Formed in that music crucible, Chapel Hill, Pipe
forged a ragged rock sound that drew on both the raw garage of '70s
bands like the Sonics, punk's irreverent attitude and the
post-punk/indie rock attack of the '80s underground. In 1992, with a
lineup of Ron Liberti (vocals), Mike Kenlan (guitar), Dave Alworth
(bass), and former Superchunk drummer Chuck Garrison, the band released
the six-song Ball Peen EP (Sonic Bubblegum). But Kenlan, who with
Garrison also played in Small (later changed to Small 23), left Pipe to
concentrate on his other band. Clifton Lee Mann, the bassist of the
area's legendary '80s punkabilly band, Bad Checks, was recruited to play
guitar until a permanent replacement could be found. But Mann and
Liberti found they worked well together splitting the music and lyric
writing duties, so Mann stayed on as the full-time guitarist, and the
band's new lineup recorded their first single, "You're Soaking in It,"
in 1993 on Amish Records, followed by their first full-length, Six Days
to Bellus (Jesus Christ) in 1994. A riotous album of rumbling rock, it
had a lot more in common with the Dead Boys than Nirvana and grunge. The
band toured with Bad Brains, and upon returning home, began work on
their second full-length. International Cement (Jesus Christ) was
released in 1995, along with the "Raceway Park" single, again on Amish
Records. The band toured with local faves Polvo and Archers of Loaf, but
upon returning home, Alworth quit the band and moved to Seattle. Greg
Adams replaced him on bass and they started work on their third album,
Slowboy, released on Merge in 1997. (Merge then also re-released their
two earlier albums and several singles.) A fully realized effort,
Slowboy puts the sludge, motor oil, and road dirt back into garage rock.
However, their tour with kindred spirits the New Bomb Turks proved
ill-fated. Playing in Louisville, Garrison broke his hand signaling an
early end to the tour. During Garrison's recovery, Mann crushed the tip
of his left ring finger, sidelining him for six months. With the band's
momentum flagging and nursing his injury, Mann quit and was replaced
with original band guitarist Kenlan, but this lineup only survived a few
shows before collapsing in the fall of 1999. Liberti and Mann reunited
in 2000 with the Ghost of the British Soldier Who Loved to Rock
(shortened to the Ghost of Rock). Kenlan joined Ashley Stove on guitar
in 2001.
Tracklist
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