Fish Karma

Operating under the moniker Fish Karma, this one-man folk-rock act blends the nasal tension of Violent Femmes with the disoriented guitar textures pioneered by Frank Zappa. The true identity of its only participant stays tightly concealed, though his path began at the University of Arizona, where comedy-troupe work preceded a move into the music business. Several independent albums preceded a deal with Triple X in the early 1990s. Two releases followed on that label: the 1991 album Teddy in the Sky with Magnets and 1993’s Sunnyslope, both featuring contributions from Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon. Live shows delivered irreverent, largely improvised material delivered in a ranting manner recalling George Carlin. The project went dormant in 1995 before resurfacing with the twisted children’s record The Dangerous Playground in 1998, created in tandem with Andy Young. Lunch with the Devil appeared on Deep Shag in 2001, after which Alternative Tentacles issued Theory of Intelligent Design in 2006.