Biography
In 1978 the Urinals, a Los Angeles punk outfit, assembled inside a UCLA dormitory. Vocalist Delia Frankel, guitarist Steve Willard, bassist John Talley-Jones, organist Kjehl Johansen, and drummer Kevin Barrett made up the original five-piece, yet Frankel and Willard departed after the band’s first appearance at a campus talent show, citing creative differences. Johansen moved to guitar, leaving the remaining trio to master basic chords and notes on their own so they could start composing original songs. Vitus Mataré, keyboardist of the L.A. power-pop group the Last, agreed to produce the Urinals’ self-titled debut EP, which the band released on its own Happy Squid imprint in 1979; Another EP arrived soon afterward. With short, jagged songs and an unapologetically spare melodic style, the Urinals carved out a distinct place in the city’s punk scene, although their refusal to play anywhere but on campus kept most listeners unaware of their existence. Early in 1980 the trio accepted an offer to perform at the Austin, TX, venue Raul’s, then returned to Los Angeles to open for the fledgling Go-Go’s at Gazzarri’s on the Sunset Strip. They also appeared now and then under the name Arrow Book Club when they wished to explore improvisation. As their playing and writing matured, the musicians grew uneasy with a name chosen so casually and, in 1980, adopted the new moniker 100 Flowers, drawn from the Maoist slogan “Let 100 flowers bloom and 100 schools of thought contend.” Plans for a full-length Urinals album were abandoned, and the newly renamed band began recording a fresh LP. Internal friction increased, however, and by the time their self-titled debut finally surfaced in February 1983 the farewell concert had already taken place a month earlier. Johansen later worked with Mataré in Trotsky Icepick, which Talley-Jones joined several years afterward, while Barrett performed with God and the State. The original Urinals lineup reunited in 1996 for a Wednesday Week record-release party and chose to continue, touring behind supporters such as Sonic Youth and Mudhoney. After Johansen departed in 1998 to focus on solo work, the remaining pair brought in former Ten Foot Faces guitarist Roderick Barker; the Urinals’ first proper studio album, What Is Real and What Is Not, appeared in 2003, and their early recordings are collected on Negative Capability...Check It Out!
Albums
