Malfunkshun
Encyclopedia
Malfunkshun is a band formed in 1980 by Andrew Wood and his brother Kevin Wood. Malfunkshun, along with Skin Yard
, Green River
, U-Men, and Melvins are considered the "godfathers" of grunge, with Malfunkshun being the first of those bands to form.
was recruited from Maggot Brains.
During performances, each band member had an alter ego. Andrew's was L'Andrew the Love Child, Kevin was Kevinstein and Regan became Thundarr. Kevin's stage persona wasn't as carved-in-stone as Andy's or Regan's, referred to sometimes as "the Axe-Handler" and even an early Malfunkshun poster hand-drawn by Andy Wood names him "Led Springsteen". Using makeup and flashy glam-style clothing in a nod to KISS
, and other favorite bands, Malfunkshun was known for their dynamic live shows. As L'andrew, Andy was unpredictable and would wander the crowd during shows with his wireless Steinberger bass, and even stop shows to eat cereal, and throw the rest out to the crowd. Andrew became increasingly involved with drugs and in 1985 he checked into drug rehab, during which time Malfunkshun was put on hold.
When Andy returned from rehab, the band started up again and contributed "With Yo' Heart (Not Yo' Hands)" and "Stars-n-You" to the Deep Six
compilation by C/Z Records
. Notwithstanding their densely distorted sound, Sub Pop
, the label known as "the" grunge
label, never took much interest in the band, turning them down for not being Grunge enough. This was fine with the band as they never thought of themselves as grunge to begin with. Although they were beginning to gain popularity they rarely headlined for their own shows.
Dissolving, but never formally disbanding, Malfunkshun took a back seat to the jam sessions Andy Wood and Regan Hagar had begun with Green River
members Stone Gossard
and Jeff Ament
. These sessions were the beginnings of Lords Of The Wasteland, which would become Mother Love Bone
after the addition of Greg Gilmore
and Bruce Fairweather
. Kevin formed Fire Ants in 1992 with his brother Brian, bassist Dan McDonald, and former Nirvana
drummer Chad Channing
. Later Kevin and Brian joined Ben Shepherd
of Soundgarden
, to form Hater
. The brothers later formed Devilhead
. Hagar moved on, playing in Satchel
, with Shawn Smith
, and in Brad
, also with Shawn Smith and with Stone Gossard
.
A grouping of Malfunkshun demos and recordings from the early-to-mid 1980s were released on Stone Gossard
and Regan Hagar
's Loosegroove
label in 1995, as Return to Olympus
, which was the largest major label release of the band's material.
In 2005, a documentary entitled Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story, debuted at the Seattle International Film Festival
. The documentary is available on DVD in a boxed set with the reissued CD entitled Return to Olympus
and the never before released Andrew Wood CD entitled Melodies and Dreams. This boxed set is a digipak set of 3 discs (1 DVD/2 CD's) entitled Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story released on July 19, 2011 by Universal Music Enterprises.
On October 24, 2006, surviving Malfunkshun members Kevin Wood and Regan Hagar
, with vocalist Shawn Smith
and bassist Cory Kane, began writing new music using lyrics written by Andrew Wood before his death, for the release a new album, after which they planned to go on tour. The band had originally intended to use the name Malfunkshun, soon changing it to Subfunkshun or The Subfunkshun Project, and eventually settling on From The North (Von Nord).
At 3:33 pm on Feb. 19th, 2011 Malfunkshun announced on their website that Jeff Loftis would be taking over vocals for both Malfunkshun and From the North. On March 14, 2011 the Kevin and Jeff recorded the song Jezebel Woman and on March 19, 2011 recorded Until the Ocean. They have posted both songs on YouTube under the name "Malfunkshun 2011".
On May 15, 2011 Malfunkshun posted on their website, that Regan officially stepped down as the drummer.
On May 24, 2011 Malfunkshun posted on their website naming Mike Stone as Regan's replacement on drums.
Skin Yard
Skin Yard was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, who were active from 1985 to 1992. The group never gained a mainstream audience, but were an influence on their contemporaries – most notably Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, The Melvins, and Green River – alongside whom they are considered...
, Green River
Green River (band)
Green River was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington that was active from 1984 to 1988. Although the band had little commercial impact outside of its native Seattle, Green River proved to have significant influence on the genre later known as grunge, both with its own music and with the...
, U-Men, and Melvins are considered the "godfathers" of grunge, with Malfunkshun being the first of those bands to form.
History
Bainbridge Island, WA brothers Andrew and Kevin Wood, along with Dave Hunt and Dave Rees formed Malfunkshun, originally as a four-piece and not the power trio they became known as. David Hunt and Dave Rees played with Malfunkshun for only one show, the former on drums and the latter on bass. After Rees and Hunt left, Andy took over bass and drummer Regan HagarRegan Hagar
Regan Hagar was the drummer in Malfunkshun from 1980 to 1988, featuring Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone on vocals and Kevin Wood on guitar. Hagar has also performed in Satchel with Shawn Smith and Brad with Shawn Smith and Stone Gossard....
was recruited from Maggot Brains.
During performances, each band member had an alter ego. Andrew's was L'Andrew the Love Child, Kevin was Kevinstein and Regan became Thundarr. Kevin's stage persona wasn't as carved-in-stone as Andy's or Regan's, referred to sometimes as "the Axe-Handler" and even an early Malfunkshun poster hand-drawn by Andy Wood names him "Led Springsteen". Using makeup and flashy glam-style clothing in a nod to KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, and other favorite bands, Malfunkshun was known for their dynamic live shows. As L'andrew, Andy was unpredictable and would wander the crowd during shows with his wireless Steinberger bass, and even stop shows to eat cereal, and throw the rest out to the crowd. Andrew became increasingly involved with drugs and in 1985 he checked into drug rehab, during which time Malfunkshun was put on hold.
When Andy returned from rehab, the band started up again and contributed "With Yo' Heart (Not Yo' Hands)" and "Stars-n-You" to the Deep Six
Deep Six (album)
The Deep Six compilation was released March 1986 . It was the very first release by C/Z Records, a few months before the release of Sub Pop 100 from Sub Pop Records. It was also arguably the second record to influence the later "Seattle sound" that would be known worldwide as grunge...
compilation by C/Z Records
C/Z Records
C/Z Records is a Seattle-based record label that was established in early 1985 by Chris Hanzsek and Tina Casale with the release of the now-legendary, Deep Six LP, which collected the earliest recordings of the real pro-genitors of what later came to be known as grunge...
. Notwithstanding their densely distorted sound, 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...
, the label known as "the" grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
label, never took much interest in the band, turning them down for not being Grunge enough. This was fine with the band as they never thought of themselves as grunge to begin with. Although they were beginning to gain popularity they rarely headlined for their own shows.
Dissolving, but never formally disbanding, Malfunkshun took a back seat to the jam sessions Andy Wood and Regan Hagar had begun with Green River
Green River (band)
Green River was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington that was active from 1984 to 1988. Although the band had little commercial impact outside of its native Seattle, Green River proved to have significant influence on the genre later known as grunge, both with its own music and with the...
members Stone Gossard
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...
and Jeff Ament
Jeff Ament
Jeffrey Allen Ament is an American musician who serves as the bassist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...
. These sessions were the beginnings of Lords Of The Wasteland, which would become Mother Love Bone
Mother Love Bone
Mother Love Bone was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1988. The band was active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood's personality and compositions helped to catapult the group to the top of the burgeoning late 1980s/early 1990s Seattle music scene...
after the addition of Greg Gilmore
Greg Gilmore
Greg Gilmore is a musician in Seattle, Washington, and co-founder of the recording label First World Music. Although born in France, Gilmore grew up in the Seattle area....
and Bruce Fairweather
Bruce Fairweather
Bruce Fairweather is a guitarist/bassist based in Seattle. In 1985, he replaced Steve Turner in the grunge band Green River, which included Mark Arm , Alex Vincent as well as Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard, later of Pearl Jam....
. Kevin formed Fire Ants in 1992 with his brother Brian, bassist Dan McDonald, and former Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
drummer Chad Channing
Chad Channing
Chad Channing is an American musician who is best known for being the drummer of the band Nirvana from 1988 until 1990, during which time they recorded and released their debut album Bleach...
. Later Kevin and Brian joined Ben Shepherd
Ben Shepherd
Ben Shepherd is an American musician, two-time Grammy Award Winner best known for playing bass in the grunge band Soundgarden from 1990 until the band's 1997 break-up...
of Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
, to form Hater
Hater
Hater may refer to:* HaTeR , a New Jersey Hip Hop artist* Hater , an American rock band* Hater , a person who expresses intense feelings of hatred or spite, when the reason for this is perceived as unreasonable or spurious....
. The brothers later formed Devilhead
Devilhead
Devilhead is an American alternative rock group formed by brothers Kevin and Brian Wood, who were both brothers of the late Andrew Wood , in 1994 in Seattle, Washington following the breakup of their previous group Fire Ants...
. Hagar moved on, playing in Satchel
Satchel (band)
Satchel is an alternative rock band from Seattle, featuring Shawn Smith , Regan Hagar , John Hoag and Mike Berg , who replaced original bassist Cory Kane in 1995.-History:...
, with Shawn Smith
Shawn Smith
Shawn Smith is a Seattle-based songwriter, vocalist and musician in several bands and also as a solo artist. He was born in Spokane, Washington.Smith has cited Freddie Mercury, Prince and KISS as early influences...
, and in Brad
Brad (band)
Brad is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1992. Brad's sound is influenced by the wide variety of influences brought by its members, including Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, Regan Hagar , Shawn Smith , and Jeremy Toback...
, also with Shawn Smith and with Stone Gossard
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...
.
A grouping of Malfunkshun demos and recordings from the early-to-mid 1980s were released on Stone Gossard
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...
and Regan Hagar
Regan Hagar
Regan Hagar was the drummer in Malfunkshun from 1980 to 1988, featuring Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone on vocals and Kevin Wood on guitar. Hagar has also performed in Satchel with Shawn Smith and Brad with Shawn Smith and Stone Gossard....
's Loosegroove
Loosegroove Records
Loosegroove Records was a Seattle based record label formed by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard and Brad drummer Regan Hagar in 1994. Initially a subsidiary of Sony before going independent in 1996, Loosegroove signed many up and coming artists from various musical genres, especially rock and hip...
label in 1995, as Return to Olympus
Return to Olympus
Return to Olympus is the only album by the alternative rock band Malfunkshun. It was released after the band had broken up and after lead singer Andrew Wood had died of a drug overdose in 1990...
, which was the largest major label release of the band's material.
In 2005, a documentary entitled Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story, debuted at the Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
. The documentary is available on DVD in a boxed set with the reissued CD entitled Return to Olympus
Return to Olympus
Return to Olympus is the only album by the alternative rock band Malfunkshun. It was released after the band had broken up and after lead singer Andrew Wood had died of a drug overdose in 1990...
and the never before released Andrew Wood CD entitled Melodies and Dreams. This boxed set is a digipak set of 3 discs (1 DVD/2 CD's) entitled Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story released on July 19, 2011 by Universal Music Enterprises.
On October 24, 2006, surviving Malfunkshun members Kevin Wood and Regan Hagar
Regan Hagar
Regan Hagar was the drummer in Malfunkshun from 1980 to 1988, featuring Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone on vocals and Kevin Wood on guitar. Hagar has also performed in Satchel with Shawn Smith and Brad with Shawn Smith and Stone Gossard....
, with vocalist Shawn Smith
Shawn Smith
Shawn Smith is a Seattle-based songwriter, vocalist and musician in several bands and also as a solo artist. He was born in Spokane, Washington.Smith has cited Freddie Mercury, Prince and KISS as early influences...
and bassist Cory Kane, began writing new music using lyrics written by Andrew Wood before his death, for the release a new album, after which they planned to go on tour. The band had originally intended to use the name Malfunkshun, soon changing it to Subfunkshun or The Subfunkshun Project, and eventually settling on From The North (Von Nord).
At 3:33 pm on Feb. 19th, 2011 Malfunkshun announced on their website that Jeff Loftis would be taking over vocals for both Malfunkshun and From the North. On March 14, 2011 the Kevin and Jeff recorded the song Jezebel Woman and on March 19, 2011 recorded Until the Ocean. They have posted both songs on YouTube under the name "Malfunkshun 2011".
On May 15, 2011 Malfunkshun posted on their website, that Regan officially stepped down as the drummer.
On May 24, 2011 Malfunkshun posted on their website naming Mike Stone as Regan's replacement on drums.
Lineup 1980
- Andrew Wood - lead vocals
- Kevin Wood - guitar
- Dave Rees - bass guitar
- Dave Hunt - drums
Lineup 1980-1988
- Andrew Wood - lead vocals, bass guitar
- Kevin Wood - guitar
- Regan HagarRegan HagarRegan Hagar was the drummer in Malfunkshun from 1980 to 1988, featuring Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone on vocals and Kevin Wood on guitar. Hagar has also performed in Satchel with Shawn Smith and Brad with Shawn Smith and Stone Gossard....
- drums
Lineup 2006-2010
- Shawn SmithShawn SmithShawn Smith is a Seattle-based songwriter, vocalist and musician in several bands and also as a solo artist. He was born in Spokane, Washington.Smith has cited Freddie Mercury, Prince and KISS as early influences...
- lead vocals - Kevin Wood - guitar
- Mike Hommel - drums
- Thorsten Rock- guitar
- Rob Day - bass guitar
Lineup 2011-Present
- Kevin Wood - guitar
- Jeff Loftis - lead vocals
- Mike Stone - drums
- Gus McIntosh - bass
Albums
- Return to OlympusReturn to OlympusReturn to Olympus is the only album by the alternative rock band Malfunkshun. It was released after the band had broken up and after lead singer Andrew Wood had died of a drug overdose in 1990...
(Loosegroove Records, 1995). - Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story (Hip-O-Select/UMe, 2011).
Compilation contributions
- "With Yo' Heart (Not Yo' Hands)" and "Stars-N-You" on Deep SixDeep Six (album)The Deep Six compilation was released March 1986 . It was the very first release by C/Z Records, a few months before the release of Sub Pop 100 from Sub Pop Records. It was also arguably the second record to influence the later "Seattle sound" that would be known worldwide as grunge...
(C/Z RecordsC/Z RecordsC/Z Records is a Seattle-based record label that was established in early 1985 by Chris Hanzsek and Tina Casale with the release of the now-legendary, Deep Six LP, which collected the earliest recordings of the real pro-genitors of what later came to be known as grunge...
, 1986). - "My Only Fan" and "Shotgun Wedding" on Another Pyrrhic Victory: The Only Compilation Of Dead Seattle God Bands (C/Z RecordsC/Z RecordsC/Z Records is a Seattle-based record label that was established in early 1985 by Chris Hanzsek and Tina Casale with the release of the now-legendary, Deep Six LP, which collected the earliest recordings of the real pro-genitors of what later came to be known as grunge...
, 1989).
External links
- Malfunkshun's Official Website
- Malfunkshun's Facebook page.
- Kevin Wood & From the North Facebook page.
- [ Malfunkshun at AllMusic.com].
- Shawn Smith's Official Website