Band of Susans

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Band of Susans
Background information
Origin	New York City, USA
Genre(s)	Noise rock Alternative rock
Years active	1986–1996
Label(s)	Restless Records, Blast First/ Enigma, Trace Elements
Members
Robert Poss Susan Stenger Ron Spitzer Mark Lonergan Anne Husick Page Hamilton

Band of Susans were a rock band formed in New York City in 1986. It originally consisted of Robert Poss (guitar/vocals), Susan Stenger (bass/vocals), Ron Spitzer (drums), with Susan Lyall (guitar), Susan Tallman (guitar) and Alva Rogers (vocals). However, the band would undergo several permutations over the years, usually involving guitarists. Poss and Stenger are considered the two core members.

Taking their name from the number of Susans then in the line up, Band of Susans released the 12" EP Blessing And Curse on Poss's own Trace Elements label. A record-release party (also said to be the band's first-ever live gig) was held at NYC's The Love Club on January 31, 1987; BoS were the opening act for a band called Das Furlines. They were soon signed to Mute Records's edgy Blast First imprint for their first album, Hope Against Hope. After the release, Rogers, Lyall and Tallman quit, and were replaced by Karen Haglof (guitar) and Page Hamilton (guitar). This lineup recorded the album Love Agenda and a Peel Sessions EP, which featured a cover of Gang Of Four's "I Found That Essence Rare." The two new guitarists then quit, with Hamilton quickly forming the more metallic Helmet. Anne Husick (guitar) and Mark Lonergan (guitar) then joined BoS, yielding the band's "classic lineup" which made three more albums and one EP, all on Restless Records.

The band toured the U.S. and Europe sporadically. On its final U.S. and European tours, Jay Braun (who formed the Negatones shortly thereafter) filled in for Lonergan. The band's final production was a version of Wire's "Ahead" for a collection of Wire cover versions called Whore, released in 1996.

Music videos were shot for:

1. "The Pursuit Of Happiness" (1989)
2. "Now Is Now" (1991)
3. "Blind" (1993)
4. "The Last Temptation Of Susan" (1993) (experimental video collage by Leah Singer, wife of Lee Ranaldo)

Contents 1 Sonic characteristics 2 Trivia 3 Discography 4 Robert Poss solo albums 5 External links

[edit] Sonic characteristics

As the band's history of having eight guitarists in all (and never less than three at any given time) attests, Band of Susans were a heavily guitar-centric outfit. They generally used G&L brand guitars (which appear on several of the band's album covers), Fender Jazzmasters, and Park (a budget brand made by Marshall) amplifiers. G&L owner Leo Fender was an avowed fan of the band and later befriended Poss. Musically, BoS organised their three guitarists into providing an overwhelming wall of feedback and guitar noise layered atop more conventional song structures. Due to their love of sculpting atmospheric textures, the band is often considered a member of the shoegaze movement, though they had a more abrasive sound than most of the primarily-British bands of the shoegaze ilk. Like shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Band of Susans were notorious for playing live at incredibly-high volumes in order to recreate the visceral impact of their studio albums. Poss had studied under the tutelage of avant-garde guitar ensemble composer Rhys Chatham, yet was a big fan of The Rolling Stones, the latter resulting in covers of "Child Of The Moon" and "Paint It Black." Before BoS, Poss was in the bands Tot Rocket and Western Eyes. Band of Susans are generally included in the New York post-No Wave scene that produced Sonic Youth, Glenn Branca, Live Skull, and Swans.

After the dissolution of the band in late 1996, Poss and Stenger performed with Bruce Gilbert of Wire as GilbertPossStenger. Poss then concentrated on production and solo work whilst Stenger played live with The Creatures for a period. An open-ended promise to reform under a new name has yet to materialize. Poss released a pair of solo albums in 2002.

[edit] Trivia

• A promo poster for The Peel Sessions hangs by the door of the record store owner's office in the 1995 movie Empire Records; it appears in several scenes throughout the film.
• Since 1999, Susan Tallman (as Susie Tallman) has released children's music on her own record label.
• Lonergan worked doing transcriptions of guitar tablature for Mel Bay books.
• Stenger's bass amplifier caught on fire while the band were recording Veil in the studio in 1992 or 1993. A color photo of this destroyed amp appears in the booklet of Veil; a purple-ized version was used as cover art for the "Mood Swing" single.
• The CD version of Veil features a hidden track at the end, a "radio remix" version of that album's "The Red And The Black."

[edit] Discography

• Blessing and Curse 12" EP (Trace Elements, 1987)
• Hope Against Hope (Blast First, 1988)
• Love Agenda (Blast First/ Restless, 1989)
• The Word And The Flesh (Restless, 1991)
• The Peel Sessions EP (Strange Fruit/ Dutch East India, 1992)
• Now EP (Restless/ Enigma, 1992)
• "Mood Swing" b/w "The Last Temptation Of Susan (edit)" 7" single (on magenta vinyl) (1993)
• Veil (Restless/ Enigma, 1993)
• Wired For Sound (Two-CD best-of compilation spanning 1986-93; one disc has only songs with vocals, the other has only instrumental songs) (Blast First, 1995)
• Here Comes Success (Restless/ Blast First/ World Service, 1995)

[edit] Robert Poss solo albums

• Sometimes (cassette) (Trace Elements, 1986)
• Crossing Casco Bay (Trace Elements, 2002)
• Distortion Is Truth (Trace Elements, 2002)

[edit] External links

• The official unofficial Band of Susans page
• In-depth analysis of song "Elisabeth Stride (1843 - 1888)" from Here Comes Success; has sound clips
• Watch Band of Susans' four music videos