Steel Pole Bath Tub | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | S.P.B.T., Steelpole Bathtub |
Origin | Bozeman, Montana |
Genres | Noise rock, hardcore punk |
Years active | 1986–2002 (reunion: 2008) |
Labels | Boner, Slash, Alternative Tentacles, Lookout!, Mans Ruin, Sympathy for the Record Industry, Zero to One, Sento, Your Choice, Genius Records |
Associated acts | Milk Cult, Tumor Circus, Mr. Epp & The Calculations, Duh |
Website | steelpolebathtub.com |
Past members |
Mike Morasky Dale Flattum Darren Mor-X Nate Howe |
Steel Pole Bath Tub was an American rock band, formed in 1986 in Bozeman, Montana by Mike Morasky (guitar/vocals) and Dale Flattum (bass/vocals).
Morasky and Flattum moved the band to Seattle, Washington where Darren Mor-X (drums) joined the band, before they all moved to San Francisco, California.
The band became known for their chaotic, noisy style and frequent use of television and movie samples, with several 7" singles and albums on Boner Records, before being signed to Slash Records and releasing their major label debut in 1995. Their signing to Slash was part of a mid-1990s free-for-all signing bonanza of alternative rock bands, particularly bands from the Northwestern United States in the wake of the surprising commercial success Geffen Records had with Nirvana, many of which ended in creative and ownership conflicts. Steel Pole Bath Tub and Slash's relationship was no different.
The only album they ever released on Slash contained very few samples, which had previously been a staple of the band, at the insistence of Slash's legal department. The band hoped their second album for Slash would be a cover of The Cars' first album in its entirety, but the label would not allow that idea and then deemed the demos the band submitted (which contained three Cars covers) unlistenable and refused to release them.
The band wouldn't release any more significant material until the rights to the music they recorded for Slash would revert to them 2002. In 2002, the band released those recordings as the album Unlistenable, the title a play on a Slash executives comments on the material and reformed to play the Beyond the Pale festival at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco in November 2002, where they co-headlined with Neurosis and Tarantula Hawk.