Chinas Comidas
| Chinas Comidas | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Seattle, Washington |
| Genres | Art punk, post-punk, no wave |
| Years active | 1977–1980 |
| Labels | Exquisite Corpse Records, Go Baby |
| Associated acts | The Mentors, Red Dress, Johanna Went |
| Past members | Cynthia Genser Richard Riggins Dag Midtskog Mark Wheaton Brock Wheaton John Olufs Pete Pendras Jerry Anderson Eldon Hoke |
Chinas Comidas were an early art punk band from Seattle, Washington that formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1980 after having moved to Los Angeles. The group combined no wave and proto-punk musical influences with frontwoman Cynthia Genser's feminist poetry.
New York City native and lyricist Cynthia Genser (née Kraman) had experienced the evolution of the early punk rock scene with bands like the Ramones, Patti Smith and Television. When Genser relocated to Seattle in the mid-1970s she connected with the city's blooming punk rock underground to recruit musicians for her own project Chinas Comidas (itself a Mexican slang expression meaning "Chinese food"). The first line-up consisted of members of fellow Seattle art-punk groups Red Dress and The Tupperwares, including drummer Eldon "El Duce" Hoke (who would soon leave Chinas Comidas to focus on his own shock rock outfit the Mentors). By 1978, a stable line-up consisting of Genser, Red Dress guitarist Richard Riggins, bassist Dag Midtskog, keyboard player Mark Wheaton and his brother Brock Wheaton on drums had been established. Chinas Comidas performances were highly influenced by Patti Smith and alternated between the band playing the Clash and Television influenced songs and Genser's recitals of radical feminist and highly political poetry. This concept often provoked resistance from the more traditional punk rock crowd, and staged violence would often occur during shows, even including brawls with members of other punk rock groups. The band shared the stage with other early Seattle underground acts like the Telepaths (and their follow-up band The Blackouts), the Tupperwares (who were later renamed to The Screamers and moved to San Francisco), the Beakers, and the aforementioned Red Dress. Touring bands for which Chinas Comidas played as the opening act included D.O.A., Black Flag and Ultravox. In addition to band shows, Genser also did solo poetry readings and shared the stage with fellow Seattle beat poet Steven Jesse Bernstein.
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