Way back in 1985 Stuart Laurence and I met working at Mr. Gatti’s Pizza. Between rolling dough and listening to heavy metal I talked Stuart into starting a band with me. An ad in the Chronicle brought Pawl Willis and Charlie Brownell on board. Within a year we were gigging and made our first demo with the help of Lonestar studios and San Coppinger. Stan got us a record deal with Passport Record, which turned into a deal with Big Chief Records a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Looking back, it happened so fast it’s hard to imagine. From The Beach to The Continental Club to The Ritz to Liberty Lunch, we moved venues as more kids showed up, as many as 800. Our first record God Guns and Guts was released in 1987 and Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles in 1990. We toured the states with bands like Gwar, Bio Hazard, Rollins Band, and L7 bringing our brand of Hellbilly Metal to the masses. In 1992 Billy “Chainsaw” Dansfiel signed on as bass player the three of us have been together ever since. In 1994 we recorded Way back in the Woods for the German label KOCH Records. Due to a variety of reasons we stopped playing regularly in 2000, just playing occasionally every few years. Now we’re back in 2024 with a new drummer Steve Mendez. For better or worse, our satirical take on southern redneck culture and cartoonish patriotism seems more relevant that ever. Your welcome.
A lot of clubs have come and gone since we started. Austin has changed a lot and it’s changing still. One thing that hasn’t changed is our love for the city and all the people. Over the years we’ve describe ourselves as a lot of things. We are heavy, we are rock ‘n’ roll, and we are Texans and I hope that never changes. We are proud and we are from Austin, I couldn’t think of a place I’d rather be from as a rock band. Not New York not LA this is Austin Texas, and this is who we are. Thank you all and thank you Austin. Richie Turner
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