Butthole Surfers

Butthole Surfers is an American rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second drummer from 1983 to 1985, 1986 to 1989, and 2009. The band has also employed a variety of bass players, most notably Jeff Pinkus.

Rooted in the 1980s hardcore punk scene, Butthole Surfers quickly became known for their chaotic and disturbing live shows, black comedy, and a sound that incorporated elements of psychedelia, noise, punk rock and, later, electronica, as well as their use of sound manipulation and tape editing. Butthole Surfers have a well-reported appetite for recreational drugs, an evident influence on their sound.

Although they were respected by their peers and attracted a devoted fanbase, Butthole Surfers had little commercial success until 1996's Electriclarryland. The album contained the hit single "Pepper" which climbed to number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart that year.

Butthole Surfers (EP)

Butthole Surfers is the debut studio EP by American punk band Butthole Surfers, released in July 1983. It is also known as Brown Reason to Live and Pee Pee the Sailor (see "Title controversy"). All songs were written and produced by Butthole Surfers.

The album was originally released on Alternative Tentacles. Butthole Surfers and 1984's Live PCPPEP were reissued as Butthole Surfers/Live PCPPEP CD on Latino Buggerveil in 2003. The 12-inch vinyl version is still available from Alternative Tentacles, and is listed as Brown Reason to Live.

The center label on Butthole Surfers' vinyl printings invites listeners to erroneously play the record at "69 RPM," a joke referencing the famous sex position. The album's back cover features a mildly distorted image of famed Mexican luchador Santo. Kurt Cobain listed the EP in his top fifty albums of all time.

Music

Butthole Surfers introduced themselves to the world with seven songs full of throbbing bass, crashing drums, and heavily distorted guitar topped off with largely nonsensical, barely intelligible lyrics, alternately sung by lead vocalist Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary. Haynes also plays saxophone and drums on some tracks. Unlike later Butthole Surfers albums, no electronic instrumentation is present.

Human cannonball

The human cannonball act is a performance in which a person (the "cannonball") is ejected from a specially designed "cannon". The human cannonball lands on a horizontal net or inflated bag, the placement of which is determined by classical mechanics. Outdoor performances may also aim at a body of water.

History

The first human cannonball, launched in 1877 at the Royal Aquarium in London, was a 14-year-old girl called "Zazel", whose real name was Rossa Matilda Richter. She was launched by a spring-style cannon invented by Canadian William Leonard Hunt ("The Great Farini"). She later toured with the P.T. Barnum Circus. Farini's cannon used rubber springs to launch a person from the cannon, limiting the distance he or she could be launched. Richter's career as a human cannonball ended when a launch went awry and she broke her back.

In the 1920s, Ildebrando Zacchini invented a cannon that used compressed air to launch a human cannonball. Zacchini shot his son Hugo Zacchini out of the compressed air cannon. Members of the Zacchini family were later inducted into the Ringling Brothers Circus Hall of Fame.

Human Cannonball (album)

Human Cannonball is an album by alternative rock group School of Fish, released in 1993 by Capitol Records.

Track listing

All tracks written by Felt & Ward.

Personnel

References

Human Cannonball (Marvel Comics)

The Human Cannonball is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Universe.

Publication history

The Human Cannonball first appeared in Incredible Hulk #3 (September 1962), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

The character subsequently appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #16 (September 1964), #22 (March 1965), The Avengers #22 (November 1965), The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2 (1965), Thor #145-147 (October–December 1967), Marvel Spectacular #15-17 (July–September 1975), Super-Villain Team-Up #8 (October 1976), Ghost Rider #72-73 (September–October 1982), and X-Men and Power Pack #3 (February 2006).

The Human Cannonball appeared as part of the "Circus of Crime" entry in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #2.

Fictional character biography

Jack Pulver was born in Burbank, California. He is a member of the criminal organization, the Circus of Crime, and works as a human cannonball and acrobat who specializes in being shot out of a cannon. He wears a costume and helmet that protects him from injury. He initially wears a red crash helmet and purple jumpsuit. In a battle with the Hulk, he has himself shot out of his cannon at the Green Goliath with no other weapon but a replica of Thor's hammer. The Hulk punches him right up through the top of the circus tent. This stunt, and subsequent dialogue, makes it pretty clear that Jack is not all that smart.