The Embarrassment

The Embarrassment
Lawrence 2006
Background information
Origin	Wichita, Kansas, United States
Genres	Punk rock
Years active	1979–1983
Labels	Fresh Sounds, Time to Develop, Bar/None Records, My Pal God
Associated acts	Del Fuegos, Big Dipper
Members	Bill Goffrier John Nichols Ron Klaus Brent Giessmann

The Embarrassment was an American quartet formed in 1979 in Wichita, Kansas, that made several recordings before breaking up in 1983. The band consisted of guitarist Bill Goffrier, lead singer and organist John Nichols, bassist Ron Klaus and drummer Brent Giessmann.

Although some people considered the band punk rock, the band itself liked to describe themselves as "Blister Pop." The Village Voice's long-time chief music critic, Robert Christgau, called them a "great lost American band." Along with bands like Get Smart!,Start and the Mortal Micronotz, the Embarrassment were prominent in the Lawrence punk scene of the early '80s and they would regularly play at venues like the Lawrence Opera House (now called "Liberty Hall") and the Off The Wall Hall (later called "Cogburn's", now called "The Bottleneck").

The Embarrassment stopped performing when two of the members moved to Boston. Giessmann drummed for The Del Fuegos, and Goffrier formed the band Big Dipper with former members of the Volcano Suns. Several of The Embarrassment's unreleased songs were recorded by Big Dipper, including "Faith Healer," which was later covered by Japanese all-girl group Shonen Knife.

The "Embos," as fans call them, have played several reunion concerts in the years since, the latest being in August 2008, when they played an acoustic show in Wichita.

Kansas-born political writer Thomas Frank quoted lyrics from their song "Sex Drive" in his bestselling 2004 book What's the Matter with Kansas?.

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Wikipedia