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Infobox musical artist| name = Nomeansno| image = Nomeansno.jpg| caption = Nomeansno live in Tampere, Finland|Tampere , Finland in 2007| image_size =| landscape =| background = group_or_band| alias =| origin = Victoria, British Columbia , Canada | genre = Punk rock , math rock , punk jazz , nowrap| post-hardcore cite journal |last1=Gold |first1=Jonathan |year= 1996|title=Spins: Platter Du Jour - 7 - NOFX - Heavy Petting Zoo |journal= Spin (magazine)|Spin |publisher= Camouflage Associates |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=113 |url= http://books.google.com.co/books? id=JheoECFjDqMC& lpg=PP1& pg=PA113#v=onepage& q& f=falsecite web |url= http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/3038 |title=Dusted Reviews: Nomeansno - All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt |author= Mosurock, Doug |date= August 3, 2006 |publisher= Dusted Magazine |accessdate=25 October 2010 |quote= ... Something broke within Nomeansno following their masterstroke some 17 years ago (and it is that, one of the most aggressive and powerful opuses in post-hardcore ever made), and it hasn’t properly healed. ...| years_active = 1979–present| label = Wrong Records , Alternative Tentacles , AntAcidAudio , Southern Records|Southern | associated_acts = The Hanson Brothers Hissanol Jello Biafra Showbusiness Giants Two Pin Din | website = URL|nomeanswhatever.com| current_members = Rob Wright John Wright (musician)|John Wright Tom Holliston | past_members = Andy Kerr (musician)|Andy Kerr Ken Kempster Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No ) is a Canada|Canadian progressive rock|progressive punk rock music group originally from Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria , British Columbia and now located in Vancouver .
The band has never had, nor have they seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted Underground music|underground following in North America and Europe . They tour fairly often on both continents and maintain a dedicated cult following|fan base .
History
The band was formed in 1979 by brothers Rob Wright ( bass guitar , vocals , and occasionally electric guitar|guitar ) and John Wright (musician)|John Wright ( drum set|drums , keyboard instrument|keyboards and vocals). Their name derives from an anti- date rape slogan. For their first four years the duo's music would seem to be influenced as much by jazz and progressive rock as punk rock. The musical press described their earliest recordings as " Devo on a jazz trip, Motörhead after art school, or Wire (band)|Wire on psychotic steroids."cite web | last =| first =| title = Nomeansno | publisher = TrouserPress.com | url = http://trouserpress.com/entry.php? a=nomeansno | accessdate = 2007-01-07 Nomeansno have been credited with being an influence on, and perhaps even the genesis of, math rock .
The brothers Wright began recording as a two-piece in their parents' basement in 1979. These recordings, heard on their first two self-released 7"s, consisted of full rock band arrangements and had a new wave, warped-pop sound, different from subsequent recordings. When, in the early 1980s, the duo began gigging simply with bass, drums and vocals, the present form of their distinct sound slowly took shape. The songs they played in this period are documented on the Mama (Nomeansno album)|Mama LP (re-released in 2004 on their own Wrong Records ).
In 1983, they added Andy Kerr (musician)|Andy Kerr (who played with John Wright in Infamous Scientists ) on guitar and vocals. Kerr preferred pseudonymity and used such pseudonym s as "Buttercup" or "None-Of-Your-Fucking-Business". He brought a distinct hardcore punk edge to the group, and stayed until 1992. He is often erroneously credited for penning the lyrics of Nomeansno songs on which he sang, perhaps due to deliberately vague liner notes and frequent vocal moonlighting (Kerr sings lead or co-lead vocals on nearly half the songs on Wrong (album)|Wrong for example). Kerr's vocals were a necessity for a period of time in the 1980s when Rob Wright was recovering from nodules on his vocal cord s. While Rob Wright is the band's lyricist and main songwriter , all members have contributed songs to Nomeansno records, and nearly all their material is credited to the entire band.
Wrong is widely considered the band's best and most representative record. ("The playing is incredibly skilled, with the Wright brothers effortlessly shifting tempo s and time signatures and Kerr's razor sharp lyrics clicking right into place."Carruthers, Sean http://www.allmusic.com/album/wrong-r14212/review " Wrong Review", Allmusic , retrieved 2011-01-01)
After Kerr's departure, the Wright brothers recorded Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? as a duo. They subsequently recruited guitarist Tom Holliston from Showbusiness Giants and The Hanson Brothers , and have continued touring and releasing records, including The Worldhood of the World (As Such)|Worldhood of the World (As Such) , Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie , One (Nomeansno album)|One , and All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt , which was released on August 22, 2006. The album was released by AntAcidAudio in the United States and Southern Records in Europe.
The album One , released in 2000, featured "two stunning covers that only make sense coming from Nomeansno":Schulte, Tom http://www.allmusic.com/album/one-r499350/review " One Review", Allmusic , retrieved 2011-01-01 a slow stoner rock -styled version of The Ramones ' " Beat on the Brat ", and rather authentic fifteen-minute version of Miles Davis ' " Bitches Brew " (complete with electric piano and conga s), featuring lyrics by Rob.
Nomeansno initially released records with seminal punk rock record label Alternative Tentacles . This relationship ended in 2002 and the band has since reissued old albums under their own Wrong Records imprint through Southern Records.
Style
Even their earliest recordings demonstrate impressive instrumental technique ("some of the most complex instrumentation you're ever likely to find in punk rock"). Jazz has been an influence on the group; Rob's basslines have a loping, melodic quality often reminiscent of Charles Mingus , and John's drumming sometimes sounds a bit like Elvin Jones or Art Blakey . John's drumming style has been mentioned as an influence to others, including Dave Grohl 9/18/07 Grohl-hosted show on BBC Radio 1 and Tim Solyan from Victims Family .
Nomeansno's output features a seemingly endless flow of "Wright/wrong/right" pun s, and significant measures of black humour , with "pointedly warped lyrics", such as on "Dad" from Sex Mad . The song was a minor college radio hit, and has been called "a bit chilling, even though it's spit out at mosh pit|slam-pit 's pace". The first-person narrative|first person narrator details a rampaging father's physical abuse|physical and sexual abuse , ending with what's been called a "killer end touch—the baldly delivered line 'I'm seriously considering leaving home.'"Allmusic|class=album|id=r14210|pure_url=yes allmusic ((( Sex Mad/You Kill Me > Review ))) One critic (while noting the group's "savage intelligence") suggests that Nomeansno might well be "the secret influence on a fair amount of both early-'90s math rock and Emo (music)|emo , what with the barely controlled fervour of the singing and the sudden jerks back and forth in the rhythm section."Allmusic|class=album|id=r14208|pure_url=yes allmusic ((( Live & Cuddly > Review )))
Side projects
Nomeansno's alter ego is The Hanson Brothers, a quartet with John singing and Mike Branum from The Freak Accident playing drums. The Hanson Brothers play fun punk rock, reminiscent of the Ramones, as a mock group of backward Canadian ice hockey players and fans with their lyrics typically revolve around ice hockey, beer and girls. The name and band persona are both derived from a group of characters in the 1977 George Roy Hill film Slap Shot (movie)|Slap Shot , which starred Paul Newman .
Rob Wright 's alter ego is Mr. Wrong, a character who dresses as an authoritarian priest and often poses with a shotgun. Mr. Wrong is simply Wright on bass and vocals with no other instrumentation.
Tom Holliston released several albums with his band Showbusiness Giants as well as three solo albums.
Andy Kerr (musician)|Andy Kerr and John Wright (musician)|John Wright played together during the early 1980s in the Infamous Scientists. After leaving Nomeansno, Kerr released a solo CD and collaborated with Scott Henderson, formerly of Shovelhed, in Hissanol . Kerr has since formed another duo with Wilf Plum of Dog Faced Hermans called Two Pin Din in Holland.
Band members
col-begincol-2 ;Current members
Rob Wright – bass, vocals, guitar (1979–present)
John Wright (musician)|John Wright – drums, vocals, keyboards (1979–present)
Tom Holliston – guitar, vocals (1993–present)
col-2;Former members
Andy Kerr (musician)|Andy Kerr – guitar, vocals, bass (1983–1992)
http://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/ruckus/12-punk-rock-spectacular-tom-holliston-nomeansno-and-hanson-brothers The Ruckus - Audio Interview with Tom Holliston from March 2009, featuring NMN and Hanson Brothers tracks
NoMeansNoIn the Fishtank DEFAULTSORT:Nomeansno Category:Musical groups established in 1979 Category:Musical groups from Vancouver Category:Canadian hardcore punk groups Category:Canadian post-hardcore musical groups
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