Killdozer

Formed in 1983 in Madison, Wisconsin, the trio Killdozer built its reputation on a savage strain of warped country blues paired with a sneering rejection of highbrow posturing. Core members vocalist and bassist Michael Gerald, guitarist Bill Hobson, and drummer Dan Hobson released their first album, Intellectuals Are the Shoeshine Boys of the Ruling Elite, the following year, quickly locking in both their threatening swamp-rock approach and lyrics that railed against societal and political decay while glorifying marginal existence.

After joining the Touch and Go roster, the band delivered the raw Snake Boy in 1985. The next year brought the Burl EP, whose murky, heavy folk interpretations closed with a version of Jessi Colter’s “I’m Not Lisa.” Butch Vig, another Wisconsin native, produced 1987’s Little Baby Buntin’, which slowed the group’s pace and pushed its sound toward greater experimentation; that direction persisted on 1988’s 12 Point Buck. The all-covers set For Ladies Only appeared in 1989, reworking material that included Deep Purple’s “Hush,” the James Gang’s “Funk #49,” and Don McLean’s “American Pie.” Shortly before a European tour, Bill Hobson departed and was succeeded by Tom Hazelmyer of Halo of Flies, who also ran the Amphetamine Reptile label. Hobson later returned, only to leave again while work on an unfinished album was underway.

In 1992 Gerald and Dan Hobson revived Killdozer, bringing in guitarist Paul Zagores. The single “The Pig Was Cool” surfaced in 1993, followed in 1994 by the album Uncompromising War on Art Under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Steve Albini produced the 1995 release God Hears Pleas of the Innocent; afterward Dan Hobson exited to focus on family life and was replaced by Erik Tunison, formerly of Die Kreuzen. Second guitarist Jeff Ditzenberger, previously of Power Wagon, soon joined as well. Following a split single with Alice Donut, the band concluded its run in 1996 at the end of the Fuck You, We Quit tour.