New Bad Things
Encyclopedia
New Bad Things were a Portland, Oregon
indie rock
band active during the 1990s. They recorded for Candy Ass Records
,Rainforest Records, Lissy's Records, Pop Secret, Punk in my Vitamins Records, Kill Rock Stars
, and Freewheel Records.
concert in Portland, and initially comprised Matthew "Hattie" Hein, Luke Hollywood, "Prince" Mattie Gaunt, Jasin Fell and Dave French. Their first single was "I Suck" (backed with "Concrete" and "Knott St."), which was picked up by BBC Radio 1
DJ
John Peel
, and reached number sixteen in the 1993 Festive 50. They recorded their debut album, Freewheel! in 1992, released on the local indie label Candy Ass Records
. The album was described as having a "sloppy charm", and drew comparisons with the likes of Beat Happening
. Second album Society followed in 1994, released on the United Kingdom
label Lissy's. Ennui Go was released in 1997, by which time the band's sound was more pop-oriented, and in the same year Hein left to pursue a solo career. An album of previously-unreleased and rare tracks, C-sides, was released in 1999, containing tracks ranging chronologically from their earliest recordings to their latest.
Later band members included: Christine Denkewalter, Lars Holmstrom, Eric von Borstel and Andrew Leavitt. The band toured Europe twice and recorded John Peel sessions for Radio One in the UK each time. The band name changed to No Bad Things in 2001.
Members also recorded as: Matthew Hein (solo), Wallpaper (David French), Awesome (Luke Hollywood with guest appearances from other NBT alumni), Gashdig, Popewyrm, Incinerators & Diamond Tuck (Jasin Fell), Denk (solo), The Loach Clips (Lars), and Prince Mattie Gaunt (solo). Leavitt later joined The Fairways.
New Bad Things feature in the documentary film X-Ray Visions: a Look Inside Portland's Legendary X-Ray Café.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band active during the 1990s. They recorded for Candy Ass Records
Candy Ass Records
Candy Ass Records is an independent record label run out of Portland, Oregon by Jody Bleyle, a member of the band Team Dresch as well as member of Hazel and formerly of the queercore bands Family Outing and Infinite Xs....
,Rainforest Records, Lissy's Records, Pop Secret, Punk in my Vitamins Records, Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...
, and Freewheel Records.
History
The band formed in 1992 for a one-off opening set at a SebadohSebadoh
Sebadoh is an American indie rock band, formed in 1986 in Westfield, Massachusetts by Eric Gaffney and Dinosaur Jr bass player Lou Barlow. Along with such bands as Pavement and Guided by Voices, Sebadoh helped pioneer lo-fi music, a style of indie rock characterized by low-fidelity recording...
concert in Portland, and initially comprised Matthew "Hattie" Hein, Luke Hollywood, "Prince" Mattie Gaunt, Jasin Fell and Dave French. Their first single was "I Suck" (backed with "Concrete" and "Knott St."), which was picked up by BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
, and reached number sixteen in the 1993 Festive 50. They recorded their debut album, Freewheel! in 1992, released on the local indie label Candy Ass Records
Candy Ass Records
Candy Ass Records is an independent record label run out of Portland, Oregon by Jody Bleyle, a member of the band Team Dresch as well as member of Hazel and formerly of the queercore bands Family Outing and Infinite Xs....
. The album was described as having a "sloppy charm", and drew comparisons with the likes of Beat Happening
Beat Happening
Beat Happening is an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members...
. Second album Society followed in 1994, released on the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
label Lissy's. Ennui Go was released in 1997, by which time the band's sound was more pop-oriented, and in the same year Hein left to pursue a solo career. An album of previously-unreleased and rare tracks, C-sides, was released in 1999, containing tracks ranging chronologically from their earliest recordings to their latest.
Later band members included: Christine Denkewalter, Lars Holmstrom, Eric von Borstel and Andrew Leavitt. The band toured Europe twice and recorded John Peel sessions for Radio One in the UK each time. The band name changed to No Bad Things in 2001.
Members also recorded as: Matthew Hein (solo), Wallpaper (David French), Awesome (Luke Hollywood with guest appearances from other NBT alumni), Gashdig, Popewyrm, Incinerators & Diamond Tuck (Jasin Fell), Denk (solo), The Loach Clips (Lars), and Prince Mattie Gaunt (solo). Leavitt later joined The Fairways.
New Bad Things feature in the documentary film X-Ray Visions: a Look Inside Portland's Legendary X-Ray Café.
Album discography
- Freewheel (Candy Ass, 1992)
- Society (Lissy's, UK only)
- Ennui Go (Pop Secret, 1997)
- C-Sides (Blackbean & Placenta Tape Club, 1999)
External links
- Scaruffi, Piero "New Bad Things", The History of Rock Music