Scrawl

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scrawl
Origin	Columbus, Ohio
Genre(s)	Indie
Years active	1985 – present

Scrawl is a musical trio based in Columbus, Ohio. The founding members are Marcy Mays (lead vocals, guitar, songwriting), Sue Harshe (bass guitar, backing vocals, songwriting), and Carolyn O'Leary (drums). Their first show, in the summer of 1985, was a 20-minute opening spot for the Meat Puppets. Their first album, Plus, Also, Too, was self-produced (with Andy Izold) and released in 1987 on the local label No Other Records. The following year the band was signed to Rough Trade Records U.S., for whom they released two albums, He's Drunk (produced by Jim Rondinelli) and Smallmouth (produced by Gary Smith).

Their raw, somewhat primitive sound is influenced by the UK punk of the late 1970s (e.g., The Raincoats, The Slits, The Mekons), but their American inflection greatly influenced the Riot Grrrl sound of the 1990s. When Rough Trade U.S. filed for bankruptcy in 1990, the band was forced to bid for their master recordings at auction during the label's Chapter 11 proceedings. Fortunately, they succeeded. Their next release, a seven-track EP called Bloodsucker, was released on the Chicago-based Feel Good All Over label (then reissued on Simple Machines Records).

Drummer O'Leary left the group in May 1992, and was replaced by Dana Marshall.

They recorded their next album, Velvet Hammer, in 1993. It was engineered by Steve Albini (around the time he produced Nirvana), and released on the Simple Machines label. The band was then signed their first major label deal, to Elektra, for whom they released two albums, Travel On, Rider, and Nature Film.

[edit] Discography

Release Date	Album	Label	Notes
May 1987	Plus, Also, Too	No Other Records	Debut album
November 1988	He's Drunk	Rough Trade	-
November 1989	Smallmouth	Rough Trade	Produced by Gary Smith (Throwing Muses, Pixies, The Chills, Walkabouts)
October 1991	Bloodsucker	Feel Good All Over Records	Followed by tours with the Afghan Whigs, Meat Puppets and My Bloody Valentine
January 1993	Velvet Hammer	Simple Machines	-
September 1996	Travel On, Rider	Elektra	-
April 1998	Nature Film	Elektra	Scrawl's swan song. Combination of new material and re-recordings of Rough Trade/Simple Machines era material.