King Missile

King Missile is an avant-garde band that has been led in various disparate incarnations by poet/singer John S. Hall since 1986. Currently called King Missile III (pronounced "the third"), the group released its ninth and most recent studio album, Royal Lunch, in 2004.

History

King Missile (Dog Fly Religion)

In 1985, writer John S. Hall began presenting his work at open mike poetry readings. After three shows, Hall became a "featured" poet at the Backfence, a performance venue in Manhattan's East Village. In 1986, feeling that "20 minutes of me reading poetry would be totally boring," Hall asked his guitarist friend Dogbowl to augment his performances with original music. Dogbowl agreed, and with the addition of bassist Alex DeLaszlo, drummer R.B. Korbet, and xylophonist George O'Malley, King Missile (Dog Fly Religion) was born.

In 1987, the band went to the Noise New York studio and in just ten hours recorded and mixed its debut album, Fluting on the Hump. The producer/engineer, Kramer, released the album on his then-fledgling label, Shimmy Disc. The label sent the album to every college radio station that reported to College Media Journal, and the album subsequently performed well on the CMJ charts.

In 1988, Hall and Dogbowl, along with cellist Charles Curtis and new drummer Steve Dansiger, recorded the second King Missile (Dog Fly Religion) album, the longer, more experimental, less "jokey" They. Like its predecessor, the album was produced by Kramer and released on Shimmy Disc. According to Hall, " wasn't well received. Dogbowl was itching to make his own records, so we went our separate ways." Dogbowl went on to record several albums for Shimmy Disc.

King Missile

After Dogbowl's departure, Hall asked Bongwater guitarist Dave Rick to help him put together a new band. Rick recruited multi-instrumentalist Chris Xefos, and Hall retained Dansiger on drums. Hall dubbed the new lineup King Missile, dropping the parenthetical "Dog Fly Religion" subtitle "since that was idea." In late 1989 and early 1990, the band recorded the album Mystical Shit, and in 1990 released it on Shimmy Disc. On the strength of the single "Jesus Was Way Cool," the album hit #1 on the CMJ charts, and the band was signed by a major label, Atlantic Records. This series of events led Hall to make a habit of joking, "'Jesus' got me signed to Atlantic Records."

Another lineup change occurred before the recording of King Missile's major-label debut, as Dansiger left the band and was replaced on drums by Hypnolovewheel member David Ramirez. The subsequent album, The Way to Salvation, was released on , 1991, and reached #2 on the CMJ charts. Atlantic promoted the album with the release of a single, "My Heart Is a Flower," and accompanying video.

After Ramirez left the group and was replaced by yet another drummer, Roger Murdock, the band recorded its second major-label album, Happy Hour, released on , 1992. The album debuted at #1 on the CMJ charts, and its accompanying first single, "Detachable Penis," became a modest hit, reaching #25 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Atlantic released videos for "Detachable Penis" and the subsequent singles "(Why Are We) Trapped?" and "Martin Scorsese," but neither follow-up single achieved the chart success of "Detachable." According to Hall, the band realized that its hit song had drawn in many casual fans who didn't care about the rest of the group's material; thus, the band began to play the song "early in the set, so that the people who didn't like us could leave, and we could play for the people who cared. That worked out well. People did leave."

The band's third and final album for Atlantic was the eponymous King Missile, released , 1994. Neither the album nor its lead single, "Love Is...," was a commercial success; consequently, the band was dropped from Atlantic, and broke up shortly thereafter because, according to Hall, "there was no reason to stay together."

King Missile III

After the collapse of the second incarnation of King Missile, Hall decided to attend law school. He graduated cum laude from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan, and after graduation co-founded Heraty Hall, a firm specializing in entertainment law.

In 1996, Hall released a "solo album," The Body Has a Head, on the German label Manifatture Criminali. The album featured considerable input from multi-instrumentalists Sasha Forte, Bradford Reed, and Jane Scarpantoni. With these musicians, as well as They cellist Curtis, Hall formed a new band, King Missile III. On , 1998, the new lineup released its "debut" album, Failure, on Shimmy Disc.

Curtis and Scarpantoni left the band after the release of Failure, and King Missile III continued as a trio, releasing two more albums: The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (Instinct Records, January 21, 2003) and Royal Lunch (Important Records, September 21, 2004).

Musical styles

The various King Missile lineups have performed many disparate musical styles. King Missile (Dog Fly Religion)'s sound, driven by acoustic guitar and harmonica, was widely dubbed "anti-folk." In King Missile, electric guitars and keyboards were more prominent, and the music contained elements of psychedelic rock, alternative rock, and pop rock. King Missile III's sound is broadly experimental, and features a wide array of instruments, including violin, synthesizers, and the pencilina, a string instrument designed by Reed himself.

The central element of each group's sound has been Hall's lyrics, which vary in format from straightforward narrative to abstract, disjointed free verse. Hall's performance style is also eclectic, his delivery ranging from a deadpan monotone to melodic tenor singing to overwrought screaming.

Studio discography

King Missile (Dog Fly Religion)
Album
Record Label
Release Year
Fluting on the Hump
Shimmy Disc
1987
They
Shimmy Disc
1988
King Missile
Album
Record Label
Release Year
Mystical Shit
Shimmy Disc
1990
The Way to Salvation
Atlantic Records
1991
Happy 14? (EP)
Atlantic
1992
Happy Hour
Atlantic
1992
King Missile
Atlantic
1994
Compilation and soundtrack contributions
Track
Album
Record Label
Release Year
"Doubleback Alley" (Rutles cover)
Rutles Highway Revisited
Shimmy Disc
1990
"We Can Work It Out" (Beatles cover)
Downtown Does the Beatles: Live at the Knitting Factory
Knitting Factory Works
1992
"Get Up" (R.E.M. cover)
Surprise Your Pig: A Tribute to R.E.M.
Staple Gun Records
1992
"Our Jungle"
Surf Ninjas: Original Soundtrack Album
Atlantic
1993
"Still the One" (Orleans cover)
20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions!
Pravda Records
1994
King Missile III
Album
Record Label
Release Year
Failure
Shimmy Disc
1998
The Psychopathology of Everyday Life
Instinct Records
2003
Royal Lunch
Important Records
2004