finetune artist: Bad Livers

A startling bluegrass trio from Austin, Texas, USA, the Bad Livers' career has done much to deflate criticisms about that particular musical strand being obsolete. Mark Rubin (double bass/tuba), Danny Barnes (banjo/guitar) and Ralph White III (fiddle/accordion) boasted influences spanning Cajun, heavy metal, punk and gospel (their initial cassette only release, Dust On The Bible, featured straight readings of gospel classics). Rubin and Barnes started out in the Dallas bluegrass band Killbilly. After recruiting White, they became first the Danny Barnes Trio, then Bad Livers. Early performances at the Saxon club in Austin found Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers in the audience. Liking what he heard, and connecting with the band's frenetic cover version of Iggy Pop's "Lust For Life", Leary insisted on producing the trio's 1992 debut, and also secured them a recording contract with his label, Touch & Go Records (via the subsidiary outlet Quarterstick). This kinetic collection of songs included a cover version of a Butthole Surfers track, as well as Reno And Smiley's "I Know You're Married". They then travelled to the UK for a month's tour, confounding audiences and contributing to an album by the Rockingbirds. The Golden Years EP featured cover versions of Motrhead and Johnny Cash songs, although the trio were keen to point out that they saw both as legitimate musical reference points, and maintained that they had not been included for novelty value. Horses In The Mines, a humorous and bizarre collection of songs featuring a guest appearance by bluesman Steve James, was mastered at the Beatles' Abbey Road Studios. Rubin then spent several months collaborating with Santiago Jiminez Jnr., before work began on a third Bad Livers album, Hogs On The Highway. However, its release was delayed because of a move to a new label, Sugar Hill Records. Although Ralph White III contributed to the record, he had left by the time of its release because of the band's demanding touring schedule. His temporary replacement was Bob Grant (mandolin/guitar). The follow-ups, Industry And Thrift and Blood & Mood, saw Rubin and Barnes honing their zany fusion of bluegrass and punk rock to near perfection. Following the release of the latter, Barnes opted to concentrate on two new projects, the Old Codgers and Thee Heathen.

Listen to Bad Livers at Finetune.

Hogs On The Highway
Love Songs Suck
Medley:I Saw The Light-Will The Circle Be Unbroken-I'll Fly Away
Fist Magnet
Jesus Is On The Mainline