Make a Record

The Suicide Commandos
The Suicide Commandos at the Pilot's Club, Minneapolis in 1976
Background information
Origin	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Genres	Punk rock
Years active	1975–79; 1996–present
Labels	Blank
Members	Steve Almaas Dave Ahl Chris Osgood

The Suicide Commandos are an American punk rock trio from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They formed in 1975 and released two 7" EPs on an indie label in 1976 and 1977 before signing with Blank Records (a subsidiary label of Mercury Records) in 1977 and releasing one album, Make a Record. Despite their short original 4-year stint together, the Suicide Commandos are considered the pioneers for jump-starting a punk rock music scene in the Twin Cities, which eventually produced bands like The Suburbs, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements and Soul Asylum.

Their first album, Make a Record was recorded and released in 1977, and then re-released on Mercury Records on CD in 1996 and on Island/DefJam iTunes in 2007. A live album, The Suicide Commandos Commit Suicide Dance Concert was released on Twin/Tone Records in 1979, which was their last performance together before the band broke up. Only 1,000 numbered copies were pressed. In 2000 it was re-released on CD by Garage D'Or Records. The original vinyl release contained 19 tracks while the CD re-release increased this figure, bringing the total number of tracks to 32.

Their 1977 song "Burn It Down" inspired a short film directed by rock video pioneer Chuck Statler, which featured the burning of a house the band had used for rehearsing for several years. "Burn It Down" was part of a Chuck Statler video retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in 2006.

Their song "Complicated Fun" was used for Target commercials for Xbox and Play Station products in 2003-2004. The band was a headline act at the Minnesota State Fair in 2007.