Biography
Harry Pussy emerged during the 1990s as one of the extreme noise underground's most celebrated acts, earning endorsements from figures such as Thurston Moore and Lou Barlow. Their brief, spastic, atonal freak-outs occupied territory between noise rock and free jazz, yet stemmed from deliberate composition rather than spontaneous improvisation, contrary to the assumptions of many listeners. Alongside the familiar imprint of Sonic Youth, the group reflected the aesthetics of New York no wave, hardcore punk, the avant jazz of Sonny Sharrock, Japanese noise acts including Merzbow and Boredoms, early British industrial outfits like Throbbing Gristle, Nurse With Wound, and Whitehouse, British free-noise improvisers such as Skullflower and Ascension, and fellow Siltbreeze artists the Dead C from New Zealand. Although the band seldom ventured beyond their hometown of Miami for most of their run, accounts of their volatile and occasionally confrontational live performances circulated widely enough to secure tours alongside Sebadoh and the Dead C.
The project originated in 1992 as the creative partnership of spouses Bill Orcutt on guitar and Adris Hoyos on drums and vocals. Orcutt had previously performed with the local Miami punk outfit the Trash Monkeys prior to his collaboration with Hoyos, whose primal, screeching vocals and onstage aggression soon positioned her as the central figure. Mark Feehan, another former Trash Monkeys member and Orcutt's one-time bandmate, joined as second guitarist. Harry Pussy made their recorded debut in 1993 via the singles "Nose Ring" and "Girl Holding Frog," both issued on the Esync label run by Miami noise figure Frank "Rat Bastard" Falestra. Their inaugural full-length appeared in 1994 on the Philadelphia-based Siltbreeze imprint under the title Harry Pussy, which also carried the alternate designation A: In an Emergency You Can Shit on a Puerto Rican Whore, underscoring the group's provocative stance and irreverent humor.
A succession of singles continued through 1995, among them "Please Don't Come Back From the Moon" on Blackjack, the double 7-inch "Zero de Conduite" on Audible Hiss, "Miami Flavor" on Planet, a split release with Noggin on Chocolate Monk, and a version of Lightnin' Hopkins' "Black Ghost" on Siltbreeze. Siltbreeze gathered much of this output on the 1996 CD compilation What Was Music?, which incorporated a reissue of the first album's material. Shortly thereafter came the new studio album Ride a Dove, likewise on Siltbreeze. Near the close of 1996, Feehan departed as the additional guitarist and Dan Hosker stepped in to replace him. Hosker's first appearance came on the self-released 1997 live recording Tour, which bore the alternate title Fuck You. That same year marked the band's last live performances. Additional singles appeared in 1998, including split EPs with Frosty and Pelt, yet the group had already disbanded by the time their concluding album surfaced on Black Bean & Placenta. The release, Let's Build a Pussy, comprised a short excerpt of Hoyos shouting that Orcutt extended to an hour-long duration through computer processing. After Harry Pussy concluded, Hoyos relocated briefly to Chicago and later contributed to Transmission and Monostat 3. Orcutt had already issued a solo album in 1997.
The project originated in 1992 as the creative partnership of spouses Bill Orcutt on guitar and Adris Hoyos on drums and vocals. Orcutt had previously performed with the local Miami punk outfit the Trash Monkeys prior to his collaboration with Hoyos, whose primal, screeching vocals and onstage aggression soon positioned her as the central figure. Mark Feehan, another former Trash Monkeys member and Orcutt's one-time bandmate, joined as second guitarist. Harry Pussy made their recorded debut in 1993 via the singles "Nose Ring" and "Girl Holding Frog," both issued on the Esync label run by Miami noise figure Frank "Rat Bastard" Falestra. Their inaugural full-length appeared in 1994 on the Philadelphia-based Siltbreeze imprint under the title Harry Pussy, which also carried the alternate designation A: In an Emergency You Can Shit on a Puerto Rican Whore, underscoring the group's provocative stance and irreverent humor.
A succession of singles continued through 1995, among them "Please Don't Come Back From the Moon" on Blackjack, the double 7-inch "Zero de Conduite" on Audible Hiss, "Miami Flavor" on Planet, a split release with Noggin on Chocolate Monk, and a version of Lightnin' Hopkins' "Black Ghost" on Siltbreeze. Siltbreeze gathered much of this output on the 1996 CD compilation What Was Music?, which incorporated a reissue of the first album's material. Shortly thereafter came the new studio album Ride a Dove, likewise on Siltbreeze. Near the close of 1996, Feehan departed as the additional guitarist and Dan Hosker stepped in to replace him. Hosker's first appearance came on the self-released 1997 live recording Tour, which bore the alternate title Fuck You. That same year marked the band's last live performances. Additional singles appeared in 1998, including split EPs with Frosty and Pelt, yet the group had already disbanded by the time their concluding album surfaced on Black Bean & Placenta. The release, Let's Build a Pussy, comprised a short excerpt of Hoyos shouting that Orcutt extended to an hour-long duration through computer processing. After Harry Pussy concluded, Hoyos relocated briefly to Chicago and later contributed to Transmission and Monostat 3. Orcutt had already issued a solo album in 1997.
Albums