Endangered Feces

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New York City's Endangered Feces were formed as knee-jerk reaction to all of the then-dominant Glam Metal bands of the late 1980's. Marrying influences from The Ramones, NOFX, Bad Religion and The Queers to forging a sound which was initially Thrashcore and Hardcore Punk to the melodic Punk rock they favor today.

The band was formed in late 1989 by bassist/lead vocalist Keith Starkman and guitarist Jay Levitz. They wrote songs with such titles as "Constipation", "Al Bundy is God" and "White Castle" with sophomoric lyrics that seemed permanently focused on bodily functions.

From the years 1989 - 1992 the band seemed cursed with the Spinal Tap syndrome as those years saw a revolving door of drummers. They included (but were not limited to) Bill Gritz, Jim E. Phlegm, Mike Eliscu and Anthony Migliorelli. Their luck changed (albeit temporarily) in 1992 with Ex-Rejects drummer John Houlihan.

Those years also saw the band becoming very popular on the local New York bar/club circuit. Playing such venues as CBGB's and My Father's Place. They also independently issued three Cassette-only releases. They were 1990's Endangered Feces, 1991's Greatest Shits and 1992's Welcome To Our Humble Commode. Which was followed by the replacing of drummer John Houlihan (who later re-joined the band from 1999-2001 as bass player) with Ex-Kronin vocalist Pete Cronin who proved to be what the band needed all along. At this time guitarist Jay Levitz finally realized his lifelong dream of becoming transgendered. Feces played a benefit show in his honor to raise money for the operation, and by all accounts Jay is very happy with his new body.

Following the release of 1994's 7" EP Flatulence Is Bliss on Doody Haus Records lead singer/bassist Keith Starkman left the band due to internal conflicts within the band. Starkman continued to play in bands such as Terminal Confusion amongst others. He was soon replaced by Ex-Idiot Squad guitarist Bill Wikstrom (on vocals) and Ex-Kronin guitarist Steve Koslowski (on bass - who had also produced their Flatulence Is Bliss EP).

Koslowski left the band in early 1996 and was replaced by Ex-Rejects bass player Mike Howells (A.K.A. Hair Du). 1997 saw the release of their second 7" EP Famous Anus (which featured a humorous cover illustration of Gene Simmons of KISS in a bathroom stall - only visible by his famous dragon-boots). Pete Cronin's brother Mike took over on bass duties in 1998 for the departing Mike Howells (who was soon replaced by one-time Feces drummer John Houlhian).

Around this time the band started getting lots of recognition on the East Coast (especially on Long Island, New York). Also developing around this time was the bands' infamous reputation for their live performances. This could include parodic Irish poetry from Cronin, a naked performance from Wikstrom and endless inter-song banter from Levitz (all of which could kill any momentum that their set of songs resulted in). In general, an Endangered Feces show became something of a drunken Frat party set to music complete with copious amounts of beer consumed and rolls of toilet paper being hurled between band and audience during the set.

In late 1999 vocalist Bill Wikstrom left the band due to creative indifference. Wikstrom continued to play in such bands as The Reckless Few amongst others. He was replaced by old vocalist Keith Starkman. John Houlihan left the band due to personal time-constraints and was replaced by Ex-Desperosity members Lorenzo Potenzo (on bass) and Ex-Latex Generation drummer Hugo Gasc (as the bands' "interior defecator" - that is, his one task would be the distribution of toilet paper at shows). Houlihan continues to record and perform solo.

This is how the line-up remains today. Since the year 2000 the band released their third 7" (a split-7" with The Loiterers) and have enjoyed being banned from the state of Rhode Island after a fracas with Emo band Thursday.

2003 saw the release of their first full-length Compact Disc Ass For It By Name on Winged Disk Records.

[edit] Discography

Endangered Feces, 1990, Doody Haus Records
Greatest Shits, 1991, Doody Haus Records
Welcome To Our Humble Commode, 1992, Doody Haus Records
Flatulence Is Bliss, 1994, Doody Haus Records
Famous Anus, 1997, Doody Haus Records
Endangered Feces/The Loiterers, 2001, Split-7" Handi-Cock/Riotous Assembly Records
Ass For It By Name, 2003, Winged Disk Records