Horse.
In March 1999, Scurlock was hired as a roadie
Road crew
The road crew are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians...
for the Flaming Lips while the band was on tour to promote
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
their album The Soft Bulletin
The Soft Bulletin
-UK & Australian CD release:-Vinyl release:-The Soft Bulletin 5.1:On January 31, 2006, Warner Bros. re-released The Soft Bulletin in the US as a two-disc package titled The Soft Bulletin 5.1. It includes a remastered CD and a DVD-Audio disc that contains a 5.1-channel surround sound mix of the album...
. He remained with them on their next tour while they served as Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
's backing band
Backup band
A backing band or backup band is a musical ensemble that accompanies an artist at a live performance or on a recording. This can either be an established, long-standing group that has little or no change in membership, or it may be an ad hoc group assembled for a single show or a single recording...
in 2002. Scurlock was chosen to play the drums on that tour, to enable another band member, multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
Steven Drozd
Steven Drozd
Steven Gregory Drozd is an American musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist and lead guitarist for The Flaming Lips.-Early life:...
, to play lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
. Scurlock then became the Flaming Lips' touring drummer so Drozd could continue playing guitar and keyboards live. Subsequently there was a distinction between the Flaming Lips (Coyne, Ivins, Drozd) and the Flaming Lips Live (which included Scurlock). However, upon the release of the Flaming Lips album Embryonic
Embryonic
Embryonic received general acclaim from critics upon release, garnering a 81/100 critic score on Metacritic. The New Musical Express noted that "ten years after their last masterpiece, The Flaming Lips have finally produced another one," while Paste Magazine described the record as "a wonderfully...
in October 2009, Scurlock was formally recognized in the liner notes as a full-fledged member of the band.
Scurlock is an endorser for Alchemy Cymbals
Istanbul Agop Cymbals
Istanbul Agop Cymbals is cymbal producer based in the Republic of Turkey.Its products are well respected for their unique sound, which is formed by the method and the alloy used, the formula of which is known only to the owners of the firm, Arman and Sarkis Tomurcuk...
. In addition to the Embryonic
Embryonic
Embryonic received general acclaim from critics upon release, garnering a 81/100 critic score on Metacritic. The New Musical Express noted that "ten years after their last masterpiece, The Flaming Lips have finally produced another one," while Paste Magazine described the record as "a wonderfully...
album, he is credited on the 2003
2003 in music
-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...
"Fight Test
Fight Test
Fight Test is an EP by The Flaming Lips featuring the song of the same name, released on Warner Bros. Records in 2003. The single version of "Fight Test" was released on June 23, 2003, peaking at #28 in the UK Singles Chart...
" 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...
. He also plays with a band named The Paris Gun, which includes Steven Drozd.
He maintains the Ask Kliph! thread on the Flaming Lips.com forum, where users can ask questions about the band, music, etc.
Kliph Scurlock lives in Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
.
External links
- Kliph Scurlock's Page at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace 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....
- [ Kliph Scurlock Credits] at Allmusic