Sun City Girls

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The Sun City Girls are a United States experimental rock band formed in 1982. The members are Alan Bishop (bass guitar, vocals), his brother Richard Bishop (guitar, piano), and Charles Gocher (drums). Their name was inspired by Sun City, Arizona, an Arizona retirement community.

They have found little mainstream success (and have not really sought any), but they have a devoted cult following and have recorded numerous critically acclaimed albums, released in small editions by labels like Placebo, Majora, Eclipse and their own Abduction imprint. Critic Steve Leggett writes, "Throughout its history SCG has remained a challenging, unpredictable, and eclectic musical unit, operating outside the commercially driven aspirations of the mainstream recording industry, and the group has become somewhat of a beacon to independent musicians and artists everywhere."[1]Writing in the Village Voice, Ted Hendrickson argues, "They've never made any sense, conventionally speaking, and that's what makes them fun."[2]

Originating from the Arizona punk rock scene which included Meat Puppets, JFA and the Feederz, Sun City Girls quickly began to incorporate lengthy improvisations, beat poetry, surf music, jazz, tape music, and elements of South Asian, South American, Middle Eastern and African musics. SCG performances can be wildly unpredictable, sometimes verging on performance art, with elaborate costumes, kabuki-inspired makeup, and the creation of a festive, ritualistic atmospshere with audience participation. The group's interest in mysticism, paranormal topics (especially UFOs), religious cults and other esoterica is often manifested in their song titles, lyrics and album art.

Until the late 1980's, most of the band's releases were issued on audio cassettes which gained legendary status among cassette culture enthusiasts. But a shift to the LP format had already begun with seminal records such as Sun City Girls (1984), Grotto of Miracles (1986), Torch of the Mystics (1990), Dawn of the Devi (1991), Bright Surroundings, Dark Beginnings (1993), and Kaliflower (1994). Dante's Disneyland Inferno and 330,003 Crossdressers from Beyond the Rig Veda, both double-CD's/triple-LP's and released in 1996, were perhaps the pinnacle of the band's aesthetic.

The band currently resides in Seattle, Washington. Alan Bishop heads the label Sublime Frequencies and performs and releases records under the names Alvarius B and Uncle Jim. In the early 1980's he was in the shortlived band Paris 1942 with Maureen Tucker from the Velvet Underground. In 2005, he edited a compilation — titled Crime and Dissonance — of Ennio Morricone's late 1960s and early 1970s soundtrack work. Rick Bishop performs as a solo guitarist under the name Sir Richard Bishop. Gocher has solo records and performed with a number of groups including the Master Musicians of Bukkake and Tripod. Frequent collaborators in recent years have included violinist Eyvind Kang and sound engineer Scott Colburn.