{"product_id":"mr-epp-ridiculing-the-apocalypse","title":"MR. EPP - Ridiculing the Apocalypse","description":"\u003cp\u003eBefore grunge was a genre, it was an insult\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eArm\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewrote about his own band:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e“Pure grunge! Pure noise! Pure shit!”\u003c\/em\u003e. That band was\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMR. EPP AND THE CALCULATIONS\u003c\/strong\u003e. Conceived in a math class at Bellevue Christian High School in 1978 as a completely imaginary group,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMR. EPP\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eeventually became one of the strangest, most confrontational and deliberately antagonistic acts in Seattle’s early underground. It was\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eArm\u003c\/strong\u003e’s first band.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSteve Turner\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ejoined during its final phase;\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eArm\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand Turner would soon form\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGreen River\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand later reunite in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMudhoney\u003c\/strong\u003e. But\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRidiculing the Apocalypse\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis far more than a piece of Seattle prehistory. This is not polite archaeology for completists. It is the sound of suburban teenagers turning musical ineptitude into an aesthetic weapon: serrated, collapsing guitars, hardcore velocity, lurching post-punk rhythms, industrial abrasion, free-jazz saxophone and enough black humour to destroy any trace of punk-rock solemnity. Instead of learning to play properly,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMR. EPP\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003elearned how to use distortion, repetition, awkwardness and confrontation as a language of their own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTheir songs take aim at uniformed hardcore punks, Reagan-era patriotism, the Moral Majority, militarism, police authority, suburban privilege, college life and nuclear annihilation, while never sparing their own scene or themselves. “Mohawk Man” was a vicious attack on those who had reduced hardcore to a pose and a dress code. The song reached number one on the influential Los Angeles radio show\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRodney on the ROQ\u003c\/strong\u003e, while their 1982 EP\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOf Course I’m Happy, Why?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas reviewed in the very first issue of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaximum Rocknroll\u003c\/strong\u003e, which praised its strange structures, cynicism and intelligence. A Seattle radio DJ introduced them as\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e“the worst band in the world”\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMR. EPP\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eembraced the insult, building their reputation through absurd posters, deliberately ridiculous self-promotion and chaotic live performances. During their brief existence they shared bills with\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDead Kennedys\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTen Minute Warning\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Rejectors\u003c\/strong\u003e, before playing their final show in 1984 alongside\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMalfunkshun\u003c\/strong\u003e, opening for\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFang\u003c\/strong\u003e. Less than three years after becoming a real band, it was over. Originally issued on CD in 1996,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRidiculing the Apocalypse\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003enow receives its first-ever vinyl edition.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBANG! Records\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJo Smitty\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ehave reshaped the anthology into a concentrated sixteen-track LP, newly remastered for vinyl by\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSergio Delgado\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ein Madrid in 2026. It includes the complete\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOf Course I’m Happy, Why? EP\u003c\/strong\u003e, the band’s most essential studio recordings and two live tracks captured at Seattle’s Metropolis. The packaging completes the document:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTodd Why?\u003c\/strong\u003e’s original drawings, the wrecked EPP car, rehearsal and live photographs,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCraig Joyce\u003c\/strong\u003e’s extensive band history and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJo Smitty\u003c\/strong\u003e’s track-by-track notes. Nothing has been cleaned up or rewritten into respectable rock history. The entire edition retains the photocopied, basement-made, fanzine-and-rented-hall aesthetic that defined\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMR. EPP\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Essential for followers of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMudhoney\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGreen River\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlipper\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, early American hardcore, post-punk and outsider noise — and for anyone who wants to hear Seattle before it became an industry.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BANG!","offers":[{"title":"LTD BLACK LP","offer_id":57429663121788,"sku":"HJM-13520","price":29.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0633\/9022\/0535\/files\/mrepp.png?v=1789054521","url":"https:\/\/heyjoemusic.co.uk\/products\/mr-epp-ridiculing-the-apocalypse","provider":"Hey Joe Music \u0026 Coffee","version":"1.0","type":"link"}