Bastro was an American post-hardcore band which was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's main line-up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and John McEntire on drums. The band also experimented with use of piano, organ and musique concrète compositions, foreshadowing McEntire's and Grubbs' subsequent musical projects.
Bastro was formed by Louisville, Kentucky guitarist David Grubbs after his former band Squirrel Bait folded in 1987. Grubbs had moved to Washington, D.C. to attend Georgetown University where he started an early version of Bastro with bassist Dan Treado, who soon left. Grubbs' hometown friend Clark Johnson, who'd played bass in Squirrel Bait, joined Grubbs, and the duo recorded the six-song EP Rode Hard & Put Up Wet, backed by a drum machine and engineered by Steve Albini for Homestead Records in 1988.
After their first release, Bastro toured with the band My Dad Is Dead, whose drummer at the time was Oberlin College percussion major John McEntire. McEntire soon joined Bastro, replacing the drum machine, and the trio recorded a full-length album with former Squirrel Bait engineer Howie Gano. Two songs from this session were released as a single in 1989 and a test pressing of the album was made, but then scrapped when the band came back from their first European tour and decided they could do better. Returning to the studio with engineer Brian Paulson, they recorded faster versions of their songs and these—along with "Shoot Me a Deer" and "Wurlitzer" from the first session—comprised the band's first LP Diablo Guapo (Spanish for "Handsome Devil").[1] The album's 12 tracks clock in at 28 minutes, and include a cover of Phil Ochs' "Pretty Smart On My Part" as a follow-up to Squirrel Bait's own Ochs tribute on their album, Skag Heaven. In addition to presenting Bastro as a noise rockpower trio playing in constantly shifting time signatures, Grubbs also plays piano on one track, mixed in with guitar feedback, tape music and spoken word, and the album's title track "Guapo" features a discordant horn section.
During this period Johnson was enrolled at Northwestern University in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, and Grubbs also played in the band Bitch Magnet, resulting in a two year break before Bastro's second album, Sing the Troubled Beast. The band's instrumentation became more diverse, including more piano, organ, and an excursion into musique concrète on the song "The Sifter". Grubbs' lyrics also grew more obtuse. Johnson subsequently left the group to attend law school and was replaced on bass by Bundy K. Brown. Bastro toured and recorded a single with the group Codeine and began writing new, mostly instrumental material, some of which would later be released as a live album. Grubbs relocated to attend graduate school at the University of Chicago and the group known as Bastro evolved into Grubbs' next project, Gastr del Sol, with Brown and McEntire joining him for that project's debut album, The Serpentine Similar.
^"Band: Bastro". Electrical Audio. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
External linksedit
Bastro's entry at I Heart Noise
Bastro's entry at Trouser Press
Bastro's entry at AMG
Full Discography
April 09, 2024
bastro, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, 2020, learn,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Bastro news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Bastro was an American post hardcore band which was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s The band s main line up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar Clark Johnson on bass guitar and John McEntire on drums The band also experimented with use of piano organ and musique concrete compositions foreshadowing McEntire s and Grubbs subsequent musical projects BastroBackground informationOriginLouisville Kentucky United StatesGenresPost hardcore math rockYears active1988 1993LabelsHomestead RecordsPast membersDavid Grubbs Clark Johnson John McEntire Bundy K Brown Contents 1 History 2 Discography 2 1 Studio albums 2 2 Singles 2 3 Live and compilation albums 3 References 4 External linksHistory editBastro was formed by Louisville Kentucky guitarist David Grubbs after his former band Squirrel Bait folded in 1987 Grubbs had moved to Washington D C to attend Georgetown University where he started an early version of Bastro with bassist Dan Treado who soon left Grubbs hometown friend Clark Johnson who d played bass in Squirrel Bait joined Grubbs and the duo recorded the six song EP Rode Hard amp Put Up Wet backed by a drum machine and engineered by Steve Albini for Homestead Records in 1988 After their first release Bastro toured with the band My Dad Is Dead whose drummer at the time was Oberlin College percussion major John McEntire McEntire soon joined Bastro replacing the drum machine and the trio recorded a full length album with former Squirrel Bait engineer Howie Gano Two songs from this session were released as a single in 1989 and a test pressing of the album was made but then scrapped when the band came back from their first European tour and decided they could do better Returning to the studio with engineer Brian Paulson they recorded faster versions of their songs and these along with Shoot Me a Deer and Wurlitzer from the first session comprised the band s first LP Diablo Guapo Spanish for Handsome Devil 1 The album s 12 tracks clock in at 28 minutes and include a cover of Phil Ochs Pretty Smart On My Part as a follow up to Squirrel Bait s own Ochs tribute on their album Skag Heaven In addition to presenting Bastro as a noise rock power trio playing in constantly shifting time signatures Grubbs also plays piano on one track mixed in with guitar feedback tape music and spoken word and the album s title track Guapo features a discordant horn section During this period Johnson was enrolled at Northwestern University in the Chicago suburb of Evanston Illinois and Grubbs also played in the band Bitch Magnet resulting in a two year break before Bastro s second album Sing the Troubled Beast The band s instrumentation became more diverse including more piano organ and an excursion into musique concrete on the song The Sifter Grubbs lyrics also grew more obtuse Johnson subsequently left the group to attend law school and was replaced on bass by Bundy K Brown Bastro toured and recorded a single with the group Codeine and began writing new mostly instrumental material some of which would later be released as a live album Grubbs relocated to attend graduate school at the University of Chicago and the group known as Bastro evolved into Grubbs next project Gastr del Sol with Brown and McEntire joining him for that project s debut album The Serpentine Similar Discography editStudio albums edit Rode Hard and Put Up Wet LP MiniAlbum Homestead Records 1988 Diablo Guapo LP CD Homestead Records 1989 Sing the Troubled Beast LP CD Homestead Records 1990 Singles edit Shoot Me A Deer Goiter Blazes 7 single Homestead Records 1989 A L Ombre De Nous In Our Shadow Produkt 7 and 12 with the band Codeine 1991 Sub Pop Glitterhouse Live and compilation albums edit Antlers Live 1991 CD Blue Chopsticks Records 2005 Sing the Troubled Beast Diablo Guapo CD combining both LPs minus one track Drag City 2005 References edit Band Bastro Electrical Audio Retrieved 2 April 2013 External links editBastro s entry at I Heart Noise Bastro s entry at Trouser Press Bastro s entry at AMG Full Discography Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bastro amp oldid 1095570187, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
