Biography
Although active for only a brief stretch in the early 1980s, Your Food became one of the most revered and influential post-punk outfits to emerge from Louisville, Kentucky. The quartet specialized in an eccentric strain of lo-fi rock that avoided overt experimentation yet steered clear of conventional structures, pairing a dry wit with an absence of overt punch lines. Their material typically featured twitchy, pulsing beats, enigmatic words, and sudden explosions of hardcore intensity.
Guitarist John Bailey and bassist Wolf Knapp launched Orange-Orange alongside drummer Tari Barr at the start of the decade, soon adding vocalist Doug Maxson to the lineup. After Charles Schultz proposed renaming the project Your Food, the musicians adopted the new identity and cut a demo on 1/4" reel-to-reel tape. When Barr departed after roughly twelve months, Schultz took over the drum chair. This configuration produced the band’s sole album, the self-released Poke It with a Stick, which appeared in 1983.
Despite favorable notices and a short East Coast tour, the group dissolved after their van broke down on the return trip from a Washington, D.C., date in early 1984. Knapp subsequently played with Christmas and Antietam, while Your Food reconvened for two performances in the early 1990s. The band and its lone LP maintained a devoted cult following that included endorsements from Slint and Steve Albini. Drag City issued the first reissue of Poke It with a Stick in 2018.
Guitarist John Bailey and bassist Wolf Knapp launched Orange-Orange alongside drummer Tari Barr at the start of the decade, soon adding vocalist Doug Maxson to the lineup. After Charles Schultz proposed renaming the project Your Food, the musicians adopted the new identity and cut a demo on 1/4" reel-to-reel tape. When Barr departed after roughly twelve months, Schultz took over the drum chair. This configuration produced the band’s sole album, the self-released Poke It with a Stick, which appeared in 1983.
Despite favorable notices and a short East Coast tour, the group dissolved after their van broke down on the return trip from a Washington, D.C., date in early 1984. Knapp subsequently played with Christmas and Antietam, while Your Food reconvened for two performances in the early 1990s. The band and its lone LP maintained a devoted cult following that included endorsements from Slint and Steve Albini. Drag City issued the first reissue of Poke It with a Stick in 2018.
Albums