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"A
large red sticker proclaiming WEIRD ALERT could not make things plainer."
"Variety
through dementia indicative of excessive drug use and boredom."
"Compulsory
listening for anyone interested in modern American guitar rock, or just
plain alternative music."
"I
believe they look like what the Goonies would look like today."
1994 - Linus Pauling Quartet is formed. Begun by Steve Finley and Ramon Medina, the two eventually seek out Larry Liska and Clinton Heider to complete the LP4 MKI line up. The year is spent writing new material or adapting older unused material from previous bands and recording its first record. Attempts to sign with a local label fall through and the band instead decides to record and produce its first album on a cassette 6-track at KTRU-FM at Rice University.
1995 - The first Linus Pauling album "Immortal Chinese Classics Music" is released on its own label Worship Guitars. Favorites like the "Linus Theme', "Hamburger Girl", and "Friendswood Development Company" successfully make quite a few college radio stations' top ten album rotations. The CD, while cheaply recorded, provide a blueprint for future endeavors. It's all in place here: cheesy guitar solos, odes to bongs, bugs and amphibians. Though loved by many, this first CD is not without its detractors. Most notably Michael Davis of Option Magazine suggests the band "should consider doing a few less bonghits". Meanwhile, High Times places it on their POT TEN list.
1996- The band signs with September Gurls Records for a two studio album deal which concludes in 2004 with the release of "C6H8O6". This same year, the band records a track for the British Psych zine - Ptolemaic Terrascope - the CD "Succour," is a double CD that benefits the seminal magazine when it is a bit in the red. An all-night session is held at their practice space and the track "Dartania" is recorded live. On a whim, the band records seven other live tracks.
1997- Michael Demmler and Eva Koehler of September Gurls listen to the live tracks (intended as a demo) and suggest that it be released and a limited run 550 LP. The band agrees and within months, the second untitled album (aka "the Alien LP") is released. Though fewer people are able to hear this recording, it presents a band hitting its stride. It also marks the last recording of the LP4 MKI. Meanwhile, "Dartania" is released as the lead track on "Succour". The band heads off to Austin, Texas to record at Sweatbox Studios, but ends up with a partially completed recording. By this time, Flip Osman (who helped engineer the Alien LP) officially joins and Charlie Horshack is asked to play sax on one song. Curiously, the one track that is intended for Charlie is never completed, yet Charlie stays to become a major creative force. LP4 MKII takes shape.
1998 - Studio work is completed in a mishmash fashion -a late night vocal track here, another there. By the end of the year, the second studio record is completed and released - "Killing You With Rock". The CD has something for everyone, Blue Cheer type cheese riffs, Hawkwind space sorties, Sci-fi epics, garage rock sludge, sensitive 60s pop, insane pompous histrionic guitar solos, a gratuitous secret bonus improv lo-fi track, trippy mellow jams, Beefheartian skronk, etc.
1999 - A year with few releases but a lot of studio work for the band. In that year, they finally see the release of their split single with Italy's renowned Kryptasthesie on MIZMAZE Records. The Linus Pauling Quartet's track is a live tribute to Charalambides guitarist Jason Bill- aptly titled "Jason Bill". Recorded live at Rudyard's Pub in Houston it provides a brief glimpse of the band's live abilities. Around the same time of this release, The LP4 contribute a track to "The 26th Commandment - Thou Shalt Expand Thy Mind" -a free CD given out with Ptolemaic Terrascope #26. The track, "Cole Porter", is from the same live performance as the split 7".
LP4 MKII perform a live set for and an interview with Pete Dixon for his From the Vault program on KFJC-FM (Foothills College Radio in Los Altos Hills, CA). Two of these live tracks are later released as bonus tracks on "Ashes in the Bong of God".
Carol Kelly joins officially - LP4 MKIII commences.
2000 - At the beginning of the year Ramon Medina begins sifting through hours of live jam tapes in the intent of putting ideas and riffs together into workable songs (e.g. "Switzer" on "C6H8O6" was a splice of a Clinton Heider riff and a Charlie Horshack riff). In the process, he sends some of the more reproduction-defying jams to Tony Dale of Camera Obscura for fun. Tony likes what he hears and loosely proposes the idea of releasing the material. In the process, September Gurls gets wind and offers to release it as a limited double LP in Europe, and Kurt Brennan of Fleece Records in the US offers a simultaneous US CD release. The idea of a narrative is employed to assist with tracking and later Clinton Heider is goaded into reciting the narrative to accompany the music. By year's end, this fourth Linus Pauling album is released as "Ashes in the Bong of God". This is also the final release of the LP4 MKII.
Flip Osman accepts a job at the legendary Hit Factory in New York City. The LP4 - New York branch opens.
The band closes the year with a fine set at Terrastock IV festival in Seattle - first live performance of LP4 MKIII.
2001 - Writing stage begins for new studio record as Steve Finley begins constructing his own studio -Digital Warehaus
2002 - Recording begins on the new album. A version of the Pink Floyd song "Vegetable Man" is recorded by the band and released in Italy by Oggetti Volanti Non Identificati.
2003 - Early in the year, the final mixes are complete. It will take quite a few months until artwork is decided. In October, "C6H8O6" is released in Europe.
2004 - Band plays South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. The Houston Press Music Awards nominates the band for best Rock Band and Best Album. Curiously, the band is never requested to play the Award Showcase [where people are supposed to hear/be exposed the nominees] - most likely a result of the first time the band played the showcase in 1995 and won a Phyrric Victory against the inept soundmen.
2005 - The Band again plays South by Southwest and is nominated in the Houston Press. In the fall, the band puts together a Bar-B-Q at Sound Exchange. The community event is pretty fun but depletes the band fund which leads to a limited 50 edition CD-R pressing of "Sons of the Cretaceous"to recoup costs. The CD-R contains all of the bands previous releases on one MP3 CD-R. Attempts to digitally distribute previous albums get bogged down between the band and its former label Septmber Gurls.
2006 - The band takes a break from registering at South By Southwest and instead concentrates on live multi-media shows and completing the newest album. The band gets yet another Houston Press nomination which means another night of free beer at the Rice hotel. At this time (November 2006) the band has a full album of material (78 Minutes) for an upcoming album with only vocals and final mixes remainingto be completed. The completion of the vocals have been hampered by nodes in Clinton Heider's larynx but the band is proceeding as fast as possible without compromising Clinton's voice.
2007- The band hunkers down for most of the year for post production work and releases a limited edition full length LP "All Things Are Light" in November through Australia's Camera Obscura. In December the band releases an extremely limited 13 copy as part of the Grey Ghost series - HAWG! Grey Ghost #48 - an 11-minute two-chord lecherous pill-popping dying-in-a-hail-of-bullets complete-with-Otis-Redding-Rave-up biker-epic. It sells out on the first day.
2008- The band plays festivals hitting both SXSW in March (Austin, TX) and Terrastock 7 in June (Louisville, KY). EU copies of "All Things are Light" sell out in January. Discussions are under way for a limited vinyl reissue of C6H806 with September Gurls. Also, discussions are under way about a possible split 7" with the long dormant Dunlavy (Scott Grimm Ex-Mike Gunn) as well as 10" reissue of "Hawg!". |
