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Biography
unreferenced|date=August 2008Infobox musical artist|name = Beat Happening|image =|caption =|image_size =|background = group_or_band|alias =|origin = Olympia, Washington|Olympia , Washington (U.S. state)|Washington |instrument =|genre = punk rock , lo-fi , indie pop |occupation =|years_active = 1982& ndash;present|label = K Records Sub Pop Records |associated_acts = The Go Team D+ (indie rock band)|D+ The Halo Benders Dub Narcotic Sound System |website =|current_members = Calvin Johnson (musician)|Calvin Johnson Heather Lewis (musician)|Heather Lewis Bret Lunsford |past_members = Beat Happening is an United States|American indie pop and punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1982. Calvin Johnson (musician)|Calvin Johnson , Heather Lewis (musician)|Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American indie pop and lo-fi music|lo-fi movements, noted for their use of primitive recording techniques, disregard for the technical aspects of musicianship, and songs with subject matters of a childish or coy nature.
History
Formation
The band met while attending The Evergreen State College and began recording in 1983. The band's basic line-up was drums, guitar and vocals, though when they formed their only instruments were a pair of maracas and a Sears Silvertone guitar purchased at a thrift shop. Heather once joked in an interview that the history of the band could be told through a list of the various people they'd borrowed drums from. Heather and Calvin had been members of a previous band and approached Bret, who had no musical experience at the time, saying they ought to start a band and go to Japan. Indeed, it was on a trip to Tokyo that the band members recorded Three Tea Breakfast , an EP that established the band's reputation.
Calvin Johnson (musician)|Calvin Johnson was one of the founders of seminal indie-rock label K Records . The label achieved modest success and continues to hold its independent integrity, claiming to have been "exploding the teenage underground into passionate revolt against the corporate ogre since 1982." K Records
Studio albums
Beat Happening (album)|Beat Happening (1985), their full length debut, was critically acclaimed, as was Jamboree (Beat Happening album)|Jamboree (1988). By the release of Dreamy (Beat Happening album)|Dreamy in 1991, Beat Happening was one of the most popular bands in the indie rock community, leading to their pivotal role in the International Pop Underground Festival, which brought anti-corporatism|anti-corporate rock its earliest mainstream acceptance. Their last full-length album was 1992's You Turn Me On , which represented the band breaking many of their established conventions from earlier albums, most notably on "Godsend," which runs 9 minutes in length and features blatant use of multitrack recording . The album was described by allmusic.com as "A masterpiece." Though never announcing a break-up and claiming at one point to still practice once a month, the members of Beat Happening have moved on to various other projects. In 2000 they released the "Angel Gone" single, their first new release in eight years.
A Beat Happening box set, Crashing Through , which collects all of the band's officially released music except for some of their tracks from a live cassette split with The Vaselines , was released in 2002. The box set included a booklet containing a lengthy essay on the history and impact of the band by Lois Maffeo , as well as rare photos of members Calvin, Heather and Bret.
Current status
The band has not performed together in public since the early 1990s. In 2005, they were invited by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse to perform at All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties but respectfully declined the invitation.
Members
Bret Lunsford – Guitar and drums
Calvin Johnson (musician)|Calvin Johnson – Guitar and vocals
Heather Lewis (musician)|Heather Lewis – Drums, guitar and vocals
Beat Happening Category:Beat Happening| Category:American indie rock groups Category:Twee pop groups Category:K Records artists Category:Sub Pop artists Category:Thurston County, Washington Category:Musical groups from Olympia, Washington Category:Lo fi music groups Category:Musical groups established in 1982
