Pipe

Chapel Hill provided the formative setting in which Pipe assembled its ragged rock approach, one shaped by the raw garage energy of 1970s acts such as the Sonics, punk’s irreverent stance, and the attack of 1980s post-punk and indie underground acts. The 1992 configuration featured Ron Liberti on vocals, Mike Kenlan on guitar, Dave Alworth on bass, and Chuck Garrison—previously the drummer for Superchunk—on drums, and this lineup issued the six-song Ball Peen EP through Sonic Bubblegum. Kenlan, who performed alongside Garrison in Small (later renamed Small 23), departed to devote attention to that project. Clifton Lee Mann, bassist for the regionally storied 1980s punkabilly outfit Bad Checks, was brought in on guitar pending a permanent solution. Mann and Liberti discovered a productive chemistry when they divided songwriting and lyric duties, prompting Mann to remain as permanent guitarist; the revised group cut the single “You’re Soaking in It” for Amish Records in 1993 and followed it with the full-length Six Days to Bellus on Jesus Christ in 1994. That riotous, rumbling album aligned more closely with the Dead Boys than with Nirvana or grunge. After touring alongside Bad Brains, the musicians returned and prepared their next album. International Cement appeared on Jesus Christ in 1995, accompanied by the Amish Records single “Raceway Park.” Pipe shared bills with Polvo and Archers of Loaf, yet Alworth left for Seattle upon the tour’s conclusion. Greg Adams took over on bass, and the band completed its third album, Slowboy, issued by Merge in 1997; Merge also reissued the earlier albums and several singles. The fully realized Slowboy restored sludge, motor oil, and road dirt to garage rock. A subsequent tour with kindred spirits the New Bomb Turks ended prematurely when Garrison broke his hand during a Louisville performance. While Garrison recovered, Mann crushed the tip of his left ring finger and remained sidelined for six months. With momentum waning and his injury still healing, Mann exited; original guitarist Kenlan returned briefly, but the configuration lasted only a handful of shows before dissolving in fall 1999. Liberti and Mann reconvened in 2000 as the Ghost of the British Soldier Who Loved to Rock, later shortened to the Ghost of Rock. Kenlan joined Ashley Stove on guitar in 2001.