Stick Figure Suicide
Stick Figure Suicide | |
|---|---|
 Stick Figure Suicide at a VFW Hall, in 1999. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Milltown, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Punk rock, melodic hardcore |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Umbilical Records, Reinforcement Records, Break Even Records |
| Associated acts | The Pennyroyals, Pencey Prep, Fairmont, Hero from a Thousand Places |
| Website | stickfiguresuicide |
Stick Figure Suicide is an American punk band that is from New Jersey.
History[edit]
Stick Figure Suicide is a punk rock band from Milltown, New Jersey. The band was formed in 1997, when Paul Dunlap and a few friends began rehearsing material, and "let whatever was in us come out."[1] The band has consisted, throughout the years, of guitarist Chris Anderson, vocalist Dunlap, and for their most productive era, drummer Omar Puebla, guitarist Neil Sabatino, and bassist Keith Slater.[2] Stick Figure Suicide was part of the emerging emo-punk rock scene of the late 1990s in the Northeast of the United States.[3] Their music has been described as a mastery of "old-school hardcore moves [and] hyperspeed tempos" with clean, precise, over-driven guitars, and they are classified as a blend of fast and melodic hardcore-punk, with lyrics that are occasionally humorous. They draw comparison to the music of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat, and the anarcho-punk band Against All Authority, and Stick Figure Suicide cites musical influences from the punk bands Bad Religion, and NOFX.[4][5]
Their first recording, entitled The Roadkill EP, was a six-track split 7"-vinyl with the punk rock band Mohawk Barbie. It was released with Umbilical Records and Unfair Records, in 1998.[6] The split featured two original songs from each band, as well as two covers of songs by the hardcore-punk band Black Flag, of which Stick Figure Suicide recorded a rendition of the song "Rise Above." Maximumrocknroll describes their songs on the split, "Every Evil Hour-Hand" and "FlashLite Girl" as "display[ing] some pretty good energy of their own with their early '90s style hardcore."[5] By November 1998, Puebla and Sabatino, both from the band Little Green Men, had joined Stick Figure Suicide.
Reformation and labels[edit]
They performed at the Vans Warped Tour, after winning a local battle of the bands, on 18 July 1999, on the Local Stage. Stick Figure Suicide unofficially signed with Umbilical Records and Reinforcement Records in 1999, to help distribute their self-released album. A previously unreleased song, "Dred," appears on the 2000 compilation, Punk Rock Strike; it would also appear on their debut album.[7] Recording for a full-length album began in August, and ended in September 1999. The ten-track album, entitled Nice, Nice, Totally Bad Ass!, was released on compact disc and digital download, with Reinforcement Records and Umbilical Records, in 2000. It is produced by the punk rock band Down by Law's frontman, Dave Smalley. Nice, Nice, Totally Bad Ass! is described as melodic-punk rock, that has the "precision of Bad Religion with the anger of Black Flag."[8] Among performances in that year, Stick Figure Suicide played with the punk rock bands H2O, and Orange 9mm, and the emo pop-punk band Saves the Day, at Birch Hill Nightclub, in Old Bridge, New Jersey, and also with the pop punk bands the Bouncing Souls, and Big Wig, the skate punk band Ten Foot Pole, and the ska punk band Catch 22, on a couple ocassions at The Palace in Bound Brook, New Jersey. The band became a staple of Central Jersey Hall shows, and were often added as the opening act for National acts touring through the region.
The band took a brief hiatus in the beginning of 2000, which included some line-up changes. By the summer of that year, Puebla had left the band, though he later rejoined, and Sabatino left the band to join as guitarist for the post-hardcore group, Pencey Prep, and later, to form the alternative indie rock band, Fairmont.[9] They also were featured on college radio, and were invited to play at the 2000 Vans Warped Tour. Anderson left the group shortly after, to form the band the Pennyroyals, and after being kicked out of that band, he began playing in Hero from a Thousand Places. A review of a 2001 concert, by the Bucks County Courier Times, says that their "version of punk rock was impressive, and can be compared to the Movie Life and most any Warped Tour band," adding that they had "put on a good show and tried to rock out as much as they could, despite the small numbers in the audience."[10] In 2002, they performed at the Skate and Surf Festival, a three-day event featuring forty bands and professional skaterboarders and BMXers, at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey.[11]
Stick Figure Suicide's second full-length, the twelve-track album Mission, was released with Break Even Records in 2003. A review from Punk Planet says the record is "aggressive and catchy," and is "a cross between Against All Authority, minus the horns, and Union 13."[12] They also contributed a rendition of the Nirvana song, "Mr. Moustache," to the Sonic Fuzz Records' compilation, Tribute to Nirvana: Flannel and Leather Brought Us Together.[13] In the summer of 2015, they held a reunion show, with the horror punk band The Cryptkeeper Five, and released a live album of the songs that were recorded. Stick Figure Suicide continues to play live shows, several times a year.
Members[edit]
- Chris "Sprout" Anderson – guitar
- Paul "Suicide" Dunlap – vocals
- Omar "The Cuban" Puebla – drums
- Neil "Emo Maggot" Sabatino – guitar
- Keith "Ducky" Slater – bass
Discography[edit]
- Albums
- Nice, Nice, Totally Bad Ass! (2000)
- Mission (2003)
- EPs
- The Roadkill EP (1998) split with Mohawk Barbie
References[edit]
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Break Even Staff (2003), "Stick Figure Suicide", Break Even Records, retrieved 20 April 2019
- Gaar, Gillian G. (1 June 2009), The Rough Guide to Nirvana, Rough Guides, retrieved 19 April 2019
- Goldman, Greg (21 July 2001), "Heinus Anus/Stick Figure Suicide + others", Bucks County Courier Times
- Hit List Staff (June–July 2002), "Punk Rock Strike", Hit List, 2 (2), retrieved 19 April 2019CS1 maint: Date format (link)
- Louie, Tim (12 March 2014), "North Jersey Notes: SPiN, Statik Silence, Killcode and More!", The Aquarian Weekly, retrieved 19 April 2019
- MaClean, Hal (June 1999), "Barbie Mohawk / Stick Figure Suicide, "The Road Kill EP"", Maximumrocknroll (193), p. 126, retrieved 19 April 2019
- Maximumrocknroll Staff (February 2002), "Stick Figure Suicide", Maximumrocknroll (225), p. 109
- Punk Planet Staff (March–April 2002), "Stick Figure Suicide", Punk Planet (42), retrieved 19 April 2019CS1 maint: Date format (link)
- Punk Planet Staff (February 2003), "Stick Figure Suicide", Punk Planet (53), retrieved 19 April 2019
- Razorcake Staff (February–March 2002), "Fairmont - Pretending Greatness is Awaiting", Razorcake (6), p. 91CS1 maint: Date format (link)
- Rothman, Robin A. (22 April 2002), "Skate and Surf Fest: Down-Home Warped Rocks Asbury Park", MTV News, retrieved 19 April 2019
- Slug & Lettuce (March–April 1999), "Mohawk Barbie CD", Slug & Lettuce (58), p. 21CS1 maint: Date format (link)
- Stick Figure Suicide Staff (2002), "Biography - Band", Stick Figure Suicide, archived from the original on 13 January 2010
External links[edit]
- stickfiguresuicide.com at the Internet Archive
- Stick Figure Suicide discography at Discogs
