Culturcide


Culturcide was a Houston-based experimental punk band, active from 1980 to 1990 and from 1993 to the present day. They were notorious for their 1986 album Tacky Souvenirs of Pre-Revolutionary America, which earned the band a cult following, but also several legal threats.

History

Culturcide's first single "Another Miracle"/"Consider Museums as Concentration Camps", was released in 1980, unsupported by any live appearances. However demand grew for the band to perform, and this they did, relying on banks of portable cassette recorders to provide their samples. This was enough of a success for their debut LP Year One to be composed entirely of live material.
However, Craine left the band after the album's release. A remastered version of the album that also includes the first single was rereleased in 2007 as "Year One " by Hotbox Review

''Another Miracle/Consider Museums 45''

The single was recorded at MRS Studio in Houston at the beginning of 1980, with Bobby Ginsburg doing the engineering on an 8-track board. Craine's earlier band, AK47, had recorded 'The Badge Means You Suck' there and Legionnaire's Disease had recorded their 'I'd Rather See You Dead' single in the studio, both using Ginsburg. Webb came equipped with lyrics for both songs while Craine had preworked the drum machine sounds and some synth sounds. Webb provided tape loops and Craine has said in previous interviews that he taped the climatic scene of the movie 'Attica' to provide the gunshots used at the end of 'Concentration Camps'. The tape loops were then 'treated' by running them through Craine's synth and the resulting output was duly recorded. Webb and Craine enlisted guitarists Al Trazz and Dan Workman To flesh out the initial sparse sound. While the Trazz parts were worked out and rehearsed in the studio, Workman's guitar tracks were improvised and done in one take in keeping with the band's initial Throbbing Gristle philosophy. Recording and mixing was done over two or three nights with no overdubbing or studio effects other than studio reverb supplied by Ginsburg. The cover illustration was done by Webb and the first pressing also included a self-addressed postcard showing the Houston Museum of Fine Art. Reviews were generally strong, including one that likened the band's sound to that of a 'stalking metronome'. Breaking their initial vow to never play live, Webb and Craine added Workman to the line-up and began to gig. After one such show, Bill Loner declared the trio needed a bass player and he too was added to the band's ranks.

''Tacky Souvenirs of Pre-Revolutionary America''

In 1986 the band released their most famous work. Tacky Souvenirs of Pre-Revolutionary America comprised 14 tracks of the band's satirical lyrics overdubbed onto popular songs by the original artists. For example, the Beach Boys' "California Girls" was turned into "They Wish They All Could Be California Punks", a sideswipe at unoriginality in Punk Rock. There were also overdubs of tape loops and other sound effects. The lyric sheet carried the message "Home-taping is killing the record industry, so keep doing it." The backing tracks were used without permission and the band soon faced legal threats from some of the original copyright holders.
The album was listed in the British New Musical Express yearlist for 1987.

1990s

Despite the band's new-found cult status, financial and intra-band problems led to a split in 1990. One problem was that most record labels shied away from releasing their material after Tacky Souvenirs.
However, in 1993 the band reconvened to work on a new album, Short CD. Home Made Authority followed in 1998.

Discography