The World/Inferno Friendship Society

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The World/Inferno Friendship Society

Origin	Brooklyn, New York, USA
Years active	1996 - present
Genres	Punk Rock Punk Cabaret Circus Punk
Labels	Chunksaah Records Go-kart Records Europe Gern Blandstern
Members	Jack Terricloth Benjamin Kotch Lucky Strano Semra Ercin Peter Hess Maura Corrigan Franz Nicolay Ken Thompson Sandra Malak

The World/Inferno Friendship Society is a Punk Cabaret group from Brooklyn. It is a rotating cabaret of punk/klezmer/gospel featuring horns, piano, guitar, a number of percussionists, as well as a variety of other instruments, such as accordion, xylophone and orchestra bells. All of this adds up to a mayhem-inducing live presence.

The band has historically had over 30 members, including former members of Dexy's Midnight Runners. Usually one can expect to see about nine or ten members on-stage when they perform. The group is led by singer Jack Terricloth and drummer Benjamin Kotch, who have been the most constant members throughout the group's history, along with guitarist Lucky Strano.

Their annual Halloween show, Hallowmas, is usually their biggest show of the year and the group tries to make it a memorable event with such things as half the band and most of the audience marching down the street, pumpkins held aloft, during the last (and hallmark) song, Pumpkin Time, which references The Great Pumpkin of Peanuts fame. Pumpkin Time has also featured dangerous, home-made pyrotechnical displays, flying band members, enough candy corn to form a thick sludge under the dancing feet of the crowd, burned effigies, or terrifying, wall-sized singing apparitions.

Members have also played in Sticks and Stones, Guignol, The Hold Steady, Nanuchka, Kid Casanova, Anti-Social Music, Morning Glory, and have been guests on Mischief Brew and Leftöver Crack recordings, as well as having The Casualties, along with Paul Maroon of Jonathan Fire*Eater on guitar, make a guest appearance on the recording of "Our Candidate".

Their lyrics often concern historical and or biographical subject matter, such as Weimar-era Germany, Peter Lorre, Jeffrey Lee Pierce of The Gun Club, Paul Robeson, Leni Riefenstahl, Dante Alighieri, Jonathan Fire*Eater and other personages deemed to be of historical significance. Other songs deal with the terrifying, exulting, magical, and awful aspects of life that "make it more than waking up and going to work every day". They have written a three song cycle about love and loss in a temporary autonomous zone that consists of Just the Best Party, Go With It Girl and The Naughty Little Rat Makes New Friends. The lyric pattern and subject matter are similar to The Wild Party.

Inferno's reputation for over-the-top live shows, fire, alcohol consumption, and extremely enthusiastic audience responses has occasionally led to them having trouble playing the same venues twice.

1 History
2 Society Members
- 2.1 Members Active in Current Projects Include
- 2.2 Alumni
3 Discography
4 External links

[edit] History

The band began when Sticks And Stones broke up.

[edit] Society Members

[edit] Members Active in Current Projects Include

Jack Terricloth - Lead Vocals (Sticks & Stones)
Lucky Strano - Electric Guitar (Morning Glory, Sewage)
Semra Ercin - Percussion, Orchestra Bells, Backing Vocals (Kid Casanova)
Peter Hess - Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet (Guignol, Anti-Social Music, Balkan Beat Box, Capital M, and a whole lot more)
Maura Corrigan - Alto Saxophone
Franz Nicolay - Accordion, Piano, Backing Vocals (Guignol, The Hold Steady, Anti-Social Music)
Ken Thomson - Baritone Saxophone (Gutbucket, Anti-Social Music, Dirty Sock Funtime Band)
Sandra Malak - Bass (SHLSHKD)
Ara Babajian - Drums (Leftöver Crack, The Slackers)

[edit] Alumni

Benjamin Kotch - Drums (Eve's Plum)
Yula Be'eri - Electric Bass, Backing Vocals - 1999-2006 (Nanuchka)
Dan Bailey - Baritone Saxophone - 1998-2005 (The Grown-Ups) [1]
John Moore - Baritone Saxophone - 1997-1998
Brian Pearl - Piano - 2000-2001 (Matt Pond PA) [2]
Scott Hollingsworth (Powder) - Piano - 1996-2000 ( Sticks and Stones, Product)
Krystal Kaos - Tuba - 1997-1998
Detroit Rios - Percussion - 1997-1998
Stephe Polier - Tenor Saxophone - 1997-1999 [3]
Geoff Blythe - Tenor Saxophone - 1999 (Dexys Midnight Runners, The Bureau, Black 47, The TKO Horns)
Sam Burns - Tenor Saxophone - 1999-2000
Rio Glenn - Backing Vocals - 1999-2000 [4]
Kika Von Kluck - Backing Vocals - 1997-1998
Sioux Kovax - Backing Vocals - 1996-1997; Graphic Design - 2001-2003
Mike "The Jerk" Wagner - Trombone - 1999 (Antibalas)
Klaus Schank - Trombone - 1998 (Scrapy) [5]
Lauren Black - Trumpet - 1997-1999 (The Ken Firpo Rent Explosion)
David Patrikios - Marimba and Banjo - 1997-1999 (Serpico, Milhouse, Greensleep, The Realistics, The Flying Aces)
Chris Leo - Guitar - 1997 (The Van Pelt, The Sin Eaters, The Lapse, Native Nod)