Butthole Surfers

Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers performing on January 1, 2009 at the Fillmore in San Francisco, California
Background information
Origin	San Antonio, Texas, United States
Genres	Experimental rock, alternative rock, neo-psychedelia, hardcore punk, noise rock, avant-garde
Years active	1981–Present
Labels	Alternative Tentacles, Touch and Go, Blast First, Au Go Go, Latino Buggerveil, Rough Trade, Capitol, Surfdog, Hollywood
Associated acts	The Jackofficers, Honky, P, Gibby Haynes & His Problem, Rubble, Carny, Drain, The Hugh Beaumont Experience, Daddy Longhead, Fearless Iranians from Hell, Shockabilly, The Marching Plague, Melvins
Website	www.buttholesurfers.com
Members	Gibby Haynes Paul Leary King Coffey Jeff Pinkus
Past members	see: Members section

Butthole Surfers is an American rock band formed by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second drummer from 1983 to 1985, 1986 to 1989, and 2009. The band has also employed a variety of bass players, most notably Jeff Pinkus.

Rooted in the 1980s hardcore punk scene, Butthole Surfers quickly became known for their chaotic and disturbing live shows, black comedy, and a sound that incorporated elements of psychedelia, noise rock, punk and, later, electronica, as well as their use of sound manipulation and tape editing. Butthole Surfers have a well-reported appetite for psychoactive drugs, an evident influence on their sound.

Although they were respected by their peers and attracted a devoted fanbase, Butthole Surfers had little commercial success until 1996's Electriclarryland. The album contained the hit single "Pepper" which climbed to number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart that year.

Butthole Surfers formed at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas during the late 1970s, when students Gibson "Gibby" Haynes and Paul Leary Walthall (later just Paul Leary) met for the first time. Though it was their overall strangeness and shared taste in non-mainstream music that caused them to become friends, both appeared to be headed for very conventional careers. Haynes, as captain of Trinity's basketball team, as well as the school's "Accountant of the Year", soon graduated to a position with a respected Texas accounting firm, while Leary remained in college working on his MBA degree.