The Embarrassment
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The Embarrassment were a quartet formed in Wichita, Kansas that existed from 1979 to 1983. They were: guitarist Bill Goffrier, lead singer and organist John Nichols, bassist Ron Klaus and drummer Brent Giessmann. Although some people considered the band punk rock, the band itself liked to describe themselves as "Blister Pop."
The band stopped performing when two of the members moved to Boston. Giessmann drummed for The Del Fuegos, and Goffrier formed the band Big Dipper with former members of the Volcano Suns. Several of The Embarrassment's unreleased songs were recorded by Big Dipper, including "Faith Healer," which was later covered by Japanese all-girl group Shonen Knife.
The "Embos," as fans call them, have played several reunion concerts in the years since their breakup. They played shows in Lawrence, Kansas and Wichita, Kansas in August 2006.
Kansas-born political writer Thomas Frank quoted lyrics from their song "Sex Drive" in his bestselling 2004 book What's the Matter with Kansas? (page 57 of the paperback edition).
[edit] 2006 Reunion
The Embarrassment played two reunion shows in August 2006.
Friday/Saturday August 18/19, 2006 The Roadhouse, Wichita, KS (with special guests Local Band on Friday; The Sluggos on Saturday)
Sunday, August 20, 2006 Liberty Hall, Lawrence, KS (with special guests Kill Creek and The Mortal Micronotz)
[edit] Discography
- 1980 - Sex Drive/Patio Set (Big Time - 7")
- 1981 - Fresh Sounds From Mid America Volume 1 (Fresh Sounds - cassette compilation)
- 1981 - Embarrassment E.P. (Cynykyl)
- 1981 - Battle of The Garages Volume 1 (Bomp! Records - compilation)
- 1981 - Sub Pop 5 (Sub Pop - cassette compilation)
- 1982 - Sub Pop 7 (Sub Pop - cassette compilation)
- 1983 - Death Travels West (Fresh Sounds - mini LP)
- 1984 - The Embarrassment Retrospective (Fresh Sounds - cassette)
- 1987 - The Embarrassment LP (Time To Develop)
- 1988 - Human Music ( Homestead - compilation)
- 1989 - Time For A Change ( Bar/None - compilation)
- 1990 - God Help Us LP and CD (Bar/None)
- 1995 - Hey Day 1979-83 Double CD (Bar/None)
- 2001 - Blister Pop CD ( My Pal God)
[edit] External links
- Brief article on The Embarrassment, with discography
- http://www.mypalgodrecords.com/embarrassment.shtml My Pal God page on The Embarrassment's authorized bootleg "Blister Pop"
- http://www.embarrassment.org/ Unofficial The Embarrassment website
- http://www.myspace.com/theembarrassment The Embarrassment page on MySpace
- http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/embos/ embos: The Embarrassment Appreciation Society (Yahoo! Groups)
