Bomb, was the name of an acid fueled San Francisco based hard rock band started in the late 1980's. There is also a younger group from Turkey currently operating with this name, and an ex-member of Naked Raygun whose Chicago based band is called The Bomb.
San Francisco's Bomb toured extensively, released several albums, including one on Warner/Reprise in 1992, and they are memoralized at their website http://www.HitsofAcid.com.
The band were known for intense music & wild onstage antics and occasional nudity featuring diminuitive, deranged, drugged & demonically caterwauling singer/bassist Michael W. Dean. The guitars were a squall of affected and eerie riffs provided by Jay Crawford & Doug Hilsinger, with explosive drumming that was ominously thunderous, repetitive and tribal via the pounding of Tony Fag ( aka Short).
Despite a very impressive live reputation, and fans throughout the rock n roll underground who included members of bands like Nirvana and The Flaming Lips, Bomb never broke through to a larger commercial audience.
Their career began with a vinyl only LP on their own Boogadigga Records in 1987 entitled "To Elvis In Hell". Their first LP caught the attention of Rock and Roll scribe and historian Greil Marcus, as well as a slew of indie zines and punk rock fans across the American heartland where they toured. They signed to Bay Area based Boner Records in 1988 who put out "Hits of Acid" on vinyl and cassette, followed up in 1989 with "Happy All The Time" a vinyl & cassette EP. They were for a time one of San Francisco's most popular local acts outdrawing contemporary local faves like Primus, Chris Isaak and 4 Non Blondes, and worked out a European deal with Gary Held's Revolver to release "Lucy In The Sky With Desi" in 1990, the band's first CD, which combined material from both earlier Boner vinyl releases.
While on tour in Germany the band recorded a cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus", released as a ltd edition 7" in Europe, and a b-side that turned up on a Thrasher Skate Rock compilation stateside. In 1991, they attracted the attention of former Jane's Addiction manager Charley Brown, who got the band a deal with the Warner Bros. offshoot imprint Reprise, originally founded by Frank Sinatra. The CD/Cass that resulted was "Hate Fed Love" ponderously produced in Brooklyn by world music remix czar Bill Laswell. Lack of label tour support, non-existent radio & retail promotion, creative control issues, infighting, spiraling drug & alcohol use all doomed the band. They broke up in 1993, but eventually emerged out of rehab & ruin to play some celebratory San Francisco shows in the late 1990's and released a fan farewell CD only EP called "Lovesucker" on Berkeley based indie Wingnut records.
Most of the band's out of print back catalog of songs are available for free download via http://www.hitsofacid.com
Discography
CDs Eps & LPs
* To Elvis In Hell, Boogadigga LP, (1987)
* Hits of Acid, Boner Records LP & Cass, (1988)
* Happy All The Time, Boner Records, LP & Cass (1989)
* Lucy In The Sky With Desi, Boner/Revolver CD & LP, (1990)
* Hate-Fed Love, Reprise/Warner Brothers Records, LP, (1992)
* Lovesucker, Wingnut Records, EP, (1999)
7" Single
* Personal Jesus/Nineteen, [Rave Records] German ltd 7" single (1990)
Compilation Appearances:
JDs Top Ten Homocore Hit Parade Tape (1990)
Song : Bomb - B/E/A/F/A/G
Thrasher Explicit Sk8rok Vol 10 CD(1991)
Track #19 : Bomb - Nineteen
Trademark of Quality - Warner Bros. Promo CD(1992)
Track #11: Bomb - Nineteen
Heck On Wheels - Warner Bros. Promo CD (1992)
Track #10 : The Power of Suggestion
CMJ presents Certain Damage Vol 43 (1992)
Track #18 Bomb : All My References are Dead
Members of Bomb also played on independently released recordings of other groups including Jay Crawford with Housecoat Project, Tony Fag with The Guilty Party and most musically prolific, guitarist Doug Hilsinger who has produced recordings, and also performed on records with bands including The Hallflowers, Gifthorse,Waycross[/] and played all the instruments on a CD remake of Brian Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy with vocalist Caroleen Beatty. Bomb singer Michael Dean has since become a Wyoming based writer whose non-fiction books & blogs have explored topics like DIY Music & Filmmaking, and whose fiction remains darkly perverse and sexually provocative. Dean has produced independent documentary films as well, interviewing artists such as Hubert Selby Jr, Lydia Lunch, and Ian MacKaye etc
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