“They’ve never made any sense, conventionally speaking, and that’s what makes them fun.”
Ted Hendrickson, Village Voice
“Sun City Girls were ‘the first truly crazy band to emerge from the shards of hardcore’ (Byron Coley)…also according to Coley, Sun City Girls laid the foundation for today’s new American sub-underground: ‘Without these french-fried, grass-skirted motherfuckers it would all sound like Merzbow.'”
— Erik Davis, The Wire (Feb. 2004)
For an updated version of blog/this article see IHRTN.com / IHRTN.com Feed
Formed in Arizona in 1982, Sun City Girls (although the only actual girl in the group was Linda Kushma and she left the band soon after joining it and their name actually comes from Sun City, Arizona, a local retirement community) produced some of the most bizarre and unexplainable sounds/music ever committed to tape or CD.They were part of the scene that also included the likes of Meat Puppets, JFA and Feederz, but their own music had little to do with traditional hardcore punk or even rock music in general – it incorporated improvisation, beat poetry, surf music and elements of African and South American music, while their live performances were equally unpredictable.
The trio consisted of Alan Bishop, his brother Richard and Charles Gocher and while they never achieved any mainstream success, they remain a fairly popular band, partly due to the fact that they recorded an astonishing number of albums for labels such as Eclipse Records and Majora, as well as their own label Abduction.
Throughout most of the 80s and 90s, much of their music was available only on cassettes and LPs and available only to tape enthusiasts and small circle of fans. However, in 1996 they produced two double CD albums – “330, 003 Crossdessers From The Rig Veda” and “Dante Disneyland Inferno”, both of which made them more popular.
Tragedy struck when Charles Gocher died after a long battle with cancer in 2007 and remaining band members decided that they will no longer perform under the name Sun City Girls. In 2008, however, Alan and Richard decided to do a major tour called “The Brothers Unconnected”, which includes an acoustic duet, as well as video tribute to Charles Gocher. In addition to this, there’s also going to be plenty of reissues of old SCG material.
Currently, Alan and Rick reside in Seattle, WA. Alan Bishop runs Sublime Frequencies label and performs under the names Alvarius B. and Uncle Jim. Rick Bishop also performs as a solo act under the name Sir Richard Bishop.
Band Members:
Alan Bishop (Alvarius B, Uncle Jim, Paris 1942)
Charlie Gocher (Pint-Sized Spartacus)
Rick Bishop
Discography:
Sun City Girls LP (Placebo Records, 1984)
Midnight Cowboys From Ipanema Cass / LP (Amarillo Records, 1986 / 1994)
And So The Dead Tongue Sang EP 7″ (Pulp Records, 1987)
Horse Cock Phepner LP / Cass (Placebo Records, 1987)
Torch Of The Mystics LP / CD (Majora, 1990 / Tupelo Recording Company, 1993 )
You’re Never Alone With A Cigarette 7″ (Majora, 1990)
Dawn Of The Devi LP (Majora, 1991)
Three Fake Female Orgasms 2×7 EP (Majora, 1991)
Eye Mohini EP 7″ (Majora, 1992)
Live From Planet Boomerang 2XLP (Majora, 1992)
Napoleon & Josephine 7″ (Scratch Records, 1992)
Outhouse Of The Pryeeeeeeee / Wheat Delusion (Split with Thinking Fellers Union Local 282) 7″ (Nuf Sed, 1992)
Play Let’s Just Lounge & Immortal Gods 7″ (Majora, 1992)
Borunguku Si Derita 7″ (Majora, 1993)
Bright Surroundings, Dark Beginnings LP / CD (Majora, 1993 / 1998)
Kaliflower CD (Abduction, 1993)
Live At C.O.N. Artists LP (Poon Village, 1993)
Valentines From Matahari LP / CD (Majora, 1993 / 1998)
Apna Desh 10″ (Perfect, 1994)
Cloaven Theater VHS (Abduction, 1994)
Juggernaut LP (Abduction, 1994 / 2007)
Piasa…Devourer Of Men LP (Amarillo Records, 1994 / Abduction, 2007)
330,003 Crossdressers From Beyond The Rig Veda 2xCD (Abduction, 1996)
Dante’s Disneyland Inferno 2xCD / 3xLP (Abduction, 1996 / Locust Music, 2002)
Box Of Chameleons 3xCD (Abduction, 1997)
Live From The Land Of The Rising Sun CD (Japan Overseas, 1997)
Dulce LP (Abduction, 1998 / 2007)
Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol.1: Cameo Demons And Their Manifestations CD (Abduction, 2000)
Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol.3: Superculto CD (Abduction, 2000)
Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol.4: A Bullet Through The Last Temple CD (Abduction, 2000)
Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol.5: Severed Finger With A Wedding Ring CD (Abduction, 2000)
Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol.6: Sumatran Electric Chair CD (Abduction, 2000)
Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol.7: Libyan Dream CD (Abduction, 2001)
Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol.8: The Handsome Stranger CD (Abduction, 2001)
Flute And Mask CD (Abduction, 2002)
Wah CD (Abduction, 2002)
Bleach Has Feelings, Too! / To Cover Up Your Right To Live 2xLP (Eclipse Records, 2003)
Carl The Barber / Authentic Field Recording (split with Carl The Barber) 7″ (I Don’t Feel A Thing, 2003)
God Is My Solar System / Superpower 2xLP (Eclipse Records, 2003)
True Confessions Of Homeland Security (Empirical Recordings, 2003)
Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol.11/12: Carnival Folklore Resurrection Radio 2xCD (Abduction, 2004)
Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol.13: 98.6 Is Death (Abduction, 2004)
Fresh Kill Of A Cape Hunting Dog / Def In Italy 2xLP (Eclipse Records, 2004)
If It Blows Up…Park It!!! VHS (Abduction, 2004)
Its Not Over Till The Skinny Arab Lights The Fuse VHS (Abduction, 2004)
Myths And Legends Of The Blue West VHS (Abduction, 2004)
The Halcyon Days Of Symmetry VHS (Abduction, 2004)
Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol.14: Static From The Outside Set CD (Abduction, 2005)
Folk Songs Of The Rich And Evil / Exotica On A $5 A Day 2XLP (Eclipse Records, 2005)
Djinn Funnel LP (Nazarphone, 2006)
Live Room CD (Three Lobed Recordings, 2006)
Piano Bar LP (Ri Be Xibalba, 2006)
Piano Bar / For Drummers Only 2xLP (Ri Be Xibalba, 2006)
Beginnings Dark LP (Enterruption, 2007)
Compilation Tracks:
“Shut Up!” on Ominous Clouds (Last Flash, 1981)
“Bobby Sands Boogie” on Amuck (Placebo, 1981)
“On The Sign” + “Hit Man Boy / Rappin’ Head” on This Is Phoenix, Not Circle Jerks (Placebo, 1982)
“Caravan” on More Coffee For The Politicians (Placebo, 1985)
“Encyclopedia Vomitanica” on Flat (Locust, 1991) (Download MP3)
“Diet-Blue Morbid Attraction Soda” on Scrape Audio Magazine #1 (Plutonium Press, 1991) (Download Excerpt)
“Swing Of Kings” on Chemical Imbalance Magazine Compilation #8 (Chemical Imbalance, 1993)
“Flesh Balloons Of Tibet” on Soluble Fish (Homestead, 1993)
“The Bearded Hermes” on They Came, They Played, They Blocked The Driveway (WFMU, 1993)
“Sleazy Nashville” + “Eyeball In A Quart Jar Of Snot” on Ticked (Big Tick Records, 1993)
“Dixie Pickle” on Acousticide (Apraxia, 1993)
“Voice Of America” + “Prick Of The World” on Step, Step, Steppin On Satans Foot (Tedium House, 1994)
“Kickin The Dragon” + “Harmful Little Armful (For Will Shatter)” + “Suck Suntown” on Bruce Lee, Heroin And The Punk Scene (Massacre At Central Hi, 1994)
“Me And Mrs. Jones” + “Show Me The Way To Go Home” (Charles Gocher) on
You Gan’t Boar Like an Eabla When you Work with Turkrys (Amarillo, 1996)
“Kasper Hauser” on Sidereal Rest (Scratch, 1996)
“Nephews In The Closet” on Color In Absence Sound (Hell’s Half Halo, 1999)
“Flower” on Live From The Afterworld (Electro Motive, 2000)
“Post Car Bomb” on Hangin’ From The Devil’s Tree (Your Flesh Magazine, 2000)
Covers:
“Brandy” (original by Scott English)
“Desperado” (original by Eagles)
“Fly By Night” (original by Rush)
“Ha Ha” (original by Scarehead)
“Love Train” (original by O’Jays)
Were covered by:
Wingtip Sloat (“Kill The Klansmen”)
Dunya Mein Logon Ko (Live)
I Heart Noise 