Ed Hall (band)

Ed Hall
Origin Austin, Texas, USA
Genres Alternative rock, Noise rock
Years active 1987 – mid-90s
Labels Boner Records / Trance Syndicate
Associated acts Steel Pole Bathtub
Butthole Surfers
Cherubs
Pong
Members Gary Chester
Larry Strub
Lyman Hardy
Past members Kevin Whitley
John Buron

Ed Hall is an alternative rock band formed in Austin, Texas, USA in 1985.

Members

History

Described by Trouser Press as "Austin's resident heirs to the Butthole Surfers' weird-rock crown",[1] Ed Hall was a trio not containing any member of that name; Gary Chester handled guitar duties, with Larry Strub on bass. Drumming was originally by John Buron, who was replaced by Kevin Whitley, who was later replaced by Lyman Hardy.

Albums

After releasing six songs on the Mind Drum Records compilation Charlie Manson Street, debut album Albert was released on the Boner label in 1988. Standout track "Candy House" was a taste of things to come on 1990's similarly bizarre and humorous Love Poke Here. The band was subsequently featured in Richard Linklater's 1991 indie film Slacker, and signed a contract with Butthole Surfer King Coffey's Trance Syndicate label and toured North America as the Butthole Surfers' support act.

With each song named after an individual that may or may not have ever existed, 1992's Trance Syndicate debut Gloryhole marked a change in the band's sound, whilst retaining much in the style of its two predecessors: open, loose backbeats overlaid with pop song structures, and Butthole Surfers-esque influence. Production changed following the move to Butch Vig's Smart Studios, and highlights included "Buster Enamel" and the Jakob-like instrumental "Bernie Sticky," along with a cello-driven cover of Kiss's "Beth" (also released as a 7-inch single on Trance Syndicate)

1993's Motherscratcher opening track "White House Girls," with its exaggerated backbeat and laughing chorus, employs prickly riffs and trebly, note-driven leads of guitarist Gary Chester, with bass player Larry Strub and new drummer Lyman Hardy, who replaced Kevin Whitley prior to the Gloryhole tour. Influences also include Flipper, and with whom they toured in 1994.

Ed Hall's fifth album, 1995's La La Land was an extension of the ground covered on Motherscratcher .

Their sixth album, Permission to Rock... Denied was completed but never officially released. In a March 2013 interview with online music zine Punk Globe, Strub commented on the record stating, "You could still tell it was us, but different." [2]

Ed Hall split in 1996. Bassist Strub moved to Thailand and taught English for some years. Gary Chester spent time in Moist Fist and Gold (which was just Pong), and Lyman Hardy played in a number of bands, including the Goin' Along Feelin' Just Fines. All three now play in retro-futuristic cosmic dance-rock combo Pong. A reunion show in Austin, Texas in 2003 featured Chester, Strubb, Hardy, and Whitley, with Whitley and Hardy sharing drum duties. A reunion show (with Crust and Pain Teens) happened in November 2012. Another show in Austin took place on July 19, 2014. Ed Hall played a double-bill with Pong at Fred's Texas Cafe in Fort Worth, TX on August 2, 2014, the first time both bands had played on the same bill together.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Compilations

References

  1. ↑ Ferguson, Jason. "Ed Hall". TrouserPress.com. Trouser Press. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  2. ↑ Punk Globe http://punkglobe.com/larrystrubinterview0313.php

External links