Murder City Devils

The Murder City Devils
Origin	Seattle, Washington
Genres	Garage Punk[1]
Years active	1996–2001, 2006–present
Labels	Sub Pop
Associated acts	Area 51 The Hookers Pretty Girls Make Graves Big Business Melvins Smoke & Smoke Dead Low Tide Broadcast Oblivion Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death Modest Mouse The John and Spencer Booze Explosion
Website	http://www.themurdercitydevils.com
Members
Spencer Moody Dann Gallucci Derek Fudesco Coady Willis Nate Manny Leslie Hardy Gabe Kerbrat
Past members
Nick Dewitt

The Murder City Devils is a garage punk band, that started in 1996.

History

The band's original lineup, consisting of Spencer Moody, Dann Gallucci, Derek Fudesco, Coady Willis, and Nate Manny formed in Seattle, Washington in 1996. Gabe Kerbrat was their permanent roadie, and considered a member. Within a year, the band had released two singles Three Natural Sixes (Hopscotch Records #5) and Dance Hall Music (Empty Records MTR-354) and signed with the "Die Young Stay Pretty" label, a subsidiary of Sub Pop. The self-titled debut album was released in 1997.

In 1998, the band released Empty Bottles, Broken Hearts, its second full-length album. This release saw a greatly increased use of electric organ, and in the same year they recruited Leslie Hardy as their full-time keyboard player. Hardy had previously played bass guitar for Hole on the 1993 single "Beautiful Son." The Murder City Devils then embarked on a year-long tour of North America to support the record. During that tour, they played with At the Drive-In, Pearl Jam, The Black Halos and Built to Spill.

After a short break, the band released In Name and Blood in 2000, with photos in the liner notes notoriously depicting every member as a murder victim. They also appeared as both individual actors as well as a band in David Larson's independent film The Edge of Quarrel. The band released the Thelema EP in 2001 before breaking up later that year due to circumstances surrounding Hardy's departure from the band. (The Stranger Sept 27 – Oct 3, 2001 issue, It's My Party column by Kathleen Wilson)

The band's concert on Halloween 2001 was recorded and released by Sub Pop in 2003, titled "R.I.P." Notably, R.I.P. includes two previously unrecorded songs. It was also released on DVD in 2005.

In 2006 the band announced they were playing a July show in Seattle with all original members. The band performed on July 29 at the Capitol Hill Block Party closing the two day music festival on Saturday night. The day following the Block Party performance the band played a show with The Blood Brothers at The Showbox in downtown Seattle, the same venue where "R.I.P." was recorded. The show was not announced until the end of their set at the Block Party.

The next show was at The Fun Fun Fun Fest, November 3–4, 2007 in Austin, TX.^[2] The band played a handful of shows throughout 2008 and launched a brief West Coast tour on February 11, 2009 at Seattle's The Showbox.^[3][4] Murder City Devils' week-long tour culminated in Los Angeles with two performances at the Henry Fonda Theater on February 17 and 18, 2009.^[5]

New Material

At the end of their set, on Dec 30, 2009 at The Showbox - Seattle, WA, Leslie thanked the audience for coming and confirmed that the band was indeed working on new material. No additional information was given. After the set finished, the band returned to the stage and performed a cover of The Birthday Party's song, "Several Sins." This seemed to be a hint toward the new material on the way.

On July 17, 2010, a live performance of an untitled new song was uploaded to YouTube. It was filmed at their July 15, 2010 performance at The Note, in West Chester, PA.^[6]

On October 17, 2010, a live performance of another untitled new song was uploaded to YouTube. It was filmed at their October 16, 2010 performance at The Showbox in Seattle, WA.^[7]

Discography

Albums

• The Murder City Devils (1997)
• Empty Bottles, Broken Hearts (1998)
• In Name and Blood (2000)
• Thelema EP (2001)
• R.I.P. (Live album of last show at the Showbox in Seattle, October 31, 2001) (2003)
• Feather Bed Whiskey Blanket (Boxed Set of all 4 albums + Thelema EP) (2009)

7"

• Three Natural Sixes (1997)
• Dance Hall Music (1997)
• Dancin Shoes (1998)
• Christmas Bonus Single (1998)
• Murder City Devils/Botch Split (Sound track to the movie The Edge of Quarrel) (1999)
• Murder City Devils/Glucifer Split (1999)
• Murder City Devils/At The Drive-In Split (2000)

Compilations

• Technology (Remix of "Dance Hall Music" by DJ Ropstyle) (2000)
• Free the West Memphis 3 (Cover of "She" by The Misfits) (2000)
• Give The People What We Want: Songs of The Kinks (Cover of "Alcohol" by The Kinks) (2001)
• Buddyhead Suicide Sampler CD (Remix of "Press Gang" by the Latch Brothers) (2004)

Video

• The End (DVD) (2005)
• Rock & Roll Won't Wait (DVD) (2004)
• Rock & Roll Won't Wait (VHS) (2001)
• The Edge of Quarrel (VHS) (2000)
• The Edge of Quarrel (DVD) (2007)

References

1. ^ [www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:0pfpxqehld0e ]
2. ^ "Official Fun Fun Fun Fest lineup announced." Punknews.org. August 28, 2007.
3. ^ "The Murder City Devils 2009 Tour Dates." LineOut (The Stranger). December 10, 2008.
4. ^ Seattle Weekly: Murder City Devils at The Showbox, http://www.seattleweekly.com/slideshow/view/242131what_really_happened_at_the_19.phpblogging_sims_departure.php, retrieved 2009-02-12 
5. ^ Murder City Devils Live at the Henry Fonda Theater, L.A. Weekly Retrieved 2009-02-18
6. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rTy6WfLdeU
7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llzjOWXwbv8

External links

• Official Band Website
• Allmusic Murder City Devils article
• Crawdaddy! article on Murder City Devils and Dead Low Tide, "Ride the Dead Low Tide," March 26, 2008
• Sub Pop Murder City Devils page
• Luckyhorse Industries - Murder City Devils merch page
• MTV Murder City Devils page
• Murder City Devils collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• The Edge of Quarrel at Excursion Records