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  • 45 Grave

    Location: USA – Los Angeles, CA
    Active: 1979 – current

    Hailing from Los Angeles California in 1979, founding members Rob “Graves” Ritter, Don Bolles, and Paul Cutler relocated from Phoenix, AZ (Cutler played in The Consumers, Ritter and Bolles in The Exterminators) added Dinah Cancer (formerly of Los Angeles’ Castration Squad) and emerged as one of that city’s first punk bands with a the dark, tongue in cheek aesthetic that is synonymous with what would become ‘deathrock’. After arriving in LA, Bolles initially played as drummer in LA’s keystone punk band The Germs and also participated in Nervous Gender, while Ritter played with The Bags and The Gun Club. 45 Grave eventually drew Paul Roeseller (formerly of The Screamers) into the fold. 45 Grave was a sort of nexus and galvanization point for those with a taste for more eclectic tastes than strictly hardcore punk, not to mention black dress and gothic humor. Bolles project Vox Pop was formed towards the end of his Germs career; Dinah Cancer would also be involved in Vox Pop which remained active during 45 Grave’s 1980s existence.

    45 Grave’s full length album ‘Sleep In Safety’ is one of the earliest bricks in deathrock’s foundations. Along with their singles, they appeared on the Hell Comes To Your House compilation, firmly cemented next to it in the very same foundation (along with Christian Death) and the equally regarded Return of the Living Dead soundtrack (alongside legends like The Cramps and The Damned, with TSOL, The Flesheaters, Jet Black Berries and Roky Erickson – all of whom have been talked about on this site over the years). In 2004, Dinah Cancer reformed a new 45 Grave after fronting the heavy punk band Penis Flytrap (1997-2001), releasing ‘Pick Your Poison’ in 2012, and as of 2024 are still active.

    Links:
    https://45gravemusic.bandcamp.com/music
    https://www.discogs.com/artist/232625
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45_Grave

    Related: The Consumers, The Exterminators, Castration Squad, The Cramps, The Damned, The Gun Club, The Bags, TSOL, The Screamers, Nervous Gender, The Germs, Penis Flytrap, Return of the Living Dead, Dinah Cancer, Vox Pop

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  • The Screamers

    One of the earliest bands in the US and Los Angeles punk movement. The Screamers (along with bands like Monitor, Nervous Gender and others in LA) utilized electronic instruments and a drumset, a departure from the traditional guitar-bass-drums formula of rock bands of the time. 

    They began in Seattle as the Tupperwares with singer Tomata DuPlenty, Rio de Janeiro and Tommy Gear. While in Seattle, the Tupperwares collaborated with members Bill Reiflin (Blackouts, Ministry) and Eldon “El Duce” Hoke (Mentors). DuPlenty and Gear would relocate soon to Los Angeles and re-emerge as The Screamers, bringing in K. K. Barrett and David Brown (Dangerhouse Records) who was soon replaced by Paul Roessler (45 Grave, Nervous Gender). 

    The Screamers never released officially, though several demos and live recordings exist and have been released posthumously. They even made a cover version of fellow punk pioneers The Germs’ Sex Boy’. While they existed they did play prodigiously including gigs in New York (CBGBs) and San Francisco. By 1980 the Screamers had ceased all activity. 

    Tomata Du Plenty continued as a visual artist. He passed away in August 21, 2000, in San Francisco. His remains were cremated, and his ashes are interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in a niche in the Chapel Columbarium not far from the remains of Rozz Williams (Christian Death).

    Related: Nervous Gender, NON, 45 Grave, The Germs, The Blackouts, Ministry

    Links:

    Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Screamers
    Discogs.com: https://www.discogs.com/artist/65390-Screamers

    This profile is in development. Contributions?