Grifters Biography
by John Bush
If Guided by Voices are the Beatles of the mid-'90s lo-fi scene, then the Grifters' big, bluesy racket could certainly qualify as the Stones.
Deliberately noisy, sloppy, and out-of-tune, the band masks their
melodies under a heavy static fuzz of distortion. Based in Memphis and
definitely influenced by their surroundings, the Grifters recall as well
the proto-lo-fi musings of Royal Trux and Half Japanese
-- unlike GbV, who arrived at the lo-fi sound by simply recording pop
songs at home on sub-standard equipment. Formed in the late '80s,
initially as A Band Called Bud, with vocalist/guitarist Scott Taylor,
bassist Tripp Lamkins, and drummer Dave Shouse, the band released only a
single and an obscure tape consisting of front-room recordings. By the
turn of the decade, Shouse had begun sharing songwriting and guitar
chores with Taylor, while Stan Gallimore replaced him on drums. The
four-piece debuted on vinyl with the 1990 single "Disfigurehead" on
Doink Records. In 1992, the band issued their debut album, So Happy Together,
on the evidently like-minded Sonic Noise label. The LP continued the
Sonic Youth approach to punk prevalent on the initial recordings, though
the following year's One Sock Missing
showed a more mature Grifters -- that is, the songs were slower, but no
less skewered with distortion and tape splices. The album was the first
released on their own Shangri-La label, which has also issued a single
from A Band Called Bud as well as recordings from Taylor's side-project,
Hot Monkey.
With the ascension of
Pavement and the emergence of Guided by Voices, the lo-fi scene became
much more viable by 1994, especially in the world of indie rock. The
Grifters' third album, Crappin' You Negative,
emphasized the bluesy swagger that had been only understated before,
and with the addition of somewhat proper melodies -- actually the
repetition of jagged riffs -- the album became an underground hit. The
band signed with Sub Pop later that year, and after the release of
1995's Eureka EP, issued Ain't My Lookout in 1996. Full Blown Possession followed in 1997.
Only 
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