Arguably one of the most notoriously named bands in rock history, Butthole Surfers made a career out of upending the establishment and irritating  the easily annoyed. Their albums were abrasive yet tuneful, much like their live performances. Rising to the challenge of bottling these audible antics, Sunset Blvd Records have today released Butthole Surfer‘s third live album, Live At The Leather Fly. Unearthed in the archives of Butthole history, the 21-track performance’s origins are shrouded in mystery. The “where” or “when” it was recorded is debatable, but the band have created a mythos surrounding it.

“Back in the ’80s, Gibby [Haynes, vocalist/guitarist] used to fantasize about a nightclub called The Leather Fly. He wanted it to have a stuffed leather fly hanging in front of it.” (guitarist & vocalist Paul Leary)

Unpredictable, brash and, in typical Butthole Surfers‘ fashion, so in-your-face that it penetrates your skull, their live performances pummel with the tight rhythm section of Jeff Pinkus‘ pounding bass and King Coffey‘s hale and hearty drums, Paul’s searing guitarwork, and Gibby’s frenetic and eccentric vocal stylings. Deeply gonzo and often psychedelic, their hallucinogenic-soaked punk rock is sludgy yet melodic, like a fudgesicle made of sewer mud and Belgian chocolate. It’s this gritty scuzz-rock that defined them and propelled their legacy far beyond the underground, even dabbling with Top 40. But they never lost sight of what made them notorious and Live At The Leather Fly captures that grittiness.

Emerging from the 1980s hardcore scene, Butthole Surfers was formed by Gibby and Paul while in college in San Antonio, Texas. Bonding over a shared distaste for mainstream music, Butthole Surfers traipsed through the music industry, always in the fringes. Championed by Dead Kennedys, Nirvana, and Orbital and compatriots of Scratch Acid, Flipper and Big Black, they remained a fixture in the music scene’s counterculture. Though the band has never quite broken up, their legacy still inspires other acts, including Gwar, Flaming Lips, Jane’s Addiction, White Zombie, Monster Magnet, Primus and dozens more.

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