The Hole Truth... and Nothing Butt
Encyclopedia
The Hole Truth... and Nothing Butt is the first compilation album by American punk
band Butthole Surfers
, officially released in March 1995. All songs were written by the Butthole Surfers, except for "Come Together" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man".
The album was originally released on CD
in 1994 by bootleg label Totonka Records. A "best of the boots" collection put together by fans, it offers a mix of studio demos
and live recordings, as well as a portion of a radio
interview. The band liked the compilation enough that they reissued it through Trance Syndicate in 1995, also packaging a Butthole Surfers sticker along with it.
The two demos, "Butthole Surfer" and "Something," were recorded in 1983. Of the live tracks, four were taped in 1985, three in 1986, two in 1988, one each in 1989 and 1991, and three in 1993.
The interview was taped at New York, NY station
WNYU
on July 28, 1987. All members from that time period are present, including Gibby Haynes
, Paul Leary
, King Coffey
, Teresa Nervosa
, and Jeff Pinkus
.
The Hole Truth... and Nothing Butt is the third of three Surfers albums to feature clown imagery on the cover, the others being 1984's Live PCPPEP
and 1987's Locust Abortion Technician
. The clown illustrations on this album's front cover are combined and recolored versions of the line drawings on Live PCPPEPs front and back covers.
1 1983 demo
2 Live at San Antonio, TX's The Cameo Club, September 21, 1985
3 Live at San Francisco, CA's Mabuhay Gardens, January 18, 1986
4 Live at San Francisco, CA's The I-Beam, October 24, 1988
5 Live at Phoenix, AZ's The Underground, February 4, 1989
6 Live at Lollopalooza in Irvine, CA, July 23, 1991
7 Live at Castaic Lake, CA, July 23, 1993
8 Live interview with New York radio station WNYU, July 28, 1987
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 Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
, officially released in March 1995. All songs were written by the Butthole Surfers, except for "Come Together" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man".
The album was originally released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in 1994 by bootleg label Totonka Records. A "best of the boots" collection put together by fans, it offers a mix of studio demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
and live recordings, as well as a portion of a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
interview. The band liked the compilation enough that they reissued it through Trance Syndicate in 1995, also packaging a Butthole Surfers sticker along with it.
The two demos, "Butthole Surfer" and "Something," were recorded in 1983. Of the live tracks, four were taped in 1985, three in 1986, two in 1988, one each in 1989 and 1991, and three in 1993.
The interview was taped at New York, NY station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
WNYU
WNYU
WNYU-FM is a college radio station owned and operated by New York University. Until 2004, it served lower Manhattan and surrounding areas, but thanks to a new booster, it now broadcasts to the tri-state region. The station can be heard on 89.1 FM at 8,300 watts from 4pm until 1am on weekdays,...
on July 28, 1987. All members from that time period are present, including Gibby Haynes
Gibby Haynes
Gibson Jerome "Gibby" Haynes is an American musician, radio personality, and painter, and the lead singer of the group Butthole Surfers.-Early life and career:...
, Paul Leary
Paul Leary
Paul Leary is an American musician from Austin, TX, best known as the guitarist for American rock band Butthole Surfers. He is also the producer of a number of songs and albums by other bands, including U2, Sublime, the Meat Puppets, Daniel Johnston, The Reverend Horton Heat, Pepper, Maggie...
, King Coffey
King Coffey
King Coffey is an American drummer, best known for being the drummer of the psychedelic/noise rock band the Butthole Surfers. He began drumming in a Fort Worth hardcore punk band called The Hugh Beaumont Experience. Around that same time he published a fanzine called Throbbing Cattle...
, Teresa Nervosa
Teresa Taylor
Teresa Taylor , also known as Teresa Nervosa, is an American musician and actor. She is best known as being a drummer for the American punk band Butthole Surfers.-Biography:...
, and Jeff Pinkus
Jeff Pinkus
Jeff Pinkus is an American bassist, best known for his work with American punk band Butthole Surfers from 1986-1994.In 1990, he and Butthole Surfers lead vocalist Gibby Haynes released Digital Dump, the only album from their psychedelic house music side project, The Jackofficers.Upon leaving the...
.
The Hole Truth... and Nothing Butt is the third of three Surfers albums to feature clown imagery on the cover, the others being 1984's Live PCPPEP
Live PCPPEP
Live PCPPEP is a live EP, and first official live album, by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in September 1984. All songs were written by the Butthole Surfers, and recorded live at The Meridian in San Antonio, Texas on March 25, 1984....
and 1987's Locust Abortion Technician
Locust Abortion Technician
Locust Abortion Technician is the third full-length studio album by American experimental punk band the Butthole Surfers, released in March 1987...
. The clown illustrations on this album's front cover are combined and recolored versions of the line drawings on Live PCPPEPs front and back covers.
Track listing
All songs written by the Butthole Surfers, except for "Come Together" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man". The song titles listed below match those used on the back cover of The Hole Truth... and Nothing Butt. Some differ from the official titles used on Butthole Surfers studio albums.- "Butthole Surfer" – 3:10 1
- "Something" – 5:00 1
- "Moving to Florida" – 4:02 2
- "Hurdy Gurdy ManThe Hurdy Gurdy Man (song)"Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a song by the Scottish musician Donovan. It was written and recorded in early 1968 and released in May as a single and gave name to the album The Hurdy Gurdy Man, which was released in October of that year. It reached #5 in the U.S. and #4 in the UK pop charts. The song was...
" – 2:43 2 - "Come TogetherCome Together"Come Together" is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on The Beatles' September 1969 album Abbey Road....
" – 0:52 2 - "Cherub" – 6:08 2
- "Graveyard" – 3:03 3
- "USSA" (a.k.a. "U.S.S.A.") – 4:46 3
- "Lady Sniff" – 3:32 3
- "John E. Smoke" – 7:09 4
- "1401" (a.k.a. "The Colored F.B.I. Guy") – 2:43 4
- "Psychedelic" (a.k.a. "P.S.Y." and "Psychedelic Jam") – 9:57 5
- "Bon Song" (a.k.a. "Bong Song") – 3:15 6
- "The Wooden Song" – 3:32 7
- "Pittsburgh to Lebanon" – 3:26 7
- "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave" – 6:09 7
- "WNYU Interview" – 5:28 8
1 1983 demo
2 Live at San Antonio, TX's The Cameo Club, September 21, 1985
3 Live at San Francisco, CA's Mabuhay Gardens, January 18, 1986
4 Live at San Francisco, CA's The I-Beam, October 24, 1988
5 Live at Phoenix, AZ's The Underground, February 4, 1989
6 Live at Lollopalooza in Irvine, CA, July 23, 1991
7 Live at Castaic Lake, CA, July 23, 1993
8 Live interview with New York radio station WNYU, July 28, 1987
Personnel
- Gibby HaynesGibby HaynesGibson Jerome "Gibby" Haynes is an American musician, radio personality, and painter, and the lead singer of the group Butthole Surfers.-Early life and career:...
– lead vocals, saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Paul LearyPaul LearyPaul Leary is an American musician from Austin, TX, best known as the guitarist for American rock band Butthole Surfers. He is also the producer of a number of songs and albums by other bands, including U2, Sublime, the Meat Puppets, Daniel Johnston, The Reverend Horton Heat, Pepper, Maggie...
– guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, lead vocals (tracks 2, 4 and 16) - Quinn Matthews – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(tracks 1 & 2) - Juan Molina – bass (tracks 3–6)
- Jeff PinkusJeff PinkusJeff Pinkus is an American bassist, best known for his work with American punk band Butthole Surfers from 1986-1994.In 1990, he and Butthole Surfers lead vocalist Gibby Haynes released Digital Dump, the only album from their psychedelic house music side project, The Jackofficers.Upon leaving the...
– bass (tracks 7–16) - Scott MatthewsScott MatthewsScott Matthews , is a singer/songwriter from Wolverhampton, England.His first album Passing Stranger was released on 13 March 2006 on San Remo Records before being re-released on Island Records later in the year. Janice Long was the first of the BBC DJs to play his music...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(tracks 1 & 2) - King CoffeyKing CoffeyKing Coffey is an American drummer, best known for being the drummer of the psychedelic/noise rock band the Butthole Surfers. He began drumming in a Fort Worth hardcore punk band called The Hugh Beaumont Experience. Around that same time he published a fanzine called Throbbing Cattle...
– drums (tracks 3–16) - Teresa NervosaTeresa TaylorTeresa Taylor , also known as Teresa Nervosa, is an American musician and actor. She is best known as being a drummer for the American punk band Butthole Surfers.-Biography:...
– drums (tracks 3–6, 10–12) - Cabbage – drums (tracks 7–9)