by chuck bell
The best kind of dead bands are those that are willing to rise from the grave from time to time, in order to appease the fans that they left behind. Since their breakup in 2001, the Murder City Devils have reunited on 4 separate occasions. The band formed in 1996 in Seattle, Washington, playing straight up garage-punk. Within their first year of existence, they released two singles, “Three Natural Sixes” and “Dance Hall Music,” before releasing their self-titled debut in 1997. The production was rather rough, with fuzzy guitars and a relatively loose rhythm section, but Spencer Moody’s howling vocals made songs like “Boom Swagger Boom” sound instantly classic. In 1998, they released their sophomore album, Empty Bottles, Broken Hearts, on Sub Pop Records. The heavier use of electric organ on this record introduced former Hole bassist, Leslie Hardy, as the newest full-time member of the band.
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After the release of Empty Bottles, Broken Hearts, the band found themselves touring the U.S. with such Pacific Northwest staples as Pearl Jam and Built to Spill. They also released split EP’s with Botch and At the Drive-In. In 2000, they released their final full-length, In Name and Blood. The album artwork depicted the entire band as murder victims, which was appropriate for a record that sounded less like garage rock, and more like horror-core, along the lines of the Misfits. That same year, the band appeared as themselves in the David Larson film, “The Edge of Quarrel.” They recorded the Thelema EP with Matt Bayles (ISIS, Minus the Bear) in 2001, but decided to break up a few months later, with Hardy’s departure from the band. Their final Halloween performance was released on Sub Pop in 2003, appropriately titled R.I.P.
Since their breakup, Spencer Moody had a brief but memorable run with Dead Low Tide, and is currently playing with a noise-rock band called Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death. Guitarist Dann Galluci went on to play with Modest Mouse, before being replaced by the Smiths’ Johnny Marr. Bassist Derek Fudesco released 3 albums with art-punk outfit Pretty Girls Make Graves before they broke up in 2007. Drummer Coady Willis has kept the busiest, forming Big Business with Karp singer/bassist Jared Warren, and just recently becoming an official member of the Melvins. The first time the band reunited was for the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle in July of 2006. They came together again in November of 2007 for Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest, and then yet again in February of this year for a week-long tour of the West Coast. They most recently played the Sasquatch! Music Festival in Gorge, Washington. Although they may never release any more original material, their dedication to keeping their own memory alive is always much appreciated.
